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

Three and 1/2 year Lectionary Readings	Second Year of the Triennial Reading Cycle
Ab 20, 5774 – August 15/16, 2014	Sixth Year of the Shmita Cycle

Candle Lighting and Habdalah Times:

Amarillo, TX, U.S. Fri. Aug 15 2014 – Candles at 8:19 PM Sat. Aug 16 2014 – Habdalah 9:16 PM	Austin & Conroe, TX, U.S. Fri. Aug 15 2014 – Candles at 7:55 PM Sat. Aug 16 2014 – Habdalah 8:50 PM	Brisbane, Australia Fri. Aug 15 2014 – Candles at 5:08 PM Sat. Aug 16 2014 – Habdalah 6:02 PM
Chattanooga, & Cleveland, TN, U.S. Fri. Aug 15 2014 – Candles at 8:13 PM Sat. Aug 16 2014 – Habdalah 9:09 PM	Everett, WA. U.S. Fri. Aug 15 2014 – Candles at 8:05 PM Sat. Aug 16 2014 – Habdalah 9:13 PM	Manila & Cebu, Philippines Fri. Aug 15 2014 – Candles at 6:01 PM Sat. Aug 16 2014 – Habdalah 6:52 PM
Miami, FL, U.S. Fri. Aug 15 2014 – Candles at 7:39 PM Sat. Aug 16 2014 – Habdalah 8:32 PM	Murray, KY, & Paris, TN. U.S. Fri. Aug 15 2014 – Candles at 7:29 PM Sat. Aug 16 2014 – Habdalah 8:27 PM	Olympia, WA, U.S. Fri. Aug 15 2014 – Candles at 8:06 PM Sat. Aug 16 2014 – Habdalah 9:12 PM
San Antonio, TX, U.S. Fri. Aug 15 2014 – Candles at 7:57 PM Sat. Aug 16 2014 – Habdalah 8:51 PM	Sheboygan & Manitowoc, WI, US Fri. Aug 15 2014 – Candles at 7:38 PM Sat. Aug 16 2014 – Habdalah 8:41 PM	Singapore, Singapore Fri. Aug 15 2014 – Candles at 6:56 PM Sat. Aug 16 2014 – Habdalah 7:45 PM
St. Louis, MO, U.S. Fri. Aug 15 2014 – Candles at 7:38 PM Sat. Aug 16 2014 – Habdalah 8:37 PM	Tacoma, WA, U.S. Fri. Aug 15 2014 – Candles at 8:04 PM Sat. Aug 16 2014 – Habdalah 9:11 PM

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

Roll of Honor:

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

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

His Honor Paqid Adon David ben Abraham

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

Her Excellency Giberet Sarai bat Sarah & beloved family

His Excellency Adon Barth Lindemann & beloved family

His Excellency Adon John Batchelor & beloved wife

Her Excellency Giberet Laurie Taylor

Her Excellency Prof. Dr. Conny Williams & beloved family

Her Excellency Giberet Gloria Sutton & beloved family

His Excellency Adon Yoel ben Abraham and beloved wife HE Giberet Rivka bat Dorit

His Excellency Adon Tsuriel ben Abraham and beloved wife HE Giberet Gibora bat Sarah

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

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

His Excellency Adon Michael Murray and beloved wife HE Giberet Leah Murray

His Excellency Adon Ze’ev ben Abraham and beloved wife HE Giberet Hadassah bat Sarah

His Excellency Adon Michael Harston

Her Excellency Giberet Whitney Mathison

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

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

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

Barukh Dayan Emet

We pray that the Holy One, most blessed be He, comfort the families of the fallen most brave soldiers of the IDF who have paid the ultimate price in order to preserve and defend our nation. May He also comfort us in our grief and great loss.

May G-d our Healer, have mercy on all of our soldiers who have been injured and provide a swift and complete healing for their bodies and souls, together with all the sick in Yisrael, and we say amen ve amen!

Shabbat: “Esfa Li” – “Gather to me” &

Shabbat “Nachamu II” – “Of Our Consolation II”

Second of Seven Sabbaths of Consolation/Strengthening

Shabbat	Torah Reading:	Weekday Torah Reading:
אֶסְפָה-לִּי		Saturday Afternoon
“Esfa Li”	Reader 1 – B’Midbar 11:16-22	Reader 1 – B’Midbar 13:1-3
“Gather to me”	Reader 2 – B’Midbar 11:23-25	Reader 2 – B’Midbar 13:4-9
“Reúneme”	Reader 3 – B’Midbar 11:26-29	Reader 3 – B’Midbar 13:10-16
B’Midbar (Num.) 11:16 – 12:16	Reader 4 – B’Midbar 11:30-35
Ashlamatah: Yoel 2:16-24, 27	Reader 5 – B’Midbar 12:1-3	Monday & Thursday Mornings
Special: Isaiah 49:14 – 51:3	Reader 6 – B’Midbar 12:4-13	Reader 1 – B’Midbar 13:1-3
Psalm 99:1-9	Reader 7 – B’Midbar 12:14-16	Reader 2 – B’Midbar 13:4-9
	Maftir – B’Midbar 12:14-16	Reader 3 – B’Midbar 13:10-16
N.C.: Mk 10:46-52; Lk 18:45-53; 19:1-10; Rm 2:25-29	Isaiah 49:14 – 51:3

Blessings Before Torah Study

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

Please Ha-Shem, our G-d, sweeten the words of Your Torah in our mouths and in the mouths of all Your people Israel. May we and our offspring, and our offspring's offspring, and all the offspring of Your people, the House of Israel, may we all, together, know Your Name and study Your Torah for the sake of fulfilling Your desire. 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: Honouring one's father and mother; doing acts of kindness; early attendance at the place of Torah study -- morning and night; showing hospitality to guests; visiting the sick; providing for the financial needs of a bride; escorting the dead; being very engrossed in prayer; bringing peace between two people, and between husband and wife; but the study of Torah is as great as all of them together. Amen!

Contents of the Torah Seder

· The Seventy Elders – Numbers 11:16-30

· Fulfilment of the Divine Promise – Numbers 11:31-35

· Miriam and the Vindication of Mosheh – Numbers 12:1-16

Reading Assignment:

The Torah Anthology: Yalkut Me’Am Lo’Ez - Vol XIII: First Journeys

By: Rabbi Yitschaq Magrisso, Translated by: Dr. Tzvi Faier

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

Vol. 13 – “First Journeys,” pp. 295-331

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan

for: B’midbar (Numbers) 11:16 – 12:16

Rashi	Targum
16. Then the Lord said to Moses, "Assemble for Me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the people's elders and officers, and you shall take them to the Tent of Meeting, and they shall stand there with You.	16. Then spoke the LORD unto Mosheh, Gather together in My name seventy righteous/generous men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be elders of the people, and who were set over them in Mizraim, and bring them to the tabernacle to stand there with you.
17. I will come down and speak with you there, and I will increase the spirit that is upon you and bestow it upon them. Then they will bear the burden of the people with you so that you need not bear it alone.	17. And I will be revealed in the glory of My Shekinah, and will speak with you there, and will amplify the spirit of prophecy that is upon you, and bestow it upon them; and they will sustain with you the burden of the people, that you may not bear it alone.
18. And to the people, you shall say, 'Prepare yourselves for tomorrow and you shall eat meat, because you have cried in the ears of the Lord saying, "Who will feed us meat, for we had it better in Egypt." [Therefore,] the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat.	18. And say you to the people, Make ready against the morrow that you may eat flesh; because you have lamented before the LORD, saying, Who will give us flesh to eat? For it was better with us in Mizraim. The LORD therefore will give you flesh that you may eat.
19. You shall eat it not one day, not two days, not five days, not ten days, and not twenty days.	19. You will not eat it one day, nor two days, nor five, nor ten, nor twenty days;
20. But even for a full month until it comes out your nose and nauseates you. Because you have despised the Lord Who is among you, and you cried before Him, saying, "Why did we ever leave Egypt?"'"	20. for a month of days, until the smell of it comes forth from your nostrils, and it become a loathing to you; because you have been contemptuous against the Word of the LORD, whose glorious Shekinah dwells among you, and because you have wept before Him, saying, Why should we have come out from Mizraim?
21. Moses said, "Six hundred thousand people on foot are the people in whose midst I am, and You say, 'I will give them meat, and they will eat it for a full month'?	21. But Mosheh said, Six hundred thousand footmen are the people among whom I dwell, and You have said, I will give them flesh to eat for a month of days!
22. If sheep and cattle were slaughtered for them, would it suffice for them? If all the fish of the sea were gathered for them, would it suffice for them?"	22. Will the flocks of Araby or the cattle of Nabatea be killed for them to satisfy them, or all the fishes of the Great Sea be collected, that they may have enough?
23. Then the Lord said to Moses, "Is My power limited? Now you will see if My word comes true for you or not!"	23. And the LORD said to Mosheh, Can any thing fail before the LORD? Now you will see whether what I have said to you will come to pass or not.
24. Moses went out and told the people what the Lord had said, and he assembled seventy men of the elders of the people, and stood them around the Tent.	24. Then Mosheh went forth from the tabernacle, the house of the Shekinah, and told the people the words of the LORD. And he called together the seventy men, the elders of Israel, and placed them around the tabernacle.
25. The Lord descended in a cloud and spoke to him, and He increased some of the spirit that was on him and bestowed it on the seventy elders. And when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, but they did not continue.	25. And the LORD was revealed in the glorious Cloud of the Shekinah, and spoke with him. And He made enlargement of the (Spirit of) prophecy that was upon him, so that Mosheh lost nothing thereof, but He gave unto the seventy men, the elders: and it was that when the Spirit of prophecy rested upon them, they prophesied, and ceased not.
26. Now two men remained in the camp; the name of one was Eldad and the name of the second was Medad, and the spirit rested upon them. They were among those written, but they did not go out to the tent, but prophesied in the camp.	26. But two men had remained in the camp; the name of the one Eldad, and the name of the second Medad, the sons of Elizaphan bar Parnak, whom Jokebed the daughter of Levi bare to him when Amram her husband had put her away; and to whom she had been espoused before she gave birth to Mosheh. And the Spirit of prophecy resting upon them, Eldad prophesied, and said: Behold, Mosheh will be gathered from the world; and Jehoshua bar Nun, the minister of the camps, will be established after him, and will lead the people of the house of Israel into the land of Kenaan, and make it their inheritance. Medad prophesied, and said: Behold, quails come up from the sea, and cover all the camp of Israel; but they will be to the people (a cause of) an offence. And both of them prophesied together, and said: Behold, a king will arise from the land of Magog, at the end of the days, and will assemble kings crowned with crowns, and captains wearing armour, and him will all the Gentiles obey. And they will set battle in array in the land of Israel against the children of the captivity; but already is it provided that in the hour of distresses all of them will perish by the burning blast of the flame that comes forth from beneath the Throne of Glory; and their carcases will fall upon the mountains of the land of Israel, and the wild beasts of the field and the fowls of the sky will come and consume their dead bodies. And afterward will all the dead of Israel live (again), and be feasted from the ox which has been set apart for them from the beginning, and they will receive the reward of their works. And they were of the elders who stood in the registers among them; but they had not gone forth to the tabernacle, but had hidden to escape from the dignity; yet they prophesied in the camp.
27. The lad ran and told Moses, saying, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp!"	27. And a certain young man ran, and told to Mosheh, and said: Eldad and Medad are prophesying thus in the camp.
28. Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' servant from his youth, answered and said, Moses, my master, imprison them!"	28. And Jehoshua bar Nun, the minister of Mosheh, answered and said: Rabboni Mosheh, pray for mercy before the Lord, that the Spirit of prophecy may be withheld from them.
29. Moses said to him, "Are you zealous for my sake? If only all the Lord's people were prophets, that the Lord would bestow His spirit upon them!"	29. But Mosheh said to him, Because they prophesy concerning me that I am to be gathered from the world, and that you are to minister after me, are you jealous for my sake? I would that all the LORD's people were prophets, and that He would bestow the Spirit of prophecy upon them.
30. Then Moses entered the camp; he and the elders of Israel.	30. And Mosheh proceeded to the camp, he and all the elders of Israel.
31. A wind went forth from the Lord and swept quails from the sea and spread them over the camp about one day's journey this way and one day's journey that way, around the camp, about two cubits above the ground.	31. And the wind of a tempest went forth, and came violently from before the LORD, so as to have swept the world away, but for the righteousness/generosity of Mosheh and Aharon: and it blew over the Great Sea, and made the quails fly from the Great Sea, and settle wherever there was place in the camp, as a day's journey northward and southward, and at the height as of two cubits; they flew upon the face of the ground, and went upon their bellies, so that (the people) were not wearied while they collected them.
32. The people rose up all that day and all night and the next day and gathered the quails. [Even] the one who gathered the least collected ten heaps. They spread them around the camp in piles.	32. And they who had been lacking in faith arose: and all that day, and all the night, and all the day that followed, they gathered the quails; even he who was lame and infirm gathered ten korin, and they spread them abroad round about the camps.
33. The meat was still between their teeth; it was not yet finished, and the anger of the Lord flared against the people, and the Lord struck the people with a very mighty blow.	33. The wicked ate of the flesh, yet offered no thanksgiving to Him who had given it to them: but while the flesh was between their teeth, and not consumed, the anger of the LORD waxed strong against the evil people, and the LORD slew the people with a very great mortality.
34. He named that place Kivroth Hata'avah [Graves of Craving], for there they buried the people who craved.	34. And he called the name of that place, The Graves of the Desirers of Flesh; for there they buried the people who had desired flesh.
35. From Kivroth Hata'avah the people traveled to Hazeroth, and they stayed in Hazeroth.	35. And from the Graves of the Desirers the people journeyed to Hatseroth, and they were in Hatseroth.
1. Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses regarding the Cushite woman he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman.	1. And Miriam and Aharon spoke against Mosheh words that were not becoming with respect to the Kushaitha whom the Kushaee had caused Mosheh to take when he had fled from Pharoh, but whom he had sent away because they had given him the queen of Kush, and he had sent her away.
2. They said, "Has the Lord spoken only to Moses? Hasn't He spoken to us too?" And the Lord heard.	2. And they said, Has the LORD spoken only with Mosheh, that he should be separated from the married life? Has He not spoken with us also? And it was heard before the LORD.
3. Now this man Moses was exceedingly humble, more so than any person on the face of the earth.	3. But the man Mosheh was more bowed down in his mind than all the children of men upon the face of the earth; neither cared he for their words.
4. The Lord suddenly said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, "Go out, all three of you, to the Tent of Meeting!" And all three went out.	4. And the LORD said to Mosheh, to Aharon, and to Miriam, Come forth, you three, to the tabernacle. And those three went forth.
5. The Lord descended in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the Tent. He called to Aaron and Miriam, and they both went out.	5. And the Glory of the LORD was revealed in the Cloud of Glory, and He stood at the door of the tabernacle, and called Aharon and Miriam: and those two came forth.
6. He said, "Please listen to My words. If there be prophets among you, [I] the Lord will make Myself known to him in a vision; I will speak to him in a dream.	6. And He said, Hear now My words, while I speak. Have any of the prophets who have arisen from the days of old been spoken with as Mosheh has been? To those (prophets) the Word of the Lord has been revealed in apparition, speaking with them in a dream.
7. Not so is My servant Moses; he is faithful throughout My house.	7. Not so is the way with Mosheh My servant; in all the house of Israel My people he is faithful.
8. With him I speak mouth to mouth; in a vision and not in riddles, and he beholds the image of the Lord. So why were you not afraid to speak against My servant Moses?	8. Speaker with speaker have I spoken with him, who has separated himself from the married life; but in vision, and not with mystery, revealed I Myself to him at the bush, and he beheld the likeness of My Shekinah. And why have you not feared to speak such words of My servant Mosheh?
9. The wrath of the Lord flared against them and He left.	9. And the glory of the LORD's Shekinah ascended, and went.
10. The cloud departed from above the Tent, and behold, Miriam was afflicted with tzara'ath, [as white] as snow. Then Aaron turned to Miriam and behold, she was afflicted with tzara'ath.	10. And the glorious Cloud of the LORD's Shekinah went up from above the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam was seized with the leprosy. And Aharon looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she had been smitten with leprosy.
11. Aaron said to Moses, "Please, master, do not put sin upon us for acting foolishly and for sinning.	11. And Aharon said to Mosheh, I beseech of you, my lord, not to lay upon us the sin we have foolishly committed, and by which we have transgressed.
12. Let her not be like the dead, which comes out of his mother's womb with half his flesh consumed!"	12. I entreat you that Miriam, our sister, may not be defiled with leprosy in the tent, as the dead, for it is with her as with the infant which, having well fulfilled the time of the womb, perishes at the birth: so Miriam was with us in the land of Mizraim, seeing us in our captivity, our dispersion, our servitude; but now, when the time has come for our going forth to possess the land of Israel behold she is kept back from us. I entreat you, my master, to pray for her, that her righteousness/ generosity may not come to nothing among the congregation.
13. Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, "I beseech you, God, please heal her."	13. And Mosheh did pray, and seek mercy before the LORD, saying: I pray through the compassions of the merciful God, O Elohim, who has power over the life of all flesh, heal her, I beseech You.
14. The Lord replied to Moses, "If her father were to spit in her face, would she not be humiliated for seven days? She shall be confined for seven days outside the camp, and afterwards she may enter.	14. And the LORD said to Mosheh, If her father had corrected her, would she not have been disgraced, and secluded seven days? But today, when I correct her, much more right is it that she should be dishonored fourteen days: yet will it suffice to seclude her seven days without the camp; and for your righteousness/ generosity will I make the Cloud of My Glory, the tabernacle, the ark, and all Israel, tarry until the time that she is healed, and then re-admitted.
15. So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not travel until Miriam had entered.	15. And Miriam was kept apart without the camp for seven days, and the people went not forward until the time that Miriam was healed.
16. Then the people departed from Hazeroth, and they camped in the desert of Paran.	16. But though Miriam the prophetess had made herself liable to be stricken with leprosy in this world, the doctrine is ample that in the world to come (there remains a reward) for the just, and for them who keep the commandments of the Law. And because Miriam the prophetess had watched for a little hour to know what would be the fate of Mosheh; (Exod. ii) for the sake of that merit all Israel, numbering sixty myriads, being eighty legions, and the Cloud of Glory, the tabernacle, and the well, went not, nor proceeded, till the time that she was healed: and afterward the people journeyed from Hatseroth, and encamped in the wilderness of Pharan.

Rashi’s Commentary for: B’Midbar (Num.) 11:16 – 12:16

16 Assemble for Me This is a response to your complaint, that you said, “Alone I cannot....” Where were the first group of elders? Had they not sat with them [with Moses and Aaron] even in Egypt, as it says, “Go and gather the elders of Israel” (Exod. 3:16) ? But they died in the fire at Tab’erah (verses 1-3). They deserved this already at Sinai, as it is written, “They perceived God” (Exod. 24:11), behaving irrevently, like someone munching his bread while speaking to the king, and this is the meaning of “they ate and drank” (ibid.). However, God did not want to give cause for mourning at the giving of the Torah, so he punished them here.-[Midrash Tanchuma Beha’alothecha 16]

whom you know to be... Those whom you know, that they were appointed as officers over them in Egypt [to oversee] the rigorous labor, and they had mercy on them, and were beaten on their account, as it says, “the officers of the children of Israel were beaten” (Exod. 5:14). Now they shall be chosen in their greatness, just as they had suffered in their [Israel’s] distress.-[Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:42:16]

and you shall take them Take them with words: “How fortunate you are that you have been appointed leaders over the children of the Omnipresent!”-[Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:42:16]

and they shall stand there with you so that the Israelites should see and treat them with esteem and honor, saying, "How beloved are these who have entered with Moses to hear the speech from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed is He.-[Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:42:16]

17 I will come down This is one of the ten descents [of the Shechinah] recorded in the Torah.-[Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:42:17]

and speak with you But not with them. -[Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:42:17]

and I will increase Heb. וְאָצַלְתִּי , as the Targum renders it: וַאֲרַבֵּי , and I will increase, as in “But against the nobles of (אֲצִילֵי) the children of Israel” (Exod. 24:11).

and bestow it upon them What did Moses resemble at that time? A candle placed upon a candelabrum; everyone lights from it, yet its brightness is not diminished.-[Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:42:17, Midrash Tanchuma Beha’alothecha 12]

Then they will bear... with you Stipulate with them that they take upon themselves the burden of My children, who are troublesome and recalcitrant.-[Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:42: 16]

so that you need not bear it alone This is an answer to what you said, “Alone I cannot carry...” (verse 14). -[See Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:42: 17]

18 Prepare yourselves Heb. הִתְקַדְּשׁוּ , prepare yourselves for punishment. Similarly, it says, “and prepare them for the day of slaughter” (Jer. 12:3). -[Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:42:18]

20 But even for a full month This [concerned] the [comparatively] virtuous ones, who languish on their beds and later their soul departs. But concerning the wicked ones it says, “the meat was still between their teeth [... when the anger of the Lord flared...]” (verse 33). This is how it is taught in the Sifrei (Beha’alothecha 1:42:20), but in the Mechilta (Beshallach, Vayassa 3:13) the opposite is taught: the wicked ate and suffered [as a result] for thirty days, whereas [concerning] the virtuous—"the meat was still between their teeth" [thus, they did not suffer prolonged agony].

until it comes out of your nose As Targum renders: “You will be sickened by it”; it will seem to you as if you gorged on it until it is discharged by way of the nose.

and nauseates you Heb. וְהָיָה לָכֶם לְזָרָא You will cast it away from you more readily than you welcomed it [Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:42:20]. In the words of R. Moshe Hadarshan (the preacher) I noted that there is a language in which a sword is called זָרָא , [meaning that this meat will be the cause of their death].

the Lord Who is among you Had I not established My Presence among you, you would not have had the arrogance to engage in all these matters.-[Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:42:20]

21 Six hundred thousand people on foot He was not concerned with mentioning the additional three thousand (above 1:46). R. Moshe Hadarshan, however, explains that only those [six hundred thousand] who left Egypt wept.

22 If sheep and cattle were slaughtered This is one of the four cases in which R. Akiva expounded, and R. Simeon expounded differently. R. Akiva says, “Six hundred thousand people on foot, and You have said that I will give them meat, and they will eat it for a full month?” The entire verse is expounded literally. The clause, וּמָצָא לָהֶם means, “Would it suffice for them?” This is similar to [the clause,] “and he has sufficient means (וּמָצָא) for redeeming it” (Lev. 25:26). Which [case] is worse? This one, or [when Moses said] “Listen now, you rebels” (20:10)? [Obviously, this one.] However, since [in this case] he [Moses] did not say it in public, Scripture spares him, and refrains from punishing him. But that of Meribah was in public, so Scripture does not spare him. R. Simeon says, God forbid! This never entered the mind of that righteous man. Would the one about whom it says, “he is trusted throughout My house” (12:7) suggest that the Omnipresent cannot provide for us sufficiently? Rather, this is what he meant: "Six hundred thousand... on foot... and You say, 'I will give them meat for a full month’? Then You will kill such a great nation? Will sheep and cattle be slaughtered for them so that they should then be killed, and this meal will satisfy for them forever [i.e., it will be their last]? Is this a credit for you? Do we tell a donkey, 'Eat this measure of barley, and then we will cut off your head’?" God answered him, "If I do not give them, they will say that My power is limited. Would the fact that God’s power appears limited to them please you? Let them and a hundred like them perish, as long as My power is not limited before them for even one moment!"-[Tosefta Sotah 6:4]

23 Now you will see if my word comes true for you or not Rabban Gamliel, the son of R. Judah the prince, says: [Moses said,] It is impossible to settle their argument. Since they seek only a pretext, you cannot satisfy them, and in the end, they will find fault with you. If you give them beef they will say, “We asked for mutton.” And if you give them mutton, they will say, “We asked for beef,” [or,] “ We asked for venison or fowl,” [or,] “We asked for fish and locusts.” He [God] replied to him, “If so, they will claim that My power is limited.” He [Moses] said to him, “I will go and appease them.” He said to him, "Now you will see if My word comes true for you"—that they will not listen to you. Moses went to appease them. He said to them, “Is there a limit to God’s power? Behold, He struck the rock and water flowed; surely, He can provide bread!” (Ps. 78:20) They said, This is [an attempt at] compromise—He Has no power to fulfill our wishes. This is the meaning of, “Moses went out and told the people.” Since they did not listen to him, “he assembled seventy men...”-[Tosefta Sotah 6:4 and Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:42:21]

25 but they did not continue They prophesied on that day only—Thus it is stated in Sifrei (Beha’alothecha 1:42:21). The Targum renders “and they did not cease” [meaning] that their prophetic powers remained.

26 Now two men remained From the ones who were chosen. They said, “We are unworthy of this greatness.”-[Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:42:21]

They were among those written Among those chosen for the Sanhedrin. All of them were written down, mentioned specifically by name, but [the number was chosen] by lot, because the number [of elders] for twelve tribes came to six for each tribe, except for two tribes who would receive only five each. Moses said, “No tribe will listen to me to deduct one elder from its tribe.” What did he do? He took seventy-two slips and wrote on seventy [of them, the word] ‘elder’ and two of them he left blank. He then chose six men from each tribe, totaling seventy-two. He said to them, "Draw your slips from the urn. Whoever picked [one inscribed with] ‘elder’ was [already] sanctified. Whoever picked a blank slip, he said to him, “The Omnipresent does not want you.” - [Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:42:21, Sanh. 17a]

The lad ran Some say this was Moses’ son, Gershom.-[Tanchuma Beha’alothecha 12]

28 imprison them Heb. כְּלָאֵם . Impose upon them communal responsibilities and they will be finished (כָּלִים) [as prophets] by themselves (Sanh. 17a). Another interpretation: Imprison them (בֵּית הַכֶּלֶא) (Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:42:21, Targum Onkelos), for they were prophesying that Moses would die and Joshua would take them into the Land of Israel.- [Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:42:21, Sanh. 17a]

29 Are you zealous for my sake? Are you a zealous for me? Are you being zealous for what I should be zealous? The word לִי means בִּשְׁבִילִי , “for my sake.” The term קִנְאָה is used to denote a person who takes a matter to heart, whether to avenge or to help; in old French, enportement ; holding the bulk of the burden.

30 Moses entered From the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.

the camp Each one to his tent.

entered Heb. וַיֵאָסֵף , an expression denoting entering a house, as in, “You shall gather it (וַאֲסַפְתּוֹ) into your house” (Deut. 22:2). The origin for all these terms is, “he amasses, but knows not who will gather them in (אֽסְפָם) ” (Ps. 39:7). This teaches that He [God] did not bring punishment upon them before the righteous men had retired to their tents.-[Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:42:30]

31 and swept Heb. וַיָּגָז , caused to fly; similarly, “for it passes (גָז) quickly” (Ps. 90:10), “and likewise, they have crossed (נָגוֹזוּ) and passed away” (Nah. 1:12).

and spread them Heb. וַיִּטּֽשׁ , and strew them, as in, “Behold, they were spread out (נְטֻשִׁים) over the face of the land” (I Sam. 30:16); “I will spread you out (וּנְטַשְׁתִּיךָ) in the desert” (Ezek. 29:5).

about two cubits They flew at a height that they reached a person’s heart, so that it would not be difficult for them to gather them, so that they need neither rise up nor bend down.-[Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:42:31]

32 [Even] the one who gathered the least The one who gathered the least of all, the lazy and the disabled, gathered ten heaps.- [Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:42:32]

they spread them They spread them out in numerous heaps.- [Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:42:32]

33 it was not yet finished - טֶרֶם יִכָּרֵת . As the Targum renders: it was not yet finished. [I.e., the quails had not yet finished coming (Be’er Basadeh). They had not yet finished eating (Gur Aryeh). All the quails had not yet been removed from the field (Be’er Mayim Chayim).] Another interpretation: He did not have the chance to chew it [lit., cut it] with his teeth before his soul departed.- [Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:42:33]

Chapter 12

1 [Miriam and Aaron] spoke [The term] דִּבּוּר always connotes harsh talk, as it says, “The man, the lord of the land, spoke (דִּבֶּר) harshly with us” (Gen. 42:30). But wherever [the term] אֲמִירָה is found, it connotes supplication, as it says, “He said (וַיּֽאמֶר) , 'my brethren, please do not do evil’” (Gen. 19:7); “He said (וַיּֽאמֶר) , 'Please listen to My words’” (Num. 12:6). [The term] נָא always denotes a request.-[Tanchuma Tzav 13]

Miriam and Aaron spoke She spoke first. Therefore, Scripture mentions her first. How did she know that Moses had separated from his wife? [See below] R. Nathan says: Miriam was beside Zipporah when Moses was told that Eldad and Medad were prophesying in the camp. When Zipporah heard this, she said, “Woe to their wives if they are required to prophesy, for they will separate from their wives just my husband separated from me.” From this, Miriam knew [about it] and told Aaron. Now if Miriam, who did not intend to disparage him [Moses] was punished, all the more so someone who [intentionally] disparages his fellow.-[Tanchuma Tzav 13]

the Cushite woman [Moses’ wife was a Midianite, not a Cushite, but] Scripture teaches that everyone acknowledged her beauty just as everyone acknowledges a Cushite’s blackness.-[Tanchuma Tzav 13]

Cushite - כֻּשִׁית . Its numerical value is equal to יְפַתמַרְאֶה , beautiful in appearance.-[Tanchuma Tzav 13] כ = 20 י = 10 ו = 6 פ = 80 ש = =300 ת =400 י = 10 מ = 40 ת = 400 ר =200 736 א = 1 ה = 5 - =736

regarding the... woman Concerning her divorce.-[Tanchuma Tzav 13]

for he had married a Cushite woman What does this [apparently superfluous clause] mean to say? You find a woman who is beautiful in appearance, but unpleasant in deed; [or a woman who is pleasant] in deed, but not of beautiful appearance. This one, however, was pleasant in every respect. [Therefore, she was called Cushite, as above.] - [Tanchuma Tzav 13]

Cushite woman She was called “the Cushite” [the Ethiopian] on account of her beauty, as a man would call his handsome son “Cushite” to negate the power of the evil eye.- [Tanchuma Tzav 13]

for he had married a Cushite woman And had now divorced her. - [Tanchuma Tzav 13]

2 Has... only with Him alone?-[Tanchuma Tzav 13]

Hasn’t He spoken to us too? Yet we have not abstained from marital relations.-[Tanchuma Tzav 13]

3 humble Modest and patient.- [Tanchuma Tzav 13]

4 suddenly He revealed Himself to them suddenly, when they were ritually unclean following marital relations, and they cried, “Water, water!” [They needed water to purify themselves.] He thus showed them that Moses had done right in separating from his wife, since the Divine Presence revealed itself to him frequently, and there was no set time for Divine Communication.-[Tanchuma Tzav 13]

Go out, all three of you This teaches us that all three were summoned with a single word, something impossible for the [human] mouth to utter and the ear to grasp.-[Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:42:4]

5 in a pillar of cloud Unlike a mortal, He went alone. For when a mortal king goes out to war, he departs accompanied by a large retinue, but when he travels in times of peace, he leaves with a small escort. But the custom of the Holy One, blessed is He, is that He goes out to battle alone, as it says, “[The Lord is] a man of war” (Exod. 15:3), but He goes in peace with a large retinue, as it says, “The chariot of God is twice ten thousand times, thousands of angels” (Ps. 68:18). -[Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:42:5]

He called to Aaron and Miriam So that they should proceed to leave the courtyard, [drawn] towards the Divine word.- [Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:42:5] and they both went out Why did He draw them away to isolate them from Moses? Because we relate only some of a person’s good qualities in his presence and all of them in his absence. Similarly, we find in the case of Noah, that in his absence, Scripture says [of him], “a righteous man, perfect” (Gen. 6:9). But in his presence it was said [by God], “for it is you that I have seen as a righteous man before Me” (Gen. 7:1) [but God makes no mention of his perfection]. Another interpretation: [God isolated them from Moses] so that he [Moses] should not hear the reprimanding of Aaron [by God]. -[Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:42:5]

6 Please listen to My words [The term] נָא always denotes a request. - [Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:42:6]

If there be prophets among you If you have prophets....-[Targum Onkelos]

[I] the Lord will make Myself known to him in a vision The Divine Presence of My Name is not revealed to him with distinct clarity, but in a dream or a vision. - [Tanchuma Tzav 13]

8 Mouth to mouth I told him to separate from his wife (Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:42:8, Tanchuma Tzav 13). Where did I tell him this? At Sinai; “Go and tell them, ‘Return to your tents,’ but you, remain here with Me” (Deut. 5:27). -[See Shab. 87a]

in a vision but not in riddles -"A vision" refers to the vision of speech, for I express My communication to Him with absolute clarity, and I do not obscure it with riddles in the way it was said to Ezekiel, “Present a riddle” (Ezek. 17:2). I might think that it refers to the vision of the Divine Presence [itself]! Scripture therefore teaches, “You are not able to see My face” (Exod. 33:23). -[Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:42:8, Tanchuma Tzav 13]

and He beholds the image of the Lord This refers to a vision of the “back,” as it says, “and you will see My back” (Exod. 33:23). -[Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:42:8, Tanchuma Tzav 13]

against my servant Moses Heb. בְּעַבְדִי בְמשֶׁה , lit., against My servant, against Moses. Scripture does not say בְּעַבְדִי משֶׁה , against My servant Moses, but בְּעַבְדִי בְמשֶׁה , against My servant, against Moses. [The meaning is thus:] against My servant even if he were not Moses, and against Moses, even if he were not My servant, you should certainly have feared him, and all the more so since he is My servant, and the servant of the king is a king himself! You should have said, “The King does not love him for nothing.” If you claim that I am unaware of his actions, this [statement] is worse than your previous one.- [Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:42:8, Tanchuma Tzav 13]

9 The wrath of the Lord flared against them and He left After He had informed them of their transgression, He issued a decree of excommunication against them. All the more so, should a mortal not become angry with his friend before he informs him of his offense.-[Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:42:9, Tanchuma Tzav 13]

10 The cloud departed and afterwards, “behold Miriam was afflicted with tzara’ath, [as white] as snow.” This is comparable to a king who said to a tutor, “Punish my son, but do not punish him until I leave you, for I feel pity for him.”-[Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:42:10, Tanchuma Tzav 13]

11 for acting foolishly Heb. נוֹאַלְנוּ , as the Targum [Onkelos] renders, [ דִי אִטַפְּשְׁנָא , that we acted foolishly] from the term, אֱוִיל , “fool.”

12 Do not let her be This sister of ours.

like the dead For the one afflicted with tzara’ath is considered like dead. Just as a corpse defiles through entry [if one enters the room where it lies], so does one afflicted with tzara’ath defile through entry.-[Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:42:12, Tanchuma Tzav 13]

which comes out of his mother’s womb It should have said, "our mother"? But Scripture euphemizes. Similarly, [it says,] “half his flesh.” It should have said, "half our flesh"? But [here too,] Scripture euphemizes. [The meaning here is:] For since she came out of our mother’s womb, it is to us as if half our flesh has been eaten away. This is similar to saying, “for he is our brother, our very flesh” (Gen. 37:27). Even according to the literal meaning of the text, it appears so. It is not proper for a brother to allow his sister to remain as if dead.

which comes out Since he [the dead one] came out of the womb of the mother of the one who has the power to help him but does not, it is as if half his [the latter’s] flesh is eaten away, since his brother is his own flesh. Another interpretation: Let her not be like the dead—If You do not heal her through prayer, who will confine her? Who will cleanse her? I myself may not examine her, since I am related, and a relative many not examine plague marks [symptomatic of tzara’ath], and there is no other kohen in the world. This is the meaning of, “since he has come out of his mother’s womb.” [Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:42:12, Tanchuma Tzav 13]

13 I beseech you, God, please heal her Scripture teaches you proper conduct, that if one asks his friend for a favor, he should precede [his request] with two or three words of supplication, and only then should he make his requests.-[Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:42:13, Tanchuma Tzav 13]

saying What does this [word] teach us? He [Moses] said to Him, Answer me as to whether You will heal her or not. Eventually, He replied, “If her father were to spit....” R. Eleazar ben Azariah says: In four places Moses asked the Holy One, blessed is He, to answer him if He would accede to his requests or not [and in all four he used the word, לֵאמֽר , to say, i.e., to answer]. Similarly, “Moses spoke before the Lord saying...” (Exod. 6:12). What does the word “saying” teach? Answer me as to whether You will redeem them or not. Eventually, He replied, “Now you will see...” (Exod. 7:1). Similarly, “Moses spoke to the Lord, saying, Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh appoint...” (Num. 27:15-16). He answered, “Take for yourself...” (verse 18). Similarly, “I pleaded to the Lord, at that time, saying” (Deut. 3:23). He answered him, “It is enough for you!” (verse 26). -[Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:42:13]

please heal her Why did Moses not pray at length? So that the Israelites should not say, “His sister is in distress, yet he stands and prolongs his prayer.” [Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:42:13, Tanchuma Tzav 13] (Another interpretation: So that Israel should not say, “ For his sister he prays at length, but for our sake he does not pray at length.”) -[Midrash Aggadah, Yalkut Shim’oni, Midrash Lekach Tov]

14 If her father were to spit in her face If her father had turned to her with an angry face, would she not be humiliated for seven days? All the more so in the case of the Divine Presence [she should be humiliated for] fourteen days! But [there is a rule that] it is sufficient that a law derived from an afortiori conclusion to be only as stringent as the law from which it is derived. Thus, even as a consequence of My reprimand, she should be confined [only] seven days.-[Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:42:14, B.K. 25a]

and afterwards she may enter I believe that when a derivative of the word אסף is used in reference to one afflicted with tzara’ath, it is related to his being expelled from the camp, and when he is healed, he is brought back (נֶאֶסָף) to the camp. That is why the term אָסִיפָה is used; it connotes bringing back in.-[See Rashi above on 11:30.]

15 the people did not travel This honor was accorded her by the Omnipresent because of the time she remained with Moses when he was cast into the river, as it says, “His sister stood by from afar to know what would be done to him” (Exod. 2:4). -[Sotah 9b]

Ketubim: Psalm 99:1-9

Rashi	Targum
1. The Lord has reigned, nations will quake; [before] Him Who dwells between the cherubim, the earth will falter.	1. The LORD reigns, the peoples will tremble; He whose presence abides among the cherubim will shake the earth.
2. The Lord is great in Zion, and He is high over all the peoples.	2. The LORD is great in Zion; and He is high over all the Gentiles.
3. They will acknowledge Your great and awesome name, [that] it is holy,	3. They will confess His name, great and fearful; He is holy.
4. And the might of the King who loves judgment; You founded equity; judgment and righteousness You made in Jacob.	4. And You love the strength of the king of justice; You have established integrity; You have made justice and righteousness/generosity in Jacob.
5. Exalt the Lord our God and prostrate yourselves to His footstool, it is holy.	5. Sing praise in the presence of the LORD our God, and bow down towards His sanctuary; he is holy.
6. Moses and Aaron among His priests, and Samuel among those who call in His name, would call out to the Lord, and He would answer them.	6. Moses and Aaron are among His priests who gave their life for the people of the LORD, and Samuel prayed for them before the LORD, like the fathers of old, who prayed in His name; they would pray in His presence and He would answer them.
7. In a pillar of cloud He would speak to them; they kept His testimonies and the statue He gave them.	7. In the pillar of glorious clouds He would speak with them; they kept the commandments of] his testimony, and the covenant that He gave to them.
8. O Lord, Our God, You answered them; You were a forgiving God for them but vengeful for their misdeeds.	8. O LORD our God, you answered them; you were a forgiving God for Your people for their sake, and take vengeance for their deeds.
9. Exalt the Lord our God and prostrate yourselves to the mount of His sanctuary, for the Lord our God is holy.	9. Sing praise in the presence of the LORD our God, and bow down towards the mount of His sanctuary, for the LORD our God is holy.

Rashi’s Commentary to Psalm 99:1-9

1 nations will quake [This] deals with the war of Gog and Magog. Then the nations will quake, as the matter that is said (Zech. 14:12): “And this shall be the plague, etc.”

will falter Heb. תנוט , an expression of (73:2): “my feet faltered (נטוי) .”

3 They will acknowledge Your name They will acknowledge the might of the King Who loves judgment.

4 and the might of the King Who loves judgment This refers back to the preceding verse.

You founded equity You founded compromise and peacemaking between persons, by Your statement (Exod. 23:5): “Should you see your enemy’s donkey lying etc.”; (ibid. verse 4), “Should you come upon Your enemy’s ox, etc.” Now who is it who sees his enemy being kind to him, whose heart will not be inspired to embrace him and kiss him? (Tanchuma).

7 In a pillar of cloud He would speak to them Even with Samuel. This is what is stated (I Sam. 9:11f.): “and they said to them, Is the seer here? and they answered them and said, He is (יֵש) .” You will see a cloud attached to his doorway, as Scripture says (Num. 9:20): “And sometimes the cloud would be...”

they kept His testimonies and the statute He gave them The statute that He gave them.

8 a forgiving God [Forgiving] the iniquity of Israel.

for them Heb. להם , for their sake.

but vengeful You were vengeful for their misdeeds: Moses and Aaron for “Hear now, you rebels!” As for Samuel, because he did not direct his sons in the good way, he died young.

9 for the Lord our God is holy because He is strict with the righteous/generous, He is sanctified in the world, and so He says (Exod. 29: 43): “and it will be sanctified with My glory,” meaning “with those glorified by Me.”

Meditation from the Psalms

Psalms 99:1-9

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

This psalm speaks of the future Day of Judgment, when G-d will call all of the depraved nations to task.^[1] The cataclysmic war of Gog and Magog will take place during this period of judgment and retribution.^[2] At that time, HaShem will establish His universal reign, unchallenged by any nation on earth.

Ibn Yachya explains that Moses dedicated this psalm to the tribe of Dan. Moses^[3] blessed Dan, saying: Dan is a young [and powerful] lion, who leaps up from Bashan,^[4] for when HaShem will reign, nations will tremble, and Dan will have the opportunity to conquer them in G-d's Name. The Targum explains this blessing for us:

Targum Pseudo Jonathan Devarim (Deuteronomy) 33:22 And Moshe the prophet of HaShem blessed the tribe of Dan, and said: The tribe of Dan is like a lion's whelp, his land is watered by the streams that flow from Mathnan, and his border comes unto Batania.

JERUSALEM: And Moshe the prophet of HaShem blessed the tribe of Dan, and said: The tribe of Dan is like a lion's whelp, and his land is watered from Batanea.

Let’s spend a bit of time exploring Dan and his tribe.

In Hebrew the name Dan is derived from the root din meaning judgment. This will provide some valuable clues to understanding this tribe. Yaaqov’s blessing, in Beresheet, as explained by the Targum, tells us flat out that a man from the tribe of Dan is to judge the tribes of Israel:

Targum Pseudo Jonathan for: Beresheet (Genesis) 49:16-18 16. From the house of Dan there is to arise a man who will judge his people with the judgment of truth. All the tribes of Israel will hearken to him together. JERUSALEM: DAN, He will be the deliverer who is to arise, strong will he be and elevated above all kingdoms.^[5]

17. A chosen man will arise from the house of Dan, like the basilisk which lies at the dividing of the way, and the serpent's head which lurks by the way, that bites the horse in his heel, and the master from his terror is thrown backward. Even thus will Shimshon bar Manovach slay all the heroes of Philistia, the horsemen and the foot; he will hamstring their horses and hurl their riders backwards.

JERUSALEM: And be will be like the serpent that lies in the way, and the basilisk which lurks at the dividing of the road, which strikes the horse in his heel, and thinks by the terror of him to throw his rider backward.

18. When Yaaqob saw Gideon bar Joash and Shimshon bar Manovach, who were established to be deliverers, he said, I expect not the salvation of Gideon, nor look I for the salvation of Shimshon; for their salvation will be the salvation of an hour; but for Your salvation have I waited, and will look for, O LORD; for Your salvation is the salvation of eternity.

JERUSALEM: He is Shimshon bar Manovach (Sampson), who will be a terror upon his adversaries, and a fear upon them that hate him, and who will slay kings with princes. Our father Yaaqob said, My soul has not waited for the redemption of Gideon bar Joash which is for an hour, nor for the redemption of Shimshon which is a creature redemption, but for the Redemption which You have said in Your Word will come for Your people the sons of Israel, for this Your Redemption my soul has waited.

Dan heads up three tribes just as Yehuda, Reuben, and Ephraim when they camped in the wilderness. Dan, Asher and Naphtali were in the north^[6] under Dan's banner.

Camping Order	Marching Order

This suggests that Dan has a leadership position. In the marching order Dan brings up the rear. He guards the rear of the Bne Israel from attacks. Marching last and camping in the north^[7] are the forces of Dan. Just as the north^[8] would later bring evil to Israel^[9], so too Dan's portion (in the northern part of Israel) would be a center for idolatry.^[10] Dan marched last because he had the power to retrieve those who had fallen outside the cloud.

Given that Dan is associated with justice, please remember that the primary job of a Jewish king is to provide justice! As the chief judge, a Jewish king is able to apply the death penalty without a Sanhedrin.^[11] He is able to pardon any crime. So it appears that Dan, as a judge applying justice – as his name implies, is in the same boat as the tribe of Yehuda. Samson, as a judge in Israel, is the classic example of the tribe of Dan providing justice for the Bne Israel. This emphasis on justice is prominent in our psalm:

Tehillim (Psalms) 99:4 The strength also of the king who loveth justice-- Thou hast established equity, Thou hast executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.

This focus on justice was also what inspired our psalmist when he reviewed our Torah portion. The selecting of the seventy elders was only for working with Moshe to provide justice for the people. In that future day of judgement we will all be able to stand up to HaShem’s justice thanks to the tribes of Yehuda and Dan.

Many synagogues have two lions embroidered on the curtains of their ark, and these same two lions can also be found on the covers of many Torah scrolls. Why?

The two artisans who oversaw the construction of the Mishkan^[12] are from Yehuda and Dan.^[13] They are: "Betzalel son of Uri son of Chur, of the tribe of Yehuda"^[14] and "Oholiav, son of Achisamach, of the tribe of Dan".^[15] Why did these two specific tribes, Yehuda and Dan, merit to construct the Mishkan?

Rashi addresses the question as well:

And Aholiav – he was of the tribe of Dan, of one of the lowest of the tribes, of the sons of the handmaids, and the Omnipresent placed him with regard to the work of the Mishkan on a level with Betzalel even though he was a member of one of the noble tribes in order to confirm what Scripture says: "He regards not the rich more than the poor".^[16]

According to this understanding, Betzalel and Aholiav were chosen as representatives of the entire people of Israel. This understanding emphasizes the attribution of the building of the Mishkan to all of Israel, expressing the fact that the Mishkan belongs to all of Israel.

This combination of Yehuda and Dan is also found in the construction of the Temple built by King Solomon, which is mentioned both in Kings and in Chronicles. Solomon is the son of David, from the tribe of Yehuda, and with him is the architect Chiram. While in Kings it says, "He was the son of a widowed woman from the tribe of Naphtali",^[17] in Chronicles it says:

Divrei HaYamim bet (II Chronicles) 2:13 The son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tzor, skillful to work in gold, and in silver, in brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson; also to engrave any manner of engraving, and to work all kinds of artistic work; to do whatever shall be put to him, with your skillful men, and with the skillful men of my lord David your father.

We find a parallel note in Melachim:

Melachim alef (I Kings) 7:13-14 And King Shlomo sent and fetched Chiram from Tzor. He was a widow's son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tzor, a worker in brass, and he was filled with wisdom, and understanding, and knowledge to work all works in brass. And he came to King Shlomo, and wrought all his work.

According to these two sources, the artist Chiram belonged to either the tribe of Dan or that of Naphtali, both the sons of Bilhah, of the inferior tribes, similar to what we saw in the case of the Mishkan.^[18]

R. Kasher brings a midrash from Beresheet Rabbati in his Torah Shelema:

Nor regards the rich more than the poor, for they are all the works of His hands.^[19] This teaches that the great and the small are equal before him. And with respect to the Temple,^[20] King Solomon was from Yehuda and Chiram was from Dan. And similarly regarding the Messiah: his father is from Yehuda and his mother is from Dan. Therefore, Yehuda and Dan are called lion cubs, for the Messiah will issue from the two of them.^[21]

According to this, there is another reason for the pairing of Yehuda and Dan; the Messiah will issue from these two tribes, and they therefore build the Mishkan, which will enable the perfection of the world.

In a manuscript of one of the Rishonim on the Torah, we read: And we know that for the building of the Mishkan two people were chosen, two tribes of Israel, from Yehuda and from Dan, the one likened to a lion cub, and the other to a serpent and a lion, teaching you how much the building of the Mishkan is likened to them. And also to allude to the attribute of mercy that is hinted at in the name Yehuda, and to the attribute of justice that is hinted at in the name of Dan.

We see that in the construction of both the Mishkan and the Temple the artisans were from the tribes of Yehuda and Dan. What is the significance of this?

Rashi in Divrei HaYamim (s.v. "ben isha") writes:

What need is there to provide lineage from which tribe his father and mother were? This is what it says: "Danani Elohim - G-d has judged me"^[22] and also: "Naftulei Elohim niftalti - Sacred schemes have I maneuvered”.^[23] Rachel said: ...

If Leah shall boast of Betzalel her descendant who will make the Mishkan, one of the descendants of Dan will have to participate in his work, as it says: "Oholiav, son of Achisamach, of the tribe of Dan". If Shlomo, the descendant of my sister, will build the Temple, the descendants of Dan and Naphtali will have to participate with him.

Here we uncover the reason why Oholiav, from the tribe of Dan, joined Betzalel, from the tribe of Yehuda. It is because Rachel demanded it. She saw through prophecy that Leah's descendant would construct the Mishkan and demanded that also one of her (servant's) descendants be among the artisans the Mishkan. However, it is still difficult, why was it so important for Rachel that one of her descendants should be among the artisans of the Mishkan?

In Beresheet (Genesis) 49, when Yaaqov Avinu blesses his sons he calls Yehuda: "A lion cub is Yehuda",^[24] whereas Dan he compares to: "A serpent on the highway".^[25] However, in Moshe's blessing to the tribes at the end of Devarim, Moshe compares Dan to a lion: "Dan is a lion cub".^[26] How did Dan transform from a serpent into a lion, in Moshe's blessing?

Perhaps we can explain that after the Mishkan was constructed, in which Dan participated along with Yehuda, he was transformed from a snake into a lion. This teaches us that whoever is involved with the construction of the Mishkan is rewarded by becoming a lion. This is also the reason why, in addition to the tribe of Yehuda, the tribe of Dan is also awarded to lead a banner in the travels in Sefer Bamidbar. After it participated in the construction of the Mishkan, it received the same power as the tribe of Yehuda and was allowed to head a banner.^[27] (Recall that we taught many weeks ago that when the urge to worship false gods was excised from the world, that what came out of the Kodesh Kodashim was a fiery lion. Thus we understand that the Beit HaMikdash is associated with a lion.)

Perhaps this is the meaning behind the lions that appear on the Aron Kodesh in synagogues. "A lion cub is Yehuda" and "Dan is a lion cub". This comes to teach that whoever is attached to holiness, and whoever builds the place of holiness, receives the power of the lion. The two lions that are on the curtain are the two powers of courage. The spiritual power of Yehuda and the physical power of Dan are what constructed the Mishkan and the Temple, and in the future they will bring Mashiach Ben David. May he arrive swiftly in our time, Amen v’Amen!

The tribe of Dan has an important part in the battle with Esav. The twelve months correspond to the twelve tribes and Tevet is the month associated with Dan. Based on the Zohar, the month of Tevet is the harshest of the three months associated with Esav. Therefore it is fitting that power of Kedusha of the month is Dan to overcome Esav, when his son kills Esav. In addition Esav is considered as coming from the north, and that is where Dan’s encampment was in the desert.^[28] In addition, when Amalek first attacks the Jewish people after leaving Egypt, the Pasuk says that they attacked those who were outside the clouds.^[29] These people are from Dan. This might be seen as a revenge for the killing of their ancestor.

Dan had a sapphire colored flag, with a picture of a serpent, alluding to how a descendant of Dan, Shimshon behaved in vengeance against the Pelishtim as related in the book of Shoftim.^[30]

Midrash Rabbah - Bamidbar (Numbers) II:7 Dan’s was jacinth and the color of his flag was similar to sapphire,[31] and embroidered on it was a serpent, in allusion to the text, Dan shall be a serpent in the way.^[32]

Dan was the firstborn of his mother Bilhah, Leah’s maidservant, and of Rachel.^[33] The Midrash tells us that for the Sake of Dan, Yosef and Benyamin were born.

Midrash Rabbah - Beresheet (Genesis) LXXIII:4 What did He remember in her favor? Her silence on her sister's behalf. When Leah was being given to him, she knew it, yet was silent. AND GOD REMEMBERED RACHEL: and this was but just, because she had brought her rival into her home.^[34] R. Huna and R. Aha in R. Simon's name quoted: Dan, Yoseph, and Benyamin (I Chron. II, 2). For the sake of Dan, Rachel was remembered, for the sake of Dan, Yoseph and Benyamin were born.^[35]

Esav was the grandfather of Amalek- the epitome of evil. When Amalek is removed from the world, then all wickedness will also be removed. That is why we are commanded to remember and not forget.^[36]

The tribe of Dan killed Esav.^[37] How did this happen? We turn to the well-known account of Yaaqov’s burial recorded for us in the Gemara,^[38] and find that it was none other than Chushim ben Dan who brought about Esau’s demise. The sons of Yaaqov arrived at Machpelah with Yaaqov’s body in hand, only to find Esav blocking the entrance and seeking proof of ownership. Known especially for his lightness of foot,^[39] the swift Naphtali was immediately dispatched to procure the deed proving Yaakov’s ownership of the final burial plot, from Egypt.

The deaf Chushim, however, was unaware of the discussion’s content. Parenthetically, perhaps we might suggest an interesting remez highlighting how the deafness of Chushim, the lone deaf individual in all of Tanach, is alluded to as part and parcel of his very name. In the Torah, the name Chushim is written without a “vav”: chet shin yud mem -חשים. Spelled backwards, the name consists of the two words, “Me - מי” and “sach -שח”. In Hebrew, “Me sach?” asks the question, “Who is speaking?” A question that a deaf person, in particular, is often compelled to wonder... Furthermore, the name Chushim is also the Hebrew word referring to the senses. Though there are five senses,^[40] Chushim ben Dan was missing one of them, the sense of sound. Any coincidence, therefore, that one of the five letters comprising his name would be noticeably absent, as the letter “vav” is dropped and Chushim’s name is spelled with only four letters, he did, after all, only possess four chushim…

Terribly perturbed by the disgrace to his grandfather’s body by having to wait out an unnecessary delay, Chushim thereupon grabs a staff and swings at Esau’s head, killing Esau instantly^[41] as his two eyes pop out^[42] and land on Yaaqov’s knees. It was thus Chushim who killed Esav as Yaaqov’s body was finally laid to rest alongside his righteous ancestors.^[43]

How fascinating indeed. Esav meets his downfall through the hands of Chushim, the sole child of Rachel’s son, Dan, the first one born to her through her maidservant, Bilhah.^[44] Chazal inform us repeatedly^[45] that Esav will fall via the hands of specifically Rachel’s descendants.^[46] The power of Esav in the world can only be destroyed by Yosef HaTsadiq and his scions; at times, even through the medium of the tribe of Benyamin, Rachel’s other natural son.^[47] It is Yehoshua from the tribe of Ephraim who will first wage war and emerge victorious against Amalek,^[48] and Mordechai^[49] and Esther from Binyamin^[50] who will later vanquish the nefarious Haman. But Yosef vs. Esav is not merely a physical battle, but a spiritual one as well, a ferocious attack on the depravity and inherent evil that Esav personified. Yehoshua, Mordechai, and Esther were all pivotal catalysts in helping rid the world of the malodorous remnants of Amalek’s wickedness.

Who, though, would actually kill the ancestor of this wickedness? None other than Chushim, the lone son of Rachel’s very first son, Dan.

Thus we see that justice comes to the world through the tribes of Yehuda and Dan. This is the justice spoken of in our psalm.

As an aside, the preamble to the American constitution tells us forth rightly that the primary purpose of our constitution is to provide justice:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Ashlamatah: Joel 2:16-24, 27

Rashi	Targum
15. Sound a shophar in Zion; proclaim a fast, call an assembly.	15. Blow the trumpet in Zion, decree a fast, proclaim an assembly.
16. Gather the people, prepare the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the infants and the sucklings; let a bridegroom come out of his chamber and a bride from her canopy.	16. Gather the people together, prepare the congregation, gather the elders together. Bring together the children and those who suck the breast; let the bridegroom go forth from his bedroom and the spouse from the bridal chamber.
17. Between the porch and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep, and let them say, "O Lord, have pity on Your people, and do not make Your heritage a derision, for nations to make them an example. Why should they say among the peoples, 'Where is their God?' "	17. Between the porch and the altar, let the prists who serve before the LORD weep, and say: “Spare Your people, O LORD and do not make Your inheritance a reproach to be ruled over by the Gentiles! Why should they say among the Gentiles: ‘Where are those who were redeemed by the Memra of their God?’”
18. And the Lord was zealous for His land, and He pitied His people.	18. Then the LORD spared His land and had compassion on His people.
19. And the Lord replied and said to His people: Behold I send you the corn, the must, and the oil, and you shall be sated by it, and I will no longer make you a derision among the nations.	19. And the LORD answered and said to His people: Behold I will bless for you grain, wine and oil, and you will be satisfied by them. Nevermore will I put on you the shame of hunger among the Gentiles.
20. And the northerner I will distance from you, and I will drive him to a land barren and desolate; its face to the eastern sea and its end to the western sea, and its stench shall ascend and its ill savor shall ascend, for it did great things.	20. I will remove the people who come from the north far from you, and I will drive them into a desolate and ruined land, their front to the eastern sea and their rear to the western sea; and the stench of them will go up and the foul smell of them will rise up. For they have done much evil.
21. Have no fear, O land; rejoice and jubilate, for the Lord has performed great things.	21. Do not be afraid, O land of Israel! Be glad and rejoice, for the LORD has multiplied blessings among you His people.
22. Fear not, O beasts of the field, for the dwelling places of the wilderness have become covered with grass, for the trees have borne their fruit, the fig tree and the vine have given forth their strength.	22. Do not be afraid O beasts of the field, for the habitations of the wilderness are wreathed with flowers, for the tree has produced its fruit, and the fig trees and vines have borne their fruit.
23. And the children of Zion, rejoice and jubilate with the Lord your God, for He gave you the teacher for justification, and He brought down for you rain, the early rain and the late rain in the first month.	23. O children of Zion be glad and rejouice in the Memra of the LORD your God! For He has given you back your teacher in righteousness/generosity, and he sends rain down for you, the early rain in its time and the late rain in the month of Nisan.
24. And the granaries shall be filled with grain, and the vats shall roar with must and oil.	24. The threshing floors will be full of grain, and vats will overflow with wine and presses with oil.
25. And I will repay you for the years that the increasing locust, the nibbling locust, the finishing locust, and the shearing locust have devoured-My great army, which I have sent against you.	25. And I will repay good years in place of the years in which you were pillaged by peoples, tongues, governments, and kingdoms, the great retribution of My army, which I sent against you.
26. And you shall eat, eating and being sated, and you shall praise the Name of the Lord your God, Who has performed wonders with you, and My people shall never be ashamed.	26. You will eat food and be satisfied, and will praise the name of the LORD your God, Who performed wonderful deeds with you; My people, the house of Israel, will be ashamed no more.
27. And you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and I am the Lord your God, there is no other; and My people shall never be ashamed.	27. And you will know that I have caused My Shekinah to dwell in the midst of the house of Israel. And I am the LORD your God, and there is no other; and My people, the house of Israel, will be ashamed no more.

Rashi’s Commentary on Joel 2:16-24, 27

16. assemble the elders Heb. קִבְצוּ. This is of the form of (I Kings 18:19) “Send and gather (קְבֹץ)for me,” an expression

17 a derision Heb. לְחֶרְפָּה for nations to make them an example Heb. לְמְשָׁל, an expression of, (Deut. 28:37) “for an example (מָשָל) and for a conversation piece.”

18 And the Lord was zealous for His land Heb. וַיְקַנֵּא, an expression similar to (Num. 11: 29) “Are you zealous (הַמְקַנֵּא) for me?” Their distress entered His heart, and He fought their battle and engaged in their necessities. Our Sages explain it as an expression of warning. He warned the locusts concerning His land. [from Sotah 3a]

19 derision Heb. חֶרְפָּה, a derision, that they will call you ill-provided.

20 And the northerner Heb. הַצְּפוֹנִי. This can be interpreted as referring to the host of locusts, upon which the expression, “and I will drive him to a land barren and desolate,” fits aptly. Another explanation: The people that come from the north, viz., the kings of Assyria. And our Sages (Sukkah 52a) state: This is the temptation, which is hidden (צָפוּן) in a person’s heart.

the western sea the eastern sea. And our Sages, who interpreted it [i.e., הַצְּפוֹנִי] as a reference to temptation, interpreted these two seas as the First Temple and the Second Temple. I.e, they explain הַקַּדְמוֹנִי as first and הָאַחֲרוֹן as last. And so they explained it: Because he directed his face toward the First Temple and the Second Temple and destroyed them. [God says: I will drive him out to a land barren and desolate, where he will find no one to incite. That will be because he set his sights for the First Temple and for the Second Temple and, because he incited the people to sin, they were destroyed. The two Temples, where everyone would gather during the three Pilgrimage Festivals, are symbolized by the sea, where water of the streams gather.] And, according to the Targum, who explains it as a reference to the king of Assyria, we must explain “his face to the eastern sea, and his end to the western sea” to mean that part of his army I will send to the east and part of it to the west.

its ill savor Heb. צַחֲנָתוֹ. The word בָאְשוֹ, its stench, indicates concerning that it is an expression of filth.

for it did great things -I.e, it did a great evil, for it stretched forth its hands upon the great.

21 Have no fear, O land -I.e, the land of Israel, when you repent.

23 the teacher for justification Heb. מוֹרֶה. Your prophets who teach you to return to Me, in order to justify you.

the early rain and the late rain. Heb. מוֹרֶה, like (Deut. 11:14) “the early rain (יוֹרֶה) and the late rain (וּמַלְקוֹֹש).”

in the first month -In Nissan. Although the early rain is the first rain, which falls on the seeds, and that is in Marcheshvan, that year they sowed in Nissan, as is explained in Tractate Taanith (5a) that the grain grew in eleven days.

24 shall roar Heb. וְהֵשִׁיקוּ, an expression of making noise when the stream runs down from the winepress into the vat (הַיֶקֶב), which is the pit before the winepress

Special Ashlamatah: Isaiah 49:14 – 51:3

Rashi	Targum
14. And Zion said, "The Lord has forsaken me, and the Lord has forgotten me."	14. Because Zion said, “The LORD has taken up His Shekhinah from me, the LORD has rejected me.”
15. Shall a woman forget her sucking child, from having mercy on the child of her womb? These too shall forget, but I will not forget you.	15. “Is it possible that a woman can forget her son, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even if these may forget, My Memra will not reject you.
16. Behold on [My] hands have I engraved you; your walls are before Me always.	16. Behold, as on hands you are portrayed before Me, your walls are continually before Me.
17. Your sons have hastened; those who destroy you and those who lay you waste shall go forth from you.	17. They hasten, they build your ruins, those who razed you and those who laid you waste go away from you into exile.”
18. Lift your eyes around and see, all of them have gathered, have come to you; as I live, says the Lord, that you shall wear all of them as jewelry, and you shall tie them as a bride.	18. “Lift up your eyes round about, O Jerusalem, and see all the sons of the people of your exiles: they gather, they come into your midst. As I live, says the LORD, all of them will be to you as a garment of glory, their deeds in your midst will be as the bride’s ornament.
19. For your ruins and your desolate places and your land that has been destroyed, for now you shall be crowded by the inhabitants, and those who would destroy you shall be far away.	19. Surely your waste and desolate places and your devastated land – surely now you will be too pressed for inhabitants, and those who annihilated you will be rejected.
20. Your children of whom you were bereaved shall yet say in your ears, "The place is too narrow for me; move over for me so that I will dwell."	20. From now on the sons of the people of your exiles will say, each one in your midst, ‘The place is too narrow for me; make room for me to dwell in.’
21. And you shall say to yourself, "Who begot these for me, seeing that I am bereaved and solitary, exiled and rejected, and who raised these? Behold I was left alone; these-[from] where are they?" {P}	21. Then you will say in your heart: ‘Who has brought me up these? I was bereaved and alone, exiled and cast out, but who has brought up these? Behold I was left alone, whence are these?’
22. So said the Lord God, "Behold I will raise My hand to the nations, and to the peoples will I raise My standard, and they shall bring your sons in their armpits, and your daughters shall be borne on their shoulder[s].	22. Thus says the LORD God: “Behold I will disclose My might among the peoples, and raise my signal over the kingdoms; and your sons will come in litters and your daughters will be carried on couches.
23. And kings shall be your nursing fathers and their princesses your wet nurses; they shall prostrate themselves to you with their face on the ground, and they shall lick the dust of your feet, and you shall know that I am the Lord, for those who wait for Me shall not be ashamed. {S}	23. Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens will minister to you. Upon their faces, upon the ground they will spread out to beseech from you, and lick the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD, the righteous/generous who wait for My salvation will not be put to shame.”
24. Shall prey be taken from a mighty warrior, or shall the captives of the righteous escape?" {S}	24. Is it possible that booty can be taken from the mighty, or that which virtuous men capture be rescued?
25. For so said the Lord, "Even the captives of a mighty warrior can be taken and the prey of a tyrant shall escape, and with your contender will I contend, and your sons I will save.	25. Surely, thus says the LORD: “Even that which mighty men capture I will restore, and that which strong men take away, I will rescue, for I will avenge your retribution and save your sons.
26. And those who taunt you-I will feed their flesh, and as with sweet wine they shall become drunk [from] their blood; and all flesh shall know that I am the Lord Who saves you, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. {S}	26. I will make the flesh of those who are your oppressors food for every bird of the heavens, and just as they are drunk with sweet wine, so will beasts of the field be drunk from their blood, Then all the sons of flesh will know that I am the LORD your Saviour, and your Redeemer, the Strong One of Jacob.”
1. So said the Lord, "Where is your mother's bill of divorce that I sent her away? Or, who is it of My creditors to whom I sold you? Behold for your iniquities you were sold, and for your transgressions your mother was sent away.	1. Thus says the LORD: “Where is the bill of divorce which I gave your congregation, that it is rejected? Or who had a debt against Me, to whom have I sold you? Behold for your sins you were sold, and for your apostasies your congregation was rejected.
2. Why have I come and there is no man? [Why] have I called and no one answers? Is My hand too short to redeem, or do I have no strength to save? Behold, with My rebuke I dry up the sea, I make rivers into a desert; their fish become foul because there is no water and die because of thirst.	2. Why, when I sent My prophets, did they not repent? When they prophesied, did they not listen? Is My might shrunk, that it cannot redeem? Or is there before Me no power to deliver? Behold, by My rebuke I will dry up the sea, I will make rivers a dessert; their fish will stink for lack of water, and die of thirst.
3. I clothe the heavens with darkness, and I make sackcloth their raiment. {P}	3. I will cover the heavens as with darkness, and make as sackcloth their covering.”
4. The Lord God gave me a tongue for teaching, to know to establish times for the faint [for His] word; He awakens me every morning, He awakens My ear, to hear according to the teachings.	4. The LORD God has given me the tongue of those who teach, to make [me] know [how] to teach with wisdom the righteous/generous who faint for the words of His Law. Therefore morning by morning He rises early to send His prophets so perhaps the sinners' ears might be opened and they might listen to teaching.
5. The Lord God opened my ear, and I did not rebel; I did not turn away backwards.	5. The LORD God has sent me to prophesy. and I was not rebellious, I turned not backward.
6. I gave my back to smiters and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair; I did not hide my face from embarrassments and spitting.	6. I gave my back to smiters, and my cheeks to them that pluck out the beard; I hid not my face from shame and spitting.
7. But the Lord God helps me, therefore, I was not embarrassed; therefore, I made my face like flint, and I knew that I would not be ashamed.	7. For the LORD God helps me; therefore I have not been confounded; therefore I have set my face strong like rock, and I know that I will not be put to shame;
8. He Who vindicates me is near, whoever wishes to quarrel with me-let us stand together; whoever is my contender shall approach me.	8. my innocence is near. Who will go to judgment with me? Let us stand up together. Who is my enemy? Let him come near to me.
9. Behold, the Lord God shall help he that will condemn me, behold all of them shall wear out like a garment, a moth shall consume them. {S}	9. Behold, the LORD God helps me; who will declare me a sinner? Behold, all of them are like the garment that wears out. that the moth eats.
10. Who among you is God-fearing, who hearkens to the voice of His servant, who went in darkness and who has no light, let him trust in the name of the Lord and lean on his God. {S}	10. Who among you of those who fear the LORD obeys the voice of His servants the prophets, who performs the Law in distress as a man who walks in the darkness and has no light, trusts in the name of the LORD and relies upon the salvation of his God?
11. Behold all of you who kindle fire, who give power to flames; go in the flame of your fire, and in the flames you have kindled; from My hand has this come to you, in grief you shall lie down. {S}	11. Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who grasp a sword! Go, fall in the fire which you kindled and on the sword which you grasped! This you have from My Memra: you shall return to your stumbling.
1. Hearken to Me, you pursuers of righteousness, you seekers of the Lord; look at the rock whence you were hewn and at the hole of the pit whence you were dug.	1. "Attend to My Memra, you who pursue the truth, you who seek teaching from the LORD; consider that as the hewn stone from the rock you were hewn and as the rubble from an empty pit you were hacked.
2. Look at Abraham your father and at Sarah who bore you, for when he was but one I called him, and I blessed him and made him many.	2. Consider Abraham your father and Sarah who was pregnant with you; for when Abraham was but one, single in the world. I brought him near to My service, and I blessed him and made him many.
3. For the Lord shall console Zion, He shall console all its ruins, and He shall make its desert like a paradise and its wasteland like the garden of the Lord; joy and happiness shall be found therein, thanksgiving and a voice of song. {S}	3. For the LORD is about to comfort Zion and to comfort all her waste places, and He will make her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness will be found in her, those offering thanksgiving and the voice of those singing.

Rashi’s Commentary on Isaiah 49:14 – 51:3

14 And Zion said She thought that I had forgotten her.

15 Shall a woman forget her sucking child Heb. עוּלָהּ, similar to עוֹלֵל.

from having mercy on the child of her womb Heb. מֵרֶחֶם בֶּן־בִּטְנָהּ.

These too shall forget Even if these forget, I will not forget you.

16 Behold on [My] hands Heb. עַל־כַּפַּיִם [lit. on hands]. I see you as though you are engraved on My hands, to see you and always to remember you. Another explanation is: עַל־כַּפַּיִם “from upon the clouds of glory.” Comp. (Job 36:32) “On the clouds (כַּפַּיִם) He covered the rain.”

17 Your sons have hastened to return.

19 you shall be crowded by the inhabitants You shall be crowded by the multitude of inhabitants that shall come into your midst. The place shall be too narrow for them to build houses for themselves.

20 Your children of whom you were bereaved [lit. the children of your bereavements.] The children of whom you were bereaved.

move over for me [lit. approach for me.] Draw closer to another side for me, and I will dwell.

21 and solitary solede in O.F.

rejected Rejected by everyone. All say about me, “Turn away from her.”

22 My hand...My standard A signal to bring the exiles.

a standard Perka in O.F., [perche in modern French,] a pole. Comp. (supra 30:17) “And like a flagpole (וְכַנֵּס) on a hill.” It is a signal for gathering, and they place a cloth [a flag] on the end of it.

in their armpits Ajjsela [aisela] in O. F., [aisselle in modern French]. Comp. Ezra (Neh. 5:13): “Also I shook out my armpit (חָצְנִי).”

24 Shall prey be taken from a mighty warrior You think that it is impossible to take from Esau those captured from Jacob the righteous one.

25 and with your contender Heb. יְרִיבֵךְ. And with your contender I will contend.

26 And those who taunt you I will feed their flesh to the beasts of the field. The word מוֹנַיִךְ is an expression akin to (Lev. 25:14) “You shall not taunt (אַל תּוֹנוּ).” This denotes taunting with words, those who anger you with their revilings.

and as with sweet wine Heb. וְכֶעָסִיס. The sweetness of wine.

they shall become drunk [from] their blood So shall those accustomed to drink blood become drunk from their blood. Now who are they? These are the fowl of the heavens. So did Jonathan render this.

Chapter 50

2 Why have I come to draw near to you, and none of you turns to Me?

3 I clothe the heavens The host of the heavens, the princes of the heathens (nations [Mss. and K’li Paz]), when I come to mete out retribution upon the nations.

4 gave me a tongue for teaching Isaiah was saying, The Lord sent me and gave me a tongue fit to teach, in order to know to establish a time for the faint and thirsty to hear the words of the Holy One, blessed be He.

to establish times Heb. לָעוּת. Menahem classified it in the group of (Ps. 119: 126) “It is time (עֵת) to do for the Lord.” To establish times for them.

He awakens my ear He awakens my ear with His Holy Spirit.

to hear according to the teachings According to the custom of the teachings, the truth and that which is proper.

5 opened my ear and let me hear (supra 6:8), “Whom shall I send?” I sent Amos, and they called him ‘pesilus.’ I sent Micah, etc., as is stated in Pesikta of ‘Nachamu nachamu.’

and I did not rebel going on His mission, neither did I turn away backwards, but I said, “Here I am; send me” (ibid.).

6 I gave my back to smiters He said to me, Isaiah, My children are obstinate; My children are bothersome. [You may go] on the condition that you do not become angry with them. I said to Him, On that condition.

7 But the Lord God helps me if they rise up against me.

8 He Who vindicates me is near The Holy One, blessed be He, is near to me to vindicate me in judgment.

9 a moth Heb. עָשׁ, the worm of the clothing.

10 to the voice of His servant To the voice of the prophets.

who went in darkness Even if trouble comes upon him, let him trust in the name of the Lord, for He shall save him.

11 Behold all of you who do not hearken to the voice of His prophets.

who kindle fire of His wrath upon yourselves.

and give power to flames Who strengthen the flames; they are sparks and burning coals that are cast up with a slingshot. It has a cognate in the Aramaic tongue, זִיקוּקִין דְּנוּר, flames of fire (Ber. 58b), so many slingers (זִיקָתָא) are assigned to us (Baba Mezia 94a) [frondeles in O.F., sling].

go in the flame of your fire According to your way, you will be punished.

from My hand shall this retribution come to you.

Chapter 51

1 look at the rock whence you were hewn from it.

and at the hole of the pit Heb. מַקֶּבֶת. With which they penetrate (נוֹקְבִין) and hew the pits.

you were dug with which you were dug.

you were dug Heb. נֻקַּרְתֶּם, an expression similar to (Ex. 33.22) “The cleft (נִקְרַת) of the rock”; (Prov. 30: 17) “The ravens of the brook shall pick it (יִקְּרוּהָ).” And who is the rock? He is Abraham your forefather. And who is the hole? She is Sarah who bore you. [תְּחוֹלֶלְכֶם means] ‘who bore you,’ an expression similar to (infra 66:8) “For Zion experienced pangs (חָלָה) and also bore.”

2 who bore you Heb. תְּחוֹלֶלְכֶם [lit. shall bear you.]

for when he was but one I called him For he was one single person in the land of Canaan where I exiled him from his land and from his birthplace. I called him, meaning that I raised him and exalted him. An expression [similar to] (Num. 1:16) “Those called of (קְרִיאֵי) the congregation.” And just as he was a single person and I exalted him, so will I exalt you, who are singled out to Me.

3 I clothe the heavens The host of the heavens, the princes of the heathens (nations [Mss. and K’li Paz]), when I come to mete out retribution upon the nations.

Pirqe Abot – MeAm Lo’ez

Pereq Dalet

Mishnah 4:3

By: Rabbi Yitschaq (ben Mosheh) Magriso

He used to say: Do not despise any man, and do not disregard anything. For there is no man who does not have [his] hour, and there is no thing that does not have [its] place.

Ben Azzai further advises that you should never denigrate or underestimate any man, even though he may be the lowest of the low. There is no person in the world who does not have his hour. Therefore, a time may come when you will need this person, and he will have ample opportunity to take revenge.

Also, do not be too certain that something is unlikely to happen. If you are warned to avoid something because it is dangerous, do not disregard the warning and say that the danger is remote and unlikely to happen. Nothing in the world is impossible. Therefore, think of the danger as being probable, and keep up your guard against it.

Verbal Tallies

By: HH Rosh Paqid Adon Hillel ben David

& HH Giberet Dr. Elisheba bat Sarah

Bamidbar (Numbers) 11:16 – 12:16

Yoel (Joel) 2:16-24, 27

Tehillim (Psalms) 99

Mk 10:46-52, Lk 18:45-53, Lk 19:1-10, Rm 2:25-29

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Psalm are:

LORD - יהוה, Strong’s number 03068.

Moses - משה, Strong’s number 04872.

People - עם, Strong’s number 05971.

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Ashlamata are:

LORD - יהוה, Strong’s number 03068.

Said / Say - אמר, Strong’s number 0559.

Gather - אסף, Strong’s number 0622.

Elders - זקן, Strong’s number 02205.

Israel - ישראל, Strong’s number 03478.

Knowest / Know - ידע, Strong’s number 03045.

People - עם, Strong’s number 05971.

Bamidbar (Numbers) 11:16 And the LORD <03068> said <0559> (8799) unto Moses <04872>, Gather <0622> (8798) unto me seventy <07657> men <0376> of the elders <02205> of Israel <03478>, whom thou knowest <03045> (8804) to be the elders <02205> of the people <05971>, and officers <07860> (8802) over them; and bring <03947> (8804) them unto the tabernacle <0168> of the congregation <04150>, that they may stand <03320> (8694) there with thee.

Tehillim (Psalms) 99:6 Moses <04872> and Aaron <0175> among his priests <03548>, and Samuel <08050> among them that call <07121> (8802) upon his name <08034>; they called <07121> (8802) upon the LORD <03068>, and he answered <06030> (8799) them.

Yoel (Joel) 2:16 Gather <0622> (8798) the people <05971>, sanctify <06942> (8761) the congregation <06951>, assemble <06908> (8798) the elders <02205>, gather <0622> (8798) the children <05768>, and those that suck <03243> (8802) the breasts <07699>: let the bridegroom <02860> go forth <03318> (8799) of his chamber <02315>, and the bride <03618> out of her closet <02646>.

Yoel (Joel) 2:17 Let the priests <03548>, the ministers <08334> (8764) of the LORD <03068>, weep <01058> (8799) between the porch <0197> and the altar <04196>, and let them say <0559> (8799), Spare <02347> (8798) thy people <05971>, O LORD <03068>, and give <05414> (8799) not thine heritage <05159> to reproach <02781>, that the heathen <01471> should rule over <04910> (8800) them: wherefore should they say <0559> (8799) among the people <05971>, Where is their God <0430>?

Yoel (Joel) 2:27 And ye shall know <03045> (8804) that I am in the midst <07130> of Israel <03478>, and that I am the LORD <03068> your God <0430>, and none else: and my people <05971> shall never <05769> be ashamed <0954> (8799).

Hebrew:

Hebrew	English	Torah Seder Num 11:16 – 12:16	Psalms Psa 99:1-9	Ashlamatah  Yoel 2:16-24, 27
hm'd'a]	earth	Num. 12:3		Joel 2:21
!Arh]a;	Aaron	Num. 12:1 Num. 12:4 Num. 12:5 Num. 12:10 Num. 12:11	Ps. 99:6
lae	God	Num. 12:13	Ps. 99:8
~yhil{a/	GOD		Ps. 99:5 Ps. 99:8 Ps. 99:9	Joel 2:17 Joel 2:23 Joel 2:27
rm;a'	said	Num. 11:16 Num. 11:18 Num. 11:20 Num. 11:21 Num. 11:23 Num. 11:27 Num. 11:28 Num. 11:29 Num. 12:2 Num. 12:4 Num. 12:6 Num. 12:11 Num. 12:13 Num. 12:14		Joel 2:17 Joel 2:19
@s;a'	Gather	Num. 11:16 Num. 11:22 Num. 11:24 Num. 11:30 Num. 11:32 Num. 12:14 Num. 12:15		Joel 2:16
#r,a,	earth, ground, land	Num. 11:31	Ps. 99:1	Joel 2:18 Joel 2:20
!yIB;	between	Num. 11:33		Joel 2:17
hk'B'	wept, cry, weep	Num. 11:18 Num. 11:20		Joel 2:17
!Be	son	Num. 11:28		Joel 2:23
rb;D'	speak, say spoke	Num. 11:17 Num. 11:24 Num. 11:25 Num. 12:1 Num. 12:2 Num. 12:6 Num. 12:8	Ps. 99:7
hy"h'	becomes	Num. 11:20 Num. 11:25 Num. 11:35	Ps. 99:8
hNEhi	behold	Num. 12:10		Joel 2:19
!qez"	old, elders	Num. 11:16 Num. 11:24 Num. 11:25 Num. 11:30		Joel 2:16
hwhy	LORD	Num. 11:16 Num. 11:18 Num. 11:20 Num. 11:23 Num. 11:24 Num. 11:25 Num. 11:29 Num. 11:31 Num. 11:33 Num. 12:2 Num. 12:4 Num. 12:5 Num. 12:6 Num. 12:8 Num. 12:9 Num. 12:13 Num. 12:14	Ps. 99:1 Ps. 99:2 Ps. 99:5 Ps. 99:6 Ps. 99:8 Ps. 99:9	Joel 2:17 Joel 2:18 Joel 2:19 Joel 2:21 Joel 2:23 Joel 2:27
~y"	sea	Num. 11:22 Num. 11:31		Joel 2:20
ac'y"	come out	Num. 11:20 Num. 11:24 Num. 11:26 Num. 12:4 Num. 12:5 Num. 12:12		Joel 2:16
dr;y"	come, came, poured	Num. 11:17 Num. 11:25 Num. 12:5		Joel 2:23
laer'f.yI	Israel	Num. 11:16 Num. 11:30		Joel 2:27
!heKo	priest		Ps. 99:6	Joel 2:17
lKo	all, whole, entire, every	Num. 11:22 Num. 11:29 Num. 11:32 Num. 12:3 Num. 12:7	Ps. 99:2
aol	nor, no	Num. 11:19		Joel 2:19 Joel 2:27
hm'	what, why	Num. 11:20		Joel 2:17
hv,m	Moses	Num. 11:16 Num. 11:21 Num. 11:23 Num. 11:24 Num. 11:27 Num. 11:28 Num. 11:29 Num. 11:30 Num. 12:1 Num. 12:2 Num. 12:3 Num. 12:4 Num. 12:7 Num. 12:8 Num. 12:11 Num. 12:13 Num. 12:14	Ps. 99:6
af'n"	bear, avenger	Num. 11:17	Ps. 99:8	Joel 2:22
!t;n"	give, given	Num. 11:18 Num. 11:21 Num. 11:25 Num. 11:29	Ps. 99:7	Joel 2:17 Joel 2:19 Joel 2:22 Joel 2:23
dA[	still, yet	Num. 11:33		Joel 2:19 Joel 2:27
l[;	beside	Num. 11:31 Num. 12:1 Num. 12:10	Ps. 99:2
dWM[;	pillar	Num. 12:5	Ps. 99:7
!n"['	cloud	Num. 11:25 Num. 12:5 Num. 12:10	Ps. 99:7
~ynIP'	before, face	Num. 11:20 Num. 11:31 Num. 12:3 Num. 12:14		Joel 2:20
hq'd'c.	righteousness		Ps. 99:4	Joel 2:23
!AYci	Zion		Ps. 99:2	Joel 2:23
vd;q'	consecrate	Num. 11:18		Joel 2:16
an"q'	jealous, zealous	Num. 11:29		Joel 2:18
ar'q'	called	Num. 11:34 Num. 12:5	Ps. 99:6
~ve	name	Num. 11:26 Num. 11:34	Ps. 99:3 Ps. 99:6
tr;v'	attendant, ministers	Num. 11:28		Joel 2:17
arey"	fear, afraid	Num. 12:8	Ps. 99:3	Joel 2:21 Joel 2:22
rB'd>mi	wilderness	Num. 12:16		Joel 2:22
~[;	people	Num. 11:16 Num. 11:17 Num. 11:18 Num. 11:21 Num. 11:24 Num. 11:29 Num. 11:32 Num. 11:33 Num. 11:34 Num. 11:35 Num. 12:15 Num. 12:16	Ps. 99:1 Ps. 99:2	Joel 2:16 Joel 2:17 Joel 2:18 Joel 2:19 Joel 2:27
hn"['	answered	Num. 11:28	Ps. 99:6 Ps. 99:8	Joel 2:19
hf'['	executed, done		Ps. 99:4	Joel 2:20 Joel 2:21

Greek:

Greek	English	Torah Seder Num 11:16 – 12:16	Psalms Psa 99:1-9	Ashlamatah Yoel 2:16-24, 27	Peshat Mk/Jude/Pet Mk 10:46-52	Remes 1 Luke Lk 18:45-53 Lk 19:1-10	Remes 2 Acts/Romans Rm 2:25-29
ἄγω	lead, leading	Num 11:16				Lk. 18:40
ἀκολουθέω	followed				Mk. 10:52	Lk. 18:43
ἀκούω	hear, heard	Num 12:2 Num 12:6			Mk. 10:47	Lk. 18:36
ἀναβαίνω	ascend			Joe 2:20		Lk. 19:4
ἀναβλέπω	sight				Mk. 10:51 Mk. 10:52	Lk. 18:41 Lk. 18:42 Lk. 18:43 Lk. 19:5
ἀνήρ	man, men	Num 11:16 Num 11:24 Num 11:25 Num 11:26				Lk. 19:2 Lk. 19:7
ἄνθρωπος	man, men	Num 12:3				Lk. 19:10	Rom. 2:29
ἀπαγγέλλω	report	Num 11:27				Lk. 18:37
ἀποκρίνομαι	answered	Num. 11:28		Joel 2:19	Mk. 10:51
βοάω	yelled out	Num 12:13				Lk. 18:38
δίδωμι	give, gave	Num. 11:18 Num. 11:21 Num. 11:25 Num. 11:29	Ps. 99:7	Joel 2:17 Joel 2:19 Joel 2:22 Joel 2:23		Lk. 18:43 Lk. 19:8
εἰσέρχομαι	enter	Num 12:14				Lk. 19:1 Lk. 19:7
ἐκπορεύομαι	go forth	Num 12:12			Mk. 10:46
ἐλεέω	mercy				Mk. 10:47 Mk. 10:48	Lk. 18:38 Lk. 18:39
ἔμπροσθεν	in front of, ahead			Joe 2:23		Lk. 19:4
ἐπιτίθημι	place	Num 11:17 Num 11:25
ἐπιτιμάω	reproached				Mk. 10:48	Lk. 18:39
ἔρχομαι	came, come	Num. 11:17 Num. 11:25 Num. 12:5		Joel 2:23	Mk. 10:46 Mk. 10:50	Lk. 19:5 Lk. 19:10
εὐθύς	straight				Mk. 10:52
ἥμισυ	half	Num 12:12				Lk. 19:8
θαρσέω	courage			Joe 2:21 Joe 2:22	Mk. 10:49
θέλω / ἐθέλω	want				Mk. 10:51	Lk. 18:41
θεός	GOD	Num 12:13	Ps. 99:5 Ps. 99:8 Ps. 99:9	Joel 2:17 Joel 2:23 Joel 2:27		Lk. 18:43	Rom. 2:29
ἰδού	behold	Num 12:10		Joe 2:19		Lk. 19:2 Lk. 19:8
Ihsou	Jesus				Mk. 10:47 Mk. 10:49 Mk. 10:50 Mk. 10:51 Mk. 10:52	Lk. 18:37 Lk. 18:38 Lk. 18:40 Lk. 18:42 Lk. 19:3 Lk. 19:5 Lk. 19:9
ἵστημι	stand	Num 11:16 Num 11:24 Num 12:5			Mk. 10:49	Lk. 18:40 Lk. 19:8
κάθημαι	sit down		Psa 99:1		Mk. 10:46	Lk. 18:35
καθότι	that	Num 12:11				Lk. 19:9
καλέω	called	Num 11:34 Num 12:5				Lk. 19:2
καταβαίνω	come down, go down	Num 11:17 Num 11:25 Num 12:5				Lk. 19:5 Lk. 19:6
κύριος	LORD	Num. 11:16 Num. 11:18 Num. 11:20 Num. 11:23 Num. 11:24 Num. 11:25 Num. 11:29 Num. 11:31 Num. 11:33 Num. 12:2 Num. 12:4 Num. 12:5 Num. 12:6 Num. 12:8 Num. 12:9 Num. 12:13 Num. 12:14	Ps. 99:1 Ps. 99:2 Ps. 99:5 Ps. 99:6 Ps. 99:8 Ps. 99:9	Joel 2:17 Joel 2:18 Joel 2:19 Joel 2:21 Joel 2:23 Joel 2:27		Lk. 18:41 Lk. 19:8
λαός	people	Num. 11:16 Num. 11:17 Num. 11:18 Num. 11:21 Num. 11:24 Num. 11:29 Num. 11:32 Num. 11:33 Num. 11:34 Num. 11:35 Num. 12:15 Num. 12:16	Ps. 99:1 Ps. 99:2	Joel 2:16 Joel 2:17 Joel 2:18 Joel 2:19 Joel 2:27		Lk. 18:43
λέγω	saying	Num 11:18 Num 11:20 Num 11:27 Num 12:13			Mk. 10:47 Mk. 10:49 Mk. 10:51 Mk. 10:52	Lk. 18:38 Lk. 18:41 Lk. 18:42 Lk. 19:5 Lk. 19:7 Lk. 19:8 Lk. 19:9
μᾶλλον	rather				Mk. 10:48	Lk. 18:39
ὁδός	journey, way	Num 11:31			Mk. 10:46 Mk. 10:52	Lk. 18:35
οἶκος	houses	Num 12:7				Lk. 19:5 Lk. 19:9
ὄνομα	name	Num. 11:26 Num. 11:34	Ps. 99:3 Ps. 99:6			Lk. 19:2
ocloj	multitude				Mk. 10:46	Lk. 18:36 Lk. 19:3
παραχρῆμα	immediately	Num 12:4				Lk. 18:43
πᾶς	all, every, whole, entire	Num. 11:22 Num. 11:29 Num. 11:32 Num. 12:3 Num. 12:7	Ps. 99:2			Lk. 18:43 Lk. 19:7
pistiς	faith				Mk. 10:52	Lk. 18:42
πνεῦμα	spirit, wind	Num 11:17 Num 11:25 Num 11:26 Num 11:29 Num 11:31					Rom. 2:29
ποιέω	did, do, make		Ps. 99:4	Joel 2:20 Joel 2:21	Mk. 10:51	Lk. 18:41
πολύς / πολλός	many, much				Mk. 10:48	Lk. 18:39
σάρξ	flesh	Num 12:12					Rom. 2:28
σώζω	well				Mk. 10:52	Lk. 18:42 Lk. 19:10
τόπος	place	Num 11:34				Lk. 19:5
ikano,	blind				Mk. 10:46 Mk. 10:49 Mk. 10:51	Lk. 18:35
υἱός	son				Mk. 10:46 Mk. 10:47 Mk. 10:48	Lk. 18:38 Lk. 18:39 Lk. 19:9 Lk. 19:10
φυλάσσω	guard		Psa 99:7				Rom. 2:26
χαίρω	rejoice			Joe 2:21 Joe 2:23		Lk. 19:6
Dauid	David				Mk. 10:47 Mk. 10:48	Lk. 18:38 Lk. 18:39
Iericw,	Jericho				Mk. 10:46	Lk. 18:35 Lk. 19:1

Nazarean Talmud

Sidra of B’midbar (Numbers) 11:16 – 12:16

“Esfa Li” “Gather to me”

Shabbat “Nachamu II” – “Of Our Consolation II”

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

H. Em. Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

Hakham Shaul’s School of Tosefta Luqas (Lk) Mishnah א:א

Hakham Tsefet’s School of Peshat Mordechai (Mk) Mishnah א:א

Now it happened that as he drew near to Yericho, a certain blind man was sitting on the side of the road begging. And when he heard a congregation going by, he inquired what this meant. And they told him, “Yeshua HaNotsri (the Branch Davidic) is passing by.” And he called out, saying, “Yeshua, Ben David, show me chesed!” And those who were in front rebuked him, that he should be silent, but he cried out even more loudly, “Son of David, show me chesed!” So Yeshua stopped and ordered him to be brought to him. And when he approached, he asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And he said, “Master, that I may regain my sight. And Yeshua said to him, “Regain your sight! Your faithful obedience has saved you.” And immediately he regained his sight and began to follow him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God. ¶ And he entered and traveled through Yericho. And there was a man named Zakkai, and he was a chief tax collector, and he was wealthy. And he was wanting to see Yeshua—who he was—and he was not able to as a result of the congregation, because he was short in stature. And he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree so that he could see him, because he was going to go through that way. And when he came to the place, Yeshua looked up and said to him, “ Zakkai, come down immediately, because today it is necessary for me to make your house stand!” And he came down quickly and welcomed him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all began to complain, saying, “He has gone in to find lodging with a man who is a sinner!” And Zakkai stopped and said to the Master, “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I am giving to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone, I am paying it back four times as much!” And Yeshua said to him, “Today deliverance (Yeshua) has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man the Prophet) came to seek and to restore (rectify) those who are lost.”

And they came into Yericho. And as he (Yeshua) and his Talmidim were leaving Yericho a considerable congregation followed Yeshua and his talmidim and BarTemee the “son of honour/beauty,” a blind beggar, sat beside the road begging. And hearing that it was Yeshua HaNotsri^[51] (the Branch Davidic), he began to cry out and to say, Yeshua, son of David, have mercy on me! And many rebuked him to silence him. But he cried out much the more, son of David, have mercy on me! And Yeshua stopped, and called for him. And they called the blind man, saying to him, Be comforted, rise up, he (Yeshua) is calling you. And casting aside his blanket, jumping up, he came to Yeshua. And answering, Yeshua said to him, What do you want me to do for you? And the blind one said to him, My Rabbi (Hakham), I want to see again. And Yeshua said to him, go the way of the Torah, your faithful obedience to the Torah has healed you. And instantly he saw again, and followed Yeshua in the way of Torah.

Hakham Shaul’s School of Remes

Romans:

Mishnah א:א

¶ For indeed circumcision (becoming Jewish, i.e. through conversion) is of value if you are shomer^[52] Shabbat (keep, guard - shomer the mitzvoth and follow halakhah of the Hakhamim and Bate Din); but if you (intentionally) violate^[53] the Torah; your conversion (circumcision) is as if you never experienced conversion. Therefore, if a man, who has not experienced conversion, follows the justice (just requirements) of the Torah, will not his lack of having experienced conversion (uncircumcision) be as if he experienced a measure of conversion (circumcision)? And he who physically lacks circumcision (not yet a convert),^[54] and keeps the Torah, will not his faithful obedience be a testimony (judgment) against you who now possesses the Written Torah and are now a convert but remain one who (intentionally) transgress the Torah? For no one is Jewish by mere appearance and being circumcised in his flesh.^[55] Being Jewish is an inward matter of the heart (mind); by the ruach – (Nefesh Yehudi), not simply possessing an Igeret (Letter) of Conversion (Gerut); and his approbation is not from men, but from God.

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

Num 11:16 – 12:16

Ps 99

Yoel 2:16-24, 27

Mk 10:46-52

Lk 18:35-43; Lk 19:1-10

Rm 2:25-29

Commentary to Hakham Tsefet’s School of Peshat

Our Torah Seder tells us that G-d was going to take some of the ruach that Moshe possessed and place it upon the Elders of Yisrael. (B’Midbar 11:16-12:16) Both Rashi and Rabbi Yitzchak Magriso elaborate on this event. However, the names of the Elders elected to the Sanhedrin remain unknown except for two men, Eldad and Medad. According to Rashi and Rabbi Yitzchak Magriso these men did not think they were worthy of a leadership occupation. However, G-d finds these men so worthy of their place of leadership that their names are eternally recorded in His Torah.

As Yeshua and his Talmidim pass along the road, which leads from Yericho to Yerushalayim they encounter a blind beggar by the road. Hakham Tsefet gives us his name so that we will realize there is something that we must learn from this man’s experiences. Like Eldad and Medad, his name is written as a witness to his faithfulness to Torah. In varied places, we are given the names of characters within the narrative. Here we realize that there is something of value in the name “BarTemee.”

BarTemee means “son of honour/beauty.”^[56] The translators of the LXX suggest several possible parallels for the Greek word τιμὴ - timeh.

Two lexically related words are Hod and Kavod, which demonstrate that BarTemee is the “son” “bar of honor.” This is the most likely interpretation of the word τιμὴ - timeh. However, we should note that τιμὴ - timeh is also associated with the idea of beauty. This takes on a special connotation when we look at the Torah Seder.

Numbers 12:1 Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses regarding the Cushite woman he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman.

Note Rashi’s commentary on this verse…

the Cushite woman [Moses’ wife was a Midianite, not a Cushite, but] Scripture teaches that everyone acknowledged her beauty just as everyone acknowledges a Cushite’s blackness.-[Tanchuma Tzav 13]

Cushite - כֻּשִׁית . Its numerical value is equal to יְפַתמַרְאֶה , beautiful in appearance.-[Tanchuma Tzav 13] כ = 20 י = 10 ו = 6 פ = 80 ש = =300 ת =400 י = 10 מ = 40 ת = 400 ר =200 736 א = 1 ה = 5 - =736

for he had married a Cushite woman What does this [apparently superfluous clause] mean to say? You find a woman who is beautiful in appearance, but unpleasant in deed; [or a woman who is pleasant] in deed, but not of beautiful appearance. This one, however, was pleasant in every respect. [Therefore, she was called Cushite, as above.] - [Tanchuma Tzav

Moshe marries a woman of honor and beauty. Rashi relates this in the final comment on this verse. Consequently, Hakham Tsefet looks to the Torah Seder and seeing the Cushite woman of beauty he remembers the Yericho incident and tells the story of BarTemee. Therefore, Hakham Tsefet venerates BarTemee “son of honour/beauty” because of his great Torah observance. BarTemee had confidence in the agent of G-d to have his need met. This testimony was the opposite of the B’ne Yisrael who did not trust Moshe or G-d suggesting that neither G-d nor Moshe could fulfill their requests.

Megilah 4:6 A minor reads in the Torah and translates. But he does not recite the Shema, pass before the ark, or raise his hands [in the priestly benediction]. He who is wearing ragged clothing recites the Shema and translates, but he does not read in the Torah, pass before the ark, or raise his hands. A blind man recites the Shema and translates. R. Judah says, “Whoever in his entire life has never seen light does not recite the Shema.”

Yeshua stopped. Why does Yeshua stop and call for BarTemee? Those who trust in the Torah and G-d move Yeshua to compassion. We have a similar case in the 4^th Chapter of Mordechai where the woman with the issue of blood reaches out and touches Yeshua’s Talit. When the woman has touched his Talit Yeshua stops to see who touched him. Likewise, Yeshua says that she is rewarded for her Torah faithfulness.

The blind beggar relates to Yeshua as “My Rabbi.” This is interesting and tells us that Yeshua must have frequented towns and villages regularly to teach and instruct them in halakhah. Yericho was no different from many other places. Actually, Yericho may have been a place where the Sages regularly met.^[57] Like the other sages, Yeshua came here and taught frequently. Yericho could easily have been a place where he regularly visited on his pilgrimages to Yerushalayim. This would have placed Yeshua in Yericho three times a year at minimum. If we look at the pilgrimages to Yerushalayim Yeshua may have visited Yericho even more frequently than that. If he visited going up to Yerushalayim and descending, he would have visited at least twelve times a year. At the time when the educational system of the Kallah (Jewish Educational Yeshivot of the first century and later) existed we can see that Yeshua may have had regular students in Yericho. We have stated in the past that the West Jordan valley was a path that the pilgrims followed rather than pass directly through Samaritan territory.

The beauty of this Mishnah is that we come to an understanding that those who have some sort of physical defect are still bound by the Torah, mitzvoth and halakhah.

Commentary to Hakham Shaul’s School of Remes

Textual analysis

Before we delve into the allegorical meaning and connections of the Romans pericope, we need to clarify some textual issues first. Discussion from v 26-27 deals with those who are converts or even possibly recent converts. Verses 28-29 deal with the value of being Jewish, and what that really means.

We must never tire of hearing the words that the Remes text is allegorical, and that we must not read these words in a strict Peshat (literal) sense. We must pay special attention to the conjunction in our pericope. The repeated phrase “if” or “as if” permeates the pericope. This is much like the previous pericope where we saw the same sentence structure. The phrase “If you claim to be Jewish” now turns to the question of circumcision. If you are “circumcised” then the Torah is of great value to you. If you are a Gentile, who does not have any reverential fear of G-d, the Torah and the idea of circumcision is of little value. Again, one MUST read these words allegorically. Failure to be Shomer Shabbat is “AS IF” your conversion was pointless. But, IF someone has not converted i.e. being circumcised, and follows the Torah it is “AS IF” he has already converted. These conditional phrases are allegorical comparative expressions. Therefore, the conditional paragraphs must be read as such.

The question of IF cannot apply to the Jewish people. Why? Jewish circumcision is a covenantal rite that takes place on the 8^th day. There is no question about “being circumcised.” This covenantal rite introduces the Jewish child to the covenant by means of G-d’s command. Here the allegory fails because the soul born Jewish IS shomer Shabbat, faithfully obedient to the Torah.

The question and allegory does not suggest that the Jewish people are any way removed from the covenant if there is a failure to keep a particular mitzvah or follow a particular halakhic practice. In the first century, there was a wide verity of Jewish sects and groups.^[58] All of the sects and groups had their own practices and kept the mitzvoth is differing ways. Therefore, Hakham Shaul is not suggesting the Gentiles do not need to be circumcised. Actually, Hakham Shaul is pointing out that there is great value in circumcision (conversion) and that it is not a matter to be taken lightly.

Verses 28-29 show that there is more to being Jewish than a simple mark in the flesh. Circumcision is a ritual act. As a ritual act, it is a covenantal sign that one has entered into Covenant with G-d. However, a mere removal of a physical portion of skin is not a guarantee that the circumcised Gentile will follow the Torah and or obey the mitzvoth. “For no one is Jewish by mere appearance and being circumcised in his flesh.” The word that we have translated as “appearance” is φανερός – phaneros in Greek. Θανερός – phaneros means to “manifest” or “outward expression.” Therefore, the “manifestation” of an authentic conversion is not simply being circumcised or being called a Jew. Furthermore, those who believed that they were “Jewish” before their conversion are badly mistaken. One may see that his or her eventual destiny will lead them to becoming Jewish. But, one is not Jewish until he or she has been deemed so by a Bet Din. How does Hakham Shaul deal with this thought? Being Jewish is an inward matter of the heart (mind); by the ruach – (Nefesh Yehudi), not simply possessing an Igeret (Letter) of Conversion (Gerut). Only a man or a woman going through conversion obtains a judgment through a Bet Din, and therefore it is said to have received his approbation from God.

Ephesians, An Ecclesiastical Commentary to Romans and the Counting of the Omer

Having now begun the 2^nd week of Nahamu (comfort/strengthening) Hakham Shaul allows us to have a brief picture of the coming focus of Gentile submission to the Nazarean Bate Din. This week’s connection points to the second officer of the congregation, i.e. the Chazan/Sh'liach. We will see in the coming weeks Hakham Shaul’s deep understanding of the Torah calendar. This week’s association with the Chazan, the disciplinary agent of the congregation is found in the word “circumcision.”

Romans 13: Therefore, whoever resists the authority of the Bet Din resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment (of the heavens) upon themselves. For the Rulers of the Synagogue^[59] are not a terror to good works (acts of righteousness/generosity i.e. positive commandments), but to (those who do) evil. Do you want to (be) irreverent to the authority of the Bet Din? Do what is beneficial, and you will have approbation from the same. For he (the Chazan)^[60] is God's servant to you for what is beneficial. But if you do that which is unprofitable, be afraid; for he (the Chazan)^[61] does not bear the circumcision knife^[62] in vain; for he is God's minister (Deputy of the Bet Din), avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject (obey), not only because of wrath but also for conscience's sake.

Note the connection with the office of the Chazan and conversion, i.e. “circumcision.” We will find this idea to be the theme of Hakham Shaul’s Igeret to the Romans. When the present pericope of our Torah Seder weighs against the above-cited verse, we can see exactly what Hakham Shaul is saying. Furthermore, we will note that the idea of “justification by faith” is a fabricated Lutheran myth.^[63]

Likewise, we understand that Hakham Shaul’s letter to the “Ephesians” serves as a commentary to Romans particularly on the issue of the Counting of the Omer. The Igeret to the Ephesians is a more detailed Ecclesiological manual, which deals with Gentile subservience to the Bate Din and Hakhamim in detail.

Ephesians 2:11-12 Therefore remember, at that time you, were Gentiles by birth, who are called uncircumcision by those who are called circumcision, which refers to what Royal men do to their bodies;^[64] and that at one time you were without Messiah, being aliens^[65] from the legal administration of Jewish life,^[66] and strangers^[67] from the covenants of the promise,^[68] having no hope, and without God and in union with the worldly system.

Note the connection to “circumcision,” the legal administration of Jewish life and the connection to the Covenant of the Torah. We can insert other examples from the 2^nd week of the Counting of the Omer, but we have already cited sufficient evidence to show…

1. Ephesians serves as a commentary to Romans particularly on the issue of the Counting of the Omer (49 days).
2. Hakham Shaul deals with this Congregational Ecclesiology and materials here in these seven weeks of Nahamu (i.e. 49 days)

Therefore, for the congregation to be strengthened and comforted they must support and develop good Paqidim.

Questions for Understanding and Reflection

1. From all the readings for this Shabbat which verse or verses impressed your heart and fired your imagination?
2. Taking into consideration all the readings for this Shabbat what is the prophetic statement for this week?

Blessing After Torah Study

Barúch Atáh Adonai, Elohénu Meléch HaOlám,

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

Barúch Atáh Adonái, Notén HaToráh. Amen!

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

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

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

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

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

Next Shabbat:

Shabbat: “Sh’lach-L’kha Anashim” – “Send you men”

& Shabbat Mevar’chim HaChodesh Elul

Sabbath of the Proclamation of the New Moon of Ellul

(Evening Monday 25^th of August – Evening Wednesday 27^th of August)

Shabbat “Nachamu III” – “Of Our Consolation III”

Third of Seven Sabbaths of Consolation/Strengthening

Shabbat	Torah Reading:	Weekday Torah Reading:
שְׁלַח-לְךָ אֲנָשִׁים		Saturday Afternoon
“Sh’lach-L’kha Anashim”	Reader 1 – B’Midbar 13:1-3	Reader 1 – B’Midbar 14:11-14
“Send you men”	Reader 2 – B’Midbar 13:4-16	Reader 2 – B’Midbar 14:15-20
“Envía tú hombres”	Reader 3 – B’Midbar 13:17-20	Reader 3 – B’Midbar 14:11-20
B’Midbar (Num.) 13:1 – 14:10 B’Midbar (Num.) 28:9-15	Reader 4 – B’Midbar 13:21-24
Ashlamatah: Joshua 2:1-9, 23-24	Reader 5 – B’Midbar 13:25-27	Monday & Thursday Mornings
Special: Isaiah 49:14 – 51:3 1 Sam. 20:18, 42	Reader 6 – B’Midbar 13:28-33	Reader 1 – B’Midbar 14:11-14
Psalm 100:1-5	Reader 7 – B’Midbar 14:1-10	Reader 2 – B’Midbar 14:15-20
	Maftir – B’Midbar 28:9-15	Reader 3 – B’Midbar 14:11-20
N.C.: Mk 11:1-11; Lk 19:28-44 Rm 3:1-8	Isaiah 49:14 – 51:3 1 Sam. 20:18, 42

Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David

Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham

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[1] Sforno. It is worth noting that after the period of judgment and retribution, the words of our special Ashlamata will also come to pass: Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 51:3 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.

[2] Rashi; Radak

[3] Moses is our verbal tally with the Torah portion: Moses - משה, Strong’s number 04872. Moses, as the lawgiver, was the king who provided justice for his people.

[4] Devarim (Deuteronomy) 33:22

[5] Rashi, on Beresheet (Genesis) 49:16 tells us that Dan is connected with Yehuda: like one, the tribes of Israel All Israel will be like one with him, and he will avenge them all. Concerning Samson he uttered this prophecy. We can also explain יִשְׂרָאֵל כְּאַחַד שִׁבְטֵי [as follows]: like the special one of the tribes, namely David, who came from Judah.-[From Targum Onkelos, Sotah 10a, Gen. Rabbah 99:11]

[6] "He will slaughter it at the northern side of the Altar before Hashem." (Vayikra 1:11) Based on this, the Mishna teaches, "the holiest offerings are slaughtered in the north ... and their blood is received in vessels in the north." (Zevachim 5:1) What special quality does the north have that enables the holiest sacrifices to be prepared there to be burnt-offerings? Chazal teach us in many midrashic statements that the north symbolizes the evil that exists in the world.

[7] The North is the source of the bad and evil because there dwells darkness, there dwells the attribute of the left, of Gevurah, of justice. Therefore, the sin of the golden calf also came from the northern left, as the Ramban writes, "In the vision of the chariot [of Yehezekel] it says, 'an ox's face to the left". The category of damages, "ox", comes from the "sitra" (side) of the left and of justice. It is on the north in Yehezekel’s vision, and it stands at the root of the sin of the golden calf.

[8] Jeremiah 1:14 HaShem said to me, From the North the evil will be released upon all the inhabitants of the land.

[9] Yirmiyahu 1:14

[10] Melachim alef (I Kings) 12:29

[11] Uriah the Hittite was given a death sentence for disobeying a direct order of the king in Shmuel beit (II Samuel) 11:6-15.

[12] Mishkan = Tabernacle in the wilderness in the Days of Moshe.

[13] Dan is the first son of Bilhah. She is the Pilegesh of Rachel. In the writings of the ARIZ”L she is referred to as the אחוריים of Rachel, a subsidiary aspect of Rachel. And that is why Yaaqov moves his bed into her tent when Rachel dies. So her children are part of the family of Rachel. This is clear in the Pesukim since Rachel says that Bilhah’s children will be mine. Since it is brought down that the children of Esav will fall at the hands of the descendants of Rachel, Dan is included in that ability, of which this is the ma’aseh Avot (the Patriarchs were the pattern that Israel would follow later on in the same pattern). This is another aspect that connects Dan as a part of Mashiach ben Yosef whose responsibility is to overcome Esav.

[14] Shemot (Exodus) 35:30

[15] Shemot (Exodus) 35:34

[16] Iyov (Job) 34:19; Shemot (Exodus) 35:34

[17] Melachim alef (I Kings) 7:14

[18] This is noted explicitly in Midrash Tanchuma, Parashat Ki-Tisa, #13.

[19] Iyov (Job) 34:19

[20] Mikdash = Temple

[21] Shemot (Exodus) 31:3, no. 14

[22] Beresheet (Genesis) 30:6

[23] Beresheet (Genesis) 30:8

[24] Beresheet (Genesis) 49:9 - Yaaqov conferred the blessing of "lion" upon Yehuda for two reasons: That just as the lion is "king of the beasts", so too would Yehuda rule over the Jewish people, and that Yehuda should be blessed with the courage of the lion. - Rashi ad loc.

[25] Beresheet (Genesis) 49:17. Curiously, The gematria of the Hebrew word for Mashiach משיח is the same as that for the Hebrew word for serpent נחש (Nachash) = 358. This gives us another connection between the tribe of Dan and the Mashiach. The holy power of Dan reflects a spark of Mashiach. In the Zohar we are taught that the commander-in-chief of the army of Mashiach will come from the tribe of Dan.

[26] Devarim (Deuteronomy) 33:22 - Rashi explains that both these tribes needed additional bravery because of their geographic location. Gad's portion was on the east bank of the Jordan and therefore exposed to invasion. Dan's portion was situated on the sea shore and exposed to piracy. - Rashi ad loc.

[27] See Ibn Ezra

[28] Bamidbar (Numbers) 2:25

[29] In their interpretation of the pasuk, “And they trailed the weak ones behind you” (Devarim 25:18), Chazal explain: “[This refers to] the tribe of Dan, who were expelled from the cloud because they were all idol worshipers.”(Yalkut Shimoni 938.) Rav Dessler explained, “The fact that the cloud had expelled them was not obvious from the outside, but rather within their hearts; for they lacked the sense of distinction from the ways of the nations, the ways of the material world.” (Michtav Mei-Eliyahu, vol. 2, p. 267. Further quotes regarding the low stature of the tribe of Dan, and particularly its attachment to idolatry, can be found there and in the book of Rav Shlomo Fisher, shlita, Beit Yishai, vol. 1, p. 243.) The Midrash further explains: ‘Lest there is among you a man…or family or tribe (The only tribe that contained a single family was the tribe of Dan – “And the sons of Dan – Chushim” (Beresheet 46:23). This is why a Haftarah writes that Manoach was “from the family of Dan,” and not “from the tribe of Dan.” Similarly, the midrash interprets the Torah’s reference to “a family or tribe” as implying the tribe of Dan.) whose heart turns today away from HaShem our God…to go and serve the gods of the nations’ (Devarim 29:17) – this refers to the tribe of Dan, in which the idol of Micha stood.”(Sifre, Devarim 29:17.)

[30] Sotah 9-10

[31] Rad.; they were the great merchants and seafaring traders; v. Rashi on Beresheet (Genesis) 49:13.

[32] Beresheet (Genesis) 49:17

[33] Barren Rachel wished to at least build a family through her maidservant Bilhah. The first child born to Bilhah, the extension of her mistress, Rachel, was Dan; in a certain sense, therefore, Dan was the firstborn child of Rachel.

[34] E.J.: hence G-D (ELOHIM) REMEMBERED RACHEL-i.e. in pursuance of judgment and justice. ' Rival ' probably refers to Bilhah, as in the next passage.

[35] I.e. as a reward for bringing a rival into her house by giving Bilhah, her maid, to Yaakov, from whom was born Dan; cf. G supra, 71:7 ad fin.

[36] On Shabbat Zachor – just before Purim.

[37] see Tosafot, Gittin 55b

[38] See also Pirke d’R’ Eliezer, end of chapter 39, and Targum Yonatan ben Uziel, parshat Vayechi, 50:13.

[39] “Naphtali ayalah shelucha” (Vayechi, 49:21)- he is likened to a hind let loose. See also Targum Yonatan ben Uziel on 50:13 (and see Targum V’Aggadah Bo (Shinan), p. 143).

[40] While scientists discuss the notion of perhaps nine or more senses—see, especially, John Lloyd and John Mitchinson’s The Book of General Ignorance, pp. 38-39—they could certainly be linked to the primary five delineated by Aristotle and earlier mentioned throughout Chazal.

[41] See R’ Chaim Shmuelevitz’s Sichos Mussar (5731- ma’amar 32; 5733- ma’amar 6), where he also addresses the question of why it was specifically Chushim ben Dan who stepped forth to kill Esav.

[42] How fascinating that Chushim’s own renowned descendant, Samson, also had his eyes poked out around the time of his demise-- there is definitely what to consider…

[43] See, however, Midrash Shochar Tov, 18:32, which writes of Yehuda killing Esav (and see the Maharal’s related comments in his Chiddushei Aggadot (Sotah), vol. 2, p. 53). Tosafot in Gittin (55b- “Bi’Yehuda”) cite a Yerushalmi (Kethuboth, 1:5) and a Sifre that both state clearly that it was Yehuda who killed Esav. See especially the Shita Mekubetzes on Kethuboth 7b, quoting the Talmidei Rabbeinu Yonah. See also the Midrash Tanchuma, beginning of parshat Vayishlach, and the comments of the Meshech Chachma on Vayishlach, 32:6 (second piece). (Parenthetically, see the related remarks of the Meshach Chachma, parshat Emor, 22:28.) To reconcile the conflicting accounts, Tosafot suggest that perhaps Chushim struck Esav first but failed to deal him a fatal blow; Yehuda then stepped in to finish the job. According to this explanation, Yehuda and Dan thus worked together just as they were prepared to destroy Mitzrayim working side by side. Regarding the combined koach of Yehuda with the b’nei Rachel to defeat Am Yisroel’s enemies, see especially R’ Dovid Cohen’s (Chevron) Yi’mei HaPurim, ma’amar 23, pp. 165-166.

[44] Bilhah’s sons would forever be regarded as the sons of Rachel for Bilhah herself was merely considered a part of, an extension of, Rachel Imainu. Bilhah and Zilpah are therefore not listed together with the Imahot (see Brachot16b); they are part and parcel of Rachel and Leah respectively— see Pri Tzaddik, vol. 3, parshat Behar, #9.

[45] Beresheet Rabba, 75:5, 99:2; Yalkut Shimoni, end of Ki Teitzei; Yalkut Shimoni, Sefer Shoftim (5:51); Pesikta Rabbati, #12. (See, however, the terminology in Bava Batra 123b.)

[46] For various reasons why this is so, see again the midrashim referenced in the previous footnote, and see the Tzeida L’Derech’s commentary on Rashi to 30:25. See, as well, the Chida’s related remarks in his He’Elam Davar, #111 (and his Rosh David, parshat Vayeishev), and see Midbar Ki’deimos, ma’areches “gimmel,” #1. See also: Parshat Derachim, drush 26; R’ Yehonatan Eibshitz’s Ya’aros Devash, cheilek 1, drush 3 and drush 5, and cheilek 2, drush 2; R’ Dovid Tebel’s Nachalas Dovid, Drashos, #5; and R’ Tzaddok HaKohen’s Kometz HaMinchah, #58 (pp.52-53). See also the Meshech Chachma’s explanation appearing in his commentary on Vayishlach, 32:6 (concerning the Midrash Tanchuma). In addition, see R’ David Cohen’s (Chevron) Yi’mei HaPurim, ma’amar 23, p. 158. See also R’ Avraham Rivlin’s elaboration on the matter in his HaSetarim B’Esther, pp. 279-326, and see the remarks of R’ E. E. Kowalsky appearing in his father’s work, Nechamas Shalom, vol. 2, pp. 376-379. See also the Ozhrover Rebbe’s Be’er Moshe, Vayeitzei, pp. 608-609. Lastly, see the fascinating remez cited in Chaim shel Torah, parshat Vayeitzei, pp. 170-171.

[47] See especially the remarks of the Maharal in his Ohr Chadash, 2:7, regarding Esau’s downfall through the tribe of Binyamin, and see the Rama MiPhano’s Asarah Ma’amaros, Ma’amar Chikur Din (section 3, chapter 4). See also Likutei Torah (Arizal), parshat Vayigash (44:20). In addition, see Drashot Rabbeinu Yosef Mi’Slutzk, p. 178. See also the Torah journal, Kol HaTorah, vol. 52 (Nissan, 5762), p. 257. In addition, see R’ Y. M. Stern’s Otzar HaYedi’os, vol. 1, p. 215, quoting the Amudei Ohr’s remarks on Tehillim, 80:3.

[48] See also the brief remark of R’ R. Margoliyos in his Nitzutzei Ohr, Megilla 2a.

[49] See B’nei Yissaschar, Ma’amarei Chodesh Adar, ma’amar 5, #15.

[50] Let us not forget that it was in the hands of Shaul HaMelech, a descendant from the tribe of Binyamin, to completely rid the world of Amalek as well. Regarding Shaul’s tikkun of the damage inflicted by the sar of Esav, see the comments of the Arizal in Likutei Torah (Shmuel I, chapter 10), and in Sefer HaLikutim (Shmuel I, 21:9). See also R’ Y. M. Zilber’sBi’Yam Derech, Sefer Shemos, ma’amar 45 (p. 212).

[51] There is a great deal of controversy concerning the title “Nazareth” as the place where Yeshua “grew up” or resided during his early years. Nazareth is not mentioned in any Jewish literature i.e. Mishnah, Talmud, Midrash or Josephus. The etymology of the word seems to be related to the idea that Messiah would be from the stock or “branch” of David. Further research shows that נָצַר also means to guard or watch. Therefore, it is suggested that the “City of Branches” or the “City of “Guardians” or “City of Watchmen” is Tzfat. Consequently, this would make Tzfat the actual place of Yeshua’s early residence. This interpretation seems to be more in line with the thought of Yeshua being from the “branch” of Jessie (Davidic stock). Given the Remes interpretation of the present materials we would suggest that Yeshua was the “guardian, watchman of the “soul,” “Oral Torah,” “Wisdom” – Hokhmah and Tzfat was the “secret garden” or “garden of secrets” (So’od).

[52] To guard, to watch, keep watch

[53] Usually it just means “one who stands besides,” “companion,” “comrade,” “helper.”

[54] It would appear the text is implying that this person (Gentile) is in the process of conversion.

[55] “Outwardly” Mere circumcision does not make a “convert” Jewish. Therefore, simple circumcision is not a sign that a Gentile is a true convert. This differs in the Jewish person who is circumcised covenantaly on the eighth days.

[56] Marcus, J. (2009), The Anchor Yale Bible: Mark 8-16, New Haven, Con. :Yale University Press, see also Vincent Taylor, The Gospel according to Mark, The Greek Text with Introduction Notes, and Indexes, MacMillan & Co, 1955 p.447ff

[57] Cf. Sanhedrin 11a, Sotah 48b, Berakhot 37a

[58] Neusner, Jacob. First-Century Judaism in Crisis: Yohanan Ben Zakkai and the Renaissance of Torah. Augmented ed. New York: Ktav Pub. House, 1982. p.39

[59] Corresponding to 1^st Hakham, 2^nd Hakham and Apostle 3^rd of the bench of three - Chokhmah, Bina and Da’at

[60] The Mohel (circumciser) like the Chazan (cantor) embody the aspirations and authority of the local congregation and the Bet Din. (Jewish court of authority)

[61] Connected with the concept of Yir’ah, the fear of G-d. The ministry of the Sheliach – Chazan – Bishop

[62] Here when everything is contextualized we can understand the meaning of these verses. The Jewish authorities hold in their power the ability to allow or prohibit circumcision, acceptance of gentile conversion. Interestingly enough the Greek μάχαιραν holds the idea of some sort of contention. This is not always the case with the μάχαιραν, however in our present case the μάχαιραν is the judgment for or against conversion. The servant who holds the circumcision knife is the final word on ritual circumcision and conversion.

[63] Here we are referring to Martin Luther” the so-called “great reformer” and the Lutheran Church and its antinomian doctrine.

[64] The usual translation “made in the flesh by hands” seems to imply certain negativity. The translation “what Royal men do to their bodies” shows spiritual conduct. The allegorical meaning is that “circumcision” is a picture of control over the appetites of the “flesh.” This allegorical phrase also refers to the control of the sexual appetite bringing the sexual union into spiritual connection with G-d. “Circumcision” is also an allegorical phrase with the intended meaning of being “Torah Observant.” This allegorical thought shows that the Torah is the “modus operandi” for controlling the Yetser HaRa, the “evil inclination.” Therefore, we should not look at “circumcision” as a negative statement. Furthermore, we should now understand that circumcision is indicative of full conversion to Judaism, not some convoluted version of Christianity. Consequently the notion of “uncircumcision” means those who do not have a covenantal relationship with G-d and secondly, those who have not turned to the Torah as a means of controlling the “flesh”/Yetser HaRa.

[65] It is noteworthy to mention that the “alien” mind is in direct opposition against the Torah, as a way of life. And this is the mission of two-thirds of the shedim / fallen angels. Therefore, the darkened mind refers to those Gentiles who are either simply ignorant of the Torah as a way of life. And, those who are vehemently opposed to it because of their “unyielding obstinacy of mind.” To be “alien” is to be morally bereft of all sensible mores. The depth of this statement is only understood from a Hebraic mindset. To be כָּרַת “cut off” means completely estranged from G-d’s presence and protection. Those who were “cut off” while traveling through the wilderness were subjected to every evil influence, without G-d’s protection or chesed/grace. Therefore, this is a crime of excommunication by Divine Decree. cf. Eph. 4:18 below

[66] cf. Strong’s G4174 #1 (TDNT 6:516)

[67] ξένοι from ξένος means a stranger who is permitted within the country but has not rights except what he might have agreed to as a treaty, per se. Here we see that idea of the Ger HaSha’ar (Stranger of the Gate). It would appear that the School of Shammai allowed the Gentiles to become “strangers of the gate” but would not allow the Gentile full conversion. Yeshua, a representative from the House of Hillel rescinded these dogmas allowing the Gentile the ability to become a full proselyte.

[68] Many Christian authors stumble over this phrase trying to understand the plurality of “covenants.” They fail to realize that the “covenants” are plural because the Covenant is ever changing. While they have been established on firm foundations we must realize that G-d has repeatedly updated the covenant on many occasions. However, the Gentile was never able to join in the benefits of the covenant/s because he was estranged from G-d “ἄθεοι” and subordinate to the worldly system.