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    Happy & Kosher

Pesach 5781 Part I                     

 

 

“First Day of Pesach”

(Saturday Evening March 27, 2021)

Family Passover

 

Sunday Morning March 28, 2021

Morning Service

Torah Reading: Exodus 12:21-51

 

Reader 1:  Exodus 12:2 –27

Reader 2:  Exodus 12:28-33

Reader 3:  Exodus 12:34-39

Reader 4:  Exodus 12:40-45

Reader 5:  Exodus 12:46-51

Maftir: B’Midbar (Number)s 28:16-25

Ashlamatah: II Kings 23:1-9; 21-25

Nazarean Codicil: 1 Corinthians 3:1 – 5:13 & Revelation 2:1-70F^[1]

 

Blessing Before Torah Study

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

These are the Laws whose benefits a person can often enjoy even in this world, even though the primary reward is in the Next World: They are: 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!

 

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan

for: Shemot (Exodus) ‎12:14-51‎

 

Rashi	Targum Pseudo Jonathan
14. And this day shall be for you as a memorial, and you shall celebrate it as a festival for the Lord; throughout your generations, you shall celebrate it as an everlasting statute.	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. For seven days you shall eat unleavened cakes, but on the preceding day you shall clear away all leaven from your houses, for whoever eats leaven from the first day until the seventh day that soul shall be cut off from Israel.	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. And on the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and on the seventh day you shall have a holy convocation; no work may be performed on them, but what is eaten by any soul that alone may be performed 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. And you shall watch over the unleavened cakes, for on this very day I have taken your legions out of the land of Egypt, and you shall observe this day throughout your generations, [as] an everlasting 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 unleavened cakes, 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, leavening shall not be found in your houses, for whoever eats leavening that soul shall be cut off from the community of Israel, both among the strangers and the native born of 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 shall not eat any leavening; throughout all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened cakes."	20. Any mixture of leaven you shall not eat; in every place of your habitation you shall 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 house 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.
29. It came to pass at midnight, and the Lord smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who is in the dungeon, and every firstborn animal.	29. And it was in the dividing, of the night of the fifteenth, that the Word of the LORD slew all the firstborn in the land of Mizraim, from the firstborn son of Pharoh, who would have sat upon the throne of his kingdom, unto the firstborn sons of the kings who were captives in the dungeon as hostages under Pharoh's hand; and who, for having rejoiced at the servitude of Israel, were punished as (the Mizraee): and all the firstborn of the cattle that did the work of the Mizraee died also.
30. And Pharaoh arose at night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians, and there was a great outcry in Egypt, for there was no house in which no one was dead.	30. And Pharoh rose up in that night, and all the rest of his servants, and all the rest of the Mizraee; and there was a great cry, because there was no house of the Mizraee where the firstborn was not dead.
31. So he called for Moses and Aaron at night, and he said, "Get up and get out from among my people, both you, as well as the children of Israel, and go, worship the Lord as you have spoken.	31. And the border of the land of Mizraim extended four hundred pharsee; but the land of Goshen, where Mosheh and the sons of Israel were, was in the midst of the land of Mizraim; and the royal palace of Pharoh was at the entrance of the land of Mizraim. But when he cried to Mosheh and to Aharon in the night of the Pascha, his voice was heard unto the land of Goshen; Pharoh crying with a voice of woe, and saying thus: Arise, Go forth from among my people, both you and the sons of Israel; and go, worship before the LORD, as you have said;
32. Take also your flocks and also your cattle, as you have spoken, and go, but you shall also bless me."	32. your sheep also take, and whatever of mine you have spoken about, and go; and nothing ask I of you except that you pray for me that I may not die.
33. So the Egyptians took hold of the people to hasten to send them out of the land, for they said, "We are all dead."	33. When Mosheh and Aharon, and the sons of Israel, heard the voice of Pharoh's weeping, they were not mindful, until he came himself, and all his servants, and all the Mizraee, and urged all the people of the house of Israel, that they might hasten to send them forth from the land; For, said they, if they prolong here one hour more, behold, we are all dead. JERUSALEM: For, said the Mizraee, if Israel delay one hour (longer), behold, all Mizraim dies.
34. The people picked up their dough when it was not yet leavened, their leftovers bound in their garments on their shoulders.	34. And the people carried their dough upon their heads, being unleavened, and what remained to them of the paschal cakes and bitter things they carried, bound up with their raiment, upon their shoulders.
35. And the children of Israel did according to Moses' order, and they borrowed from the Egyptians silver objects, golden objects, and garments.	35. And the sons of Israel did according to the word of Mosheh, and asked of the Mizraee vessels of silver and vessels of gold.
36. The Lord gave the people favor in the eyes of the Egyptians, and they lent them, and they emptied out Egypt.	36. And the LORD gave the people favor and compassion before the Mizraee, and they brought forth to them, and they emptied the Mizraee of their riches.
37. The children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot, the men, besides the young children.	37. And the sons of Israel moved forth from Pilusin towards Succoth, a hundred and thirty thousand, protected there by seven clouds of glory on their four sides: one above them, that neither hail nor rain might fall upon them, nor that they should be burned by the heat of the sun; one beneath them, that they might not be hurt by thorns, serpents, or scorpions; and one went before them, to make the valleys even, and the mountains low, and to prepare them a place of habitation. And they were about six hundred thousand men, journeying on foot, none riding on horses except the children five to every man;
38. And also, a great mixed multitude went up with them, and flocks and cattle, very much livestock.	38. and a multitude of strangers, two hundred and forty myriads, went up with them, and sheep, and oxen, and cattle, very many. JERUSALEM: A mixed multitude.
39. They baked the dough that they had taken out of Egypt as unleavened cakes, for it had not leavened, for they were driven out of Egypt, and they could not tarry, and also, they had not made provisions for themselves.	39. And they divided the dough which they brought out of Mizraim, which they had carried on their heads, and it was baked for them by the heat of the sun, (into) unleavened cakes, because it had not fermented; for the Mizraee had thrust them out, neither could they delay; and it was sufficient for them to eat until the fifteenth of the month Iyar; because they had not prepared provision for the way.
40. And the habitation of the children of Israel, that they dwelled in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.	40. And the days of the dwelling of the sons of Israel in Mizraim were thirty weeks of years, (thirty times seven years,) which is the sum of two hundred and ten years. But the number of four hundred and thirty years (had passed away since) the LORD spoke to Abraham, in the hour that He spoke with him on the fifteenth of Nisan, between the divided parts, until the day that they went out of Mizraim.
41. It came to pass at the end of four hundred and thirty years, and it came to pass in that very day, that all the legions of the Lord went out of the land of Egypt.	41. And it was at the end of thirty years from the making of this covenant, that Yizhak was born; and thence until they went out of Mizraim four hundred (years), on the selfsame day it was that all the hosts of the LORD went forth made free from the land of Mizraim.
42. It is a night of anticipation for the Lord, to take them out of the land of Egypt; this night is the Lord's, guarding all the children of Israel throughout their generations.	42. Four nights are there written in the Book of Memorials before the LORD of the world. Night the first,--when He was revealed in creating the world; the second,--when He was revealed to Abraham; the third,--when He was revealed in Mizraim, His hand killing all the firstborn of Mizraim, and His right hand saving the firstborn of Israel; the fourth,--when He will yet be revealed to liberate the people of the house of Israel from among the Gentiles. And all these are called Nights to be observed; for so explained Mosheh, and said thereof, It is to be observed on account of the liberation which is from the LORD, to lead forth the people of the sons of Israel from the land of Mizraim. This is that Night of preservation from the destroying angel for all the sons of Israel who were in Mizraim, and of redemption of their generations from their captivity.
43. The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "This is the statute of the Passover sacrifice: No estranged one may partake of it.	43. _ _ JERUSALEM: This is a night to be observed and celebrated for the liberation from before the LORD in bringing forth the sons of Israel, made free from the land of Mizraim. Four nights are there written in the Book of Memorial. Night first; when the Word of the LORD was revealed upon the world as it was created; when the world was without form and void, and darkness was spread upon the face of the deep, and the Word of the LORD illuminated and made it light; and he called it the first night. Night second; when the Word of the LORD was revealed unto Abraham between the divided parts; when Abraham was a son of a hundred years, and Sarah was a daughter of ninety years, and that which the Scripture said was confirmed,--Abraham a hundred years, can he beget? and Sarah, ninety year old, can she bear? Was not our father Yizhak a son of thirty and seven years, at the time he was offered upon the altar? The heavens were (then) bowed down and brought low, and Yizhak saw their realities, and his eyes were blinded at the sight, and he called it the second night. The third night; when the Word of the LORD was revealed upon the Mizraee, at the dividing of the night; His right hand slew the firstborn of the Mizraee, His right hand spared the firstborn of Israel; to fulfill what the Scripture has said, Israel is My firstborn son. And He called it the third night. Night the fourth; when the end of the age will be accomplished, that it might be dissolved, the bands of wickedness destroyed and the iron yoke (Roman yoke) broken. Mosheh came forth from the midst of the desert; but the King Messiah (comes from the midst of Roma). The Cloud preceded that, and the Cloud will go before this one; and the Word of the LORD will lead between both, and they will proceed together. This is the night of the Pascha before the LORD, to be observed and celebrated by the sons of Israel in all their generations.
44. And every man's slave, purchased for his money you shall circumcise him; then he will be permitted to partake of it.	44. _ _ JERUSALEM: A sojourning man and a hireling born of the Gentiles will not eat of it.
45. A sojourner or a hired hand may not partake of it.	45. A sojourner or a hired stranger will not eat thereof.
46. It must be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the meat out of the house to the outside, neither shall you break any of its bones.	46. In his own company he will eat. You will not carry any of the flesh out of the house from [your] company, nor send a gift to his neighbor; and a bone of him will not be broken for the sake of eating that which is within it.
47. The entire community of Israel shall make it.	47. All the congregation of Israel will mix together, this one with that, one family with another, that they may perform it.
48. And should a proselyte reside with you, he shall make a Passover sacrifice to the Lord. All his males shall be circumcised, and then he may approach to make it, and he will be like the native of the land, but no uncircumcised male may partake of it.	48. And if a proselyte sojourn with you, and would perform the pascha before the LORD, let every male belonging to him be circumcised, and so be made fit to perform it; and he will be as the native of the land: but no uncircumcised one of the sons of Israel will eat thereof.
49. There shall be one law for the native and for the stranger who resides in your midst."	49. One Law will there be as to appointments for the native and for the proselyte who sojourns among you.
50. All the children of Israel did; as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.	50. And all the sons of Israel did as the LORD had commanded Mosheh and Aharon, so did they.
51. It came to pass on that very day, that the Lord took the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt with their legions.	51. And it was on that same day that the LORD brought forth the sons of Israel from the land of Mizraim, with their hosts.

 

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan

for: B’Midbar (Num.) 28:16-25‎

 

Rashi	Targum Pseudo Jonathan
16. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, [you shall offer up] a Passover offering to the Lord.	16. And in the month of Nisan, on the fourteenth day of the month, is the sacrifice of the Pascha before the LORD.
17. On the fifteenth day of this month, a festival [begins]; you shall eat unleavened bread for seven days.	17. On the fifteenth day of this month is a festival; seven days will unleavened be eaten.
18. On the first day is a holy convocation; you shall not perform any mundane work.	18. On the first day of the festival a holy convocation; no servile work will you do;
19. You shall offer up a fire offering, a burnt offering to the Lord: two young bulls, one ram, and seven lambs in the first year they shall be unblemished for you.	19. but offer an oblation of a burnt sacrifice before the LORD, two young bullocks, one ram, and seven lambs of the year, unblemished, will you have.
20. Their meal offerings [shall be] fine flour mixed with oil; three tenths for each bull and two tenths for the ram you shall offer up.	20. And their minchas of wheat flour, mingled with olive oil, three tenths for each bullock, two tenths for the ram,
21. And you shall offer up one tenth for each lamb, for all seven lambs.	21. and for a single lamb a tenth, so for the seven;
22. And one young male goat for a sin offering to atone for you.	22. and one kid of the goats, to make an atonement for you:
23. You shall offer these up besides the morning burnt offering which is offered as a continual burnt offering.	23. beside the burnt sacrifice of the morning, the perpetual burnt sacrifice, you will make these offerings.
24. Like these, you shall offer up daily for seven days, food of the fire offering, a spirit of satisfaction to the Lord; you shall offer up this in addition to the continual burnt offering and its libation.	24. According to these oblations of the first day you will do daily through the seven days of the festival. It is the bread of the oblation which is received with favor before the LORD; it will be made beside the perpetual burnt offering, with its libation.
25. The seventh day shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall not perform any mundane work.	25. And on the seventh day you shall have a holy convocation; no servile work shall you do.

 

Welcome to the World of P’shat Exegesis

 

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

 

The Seven Hermeneutic Laws of R. Hillel are as follows

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Reading Assignment:

The Torah Anthology, Volume 12, The Divine Service, pp. 158 - 230

By: Hakham Yitschak Magrisso

Translated by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan

 

 

Rashi’s Commentary for: ‎ Shemot (Exodus) ‎12:14-51‎‎

 

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” (Deut. 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. הָרִאשׁוֹן בַּיוֹם. 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 expression בַּיוֹם 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 קֹדֶשׁ 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]

 

29 and the Lord-Heb. וַה' . Wherever it says, “and the Lord,” it means “He and His tribunal” (Exod. Rabbah 12:4), for the “vav” is an expression of addition, like “so-and-so and (“vav”) so-and- so.”

 

smote every firstborn-Even [a firstborn] of another nation who was in Egypt.-[from Mechilta]

 

from the firstborn of Pharaoh-Pharaoh, too, was a firstborn, but he remained [alive] of the firstborn. Concerning him, He [God] says: “But, for this [reason] I have allowed you to stand, in order to show you My strength” (Exod. 9:16) at the Red Sea.-[from Mechilta]

 

to the firstborn of the captive-Because they rejoiced at Israel’s misfortune (Tanchuma 7), and furthermore, so that they would not say, “Our deity brought about this retribution” (Mechilta). The firstborn of the slave woman was included, because [Scripture] counts from the most esteemed to the lowest, and the firstborn of the slave woman is more esteemed than the firstborn of the captive. See commentary on Exodus 11:5.

 

30 And Pharaoh arose-from his bed.

 

at night-Unlike the custom of kings, [who rise] three hours after daybreak.-[from Mechilta]

 

he-[arose] first, and afterwards his servants. This teaches us that he went around to his servants’ houses and woke them up.-[from Mechilta]

 

for there was no house in which no one was dead-If there was a firstborn, he was dead. If there was no firstborn, the oldest household member was called the firstborn, as it is said: “I, too, shall make him [David] a firstborn” (Ps. 89:28) (Tanchuma Buber 19). [Rashi explains there: I shall make him great.] Another explanation: Some Egyptian women were unfaithful to their husbands and bore children from bachelors. Thus they would have many firstborn; sometimes one woman would have five, each one the firstborn of his father (Mechilta 13:33).

 

31 So he called for Moses and Aaron at night-[This] tells [us] that Pharaoh went around to the entrances [i.e., to the doors of the houses] of the city, and cried out, “Where is Moses staying? Where is Aaron staying?”-[from Mechilta]

 

both you-the men.

 

as well as the children of Israel-The young children.

 

and go, worship the Lord as you have spoken-Everything is as you said, not as I said. “Neither will I let Israel out” (Exod. 5:2) is nullified. “Who and who are going?” (Exod. 10:8) is nullified. “But your flocks and your cattle shall be left” (Exod. 10:24) is nullified. [Instead,] take also your flocks and also your cattle. What is [the meaning of] “as you have spoken”? You too shall give into our hands sacrifices and burnt offerings (Exod. 10:25).-[from Mechilta]

 

32 Take… as you have spoken… but you shall also bless me-[I.e.,] pray for me that I shall not die, for I am a firstborn.-[from Onkelos]

 

33 We are all dead-They said, “This is not in accordance with Moses’ decree, for he said, ‘And every firstborn in the land of Egypt will die’ (Exod. 11:5), but here, the ordinary people too are dead, five or ten in one house.”-[from Mechilta] See Rashi on verse 30.

 

34 when it was not yet leavened-The Egyptians did not permit them to tarry long enough for it to leaven.

 

their leftovers-Heb. מִשְׁאֲרֽתָם . The remaining matzah and bitter herbs.-[from Mechilta and Jonathan]

 

on their shoulders-Although they took many animals with them, they [carried the remaining matzoth and bitter herbs on their shoulders because] they loved the mitzvoth.-[from Mechilta]

 

35 according to Moses’ order-that he said to them in Egypt: “and let them borrow, each man from his friend” (Exod. 11:2).-[from Mechilta]

 

and garments-These meant more to them than the silver and the gold, and [thus] whatever is mentioned later in the verse is more esteemed.-[from Mechilta]

 

36 and they lent them-Even what they [the Israelites] did not request, they [the Egyptians] gave them. You say, “[Lend me] one.” [They responded,] “Take two and go!”-[from Mechilta]

 

and they emptied out-Heb. וַיְנַצְלוּ . Onkelos renders: וְרוֹקִינוּ , and they emptied out.

 

37 from Rameses to Succoth-They were 120 “mil” [apart]. Yet they arrived there instantly, as it is said: “and I carried you on eagles’ wings.”-[from Mechilta]

 

the men-from 20 years old and older.-[from Song Rabbah 3:6]

 

38 a great mixed multitude-A mixture of nations of proselytes.-[from Zohar, vol. 2, p. 45b]

 

39 and also, they had not made provisions for themselves for the trip. [This verse] tells [of] Israel’s praise, [namely] that they did not say, “How will we go out into the desert without provisions?” Instead they believed and left. This is what is what is stated explicitly in the Prophets: “I remember to you the loving kindness of your youth, the love of your nuptials, your following Me in the desert, in a land not sown” (Jer. 2:2). Now what was the [Israelites’] reward? It is explained afterward: “Israel is holy to the Lord, etc.” (Jer. 2:3).-[from Mechilta]

 

40 that they dwelled in Egypt-after the other dwellings in which they dwelled as foreigners in a land that was not theirs.-[from Mechilta]

 

was four hundred and thirty years-Altogether, from the time that Isaac was born, until now, were 400 years. From the time that Abraham had seed [i.e., had a child, the prophecy] “that your seed will be strangers” (Gen. 15:13) was fulfilled; and there were another 30 years from the decree “between the parts” (Gen 15:10) until Isaac was born. It is impossible, however, to say that [they spent 400 years] in Egypt alone, because Kehath [the grandfather of Moses] was [one] of those who came with Jacob. Go and figure all his years, all the years of his son Amram, and Moses’ 80 years; you will not find them [to be] that many, and perforce, Kehath lived many of his years before he descended to Egypt, and many of Amram’s years are included in the years of Kehath, and many of Moses’ years are included in Amram’s years. Hence, you will not find 400 years counting from their arrival in Egypt. You are compelled, perforce, to say that the other dwellings [which the Patriarchs settled] were also called being “sojournings” and even in Hebron, as it is said: “where Abraham and Isaac sojourned (גָּרוּ) ” (Gen. 35:27), and [Scripture] states also “the land of their sojournings in which they sojourned” (Exod. 6:4). Therefore, you must say that [the prophecy] “your seed will be strangers” [commences] when he [Abraham] had offspring. And only when you count 400 years from the time that Isaac was born, you will find 210 years from their entry into Egypt. This is one of the things that [the Sages] changed for King Ptolemy.-[from Mechilta, Meg. 9a]

 

41 It came to pass at the end of four hundred and thirty years, and it came to pass in that very day [This] tells [us] that as soon as the end [of this period] arrived, the Omnipresent did not keep them [even] as long as the blink of an eye. On the fifteenth of Nissan, the angels came to Abraham to bring him tidings. On the fifteenth of Nissan Isaac was born; on the fifteenth of Nissan the decree of “between the parts” was decreed.-[from Mechilta]

 

42 It is a night of anticipation-for which the Holy One, blessed be He, was waiting and anticipating, [in order] to fulfill His promise to take them out of the land of Egypt.

 

this night is the Lord’s-This is the night concerning which He said to Abraham, “On this night I will redeem your children.”-[from Mechilta]

 

guarding all the children of Israel throughout their generations-from that time onward, it [the Israelites] are guarded from harmful spirits, like the matter that is stated: “and He will not permit the destroyer, etc.” (above verse 23).-[from Mechilta]

 

43 This is the statute of the Passover sacrifice-On the fourteenth of Nissan, this section was told to them.-[from Exod. Rabbah 19:5]

 

No estranged one-Whose deeds have become estranged from his Father in heaven. Both a gentile and an Israelite apostate are meant.-[from Mechilta]

 

44 you shall circumcise him; then he will be permitted to partake of it-[I.e., he means] his master. [This] tells [us] that the [failure to perform the] circumcision of one’s slaves prevents one from partaking of the Passover sacrifice. [These are] the words of Rabbi Joshua. Rabbi Eliezer says: The [failure to perform the] circumcision of one’s slaves does not prevent one from partaking of the Passover sacrifice. If so, what is the meaning of “then he will be permitted to partake of it”? [“He” in this phrase is referring to] the slave.-[from Mechilta]

 

45 A sojourner-This is a resident alien.-[from Mechilta] [I.e., a gentile who has accepted upon himself not to practice idolatry but eats carcasses.]

 

or a hired hand-This is a gentile. Now why is this [verse] stated? Aren’t they uncircumcised? And it is stated: “but no uncircumcised man may partake of it” (verse 48). But this refers to a circumcised Arab or a circumcised Gibeonite, who is a sojourner or a hired hand.-[from Mechilta]

 

46 It must be eaten in one house-In one group, that those counted upon it may not become two groups and divide it. You say [that it means] in two groups, or [perhaps] it means nothing other than in one house as is its apparent meaning, and to teach that if they started eating in the yard and it rained, that they may not enter the house. Therefore, Scripture states: “on the houses in which they will eat it” (above verse 7). From here [we deduce] that the one who eats [the Passover sacrifice] may eat [it] in two places.-[from Mechilta]

 

you shall not take any of the meat out of the house-[I.e.,] out of the group.-[from Mechilta]

 

neither shall you break any of its bones-If it [the bone] is edible, e.g., if there is an olive-sized amount of meat on it, it bears the prohibition of breaking a bone; if there is neither an olive-sized amount of meat on it nor marrow [in it], it does not bear the prohibition against breaking a bone.-[from Pes. 84b]

 

47 The entire community of Israel shall make it-Why was this stated? Because it says concerning the Passover sacrifice of Egypt: “a lamb for each parental home” (above verse 3), we might think that the same applies to the Passover sacrifice of later generations. Therefore, Scripture states: “The entire community of Israel shall make it.”-[from Mechilta]

 

48 he shall make a Passover sacrifice We might think that everyone who converts must make a Passover sacrifice immediately. Therefore, Scripture states: “and he will be like the native of the land,” [indicating that] just as the native [makes the sacrifice] on the fourteenth [of Nissan], so must a proselyte [make it] on the fourteenth [of Nissan].-[from Mechilta]

 

but no uncircumcised male may partake of it-This includes one whose brothers died because of circumcision, [one] who is not considered an apostate in regards to circumcision, and [his disqualification] is not derived from “No estranged one may partake of it” (verse 43).-[from Mechilta]

 

49 There shall be one law-[This verse comes] to liken a proselyte to a native also regarding other commandments in the Torah.-[from Mechilta]

 

Rashi’s Commentary for:‎‎ B’Midbar (Num.) 28:16-25

 

18 You shall refrain from all manner of mundane work Even essential work, such as the prevention of loss, which is permitted on the intermediate days of the festival, is forbidden on the festival itself.-[Torath Kohanim Emor 187, see Rashi on Lev. 23:8]

 

19 bulls Corresponding to Abraham, about whom it says, “And to the cattle did Abraham run,” [to feed the three angels who visited him] (Gen. 18:7).

 

ram Symbolizing the ram [sacrificed instead] of Isaac (see Gen. 22:13).

 

lambs Corresponding to Jacob, of whom it says, “Jacob separated the lambs” (Gen. 30: 40). I saw this in the commentary of R. Moshe Hadarshan [the preacher]. -[Mid. Aggadah, Midrash Tadshey ch. 10]

 

24 Like these, you shall offer up daily They should not be decreased progressively, as is the case of the bulls of the [Sukkoth] festival.-[Sifrei Pinchas 48] 

Ashlamatah: Joshua 5:2 – 6:1 + 27‎

 

Rashi	Targum
2. At that time the Lord said to Joshua, Make for yourself sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time.	2. At that time the LORD said to Joshua: "Make for yourself sharp scalpels, and circumcise the sons of Israel again a second time."
3. And Joshua made for himself sharp knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins.	3. And ‎Joshua made for himself sharp scalpels and circumcised the sons of Israel at the hill, and he called it the hill of foreskins.
4. And this is the reason why Joshua did circumcise: All the people that came out of Egypt, that were males, all the men of war, had died in the desert by the way after they came out of Egypt.	4. And this ‎is the reason that Joshua circumcised: All the people who went forth from Egypt, the males, all the men waging battle died in the ‎wilderness on the way when they went forth from Egypt.
5. For all the people that came out were circumcised, but all the people that were born in the wilderness by the way as they came forth out of Egypt, they had not circumcised.	5. For all the people who went forth were circumcised; and all the people ‎who were born in the wilderness on the way when they went forth from Egypt, they did not circumcise.
6. For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, until all the people, the men of war, that came out of Egypt, were consumed, those who did not listen to the voice of the Lord, to whom the Lord had sworn that He would not show them the land, which the Lord had sworn to their forefathers that He would give us, a land that flows with milk and honey.	6. For forty years the sons of ‎Israel walked in the wilderness until all the people, the men waging battle who went forth from Egypt, perished, for they did not ‎accept the Memra of the LORD for the LORD swore to them that he would not let them see the land that the LORD swore to their fathers ‎to give to us, a land producing milk and honey.
7. And their children, whom he raised up in their stead, them Joshua circumcised, for they had not circumcised them by the way.	7. And their sons who stood in their place, them Joshua circumcised, because they ‎were uncircumcised, because they did not circumcise them on the way.
8. And it was, when all the people were finished being circumcised, that they remained in their places in the camp, until they recovered.	8. And when all the people were finished being circumcised, ‎they remained in their place in the camp until they were healed.
9. And the Lord said to Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you. And he called the name of the place Gilgal to this day.	9. And the LORD said to Joshua: "This day I have made pass away the ‎reproaches' of the Egyptians from you." And he called the name of that place Gilgal until this day.
10. And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and they made the Passover sacrifice on the fourteenth day of the month at evening in the plains of Jericho.	10. And the sons of Israel camped ‎in Gilgal and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month, at evening, in the plains of Jericho.
11. And they ate of the grain of the land on the morrow of the Passover, unleavened cakes and parched grain on this very day.	11. And they ate from the ‎produce of the land after the Passover - the unleavened bread and the parched grain, the first fruits - this day.
12. And the manna ceased on the morrow when they ate of the grain of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna anymore; and they ate of the produce of the land of Canaan that year.	12. And the manna ‎ceased on the day that was after the one on which they ate from the produce of the land. And there was no more manna for the sons of ‎Israel. And they ate from the harvest of the land of Canaan in that year.
13. And it was when Joshua was in Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and saw, and, behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand; and Joshua went to him, and said to him, Are you for us, or for our adversaries?	13. And when Joshua was in Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and ‎saw. And behold a man was standing opposite him, and his sword was drawn in his hand. And Joshua came unto him and said to him: ‎‎"Are you coming ‎ to our aid or to our enemies?"
14. And he said, No, but I am the the captain of the host of the Lord; I have now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and prostrated himself, and said to him, What does my lord say to his servant?	14. And he said: "No, for I, an angel sent from before the LORD have come now." And Joshua fell upon ‎his face, upon the earth, and bowed down and said to him: "What is my master speaking with his servant?"
15. And the captain of the Lord's host said to Joshua, Remove your shoe from your foot; for the place upon which you stand is holy. And Joshua did so.	15. And the angel who was sent ‎from before the LORD said to Joshua: "Loosen your shoes from upon your feet, for the place upon which you are standing is holy." And ‎Joshua did so.‎
1. And Jericho had shut its gates and was barred because of the children of Israel; none went out and none came in.	1. And Jericho was closed up and forttfied from before the sons of Israel; no one of them was going forth and entering.‎
27. So the Lord was with Joshua; and his fame was throughout the entire land.	27. And the Memra of the LORD was at the aid of Joshua. and his reputation was great in all the land. ‎

 

Note:

 

As you read the following Midrash, please remember that they are composed in the Drash style, and therefore their content is metaphorical – i.e., a parable that is teaching something about the government/governance of Heaven. It is up to you to read each paragraph and discern what the parable is and what it teaches about the kingdom of G-d here on earth. After that, look at the whole Pisqa and see how the parts join to form a whole new parable which you need to identify and interpret. Remember we are at the Parable/metaphorical level, and we should not interpret these statements literally – i.e. it says what it means, otherwise we miss the whole point that the author/s had in mind as well as his objectives.

 

Midrash PESIQTA deRAB KAHANA

Pisqa Seven

 

And it came to pass at midnight [that the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the handmaiden behind the millstones, and all the firstborn of the cattle. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians, and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where one was not dead. And he summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, "Rise up, go forth from among my people, both you and the people of Israel, and go, serve the LORD as you have said. Take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone; and bless me also!] (Ex. 12:29-32).

 

VII:I

 

‎R. Tanhum of Jaffa in the name of R. Nunayya of Caesarea opened discourse by citing the following verse: "But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task (Ps, 73:16). Said David, 'No one can reckon the exact moment of midnight except for the Holy One, blessed be He, but, as for me, But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task. For no creature can reckon the exact moment except for Him, for it is said: And it came to pass at midnight {that the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the handmaiden behind the millstones, and all the firstborn of the cattle. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians, and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where one was not dead. And he summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, "Rise up, go forth from among my people, both you and the people of Israel, and go, serve the Lord as you have said. Take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone; and bless me also!]” (Ex. 12:29-32).

 

VII:II ‎

 

‎R. Aha opened discourse by citing this verse: I am the LORD, the LORD is My name; I will not give My glory to another ‎god, nor My praise to any idol (Is. 42:8). ‎I am the LORD, the LORD is my name: said R. Aha, "Said the Holy One, blessed be He, 'I am the LORD, the LORD is ‎My name. ‎That is the name that was given to Me by the first Man. ‎That is My name, concerning which I made a stipulation with Myself. That is the name concerning which I stipulated between the angels and Myself.

 ‎

‎... I will not give My glory to another god, nor My praise to any idol (Is. 42:8): ‎R. Menahema said in the name of R. Abin, "This refers to the shades."

 

R. Nehemiah in the name of R. Mina said, "No creature except for the Holy One, blessed be He, can distinguish ‎between the drop of sperm that produces a firstborn and one that does not  But as for me, But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task. ‎For no creature can reckon the exact moment except for Him, for it is said: And it came to pass at midnight ‎‎[that the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt." ‎ ‎

 

VII:III ‎

‎

I make My servants' prophecies come true and give effect to My messengers' designs. I say of Jerusalem, "She will ‎be inhabited once more," and of the cities of Judah, "They will be rebuilt, all their ruins I will restore" (Is. 44:26): R. Berekhiah in the name of R. Levi: "If someone can make My servants' prophecies come true and give effect ‎to my messengers' designs, do we not know that He will say of Jerusalem, She will be inhabited once more, ‎and of the cities of Judah, They will be rebuilt, all their ruins I will restore? ‎But the point is this: an angel appeared to Jacob, our father, and said to him, What is your name? And he said, ‎Jacob. And he said, Your name will not longer be Jacob, but Israel (Gen. 32:28-29). ‎Then the Holy One, blessed be He, appeared to our father, Jacob, so as to confirm the decree of that angel: ‎And God said to him, Your name is Jacob (Gen. 35:9, 10).As to Jerusalem, since all of the prophets prophesied that Jerusalem would be rebuilt, how much the more so ‎‎[will God confirm what his prophets have said]!"

 ‎

‎Another interpretation of the verse: “I make My servants' prophecies come true and give effect to My messengers' ‎designs. I say of Jerusalem, "She will be inhabited once more," and of the cities of Judah, "They will be rebuilt, all their ‎ruins I will restore.”” (Is. 44:26): ‎I make ‎My servants' prophecies come true refers to Moses: Not so is My servant Moses (Num. 12:7). And give effect to My messengers' designs refers to Moses: He sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt ‎‎(Num. 20:16). ‎Said the Holy One, blessed be He, to Moses, Go, say to Israel, I will pass through the land of Egypt on that ‎night (Ex. 12:12). Moses went and told Israel: Thus said the LORD, At midnight I will go forth through Egypt (Ex. 11:4). ‎‎[Noting that Moses had specified the exact time,] said the Holy One, blessed be He, “I have already made a ‎promise to Moses, saying to him, Not so is My servant, Moses. In My entire household he is faithful (Num. 12:7). ‎Will My servant, Moses, tum out to be a bluffer?” But what has Moses said? At midnight I will go forth through Egypt. ‎So I will do it at midnight: and it came to pass at midnight [that the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of ‎Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the ‎dungeon, and all the firstborn of the cattle.}" ‎

 

VII:IV ‎

‎

At midnight I rise to give You thanks for the justice of Your decrees. I keep company with all who fear You, with all ‎who follow Your precepts. The earth is full of Your never-failing love; O LORD, teach me Your statutes (Ps. 119:62-64): ‎R. Phineas in the name of R. Eleazar bar Menahem: "What would David do? He would take a psaltery and a harp and put them at his pillow and get up at midnight and play on them. And the Sages of Israel would hear the sound and say, 'Now if King David is occupied with Torah-study, how ‎much the more so should we!' It came about that all of Israel would occupy themselves in the study of Torah."

 ‎

‎Said R. Levi, "There was a window by the bed of David, open to the north, and the harp was suspended at it, and as ‎the north went blew at midnight, it would rush through the harp, and the harp would give forth sound on its own, in line ‎with this verse: When the instrument played (2 Kgs. 3:5). ‎What it says is not, 'when David played ... ,' but, When the instrument played. ‎This indicates that the harp would give forth sound on its own. And the Sages of Israel would hear the sound and say, 'Now if King David is occupied with Torah-study, how ‎much the more so should we!' ‎It came about that all of Israel would occupy themselves in the study of Torah." ‎

 

[… and it came to pass at midnight that the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of ‎Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the cattle:] ‎That is in line with what David said: [My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast. I will sing and raise a psalm;] ‎awake, my glory, awake, lute and harp, I will awake at dawn of day (Ps. 57:7-8). I will awake my glory before the glory of my creator, my glory is nothing before the glory of my creator. I will awake at dawn of day: I will awake the dawn, and the dawn will not wake me up. But his impulse to do evil roused him and said to him, "David, ordinarily dawn wakes up kings, but you say, I ‎will awake at dawn of day! Kings usually sleep to the third hour, but you say, At midnight I rise to give you ‎thanks for the justice of Your decrees.” ‎

‎

What is the meaning of the justice of Your decrees? ‎[Thanks are due for] the decree of judgment that You carried out against the wicked Pharaoh, and the justice ‎that You did with our elder, Sarah. That is in line with this verse: And the LORD afflicted Pharaoh with great plagues (Gen. 12: 17). ‎

 

Another interpretation of the justice of Your decrees: ‎‎[David said,] "[Thanks are due for] the decree of judgment that You carried out against the nations of the world ‎‎[Ammon and Moab], and the justice that You did with our ancestor and our ancestress [reference here is to ‎Boaz and Ruth]. For if he [Boaz] had [Braude and Kapstein, p. 143:] slipped into her as she lay at his feet, whence would I ‎have had my origin? Instead You set a blessing into his heart, so he said, Blessed are You of the LORD, my daughter (Ruth 3:10).

 ‎

‎Another interpretation of the justice of Your decrees: ‎‎[Thanks are due for] the decree of judgment that You carried out against the Egyptians in Egypt. And for the righteousness/generosity that You carried out with our forefathers in Egypt.  For they had to their credit only two religious duties on account of which they should be redeemed, the blood ‎of the Passover-offering and the blood of circumcision. That is in line with this verse: And I passed over you and I saw you wallowing in your bloods, and I said to you, ‎In your bloods, live (Ezek 16:6). In your bloods: the blood of the Passover-offering and the blood of ‎circumcision.

 

VII:V ‎

‎

Said R. Simeon b. Yohai, "Moses did not know how to calculate split seconds, let alone minutes or hours, of the ‎night. But the Holy One, blessed be He, knows how to calculate split seconds, let alone minutes and hours, can stay within ‎the rule even by a hair's breadth." [Mandelbaum, p. 125, n. to 1. 13:] Therefore it is written, ... and it came to pass at midnight [that the LORD ‎smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn ‎of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the cattle.} ‎

 

Who divided the night? R. Benjamin bar Japheth in the name of R. Yohanan: "The night divided itself up on its own." ‎Rabbis say, "Its creator divided it."

 

Here you read: And it came to pass at midnight (Ex. 12:29) and elsewhere: And He divided the night for them (Gen. 14:15). Said R. Tanhuma, "[God said,] 'Your father went forth with me at midnight, so I will go forth with his children at ‎midnight.'” Rabbis say, "Said the Holy One, blessed be He, 'Your father went forth with me last night to midnight, so I will go forth ‎with his children from midnight to the morning.'" ‎

 

‎Said R. Yohanan, "The angelic prince who protects the Egyptians will fall only by day. What verse of Scripture so indicates? Daylight will fail in Tahpanhes, when I break the yoke of Egypt there; ‎‎[then her boasted might will be subdued; a cloud will cover her, and her daughters will go into captivity. ‎Thus I will execute judgment on Egypt, and they will know that I am the LORD] (Ezek. 30:18-19)." ‎And Scripture further states, On that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt speaking the language ‎‎[of Canaan and swearing allegiance to the LORD of Hosts, and one of them will be called the City of the Sun] ‎‎(Is. 19:18)." ‎What are these five cities? R. Hilkiah in the name of R. Simon says, "No, which is Alexandria, Noph, which is Memphis, Tehaphnehes, ‎which is Hophnias, the city of ‎the sherds, which is [Braude and Kapstein, p. 145:] Ostracena, and the city of the sun, which is Heliopolis.

 

Said Rabban Yohanan b. Zakkai, "We have found that both night and day are called day, for it is written, And there was evening, and there was morning, one day ‎‎(Gen. 1:5)." ‎R. Joshua bar Nehemiah derived the same proposition from this verse: ‎‎"Also the night will not be too dark for you, and the night will glow like the day, darkness like light (Ps. 139:12). ‎‎"[God says,] 'That is darkness which is light for Me, and night so far as mortals are concerned. '" ‎That yields the conclusion that on that very day the firstborn of the Egyptians died. ‎How did it work out? They were smitten with a death-dealing blow in the evening, then writhed all night, and in the morning died. What verse of Scripture indicates it? "We have all died" is not what it says, but rather, We are all dying, that is to say, breathing our last. ‎That is in line with this verse: On the day on which I smote every firstborn (Num. 3:13), and, further, On the day on which I sanctified to me every firstborn (Num. ‎‎8:17). ‎On this basis you must conclude that on the day on which the firstborn of the Egyptians died, I sanctified to Me every firstborn [of Israel]. ‎

 

VII:VI ‎

 

‎... the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt (Ex. 12:29): ‎When the verse refers to a firstborn, it adds, all the firstborn, encompassing the firstborn of a man and the firstborn of a woman, the firstborn of a male and the ‎firstborn of a female. ‎How so? If a man had sexual relations with ten women and then they produced ten sons, it would tum out that all of them were firstborn of women. If ten men had sexual relations with one woman and she produced ten sons, all of them would turn out to be the firstborn of males. But take note of a case in which there was a household in which was no firstborn either for a male or for a female? How then can I apply to that house the verse: ‎‎for there was not a house where one was not dead? ‎Said R. Abba bar Aha, ''Then the one in charge of the household would die. That is in line with this verse: Shimri the one in charge, for though he was not firstborn, ‎nonetheless his father put him in charge (1 Chr. 26:10)." ‎

 

It was taught on Tannaite authority in the name of R. Nathan, "On the day on which a firstborn of one of them died, he would make an icon of him in the house. ‎On that day [on which the firstborn was killed,] it too was smashed up, shattered, and scattered. ‎It was as hard for the parent as if on that very day he had buried the firstborn himself. Said R. Yudan, "Since the Egyptians would bury their dead in their houses, the dogs would come in through the burial niches [better: sewer pipes] and pull ‎out the bones of the firstborn among the dead and play with them.  It was as hard for the parent as if on that very day he had buried the firstborn himself."

 

VII:VII

 

‎.. from the firstborn of Pharaoh [who sat on his throne even to the firstborn of the maidservant who is behind the mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle] (Ex. 12:29): ‎On the basis of that statement [read as from the firstborn, Pharaoh] it follows that Pharaoh himself was a firstborn. ‎

 

All of the firstborn came to their fathers, saying to them, “Since Moses has said, And every firstborn will die (Ex. 11:5), all the things that he has said against ‎this people have come upon them. But now go and let these Hebrews go from among you, and if you do not do so, lo, this people is going to die." They said, "Each one of us has ten sons. Let one of them die, and let what these Hebrews say not come to pass." They said, "The sole remedy for the matter is [or us to go to Pharaoh, for he is a firstborn. He may have mercy on his own life and let these Hebrews go ‎away from among us." ‎They went to Pharaoh, saying to him, "Since Moses has said, And every firstborn will die (Ex. 11:5), all the things that he has said against this people have ‎come upon them. But now go and let these Hebrews go from among you, and if you do not do so, lo, this people is going to die." ‎       He said, "Go and beat the humps of these people. I have said, 'It is my life or the lives of these Hebrews!' And you say this!" The firstborn went and killed sixty myriads of their fathers. That is in line with this verse: To the one who smote Egypt through their firstborn (Ps. 136: 1 0). ‎What is written is not, "To the one who smote the Egyptians in Egypt," but, To the one who smote the Egyptians through their firstborn. [for] the firstborn ‎killed their fathers, in the number of sixty myriads.

 

‎R. Abun in the name of R. Judah b. Pazzi said, "Batyah, the daughter of Pharaoh, was a firstborn. On account of what merit was she saved? It was through ‎the prayer of Moses. ‎For it is written: She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night (Prov. 31: 18). ‎The reference to night calls to mind the verse: It is a watch night for the LORD (Ex. 12:42)." ‎

 

VII:VIII ‎

 

‎[..from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne] even to the firstborn of the maidservant who is behind the mill, [and all the firstborn of the cattle] (Ex. ‎‎11:5): ‎R. Huna and R. Aha in the name of R. Eleazar son of R. Yose the Galileans, "Even the handmaiden who were latched to the millstones would say, 'We take ‎pleasure in our subjugation, so long as the Israelites also are subjugated." Said R. Judah b. Pazzi, "There is a traditional narrative that this was with reference to Seah, daughter of Asher, for when she came down to Egypt, they ‎had latched her to the millstones." ‎

 

VII:IX ‎

‎

... and all the firstborn of the cattle: ‎If man had sinned, what sin had beasts done? It was because the Egyptians bow down to the ram. ‎It was so that the Egyptian would not have occasion to say, "Our god [the ram] has brought this punishment on us. Our god is strong, for it has stood ‎up for itself. Our god is strong, because the punishment did not touch it."

 ‎

VII:X ‎

 

‎R. Huna and R. Joshua bar Abin, son-in-law of R. Levi, in the name of R. Levi: "The Merciful God does not touch lives first of all [but exacts vengeance on ‎property]. From whom do you learn that fact? From Job: A messenger came to Job and said, The oxen were plowing and the asses feeding beside them (Job 1:14). What is the meaning of, and the asses feeding beside them? ‎Said R. Hama, "A model of the order of the world to come was made for him, in line with this verse: Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when ‎the one who ploughs will overtake the one who reaps (Amos 9:13). [Mendelbaum: That is, corn will ripen within moments after the seed is planted, so ‎that browing animals will follow in the tracks of the plowing animals.]" ‎

 

Said R. Abba bar Kahana, "[With reference to the verse, The Sabeans made a raid and took the oxen and the asses away, yes, they smote the servants with ‎the edge of the sword (Job 1: 15),] they went out of Kefar Kerinos and went through the whole of Ublin, and when they came to Migdal Sebayya, they ‎died." ‎Said R. Hama, “[In the verse, And I alone have escaped (Job 1: 15),] the word alone bears the sense of solely, that is, he alone escaped [only with his life], ‎but was himself broken and beaten." Said R. Yudan, "And I alone have escaped to tell you (Job 1:15) means that 'the sole purpose for which I escaped was to tell you,' at which point he died. ‎That is in line with this verse: While he was still speaking, there came another and said, The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and ‎the servants and consumed them; and I alone have escaped to tell you. While he was speaking there came another and said, The Chaldaeans formed three ‎companies and made a raid upon the camels and took them and slew the servants with the edge of the sword and I alone have escaped to tell you. (Job ‎‎1:14-17).When Job heard this news, he forthwith began to collect a troop to make war against them [but then he changed his mind, as will now be explained]. That ‎is in line with this verse: Because I stood in great fear of the multitude, and the contempt of families terrified me, so that I kept silence and did not go out ‎of doors (Job 31:34)." ‎

 

Said Job [in gathering his troops], "This nation is the most contemptible of all nations: Behold the land of the Chaldaeans - the people that was a no-people ‎‎(Is. 23:13). Would that it had never come into existence. Does that people think that it can frighten me?” But when people told him, "The fire of God fell from heaven, he said, "If it is from Heaven, what can I do." ‎Forthwith: ... so that I kept silence and did not go out of doors. ‎And then: And he took a potsherd with which to scrape himself and sat among the ashes (Job 2:8). ‎

 

‎[The same proposition derives from the case] also of Mahlon and Chilion. First their horses, camels, and asses died, and then he died, ‎as it is said: And Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died (Ruth 1:3), then the two sons: Mahlon and Chilion died, both of them (Ruth 1:5). [Delete: And then she died.]

‎

‎So too is the rule applying to skin-ailments which affect man. ‎First of all, it begins on his house, and, if the man repents, the affected stone has only to be removed: They will dismantle the stones (Lev. 14:40). If the ‎man does not repent, then the whole house has to be dismantled: ‎And he will dismantle the house (Lev. 14:45). And then it ‎ affects his clothing. If he repents, the clothing has to be ripped: And he will tear the affected patch out of the garment or the hide or from the warp or from the woof ‎‎(Lev. 13:56). If he does not repent, then the clothing has to be burned: And he will burn the clothing (Lev. 13:52). Then it affects his body. If he repents, it goes ‎away, and he departs, and if not, it comes back on him: And he will sit solitary, his dwelling will be outside of the camp (Lev. 13:46) [Tosefta. Neg. 6:4]

. ‎

‎So too is the rule as to the events in Egypt: First the measure of justice affected their property: He smote their vines and their fig trees (Ps. 105:33).       Then: He gave over their cattle to the hail and their flocks to fiery bolts of lightning (Ps, 78:48). ‎Then at the end: He smote all the firstborn of Egypt (Ps, 78:51). ‎

 

VII:XI ‎

 

‎R. Levi bar Zechariah in the name of R. Berekhiah: "It was with the arts of royal siege-warfare that God came against them. First of all, [a besieging army] shuts up their water supply, then he brings against them thunders of war, then he shoots arrows, then he brings troops, ‎then he storms them, then he pours burning oil, then he throws great stones against them, then he brings against them scaling troops, then he captures ‎them, then he takes out their greatest figure and kills him. ‎[So too is the order of God's siege of Egypt:] first he shut up their water supply: He turned their rivers into blood (Ps, 78:44). ‎Then he brought against them thunders of war: This refers to the frogs.” (Said R. Yose bar Hanina, "The croaking was worse for them than the frogs themselves." "Then he shot arrows: This refers to the lice. Then he brought troops: This refers to the swarms of wild beasts. Then he starved them out: A very heavy murrain (Ex. 9:3). ‎Then he poured burning oil: This refers to the boils. Then he threw great stones against them: This refers to the hail. Then he brought against them scaling troops: This refers to the locusts. Then he captured them: this refers to the darkness. Then he took out their greatest figure and killed him: This refers to the killing of the firstborn." ‎

 

R. Levi, son-in-law of R. Zechariah, in the name of R. Berekhiah said, "As at the news concerning Egypt, so they shall be startled at the fall of the adversary (Is. 23:5)." ‎Said R. Eliezer, "Whenever the name of Tyre is written in Scripture, if it is written out [with all of the letters], then it refers to the province of Tyre. Where ‎it is written without all of its letters (and so appears identical to the word for enemy). the reference of Scripture is to Rome. [So the sense of the verse is ‎that Rome will receive its appropriate reward.]" ‎

 

‎[Resuming the discussion begun at VII:XI with the information just now given:] R. Levi in the name of R. Hama bar Hanina: "He who exacted vengeance from ‎the former [oppressor] will exact vengeance from the latter. Just as, in Egypt, it was with blood, so with Edom it will be the same: I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars ‎of smoke (Job 3:3). ‎Just as, in Egypt, it was with frogs, so with Edom it will be the same: ‎The sound of an uproar from the city, an uproar because of the palace, an uproar of the Lord who renders recompense to his enemies (Is. 66:6). ‎Just as, in Egypt, it was with lice, so with Edom it will be the same: ‎The streams of Bosrah will be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch (Is. 34:9). Smite the dust of the ‎earth that it may become lice (Ex. 8:12). ‎ Just as, in Egypt, it was with swarms of wild beasts, so with Edom it will be the same: The pelican and the bittern will possess it (Is. 34:11). Just as, in Egypt, it was with pestilence, so with Edom it will be the same: I will plead against Gog with pestilence and with blood (Ez. 38:22). ‎Just as, in Egypt, it was with boils, so with Edom it will be the same: ‎This will be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the peoples that have warred against Jerusalem: their flesh will consume away while they stand upon their ‎feet (Zech. 14:12). ‎Just as, in Egypt, it was with great stones, so with Edom it will be the same: I will cause to rain upon Gog ... an overflowing shower and great hailstones ‎‎(Ez. 38:22). ‎Just as, in Egypt, it was with locusts, so with Edorn it will be the same: ‎And you, son of man, thus says the LORD God: Speak to birds of every sort ... the flesh of the mighty will you eat ... blood will you drink ... you will eat fat until you ‎are full and drink blood until you are drunk (Ez. 39:17-19). ‎Just as, in Egypt, it was with darkness, so with Edom it will be the same: He will stretch over Edom the line of chaos and the plummet of emptiness (Is. ‎‎34:11). ‎Just as, in Egypt, he took out their greatest figure and killed him, so with Edom it will be the same: A great slaughter in the land of Edom, among them ‎to come down will be the wild oxen (Is. 34:6-7). ‎Said R. Meir, "[The letters of the word for wild (reemim) may be read as Rome, thus,] 'Among them to come down shall be Rome." ‎   ‎

 

VII:XII ‎

‎

For behold darkness will cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and His glory will be seen upon you. [And nations ‎will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising] (Is. 60:2-3): ‎

 

R. Levi bar Zechariah in the name of R. Berekhiah: "Darkness and thick darkness affected Egypt for three days. What verse of Scripture indicates it? And ‎there was darkness, thick darkness (Ex. 10:22). ‎But emptiness and void have never yet affected this world. ‎But where [and when] will they come to pass? They will envelope the great city of Rome: He will stretch over it the line of chaos and the plummet of emptiness (Is. 34:11)." ‎Rabbis say, "As to the nations of the world, who never accepted the Torah which was given in darkness, concerning them Scripture says, For behold ‎darkness will cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples .... But as to Israel, which accepted it in darkness, concerning them Scripture says, ... but the LORD will arise upon you, and His glory will be seen upon you." ‎

 

Nazarean Codicil:

I Corinthians 1:1 – 2:16

& Revelation 2:1-7

 

Revelation 2:1-7

Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham’s Rendition

 

¹And to the angel of the congregation in Ephesus, write, 'So says he who holds the seven stars in his hand, he who walks among the Menorot (seven branched candlesticks) of gold.

² I know your works and your labor and your endurance and that you are not able to bear evil [ones]. And you have tested those who say about themselves that they are to be Sh’liachim (apostles) and are not and you have found them [to be] liars.

3 And you have endurance and you bear a burden because of my name (or, authority) and you have not become weary.

4 But I have [something] against you, because you have left your first love.1F^[2]

5 Remember from where you came and do the former works, but if not, I will come to you and I will remove your Menora (candelabra – i.e. the seven ministers of the congregation), unless you repent.

6 But this you have, that you hate the works of the Nicolaitans (i.e. Oppressors of the Laity), that I also hate.'

7 He who has ears should hear what the Spirit says to the congregations. And to him who overcomes, I will allow [him] to eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of the PaRDeS (paradise) of Ha-Shem."

 

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!”

 

Next Year in Jerusalem!

 

 

 

“Second Day of Pesach”

(Sunday Evening March 28, 2021)

Public Passover

(First Day of the Counting of the Omer)

 

Evening: Counting of the Omer Day 1

Then read the following:

 

 

Eph. 1:1 Hakham Shaul (Paul), a Sh’liach (apostle/emissary) of Yeshua HaMashiach by the will of God, to the Tsadiqim (Greek: a-gios) who are at Ephesus and who are faithfully obedient2F^[3] in Yeshua HaMashiach:

 

Monday Morning March 29, 2021

Morning Service

 

Torah Reading: Vayikra (Leviticus) 22:26 - 23:44

 

Reader 1:  Vayikra 22:26 – 23:3

Reader 2:  Vayikra 23:4-14

Reader 3:  Vayikra 23:15-22

Reader 4:  Vayikra 23:23-32

Reader 5:  Vayikra 22:33-44

Maftir: B’Midbar (Number)s 28:16-25

Ashlamatah: II Kings 23:1-9; 21-25

Nazarean Codicil: 1 Corinthians 3:1 – 5:13 & Revelation 2:1-73F^[4]

 

Blessing Before Torah Study

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

These are the Laws whose benefits a person can often enjoy even in this world, even though the primary reward is in the Next World: They are: 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!

 

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan

for: Vayikra (Leviticus) 22:26 - 23:44

 

Rashi	Targum Pseudo Jonathan
26. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:	26. And the LORD spoke with Mosheh, saying
27. When an ox or a sheep or a goat is born, it shall remain under its mother for seven days, and from the eighth day onwards, it shall be accepted as a sacrifice for a fire offering to the Lord.	27. (to the effect that): What time you call to our mind the order of our oblations, as they will be offered year by year, being our expiatory offering for our sins, when on account of our sins (such sacrifices are required), and we have none to bring from our flocks of sheep, then will a bullock be chosen before him, in memorial of the righteousness/generosity of the elder who came from the cast, the sincere one who brought the calf, fat and tender, to Your Name. A sheep is to be chosen, secondly, in memory of the righteousness/generosity of him who was bound as a lamb on the altar, and who stretched forth his neck for Your Name's sake, while the heavens stooped down and condescended, and Yitshaq beheld their foundations, and his eyes were blinded by the high things; on which account he was reckoned to be worthy that a lamb should be provided for him as a burnt offering. A kid of the goats is to be chosen likewise, in memorial of the righteousness/ generosity of that perfect one who made the savory meat of the kid, and brought it to his father, and was made worthy to receive the order of the blessing: wherefore Mosheh the prophet explains, saying: Sons of Israel, my people, When a bullock, or a lamb, or a kid is brought forth according, to the manner of the world, it will be seven days after its dam, that there may be evidence that it is not imperfect; and on the eighth day and thenceforth, it is acceptable to be offered an oblation to the Name of the LORD.
28. An ox or sheep you shall not slaughter it and its offspring in one day._	28. Sons of Israel, my people, as our Father in heaven is merciful, so shall you be merciful on earth: neither cow, nor ewe, shall you sacrifice along with her young on the same day.
29. And when you slaughter a thanksgiving offering to the Lord, you shall slaughter it so that it should be acceptable for you.	29. And when you offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Name of the LORD, you will offer so as to be accepted.
30. It shall be eaten on that day; do not leave it over until morning. I am the Lord.	30. It will be eaten on that day, none will remain till the morning: I am the LORD.
31. You shall keep My commandments and perform them. I am the Lord.	31. And you will observe My commandments to do them I am the LORD who gives a good reward, to them who keep My commandments and My Laws.
32. You shall not desecrate My Holy Name. I shall be sanctified amidst the children of Israel. I am the Lord Who sanctifies you,	32. Nor will you profane My Holy Name, that I may be hallowed among the children of Israel. I am the LORD who sanctifies you,
33. Who took you out of the land of Egypt, to be a God to you. I am the Lord.	33. having brought you forth redeemed from the land of Mizraim, that I may be to you Elohim: I am the LORD.
1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,	1. And the LORD spoke with Mosheh, saying:
2. Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: The Lord's appointed [holy days] that you shall designate as holy occasions. These are My appointed [holy days]:	2. Speak with the sons of Israel, and say to them, The orders of the time of the Festivals of the LORD, which you will proclaim as holy convocations, these are the orders of the time of My festivals.
3. [For] six days, work may be performed, but on the seventh day, it is a complete rest day, a holy occasion; you shall not perform any work. It is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwelling places.	3. Six days will you do work, and the seventh day (will be) a Sabbath and a rest, a holy convocation. No manner of work may you do; it is a Sabbath to the LORD in every place of your habitations.
4. These are the Lord's appointed [holy days], holy occasions, which you shall designate in their appointed time:	4. These are the times of the Festivals of the LORD, holy convocations which you will proclaim in their times:
5. In the first month, on the fourteenth of the month, in the afternoon, [you shall sacrifice] the Passover offering to the Lord.	5. In the month of Nisan, on the fourteenth day of the month, between the suns (will be) the time for the sacrifice of the Pesach to the Name of the LORD.
6. And on the fifteenth day of that month is the Festival of Unleavened Cakes to the Lord; you shall eat unleavened cakes for a seven day period.	6. And on the fifteenth day of this month the feast of unleavened bread to the Name of the LORD. Seven days you will eat unleavened bread.
7. On the first day, there shall be a holy occasion for you; you shall not perform any work of labor.	7. On the first day of the feast a holy convocation will be to you; you will do no work of labor,
8. And you shall bring a fire offering to the Lord for a seven day period. On the seventh day, there shall be a holy occasion; you shall not perform any work of labor.	8. but offer the oblation to the Name of the LORD seven days; in the seventh day of the feast will be a holy convocation; you will do no work of labor.
9. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,	9. And the LORD spoke with Mosheh, saying:
10. Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: When you come to the Land which I am giving you, and you reap its harvest, you shall bring to the kohen an omer of the beginning of your reaping.	10. Speak with the sons of Israel, and say to them: When you have entered into the land which I give you, and you reap the harvest, you will bring the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest unto the priest;
11. And he shall wave the omer before the Lord so that it will be acceptable for you; the kohen shall wave it on the day after the rest day.	11. and he will uplift the sheaf before the LORD to be accepted for you. After the first festal day of Pesach (or, the day after the feast-day of Pesach)
12. And on the day of your waving the omer, you shall offer up an unblemished lamb in its [first] year as a burnt offering to the Lord;	12. on the day on which you elevate the sheaf, you will make (the sacrifice of a lamb of the year, unblemished a burnt offering unto the Name of the LORD:
13. Its meal offering [shall be] two tenths [of an ephah] of fine flour mixed with oil, a fire offering to the Lord as a spirit of satisfaction. And its libation [shall be] a quarter of a hin of wine.	13. and its mincha, two tenths of flour, mingled with olive oil, for an oblation to the Name of the LORD, to be received with acceptance; and its libation, wine of grapes, the fourth of a hin.
14. You shall not eat bread or [flour made from] parched grain or fresh grain, until this very day, until you bring your God's sacrifice. [This is] an eternal statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places.	14. But neither bread nor parched corn (of the ripe harvest) nor new ears may you eat until this day, until the time of your bringing the oblation of your God: an everlasting statute unto your generations in all your dwellings.
15. And you shall count for yourselves, from the morrow of the rest day from the day you bring the omer as a wave offering seven weeks; they shall be complete.	15. And number to you after the first feast day of Pesach, from the day when you brought the sheaf for the elevation, seven weeks; complete they will be.
16. You shall count until the day after the seventh week, [namely,] the fiftieth day, [on which] you shall bring a new meal offering to the Lord.	16. Until the day after the seventh week you will number fifty days, and will offer a mincha of the new bread unto the Name of the LORD.
17. From your dwelling places, you shall bring bread, set aside, two [loaves] [made from] two tenths [of an ephah]; they shall be of fine flour, [and] they shall be baked leavened, the first offering to the Lord.	17. From the place of your dwellings you are to bring the bread for the elevation; two cakes of two-tenths of flour, which must be baked with leaven, as first fruits unto the Name of the LORD.
18. And associated with the bread, you shall bring seven unblemished lambs in their [first] year, one young bull, and two rams these shall be a burn offering to the Lord, [along with] their meal offering and libations a fire offering [with] a spirit of satisfaction to the Lord.	18. And with that bread you are to offer seven lambs of the year, unblemished, and a young bullock without mixture (of color), the one for a sin offering, and two lambs of the year for a sanctified oblation.
19. And you shall offer up one he goat as a sin offering, and two lambs in their [first] year as a peace offering._	19. And you will make (a sacrifice) of a young goat without mixture, the one for a sin offering and two lambs of the year for a sanctified oblation.
20. And the kohen shall wave them in conjunction with the first offering bread as a waving before the Lord, along with the two lambs. They shall be holy to the Lord, [and] belong to the kohen.	20. And the priest will uplift them with the bread of the first fruits, an elevation before the LORD, with the two lambs; they will be holy to the Name of the LORD, and will be for the priest.
21. And you shall designate on this very day a holy occasion it shall be for you; you shall not perform any work of labor. [This is] an eternal statute in all your dwelling places throughout your generations.	21. And you will proclaim with life and strength that self-same day, that at the time of that day there will be to you a holy convocation: you will do no work of labor: it is an everlasting statute in all your dwelling for your generations.
22. When you reap the harvest of your Land, you shall not completely remove the corner of your field during your harvesting, and you shall not gather up the gleanings of your harvest. [Rather,] you shall leave these for the poor person and for the stranger. I am the Lord, your God.	22. And when you reap the harvest of the ground, you will not finish one corner that is in thy field at your reaping nor will you gather the gleanings of your harvest, but leave them for the poor and the strangers: I am the LORD your God.
23. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,	23. And the LORD spoke with Mosheh, saying:
24. Speak to the children of Israel, saying: In the seventh month, on the first of the month, it shall be a Sabbath for you, a remembrance of [Israel through] the shofar blast a holy occasion.	24. Speak with the children of Israel, saying: In Tishri, which is the seven month, will be to you a festival of seven days, a memorial of trumpets, a holy convocation.
25. You shall not perform any work of labor, and you shall offer up a fire offering to the Lord.	25. No work of labor may you do, but offer an oblation before the LORD unto the Name of the LORD.
26. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:	26. And the LORD spoke with Mosheh saying:
27. But on the tenth of this seventh month, it is a day of atonement, it shall be a holy occasion for you; you shall afflict yourselves, and you shall offer up a fire offering to the Lord.	27. But on the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement; a holy convocation will it be to you, and you will humble your souls, (abstaining) from food, and from drink, and from the use of the bath, and from anointing, and the use of the bed, and from sandals; and you will offer an oblation before the LORD,
28. You shall not perform any work on that very day, for it is a day of atonement, for you to gain atonement before the Lord, your God.	28. and do no work on this same day; for it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the LORD your God.
29. For any person who will not be afflicted on that very day, shall be cut off from its people.	29. For every man who eats in the fast, and will not fast that same day, will be cut off by death from among his people.
30. And any person who performs any work on that very day I will destroy that person from amidst its people.	30. And every man who does any work on that same day, that man will I destroy with death from among his people.
31. You shall not perform any work. [This is] an eternal statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places.	31. No work of labor may you do ____ an everlasting statute for your generations, in all your dwellings.
32. It is a complete day of rest for you, and you shall afflict yourselves. On the ninth of the month in the evening, from evening to evening, you shall observe your rest day.	32. It is a Sabbath and time of leisure for you to humble your souls. And you will begin to fast at the ninth day of the month at even time; from that evening, until the next evening, will you fast your fast, and repose in your quietude, that you may employ the time of your festivals with joy.
33. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,	33. And the LORD spoke with Mosheh, saying:
34. Speak to the children of Israel, saying: On the fifteenth day of this seventh month, is the Festival of Succoth, a seven day period to the Lord.	34. Speak with the sons of Israel: In the fifteenth day of this seventh month will be the Feast of Tabernacles, seven days unto the Name of the LORD.
35. On the first day, it is a holy occasion; you shall not perform any work of labor.	35. On the first day of the feast is a holy convocation; no work of labor may you do.
36. [For] a seven day period, you shall bring a fire offering to the Lord. On the eighth day, it shall be a holy occasion for you, and you shall bring a fire offering to the Lord. It is a [day of] detention. You shall not perform any work of labor.	36. Seven days you will offer an oblation to the Name of the LORD, you will gather together to pray before the LORD for rain; no work of labor may you do.
37. These are God's appointed [holy days] that you shall designate them as holy occasions, [on which] to offer up a fire offering to the Lord burnt offering and meal offering, sacrifice and libations, the requirement of each day on its day;	37. These are the times of the order of the LORD's festivals which you are to convoke for holy convocations, to offer an oblation to the name of the LORD, a burnt sacrifice and a mincha, sanctified offerings and libations, the rite of a day in its day;
38. apart from the Lord's Sabbaths, and apart from your gifts, and apart from all your vows, and apart from all your donations that you give to the Lord.	38. beside the days of the LORD's Sabbaths, beside your gifts, and beside your vows, and beside your free-will offering which you bring before the LORD.
39. But on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you gather in the produce of the land, you shall celebrate the festival of the Lord for a seven day period; the first day shall be a rest day, and the eighth day shall be a rest day	39. But on the fifteenth of the seventh month, at the time when you collect the produce of the ground, you will solemnize a festival of the LORD seven days. On the first day, rest; and on the eighth day, rest.
40. And you shall take for yourselves on the first day, the fruit of the hadar tree, date palm fronds, a branch of a braided tree, and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for a seven day period.	40. And of your own will you take on the first day of the feast, the fruits of praiseworthy trees, citrons, and lulabin, and myrtles, and willows that grow by the brooks; and you will rejoice before the LORD your God seven days.
41. And you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord for seven days in the year. [It is] an eternal statute throughout your generations [that] you celebrate it in the seventh month.	41. And you will solemnize it before the LORD seven days in the year, by an everlasting statute in your generations will you observe it in the seventh month.
42. For a seven day period you shall live in booths. Every resident among the Israelites shall live in booths,	42. In tabernacles of two sides according to their rule, and the third a handbreadth (higher), that its shaded part may be greater than that into which comes the sunshine; to be made for a bower (or shade) for the feast, from different kinds (of materials) which spring from the earth and are uprooted: in measure seven palms, but the height within ten palms. In it you will sit seven days; the males in Israel, and children who need not their mothers, will sit in the tabernacles, blessing their Creator whenever they enter thereunto.
43. in order that your [ensuing] generations should know that I had the children of Israel live in booths when I took them out of the land of Egypt. I am the Lord, your God.	43. That your generations may know how, under the shadow of the cloud of glory, I made the sons of Israel to dwell at the time that I brought them out redeemed from the land of Mizraim.
44. And Moses told the children of Israel [these laws] of the Lord's appointed [holy days].	44. And Mosheh declared the time of the orders of the LORD's festivals, and taught them to the sons of Israel.

 

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan

for: B’Midbar (Num.) 28:16-25‎

 

Rashi	Targum Pseudo Jonathan
16. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, [you shall offer up] a Passover offering to the Lord.	16. And in the month of Nisan, on the fourteenth day of the month, is the sacrifice of the Pascha before the LORD.
17. On the fifteenth day of this month, a festival [begins]; you shall eat unleavened bread for seven days.	17. On the fifteenth day of this month is a festival; seven days will unleavened be eaten.
18. On the first day is a holy convocation; you shall not perform any mundane work.	18. On the first day of the festival a holy convocation; no servile work will you do;
19. You shall offer up a fire offering, a burnt offering to the Lord: two young bulls, one ram, and seven lambs in the first year they shall be unblemished for you.	19. but offer an oblation of a burnt sacrifice before the LORD, two young bullocks, one ram, and seven lambs of the year, unblemished, will you have.
20. Their meal offerings [shall be] fine flour mixed with oil; three tenths for each bull and two tenths for the ram you shall offer up.	20. And their minchas of wheat flour, mingled with olive oil, three tenths for each bullock, two tenths for the ram,
21. And you shall offer up one tenth for each lamb, for all seven lambs.	21. and for a single lamb a tenth, so for the seven;
22. And one young male goat for a sin offering to atone for you.	22. and one kid of the goats, to make an atonement for you:
23. You shall offer these up besides the morning burnt offering which is offered as a continual burnt offering.	23. beside the burnt sacrifice of the morning, the perpetual burnt sacrifice, you will make these offerings.
24. Like these, you shall offer up daily for seven days, food of the fire offering, a spirit of satisfaction to the Lord; you shall offer up this in addition to the continual burnt offering and its libation.	24. According to these oblations of the first day you will do daily through the seven days of the festival. It is the bread of the oblation which is received with favor before the LORD; it will be made beside the perpetual burnt offering, with its libation.
25. The seventh day shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall not perform any mundane work.	25. And on the seventh day you shall have a holy convocation; no servile work shall you do.

 

Welcome to the World of P’shat Exegesis

 

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

 

The Seven Hermeneutic Laws of R. Hillel are as follows

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Rashi’s Commentary for: ‎ Vayikra (Leviticus) 22:26-23:44‎‎

 

27 When [an ox or a sheep or a goat] is born [The expression “is born” comes] to exclude [from sacrifice an animal] delivered by Caesarean section. -[Chul. 38b]

 

28 it and its offspring [This prohibition] applies to the female [i.e., the mother] animal, namely, that it is prohibited to slaughter a mother animal and its male or female offspring [on the same day]. The prohibition does not apply, however, to males [i.e., to the father animals], and it is permissible to slaughter the father animal along with its male or female offspring [on the same day].-[Chul. 78b]

 

[you shall not slaughter] it and its offspring Also included [in this prohibition is slaughtering] its offspring and [then] it.-[Chul. 82a]

 

29 you shall slaughter it so that it should be acceptable for you From the very beginning of your slaughtering, take care that it should be “acceptable for you.” And what makes it acceptable?"

 

It shall be eaten on that day [Now, although it has already been stated that thanksgiving-offerings must be eaten on the day of sacrificing (Lev. 7:15), the Torah repeats this here] exclusively to warn us that the slaughtering must be performed on this condition. Do not slaughter it with the intention of eating it on the next day, for if you have this invalidating intention in mind, the sacrifice will not be “acceptable for you” (Torath Kohanim 22:135) [Indeed, it will be rejected (פִּגּוּל ; see Rashi Lev. 7:18)]. Another explanation of לִרְצֽנְכֶם is: “knowingly.” From here, [we learn that] if someone slaughtered an animal in an incidental manner [i.e., according to Rashi, without intending to slaughter, just to pick up the knife or to throw it. According to Tosafoth, if he did not intend to slaughter, but only to sever the organs, or if he thought that it was an ordinary animal, and did not realize that it was to be slaughtered as a holy sacrifice], then [even though the animal is fit to be eaten as ordinary non- consecrated meat, nevertheless,] regarding being slaughtered as a holy sacrifice, it is deemed unfit.-[Chul. 13a] Now, although Scripture has already stated [that a sacrifice is “not acceptable” if, while slaughtering, one intended to eat it after its permissible time] in the case of sacrifices that may be eaten for two days (see Lev. 7:18), it specifies it again regarding those sacrifices that must be eaten on the same day (see Rashi Lev. 7:15), namely, that they [too] must be slaughtered with the intention of eating them within their permissible time.

 

30 It shall be eaten on that day [As explained above (see preceding Rashi)], Scripture states this here only to warn us that the slaughtering must be performed with this intention. For if it meant to fix the time limit for eating it, this has already been stated, “And the flesh of his thanksgiving peace-offering [shall be eaten on the day that it is offered...]” (Lev. 7:15). -[Torath Kohanim 7:113]

 

I am the Lord Know Who decreed this matter, and do not perceive it as unimportant.

 

31 You shall keep [My commandments] This refers to learning [God’s commandments and “keeping” them organized and memorized in one’s heart]

 

and perform them meaning [putting them into] action.-[Mizrachi ; Torath Kohanim 22:136]

 

32 You shall not desecrate [My Holy Name] By transgressing My commandments intentionally. Now, is it not already implied by the verse “ You shall not desecrate [My Holy Name,” that if you do not transgress, God’s Name will be sanctified? So] what do we learn by Scripture adding “I shall be sanctified [amidst the children of Israel]?” [It teaches us:] Surrender your life [and do not transgress God’s commandments], and [thus] sanctify My Name. Now, one might think [that this commandment applies even] in private [i.e., if he is not in the presence of ten or more Jews]. Scripture, therefore, says here “[I shall be sanctified] amidst the children of Israel” [i.e., one is obliged to sacrifice one’s life to avoid transgressing God’s commandments only in the presence of ten or more Jews]. And when one sacrifices oneself, one shall do so with the willingness to die, anyone who [submits to] sacrifices himself while assuming [that God will surely perform] a miracle [for him and save his life], for this person, God does not perform a miracle, for so we find in [the case of] Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, that [when the evil Nebuchadnezzar threatened to throw them into a fiery furnace], they did not submit themselves on the condition [that God would perform] a miracle, as Scripture says, "[Behold, there is our God Whom we worship; He can save us from the burning, fiery furnace and from your hands, O king!] But if not, let it be known to you, O king [that we will not worship your god, neither will we prostrate ourselves to the golden image that you have set up]!" (Dan. 3:1718). [We see here that whatever the outcome,] whether [God would] rescue [them] or not—[they declared, regardless] “Let it be known to you, O king [that we will not prostrate ourselves...]!”-[Torath Kohanim 22:137]

 

33 Who took you out [of the land of Egypt] on this very condition [i.e., to be willing to sacrifice your lives in sanctification of My Holy Name.-[Torath Kohanim 22:138] [And do not think that since it is an obligation, you will not receive reward for sacrificing yourselves, for]

 

I am the Lord faithful to give reward [to those who fulfill My Torah.-[Torath Kohanim 22:138]

 

Chapter 23

 

2 Speak to the children of Israel...The Lord’s appointed [holy days] Designate the [times] of the festivals so that [all of] Israel will become accustomed to them, [meaning] that they should proclaim leap years for [the Jews in] the Diaspora who had uprooted themselves from their place to ascend to [Jerusalem for] the festivals, but who had not yet arrived in Jerusalem. [The leap year would enable them to arrive in time. Consequently, in ensuing years, they would not lose hope of arriving on time and would be encouraged to make the pilgrimage.]-[Torath Kohanim 23:139; Levush Ha’orah. See also Mizrachi, Nachalath Ya’akov, Sefer Hazikkaron, Yosef Hallel, Chavel]

 

3 [For] six days... Why does the Sabbath [designated by God,] appear here amidst the festivals [designated by the Sanhedrin]? To teach you that whoever desecrates the festivals is considered [to have transgressed as severely] as if he had desecrated the Sabbath, and that whoever who fulfills the festivals is considered as if he has fulfilled the Sabbath, [and his reward is as great].-[Be’er Basadeh ; Torath Kohanim 23:144]

 

4 These are the Lord’s appointed [holy days, holy occasions, that you shall designate] In the earlier verse (verse 2), Scripture is referring to the proclamation of a leap year, while here, Scripture is referring to sanctifying the new month [i.e., “designating” which day is the first of the month, based on testimony of the sighting of the new moon. Both of these “designations,” therefore, have bearing on the establishment of the festivals.] -[Torath Kohanim 23:146]

 

5 in the afternoon Heb. הָעַרְבָּיִם בֵּין, lit. between the two evenings. From six [halachic] hours [after dawn,] and onwards [until evening (עֶרֶב), i.e., nightfall.]

 

the Passover offering to the Lord Heb. פֶּסַח, the offering up of a sacrifice named “Pesach.” [The term “Pesach” here refers to the Pesach offering brought on the fourteenth of Nissan, not to the Passover Festival, which begins on the fifteenth.-[Be’er Heitev on Rashi]

 

8 And you shall bring a fire offering [to the Lord for a seven-day period] These are the additional offerings [of Passover] delineated in parshath Pinchas (Num. 28:1625). Why are they mentioned here? To inform you that the additional offerings do not impede one another, [if some are omitted, as the Torah states:]

 

And you shall bring a fire offering to the Lord in any case. If there are no bulls, bring rams, and if there are neither bulls nor rams, bring lambs [as prescribed in Num. 28:19].-[Torath Kohanim 23:152]

 

for a seven-day period Heb. שִׁבְעַת יָמִים, lit., a “seven” of days. Wherever the שִׁבְעַת appears, it denotes a noun, and [thus, the expression here שִׁבְעַת יָמִים means “a week of days”; septaine in Old French [which is the noun, as opposed to sept, meaning the number seven. See Mizrachi on Rashi Exod. 10:22]. Likewise, every [construct expression like], שְׁמוֹנַת, שֵׁשֶׁת, חֲמֵשֶׁת, שְׁלֽשֶׁת [literally means, respectively, “an eight of,” "a six of," “a five of,” "a three of," [meaning a unit consisting of one of these numbers]. -[See Gur Aryeh and Levush Haorah on Rashi Exod. 10:22 for the reason this type of expression is used here instead of simply שִׁבְעָה יָמִים, “seven days.”]

 

work of labor Even types of work (מְלָאכוֹת) that are considered by you as labor (עֲבוֹדָה) and necessities, where a monetary loss may be incurred if one would refrain from them, for example, something that will be lost [if the activity is postponed]. I understood this from Torath Kohanim, where it is taught (23: 187): “One might think that even during the intermediate days of the Festival, work of labor is prohibited...” [and the text concludes by teaching us that during those days, מְלֶאכֶת עֲבוֹדָה is permitted, and we know that the type of work that is permitted on the intermediate days is such work whose postponement would cause a loss (דָּבָר הָאָבֵד). Hence, we see that מְלֶאכֶת עֲבוֹדָה and דָָּבָר הָאָבֵד are synonymous, and that is what the Torah meant to prohibit on the festival holy days—namely, the first and seventh days of Passover, when even that type of work is prohibited].

 

10 [you shall bring...an omer] of the beginning of your reaping the first of the harvest [from the fields. Thus, one is permitted to proceed with the general harvest only after this omer has been reaped.]-[Sifthei Chachamim ; Men. 71a]

 

omer a tenth of an ephah (see Exod. 16:36). That was its [the measure’s] name, like “And they measured it with an omer ” (Exod. 16:18).

 

11 And he shall wave Every [mention of] תְּנוּפָה, “waving,” [in Scripture], denotes moving back and forth, up and down. [It is moved] back and forth to prevent evil winds; [it is moved] up and down to prevent evil dews [i.e., the dew should be a blessing for the crop, not a curse].-[Men. 61a-62a]

 

so that it will be acceptable for you If you offer it up according to these instructions, it will be acceptable for you.

 

on the day after the rest day - מִמָּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת. On the day after the first holy day of Passover, [since a holy festival day is also שַׁבָָּת, rest day, in Scripture]. For if you say [that it means] the “Sabbath of Creation” [i.e., the actual Sabbath, the seventh day of the week], you would not know which one. -[Men. 66a]

 

12 you shall offer up [an unblemished lamb in its [first] year] It comes as obligatory for the omer [not as part the additional offerings of Passover.

 

13 Its meal offering The meal offering [which accompanies every sacrifice], along with its libations. [See Num. 15:116.] [This is not an independent meal offering.]

 

two tenths [of an ephah] It was double [the usual meal offering for a lamb, which is one tenth.] (See Num. 15:4.)

 

and its libation [shall be] a quarter of a hin of wine Although its meal offering is double, its libations are not double, [but the usual libation prescribed for a lamb (Num. 15:5). -[Men. 89b]

 

14 or [flour made from] parched grain [This refers to] flour made from tender, plump grain that is parched in an oven (see Lev. 2:14).

 

plump grain [These are the] plump, parched kernels, grenaillis [in Old French].-[See Rashi, Sifthei Chachamim on Lev. 2:14]

 

in all your dwelling places The Sages of Israel differ concerning this. Some learned from here that [the prohibition of eating] the new crop [before the omer] applies [even] outside the Land [of Israel], while others say that this phrase comes only to teach [us] that they were commanded regarding the new crop only after possession and settlement, after they had conquered and apportioned [the land.-[Kid. 37a]

 

15 from the morrow of the rest day On the day after the [first] holy day [of Passover].-[See Rashi on verse 11; Men. 65b]

 

[seven weeks;] they shall be complete [This verse] teaches us that one must begin counting [each of these days] from the evening, because otherwise, they would not be “complete.”-[Men. 66a]

 

16 the day after the seventh week - הַשַּׁבָּת הַשְּׁבִיעִת, as the Targum [Onkelos] renders: שְׁבוּעֲתָא שְׁבִיעָתָא, “the seventh week.”

 

You shall count until the day after the seventh week But not inclusive, making forty-nine days.

 

the fiftieth day, [on which] you will bring a meal offering to the Lord from the new [wheat crop] [lit., “(You shall count) fifty days and bring a meal offering to the Lord from the new (wheat crop).” But we count only forty-nine days. Therefore, the meaning is:] On the fiftieth day, you shall bring this [meal offering of the new wheat crop]. But I say that this is a Midrashic explanation of the verse [since it requires the forced attachment of the words חֲמִשִּׁים יוֹם to the continuation of the verse regarding the meal offering, whereas the cantillation signs attach them to the preceding words regarding the counting]. But its simple meaning is: “until [but not inclusive of]...the day after [the completion of] the seventh week, which is the fiftieth day, shall you count.” Accordingly, this is a transposed verse.

 

a new meal-offering This is the first meal offering brought from the new [crop]. Now, if you ask, “But was not the meal offering of the omer already offered up (see verse 10 above)?” [the answer to this is that] that is not like other meal offerings—for it comes from barley [and hence, this meal offering is new since it is the first meal offering from the wheat crop].

 

17 From your dwelling places but not from outside the Land.-[Men. 83b]

 

bread set aside Heb. לֶחֶם תְּנוּפָה, bread of separation, set aside for the sake of the Most High, and this is the new meal offering, mentioned above [in the preceding verse].

 

the first offering The first of all the meal offerings [brought from the new crop]; even a “jealousy meal offering” [for suspected infidelity, see Num. 5:1131], which comes from barley [see verse 15 there], may not be offered up from the new crop before the two loaves [have been brought].-[Men. 84b]

 

18 And associated with the bread Heb. עַל־הַלֶּחֶם,lit. on the bread, i.e., “because of the bread,” i.e., as an obligation for the bread, [but not as a separate obligation for that day. I.e., if they did not bring the bread offering, they do not bring this associated burnt offering.-[Mizrachi ; Torath Kohanim 23: 171]

 

[along with] their meal offering and libations i.e., according to the prescription of meal offerings and libations specified for each [type of] animal in the passage that delineates [libations (see Num. 15:116), as follows: three tenths [of an ephah of flour] for each bull, two tenths for a ram and one tenth for a lamb—this is the meal offering [for sacrifices]. And the libations are as follows: Half a hin [of wine] for a bull, a third of a hin for a ram, and a quarter of a hin for a lamb.

 

19 And you shall offer up one he-goat One might think that the seven lambs (preceding verse) and the he-goat mentioned here are the same seven lambs and the he-goat enumerated in the Book of Numbers (28:19, 22). However, when you reach [the enumeration there of] the bulls and rams, [the numbers of each animal] they are not the same [as those listed here]. You must now conclude that these are separate and those are separate—these are brought in conjunction with the bread, while those as additional offerings [for the Festival].- [Torath Kohanim 23:171]

 

20 And the kohen shall wave them...as a waving This teaches us that they require waving while still alive. Now, one might think that they all [require waving]. Scripture, therefore, says, “along with the two lambs.” -[see Men. 62a]

 

They shall be holy Since a peace offering of an individual has itself a minor degree of holiness, Scripture had to say concerning communal peace offering that they are holy of holies.

 

22 When you reap [But Scripture has already stated this, “When you...reap its harvest...” (verse 10 above).] Scripture repeats it once again, [so that one who disobeys] transgresses two negative commands. Rabbi Avdimi the son of Rabbi Joseph says: Why does Scripture place this [passage] in the very middle of [the laws regarding] the Festivals—with Passover and Atzereth (Shavuoth) on one side and Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and the Festival [of Succoth] on the other? To teach you that whoever gives לֶקֶט, gleanings, שִׁכְחָה, forgotten sheaves, and פֵּאָה, the corners, to the poor in the appropriate manner, is deemed as if he had built the Holy Temple and offered up his sacrifices within it.-[Torath Kohanim 23:175]

 

you shall leave Leave it before them and let them gather it up. And you shall not help one of them [since this will deprive the others].-[Torath Kohanim 19: 22]

 

I am the Lord, your God Who is faithful to give reward [to those who fulfill My Torah].

 

24 a remembrance of [Israel through] the shofar blast [On this Rosh Hashanah day,] a remembrance [before God of the Jewish people is evoked through the sounds of the shofar. And in order to enhance this remembrance, our Rabbis instituted the recitation] of Scriptural verses dealing with remembrance and Scriptural verses dealing with the blowing of the shofar (R.H. 32a), through which the remembrance of the binding of Isaac is recalled for them, [whereby Isaac was willing to be sacrificed as a burnt-offering according to God’s words (see Gen. 22:119), and] in whose stead a ram was offered up [whereby the shofar alludes to that ram’s horns, by which it was caught in a tree, thus making its appearance as Isaac’s replacement (see Gen. 22:13)].-[Sifthei Chachamim, Gur Aryeh ; R.H. 16a]

 

25 And you shall offer up a fire offering The additional offerings stated in the Book of Num. (29:16).

 

27 But Heb. אַךְ. Wherever the word אַךְ, “but,” or רַק, “only,” appear in the Torah, they denote an exclusion. [Thus,] Yom Kippur atones for those who repent, “but” it does not atone for those who do not repent.-[Shev. 13a]

 

30 I will destroy - כָּרֵת ("excision" or “cutting off”) is stated [as a punishment] in many places [in Scripture] and I do not know what that means, when God says [explicitly] “I will destroy,” [coinciding with  וְנִכְרְתָהin the preceding verse,] this teaches us כָּרֵת means only “destruction” [i.e., premature death, and not that the body is to be cut up or that the person is to be exiled].-[See Be’er Basadeh on this verse and on 22:3 above; Torath Kohanim 23:180]

 

31 You shall not perform any work [But has this not already been stated in verses 28 and 30 above? Yes, nevertheless this prohibition is repeated several times here, so that one who disobeys] transgresses many negative commandments, or to warn against work at night [that it is forbidden just] as [performing] work during the day [of the tenth of Tishri]. -[Yoma 81a; see Mizrachi and Divrei David]

 

35 a holy occasion [This expression mentioned in connection with Yom Kippur, means that you are to] sanctify it [the day] through [wearing] clean garments and through prayer, while [this expression mentioned in connection] with the other holy days, [means] sanctify it with food and drink, through [wearing] clean clothes and through [their own special] prayers.-[See Torath Kohanim 23:186] [Note that this Rashi belongs on verse 27. Therefore, it is obvious that it is referring to Yom Kippur, and the words, הַכִּפּוּרים בְּיוֹם are completely unnecessary. Since the copyists believed it to be on verse 35, which deals with Succoth, they found it necessary to insert those words. See Divrei David.]

 

36 It is a [day of] detention [i.e., God says to Israel,] “I have detained you [to remain] with Me.” This is analogous to a king who invited his sons to feast with him for a certain number of days, and when the time came for them to leave, he said: “My sons! Please, stay with me just one more day, [for] it is difficult for me to part with you!” [Similarly, after the seven days of Succoth, God “detains” Israel for one extra holy day.]

 

[you shall not perform] any work of labor [I.e.,] even such work that is considered labor for you, that, if not done, would cause a monetary loss [is prohibited].

 

you shall not perform One might think that even during the intermediate days of the Festival, work of labor is [also] prohibited. Scripture, therefore says here, “ It [is a day of detention,” [i.e., only on this eighth day is work prohibited, and not on the preceding weekdays of the Festival, when such work, which, if postponed, would cause a monetary loss, is permitted].-[Torath Kohanim 23:187]

 

37 burnt offering and meal offering the libations meal offering that is offered up with the burnt offering (see Num. 15:116). -[Men. 44b]

 

the requirement of each day on its day [I.e.,] according to the prescribed laws set out in the Book of Num. (chapter 29).

 

the requirement of each day on its day But if its day passes, [and the prescribed sacrifice for that day had not been offered,] this sacrifice is canceled [i.e., it can no longer be brought on a later day].-[Torath Kohanim 23:189]

 

39 But on the fifteenth day... when you gather in the produce of the land, you shall celebrate the festival of the Lord for a seven-day period [by bringing] a peace offering as the [special] “Festival offering (חֲגִיגָה).” Now, one might think that this [Festival offering] overrides the Sabbath. Scripture, therefore, says here, “But (אַךְ) ” [denoting an exclusion (see Rashi on verse 27 above; Torath Kohanim 23:191), namely that this sacrifice may not be brought on the Sabbath], since it can be made up on any of the seven [days of the Festival].

 

when you gather in the produce of the land [This teaches us] that this seventh month must occur at the time of ingathering, [namely, in the fall]. From here, [we learn] that they were commanded to proclaim leap years [i.e., to add an extra, thirteenth month to the lunar year], for if there were no leap years, [the lunar years would eventually no longer coincide with the solar years, and] sometimes [the seventh month] would occur in midsummer or midwinter [not in the time of ingathering]. -[Torath Kohanim 23:192]

 

you shall celebrate [by bringing] the Festival peace offering (see the first Rashi on this verse),

 

for a seven-day period If one did not bring it on one [day of the Festival], he may still bring it on another. Now, one might think that we are obliged to bring it all seven days. Scripture, therefore, says, “celebrate it ” (verse 41 below) [employing the singular form,] thus denoting only one day and no more. But why does Scripture say "seven"? [To give seven days] for making it up [if one did not bring it on the first day]. -[Chag.9a]

 

40 the fruit of the hadar tree [Scripture could have simply said, “ hadar fruit.” Since it adds the word “tree,” next to “fruit,” it teaches us that it is] a tree whose wood has the same taste as its fruit.-[Sukkah 35a] [Note that, according to Ramban, the fruit known in Aramaic as “ethrog,” is known in Hebrew as “ hadar.”

 

hadar [Refers to a fruit] “that resides (הַדָּר) ” on its tree from one year to the next, which is the ethrog.-[Sukkah 35a]

 

date-palm fronds Heb. כַּפּֽת תְּמָרִים. [The word כַּפּֽת is written here with] a missing “vav” (ו) [thus implying the singular rather than the plural]. This teaches us that only one [date-palm frond is to be taken].-[Sukkah 32a]

 

a branch of a braided tree [A tree] whose branches עֲנָפָיו are braided like cords עֲבוֹתוֹת and like ropes. And Scripture is referring here specifically to the הֲדַס (myrtle) tree, which is made in a braided-like form.-[Sukkah 32b]

 

42 resident Heb. הָאֶזְרָח, [lit., “the resident.” The definite article here] signifies a resident [of the people of Israel, namely, a native Jew. Therefore, the next seemingly superfluous expression, namely,]

 

among the Israelites Comes to include converts [in this commandment].-[Sukkah 28b]

 

43 I had the children of Israel live in booths [These were] the clouds of glory [with which God enveloped the Jewish people in the desert, forming a protective shelter for them against wild beasts and enemies.] [See Num. 10:34 and Rashi on that verse.]-[Sukkah 11b]

 

Ashlamatah: II Kings 23:1-9; 21-25

 

Rashi	Targum
1. And the king summoned, and they assembled before him all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.	1. And the king sent, and all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem gathered unto him.
2. And the king went up to the house of the Lord, and all the people of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem were with him, and the priests and the prophets, and all the people from small to great, and he read within their hearing all the words of the scroll of the covenant that was found in the house of the Lord.	2. And the king went up to the house of the sanctuary of the LORD, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests and the scribes­ and all the people, from small and unto great. And he read before them all the words of the book of the covenant that was found in the house of the sanctuary of the LORD.
3. And the king stood on his place, and enacted the covenant before the Lord, to follow the Lord and to observe His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all their heart and soul, to fulfill the words of this covenant, which are written in this scroll. And all the people were steadfast in their acceptance of the covenant.	3. And the king stood upon the balcony and he cut the covenant before the LORD to walk after the service of the LORD and to keep His commands and His testimonies and His statutes with all heart and with all soul, to fulfill the words of this covenant that were written upon this book. And all the people took upon themselves the covenant.
4. And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second rank and the guards of the threshold, to take out of the Temple of the Lord all the utensils that were made for the Baal and for the asherah, and for the entire host of the heaven, and he burnt them outside Jerusalem in the plains of Kidron, and he carried their ashes to Bethel.	4. And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the prefect of the priests and the cashiers to bring forth from the temple of the LORD all the vessels that were made for Baal and for Asherah and for all the hosts of the heavens; and he burned them outside Jerusalem in the valley of the Kidron, and he brought their dust to Bethel.
5. And he abolished the pagan priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed and who had burnt incense on the high places in the cities of Judah and the environs of Jerusalem, and those who burnt incense to the Baal, to the sun, to the moon, and to the constellations, and to all the host of heaven.	5. And he made (stop) the idol priests to whom the kings of the house of Judah gave and they offered sweet spices upon the high places in the cities of the house of Judah and in the surroundings of Jerusalem, and those who offered sweet spices to Baal, to the sun and to the moon and to the constellations and to all the hosts of the heavens.
6. And he took the asherah out of the house of the Lord to the outside of Jerusalem, to the Kidron Valley, and he burnt it in the Kidron Valley and he pulverized it into dust; and he threw its dust on the graves of the members of the people.	6. And he brought forth the Asherah from the house of the sanctuary of the LORD outside Jerusalem to the valley of the Kidron, and he burned it in the valley of the Kidron, and he crushed it to dust and cast its dust to the graves of the idols.
7. And he demolished the houses devoted to pagan worship that were in the house of the Lord, where the women weave enclosures for the asherah.	7. And he broke down the houses of the sacred property of the idols that were in the house of the sanctuary of the LORD where the women were weaving curtains's for the Asherah.
8. And he brought all the priests from the cities of Judah, and he defiled the high places where the priests had burnt incense, from Geba as far as Beersheba, and he demolished the high places near the gates, the one that was at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the mayor of the city, which is on a person's left in the gate of the city.	8. And he made all the idol priests come from the cities of the house of Judah, and he profaned the high places where the idol priests offered sweet spices from Geba unto Beer-sheba; and he broke down the high places of the gates that were before the gate of Joshua the chief of the city, which were at the left of a man in his comings in the gate of the city.
9. However, the priests of the high places would not go up to the Lord's altar in Jerusalem, but they would eat unleavened cakes among their brethren.	9. But the idol priests of the high places were not coming up to sacrifice upon the altar of the LORD in Jerusalem; but they ate unleavened bread in the midst of their brothers.
21. And the king commanded all the people, saying, "Perform a Passover sacrifice to the Lord your God, as it is written in this scroll of the covenant."	21. And the king commanded all the people, saying: "Make the Passover before" the LORD your God just as it is written upon the book of the covenant."
22. For such a Passover sacrifice had not been performed since the time of the judges who judged Israel, and all the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah.	22. For it was not done like this Passover from the days of the leaders who judged Israel and all the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of the house of Judah.
23. Except in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover sacrifice was performed to the Lord, in Jerusalem.	23. Only in the eighteenth year for King Josiah this Passover was made before the LORD in Jerusalem.
24. And also the necromancers and those who divine by the Jidoa bone and the teraphim and the idols and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, Josiah abolished, in order to fulfill the words of the Torah which were written in the scroll that Hilkiah the priest had found in the house of the Lord.	24. And also the spiritualists and the necromancers and the graven images and the idols and all the abominations that were seen in the land of the house of Judah and in Jerusalem, Josiah removed in order to fulfill the words of the Law that were written upon the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the sanctuary of the LORD.
25. Now, before him there was no king like him, who returned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his possessions, according to the entire Torah of Moses, and after him no one arose.	25. And there was no king like him before him who turned to the service of the LORD with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his goods according to all the Law of Moses. And after him no one like him arose.

 

Note:

 

As you read the following Midrash, please remember that they are composed in the Drash style, and therefore their content is metaphorical – i.e., a parable that is teaching something about the government/governance of Heaven. It is up to you to read each paragraph and discern what the parable is and what it teaches about the kingdom of G-d here on earth. After that, look at the whole Pisqa and see how the parts join to form a whole new parable which you need to identify and interpret. Remember we are at the Parable/metaphorical level, and we should not interpret these statements literally – it says what it means, otherwise we miss the whole point that the author/s had in mind as well as their objectives.

 

Midrash PESIQTA deRAB KAHANA

Pisqa Nine

 

When a bull or sheep or goat [is born, it will remain seven days with its mother, and from the eighth day on, it will be acceptable as an ‎offering by fire to the Lord] ‎(Lev. 22:27). ‎

 

IX:I ‎

‎

[Concerning the verse: When a bull or sheep or goat is born, it will remain seven days with its mother; and from the eighth day on it will be acceptable as ‎an offering by fire to the Lord (Lev. 22:27)]: Your righteousness/generosity is like the mountains of God, Your judgments are like the great deep; [man and beast You save, O ‎LORD] (Ps. 36:6). ‎R. Ishmael and R. Aqiba: R. Ishmael says, "With the righteous/generous, who carry out the Torah, which was given from the mountains of God the Holy One, blessed be He, does ‎righteousness/generosity like the mountains of God. Your righteousness/generosity is like the mountains of God. ‎But with the wicked, who do not carry out the Torah, which was given 'from the mountains of God,' the Holy One, blessed be He, seeks a strict ‎accounting, unto the great deep. Your judgments are like the great deep. ‎R. Aqiba says, "All the same are these and those: the Holy One, blessed be He, seeks a strict accounting with [all of] them in accord with strict justice. He seeks a strict accounting with the righteous/generous, collecting from them the few bad deeds that they do in this world, in order to pay them an abundant reward ‎in the world to come. And He affords prosperity to the wicked and gives them a full reward for the minor religious duties that they successfully accomplished in this world, ‎in order to exact a full penalty from them in the world to come." ‎

 

‎Rabbi [Judah the Patriarch] [Leviticus Rabbah: Meir] says, "The righteous/generous are comparable to their abode [like the mountains of God] and the wicked are ‎comparable to their dwelling [like the great deep]. ‎The righteous/ generous are comparable to their abode: I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel will be their fold (Ez. 34:14). ‎The wicked are comparable to their abode: Thus said the LORD in the day when he went down to the netherworld, I caused the deep to mourn and cover ‎itself for him (Ez. 31:15)." ‎

 

R. Judah b. Rabbi said, "'I caused to mourn (H'BLTY)' is written, 'I brought down (HWBLTY).' By way of parable: they do not make a cover for a bowl of silver, gold, copper, iron, tin, or lead [Num. 31:22] but only [for one] of clay, for it is a material of the ‎same sort [as the bowl]. So said the Holy One, blessed be He, 'Gehenna is dark, and the wicked are dark, and the deep is dark. Let the dark come and cover the dark,' [as it is said], For {the wicked} comes in vanity and departs in darkness and his name is covered with darkness (Qoh 6:4)." ‎

 

R. Jonathan in the name of R. Josiah would rearrange the elements of this verse: "Your righteousness/generosity over Your judgments {prevails} like the mountains of God over ‎the great deep.” Just as these mountains conquer the great deep, so that it may not rise up and flood the entire world, so the deeds of the righteous/generous overcome punishment, keeping ‎it from spreading over the world. Another interpretation of the verse, our righteousness/generosity over your judgments {prevails} like the mountains of God over the great deep: Just as these mountains have ‎no end, so the reward of the righteous/generous in the world to come will know no end. ‎‎"Your judgments are like the great deep (Ps, 36:6): ‎Just as there is no searching out the great deep, so there is no searching out the punishment that is coming upon the wicked in the age to come.

 

Another interpretation: Your righteousness/generosity is like the mountains of God  Just as the mountains are [readily] visible, so the deeds of the righteous/ generous are [readily] visible. That is in line with the following verse of Scripture: May they fear You in the sun (Ps, 72:5). ‎Your judgments are like the great deep: Just as the deep is hidden [from view]. so the deeds of the wicked are hidden [from view]. ‎That is in line with the following verse of Scripture: Whose deeds are in the dark (Is. 29: 15). ‎

 

Another interpretation: Your righteousness/generosity is like the mountains of God: ‎Just as these mountains are sown and bring forth fruit. so the deeds of the righteous/generous bring forth fruit. That is in line with the following verse of Scripture: Tell the righteous/generous that it will be well with them, for they will eat the fruit of their deeds (Is. 3:10). Your judgments are like the great deep: Just as the great deep is not sown and does not bring forth fruit. so the deeds of the wicked do not bear fruit. ‎That is in line with the following verse of Scripture: Woe to the wicked. It will be ill with him, for what his hands have done will be done to him (Is. 3:11). ‎

. ‎

Another interpretation: Your righteousness/generosity is like the mountains of God: [Said] R. Judah b. R. Simon. "The act of righteousness/generosity which You did with Noah in the ark ‎is like the mountains of God. ‎That is in line with the following verse of Scripture: And the ark rested ... on the mountains of Ararat (Gen. 8:4). ‎[“Your judgments are like the great deep:] The judgments which You meted out to his generation you exacted from them even to the great deep. That is in line with the following verse of Scripture: And on that day the springs of the great deep broke open (Gen. 7:11). ‎And not only so, but, when You remembered him, it was not him alone that you remembered, but him and everyone that was with him in the ark. That is in line with the following verse of Scripture: And God remembered Noah and all the living creatures (Gen. 8: 1)." ‎‎[Leviticus Rabbah adds:] Another interpretation of Your righteousness/generosity is like the mountains of God: ‎R. Joshua b. Levi went to Rome. There he saw marble pillars covered with tapestries, so that in the hot weather they should not crack from expansion and in ‎the cold weather they should not crack from contraction. ‎When he went out, he met a poor man with a mat of reeds underneath him and a mat of reeds on top of him. ‎Concerning the marble pillars he recited the following verse of Scripture: Your righteousness/generosity is like the mountains of God. ‎‎   He said, "Where you give, you give lavishly." Concerning the poor man he recited this verse: Your judgments are like the great deep. ‎‎"Where you smite, You pay close attention to every little detail."

 ‎

Alexander of Macedonia went to the king of Kasia, beyond the mountains of darkness. He came to a certain town, called Cartagena, and it was populated ‎entirely by women. They came out before him and said to him, "If you make war on us and conquer us, word will spread about you that you destroyed a town of women. But if ‎we do battle with you and conquer you, word will spread about you that you made war on women and they beat you. And you'll never again be able to hold ‎up your head among kings." ‎[Leviticus Rabbah adds: At that moment he turned away and left.] After he went away, he wrote on the door of the gate of the city, saying, "I, Alexander the ‎Macedonian, a king, was a fool until I came to the town called Cartagena, and I learned wisdom from women."   He came to another town, called Africa. They came out and greeted him with apples made out of gold, golden pomegranates, and golden bread. ‎He said, "Is this gold what you eat in your country?" They said to him, "And is it not this way in your country, that you have come here?" He said to them, "It is not your wealth that I have come to see, but it is your justice that I have come to see." While they were standing there, two men came before the king for justice. ‎[Leviticus Rabbah adds: This one kept himself far from thievery, and so did that.] One of them said, "I bought a rubbish heap from this man. I dug it open ‎and found a jewel in it. I said to him, Take your jewel. I bought a rubbish heap. A jewel I didn't buy." The other said, "When I sold the rubbish heap to that man, I sold him the rubbish heap and everything that is in it." The king called one of them and said to him, "Do you have a male child?" He said to him, "Yes." ‎The king called the other and said to him, "Do you have a daughter?" He said to him, "Yes." Then the king said to them, "Let this one marry that one, and let the two of them enjoy the jewel." Alexander of Macedonia began to express surprise. ‎He said to him, "Why are you surprised? Did I not give a good judgment?" He said to him, "Yes, you did." He said to him, "If this case had come to court in your country, how would you have judged it?" ‎He said to him, "We should have cut off the head of this party and cut off the head of that party, and the jewel would have passed into the possession of the crown."

 

He said to him, "Does rain fall on you?" ‎ He said to him, "Yes." ‎‎"And does the sun rise for you?" He said to him, "Yes." He said to him, "Are there small cattle in your country?" He said to him, "Yes." “Woe to you! It is on account of the merit of the small cattle that you are saved." That is in line with the following verse of Scripture: Man and beast you save, O LORD (Ps. 36:7). Man on account of the merit of the beast do you save, O LORD." ‎

 

So did the Israelites say before the Holy One, blessed be He: "LORD of the world, we are mere men. Save us like a beast, for we are drawn after You like ‎beasts." ‎[That is in line with the following verse of Scripture:] Draw me, we will run after You, like a beast, we are drawn to You. (Song of Songs 1:4). And whither [are we drawn after You]? A member of the household of Rabbi said, "To the Garden of Eden." ‎For it is written, They feast on the abundance of Your house, and You give them drink from the river of Your delights (Ps. 36:9). Said R. Eleazar b. R. Menahem, '''Your delight' is not written here, but rather, Your delights. On the basis of that fact we may conclude that every ‎righteous/generous person has an Eden unto himself."

‎

‎Said R. Isaac, "Judgment is stated with regard to man, and judgment is stated with regard to beast. The judgment stated with regard to a man: And on the eighth day, he will be circumcised (Lev. 12:3). And the judgment stated with regard to the beast: [When a bull or sheep or goat is born, it will remain seven days (with its mother);] and from ‎ the eighth day on, it will be acceptable [as an offering by fire to the LORD] (Lev. 22:26). ‎

 

IX:II ‎

 

‎R. Tanhuma commenced discourse by citing this verse: Who has given me anything beforehand, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven ‎is Mine (Job 41:3 [Heb. 41:11]). ‎R. Tanhuma interpreted the verse to speak of a bachelor who was living in a town and who [though he had no children and owed nothing] gave wages for ‎scribes and Mishnah teachers: "Said the Holy One, blessed be He, 'It is my responsibility to pay him back for his goodness and to give him a male child.' ‎[Leviticus Rabbah:] "That is in line with the following verse of Scripture: He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD], and He will repay him for his deed ‎‎(Prov. 19:17)." ‎

 

‎Said R. Jeremiah b. Eleazar, "An echo is going to proclaim on the tops of the mountains, saying, 'Whoever has worked with God' will come and collect his ‎reward.' That is in line with the following verse of Scripture: In time it will be said to Jacob and to Israel, What has God worked (Num. 23:23). ‎Whoever has worked with God now let him come and collect his reward. And the Holy Spirit says, 'Who has given Me anything beforehand? I will repay him' (Job. 41:3). ‎Who praised Me before I gave him a soul, who was circumcised in My name before I gave him a male child, who made a parapet for Me before I gave ‎him a roof, who made a Mezuzah for Me before I gave him a house, who made a Sukkah for Me before I gave him a place [for it], who made a Lulab for ‎Me before I gave him money, who made show fringes for Me before I gave him a cloak, who separated Peah for Me before I gave him a field, who ‎separated heave offering for Me and tithe before I gave him a harvest, who separated dough offering for Me before I gave him dough, who separated an ‎offering for Me before I gave him a beast! ‎"When a bull or a sheep or a goat [is born] (Lev. 22:7)." ‎

 

IX:III ‎

 

‎R. Jacob b. R. Zabedi in the name of R. Abbahu opened [discourse by citing the following verse:] "And it will never again be the reliance of the house of Israel, ‎‎[recalling their iniquity, when they turn to them for aid. Then they will know that I am the LORD God]” (Ez. 29:16). It is written, Above him stood the seraphim: each had six wings, [with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet,] and with two he flew' (Is. ‎‎6:2). ‎[With two he flew] - singing praises. ‎‎            ‎With two he covered his face - so as not to gaze upon the Presence of God. And with two he covered his feet - so as not to let them be seen by the face of the Presence of God. ‎For it is written, And the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf’s foot (Ez. 1:7). ‎And it is written, They made for themselves a molten calf (Ex. 32:8). ‎[Leviticus Rabbah adds:] So [in covering their feet, they avoided calling to mind the molten calf,] in accord with the verse, And it will never again be ‎the reliance of the house of Israel, recalling their iniquity (Ez. 29:16)." ‎

‎

There we have learned in the Mishnah (M. R.H. 3:2): All [horns] are suitable except for that of a cow. ‎ Why except for that of the cow? Because it is the horn of a calf. ‎[Leviticus Rabbah adds:] And it is written, They made for themselves a molten calf (Ex. 32:8). ‎So [in not using the horn of a cow, they avoid calling to mind the molten calf, in accord with the verse], And it will never again be the reliance of the house ‎of Israel, recalling their iniquity (Ez, 29:16). ‎

 

‎There we have also learned: And you will kill the woman and the beast [that lay with her] (Lev. 20:16). If a human being has sinned, what sin did the beast ‎commit? ‎But since through that beast a disaster has come upon a human being, the Torah has said that it should be stoned. ‎Another consideration: That a beast should not walk through the market and people should say, "That is the beast on account of which So-and-so was ‎stoned to death." This is in line with the verse of Scripture: And it will never again be the reliance of the house of Israel, recalling their iniquity (Ez. 29: 17). ‎  ‎

 

‎It has been taught: On what account does a wife accused of infidelity not drink from a cup used by another woman [the water that brings a curse]? So that people ‎should not say, "Out of this cup another woman drank the water and died." ‎ This is in line with the verse of Scripture: And it will never again be the reliance of the house of Israel, recalling their iniquity (Ez. 29: 17). ‎

‎

And so too here: When a bull or a sheep or a goat is born (Lev. 22:27). ‎Now is it born as a bull and not as a calf? But because it is said, They made for themselves a molten calf, therefore the Scripture refers to it as a bull and ‎not as a calf: When a bull, a sheep, a goat is born. ‎

 

IX:IV ‎

‎

That which is already has been, that which is to be already has been. [God seeks that which is pursued] (Qoh. 3:15). ‎R. Judah and R. Nehemiah: R. Judah says, "If someone should say to you that had the first Adam not sinned and eaten from that tree, he would have lived and endured even to this ‎very day, tell him, It already has been. Elijah, of blessed memory, who did not sin, does not live forever. ‎‎"That which is to be already has been:” If someone should tell to you, it is possible that the Holy One, blessed be He, in the future is going to resurrect ‎the dead, say to him, It already has been. He has already resurrected the dead through Elijah, Elisha, and Ezekiel in the valley of Dura." And R. Nehemiah says, "If someone should say to you that it is possible that to begin with the world was entirely made up of water in water, say to him, ‎It already has been, for the ocean is full of diverse water. ‎"That which is to be already has been:” If someone should say to you, the Holy One, blessed be He, is going to dry the sea up, say to him, It already has ‎been. Has he not already done so through Moses: And the children of Israel walked on dry land through the sea (Ex. 14:29)." ‎

‎

R. Aha in the name of R. Simeon b. Halapta: "Whatever the Holy One, blessed be He, is destined to do in the age to come in some small measure already has ‎he done through the righteous/generous in this world. The Holy One, blessed be He, has said that He is going to resurrect the dead: he has already resurrected the dead through Elijah, Elisha, and Ezekiel. The Holy One, blessed be He, has said that He is going to bring [people] through water on to dry land: [Leviticus Rabbah:] When you pass through water, I ‎am with you (Is. 43:2). He has already brought Israel through [water] with Moses: And the children of Israel walked on dry land through the sea (Ex. 14:29). ‎[Leviticus Rabbah:] "And through rivers they will not overwhelm you (Is. 43:2). This He has already accomplished through Joshua: On dry land the Israelites ‎crossed the Jordan (Josh. 4:2). ‎[Leviticus Rabbah:] "When you walk through fire you will not be burned (Is. 43:2). This he has already accomplished through Hananiah, Mishael, and ‎Azariah. ‎‎[Leviticus Rabbah:] "And the flame will not consume you (Is. 43:2). This he has already accomplished: [The fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men] no smell of fire had come upon them (Dan. 3:27). ‎‎[Leviticus Rabbah:] "The Holy One, blessed be He, has said that He will sweeten bitter water, he has already accomplished through Moses: The LORD showed ‎him a tree, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet (Ex. 15:25). ‎[Leviticus Rabbah:] "The Holy One, blessed be He, has said that God will sweeten what is bitter through something bitter, He has already accomplished that through ‎Elisha: Then he went to the spring of water and threw salt into it and said, Thus says the LORD, I have made this water wholesome (2 Kgs. 2:21). ‎[Leviticus Rabbah:] "The Holy One, blessed be He, has said that He blesses what is little [and makes it much], He already has accomplished that through Elijah and ‎Elisha: For thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'The jar of meal shall not be spent, and the cruse of oil shall not fail, [until the day that the Lord sends rain upon ‎the earth] (1 Kgs. 17:14). ‎‎[Not in Leviticus Rabbah:] The Holy One, blessed be He, has said that He will open the eyes of the blind (Is. 35:5). Has he not already done so: And God opened the eyes of the youth (2 Kgs. 6: 17)? ‎The Holy One, blessed be He, has said that He will visit barren women, but He has already accomplished it [Leviticus Rabbah adds: through Sarah, Rebecca, ‎Rachel, and Hannah]: And the Lord visited Sarah (Gen. 21:1). ‎[Leviticus Rabbah adds:] "The wolf and the lamb will pasture together (Is. 65:25), He has already accomplished it through Hezekiah: The wolf will dwell with the ‎lamb (Is. 11:6). ‎ The Holy One, blessed be He, has said, "And kings will be your tutor (Is. 49:23. Has he not has already accomplished it through Daniel: Then the king ‎Nebuchadnezzer fell upon his face and worshipped Daniel” (Dan. 2:46).

 

God seeks what has been driven away (Qoh. 3:15): ‎R.. Huna in the name of R. Joseph said, "The Holy One, blessed be He, is destined to avenge the blood of the pursued through punishing the pursuer. [You find that] when a righteous/generous man pursues a righteous/generous man, God seeks what has been driven away. When a wicked man pursues a wicked man, God seeks what has been driven away. ‎All the more so when a wicked man pursues a righteous/generous man, God seeks what has been driven away. ‎[The same principle applies] even when you come around to a case in which a righteous/generous man pursues a wicked man, God seeks what has been driven ‎away." ‎

‎

[Leviticus Rabbah adds:] R. Yose b. R. Yudan in the name of R. Yose b. R. Nehorai says, "It is always the case that the Holy One, blessed be He, demands an accounting for the blood of those who have been pursued from the hand of ‎the pursuer. You may know that this is the case, for Lo, Abel was pursued by Cain, God seeks what has been driven away [and God sought an accounting for the ‎pursued]: And the LORD looked [favourably] upon Abel and his meal offering (Gen. 4:4). Noah was pursued by his generation, God seeks what has been driven away: Noah found favor in the eyes of God (Gen. 6:8). [Leviticus Rabbah adds: ‎You and all your household will come into the ark' (Gen. 7:1). And it says, For this is like the days of Noah to me, as I swore [that the waters of Noah should ‎no more go over the earth] (Is. 54:9).] ‎ Abraham was pursued by Nimrod, God seeks what has been driven away:You are the LORD, the God who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur (Neh. 9:7). Isaac was pursued by the Philistines [Leviticus Rabbah: Ishmael], God seeks what has been driven away. And they said, We have certainly seen that the ‎LORD is with you (Gen. 26:28) [Leviticus Rabbah: For through Isaac will seed be called for you (Gen. 21:12)]. ‎Jacob was pursued by Esau, God seeks what has been driven away. For the LORD has chosen Jacob, Israel for his prized possession (Ps. 135:4). ‎Joseph was pursued by his brothers, God seeks what has been driven away. The LORD was with Joseph, and he was a successful man (Gen. 39:2). ‎Moses was pursued by Pharaoh, but Moses, the man God had chosen, threw himself into the breach to tum back his wrath lest it destroy them (Ps. 106:23). ‎[Leviticus Rabbah adds:] "David was pursued by Saul, God seeks what has been driven away. And he chose David, his servant (Ps. 78:70). ‎Israel is pursued by the nations, God seeks what has been driven away. And you has the LORD chosen to be a people to Him (Deut. 14:2). ‎R. Judah bar Simon in the name of R. Yose bar Nehorai, "And the rule applies also to the matter of offerings. A bull is pursued by a lion, a sheep is pursued ‎by a wolf, a goat is pursued by a leopard. ‎Therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, has said, 'Do not make offerings before Me from those animals that pursue, but from those that are pursued: ‎When a bull, a sheep, or a goat is born (Lev. 22:27). ‎

 

IX:V ‎

‎

O My people, what have I done to you, in what have I wearied you? ‎Testify against me (Mic. 6:3). ‎Said R. Aha, "Testify against me and receive a reward, but Do not bear false witness (Ex. 20: 13) and face a settlement of accounts [Leviticus Rabbah adds:] ‎in the age to come."

 

‎Said R. Samuel b. R. Nahman, "On three occasions the Holy One, blessed be He, came to engage in argument with Israel, and the nations of the world rejoiced, ‎saying, 'Can these ever [dare] engage in an argument with their creator? Now He will wipe them out of the world.' One was when he said to them, Come, and let us reason together, says the LORD (Is. 1:18). When the Holy One, blessed be He, saw that the nations of ‎the world were rejoicing, he turned the matter to [Israel's] advantage: If your sins are as scarlet, they shall be white as snow (Is. 1:18). ‎Then the nations of the world were astonished, and said, 'This is repentance, and this is rebuke? He has planned only to amuse Himself with His children.' ‎[A second time was] when He said to them, Hear, you mountains, the controversy of the LORD (Mic. 6:2), so the nations of the world rejoiced, saying, 'How ‎can these ever [dare] engage in an argument with their creator? Now he will wipe them out of the world.' ‎When the Holy One, blessed be He, saw that the nations of the world were rejoicing, He turned the matter to [Israel's] advantage: O my people, what have ‎I done to you? In what have I wearied you? Testify against me (Mic. 6:3). Remember what Balak king of Moab devised (Mic, 6:5). ‎‎[Leviticus Rabbah adds:] Then the nations of the world were astonished, saying, "This is repentance, and this is rebuke, one following the other? He has ‎planned only to amuse Himself with His children.' ‎[A third time was] when He said to them, The LORD has an indictment against Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways (Hos. 12:2), the nations ‎of the world rejoiced, saying, 'How can these ever [dare] engage in an argument with their creator? Now he will wipe them out of the world.' ‎When the Holy One, blessed be He, saw that the nations of the world were rejoicing, He turned the matter to [Israel's] advantage. That is in line with the ‎following verse of Scripture: In the womb he [Jacob = Israel] took his brother [Esau = other nations] by the heel [and in his manhood he strove with God. ‎He strove with the angel and prevailed, he wept and sought his favor] (Hos. 12:3-4)." ‎

 

‎[Leviticus Rabbah adds: Said R. Yudan b. R. Simeon,] "The matter may be compared to a widow who was complaining to a judge about her son. When she ‎saw that the judge was in session and handing out sentences of capital punishment [Leviticus Rabbah adds:] punishment by fire, pitch, and lashes, she said, 'If I ‎report the bad conduct of my son to that judge, he will kill him now.' She waited until he was finished. When he had finished, he said to her, 'Madam, this son of ‎yours, how has he behaved badly toward you?' ‎She said to him, 'My lord, when he was in my womb, he kicked me.' ‎He said to her, 'Now has he done anything wrong to you?' ‎She said to him, 'No.' He said to her, '[Leviticus Rabbah adds: Go your way], there is nothing wrong in the matter [that you report]. ‎[Leviticus Rabbah adds:] "So, when the Holy One, blessed be He, saw that the nations of the world were rejoicing, he turned the matter to [Israel's] ‎advantage: ‎‎[Leviticus Rabbah adds:] "In the womb he took his brother by the heel (Mic. 12:3) ‎Then the nations of the world were astonished, saying, 'This is repentance and this is rebuke, one following the other? He has planned only to amuse ‎Himself with His children." ‎

 

‎Said R. Berekhiah [Leviticus Rabbah: Isaac], "The matter may be compared to the case of a king who sent his proclamation to a city. What did the inhabitants ‎of the city do? They stood up and bared their heads and read the proclamation in awe, trembling, fear, and trepidation. So the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, The proclamation of the Shema is My proclamation [that I sent you]. I did not impose on you by telling ‎you to read [the Shema] either standing on your feet or having bared your heads, but only [at your convenience: merely] When you sit in your house and ‎when you walk by the way (Deut. 6:7).''' [Leviticus Rabbah supplies the following: And how have I wearied you? (Mic, 6:3). Said R. Berekhiah, "The matter ‎may be compared to the case of a king, who sent three messengers to a certain city, and the inhabitants of the city stood up before them and paid them ‎service] in awe, trembling, fear, and trepidation. So the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, 'I sent you three messengers, Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. ‎Now did they eat any of your food? Did they drink any of your drink? Did they impose upon you in any way? Is it not through their merit that you are ‎maintained? The mana was through the merit of Moses, the well through the merit of Miriam, and the clouds of glory through the merit of Aaron.'''] ‎

 

‎Another teaching concerning the verse, And how have I wearied you: ‎Said R. Judah b. R. Simon, "Said the Holy One, blessed be He, 'I handed over ten clean beasts to you [as suitable food for you and for me], three in your ‎domain [under your control, as domesticated beasts], and seven not in your domain. ‎ The three in your domain: the ox, sheep, and the goat (Deut. 14:4). ‎The seven not in your domain: the hart, gazelle, roebuck, wild goat, ibex, antelope, and mountain sheep (Deut. 14:5). ‎I did not trouble you, and I did not tell you to go up into the mountains and to tire yourselves in the fields to [hunt and so to] bring me an offering of ‎those beasts that are not within your domain. ‎I asked only for those that are in your domain, the ones that grow at your crib: Ox, sheep or goat that is born (Lev. 22:27).'" ‎

 

IX:VI ‎

 

R. Levi opened [discourse by citing the following verse of Scripture:] "Behold you are nothing, and your work is nought; [an abomination is he who chooses ‎you] (Is. 41:24). Nothing - from nil, from a foul secretion. ‎ Nought (M'P') - from the hundred (M'H) outcries (P'YWT) that a woman cries out when she is sitting on the birth stool, ninety-nine are for death, and ‎one for life."

 

An abomination is he who chooses you  Even though the infant emerges from his mother's belly filthy and soiled, covered with secretions and blood, everybody caresses and kisses him. ‎And even more so if it is a male. ‎

 

Another interpretation: Behold, you are nothing: ‎Said R. Berekhiah, The word 'behold' (HN) is Greek, 'hina,' meaning ‎one. Said the Holy One, blessed be He, 'I have only one nation among the nations of the world.' Nothing: This refers to those about which it is written, The nations are nothing before Him (Is. 40:17)." ‎And your work is nought (Is. 41:24): ‎Said R. Levi, "All the good and comforting works that the Holy One, blessed be He, is going to do for Israel are only on account of a single exclamation ‎‎(P'YYH) which you made before Me at Sinai, when you said, Everything that the LORD has said we will do and we will hear (Ex. 24:7)." ‎ An abomination is he who chooses you (Is. 41:24): ‎  That abomination concerning which it is written, They made for themselves a molten calf (Ex. 32:4), is the same abomination [that] they will bring to Me ‎as an offering: Bull or sheep or goat (Lev. 22:27). ‎

 

IX:VII ‎

‎

By their wickedness they make the king glad. and the princes by their adultery (Hos. 7:3). ‎Now why was the bull recognized to be designated as the first of all of the offerings [bull. sheep. goat (Lev. 22:27)]? ‎Said R. Levi, "The matter may be compared to the case of a highborn lady who got a bad name on account of [alleged adultery with] one of the lords of ‎the state. The king looked into the matter and found nothing. What did the king do? He made a banquet and sat the [accused] man at the head of the guests. Why so? To show that the king had looked into the matter and found nothing. So the nations of the world taunt Israel and say to them, 'You made the golden calf!' The Holy One, blessed be He, looked into the matter and found nothing. Accordingly, the bull was made the first among all the offerings: Bull. sheep. goat (Lev. 22:27)." ‎

 

IX:VIII ‎

‎

R. Huna, R. Idi in the name of R. Samuel b. R. Nahman: "The [true] Israelites were saved from that act. For if the Israelites had themselves made the calf, they ‎ought to have said, These are our gods, O Israel.' It was the proselytes who came up with Israel from Egypt [who made the calf]: And also a mixed multitude came ‎up with them (Ex. 12:38). ‎They are the ones who made the calf. They taunted them, saying to them, These are your gods, O Israel (Ex. 32:8)." ‎

 

Said R. Judah b. R. Simon, "It is written, An ox knows its owner, and an ass its master's crib, [but Israel does not know] (Is. 1:3). ‎Did they really not know? Rather, they trampled under heel [God's commandments]. [They did not pay adequate attention and sinned by inadvertence ‎‎(Margulies).]" ‎Along these same lines: For My people is foolish. Me they have not known (Jer. 4:22). Did they not know? Rather, they trampled under heel. ‎Along these same lines: And she did not know that it was I who gave her the grain, [wine, and oil] (Hos. 2:8). Did she not know? Rather, she trampled ‎under heel." ‎ ‎

 

IX:IX ‎

‎

[A bull, a sheep, or a goat (Lev. 22:27):] ‎A bull on account of the merit of Abraham, as it is said: [And Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf] (Gen. 18:7). ‎A sheep on account of the merit of Isaac, as it is written, And he looked, and behold, a ram caught by its horns (Gen. 22:13). ‎A goat on account of the merit of Jacob, as it is written in his regard, Now go to the flock and get me two good kid goats (Gen. 27:9). ‎

 

‎What is the meaning of "good"? ‎ R. Berekhiah in the name of R. Helbo: "Good for you, good for your children. Good for you, for on their account you will receive blessings. Good for your children, for on their account you will have atonement on the Day of Atonement: For on this day atonement will be made for you (Lev. ‎‎16:30), [including the atonement of the sacrifice of the goat (Lev. 16:9)]." ‎

 

IX:X ‎

‎

It will remain seven days with its mother (Lev. 22:27). ‎[Leviticus Rabbah adds:] Why for seven days? ‎R. Joshua of Sikhnin in the name of R. Levi said, "The matter may be compared to the case of a king who came into a town and made decrees, saying, ‎‎'None of the residents who are here will see me before they first see my lady.' ‎ Said the Holy One, blessed be He, 'You will not make an offering before Me until a Sabbath will have passed over [the animal that is to be offered]. For ‎seven days cannot pass without a Sabbath, and [for the same reason] the rite of circumcision [takes place on the eighth day] so that it cannot take place ‎without the advent of a Sabbath. ‎And from the eighth day on it shall be acceptable [as an offering by fire to the LORD] (Lev. 22:27)." ‎

‎

Said R. Isaac, "A rule is written with regard to a man, and the same rule is written with regard to a beast: ‎The rule with regard to a man: And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin will be circumcised (Lev. 12:3). ‎ The same rule with regard to a beast: And from the eighth day on, it shall be acceptable (Lev. 22:27)." [Leviticus Rabbah adds: [When a bull or sheep ‎or goat is born.] it will remain seven days with its mother; [from the eighth day on it will be acceptable as an offering by fire to the LORD] (Lev. 22:27). ‎Why for seven days? So that the beast may be inspected, for if the dam should have gored it, or if some disqualifying blemish should tum up on it, lo, ‎it will be invalid and not be suitable for an offering. For we have learned (M. Nid. 5:1): That which goes forth from the side [delivered by Caesarean ‎section] - they do not sit out the days of uncleanness and the days of cleanness [Lev. 12: Iff.] on its account, and they are not liable on its account for ‎an offering. R. Simeon says, "Lo, this is like one that Is born [naturally] [so that the rules of Lev. 12:Uf. do apply]." ‎

 

IX:XI

‎

And whether the mother is a cow or a ewe, [you will not kill] both her and her young [in one day] (Lev. 22:28). ‎R. Berekhiah in the name of R. Levi: "It is written, A righteous/generous man has regard for the life of his beast, [but the mercy of the wicked is cruel] (Prov. 12:10). ‎A righteous/generous man has regard for the life of his beast refers to the Holy One, blessed be He, in whose Torah it is written, You will not take the mother with ‎the young (Deut, 22:6). ‎But the mercy of the wicked is cruel refers to Sennacherib, the wicked one, concerning whom it is written, The mother was dashed into pieces with her ‎children (Hos, 10:14)." ‎

 

‎Another interpretation: A righteous/generous man has regard for the life of his beast refers to the Holy One, blessed be He, in whose Torah it is written, ‎And whether the mother is a cow or a ewe, you will not kill both her and her young in one day (Lev. 22:28). ‎ But the mercy of the wicked is cruel refers to the wicked Haman, concerning whom it is written, To destroy, to slay, to obliterate all Jews young and old children ‎and women, on a single day (Est. 3:13). ‎

‎

Said R. Levi, "Woe for the wicked, who make conspiracies against Israel, each one saying, 'My plan is better than your plan.' ‎Esau said, 'Cain was a fool, since he killed his brother while his father was yet alive. Did he not know that his father would continue to be fruitful and ‎multiply? That is not how I am going to do things.' Rather: ‎The days of mourning for my father are approaching; [only upon his death] will I kill my brother Jacob (Gen. 27:41). ‎Pharaoh said, 'Esau was a fool. For he said, The days of mourning for my father are approaching. But did he not know that his brother would continue ‎to be fruitful and multiply in the lifetime of his father? That is not how I am going to do things. But while they are still little, under their mother's belly, ‎I will strangle them.' That is in line with the following verse of Scripture: Every son that is born you will cast into the river (Ex. 1 :22). ‎Haman said, 'Pharaoh was a fool, for he said, Every son that is born and let the daughter live. Did he not realize that the daughters would marry husbands ‎and be fruitful and multiply with them? That is not how I am going to do things. Rather: To destroy, to slay, to obliterate all Jews (Est. 3: 13)." ‎Said R. Levi, "So, too, Gog, in time to come, is going to say the same, 'The ancients were fools, for they made conspiracies against Israel and did they ‎not know that they have a patron in Heaven? That is not how I am going to do things. First I will seek a confrontation with their patron, and afterward ‎I will seek a confrontation with them.' That is in line with the following verse of Scripture: The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel ‎together, against the LORD and against his anointed (Mesiah) (Ps. 2:2). ‎Said to him the Holy One, blessed be He, 'Wicked man! Do you seek a confrontation with Me? By your life, I will make war with you.' That is in line ‎with the following verse of Scripture: The LORD will go forth as a mighty man, like a fighter, he whips up his rage, He yells, He roars aloud (Is. 42: 13). ‎And the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations (Zech. 14:3). ‎Leviticus Rabbah adds:] And what is written there? The LORD will be king over all the earth (Zech, 14:9)." ‎

 

IX:XII ‎

 

And when you sacrifice a thanksgiving sacrifice to the LORD sacrifice it so that it may be acceptable in your favour (Lev. 22:29): ‎R. Phineas and R. Levi and R. Yohanan in the name of R. Menahern of Gallia: "In time to come all offerings will come to an end, but the ‎thanksgiving-offering will never come to an end. ‎ All forms of prayer will come to an end, but the thanksgiving-prayer will never come to an end. ‎ That is in line with that which is written, The voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of ‎them that say, Give thanks to the God of Hosts, for the LORD is good, his kindness is everlasting (Jer. 33:11). This refers to the thanksgiving-prayer. ‎Who bring a thanksgiving-offering to the house of the Lord (Jer. 33: 11). This refers to the thanksgiving-offering. ‎And so did David say, Your vows are incumbent upon me, 0 God I will render [thanksgivings to You] (Ps. 56:13).  'I will render thanksgiving [in the singular] to You' is not written here, but rather, I will render thanksgivings [plural] to You (Ps. 56:13). The reference ‎‎[of the plural usage] then is to both the thanksgiving-prayer and the thanksgiving-offering." ‎

 

Nazarean Codicil:

I Corinthians ‎3:1 – 5:13‎

& Revelation 2:1-7

 

Revelation 2:1-7

Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham’s Rendition

 

¹And to the angel of the congregation in Ephesus, write, 'So says he who holds the seven stars in his hand, he who walks among the Menorot (seven branched candlesticks) of gold.

² I know your works and your labor and your endurance and that you are not able to bear evil [ones]. And you have tested those who say about themselves that they are to be Sh’liachim (apostles) and are not and you have found them [to be] liars.

3 And you have endurance and you bear a burden because of my name (or, authority) and you have not become weary.

4 But I have [something] against you, because you have left your first love.4F^[5]

5 Remember from where you came and do the former works, but if not, I will come to you and I will remove your Menora (candelabra – i.e. the seven ministers of the congregation), unless you repent.

6 But this you have, that you hate the works of the Nicolaitans (i.e. Oppressors of the Laity), that I also hate.'

7 He who has ears should hear what the Spirit says to the congregations. And to him who overcomes, I will allow [him] to eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of PaRDeS (paradise) of Ha-Shem."

 

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!”

 

Next Year in Jerusalem!

 

“First Intermediate Day of Pesach”

Nisan 17, 5781 (Monday Evening March 29, 2021)

(Second Day of the Counting of the Omer)

 

Evening: Counting of the Omer Day 2

Then read the following:

 

 

Ephesians 1:2  Chessed to you and shalom from God5F^[6] the Father and the master Yeshua HaMashiach.

 

Pesach 1st of the Intermediate Days	Exodus 13:1-16 (1)   13:1-4 (2)   13:5-10 (3)   13:11-16 (M) Numbers 28:18-25	Song of Songs 1:1 – 2:17

 

 

 

“Second Intermediate Day of Pesach”

18 Nisan 5781 (Tuesday Evening March 30, 2021)

(Third Day of the Counting of the Omer)

 

Evening: Counting of the Omer Day 3

 

Then read the following:

 

 

Ephesians 1:3-6  Let the God and Father of our master Yeshua HaMashiach be Blessed6F^[7], having blessed7F^[8] us in Messiah with every spiritual8F^[9] blessing9F^[10] in the heavens,10F^[11] even as He (God) has elected11F^[12] (separated)12F^[13] us13F^[14] (the Jewish people) to be in union with him14F^[15] Messiah before the foundation of the world15F^[16] to be Tsadiqim (Greek: agios) and blameless in His God's presence in love. He God appointed us as His chief/principle16F^[17] adoption17F^[18] as His own (children) through Yeshua HaMashiach according to His desire and good will to the praise of the honour of His chessed (loving-kindness), in which He has made us accepted as the one beloved.

Pesach 2nd of the Intermediate Days	Exodus 22:24 – 23:19 (1)   22:24-26 (2)   22:27 – 23:5 (3)   23:6-19 (M) Numbers 28:18-25	Song of Songs 3:1 – 4:16

 

We wish all of our students and readers, a very happy and Kosher Pesach Sameach!

 

Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David

Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham

Paqid Adon Tsuriel ben Abraham

Paqid Adon Ezrah ben Abraham

Paqid Adon David ben Abraham

 

 

 

 

Happy & Kosher  Pesach 5781

 

 

Edited by Adon Ovadyah ben Abraham and  Adon Aviner ben Abraham

Contact me at chozenppl@gmail.com