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

 

 

 

Candle Lighting and Habdalah Times:

 

Amarillo, TX, U.S. Fri. Jul 24 2015 – Candles at 8:39 PM Sat. Jul 25 2015 – Habdalah 9:39 PM	Austin & Conroe, TX, U.S. Fri. Jul 24 2015 – Candles at 8:12 PM Sat. Jul 25 2015 – Habdalah 9:09 PM	Brisbane, Australia Fri. Jul 24 2015 – Candles at 4:57 PM Sat. Jul 25 2015 – Habdalah 5:52 PM
Chattanooga, & Cleveland, TN, U.S. Fri. Jul 24 2015 – Candles at 8:33 PM Sat. Jul 25 2015 – Habdalah 9:32 PM	Manila & Cebu, Philippines Fri. Jul 24 2015 – Candles at 6:10 PM Sat. Jul 25 2015 – Habdalah 7:02 PM	Miami, FL, U.S. Fri. Jul 24 2015 – Candles at 7:53 PM Sat. Jul 25 2015 – Habdalah 8:48 PM
Murray, KY, & Paris, TN. U.S. Fri. Jul 24 2015 – Candles at 7:51 PM Sat. Jul 25 2015 – Habdalah 8:52 PM	Olympia, WA, U.S. Fri. Jul 24 2015 – Candles at 8:36 PM Sat. Jul 25 2015 – Habdalah 9:49 PM	Port Orange, FL, U.S. Fri. Jul 24 2015 – Candles at 8:03 PM Sat. Jul 25 2015 – Habdalah 9:59 PM
San Antonio, TX, U.S. Fri. Jul 24 2015 – Candles at 8:13 PM Sat. Jul 25 2015 – Habdalah 9:10 PM	Sheboygan  & Manitowoc, WI, US Fri. Jul 24 2015 – Candles at 8:05 PM Sat. Jul 25 2015 – Habdalah 9:13 PM	Singapore, Singapore Fri. Jul 24 2015 – Candles at 6:58 PM Sat. Jul 25 2015 – Habdalah 7:49 PM
St. Louis, MO, U.S. Fri. Jul 24 2015 – Candles at 8:01 PM Sat. Jul 25 2015 – Habdalah 9:04 PM	Tacoma, WA, U.S. Fri. Jul 24 2015 – Candles at 8:35 PM Sat. Jul 25 2015 – Habdalah 9:48 PM

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

 

Roll of Honor:

 

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

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

His Honor Paqid Adon David ben Abraham

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

His Honor Paqid  Adon Yoel ben Abraham and beloved wife HH Giberet Rivka bat Dorit

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 Laurie Taylor

Her Excellency Giberet Gloria Sutton & 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

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

Her Excellency Giberet Patricia Sand

His Excellency Adon El-Adamah Ruach

Her Excellency Giberet Lydia Ruach

Her Excellency Giberet Anternette Clabon

Her Excellency Giberet Rosalyn Reed

Her Excellency Giberet Shanique Scipio

Her Excellency Giberet Olette Jennings

His Excellency Adon Ernest Davis

Her Excellency Giberet Claudine Johnson

Her Excellency Giberet Veronica Lagrone

Her Excellency Giberet Misty Freeman

Her Excellency Giberet Erma Dupree

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

 

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

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

 

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

 

We dedicate this Torah Seder Commentary in honor of His Honor Paqid Adon David ben Abraham, on the occasion of his birthday. We all join to wish him a Yom Huledet Sameach – a very happy birthday in the company of his loved ones. May His Honor be granted good health, a very long and productive life, with much joy and gladness, together with the ability to perform great deeds of loving-kindness, amen ve amen!

Blessings Before Torah Study

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Shabbat: “Chazon” – Sabbath: “The Vision”

 (Third of Three Sabbaths of Penitence)

 

 

Summary of the Torah Seder – ‎ D’barim (Deut.) 24:14- 25:19

 

·        Treatment Of Workmen – Deut. 24:14-15

·        Individual Responsibility – Deut. 24:16

·        Injustice to the Stranger, Orphan and Widow – Deut. 24:17-18

·        Generosity to the Landless – Deut. 24:19-22

·        Excessive Punishment – Deut. 25:1-3

·        Kindness to Animals – Deut. 25:4

·        Levirate Marriage – Deut. 25:5-10

·        Flagrant Immodesty – Deut. 25:11-12

·        Honest Weights and Measures – Deut. 25:13-16

·        Remembering Amalek – Deut. 25:17-19

 

 

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan

for: D’barim (Deut.) ‎‎‎24:14- 25:19

 

Rashi	Targum Pseudo Jonathan
14. You shall not withhold the wages of a poor or destitute hired worker, of your brothers or of your strangers who are in your land within your cities.	14. You will not be hard upon your neighbours, or shift (or decrease) the wages of the needy and poor hireling of your brethren, or of the strangers who sojourn in your land, in your cities. JERUSALEM: You will not wilfully keep back the wages of the poor and needy of your brethren.
15. You shall give him his wage on his day and not let the sun set over it, for he is poor, and he risks his life for it, so that he should not cry out to the Lord against you, so that there should be sin upon you.	15. In his day you will pay him his hire. Nor let the sun go down upon it; because he is poor, and he hopes (for that hire) to sustain his life: lest he appeal against you before the LORD, and it be guilt in you. JERUSALEM: In his day you will pay his wages, nor let the sun go down upon them; for he is poor, and by means of his hire he sustains his life: that he may not cry against you before the LORD: so beware that it become not guilt in you.
16. Fathers shall not be put to death because of sons, nor shall sons be put to death because of fathers; each man shall be put to death for his own transgression.	16. Fathers will not die either by the testimony or for the sin of the children, and children will not die either by the testimony or for the sin of the fathers: every one will die, by proper witnesses, for his own sin.
17. You shall not pervert the judgment of a stranger or an orphan, and you shall not take a widow's garment as security [for a loan] .	17. You will not warp the judgment of the stranger, the orphan, or the widow, nor will any one of you take the garment of the widow for a pledge, that evil neighbours rise not and bring out a bad report against her when you return her pledge unto her.
18. You shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and the Lord, your God, redeemed you from there; therefore, I command you to do this thing.	18. And remember that you were bondservants in the land of Mizraim, and that the Word of the LORD your God delivered you from thence; therefore have I commanded you to observe this thing.
19. When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to take it; it shall be [left] for the stranger, the orphan, and the widow, so that the Lord, your God, will bless you in all that you do.	19. When you have reaped your harvests in your fields, and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you will not return to take it; let it be for the stranger, the orphan, and the widow, that the Word of the Lord your God may bless you in all the works of your hands.
20. When you beat your olive tree, you shall not deglorify it [by picking all its fruit] after you; it shall be [left] for the stranger, the orphan and the widow.	20. When you beat your olive trees, you will not search them after (you have done it); for the stranger, the orphan, and widow, let it be. When you gather in your vineyard, you will not glean the branches after you; they will be for the stranger, the orphan, and widow.
21. When you pick the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not glean after you: it shall be [left] for the stranger, the orphan and the widow.	21. -----
22. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt: therefore, I command you to do this thing.	22. So remember that you were bondservants in the land of Mizraim; therefore I command you to do this thing.
1. If there is a quarrel between men, and they approach the tribunal, and they [the judges] judge them, and they acquit the innocent one and condemn the guilty one	1. If there be a controversy, between two men, then they will come to the judges, and they will judge them, and give the decision (or outweighing of) righteousness/generosity to the innocent, and of condemnation to the guilty.
2. and it shall be, if the guilty one has incurred [the penalty of] lashes, that the judge shall make him lean over and flog him in front of him, commensurate with his crime, in number.	2. And if the wicked deserve stripes, the judge will make him lie down, and they will scourge him in his presence by his judgment, according to the measure of his guilt.
3. He shall flog him with forty [lashes]; he shall not exceed, lest he give him a much more severe flogging than these [forty lashes], and your brother will be degraded before your eyes.	3. Forty (stripes) may be laid upon him, but with one less will he be beaten, (the full number) will not be completed, lest he should add to smite him beyond those thirty and nine, exorbitantly, and he be in danger; and that your brother may not be made despicable in your sight.
4. You shall not muzzle an ox when it is threshing [the grain].	4. You will not muzzle the mouth of the ox in the time of his treading out; nor the wife of the (deceased) brother, who would be mated with one smitten with an ulcer, and who is poorly related, will you tie up with him.
5. If brothers reside together, and one of them dies having no son, the dead man's wife shall not marry an outsider. [Rather,] her husband's brother shall be intimate with her, making her a wife for himself, thus performing the obligation of a husband's brother with her.	5. When brethren from the (same) father inhabit this world at the same time, and have the same inheritance, the wife of one of them, who may have died, will not go forth into the street to marry a stranger; her brother-in-law will go to her, and take her to wife, and become her husband.
6. And it will be, that the eldest brother [who performs the levirate marriage, if] she [can] bear will succeed in the name of his deceased brother, so that his [the deceased brother's] name shall not be obliterated from Israel.	6. And the first-born whom she bears will stand in the inheritance in the name of the deceased brother, that his name may not be blotted out from Israel.
7. But if the man does not wish to take his brother's wife, the brother's wife shall go up to the gate, to the elders, and say, "My husband's brother has refused to perpetuate his brother's name in Israel he does not wish to perform the obligation of a husband's brother with me."	7. But if the man be not willing, to take his sister-in-law, then will his sister-in-law go up to the gate of the Beth Din before five of the Sages, three of whom will be judges and two of them witnesses, and let her say before them in the holy language: My husband's brother refuses to keep up the name of his brother in Israel, he is not willing to marry me.
8. Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak to him, and he shall stand up and say, "I do not wish to take her."	8. And the elders of his city will call him and speak with him, with true counsel; and he may rise up in the house of justice, and say in the holy tongue, I am not willing to take her.
9. Then his brother's wife shall approach him before the eyes of the elders and remove his shoe from his foot. And she shall spit before his face and answer [him] and say, "Thus shall be done to the man who will not build up his brother's household!"	9. Then will his sister-in-law come to him before the Sages, and there will be a shoe upon the foot of the brother-in-law, a heeled sandal whose latchets are tied, the latchets at the opening of the sandal being fastened; and he will stamp on the ground with his foot; and the woman will arise and untie the latchet, and draw off the sandal from his foot, and afterward spit before him, as much spittle as may be seen by the Sages, and will answer and say, So is it fit to be done to the man who would not build up the house of his brother.
10. And that family shall be called in Israel, "The family of the one whose shoe was removed."	10. And all who are standing there will exclaim against him, and call his name in Israel the House of the Unshod.
11. If [two] men, a man and his brother, are fighting together, and the wife of one of them approaches to rescue her husband from his assailant, and she stretches forth her hand and grabs hold of his private parts	11. While men are striving together, if the wife of one of them approach to rescue her husband from the hand of him who smites him, and putting forth her hand takes hold of the place of his private parts,
12. you shall cut off her hand You shall not have pity.	12. you will cut off her hand; your eyes will not pity.
13. You shall not keep in your pouch two different weights, one large and one small.	13. You will not have in your bag weights that are deceitful; great weights to buy with, and less weights to sell with.
14. You shall not keep in your house two different ephah measures, one large and one small.	14. Nor will you have in your houses measures that deceive; great measures to buy with, and less measures to sell with.
15. [Rather,] you shall have a full and honest weight, [and] a full and honest ephah measure, in order that your days will be prolonged on the land which the Lord, your God, gives you.	15. Perfect weights, and true balances will you have, perfect measures and scales that are true will be yours, that your days may be multiplied on the land which the Lord your God gives you.
16. For whoever does these things, whoever perpetrates such injustice, is an abomination to the Lord, your God.	16. For whosoever commits these frauds, everyone who acts falsely in trade, is an abomination before the Lord.
17. You shall remember what Amalek did to you on the way, when you went out of Egypt,	17. Keep in mind what the house of Amalek did unto you in the way, on your coming up out of Mizraim;
18. how he happened upon you on the way and cut off all the stragglers at your rear, when you were faint and weary, and he did not fear God.	18. how they overtook you in the way, and slew every one of those among you who were thinking to go aside from My Word; the men of the tribe of the house of Dan, in whose hands were idols (or things of strange worship), and the clouds overcast them, and they of the house of Amalek took them and mutilated them, and they were cast up: but you, O house of Israel, were faint and weary from great servitude of the Mizraee, and the terrors of the waves of the sea through the midst of which you had passed. Nor were the house of Amalek afraid before the Lord.
19. [Therefore,] it will be, when the Lord your God grants you respite from all your enemies around [you] in the land which the Lord, your God, gives to you as an inheritance to possess, that you shall obliterate the remembrance of Amalek from beneath the heavens. You shall not forget!	19. Therefore, when the Lord has given you rest from all your enemies round about in the land that the Lord Your God gives you to inherit for a possession, you will blot out the memory of Amalek from under the heavens; but of the days of the King Messiah you will not be unmindful.

 

Welcome to the World of P’shat Exegesis

 

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

 

The Seven Hermeneutic Laws of R. Hillel are as follows

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Rashi’s Commentary on D’barim (Deut.) ‎‎24:14- 25:19

 

14 You shall not withhold the wages of a [poor or destitute] hired worker But has this not already been written [in the verse, “You shall not withhold what is due your fellow [Jew]” (Lev. 19:13)]? However, this [negative commandment] is [repeated here] to [make one] transgress two negative commandments for [withholding the pay due] a destitute person: [First, here,] not to withhold the wages of a worker who is poor or destitute, and [secondly,] concerning [even] the well-to-do worker, one was already admonished (Lev. 19:13)], “You shall not [unjustly] withhold what is due your fellow [Jew, which includes the destitute as well].”-[B.M. 61a] [See Chavel and Yosef Hallel, who quote the Reggio edition, which is more correct.] destitute Heb. אֶבְיוֹן , one who longs for everything [because he has nothing. The word for longing (תאב) resembles the word for destitute (אֶבְיוֹן) ]. -[See Midrash Prov. 22:22]

 

of your strangers This [refers to] a righteous proselyte [who converts to Judaism out of genuine conviction and pure motives].-[Sifrei 24:145]

 

within your cities This [expression refers to] a convert who [has undertaken not to practice idolatry, but] eats animals that have not been ritually slaughtered.-[Sifrei 24:145]

 

who are in your land This [expression] comes to include the hire of animals or utensils.-[Sifrei 24:145, B.M. 111b]

 

15 and he risks his life for it For this wage he risks his life. [For instance,] he climbed up a ramp or suspended himself from a tree.-[B. M. 112a]

 

so that there should be sin upon you in any case, [even if he does not cry out to the Lord against you]. However, punishment is meted out faster by virtue of one who cries out.-[Sifrei 24:146]

 

16 Fathers shall not be put to death because of sons [I.e.,] by the testimony of [their] sons. But, if you say [that it means that fathers shall not be put to death] because of the sins of their sons, it has already been stated, “each man shall be put to death for his own transgression.” However, one who is not yet a man may die on account of his father’s transgressions. [Therefore,] minors may die at the hands of Heaven on account of their parents’ sins.-[Sifrei 24:147, Shab. 32b]

 

17 You shall not pervert the judgment of a stranger or an orphan And concerning a wealthy person, [meaning anyone, not necessarily poor], one has already been warned, “You shall not pervert justice” (Deut. 16:19). However, [Scripture] repeats this prohibition here in reference to the poor man to [make one] transgress two negative commandments [for perverting the justice due a poor man]. Since it is easier to pervert the judgment of a poor man than that of a rich man, [Scripture] admonishes and then repeats [the admonition].

 

and you shall not take a widow’s garment as security [for a loan] not at the time of the loan, [but when the debtor has defaulted].

 

18 You shall remember [that you were a slave in Egypt, and the Lord, your God, redeemed you from there] [God says:] On that condition I redeemed you, [namely, on the condition] that you observe My statutes, even if you incur monetary loss in the matter.

 

19 and forget a sheaf but not a stack. [That is, if someone forgot a stack of grain, he may go back to retrieve it.] (Sifrei 24:149). Hence, [our Rabbis] said: (Pe’ah 6:6) A sheaf containing two se’ah, which someone forgot, is not considered שִׁכְחָה [that is, the harvester is permitted to go back and retrieve it].

 

[When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf] in the field [Why the repetition of the word "field"? This comes] to include שִׁכְחָה of standing grain, part of which the harvester had forgotten to reap, [not only bound up sheaves standing in the field]. -[Sifrei 24:149]

 

you shall not go back to take it From here, [our Rabbis] said: Whatever is behind him is considered שִׁכְחָה , “forgotten” [and may not be retrieved]. Whatever is in front of him, is not considered “forgotten” [and may still be retrieved], since it does not come under the law of “you shall not go back to take.” - [Pe’ah 6:4]

 

so that [the Lord, your God,] will bless you Although [the forgotten sheaf came into his hand without intention [of the owner], how much more so [will one be blessed] if he did it deliberately! Hence, you must say that if someone dropped a sela, and a poor man found it and was sustained by it, then he [who lost the coin] will be blessed on its account.-[Sifrei 24:149]

 

20 you shall not deglorify it [by picking all its fruit] after you Heb. לֹא־תְפַאֵר , [This word is derived from פְּאֵר or תִּפְאֶרֶת , “glory.” The “glory” of an olive-tree is its fruit. Thus, the meaning is: “You shall not take its glory” (תִּפְאֶרֶת) from it. [I.e., do not remove all its fruit.] Hence, [our Rabbis derive that [in addition to the harvest of grain and produce, in fruit-bearing trees also], one must leave behind פֵּאָה , [fruits at the end of the olive harvest].-[Chul. 131b] after you This refers to שִׁכְחָה , forgotten fruit [in the case of a fruit-bearing tree, that one must leave the forgotten fruit for the poor to collect].-[Chul. 131b]

 

21 [When you pick the grapes of your vineyard,] you shall not glean i.e., if you find עוֹלְלוֹת , small clusters therein, you shall not take them. Now what constitutes עוֹלְלוֹת [thus necessitating them to be left for the poor]? Any cluster of grapes which has neither a כָּתֵף , “shoulder” or a נָטֵף , “drippings.” But if it has either one of them, it belongs to the householder.- [Pe’ah 7:4] I saw in the Talmud Yerushalmi (Pe’ah 7:3): “What is a כָּתֵף , shoulder?” It is [a cluster of grapes] in which the sprigs of grapes pile one on top of the other [at the top of the cluster, together taking on the shape of a shoulder. And what is] a נָטֵף , “drippings?” These are the grapes suspended from the central stalk [of the cluster, as though dripping down].

 

Chapter 25

 

1 If there is a quarrel they will eventually go to court. We learn from this, that peace cannot result from quarrel. [Just think,] what caused Lot to leave the righteous man [Abraham] (Gen. 13:7-12)? Clearly, it was quarrel.-[Sifrei 25:152]

 

and condemn the guilty one [Since the next verse continues, "the judge shall... flog him,"] one might think that all those convicted by the court must be flogged. Therefore, Scripture teaches us, “and it shall be, if the guilty one has incurred [the penalty] of lashes...” (verse 2). [From here, we see that] sometimes [a convicted party] is given lashes, and sometimes he is not. Who receives lashes is derived from the context, as follows: [Some negative commandments are mitigated by positive commandments which relate to the same matter, for example, the law of sending away the mother bird (Deut. 22:6-7). Scripture (22:6) states the negative commandment: “you shall not take the mother upon the young,” and immediately, Scripture (22:7) continues to state the positive commandment of: “You shall send away the mother.” Here, the negative commandment is mitigated by the positive commandment. How so? If someone transgressed the negative commandment and took the mother bird from upon her young, he may clear himself of the punishment he has just incurred, by fulfilling the positive commandment of sending the mother bird away from the nest. This is an example of “a negative commandment mitigated by a positive commandment.” (see Mishnah Mak. 17a) Now, in our context, immediately after describing the procedure of flogging in court, the next verse (4) continues with the negative commandment of:] “You shall not muzzle an ox when it is threshing [the grain],” a negative commandment which is not mitigated by a positive one. [Therefore, from the very context of these verses, we learn that only for transgressing a “negative commandment which is not mitigated by a positive commandment,” is one punished by lashes.]-[see Mak. 13b]

 

2 the judge shall make him lean over This teaches [us] that they [the judges] do not flog [the guilty party while [the latter is] standing or sitting, but, [when he is] leaning over.-[Mak. 22b]

 

[The judge shall... flog him] in front of him, commensurate with his crime Heb., רִשְׁעָתוֹ כְּדֵי [singular—meaning one punishment before him -] and behind him twice that number. From here they [the Rabbis] said: “They must give him two thirds [of his lashes] behind him [i.e., on his back], and one third in front of him [i.e., on his chest]” (Mak. 22b)

 

in number Heb. בְּמִסְפָּר , but it is not vowelized בַּמִּסְפָּר , in the number. This teaches us that the word בְּמִסְפָּר is in the construct state, [qualifying the word following it which is the first word of the next verse, namely, אַרְבָּעִים ], to read: בְּמִסְפָּר אַרְבָּעִים , that is, “[and flog him...] the number of forty,” but not quite a full quota of forty, but the number that leads up to the full total of forty, i.e., “forty-minus-one.”-[Mak. 22b]

 

3 He... shall not exceed From here, we derive the admonition that one may not strike his fellow man. - [Keth. 33a, San. 85a]

 

and your brother will be degraded All day [that is, throughout the entire procedure], Scripture calls him רָשָׁע , “wicked,” but, once he has been flogged, behold, he is “your brother.”-[Sifrei 25:153]

 

4 You shall not muzzle an ox Scripture is speaking here in terms of what usually occurs [i.e., one usually uses an ox for threshing grain]. However, the law applies equally to any species of domestic animal, non-domesticated animal, or bird, and in any area of work in the process of preparing food. If so, why does Scripture specify an ox? To exclude man [from this law. That is, if it is a human who is performing the work, his employer is permitted to “muzzle” him, that is, to prevent the worker from eating from the produce. Nevertheless, it is a mitzvah to allow him to eat from the employer’s produce.]-[Sifrei 25:154]

 

when it is threshing [the grain] One might have thought that it is permissible to muzzle the animal outside [the work area, i.e., before it starts threshing]. Therefore, Scripture says, "You shall not muzzle an ox!"—i.e., at any time [even before the actual threshing] (see B.M. 90b). Why then, is threshing mentioned? To tell you that, just as threshing [has two specific features]: a) It is a thing that does not represent the completion of its process [rendering the product liable for tithing and challah], and b) it [namely, grain] grows from the ground, likewise, any [work] which resembles it [in these two features, is included in this law]. Thus, excluded [from this prohibition] is the labor of milking, cheese-making, or in churning [milk, to produce buttermilk], all of which deal with an item that does not grow from the ground. Also excluded is the labor of kneading [dough], or in rolling out the dough to shape, for these procedures do in fact complete the process, rendering the product liable for challah to be taken. A further exclusion to this prohibition is the labor of separating dates and figs [that is, when spreading out dates and figs on a roof or the like, so that they dry, the fruit may adhere into one mass. Here, the procedure is to separate individual dates or figs from the mass, a procedure] which completes the preparation process, rendering the fruit liable for tithing.-[B.M. 89a]

 

5 If brothers reside together [meaning] that they were both alive at the same time, [lit. that they had one dwelling in the world]. It excludes the wife of his brother who was no longer in the world [when he was born]. [This means as follows: If a man dies, and his brother is born after his death, his widow may not marry the brother of her deceased husband.] -[Sifrei 25:155, Yev. 17b]

 

together [This law applies only to brothers] who share in the inheritance “together” [namely, paternal brothers]. This excludes maternal brothers. -[Sifrei 25:155, Yev. 17b]

 

having no son Heb. וּבֵן אֵין־לוֹ [Literally, “and he has no son.” Here, the word אֵין can be read also as עַיִן , meaning to “investigate,” because an א is interchangeable with an ע (see Yev. 22b). Thus, the verse also teaches us:] Investigate him [if he has progeny of any sort]—whether he has a son or a daughter, or a son’s son or a son’s daughter, or a daughter’s son or a daughter’s daughter. [And if he has any of these, the law of יִבּוּם does not apply.]

 

6 the eldest brother Heb. הַבְּכוֹר , [literally “the firstborn.” However, here it means that] the eldest brother [of the deceased] should perform the levirate marriage with the widow.-[Sifrei 25:156, Yev. 24a]

 

she [can] bear Heb. אֲשֶׁר תֵּלֵד [literally, “who will give birth.”] This excludes a woman incapable of conception. -[Sifrei 25: 156, Yev. 24a]

 

will succeed in the name of his deceased brother [literally, “will rise in the name of his brother.”] The one who marries his wife, is to take the share of his deceased brother’s inheritance of their father’s property [in addition to his own share]. -[Yev. 24a]

 

so that his name shall not be obliterated This excludes [from the obligation of יִבּוּם ] the wife of a eunuch whose name [was already] obliterated. -[Yev. 24a]

 

7 to the gate [Not to the gate of the city, but,] as the Targum [Onkelos] renders it: to the gate of the court.

 

8 and he shall stand up [He must make this declaration] in a standing position. -[Sifrei 25:158]

 

and say in the Holy Language. She too shall make her statement in the Holy Language.-[Yev. 106b]

 

9 And she shall spit before his face on the ground, [not in his face].-[Yev. 106b]

 

[Thus shall be done to the man] who will not build up [his brother’s household] From here, [we learn] that one who has undergone the rite of chalitzah [described in these verses], cannot change his mind and marry her, for it does not say, “[Thus will be done to that man] who did not build up [his brother’s household],” but,"who will not build up [his brother’s household]." Since he did not build it up [when he was obliged to do so], he will never again build it up.-[Yev. 10b]

 

10 And his name shall be called [in Israel] It is the duty of all those standing there to proclaim: הַנָּעַל חֲלוּץ - “you, who have had your shoe removed!”-[Yev. 106b]

 

11 If... men... are fighting together they will eventually come to blows, as it is said: “[to rescue her husband] from his assailant.” [The moral here is:] Peace cannot result from strife.-[Sifrei 25:160]

 

12 You shall cut off her hand [This verse is not to be understood literally, but rather, it means:] She must pay monetary damages to recompense the victim for the embarrassment he suffered [through her action. The amount she must pay is calculated by the court,] all according to the [social status] of the culprit and the victim (see B.K. 83b). But perhaps [it means that we must actually cut off] her very hand? [The answer is born out from a transmission handed down to our Rabbis, as follows:] Here, it says לֹא תָחוֹס , “do not have pity,” and later, in the case of conspiring witnesses (Deut. 19:21), the same expression, לֹא תָחוֹס , is used. [And our Rabbis taught that these verses have a contextual connection:] Just as there, in the case of the conspiring witnesses, [the literal expressions in the verse refer to] monetary compensation (see Rashi on that verse), so too, here, [the expression “You must cut off her hand” refers to] monetary compensation.-[Sifrei 25:161]

 

13 two different weights [This term is not to be understood literally as “stones,” but rather, it refers to specific stones, namely:] weights [used to weigh merchandise in business].

 

one large and one small [literally, “big and small.” This means:] the big stone “contradicts” [i.e., is inconsistent with] the small one. [That is to say, you must not have two weights which appear to be the same, but in fact, are unequal, allowing you] to purchase goods with the larger weight [thereby cheating the purchaser], and to sell with the smaller one [thereby cheating the buyer].-[Sifrei 25:162]

 

14 You shall not keep Heb. לֹא־יִהְיֶה לְךָ , literally, “You will not have.” That is, the verse literally reads: “If you keep... two different weights, you will not have.” This teaches us that] if you do this, You will not have anything! -[Sifrei 25: 162] [However,]

 

15 you shall have a full and honest weight [Literally, “If you keep a full and honest weight, you will have.” That is to say,] if you do this, you will have much.-[Sifrei 25:162]

 

17 You shall remember what [Amalek] did to you [The juxtaposition of these passages teaches us that] if you use fraudulent measures and weights, you should be worried about provocation from the enemy, as it is said: “Deceitful scales are an abomination of the Lord” (Prov. 11:1), after which the [next] verse continues, “When willful wickedness comes, then comes disgrace.” [That is, after you intentionally sin by using deceitful scales, the enemy will come to provoke you into war, and this will be a disgraceful matter to you].-[Tanchuma 8]

 

18 how he happened upon you on the way Heb. קָרְךָ , an expression denoting a chance occurrence (מִקְרֶה) . -[Sifrei 25:167] Alternatively, an expression denoting seminal emission (קֶרִי) and defilement, because Amalek defiled the Jews by [committing] homosexual acts [with them].- [Tanchuma 9] Yet another explanation: an expression denoting heat and cold (קוֹר) . He cooled you off and made you [appear] tepid, after you were boiling hot, for the nations were afraid to fight with you, [just as people are afraid to touch something boiling hot]. But this one, [i.e., Amalek] came forward and started and showed the way to others. This can be compared to a bathtub of boiling water into which no living creature could descend. Along came an irresponsible man and jumped headlong into it! Although he scalded himself, he [succeeded to] make others think that it was cooler [than it really was].-[Tanchuma 9]

 

and cut off [The word וַיְזַנֵּב is derived from the word זָנָב , meaning “tail.” Thus, the verse means: Amalek] “cut off the tail.” This refers to the fact that Amalek cut off the members [of the male Jews,] where they had been circumcised, and cast them up [provocatively] towards Heaven [exclaiming to God: “You see! What good has Your commandment of circumcision done for them?”]-[Tanchuma 9]

 

all the stragglers at your rear Those who lacked strength on account of their transgression. [And because these Jews had sinned,] the cloud [of glory] had expelled them [thereby leaving them vulnerable to Amalek’s further attack]. - [Tanchuma 10]

 

you were faint and weary faint from thirst, as it is written, “The people thirsted there for water” (Exod. 17:3), and [immediately] afterwards it says, “Amalek came [and fought with Israel]” (verse 17:8). - [Tanchuma 10]

 

and weary from the journey. -[Tanchuma 10]

 

He did not fear [God] i.e., Amalek did not fear God [so as to refrain] from doing you harm.-[Sifrei 25:167]

 

19 you shall obliterate the remembrance of Amalek Both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep [camel and donkey] (God’s command to King Saul: see I Sam. 15: 3), so that the name of Amalek should never again be mentioned (נִזְכָּר) , from the word (זֵכֶר) , even regarding an animal, to say: “This animal was from Amalek.”-[Midrash Lekach Tov]

 

Ketubim: Tehillim (Psalms) ‎‎136:1-26 & 137:1-9

 

RASHI	TARGUM
1. Give thanks to the Lord because He is good, for His kindness is eternal.	1. Sing praise in the presence of the LORD, for He is good, for His goodness is forever.
2. Give thanks to the God of the angels, for His kindness is eternal.	2. Sing praise to the God of gods, for His goodness is forever.
3. Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for His kindness is eternal.	3. Sing praise to the LORD of lords, for His goodness is forever.
4. To Him Who performs great wonders alone, for His kindness is eternal.	4. To Him who did great wonders by Himself, for His goodness is forever.
5. To Him Who made the heavens with understanding, for His kindness is eternal.	5. To Him who made the heavens by insight, for His goodness is forever.
6. To Him Who spread out the earth over the water, for His kindness is eternal.	6. To Him who made firm the earth on the waters, for His goodness is forever.
7. To Him Who made great luminaries, for His kindness is eternal.	7. To Him who made great lights, for His goodness is forever.
8. The sun to rule by day, for His kindness is eternal.	8. The sun to rule by day, for His goodness is forever.
9. The moon and stars to rule at night, for His kindness is eternal.	9. The moon and stars to rule by night, for His goodness is forever.
10. To Him Who smote the Egyptians with their firstborn, for His kindness is eternal.	10. To Him who smites the Egyptians with plagues, killing the firstborn, for His goodness is forever.
11. And He took Israel from their midst, for His kindness is eternal.	11. And brought out Israel redeemed from among them, for His goodness is forever.
12. With a strong hand and with an outstretched arm, for His kindness is eternal.	12. With a mighty hand and upraised arm, for His goodness is forever.
13. To Him Who cut the Sea of Reeds asunder, for His kindness is eternal.	13. To Him who split the Sea of Reeds into pieces, for His goodness is forever.
14. And caused Israel to cross in its midst, for His kindness is eternal.	14. And made Israel cross over in the middle of it, for His goodness is forever.
15. And He threw Pharaoh and his host into the Sea of Reeds, for His kindness is eternal.	15. And choked Pharaoh and his forces in the Sea of Reeds, for His goodness is forever.
16. To Him Who led His people in the desert, for His kindness is eternal.	16. To Him who led his people in the wilderness, for His goodness is forever.
17. To Him Who smote great kings, for His kindness is eternal.	17. To Him who smites great kings, for His goodness is forever.
18. And slew mighty kings, for His kindness is eternal.	18. And slew proud kings, for His goodness is forever.
19. Sihon the king of the Amorites, for His kindness is eternal.	19. Namely, Sihon the Amorite king, for His goodness is forever.
20. And Og the king of Bashan, for His kindness is eternal.	20. And Og, king of Mathnan, for His goodness is forever.
21. And He gave their land as an inheritance, for His kindness is eternal.	21. And gave their land as an inheritance, for His goodness is forever.
22. An inheritance to Israel His servant, for His kindness is eternal.	22. An inheritance to Israel His servant, for His goodness is forever.
23. Who remembered us in our humble state, for His kindness is eternal.	23. In our humiliation He remembered His covenant with us, for His goodness is forever.
24. And He rescued us from our adversaries, for His kindness is eternal.	24. And redeemed us from our oppressors, for His goodness is forever.
25. Who gives bread to all flesh, for His kindness is eternal.	25. Who gives His food to all flesh, for His goodness is forever.
26. Give thanks to the God of heaven, for His kindness is eternal.	26. Sing praise to the God of heaven, for His goodness is forever.
1. By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat, we also wept when we remembered Zion.	1. By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, also we wept, as we were remembering Zion.
2. On willows in its midst we hung our harps.	2. On the willows in her midst we hung our harps.
3. For there our captors asked us for words of song and our tormentors [asked of us] mirth, "Sing for us of the song of Zion."	3. For there the Babylonians who captured us asked us to utter the words of songs; and our despoilers, because of their] joy, were saying, "Sing for us some of the songs you used to utter inZion."
4. "How shall we sing the song of the Lord on foreign soil?"	4. At once the Levites cut off their thumbs with their teeth, and say, "How can we sing the praise of the LORD on profane land?"
5. If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget [its skill].	5. The voice of the Holy Spirit replies and says, "If I forget you, O Jerusalem, I will forget my right hand."
6. May my tongue cling to my palate, if I do not remember you, if I do not bring up Jerusalem at the beginning of my joy.	6. My tongue will cleave to my palate, if I will not remember you; if I will not elevate the memory of Jerusalem above the principal joy of my temple.
7. Remember, O Lord, for the sons of Edom, the day of Jerusalem, those who say, "Raze it, raze it, down to its foundation!"	7. Said Michael, prince of Jerusalem, "Remember, O LORD, the people of Edom, who laid wasteJerusalem, who say, Destroy, destroy, to the foundations of it.”
8. O Daughter of Babylon, who is destined to be plundered, praiseworthy is he who repays you your recompense that you have done to us.	8. Said Gabriel, prince of Zion to the despoiling Babylonian mother, "Happy he who gives back to youevil for what you did to us."
9. Praiseworthy is he who will take and dash your infants against the rock.	9. Happy he who takes and smashes your children on a rock.

 

 

Rashi’s Commentary on Tehillim (Psalms) 136:1-26 & 137:1-9 

 

Chapter 136

 

4 To Him Who performs great wonders alone In the beginning, no angel was created when He made the wonders: the heaven, the earth, the sun and the moon.

 

10 To Him Who smote the Egyptians with their firstborn It does not say, “their firstborn,” but “with their firstborn.” The firstborn arose and beat their fathers’ legs because they detained Israel, when they heard about the tenth plague from Moses.

 

13 asunder In twelve pieces for the twelve tribes.

 

17 great kings Here he alluded to the thirty-one kings, and he compared for them Pharaoh and his host and the plagues of Egypt to mighty kings, harsher than they. Sihon was equal to all of them, [and Og was equal to all of them (Machzor Vitry)], each one individually, and so did he explain above (135:11): “Sihon the king of the Amorites and Og the king of Bashan and all the kingdoms of Canaan.” So it is in the Aggadah.

 

23 Who remembered us in our humble state In Egypt, He remembered us.

 

24 And He rescued us from their midst and performed all these wonders for us.

 

25 Who gives bread He alludes here to kindness (to all creatures).

 

26 Gives thanks to the God of heaven Who prepares therein food for every creature. The expression, “for His kindness is eternal,” appears twenty-six times in this psalm, corresponding to the twenty-six generations that the world was without Torah and existed through the kindness of the Holy One, blessed be He.

 

Chapter 137

 

1 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat when we went down into exile, and Nebuchadnezzar asked them to sing for him as they used to sing on the stage.

 

2 On willows Willows of the brook.

 

3 and our tormentors mirth Heb. ותוללינו , kinds of musical instruments that they hang up. This is how Menachem interpreted it (p. 184): וְתוֹלָלֵינוּ שמחה , and our musical instruments of joy. וְתוֹלָלֵינוּ can also be interpreted as: our enemies who would scorn and mock and joke with us, an expression of (102:9): “those who scorn me (מהוללי) swear by me.”

 

5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem The congregation of Israel says this.

 

6 If I do not bring up Jerusalem The remembrance of the mourning of its destruction I shall bring up to mention at the head of every joyous occasion of mine.

 

7 Raze it Heb. עָרוּ is an expression of destruction, and so (Jer. 51:58): “The broad walls of Babylon shall be overthrown (תתערער) ,” and so (Hab. 3:13): “baring (ערות) the foundation.” It is used only for something whose roots are uprooted from the ground.

 

 

Meditation from the Psalms

Psalms 136:1-26 & 137:1-9 

By H. Em. Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David

 

The twenty-six verses of Psalms chapter 136 correspond to the numerical value of the Four-Letter Name [HaShem] י־ה־ו־ה, which designates G-d as the Creator and Master of world affairs. This psalm outlines the prime elements of the creation of the universe and records the major events of Israel’s exodus from Egypt and the subsequent conquest of Canaan. The psalm concludes with the declaration:

 

Tehillim (Psalms) 136:25 He gives bread to all living creatures, for His kindness endures forever.

 

The Talmud^[1] notes that in this composition the Psalmist equates the most awesome Divine miracles, i.e., He divided the Sea of Reeds into parts^[2] with the apparently mundane and routine task of providing for daily sustenance, i.e., He gives bread to all living creatures.^[3] This teaches that the provision of daily sustenance is as significant as the splitting of the sea. History is not confined to extraordinary events, such as the creation and the exodus. History continues to unfold every day as HaShem demonstrates control over the countless details that provide every creature with its daily needs. Therefore, the Talmud^[4] calls this psalm הלל הגדול, the Great Hallel because it underscores HaShem’s most enduring achievement, the sustenance of every living thing.

 

This psalm is recited every Sabbath morning when Jews commemorate the perfection of HaShem’s seven-day Creation which continues perpetually. The Great Hallel is also included in the ritual of the Passover Seder, for these verses describe many of the miracles which HaShem performed as He redeemed Israel from Egypt.^[5]

 

Psalm 136 was written by an anonymous author. As such, we do not have any background to suggest why it was written and what was going on in the author’s life that was compelling him to write this psalm. That said, we can see that this psalm was clearly written when the Psalmist was contemplating the mighty works of HaShem. The Midrash^[6] drashically hints that David was the author. It seems to me that the author of this psalm was inspired by a few pesukim in our Torah portion. The first two are virtually repetitious and call attention to themselves by being in close proximity. The third pasuk seems to demand Hallel:

 

Debarim (Deuteronomy) 24:18 But thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt, and HaShem thy God redeemed thee thence; therefore I command thee to do this thing. 

 

Debarim (Deuteronomy) 24:22 And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt; therefore I command thee to do this thing.

 

Debarim (Deuteronomy) 24:19 Therefore it shall be, when HaShem thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which HaShem thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it, that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget.

 

The verbal tally in verse 21 of our psalm, unlikely as it seems, appears to be HaShem^[7] – י־ה־ו־ה. This is emphasized, as we said before, by the twenty-six pesukim which allude to the gematria of The Name (yod =10, hay=5, vav=6, hay=5). The word land or earth^[8] also figures as a verbal tally with our Torah portion. Psalms chapter 36 seems to focus on the acquisition of the land and our Torah portion focuses on the commands that apply when we are in the land.

 

As we mentioned last week, some say that Psalms chapters 135 and 136 stand as a single unit that is called “The Great Hallel”.^[9] Psalms 135 and 136 constitute a single unit that parallels the Egyptian Hallel.^[10] According to Rabbi Yochanan,^[11] this unit is the Great Hallel mentioned in the tractate Ta’anit 3:9 and Pesachim 118a. ^[12]

 

Pesachim 118a What comprises the great Hallel? Rab Judah said: From ‘O give thanks’ until ‘the rivers of Babylon.’^[13] While R. Johanan said: From ‘A song of ascents’ until ‘the rivers of Babylon.’^[14] R. Aha b. Jacob said: From ‘for the Lord hath chosen Jacob unto himself’^[15] until ‘the rivers of Babylon.’ And why is it called the great Hallel? — Said R. Johanan: Because the Holy One, blessed be He, sits in the heights of the universe and distributes food to all creatures.^[16]

 

Berachoth 4b R. Eleazar b. Abina says: Whoever recites [the psalm] Praise of David^[17] three times daily, is sure to inherit^[18] the world to come. What is the reason? Shall I say it is because it has an alphabetical arrangement? Then let him recite, Happy are they that are upright in the way,^[19] which has an eightfold alphabetical arrangement. Again, is it because it contains [the verse], Thou openest Thy hand [and satisfiest every living thing with favor]?^[20] Then let him recite the great Hallel,^[21] where it is written: Who giveth food to all flesh!^[22] — Rather, [the reason is] because it contains both.^[23]

 

Our Sages have resolved the dispute over what constitutes the Great Hallel by deciding that it consists only of Psalm 136 and not both Psalms 135 and 136. Thus Psalm 136 is the Great Hallel!^[24]

 

Our Torah portion and psalm are also both associated with remembering. The last three pesukim of our Torah portion are read on Shabbat Zachor, the Sabbath of Remembrance, just before Purim. This is the only Torah portion that everyone is obligated to hear. This portion speaks of the mitzva to wipe out Amalek. Our psalm (136:23) also speaks of Israel being remembered and then immediately equating this remembering with deliverance from our adversaries – Amalek being the quintessential adversary:

 

Tehillim (Psalms) 136:23-24 Who remembered us in our low estate: for his mercy endureth for ever. 24 And hath delivered us from our adversaries, for His mercy endureth for ever.

 

This Torah portion is being read on Shabbat Hazon.^[25] This Shabbat normally falls just before, or on, Tisha B’Ab, as it does this year. Shabbat Hazon takes its name from the Haftarah that is read on the Shabbat immediately prior to the mournful fast of Tisha B’Ab, from the words of rebuke and doom coming from Isaiah in the Book of Isaiah 1:1-27. It is also referred to as the Black Sabbath due to its status as the saddest Shabbat of the year, as opposed to the White Sabbath, Shabbat Shuvah, immediately proceeding Yom Kippur.

 

Reading the Great Hallel on Shabbat Hazon suggests that our psalm, speaks of the joyous day when Tisha B’Ab will be a festival day where we celebrate the appearance of Mashiach ben David.^[26]

 

Psalms chapter 137: The Talmud^[27] states: The Holy One, Blessed is He, endowed David with prophetic vision, and he foresaw the destruction of the First Temple (How appropriate that we read this chapter of Psalms on the day that both the first and second Temples were destroyed and we were taken into exile in Babylon and to ‘Rome’^[28].): By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and also wept, when we remembered Zion.^[29] He also foresaw the destruction of the Second Temple: Remember, HaShem, for the offspring of Edom, the day of Jerusalem, for those who say, ‘Destroy! Destroy! to its very foundation’.^[30]

 

This dirge like psalm vividly conveys the intense mourning of a once joyous nation shrouded in the gloom of exile. The memory of our former glory in Zion and the inescapable awareness of our present degradation casts a pall over every aspect of our existence on foreign soil.

 

There is a custom for the bridegroom to recite this verse under the wedding canopy as he awaits the arrival of his bride, to fulfill the Jew’s eternal vow not to fail to elevate Jerusalem above his foremost joy.^[31]

 

It is customary to recite this psalm before Bircat HaMazon, Grace after Meals, in order to keep the memory of the Temple’s destruction fresh in our minds even when our bodies are filled with contentment. It is omitted, however, on the Sabbath, festivals, and days when Tachanun is not said, for it is improper to intrude upon the joy of festive days by dwelling upon the tragedy of the destruction.^[32] The Jewish holidays actually afford us a glimpse of the joy of our future national revival. Therefore, on those holidays, psalm 126, which describes the joy of the redemption, is recited.^[33]

 

The Talmud teaches us that this psalm was written by King David. Due to the nature of the psalm and the nature of the Hebrew language, we can surmise that King David wrote this psalm as he was collecting the materials for his son, Shlomo, to build the Beit HaMikdash, the Temple.

 

Gittin 57b Rab Judah said in the name of Rab: What is meant by the verse, By the rivers of Babylon there we sat down, yea, we wept when we remembered Zion?^[34] This indicates that the Holy One, blessed be He, showed David the destruction both of the first Temple and of the second Temple. Of the first Temple, as it is written, ‘By the rivers of Babylon there we sat, yea we wept’; of the second Temple, as it is written, Remember, O Lord, against the children of Edom^[35] the day of Jerusalem, who said, raze it, raze it, even unto the foundation thereof.

 

The Sefer Yetzirah teaches us that “the end is enwedged in the beginning”:

 

Sefer Yetzirah 3:1 Ten Sefirot out of nothing. Stop your mouth from speaking, stop your heart from thinking, and if your heart runs (to think) return to a place of which it is said “they ran and returned”; and concerning this thing the covenant was made; and they are ten in extent beyond limit. Their end is infused with their beginning, and their beginning with their end like a flame attached to a glowing ember. Know, think [reflect, meditate] and imagine that the Creator is One and there is nothing apart from Him, and before One what do you count?

 

This suggests that King David, from the Talmud, was contemplating the end of the Temple and he was planning it’s beginning. The Talmud^[36] connects this Psalm with the destruction of both the first and second Temples. This connects us with our Torah portion, read on Tisha B’Ab, where we mourn the destruction of the first and second Temples.

 

Our Torah portion is read on Shabbat Hazon.^[37] This Shabbat normally falls just before, or on, Tisha B’Ab. The bi-modal Shabbat is Shabbat Shira. In many congregations the minhag is to stand during the aliyah of Shirat.^[38] One reason is based on the idea that the recital of the shira by Moshe and Bne Israel was comparable to the recital of Hallel (Mishnah Sotah 27b). The halacha is that Hallel is to be said standing,^[39] because one is testifying to the fact that HaShem did miracles for us, and testimony must be said while standing. Tehillim 136, the Great Hallel, is said on Shabbat Hazon.^[40]

 

As we mentioned before, the bi-modal reading of this portion falls on or near Shabbat Shira. On Shabbat Shira all of Israel attains a vision,^[41] a prophecy, of HaShem. On Shabbat Chazon Yeshayahu has a vision, a prophecy.

 

This Shabbat commemorates the crossing of the Yam Suf. This bi-modal connection agrees with Psalms chapter 136:

 

Tehillim (Psalms) 136:13 To Him who divided the Red Sea in sunder, for His mercy endureth for ever; 14 And made Israel to pass through the midst of it, for His mercy endureth for ever; 15 But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea, for His mercy endureth for ever.

 

Our Torah portion alludes to Shabbat Shira, and the crossing of the Yam Suf, in the following Pasukim:

 

Debarim (Deuteronomy) 24:18 But thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt, and HaShem thy God redeemed thee thence; therefore I command thee to do this thing.

 

Debarim (Deuteronomy) 24:22 And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt; therefore I command thee to do this thing. 

 

On Shabbat Shira (when we read Shemot 14:15 – 15:26) which speaks of us becoming a nation, we become the Temple – the dwelling place of HaShem. We experienced manifold miracles that day as we read in the Haggada. On Shabbat Chazon we get a vision^[42] of the third and final Temple where we again become the dwelling of HaShem. We regain the place of constant miracles.

 

Let’s explore some of the above concepts in a bit more detail in regards to Tisha B’Ab.

 

“Hakham Abin opened as follows: ‘Feed me bitterness’, on the eve of Pesach, ‘fill me with gall’, on Tisha B’Ab^[43]. The bitter herbs of the first night of Pesach are related to the pain of Tisha B’Ab. The two events are always the same day of the week.”^[44]

 

The above passage again connects the idea of redemption to Tisha B’Ab. In the same way that Pesach and its Seder speak of the final redemption, so too, does this day speak of our final redemption. The two days are linked for our redemption.

 

Chazal^[45]  say that the Mashiach will be “born” on the Ninth of Ab. A birthday is a time when the specific mazal, constellation, or spiritual energy as manifest by the mazal, which was in force during a person’s birth is once again ascendant, giving him power and strength. Thus, the birthday of Mashiach is a time when he, and the redemption with which he is associated, are granted new power. This power, in turn, hastens the advent of the day when the redemption will become actually manifest.^[46]

 

In the days after Mashiach comes, the ninth of Ab will be a holiday of joy, as it was originally intended. This is reflected in the laws of the day, as we don’t say Tachanun. It is not like the other fast days:

 

Midrash Rabbah - Lamentations I:51 The following story supports what R. Judan said in the name of R. Aibu: It happened that a man was ploughing, when one of his oxen lowed. An Arab passed by and asked, ‘What are you?’ He answered, ‘I am a Jew.’ He said to him, ‘Unharness your ox and untie your plough’ [as a mark of mourning]. ‘Why?’ he asked. ‘Because the Temple of the Jews is destroyed.’ He inquired, ‘From where do you know this?’ He answered, ‘I know it from the lowing of your ox.’ While he was conversing with him, the ox lowed again. The Arab said to him, ‘Harness your ox and tie up your plough, because the deliverer of the Jews is born.’ ‘What is his name?’ he asked; and he answered, ‘His name is “Comforter”.’ ‘What is his father’s name?’ He answered, ‘Hezekiah.’ ‘Where do they live? ‘ He answered, ‘In Birath ‘Arba in Bethlehem of Judah.’

 

The Hakhamim of the Talmud teach that on the afternoon of Tisha B’Ab, the very day of the destruction, Mashiach is “born”. This suggests that each year, on Tisha B’Ab, the seeds of redemption are planted. This day, each year, has the energy to bring forth the Mashiach and the final redemption!

 

The meaning of Mashiach’s birthday [being on Tisha B’Ab] is not that he came into this world on that date, because if so, he could not in actuality be described as the “Redeemer of the Jewish people” then; it means that Mashiach, as an adult, is revealed as the “Redeemer of the Jewish people,” (comparable to birth in the literal sense when a newborn is revealed into this world), and that he is prepared and worthy to redeem the Jewish people in actuality. From all the indications given by our Sages, we are in the “generation of the footsteps of Mashiach,” and the Geula, the redemption, can come at moment’s notice, so Mashiach has to be prepared to take us out of galut, exile.

 

Every Jew has within him a spark of Mashiach, which empowers and vitalizes him, and with this spark every Jew can transcend the limitations of nature and revert to a super-natural order. As we are at the end of this final galut, when we have already completed the work of refinement in galut, with all the trials and tribulations, the “birth pangs of Mashiach,” the terrible, horrific unimaginable things which have transpired in our generation [“may they never happen again”] – it is very plain and simple that now is the time when Jews are about to go into Eretz Israel in the final redemption with Mashiach Tzidkeinu.

 

Mashiach is waiting impatiently for the moment when he will redeem the Jewish people from galut, and this can come immediately: considering the achievements of the Divine service during all this time, it is certain that Mashiach is coming “today.” Having already definitely done teshuva, we have the promise and the ruling that the Geula must come immediately, it will not be delayed even as much as a wink of an eye, especially since it is also a situation of merited and deserving, so that Mashiach will come “on the clouds of heaven.” The practical lesson for us from all of this: We have to know that the time of Mashiach’s arrival is certainly here; we have but to “stand prepared” to greet him with longing and yearning for Mashiach. and this will certainly bring about his revelation. In an auspicious time when his “mazal” is predominant, this trickles down to every Jew, that he should add in “a single mitzva” which will tip the scales for the individual and the entire world, and bring salvation and the true, complete redemption immediately.^[47]

 

We are Beloved

 

The Cherubim in The Temple, child like creatures with wings. They were male and female and they embraced each other when the Bne Israel were close to HaShem in our walk. The faced each other perfectly.

 

When we, as a nation, were far from HaShem, the Cherubim were not embracing and had their backs to each other. They mirrored our relationship to HaShem.

 

Yoma 54a Kattina said: Whenever Israel came up to the Festival, the curtain would be removed for them and the Cherubim were shown to them, whose bodies were intertwisted with one another, and they would be thus addressed: Look! You are beloved before God as the love between man and woman.

 

When the Babylonians destroyed The Temple, they dragged the embracing cherubim through the streets to show what the Jews worshipped. This embarrassed the Jews who were violating this love.

 

Why were they embracing at the time of our greatest apostasy?

 

This was the love of HaShem when He had to punish us in order that we should return to Him. Surely this was the time when He was showing us His greatest love!

 

Never forget that the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash represents a time when HaShem was showing His love to His people. We are the lively stones! It is the Bne Israel that HaShem wants to dwell with!

 

1 Tsefet (Peter) 2:1-10 Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord [is] gracious. To whom coming, [as unto] a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, [and] precious, Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Yeshua HaMashiach. Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe [he is] precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, [even to them] which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed. But ye [are] a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past [were] not a people, but [are] now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

 

The Talmud Yerushalmi writes that every generation in which the Temple, which was destroyed on Tisha B’Ab, is not rebuilt, should consider itself as if the Temple was destroyed in its days. We mourn the loss of the Temple, those lively stones which are fit as a dwelling place for HaShem, on the 9th of Ab. However, do we yearn for the Temple to the extent that we have a drive to improve so that we should merit it being rebuilt? Do we feel the spiritual void that exists and therefore strive to perfect our character, to deal with our fellow man properly in business and social relationships, to adhere to HaShem’s mitzvot and study His Torah with faith and devotion? If we do not attempt to better ourselves, we show, as the generations of the destruction did, a lack of love for HaShem’s Temple, His Beit HaMikdash, His lively stones. We would be just as responsible for the destruction of the Temple as the generation in which it was destroyed.

 

Now is the time to build a fitting place for HaShem. Now is the time to build the lively stones. If not now, when?

 

On this day there is no teshuva, no repentance. Even teshuva is forbidden in mourning! If we arrive at Tisha B’Ab with our teshuva, we have arrived unprepared. We have contributed to the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash, the Temple. It is our duty to build ourselves into the lively stones as a fit place for the Shechinah to rest.

 

We must do teshuva before Tisha B’Ab! We must repent while there is yet time!

 

Aslamatah: ‎‎ Zechariah 7:8 – 8:3

 

Rashi	Targum
8. ¶ And the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying:	8. ¶ And there was a word of prophecy from the LORD with Zechariah, saying,
9. So said the Lord of Hosts, saying: Execute true judgment and perform loving-kindness and mercy, each one [of you] to his brother.	9. “Thus speaks the LORD of Hosts, saying, Give true judgement, and show kindness and compassion each to his brother.
10. Do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the stranger, or the poor man. Neither shall any of you think evil against his brother in your heart.	10. And you will not oppress the widow or orphan, the stranger or poor, nor will any of you devise evil in your heart against his brother.”
11. But they refused to listen; and they turned a rebellious shoulder; and they made their ears heavy, not to hear.	11. But they refused to listen and turned a rebellious shoulder and made their ears heavy so as not to hear.
12. And they made their heart [as hard] as a shamir, [in order] not to listen to the Torah and to the words that the Lord of Hosts sent, through His spirit by the earlier prophets. And there was great anger from the Lord of Hosts.	12. And they made their heart hard like adamant lest they should hear the Law and the words which the LORD of Hosts sent by His Memra through the former prophets. So there was great wrath from the LORD of Hosts.
13. And it came about; as He called and they did not hearken, so shall they call and I will not hearken, said the Lord of Hosts.	13. “And it came to pass (that) as the prophets prophesied to them and they did not listen, so they prayed before Me and I did not listen to their prayer, says the Lord of Hosts.”
14. And with a whirlwind I will scatter them among all the nations whom they did not know. And the land shall be waste after them with no one passing through or returning. They made a precious land a desolation. {P}	14. “And I scattered them among nations which they did not know, and the land was desolate behind them without any going to and fro, because they made the land of delight into a desolation.”  {P}
1. ¶ And the word of the Lord of Hosts came [to me], saying:	1. ¶ And there was a word of prophecy from1 the LORD of Hosts, saying,
2. So said the Lord of Hosts: I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and with great fury I am jealous for her.	2. “Thus says the LORD of Hosts, I am taking revenge for Zion with great jealousy, and there is great anger from before Me against the nations which provoked her.
3. So said the Lord: I will return to Zion, and I will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and Jerusalem shall be called the city of truth, and the mount of the Lord of Hosts [shall be called] the holy mountain. {S}	3. Thus says the LORD, I will return to Zion and make My Shekinah dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem will be called the city of truth, and the hill of the Sanctuary of the LORD of Hosts, the holy hill.” {S}

 

 

Special Ashlamatah: Isaiah 1:1-27

 

Rashi	Targum
1. The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, [and] Hezekiah, kings of Judah.	1. The prophecy of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he prophesied concerning the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jothan, Ahaz, Hezekiah, kings of the house of Judah.
2. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord has spoken; Children I have raised and exalted, yet they have rebelled against Me.	2. Hear, O heavens which shook when I gave My Law to My people, and give ear, O earth which reeled before My word; for the LORD speaks: The house of Israel is My people, I called them sons. I cherished and glorified them,but they have rebelled against My Memra.
3. An ox knows his owner and a donkey his master's crib; Israel does not know, my people does not consider.	3. The ox knows its owner, and the ass its master's crib; but Israel does not teach to know the fear of Me, My people does not understand, to return to My Law."
4. Woe to a sinful nation, a people heavy with iniquity, evildoing seed, corrupt children. They forsook the Lord; they provoked the Holy One of Israel; they drew backwards.	4. Woe, because they were called a holy people, and sinned; a chosen congregation have multiplied sins; they were named as a beloved seed and they acted wickedly, and it was said of them, Cherished sons; and they corrupted their ways! They have forsaken the service of the LORD, they have despised the fear of the Holy One of Israel, because of their wicked deeds they are turned about and backwards.
5. Why are you beaten when you still continue to rebel? Every head is [afflicted] with illness and every heart with malaise.	5. They do not understand so as to say, "Why are we still smitten?" They continue to sin. They do not say, "For what reason is every head sick and every heart mournful?"
6. From the sole of the foot until the head there is no soundness-wounds and contusions and lacerated sores; they have not sprinkled, neither have they been bandaged, nor was it softened with oil.	6. From the remnant of the people even to the heads there is not among them one that is perfect in My fear. All of them are disobedient and rebellious; they defile themselves with sins as a dripping wound. They do not forsake their arrogance and they do not desire repentance, and they have no merits to protect them.
7. Your land is desolate; your cities burnt with fire. Your land-in your presence, strangers devour it; and it is desolate as that turned over to strangers.	7. Your country lies desolate, your cities are burned with fire; in your very presence the Gentiles take possession of your land; and because of your sins it is removed from you, and given to aliens.
8. And the daughter of Zion shall be left like a hut in a vineyard, like a lodge in a cucumber field, like a besieged city.	8. And the congregation of Zion is left like a booth in a vineyard after they have picked it clean, like a tent for staying overnight in a cucumber field after they have stripped it, like a city which is besieged.
9. "Had not the Lord of Hosts left us a remnant, we would soon be like Sodom; we would resemble Gomorrah."	9. Had the abounding goodness of the LORD of hosts not left us a remnant in His mercies, then our sins would have been with us, so that as the men of Sodom we should have perished, and as the inhabitants of Gomorrah we should have been destroyed.
10. Hear the word of the Lord, O rulers of Sodom; give ear to the Law of our God, O people of Gomorrah!	10. Listen to the word of the LORD, you rulers whose deeds are [as] evil as [those of] the rulers of Sodom! Give ear to the Law of our God, you people whose deeds resemble [those of] the people of Gomorrah!
11. Of what use are your many sacrifices to Me? says the Lord. I am sated with the burnt-offerings of rams and the fat of fattened cattle; and the blood of bulls and sheep and hegoats I do not want.	11. "There is no pleasure before Me in the multitude of your holy sacrifices, says the LORD. Enough of burnt offerings of rams and fat of fed beasts and blood of bulls or lambs or kids; in such things there is no pleasure before Me.
12. When you come to appear before Me, who requested this of you, to trample My courts?	12. When you come to be seen before Me, who requires this from your hand, that you should come? Do nottrample My courts!
13. You shall no longer bring vain meal-offerings, it is smoke of abomination to Me; New Moons and Sabbaths, calling convocations, I cannot [bear] iniquity with assembly.	13. Do not continue to bring an offering which is stolen; it is a despised oblation before Me. At new moons and Sabbaths you gather in assembly without forsaking your sins, so that your prayers might be accepted in the time of your assemblies.
14. Your New Moons and your appointed seasons My soul hates, they are a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing [them].	14. Your new moons and your appointed feasts My Memra despises; they are before Me as something despicable; Ihave forgiven much.
15. And when you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you, even when you pray at length, I do not hear; your hands are full of blood.	15. And when the priests spread forth their hands to pray for you, I take up the face of My Shekhinah from you; even though you pray much concerning yourselves, there is no pleasure before Me to accept your prayers; because your hands are full of innocent blood.
16. Wash, cleanse yourselves, remove the evil of your deeds from before My eyes, cease to do evil.	16. Return to the Law; make yourselves clean from your sins; remove the evil of your deeds from before MyMemra; cease to do evil.
17. Learn to do good, seek justice, strengthen the robbed, perform justice for the orphan, plead the case of the widow.	17. Learn to do good; seek judgment, acquit him that is robbed, judge the case .of the fatherless, act on the complaint of the widow.
18. Come now, let us debate, says the Lord. If your sins prove to be like crimson, they will become white as snow; if they prove to be as red as crimson dye, they shall become as wool.	18. Then, when you return to the Law, you will beseech before Me, and I will carry out your request, says the LORD: though your sins are scarlet like dyed cloth, they will be white like snow; though they are red like crimson, they will become like pure wool.
19. If you be willing and obey, you shall eat the best of the land.	19. If you are willing and attend to My Memra, you will eat of the good of the land;
20. But if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword, for the mouth of the Lord spoke.	20. but if you refuse and do not attend to My Memra, by the adversary's sword you will be killed;  for by the Memra of the LORD it has been so decreed.
21. How has she become a harlot, a faithful city; full of justice, in which righteousness/generosity would lodge, but now murderers.	21. How the faithful city's deeds ha ve turned to become as[those of a harlot, she that was full of those who performjudgment! Truth was done in her, and now they are killersof souls.
22. Your silver has become dross; your wine is diluted with water.	22. Your silver has become dross, your wine mixed with water.
23. Your princes are rebellious and companions of thieves; everyone loves bribes and runs after payments; the orphan they do not judge, and the quarrel of the widow does not come to them.	23. Your princes are rebellious and companions of thieves. All of them love to accept a bribe, saying -a man to his neighbour- assist me in my case, so that I will repay you in your case. They do not defend the fatherless and the complaint of the widow does not come before them
24. "Therefore," says the Master, the Lord of Hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, "Oh, I will console Myself from My adversaries, and I will avenge Myself of My foes.	24. Therefore the LORD of the world says, the LORD of hosts, the Strong One of Israel: The city of Jerusalem I am about to comfort, but woe to the wicked when I am revealed to take just retribution from the enemies the people, and I will return vengeance to the adversary.
25. And I will return My hand upon you and purge away your dross as with lye, and remove all your sin.	25. And I will turn the stroke of My might upon you and I will separate, as those who purify with lye, all your wickedand I will remove all your sinners.
26. And I will restore your judges as at first and your counsellors as in the beginning; afterwards you shall be called City of Righteousness/Generosity, Faithful City.	26. And I will appoint in you true judges, steadfast as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you will be called the city of Truth, the faithful city.
27. Zion shall be redeemed through justice and her penitent through righteousness/generosity.	27. Zion will be redeemed when judgment is performed in her, and the ones who have performed the Law will return to her in righteousness/ generosity.

 

Rashi’s Commentary for: Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 1:1-27‎

 

1 the vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz Said Rabbi Levi: We have a tradition from our ancestors that Amoz and Amaziah, king of Judah, were brothers.

 

which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem Now, did he not prophesy concerning many nations, viz. the prophecy of Babylonia (ch. 13), the prophecy of Moab (ch. 15)? Thus you learn that this is not the beginning of the Book, and that the Book is not given its name for this prophecy. So we learned in the Baraitha of the Mechilta (Exod. 15:9, 10): “In the year of King Uzziah’s death” (6:1) is the beginning of the Book, but there is no early and late in the order [i.e., the order of the chapters is no indication of the chronological order. (Others read: There is no early and late in the Book Parshandatha.] The context proves this point, for, on the day of the earthquake (see Zech. 14:5), the day Uzziah became a metzora (see 2 Chron. 26:19), it was said: “Whom shall I send and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here I am; send me” (6:8). We learn that this was the beginning of his mission, and this prophecy was said afterwards. And concerning this alone, it is stated: which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, just as Scripture says concerning each nation, “the prophecy of such and such a nation.” Here too, Scripture writes: “which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.” Since they are harsh reproofs, he calls them “chazon,” which is the harshest of the ten expressions by which prophecy is called, as is stated in Gen. Rabbah (44:7), and proof of this is the verse (infra 21:2), “A harsh prophecy (חָזוּת) was told to me.”

 

in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, [and] Hezekiah, kings of Judah. These four kings he buried, [i.e. he outlived,] in his lifetime. On the day Uzziah became a metzora, the Shechinah rested upon him, and he prophesied all the days of these kings, until Manasseh arose and killed him. (And this prophecy was said in the days of Hezekiah after the ten tribes were exiled.)

 

2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth And Moses said, “Give ear, O heavens,...and may the earth hear” (Deut. 32:1). Why did Isaiah change the wording? Our masters taught concerning this matter, [and] many midrashim [are] in the section entitled “Ha’azinu” in Sifrei, but the Sages disagreed with them and said: A matter is not so unless witnesses come and testify. If their words coincide, their testimony is fulfilled; if not, their testimony is not fulfilled. Had Isaiah not addressed the heavens with giving ear and the earth with hearing, the heavens would testify and say, ‘When we were called to this testimony in Moses’ time, when he said, (Deut. 30:19) “I call heaven and earth to witness against you,” we heard with an expression of giving ear,’ and the earth would testify, ‘I was called with an expression of hearing,’ hence their testimony would not coincide. [Therefore,] Isaiah came and reversed the matter. Consequently, both are found to testify with an expression of giving ear and with an expression of hearing.

 

for the Lord has spoken That you should be witnesses in this matter, when I warned them in Moses’ time. Therefore, come and hear what I reason with them, for they transgressed the warning, I did not sin against them, but I raised them and exalted them, yet they rebelled against me. [Another version reads:] That you should be witnesses in this matter. Now, where did He speak? “Give ear, O heavens and I will speak” (ibid. 32:1). [So this was taught] in Mechilta (Bo 12).

 

3 his owner Heb. קֽנֵהוּ [is] like מְתַקְּנוֹ , the one who affixes him to the plowshare for plowing by day, and since he has accustomed him to this, he knows him. The dull donkey, however, does not recognize his master until he feeds him. Israel was not intelligent like the ox, to know, when I called him and said, “Israel will be your name” (Gen. 35:10), and I informed them of several of My statutes, yet they deserted Me, as is related in Ezekiel (20:39): “Let each one go and worship his idols.” Even after I took them out of Egypt and fed them the manna and called them, “My people, the children of Israel,” they did not consider even as a donkey. Another explanation is:

 

An ox knows its owner An ox recognizes his owner so that his fear is upon him. He did not deviate from what I decreed upon him, by saying, I will not plow today. Neither did a donkey say to his owner, I will not bear burdens today. Now, these [creatures,] who were created to serve you, and are not destined to receive reward if they merit, or to be punished if they sin, did not change their manner, which I decreed upon them. Israel, however, who, if they merit receive reward, and if they sin are punished.

 

does not know i.e., did not want to know; they knew but trod with their heels, and My people did not take heart to consider.

 

4 Woe Every instance of הוֹי in Scripture is an expression of complaining and lamenting, like a person who sighs from his heart and cries, “Alas!” There are, however, several, which are an expression of a cry, the vocative voice, e.g., “Ho, ho, flee from the land of the north” (Zech. 2:10), which the Targum renders, אַכְלוּ , an expression of announcing.

 

Woe There is a reason to cry about a holy nation that turned into a sinful nation, and a people referred to by the expression, “for you are a holy people” (Deut. 7:6), turned into a people with iniquity.

 

a people heavy with iniquity The heaviness of iniquity. The word denotes a person who is heavy, pesant in French, ponderous. The word כֶבֶד is a substantive of heaviness, pesantoma in French, and is in the construct state, and is connected with the word עָוֹן , iniquity.

 

evildoing seed And they were seed whom the Lord blessed (Isa. 61:9). Similarly, they were children of the Holy One, blessed be He, and they became corrupt.

 

they provoked Heb. נִאֲצוּ , they angered.

 

they drew backwards [The root נְזִירָה ,] wherever it appears, is only an expression of separation. Similarly, Scripture states: “And they shall separate (וְיִנָּזְרוּ) from the holy things of the children of Israel” (Lev. 22: 2), “the one separated (נְזִיר) from his brothers” (Gen. 49:26). Here too, they drew away from being near the Omnipresent.

 

5 Why are you beaten... A person who was punished (lit. beaten) and repeats his sin his friend admonishes him and says to him, For this you have been punished, yet you do not take heart to say, ‘For this I have been punished. I will not repeat it again.’ Here too, why are you beaten since you continue disobedience, to turn away from following the Omnipresent? Is not every head afflicted with illness and every heart with malaise? Why then do you not understand?

 

6 soundness An expression of perfection, sound without pain.

 

wounds Heb. פֶּצַע , i.e., a wound of a sword.

 

contusions Heb. חַבּוּרָה , an expression of a bruise. [Some editions read:] Other bruises.

 

and lacerated sores Jonathan renders: מְרַסְסָא , lacerated and crushed.

 

and lacerated sores demarcejjre, in O.F., and in the language of the Talmud, we find, “he bumped (טַרְיֵה) his head” (Chullin 45b). Menahem explained it as an expression of moisture, i.e., moist and wet, always oozing [muyte in O.F.].

 

they have not been sprinkled These lesions were not sprinkled with medicinal powders by physicians. This is an expression of: (Job 18:15) “Sulphur shall be sprinkled (יְזֽרֶה) on his dwelling.” Menahem explained it as an expression of healing, as in (Jeremiah 30:13): “No one pronounced your judgment for healing (לְמָזוֹר) .”

 

neither was it softened with oil Their wound was not softened with oil, as is customary with other wounds. It would be inappropriate to say here, “They were not softened with oil,” for they soften only the place of the sore, not the wound and the contusion but the sprinkling and the bandaging applies to all three, [i.e., the wound, the contusion, and the lacerated sore.] Therefore, the plural number applies to them; the lesions were not sprinkled and not bandaged. Jonathan interprets the entire verse figuratively, referring to the fact that they were soiled and afflicted with iniquity. Accordingly, he rendered, “From the sole of the foot until the head,” from the smallest to the greatest, there is no soundness. There is none good among them, wounds and contusions, rebellious deeds, iniquities, and inadvertent sins.

 

they have not been sprinkled... i.e., they have not been healed by repenting wholeheartedly, nor has it been softened with oil, not even a trace of repentant thought has entered their heart.

 

7 in your presence, strangers devour it Before your eyes, your enemies will devour it. and desolate of you as a heritage turned over to strangers, which is desolate of its owners. Jonathan renders in this manner.

 

8 And the daughter of Zion shall be left devoid of its inhabitants, for they will be exiled from its midst, as a hut in a vineyard, made by a watchman, and when the produce of the vineyard is gathered, he leaves his hut and goes away, after they gather it.

 

like a lodge in a cucumber field As the lodge, which the watchman made at the end of a cucumber field, to watch its cucumber, is left, for after it is gathered, he leaves it and goes away; the one in the vineyard is called a hut since he lives in it day and night; by day, he guards it from the birds and by night from the thieves, but cucumbers are hard, and there is no fear of the birds, and one need not watch them by day. It is, therefore, called a lodge since it is a place of lodging at night. Jonathan renders: Like a bed in a lodge (again repeated in Hebrew), [in] a cucumber field, in a cucumber field after it has been picked (בָּתַר דְאַבְעָיוּהִי) , after it has been picked. [This is the expression of the Mishnah] (Peah 4:5): “There are three gatherings (אַבְעָיוֹת) a day.”

 

like a besieged city Like a city which was besieged, and they make huts around it to hide the troops, and when they give up the siege [lit., when they go away from it], they leave them and go away. All this is Jonathan’s translation.

 

9 Had not the Lord of Hosts left us a remnant by His own volition and with His mercy, not because of our merits.

 

we would soon be like Sodom All of us would be destroyed.

 

10 rulers of Sodom Princes whose deeds are like those of Sodom. From here, [the Rabbis] deduced that a person should not open his mouth to Satan.

 

11 I am sated with the burnt-offerings of rams This is similar to: “Lest he have too much of you and hate you,” (Proverbs 25:18).

 

fattened cattle Fattened cattle and sheep.

 

I do not want Since you transgress My Torah, the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination [from Prov. 21:27].

 

12 who requested this of you, to trample My courts to trample [the preposition is absent in the Hebrew] My courts, since your heart is not whole with Me.

 

13 You shall bring no more vain meal-offerings I warn you, you shall not bring Me your vain meal-offering, for the smoke that rises from it is smoke of abomination to Me, and not for My satisfaction.

 

New moons and Sabbaths, calling, convocations, I cannot... and [sic, does not appear in Parshandatha] to call convocations, i.e., New Moons and Sabbaths when you gather to call a convocation and an assembly on them, I cannot bear the iniquity in your hearts that is inclined to paganism, and the convocation with it, for these two things are incompatible: to call a convocation to gather before Me, and the iniquity that is in your hearts for paganism, and you do not take it out of your hearts.

 

15 And when you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you because your hands are full of blood. blood Murder.

 

16 Wash, cleanse yourselves Voweled with a ‘patach,’ the imperative form, since it is derived from רְחַץ , but רָחֲצוּ , [in the past tense, is voweled with a ‘kamatz’ because it is derived from רָחַץ ].

 

Wash, cleanse yourselves, remove, learn, seek, strengthen, perform justice, plead, go Ten exhortations of the expression of repentance are [listed] here, corresponding to the Ten Days of Penitence and to the ten verses of Kingship, Remembrances, and Shofaroth [in the musaf service of Rosh Hashanah].

 

cease to do evil Desist from your evil deeds.

 

to do evil Heb. הרע , like לְהָרֵעַ , to do evil. [Rashi explains this because the preposition is absent in Hebrew.] Scripture does not have to write מֵהָרֵעַ , desist from doing evil, for so does the Biblical language treat the expression of חֲדָלָה , stopping, [e.g.,] “and he failed to make (לַעֲשׂוֹת) the Pesach” (Num. 9:13); “until he stopped counting (לִסְפּֽר) ” (Gen. 41:49). That is to say, the counting stopped, the making failed, here too, stop the evildoing.

 

17 Learn It is punctuated ‘raphe,’ weak, without a dagesh. This is from the form לָמֽד , learn to do good. One who teaches himself is of the ‘kal’ form. Therefore, its imperative plural is voweled with a ‘chirik’ likeאִמְרוּ , שִׁמְעוּ , but one who teaches others is of the form of the ‘heavy conjugation’ (pi’el) with a ‘dagesh,’ and if one comes to command a number of people, the word is voweled לַמְּדוּ . And so, דִּרְשׁוּ , from the formדְרשׁ , but אַשְּׁרוּ in which the ‘shin’ has a ‘dagesh,’ is from the ‘heavy conjugation,’ and from the form אַשֵּׁר ; therefore, the imperative plural is voweled with a ‘patach’ like בַּשְּׂרוּ , סַפְּרוּ , דַּבְּרוּ .

 

strengthen the robbed Heb. חָמוֹץ אַשְּׁרוּ . This is a Mishnaic term, אֲשַׁרְנוּהִי , “we have verified it” (Ketuboth 21a); “if I had strength (אֲיַשֵּׁר) ” (Gittin 30b); “May your strength be strengthened (יִישַׁר) ” (Shabbath 87a). Another explanation is: Lead him in the path of truth to acquire what rightfully belongs to him. An expression of: (Job 23:11) “My foot held its path (בֲּאֲשׁוּרוֹ) ”; (Prov. 23:19) “And go (וְאַשֵׁר) in the way of your heart.”

 

perform justice So-and-so is innocent and so-and-so is guilty.

 

plead the case of the widow Endeavor in their quarrel to plead for her, for she cannot go out to pursue her opponents.

 

the robbed Heb. חָמוֹץ , similar to (Ps. 71:4) “from the hand of the unrighteous and the robber (וּמְחַמֵּץ) .”

 

18 Come now, let us debate together, I and you, and we will know who offended whom, and if you offended Me, I still give you hope to repent.

 

If your sins prove to be like crimson Stained before Me like crimson red, I will make them as white as snow.

 

says the Lord [The verb is in the future form to denote that] He always says this to you, like: (Num. 9:20) “By the word of the Lord they would camp (יַחֲנוּ) ,” also a future form. Another explanation is: Come now, let us debate. What is written above this? “Cease to do evil; learn to do good.” And after you return to Me, come now, and let us debate together, to notify Me, “We have done what is incumbent upon us; You do what is incumbent upon You;” and I say, “If your sins prove to be like crimson, they will become white as snow...”

 

as crimson dye Heb. תּוֹלָע , lit. a worm. Dye with which they dye fabrics red. They are kernels, each one of which has a worm inside it. Hence the name תּוֹלָע .

 

20 for the mouth of the Lord spoke Where did He speak? (Lev. 26:25) “And I will bring upon you a sword.”

 

21 a harlot Astray from her God.

 

city which was faithful and full of justice, and righteousness would lodge therein, but now murderers.

 

full of justice Heb. מְלֵאֲתִי מִשְׁפָּט [equivalent to מְלֵאַתמִשְׁפָּט , the ‘yud’ being superfluous,] as in (Lamentations 1:1) רַבָּתִי עָם , “great in population” [equivalent to רַבַּתעָם ].

 

in which righteousness would lodge The daily dawn sacrifice would atone for the sins [committed] at night, and the daily afternoon [sacrifice] would atone for those of the day. Another explanation is that they would allow capital cases to rest overnight when they could find no merit for him, [i.e., for the defendant;] they would not conclude his verdict until the morrow, perhaps they would find a merit for him, and now they have become murderers. [We find in] Pesikta [d’Rav Kahana p. 121a]: Rabbi Menahem bar Oshia [according to Parshandatha,] Rabbi Phinehas in the name of Rabbi Oshia said: Four hundred eighty-one synagogues were in Jerusalem, corresponding to the numerical value of מְלֵאֲתִי .

 

and now murderers They killed Uriah; they killed Zechariah.

 

22 Your silver has become dross They would make copper coins and plate them with silver, in order to cheat with them.

 

your wine is diluted with water Your drinks are mixed with water, as is stated in Pesikta (122b). [The word] means ‘mixed,’ although there is no similar word in Scripture to prove it, but the Midrash Aggadah explains (Ecc. 2:2): “Of laughter I said, it makes one mad (מְהוֹלָל) ” to mean that it is confused, or mixed up.

 

23 rebellious Deviating from the straight path.

 

and runs after payments This word is similar to the Talmudic תַּשְׁלוּמִין . Jonathan paraphrases: One man says to another, Do me a favor in my case, and I will repay you in your case. This refers to a judge who was a robber, and the robbery victim complains about him before another judge. This one says to him, Declare me innocent today, and I will repay you when they complain about you before me. This is the meaning of running after payments.

 

and the quarrel of the widow does not come to them The widow comes to complain, and the orphan is coming out, when this one meets him and asks him, What did you accomplish in your case? He replies, All day long I toiled at work, but I did not accomplish anything. And this one turns around and says, If this one, who is a man, did not accomplish anything, surely I will not. This is the meaning of, “the orphan they do not judge, and the quarrel of the widow does not come to them” at all.

 

24 says the Master Who possesses everything, and in Whose power it is to uproot you from your land and to settle others in it.

 

the Mighty One of Israel the strength of Israel.

 

Oh Heb. הוי . An expression of preparation and announcement, and similar to this is (Zech. 2:10): “Ho, ho, (הוי הוי) flee from the land of the north.” And let all know that I will console Myself of My adversaries, who angered Me with their deeds.

 

25 And I will return My hand upon you One blow after another, until the transgressors have been completely destroyed.

 

as with lye This is an expression meaning soap [sbon in O.F., savon (in modern French)]. Its deviation is an expression of cleanliness, similar to (Ps. 24:4): “and pure (בַּר) of heart,” since it cleanses the garment of its stains.

 

your dross mentioned above, as: “Your silver has become dross”; a mixture of silver with copper is called dross. Here too, a mixture of the wicked with the righteous. I will destroy the transgressors, who are all dross.

 

all your tin The tin mixed with silver, that is to say, the wicked among you. בְדִיל is called estejjn [etain] in O.F. [tin].

 

26 as at first I will appoint for you pious judges.

 

City of Righteousness As in the beginning, righteousness will lodge therein.

 

27 shall be redeemed through justice Since there will be in it people who practice justice.

 

shall be redeemed from her iniquities.

 

and her penitent those penitent among them.

 

through righteousness through those who make themselves righteous through justice and through righteousness that are in her midst [or,] among them.)

 

28 And destruction shall come upon rebels... For with all these expressions he reproved them above: and they rebelled against Me (verse 2), sinful nation; they forsook the Lord (verse 4).

 

rebels Rebels and sectarians and those who worship idols.

 

and sinners Apostates guilty of other sins.

 

29 of the elms Heb. מֵאֵלִים , an expression derived from אֵלָה , a species of tree called olme in O.F. [orme in modern French, an elm].

 

that you desired to worship idols under them, similar to what is stated (Hosea 4:13): “Under the oak and the aspen, and the elm, for its shade is good.”

 

because of the gardens There they would worship idols, as it is stated (infra 66:17): “Those who prepare themselves and purify themselves for the gardens.”

 

30 whose leaves wilt Its leaf ([Other editions read:] whose leaf) wilts, becomes wilted [flatisant in O.F.]. When heat or cold comes upon it, it wilts and its moisture is lost and destroyed. [The word] נבל is not an expression of decay like בלה , for no ‘nun’ is found in that expression, but נבל [is an expression of something that becomes fatigued and its strength is curtailed, from the root of] נָבֽל תִּבּֽל (Exod. 18: 18), which Onkelos renders: You will surely be exhausted.

 

that has no water to water its seeds; to the thing with which they sin, he compares their punishment.

 

31 the[ir] strength with which they take from the poor by force and rob them and strengthen themselves with the money. That money will become as tow, which is shaken out of the flax, which is light and easily ignited.

 

and its perpetrator The one who amasses this power will become as a spark of fire, and they will burn, one with the other.

 

as a spark Heb. וּפֽעֲלוֹ לְנִיצוֹץ , estencele in O.F. [etincelle in modern French], a spark. Jonathan renders וְעוֹבַד יְדֵיהוֹן , and the work of their hands. This does not follow the Hebrew, however, for, were it so, it would have to be voweled וּפָעֳלוּ with a ‘kamatz-chatuf,’ a hurried ‘kamatz,’ and it would be explained as an expression of work. Now, that it is voweled with a ‘cholam,’ it is an expression of a worker, or perpetrator.

 

with no one to extinguish Jonathan renders: And no one will pity them.

 

Verbal Tallies

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

& H.H. Giberet Dr. Elisheba bat Sarah

 

Debarim (Deuteronomy) 24:14-25:19

Zechariah 7:8 – 8:3

Tehillim (Psalms) 136-137

Mk 15:42-47, Lk 23:50-56, Rm 15:1-13

 

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Psalms are:

Land / Earth - ארץ Strong’s number 0776.

Day - יום, Strong’s number 03117.

Give / Gave - נתן, Strnog’s number 05414.

Sun - שמש, Strong’s number 08121.

LORD - יהוה, strong’s number 03068.

 

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Ashlamatah are:

Oppress - עשק, Strong’s number 06231.

Poor - עני, Strong’s number 06041.

Brethren / Brother - אח, Strong’s number 0251.

Land / Earth - ארץ Strong’s number 0776.

 

Debarim (Deuteronomy) 24:14 Thou shalt not oppress <06231> (8799) an hired servant <07916> that is poor <06041> and needy <034>, whether he be of thy brethren <0251>, or of thy strangers <01616> that are in thy land <0776> within thy gates <08179>:

15  At his day <03117> thou shalt give <05414> (8799) him his hire <07939>, neither shall the sun <08121> go down <0935> (8799) upon it; for he is poor <06041>, and setteth <05375> (8802) his heart <05315> upon it: lest he cry <07121> (8799) against thee unto the LORD <03068>, and it be sin <02399> unto thee.

 

Tehillim (Psalms) 136:1 O give thanks <03034> (8685) unto the LORD <03068>; for he is good <02896>: for his mercy <02617> endureth for ever <05769>.

Tehillim (Psalms) 136:6 To him that stretched out <07554> (8802) the earth <0776> above the waters <04325>: for his mercy <02617> endureth for ever <05769>.

Tehillim (Psalms) 136:8 The sun <08121> to rule <04475> by day <03117>: for his mercy <02617> endureth for ever <05769>:

Tehillim (Psalms) 136:21 And gave <05414> (8804) their land <0776> for an heritage <05159>: for his mercy <02617> endureth for ever <05769>:

 

Zechariah 7:10 And oppress <06231> (8799) not the widow <0490>, nor the fatherless <03490>, the stranger <01616>, nor the poor <06041>; and let none of you imagine <02803> (8799) evil <07451> against <0376> his brother <0251> in your heart <03824>.

Zechariah 7:14 But I scattered them with a whirlwind <05590> (8762) among all the nations <01471> whom they knew <03045> (8804) not. Thus the land <0776> was desolate <08074> (8738) after <0310> them, that no man passed through <05674> (8802) nor returned <07725> (8802): for they laid <07760> (8799) the pleasant <02532> land <0776> desolate <08047>.

 

 

Hebrew:

 

 

 

Greek:

 

Greek	English	Torah Seder Deu 24:14 – 25:19	Psalms 136 – 137	Ashlamatah Zech. 7:8 – 8:3	Peshat Mk/Jude/Pet Mk 15:42-47	Remes 1 Luke Lk 23:50-56	Remes 2 Acts/Romans Rm 15:1-13
ἀγαθός	good		Psa 136:1			Lk. 23:50	Rom. 15:2
αἰτέω	asked				Mk. 15:43	Lk. 23:52
ἀνήρ	men, husband, man	Deu 25:5 Deu 25:7 Deu 25:11				Lk. 23:50
ἀνίστημι	rise up	Deu 25:7					Rom. 15:12
ἀποθνήσκω	dying	Deu 24:16 Deu 25:5			Mk. 15:44
Ἀριμαθαία	Arimathea				Mk. 15:43	Lk. 23:51
αὐτός	himself				Mk. 15:43		Rom. 15:5
βασιλεία	kingdom				Mk. 15:43	Lk. 23:51
βουλευτής	member of council				Mk. 15:43	Lk. 23:50
γινώσκω	know			Zec 7:14	Mk. 15:45
γυνή	woman, wives	Deu 25:5 Deu 25:7 Deu 25:9 Deu 25:11				Lk. 23:55
δίδωμι	put, give	Deut. 24:15 Deut. 25:15 Deut. 25:19	Ps. 136:21 Ps. 136:25	Zech. 7:11			Rom. 15:5
δίκαιος	just	Deu 25:1 Deu 25:15		Zec 7:9		Lk. 23:50
δύναμις	force		Psa 136:15				Rom. 15:13
ἔθνος	nation			Zec 7:14			Rom. 15:9 Rom. 15:10 Rom. 15:11 Rom. 15:12
εἷς	one	Deu 25:5 Deu 25:9 Deu 25:11					Rom. 15:6
εἰσέρχομαι	enter	Deu 25:5			Mk. 15:43
ἕκαστος	each	Deu_24:16		Zec 7:9 Zec 7:10			Rom. 15:2
ἔλεος	mercy		Psa 136:1 Psa 136:2 Psa 136:3 Psa 136:4 Psa 136:5  Psa 136:6  Psa 136:7 Psa 136:9 Psa 136:10 Psa 136:11 Psa 136:12 Psa 136:13 Psa 136:14 Psa 136:15 Psa 136:16 Psa 136:17 Psa 136:18 Psa 136:19 Psa 136:20	Zec 7:9			Rom. 15:9
ἐλπίς	hope	Deu 24:15					Rom. 15:4 Rom. 15:13
ἐξομολογέω	acknowledgment, confess		Psa 136:1 Psa 136:2  Psa 136:3 Psa 136:26				Rom. 15:9
ἐπερωτάω	asked		Psa 137:3		Mk. 15:44
ἡμέρα	day		Psa 136:8 Psa 137:7			Lk. 23:54
θεός	GOD	Deut. 24:18 Deut. 24:19 Deut. 25:15 Deut. 25:16 Deut. 25:18 Deut. 25:19	Ps. 136:2		Mk. 15:43	Lk. 23:51	Rom. 15:5 Rom. 15:6 Rom. 15:7 Rom. 15:8 Rom. 15:9 Rom. 15:13
θνήσκω	died	Deu 25:5			Mk. 15:44
Ἰησοῦς	Jesus				Mk. 15:43	Lk. 23:52	Rom. 15:5 Rom. 15:6
Ἰωσήφ	Joseph				Mk. 15:43 Mk. 15:45	Lk. 23:50
καθαιρέω	took				Mk. 15:46	Lk. 23:53
κύριος	LORD	Deut. 24:15 Deut. 24:18 Deut. 24:19 Deut. 25:15 Deut. 25:16 Deut. 25:19	Ps. 136:1 Ps. 137:4 Ps. 137:7	Zech. 7:8 Zech. 7:9 Zech. 7:12 Zech. 7:13 Zech. 8:1 Zech. 8:2 Zech. 8:3			Rom. 15:6 Rom. 15:11
λαός	people		Psa 136:16				Rom. 15:10 Rom. 15:11
λέγω	say, said		Ps. 137:7	Zech. 7:8 Zech. 7:9 Zech. 7:13 Zech. 8:1 Zech. 8:2 Zech. 8:3			Rom. 15:8 Rom. 15:10 Rom. 15:12
μνῆμα	tomb				Mk. 15:46	Lk. 23:53
μνημεῖον	tomb				Mk. 15:46	Lk. 23:55
ὄνομα	name	Deu 25:6 Deu 25:7 Deu 25:10  Deu 25:19				Lk. 23:50	Rom. 15:9
ἐάν	which, who	Deut. 24:14 Deut. 25:6 Deut. 25:9 Deut. 25:15 Deut. 25:16 Deut. 25:17 Deut. 25:18 Deut. 25:19		Zech. 7:12 Zech. 7:14	Mk. 15:43 Mk. 15:46	Lk. 23:51
παρασκευή	preparation day				Mk. 15:42	Lk. 23:54
πᾶς	all, whole, every, entire	Deut. 24:19 Deut. 25:16 Deut. 25:18 Deut. 25:19	Ps. 136:25	Zech. 7:14			Rom. 15:11 Rom. 15:13
πατήρ	fathers	Deu 24:16					Rom. 15:6 Rom. 15:8
πέτρα	rock		Psa 137:9		Mk. 15:46
Πιλάτος	Pilate				Mk. 15:43 Mk. 15:44	Lk. 23:52
πνεῦμα	breath., spirit			Zec 7:12			Rom. 15:13
πόλις	cities	Deut. 25:8		Zech. 8:3		Lk. 23:51
προσδέχομαι	waiting				Mk. 15:43	Lk. 23:51
προσέρχομαι	forward, draw near	Deu 25:1 Deu 25:9 Deu 25:11				Lk. 23:52
σινδών	linen cloth				Mk. 15:46	Lk. 23:53
σῶμα	body				Mk. 15:43	Lk. 23:52 Lk. 23:55
τίθημι	place, put, laid				Mk. 15:47	Lk. 23:53 Lk. 23:55

 

 

Pirqe Abot

Pereq Dalet

Mishnah 4:23

By: Hakham Yitschaq ben Moshe Magriso

 

Rabbi Shimeon ben Eleazar said: Do not try to make up with your friend when he is angry. Do not comfort him when his dead is lying before him. Do not question him when he makes a vow. Do not strive to see him in his hour of disgrace.

 

In the previous Mishnah, Rabbi Ya’akob warned us that in this world, a person should persevere to keep the commandments and do good deeds, since the next world there is no place to do good.

 

Now Rabbi Shimeon is teaching us that there are deeds which must occasionally be virtuous, but if done at the wrong time, can do damage. If one does them at such a time, one can have the precise opposite of the desired effect. There are four instances in which patience must be exercised, and one must wait for a propitious time to do a virtuous deed.

 

1.      "Do not try to appease your friend when he is angry."

 It is obviously a virtuous deed to make up with your friend after words of anger have been exchanged. But you must be patient, and not try to make up with him when he is still angry. When a person is angry, he does not pay attention to what you are telling him, and may not even realize that you are trying to appease him.

 

Besides, if you speak to him when he is still angry, he may grow all the more furious. Heaven forbid, he may even come to blame God, since during such a period, a person is not in complete control of his mind.

 

Thus if you try to make up prematurely, you may do more harm than good. Indeed, in certain cases, you may even be responsible for your friend committing a sin. Therefore, you should wait until your friend's anger subsides, and then try to make up with him.

 

2.      "Do not console your friend while his dead is still before him."

Consoling the bereaved (menachem avelim) is a very great act of virtue. But like other such deeds, it must be done at the proper time. You should not try to comfort your friend when one dear to him has died and the body has not yet been buried.

 

If you comfort him then, it will seem as if you do not sympathize with the anguish of your friend. Here the dead body is still in his presence, and you are trying to give him consolation (nechamah). Rather, you should wait until the body has been removed and buried.

 

3.      "Do not question your friend when he makes a vow."

 If your friend made a vow (neder) in a time of anger, do not question him about his intention, as a rabbi would when he is seeking annulment (hatarah) for the vow. If you question him at such a time, he will certainly reply, "I know, but I am making the vow anyway." Then, if he later wants to annul the vow, he will not be able to find an opening (petach) for a valid annulment.

 

4.      "Do not strive to see your friend in his hour of disgrace."

Obviously it is a virtuous deed. But as in other cases, all times are not alike. It is not proper to visit your friend when a disaster has befallen him [and you are not able to do anything to help]. At such a time, his soul is so pained that he has no desire even to look at himself, much less to have visitors. Indeed, he might even suspect that you are rejoicing over his tragedy, and therefore want to see him under these unfortunate conditions.

 

All the cases discussed here thus involve a virtuous act (mitzvah). Still, there is a time for everything, and not all occasions are alike.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nazarean Talmud

Sidra of “Debarim (Deut.) 24:14 — 25:19”

“Chazon” - “The Vision”

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

H. Em. Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

 

 

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

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

Now there was a member of the Sanhedrin named Yosef, a good and righteous/generous man who did not consent or agree with the council of the Tz’dukim (Sadducees) and their decisions or actions. He was from Ramatayim, a city of Judea, and he was waiting for the kingdom (governance) of God through Hakhamim and Bate Din. Yosef went to Pilate and requested the body of Yeshua. He (Yosef) took it (Yeshua’s body) down from the cross, wrapped it in linen, and placed it in a tomb hewn in rock in which no one had been buried. The day was the preparation day (for Pesach and the Festival of unleavened bread of the P’rushim - Pharisees), and the weekly Sabbath was approaching. The women followers who had accompanied Yeshua from Galil observed where the tomb was and how his body was placed there. They returned to the city and prepared ointments containing spices and embalming perfumes. During the weekly Sabbath, they were resting (observing the Shabbat) according to the mitzvot (commandments i.e. written and oral).

When evening came, because the previous day was the preparation day (for Pesach and the Festival of unleavened bread of the P’rushim - Pharisees) before the (weekly) Sabbath, Yosef of Ramatayim, a respected member of the Sanhedrin, who, himself was waiting for the kingdom (governance) of God through Hakhamim and Bate Din boldly approached Pilate to ask for the body of Yeshua. Pilate was surprised he (Yeshua) was already dead.[48] So he summoned the centurion and asked him to verify the (time of) death. When he knew for sure of his (Yeshua’s) death from the centurion, he gave the corpse (of Yeshua) to Yosef.  Having bought a linen wrapping for a burial garment, Yosef took him (Yeshua) down from the cross, wrapped him in the linen (wrapping), and placed him in a tomb hewn out of rock, and rolled a stone upon its entrance. Miriam Migdalah and Miriam the (mother) of Yosi were taking note of where they placed him.

 

 

School of Hakham Shaul’s Remes Romans Mishnah א:א

Those of us who are mature seasoned in the practices and practical application of the mitzvot should be considerate of the inadequacies lack of practical application of those who are immature (new converts), rather than to please ourselves by refusing to teach and help them. Each of us should be considerate of the well-being of those whom we fellowship with, for the benefit of building up bringing to maturity those persons. For Messiah did not pamper himself (follow after personal interests). On the contrary, as it is written: “My zeal for Your house has been my undoing; the reproaches of those who revile You have fallen upon me.” (Psa 69:9 (10)[49] For those things, which were written (in the Tanakh), were written for our instruction, in order that through patience and comfort (consolation of the Oral Torah) the Tanakh (written scriptures) may (be kept) with confidence. May God, (who is) patient and encouraging, give you the ability to live in harmony with each other  according to the Mesorah of Messiah Yeshua, that with unanimous acclamation you might glorify the God and Father of our master Yeshua HaMashiach. Receive, each other, just as Messiah received you to God's glory. For I declare that Messiah became a servant of circumcision (following the Jewish halakhic system, both written and Oral) on behalf of God's truth (Torah, written and Oral). His task was to establish that which was promised (to) the patriarchs,[50] in order (to be) merciful to the gentiles for God's glory, just as it has been written: For this I sing Your praise among the gentiles And (a) hymn (to) Your name. (Psa. 18:50 (49) And again, he stated: “O gentiles, acclaim His people! For He will avenge the blood of His servants, Wreak vengeance on His foes, And cleanse the land of His people.” (D’barim 32:43) And again, “Praise the Lord, all you gentiles; extol Him, all you peoples,” (Ps 117:1). And again, Yesha’yahu stated: “In that day, The stock of Jesse that has remained standing will become a standard to peoples— Gentiles will seek his counsel And his abode will be honored. (Is 11:10). May God, the source of trust, fill you with comprehensive chesed (loving-kindness) and shalom (peace and wholeness) because of your faithful obedience, that you might abound with trust enabled by the Ruach HaKodesh (Oral – breathed Torah).

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

Commentary to Hakham Tsefet’s School of Peshat

 

Gen 1:27^ And God created man in His image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. ^28 God blessed them and God said to them, “Be fertile and increase, fill the earth and master it; and rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and all the living things that creep on earth.”

 

A great deal of inductive hermeneutic is used for exegesis on the Nazarean Codicil. By “inductive hermeneutic” we refer to the concept of “reading into” the text rather than reading from the text “deductive hermeneutic,” and allowing the text to speak for itself. This is especially true of the present pericope. This pericope is pivotal for much of Christian theology. Therefore, accuracy of translation and interpretation is worthy of special consideration. However, the contextual hermeneutic of the present pericopes of Mark and associated “Nazarean Talmud” readings must be established by the Torah Seder. This hermeneutic will be used for the present materials.

 

Having learned that Yeshua was not crying out to G-d because he was “forsaken” we realize that Yeshua could only accomplish the “Messianic Mission” by dying on the cross, executioners stake. The previous pericope in contiguity with the present reading allows us to know that Yeshua’s death was the waving flag foretelling of the coming Diaspora. However, both Yeshua and Yosef looked forward to the coming “Kingdom (governance by the Bet Din and Hakhamim) of G-d.” However, we could also associate the “Governance of G-d” with the Diaspora. The emancipation from Egypt brought about the freedom from physical slavery. But, the B’ne Yisrael only learn true freedom while in the “Exile of (present) Diaspora” in these final days. While there were those Zealots who wanted autonomy, with justifiable cause G-d was trying to establish a Theocracy. Thus, the “Theocracy” is one, which does not focus on kings, priests or prophets in the traditional sense. Rather G-d was trying to build a Theocracy founded upon communal trust and faithfulness. Consequently, the Theocracy G-d wants to establish is one of a “Theocratic Society.” This thought aligns itself with the original “cultural mandate” given to Adam. Furthermore, the final words of Yeshua concerning the “talmudizing,” all peoples (Gentile nations) with the Nazarean Talmud also form a “cultural mandate.” However, in both cases the “cultural mandate” is universal. Hyam Solomon,^[51] who designed the One Dollar bill and financed much of the American Revolution, dreamed that the United States could be “One Nation Under G-d.” Hyam Solomon’s original theme was “one Nation under One     G-d.” This statement was to “Monotheistic” for the fledgling Trinitarian country and therefore the statement was modified to the statement we read on the Dollar Bill to this day “one nation under God.” Nevertheless, this vision was not relegated to one geographic region. These visionaries dreamed a greater dream, rather than “one nation under One G-d,” they dreamed of “one world under One G-d.”

Gould believes that Yosef was a “believer” in Yeshua as the Messiah.^[52] However, he does not believe that Yosef was necessarily a “talmid” (disciple). We find this logic sound. Nevertheless, we must part with Gould with regard to his statements about the “Kingdom.” Herein we find that it is most likely that the House of Hillel believed, at least in part that Yeshua was the Messiah. We have conjectured in the past that the House of Hillel would have possessed a stronger propensity towards believing that Yeshua was the Messiah than Shammaite Schools. This is very difficult to ascertain. However, studies show that the House of Hillel was much more sympathetic towards Yeshua and his talmidim (disciples) than the Shammaite School. Hakham Shaul (Paul) appears to have initially been of Shammaite persuasion. After his encounter with Yeshua on the road to Damascus, he becomes a Hillelite and spends the remainder of his life teaching Gentiles to submit to the “Kingdom” (governance) of G-d through Hakhamim and Bate Din.^[53] In His teachings, Hakham Shaul contends two principle parties. The first is those of his Shammaite accolades and the second is the Kohanim of the Tz’dukim (Sadducean Priests). In alignment with the present Torah Seder, we see that Yosef was a man of righteous generosity. The Torah Seder defines men of righteousness as men of generosity by not exhausting the harvesting process. The opening pasuk (passage) of our Torah Seder in D’barim (Deuteronomy) tells us not to try to deplete the fruit of the tree for the sake of personal gain. The act of leaving or overlooking some of the produce is a positive mitzvah.^[54] Yosef demonstrates his righteous generosity by pleading for the body of Yeshua. Regardless of whether Yosef was a “talmid” (disciple) or not is not of importance to us. He extends his wealth and generosity to Yeshua in a moment of need. Our Tosefta of Hakham Shaul through his Scribe Hillel (Luke or Silas) demonstrates the opposition of Yosef against the Tz’dukim.

 

Luke 23:51 who did not consent or agree with the council of the Tz’dukim (Sadducees) and their decisions or actions.

 

This opposition most likely represents all those who were of the House of Hillel who occupied a seat on the Sanhedrin. This would account for the ad hoc trial brought against Yeshua by the Tz’dukim (Sadducees).

 

What was the House of Hillel’s agenda? In short, the most plausible answer was the “Kingdom” (governance) of G-d through Hakhamim and Bate Din.

We must also make one remark here to establish that the execution was a Roman execution NOT a Jewish execution. Scholars have bickered over the Sanhedrin’s right to bring a capital case against Yeshua. The Markan text tells us plainly that the execution is Roman. The Tz’dukim (Sadducees) and the Kohen Gadol (High Priest) built their case for Pilate^[55] to hear. The case they presented was the Yeshua was the “King of the Jews.” Herein Yeshua is accused and found guilty of treason against Rome. It is true that the Kohen Gadol (High Priest) accused Yeshua of blasphemy. However, this is not the case, which was presented to Pilate.

 

Mar 14:64 Behold, from his own mouth you have heard blasphemy. How does it appear to you?” And they all [the Kohanim, the Soferim and the Zakanim (of the Tz’dukim)] decided, that he deserved to die.

 

Therefore, we see that the trumped up charges of treason were only to guarantee that Yeshua would receive the death penalty from a Roman court, which as we have demonstrated to be inapplicable in Eretz Yisrael. We will further this problem to state that no gentile authority has the legal authority to sentence a Jew in a criminal court. Albeit present circumstances in Diaspora generate many difficulties.

 

At the core of our Torah Seder is the “penalty of lashes” (Makkot). The “Kingdom” (governance) of G-d is again prevalent when reviewing this section of the Torah Seder. The “Makkot” (lashes); administered at the behest of the Bet Din of the Esnoga (Synagogue) again refers to the “Kingdom” (governance) of G-d. This order of hierarchy of the Bet Din is one of the most fascinating studies we could embark upon. The “Kingdom” (governance) of G-d – ecclesiology establishes a Divine order of hierarchy. While we will not elaborate on this hierarchy in Peshat, we will try to explicate these matters minimally in the Remes commentary to understand the depth and implications of the allusions made in this present pericope.

and rolled a stone upon its entrance…

 

D’barim 25:17 You shall remember what Amalek…

 

Again, we resort to the idea, which we believe is central to the whole corpus of our present readings. Why are we told to remember the Amalek and how does this relate to the Nazarean Talmud for this week? We cannot directly address this problem in the Peshat commentary. We will note that the agenda of the Amalek was the destruction of the B’ne Yisrael. The Tz’dukim (Sadducees) had a similar idea. However, the seed of their deception is rooted in the concept of destroying the Messiah in favor of serving an “idolatrous” nation (Rome). If the stone rolled across the entrance of Yeshua’s grave were the end of the story, we would be left in a state of wonderment. However, these events only set the stage for the coming scene.

 

The resurrection of Yeshua from the dead is the testimony that he is the Messiah. It furthers the notion that the Messianic Mission was far greater than the myopic view of the Tz’dukim (Sadducees), Herodians and other Zealots. A new page of excitement dawns with the resurrection. The resurrection exhibits the dawn of a new era. This era would be dominated by the hierarchy of the “Kingdom” (governance) of G-d through Hakhamim and Bate Din. According to Lawrence Schiffman, the P’rushim (Pharisees) had been collecting the Mesorah,^[56] Oral Teachings of the Hakhamim passed down for generations. The ideological thesis of the P’rushim was to live in the present and prepare for the future, unlike the Tz’dukim who lived only for the “moment.” The initiation of the Tannaim envisioned the “Kingdom” (governance) of G-d through Hakhamim and Bate Din as one world under “One G-d” This could never happen, so long as the B’ne Yisrael remained only in Eretz Yisrael (the land of Israel). These “Kings and Priests” must enter the global arena of humanity to bring about tikun for the sins of Adam, all humanity. The result of this Tikun would be a new “Eden” and a new “Adam.” Therefore, there is no such thing as “salvation” (salvation in the singular) for humanity. Rather there are “many salvations”^[57] conforming to a single consistent and progressive agenda. Each “salvation” being an incremental part culminating in the progressive schema played out on the stage of time.

 

 

 

Commentary to Hakham Shaul’s School of Remes

 

When the (weekly) Sabbath was over…

 

The present materials have particularized “darkness.” And when the sixth hour mid-day came, darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour (mid-afternoon – about 3:00 P.M. Mar 15:33,) “When evening came” (Mark 15:42). And, finally we have the appearance of the dawn. “Very early at the first of the week at sunrise they came to the tomb” (Mark 16:2). These references should be viewed through the allegorical lens of Remes Hermeneutics. Therefore, the darkness of the present texts and passages of contiguity teach us that the B’ne Yisrael are about to enter a new dimension of Judaism. The dimension of Judaism, which was dawning in the first century, was the “Kingdom” (governance) of G-d through Hakhamim and Bate Din as one world under “One G-d” as noted above. When the era of the second Temple ended, the B’ne Yisrael were sent to finish the work of global tikun.

 

Therefore, Hakham Shaul’s letter to the Congregations of Rome serves as the archetypal engagement of global tikun. In order for this tikun to take place, the B’ne Yisrael must rely on the training they received in Eretz Yisrael as “Kings and Priests” and implement those practices among the nations through the appropriate infrastructure of halakhic authority.

 

Nazarean Mishnah: Yosef of Ramatayim, a respected member of the Sanhedrin, who, himself was waiting for the kingdom (governance) of God through Hakhamim and Bate Din boldly approached Pilate…

 

The Priesthood of the B’ne Yisrael, the firstborn must now boldly approach the Diaspora. The Jewish Priesthood of the Firstborn must enter Gentile lands with the teachings of the Hakhamim and appropriate infrastructure of halakhic authority as noted above. The prototypical preview of this approach is found in Hakham Shaul’s Letter to Rome in “Pereq 13” (Romans 13).

 

Romans 13:1 Let every gentile soul be subject to the governing authorities of the Jewish Synagogue. For there is no legitimate authority except that of the Jewish Bet Din from God, and the authorities of the Bet Din that exist are appointed by God.

 

Yeshua the Nazarean who you are looking for — the crucified one — was raised!

 

The allegory of Yeshua being resurrected can be understood as the body of Yeshua raised (i.e. “Living Stones”) which were raised up as a New Temple. Here I refer to the “Body of Messiah” as a New Temple and a New Adam. This “New Adam” is Jew and Gentile under the Yoke of the Torah and appropriate infrastructure of halakhic authority. It is for this reason the Yeshua is called the “servant of circumcision,” circumcision being allegory for “following the Jewish halakhic system, both written and Oral.” Therefore, this “New Adam,” as Moshe Rabbenu prenatally circumcised, accepts the Torah and its halakhah as a Theocratic system along with the government of the Ten Men of authority in the Esnoga (Synagogue). This “New Adam” experiences Eden (pleasure) in the acceptance and observance of the Torah. Herein we see that “Eden” is not a place, per se but rather the source from where pleasure emanates.

 

Rom 15:8 For I declare that Messiah became a servant of circumcision (following the Jewish halakhic system, both written and Oral) on behalf of God's truth (Torah, written and Oral). His task was to establish that which was promised (to) the patriarchs,^[58]

 

Yermiyahu 23:7 Assuredly, a time is coming—declares the Lord—when it shall no more be said, “As the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt,” 8but rather, “As the LORD lives, who brought out and led the offspring of the House of Israel from the northland and from all the lands to which I have banished them.”

 

When Yisrael finishes their Messianic mission of global tikun, we will return to their homeland of Eretz Yisrael. Herein each of Yisrael’s historical events becomes an allegory for future events. With the destruction of the First Temple and rebuilding of the Second comes the allegory of the destruction of the Second Temple and the building of a “New Temple” in the form of “Living Stones,” “not built with hands.” This “New Temple” functions under the economy of a “New” hierarchy, “Kingdom” (governance) of G-d through Hakhamim and Bate Din as one world (Gan Eden – garden of pleasure) under “One G-d.” The Ten congregational leaders of the Esnoga mete out this “governance” by steering each congregation towards its path and part of the tikun process.

 

Rom 15:15 But on some of the parshiyot, I have written with authority to remind you of the favor given me by God, ¹⁶ who made me a lectionary  (priestly minister of lectionary or liturgy) of Messiah Yeshua to the Gentiles in the priestly (service) God's Mesorah that the gifts of the Gentiles might be acceptable, consecrated by Ruach HaKodesh (breath – Oral Torah).

 

Heb. 1:1 In many portions parshiyot and many sederim^[59] God spoke in ancient times by the interpreters (Prophets and Soferim^[60]) to our ancestors (forefathers). ² In these end days, He (God) spoke to us by a son (relating to the B’ne Yisrael and Yeshua as Messiah), whom He (God) designated heir of everything. Around him (the B’ne Yisrael, Yeshua as Messiah and the messianic mission), He (God) also formulated the ages.

 

Hebrews 1:1 Πολυμερῶς καὶ πολυτρόπως πάλαι ὁ θεὸς λαλήσας τοῖς πατράσιν ἐν τοῖς προφήταις

 

Hakham Shaul uses the letter פ/π to teach us that he is speaking of the Torah parshiyot and the important connection of the Oral Torah as an interpretation of the Written 613 mitzvot (commandments). The Hebrew letter פ “pey” is a symbol for the mouth and by extension the Oral Torah. Herein is the allegory of reproduction. The reproductive organ of the Hakhamim is the mouth, whereby they produce Talmidim (disciples). However, the summary statement of the “Men of the Great Assembly” was not only that of reproduction but making the talmid (disciple) to “stand”.^[61] “Reproduction” is the initial stage of generating a talmid (disciple). The true test of a Hakham is the ability to make his talmidim “stand.” Allegorically speaking, making a talmid “stand” means that a “standing talmid” (disciple) is a Pillar in the New Temple. The Hebrew word for “stand” refers to the literal standing of persons or things or to a “pillar” which stands.^[62]

 

But go and say to his talmidim (disciples) and to Tsefet, (the capital of the Pillar) 'He goes before you into the Galil. You will see him there just as he told you'."

 

At the opening of the Temple building proper, stood two great doors, which folded to open in the middle. Beyond those doors stood a great curtain, called the “Heavens.” Only the Kohanim were permitted beyond these doors and through this curtain. The Hebrew word “Galil” also means “folding doors.”^[63] However, “Galil” also contains the idea of a circle indicating the cycle of the “Heavens.” The curtain, which obscured the view of the Holy place, was called the “Heavens.” The “Curtain” of our previous pericope was this very curtain. Therefore, Galil is allegory for the Holy Place of the “New Temple.” The place of Yeshua’s crucifixion was called “Gilguleth” (which is translated "Place of a Skull"). The top of the “Skull” is the place where one places his T’fillin. Herein the allegory of Galil includes the New Temple not made of stones, the restructure of the “Heavens” and being Torah Observant. Alternatively, the allegory of Galil can be treated as the Torah Observance of the New Temple of Living Stones. On the other hand, it can refer to the Hierarchy of the New Temple of the Living Stones. Yet each of these interpretations miss the contextual hermeneutic of our handkerchief. The Allegory of Galil is the “New” hierarchy, “Kingdom” (governance) of G-d through Hakhamim and Bate Din as one world (Gan Eden – garden of pleasure) under “One G-d.”

In the Diaspora, there will be those who defect by not adhering to the Torah and the appropriate infrastructure of halakhic authority. Targum Pseudo Jonathan depicts that Amalek as the agent of G-d to destroy the stragglers of the B’ne Yisrael. However, the Targum allegorizes the Torah text to demonstrate that the “stragglers” were those “who were thinking of going aside from G-d’s Word” (Torah).^[64] The Greek word “anomos” translated as “iniquity” means to be without or in opposition to the Torah – Nomos. The time of Diaspora will identify the “workers of iniquity” and the righteous/generous. The New Adam who has modeled his life after “Adam Kadmon,” Messiah will experience the final act of salvation where he will enter the eternal paradise of the Theocratic society, which takes great pleasure in joint communal Torah observance.

 

We cannot afford to live in a world without Torah, the Oral Torah, the Hakhamim, Bet Din, and the Nazarean Talmud. Our biological fathers have brought us into this present world. The Hakhamim will carry us into the coming Theocratic Paradise where we will be free to observe the Torah without opposition or restraint.

 

Amen v’amen

 

Some Questions to Ponder:

 

1. From all the readings for this week, which particular verse or passage caught your attention and fired your heart and imagination?
2. In your opinion, and taking into consideration all of the above readings for this Sabbath, what is the prophetic message (the idea that encapsulates all the Scripture passages read) for this week?

 

Blessing After Torah Study

 

Barúch Atáh Adonai, Elohénu Meléch HaOlám,

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

Barúch Atáh Adonái, Notén HaToráh. Amen!

 

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

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

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

 

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

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

 

 

Next Shabbat:

Shabbat: “Nachamu I” – Sabbath: “Of Our Consolation I”

 (First of Seven Sabbaths of Consolation)

 

 

Coming Fast & Feast:

 

Fast of the 9^th of Ab

Saturday Evening 25^th of July – Sunday Evening 26^th of July

For further information see: http://www.betemunah.org/tishabav.html

 

Tu B’Ab – 15^th of Ab (Feast of Love)

Thursday Evening July 30 – Friday Evening 31^st of July

For further information see: http://www.betemunah.org/tubav.html

 

 

Shalom Shabbat!

 

Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David

Rabbi Dr.  Eliyahu ben Abraham