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

Three- and 1/2-year Lectionary Readings	Second Year of the Triennial Reading Cycle
II Adar 27, 5784 / April 5/6, 2024	Second Year of the Shmita Cycle

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Roll of Honor:

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His Excellency Adon Ya’aqob ben David

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!

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Blessings Before Torah Study

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A Prayer for Israel

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

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

Shabbat HaChodesh

The Holy New Moon for the Month of Nisan

(The Month when Jewish Kings are Enthroned)

&

Shabbat Mevarchim

(Proclamation of the New Moon of Nisan)

(Monday Evening 8^th of April – Tuesday Evening 9^th of April 2024)

Shabbat	Torah Reading:	Weekday Torah Reading:
הַחֹדֶשׁ		Saturday Afternoon
“HaChodesh”	Reader 1 – Shemot 11:1-3	Reader 1 – Shemot 11:1-3
“The New Moon”	Reader 1 – Shemot 11:4-5	Reader 1 – Shemot 11:4-7
“El novilunio”	Reader 3 – Shemot 11:6-10	Reader 3 – Shemot 11:8-10
Shemot (Exodus) 11:1 – 12:28	Reader 4 – Shemot 12:1-4
Ashlamatah: Yehezchel (Ezekiel) 45:18-46:15	Reader 5 – Shemot 12:5-8	Monday and Thursday Mornings
Special Ashlamata: Shmuel alef (1 Samuel) 20:18-42	Reader 6 – Shemot 12:9-11	Reader 1 – B’resheet 25:1-3
Tehillim (Psalms) 77:1-21	Reader 7 – Shemot 12:12-28	Reader 2 – B’resheet 25:4-6
N.C.: Col. 2:16-23; 1 Cor. 5:6-8	Maftir – Shemot 12:21-28  Yehezchel (Ezekiel) 45:18-46:15	Reader 3 – B’resheet 25:7-10

Contents of the Torah Seder

· The Warning of the Last Plague – Exodus 11:1-10

· The Institution of the Passover – Exodus 12:1-13

· Regulations for the Passover Festival – Exodus 12:14-20

· Moses Communicates the Laws of Passover to the Elders – Exodus 12:21-28

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan for: Shemot (Exodus) 11:1 – 12:28

Rashi	Targum
1 ¶ Adonai said to Moshe, "There is one more plague that I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. After that he will send you away from here. When he sends you away, he will actually drive you out from here completely.	1 And the LORD spoke unto Mosheh, Yet one stroke will I bring upon Pharoh and upon the Mizraee, which will be greater than all, and afterward will he send you hence: when he releases, there will be to himself an end: driving, he will drive you forth from hence.
2 Speak, please, in the ears of the people, and let each man request [borrow] from his friend, and each woman from her friend, articles of silver and articles of gold."	2 Speak now in the hearing of the people, That every man will demand from his Mizraite friend, and every woman of her Mizraite friend, vessels of silver and vessels of gold.
3 Adonai gave the people favour in the eyes of the Egyptians. Moshe too was very great in the land of Egypt, [both] in the eyes of Pharaoh's servants and in the eyes of the people.	3 And the LORD gave the people favour before the Mizraee; also, the man Mosheh was very great in the land of Mizraim before the servants of Pharoh and before his people.
4 Moshe said, "This is what Adonai has said, About the time of midnight, I will go out in the midst of Egypt.	4 And Mosheh spoke (or, had spoken) to Pharoh, Thus says the LORD, At this hour of the following night will I be revealed in the midst of the Mizraee,
5 Every first-born in the land of Egypt will die, from the first-born of Pharaoh sitting on his throne, to the first-born of the [Egyptian] slave girl, behind the mill-stones, and every first-born animal.	5 and every firstborn in the land of Mizraim will die: from the firstborn of Pharoh who should sit upon the throne of his kingdom, unto the firstborn son of the humblest mother in Mizraim who grinds behind the mills, and all the firstborn of  cattle.
6 There will be a great cry [of anguish] throughout the entire land of Egypt, the likes of which there never was and like there never will be.	6 And there will be a great cry in all the land of Mizraim, because like the plague of this night there hath not been, and like the plague of this night there never will be one.
7 But among all the B’ne Yisrael, a dog will not sharpen its tongue [growl] at man or animal. You will then know that Adonai distinguishes between Egypt and Yisrael.	7 But any of the children of Israel a dog will not harm by lifting up his tongue against either man or beast; that they may know that the LORD makes distinction between the Mizraites and the sons of Israel.
8 Then all these, your servants, will come down to me, and prostrate themselves saying, 'Go! You and all the people that follow you. Then I will go out." He [Moshe] then left Pharaoh in great anger.	8 And you will send down all thy servants to me, coming and beseeching me, saying, Go forth, you and all the people who are with you; and afterwards I will go. And he went out from Pharoh in great anger.
9 Adonai said to Moshe, "Pharaoh will not listen to you. Thus, I will multiply My wonders in the land of Egypt."	9 But the LORD said to Mosheh, Pharoh will not hearken to you; that I may multiply My wonders in the land of Mizraim.
10 Moshe and Aharon had done all these wonders before Pharaoh. [However] Adonai hardened Pharaoh's heart and he did not send the B’ne Yisrael out of his land.	10 And Mosheh and Aharon did all these wonders before Pharoh; and the LORD strengthened the design of Pharoh's heart, and he would not release the sons of Israel from his land.
1 Adonai said to Moshe and Aharon in the land of Egypt saying:	1 And the LORD spoke to Mosheh and to Aharon in the land of Mizraim, saying,
2 "This month will be [reckoned] to you [as] the head [beginning] of months. It will be to you the first of the months of the year.	2 This month is ordained to be to you the beginning of the months; and from it you will begin to number for festivals, and times, and cycles; it will be to you the first of the number of the months of the year.
3 Speak to the entire community of Israel saying, 'On the tenth [day] of this month they will take--- each man [will take] a lamb for [his] family, a lamb for each household.	3 Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, In the tenth of this month, whose time is appointed for this time (occasion), and not for (coming) generations, they will take to them a lamb for the house of a family, and, if many in number, they will take a lamb for a house:
4 If the [members of the] household are too few for the [eating of a] lamb then he will take [a lamb] [together] with his neighbour, close by his house, according to the number of individuals. According to what the person eats will you make your count regarding the lamb.	4 but if the men of the house are fewer than ten in number, in proportion to a sufficient number to eat the lamb, he and his neighbor who is nearest to his house will take according to the number of souls: each man according to the sufficiency of his eating will be counted for the lamb.
5 A flawless lamb, a yearling male must be in your possession. You may take it from sheep or goats.	5 The lamb will be perfect, a male, the son of a year he will be to you; from the sheep or from the young goats ye may take.
6 You will hold it in safekeeping until the fourteenth day of this month, they will slaughter it--- the entire community of Yisrael--- between evenings [in the afternoon].	6 And it will be bound and reserved for you until the fourteenth day of this month, that you may not know the fear of the Mizraee when they see it; and you will kill it according to the rite of all the congregation of the assembly of Israel, between the suns.
7 They will take of its blood and place it on the side of the doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they will eat [the lamb].	7 And you will take of the blood and set it upon the two posts and upon the upper board outside of the houses in which you eat and sleep.
8 They will eat the meat during this night. It will be roasted over fire. They will eat it with matzah and bitter herbs.	8 And you will eat the flesh on that night, the fifteenth of Nisan, until the dividing of the night roasted with fire, [JERUSALEM. Roasted,] without leaven, with horehound and lettuce will you eat it.
9 You must not eat it half-cooked or boiled in water, but only roasted over fire, its head with its knees and its inner organs.	9 Eat not of it while living, neither boiled in wine, or oil, or other fluids, neither boiled in water, but roasted with fire, with its head, and its feet, and its inwards.
10 You must not leave any of it over until morning. Any of it left over until morning must be burned in fire.	10 Nor will any be left of it till the morning; but what may remain of it in the morning you will cover over, and in the daylight of the sixteenth day burn with fire; for you may not burn the residue of a holy oblation on the feast day.
11 This is how you must eat it: with your waist belted, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand. You must eat it in haste, it is a Pesach-offering to Adonai.	11 And according to this manner you will eat it, this time, but not in (other) generations: your loins will be girded, [JERUSALEM. Bound by the precepts of the law,] your shoes on your feet, and your staves in your hands; and you will eat in the fear of the majesty of the LORD of the world; because mercy hath been shown to you from before the LORD.
12 I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and I will strike [kill] every first-born in the land of Egypt, from man to beast; and against all the gods of Egypt, I will execute judgments, I am Adonai.	12 And I will be revealed in the land of Mizraim in the majesty of My glory this night, and with Me ninety thousand myriads of destroying angels; and I will slay all the firstborn in the land of Mizraim, of man and of beast, and against all the idols of the Mizraee I will execute four judgments: the molten idols will be melted, the idols of stone be broken, the idols of clay will he shattered, and the idols of wood be made dust, that the Mizraee may know that I am the LORD.
13 The blood will be for you as a sign on the houses where you are [staying]. I will see the blood and I will pass over you. There will be no plague against you when I strike the land of Egypt.	13 And the blood of the paschal oblation, (like) the matter of circumcision, will be a bail for you, to become a sign upon the houses where you dwell; and I will look upon the worth of the blood, and will spare you; and the angel of death, to whom is given the power to destroy, will have no dominion over you in the slaughter of the Mizraee.
14 This day will be for you a [day of] remembrance. You will celebrate it as a festival to Adonai, throughout your generations. It is an eternal statute that you must celebrate it.	14 And this day will be to you for a memorial, and you will celebrate it a festival before the LORD in your generations; by a perpetual statute will you solemnize it.
15 You must eat matzah for seven days, but before the first day you must remove [all] leaven from your homes; for anyone who eats chametz, that soul will be cut off from Yisrael. [Chametz is forbidden] from the first day [of Pesach] until [after] the seventh day.	15 Seven days you will eat unleavened bread: in the dividing of the day which precedes the feast you will put away leaven from your houses; for whosoever eats what is leavened, from the first day of the feast until the seventh day, that man will be destroyed from Israel.
16 The first day will be a holy assembly and the seventh day will be a holy assembly to you. No work will be done on them, only for [the preparation of food] which will be eaten by every person, that alone may be done for you.	16 And on the first day there will be a holy congregation, and on the seventh day there will be to you a holy congregation. No work will be done among you, only that which must be done for every one's eating may be done by you.
17 You must be vigilant regarding the matzah, for on this very day I brought out your hosts from the land of Egypt. You must preserve this day for your generations, it is an eternal statute.	17 And you will observe the feast of the unleavened bread, because in this same day the LORD will bring out your hosts free from the land of Mizraim; and you will observe this day in your generations, a statute for ever.
18 In the first [month] on the fourteenth day of the month, in the evening you will eat matzah, [continuing] until the twenty-first day of the month in the evening.	18 In Nisan, on the fourteenth day of the month, you will kill the Passover, and at evening on the fifteenth you will eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first of the month. On the evening of the twenty-second, you may eat leavened bread.
19 For seven days no leaven may be found in your homes, for whoever eats chametz that soul will be cut off from the community of Israel, whether a proselyte or a native born in the land.	19 For seven days leaven will not be found in your houses; for whosoever eats of leaven, that man will perish from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger or home-bred in the land.
20 You must not eat anything that is chametz. In all your dwellings you will eat matzah.	20 Any mixture of leaven you will not eat; in every place of your habitation you will eat unleavened bread.
21. Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Draw forth or buy for yourselves sheep for your families and slaughter the Passover sacrifice.	21. And Mosheh called all the elders of Israel, and said to them, Withdraw your hands from the idols of the Mizraee, and take to you from the offspring of the flock, according to your houses, and kill the paschal lamb.
22. And you shall take a bunch of hyssop and immerse [it] in the blood that is in the basin, and you shall extend to the lintel and to the two doorposts the blood that is in the basin, and you shall not go out, any man from the entrance of his house until morning.	22. And you will take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the earthen vessel, and upon the upper bar without and upon the two posts you will sprinkle of the blood, which is in the earthen vessel, and not a man of you must come forth from the door of his hour till the morning.
23. The Lord will pass to smite the Egyptians, and He will see the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, and the Lord will pass over the entrance, and He will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses to smite [you].	23. For the Glory of the LORD will be manifested in striking the Mizraee, and He will see the blood upon the lintel and upon the two posts, and the Word of the LORD will spread His protection over the door, and the destroying angel will not be permitted to enter your houses to smite.
24. And you shall keep this matter as a statute for you and for your children forever.	24. And you will observe this thing for a statute to you and to your sons for a memorial for ever.
25. And it shall come to pass when you enter the land that the Lord will give you, as He spoke, that you shall observe this service.	25. And it will be when you are come into the land that the LORD will give to you, as He has spoken, that from the time of your coming you will observe this service.
26. And it will come to pass if your children say to you, ÔWhat is this service to you?'	26. And it will be that when at that time your children will say to you, What is this your service?
27. you shall say, It is a Passover sacrifice to the Lord, for He passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He smote the Egyptians, and He saved our houses.' " And the people kneeled and prostrated themselves.	27. You will say, It is the sacrifice of mercy before the LORD, who had mercy in His Word upon the houses of the sons of Israel in Mizraim, when He destroyed the Mizraee, and spared our houses. And when the house of Israel heard this word from the mouth of Mosheh, they bowed and worshipped.
28. So the children of Israel went and did; as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.	28. And the sons of Israel went and did as the LORD commanded Mosheh and Aharon, so did they hasten and do.

Reading Assignment:

The Torah Anthology, Volume 5, Redemption Me’am Lo’ez by: Rabbi Yaakov Culi (1689 -1732) Translated by: Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan Moznaim Publishing Corporation (New York, 1979) Exodus (Shemot) pp. 24 - 87

Ramban: Commentary on the Torah Translated and Annotated by Rabbi Dr. Charles Chavel Published by Shilo Publishing House, Inc. (New York, 1975) Exodus (Shemot) pp. 111 - 145

Welcome to the World of P’shat Exegesis

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

The Seven Hermeneutic Laws of R. Hillel are as follows

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Welcome to the World of Remes Exegesis

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

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

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

Rashi’s Commentary for: Shemot (Exodus) 11:1 – 12:28

1 completely-Heb.כָּלָה [Onkelos renders:גְמִירָא . כָּלָה is therefore the equivalent of]כָּלִיל , complete. [I.e.,] He will let all of you out.

2 Please, speak- Heb.דַבֶּר-נָא is only an expression of request. [The verse is saying] I ask you to warn them about this, [i.e., to ask their neighbors for vessels] so that the righteous man, Abraham, will not say He fulfilled with them [His promise] “and they will enslave them and oppress them” (Gen. 15:13), but He did not fulfill with them “afterwards they will go forth with great possessions” (Gen. 15:14).-[from Ber. 9a]

4 Moses said, So said the Lord-When he stood before Pharaoh, this prophecy was said to him, for after he [Moses] left his [Pharaoh’s] presence, he did not see his face [again].-[from Exod. Rabbah 18:1, Mishnath Rabbi Eliezer ch. 19]

At the dividing point of the night-Heb.כַּחֲצֽת הַלַיְלָה , when the night is divided. כַּחֲצֽת is like “when the meal offering was offered up (כַּעֲלוֹת) ” (II Kings 3:20); [and like] “when their anger was kindled (בַּחֲרוֹת) against us” (Ps. 124:3). This is its simple meaning, which fits its context that חֲצֽת is not a noun denoting a half. Our Rabbis, however, interpreted it likeכַּחֲצִי הַלַיְלָה , at about midnight [lit., half the night], and they said that Moses saidכַּחֲצֽת , about midnight, meaning near it [midnight], either before it or after it, but he did not say בַּחֲצֽת , at midnight, lest Pharaoh’s astrologers err and [then] say, “Moses is a liar,” but the Holy One, blessed be He, Who knows His times and His seconds, בַּחֲצוֹת , at midnight.-[from Ber. 3b]

5 to the firstborn of the captive-Why were the captives smitten? So that they would not say, “Our deity has demanded [vengeance] for their [our] degradation, and brought retribution upon Egypt.”-[from Mechilta, Bo, on Exod. 12: 29]

from the firstborn of Pharaoh… to the firstborn of the slave woman-All those inferior to the Pharaoh’s firstborn and superior to the slave woman’s firstborn were included. Why were the sons of the slave women smitten? Because they too were enslaving them [the Israelites] and were happy about their misfortune. -[from Pesikta Rabbathi, ch. 17]

and every firstborn animal-Because they [the Egyptians] worshipped it, and when the Holy One, blessed be He, punishes any nation, He punishes its deity. -[from Mechilta, Bo, on Exod. 12:29]

7 not one dog will whet its tongue- Heb. יֶחֱרַץ . I say that יֶחֱרַץ means sharpening לֹא יֶחֱרַץ , will not sharpen. Similarly, [in the phrase] “none whetted (חָרַץ) his tongue against any of the children of Israel” (Josh. 10:21), [ לֹא יֶחֱרַץ means] he did not sharpen; [in the phrase] “then you shall bestir (תֶּחֱרָץ) ” (II Sam. 5:24), [תֶּחֶרָץ means] you shall sharpen; [in the phrase] “a… grooved threshing sledge (חָרוּץ) ” (Isa. 41:15), [ חָרוּץ means] sharp; [in the phrase] “The plans of a diligent man (חַרוּץ) ” (Prov. 21:5), חָרוּץ [ means] a sharp-witted person; [in the phrase] “and the hand of the sharp-witted (חָרוּצִים) will make them rich” (Prov. 10:4), (חָרוּצִים) means sharp ones, shrewd merchants.

will separate-Heb. יַפְלֶה , will divide.-[from Onkelos, Jonathan] See the commentary on Exod. 8:18.

8 And all these servants of yours will come down-[By using this phrase,] he [Moses] showed respect for the throne, because eventually Pharaoh himself went down to him at night and said, “Get up and get out from among my people” (Exod. 12:31), although Moses had not originally said, “You will come down to me and prostrate yourself to me.”-[from Exod. Rabbah 7:3; Mechilta, Bo 13]

who are at your feet-Who follow your advice and your way.

and afterwards I will go out-with all the people from your land.

he exited from Pharaoh-After he had completed his words, he went out from before him.

with burning anger because he [Pharaoh] had said to him, “You shall no longer see my face” (Exod. 10:28)

9 in order to increase My miracles in the land of Egypt- (“My miracles” denotes two; “to increase” denotes three.) They are the plague of the firstborn, the splitting of the Red Sea, and the stirring of the Egyptians [into the sea].

10 Moses and Aaron had performed, etc.-It has already been written for us in reference to all the miracles, and it [Scripture] did not repeat it here except to juxtapose it to the following section [i.e., Exod. 12]. See Rashi’s commentary on the following verse.

Chapter 12

1 The Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron-Since Aaron had worked and toiled with miracles just like Moses, He accorded him this honor at the first commandment by including him with Moses in [His] speech.-[from Tanchuma Buber, Bo 8; Mechilta] In early editions of Rashi, this paragraph is part of the above paragraph, the comment on 11:10. Indeed, that is how it appears in Tanchuma Buber.

in the land of Egypt-[I.e.,] outside the city. Or perhaps it means only within the city? Therefore, Scripture states: “When I leave the city, [I will spread my hands to the Lord]” (Exod. 9:29). Now, if [even a] prayer, which is of minor importance, he [Moses] did not pray within the city, a divine communication, which is of major importance, how much more so [would God not deliver it to Moses within the city]? Indeed, why did He not speak with him within the city? Because it was full of idols.-[from Mechilta]

2 This month-Heb.הַחֽדֶשׁ הַזֶה , lit., this renewal. He [God] showed him [Moses] the moon in its renewal and said to him, “When the moon renews itself, you will have a new month” (Mechilta). Nevertheless, [despite this rendering,] a biblical verse does not lose its simple meaning (Shab. 63a). Concerning the month of Nissan, He said to him, “This shall be the first of the order of the number of the months, so Iyar shall be called the second [month], and Sivan the third [month].”

This-Moses found difficulty [determining] the [precise moment of the] renewal of the moon, in what size it should appear before it is fit for sanctification. So He showed him with His finger the moon in the sky and said to him, “You must see a moon like this and sanctify [the month].” Now how did He show it to him? Did He not speak to him only by day, as it says: “Now it came to pass on the day that the Lord spoke” (Exod. 6:28); “on the day He commanded” (Lev. 7:38); “from the day that the Lord commanded and on” (Num. 15:23)? Rather, just before sunset, this chapter was said to him, and He showed him [the moon] when it became dark.-[from Mechilta]

3 Speak to the entire community-Heb.דַּבְּרוּ , [the plural form]. Now did Aaron speak? Was it not already stated [to Moses]: “You shall speak” (Exod. 7:2) “and you speak to the children of Israel, saying” (Exod. 31:13)]? But they [Moses and Aaron] would show respect to each other and say to each other, “Teach me [what to say],” and the speech would emanate from between them [and it would sound] as if they both were speaking.-[from Mechilta]

to the entire community of Israel, saying, “On the tenth of… month”- Speak today on Rosh Chodesh [the New Moon] that they should take it [the lamb] on the tenth of the month.-[From Mechilta]

this-The Passover sacrifice of Egypt had to be taken on the tenth, but not the Passover sacrifice of later generations. - [from Mechilta, Pes. 96a]

a lamb for each parental home- [I.e., a lamb] for one family. If [the family members] were numerous, I would think that one lamb would suffice for all of them. Therefore, the Torah says: “a lamb for a household.”-[from Mechilta]

4 But if the household is too small for a lamb-And if they are too few to have one lamb, for they cannot eat it [all], and it will become left over (see verse 10), “then he and his neighbor… shall take.” This is the apparent meaning according to its simple interpretation. There is, however, also a midrashic interpretation, [namely that this verse comes] to teach us that after they were counted on it, [i.e., after they registered for a certain lamb,] they may diminish their number and withdraw from it and be counted on another lamb. If, however, they wish to withdraw and diminish their number, [they must do it]מִהְיוֹתמִשֶׂה [lit., from the being of the lamb]. They must diminish their number while the lamb still exists, while it is still alive, and not after it has been slaughtered. -[from Mechilta, Pes. 98a]

according to the number of-Heb.בְּמִכְסַת , amount, and so “the amount of (מִכְסַת) your valuation: (Lev. 27:23).

according to one’s ability to eat-[This indicates that only] one who is fit to eat-which excludes the sick and aged-who cannot eat an olive-sized portion [can be counted among the group for whom the sacrifice is killed].-[from Mechilta]

shall you be counted-Heb. תָּכֽסוּ [Onkelos renders:] תִּתְמְנוּן , you shall be counted.

5 perfect without a blemish. -[from Mechilta]

in its [first] year-Heb. בֶּן-שָׁנָה For its entire first year it is called בֶּן-שָׁנָה , meaning that it was born during this year.-[from Mechilta]

either from the sheep or from the goats-Either from this [species] or from that [species], for a goat is also called שֶׂה , as it is written: “and a kid (שֵֶׂה עִזִים) ” (Deuteronomy . 14:4).-[from Mechilta]

6 And you shall keep it for inspection-Heb. לְמִשְׁמֶרֶת . This is an expression of inspection, that it [the animal] requires an inspection for a blemish four days before its slaughter. Now why was it [the designated animal] to be taken four days before its slaughter, something not required in the Passover sacrifice of later generations? Rabbi Mathia the son of Charash used to say [in response]: Behold He [God] says: “And I passed by you and saw you, and behold your time was the time of love” (Ezek. 16:8). The [time for the fulfillment of the] oath that I swore to Abraham that I would redeem his children has arrived. But they [the Children of Israel] had no commandments in their hands with which to occupy themselves in order that they be redeemed, as it is said: “but you were naked and bare” (Ezek. 16:7). So, He gave them two mitzvoth, the blood of the Passover and the blood of the circumcision. They circumcised themselves on that night, as it is said: “downtrodden with your blood (בְּדָמָיִךְ) ” (ibid., verse 6), with the two [types of] blood. He [God] states also: “You, too—with the blood of your covenant I have freed your prisoners from a pit in which there was no water” (Zech. 9:11). Moreover, they [the Israelites] were passionately fond of idolatry. [Moses] said to them, “Withdraw and take for yourselves” (Exod. 12:21). [He meant:] withdraw from idolatry and take for yourselves sheep for the mitzvah. -[from Mechilta, here and on verse 21] Note that on verse 21, Rashi explains that differently.

shall slaughter it-Now do they all slaughter [it]? Rather, from here we can deduce that a person’s agent is like himself.-[from Mechilta, Kid. 41b] [Therefore, it is considered as if all the Israelites slaughtered the sacrifice.]

the entire congregation of the community of Israel- [This means] the congregation, the community, and Israel. From here, they [the Rabbis] said: The communal Passover sacrifices are slaughtered in three [distinct] groups, one after the other. [Once] the first group entered, the doors of the Temple court were locked [until the group finished; they were followed by the second group, etc.,] as is stated in Pesachim (64b).

in the afternoon-Heb.בֵּין הָעַרְבָּיִם From six hours [after sunrise] and onward is called בֵּין הָעַרְבַּיִם , literally, between the two evenings, for the sun is inclined toward the place where it sets to become darkened. It seems to me that the expressionבֵּין הָעַרְבַּיִם denotes those hours between the darkening of the day and the darkening of the night. The darkening of the day is at the beginning of the seventh hour, when the shadows of evening decline, and the darkening of the night at the beginning of the night.עֶרֶב is an expression of evening and darkness, like “all joy is darkened (וְעָרְבָה) ” (Isa. 24:11).-[from Mechilta] 7

And they shall take [some] of the blood-This is the receiving of the blood [from the animal’s neck immediately after the slaughtering]. I would think that it was to be received in the hand. Therefore, Scripture says: “that is in the basin” (below, verse 22), [specifying that the blood is to be received in a vessel].-[from Mechilta]

the… door posts-They are the upright posts, one from this side of the entrance and one from that side.-[from Kid. 22b]

the lintel-Heb.הַמַשְׁקוֹף . That is the upper [beam], against which the door strikes (שׁוֹקֵף) when it is being closed, lintel in Old French. The termשְׁקִיפָה means striking, like [in the phrase] “the sound of a rattling leaf” (Lev. 26:36), [which Onkelos renders:]טַרְפָּא דְּֽשָקִיף , “bruise” (Exod. 21:25), [which Onkelos renders:] מַשְׁקוֹפֵי .-[based on Jonathan]

on the houses in which they will eat it-But not on the lintel and the doorposts of a house [used] for [storing] straw or a house [used] for cattle, in which nobody lives.-[based on Mechilta]

8 the flesh-but not sinews or bones.-[from Mechilta]

and unleavened cakes; with bitter herbs-Every bitter herb is calledמָרוֹר , and He commanded them to eat bitters in commemoration of “And they embittered their lives” (Exod. 1:14).-[from Pes. 39a, 116b]

9 You shall not eat it rare-Heb. נָא Something not roasted sufficiently is called נָא in Arabic.

or boiled-All this is included in the prohibition of You shall not eat it.-[from Pes. 41b]

in water How do we know that [it is also prohibited to cook it] in other liquids? Therefore, Scripture states:מְבֻשָׁל וּבָשֵׁל , [meaning boiled] in any manner.-[from Pes. 41a]

except roasted over the fire-Above (verse 8), He decreed upon it [the animal sacrifice] with a positive commandment, and here He added to it a negative [commandment]: “You shall not eat it except roasted over the fire.”-[from Pes. 41b]

its head with its legs-One should roast it completely as one, with its head and with its legs and with its innards, and one must place its intestines inside it after they have been rinsed (Pes. 74a). The expressionעַל כְּרָעָיו וְעַל-קִרְבּוֹ is similar to the expression “with their hosts (עַל-צִבְאֽתָם) ” (Exod. 6:26), [which is] likeבְּצִבְאֽתָם , as they are, this too means [they should roast the animal] as it is, all its flesh complete.

10 and whatever is left over of it until morning- What is the meaning of “until morning” a second time? [This implies] adding one morning to another morning, for morning starts with sunrise, and this verse is here to make it [the prohibition] earlier, [i.e.,] that it is forbidden to eat it [the leftover flesh] from dawn. This is according to its apparent meaning. Another midrashic interpretation is that this teaches that it may not be burnt on Yom Tov but on the next day, and this is how it is to be interpreted: and what is left over from it on the first morning you shall wait until the second morning and burn it.-[from Shab. 24b]

11 your loins girded-Ready for the way [i.e., for travel].-[from Mechilta]

in haste-Heb.בְּחִפָּזוֹן , a term denoting haste and speed, like “and David was hastening (נֶחְפָז) ” (I Sam. 23:26); that the Arameans had cast off in their haste (בְּחָפְזָם) (II Kings 7:15).-[from Onkelos]

it is a Passover sacrifice to the Lord- Heb.פֶּסַח . The sacrifice is called פֶּסַח because of the skipping and the jumping over, which the Holy One, blessed be He, skipped over the Israelites’ houses that were between the Egyptians houses. He jumped from one Egyptian to another Egyptian, and the Israelite in between was saved. [“To the Lord” thus implies] you shall perform all the components of its service in the name of Heaven. (Another explanation:) [You should perform the service] in the manner of skipping and jumping, [i.e., in haste] in commemoration of its name, which is called Passover (פֶּסַח) , and also [in old French] pasche, pasque, pasca, an expression of striding over.-[from Mishnah Pes. 116a,b; Mechilta d’Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai, verse 27; Mechilta on this verse]

12 I will pass-like a king who passes from place to place, and with one passing and in one moment they are all smitten.-[from Mechilta]

every firstborn in the land of Egypt-Even other firstborn who are in Egypt [will die]. Now how do we know that even the firstborn of the Egyptians who are in other places [will die]? Therefore, Scripture states: “To Him Who smote the Egyptians with their firstborn” (Ps. 136:10).-[from Mechilta]

both man and beast [I.e., first man and then beast.] He who started to sin first from him the retribution starts.-[from Mechilta]

and upon all the gods of Egypt- The one made of wood will rot, and the one made of metal will melt and flow to the ground.-[from Mechilta]

will I wreak judgments-I The Lord-I by Myself and not through a messenger.-[from Passover Haggadah]

13 And the blood will be for you for a sign-[The blood will be] for you a sign but not a sign for others. From here, it is derived that they put the blood only on the inside.-[from Mechilta 11]

and I will see the blood-[In fact,] everything is revealed to Him. [Why then does the Torah mention that God will see the blood?] Rather, the Holy One, blessed be He, said, “I will focus My attention to see that you are engaged in My commandments, and I will skip over you.”-[from Mechilta]

and skip over-Heb.וּפָסַחְתִּי [is rendered] and I will have pity, and similar to it: “sparingפָּסוֹחַ and rescuing” (Isa. 31:5). I say, however, that every [expression of]פְּסִיחָה is an expression of skipping and jumping. [Hence,]וּפָסַחְתִּי  [means that] He was skipping from the houses of the Israelites to the houses of the Egyptians, for they were living one in the midst of the other. Similarly, “skipping between (פּֽסְחִים) two ideas” (I Kings 18:21). Similarly, the lame (פִּסְחִים) walk as if jumping. Similarly,פָּסוֹחַ וְהִמְלִיט means: jumping over him and rescuing him from among the slain.-[from Mechilta] Both views are found in Mechilta. The first view is also that of Onkelos.

and there will be no plague to destroy [you]-But there will be [a plague] upon the Egyptians. Let us say that an Egyptian was in an Israelite’s house. I would think that he would escape. Therefore, Scripture states: “and there will be no plague upon you,” but there will be [a plague] upon the Egyptians in your houses. Let us say that an Israelite was in an Egyptian’s house. I would think that he would be smitten like him. Therefore, Scripture states: “and there will be no plague upon you.”-[from Mechilta]

14 as a memorial-for generations.

and you shall celebrate it The day that is a memorial for you—you shall celebrate it. But we have not yet heard which is the day of memorial. Therefore, Scripture states: “Remember this day, when you went out of Egypt” (Exod. 13:3). we learn that the day of the Exodus is the day of memorial. Now on what day did they go out [of Egypt]? Therefore, Scripture states: “On the day after the Passover, they went out” (Num. 33:3). I must therefore say that the fifteenth of Nissan is the day of the festival, because the night of the fifteenth they ate the Passover sacrifice, and in the morning, they went out.

throughout your generations-I understand [this to mean] the smallest number of generations, [namely only] two. Therefore, Scripture states: “you shall celebrate it as an everlasting statute.”-[from Mechilta]

15 For seven days-Heb. שִׁבְעַת יָמִים , seteyne of days, i.e., a group of seven days. [See Rashi on Exod. 10:22.]

For seven days you shall eat unleavened cakes- But elsewhere it says: “For six days you shall eat unleavened cakes” (Deuteronomy . 16:8). This teaches [us] regarding the seventh day of Passover, that it is not obligatory to eat matzah, as long as one does not eat chametz. How do we know that [the first] six [days] are also optional [concerning eating matzah]? This is a principle in [interpreting] the Torah: Anything that was included in a generalization [in the Torah] and was excluded from that generalization [in the Torah] to teach [something] it was not excluded to teach [only] about itself, but it was excluded to teach about the entire generalization. [In this case it means that] just as [on] the seventh day [eating matzah] is optional, so is it optional in [the first] six [days]. I might think that [on] the first night it is also optional. Therefore, Scripture states: “in the evening, you shall eat unleavened cakes” (Exod. 12:18). The text established it as an obligation. -[from Mechilta]

but on the preceding day you shall clear away all leaven-Heb.בַּיוֹם הָרִאשׁוֹן . On the day before the holiday, it is called the first [day], because it is before the seven; [i.e., it is not the first of the seven days]. Indeed, we find [anything that is] the preceding one [is] called רִאשׁוֹן , e.g.,הֲרִאשׁוֹן אָדָם תִּוָלֵד , “Were you born before Adam?” (Job 15:7). Or perhaps it means only the first of the seven [days of Passover]. Therefore, Scripture states: “You shall not slaughter with leaven [the blood of My sacrifice]” (Exod. 34:25). You shall not slaughter the Passover sacrifice as long as the leaven still exists.-[from Mechilta, Pes. 5a] [Since the Passover sacrifice may be slaughtered immediately after noon on the fourteenth day of Nissan, clearly the leaven must be removed before that time. Hence the expressionבַּיוֹם הָרִאשׁוֹן must refer to the day preceding the festival.]

that soul When he [(the person) eats the leaven while he] is with his soul and his knowledge; this excludes one who commits the sin under coercion.-[from Mechilta, Kid. 43a]

from Israel I [could] understand that it [the soul] will be cut off from Israel and will [be able to] go to another people. Therefore, [to avoid this error] Scripture states elsewhere: “from before Me” (Lev. 22:3), meaning: from every place which is My domain.-[from Mechilta]

16 a holy convocation-Heb.מִקְרָא .מִקְרָא קֽדֶשׁ  is a noun. Call it [the day] holy with regard to eating, drinking, and clothing.-[from Mechilta]

no work may be performed on them-even through others.-[from Mechilta]

that alone [I.e., the necessary work for food preparation.] (I would think that even for gentiles [it is allowed]. Therefore, Scripture states: “that alone may be performed for you,” for you but not for gentiles.) That [the work needed for food] but not its preparations that can be done on the eve of the festival [e.g., repairing a spit for roasting, or a stove for cooking].-[from Beitzah 28b]

by any soul- Even for animals. I would think that even for gentiles. Therefore, Scripture states: “for you.”-[from Beitzah 21b, Mechilta] Another version: Therefore, Scripture states: “but,” which makes a distinction.-[from Mechilta].

17 And you shall watch over the unleavened cakes-that they should not become leavened. From here they [the Rabbis] derived that if [the dough] started to swell, she [the woman rolling it out] must moisten it with cold water. Rabbi Josiah says: Do not read: אֶת-הַמַצּוֹת , the unleavened cakes,אֶת-הַמִצְוֹת , the commandments. Just as we may not permit the matzoth to become leavened, so may we not permit the commandments to become leavened [i.e., to wait too long before we perform them], but if it [a commandment] comes into your hand, perform it immediately.-[from Mechilta]

and you shall observe this day-from [performing] work.

throughout your generations, [as] an everlasting statute-Since “generations” and “an everlasting statute” were not stated regarding the [prohibition of doing] work, but only regarding the celebration [sacrifice], the text repeats it here, so that you will not say that the warning of: “no work may be performed” was not said for [later] generations, but only for that generation [of the Exodus].

18 until the twenty-first day-Why was this stated? Was it not already stated: “Seven days”? Since it says “days,” how do we know “nights” [are included in the mitzvah or commandment]? Therefore, Scripture states: “until the twenty-first day, etc.”-[from Mechilta] 19 shall not be found in your houses-How do we know [that the same ruling applies] to [leavening found within] the borders [outside the house]? Therefore, Scripture states: “throughout all of your borders” (Exod. 13:7). Why, then, did Scripture state: “in your houses”? [To teach us that] just as your house is in your domain, so [the prohibition against possessing leaven in] your borders [means only what is] in your domain. This excludes leaven belonging to a gentile which is in a Jew’s possession, and for which he [the Jew] did not accept responsibility.-[from Mechilta]

for whoever eats leavening-[This passage comes] to punish with “kareth” [premature death by the hands of Heaven] for [eating] leavening. But did He not already [give the] punishment for eating leaven? But [this verse is necessary] so that you should not say that [only] for [eating] leaven, which is edible, did He punish, but for [eating] leavening, which is not edible, He would not punish. [On the other hand,] if He punished [also] for [eating] leavening and did not [state that] He punished for [eating] leaven, I would say that [only] for [eating] leavening, which causes others to become leavened did He punish, [but] for [eating] leaven, which does not leaven others, He would not punish. Therefore, both of them had to be stated.-[from Mechilta, Beitzah 7b]

both among the strangers and the native born of the land-Since the miracle [of the Exodus] was performed for Israel, it was necessary to [explicitly] include the strangers [who were proselytized but are not descended from Israelite stock].-[from Mechilta]

20 You shall not eat… leavening [This is] a warning against eating leavening.

any leavening-This comes to include its mixture [namely that one may not eat a mixture of chametz and other foods].-[from Mechilta]

throughout all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened cakes-This comes to teach that it [the matzah] must be fit to be eaten in all your dwelling places. This excludes the second tithe and the matzah loaves that accompany a thanksgiving offering, [which are not fit to be eaten in all dwelling places, but only in Jerusalem]. [This insert may be Rashi’s or the work of an earlier printer or copyist.]-[from Mechilta]

21 Draw forth Whoever has sheep shall draw from his own.

or buy Whoever has none shall buy from the market.-[from Mechilta]

for your families-A lamb for a parental house.-[from Mechilta 3]

22 hyssop-Heb.אֵזוֹב . A species of herb that has thin stalks.

a bunch of hyssop Three stalks are called a bunch.-[Sukkah 13a]

that is in the basin-Heb.בַּסַּף , in the vessel, like “silver pitchers (סִפּוֹת) ” (II Kings 12:14). [from Mechilta]

the blood that is in the basin-Why does the text repeat this? So that you should not say that [Scripture means] one immersion for [all] the three sprinklings. Therefore, it says again: “that is in the basin,” [to indicate] that every sprinkling shall be from the blood that is in the basin-for each touching an immersion [is necessary].-[from Mechilta]

and you shall not go out, etc.- This tells [us] that once the destroyer is given permission to destroy, he does not discriminate between righteous and wicked. And night is the time that destroyers are given permission, as it is said: “in which every beast of the forest moves about” (Ps. 104:20).-[from Mechilta]

23 will pass over Heb. וּפָסַח , and He will have pity. This may also be rendered: and He will skip over. See Rashi on verses 11 and 13.

and He will not permit the destroyer Heb.וְלֹא יִתֵּן , lit., and will not give. [I.e.,] He will not grant him the ability to enter, as in “but God did not permit him (נְתָנוֹ) to harm me” (Gen. 31:7).

25 And it shall come to pass when you enter-Scripture makes this commandment contingent upon their entry into the land, but in the desert, they were obligated only to bring one Passover sacrifice, the one they performed in the second year, [which they did] by divine mandate.-[from Mechilta]

as He spoke-Now where did He speak? “And I will bring you to the land, etc.” (Exod. 6:8).-[from Mechilta]

27 And the people kneeled and prostrated themselves-[in thanksgiving] for the tidings of the redemption, the entry into the land [of Israel], and the tidings of the children that they would have.-[from Mechilta]

28 So the children of Israel went and did-Now did they already do [it]? Wasn’t this said to them on Rosh Chodesh? But since they accepted upon themselves [to do it], Scripture credits them for it as if they had [already] done [it].-[from Mechilta]

went and did- Scripture counts also the going, to give reward for the going and reward for the deed.-[from Mechilta]

as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron- [This comes] to tell Israel’s praise, that they did not omit anything of all the commandments of Moses and Aaron. And what is the meaning of “so they did”? Moses and Aaron also did so.-[from Mechilta]

Midrash Pesiqta deRab Kahana - Midrashic sermons for Shabbat HaChodesh

Pisqa Five

[The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,] “This month [will be for you the beginning of months; it will be the first month of the year for you]” (Ex. 12:1-2).

V:I

He appointed the moon for [lunar] seasons, yet the sun knows it’s coming (Ps. 104:19): Said R. Yohanan, “Only the orb of the sun was created for the purpose of giving light. “Let there be light” (Gen. 1:14): What is written is light [in the singular]. If so, why was the moon created? It was for the signification of the seasons, specifically so that, through [regular sightings of the moon, Israelites would] sanctify new months and years. R. Shila of Kefar Tamarata in the name of R. Yohanan: “Nonetheless: The sun knows it’s coming (Ps. 104:19). On the basis of that statement, we have the following rule: people count the advent of the new moon only once the sun has set. [Proving the foregoing proposition,] Yusta, an associate, in the name of R. Berekhiah: And they travelled from Raamses in the first month on the fifteenth day of the month (Num. 33:3). Now if one counts only by the month, up to this point there had been only fourteen [Genesis Rabbah 6:1: thirteen] sunsets. [Freedman, Genesis Rabbah, p. 41, n. 4: This is based on the tradition that the Nisan — the first month — in which the Exodus took place fell on a Thursday, while the actual new moon occurred after midday on the preceding Wednesday. It is further assumed that, when this happens, the moon is not visible until the second evening following, i.e., the evening of Friday. Hence if we counted time solely from when the new moon is visible, then by the Thursday on which they left, a fortnight after, there would only have been thirteen sunsets. Since, however, it is called the fifteenth of the month, we see that the month was calculated from the first sunset after the new moon.] One must therefore conclude that one counts the beginning of the month only from sunset.

R. Azariah in the name of R. Hamna: Only the orb of the sun was created for the purpose of giving light. Let there be light (Gen. 1:14): What is written is light [in the singular]. If so, why was the moon created at all? The Holy One, blessed be He, foresaw that the nations of the world were going to make [the heavenly bodies] into gods. Said the Holy One, blessed be He, ‘Now if they are two and contradict one another, and nonetheless, the nations of the world treat them as gods, if they are only one, how much the more so [will the nations of the world find reason to worship the heavenly body]!’ R. Berekhiah in the name of R. Simon: Both of them were created in order to give light, as it is said, And they shall serve for light (Gen.

1:14).

And they shall serve as lights (Gen. 1:15). And God put them in the firmament of the heavens (Gen. 1:17). And they will serve as signs and for seasons (Gen. 1:14). And they will serve as signs (Gen. 1:14) refers to Sabbaths, for it is written, For it is a sign for you (Ex. 31:13). And for seasons refers to the three pilgrim festivals. And for days refers to new months. And years refers to the sanctification of years. Indicating in all that the nations of the world will follow a solar calendar, and Israel, a lunar one: The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, “This month will be for you the beginning of months; it will be the first month of the year for you” (Ex. 12:1-2).

V:II

Great things have you done, 0 Lord my God; your wonderful purposes are all for our good; none can compare with you; I would proclaim them and speak of them, but they are more than I can tell (Prov. 40:5): R. Hinenah bar Papa says two [teachings in respect to the cited verse]: All those wonders and plans which you made so that our father, Abraham, would accept the subjugation of Israel to the nations were for our good, for our sake, so that we might endure in the world. Simeon bar Abba in the name of R. Yohanan: Four things did the Holy One, blessed be He, show to our father, Abraham: the Torah, the sacrifices, Gehenna, and the rule of the kingdoms. The Torah: ... and a flaming torch passed between these pieces (Gen. 15:17). Sacrifices: And he said to him, Take for me a heifer divided into three parts (Gen. 15:9). Gehenna: behold a smoking fire pot. The rule of the kingdoms: Lo, dread, a great darkness (Gen. 15:12). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to our father, Abraham, ‘So long as your descendants are occupied with the former two, they will be saved from the latter two. If they abandon the former two of them, they will be judged by the other two. So long as they are occupied with study of the Torah and performance of the sacrifices, they will be saved from Gehenna and from the rule of the kingdoms.’ But [God says to Abraham] in the future the house of the sanctuary is destined to be destroyed and the sacrifices nullified. What is your preference? Do you want your children to go down into Gehenna or to be subjugated to the four kingdoms? R. Hinena bar Pappa said, “Abraham himself chose the subjugation to the four kingdoms. What is the scriptural basis for that view? How should one chase a thousand and two put ten thousand to flight, except their rock had given them over (Deuteronomy . 32:30). That statement concerning the rock refers only to Abraham, as it is said, Look at the rock from which you were hewn (Is. 51:1). But the Lord delivered them up (Deuteronomy . 32:30) teaches that God then approved what he had chosen.

R. Berekhiah in the name of R. Levi: “Now Abraham sat and puzzled all that day, saying, ‘Which should I choose, Gehenna or subjugation to the kingdoms? The one is worse than the other?’ Said the Holy One, blessed be He, to him, ‘Abraham, how long are you going to sit in puzzlement? Choose without delay.’ That is in line with this verse: On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram saying (Gen. 15:18). What is the meaning of, saying? R. Hinena bar Pappa said, Abraham chose for himself the subjugation to the four kingdoms. We have reached the dispute of R. Yudan and R. Idi and R. Hama bar Haninah said in the name of a single sage in the name of Rabbi: The Holy One, blessed be He, [not Abraham] chose the subjugation to the four kingdoms for him, in line with the following verse of Scripture: You have caused men to ride over our heads (Ps. 66:12). That is to say, You have made ride over our heads various nations, and it is as though we went through fire and through water (Ps. 66:21).

R. Hinenah bar Papa said a further teaching. R. Hinenah bar Papa says: All those wonders and plans which You made were so that a man might desire his wife. What is the Scripture basis for that view? And Adam knew his wife again (Gen. 4:25). What is the meaning of again? The lust for sexual relations that he had was augmented [so explaining the meaning of the word again]. In the past, if he did not see her, he did not lust after her. Now, whether or not he saw her, he desired her. R. Abba bar Yudan in the name of R. Aha: This is an indication for commercial travellers and for sailors to remember their wives and come home as quickly as they can.

R. Simon said, All those wonders and plans which you made were so that the Gentiles of the world would not accept your Torah. Now was it not perfectly obvious to You that the Gentiles of the world were not going to accept Your Torah? Why did it appear as though He were making the circuit of the Gentiles? It was so as to double the reward that was/is coming to us.

For R. Simeon said, ...Your wonderful purposes are all for our good: for all those two thousand four hundred forty-eight years before the Israelites had gone forth from Egypt, the Holy One, blessed be He, was sitting and making calculations, intercalating the years, sanctifying the years, celebrating the new months. When the Israelites went forth from Egypt, he handed the task over to them. That is in line with this verse of Scripture: The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, [‘This month will be for you the beginning of months; it will be the first month of the year for you”] (Ex. 12:1-2). What is the meaning of saying? He said to them, From now on, lo, these are given over to you: this month will be for you the beginning of months; it will be the first month of the year for you.

V:III

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, [but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life. He who despises the word brings destruction on himself, but he who respects the commandments will be rewarded. The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, that one may avoid the snares of death] (Prov. 13:12-14): R. Hiyya bar Ba opened discourse by citing the verse: Hope deferred makes the heart sick — this refers to one who betroths a woman and takes her as his wife only after delay. ...but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life — this refers to one who betroths a woman and takes her as his wife right away.

Another interpretation: Hope deferred makes the heart sick — this refers to David, who was anointed and then ruled only after two years had passed. ... but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life — this refers to Saul, who was anointed and then ruled right away. On account of what merit [did Saul have that good fortune]? On account of the merit accruing for the good deeds which were to his credit, for he was humble and modest. For he ate his ordinary food [not deriving from his share of an animal sacrificed in the Temple, for example] in a state of cultic cleanness [as if he were eating holy food deriving from his share of an offering made in the Temple]. And, further, he would spend his own funds so as to protect the funds of Israel. And he treated as equal the honor owing to his servant with the honor owing to himself. Judah bar Nahman in the name of R. Simeon b. Laqish: For he was one who was subject to study of the Torah: By me [the Torah speaks] princes rule (Prov. 18:16). By me kings rule [and Saul ruled through his study of the Torah] (Prov. 8:15).

R. Ishmael taught on Tannaite authority, Before a man has sinned, people pay him reverence and awe. Once he has sinned, they impose on him reverence and awe. Thus, before the first man had sinned, he would hear [God’s] voice in a workaday way. After he had sinned, he heard the same voice as something strange. Before he had sinned, the first man heard God’s voice and would stand on his feet: And they heard the sound of God walking in the garden in the heat of the day (Gen. 3:8). After he had sinned, he heard the voice of God and hid: And man, and his wife hid (Gen. 3:8). Said R. Aibu, At that moment the height of the first Man was cut down and he became a hundred cubits high. [Ishmael continues:] Before the Israelites sinned, what is written in their regard? And the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain before the eyes of the children of Israel (Ex. 24:17). Said R. Abba bar Kahana, “There were seven veils of fire, one covering the next, and the Israelites gazed and did not fear or take fright. But when they had sinned, even on the face of the intercessor [Moses] they could not look: And Aaron and all the children of Israel feared...to come near (Ex. 34:40).

R. Phineas bar Abun in the name of R. Hanin: Also, the intercessor felt the sin: Kings of hosts do flee, do flee (Ps. 68:13).” [This is now explained.] R. Yudan in the name of R. Aibu says, ‘Angels of hosts’ is not what is written here, but what is written is Kings of hosts, the kings of the angels, even Michael, even Gabriel, were not able to look upon the face of Moses. But after the Israelites had sinned, even on the faces of lesser angels Moses could not gaze: For I was in dread of anger and hot wrath (Deuteronomy . 9:19).

Before the deed of David [with Bath Sheba] took place, what is written? For David: The Lord is my light and my salvation, of whom shall I be afraid? (Ps. 27:1). But after that deed took place, what is written? I will come upon him while he is weary and weak handed (2 Sam. 17:2).

Before Solomon sinned, he could rule over demons and demonesses: I got for myself...Adam’s progeny, demons and demonesses (Eccl. 2:8). What is the sense of demons and demonesses? For he ruled over demons and demonesses. But after he had sinned, he brought sixty mighty men to guard his bed: Lo, the bed of Solomon, with sixty mighty men around it, all of them holding a sword and veterans of war (Song 3:7-8).

Before Saul had sinned, what is written concerning him? And when Saul had taken dominion over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, against the Ammonites, against Edom, against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines; wherever he turned he put them to the worse (1 Sam. 14:47). After he had sinned what is written concerning him? And Saul saw the camp of the Philistines and was afraid (1 Sam. 28:5).

Another interpretation of the verse Hope deferred makes the heart sick: Said R. Hiyya bar Abba, This refers to the Israelites before they were redeemed. You find that when Moses came to the Israelites and said to them, ‘The Holy One, blessed be He, has said to me, Go, say to Israel, I have surely remembered you,’ (Ex. 3:16), they said to him, ‘Moses, our lord, it is still a mere remembering! What is my strength, that I should wait? And what is my end, that I should be patient? Is my strength the strength of stones, or is my flesh bronze? [In truth I have no help in me. and any resources is driven from me] (Job 6:11-13). Is our strength the strength of stones? is our flesh made of bronze? But when he said to him, ‘This month you will be redeemed,’ they said, ‘That is a good sign.’ ...but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life: This month will be for you the beginning of months; it will be the first month of the year for you (Ex. 12:1-2).

V:IV

Judah bar Nahman in the name of R. Simeon b. Laqish opened discourse by citing the following verse of Scripture: Oh, send out your light and your truth; let them lead me, let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling. [Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy; and I will praise you with the lyre, 0 God, my God] (Ps. 43:3-4). ...send out your light refers to Moses: And Moses did not know that his face was glistening with beams of light (Ex. 34:29). ... and your truth refers to Aaron, The Torah of truth was in his mouth (Malachi 2:7). Your truth and light be with your holy one (Deuteronomy . 33:8). And there are those who reverse matters: ...send out your light refers to Aaron: Your truth and light be with your holy one (Deuteronomy . 33:8). ...and your truth refers to Moses, Not so is my servant Moses, in all my household the most trustworthy (Num. 12:7).

Said R. Isaac, Even at the sea Moses foresaw that he was not going to enter the Land of Israel: She keeps her eye on the doings of her household (Prov. 31:27). What is written in the pertinent passage is not, ‘you will bring it and plant it,’ but rather, You brought them in and planted them (Ex. 15:17). Yet it is written: ...let them lead me, let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling. This refers to the scribes of the Land of Israel, who are as holy as the Land of Israel itself.

Another comment on the verse: Oh, send out your light and your truth; [let them lead me, let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling. Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy; and I will praise you with the lyre, 0 God, my God] (Ps. 43:3-4). ...send out your light refers to Moses and Aaron, through whom the Holy One, blessed be He, sent light to Israel to redeem them from Israel. When did this take place? In this month: This month for you is the first of the months (Ex. 12:2).

V:V

R. Levi opened discourse by citing the following verse: And you will be holy to me [because I the Lord am holy. I have made a clear separation between you and the heathen, that you may belong to me] (Lev. 20:26). R. Yudan in the name of R. Hama bar Hanina, R. Berekhiah in the name of R. Abbahu: Had it been stated, ‘And I will separate the nations of the world from you,’ the nations of the world would have had no standing. But what it says is, I have made a clear separation between you and the heathen. It is like someone who sorts out the good grain from the bad, choosing and coming back and choosing again. If he chooses the bad from the good, he makes a choice and does not go back and make a further selection.

Said R. Levi, In all their deeds the Israelites are different from the nations of the world, in their manner of ploughing, sowing, reaping, making sheaves, threshing, working at the threshing floor and at the wine press, counting and reckoning the calendar: As to ploughing: You will not plough with an ox and ass together (Deuteronomy . 22:10). ...sowing: You will now sow your vineyard with mixed seeds (Lev. 22:9). ...reaping: You will not gather the gleaning of your harvest (Lev. 19:9). ...making sheaves: And the forgotten sheaf in the field you will not recover (Deuteronomy . 24:12). ...threshing: You will not muzzle an ox in its threshing (Deuteronomy . 25:4). ...working at the threshing floor and at the wine press: You will provide liberally (for the Hebrew servant) out of your threshing floor and wine press (Deuteronomy . 15:14). ...counting and reckoning the calendar: The nations of the world reckon by the sun, and Israel by the moon: This month will be for you the first of the months (Ex. 12:2).

V:VI

I sleep but my heart is awake. Listen! My beloved is knocking: “Open to me, my sister, my dearest, my dove, my perfect one, for my head is drenched with dew, my locks with the moisture of the night” (Song 5:2): Said the community of Israel before the Holy One, blessed be He, ‘While I am asleep at the house of the sanctuary [because it is destroyed], my heart is awake in the houses of assembly and study. I am asleep as to the offerings, but my heart is awake as to the religious duties and acts of righteousness/generosity. I am asleep as to religious duties, but my heart is nonetheless awake to carry them out. I am asleep as to the end, but my heart is awake as to redemption. I am asleep as to redemption, but the heart of the Holy One, blessed be He, is awake to redeem us.’

Said R. Hiyya bar Abba, How do we know that the Holy One is called ‘the heart of Israel’? On the basis of this verse: Rock of my heart and my portion is God forever (Ps. 73:26).

...My beloved is knocking refers to Moses: And Moses said, Thus said the Lord, At about midnight I will go out in the midst of Egypt (Ex. 11:4). Open to me; said R. Yose, Said the Holy One, blessed be He, ‘Open to me [a hole] as small as the eye of a needle, and I will open to you a gate so large that troops and siege-engines can go through it.’ ...my sister: [God speaks:] My sister — in Egypt, for they became my kin through two religious duties, the blood of the Passover-offering and the blood of circumcision. my dearest — at the sea, for they showed their love for Me at the sea, And they said, the Lord will reign forever and ever (Ex. 15:19). my dove — my dove at Marah, where through receiving commandments they become distinguished for Me like a dove. ...my perfect one — My perfect one at Sinai, for they became pure at Sinai: And they said, all that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we shall hear (Ex. 24:7).

R. Yannai said, My twin, for I am not greater than they, nor they than I. R. Joshua of Sikhnin said in the name of R. Levi, Just as in the case of twins, if one of them gets a headache, the other one feels it, so said the Holy One, blessed be He, I am with him in trouble (Ps. 91:15). ...for my head is drenched with dew. The heavens dropped dew (Judges 5:4). ...my locks with the moisture of the night: Yes, the clouds dropped water (Judges 5:4). When is this the case? In this month: This month is for you the first of the months (Ex. 12:2).

V:VII

.

Hark! My beloved! Here he comes, bounding over the mountains, leaping over the hills. [My beloved is like a gazelle, or a young wild goat: there he stands outside our wall, peeking in at the windows, glancing through the lattice. My beloved answered, he said to me, Rise up, my darling; my fairest, come away. For now, the winter is past, the rains are over and gone; the flowers appear in the countryside; the time is coming when the birds will sing, and the turtle-dove’s cooing will be heard in our land; when the green figs will ripen on the fig-trees and the vines give forth their fragrance. Rise up my darling, my fairest, come away] (Song 2:8-10): R. Judah, R. Nehemiah, and rabbis: R. Judah says, Hark! My beloved! Here he comes refers to Moses. When Moses came and said to Israel, ‘In this month you will be redeemed,’ they said to him, ‘Moses, our lord, how are we going to be redeemed? Did not the Holy One, blessed be He, say to our father, Abraham, your descendants will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and they will be slaves there, and they will be oppressed for four hundred years (Gen. 15:13)? And is it not the case that we have to our account only two hundred and ten years [of slavery in Egypt]?’ He said to them, ‘Since He wants to redeem you, He does not pay attention to your accounts. But bounding over the mountains, leaping over the hills means that he is skipping over foreordained calculations of the end and over all reckonings and times. In this month you will be redeemed: This month is for you the beginning of months (Ex. 12:2).

R. Nehemiah says, Hark! My beloved! Here he comes refers to Moses. When Moses came and said to Israel, ‘In this month you will be redeemed,’ they said to him, ‘Moses, our lord, how are we going to be redeemed? And the land of Egypt is filled with the filth of idolatry that belongs to us.’ He said to them, ‘Since He wants to redeem you, He does not pay attention to your idolatry. But He goes bounding over the mountains, leaping over the hills, and hills refers to idolatry, in line with this verse: On the tops of mountains, they make sacrifices and in hills they offer incense (Hos. 4:12).

Rabbis say, Hark! My beloved! Here he comes refers to Moses. When Moses came and said to Israel, ‘In this month you will be redeemed,’ they said to him, ‘Moses, our lord, how are we going to be redeemed? And we have no good deeds to our credit.’ He said to them, ‘Since He wants to redeem you, He does not pay attention to your wicked/lawless deeds. But to whom does He pay attention? To the righteous/generous who are among you, for example, Amram and his court. For hills and mountains refers only to courts, in line with this verse: That I may go and seek out upon the mountains (Judges 11:37).

Said R. Yudan, As to slavery and sojourning in a land that is not theirs, ...that your descendants will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and they will be slaves there, and they will be oppressed for four hundred years, including even the years that they were at ease [cf. Braude and Kapstein, p. 101].

R. Yudan in the name of R. Eliezer son of R. Yose the Galilean, R. Hunah in the name of R. Eliezer b. Jacob: Hark! My beloved! Here he comes refers to the messiah-king. When he came and said to Israel, ‘In this month you will be redeemed,’ they said to him, ‘Messiah-king, our lord, how are we going to be redeemed? Did not the Holy One, blessed be He, say that He would make us slaves among the seventy nations?’ And he answered them with two replies, saying to them, ‘If one of you has gone into exile to Barbaria and one to Sarmatia, it is as if all of you had gone into exile. Furthermore, this wicked/lawless government drafts soldiers from each nation. If one Samaritan comes and is drafted, it is as if the whole of his nation has been subjugated. If one Ethiopian comes and is drafted, it is as if the whole of his nation has been subjugated. In this month you will be redeemed,’ This month is for you the beginning of months (Ex. 12:2).”

V:VIII

My beloved is like a gazelle, or a young wild goat: [there he stands outside our wall, peeking in at the windows, glancing through the lattice. My beloved answered, he said to me, Rise up, my darling; my fairest, come away] (Song 2:8-10): My beloved is like a gazelle: said R. Isaac, You say to us, ‘Come hither. Come hither to us, for you come to us first.’ [Braude and Kapstein, p. 10]: The word for beloved, when separated into two parts, makes two Greek words, standing for come hither and God, so in the first part, ‘You O God say to us, Come hither,’ and in the second part, Israel replies, ‘God, You come to us before we stir.’]”

[My beloved is like a gazelle:] Said R. Isaac,” Just as a gazelle skips and jumps from tree to tree, hut to hut, fence to fence, so the Holy One, blessed be He, skipped from Egypt to the Sea, from the sea to Sinai. In Egypt they saw Him: And I shall pass through the land of Egypt on that night (Ex. 12:12). At the sea they saw him: And Israel saw the great hand (Ex. 14:32). At Sinai they saw him: And the Lord spoke from Sinai, He came and shown from Seir to him (Deuteronomy . 32:2).

...or a young wild goat: R. Yose b. R. Haninah said, ‘Like the young of a gazelle.’

...there he stands outside our wall: For on the third day the Lord came down before the eyes of the entire people (Ex. 19:11). peeking in at the windows: And the Lord came down (Ex. 19:20). ...glancing through the lattice: When he said, I am the Lord your God (Ex. 20:23), My beloved answered, he said to me: What did he say to me? I am the Lord your God (Ex. 20:23).

[My beloved is like a gazelle:] Said R. Isaac, Just as a gazelle skips and jumps from tree to tree, hut to hut, fence to fence, so the Holy One, blessed be He, skips from one synagogue to another, one study-house to another. On what account? So as to bless Israel. On account of whose merit? On account of the merit of Abraham, who remained seated at the oak of Mamre [where he was praying and studying]. That is in line with this verse of Scripture: And the Lord appeared to him at the oak of Mamre, when he was sitting down at the door of the tent (Gen. 18:1).

[As he sat at the door of his teat in the heat of the day (Gen. 18:1)]: R. Berekhiah in the name of R. Levi: “What is written is he sat [and not in the progressive tense, while he was sitting]. When the Holy One, blessed be He, appeared to him, our father Abraham tried to stand. Said the Holy One, blessed be He, to him, ‘Remain seated.’ Our father Abraham sat down. Said the Holy One, blessed be He, to him, ‘[You thereby serve as a model for your children.] Abraham, whenever your children enter synagogues and schoolhouses, they may sit while my Glory remains standing. What text of Scripture so indicates? God stands in the congregation of God (Ps. 82:1).

R. Haggai in the name of R. Isaac: What is written is not standing but ‘stationed at his post’ [Freedman, Genesis Rabbah ad loc.:], which is to say, ‘ready,’ [Genesis Rabbah adds:] in line with this verse: You shall be stationed on the rock (Ex. 33:21).

R. Samuel b. R. Hiyya b. R. Yudan in the name of R. Haninah: In response to each and every statement of praise with which Israel praises the Holy One, blessed be He, He brings his Presence to rest on them. What is the text that makes that point? You are holy, 0 You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel (Ps. 22:4).

or a young wild goat: R. Yose b. R. Haninah said, ‘Like the young of a gazelle.’

there he stands outside our wall: outside the walls of synagogues and schoolhouses. ...peeking in at the windows: from among the shoulders of the priests. … glancing through the lattice: from among the entwined fingers of the priests. ...My beloved answered, he said: What did he say to me? May the Lord bless you and keep you (Num. 24:6).

Another interpretation of the verse: My beloved is like a gazelle: Said R. Isaac, Just as a gazelle appears and goes and disappears, so the first messiah [Moses] appeared to them and then went and disappeared from their sight. How long did he disappear from sight? Judah b. Rabbi says, Three months, in line with this verse of Scripture: They met Moses and Aaron standing to meet them (Ex. 5:20).

...or a young wild goat: R. Yose b. R. Haninah said, ‘Like the young of a gazelle.’

there he stands outside our wall: outside the walls of the Western wall of the house of the sanctuary, which will never be destroyed. peeking in at the windows: through the merit of the patriarchs. glancing through the lattice: through the merit of the matriarchs. This serves to teach you that just as there is a difference between a window and a lattice, so there is a difference between the merit of the patriarchs and the merit of the matriarchs.

R. Berekhiah in the name of R. Levi, Like the first redeemer, so will the final redeemer be: Just as the first redeemer appeared to them and then went and disappeared from them, so the final redeemer will appear to them and then go and disappear from them. And how long will he disappear from them? R. Tanhumah in the name of R. llama bar Hoshaia, R. Menahema in the name of R. Hama bar Hanina: Forty-five days, in line with this verse of Scripture: From the time when the regular offering is abolished and ‘the abomination of desolation’ is set up, there shall be an interval of one thousand two hundred and ninety days. Happy the man who waits and lives to see the completion of one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days [a difference of forty-five days] (Dan. 12:11-12). As to the forty-five days that remain over the figure given in the earlier verse, what are they? They are the forty-five days on which the Messiah, having appeared to them, will go and disappear from them. Where will he lead them? Some say, ‘To the wilderness of Judea,’ and some, ‘To the wilderness of Sihon and Og.’ That is in line with this verse of Scripture: Therefore, I will seduce Israel and bring her into the wilderness (Hos. 2:16). He who believes in him will eat saltwort and the roots of the broom and live, for in the wilderness they pick saltwort with wormwood and the roots of the broom are their food (Job 30:4). And he who does not believe in him will go to the Gentiles of the world, who will kill him. Said R. Isaac bar Marian, At the end of forty-five days the Holy One, blessed be He, will appear to them and bring down manna. Why? For there is nothing new under the sun (Eccl. 1:9). What is the pertinent scriptural verse? I am the Lord your God from the land of Egypt; I will make you dwell in tents again as in the days of the festival (Hos. 12:10).

V:IX

My beloved answered, he said to me, (Rise up, my darling; my fairest, come away. For now, the winter is past, the rains are over and gone; the flowers appear in the countryside; the time is coming when the birds will sing, and the turtle-dove’s cooing will be heard in our land; when the green figs will ripen on the fig-trees and the vines give forth their fragrance. Rise up my darling, my fairest, come away) (Song 2:8-10): Said R. Azariah, Is not ‘answering’ the same thing as ‘saying’? He answered me through Moses, and said to me, through Aaron. What did he say to me? Rise up: bestir yourself. ...my darling: daughter of Abraham, who made Me beloved in My world. ...my fairest: daughter of Isaac, who made Me beautiful in My world, when his father bound him on the altar. ...come away: daughter of Jacob, who listened to his father and his mother: And Jacob listened to his father and his mother (Gen. 28:17). For now, the winter is past: this refers to the four hundred years that were decreed for our fathers to spend in Egypt.  ...the rains are over and gone; this refers to the two hundred and ten years.

Another interpretation: For now, the winter is past: this refers to the two hundred ten years. ...the rains are over and gone; this refers to the subjugation.

Are not the rain and the winter the same thing? Said R. Tanhuma. The principal trouble of the winter is the rain [which lasts eighty-six days], the principal [and truly difficult] part of the subjugation of Israel was only the eighty-six years from the time that Miriam was born. And why was she called Miriam? Said R. Isaac, It is a name that contains the meaning of bitterness, in line with this verse: And they embittered their lives with hard work and with mortar (Ex. 1:14).

the flowers appear in the countryside: this refers to Moses and Aaron. ...the time is coming when the birds will sing: the time for the foreskin [to be properly cut off] has come. The time for the Egyptians to be cut off has come. The time for the idolatry to be removed from the world has come: And against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment, I am the Lord (Ex. 12:2). The time for the sea to be split has come: And the waters split open (Ex. 14:21). The time for the recitation of the Song at the Sea has come: Then Moses sang (Ex. 15:1). The time for the Torah to be given has come: The Lord is my strength and my song (Ex. 15:2). Said R. Bibi: [The appropriate text is this one:] Your statutes have become my songs (Ps. 119:54). Said R. Tanhuma, The time for the Israelites to make a song for the Holy One, blessed be He, has come: The Lord is my strength and my song (Ex. 15:2).

...and the turtle-dove’s cooing will be heard in our land: Said R. Yohanan, [Since the word for turtle dove uses letters that may yield guide, we read:] ‘the voice of the good guide is heard in our land.’ This refers to Moses: And Moses said, Thus said the Lord, At about midnight (Ex. 11:4).

...when the green figs wilt ripen on the fig-trees: This refers to the three days of darkness, on which the wicked/lawless of Israel perished.

and the vines give forth their fragrance: This refers to those who remained, who repented and were accepted. Moses said to them, All this wonderful fragrance is coming from you, and you are sitting here! Rise up my darling, my fairest, come away.

My beloved answered, he said to me, [Rise up, my darling; my fairest, come away. For now, the winter is past, the rains are over and gone; the flowers appear in the countryside; the time is coming when the birds will sing, and the turtle-dove’s cooing will be heart in our land; when the green figs will ripen on the fig-trees and the vines give forth their fragrance. Rise up my darling, my fairest, come away] (Song 2:8-10): Said R. Azariah, Is not ‘answering’ the same thing as ‘saying’? He answered me through Joshua, and said to me, through Eleazar. What did he say to me? Rise up, my darling; my fairest, come away. For now, the winter is past: this refers to the forty years that the Israelites spent in the wilderness. ...the rains are over and gone; this refers to the thirty-eight years [after the rejection of the Land], in which anger was poured out on Israel [and the generation of the wilderness was left to die out].  ...the flowers appear in the countryside: this refers to the spies: One representative, one representative for each tribe (Num. 34:18). the time is coming when the birds will sing: the time for the foreskin [to be properly cut off] has come. The time for the Canaanites to be cut off has come. The time for the Land of Israel to be cut up has come: Among these you will cut up the land (Num. 26:53). ...and the turtle-dove’s cooing will be heard in our land: Said R. Yohanan, [Since the word for turtledove uses letters that may yield guide, we read:] ‘the voice of the good guide is heard in our land.’ This refers to Joshua: And Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying (Josh. 1:10). ...when the green figs will ripen on the fig-trees: This refers to the baskets of first fruits. ...and the vines give forth their fragrance: This refers to the drink-offerings.

My beloved answered, he said to me, [Rise up, my darling; my fairest, come away. For now, the winter is past, the rains are over and gone; the flowers appear in the countryside; the time is coming when the birds will sing, and the turtle-dove’s cooing will be heart in our land; when the green figs will ripen on the fig-trees and the vines give forth their fragrance. Rise up my darling, my fairest, come away] (Song 2:8-10): Said R. Azariah, Is not ‘answering’ the same thing as ‘saying’? He answered me through Daniel, and said to me, through Ezra. What did he say to me? Rise up, my darling; my fairest, come away. For now, the winter is past: this refers to the seventy years of the dominion of Babylonia. ...the rains are over and gone; this refers to the fifty-two years of the dominion of Media.

Another interpretation: For now, the winter is past: this refers to the seventy years that the Israelites spent in exile. But were they not merely fifty-two years? Said R. Levi, Eighteen years were taken off the total, for every eighteen years an echo would go forth and resound in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar, saying to him, ‘Wicked/lawless servant, go forth with the sword against the house of your master, for the children of your master do not obey him.’

...the rains are over and gone; this refers to the subjugation. the flowers appear in the countryside: for instance, Daniel and his colleagues, Mordecai and his colleagues, Ezra, and his colleagues. the time is coming when the birds will sing: the time for the foreskin [to be properly cut off] has come.: Th The time for the wicked/lawless to be broken has come. The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked/lawless (Is. 14:5). The time for Babylonians to be removed has come. The time for the house of the sanctuary to be rebuilt has come: Greater will be the glory of the second house (Haggai 2:9). and the turtle-dove’s cooing will be heard in our land: Said R. Yohanan, [Since the word for turtledove uses letters that may yield guide, we read:] ‘the voice of the good guide is heard in our land.’ This refers to Cyrus: Thus said Cyrus, king of Persia, All the nations of the world...(Ezra 1:2). when the green figs will ripen on the fig-trees: This speaks of the baskets of first fruits.  ...and the vines give forth their fragrance: This refers to the drink-offerings. Moses said to them, All this wonderful fragrance is coming from you, and you are sitting here! Rise up my darling, my fairest, come away.

My beloved answered, he said to me, (Rise up, my darling; my fairest, come away. For now, the winter is past, the rains are over and gone; the flowers appear in the countryside; the time is coming when the birds will sing, and the turtle-dove’s cooing will be heart in our land; when the green figs will ripen on the fig-trees and the vines give forth their fragrance. Rise up my darling, my fairest, come away] (Song 2:8-10): Said R. Azariah, Is not ‘answering’ the same thing as ‘saying’? He answered me through Elijah, and said to me, through the messiah- king. What did he say to me? Rise up, my darling; my fairest, come away. For now, the winter is past: Said R. Azariah, This refers to the wicked/lawless (Rome) kingdom, which misled people. That is in line with the following: When your brother, son of your mother, misleads you (Deuteronomy . 13:7). ...the rains are over and gone; this refers to the subjugation [to Rome].  ...the flowers appear in the countryside: Said R. Isaac, It is written, The Lord showed me four craftsmen (Zech. 2:3). These are they: Elijah, the Messiah-king, Melchizedek, and the anointed (Messiah) for war. the time is coming when the birds will sing: the time for the foreskin [to be properly cut off] has come. The time for the Egyptians to be cut off has come. The time for the wicked/lawless to be broken has come: The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked/lawless (Is. 14:5). The time for the wicked/lawless kingdom to be uprooted from the world has come. The time for the revelation of the kingdom of heaven has come: The Lord will be king over all the earth (Zech. 14:9).  ...and the turtle-dove’s cooing will be heard in our land: Said R. Yohanan, [Since the word for turtle dove uses letters that may yield guide, we read:] ‘the voice of the good guide is heard in our land.’ This refers to the messiah king: How beautiful on the hills are the feet of the bringer of glad tidings (Is. 52:7). when the green figs will ripen on the fig-trees: Said R. Hiyya bar Abba, Close to the days of the messiah a great thing will happen, and the wicked/lawless will perish in it. ...and the vines give forth their fragrance: This refers to those who remained: And those who remained in Zion, and the remnant in Jerusalem, will be holy (Is. 4:3).

And rabbis say, In the septennate in which the son of David comes, in the first of the seven-year spell, I shall cause it to rain on one town and not on another (Amos 4:7). In the second, the arrows of famine will be sent forth. In the third there will be a great famine, and men, women, and children will die in it, and the Torah will be forgotten in Israel. In the fourth, there will be a famine which is not really a famine, and plenty which is not plentiful. In the fifth year, there will be great plenty, and people will eat and drink and rejoice, and the Torah will again be renewed. In the sixth there will be great thunders. In the seventh there will be wars. And at the end of the seventh year of that septennate, the son of David will come. Said R. Abbaye, How many septennates have there been like this one, and yet he has not come! But matters accord with what R. Yohanan said, In the generation in which the son of David comes, disciples of sages will perish, and those that remain will have faint vision, with suffering and sighing, and terrible troubles will come on the people, and harsh decrees will be renewed. Before the first such decree is carried out, another will be brought along and joined to it. Said R. Abun, In the generation in which the son of David comes, the meeting place will be turned over to prostitution, the Galilee will be destroyed, Gablan will be desolate, and the Galileans will make the rounds from town to town and find no comfort. Truthful men will be gathered up, and the truth will be fenced in and go its way. Where will it go? A member of the household of R. Yannai said, It will go and dwell in small flocks in the wilderness, in line with this verse of Scripture: Truth will be among bands (Is. 59:15). Said R. Nehorai, In the generation in which the son of David comes, youths will humiliate old men, sages will rise before youths, a slave girl will abuse her mistress, a daughter-in-law her mother-in-law, a man’s enemies will be his own householders, a son will not be ashamed for his father, the wisdom of scribes will turn rotten, the vine will give its fruit, but wine will be expensive. Said R. Abba bar Kahana, The son of David will come only to a generation which is liable for total extermination. Said R. Yannai, The son of David will come only to a generation the principal leaders of which are like dogs. Said R. Levi, If you see one generation after another blaspheming, look for the footsteps of the messiah-king. What verse of Scripture indicates it? Remember Lord the taunts hurled at your servant, how I have borne in my heart the calumnies of the Gentiles; so, have your enemies taunted us, 0 Lord, taunted the successors of your anointed king (Ps. 89:5 1). What follows? Blessed is the Lord for ever, amen, amen (Ps. 89:52).

V:X

R. Jonah opened discourse by citing this verse of Scripture: So, I got her back for fifteen pieces of silver, a homer of barley, [and a measure of wine; and I said to her, Many a long day you shall live in my house and not play the wanton and have no intercourse with a man, nor I with you. For the Israelites shall live many a long day without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, without image or household gods, but after that they will again seek the Lord their God and David their king and turn anxiously to the Lord for his bounty in days to come) (Hos. 3:2-5). Said R. Yohanan, So I got her back for me, for fifteen pieces of silver, lo, fifteen; and for a homer of barley, lo, thirty, and a half-homer of barley, lo, sixty. This refers to the sixty religious duties that Moses inscribed for us in the Torah. For R. Yohanan said in the name of R. Simeon b. Yohai, There were three passages that Moses wrote for us in the Torah, in each one of which there are sixty religious duties, and these are they: the passage concerning the Passover offering, that concerning torts, and that concerning Holy Things. R. Levi in the name of R. Shilah of Kefar Tamratah, There are seventy in each. Said R. Tanhumah, They really do not differ. One who treats the passage concerning the Passover-offering as containing seventy religious duties treats it as encompassing the passage on the phylacteries. One who treats the passage on torts as containing seventy religious duties maintains that it encompasses the passage covering the year of release. One who treats the passage of Holy Things as including seventy religious duties encompasses with it the passage on orlah-fruit.

Another interpretation of the verse, so I got her back for fifteen pieces of silver: Lo, the reference to fifteen pieces of silver brings us to the fifteenth day of Nisan. When is this? It is in this month: This month is for you the beginning of months (Ex. 12:2).

V:XI

This month is for you [the first of months, you will make it the first month of the year] (Ex. 12:2): [Reading the letters for month to sound like the word, innovation:] R. Berekhiah in the name of R. Yudan b. R. Simeon: Said the Holy One, blessed be He, to Israel, ‘There will be an innovation as to redemption for you in the age to come. In the past I never redeemed one nation from the midst of another nation, but now I am going to redeem one nation from the midst of another nation.’ That is in line with this verse of Scripture: Has God tried to go and take for himself a nation from the midst of another nation (Deuteronomy . 4:34).

R. Joshua bar Nehemiah in the name of R. Yohanan bar Pazzi: ‘A nation from the midst of a people’ is not written here, nor do we find, ‘a people from the midst of a nation,’ but a nation from the midst of a nation [like itself, that is, in precisely the same classification]. For the Egyptians were uncircumcised and the Israelites also were uncircumcised. The Egyptians grew ceremonial locks, and so did the Israelites. Therefore, by the rule of strict justice, the Israelites ought not to have been redeemed from Egypt. Said R. Samuel bar Nahmani, If the Holy One, blessed be He, had not bound Himself by an oath, the Israelites in fact would never have been redeemed from Egypt. Therefore, say to the children of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will take you out of the burdens of Egypt (Ex. 6:6). The language, [I am the Lord] therefore, refers only to an oath, as it is said, Therefore I take an oath concerning the house of Eli (1 Sam. 3:4).

Said R. Berekhiah, You have redeemed Your people with your arm (Ps. 77:16) — with naked power. Said R. Yudan, From the phrase, To go and take a nation from the midst of another nation to the phrase great terrors (Deuteronomy . 4:34) are seventy-two letters. Should you claim there are more, you should deduct from the count the last reference to nation [Egypt], which does not count. R. Abin said, It was for the sake of His name that He redeemed them, and the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, consists of seventy-two letters.

[“This month is for you [the first of months, you will make it the first month of the year] (Ex. 12:2)]: Said R. Joshua b. Levi, The matter may be compared to the case of a king whose son was taken captive, and he put on [the garb of] vengeance and went and redeemed his son, and he said, ‘Count the years of my reign as beginning from the time of the redemption of my son.’ So said the Holy One, blessed be He, ‘Count the years of My reign as beginning from the time of the Exodus from Egypt.

[This month is for you [the first of months, you will make it the first month of the year] (Ex. 12:2)]: R. Levi in the name of R. Hama bar Hanina said, The matter may be compared to the case of a king who married many wives, but he did not write for them either a marriage license or the dates of the marriage. But when he married a woman of good family and the daughter of noble parents, he wrote for her a marriage license and wrote the date of the marriage. So too of all the women whom Ahasuerus married, he did not write for any one of them either a marriage license or the date of the marriage. But when he married Esther, the daughter of a good family and of noble lineage, he wrote for her both a marriage license and the date of the marriage. He wrote for her a marriage license: On the tenth month, the month of Tebeth (Est. 2:16). And he wrote for her the date of the marriage: In the seventh year of his reign (Est. 2:16).

V:XII

Said R. Berekhiah, This month is for you [the first of months, you will make it the first month of the year] (Ex. 12:2): [The waxing and waning of the moon serve] as an omen for you. The seed of David...shall be established for ever as the moon (Ps. 89:38): Like the moon, which is full and then obscured. If you have merit, lo, you will count days like the moon’s waxing, but if you do not have merit, then you will count days like the moon’s waning. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Perez, Hezron, Ram, Aminadab, Nachshon, Salman, Boaz, Obed, Jesse, David, Solomon: Then Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king (1 Chr. 29:23) — [all provide cases of counting days as] the moon when it is waxing. Lo, in these cases the count was like the waning moon: Rehoboam, Abijah, Assa, Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, Ahaziali, Joash, Amaziah, Uzziali, Jothan, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Ammon, Josiah, and Zedekiah: He blinded the eyes of Zedekiah (2 Kgs. 25:7) — lo, [all these give us cases of] counting the days like the moon in its waning.

V:XIII

This month is for you [the first of months, you will make it the first month of the year] (Ex. 12:2): ...for you means that it is handed over to you. Said R. Joshua b. Levi, The matter may be compared to the case of a king who had a clock. When his son grew up, he handed over to him his clock. Said R. Yose bar Haninali, The matter may be compared to the case of a king who had a watchtower. When his son grew up, he handed over to him his watchtower. Said R. Aha, The matter may be compared to the case of a king who had a ring. When his son grew up, he handed over to him his ring. Said R. Isaac, It may be compared to the case of a king who had many treasuries, and there was a key for each one of them. When his son grew up, he handed over to him all the keys. Said R. Hiyya bar Abba, The matter may be compared to a carpenter who had tools. When his son grew up, he handed over to him the tools of his trade. And rabbis say, The matter may be compared to the case of a physician who had a case of medicines. When his son grew up, he handed over to him his medicine case.

R. Hoshaiah taught on Tannaite authority, The court below made a decree saying, ‘Today is the new year.’ Said the Holy One, blessed be He, to the ministering angels: ‘Set up a platform, let the attorneys go up, let the clerks go up, for the court below has made a decree, saying, ‘Today is the New Year.’ If the witnesses [to the appearance of the new moon of Tishre] delayed in coming, or the court decided to intercalate the year on the next day [so that that day would not be the new year], the Holy One, blessed be He, says to the ministering angels, ‘Take away the platform, take away the advocates and take away the clerks, for the court below has made a decree saying, ‘Tomorrow [not today] is the New Year.’ What verse of Scripture proves this point? For it is a statute for Israel, a judgment of the God of Jacob (Ps. 8 1:5). If it is not a statute for Israel, it is — as it were — also not a judgment of the God of Jacob.

R. Phineas, R. Hezekiah in the name of R. Simon: All the ministering angels assemble with the Holy One, blessed be He, saying to him, ‘Lord of the ages, when will it be the New Year?’ And He says to them, ‘Me do you ask? You and I will ask the court down below.’ What verse of Scripture proves this point? For the Lord our God is near whenever we call to Him (Deuteronomy . 4:7). And we call to him only on the set feasts, in line with this verse of Scripture: These are the set feasts of the Lord, the holy convocations [which you will proclaim] (Lev. 23:4). R. Qerispa in the name of R. Yohanan, In the past: These are the set feasts of the Lord. But from now on, which you will proclaim: He said to them, ‘If you proclaim them, they are My set feasts, and if not, they are not My set feasts.

V:XIV

This month is for you (the first of months, you will make it the first month of the year] (Ex. 12:2): You count by it, but the nations of the world will not count by it. [They use the solar calendar, you the lunar one.]

R. Levi in the name of R. Yose b. R. Ilai: It is merely natural that someone who presently is great should count by what is great, and someone who presently is small should count by what is small. Accordingly, Esau [Rome] counts by the sun, because it is great, while Jacob [Israel] counts by the moon, for it is small. Said R. Nahman, That really is a good omen. Esau counts by the sun because it is great. But just as the sun rules by day but does not rule by night, so the wicked/lawless Esau rules in this world but not in the world to come. Jacob counts by the moon, which is small, and just as the moon rules by night and also by day [making its appearance both by night and by day], so too will Jacob rule in this world and in the world to come. R. Nahman said, So long as the light of the great luminary glows splendidly in the world, the light of the lesser luminary is not going to be noted. Once the light of the great light sets, then the light of the lesser one shines forth. So too, as long as the light of the wicked/lawless Esau lasts, the light of Jacob will not be seen. Once the light of the wicked/lawless Esau sets, then the light of Jacob will shine forth. That is in line with this verse: Arise, shine [for behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the peoples, but upon you the Lord will arise, and his glory shall be seen upon you] (Is. 60:1).

3. A. R. Simeon b. Yohai taught on Tannaite authority, In three matters Moses had difficulty. The Holy One, blessed be He, showed him — as it were — with his finger: the candelabrum, the creeping things, and the moon. As to the candelabrum: This is the work of the candlestick (Num. 8:4). The creeping things: This is what is unclean for you among the creeping things that creep on the earth (Lev. 11:29). The moon: This month is for you [the first of months] (Ex. 12:2).”

V:XV

R. Simlai, and it has been taught in the name of R. Samuel, Every month on the beginning of which the [Braude and Kapstein, p. 116:] the conjunction of the new moon does not take place before noon, one cannot see [the moon] before evening. R. Samuel bar Yeba, R. Aha in the name of R. Samuel bar Nahman: In the year in which the Israelites went forth, the beginning of the lunar month and the vernal equinox coincided [sic!].

[Explaining the procedure for receiving testimony of the appearance of the new moon, with reference to the demonstrative statement, This month (=moon) is for you] R. Hiyya bar Ba in the name of R. Yohanan: The Holy One, blessed be He, cloaked Himself in a cloak bearing fringes and put Moses on one side and Aaron on the other, calling Michael and Gabriel [to demonstrate the procedure for receiving testimony on the appearance of the new moon]. He appointed them messengers to proclaim the new moon and said to them. ‘On what side did you see the moon? Was it before the sun or after the sun? Was it to the north or to the south? How high was it? Where was it inclining? How thick was the crescent?’ He said to them, ‘This is the procedure, as you see it here, is the way in which people should intercalate the year down below; through an elder, with witnesses, through the use of a cloak bearing show-fringes.

V:XVI

[This month is for you [the first of months, you will make it the first month of the year] (Ex. 12:2):] R. Nahman and R. Eleazar b. R. Yose and R. Aha: One of them said, [Reading the letters for month to sound like the word, innovation;] Said the Holy One, blessed be He, to Israel, There will be an innovation as to redemption for you in the age to come. The other said, It will be an innovation as to the age to come that you will have here. Just as, in the age to come, Then the eyes of the blind will be opened (Is. 35:5), so now, And all the people saw the sounds (Ex. 20:18). Just as in the age to come, The ears of the deaf will be unstopped (Is. 35:5), so here, And they said, Everything which the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will hear (Ex. 24:7). Just as in the age to come, Then the lamb will skip like a ram (Is. 35:6), so now, Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet God and they stood below the mountain (Ex. 19:17). Just as in the age to come, The tongue of the dumb shall sing (Is. 35:6), so here: All the people sang together (Ex. 19:8).

V:XVII

Speak to the whole community of Israel and say to them, On the tenth day of this month [let each man take a lamb or a kid for his family, one for each household, but if a household is too small for one lamb or one kid then the man and his nearest neighbor may take one between them. They shall share the cost, taking into account both the number of persons and the amount each of them eats. Your lamb or kid must be without blemish, a yearling male. You may take equally a sheep or a goat. You must have it in safe keeping until the fourteenth day of this month, and then all the assembled community of Israel shall slaughter the victim between dusk and dark. They must take some of the blood and smear it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of every house in which they eat the lamb. On that night they shall eat the flesh roast on the fire; they shall eat it with unleavened cakes and bitter herbs. You are not to eat any of it raw or even boiled in water, but roasted, head, shins, and entrails. You shall not leave any of it till morning; if anything is left over until morning, it must be destroyed by fire] (Ex. 12:1-10): Said R. Yohanan, “Is the lamb not suitable only when taken from the fold? Why say to designate it on the tenth day, [even though it will not be used until the fourteenth, four days later]? This teaches that the lambs were tied up to the Israelites’ beds from the tenth day, and the Egyptians would come in and see them and [realizing what was about to happen,] their souls would expire.

R. Hiyya son of R. Ada of Jaffa: [Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them,] Draw out and get sheep for your families and slaughter the Passover (Ex. 12:21): The requirement is that each one of you draw out the god of an Egyptian and slaughter it in his presence, [Braude and Kapstein, p. 118: even as the Egyptian...speaks up in protest].

R. Helbo in the name of R. Yohanan: Here you say, On the tenth day of this month (Ex. 12:3), and later on: The people went up from the Jordan on the tenth day (Joshua 4:19). R. Hiyya in the name of R. Yohanan: The act of taking the lamb is what sustained the Israelites at the Jordan, and the act of eating it is what protected them in the days of Haman. And they will eat the meat on that night (Ex. 12:8). On that night the sleep of the king was troubled (Est. 6:1).

R. Berekhiah in the name of R. Abbahu: Nahum the son of R. Simai in Tarsus gave this exposition: ...let each man take [a lamb or a kid for his family, one for each household] — the man here is the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is said, The Lord is a man of war (Ex. 15:3). [Since the meaning is that they must “take” the Holy One, blessed be He, we ask:] with what does one acquire him? With the two daily continual offerings [one in the morning, the other at dusk,] a lamb for the house of the fathers, a lamb for the house of the fathers (Ex. 12:3).

Said R. Yudan in the name of R. Simon, No one ever spent the night in Jerusalem while still bearing sin. How so? The daily whole-offering of the morning would effect atonement for the sins that had been committed overnight, and the daily whole-offering of dusk would effect atonement for the transgressions that had been committed by day. In consequence, no one ever spent the night in Jerusalem while still bearing sin. What is the verse of Scripture that makes that point? Righteousness/generosity will spend the night in it (Is. 1:21).

V:XVIII

[Interpreting the combination of the word for month, as new, hence, renewal, and the word for first, in the verse, This month is for you the first of months, you will make it the first month of the year), R. Berekhiah in the name of R. Isaac: New (Ex. 12:3): Renew your deeds, for [otherwise] the head and first of all will come. The first is Nebuchadnezzar, the wicked/lawless, of whom it is written: You are the head of gold(Dan. 2:3 8). The first is the wicked/lawless Esau, of whom it is written, The first came forth red (Gen. 25:25). Who will exact vengeance for you from the first? It is the first: I the Lord am the first and the last, I am he (Is. 41:4). Who will exact vengeance for you from Media [Haman]? [It is the kingdom mentioned when the cited verse speaks of the tenth, [at Ex. 12:3].

Said R. Abin, The ten alludes to [the ten thousand talents of silver to be paid to Ahasuerus] by Haman and his ten sons. Who will exact vengeance for you from them? The two guardians, Mordecai and Esther, Mordecai on the outside, Esther on the inside. Who will exact vengeance for you from Greece? The sons of the Hasmoneans, who offered the two daily whole-offerings every day. Who will exact vengeance for you from Edom? Natronah. And he shall serve as a guard for you to the fourteenth day of the month (Ex. 12:6).

[Reverting back to the verse cited above, “The first came forth red” (Gen. 25:25):] said the Holy One, blessed be He, His father called him the greater: And he called Esau, his son, the greater (Gen. 27:1). And his mother called him the greater: Rebecca took the clothing of Esau, her son, the greater (Gen. 27:15). But I will call him the lesser: And lo, I have made you least among the nations (Ob. 1:2). Since they call him the greater, in accord with the size of the ox is the measure of the slaughterer: The Lord has a sacrifice in Bosrah, a great slaughter in the land of Edom (Is. 34:6). Said R. Berekhiah, “[We read the verse:] There will be a great slaughterer in the land of Edom’ [namely, God himself].

V:XIX

[Continuing the account of the punishment of Edom:] You are not to eat any of it raw — that is, not merely half-cooked, or merely or even boiled in water, but roasted, head, shins, and entrails.  [Edom, together with] its dukes, its hyparchs, and its generals. Your wealth, your staple wares, your imports, your sailors and your helmsmen, your caulkers, your merchants, and your warriors, all your ship’s company, all who were with you were flung into the sea on the day of your disaster; at the cries of your helmsmen the troubled waters tossed (Ez. 27:27-28): Said R. Samuel bar R. Isaac, All your ship’s company encompasses even those who had been of my company and had gone and joined your company — even they were flung into the sea on the day of your disaster.

This is the way in which you must eat it: you shall have your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand, and you must eat in urgent haste. It is the Lord’s Passover (Ex. 12:11): Said R. Samuel bar Nahman, Since in this world, you must eat in urgent haste, in the world to come what is written? But you shall not come out in urgent haste nor leave like fugitives; for the Lord will march at your head, your rear-guard will be Israel’s God (Is. 52:12).

Special Ashlamatah for Shabbat Mevarchim

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan for: Shmuel alef (I Samuel) 20:18-42

Rashi	Targum Pseudo Jonathan
18. And Jonathan said to him, "Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be remembered, for your seat will be vacant.	18. And Jonathan said to him: “Tomorrow is the (New) Moon, and you will be sought out, for your dining place will be empty.
19. And for three days, you shall hide very well, and you shall come to the place where you hid on the day of work, and you shall stay beside the traveler's stone.	19. And at the third (day) of the Moon you will be sought out very much, and you will go to the place where you hid yourself on the weekday, and you will dwell near "Stone Coming."
20. And I shall shoot three arrows to the side, as though I shot at a mark.	20. And I am to shoot three arrows with the bow so as to hit for myself at the target.
21. And behold, I shall send the youth, (saying,) 'Go, find the arrows.' If I say to the youth, 'Behold, the arrows are on this side of you,' take it and come, for it is well with you, and there is nothing the matter, as the Lord lives.	21. And behold I will send the young man: `Go, get the arrows.' If indeed I say to the young man: `Behold the arrow is on this side of you; take it and bring (it),' then there is peace for you and nothing evil as the Lord lives.
22. But, if I say thus to the youth, 'Behold, the arrows are beyond you,' go! For the Lord has sent you away.	22. And if thus I say to the young man: `Behold the arrow is beyond you,' go, for the Lord has rescued you.
23. And (concerning) the matter which we have spoken, I and you, behold, the Lord is between me and you forever."	23. And the word that we have spoken - I and you - behold the Memra of the Lord is a witness between me and you forever."
24. And David hid in the field, and when it was the new moon, Saul sat down to the meal to eat.	24. And David hid in the field, and it was the (New) Moon. And the king sat down at the food to eat.
25. And the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, upon the seat by the wall, and Jonathan arose, and Abner sat down beside Saul, and David's place was vacant.	25. And the king sat down upon his seat as at other times, upon the seat that was prepared for him near the wall. And Jonathan stood up, and Abner sat down by the side of Saul, and the place of David was empty.
26. And Saul did not say anything on that day, for he thought, "It is an incident; he is not clean, for he is not clean."	26. And Saul did not speak anything on that day, for he said: “Perhaps an accident has happened to him, and he is not clean; or perhaps he went on the road, and we did not invite him.”
27. And it was, on the morrow of the new moon, the second (day of the month), that David's place was vacant, and Saul said to Jonathan, his son, "Why has not the son of Jesse come to the meal either yesterday or today?"	27. And on the day after that, which is the intercalation of the second month, the place of David was empty, and Saul said to Jonathan his son: “Why has the son of Jesse not come both yesterday and today for food?”
28. And Jonathan answered Saul, "David asked leave of me (to go) to Bethlehem.	28. And Jonathan answered Saul: “David earnestly requested from me to go unto Bethlehem.
29. And he said, 'Let me go away now, for we have a family sacrifice in the city, and he, my brother, commanded me, and now, if I have found favor in your eyes, let me slip away now, and see my brothers. ' He, therefore, did not come to the king's table."	29. And he said: ‘Send me away now, for they have begun an offering of holy things for all our family in the city, and my brother commanded me. And now if I have found favour in your eyes, let me get away now and see my brothers.' Therefore he did not come to the table of the king.”
30. And Saul's wrath was kindled against Jonathan, and he said to him, "You son of a straying woman deserving of punishment! Did I not know that you choose the son of Jesse, to your shame and to the shame of your mother's nakedness?	30. And the anger of Saul was strong against Jonathan, and he said to him: “You son of an obstinate woman whose rebellion was harsh, do I not know that you love the son of Jesse to your disgrace and to the disgrace of the shame of your mother?
31. For all the days that the son of Jesse is living on the earth, you and your kingdom will not be established. And now, send and take him to me, for he is condemned to death."	31. For all the days that the son of Jesse is alive upon the earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. And now send and bring him unto me, for he is a man deserving killing.”
32. And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said to him, "Why should he be put to death? What has he done?"	32. And Jonathan answered Saul his father and said to him: “Why will he be killed? What did he do?”
33. And Saul cast the spear upon him to strike him; and Jonathan knew that it had been decided upon by his father, to put David to death.	33. And Saul lifted up the spear against him so as to strike him, and Jonathan knew that it was determined from his father to kill David.
34. And Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger; and he did not eat any food on the second day of the new moon, for he was grieved concerning David, for his father had put him to shame.	34. And Jonathan arose from the table in strong anger, and he did not eat food on the day of the intercalation of the second month, for he grieved over David, for his father shamed him.
35. And it was in the morning, that Jonathan went out at David's appointed time, and a small boy was with him.	35. And in the morning Jonathan went forth to the field at the time that David said to him, and a small boy was with him.
36. And he said to his boy, "Run, find now the arrows which I shoot." The boy ran; and he shot the arrow to cause it to go beyond him.	36. And he said to his young man: “Run, get the arrows that I am shooting.” The young man ran, and he shot the arrow beyond him.
37. And the lad came up to the place of the arrow, which Jonathan had shot. And Jonathan called after the lad, and said, "Isn't the arrow beyond you?"	37. And the young man came unto the place of the arrow that Jonathan shot, and Jonathan called after the young man and said: “Is not the arrow beyond you?”
38. And Jonathan called after the lad, "Quickly, hasten, do not stand!" And Jonathan's lad gathered up the arrows, and came to his master.	38. And Jonathan called after the young man: “Hurry, in haste; do not delay.” And Jonathan's young man was gathering the arrows, and he came unto his master.
39. And the lad knew nothing; only Jonathan and David knew the matter.	39. And the young man did not know anything. Only Jonathan and David knew the matter.
40. And Jonathan gave his weapons to his boy, and said to him, "Go, bring (them) to the city."	40. And Jonathan gave his armor to the young man that was his, and he said to him: "Go, bring it to the city."
41. The lad departed, and David arose from (a place) toward the south; and he fell upon his face to the ground three times, and prostrated himself three times. And they kissed one another, and wept one with the other, until David exceeded.	41. And the young man went, and David arose from the side of “Stone Coming” that is opposite the south, and he fell upon his face upon the ground, and he bowed down three times, and they kissed each man his fellow, and they wept each man his fellow until David exceeded.
42. And Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace! (And bear in mind) that we have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord, saying, 'May the Lord be between me and you, and between my descendants and your descendants forever.' "	42. And Jonathan said to David: “Go in peace, for the two of us have sworn by the name of the LORD saying, ‘May the Memra of the LORD be a witness between me and you, and between my sons and your sons forever.’” And he arose and went, and Jonathan entered the city.

Rashi’s Commentary for: Shmuel alef (I Samuel) 20:18-42

18 Tomorrow is the new moon: and it is the custom of all those who eat at the king’s table to come on the festive day to the table.

and you will be remembered: My father will remember you, and ask where you are.

for your seat will be vacant: for your seat in which you sit, will be vacant, and so did Jonathan render: and you will be sought, for your seat will be vacant.

and you will be remembered: [ונפקדת is] an expression of remembering.

will be vacant: [יפקד is] an expression of lacking.

19 And for three days you shall hide very well: And you shall triple the days, and then you shall descend very much, i.e., when the third day arrives, you shall descend into a secret place, and hide very well, for then they will seek you. And you shall come to this secret place, wherein you are hiding today, which is a workday. And so did Jonathan render: on the weekday, for he hid on that day, as it is stated: (infra v. 24) “And David hid in the field;” immediately, “and it was the new moon” on the morrow.

the travelers’ stone: (Heb. ‘even-ha azel,’ lit., the going stone, i.e.) a stone which was a sign (a landmark) for travelers.

Ha-azel: those who go on the road. And so did Jonathan render: even atha, the stone which was a sign.

20 to the side, I shall shoot: This is not a ‘mappiq-heh’ (aspirate ‘heh’).צדה  is to be interpreted like לצד, to a side, for every word which requires a ‘lamed’ as a prefix, the Scripture gives a ‘he’ as a suffix. (Jeb. 13b) At the side of that stone, I shall shoot arrows to a mark, so that the youth will not understand, and this sign shall be for you to divine whether you must flee.

21 And behold, I shall send, etc.: And it is customary for one who seeks an arrow which has been shot, to go to the place where he sees the arrow flying, but he cannot ascertain exactly. Sometimes he searches for it, and the arrow is beyond him, and sometimes he goes beyond the arrow and searches for it, and you shall have this sign.

If I say to the youth… take it and come: you yourself emerge from your hiding place, and take it, and come to me, for you have not to fear, for it is well with you. The Holy One Blessed be He, desires that you be here, and even if I have heard evil from Father.

22 But, if I say thus… Go! For the Lord has sent you away: The Holy One Blessed be He tells you to flee and escape.

23 And concerning the matter which we have spoken: the covenant which we made together.

behold, the Lord is between me and you: as Witness concerning that matter.

25 the seat by the wall: at the head of the couch beside the wall.

and Jonathan arose: He got up from his place, since it is not proper for a son to recline beside his father. Since their custom was to eat reclining on couches and David would recline between Jonathan and Saul, now that David did not come, Jonathan did not recline until Abner sat down beside Saul, and afterwards, Jonathan sat beside Abner. And if you say that he did not sit at all, the Scripture states: (infra v. 34) “And Jonathan arose from the table,” implying that he had been sitting.

26 It is an incident: He has experienced a seminal emission.

he is not clean: and he has not yet immersed himself, for had he immersed himself for the uncleanness of his emission, he would not have to wait until sunset in order to eat ordinary food.

for he is not clean: This clause gives the reason for the matter; i.e., since he is not clean, he, therefore, did not come, lest he contaminate the feast.

27 on the morrow of the new moon: on the morrow of the renewal of the moon.

the second: on the second day of the month.

29 and he, my brother, commanded me: The eldest of the house, commanded me that I be there. And he is my brother Eliab.

let me slip away: ‘Escamoter’ in French. I shall go away for one day and come back.

30 a straying woman, deserving of punishment: (בן נעות המרדות) An expression of straying and wandering, נע ונד, a gadding woman. Just as you say זעוה  from זע, and the ‘tav’ is for the construct state, for it is connected to the word המרדות.

deserving of punishment: (Heb. המרדות), who deserves to be chastised and disciplined. Another explanation is as follows: When the men of Benjamin grabbed the girls of Shiloh, who came out to dance in the vineyards (Jud. 21:21), Saul was bashful, and did not want to grab [a girl], until she came herself, behaving insolently, and pursued him.

straying woman: because of the vineyards. And that is a winepress, like (the Talmudical passage): Purge the winepress (which was used for forbidden wine) (Ab. Zarah 74b); His winepresses will drip with wine (Targum Onkelos, Gen. 40:12)….(The last three words of Rashi are incomprehensible, and are probably erroneous. The correct version is unknown to us.)

34 he was grieved (lit.) to David: concerning David.

for his father had put him to shame: concerning David.

35 at David’s appointed time: at the time which David had set for him.

36 to cause it to go beyond him.: The arrow went beyond the boy.

41 from a place toward the south: (lit., from by the south. Jonathan renders:) from the side of the travelers’ (or sign) stone which was toward the south.

until David exceeded: He cried more.

42 Go in peace: And the oath which we have sworn, may the Lord be witness thereon forever.

Ketubim: Tehillim (Psalms) 77:1-21

Rashi	Targum
1. For the conductor on Jeduthun, a song of Asaph.	1. For praise; composed by Jeduthun for Asaph; a psalm.
2. My voice is to God, and I shall cry out; my voice is to God, and hearken to me.	2. My voice is raised in the presence of the LORD, and I will complain; my voice is raised in the presence of God; hear my utterance!
3. On the day of my distress, I sought the Lord; my wound oozes at night and does not abate; my soul refuses to be comforted.	3. In the day of my distress, I sought instruction from the presence of the LORD; the spirit of prophecy rested on me in the night; my eye ran with tears and will not stop; my soul refused to be comforted.
4. I remember God and I stir; I speak, and my spirit becomes faint, forever.	4. I will remember God and I will tremble in the presence of the LORD; I will speak, and my spirit will be weary forever.
5. You held fast the awakenings of my eyes; I throb, and I do not speak.	5. You have shut the lids of my eyes; I am smitten, and I will not speak.
6. I think of days of yore, ancient years.	6. I have counted up the good days which were at the beginning, the good years of long ago.
7. I recall my music at night; I speak with my heart and my spirit searches.	7. I will remember my psalm in the night; I will speak with the thoughts of my heart, and the mind of my spirit will examine miracles.
8. "Will the Lord forsake [me] forever and nevermore be appeased?	8. Can the LORD be far off forever, and no longer show favor again?
9. Has His kindness ended forever? Has He issued a decree for all generations?	9. Can he have cut off his favor forever? Is the decree of evil complete for all generations?
10. Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has He, in anger, shut off His mercy forever?"	10. Can God have forgotten to have pity? Or has he gotten too angry to sustain his compassion forever?
11. And I said, "This is to terrify me, the change of the right hand of the Most High."	11. And I said, "It is my sickness; they have forgotten the might of the right hand of the Most High." ANOTHER TARGUM: And I said, "It is my petition, years that he shortened by days."
12. I recall the deeds of Yah when I remember Your wonder from time immemorial.	12. I will remember the acts of God, for I will remember Your wonders from of old.
13. And I meditate over all Your works, and I speak of Your deeds.	13. And I meditated on all Your good works, and I will speak of the intricacy of Your miracles.
14. O God, Your way is in sanctity. Who is a power as great as God?	14. O God, because Your ways are holy, what god is great like the God of Israel?
15. You are the God Who works wonders; You made known Your might among the peoples.	15. You are the God who works wonders; You have made known Your might among the peoples.
16. You redeemed Your people with Your arm, the sons of Jacob and Joseph forever.	16. You have redeemed Your people with the strength of Your arm, the sons that Jacob sired and whom Joseph fed, forever.
17. The waters perceived You, O God, the waters perceived You, they trembled, even the deeps quaked.	17. They saw Your presence in the midst of the sea, O God; they saw Your might by the sea; the Gentiles trembled, even the deeps will be shaken.
18. They poured forth thick waters; the skies let out a voice, even your arrows went abroad.	18. The clouds of heaven made water descend, the heights gave voice; also comes the hail, your arrows, and are ablaze.
19. The sound of Your thunder is like a wheel; the lightning illuminated the world; the earth shook and quaked.	19. The sound of your outcry was heard in the sphere; lightning lit up the world, the earth rattled and shook.
20. In the sea was Your way, and Your path in the mighty waters, and Your steps were not known.	20. In the sea of Suph was your path, and your highway in the many waters; and the track of your steps were not discerned.
21. You led Your people like sheep by the hand of Moses and Aaron.	21. You guided your people as a flock, by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Rashi’s Commentary on Tehillim (Psalms) 77:1-21

1 on jeduthun Concerning the decrees and the laws that pass over Israel.

3 my wound Heb. ידי , lit. my hand; my wound.

my wound oozes In this exile, which is like night, it oozes pus and gall.

and does not abate Its oozing does not abate.

4 I remember God The kindness that He used to do for me in the days of my love.

I speak about those acts of kindness and the favors.

and my spirit becomes faint Pasmer in Old French, to faint or swoon.

5 You held fast the awakenings of my eyes Heb. שמרות , an expression of the watch (אשמרת) of the night, for [when] a person awakens from his sleep his mind is settled and his heart returns to him, but I am not like that. In this night of exile, my eyes are always stuck together, like a man sleeping from a clogged heart, and in the troubles that I see, my spirit throbs and I have no speech within me.

6 I think of the days of yore to remember the kind acts that You performed for our forefathers.

7 I recall my music at night In the days of this exile, which is like night, I remember my melodies that I used to play in days of yore in the Temple.

I speak with my heart I think, and my spirit searches [to ascertain] what is the manner of the Holy One, blessed be He, and I wonder: will He forsake [me] forever?

9 Has...ended forever Perhaps His kind acts have ended?

Has He issued a decree a perpetual decree that He will never again repent of His anger?

10 Has...forgotten to be gracious Heb. חנות , to be gracious, like עשוֹת , to do; ראוֹת , to see. Another explanation: חנות means gracious acts.

Has He, in anger, shut off His mercy forever Heb. קפץ , an expression of (Deuteronomy . 15:7): “and do not close (תקפץ) your hand,” i.e., has He shut off the mercy forever because of the anger?

11 And I said, “This is to terrify me” My thoughts tell me, “This is only to terrify me and frighten me into returning to Him.”

to terrify me Heb. חלותי , like לחלוֹתי , to terrify me, an expression of sickness and terror.

the change of the right hand of the Most High How the right hand of the Most High changed. It was mighty with strength and now He has withdrawn His right hand.

13 And I meditate over all Your works that You have already done for us.

14 Your way is in sanctity Your manner is to sanctify Your name in the world, to execute justice upon the wicked.

17 The waters perceived You [The] mighty [waters perceived You] when You were revealed by the sea.

18 They poured forth thick waters The skies poured forth a stream of thick waters.

Your arrows Heb. חצציך , like חִצֶיךָ .

19 like a wheel Heb. בגלגל , like כגלגל . The sound of Your thunder [rolled] like a wheel on the sea to confuse the camp of the Egyptians.

20 and Your steps were not known The steps are not recognizable on the water. [The word] ועקבותיךָ means trazes in Old French, footprints.

Meditation from the Psalms

Tehillim (Psalms) 77

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

This psalm explains the purpose of Israel's long and arduous sojourn in exile.

While settled peacefully on its native soil the contented nation lapsed into a spiritual slumber and neglected its Divine mission. The latent moral and spiritual energy of the Chosen People remained dormant deep within the Jewish heart.

The awesome challenges of exile activated these powerful resources. The searing pain of incessant persecution aroused the Jewish soul. The heart of Israel soared heavenward and the voice of the anguished people cried out fervently to the Almighty.^[1]

The psalmist searches through the chronicles of ancient Jewish history to demonstrate that G-d saved Israel even in their bleakest moments. Since the Almighty wrought miracles of salvation in the past, why does He not perform miracles in the present exile? Certainly, He remains omnipotent.

However, it is G-d's wish to wring every last tear from our eyes, to squeeze every last cry of repentance from our hearts, so that we might be thoroughly worthy of the final, total redemption. May it come speedily in our times!

The superscription of this psalm ascribes authorship to Asaph.^[2] His unique talent was the ability to find something to sing about even in the bleakest gloom. Thus, this chapter was written to provide a certain perspective regarding the proper response to situations when the righteous faces crisis and hardship, Heaven forbid.^[3]

This crisis and hardship motif is reinforced by Rashi^[4] who derives yedutun – ידותון, which introduces our chapter of Psalms, from the word dat - דת, decree. Every psalm introduced with this word refers to the evil decrees and oppressive edicts which the enemy imposes on Israel.

The remedy for the crisis and the hardships is related by Asaph. He speaks of rising at night, at midnight, to sing and commune with G-d. Mohorosh^[5] explained that the greatness of rising at midnight is indescribable and unimaginable. It is precisely at that moment that the Gates of Heavens are opened and one can then achieve all of his heart’s desires from HaShem. Whoever merits being awake at this time, and to recite the Tikkun Chatzot and do personal prayer with HaShem, his virtue is very great and he is praised in all the worlds. In regards to the midnight hour it is written:

Eicha (Lamentations) 2:19 Arise, cry out in the night: in the beginning of the watches pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord: lift up thy hands toward him for the life of thy young children, that faint for hunger in the top of every street.

At the midnight hour, one is literally “before HaShem’s countenance” and can express all of his thoughts aloud before HaShem as referred to in the verse:

Tehillim 77:7 In the night I will call to remember my song; I will converse with my heart; and my spirit will make a diligent search.

At midnight one is able to search and find all of the good points within himself and to entreat over the rectification of his soul before HaShem.^[6] A person’s character finds expression in his prayer.   His ability to “meditate” with his heart is an art which teaches us about him.  A person has to be capable of holding an honest dialogue with himself, in complete privacy.

The power of the midnight cry is emphatically presented at the end of the Passover seder where we read:

It Came to Pass at Midnight

Of old, You performed many miracles by night. At the beginning of the first watch of this night.

To the righteous convert (Abraham) You gave victory when there was divided for him the night.

It came to pass at midnight.

You judged the king of Gerar (Abimelech with death) in a dream by night.

You frightened the Aramean (Laban) in the dark of night.

Israel (Jacob) fought with an angel and overcame him by night.

It came to pass at midnight.

The first-born children of the Egyptians You crushed at midnight.

They did not find their host when they arose at night.

You swept away the army of the prince of Charoshes (Sisera) with the stars of night.

It came to pass at midnight.

The blasphemer (Senacherib) had planned to raise his hand against Jerusalem; You laid low his dead by night.

The idol Bel was overthrown, with its pedestal, in the darkness of the night.

To Daniel, in whom You delighted, the secret vision was revealed at night.

It came to pass at midnight.

He who caroused from the holy vessels (Belshazzar) was slain on that same night.

From the lions’ den was rescued he who interpreted the meaning of the terrors of the night.

Haman bore hatred in his heart and wrote proscriptions at night.

It came to pass at midnight.

You began Your triumph over him when You disturbed the sleep of his king at night.

You will tread the wine-press to help those who ask the watchman, ‘Ah, when will there be an end to the long night?’

He will exclaim, like a watchman and say” ‘Morning will come after this night.’

It came to pass at midnight.

Bring near the day (with the coming of Mashiach), that is neither day nor night.

Show, Most High, that Yours is the day as well as the night.

Appoint watchmen to Your city (Jerusalem) by day and by night.

Illumine as with the light of day, the darkness of the night.

It came to pass at midnight.

This is the power of midnight communing with HaShem!

Asaph starts this psalm by repeatedly using the world “voice – kol” in verse two.

Tehillim (Psalms) 77:2 I will lift up my voice unto God, and cry; I will lift up my voice unto God, that He may give ear unto me.

Let’s look at the origin of speech, the voice. We know that voice is the origin of speech by examining the body. The neck is the organ of connection between the higher and the lower world. In the front, and within this structure is the “voice box”, the organ that produces the voice. No words can be produced unless there is first a ‘voice’. So, lets look at this kol, this voice by returning to the beginning where we find the first use of the word “kol”:

Bereshit (Genesis) 3:8 And they heard the voice (kol) of HaShem God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of HaShem God amongst the trees of the garden.

Exactly how does a “voice”, a kol, go “walking”?

This particular Hebrew word for sound or voice, kol, resonates with another kol, the sound (kol) of the shofar:

Shemot (Exodus) 19:16 And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders (kol) and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice (kol) of the shofar exceeding loud; so that all the people that [was] in the camp trembled.

This kol that we hear at Sinai is the same kol that went walking in Gan Eden right after the first sin. The kol that walked had a question:

Bereshit (Genesis) 3:9 And HaShem God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where are you?

This question: “Where are you (Ayekah)?” was obviously not concerned with Adam’s physical location. After all, how can one hide from The One who is everywhere? This question must be asking a more profound question: ‘Ayekah?’ Where are you, where do you stand morally and spiritually, to what place are you directing your efforts?

The kol of HaShem in Gan Eden looms significant because the shofar blessing on Rosh Hashanah, which reasonably could have stressed the “blowing” of the shofar, stresses the sound or voice, as we say in the shofar blessing: “lishmoah kol haShofar,” to hear (or internalize) the sound of the shofar. The mitzva is not in the blowing. The mitzva is in the hearing, the internalizing of the shofar’s message.

The Rambam is quite explicit in altering the definition of the mitzva. He consistently defines the mitzva as one of HEARING the shofar rather than BLOWING.

This then is the kol that walks. This kol comes seeking the state of the soul of His beloved. This same kol approaches us at this time of judgment. This kol from the shofar “walks” to us, His beloved, and asks: Where are you? Curiously, the kol of the shofar originates from the penitent. The voice of the shofar is the voice of the righteous. This is the voice that Asaph addresses in our psalm.

The Origin of Speech^[7]

The neck is the organ of connection between the higher and the lower world. In the front, and within this structure is the “voice box”, the organ that produces the voice. The front is the side of elevation and spirituality. The front is called “panim – face” in Hebrew. Panim means the outer face and also the inner internality. That which goes on inside a person is most obviously visible in the face. Thus, we can see why we have the same Hebrew word for the thing and it’s opposite.

Voice is produced in the front, the side of spirituality. Voice, in the kabbalistic writings, is referred to as “Moshe Rabbenu”, the one who brought Torah to the world through his voice.^[8] The first four books, of the Torah were taught to the people directly from HaShem through the mouth of Moshe. This is the special level of prophecy to which Moshe was privileged. Our Sages described this as “HaShem speaking through his throat”.^[9] The prophecy of the book of Devarim was different.^[10] It was taught to the nation of Israel in the same manner as the prophecies of the other prophets. HaShem related what he was to teach, and the next day he would relate it to the people of Israel. When he taught his prophecy, therefore, he was disconnected from the Divine Voice, and he spoke with his own voice.^[11]

The voice is the origin of speech. Prophecy originates with the voice, as we can see from the Prophet’s words:

Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 58:1 Cry out in your throat, do not hold back, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.

HaShem tells the prophet “Cry out in your throat, do not hold back”; prophecy is not from the mouth, the origin of words, but from the throat, the origin of raw sound. 

The mystics explain that the voice is the root of speech and contains far more than the individual finite words. Words may convey information, but the voice conveys the person. This is why prophecy is referred to as “voice”, not words: when HaShem tells Avraham to listen to Sarah’s prophetic advice the verse says “Shema b’kola — Listen to her voice”, not “Listen to her words”. Again, prophecy originates with the voice, as we can see when Sarai spoke to Abram:

Bereshit (Genesis) 16:1 Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. 2  And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, HaShem hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.

Note that Abram was not to hearken to her words, but rather to her “voice”. When we talk about prophecy, we are talking about voice. That is why Abram was commanded to listen to her voice – listen to her prophecy!

The blessing we pronounce on hearing the shofar is “lishmo’a kol shofar”, to “hear the voice of the shofar”. The shofar is raw sound, a raw cry, and that is why it has the power to open the neshama. All the words in the world cannot convey the emotion of a scream of a child in the night. The shofar is that scream.

Let’s continue to explore the kol, the voice, because the word kol - קול, voice, in our psalm, resonates with deep meaning. We find this interesting word, later, in our chapter of Psalms:

Tehillim (Psalms) 77:18 The voice (kol - קול) of thy thunder was in the heaven: the lightnings lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook.

Why does Asaph speak of thunder having a voice? Why not speak about it’s sound? Clearly the kol, the voice, is telling us something special. Though a voice is noticed on the outside, that is, after it has left the mouth of a person – or the lightning, it actually originates deep within that entity which produces it, and is associated with the second level of the soul called, “Ruach”, which in this context, translates as “wind”. In Kabbala, Ruach is the level of soul considered to be the essence of physical man. This is why, as Onkelos^[12] explains, back in Genesis, that when G-d breathed the “living soul” into man, the direct result was the ability to speak.

We have a common proverb that says, “It’s not what you say, but how you say it”. Clearly the voice is more telling than the words. Our psalmist seems to be suggesting that the voice of the thunder is conveying something about HaShem’s mood as he calls it “thy” thunder.

We all grew up with that proverb, and although what you say can be just as important, the message of the above dictum rings true: communicating an idea consists of content and presentation. Very often, it is easy to judge a person’s inner being just by the way he presents an idea through his outer being, that is, his body and his voice.

“Kol” carries with it a duality where the internal of the word, and of the speaker, is reflected in the internal. Of necessity, the duality of the voice, is implied in the word kol itself. The gematria^[13] of kol is 136. The gematria of the hidden milui^[14] is also 136. Thus, it is hinted that only when the internal aspect of the kol is like the outside – the external, is it in its true integrity. The hidden milui is calculated as follows:

Gematria	Hidden Milui
ק –         100 ו -            6 ל -           30 --------------                136	קוף         -              186        -              86 - וף וו             -              12           -              6 – ו   למד         -              74           -              44 - מד                                                    -------------                                                                  136

When the external and the internal, of a person, are in perfect harmony with each other, then the Kol, the voice, as in one’s prayer or supplication, goes straight to the Heaven. This is implied in the verse:

Shemot (Exodus) 28:35 the sound (The kol) of the high priest shall be heard when he enters the Sanctuary. 

Kol draws down and reveals an entity’s quality; something that was previously hidden is revealed. For example, a human being’s voice reveals his intellect or his emotions. The voice, not the words, of a person betrays what is internal to the person. Voice stress analysis uses this to attempt to discern the truth of a person’s words. The sound of our voice is the essence of who we are. Kol is communication without words which transcends the limitations of language and its barriers.

Kol is unfettered by the specifics of the message. It is a degree of expression that requires no words because it is the projection of the essence of the caller. The message is the person, pure G-dliness without filtering or manipulation. Words conveys the thoughts of the person’s mind, but kol projects the very person himself.

Rabbeinu Bachya tell us that the Midrash^[15] says that the Torah was given with seven voices. King Solomon writes^[16] "its pillars are seven". What are these seven voices which are the seven pillars? Rabbeinu Bachya surprises us: the seven voices are the seven nekudot or sounds with which we give voice to the letters of the alef-bet! Think of it: komatz, patach, tzerei, segol, cholom, shuruk, chirik - aw, ah, ei, eh, o, u, ee. It is with these sounds that our letters come to life and attain meaning. These are the seven voices with which the entire world comes to life. These are the seven sounds which are the very pillars of our existence. All that is depends upon these seven sounds. The letters are the body. The sounds are the soul. It is only in the oral law that we have these sounds preserved as the Torah has no nukudot. The voice of HaShem, the oral Torah, is mighty indeed!

In Bereshit (Genesis) 28:10ff, we learn about the dream that Yaaqov has when he leaves Israel to go to the house of Laban. The Torah says “And he dreamt, and behold!  A ladder was set earthward and its top reached heavenward”.^[17]  The Baal Haturim^[18] points out that the gematria (numerical value) of the word Sulam, ladder, is equal to one hundred thirty-six, which is the same gematria as the word Kol, as we just learned.  We can deduce from this symbolism that just as the ladder in Yaaqov’s dream connected earth to heaven allowing the angels to go up and down, so to our voice is the mechanism that connects us to heaven.

Voice, kol, is joined to HaShem’s thought. However, we don’t get to the place of words or speech until Torah can be understood through an authoritative rabbinic chain of interpretation. What this means is that the garments of Torah are the narratives and the halakhic readings. The true Torah, though, is the soul of soul, where no distinction exists between the innermost Torah and the divine self of HaShem. When we recite the Shema, this is what we are confirming …that soul of soul, that acceptance and admission of the revealed, or not revealed, aspects of HaShem.

The words “hear”, shema, and “voice”, kol, together have powerful resonance. The first time they are found together is in Eden. There, the Torah states: “And [Adam and Eve] heard the voice of the Lord, G-d, moving about in the garden. Thus, the kol is not just the voice from the larynx, it is the deeper voice that comes from G-d Himself. This correlates with what we learned earlier in this lesson, that the voice is the origin of speech. Prophecy originates with the voice from HaShem.

That is why, when on Rosh Hashanah we blow shofar, the ram’s horn, the wording of the blessing is: “to hear the voice of the shofar”. No wonder: The shofar sound is produced by the inner breath, the inner Godliness, the inner soul, to blow the shofar, we breathe out the breath that G-d breathed into Adam when the human being was first created. Thus, hearing the kol of the shofar takes us back to Eden.

The three major “tools” to achieve forgiveness from HaShem are prayer, repentance, and charity. This is what we say in Mussaf of Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippurim. Some machzorim^[19] have another set of words printed above these three. They are not said, but they are there. Prayer = kol (voice), repentance is aided by fasting, and charity is performed with money. Each of these three words is numerically equal to 136. 100+6+30 = 90+6+40 = 40+40+6+50. The identical Gematria of the synonyms speaks of an equality of significance in the quest for Divine forgiveness.

Three different messages of kol are echoed in the mitzva of shofar. Shofar is the call that re-enacts the moment of creation. Shofar is the call that brings us back to Sinai when the Torah was given. And shofar is the call that will ring out when the Mashiach comes. Thus, the mitzva is to hear the kol, the voice, of the shofar!

Rashi, in his comments on psalm 20, says that the Kol HaShem is thunder that causes the hind to calf!^[20] Further, the Gemara tells us about the thunder.

Berachoth 59a R. Alexandri said in the name of R. Joshua b. Levi: Thunder was created only to straighten out the crookedness of the heart, as it says: God hath so made it that men should fear before him.^[21]

When a person hears a clap of thunder and flinches, the experience may give him pause. When the Chafetz Chaim, zt”l, used to hear thunder he would ask “What does Father want?”

Our psalmist said:

Tehillim (Psalms) 77:18 The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven: the lightnings lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook.

So, what does our pasuk mean? To understand this answer we need to remember a footnote or a parsha from a year ago. Here is what Hakham Eliyahu wrote:

Shemot (Ex.) 19:16 So it came about on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunder (the voices of the Hakhamim) and lightning flashes (the Hakhamim running back and forth to elucidate the Torah) and a thick cloud upon the mountain (governance [kingdom] of God [through the Hakhamim and Bate Din as opposed to human kings]) and a very loud voice of the shofar (Tiferet - Darshan or Maggid [Prophet]), so that all the people who were in the camp (world) trembled.

With this in mind, lets re-translate our pasuk:

Tehillim (Psalms) 77:18 The voice of thy Hakhamim was in the heaven: the Hakhamim lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook.

Now we have a whole new insight into the meaning of HaShem’s kol, of voice, as it is projected into the world! If kol HaShem is thunder, then kol HaShem are our Hakhamim.

Our verbal tally with the Torah portion is Moshe and Aharon,^[22] who were the first Hakhamim for the Jewish people. Asaph was surely taking note that the voice, the kol, of these two would reverberate down through time.

Regular Ashlamatah: Yehezchel (Ezekiel) 45:18 - 46:15

Rashi	Targum
18. So says the Lord God: In the first month, on the first of the month, you shall take a young bull without blemish, and you shall purify the altar.	18. Thus says the LORD God: In the first month, on the first day of the month, you will take a bullock of the herd, unblemished, and you will cleanse the Sanctuary."
19. And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin-offering and put it on the doorpost of the House, and on the four corners of the ledge of the altar and on the doorpost of the gate of the Inner Court.	19. The priest will take of the blood of the sin offering and put it on the doorpost of the Temple, and on the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and on the doorpost of the gate of the inner court.
20. And so shall you do on seven [days] in the month, because of mistaken and simple-minded men, and expiate the House.	20. And so will you do on the seventh day of the month for anyone who has sinned through error or folly; thus, you will make atonement for the Temple.
21. In the first, on the fourteenth day of the month, shall you have the Passover, a festival of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten.	21. In Nisan, on the fourteenth day of the month, you will have the Passover, the pilgrimage festival for seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten.
22. And the prince shall make on that day for himself and for all the people of Israel a bull for a sin-offering.	22. On that day the prince will present as a substitute for himself and substituting for all the people, a bull for a sin offering.
23. On the seven days of the Festival he shall make a burnt-offering to the Lord, seven bulls and seven rams without blemish daily for seven days, and a sin offering, a he-goat daily.	23. And during the seven days of this festival, he will present burnt offerings before the LORD; seven bulls, and seven rams without blemish, every day, for seven days, and a he-goat as a sin offering, daily.
24. And a meal-offering, he shall make an ephah for a bull and an ephah for a ram, and for each ephah one hin of oil.	24. And he will present a meal offering of a measure for each bull and a measure for each ram and a full hin of oil for each measure.
25. In the seventh [month] on the fifteenth day of the month on the Festival, he shall do the same for seven days, a similar sin offering, a similar burnt-offering, a similar meal-offering and similar oil.	25. In the seventh month, on the fifteenth day of the month, on the pilgrimage festival, he will do as on these seven days, like the sin offering, like the burnt offering, like the meal offering, and like the oil.
1. So says the Lord God: The gate of the Inner Court that faces toward the east shall remain closed the six working days, but on the Sabbath, it shall be opened, and on the New Moon it shall be opened.	1. Thus says the LORD God: "The gate of the inner court that faces east will be closed on the six week-days, but on the Sabbath day it will be opened, and on the day of the new moon it will be opened.
2. And the prince shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gate without, and he shall stand at the doorpost of the gate, and the priests shall offer his burnt-offering and his peace-offering, and he shall prostrate himself at the threshold of the gate, and go out, but the gate shall not be closed until the evening.	2. The prince will enter by way of the vestibule of the gate from the outside, and he will stand at the doorpost of the gate; and the priests will sacrifice his burnt offering and his holy sacrifices; and he will bow down at the threshold of the gate and then go out; but the gate will not be closed until the evening.
3. And the people of the land shall [also] prostrate themselves at the entrance of that gate on the Sabbaths and on the New Moons, before the Lord.	3. The people of the land will bow down before the LORD at the entrance of that gate on the Sabbaths and the new moons.
4. And the burnt- offering which the prince offers to the Lord; On the Sabbath shall be six lambs without blemish and a ram without blemish.	4. The burnt offering which the prince presents before the LORD on the Sabbath day will be six lambs without blemish and a ram without blemish.
5. And as a meal- offering: one ephah for the ram; and for the lambs, a meal-offering as he is able to give, and a hin of oil to an ephah.	5. And the meal offering will be a measure for the ram, and for the lambs, the meal offering will be as much as he desires; and a full hin of oil for each measure.
6. But on the New Moon; a young bull without blemish, and six lambs and a ram, without blemish are they to be.	6. On the day of the new moon, it will be a bullock from the herd without blemish, and six lambs and a ram, which will be without blemish.
7. And an ephah for the bull and an ephah for the ram he shall bring as a meal-offering, but for the lambs as much as he can afford, and of oil a hin to an ephah.	7. He will present a meal offering of a measure for the bull and a measure for the ram, and for the lambs, as much as he desires; and a full hin of oil for each measure.
8. And whenever the prince goes in, he shall go in by way of the vestibule of the gate, and by the same way shall he go out.	8. When the prince enters, he will go in by way of the vestibule of the gate and he will go out by the same way.
9. But when the people of the land come before the Lord on the times fixed for meeting, he who enters by way of the north gate to prostrate himself shall go out by way of the south gate, and he that enters by way of the south gate shall go out by way of the north gate; he shall not return by way of the gate whereby he came in, but he shall go out by that which is opposite it.	9. When the people of the land enter to bow down before the LORD at the appointed feasts, the one who enters to worship by way of the north gate will go out by way of the south gate; and the one who enters by way of the south gate will go out by way of the north gate; he will not return by way of the gate by which he entered, but he will go out straight ahead of him.
10. The prince also [then] enters among them when they go in, and when they go out, they [the prince and the people together] go out.	10. And the prince will be among them; when they enter, he will enter, and when they go out he will go out.
11. And on the Festivals and on the times fixed for meeting, the meal-offering shall consist of an ephah for a bull and an ephah for a ram, but for the lambs a gift which is in accordance with his means, and oil, a hin to an ephah.	11. On the pilgrimage festivals and on the appointed feasts, the meal offering will be a measure for the bull, and a measure for the ram, and for the lambs, as much as he desires, and a full hin of oil for each measure.
12. And when the prince brings a free will-offering, a burnt-offering or a peace- offering as a free will-offering to the Lord, one shall then open for him the gate that faces east, and he shall bring his burnt-offering and his peace-offering as he does on the Sabbath day, and after he has gone out, one shall close the gate.	12. When the prince will present a free-will offering, either a burnt offering or holy sacrifices as a free-will offering before the LORD, one will open for him the gate which faces east, and he will present his burnt offering and his holy sacrifices, as he would present them on the Sabbath day. Then he will go out, and one will close the gate after his departure.
13. And a lamb of the first year, without blemish shall you bring as a burnt offering daily to the Lord, every morning shall you bring it.	13. A year old unblemished lamb will you provide as a daily burnt offering before the LORD; you will provide it every single morning.
14. And as a meal-offering you shall bring for it every morning a sixth of an ephah and a third of a hin of oil to stir [with] the fine flour; a meal-offering to the Lord, according to the perpetual ordinance.	14. And you will provide a meal offering with it every single morning, one sixth of a measure, and one third of a hin of oil with which to mix the flour; it is the regular meal offering before the LORD, an eternal statute.
15. Thus shall they bring the lamb and the meal-offering and the oil every morning, a continual burnt offering.	15. They will provide the lamb and the meal offering and the oil every single morning as a regular burnt offering.

Rashi’s Commentary on Yehezchel (Ezekiel) 45:18 – 46:15

18 So says the Lord God: In the first month, on the first of the month, you shall take a young bull [and] without blemish This is the bull of investiture mentioned at the beginning of this section (43:18 27), and he teaches [us] here that the investiture should be on the first of Nissan.

and you shall purify [as translated,] and you shall purify.

20 And so shall you do on seven [days] in the month It may be said that [this means]: And so, shall you do all seven, and so too he says above (43:26): “For seven days they shall effect atonement for the altar.” But our Rabbis explained it in Menahoth (45a) in the following manner: And so, shall you make [as a sacrifice] a bull that is not to be eaten in [the event of] “seven” tribes who “interpreted the Torah in a new way” and whose tribunal issued a decision that fat is permissible, and seven tribes, (which are the majority of the nation), who acted on their word. They must bring a bull for communal error.

because of mistaken and simple-minded men This is a transposed verse: And you shall expiate the House from mistaken and simple-minded men. After the seven days of investiture, whence forth the altar will be dedicated, they shall bring their sin-offerings and their guilt-offerings, and they will attain atonement, for at the time that Israel attains atonement, the House attains atonement.

21 seven days [Lit. weeks of days,] because they commence from it to count seven weeks.

unleavened bread shall be eaten and unleavened bread shall be eaten on that festival.

22 And the prince shall make on that day, etc. Our Rabbis (Hag. 13a) said that they sought to suppress the Book of Ezekiel for his words contradicted the words of the Torah. Indeed, Hananiah the son of Hezekiah the son of Gurion is remembered for good, for he sat in his attic and expounded on it. But because of our iniquities, what he expounded on these sacrifices why a bull is brought on the fourteenth day of Nissan has been lost to us. I say that perhaps he is dealing with the fourteenth of Nissan of the first Passover in which the fully erected House will be dedicated, and this bull will be brought in lieu of the calf born of cattle that Aaron offered up on the eighth of investiture (Lev. 9:2). [Scripture] tells us that if he will not have offered it up on the eighth day of investiture, he should offer it up on the fourteenth of Nissan in order that he should be initiated for the service before the Festival, for it is incumbent upon him [to bring] the sacrifices and the burnt offering of the appointed time, as is stated above (v. 17): “And the burnt offerings and the meal-offerings and the libations on the festivals...shall devolve on the prince, etc.”

23 seven bulls and seven rams without blemish daily But the Torah states (Num. 28:19): “two young bulls, one ram.” We can explain this verse only as meaning seven bulls and seven rams for the seven days, a bull daily and a ram daily, and it comes to teach us that the bulls do not render each other invalid, and the rams do not render each other invalid. [I.e., if one bull is missing, the other one may be brought.] So, we learned in Menahoth (45a); however, they did not bring proof from this verse but from the verse below (46:6): “But on the New Moon: a young bull from those without blemish, and six lambs and a ram.” But perhaps this too comes to teach the same thing, and this is its meaning: seven bulls and seven rams daily. By adding the sacrifices of each day on its day, they add up to seven bulls for the seven days.

and a sin-offering, a he-goat daily the he-goats of the pilgrimage festivals.

24 And a meal-offering...an ephah for a bull the meal-offering of the libations, an “ephah” for a bull. Now I do not know what this means, for the Torah stated (28:20): “three tenths for the bull.” It is possible that it means an “ephah” of flour from which we extract a tenth of fine flour from a “se’ah”, for the “ephah” is three “se’ahs”.

and an ephah for a ram This too is flour from which we extract two tenths of fine flour sifted thoroughly, as we learned (Men. 6:6): The two loaves were two tenths from three “se’ahs”. [The requirement of] an “ephah” for the bull teaches that if he did not find fine sifted flour that yielded that much, he may bring from [flour that yields] a tenth to a “se’ah”.

and for each ephah one hin of oil I do not know why. We may say that it does not mean that he must sacrifice the entire “hin,” but that there were notches in the “hin” and he would sacrifice oil according to the fine flour, according to the sacrificial laws for a bull according to its requirement and for a ram according to its requirement, according to the notches of the “hin”.

Chapter 46

1 The gate of the Inner Court that faces toward the east, etc. Our Rabbis learned in Tractate Middoth (4:2): The gate of the Heichal had two wickets, one in the south and one in the north. Concerning the one in the south it is explained in the post Mosaic Scriptures (above 44:2): “and no man shall come through it...and it shall be closed.”

2 by way of the vestibule of the gate without as he states above (40:31): “And its halls were to the Outer Court.” By way of the vestibule of the Gate of the Court, i.e., he shall enter by way of the Eastern Gate, which serves for entry and exit, and come to that wicket.

and he shall stand at the doorpost of the gate That small gate is the wicket.

his burnt offering and his peace offering The burnt offering for appearing in the Temple and the peace offering for celebrating the festivals; this verse refers to the festivals.

and he shall stand at the doorposts of the gate The inner gate; this is the wicket, as the master stated (Ta’anith 4:2): “Is it possible for a person’s sacrifice to be offered up when he is not standing over it?”

shall not be closed until the evening Now why should it not be closed ?

3 And the people of the land shall prostrate themselves all day, and whoever comes, too, and in the evening, they shall close it.

4 On the Sabbath day shall be six lambs I do not know why, for the Torah said (Num. 28:9): “two lambs,” and “on the Sabbath Day” means either the Sabbath commemorating the Creation or a festival. I, therefore, say that this Sabbath is not the Sabbath commemorating the Creation, but a festival that requires seven lambs and two rams. Scripture comes and teaches you that [the absence of one] does not render the other one invalid, and if he does not find seven, he should bring six, and if he does not find two rams, he should bring one, as our Rabbis expounded regarding the New Moon.

5 as he is able to give This teaches that the meal-offerings do not render each other invalid [in each other’s absence].

6 But on the New Moon: a young bull without blemish Our Rabbis expounded upon this verse in Menahoth (45a): Why does it say, “a young bull”? Since it is stated in the Torah (Num. 28:11): “And at the beginnings of your months, etc., two young bulls,” how do you know that if he did not find two, he should bring one? Because it is stated: “a bull.”

and six lambs Why is it necessary to state this? Since it is said in the Torah, “seven,” how do you know that if he did not find seven, he should bring six? Because it is stated: “and six lambs.” And how do you know [that he should bring] even one? Because the Torah says, “but for the lambs as much as he can afford.”

8 And whenever the prince goes in on the New Moon and on the Sabbath of Creation, when Israel is not commanded to appear at the Temple, and he comes in to prostrate himself.

he shall go in by way of the vestibule of the gate, and by the same way shall he go out Through the very same gate he shall go out, and he is not commanded to make the Court a short-cut. But on the festivals, concerning which it is stated (Deuteronomy . 16:16): “shall all your males appear,” he is required to make it a short-cut like the rest of the people. That is what is written (verse 10): “goes in among them when they go in, and when they go out, they [the prince and people together] go out.”

9 But when the people of the land come, etc., by way of the north gate, etc., but he shall go out by that which is opposite it It is incumbent upon them to be seen in full view in the Court.

10 The prince When he enters the Temple Court through the southern wicket of the Heichal to prostrate himself, he too must make the Temple Court a short-cut. He shall enter by way of the northern gate and leave by way of the southern gate with the rest of the people of the land. This is the meaning of “enters in their midst when they go in, and when they go out, they go out” all of them, the prince with the rest of the people. And he shall not enter by way of the eastern gate as he regularly does on the New Moon and on the Sabbath of Creation, for the eastern gate has no gate opposite it in the west.

12 And when the prince brings a freewill offering on the six working days.

one shall then open for him the gate, etc. Not to enter the Heichal through it, but he shall stand there, and the priests shall make his burnt offering and his peace-offering, and he shall prostrate himself and leave, as it is said: “as he would do on the Sabbath day.” Now what is stated regarding the Sabbath day (here)? (Verse 2) “And he shall stand at the doorpost of the gate, and the priests shall offer his burnt offering, etc.”

after he has gone out He does not say here: “but the gate shall not be closed until the evening,” as he says regarding the Sabbath day. For regarding the Sabbath day, it says (verse 3): “And the people of the land shall prostrate themselves at the entrance of that gate.” Therefore, it is left open. But on weekdays it is not customary for them to come to prostrate themselves, for everyone is occupied with work; therefore, “after he has gone out, one shall close the gate.”

13 And a lamb of the first year the daily sacrifice.

14 a sixth of an ephah of the [post-Exodus] Jerusalemite measure, which is a fifth of the [Mosaic] “measure of the desert,” equaling two tenth parts, one for the daily meal-offering and one for the pancakes. And although the pancakes were offered up by halves, he brings a complete tenth part in the morning and divides it in half, as we learned in Menahoth (4:5)

to stir [with] the fine flour [Heb. לָרֽם ,] asperger in French, to moisten, besprinkle. Manuscripts read: ameller in Old French, to mix. לָרֽם אֶתהַסֽלֶת , to crush and mix with it the fine flour, a form of word for crushing (רִסוּם) , as in (Amos 6:11): “and he shall smite the great house into splinters (רְסִיסִים) ,” and in the language of the Mishnah (Shab. 8:6): If it was thick or cracked (מְרֻסָם) .

Verbal Tallies

HH Giberet Dr. Elisheba bat Sarah

Hebrew:

Hebrew	English	Torah Seder Ex 11:1 - 12:28	Ashlamatah Ez 45:18-46:15
אֶחָד	one, first	Exod. 11:1	Ezek. 45:18
אַחַר	after, follows	Exod. 11:1	Ezek. 46:12
אִישׁ	man, husband, everyone	Exod. 11:2	Ezek. 45:20
אָכַל	eat	Exod. 12:4	Ezek. 45:21
אֵלֶּה	this, these	Exod. 11:8	Ezek. 45:25
אָמַר	said	Exod. 11:1	Ezek. 45:18
אַרְבַּע	four, fourteenth	Exod. 12:6	Ezek. 45:19
אֶרֶץ	land	Exod. 11:3	Ezek. 45:22
אִשָּׁה	each woman, adulteress	Exod. 11:2
אֲשֶׁר	who, in as much	Exod. 11:5	Ezek. 46:4
בּוֹא	bring, went, come, enter	Exod. 11:1	Ezek. 46:2
בַּיִן	between	Exod. 11:7
בַּיִת	house, household	Exod. 12:3	Ezek. 45:19
בֵּן	son	Exod. 11:7	Ezek. 45:18
בֹּקֶר	morning	Exod. 12:10	Ezek. 46:13
דָּם	blood	Exod. 12:7	Ezek. 45:19
דֶּרֶךְ	way		Ezek. 46:2
הָיָה	has, have	Exod. 11:6	Ezek. 45:21
הִין	hin		Ezek. 45:24
הָלַךְ	went, go, come	Exod. 12:28
זֶבַח	sacrifice, offer	Exod. 12:27
זֶה	here, this	Exod. 11:1
חַג	feast	Exod. 12:14	Ezek. 45:21
חֹדֶשׁ	months	Exod. 12:2	Ezek. 45:18
חוּץ	streets, outside		Ezek. 46:2
חָזַק	hardened, seizes	Exod. 11:10
חֻקָּה	ordinance	Exod. 12:14	Ezek. 46:14
יָד	hand	Exod. 12:11	Ezek. 46:5
יָדַע	understand, know	Exod. 11:7
יהוה	LORD	Exod. 11:1	Ezek. 45:18
יוֹם	daily, day	Exod. 12:6	Ezek. 45:21
יָצָא	going, come, go	Exod. 11:4	Ezek. 46:2
יָרַד	come down, descend	Exod. 11:8
כֶּבֶשׂ	sheep, male lambs	Exod. 12:5	Ezek. 46:4
כֹּה	thus	Exod. 11:4	Ezek. 45:18
כֹּל	rather, because, when	Exod. 12:9	Ezek. 46:12
כֹּל	all, every	Exod. 11:5	Ezek. 45:22
כֵּן	therefore, so, thus	Exod. 12:28	Ezek. 45:20
כֶּסֶף	silver, money	Exod. 11:2
לֹה	no, never	Exod. 11:6	Ezek. 46:9
לֵב	heart	Exod. 11:10
לַיְלָה	midnight, night	Exod. 11:4
לָקַח	take, taken	Exod. 12:3	Ezek. 45:18
מוֹשָׁב	your seat, dwellings	Exod. 12:20
מְזוּזָה	door posts	Exod. 12:7	Ezek. 45:19
מִנִּי	whether, some	Exod. 11:7	Ezek. 45:19
מִנְחָה	grain offering		Ezek. 45:24
מָצָא	found	Exod. 12:19
מַצָּה	unleavened bread	Exod. 12:8	Ezek. 45:21
מִצְרַיִם	Egypt	Exod. 11:1
נֶפֶשׁ	of persons, life	Exod. 12:4
נָתַן	gave, put	Exod. 11:3	Ezek. 45:19
סֹלֶת	fine flour		Ezek. 46:14
עַד	until, forever, even	Exod. 11:5	Ezek. 46:2
עוֹלָם	permanent, perpetual, forever	Exod. 12:14	Ezek. 46:14
עֵז	goat	Exod. 12:5	Ezek. 45:23
עַיִן	sight, eye	Exod. 11:3
עַל	due, along, in addition	Exod. 12:9
עֶרֶב	twilight, evening	Exod. 12:6	Ezek. 46:2
עָשָׂר	ten	Exod. 12:6	Ezek. 45:21
פֶּה	according to	Exod. 12:4
פִּנָּה	corner		Ezek. 45:19
פָּנֶה	before, face	Exod. 11:10	Ezek. 46:3
פֶּסַח	Passover	Exod. 12:11	Ezek. 45:21
פַּר	bull		Ezek. 45:18
פֶּתַח	door, doorway	Exod. 12:22	Ezek. 46:3
קָרָא	call, called	Exod. 12:21
קָרַב	present, offer		Ezek. 46:4
רָאָה	see, saw	Exod. 12:13
רֹאשׁ	beginning	Exod. 12:2
רִאשׁוֹן	first	Exod. 12:2	Ezek. 45:18
רֶגֶל	feet	Exod. 11:8
שְׁבִיעִי	seventh	Exod. 12:15	Ezek. 45:25
שֶׁבַע	seven	Exod. 12:15	Ezek. 45:20
שַׁבָּת	Sabbath	Num. 28:9	Ezek. 46:1
שָׁחָה	bow, worship	Exod. 11:8	Ezek. 46:2
שְׁלִישִׁי	third		Ezek. 46:14
שֶׁלֶם	peace offerings		Ezek. 46:2
שֶׁמֶן	oil	Num. 28:9	Ezek. 45:24
שָׁמַע	listen	Exod. 11:9
שָׁמַר	observe, keep	Exod. 12:17
שָׁנָה	year	Exod. 12:2	Ezek. 46:13
שְׁנַיִם	two, each	Exod. 12:7
תָּוֶךְ	midst, among	Exod. 11:4	Ezek. 46:10
תָּמִיד	continually		Ezek. 46:14
תָּמִים	unblemished, without defect	Exod. 12:5	Ezek. 45:18
taJ'x;	sin offering		Ezek. 45:19
lyIa;	rams		Ezek. 45:23
rb;['	go through, passing	Exod. 12:12
hl'[o	burnt offering		Ezek. 45:23
~[;	people	Exod. 11:2	Ezek. 45:22
hf'['	performed, provide, shall do	Exod. 11:10	Ezek. 45:20
ytiP,	naïve		Ezek. 45:20
ry[if'	male goat	Num. 28:15	Ezek. 45:23

Greek:

Greek	English	Ex 11:1 - 12:28	Ez 45:18-46:15	Col. 2:16-23	1 Cor. 5:6-8
ἄζυμος	unleavened	Exo 12:8	Eze 45:21		1Co 5:7
ἄνθρωπος	man, men	Exo 11:3		Col 2:22
εἴδω	know, behold, see	Exo 11:7			1Co 5:6
ἑορτάζω	solemnize a holiday	Exo 12:14			1Co 5:8
ἑορτή	holiday	Exo 12:14	Eze 45:21	Col 2:16
ζύμη	yeast	Exo 12:15			1Co 5:6
θέλω	want, wanting	Exo 11:10		Col 2:18
θεός	GOD	Exo 12:12	Eze 45:18
θύω	sacrificed	Exo 12:21			1Co 5:7
λόγος	words			Col 2:23
νέος	young, new				1Co 5:7
ὁράω	see, seen	Exo 12:13		Col 2:18
πᾶς	every, all	Exo 11:1	Eze 45:22	Col 2:19
πάσχα	passover	Exo 12:11	Eze 45:21		1Co 5:7
σάββατον	Sabbath		Eze 46:1	Col 2:16
σοφία	wisdom			Col 2:23

Nazarean Codicil

Colossians 2:16-23 & 1 Corinthians 5:6-8

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

Colossians 2:16-23

16. ¶ Therefore let no one [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).

17. Which are a shadow (prophecies) of the coming things (Cf. Mordechai 1:14-15).

18. 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).

19. 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.

20. ¶ 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)?

21. [Stating that] You may not handle, nor taste, nor touch (unlawful asceticism),

22. all of (these being unlawful) teachings of the Gentiles, bringing corruption and destruction,

23. 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).

1 Corinthians 5:6-8

6 ¶Your boasting is no good, do you not know [that] a little leaven leavens the whole lump?

7 Thoroughly clean out the old leaven, in order to be like matzah (unleavened bread) for Pesach, [for] Messiah is [as our] offering (olah) over us (for our sake),

8 so that we should not keep with the old leaven the Festival [of unleavened bread], and not with the leaven of malice and wickedness (acts of Lawlessness) but with the matzah (unleavened bread) of purity and truth (faithfulness).

Commentary

It is customary on this Sabbath throughout the world to hear a special homily concerning New Moon of Nisan and the approaching Festival of Unleavened Bread and with particular attention to the Kashrut of the home before Passover. This week we will not comment much on the New Moon of the month of Nisan but rather will concentrate on aspects of the coming Festival of Unleavened Bread. In order to do this, we will start by taking advantage of an ancient Jewish Hermeneutic principle of starting from the end and concluding with the beginning. What we mean is that for this Sabbath we have two readings from the Nazarean Codicil – Colossians 2:16-23 and 1 Corinthians 5:6-8. Normally we would start commenting from the beginning but this week we will start with the end (i.e., 1 Cor. 5:6-8) and conclude with the beginning (i.e., Colossians 2:16-23), particularly verses 16-17.

6 ¶Your boasting is no good, do you not know [that] a little leaven leavens the whole lump?

7 Thoroughly clean out the old leaven, in order to be like matzah (unleavened bread) for Pesach, [for] Messiah is [as our] offering (olah) over us (for our sake),

Here, in this text we see Hakham Shaul equating “leaven” (Heb.: Chamets) with boasting. Notice, that many Messianic and Christian teachers explain that “leaven” is a symbol for sin, however nowhere in the Biblical or Rabbinic records do we find any support for this assertion. Surely, “boasting” is not good, since it does away with humility, however, “boasting” is not necessarily a sin, and in fact a certain amount of “boasting” is necessary in a healthy psychological being. The problem starts when “boasting,” alike wine gets out of control. Therefore, what Hakham Shaul is saying here is that “boasting” is analogous to “leaven.”

Since we are allowed to eat as much leavened bread as our heart desires except for one week a year (7 days in Israel, and 8 days in Diaspora), leaven could not be a symbol for sin. If “leaven” is analogous to “boasting” then it follows that during the week of the Festival of Unleavened Bread we should reduce our boasting as much as possible, since both are analogous to each other as Hakham Shaul points out.

In the week before the Festival of the Seven Days of Unleavened Bread, we busy ourselves cleaning our home, clothes, utensils, and cooking equipment and furniture as much as possible from leaven and rendering our homes as Kosher as possible. Similarly, we ought to decrease in this season as much as possible “boasting” and give it a big try to start cultivating the wonderful trait of “humility.” Both “boasting” and “leaven” puffs up, but “humility” like “unleavened bread” is not puffed up.

However, there is an important pitfall in this endeavour. For, false “humility” can puff up as much as leaven. “Boasting” on one’s humility defeats the purpose of being “humble.” So, the trick here is to cultivate humility without boasting of this trait or our advances in our enterprise. And this is what Hakham Shaul means when he states: “Your boasting is no good, do you not know [that] a little leaven leavens the whole lump?” “Boasting” alike “leaven” not only causes change in the personality of an individual, but also in the collective of individuals in which that person moves and lives. “Boasting” not only leavens the individual but “the whole lump” – i.e., his/her family and community.    

8 so that we should not keep with the old leaven the Festival [of unleavened bread], and not with the leaven of malice and wickedness (acts of Lawlessness) but with the matzah (unleavened bread) of purity and truth (faithfulness).

In other words, to keep/observe the Seven Days of the Festival of Unleavened Bread with the “old leaven” invalidates the merit and benefits of observing the Seven Days of Unleavened Bread. This verse teaches us an important principle – that spiritual changes affect physical changes, and conversely physical changes affect spiritual changes. If we put great effort to clean the home from leaven, for the Festival of the Seven Days of Unleavened Bread we should equally put a great effort in reducing “boasting” and cultivating the trait of humility. Uncontrolled “boasting” leads to malice and wickedness (acts of Lawlessness), but genuine humility leads to transparency and faithfulness in our service to G-d, Torah Study, and service to the community.

So far, you probably have noted, that we have not mentioned the word “Pesach” (Hebrew for: “Passover”). The reason for this is that Passover is an addition to the first day of the festival of Seven Days of Unleavened Bread. In 1 Corinthians 5:8, Hakham Shaul reminds the Corinthian Nazarean Congregation of their obligation to observe the festival of the Seven Days of Unleavened Bread, and not just Passover.

In many Messianic and Christian places there is a desire to observe the Passover without realizing that Passover falls or coincides with the beginning of the festival of the Seven Days of Unleavened Bread. And of course, this is a major problem as it is a blatant desecration of the Festival. We must be firm on this point, that if anyone wants to celebrate Passover, then he or she is obligated to the observance of the Festival of the Seven Days of Unleavened Bread as well.

16. ¶ Therefore let no one [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).

17. Which is a shadow (prophecies) of the coming things (Cf. Mordechai 1:14-15).

In Exodus 13:1-10, we read:

¹ ¶ And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying:

² 'Sanctify unto Me all the first-born, whatsoever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast, it is Mine.'

³ And Moses said unto the people: 'Remember this day, in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out from this place; there will no leavened bread be eaten.

⁴ This day you go forth in the month Abib (Nisan).

⁵ And it will be when the LORD will bring you into the land of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, which He swore unto your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, that you will keep this service in this month.

⁶ Seven days you will eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day will be a feast to the LORD.

⁷ Unleavened bread will be eaten throughout the seven days; and there will no leavened bread be seen with you, neither will there be leaven seen with you, in all your borders.

⁸ And you will tell your son in that day, saying: It is because of that which the LORD did for me when I came forth out of Egypt.

⁹ And it will be for a sign unto you upon your hand, and for a memorial between your eyes, that the Law of the LORD may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand hath the LORD brought you out of Egypt.

¹⁰ You will therefore keep this ordinance in its season from year to year. {P}

There are five themes dealt with in this pericope:

1. vv. 1-2 – sanctification of the “first born”
2. vv. 3-7 – memorial of the Exodus and command to observe the Seven Days of Unleavened Bread
3. v.8 - obligation to retell the story of the Exodus to our children on Pesach
4. v.9 – concerning the Tefillin (Phylacteries)
5. v.10 – obligation to observe the Seven Days of Unleavened Bread each year

Now read again slowly this pericope and note the enlarged “it”. It is obvious that this “it” is referring to:

1. The Exodus from Egypt in the preceding verse (v.8); and
2. The festival of the Seven Days of Unleavened Bread in v.7.

Thus, there is an intimate connection between the Tefillin and the Seven Days of Unleavened Bread. In fact, the Torah here describes poignantly this connection – “that the Law of the LORD may be in your mouth.” We may deduce that a person that wears Tefillin also is obligated to the observance of the Seven Days of Unleavened Bread from year to year, and conversely, that a person who observes from year to year the festival of the Seven Days of Unleavened Bread is also obligated to wear Tefillin at the appropriate times during the year.

Last Shabbat Zakhor, when we spoke about blotting out the remembrance of Amalekh, followed by the semi-festival of Purim, we spoke about Tefillin as the mark of G-d, most blessed be He, and its counterpart or counterfeit the mark of the beast. On this Sabbath I would like to follow on that theme and propose that the mark of G-d is/are the Tefillin, but that the Tefillin in themselves also point to the yearly festival of the Seven Days of Unleavened Bread as we saw above in Exodus 13:1-10. Conversely, the Mark of the Beast is also pointing to a yearly counterpart or counterfeit festival known as “Easter.”

Thus, Hakham Shaul warns:

16. ¶ Therefore let no one [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).

17. Which is a shadow (prophecy) of the coming things (Cf. Mordechai 1:14-15).

Why does he say so? Because every time we do something for G-d we are prophesying about something. Whether the Prophecy be for evil and doom or for blessings, it is another matter. But we must always remember that anything we do for G-d or man at any time is a prophecy in and by itself. Now, G-d never commanded to observe Easter, therefore those who observe Easter are prophesying about evil, doom, and judgment for themselves, but those who observe the G-d appointed Festival of the Seven Days of Unleavened Bread as elucidated by our Sages prophesy about blessings that are yet to come to us and our people.

The Festival of the Seven Days of Unleavened Bread starts on the evening ending the 14^th of Nisan and beginning the evening of the 15^th of Nisan. The festival therefore starts about the middle of the month of Nisan. So, we may ask, what is this all about a festival in the middle of the month of Nisan when this Shabbat is all about announcing the coming New Moon of the month of Nisan? This is a most excellent and key question that all of us should have in our minds at this point.

We know that there are two special New Moons in the Biblical calendar. The first one is the New Moon in Tishri which also is called the festival of Trumpets. In that day, according to our liturgy (see Machzor for Rosh HaShannah) we crown G-d. Most blessed be He, as King of the Universe. Conversely on this New Moon of Nisan we crown the King Messiah of Israel (for all Jewish Kings are crowned on the New Moon of Nisan). So then, on the New Moon of Tishri we crown G-d as King of the Universe, and on the New Moon of Nisan we crown the King Messiah of Israel.

Now, we may ask, what is the crown of Messiah King of Israel, how does it look like? The answer to this question is twofold. First, in the Mishnah Tractate Pirke Abot, we find a passage that states that there are three crowns, the crown of the High Priest which can only be obtained by inheritance. Second, we have the crown of the King Messiah of Israel, which as well one can only receive by inheritance. Then there is a third crown, the highest crown of all, one which any human being can attain to, and that is the crown of the Torah!

And how does the crown of the Torah looks like? We may say, that in ordinary times and days the crown of the Torah is the Kippah [therefore we should treat the Kippah with utmost respect and decorum]. But there is even a more sublime crown and that is the Tefillin. When we obey the precept of putting on the Tefillin to pray we are prophesying that we are legitimately the royal consorts of King Messiah to rule with justice, integrity, and kindness over all the world. Therefore, if there is any more propitious time to wear Tefillin when we recite our morning prayers it is on the day of the New Moon of Nisan (when it does not fall on a Sabbath). This is the day when the prophecy is at its most potent, as well as during the morning services during the intermediate days of the Seven Days of Unleavened Bread.

It is interesting to note that the Master was crowned King by the pagan Romans with a crown of thorns on the 14^th day of Nisan.  And to this day many Christians teach that the highest crown a man can attain to in this earth is a crown of thorns. However, our Torah says differently. The highest crown a man can attain to is the crown of the Torah, and this crown is the Tefillin. Our Halakha goes further and states that on Sabbath mornings and on Festival days we do not don the Tefillin, because the prophecy of the Festival outshines the prophecy of our crown. This brings us again to the issue of boasting versus humility. On the Festivals and Sabbaths, we do not don our Torah crowns (i.e., Tefillin) and rather take the opportunity to crown G-d, most blessed be He and His Messiah Kings.

The New Moon of Nissan is also a time of hope, inclusivity, and renewal. Rabbi Elazar ben Arakh was one of the outstanding students of Rabbi Yohanan ben Zaccai, in the generation after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 C.E. He was described as an overflowing fountain, filled with Torah knowledge and intellectual creativity. He was so brilliant that the Pirqe Abot (Chapters of the Fathers) suggests that if all the scholars were on one side of the scale and Rabbi Elazar ben Arakh was on the other side of the scale, he alone would outweigh all of them in greatness.

With so much talent, it must have been expected that he would become the leading rabbinic figure of his generation. Surprisingly, though, he seems to have faded out; his legal opinions are rarely cited in the Talmud. What happened to this promising sage? How did this genius sink into obscurity?

The Talmud (Shabbat 147b) relates that Rabbi Elazar moved away from his fellow scholars and went to live in a place where people were overly concerned with their physical comforts and pleasures. He became a hedonist. While pampering himself, he let his Torah study lapse. Indeed, his spiritual condition declined so sharply that when he visited his colleagues at some later point, his profound ignorance of Torah shocked them. Rabbi Elazar was called to read from the Torah the passage we read on Shabbat haHodesh -- and he couldn't even pronounce correctly the first three words.

How did the sages respond to their hedonistic colleague who no longer maintained his commitment to Torah study? Did they send him away? Did they scorn him? Did they malign him? No!

The Talmud tells us: when the sages realized how far Rabbi Elazar had sunk, they prayed for him! They asked God to have mercy on him. They must surely have been disappointed in Rabbi Elazar -- but they loved him, they knew his true greatness, they wanted him back with them. The Talmud says that because of the prayers of the sages, Rabbi Elazar's Torah knowledge was returned to him, and he once again assumed his role as a Torah scholar. His name was changed to Rabbi Nehorai, implying that he enlightened the eyes of the sages in Torah and halakha. Rabbi Elazar learned that one cannot be a Torah scholar if one isolates himself from fellow scholars; one cannot be a religiously vibrant person if one gives in to hedonism and materialism.

Rabbi Elazar's return to the fold was precipitated by the words he misread -- the words we read on Shabbat haHodesh. These words announce that the month of Nisan represents a new time for the people of Israel. This is the month of redemption from Egypt; this is the month of beginning to live as a free, independent people. These words of Shabbat haHodesh challenge us to recognize that we are entering a new era, and that we need to rise to the awesome responsibilities. When Rabbi Elazar haltingly read these words, he must have been struck by how far he had fallen from the goals of Shabbat haHodesh; he must have profoundly sensed how he had failed miserably to live up to his own and his colleagues' expectations. He had sold himself out, for a few physical pleasures.

He may have thought his life was ruined, beyond salvation. But then he heard his colleagues pray for him--and his spirit was restored. He knew that they had not given up on him, and he was now determined not to give up on them. Rabbi Elazar ben Arakh, who had fallen into a life of physical comfort and pampering, now became Rabbi Nehorai--the light of his generation in Torah.

As we observe Shabbat haHodesh, we call to mind that amazing time just before the exodus from Egypt. We feel anticipation and excitement at the advent of Passover--just a few weeks away. This is a time of renewal, a time of re-assessment of where we've been, where we are, and where we are going. While this is a time for personal reflection and re-commitment to Torah and halakha, it is also a time to pray for and reach out to those who have drifted away and have become spiritually complacent. By showing concern and genuine love for others--even those who have lapsed from their ideal potential--we help them re-focus on their lives; we also help ourselves become better and more thoughtful people.

A dominant theme of this season is "inclusivity". Let all who are hungry--physically and/or spiritually--come and find sustenance. Let all who are distant come closer. Let us strive to welcome those who seek us and let us not be afraid to take the first step in reaching out to them. It is therefore our most sincere prayer to wish you, and all Israel a most joyous Rosh Chodesh Nisan!

Blessing After Torah Study

Barúch Atáh Adonai, Elohénu Meléch HaOlám,

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

Barúch Atáh Adonái, Notén HaToráh. Amen!

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

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

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

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

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

Mevar’chim HaChodesh

(Proclamation of the New Moon of Nisan)

(Monday Evening 8^th of April – Tuesday Evening 9^th of April 2024)

Next Shabbat: ”Vayaseetah Paroket” ”ועשית פרכת”

“And you shall make a veil”

Shabbat	Torah Reading:	Weekday Torah Reading:
”ועשית פרכת”		Saturday Afternoon
“Vayaseetah Paroket”	Reader 1 – Sh’mot 26:31-33	Reader 1 – Sh’mot 27:20 – 28:5
“And You shall make a veil”	Reader 2 – Sh’mot 26:34-37	Reader 2 – Sh’mot 28:6-8
“y harás un velo”	Reader 3 – Sh’mot 27:1-4	Reader 3 – Sh’mot 28:9-12
Sh’mot (Exodus) 26:31 – 27:19	Reader 4 – Sh’mot 27:5-8
Ashlamatah: Yehezchel (Ezekiel) 16:10-18; 60	Reader 5 – Sh’mot 27:9-11	Monday and Thursday Mornings
Tehillim (Psalms) 63:1-12	Reader 6 – Sh’mot 27:12-15	Reader 1 – Sh’mot 27:20 – 28:5
Mk 8:11-12; Lk 11:29-30	Reader 7 – Sh’mot 27:16-19	Reader 2 – Sh’mot 28:6-8
	Maftir – Sh’mot 27:16-19                  Ezek 16:10-18; 60	Reader 3 – Sh’mot 28:9-12

Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David

Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham

Edited by His Honor Paqid Adon Ezra ben Abraham

A special thank you to HH Giberet Giborah bat Sarah for her diligence in proof-reading every week.

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[1] see Hirsch

[2] Asaph: (5th century BCE) A Levite singer who lived through the Destruction of the Temple; authored many chapters of the Book of Psalms.

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

[4] Based on Shir HaShirim Rabbah 4:3.

[5] Rabbi Eliezer Shlomo Schik, also known as Mohorosh (an acronym for Moreinu HaRav Eliezer Shlomo, “our teacher, our rabbi, Eliezer Shlomo”)

[6] Lekutei Mohoran part I, lesson 54

[7] I heard this section from Rabbi Akiva Tatz. Edited.

[8] HaOref - הערף, in Hebrew, means the back of the neck. If you rearrange the letters you get Paro - פַּרְעֹה, Moshe’s arch enemy. Paro tried to suppress Moshe’s prophecy.

[9] Zohar Vetchanan 265a

[10] Zohar Vayikra 7a, Zohar Vetchanan 261a

[11] Vilna Gaon (cited in Ohel Yaakov, introduction to Devarim by Rabbi Yaakov Krantz, the dubno Maggid).

[12] Onkelos is the name of a famous convert to Judaism in Tannaic times (c. 35–120 CE). He is the author of the famous Targum Onkelos.

[13] Numerical value of the letters

[14] The internal letters of each letter of the word kol. The word Milui means “filling”. This is one of the devices used in Kabbala to explore deeper dimensions of Hebrew words. The great Kabbalist Rabbi Yitzchak Luria used this method extensively to reveal hidden meanings in the Torah text. One finds the Milui of a Hebrew word by spelling it in its full form in the following manner. For example, the letter Aleph (א) is filled out by the three letters that make up the name of the letter: Aleph Lamed Peh (אלף). The hidden milui  counts only the letters not included in the original word. In our case, the letters of the word kol would be spelled out Kaf, Vav, Peh; Vav, Vav; and Lamed, Mem, Dalet. The milui would then be the ‘inside’ letters [Vav, Peh, Vav, Mem, Dalet] which equals 136.

[15] Shemot Rabbah 28:4

[16] Mishlei (Proverbs) 9:1

[17] Bereshit (Genesis) 28:12.

[18] Rabbi Yaakov ben Raash (Rabbeinu Asher).

[19] The prayer book used for the festivals.

[20] Tehillim (Psalms) 29:9.

[21] Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) 3:14.

[22] In v.20 - Moses - משה, Strong’s number 04872. Aaron - אהרון, Strong’s number 0175.