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

 

 

Candle Lighting and Habdalah Times:

 

Amarillo, TX, U.S. Fri. Aug 05 2016 – Candles at 8:28 PM Sat. Aug 06 2016 – Habdalah 9:26 PM	Austin & Conroe, TX, U.S. Fri. Aug 05 2016 – Candles at 8:03 PM Sat. Aug 06 2016 – Habdalah 8:59 PM	Brisbane, Australia Fri. Aug 05 2016 – Candles at 5:04 PM Sat. Aug 06 2016 – Habdalah 5:58 PM
Chattanooga, & Cleveland, TN, U.S. Fri. Aug 05 2016 – Candles at 8:22 PM Sat. Aug 06 2016 – Habdalah 9:20 PM	Manila & Cebu, Philippines Fri. Aug 05 2016 – Candles at 6:06 PM Sat. Aug 06 2016 – Habdalah 6:57 PM	Miami, FL, U.S. Fri. Aug 05 2016 – Candles at 7:46 PM Sat. Aug 06 2016 – Habdalah 8:39 PM
Murray, KY, & Paris, TN. U.S. Fri. Aug 05 2016 – Candles at 7:37 PM Sat. Aug 06 2016 – Habdalah 8:36 PM	Olympia, WA, U.S. Fri. Aug 05 2016 – Candles at 8:20 PM Sat. Aug 06 2016 – Habdalah 9:28 PM	Port Orange, FL, U.S. Fri. Aug 05 2016 – Candles at 7:54 PM Sat. Aug 06 2016 – Habdalah 8:49 PM
San Antonio, TX, U.S. Fri. Aug 05 2016 – Candles at 8:05 PM Sat. Aug 06 2016 – Habdalah 9:00 PM	Sheboygan  & Manitowoc, WI, US Fri. Aug 05 2016 – Candles at 7:50 PM Sat. Aug 06 2016 – Habdalah 8:55 PM	Singapore, Singapore Fri. Aug 05 2016 – Candles at 6:58 PM Sat. Aug 06 2016 – Habdalah 7:47 PM
St. Louis, MO, U.S. Fri. Aug 05 2016 – Candles at 7:49 PM Sat. Aug 06 2016 – Habdalah 8:49 PM	Tacoma, WA, U.S. Fri. Aug 05 2016 – Candles at 8:18 PM Sat. Aug 06 2016 – Habdalah 9:27 PM

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

 

Roll of Honor:

 

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

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

His Honor Paqid Adon David ben Abraham

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

His Honor Paqid Adon Tsuriel ben Abraham and beloved wife HH Giberet Gibora bat Sarah

Her Excellency Giberet Sarai bat Sarah & beloved family

His Excellency Adon Barth Lindemann & beloved family

His Excellency Adon John Batchelor & beloved wife

Her Excellency Giberet Leah bat Sarah & beloved mother

Her Excellency Giberet Zahavah bat Sarah & beloved family

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

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

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

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

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

Her Excellency Giberet Jacquelyn Bennett

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

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

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

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

His Excellency Adon Brad Gaskill and beloved wife Cynthia Gaskill

His Excellency Adon Marvin Hyde

His Excellency Adon Scott Allen

 

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

Also a great thank you and great blessings be upon all who send comments to the list about the contents and commentary of the weekly Torah Seder and allied topics. If you want to subscribe to our list and ensure that you never loose any of our commentaries, or would like your friends also to receive this commentary, please do send me an E-Mail to benhaggai@GMail.com with your E-Mail or the E-Mail addresses of your friends. Toda Rabba!

 

We pray for a merciful healing of Her Excellency Giberet Rachel bat Sarah (daughter of His Eminence Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David and HaRabbanit Giberet Batsheba bat Sarah) who is afflicted with several health problems. We also pray for her family. Mi Sheberach – He Who blessed our holy and pure Matriarchs, Sarah, Ribkah, Rachel and Leah, will bless Her Excellency Giberet Rachel bat Sarah and send her a complete recovery. Please God heal her, please. Please God heal her, please. Please God heal her, please. Cure her, strengthen her, make her healthy and return her to her original strength, together with all the sick of Yisrael. And may it be so willed, and we will say, Amen ve Amen!

 

We pray for a merciful healing of Her Excellency Giberet Sarah bat Sarah (the daughter of H.E. Giberet Sarai bat Sarah) who is afflicted with ear problems. Mi Sheberach – He Who blessed our holy and pure Matriarchs, Sarah, Ribkah, Rachel and Leah, will bless Her Excellency Giberet Sarah bat Sarah and send her a complete recovery. Please God heal her, please. Please God heal her, please. Please God heal her, please. Cure her, strengthen her, make her healthy and return her to her original strength, together with all the sick of Yisrael. And may it be so willed, and we will say, Amen ve Amen!

 

We pray for a merciful healing of Her Excellency Giberet Shanique bat Sarah who is afflicted with Lymphoma cancer. We also pray for her daughter and family. Mi Sheberach – He Who blessed our holy and pure Matriarchs, Sarah, Ribkah, Rachel and Leah, will bless Her Excellency Giberet Shanique bat Sarah and send her a complete recovery with her new experimental treatment. Please God heal her, please. Please God heal her, please. Please God heal her, please. Cure her, strengthen her, make her healthy and return her to her original strength, together with all the sick of Yisrael. And may it be so willed, and we will say, Amen ve Amen!

 

We pray for a merciful healing of Her Excellency Giberet Shanique bat Sarah who is afflicted with Lymphoma cancer. We also pray for her daughter and family. Mi Sheberach – He Who blessed our holy and pure Matriarchs, Sarah, Ribkah, Rachel and Leah, will bless Her Excellency Giberet Shanique bat Sarah and send her a complete recovery with her new experimental treatment. Please God heal her, please. Please God heal her, please. Please God heal her, please. Cure her, strengthen her, make her healthy and return her to her original strength, together with all the sick of Yisrael. And may it be so willed, and we will say, Amen ve Amen!

 

Shabbat: “VaYigash” - “And came near” &

2^nd Sabbath of Penitence

 

 

 

Blessings Before Torah Study

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan for: B’Resheet (Genesis) 44:18 – 46:27

 

RASHI	TARGUM PSEUDO JONATHAN
18. Yehudah approached him [Yosef] and said, "Please my master, let your servant speak a word in my masters ears, and do not be angry with your servant; for you are equal to Pharaoh."	18. And Jehuda came near to him and said, In imploring my lord, let your servant, I implore, speak a word in the hearing of my lord, and let not your anger grow strong against your servant; for at the hour that we came to you, you did say to us, I fear before the LORD; and now your judgments are rendered like (the judgments) of a prince of Pharoh. My lord asked his servants, saying, Have you a father or a brother? JERUSALEM. And Jehuda came near him, and said, In beseeching you, my lord, let your servant now speak a word in the hearing of my lord, and let not your anger be strong against your servant; for at the first time we came down to you into Mizraim did you not tell us, I fear before the LORD? And now your judgments are returned like the judgments of Pharaoh your lord, by whom you adjure. Yet I am honourable as you are, and my father is honourable as Pharaoh your lord is, by whom you do adjure. Can I not swear by the life of the head of my father, and not lie? For if I draw my sword from within its sheath, I would not return it till I had filled all the land of Mizraim with the slain; to its sheath I would not return it, till I had made all Mizraim desolate of inhabitants, beginning with yourself, and ending with Pharaoh your lord, were it not against the will of my father. Or, has it not been heard by you, or not told to you, what my two brothers Shimeon and Levi did, who went up against the town of Shekem, while they were dwelling in security, and killed every male by the edge of the sword, because they bad corrupted Dinah our sister, who has not been numbered in the tribes, nor has portion or inheritance with us in the dividing of the land? By how much more then (will it be done) for Benjamin our brother, who is numbered with us among the tribes, and who has portion and inheritance with us in the dividing of the land? And in force is more unyielding than theirs, because I have become the guarantor for the youth at the hands of my father, saying, If I bring him not to you, and set him before you, I will be guilty with you and be removed from your salutation all the days. Have you not beard, or has it not been told to you, that in the land of Kenaan we are kings and princes, as you are?]
19. "My master asked his servants, saying, 'Do you have a father or brother?'	19. When Joseph, the beloved and honourable, saw that the strength of Jehuda his brother had risen up, and that the thoughts of his heart came forth, and that they rent their garments, in that hour beckoned Joseph to Menasheh his first-born, and stamped with his shoe; and all Joseph's palace trembled. In that hour Jehuda said, If it bad not been on the side of the house of my father, it would not have been done so. Then began Jehuda to be milder in his words, and he said, My lord asked his servants, saying, Have you a father, or a brother ?
20. We said to my master, 'We have a father who is old, and a young child of his old age. His brother is dead, and he alone survives of his mother, and his father loves him.'	20. And we told my lord, We have an aged father, and a son of his old age, a little one, whose brother is dead, and he only remains of his mother; and his father on that account loves him.
21. You said to your servants, 'Bring him down to me, that I may set my eyes on him.'	21. And you said to your servants, Bring him down to me, and I will set mine eyes on him for good. [Jerusalem Mine eyes will be gracious upon him.]
22. We said to my master, 'the lad cannot leave his father, for if he left his father, he would die.'	22. But we told my lord, The youth cannot leave his father: for if he leaves his father, he will die.
23. You [then] said to your servants, 'If your youngest brother does not come down with you, you shall not see my face again.'	23. Yet you said to your servants, If you bring not your youngest brother down, you will not again see my face.
24. When we went to your servant, my father, we told him of my master's words.	24. And it was when we went up to your servant our father, we related to him my lord's words.
25. Our father said, 'Go back and buy us a little food.'	25. And our father said to us, Return, and buy us a little corn.
26. We said, 'We cannot go down. If our youngest brother is with us, we will go down, for we cannot see the man's face, unless our youngest brother is with us.'	26. But we told him, We cannot go down if our youngest brother be not with us when we go down, for we will not be able to see the man's face, unless our youngest brother be with us.
27. Your servant, my father said to us, 'You know that my wife [Rachel] bore me two sons.	27. And your servant our father said to us, You know that my wife bare me two sons.
28. One has [already] left me, and I said, surely he is torn to pieces. I have not see him until now.	28. One went forth from me, and I said, Surely he is dead, and I have not beheld him since;
29. If you take this one also away from me, and misfortune befall him, you will bring my white head down to the grave in evil.'	29. and you will now take this other from before me; and if death happen to him, you will bring down mine age with mourning to the house of the grave.
30. And now, when I come to your servant, my father, and the lad is not with us; his soul is bound up with the lad's soul.	30.
31. When he sees that the lad is not [with us], he will die. Your servants will have brought down the white head of your servant, our father, to the grave in sorrow.	31.
32. For your servant became surety for the lad, to my father, saying, 'If I do not bring him to you, I will have sinned to my father for all time.'	32. Therefore your servant became surety for the youth with my father, saying, If I restore him not to you, let me be guilty before my father all the days.
33. And now, let your servant remain as a slave to my master instead of the lad. Let the lad go up with his brothers.	33. And now let your servant remain, I beseech you, as the slave of my lord, instead of the young man; and let the young man go up with his brothers.
34. For how shall I go up to my father when the lad is not with me; lest I see the evil that would befall my father."	34. For how can I go up to my father, and the young man be not with us lest I behold the evil that will strike my father through!
1. Yosef could not contain his emotions in the presence of all who stood before him, and he cried out "Let everyone leave my presence." No man remained with him, when Yosef made himself known to his brothers.	1. And Joseph could not endure not to (be able to) weep, on account of all who stood before him. And he said, Let every man go out from me: and no one stood with him, while Joseph made himself known to his brothers.
2. He wept aloud, and the Egyptians heard about it, and the house of Pharaoh [also] heard.	2. And he lifted up his voice with weeping; and the Mizraee heard, and a man of the house of Pharoh heard.
3. Yosef said to his brothers, "I am Yosef, is my father still alive?" His brothers could not answer him for they were shocked at his presence.	3. And Joseph said to his brothers, I am Joseph! Is my father yet alive? But his brothers could not answer him a word; for they were troubled before him.
4. [Then] Yosef said to his brothers, "Please come close to me." They came close [to him] and he said, "I am Yosef your brother, whom you sold into Egypt.	4. And Joseph said to his brothers, Come near, I pray, and examine me. And they came near. And he said to them, I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Mizraim.
5. Now do not worry, and do not be angry with yourselves that you sold me here; for it was to preserve life that Elohim sent me [here] before you.	5. Now, therefore, be not grieved, nor consider it a hard thing that you sold me hither; for the LORD sent me here before you to preserve you.
6. For it is [now] two years that there has been famine in the land; and for another five years there will be no ploughing or harvest.	6. For these two years has the famine been in the midst of the land, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither ploughing nor harvest.
7. Elohim sent me [here] before you to insure your survival in the land, and to keep you alive for a great deliverance.	7. But the LORD sent me before you to set you a remnant in the land, and to preserve you by a great deliverance.
8. Now [then] it was not you that sent me here, but Elohim; and He has made me as a father to Pharaoh, and master of all his house, and ruler over all the land of Egypt.	8. And now, it was not you who sent me here, but it was from before the LORD that the thing was occasioned, that He might set me for a prince unto Pharoh, a chief over his house, and a ruler in all the land of Mizraim.
9. Hurry, go up to my father and tell him: this is what your son, Yosef, says, 'Elohim has made me master of all Egypt. Come down to me, do not delay.	9. Make haste, and go up to my father, and say to him, Thus says your son Joseph, The LORD has set me for a chief over all the Mizraee; come down to me, delay not,
10. You will dwell in the land of Goshen, and you will be close to me--- you, your children, your grandchildren, your sheep, your cattle and all that you own.	10. and you will dwell in the land of Goshen, and be near me, you, and your sons, and your sons' children, your sheep, your oxen, and all that you have.
11. I will provide for you there, since there will be another five years of famine; lest you become impoverished together with your household and all that is yours.	11. And I will sustain you there, for there are yet five years of famine, lest you and the men of your house, and all that you have be wasted away.
12. Behold, your eyes see it along with my brother Binyamin's eyes, that I speak to you with my own mouth.	12. And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that my mouth speaks with you in the language of the house of holiness.
13. Tell my father of all my honour in Egypt, and all that you saw. Hurry and bring my father down here."	13. And you must show my father all the honour I have in Mizraim, and all my greatness which you see, and hasten [to bring] my father here.
14. He [then] fell upon his brother Binyamin's neck and wept, and Binyamin wept upon his neck.	14. And he bowed himself upon his brother Benjamin's neck, and wept; because it would be that the house of holiness should be built in the portion of Benjamin, and be twice destroyed: and Benjamin wept upon Joseph's neck, because he saw that the tabernacle of Shiloh would be in the portion of Joseph and be destroyed.
15. He kissed all his brothers and wept upon [their necks]. After that his brothers spoke with him.	15. And he kissed all his brethren, and wept over them, because he saw that the sons of his people would be brought into bondage. And afterward his brethren discoursed with him.
16. The news was heard in Pharaoh's house that Yosef 's brothers had come. This was good [news] in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of his servants.	16. And a voice was heard in the royal house of Pharoh, saying, The brothers of Joseph are come. And the thing was pleasing in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants.
17. Pharaoh said to Yosef, "Tell your brothers to do this: load up your beasts, and go and enter the land of Canaan.	17. And he said to Joseph, Tell your brethren, Do this. Lade your beasts, and go, carry into the land of Kenaan;
18. Bring your father and your households and come to me; and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt. You will eat of the fat of the land.	18. and take your father and the men of your house, and come to me, and I will give you the best of what is desirable in the land of Mizraim, and you will eat the fat of the land.
19. Now you are commanded [to order (your) brothers to] do the following: Take [military] wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives. Bring your father and come.	19. And you Joseph will appoint for the honour of your father: therefore tell your brethren, Do this. Take with you from the land of Mizraim [military] wagons drawn by oxen, in which to carry your children and your wives, and bring your father, and come.
20. Do not be concerned with your belongings, for the best of Egypt is yours,"	20. And your eyes must not look wistfully on your utensils: for the best of what is desirable in all the land of Mizraim is yours.
21.  The sons of Yisrael did so. Yosef gave them [military] wagons by order of Pharaoh, and he gave them provisions for the journey.	21. And the sons of Israel did so. And Joseph gave them [military] wagons according to the word of Pharaoh, and he furnished them with provision for the way.
22. To each of them, he gave a change of clothing. To Binyamin he gave three hundred silver pieces and five changes of clothing.	22. And to each of them he gave vestments and apparel; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels of silver, and five vestments for apparel.
23. To his father he sent the following: Ten male donkeys loaded with the best of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and food for his father for the journey.	23. And these presents he sent to his father; ten asses laden with wine and the good things of Mizraim, and ten she asses laden with corn and bread, and provisions for his father's journey.
24. He sent his brothers off and they went. He said to them, "Do not be troubled along the way."	24. And he dismissed his brothers to go, and said to them, Do not contend about my having been sold, lest you quarrel in passing along the way.
25. They went up from Egypt, and they came to the land of Canaan, to their father Ya’aqob.	25. And they went up from Mizraim, and came to the land of Kenaan unto Jakob their father.
26. They told him saying, "Yosef is still alive, and he is ruler of all the land of Egypt." His [Ya’aqob's] heart stood still, for he could not believe them.	26. And they declared to him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and is ruler over all the land of Mizraim. But his heart was divided, because he did not believe them. [JERUSALEM. And his heart was divided.]
27. They told him all the words of Yosef which he had spoken to them, and he saw the [military] wagons that Yosef had sent to carry him. [Then] the spirit of their father Ya’aqob was revived.	27. And they told him all the words of Joseph which he had spoken to them. And when he saw the [military] wagons which Joseph had sent to bring him, the Spirit of Prophecy which had gone up from him at the time that Joseph was sold, returning, rested upon Jakob their father.
28. Yisrael said, "It is too much! My son Yosef still lives. I will go and see him before I die."	28. And Israel said, Many benefits has the LORD wrought for me; He delivered me from the hand of Esau and from the hand of Laban, and from the hands of the Kenaanites who pursued me; and many consolations have I seen and have expected to see; but this I had not expected, that Joseph my son should yet be alive. I will go now, and behold him before I die. [JERUSALEM. And Israel said, Many benefits and consolations I had hoped to see; but this I had not expected, that, behold, Joseph my son should be yet alive. I will go and see him before I die.]
1. Yisrael journeyed with all that he possessed, and he came to Beer Sheva. He offered sacrifices [there] to the G-d of his father Yitzchaq.	1. And Israel journeyed with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Izhak.
2. Elohim said to Yisrael in a night vision, and He said, "Ya’aqob, Ya’aqob." And he said, "Here I am."	2. And the LORD spoke to Israel in a prophecy of the night, and said, Jakob! Jakob! And he said, Behold me.
3. He said "I am the Almighty, G-d of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation.	3. And He said, I am God, the God of your father; fear not to go down into Mizraim on account of the servitude I have decreed with Abraham: for a great people will I make you there.
4. I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again. Yosef will place his hand upon your eyes."	4. I am He who in My Word will go down with you into Mizraim; I will regard the affliction of your children, and My Word will bring you up from there, and cause your children to come up; but Joseph will lay his hand upon your eyes.
5. Ya’aqob rose up from Beer Sheva. The sons of Yisrael transported their father Ya’aqob, their children, their wives in the [military] wagons that Pharaoh had sent to carry him.	5. And Jakob arose from Beer de Sheba; and the sons of Israel journeyed, with Jakob their father, their little ones, and their wives, in the [military] wagons which Pharoh had sent to carry him.
6. They took their livestock and their possessions that they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and they came to Egypt; Ya’aqob and all his descendants with him.	6. They took their possessions and the substance which they had gotten in the land of Kenaan, and came into Mizraim, Jakob and all his sons with him,
7. His sons and grandsons were with him. His daughters and his granddaughters, and all his descendants he brought with him to Egypt.	7. his sons and his sons' children with him, his daughters, and the daughters of his sons; and all his seed came with him to Mizraim.
8. These are the names of the sons of Yisrael who were coming to Egypt, Ya’aqob and his sons. The firstborn of Ya’aqob was Reuben.	8. These are the names of the sons of Israel who came into Mizraim. Jakob and his sons. The firstborn of Jakob, Reuben.
9. The sons of Reuben [were]: Chanoch, Phallu, Chetzron and Carmi.	9. And the sons of Reuben, Hanok and Phallu Hetsron and Karmi.
10. The sons, of Shimon [were]: Yemueil, Yamin, Ohad, Yachin, Tzochar and Shaul, the son of the Canaanite woman.	10. The sons of Shimeon, Jemuel and Jamin, Ochad, Jakin, Sochar and Shaul: he is Zimri, who made the work of the Kenaanites in Shittim.
11. The sons of Levi [were] Gershon, Kehat and Merari.	11. And the sons of Levi, Gershon, Kehath and Merari.
12. The sons of Yehudah [were]: Eir, Onan, Sheiloh, Peretz and Zarach. Eir and Onan died in the land of Canaan. The sons of Peretz were Chetzron and Chamul.	12. The sons of Jehuda, Er, Onan, Shelah, Pherets, and Zarach. But Er and Onan died, on account of their evil work in the land of Kenaan; and Shelah and Zarach had no children in the land of Kenaan; but the sons of Pherets who went down to Mizraim were Hetsron and Chamul.
13. The sons of Yissachar [were]: Tolah, Phuvah, Yov and Shimron.	13. The sons of Issakar, sages, and masters of reasoning, their names were Tola, Phua, Job, and Shimron
14. The sons of Zebulun [were]: Sered, Eilon and Yachle'eil.	14. The sons of Zebulon, merchants, masters of commerce nourishing their brethren, the sons of Issakar, and receiving a reward like theirs; and their names were Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.
15. These are the sons of Leah that she bore to Ya’aqob in Padan Aram, along with his daughter Deenah. All the souls of his sons and daughters were thirty-three.	15. These are the sons of Leah, whom she bare unto Jakob in. Padan Aram, with Dinah his daughter; all the souls of his sons and his daughter; thirty and three.
16. The sons of Gad [were]: Tzifyon, Chagi, Shuni, Etzbon, Eiri, Arodi, and Areili.	16. And the children of Gad, Sephon, Haggi, Suni Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.
17. The sons of Asher [were]: Yimnah, Yishvah, Yishvi, and Beriah, and their sister, Serach. The sons of Beriah [were]: Chever and Malki'el.	17. The children of Asher, Yimna, Yishvah, Yishvi, Beriah and Serach their sister, who was carried away while alive into the Garden (of Eden), because she had announced to Jakob that Joseph still lived. It was she who saved the inhabitants of (the city) Abel from the judgment of death, in the days of Joab. The sons of Beriah who went down into Mizraim were Heber and Malkiel.
18. These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to his daughter, Leah. She bore these to Ya’aqob, sixteen souls.	18. These are the children of Zilpha, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and she bare them to Jakob; sixteen souls.
19. The sons of Rachel, Ya’aqob's wife [were]: Yosef and Binyamin.	19. The sons of Rahel, wife of Jakob, Joseph and Benjamin.
20. In the land of Egypt, [sons] were born to Yosef, which were born to him by Asnat, daughter of Poti-Phera, priest of On; [they were] Menasheh and Ephraim.	20. And to Joseph were born two sons in the land of Mizraim, whom Asenath the daughter of Dinah, educated in the house of Potiphera prince of Tanis, bare, Menasheh and Ephraim.
21. The sons of Binyamin [were]: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gerah, Naaman, Achi, Rosh, Muppim, Chuppim and Ard.	21. The sons of Benjamin, ten; and their names, according to the interpretation of Joseph his brother: Bela, who was swallowed up from him; Beker, who was the chosen of his mother; Eshbal, who went into captivity; Gera, who became a sojourner in a foreign land; Naaman, who was pleasant and honourable; Achi, who had a (twin) brother, the son of his mother; Rosh, who was a chief in his father's house; Muppim, who was sold into Muph; Chuppim, because at the time that he was separated from him he was the son of eighteen years and was eligible for marriage; and Ared, who descended into Mizraim.
22. These are the sons of Rachel that she bore to Ya’aqob. All the souls were fourteen.	22. These are the children of Rahel who were born unto Jakob, all the souls fourteen.
23. The sons of Dan [were] Chushim.	23. The sons of Dan, able men (or armed) and merchants, of whose numbers there is no end (or sum).
24. The sons of Naftali were: Yachtze'eil, Guni, Yetzer and Shilem.	24. And the sons of Naphtali, Jakzeel, Guni, Jetser, and Shillem.
25. These are the sons of Bilhah whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel. She bore these to Ya’aqob, seven souls in all.	25. These are the sons of Bilhah whom Laban gave to Rahel his daughter; and she bare them unto Jakob, all the souls seven.
26. All the souls coming with Ya’aqob to Egypt, who came out of his loins, not counting the wives of Ya’aqob's sons, all the souls totalled sixty-six.	26. All the souls which went into Mizraim with Jakob which had come forth from his thigh; besides the wives of Jakob's sons, all the souls were sixty and six.
27. The sons of Yosef who were born to him in Egypt were [another] two souls. All the souls of the house of Ya’aqob that came to Egypt were seventy.	27. But the sons of Joseph who were born to him in Mizraim were two souls; and Joseph who was in Mizraim, and Jokebed the daughter of Levi, who was born among the hills in their journey to Mizraim, the sum of all the souls of the house of Jakob who came into Mizraim, seventy.

 

Summary of the Torah Seder – B’resheet (Genesis) ‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎44:18 – 46:27

 

·       Judah’s Confrontation With Joseph – Gen. 44:18-32

·       Ani Yosef (I am Joseph) – Gen. 45:1-15

·       Pharaoh Hears and Takes Immediate Action – Gen. 45:16-18 

·        Pharaoh’s Order to Joseph – Gen. 45:19-20

·        Joseph Commands and Sends His Brethren  – Gen. 45:21-24

·        Joseph’s Brethren Before their Father Jacob – Gen. 45:25-28

·        Ya’aqob and His Family journeys to Beersheba – Gen 46:1-4

·        Ya’aqob descends to Egypt – Gen 46:5-7

·        The Names of the Sons of Israel that Went Down to Egypt – Gen 46:8-27

 

Welcome to the World of P’shat Exegesis

 

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

 

The Seven Hermeneutic Laws of R. Hillel are as follows

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Reading Assignment:

 

The Torah Anthology: Yalkut Me’Am Lo’Ez - Vol IIIb: Joseph in Egypt

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

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

Vol. 3b – “Joseph in Egypt,” pp. 437-473

 

Rashi’s Commentary for: ‎ B’resheet (Gen.) ‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎44:18 – 46:27‎‎

 

18 Then…approached him… something into my lord’s ears Let my words enter your ears. [From Gen. Rabbah 83:6]

 

and let your wrath not be kindled From here you learn that he spoke to him harshly.

 

for you are like Pharaoh This is its simple meaning. Its midrashic meaning is, however: You will ultimately be punished with TSARA’AT because of him, just as Pharaoh was punished because of my great-grandmother Sarah for the one night that he detained her (Gen. 12:17). Another explanation: Just as Pharaoh issues decrees and does not carry them out, makes promises and does not fulfill them, so do you. Now, is this the “setting of an eye,” concerning which you said [that you wanted] “to set your eye upon him”? [See verse 21.] Another explanation: For like you, so is Pharaoh—if you provoke me, I will kill you and your master. [From Gen. Rabbah 93:6]

 

19 My lord asked his servants From the beginning, you came upon us with a pretext. Why did you have to ask all these [questions]? Were we looking to [marry] your daughter, or were you looking to [marry] our sister? Nonetheless, “we said to my lord” (verse 20). We did not conceal anything. [From Gen. Rabbah 93:8]

 

20 and his brother is dead Out of fear, he made a false statement. He said [to himself], “If I tell him that he is alive, he will say, ‘Bring him to me.’ ” [from Gen. Rabbah 93:8]

 

alone of his mother From that mother, he has no other brother. [From Targum Jonathan ben Uzziel]

 

22 for if he leaves his father, he will die If he leaves his father, we are worried lest he die on the way, for his mother died on the way. [after Targum Jonathan ben Uzziel]

 

29 and misfortune befalls him For Satan accuses at the time of danger. [From Gen. Rabbah 91:9]

 

you will bring down my hoary head in misery, etc. Now that he is with me, I comfort myself over [the loss of] his mother and over [the loss of] his brother, but if this one [too] dies, it will seem to me as if the three of them died in one day. [From Gen. Rabbah ff. 93:8]

 

31 it will come to pass, when he sees that the boy is not here, he will die His father will die because of his calamity [of the loss of his son].

 

32 For your servant assumed responsibility for the boy Now if you ask why I enter the fray more than my other brothers, [I will reply that] they are all [standing] from the outside [without commitment], while I have bound myself with a strong bond to be an outcast in both worlds. [From Gen. Rabbah 93:8]

 

33 please let your servant stay I am superior to him in all respects: in strength, in battle, and in service. [From Gen. Rabbah 93:8]

 

Chapter 45

 

1 Now Joseph could not bear all those standing He could not bear that Egyptians would stand beside him and hear his brothers being embarrassed when he would make himself known to them. [FromTanchuma Vayigash 5]

 

2 and the house of Pharaoh heard Heb. בֵּית פַּרְעֹה, the house of Pharaoh, namely his servants and the members of his household. This does not literally mean a house, but it is like “the house of Israel” (Ps. 115: 12), “the house of Judah” (I Kings 12:21), mesnede in Old French, household. [From Targum Onkelos]

 

3 they were startled by his presence Because of embarrassment. [From Tanchuma Vayigash 5]

 

4 Please come closer He saw them drawing backwards. He said, “Now my brothers are embarrassed” (Tanchuma Vayigash 5). He called them tenderly and pleadingly and showed them that he was circumcised (Gen. Rabbah 93:10).

 

5 to preserve life Heb. לְמִחְיָה, to be to you a preserver of life. [From Targum Jonathan]

 

6 For already two years of famine have passed of the [total] years of the famine.

 

8 a father A colleague and a protector. [From Gen. Rabbah 93:10]

 

9 and go up to my father The land of Israel is higher than all [other] lands. [From Kidd. 69a, b]

 

11 lest you become impoverished Heb. פֶּן-תִּוָּרֵשׁ, [which Onkelos renders:] DALMA TITMASKAN, lest you become impoverished, [which is] an expression similar to “impoverishes (מוֹרִישׁ) and makes rich” (I Sam. 2:7).

 

12 And behold, your eyes see my glory and that I am your brother, for I am circumcised, and moreover, that it is my mouth that is speaking to you in the holy tongue (Gen. Rabbah 93:10).

 

as well as the eyes of my brother Benjamin He compared them all together, saying that “just as I harbor no hatred against my brother Benjamin, for he did not participate in selling me, neither do I have any hatred in my heart against you.” [from Meg. 16b]

 

14 And he fell on his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept for the two sanctuaries which were destined to be in Benjamin’s territory and would ultimately be destroyed. [From Meg. 16b]

 

and Benjamin wept on his neck for the Tabernacle of Shiloh, which was destined to be in Joseph’s territory yet would ultimately be destroyed. [From Meg. 16b, Gen. Rabbah 93:12]

 

and afterwards After they saw him weeping and that he was wholehearted with them.

 

his brothers spoke with him whereas previously they had felt shame before him. [From Tanchuma Vayigash 5]

 

16 And the voice was heard [in] Pharaoh’s house Heb. בֵּית פַּרְעֹה, equivalent to B’BET PAR’O, and this is an expression [denoting] an actual house. [From Targum Onkelos]

 

17 load up your beasts with grain.

 

18 the best of the land of Egypt [I.e.,] the land of Goshen. He prophesied but did not know what he was prophesying. They (the Israelites) would eventually make it (Egypt) like the depths of the sea, which have no fish. [From Avoth d’Rabbi Nathan, second version, ch. 43; Ber. 9b]

 

the fat of the land Heb. חֵלֶב הָאָרֶץ. Every [instance of] חֵלֶב is an expression meaning the best. [From Targum Onkelos]

 

19 And you [Joseph] have been commanded By me to say to them. [From Targum Jonathan]

 

Do this So shall you say to them, that it is in my power [to provide for you].

 

23 he sent the following Heb. כְּזֹאת, lit., like this, [meaning:] according to this amount. And what is the amount? Ten he-donkeys, etc.

 

of the best of Egypt We find in the Talmud (Meg. 16b) that he sent him aged wine because elderly people find contentment with it. [I.e., the fact that wine improves with age often affords contentment to the elderly.] According to the Midrash Aggadah (Gen. Rabbah 94:2 on verse 18), however, this refers to pounded beans [which have a soothing effect on a troubled spirit].

 

grain, bread As the Targum renders.

 

and [other] food Things eaten with bread.

 

24 Do not quarrel on the way Heb. אַל-תִּרְגְּזוּ בַּדָּרֶךְ. Do not engage in a halachic discussion lest the way cause you to stray. Another explanation: Do not walk with large steps, and enter the city while the sun is shining (Ta’anith 10b). According to the simple meaning of the verse, we can say that since they were ashamed, he (Joseph) was concerned that they would perhaps quarrel on the way about his being sold, debating with one another, and saying, “Because of you he was sold. You slandered him and caused us to hate him.”

 

26 and [they told him] that he ruled Heb. וְכִי-הוּא מֹשֵׁל, and that he rules.

 

and his heart changed Heb. וַיָּפָג לִבּוֹ. His heart changed and went away from believing. His heart did not turn to [believe] these words. [וַיָּפָג is] a term similar to “their taste changes” (M’FIGIN TA’MAN) in the language of the Mishnah (Bezah 14a), and “without respite (הֲפֻגוֹת)” (Lam. 3:49). Also “and its bouquet did not change” (Jer. 48:11) is translated [into Aramaic] as V’REIHEIAH LO FAG.

 

27 all of Joseph’s words He (Joseph) gave them a sign, viz., in what topic he was engaged when he (Joseph) separated from him (Jacob). [That was] the section dealing with the heifer that was to be beheaded (E’G’LAH A’RUFAH) (Deut. 21), and this is what [Scripture] says, “and he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent,” and it (Scripture) does not say, “that Pharaoh had sent.” [from Gen. Rabbah 94:3]

 

and the spirit of…Jacob was revived The Shechinah, which had separated from him [because of his grief], rested upon him [once again]. [From Avoth d’Rabbi Nathan, ch. 30, Targum Onkelos, Targum Jonathan]

 

28 Enough! My son Joseph is still alive I have enough happiness and joy, since my son Joseph is still alive. [From Targum Onkelos, Targum Jonathan]

 

Chapter 46

 

1 to Beer-sheba Heb. בְּאֵרָה שָּׁבַע, like LIV’ER SHEVA, to Beer-sheba. The “hey” at the end of the word takes the place of the “lammed” at its beginning. [From Yeb. 13b]

 

to the God of his father Isaac One is required to honor his father more than he is required to honor his grandfather. Therefore, the sacrifices are associated with Isaac and not with Abraham. [From Gen. Rabbah94:5]

 

2 “Jacob, Jacob!” An expression of affection. [From Sifra, Vayikra 1, Toseftas Ber. 1:15] [The repetition of his name is an expression of affection.]

 

3 Do not be afraid of going down to Egypt [God encouraged him] because he was troubled at being compelled to leave the Holy Land.

 

4 and I will also bring you up He promised him (Jacob) that he would be interred in the [Holy] Land.-[from Yerushalmi Sotah 1:10]

 

6 that they had acquired in the land of Canaan But of what he had acquired in Padan-Aram he gave everything to Esau [in payment] for his share in the Cave of Machpelah. He said, “Possessions [acquired] outside the Land (of Israel) are inappropriate for me.” This is the meaning of “which I acquired for myself with heaps (כָּרִיתִי)” (Gen. 50:5). He placed before him stacks of gold and silver like a heap [of grain] (כְּרִי) and said to him, “Take these.” [from Tanchuma Buber, Vayishlach 11]

 

7 his sons’ daughters Serah the daughter of Asher and Jochebed the daughter of Levi.

 

8 who were coming to Egypt Heb. הַבָּאִים. Relative to that time [when they were migrating to Egypt, the text] calls them “coming” [in the present tense], and [therefore] there is no reason to wonder why it is not written: “who came” (ASHER BA’U).

 

10 the son of the Canaanitess The son of Dinah, who had been possessed by a Canaanite. When they killed Shechem, Dinah did not want to leave until Simeon swore to her that he would marry her -[Gen. Rabbah (80:11)].

 

15 These are the sons of Leah …and Dinah his daughter.-The males are attributed to Leah and the females to Jacob, to teach you that if the woman emits seed first, she gives birth to a male, but if the male emits seed first, she (the woman) gives birth to a female. [From Niddah 31a]

 

thirty-three But if you count them individually, you find only thirty-two. This [missing one] is Jochebed, who was born between the walls when they entered the city, as it is said: “whom she bore to Levi in Egypt” (Num. 26:59). Her birth was in Egypt, but her conception was not in Egypt. [From Num. Rabbah 13:20]

 

19 The sons of Rachel, Jacob’s wife Concerning none of them does it say [Jacob’s] “wife,” but [the meaning is] that she was the mainstay of the household. [From Gen. Rabbah 73:2] Cf. Gen 31:33.

 

26 All the souls coming…with Jacob Who left the land of Canaan to come to Egypt. Now this [word] הַבָּאָה is not the past tense but the present tense, similar to “In the evening she would come (בָאָה)” (Esther 2:14), and like “and behold, his daughter Rachel is coming (בָּאָה) with the sheep” (Gen. 29: 6). Therefore, its accent is below (i.e., at the end of the word), on the “aleph,” because when they left to come from the land of Canaan, they were only 66 [excluding Jochebed, Joseph, and his two sons]. The second [instance of הַבָּאָה, however,] “all the souls of the house of Jacob who came (הַבָּאָה) to Egypt were seventy,” is in the past tense; therefore, its accent is above (i.e., on an earlier syllable), on the “beth,” because when they came there they were seventy, for there they found Joseph and his two sons, and Jochebed was added to them between the walls. According to the one who says that twin sisters were born with [each of the progenitors of] the tribes (37:35), we must say that they died before their descent to Egypt, for they were not counted here. I found in Leviticus Rabbah (4:6): Esau had sixteen souls [in his family], and the text calls them נַפְשׁוֹת בֵּיתוֹ, “the souls of his household” (Gen. 36:6) in the plural, because they worshipped many gods [in his family, each his or her own deity]. Jacob had seventy (souls), but the text calls them נֶּפֶשׁ [in the singular] because they [all] worshiped one God 

 

Ketubim: Targum Tehillim (Psalms) 38:1-23

 

Rashi	Targum on the Psalms
1. A song of David, to make remembrance.	1. A psalm of David. A handful of incense, a good memorial for Israel.
2. O Lord, do not reprove me with Your anger, nor chastise me with Your wrath.	2. O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your anger, and do not punish me in Your wrath.
3. For Your arrows have been shot into me, and Your hand has come down upon me.	3. For Your arrows have descended on me, and the blow of Your hand rests upon me.
4. There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your fury; there is no peace in my bones because of my sin.	4. There is no healing in my body because of Your anger, no health in my limbs because of my sin.
5. For my iniquities passed over my head; as a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.	5. For my sins have mounted past my head; like a heavy burden, they were too heavy for me.
6. My boils are putrid; they fester because of my folly.	6. My wounds stank, they decayed, because of my foolishness.
7. I am very much stunned and bowed; all day I go around in gloom.	7. I am bent over, I am greatly bowed down; all the day I have gone about in gloom.
8. For my loins are full of self- effacement; there is no soundness in my flesh.	8. For my loins are filled with burning, and there is no healing in my body.
9. I passed out and was very crushed; I moaned from the turmoil in my heart.	9. I have become faint and I have been humbled greatly; I moaned because of the groaning of my heart.
10. O Lord, all my desire is before You, and my sigh is not hidden from You.	10. O LORD, before you is all my desire; and my sighing is not hid from you.
11. My heart is engulfed; my strength has left me, and the light of my eyes- they too are not with me.	11. My heart has become hot; my strength has left me, and the light of my eyes even they are not with me.
12. My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my affliction, and those close to me stood afar.	12. My friends and companions stood away from the sight of my plague; and my relatives stand far off.
13. And those who seek my life lay traps, and those who seek my harm speak treachery, and all day long they think of deceits.	13. And those who seek my life have made traps; and those who seek my ruin have uttered lies, and they murmur deceit all the day.
14. But I am as a deaf person, I do not hear, and like a mute, who does not open his mouth.	14. But I am like a deaf man, I will not hear, like a mute who does not open his mouth.
15. And I was as a man who does not understand and in whose mouth are no arguments.	15. And I have become like a man who has never heard, and there is no rebuke in his mouth.
16. Because I hoped for You, O Lord; You shall answer, O Lord, my God.	16. For in Your presence, O LORD, have I prayed; You will accept my prayer], O LORD my God.
17. For I said, "Lest they rejoice over me; when my foot faltered, they magnified themselves over me."	17. For I said, "Lest they rejoice over me." When my foot stumbled, they vaunted themselves over me.
18. For I am ready for disaster, and my pain is always before me.	18. For I am prepared for disaster, and my pain is before me always.
19. For I relate my iniquity; I worry about my sin.	19. For my sin I will relate, I will be troubled by my sin.
20. But my enemies are in the vigor of life, and those who hate me for false reasons have become great.	20. But my enemies, alive, have grown strong; those who hate me through deceit are numerous.
21. And they repay evil for good; they hate me for my pursuit of goodness.	21. And those who repay evil for good oppose me, because I have pursued good.
22. Do not forsake me, O Lord, my God; do not distance Yourself from me.	22. Do not forsake me, O LORD; my God, do not be far from me.
23. Hasten to my aid, O Lord, my salvation.	23. Hasten to my aid, O LORD, my redemption.

 

Meditation from the Psalms

Psalms ‎‎38:1-23

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

 

This series of four psalms concluding with Psalm 41 (the final psalm of the First Book) deals with one theme, the illness with which David was afflicted as a result of his sins. Rather than viewing his sickness as a purely negative experience, David sought to learn from it and share with posterity the lessons and insights which he gained from his suffering.

 

According to many commentators this psalm also contains a deeper message, as it expresses the feelings of the entire nation of Israel which suffers from the ravages of the long, dark exile. It concludes with a hopeful plea for swift redemption.^[1]

 

The superscription of this Psalm ascribes authorship to David.

 

Contrast David’s expressions of the pain and suffering he has endured because of his sin, in our psalm, with Yaaqob’s expression of his suffering,^[2] in our parasha.

 

Bereshit (Genesis) 44:31 31 it will come to pass, when he (Yaaqob) seeth that the lad^[3] is not with us, that he will die; and thy servants will bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the grave.

 

Tehillim (Psalms) 38:7 I am bent and bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day.

 

We can clearly see that David’s life is modeled after the life of Yaaqob. He is using our parasha to comment on his own suffering.

 

According to many commentators, this psalm also contains a deeper message, as it expresses the feelings of the entire nation of Israel which suffers from the ravages of the long, dark exile. It concludes with a hopeful plea for swift redemption.^[4] This is a fitting psalm for our Torah portion where the Bne Israel are beginning their first exile. Though the exile begins in pleasantness, it does not end that way.

 

Our Sages teach that The Bne Israel^[5] were sent, four times, into exile because of their sins. These were not petty issues, but premeditated wickedness. Thus we can understand that exile was/is the tikkun, the correction, for premeditated wickedness. However, HaShem has big plans for His world. He is going to have the Jews do double duty. In addition to being fixed up for their sin, they will also be role models for the Gentiles. To understand this, we need to understand that Gentiles, not proselytes, are given to Israel as an inheritance:

 

Tehillim (Psalm) 2:7-9 I will declare the decree: HaShem hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. 8  Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen^[6] for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. 9  Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

 

It seems that when we are sent into exile, we provide an example that causes the Gentiles to either become proselytes, or to be condemned. Further, when we went into exile, we did not go alone. When we went into Egypt, the prototype for all exiles, we did not go alone. Notice Who went with us.

 

Bereshit (Genesis) 46:3-4 And he said, I am G-d, the G-d of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation: 4  I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.

 

Thus we see that G-d^[7] accompanied us into exile. We did not go alone! However, this is not the only unusual thing about our exiles. In all of human history, exiles of a nation out of their country have been very rare. It’s a highly unusual phenomenon to take a whole nation and exile them from their country. Multiple exiles are unheard of, since, after the first one, the distinctive people disappear as they become assimilated among the other peoples. As a matter of fact, in human history, multiple exiles and dispersions are unique only to the Jewish people.

 

Not only is the concept of multiple exiles and dispersion, of the Jews, unique in history, the very survival of the Jews is a singular event.  No other nation has ever survived without a homeland. Yet, from the destruction of the second Temple in seventy CE until the rebirth of the modern State of Israel in the twentieth century, the Jewish people survived in the diaspora without a state. The Talmud offers the following explanation for the phenomenon of galut:^[8]

 

Pesachim 87b R. Eleazar said: Even when the Holy One, blessed be He, is angry, He remembers compassion, for it is said, for I will no more have compassion upon the house of Israel.^[9] R. Jose son of R. Hanina said [i.e., deduced] it from this: that I would in any wise pardon them. R. Eleazar also said: The Holy One, blessed be He, did not exile Israel among the nations save in order that proselytes might join them, for it is said: And I will sow her unto Me in the land;^[10] surely a man sows a seah in order to harvest many kor!

 

 

The Children of Israel were exiled amongst the nations only so that converts might be added to them!^[11]

 

The Maharsha^[12] explained^[13] that had HaShem merely wished to punish the Jews, He did not have to exile them from their homeland; the fact that He did exile His nation shows that He intended for another outcome, namely, the addition of proselytes into the Jewish body.

To build on this idea, we need to look at the word Adam. Adam is a legal term, according to Our Sages, that applies to Israel.

 

Baba Metzia 114b R. Simeon b. Yohai said: The graves of Gentiles do not defile, for it is written, And ye my flock, the flock of my pastures, are men (Adam);^[14]  only ye are designated ‘men (Adam)’.^[15]

 

Thus we see that only Israel is called Adam:  Adam = Israel

 

So the question is:  Who is Israel? Our Sages answer this question in the Talmud Yerushalmi:^[16] “Adam includes Proselytes”.^[17] Israel is not clearly defined because Israel is in constant movement and change because proselytes are constantly being added. From this we understand that Israel is sent into exile in order to make proselytes. These proselytes (converts) become a part of Israel! In exile we become complete by making proselytes. Yet, we must still ask:  How did proselytes correct the premeditated wickedness that caused us to be sent into exile? To answer this question, we still need a bit more background.

 

The Gemara teaches us that exile makes an atonement:

 

Berachoth 56a For a Master has said: Exile makes atonement for iniquity.

 

Taanit 16a We have exiled ourselves [from the House of God] may our exile atone for us.

 

Sanhedrin 37b R. Johanan said: Exile atones for everything, for it is written, Thus saith the Lord, write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days, for no man of his seed shall prosper sitting upon the throne of David and ruling any more in Judah.^[18] Whereas after he [the king] was exiled, it is written, And the sons of Jeconiah, — the same is Assir — Shealtiel his son etc.^[19]

 

To help us see the effects of our exiles on the Gentiles, a few examples should suffice.

Ruth was a proselyte. Ruth, as we saw in a previous study, was a picture of the Children Israel as they stood at Mt. Sinai to receive the Torah. At Sinai we Jews were all proselytes accepting Torah for the very first time. Further, Ruth’s chesed, her kindness,^[20] had such a profound effect on the Jewish people that she became the grandmother of King David! Now lest we forget, Ruth became a convert only because Elimelech took his family into exile in Moab. Thus because of this minor exile, we made one very, very significant proselyte who became a significant part of the Messianic line. This proselyte’s life was so important that Shmuel the Prophet wrote a book about her.

 

Yitro, Moshe’s father-in-law who, as a proselyte, had a tremendous positive impact on the Torah’s Judicial system^[21] and Judaism as a whole, while the Children of Israel were in exile. His advice to Moshe became the standard for the rest of Jewish history! Yitro became a proselyte because Moshe went into exile from Egypt to Midian.

 

Rahab was a prostitute and innkeeper, who was visited by the most important dignitaries and leaders of her generation^[22] yet after being exposed to the greatness of two Torah giants, Caleb and Phineas, who were on a reconnaissance mission to Canaan^[23] she converted and married Joshua.^[24] Counted among her descendants are priests and prophets including Chuldah the Prophetess, Yirmeyahu, Baruch, Neryah, Sharya, Chilkiyah, and Chanamel.^[25]

 

Onkelos, a proselyte, wrote a Targum on the Torah that sheds significant light on the meaning of the Torah. Jews throughout the ages have learned from his Targum.

 

Rabbi Akiva was a famous Jewish rabbi of the second century, during the beginning of the Edomite exile. He was a great authority in the matter of Jewish tradition, and one of the most central and essential contributors to the Oral Torah, mainly the Mishna and the Midrash Halacha. He laid the foundations of the mishnaic dispute, by which pairs or larger groups of Sages dispute points of Halacha or Biblical interpretation.

 

When Edom sent Israel into exile, Mashiach ben Yosef commanded His Talmidim to teach them and to make them into Talmidim:

 

Matityahu (Matthew) 28:18 And Yeshua came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19  Go ye therefore, and talmudize all the Gentiles …

 

Hebrew is very precise because it is the language of creation. In Hebrew, “Exile” is called “Golah”. But this word contains the solution to exile with a hint to the redemption. By inserting the letter alef (א), the word “Golah” (גולה), “Exile” becomes “Geula” (גאולה), “redemption”. This implies that the Jewish people’s service involves bringing HaShem, The Alef, into the exile, and thus, transforming the exile into redemption. Not only are the Jewish people redeemed, but as the Talmud teaches,^[26] so also are the Gentiles who become proselytes, or converts. Thus dispersion is for the purpose of gathering. And so it has been throughout Jewish history; every time we were sent into exile, HaShem sent great proselytes to help effect the needed tikkun for our sins.

 

 

Egypt – The Prototype

 

There is a Midrashic^[27] view that maintains that the impurity of Egypt is the source of all further exiles and is too profound to be listed as one of the four. The Egyptian exile lasted two hundred and ten years,^[28] from the time Yaaqov Avinu and his sixty-nine family members crossed the borders of Egypt.

 

The Egyptian exile which is, for us, the paradigm of all Exiles. When HaShem freed us from Egyptian bondage, He used four terms of redemption. He said,

 

• “I will take you out (v’hotzeiti) of the land of Egypt,
• And I will save you (v’hitzalti) from serving them.
• And I will redeem you (v’gaalti) from slavery to freedom,
• And I will take you (v’lakachti) to Me as a nation”.

 

 

“v’hotzeiti” hints at Galut Bavel, for so the Prophet writes in Yeshayahu “Go out from Bavel ... , flee from the Kasdim”;^[29]

“v’hitzalti” hints at Galut Paras and Madai, since that is where they were saved from physical annihilation;

 

“v’gaalti” hints at Galut Yavan, because that is where their spiritual existence was threatened; whilst –

 

“v’lakachti eschem li le’Am” hints at Galut Edom, where HaShem will take us as His nation once and for all, when the time comes.

 

The Four Cups

 

The Talmud Yerushalmi^[30] says that the four cups of wine at the seder parallel four phrases of redemption. The Yerushalmi goes on to say that the four cups represent our freedom from the four nations who oppressed us: Bavel, Madai, Yavan, and Edom. The early experiences of the Jewish people are considered to foreshadow our later experiences in history. For us, history truly repeats itself. And so our Egyptian experience is a forerunner of all the later times we would be oppressed by the nations of the world.

 

During the seder we take four cups of wine, which correspond with these four expressions of redemption. This prototypical exile confirms the words of Our Sages when they taught that the purpose of exile is to make converts:

 

Shemot (Exodus) 12:37 And the children of Israel journeyed from Ramses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children. 38  And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle.

 

Thus we see that the Erev Rav, the mixed multitude, also came out with the Children of Israel. These Gentiles had attached themselves to Israel and would receive a portion of the Promised Land. Egypt is viewed as the prototype of all the future exiles and therefore remains in a class of its own. It was the Egyptian paradigm that enabled the sages to view Israel’s exile in such broad perspective. Just as they compared the first redeemer (Moses) to the final redeemer (Messiah of the house of David), and the first redemption to the final redemption,^[31] so they considered the first Galut to be the model for all future exiles. HaShem’s promise to Yaakov Avinu was thus interpreted by the Rabbis as applying to every Galut experience:

 

Beresheet (Genesis) 46:3-4 Fear not to go down into Egypt, for I will ... go down with you into Egypt and surely bring you up again.

 

Our Hakhamim understand this literally to mean that HaShem Himself, as it were, accompanies His people into exile. A new concept was thus born, known as Shekhinta be-Galuta, “the Divine Presence [is] in exile”,^[32] which would later become potent in the Kabbalah.

 

This exile is puzzling. Seventy righteous, holy, and undefiled Jewish souls went down to Egypt and 600,000 souls emerged mired in forty-nine levels of defilement! What purpose did this exile serve? The goal of the exile was to scour the Jewish people and prepare them for their mission as the chosen people.  This is what HaShem meant when He told Avraham: “Know for sure” that if you want your descendants to be the chosen people they must endure four hundred years of purification in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed, not because they sinned, but in order to be cleansed and prepared for the mission that awaits them.

 

In the same way that exile carried additional meaning – to gather Gentile converts, our psalm also contains additional meaning within the text itself. When HaShem wishes to convey additional information in His Torah, He uses what Our Sages call a kri and ktiv. Our psalm contains a kri^[33] v’ktiv^[34] in verse 21.

 

Tehillim (Psalms) 38:21 They also that repay evil for good are adversaries unto me, because of my pursuit of good.

 

This dual meaning word is read one way and written a different way. In effect, the reader sees one meaning and speaks a different meaning. There are a number of words in the Tanach^[35] which are read differently from the way that they are spelled in the text. These words are called, in Aramaic, “kri - קרי” in their reading version and “ktiv - כתיב” in their written version. This phenomenon occurs roughly thirteen hundred times in the Tanach.

 

Tehillim (Psalms) 38:21

 

The kri - קרי  is the way the verse is chanted, or read. The kri is usually denoted by enclosing the Hebrew word in brackets []^[36], as you can see in the following graphic:

 

 

The kri can also be depicted, as in the Masoretic^[37] text of the Biblia Hebraica,^[38] by putting the kri in margin, as we can see in the following graphic:

 

 

Meam Loez^[39] represents the kri within parenthesis, as in the following example:

 

Finally, one of the more common methods of depicting the kri is with a small circle over the word, which directs your attention to a word in the margin, as we can see from the Artscroll Rashi^[40] volume:

 

 

The ktiv - כתיב is the way it is written in the Torah scroll. The ktiv transcends conception and comprehension. That is, a particular word in its written form has no comprehensible “garment”, though as read aloud it does have such a “garment”, i.e., it is readily comprehensible.

 

“kri-and-ktiv”, is a word pair, in the Tanach, that is pronounced (kri) one way, but written (ktiv) in the scroll a different way. These two ways of reading the word also imply different shades of meaning. These dual word forms are Masoretic^[41] vehicles for passing down additional teachings, unavailable without the additional word form.

 

In general, a kri is the logical meaning of the word, given its context. The meaning of the ktiv however, is often beyond logic,^[42] and may even seem to be out of context, yet it reveals unexpected mystical implications. When we encounter a kri-and-a-ktiv we are invited into contemplation: how can we embrace this conflict in meaning?

 

The ktiv represents the realm of Divine self-concealment; the kri represents the realm of Divine self-revelation. In the future, when the Name of HaShem will be read as it is written, these two realms will unite.

 

On Sinai, Moses received three things: The Torah Shebiktav (Written Law) and the Torah Shebaal Peh (Oral Law). The kri and ktiv cases were all handed down to Moses as part of the Oral Law, which is why it is stated so, specifically, in the Talmud, one part of the Oral Law. These were deliberate parts of the Tanach, not mistakes by the scribes or copyists. These parts were given by HaShem. It is as the Rashba^[43] said, “the Kri/Ktiv is halacha l’Moshe mi’Sinai”. If this is true, how can it be that we have kri and ktiv in the Prophets?

 

Malbim^[44] in his introduction to Jeremiah boldly claims that the ktiv represents the simple meaning - the Pshat - and the kri represents the exegetical meaning - the Drash. Malbim follows through with this in his commentary and demonstrates this difference between Pshat and Drash.

 

Hakham David Yosef, in his work “Halacha Berurah”, writes that the reader should look at the written word as he reads, even in cases of a “Kri” and “Ktiv” where the pronunciation does not correspond to the spelling. Even though one does not read the word as it is written, he should nevertheless look at the written word in the Torah scroll as he reads the “Kri.” He draws proof to this ruling from the reading of HaShem’s Name, which is written “H-V-H-Y” yet pronounced “Adonai”. Halacha requires the reader to look at the written Name as He recites “Adonai”, even though he does not pronounce the word as it is written. Similarly, in all cases where there is a discrepancy between the pronunciation and spelling, the reader must look at the word as he reads it, even though he does not read according to the spelling.

 

Throughout the Tanach we find instances of kri and ktiv. However, outside of the Torah we also find: ktiv vilo kri (ktiv without kri) and kri vilo ktiv (kri without ktiv). The latter two phenomena only exist in the Neviim (Prophets) and Ketuvim (Writings), not the Torah.^[45] Both types can be found in Megillat Ruth.

 

Most English translations follow the kri in their translation. This means that the idea of “sola scriptura^[46]“ is completely ignored in most Christian Bibles. While they profess to use this standard, in reality they follow Jewish oral law to obtain their translation, while completely ignoring what was written.

 

In our psalm, the kri contains ‘My pursuit’. If we follow the Malbim in his understanding, then this represents the Drash, the meaning as applied to the king and his kingdom. The king, as representing his kingdom, is pursuing the good. It is not an exclusive, personal pursuit, rather it is the kingdom’s pursuit because it is the king’s pursuit. The principle concern of the kri is: How do we go about establishing HaShem’s Kingdom on earth? And the psalmist answer is for each subject to follow their king and “pursue that which is Tov, that which is beneficial”.

 

In the same way, our Torah portion has Yosef, the king, coaching his family on how to “pursue the good”^[47] when they get to Egypt, for the first exile, and face Paro. In this case, the king’s answer is for his family to have no regard for their things because the good things, in all the land of Egypt, will be theirs.

 

David’s inspiration for this chapter of Psalms came from his lack of lovers, in v.12, when contrasted with the love which Yaaqob had for Benyamin (44:20).

 

Ashlamatah: Jer 30:21 – 31:5 + 19

 

Rashi	Targum
21. And their prince shall be from them, and their ruler shall emerge from their midst, and I will bring him near, and he shall approach Me, for who is it who pledged his heart to approach Me? says the Lord.	21. And their king will be anointed from them, and their Anointed One (Messiah) will be revealed from among them; and I will bring them near, and they will assemble to My worship. For who is he whose heart delights to draw near to My worship, says the Lord?
22. And you shall be My people, and I will be your God.	22. And you will become a people before Me, and I will be your God.
23. Behold a storm from the Lord has gone forth [with] fury, yea a settling storm; on the head[s] of the wicked it shall rest.	23. Behold, the rebuke from before the Lord goes forth in anger; the whirlwind gathers; over the head of wicked men it will hover.
24. The kindling of the Lord's anger shall not return until He has executed it, and until He has fulfilled the plans of His heart. At the end of the days you shall consider it.	24. The power of the Lord's anger will not return until He perform and until He establish the thoughts of His good pleasure; at the end of days you shall understand it.
25. At that time, says the Lord, I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people.	25. At that time, says the Lord, I will be GOD for all the seed of Israel, and they will become a people before Me.
1. So says the Lord: In the wilderness, the people who had escaped the sword found favor; He [therefore] went to give Israel their resting place.	1. Thus says the Lord, who gave mercy to the people whom He brought up from Egypt, supplying their needs in the wilderness when they were there, when they were fleeing from before those who kill with the sword, leading them by his Memra to make them dwell in a place of ease, even Israel:
2. From long ago, the Lord appeared to me; With everlasting love have I loved you; therefore have I drawn you to Me with loving-kindness.	2. Jerusalem said, from of old the Lord was revealed to our fathers. O prophet, say to them, Behold, I have loved you with an everlasting love: therefore I have led you with good things.
3. Yet again will I rebuild you, then you shall be built, O virgin of Israel; yet again shall you be adorned with your tabrets, and you shall go out with the dances of those who make merry.	3. Again I will set you up, and you will be established, O assembly of Israel: again you will adorn yourself with your ornaments, and will go forth with the company of those who praise.
4. Yet again shall you plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria, indeed planters shall plant [them] and redeem [them].	4. Again you shall plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria: plant! the plants, and eat them as common produce.
5. For there is a day, the watchers (Heb. נֹצְרִים – Notserim – Nazareans) shall call on the mountains of Ephraim; Rise! Let us go up to Zion, to the Lord, our God.	5. For there is length of days and much goodness which is about to come for the righteous/generous who have kept My Law from of old: their portion is in the land of Israel, because they were longing for the years of consolations which are coming, saying: 'When shall we arise and go up to Zion, and appear before the Lord our God?”
19. "Is Ephraim a son who is dear to Me? Is he a child who is dandled? For whenever I speak of him, I still remember him: therefore, My very innards are agitated for him; I will surely have compassion on him," says the Lord.	Is not Israel already beloved before Me? Is he not a beloved child? For at the time when I put the words of My Law upon his heart to do them, I surely remember to do good to him again. Therefore My mercies have prevailed over him: I will surely have mercy upon them, says the Lord.

 

Rashi’s Commentary on  Jer 30:21 – 31:5 + 19

 

Chapter 30

 

21 their prince lit., his mighty one.

 

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

 

to approach Me to war, to stop Me. 

 

 

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

 

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

 

Chapter 31

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

2 From long ago In the merit of the Patriarchs.

 

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

 

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

 

shall you be adorned Heb. תַּעְדִּי. 

 

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

 

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

 

19 “Is Ephraim a son who is dear to me?” These are the words of the Shechinah. That is to say, He is complaining, “And as for Me, I have a change of heart to have pity. Is he My dear son (as one who has but one son, whose every wish he grants him)?”

 

dandled (Esbaniement in O.F.)

 

whenever I speak of him Every time that I speak of him. And the Midrash Leviticus Rabbah (2:3) explains: It is enough My speech (דַּי דִבּוּרִי) with which I endowed him, that I taught him My Torah, for Me to have mercy on him. 

 

Special Ashlamatah Jer 2:4-28 + 4:1-2

 

Rashi	Targum
4. ¶ Hearken to the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel.	4. ¶ Listen to the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and every descendant of the house of Israel.
5. So says the Lord: What wrong did your forefathers find in Me, that they distanced themselves from Me, and they went after futility and themselves became futile?	5. Thus says the LORD: "What did your fathers ‎find in My Memra (that was) false that they removed themselves from the fear of Me, and went astray after the idols and became worthless?
6. And they did not say, "Where is the Lord, Who brought us up from the land of Egypt, Who led us in the desert, in a land of plains and pits, in a land of waste and darkness, in a land where no man had passed and where no man had dwelt.	6. And they did not say: ‘Let us fear from before the LORD, who brought us up from the land of Egypt, who led us in the wilderness, in a ‎land level and waste, in a land desolate, and of the shadow of death; in the land in which no man passes by, and no man dwells there.'
7. And I brought you to a forest land to eat of its produce and its goodness, and you came and contaminated My land, and made My heritage an abomination.	7. And I brought you into the land of Israel which was planted like Carmel, to eat its fruit and its goodness; but you went up and defiled the ‎land of the house of My Shekhina and you made my inheritance into the worship of idols.
8. The priests did not say, "Where is the Lord?" And those who hold onto the Torah did not know Me and the rulers rebelled against Me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal and followed what does not avail.	8. The priests did not say: 'Let us fear before the ‎LORD'; nor did the teachers of the Law study to know the fear of Me. But the king/ rebelled against My Memra, and the prophets of falsehood ‎prophesied in the name of the idols, and went after what would not profit them.
9. Therefore, I will still contend with you, says the Lord, and with your children's children will I contend.	9. Therefore I am going to exact punishment from you,‎says the LORD, ‎and from the children of your sons whom I am going to punish, if they act according to your deeds.
10. For pass over [to] the isles of the Kittites and see, and send to Kedar and consider diligently, and see whether there was any such thing,	10. For cross over to the coast lands of the ‎Kittim, and see; and send to the province of the Arabs and observe carefully; and see the nations who go into exile from district to district ‎and from province to province transporting their idols and carrying them with them: And in the place where they settle, they spread their ‎tents, and set up their idols and worship them. Where now is a nation and language which has acted like you, O house of 'Israel?
11. Whether a nation exchanged a god although they are not gods. Yet My nation exchanged their glory for what does not avail.	11. Behold, the nations have not forsaken the service of the idols, and they are idols in which there is no profit, But My people have forsaken ‎My service, for the sake of which I bring glory upon them, and they have gone after what will not profit them.
12. Oh heavens, be astonished about this, and storm, become very desolate, says the Lord.	12. Mourn, O heavens, because ‎of this, because of the land of Israel which is to be wasted, and because of the Sanctuary which is to be made desolate, and because My‎people have done evil deeds to excess, says the LORD.
13. For My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken Me, the spring of living waters, to dig for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that do not hold water.	13. For My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken My service, for the ‎sake of which I bring goodness upon them like a fountain of water which does not cease; and they have strayed after the idols which are ‎like broken pits for them, which cannot guarantee water.
14. Is Israel a slave? Is he a home-born slave? Why has he become a prey?	14. Was Israel like a slave? Is he the son of a slave? Why is he handed over to ‎plunderers?
15. Young lions roar over him: they have raised their voice, and they have made his land a desolation; his cities were burnt without an inhabitant.	15. Kings will shout against him; they will lift up their voice and make his land a desolation; his cities will be desolate ‎without inhabitant.
16. Also the children of Noph and Tahpanhes will break your crown.	16. Moreover the children of Memphis and Tahpanhes will kill your mighty men and plunder your herds.
17. Is not this caused to you by your forsaking the Lord your God at the time He leads you by the way?	17. Will not ‎this punishment be exacted from you because you have forsaken the worship of the LORD your God, who showed you the way which was ‎right but you did not walk in it?
18. And now, what have you to do in the way of Egypt to drink the water of the Shihor and what have you to do in the way of Assyria to drink the water of the river?	18. And now what profit was it for you to associate with Pharaoh the king of Egypt to cast your males ‎into the river? And what profit was it for you to make a covenant with the Assyrians (that they should) banish you yonder beyond the ‎Euphrates?
19. Your evil will chastise you, and your backslidings will reprove you, and you shall know and see that your forsaking the Lord your God is evil and bitter, and fear of Me was not upon you, says the Lord God of Hosts.	19. I have brought sufferings upon you. but you have not refrained from your wickedness; and because you have not ‎returned to the Law punishment will be exacted from you. And know and see that I will bring evil and bitterness upon you, O Jerusalem, because you have forsaken the worship of the LORD your God, and have not set my fear before your eyes, says the ‎LORD God of Hosts.
20. For of old I broke your yoke, I tore open your yoke-bands, and you said, "I will not transgress," but on every lofty hill and under every leafy tree, you recline as a harlot.	20. For from of old I have broken the yoke of the nations from your neck. I have severed your chains; and you said;‎‎'We will not again transgress against Your Memra. But on every exalted height and under every leafy tree you worship the idols.
21. Yet I planted you a noble vine stock, throughout of right seed; now how have you turned yourself into a degenerate wild vine to Me?	21. And ‎ I Myself established you before Me like the plant of the choice vine. All of you were doers of the truth; and how then are you changed ‎before Me in your corrupted works? You have turned aside from My worship: you have been like a vine in which there is no profit.
22. For if you wash with natron and use much soap, your iniquity is stained before Me, says the Lord God.	22. Even ‎if you think to be cleansed of your sins, just as they cleanse (things) with natron and make white with soap, behold, like the mark of a ‎blood-stain which is unclean, so are your sins many before Me, says the LORD God.
23. How do you say, "I have not been defiled; I have not gone after the Baalim"? See your way in the valley, know what you have done, [like] a swift young she-camel, clinging to her ways.	23. How do you say: 'I am not defiled, I have not walked‎after the idols of the nations'? Lift up your eves upon your ways and see when you were dwelling in the ‎valley in front of Beth Peor, know what you did; you were like a swift young camel who corrupts her ways.
24. A wild donkey accustomed to the desert, that snuffs up the wind in her desire, her tendency like the sea creatures, who can hinder her? All who seek her will not weary; in her month they will find her.	24. Like a wild ass who dwells in the wilderness, walking in the pleasure of her soul, drinking the wind like a wild ass, ‎thus the assembly of Israel has rebelled and strayed from the Law, and does not wish to return. Say to her, O prophet, All those who seek ‎My Law will not be forgotten: in its time they will find it.‎
25. Withhold your foot from going barefoot and your throat from thirst; but you said, "I despair. No, for I love strangers, and I will follow them."	25. Restrain your foot from associating with the Gentiles. and your mouth from worshipping the idols. But you said: 'I have turned away from ‎your worship. No; because I have loved to associate with the Gentiles, so will I follow the worship of their idols.'
26. As the shame of a thief when he is found out, so have the house of Israel been ashamed; they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets.	26. Like the shame of ‎a man who is considered trustworthy and is found to be a thief, so is the house of Israel ashamed, they, their kings, their princes, and their‎priests, and their prophets of falsehood.
27. They say to the wood, "You are my father," and to the stone, "You bore us," for they turned to Me their nape and not their face, and at the time of their misfortune they say, "Arise and save us."	27. saying to an image of wood; 'You are our father’; and saying to something which is made of ‎stone: ‘You created us.' For they have turned their back on My worship, and have not set the fear of Me before their faces. But when‎misfortune comes upon them, they renounce their idols, confessing before Me and saying: 'Have mercy on us and redeem us'.
28. Now where are your gods that you have made for yourself; let them get up if they will save you at the time of your misfortune, for as many as your cities were your gods, O Judea. {S}	28. But where ‎are your deities which you made for yourselves? Let them ‎ arise, if they can, to redeem you in the time of your misfortune: for the number of your towns is (the same) as (the number of) your deities, ‎‎O men of the house of Judah.‎ {S}
1. If you return, O Israel, says the Lord, to Me, you shall return, and if you remove your detestable things from My Presence, you shall not wander.	1. ‎"If you return, O Israel, to My worship, says the LORD, your repentance will be received before your decree is sealed; and if you remove your abominations from before Me, then you will not be exiled.
2.  And you will swear, "As the Lord lives," in truth and in justice and in righteousness, nations will bless themselves with him and boast about him.  {S}	2. And if you swear in My ‎Name, The LORD is He who Exists; in truth, in justice, and in righteousness/ generosity, then will the nations be blessed through‎Israel, and will glorify themselves through him.‎ {S}

 

Rashi’s Commentary for: Yirm’yahu (Jeremiah) 2:4-28 + 4:1-2

 

6 And they did not say, Where is the Lord that we should follow other gods?

 

plains Heb. ערבה (planure in O.F.), related to pianoro in Old Italian, meaning ‘a plateau.’

 

and pits Heb. ושוחה (enfosses in O.F.), pitted.

 

waste Heb. ציה (degat in French).

 

and darkness Heb. וצלמות . An expression of darkness.

 

7 to a forest land To the land of Israel which is planted like כרמל , meaning: planted like a forest.

 

8 and those who hold onto the Torah The Sanhedrin.

 

and the rulers the kings.

 

prophesied by Baal In the name of Baal.

 

9 Therefore, I will still contend Before I bring misfortune upon you, I will still contend with you through My prophets, although I have already contended with you many days.

 

10 the isles of the Kittites To the isles of the Kittites. איי is (isles in French).

 

and send to Kedar And send to Kedar to see their custom.

 

and consider diligently And put your heart to it to consider the matter diligently.

 

whether Heb. הן , like אם , if. Whether either of those nations exchanged its god although they are no gods, yet My nation exchanged their glory, with which they were honored. The Kittites and the Kedarites were tent dwellers and cattle herders, who would travel, go, and wander from pasture to pasture and from desert to desert, and they carry their gods with them to the place where they encamp. But I carried you until I established you, yet you forsook Me. This is how Jonathan paraphrased it. Our Sages said however: The Kittites worshipped water and the Kedarites worshipped fire. And although they know that water quenches fire, they did not forsake their god.

 

11 for what does not avail For an idol that does not avail.

 

12 O heavens, be astonished Heb. שמו , an expression of astonishment, like השתוממוּ . It is the imperative form, with the same vowel points as (I Sam. 14:9): “If they say thus to us, “Wait (דּמּוּ) .” and storm Heb.ושערו , an expression of סער , a storm.

 

become very desolate As though you are becoming desolate because of the Temple that is destined to be destroyed.

 

13 two evils Had they exchanged their Deity [lit. their fear] for one His equal, it would be one evil, and now that they have forsaken Me, that I am a spring of living waters, to follow idols, which are like cisterns of stored up water, and they are broken and cracked, and their water is absorbed in their cracks, these are two evils.

 

to dig Heb. לחצב , lit. to hew.

 

that do not hold (Tendront in O.F.) their water, for the water will make their edge and their walls muddy, and they cave in.

 

14 Is he a home born slave? The son of a maidservant.

 

15 roar roar, a present tense.

 

young lions Symbolic of kings.

 

were burnt were burnt with fire.

 

16 Also the children of Noph and Tahpanhes They are the Egyptians upon whom you trust for aid.

 

will break your crown They will break your skull. ירעוּך is an expression of breaking (רציצה) , as we translate ורצוץ , “and crushed” (Deut. 28:33), וּרעיע .

 

17 Is not this caused to you Is not this misfortune and this retribution caused to you by the guilt and the iniquity that you have forsaken the Lord your God?

 

at the time He leads you by the way For He would teach you the good and the straight way.

 

18 what have you to do in the way of Egypt Why do you leave Me and trust in Egypt?

 

to drink the water of the Shihor For they drowned your male children in the Nile. Shihor is the Nile, as it is said: “From the Shihor which is before Egypt,” in the Book of Joshua (13:3).

 

and what have you to do to rebel against Me so that you should be exiled to the way of Assyria, to the other side of the Euphrates River?

 

19 Your evil will chastise you Eventually, your evil will bring suffering upon you.

 

and your backslidings, Heb. ומשבותיך , an expression related to “backsliding children (שובבים) ” (infra 3:22).

 

will reprove you Heb. תוכחך , an expression of reproof.

 

and the fear of Me was not My fear was not in your heart that you should fear Me.

 

20 I broke your yoke To the wooden yoke an expression of breaking applies, and to the yoke-bands which are of leather an expression of tearing open applies.

 

yoke-bands [ מוסרותיך are the] ropes used to shackle the yoke [to the animal].

 

and you said, “I will not transgress.” your words.

 

but on every lofty hill But you did not keep your promise, for on every lofty hill you recline (צעה) . This is an expression of a bed and a sheet (מצע) . [The word] כי serves as an expression of ‘but.’

 

21 I planted you a noble vine stock Heb. שורק is the branches of a good vine, that is to say the children of pious and righteous fathers. Its midrashic interpretation is: I planted you שורק . I added for you to the seven commandments of the children of Noah, six hundred and six, as is the numerical value of שורק .

 

degenerate Heb. סוּרי (Destoultours in O.F).

 

wild vine that grows in the forests.

 

22 with natron A type of earth with which garments are cleansed and rubbed.

 

soap Heb. בּֽרִית , cleanliness. Comp. “And pure (וּבַר) of heart” (Ps. 24:4). Some explain בּֽרִית as savon in French, soap.

 

your iniquity is stained Jon. renders: Like the mark of a stain that is unclean, so have your sins increased before Me. כתם is tka in O.F.

 

your iniquity This is said concerning the iniquity of the ‘Golden Calf,’ which remains in existence forever, as it is stated: “And on the day of My visitation, I will visit upon them their sin” (Exodus 32:34). All visitations that come upon Israel have part of the iniquity of the Golden Calf in them.

 

23 See your way in the valley See what you have done opposite Beth-Peor, and until now you adhere to that way like a swift she camel clinging to her ways.

 

young she-camel Heb. בכרה , a young female camel, that loves to wander. “The young camels (בכרי) of Midian” (Isa. 60:6) is translated “and they are young camels,” as we find in Sanhedrin 52a: There are many old camels laden with the skins of young camels (הוגני) .

 

clinging Adhering to the ways of her youth, an expression similar to: “it would have clung (מסריך סריך) ” (Chullin 51a). This may be associated with “a shoe thong (שרוך נעל) ” (Gen. 14:23). She binds the ways of her youth in her heart.

 

24 A wild donkey (salvatico in O.F.) wild, and some interpret it as poulain in O.F., a foal.

 

accustomed to the desert Accustomed to be in the deserts, so she loves to wander.

 

that snuffs up the wind She opens her mouth and snuffs up the wind, and he always returns to his place.

 

her tendency like the sea creatures, who can hinder her? That trait of the sea creatures that she has, for also the sea creature snuffs up the wind, as it is said: “They snuff up the wind like sea creatures” (infra 14:6). Who can hinder her from that trait? So it is with you who can return you from your evil way?

 

her tendency like a sea creature Son dagronemant in O.F., 

 

dragon nature. Jonathan rendered it in this manner, כערודה . Another explanation: It is an expression of wailing, comp. “moaning and wailing”

 

all who seek her will not weary For they will weary needlessly, for they will be unable to overtake her. What will her end be? In her month, they will find her. There is one month in the year that she sleeps for the whole month, and then she is captured. You, too, - one month (viz. Ab) was already prepared for you from the days of the spies, when your forefathers established it as a time of vain weeping, therein, you will be captured. (תּאניה ואניה) (Lam. 2:5). Another explanation: (sa contree in French,) her country, comp. Taanath Shiloh (Josh. 16:6).

 

25 Withhold your foot from going barefoot This your habit, like the wild donkey that loves to wander. My prophets say to you, “Withhold your foot from idolatry lest you go barefoot into exile and withhold your throat from dying of thirst.”

 

but you said concerning the words of the prophets.

 

I despair It is of no concern. I despair of your words. נואש is (nonkalajjr in O. F.) nonchalair in modern French.

 

26 when he is found out At the beginning, when he is found to be a thief, and he was presumed to be faithful. In this manner, Jonathan rendered it.

 

27 and at the time of their misfortune they say i. e., they say to Me, “Arise and save us.” Jonathan, too, translates in this manner: And at the time that misfortune befalls them, they deny their idols and confess before Me, and say. “Have mercy upon us and save us.”

 

28 as many as your cities were your gods In every city was another god.

 

Chapter 4

 

1 If you return, O Israel with this repentance, to Me, you will return to your original glory and greatness.

 

and if you remove your detestable things from My Presence Then you shall not wander to go out in exile.

 

2 And you will swear, “As the Lord lives,” in truth When you swear by My name, you will swear in truth, not as now, that it is written concerning you, “And if they say, ‘As the Lord lives,’ surely they swear falsely” (5:2).

 

nations will bless themselves with him If you do so, then nations will bless themselves with Israel. Every non-Jew will say to his son, “You shall be like So-and-so the Jew.”

 

boast Heb. יתהללו , they will recite your praise. Another explanation of is יתהללו : Whoever is able to cleave to Israel will boast about the matter (porvanter in French).

 

 PIRQE ABOT

(Chapters of the Fathers)

Pereq Hei

Mishnah 5:14

By: Hakham Yitschaq ben Moshe Magriso

 

There are four traits among those who go to the house of study: [1] One who goes but does not do anything, he has the merit of going. [2] One who does but does not go, he has the merit of doing. [3] One who goes and does, he is a saint. [4] One who does not go and does not do, he is wicked.

 

The master now tells us about the traits which are found which relate to the way people study. There are four different traits.

 

1.      "Going and not doing." A person with this trait goes to the academy (yeshiva) and returns. But even when he listens to the lectures, he has no success (hatzlacha) in his studies. Nothing penetrates his mind, and nothing emerges from it. He goes empty-­handed and leaves empty-handed. This is because he does not pay at­tention to the lessons at hand. Such a person has merit for going to and from the academy, but he does not have any merit for studying, since he makes no effort to learn.

 

2.      "Doing and not going." A person with this trait dislikes to go the academy, and therefore prefers to remain alone, studying Torah at home. He is sharp (charif), and therefore his learning bears fruit (peroth), just as if he had attended the academy.The person with this trait has the merit of studying, especially since his studies are fruitful. If he had gone to the academy to study, he would also have had the merit of going. But since he remained home, he only has the merit of studying and no more.

 

3.      "Going and doing." The person with this trait could have studied fruitfully at home, since he is very bright. Still, he does not refrain from attending the academy continuously, just as if he could not learn otherwise. A person who does this is considered a saint (chasid), since he does more than is required of him.

 

4.      "Not going and not doing." A person with this trait not only does not study Torah, but he also does not want to attend the academy, and as a result, he never learns. If he had attended the academy, he would have learned, since he is intelligent. Because he is able to learn but refuses to do so, he is considered a wicked person (rasha).

 

PIRQE ABOT

(Chapters of the Fathers)

Pereq Hei

Mishnah 5:15

By: Hakham Yitschaq ben Moshe Magriso

 

There are four traits among those who sit before the sages: the sponge, the funnel, the strainer and sieve. [1] The sponge absorbs everything. [2] The funnel receives at one [end] and spills out the other. [3] The strainer lets the wine through but retains the sediment. [4] The sieve lets the meal through but retains the best flour.

 

The master now tells us of the traits that exist in students with respect to their learning. There are four traits, each of which resembles a particular object. There is a trait that resembles the sponge, one that resembles the funnel, one that resembles a strainer, and one that resembles a sieve.

 

1.      When a student has a good memory, retaining everything he learns, but does not have the ability to distinguish the good from the bad, nor truth from falsehood, he resembles the sponge. The sponge absorbs all kinds of water, not distinguishing between the clean and the dirty. The water remains in the sponge, and does not leave unless it is squeezed out. The same is true of the student who absorbs everything, without distinguishing between the good and the bad.

 

2.      The second type of student understands quickly and grasps everything immediately, as quickly as he hears it. But just as quickly as he grasps it, he forgets it, and nothing is retained in his memory, neither the good nor the bad. Such a student is like a funnel. It has a wide mouth to receive, but as soon as something is poured in, it runs out the bottom. Nothing remains in the funnel.

 

3.      The third type of student has the trait of remembering everything that is bad and false, but forgetting that which is good. He is like a wine strainer, which allows the clear wine to flow through, but retains the residue, which is to be discarded.

 

4.      The fourth type of student is just the reverse. He has the good trait of remembering everything that is good and true, and forgetting that which is bad and false. He is like the sieve used for groats. Such a sieve lets through the bran dust, and retains the clean groats.

 

 

 

Verbal Tallies

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

& H.H. Giberet Dr. Elisheba bat Sarah

 

Beresheet (Genesis) 44:18 – 46:27

Yirmyahu (Jeremiah) 30:21 – 31:5 + 19

Tehillim (Psalms) 38

Mk 4:13-20, Lk 8:11-15, Lk 8:16-18, Acts 13:1-25

 

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Psalm are:

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

Speak - דבר, Strong’s number 01696.

Loveth / Lovers - אהב, Strong’s number 0157.

 

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Ashlamata are:

Came near / Approach - נגש, Strong’s number 05066.

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

Anger - אף, Strong’s number 0639.

 

Beresheet (Genesis) 44:18 Then Judah came near <05066> (8799) unto him, and said <0559> (8799), Oh my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak <01696> (8762) a word in my lord’s ears, and let not thine anger <0639> burn against thy servant: for thou art even as Pharaoh.

20  And we said <0559> (8799) unto my lord, We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loveth <0157> (8804) him.

 

Tehillim (Psalms) 38:12 My lovers <0157> (8802) and my friends stand aloof from my sore; and my kinsmen stand afar off.

Tehillim (Psalms) 38:12 They also that seek after my life lay snares for me: and they that seek my hurt speak <01696> (8765) mischievous things, and imagine deceits all the day long.

Tehillim (Psalms) 38:16  For I said <0559> (8804), Hear me, lest otherwise they should rejoice over me: when my foot slippeth, they magnify themselves against me.

 

Yirmyahu (Jeremiah) 30:21 And their nobles shall be of themselves, and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach <05066> (8738) unto me: for who is this that engaged his heart to approach <05066> (8800) unto me? saith the LORD.

Yirmyahu (Jeremiah) 30:24 The fierce anger <0639> of the LORD shall not return, until he have done it, and until he have performed the intents of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it.

Yirmyahu (Jeremiah) 31:2 Thus saith <0559> (8804) the LORD, The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest.

 

Hebrew:

 

 

 

Greek:

 

GREEK	ENGLISH	Torah Reading Gen. 44:18 – 46:27	Psalms 38:1-23	Ashlamata Jer 30:21 – 31:5 + 19	Peshat Mishnah of Mark, 1-2 Peter, & Jude Mk 4:13-20	Tosefta of Luke Lk 8:11-15	Remes/Gemara of Acts/Romans and James Acts 13:1-12 Acts 13:13-25
ἀγαθός	good	Gen 45:18 Gen 45:20 Gen 45:23	Ps 38:20			Lk. 8:15
ἀγαπάω	loved	Gen 44:20		Jer 31:3
ἀδελφός	brother	Gen 44:19 Gen 44:20 Gen 44:23 Gen 44:26 Gen 44:33 Gen 45:1 Gen 45:3 Gen 45:4 Gen 45:12 Gen 45:14 Gen 45:15 Gen 45:16 Gen 45:17 Gen 45:24 Gen 46:20					Acts 13:15
αἴρω	lift, raise, carry	Gen 45:23 Gen 46:5			Mk. 4:15	Lk. 8:12
ἄκανθα	thorn, thorn bushes				Mk. 4:18	Lk. 8:14
ἀκούω	heard, hear				Mk. 4:15 Mk. 4:16 Mk. 4:18 Mk. 4:20	Lk. 8:12 Lk. 8:13 Lk. 8:14 Lk. 8:15	Acts 13:7 Acts 13:16
ἄνθρωπος	man, men	Gen. 44:26 Gen. 45:1 Gen. 45:22	Ps. 38:14
ἀνίστημι	rose up	Gen 46:5					Acts 13:16
ἀποστέλλω	sent	Gen 45:5 Gen 45:7 Gen 45:8 Gen 45:23 Gen 45:27 Gen 46:5 Gen 46:28					Acts 13:15
ἀφίστημι	separate		Psa 38:21			Lk. 8:13
ἄχρι  /  ἄχρις	as far as	Gen 44:28					Acts 13:6
βασιλεύς	king	Gen 45:21					Acts 13:21 Acts 13:22
βλέπω	see	Gen 45:12					Acts 13:11
γῆ	earth, land, ground	Gen 45:6 Gen 45:7 Gen 45:8 Gen 45:9  Gen 45:10  Gen 45:17 Gen 45:18 Gen 45:19 Gen 45:25 Gen 45:26 Gen 46:6 Gen 46:12 Gen 46:20 Gen 46:27			Mk. 4:20	Lk. 8:15	Acts 13:17 Acts 13:19
γινώσκω	know, known, instructed	Gen. 44:27 Gen. 45:1		Jer. 31:19	Mk. 4:13
διάβολος	devil					Lk. 8:12	Acts 13:10
δίδωμι	give, given	Gen 45:18 Gen 45:21 Gen 45:22 Gen 46:18 Gen 46:25		Jer 30:21			Acts 13:20 Acts 13:21
δικαιοσύνη	righteousness		Psa 38:20				Acts 13:10
ἔθνος	nations	Gen 46:3					Acts 13:19
εἴδω	seeing, saw, know	Gen 44:23 Gen 44:26 Gen 44:28 Gen 44:31 Gen 44:34 Gen 45:13 Gen 45:27			Mar 4:13		Act 13:12
εἷς	one	Gen 44:28			Mar 4:20
εἰσέρχομαι	entered	Gen 46:6 Gen 46:8 Gen 46:26 Gen 46:27					Act 13:14
εἰσπορεύομαι	entered	Gen 44:30			Mk. 4:19
εἶτα	when, then				Mk. 4:17	Lk. 8:12
ἐκδέχομαι	look out for	Gen 44:32
ἐπιθυμία	desire		Psa 38:9		Mk. 4:19
ἐπιπίπτω	fall, fell upon	Gen 45:14					Act 13:11
ἑπτά	seven	Gen 46:25					Act 13:19
ἔπω	said, speak, say, spoke	Gen 44:18 Gen 44:20 Gen 44:21 Gen 44:22 Gen 44:23 Gen 44:25 Gen 44:26 Gen 44:27 Gen 44:28 Gen 45:1 Gen 45:3 Gen 45:4 Gen 45:9 Gen 45:17 Gen 45:24 Gen 45:27 Gen 45:28 Gen 46:2	Psa 38:16	Jer 31:1 Jer 31:2			Act 13:2 Act 13:10 Act 13:16 Act 13:22
ἔρημος	wilderness			Jer 31:2			Act 13:18
ἔρχομαι	come, came	Gen 45:25 Gen 46:1			Mk. 4:15	Luk 8:12	Acts 13:13 Acts 13:14 Acts 13:25
ἔτος	years	Gen 45:6 Gen 45:11					Acts 13:19 Acts 13:21
εὑρίσκω	found, find	Gen 44:34		Jer 31:2			Acts 13:6 Acts 13:22
ἐχθρός	enemies		Psa 38:16 Psa 38:19				Acts 13:10
ἕως	until, unto		Psa 38:6 Psa 38:8	Jer 30:24			Acts 13:20
ζητέω	seek		Psa 38:12				Acts 13:8 Acts 13:11
ἡμέρα	day	Gen. 44:32	Ps. 38:6 Ps. 38:12	Jer. 30:24			Acts 13:14
θεός	God	Gen. 45:5 Gen. 45:7 Gen. 45:8 Gen. 45:9 Gen. 46:1 Gen. 46:2 Gen. 46:3	Ps. 38:15 Ps. 38:21	Jer. 30:22 Jer. 31:1		Lk. 8:11	Acts 13:5 Acts 13:7 Acts 13:16 Acts 13:17 Acts 13:21 Acts 13:23
ἰδού	behold	Gen 45:12					Acts 13:11 Acts 13:25
καιρός	time					Lk. 8:13	Acts 13:11
καλός	good				Mk. 4:20	Lk. 8:15
καρδία	heart		Ps. 38:8 Ps. 38:10	Jer. 30:21 Jer. 30:24		Lk. 8:12 Lk. 8:15	Acts 13:22
καρποφορέω	bear fruit				Mk. 4:20	Lk. 8:15
κατά	according to, certain	Gen 45:21 Gen 45:23					Acts 13:22 Acts 13:23
κύριος	LORD	Gen 44:18 Gen 44:19 Gen 44:20 Gen 44:22 Gen 44:24 Gen 44:33 Gen 45:8 Gen 45:9	Ps. 38:1 Ps. 38:15 Ps. 38:21	Jer. 30:21 Jer. 30:23 Jer. 30:24 Jer. 31:1 Jer. 31:2 Jer. 31:3			Acts 13:2 Acts 13:10 Acts 13:11 Acts 13:12
λαμβάνω	took, take	Gen 44:29 Gen 45:19		Jer 31:4 Jer 31:19	Mk. 4:16
λαός	people			Jer 30:22 Jer 31:1			Acts 13:15 Acts 13:17 Acts 13:24
λέγω	speak, say	Gen 44:19 Gen 44:32 Gen 45:9 Gen 45:16 Gen 45:26 Gen 46:3			Mk. 4:13		Acts 13:2 Acts 13:10 Acts 13:15 Acts 13:16 Acts 13:22 Acts 13:25
λόγος	words				Mk. 4:14 Mk. 4:15 Mk. 4:16 Mk. 4:17 Mk. 4:18 Mk. 4:19 Mk. 4:20	Lk. 8:11 Lk. 8:12 Lk. 8:13 Lk. 8:15	Acts 13:5 Acts 13:7 Acts 13:15
λοιποί	rest, remaining	Gen 45:6			Mk. 4:19
μέριμνα	anxieties				Mk. 4:19	Lk. 8:14
ὁδός	way	Gen 44:29 Gen 45:21 Gen 45:23 Gen 45:24			Mk. 4:15	Lk. 8:12	Acts 13:10
ὄνομα	name	Gen 46:8					Acts 13:6 Acts 13:8
ὅς  /  ἥ  /  ὅ	which, who	Gen. 45:4 Gen. 45:6 Gen. 46:5 Gen. 46:6 Gen. 46:15 Gen. 46:18 Gen. 46:20 Gen. 46:22 Gen. 46:25	Ps. 38:14		Mk. 4:16	Lk. 8:13	Acts 13:2 Acts 13:6 Acts 13:7 Acts 13:22 Acts 13:25
ὅστις  /  ἥτις	whoever, who				Mar 4:20	Lk. 8:15
παραβολή	parable				Mar 4:13	Luk 8:11
παραγίνομαι	come	Gen 45:19					Acts 13:14
πᾶς	all, whole, every	Gen. 44:32 Gen. 45:1 Gen. 45:8 Gen. 45:9 Gen. 45:10 Gen. 45:11 Gen. 45:13 Gen. 45:15 Gen. 45:20 Gen. 45:22 Gen. 45:26 Gen. 45:27 Gen. 46:1 Gen. 46:6 Gen. 46:7 Gen. 46:15 Gen. 46:22 Gen. 46:25 Gen. 46:26 Gen. 46:27	Ps. 38:6 Ps. 38:9 Ps. 38:12	Jer. 31:1		Mk. 4:13	Acts 13:10 Acts 13:22 Acts 13:24
πατήρ	father	Gen 44:19 Gen 44:20 Gen 44:22 Gen 44:24 Gen 44:25 Gen 44:27 Gen 44:30 Gen 44:31 Gen 44:32 Gen 44:34 Gen 45:3 Gen 45:8 Gen 45:9 Gen 45:13 Gen 45:18 Gen 45:19 Gen 45:23 Gen 45:25 Gen 45:27 Gen 46:1 Gen 46:3 Gen 46:5 Gen 46:8					Acts 13:17
πιστεύω	trust	Gen 45:26				Lk. 8:12 Lk. 8:13	Acts 13:12
πλήθω	filled		Psa 38:7				Act 13:9
πλησίον	neighbor		Psa 38:11
πλοῦτος	riches				Mk. 4:19	Lk. 8:14
πνεῦμα	breath, spirit, wind	Gen 45:27					Acts 13:2 Acts 13:4 Acts 13:9
ποιέω	make, made	Gen. 45:17 Gen. 45:19 Gen. 45:21		Jer. 30:24			Acts 13:22
πορεύομαι	going, went	Gen 45:24 Gen 45:28	Ps 38:6			Lk. 8:14
πούς	foot, feet		Ps 38:16				Acts 13:25
πρόσωπον	face, before	Gen. 44:23 Gen. 44:26 Gen. 45:3 Gen. 45:5 Gen. 45:7	Ps. 38:3 Ps. 38:5				Acts 13:24
ῥίζα	roots				Mk. 4:17	Lk. 8:13
σάββατον	Sabbath		Psa 38:0				Acts 13:14
σπέρμα	seed	Gen 46:6 Gen 46:7					Acts 13:23
συμπνίγω	choked				Mk. 4:19	Lk. 8:14
συναγωγή	synagogue, congregation, gathering			Jer 31:4			Acts 13:5 Acts 13:14
σωτηρία	deliverance		Psa 38:22				Act 13:23
τριάκοντα	thirty	Gen 46:15			Mar 4:20
υἱός	son	Gen 45:9 Gen 45:10 Gen 45:11 Gen 45:21 Gen 45:26 Gen 45:28 Gen 46:5 Gen 46:7 Gen 46:8 Gen 46:9 Gen 46:10 Gen 46:11 Gen 46:12 Gen 46:13 Gen 46:14 Gen 46:15 Gen 46:16 Gen 46:17 Gen 46:18 Gen 46:19 Gen 46:20 Gen 46:21 Gen 46:22 Gen 46:23 Gen 46:24 Gen 46:25 Gen 46:26 Gen 46:27					Acts 13:10 Acts 13:21
φοβέω	fear	Gen 46:3					Acts 13:16
χαρά	joy				Mk. 4:16	Lk. 8:13
χείρ	hand	Gen. 46:4	Ps. 38:2				Acts 13:3 Acts 13:11 Acts 13:16
χρόνος	time			Jer 31:1			Acts 13:18

 

 

NAZAREAN TALMUD

Sidra Of B’resheet (Gen.) 44:18 – 46:27

“VaYigash” “And Came Near”

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

H. Em. Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

 

Hakham Shaul’s School of Tosefta (Luqas Lk 8:11-15) Mishnah א:א

Hakham Tsefet’s School of Peshat (Mark 4:13-20) Mishnah א:א

And the simile is this: The seed is the Oral Torah (Spoken Word of God). Those by the roadside are the ones who hear; then the shedim (demons) come[48] and take the Oral Torah out of their hearts, lest they should be faithful and be saved. Those on the rock are the ones who, when they hear, receive the Oral Torah with joy. And these have no root (faithfulness), who for a while obey, and in time of testing fall away.  And those which fell among thorns are the ones who, when they have heard, go forth and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of life, and do not bear to maturity. But those on the good ground are the ones who, in an honest and good heart, having heard the Oral Torah, keep it and bring forth fruit with patience (perseverance).

And he said to them: “Do you not comprehend[49] this simile?[50] And [if so] how will you comprehend all similes? The sower sows the seed of the Oral Torah.[51] And these are those along the way (path) where the seed of the Oral Torah is sown. And when they hear, the adversary (Yester HaRa) comes[52] immediately[53] and takes away the seed of the Oral Torah having been sown in their hearts. And likewise, these are the ones having been sown on the rocky (soil),[54] who, when they hear the Oral Torah, they immediately receive it with joy, yet they have no root (faithfulness) in themselves, but are temporal opportunists.[55] Then when trouble or persecution[56] has occurred because of the Oral Torah, they immediately stumble[57] (and fall away). These are those being sown into the thorn bushes, those hearing the Oral Torah, And the cares of this age, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts about other things entering in, they choke the Oral Torah, and it becomes unfruitful.[58] And these are those being sown on the good ground, who hear and welcome the Oral Torah and bring forth fruit, one thirty, and one sixty, and one a hundredfold.

 

 

Hakham Shaul’s School of Remes (2 Luqas - Acts 13:1-25) Pereq א:א

Now there were in the Congregation at Antioch prophets and teachers, Bar-Nechamah,[59] Shim’on who was called Niger (the dark skinned man), Lucius of Cyrene, Menachem a member of the court of Herod the tetrarch, and Hakham Shaul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting,[60] the Spirit of Prophecy said, “Set apart for me Bar-Nechamah and Hakham Shaul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying, they laid their hands on them and sent them off.   So, being sent out by the Spirit of Prophecy, they went down to Seleucia,[61] and from there they sailed to Cyprus.[62] When they arrived at Salamis,[63] they proclaimed the Torah of God (Mesorah as elucidated by the Master) in the Synagogues of the Jews. And they had Yochanan (Mordechai) as their Chazan (Clerk Paqid). When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos,[64] they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish pseudo-prophet named Bar-Yeshua. He was with the proconsul, Sergius[65] Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Bar-Nechamah and Hakham Shaul and sought to hear the Torah of God (Mesorah as elucidated by the Master). But Elymas[66] the magician for that is the meaning of his name opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from faithful obedience. But Hakham Shaul, who was also called Paul (by the Romans and Greeks), filled with the Divine Presence (Shekinah), looked intently at him and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness/generosity, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.”[67] Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand. Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.   Now Hakham Shaul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came[68] to Perga[69] in Pamphylia.[70] And Yochanan (Mordechai) left them and returned to Yerushalayim, but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And on the Sabbath day they went into the Synagogue and sat down. After the reading from the Torah and the Prophets, the Rosh HaKenesét sent a message to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any words of exhortation for the people, say it.” So Hakham Shaul stood up, and motioning with his hand said:   “Men of Yisrael and you who fear God, listen. The God of this people Yisrael chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm He led them out of it. And for about forty years He put up with them in the wilderness. And after destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan, He gave them their land as an inheritance. All this took about 450 years. And after that He gave them judges until Shemuel the prophet. Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Shaul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. And when He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, of whom He testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Yosi a man after My heart, who will do all My will.’ Of this man’s offspring God has brought to Yisrael a redeemer, Yeshua, as He promised. Before his coming, Yochanan had proclaimed an immersion of repentance to all the people of Yisrael. And as Yochanan was finishing his course, he said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but behold, after me one is coming, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’

 

 

 

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

 

 

Commentary to Hakham Tsefet’s School of Peshat

 

And how will you comprehend all similes? – Here we have in use the first of the seven hermeneutic laws of R. Hillel - Ḳal va-ḥomer: "Argumentum a minori ad majus" or "a majori ad minus"; corresponding to the ‎scholastic proof a fortiori. The argument is like: If You do not understand X which is minor, how then will you understand Y which, is greater? Therefore, we introduce the understanding that the similes taught by the Master indicate that his similes are the portal for understanding all his similes/allegories/parables/symbolic statements. As such, we need to be well versed in the fundamental hermeneutic as a means for interpreting the Master’s teachings on ALL levels of hermeneutic.

 

Notice also, that in Mordechai's structure for this Mishnaic commentary this is the first simile appearing in his work, and this indicating by its position that this simile is the one that opens the door to all similes/allegories/parables on the governance of G-d (Kingdom of G-d).

 

Therefore, the language of this particular simile should be given special attention. If we will learn to interpret and comprehend this simile of the Master, we will understand and interpret all of his similes concerning the Malchut Shamayim (Kingdom/Governance of G-d, through the Hakhamim and Bate Din as opposed to human kings) with clarity. And as the Ḳal va-ḥomer purports, in understanding the minors we will be able to apprehend the majors. Ḳal va-ḥomer must also be applied to words.

Our translation of Mordechai is not simply an idiomatic rendition. In other words, we have not simply stated that the “Seed” is the Oral Torah. Scholars such as Taylor note that the Greek phrase, τὸν λόγον indicate the “Gospel.” Therefore, based on the hermeneutic of Mark 1:1, we have appropriately translated the idea of τὸν λόγον as Oral Torah.

 

We have demonstrated in the previous pericope that Yosef was the redeemer of the Gentiles by being taken captive into Egypt, (Diaspora). In redeeming, the Gentiles Yosef redeemed his own family. When this analogy is applied to the teachings of the Master, we see astounding parallels to the similes of the Malchut Shamayim.

 

The “sower”- σπείρων (speireon) “sows” - σπείρει (speirei). This simile is directly associated with the idea of Mashiach ben Yosef being carried into diaspora. To understand this phrase, we need to understand the etymology of the Greek term “Diaspora.” The etymology of “diaspora” is as follows.

 

The Jews dispersed among the Gentile. From Gk. diaspora “dispersion,” from diaspeirein “to scatter about seed, or disperse seed,” from dia- “about, across” + speirein “to scatter seed.” The Greek word was used in Septuagint in Deut. xxviii:25. Another Hebrew word for it is galuth “exile.”

 

Now if you observe carefully the above construction, you will notice that the Greek words σπείρων (speireon) and σπείρει (speirei) both derive from the Greek words identified by Strong’s G4687 as - σπείρω (speiro) and defined by Strong’s Concordance as: “to sow or to scatter seed.” Now this is the same root verb that is part of the Greek word for “Diaspora.”

 

Therefore, we have now the principle of Ḳal va-ḥomer, which shows us that the “Sower sowed” the seed of the Oral Torah in the diaspora. Consequently, we may logically conclude that the sower or scatterer of the seed sows the Oral Torah. But, this Oral Torah by definition necessitates someone to “oralize” it – i.e. to explain it even if through the means of similes. The implication then is that G-d is about to sow/scatter the Jewish people who are the repositories of the Oral Torah throughout the world which consists of four classes of grounds. This DIASPORA of the Jewish people must not be seen as a punishment but as an increase in the relevance of the Jewish universal mission as prophesied by Isaiah:

 

“Yes, He [G-d] says: “It is too light a thing that you [Jews] should be My servant to raise up the [lost] tribes of Jacob, and to restore the offspring of Israel; I will also give you for a light to the Gentiles, that My salvation may be unto the end of the earth.”^[71]

 

Hermeneutic “Kelal u-Peraṭ and Peraṭ u-kelal: Definition of the general by the particular and of the particular by the general” teaches us to draw particular information from general statements. Therefore, the “Sower” who “sows” sends the Jewish people into the diaspora. The purpose is the redemption or tikun of the Gentile and Gentile lands (Earth) for the sake of restoring the whole “Earth” to its Edenic Glory. The general statement “the Jewish people who are the repositories of the Oral Torah” must now be made particular. Because the similes are definitions of the Malchut Shamayin, governance/kingdom of God through the Hakhamim and Bate Din as opposed to human kings, the light of the Gentiles and those who “oralize” the Torah are the Hakhamim. The Hakhamim are the repositories of the Oral Torah, sown into diaspora for the sake of redeeming the earth and restoring it to its Edenic glory by the mechanism of the Master’s Mesorah. Therefore, the “seed” is the Hakham and the “Earth” is Gentile receptivity.

 

Hearing the Oral Torah “oralized”? And this is also intimated to us in a cryptic saying in the book of Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) where King Shlomoh (Solomon) says (and we are only going to deal with it in its Peshat sense):

 

“The words of the wise [Hebrew: Dibré (Oral Words) Hakhamím, (Sages)] are as goads; yes, as nails driven by the masters of collections, they are given from one Shepherd.” (Eccl. 12:11)

 

What does it mean “as nails driven by the masters”? To understand this phrase, we need to go back to our verse (Mark 4:14) in the Hebrew, where we read: הַזֹּרֵע הוּא זֹרֵעַ אֶת־הַדָּבָר׃ – HaZoré (The seeder/sower) Hu (He) Zoreá (seeds/sows) Et-HaDabár (The Oral Word). From this construction we observe that there is a play with different accidents of the Hebrew root word זרע  ZERÁ (seed). And again, a careful observation of this Hebrew root word finds that it starts with the seventh letter of the Hebrew Alef Bet known as the letter ZAYIN. Now, the form and shape of this letter is most interesting. ז  If one looks at this picture of the seventh letter of the Hebrew Alef Bet it very much resembles the shape of a sperm (from the Greek SPERMA – another name for seed in Greek and in Hebrew: זרע  ZERÁ). This is why the Hebrew word for “masculine” is זָכָר  ZAKAR, starting with the seventh letter of the Hebrew Alef Bet: Zayin, as is also the Hebrew word זכר  ZAKHAR^[72]  and meaning: to remember, recall, call to mind, make a mark. A nail in Hebrew is associated with the form of the sixth Hebrew letter of the Alef Bet: ו – Vav. So then, if the Oral Words of the Hakhamim (Jewish Sages) are like nails (i.e. in the form/shape of a VAV - ו), when driven deep into the human mind, it becomes a seed (sperma) זרע  ZERÁ (i.e. in the shape of a ZAYIN - ז) that fertilizes the human mind and enables it to produce fruit. This is intimated as well in the Kabbalistic statement of Yochanan in 1 John 3:9 –

 

“Everyone who has been begotten of G-d does not (continually/and habitually) sin, because His seed (Greek: σπερμα – SPERMA – sperm/seed^[73] abides in him, and he is not able to (continually/and habitually) sin, because he has been born of G-d.”

 

Our pericope has a three-fold use of the Greek phrase εὐθέως (euthus). Εὐθύς (euthus) is a multifaceted word. As we have shown (Sivan 12, 5772), it carries the connotation of being straight. However, we must not lose sight of the fact that it also carries a sense of immediacy and urgency. In brief, εὐθύς (euthus) bears the weight of moral urgency. This moral urgency is demonstrative of those who obey and hear. Acceptance of the Written Torah and Oral Torah is not conditional. When we hear we MUST obey with immediate moral acceptance and urgency.  Here we note that εὐθέως (euthus) denotes those who “immediately” “fall away.” In other words they “immediately” turn from moral immediacy taking the approach opposite to Na’aséh V’Nishmá “We will do and [then] we will hear.”^[74]

 

Generally speaking, the “seed sown” in the earth is the Jewish people per se. Particularly speaking, the qualified agents of G-d’s salvation (yeshuah) are the Hakhamim. These Hakhamim are the σπερμα – sperma sown throughout the world in each generation. The tool of their salvation (yeshuah) is the Mesorah of the Master.

The present Torah Seder shows Ya’aqob going into “diaspora.” However, it is not fitting that the Jewish people and the Hakhamim remain in diaspora. Therefore, just as Yosef was the redeemer of the Gentile world, he is mirrored in the Hakhamim who are personifications of the Master and his Mesorah. Therefore, it should be the goal of every Nazarean Jew to pursue becoming a Hakham, filled with the σπερμα – sperma of the Master, sowing seed from Gan Eden for the sake of global tikun. Further, if we may ask, what is the name of the first order (Heb. “Seder”) of the Mesorah (Oral Law)? Therefore, the first analogy introduced by Hakham Tesfet in his Mishnaic treatise, alike the first Seder of the Oral Law is called “סדר זרעים” (Seder Zeraim - lit. "Order of Seeds").

 

Finally, Hakham Tsefet employs an interesting phrase: “εὐθὺς ἔρχεται” – “Euthus Erchetai” – “immediately comes” and which corresponds to the Hebrew “וַיִּגַּשׁ" – “Vayigash” – “an immediate coming near,” or, “an immediate approach”, and which offers a verbal tally with the first word of our Torah Seder – also expressed in the statement “we will do and then we will hear.”

 

 

 

Commentary to Hakham Shaul’s School of Remes

How does Hakham Shaul tell the story of our Torah Seder in his own words. Come and hear!

 

We have repeatedly noted that the message of Hakham Shaul is frequently cryptically inscribed in the names he mentions in his discourse. This pericope is laced with hidden nuances as he wanders his way through diaspora.  Just as Yehudah and Ya’aqob prepare for descent in to the place, “double straits,” Egypt (see below) Hakham Shaul must descend into diaspora to find those in possession of the Nefesh Yehudi concealed in the rarest places. How does Hakham Shaul describe the journey?

Being sent into Egypt for the sake of preservation is mirrored in the Galut HaGadol (the great exile). The Hakhamim of the B’ne Yisrael have been scattered like seed throughout the earth. If the sin of Adam HaRishon brought expulsion from Gan Eden, the Hakhamim will restore the earth to its Edenic (Pleasurable-delight) state through their dissemination of the Mesorah.

 

If we look at each Torah Seder as a Prophecy, we will note here that each of the Sons of Ya’aqob enter exile and it is a Jewish figure “like-Yosef” who acts as the redeemer of the whole world. Here it is evident that Yosef being “sold into Egypt” was a part of G-d’s Divine providence. Rather than being “sold in to Egypt” it is noteworthy to point out that Yosef was “sent into Egypt.” It was not for the sake of the Sons of Ya’aqob alone that Yosef was “sent.” Yosef becomes a redeemer of the whole world per se.

 

Our Remes text makes a similar assertion, “So, being sent out by the Spirit of Prophecy, they went down to Seleucia.” When reading the Remes portions we must use every tool we can to determine the semi-cryptic message. The “Spirit of Prophecy” selects and sends out Bar-Nechamah and Hakham Shaul. One definition for the name “Egypt” is “double straits.” This might be tantamount to saying twice as much trouble. Yet, G-d in His providence used Egypt as a birthing place, “double straits” for the nation of Yisrael. In the Remes text HaShem sends Bar-Nechamah and Hakham Shaul to “Seleucia” a place called “white light.” These names and or title are of special significance in our allegorical passages. Seleucia as a city among the Gentiles seem so odd. Why? Because Seleucia is synonymous with the idea of the Ohr HaGanuz primordial light. The Primordial Light is not for the Gentiles per se. This light “is sown like seed for the righteous/generous, and gladness for the upright in heart.”  This light, the Ohr HaGanuz (Primordial Light) resides within each individual connected with G-d and those who are recipients of the Nefesh Yehudi (Jewish Soul). So, what occupation is given to Bar-Nechamah and Hakham Shaul? Is it not to search out the “white lights” i.e. those who possess the Nefesh Yehudi in the farthest reaches of the world. But the journey does not stop at Seleucia. It continues to Cyprus the place of “love,” and or “a blossom” i.e. “Rose.” The rose here is essentially seen as a place. However, the “rose” is also indicative of Yisrael. “Like a lily among the thorns.”^[75] Yisrael among the Nations is a Lily among the thorns. These thorns protect Yisrael among the Nations. We might also extend our mental faculties so as to understand that we must use all of our hermeneutic powers to locate the Roses and white lights in our pursuance of the Nefesh Yehudi secluded in the most unusual places.

When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the Torah of God (Mesorah as elucidated by the Master) in the Synagogues of the Jews.

 

You are the salt of the earth, by the Jew first. Salt is usually seen as a covenantal bond shared by Jewish souls. Bar-Nechamah and Hakham Shaul share salt with Jewish brethren in “Salamis” (salt).

 

As we make our way through diaspora we are able to join forces with those who possess the Ohr HaGanuz. Yet will often find that we are opposed by pseudo-prophets and teachers claiming to be Jews. But we continue to seek out those that have been given the Nefesh Yehudi even in the most foreign of places. How far must we go? We must go all the way to Paphos,^[77] the inferno, Gehenna. Yet we do not stop at the inferno. We must go all the way to Pamphylia, the place “of every tribe.”

 

Hakham Shaul and the Nazarean Hakhamim know the time of the Great Exile is near. Thus we have the narrative laced with words that will give us hints as we wander along our way. Yet his words are comforting as he elaborates elusively that we will see “Every Tribe” reunited with Ya’aqob.

 

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 Sabbath:

 

Shabbat: “V’Et Y’hudah Shalach” - “And Judah (Jacob) sent” &

3^rd  of Three Sabbaths of Penitence

 

 

 

   

 

Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David

Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham

 

 

Note: This coming Shabbat is the 9^th of Ab, which is normally a day of serious fasting, repentance and prayer. However since it is Shabbat the day of Fasting is moved to the next day which is the 10^th of Ab. For further understanding about the fast of the 9^th of Ab, see:

 

http://www.betemunah.org/mourning.html & http://www.betemunah.org/tishabav.htmlon

 

May it go well this solemn fast to all Yisrael, amen ve amen!