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Three and 1/2 year
Lectionary Readings |
First Year of
the |
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Ab 18, 5766 – August 11/12,
2006 |
Fifth Year of
the Shemittah Cycle |
Saturday, August 12, 2006 – Havdalah 8:55 PM
Saturday,
August 12, 2006 – Havdalah 6:00 PM
Saturday, August 12, 2006 – Havdalah 7:46 PM
For other places see: http://chabad.org/calendar/candlelighting.asp
Shabbat Nachamu 2
- Second Sabbath of the Consolation of
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Shabbat |
Torah |
Weekday Torah |
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וְאֶת-הַמִּשְׁכָּן |
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“V’Et Ha-Mishkan” |
Reader
1 – Sh’mot 26:1-6 |
Reader
1 – Sh’mot 26:31-33 |
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“And the Tabernacle” |
Reader
2 – Sh’mot 26:7-9 |
Reader
2 – Sh’mot 26:34-37 |
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“Y el Tabernáculo” |
Reader
3 – Sh’mot 26:10-14 |
Reader
3 – Sh’mot 26:31-37 |
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Sh’mot (Exodus) 26:1-30 |
Reader
4 – Sh’mot 26:15-17 |
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Ashlamatah: Isaiah 66:1-10 |
Reader
5 – Sh’mot 26:18-21 |
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Special: Isaiah
49:14 – 51:3 |
Reader
6 – Sh’mot 26:22-25 |
Reader
1 – Sh’mot 27:1-3 |
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Psalm 60 |
Reader
7 – Sh’mot 26:26-30 |
Reader
2 – Sh’mot 27:4-8 |
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Pirke Abot 5:20 |
Maftir – Sh’mot 26:28-30 |
Reader
3 – Sh’mot 27:1-8 |
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N.C.: Matityahu 10:21-31 |
Isaiah 49:14 – 51:3 |
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Roll
of Honor:
This Torah commentary comes to you courtesy of His
Honour Paqid Adon Hillel ben David and most beloved family, and that of Her
Excellency Giberet Sarai bat Sarah and beloved family, as well as that of His
Excellency Adon Barth Lindemann and beloved family and that of His Excellency
Adon John Batchelor and beloved wife, and that of His Excellency Adon Ezra ben
Abraham and his beloved wife Giberet Karmela bat Sarah. For their regular and sacrificial
giving, we pray G-d’s richest blessings upon their lives and those of their
loved ones, together with all Yisrael, amen ve amen! Also a great thank you to
all who send comments to the list about the contents and commentary of the
weekly Seder. If you want to subscribe to our list and ensure that you never
loose any of our commentaries, or would like your friends also to receive this
commentary, please do send me an E-Mail, with your E-Mail or the E-Mail
addresses of your friends.
Targum Pseudo Jonathan for: Sh’mot (Exodus) 26:1-30
XXVI. And the Tabernacle you will make with ten curtains of fine linen twined, and hyacinth, and purple, and crimson, with figures of kerubin; with the work of the artificer will you make them. The length of one curtain twenty and eight cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits; the measure of one will be that of all the curtains. Five curtains will be coupled one with another, and five other curtains coupled one with another. And you will make loops of hyacinth upon the edge of one curtain at the side in the place of coupling, and so will you do in the edge of the second curtain in the place of conjoinment. Fifty loops will you make in one curtain, and fifty loops will you make in the side of the second curtain in the place of conjoinment, so that the loops may answer one to the other. And you will make fifty taches of gold, and couple the curtains one with another with the taches, and the Tabernacle will be conjoined to be one.
And you will make curtains of goats' hair to extend over the tabernacle: twelve curtains you will make them. The length of one curtain thirty cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits; and the measure of one (will be that of each) of the eleven (other) curtains. And you will conjoin five curtains together, corresponding with the five books of the Law; and six curtains together, corresponding with the six orders of the Mishna; and will fold the sixth curtain over the front of the tabernacle. And you will make fifty loops upon the edge of one curtain at the side of the place of coupling; and fifty loops in the edge of the second curtain at the place of coupling. And you will make taches of brass, fifty, and put the taches into the loops, and conjoin the tabernacle, that it may be one.
And the surplus which remains of
the curtains of the Tabernacle, the half curtain which remains, you will spread
over the hinder part of the Tabernacle. [
Midrash
Tanhuma Yelammedenu for: Sh’mot (Exodus) 26:1-30
9.
And you will make curtains of goats’ hair for a tent (Exod. 26:7). Scripture says elsewhere in allusion to this verse: I
have loved you, says the Lord, yet you say: “Wherein have You loved us?”
(Mal. 1:2). Malachi uttered this verse in rebuking
What
is the meaning of Wherein have we robbed You? R. Levi stated: It is an
Arabic expression. Whenever an Arab argues with his neighbor and says to him,
“What are you stealing from me?” the other responds, “What are you stealing
from me?” Hence, in response to Wherein have we robbed You, He replied:
You robbed Me of the tithe and the offering that you failed to bring Me from
your own tithes and offerings, as is proper. And then He said to them: I
have loved you. And they retorted: Wherein have You loved us?
Whereupon He answered: Was not Esau Jacob’s brother, yet He loved only Jacob.
He permitted him to eat in this world and to inherit the world-to-come.
Normally,
if a man has twins, and one is firstborn, the other is considered just another
child. Who receives two portions? The firstborn. However Esau was the
firstborn, as it is said: And the first came forth ruddy (Gen. 25:25),
and was entitled to a double portion, but I did not do that. Instead, Jacob received
two portions. That is why, when Esau said to Jacob: Let us take our journey,
and let us go, and I will go before you (ibid. 33:12), Esau was saying to
him: “Let us go together.” Jacob replied: Take your possessions and go forth [He
was fearful that Esau would take revenge for his stealing the birthright], as
it is said: Let my lord, I pray, pass over before his servants, and I will
journey on gently according to the pace of the cattle that are before me, and
according to the pace of the children, until I come unto my Lord, unto Seir
(ibid., v. 14).
R.
Jacob BeRabbi said: I have searched the entire Scripture and have found no
statement that Jacob went to Seir. When did he go there? After he departed for
the hereafter, as it is said: And a savior shall come up on Mount Zion
(Obad. 21); Therefore, And he loved Jacob suggests that though he
associates with Esau and partakes of the pleasures of this world, in the
world-to-come, He spreads abroad his wings, bears them upon his pinions . .
. the Lord alone did lead him (Deut. 32:11-12). And so, Solomon said: Let
them be your own, and not strangers’ with you (Prov. 5:17).
I
have loved you (Mal. 1:2). The Holy
One, blessed be He, said: See how much I love you. The distance of the earth to
the firmament is a distance of five hundred years’ journey, and the distance
from the first firmament to the second firmament is also a distance of five
hundred years’ journey, and the distance from each firmament to the next is
another five hundred years’ journey, making the total distance through the
universe a seven thousand years’ journey [The seven firmaments plus the
intervening areas total a distance of seven thousand walking years]. And the
step of the beasts [The legendary beast that draws the Divine Chariot (Hagigah
l3a)] is a distance of five hundred and fifteen years’ journey, and there is no
need to estimate the distance above the hoofs of the beasts to the heavenly
throne! And the Throne is above them all.
Yet
see how much I love you that I leave all of this because of my love for you to
tell you: And you will make curtains of goats’ hair for a tent (Exod.
26:7). Make for Me curtains of goats’ hair that I may come to dwell among you.
For
a tent (ibid.). I made clouds that
sheltered you like a tent, as it is written: He spread a cloud for a screen (Ps.
105:39). And you will also make the screen for the door of the tent
(Exod. 39:39).
R.
Joshua the son of Levi declared: If the gentiles had known how important the
Tabernacle and the Sanctuary were to them, they would have encircled them with
tents and forts to protect them. Even before the Tabernacle was erected, the Word
of God had gone forth into the homes of the idolatrous people and caused them
to become panic- stricken. Whence do we know this? It is written: For who is
there of all flesh, that has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of
the midst of fire, as we have, and lived? (Deut. 5:23). You hearkened to
His voice and have survived, but the idolatrous people, on hearing (His voice),
became panic-stricken within their tents and perished.
You
must not say that the Sanctuary alone was precious to them, for the
Do
not say that the
R.
Samuel the son of Nahman said: Prior to the erection of the
Before
the
At
first, His glory extended over the heavens, but later the earth was full of His
praise. David said to them: He mocks you, for His praise extends over the
earth, as it is said: Let them praise the name of the Lord, for His name
alone is exalted; His glory is above the earth and heaven (Ps. 148:13). The
Holy One, blessed be He, continued: Why do you wonder about this? Observe how
very much I love the earthly beings that I shall descend and dwell behind a
curtain of goats’ hair for their sake. As it is said: You will make curtains
of goats’ hair (Exod. 26:7).
R.
Judah and R. Nehemiah discussed this matter. R. Judah was of the opinion that
the animal from which they made the curtain was a large, pure animal that
roamed the desert. R. Nehemiah maintained that it was a miraculous event. It
was created for that articu1ar moment, and then it disappeared. You may know
that this is so from the scriptural verse: And you will make curtains of
goats’ hairs and the length of each curtain will be thirty cubits (ibid.,
v. 8). How else could one possibly obtain a curtain thirty cubits in length
(other than from a miraculous creation)? From this you learn that it must have
been as R. Nehemiah stated. However, you must not be of the opinion that the
curtains alone came from a miraculous event, for the cedar beams did likewise.
Where did the cedar beams come from? Jacob our patriarch planted them at the
time he descended to
Our
sages of blessed memory said: And the middle bar in the midst of the boards
(ibid., v. 28). They went down to
R.
Samuel the son of Nahman held: There are twenty-four varieties of cedar, but
only seven were selected, as it is said: I will plant in the wilderness the
cedar, the acacia tree, and the myrtle, and the oil-tree; I will set in the
desert the cypress, the plane tree, and the larch together (Isa. 41:19).
The cypress refers to the fir tree; the plane tree to the maple; the larch to
the boxwood tree. It was called te’ashur (“larch”) because it was the most
fortunate (me’ushar) of all cedars. From among them all only the acacia tree
was selected, as it is said: The Tabernacle of acacia-wood. Why did He
call them shittim (“acacia”)? He did so in order to offset what would
ultimately transpire at Shittim (i.e.,
Another
explanation. They sinned at Shittim, they were smitten at Shittim, and they
were healed by means of Shittim. They sinned at Shittim; as it is said: And
Ketubim Targum Psalm 60
1.
For praise. Concerning the ancient testimony between Jacob and Laban. A copy
made by David, for instruction.
2.
When David had gathered troops and passed by the Heap of Witness and fought
with Aram-on-the-Euphrates and Aram Zobah, and afterwards Joab returned and
smote the Edomites in the Plain of Salt, and twelve thousand from the army of
David and Joab fell.
3.
David said, “O God, You have abandoned us, You have attacked us in fierce
anger; return to us in Your glory.”
4.
You shook the
5.
You made your people see hardship, You made us drink the wine of execration.
6.
You have given those who fear You a sign to be lifted up by, because of the
honesty of Abraham forever.
7.
Because of the merit of Isaac, those who love You will be delivered; redeem
with Your right hand because of the piety of Jacob, and accept my prayer.
8.
God speaks in His sanctuary: I will be glad, for those of the house of
9.
My people were of the house of Gilead, and my people were of the house of
Manasseh; and the warriors of the house of Ephraim are the strength of my head,
and those of the house of
10.
I trampled on the Moabites, my feet were dipped in the blood of their warriors
as in my washing-basin; on the nape of the neck of the warriors of Edom I set
my shoe; shout over the Philistines, O congregation of Israel.
11.
Who is he that led me to the ruined city of
12.
Is it not You, O Lord? You have abandoned us; and You will not go out, O God,
with our forces.
13.
Give us help against the oppressor, for in vain is the redemption of a son of
man.
14.
By the Word of the Lord we will exercise might, and He will subdue our
oppressors.
Ketubim Rashi Psalm 60
1
on shushan eduth, a michtam of David, to teach (Addendum: Michtam is an expression of (Song 5:11),
“as finest gold,” a coveted thing. Our Sages, however, expounded this as
referring to David, who behaved as a humble and innocent man, even when he
occupied the throne. Another Aggadah explains that his wound was perfect, i.e.,
he was born circumcised (Sotah 10b). Michtam of David concerning the testimony
of the Sanhedrin, who were compared to a rose, as it is stated (Song 7:3):
“Your navel is like a round basin, etc., fenced in with roses,” when he
required that they teach him what to do. When he fought with Aram Naharaim and
sent Joab against them, they said to Joab, “Aren’t you of the sons of Jacob?
Where is the oath that he swore to Laban, ‘this pile is a witness’” (Gen.
31:52)? And he did not know what to answer. He came to David and said to David,
“This is what the Arameans said to me.” They went and asked the Sanhedrin,
[who] replied to them, “Did they not transgress the oath first, as it is stated
(Num. 23:7): ‘From
2
and Joab returned and smote of
3
You have forsaken us; You have breached us When
4
You caused...to quake our land, with
many troops. You split it You broke it. I saw in Dunash’s writings (p.
68) that it is Arabic, but he did not explain it. In the works of Rabbi Moshe
Hadarshan, he explains it as an expression of tearing and cites evidence for
that assertion (from Jer. 22:14): “And he cuts out windows.” heal its
breaches for it has faltered Heb. an expression of healing. Although it is
spelled with a “hey,” many words are used in this manner. for it has
faltered An expression of lowliness.
5
wine of bewilderment Heb. [Wine] that
stops up the heart and envelops it. It is an expression of envelopment, as
(Nahum 2:4): “and the cypresses are enwrapped,” and the language of the Mishnah
(Shab. 6: 6): “Median women shawled.”
6
You have given those who fear You trials Trials of many troubles. to be tested With which to be tested
whether they would stand [steadfast] in awe of You. in order to beautify
forever To beautify Your standards in the world, so that when You give them
goodness, the gentiles will not criticize You, but they will beautify Your
judgments and say that He justly did good to them because they passed many
tests for Him.
7
should be rescued Should be saved
from harm. save Your right hand which You brought back so that their
enemies should overpower them. and answer me For, if You answer me, they
will be rescued, because I fight against them [the enemies] for them [
8
God spoke in His Sanctuary that He
would gather the exiles and his [David’s] seed would rule over them. Another
explanation: God spoke in His Sanctuary [saying] that I would be king over
them. I will exult in His salvation. In another explanation, I found:
God spoke in His Sanctuary to help me, as it is written (II Sam. 3:18): “For
(sic) by the hand of My bondsman David shall I deliver My people
9
10
11
Who will bring me to a fortified city
then to a fortified city, to conquer the city of
12
and [Who does] not go forth and You
do not go forth.
14
will trample [as translated.]
Ketubim Midrash Psalm 60
At
once, David assembled the Sanhedrin to whom Solomon alluded in the verse Your
belly is like a heap of wheat set about with lilies (Song 7:3). The
Sanhedrin declared: Our fathers made two covenants. Abraham made one of the
two, as is said And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech . . . spoke
unto Abraham:”. . . Now therefore swear unto me here by God that you will not
deal falsely with me” . . . So they made a covenant (Gen. 21 :22, 23, 32).
Now when the children of
So,
too, when the Arameans say to Joab: “Are you not of the Sons of Jacob? And did
not Aram make a covenant with Jacob when Laban said, ‘This heap be witness,
and the pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to you, and that
you will not pass over this heap and this pillar unto me for harm’(Gen.
31:52)?” Joab is to reply: But were not the Arameans first to pass over this
pillar with intent to harm? Indeed, [on his way to curse
After
they of the Sanhedrin taught him this, David said: To the Eternal; in praise
of the Lily of Testimony (Shushan Eduth); Michtam of David for the teaching [of
the Sages] (Ps. 60:1).
Behassoto
Aram-naharaim and Aram-zobah (Ps. 60:2a).
What is meant by the word behassoto? It means that Joab set
And
Joab returned and smote ...
II. O God, You have cast us off, You have broken us
down; You have been angry; O restore us again (Ps. 60:3). The Holy One,
blessed be He, said: I cast you off because you cast Me off. As Scripture says,
Israel has cast off that which is Good; the enemy will pursue him (Hos.
8:3). But though You have been angry with me, turn and come back to me, as is
said Though You were angry with me, let Your anger be turned away, and do
You comfort me (Isa. 12:1).
You
have made the land to shake; You have cleft it (Ps. 60:4). When Joab said: O God, You have cast
us off, etc., the earth shook. Because it was cleft and rolling under his
feet, Joab found himself unable to continue fighting. Thereupon David stood up
and prayed: Heal the breaches thereof; for it totters (ibid.).
What
is the literal meaning of pesamtah (“You have cleft it”)? It means that
You have split apart the doors of the earth. Thus in Aramaic the word for sections
in the verse When Jehudi had read three or four sections (Jer. 36:23),
is pesimin (“splittings”). Our Masters also speak of “a potsherd big
enough to place between one split board (pesim) and another.”
You
have made Your people to see hard things; You have made us to drink the wine of
astonishment (tar’elah) (Ps. 60:5).
How is tar elah read literally? It is read as tar ‘to tear’ and ‘olah
“its yoke,” and thus intimates that through the drinking of wine the yoke of
Torah has been torn from us.
III. You have given a banner to them that fear You,
that it may be displayed (Ps. 60:6). On what account was it given? For the
sake of arrow-straight going, that is, for the sake of the truth, for ever
(ibid.). That Your beloved may be delivered, save with Your right hand, and
answer me (Ps. 6o :7). The phrase With Your right hand alludes to
the Torah which was given with God’s right hand, as is said From His right
hand went a fiery law for them (Deut. 33:2). The Hoiy One, blessed be He,
said: Do you seek this hand? I will give it to you again, as Scripture says, And
it will come to pass in that day that the Lord will set His hand again the second
time to recover the remnant of His people (Isa. 11:11).
Gilead
is Mine (Ps. 60:9). God said: “I am
He who wrought a miracle for Jephthah the Gileadite, and I am also He who
wrought a miracle for Gideon the son of Joash of the tribe of Manasseh. His deliverance
was deliverance for only an hour, but in the everlasting time-to-come I will
deliver you through the Messiah the son of Ephraim, and through the Messiah the
son of David of the tribe of Judah.”
Ephraim
also is the strength of My beginning
(ibid.): The Messiah, the son of Ephraim, will be the first to take upon
himself the yoke of kingship; but Judah is My sceptre (ibid.), that is,
the Messiah, the son of David [will finally rule]. Moab is my wash pot (Ps.
60:10), as it is said “And they will fly down upon the shoulder of the
Philistines on the west; together they will spoil the children of the east;
they will put forth their hand upon Edom and Moab” (Isa. 11:14). Hence the
words Moab is My wash pot mean: “Moab is like a pot which a man pushes
away after he has washed his feet in it.”
Upon
Edom do I cast My shoe (Ps. 60:10) to
trample it under foot, as is said The foot will trample it down (Isa.
26:6). This is the foot of the Holy One, blessed be He, for Scripture says, “Yea,
I trod them in Mine anger, and trampled them in My fury” (Isa. 63:3). Even
the feet of the poor (Isa. 26:6): that is, the king Messiah, “poor, and
riding upon an ass” (Zech. 9:9), will trample Edom down, and so, too, will The
steps of the needy (Isa. 26:6), that is, the steps of Israel of whom it is
said “And Israel was greatly impoverished” (Judg. 6:6).
Philistia,
hitro’a’i’ because of Me (Ps. 60:10).
Some take hitro’a’i to mean “be broken,” as in the verse “The earth is
broken, broken down” (Isa. 24:19); but others take hitro’a’i to be a
war-cry.
The
words Who will bring me into the fortified city? (Ps. 60:11) allude to
the war against Rome. The words Who will lead me unto Edom? (ibid.)
allude to the war against Constantinople; at that time the children of Israel
will find themselves in great trouble, and will pray, Will not You, O God,
which has cast us off, and You, O God, which did not go out with our armies,
give us help from trouble? (Ps. 60:12-13a). And when they see Nehemiah, the
son of Hushiel, dead before the gates of Jerusalem they will say, For vain
is the help of man. Through God we will do valiantly; for He it is that will
tread down our adversaries (Ps. 60:13-14).
Ordinary Ashlamatah: Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 66:1-10
1 Thus says the LORD: The heaven is My throne, and the
earth is My footstool; where is the house that ye may build unto Me? And where
is the place that may be My resting-place?
2 For all these things has My hand made, and so all these
things came to be, says the LORD; but on this man will I look, even on him that
is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembles at My word.
3 He that kills an ox is as if he slew a man; he that
sacrifices a lamb, as if he broke a dog's neck; he that offers a meal-offering,
as if he offered swine's blood; he that makes a memorial-offering of
frankincense, as if he blessed an idol; according as they have chosen their own
ways, and their soul delights in their abominations;
4 Even so I will choose their mockings, and will bring
their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spoke,
they did not hear, but they did that which was evil in Mine eyes, and chose
that in which I delighted not. {S}
5 Hear the word of the LORD, you that tremble at His word:
Your brethren that hate you, that cast you out for My name's sake, have said:
'Let the LORD be glorified, that we may gaze upon your joy', but they will be
ashamed.
6 Hark! an uproar from the city, Hark! it comes from the
temple, Hark! the LORD renders recompense to His enemies.
7 Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain
came, she was delivered of a man-child.
8 Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Is
a land born in one day? Is a nation brought forth at once? For as soon as Zion
travailed, she brought forth her children.
9 Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring
forth? says the LORD; Shall I that cause to bring forth shut the womb? says your
God. {S}
10 Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all you
that love her; rejoice for joy with her, all you that mourn for her;
Special Ashlamatah: Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 49:14 – 51:3
49:14 But Zion said: 'The LORD has forsaken me, and the
Lord has forgotten me.'
15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should
not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, these may forget, yet will not
I forget you.
16 Behold, I have graven you upon the palms of My hands;
your walls are continually before Me.
17 Your children make haste; your destroyers and they that
made you waste shall go forth from you.
18 Lift up your eyes round about, and behold: all these
gather themselves together, and come to you. As I live, says the LORD, you will
surely clothe yourself with them all as with an ornament, and gird yourself
with them, like a bride.
19 For your waste and your desolate places and your land
that has been destroyed--surely now will you be too strait for the inhabitants,
and they that swallowed you up will be far away.
20 The children of your bereavement will yet say in your
ears: 'The place is too strait for me; give place to me that I may dwell.'
21 Then will you say in your heart: 'Who has begotten me
these, seeing I have been bereaved of my children, and am solitary, an exile,
and wandering to and fro? And who has brought up these? Behold, I was left
alone; these, where were they?' {P}
22 Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will lift up My hand
to the gentiles, and set up Mine ensign to the peoples, and they will bring
your sons in their bosom, and your daughters will be carried upon their
shoulders.
23 And kings will be your foster-fathers, and their queens
your nursing mothers; they shall bow down to you with their face to the earth,
and lick the dust of your feet; and you will know that I am the LORD, for they
will not be ashamed that wait for Me. {S}
24 Will the prey be taken from the mighty, or the captives
of the victorious be delivered? {S}
25 But thus says the LORD: Even the captives of the mighty
will be taken away, and the prey of the terrible will be delivered; and I will
contend with him that contends with you, and I will save your children.
26 And I will feed them that oppress you with their own
flesh; and they will be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine; and
all flesh will know that I the LORD am your Savior, and Your Redeemer, the
Mighty One of Jacob. {S}
50:1 Thus says the LORD: Where is the bill of your
mother's divorcement, wherewith I have put her away? Or which of My creditors
is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities were you sold, and
for your transgressions was your mother put away.
2 Wherefore, when I came, was there no man? when I called,
was there none to answer? Is My hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem?
Or have I no power to deliver? Behold, at My rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the
rivers a wilderness; their fish become foul, because there is no water, and die
for thirst.
3 I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make
sackcloth their covering. {P}
4 The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of them that are
taught, that I should know how to sustain with words him that is weary; He
wakens morning by morning, He wakens mine ear to hear as they that are taught.
5 The Lord GOD has opened mine ear, and I was not
rebellious, neither turned away backward.
6 I gave my back to the smiters, and my checks to them
that plucked off the hair; I hid not my face from shame and spitting.
7 For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore have I not been
confounded; therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall
not be ashamed.
8 He is near that justifies me; who will contend with me?
let us stand up together; who is mine adversary? let him come near to me.
9 Behold, the Lord GOD will help me; who is he that will
condemn me? Behold, they all will wax old as a garment, the moth will eat them
up. {S}
10 Who is among you that fears the LORD, that obeys the
voice of His servant? though he walks in darkness, and has no light, let him
trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God. {S}
11 Behold, all you that kindle a fire, that gird
yourselves with firebrands, be gone in the flame of your fire, and among the
brands that you have kindled. This will you have of My hand; you will lie down
in sorrow. {S}
51:1 Hearken to Me, you that follow after righteousness/charity,
you that seek the LORD; look unto the rock whence you were hewn, and to the
hole of the pit whence you were dug.
2 Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bore
you; for when he was but one I called him, and I blessed him, and made him
many.
3 For the LORD has comforted Zion; He has comforted all
her waste places, and has made her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like
the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness will be found therein, thanksgiving,
and the voice of melody. {S}
Midrash of
Matityahu (Matthew) 10:21-31
21. ¶ Brother will betray brother bringing about
his death, and a father his son; and sons will rebel against their parents and
have them put to death.
22. All men will hate you on account of my name.
Whoever stands firm to the end will certainly be saved.
23. When you are persecuted in one place, flee to
another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of
Israel before the Son of Man comes.
24. There is
no Talmid greater than his Rabbi, and no servant is greater than his master.
25. It is enough for the Talmid that he become like
his Rabbi, and the servant like his master. If the Ba’al (head) of the house
has been called Ba’al Z’vul, how much more the members of his household!
26. So do not be in awe of them, for there is
nothing that won’t be seen and it has never been concealed.
27. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the
daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs.
28. Do not revere those who kill the body but have
no power to kill the soul. Rather, revere the One who can destroy both soul and
body in hell.
29. Are not
two sparrows sold only for half an hour’s pay? Yet not one of them will fall to
the ground apart from the will of your Father.
30. Are not even the very hairs of your head all
numbered?
31. So do not fear; you are worth more than many
sparrows.
Pirqe Abot
“All Israel have a
share in the World to Come, as it is stated: And Your people are all righteous/
charitable; they shall inherit the land forever; they are the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, in
which to glorify Me” (Isaiah 60:21).
Pirqe Abot V:20
Mishnah 20
Yehudah ben Teima says: "Be bold as a leopard, light as an eagle,
swift as a deer, and strong as a lion, to carry out the will of your Father in
Heaven."
He used to say: "The brazen is headed for Gehinom, but the
shamefaced for Gan Eden.”
"May it be Your will, G-d our G-d and G-d of our fathers, that the
Bet Hamikdash be rebuilt speedily in our days, and grant us our portion in Your
Torah."
"Be
bold as a leopard." (5:20) QUESTION:
What lesson can be learned from the boldness of the leopard?
ANSWER:
The leopard is not as strong as many other beasts, but it is very bold and
fearless, and it frequently seems to exceed its apparent strength and agility.
Likewise man should not hesitate undertaking spiritual endeavors that seem
beyond his capabilities. Rather, a person should be bold and fearless like a
leopard and assume spiritual duties beyond his perceived capabilities. When a
sincere effort is made, Ha-Shem will grant the strength to make the seeming
impossibility a reality.
"Light as an
eagle." (5:20) QUESTION: Why is
the eagle called "nesher" in Hebrew?
ANSWER:
King David says of Ha-Shem, "Who satisfies your mouth with goodness so
that your health is renewed like the eagle's" (Psalms 103:5). Rashi
explains that this is a reference to the fact that the eagle sheds its feathers
annually and replaces them with new ones, which is an example of renewed youth.
The
Radak (Rabbi David Kimchi) sees this as an allusion to the legendary eagle
which flies higher than all other birds and comes close to the solar fire,
which generates tremendous heat. Because of the great heat, the eagle plunges
into the sea and dies, whereupon it is renewed of limb, returning to its
youthful vigor. This rite of renewal occurs once every ten years throughout the
eagle's lifespan of one hundred years. When the eagle reaches one hundred years
of age, it soars to the sun and hurls itself into the sea for the last time.
The
Hebrew word for eagle is "nesher," which means "shedding
off" (see Erubin 39b) The Hebrew name is very appropriate because of the
eagle's characteristic of shedding feathers and also of shedding its old age
and returning to its youth.
In
light of the above, it can be argued that the one hundred year lifespan of the
eagle, which is broken up in ten year cycles, is a metaphor for the one hundred
year life span of man, which is also divided into ten cycles later in this
chapter of Pirqe Abot (5:23). The idea of shedding the feathers and renewing
its strength is an allusion to the concept of teshuvah — repentance/ returning.
Ha-Shem has given every Jew the method of repentance/returning, through which
he sheds and detaches himself from his past and emerges, so to speak,
spiritually reborn. Thus, the message of the Mishnah to be "light as an
eagle" is to return to Ha-Shem and soar to new spiritual heights.
"Light as an
eagle." (5:20) QUESTION: What
message can be learned from the eagle?
ANSWER:
Regardless of its weight, the eagle soars very high thanks to its powerful
wings. From this one can learn an important lesson. It is the mission of every
Jew to fly high, i.e. reach spiritual/intellectual heights. This is
accomplished through the performance of mitzvoth (commandments). Generally,
mitzvoth are divided into two categories: bein adam lachaveiro — between man
and his fellow — and bein adam lamakom — between man and Ha-Shem.
For
an eagle to fly with the force and precision for which it is known, it has to
have powerful, finely developed wings. And to get the most mileage out of those
two wings, they need to be of equal strength.
The
two types of mitzvoth (commandments) which we have been given are also regarded
as wings. By observing both kinds of mitzvoth, we can soar to great heights.
However,
Jewish teachings discourage us from favoring one "wing" over the
other. We cannot neglect those mitzvoth between ourselves and Ha-Shem in favor
of the interpersonal mitzvoth, nor the reverse, for then we would be like a
bird with only one wing.
"Swift as a
deer." (5:20) QUESTION: What
lessons should be learnt from the deer?
ANSWER:
A deer runs swiftly and does not tire. Likewise, a Jew should not claim that he
is too tired to do a mitzvah. Alternatively, a deer runs to flee the hunter,
likewise, one should run from the endeavors of the yetzer hara — evil
inclination — to capture him in his net.
Alternatively,
according to the Midrash (Song of Songs 8:14, Targum) when a deer runs, it
constantly looks backward to see if anyone is chasing after him. From this one
should learn that although it is human nature to endeavor to go forward and
make progress in life, a Jew must always look back and constantly check if he
is properly attached to our source — Torah and mitzvoth (commandments).
Unfortunately, there are those who, while running forward, run so far away that
they lose their entire connection to our beautiful heritage. However blessed
one may be, he must always "look back," i.e. see to it that his life
and all his business activities are in the spirit of the authentic Torah
tradition.
Alternatively,
the analogy to a swift deer, whose nature is to look behind him while he runs,
is a message to parents. There are many parents who themselves are immersed in
Torah and mitzvoth (commandments). Many are immersed totally in acts of
kindness helping worthy institutions and individuals. These parents may be
swift in their progress and accomplishment, but they must also look back and
see what is happening with their own children. The Mishnah is thus saying,
"Do not suffice with just improving yourself, but take your children along
with you and inculcate in them the same love as you have for Torah and mitzvoth."
"The
brazen is headed for Gehinom, but the shamefaced for Gan Eden." (5:20) QUESTION: Why did he single out brazenness and
shamefacedness; any averah (sin) can lead one to Gehinom, and any mitzvah (commandment)
can earn one Gan Eden?
ANSWER:
Unfortunately, many who violate Torah do it boldly and without any shame, while
there are fine Jews who follow a Torah way of life but are bashful and
apologetic about it. Though they do mitzvoth, they are ashamed to do them
publicly out of fear that they will be labeled as antiquated or fanatic Jews.
The
Mishnah is lamenting this common phenomenon by saying, "Az panim L’Gehinom"
— the things which lead one to Geihinom — i.e. averot — transgressions — are
done blatantly with boldness and much audacity. "Uboshet panim L’Gan
Eden" — the things which earns one Gan Eden — i.e. mitzvoth — are done with
shamefacedness, bashfulness, and apologetically. The Mishnah is thus urging the
righteous to learn from the wicked's enthusiasm to serve Ha-Shem proudly and
vigorously as King David says, "Your mitzvoth (commandments) made me wiser
than my enemies" (Psalms 119:98).
Ya’aqov,
in preparation to meet his brother Esav, dispatched messengers to tell him,
"Im Lavan garti" — "I have sojourned with Lavan" (Beresheet
32:5). Rashi comments: "The letters of 'garti' correspond numerically to
613, that is, 'I sojourned (garti) with Lavan the wicked, but I observed the
613 (taryag) Commandments, and I did not learn from his evil deeds.' " Rashi's
words, "I did not learn from his evil deeds," are seemingly
redundant. If he observed 613 mitzvoth, is it not obvious that Lavan had no
influence over him? Yaakov was not expressing satisfaction for not learning
from Lavan's evil deeds. On the contrary, he was expressing his dissatisfaction
with himself and frustration.
Yaakov
sent a message to Esav: "I lived in the home of Lavan for twenty years,
during which I observed how enthusiastically he performed his sins. Now, though
I fulfilled 613 mitzvoth, I did not apply his level of excitement to my Torah
and mitzvoth." Thus, Ya’aqov was humbly saying "If only I would have
performed mitzvoth with the excitement and vigor with which he performed his
sins!"
"May it be Your
will." (5:20) QUESTION: Pirqe Abot
is not a prayer book. Why was this tefillah (prayer) placed here?
ANSWER:
Yehudah ben Tema taught that at times a Jew should be bold as a leopard and
fight with the ferocity of a lion. Then the Mishnah goes on to warn that
unbridled boldness can be very dangerous, and ferociousness, too, may not be
used indiscriminately. Therefore he concludes with a short prayer that the Bet
Hamikdash (Temple) be rebuilt. When that happens, the Holy Presence will again
dwell within the midst of the Jewish people. This spiritual influence will
remove the evil inclination from us, making it unnecessary for us to acquire
these potentially destructive traits.
Alternatively,
the Talmud (Sotah 49b) provides signs to identify the period prior to
Mashiach's arrival. One of them is, "chutzpah yasgeh" —
"insolence will increase." It is likely that Yehudah ben Tema spoke
about "az panim" because it was rampant then. Consequently, he prayed
for the speedy rebuilding of the Bet Hamikdash, since in view of the abundance
of brazenness, it was/is high time for Mashiach to come.
We
also pray, "And grant us our portion in Torah," so that we should use
our boldness solely for the study of Torah; we must be bold to ask our teachers
questions when we do not fully comprehend and request that the lesson be
repeated if we do not understand.
Weekly Nazarean Commentary
"They shall make Me a sanctuary; that I may dwell in
their midst" (Exodus, 25:8). How could He command the making of the
Tabernacle so that He could reside in it? He is not a corporeal being that can
be confined to a certain space or place. The heavens are His throne and the
earth is His footstool so what of manner of house can humans build for Him?
King Solomon said when building the Temple, “The heavens and the heavens above
them cannot contain You, how much less this house that I have built” (1Kings,
8:27). Therefore there would seem to be a contradiction in the building of the
Tabernacle.
The Tabernacle and its vessels were meant to in-plant,
through their sanctity and preparation, the glory of the Shekhinah in the
hearts and minds of Israel, so that the evil thoughts of helplessness and
futility fostered by the vastness of the desert in which they wandered for 40
years, would not affect them spiritually. Rather, thereby they would constantly
be aware of Divine Providence and of His Protection. Since humans are bodily
and their needs are material and physical, it is easy for them to err and to
think that He who has no body or material form cannot be aware of their desires
and needs. In the same way, they think that He does see and know all their
actions and their deeds, and therefore does not reward or punish them. So
Mankind looks at their pettiness, weaknesses and frailty, and are convinced
that Ha-Shem is so great and powerful that His Glory and Majesty are so distant
and far from them, that He is not aware of them, their fears or their needs.
Then they despair of being able to reach Him, praise Him or receive His
protection. The Tabernacle was therefore needed to show Israel that unlike the
gods of all the other nations, He was always close by and protective of them;
indeed, a personal G-d as well as an All Powerful G-d, despite His being
without form or body.
The Tabernacle and its vessels, the nature of their
construction and the sites of their placements all come to teach this truth
through symbolism and by allusion, according to the science and nature of
reality. [We must remember that all the classical Torah scholars of the
Sephardi world, like many of the Tannaim and Amoraim, were well versed in the
natural sciences of their time and make constant allusions to their laws
throughout their commentaries and books].
First they were commanded to make the Aaron (ark) which
was the whole purpose of the work of the Tabernacle, to teach Israel that the
Torah, its study and observance were the sole aim and value of Mankind, but
also the secret of all their successes and achievements. Therefore, its making
was commanded, even before the making of the Tabernacle, which would have been
the logical beginning since it housed everything. However, the Tabernacle
symbolizes all the material activities, strivings and quarrels of Mankind, and
this is not the purpose and the salvation of Mankind.
Then followed the Shulchan (Table) and the Menorah
(Candelabra) that are to teach that all the plenty and the successes, whether
they be material-symbolized by the Shulchan (Table) and the Lechem Hapanim
(bread of the proposition), or spiritual-symbolized by the Menorah and its
light, have but one source. That source is solely the Aaron-Torah and all that
it entails and means.
The table for the showbread also has cosmological
significance according to Philo’s interpretation. The table was situated on the north side,
with the showbread that was placed on it representing the winds of the north
that provide food with the help of the rain that descends from heaven to earth.
Every seventh day the loaves of bread were laid out on the table, and the total
number of loaves equaled the number of months of the year. The bread was laid
out in two arrays, six in each array, with each array paralleling two important
seasons of the year: spring, when the
trees begin to produce their fruit, and fall, when the fruits ripen and sowing
is begun again. Hence the two arrays of bread placed on the table symbolized
nature proceeding through its yearly cycle and providing its gifts to mankind.
Now comes the commandment to make the Tabernacle itself,
together with its coverings, staves and curtains. As these involve agricultural
husbandry as well as all the various crafts, technical skills and artisans that
men need and use, they symbolize the creation of wealth and its accumulation,
and the power and honor that men desire and seek. Therefore the Tabernacle came
after the Aaron (ark), Shulchan (table) and the Menorah (candelabra), so that
Israel may learn that without the wisdom and spiritual plenty that come from
them, the pursuit of material things and the turning them into the purpose of
life, will only lead to considering them the primary aim and essence of life.
In the headlong rush after the pleasures and material things of the Olam Hazeh
(present age), there will be a distancing from Ha-Shem and thereby also from
His Providence and material Blessings. So mention is made of the Parochet (curtain)
after the Tabernacle but immediately following it, that divides the Kodesh
Hakadoshim (Hloly of Holies) from the Holy Place. The mizbeach haolah (Brazen
Altar), that represents the destructive burning of the desires and lusts of men
for material things and pleasures and the curtain, symbolize the same
distancing from Ha-Shem whenever there is the pursuit of materialism at the
expense of Torah-the Aaron and the blessings thereof- the Shulchan (Table of
Bread) and the Menorah (Candelabra).
Furthermore, the measurements of the Tabernacle teach us
the various periods and stages of our lives. The 100 amot of the Chatzer's
length are the maximum allotted years of adulthood while the 20 of the amudim
are the years of our youth, while the 50 amot width symbolizes the 50 first
years of life that are the best years, since after them a person begins to age
and deteriorate. However, the stability bars represent the urging, desires and
the sockets with which one should, both in youth and in old age, seek to draw
close to and cleave to Ha-Shem.
“And you will set up the tabernacle according to the
fashion which you were shown in the mountain.” (Exodus 26:30) This is the third
time that this is observed to Moses in the account of the Tabernacle; which
shows how punctually G-d would have the pattern observed that He had given him,
and that all things might be particularly and exactly done according to it.
Hakham Shaul (Paul) comments with regards to this verse in Bereans (Hebrews)
8:4-5 as follows:
“For if indeed he were on earth,
he would not even be a priest, there being those priests offering gifts
according to the Law, who serve the pattern of and shadow of heavenly things,
even as Moses was divinely warned, being about to make the tabernacle: For He
says, “See that you make all things according to the pattern being shown to you
in the mount.”
This commends us as with what great care and exactitude
should we observe as we go about assembling the Tabernacle of lively stones,
exactly according to the pattern shown to us in the Torah – no more, no less!
May Ha-Shem, most blessed be He, help us to go about with great care and
exactitude in our study, teaching, and sharing of Torah teaching, amen ve amen!
Shalom
Shabbat!
Hakham
Dr. Yosef ben Haggai
From: P'shuto shel Mikra
By: Rabbi Yitzchak
Etshalom
Seven Haftarot of
Consolation (II)
http://www.torah.org/advanced/mikra/hagim.htm
PERSONAL AND NATIONAL CONSOLATION
Tish'ah b'Av can never violate the redemptive and other-worldly reality of Shabbat - if need be, it is postponed until Sunday. How can one mourn the terrible distance between the nation and our G-d on a day in which His presence is immanent? (Interested readers are encouraged to pay close attention to the interwoven themes present in L'kha Dodi.) Conversely, consolation belongs primarily to the realm of Shabbat. As such, the process of national consolation begins on the Shabbat following Tish'ah b'Av and
continues, each new step introduced on the successive Shabbat. Just as it is the N'vi'im (prophets) who warned us of impending disaster if we don't mend our ways and repair our relationship with G-d and each other, similarly it is their task to console us and assure us of a speedy and safe return to our Land, to our G-d and to our prior glory.
This process, following the lead laid out above, is also modeled after the stages of interpersonal consolation. Therefore, it should not be surprising that the consolation is presented to us in seven steps - much as the mourner experiences seven days of (the primary level of) Avelut (mourning). I will demonstrate that each of the Haftarot, in succession, mirrors one of the days (read: stages) in consolation with which the Menahamim (consolers) console the mourner.
SHABBAT 1: BURIAL AND KADDISH
What is curious about the first Haftarah (Yeshayahu 40:1-26) is that after the first command to the prophet to comfort the people, the theme of consolation - which we would expect to be the leitmotiv in the entire passage - disappears. In its place stands a beautiful testament to G-d's everlasting greatness against which man's temporary and paltry existence is measured. Here are a few selections from the passage:
1. Comfort My people, comfort them, says your God.
2. Speak lovingly to Yerushalayim, and cry to her, that her fighting is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she has received from Ha-Shem's hand double for all her sins...
6. The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all its grace is as the flower of the field;
7. The grass withers, the flower fades; when the breath of Ha-Shem blows upon it; surely the people is like grass...
21. Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22. It is He who sits upon the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are as grasshoppers; Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in;
23. Who brings princes to nothing; He makes the judges of the earth as vanity.
24. Scarcely are they planted; scarcely are they sown; scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth; and He merely blows upon them, and they wither, and the stormy wind takes them away as stubble.
25. To whom then will you liken Me, that I should be his equal? said the Holy One.
26. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold Who has created these things; Who brings out their host by number, He calls them all by names by the greatness of His might, and because He is strong in power not one is missing.
Wherein lies the consolation here?
Returning to the process of personal mourning and consolation, we see, at least, the template upon which this selection can be understood.
The first day of Avelut (mourning) is the day of burial - from the completion of burial until the end of the day. As soon as the grave is filled in, the assembled become Menahamim, (consolers) form two lines and, as the mourners pass between them, recite the familiar formula mentioned above. During the burial itself, there are three critical passages which are said:
1) “El Melekh Rachamim” – acknowledging the death and asking God to protect the soul of the deceased;
2) “Tsiduq Ha-Din” - accepting the truth of God's judgment (the verses which are included in the “Tsiduq Ha-Din” extol not only God's greatness, but the wispy existence of every man.)
3) “Qadish” – an expanded version which is said only at graveside (and at the celebration of the conclusion of a book of Talmud - notice again how the rebuilding of Yerushalayim is inextricably tied into the powerful moments of personal mourning).
This is the necessary prerequisite of consolation. Once the mourner has accepted the reality of his tragic loss (El Melekh Rachamim), he must realize the "bigger picture" (Qadish) and even if he cannot internalize it as yet, G-d's greater "view" (Tsiduq Ha-Din), it needs to be stated. Similarly, Yerushalayim will begin to take solace once it realizes in Whose hands its fate rests and that all men wither and blow away as the grass. As the mighty Bavel rested on its ugly laurels, taunting the Levites to sing to us of the songs of Tziyyon (T'hillim 137:3), we remembered that all men have their limited time to crest (see Eikhah 4:21) and that G-d's will is unstoppable.
SHABBAT 2: BEGINNING OF
CONSOLATION
One of the overwhelming feelings that the Avel (mourner) feels once the first day - with all of its "reality therapy" - has gone, is that of isolation. After all of the hustle of the burial, the first meal (brought by others) etc., he finally sits alone (even if there are other mourners!), lower than everyone else, silent and desolate. This mirrors the tragic picture of the first chapter of Eikhah (Lamentations) - all of my friends
have betrayed me... The necessary consolation for this step is to show the mourner that he is yet surrounded by friends; if he can not see it now, he must think back to those glory days of the past and take solace in their memory.
Note how the second Haftarah (49:14-51:3) follows and responds to these sentiments:
14: But Tziyyon says, Ha-Shem has forsaken me, and Ha-Shem has forgotten me.
15. Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yes, even they may forget, but I will not forget you.
16. Behold, I have engraved you upon the palms of My hands; your walls are continually before me...
18. Lift up your eyes around, and behold; all these gather themselves together, and come to you. As I live, says Ha-Shem, you shall surely dress yourself with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them on you, as a bride does....
51:2. Look to Avraham your father, and to Sarah who gave birth to you; for he was only one when I called him, and blessed him, and increased him.
51:3. For Ha-Shem shall comfort Tziyyon; He will comfort all her ruins; and He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of Ha-Shem; joy and gladness shall be found in there, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.
Note the unique reference (not found in any of the other Haftarot in this series) to Avraham and Sarah. The father of our people, the archetype of the isolated hero, enjoyed the blessing (realized only generations later) of a tribe more numerous than the stars in the heaven. What powerful solace for the city in mourning - her children will, as promised in v. 18, return to her and adorn her as an ornament. The bright future is, however, presented in broad strokes, utilizing vague terms to paint a glorious picture which is, as yet, unanchored in specific reality.
The Rabbi’s Private Prophetic Study
for the Week of August 6 – August
11, 2006
Sunday August 6, 2006 Torah Reading: Exodus 26:31
– 27:19
After the instructions as
to the furniture (except the altar of incense, 30:1-10), come the precise
details needed for the Tabernacle itself.
Contents of the Torah
Seder
·
vv. 31-35 –
The Inner Veil, Separating the Holy from the Most Holy Place
·
vv. 36-37 –
The Outer Veil at the entrance of the Tabernacle
·
vv. 1-8 – The
Brazen Altar
·
vv. 9-18 – The
Court
·
v. 19 – The
Vessels
Questions for study and
analysis:
1. Sh’mot (Exodus) 26:31 starts by saying: “And you will
make a veil of blue and purple and crimson, and twined linen.” What was the
purpose of this veil and what is the significance of its colors?
2. Both the alatr and the ark were made of Shittim
wood. What does this indicate?
3. What was the purpose or role of the horns in the
Brazen Altar?
4. Exodus 27:19 states: “As to all the vessels of the
tabernacle, in all its service, and all its pins, and all the pins of the
court, they will be bronze.” Why bronze? Why not gold or silver or copper?
5. In the gifts that G-d has bestowed to His
congregation what role has the “Inner Veil”? And why is this necessary?
Monday August 7, 2006 Tehillim Reading: Psalm 61
Contents of the Psalm
A Prayer in Exile
·
v. 1 –
Introduction
·
vv. 2-4 –
Appeal for Help
·
vv. 5-6 –
Confidence in G-d
·
vv. 7-8 –
Hopes for the King’s Future
·
v. 9 – His
Gratitude to G-d
This
psalm (title) is inscribed “To the chief Musician upon Neginah.” On the meaning
of the expression, “To the chief Musician,” see Psalm 4:1-8, where also we have
the following word in another form, - “on Neginoth” - the plural, instead of
the singular. The word means a stringed instrument; and the idea is, that the
psalm was committed to the leader of those who played on stringed instruments
in the sanctuary. The psalm is ascribed to David, but the occasion on which it
was composed is not specified. From the psalm itself it is evident that it was
composed by one who was in exile Psalm 61:2, and by one who was a king Psalm 61:6.
The supposition which best agrees with all the circumstances alluded to in the
psalm is, that it was composed by David when he was Chasen into exile on the
rebellion of Absalom, and that it was composed when he was still beyond the
Jordan 2Samuel 17:22, and when his life was yet in danger. Psalm 42:1-11 and
Psalm 43:1-5 refer to the same period, and have the same general
characteristics.
Questions for study and
analysis:
1. R. Cohen in the Soncino’s Commentary on Psalms,
states concerning v.3 – “From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart
faints; Oh lead me to the Rock that is higher than I” – “The Psalmist does
not mean that he finds himself in a remote spot far away from his home. But
Jerusalem, the dwelling-place of G-d, is for him the center of the earth. He
measures his distance from it not by miles but by the intensity of his yearning
to be there, in the place where the invisible pledges of G-d’s Presence were to
be found.” On the other hand, the Talmud states that the most Holy Place on
earth today is where men sit to study Torah and issue Halakha (Berakhot 8a).
a)
What
implications, therefore does this verse of Psalm 61 has for us today?
b)
Where should
be the centre of the earth for us today and why?
c)
In the context
of this Psalm who is “the Rock that is higher than I”?
2. Psalm 61:3 starts by saying “For You have been” and
it is immediately followed in v. 4 by: “I will.” Observe how the Psalmist brings
the changes in the verb tenses, “You have been,” and “I will.” Is it possible
that experience is the nurse of faithful obedience and that from the past we
gather arguments for present confidence? And what can we say about those who
lack present confidence?
3. Our Psalmist Messiah King David has obviously
meditated upon our Torah Seder of Exodus 26:31 – 27:19. This leads him to
state: “I will dwell in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter
of Your wings. Selah.”
a)
The word “forever”
here means “perpetually.” Now David is speaking as the Messiah of Israel, what
then is the relationship between the Tabernacle and Messiah?
b)
As we said
before the Talmud states that the most Holy Place on earth today is where men
sit to study Torah and issue Halakha (Berakhot 8a). What does this have to say
as to where the Messiah and G-d’s Shekhinah (Presence)can be found?
4.
In Psalm 61:7
we read: “He (the Messiah/King of Israel) will abide forever before God;
appoint mercy and truth to preserve him.”
a)
Barnes
comments on this verse: “That is, perpetually; without danger of change, or of
being Chasen into exile. This may allude, however, to the hope which David had
that he would always live with God in a higher world - a world where there
would be no danger of change or banishment. His restoration to his home, to his
throne, and to the privileges of the sanctuary, he may have regarded as an
emblem of his ultimate reception into a peaceful heaven, and his mind may have
glanced rapidly from the one to the other.” Is it possible that Messiah King
David was realizing that the Tabernacle was merely a reproduction of a heavenly
reality which is the “real thing” and thus uses the word “forever-perpetually”?
b)
In Ephesians
2:6 Hakham Shaul writes: “and raised us up together and seated us together in
the heavenlies in Yeshuah the Messiah.” How is this verse from Hakham Shaul
related to Psalm 61:7? And therefore, what are the implications of Messiah King
David’s statement in Psalm 61:7?
c)
Psalm 61:7
concludes with the statement: “appoint mercy and truth to preserve him.” “Chessed”
(Mercy) and “Emet” (Truth – an euphemism for the Law, cf. Psalm 119:142) are the key ingredients for the
preservation of Messiah and those that are his true disciples. What does this
statement has to say about how we are to go about tabernacle building – an
earthly reproduction of a heavenly reality?
Tuesday August 8, 2006 Ordinary Ashlamatah Reading: Ezekiel
16:10-19, 60
Questions
for study and analysis:
1. Ezekiel 16:10-12 describe the construction of the
Tabernacle as portraying the relationship between Israel and G-d, that we have
examined in the Torah Sidrot for the this and last two Shabatot.
a)
What are “bracelets
on your hands” (v.11) alluding to? The Targum interprets this of the ornament
of the Words of the Law (see Proverbs 1:8). Is this all, or is there more to
it?
b)
What does “and
a chain on your neck” (v.11) alludes to?
c)
“And I put a
ring on your nose” (v.12) – The Targum
interprets: “"and I put the ark of My covenant among you.” What
made the Targum interpret the “ring on your nose” to be the “Ark of the
Covenant” in the Tabernacle?
2. “Fine flour and honey and oil you ate” (v.13). The
Targum explains that this speaks of the manna with which the Lord fed the
Israelites in the wilderness. Why does the Targum interpret these three
substances to allude to Manna?
3. Ezekiel 16:60 in the Young’s Literal Translation
reads: “And I--I have remembered My covenant with you, In the days of your
youth, And I have established for you a covenant age-during (i.e.
everlasting).” According to this translation, G-d’s covenant (i.e. “My
Covenant”) = “a covenant age-enduring.” That is, the Prophet is speaking of the
same covenant throughout all this verse. If G-d has only one covenant what are
the implications of this for Jews and for Gentiles who turn away from serving
idols? And is the “New Covenant” any
different from this “My covenant with
you, In the days of your youth”?
Wednesday August 9,
2006 Special Ashalamatah
Reading: Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 54:11 - 55:5
This
special prophetic lesson is being read because this coming Sabbath marks the
seven week period of readings for the consolation of Israel prior to the Jewish
New Year or festival of Trumpets.
Contents of the
Ashlamatah:
·
The desolate
city will be invincible (Isa 54:11-17)
·
Come you
thirsty and hungry, be satisfied (Isa 55:1-5).
Questions for study and
analysis:
1. In Isaiah 54:11 we read: “O afflicted,
storm-tossed, not comforted, Lo, I am laying with cement your stones, and have
founded you with sapphires,”
a)
“O afflicted,
storm-tossed, not comforted” – How is this precisely applicable particularly to
present-day Nazarean Jews?
b)
“I am laying with
cement your stones” - How is this
precisely applicable particularly to present-day Nazarean Jews?
c)
“And have
founded you with sapphires” - How is
this precisely applicable particularly to present-day Nazarean Jews?
2. In Isaiah 54:12 we read: “And I will make your
windows of jasper, and your gates of carbuncles, and all your borders of
pleasant stones.”
a)
“And I will
make your windows of jasper” (cf. Rev. 21:11). How is this precisely applicable
particularly to present-day Nazarean Jews?
b)
“and your
gates of carbuncles” (cf. Rev. 21:21). The phrase is said to signify that in
the latter days the ministrations of Nazarean Courts will be very clear and
bright, and be greatly owned, and be very successful. What things are required
for us Nazarean Jews to arrive at the point signaled by this prophecy?
c)
“and all your
borders of pleasant stones” – compare with “You will arise, and have compassion
upon Zion; for it is time to be gracious unto her, for the appointed time is
come. For Your servants take pleasure in her stones, and love her dust” (Psalm
102:14-15). Who are these stones and why are they used to make borders? (cf.
Rev. 21:18)
3. In Isaiah 54:13 the Young Literal Translation
reads: “And all your sons are taught of
Ha-Shem, And abundant is the shalom of your sons.”
a)
Xtians believe
that this particular verse speaks about/of them. Why is such statement a
misinterpretation of the text?
b)
Taking into
account the context, to who is this verse legitimately addressed?
c)
“And all your
sons are taught of Ha-Shem” – Does this mean that there is/will be no need of
teachers? Why is such an interpretation dangerous and flawed?
Thursday August 10,
2006 Midrash of Matityahu (Matthew)
10:32-33
Rabbi’s translation:
32. ¶ "Every man who will reveal me before
men, I will also reveal him before my Father who is in the heavens.
33. But whoever disowns me before men, I
will disown him before my Father who is in the heavens.
Questions for study and
analysis:
1.
What caught
the eye of Matityahu in our Torah Seder of Exodus 26:31 – 27:19, as well as in
Psalm 61, Ezekiel 16:10-19, 60, and Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 54:11 - 55:5, that found
it appropriate to write this statement as a Midrashic commentary to the above
readings?
2.
The Amplified
Bible translates “Whoever acknowledges me before men,” the KJV
translates: “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men;”
however, the Hebrew Matityahu has “Every man who will reveal me
before men.”
a)
What are the
differences in connotation of the verses when each of the three different terms
are used?
b)
What does it
mean for Messiah to reveal in intimacy to G-d who are his genuine Talmidim?
c)
Why is
disowning the Master so costly particularly to those who have known him? And
what does this have to say about how we are to be as Nazarean Jews and deal
with those that betray the Master for the sake of some gain of public
recognition?
Friday August 11, 2006 Tying All Ends Together –
The Prophetic Statement
1.
What is the
common thread that binds our Torah Seder
of Exodus 26:31 – 27:19, with Psalm 61, Ezekiel 16:10-19, 60, Yeshayahu
(Isaiah) 54:11 - 55:5, and Matityahu 10:32-33?
2.
What prophetic
statement is common to all of these readings? And how is that prophetic
statement applicable to us today?
Now we are ready for G-d to speak to us this coming
Shabbat at the congregational level and as individual families. May we be good
hearers of G-d’s Word, and thorough doers of it. Amen ve amen!
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; those who love
you shall prosper.
Peace be within your walls; prosperity in your
towers.
Because of my brothers and my companions, I will
now say, Peace be in you.
Because of the house of Ha-Shem, our God, I will
seek your good.”
Psalm 122:6-9