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

 

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 Leah bat Sarah & beloved mother

Her Excellency Giberet Zahavah bat Sarah & beloved family

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

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

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

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

Her Excellency Giberet Jacquelyn Bennett

His Excellency Adon Ya’aqob ben David

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

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

His Excellency Adon Shlomoh ben Abraham

His Excellency Adon Brad Gaskill and beloved wife Cynthia Gaskill

 

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

 

 

We pray for our beloved Hakham His Eminence Rabbi Dr. Yosef ben Haggai. Mi Sheberach…He who blessed our forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Moses and Aaron, David and Solomon, may He bless and heal the sick person HE Rabbi Dr. Yosef ben Haggai, May the Holy One, Blessed is He, be filled with compassion for him to restore his health, to heal him, to strengthen him, and to revivify him. And may He send him speedily a complete recovery from heaven, among the other sick people of Yisrael, a recovery of the body and a recovery of the spirit, swiftly and soon, and we will say amen ve amen!

 

We pray for our beloved teacher and mentor, His Eminence Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David … Mi Sheberach … He who blessed our forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Moses and Aaron, David and Solomon, may He bless and heal the sick person HE Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David, May the Holy One, Blessed is He, be filled with compassion for him to restore his health, to heal him, to strengthen him, and to revivify him. And may He send him speedily a complete recovery from heaven, among the other sick people of Yisrael, a recovery of the body and a recovery of the spirit, swiftly and soon, and we will say amen ve amen!

Blessings Before Torah Study

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

 

Shabbat: “VaYelekh Ish” – “And (a royal) man”

 

 

 

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan

for: Sh’mot (Exodus) ‎2:1-25‎‎

 

Rashi	Targum Pseudo-Jonathan
1. A man of the house of Levi went and married the daughter of Levi.	1. And Amram, a man of the tribe of Levi, went and returned to live in marriage with Yokeved his wife, whom he had put away on account of the decree of Pharaoh. [JERUSALEM. And there went a man of the tribe of Levi and took Yokeved, who was beloved of him, (or, who was related to him,) to wife.]
2. The woman conceived and bore a son. She saw that he was [exceptionally] good, and she kept him hidden for three months.	2. And she was the daughter of a hundred and thirty years when he returned to her; but a miracle was wrought in her, and she returned unto youth as she was, when in her minority she was called the daughter of Levi. And the woman conceived and bare a son at the end of six months; and she saw him to be a child of steadfastness, (or, of steadfast life,) and hid him three months, which made the number nine.
3. When she could no longer hide him, she took a papyrus box and coated it with clay and tar. She placed the child in it, and placed it in the reeds near the bank of the river.	3. But she could conceal him no longer, for the Mizraee had become aware of him. And she took an ark of papyrus, (tunes,) and coated it with bitumen and pitch, and placed the child within it, and laid him among the reeds on the bank of the river.
4. [The child's] sister stood herself at a distance to see what would happen to him.	4. And Miriam his sister stood at a distance to take knowledge of what would be done to him.
5. Pharaoh's daughter went down to bathe by the river, while her maids walked along the river's edge. She saw the box among the reeds and sent her maid and she fetched it.	5. And the Word of the LORD sent forth a burning sore and inflammation of the flesh upon the land of Mizraim; and the daughter of Pharaoh came down to refresh herself at the river. And her handmaids, walking upon the bank of the river, saw the ark among the reeds, and put forth the arm and took it, and were immediately healed of the burning and inflammation.
6. She opened it and saw the child, and behold a boy was crying. She took pity on it, and said, "This is one of the Hebrew boys."	6. And she opened, and saw the child, and, behold, the babe wept; and she had compassion upon him, and said, This is one of the children of the Jehudaee.
7. [The infant's] sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I go and call to you a nursing [mother] from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?"	7. And his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, May I go and call for you a nursing woman from the Jehudaee, to suckle the babe for you?
8. "Go," said Pharaoh's daughter to her. The young girl went and called the child's mother.	8. And Pharaoh's daughter said, Go; and the damsel went and called the child's mother.
9. Pharaoh's daughter said to her [the child's mother], "Take this child and nurse him for me, and I will pay your fee." The woman took the child and nursed it.	9. And the daughter of Pharaoh said, Take this child and suckle it for me, and I will give you your wages And the woman took the child and suckled him.
10. When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moshe, for she said, "I drew him from the water."	10. And the child grew, and was brought to Pharaoh's daughter, and he was beloved by her as a son; and she called his name Mosheh, Because, said she, I drew him out of the water of the river. [JERUSALEM. I uplifted him.]
11. It was in those days when Moshe was grown that he [began] to go out to his brethren, and he saw their burdens [hard labor]. [One day] he saw an Egyptian beating one of his Hebrew brethren.	11. And in those days when Mosheh was grown up, he went forth to his brethren, and saw the anguish of their souls, and the greatness of their toil. And he saw a Mizraite man strike a Jewish man of his brethren;
12. He [Moshe] looked all around and [when] he saw that no man was there [watching], he killed the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand.	12. and Mosheh turned, and considered in the wisdom of his mind, and understood that in no generation would there arise a proselyte from that Mizraite man, and that none of his children's children would ever be converted; and he smote the Mizraite, and buried him in the sand. [JERUSALEM. And Mosheh, by the Holy Spirit, considering both the young, men, saw that, behold, no proselyte would ever spring from that Mizraite; and he killed him, and hid him in the sand.]
13. He went out the next day, and behold two Hebrew men were quarreling. And he said to the wicked one, "Why are you beating your friend?"	13. And he went out the second day, and looked; and, behold, Dathan and Abiram, men of the Jehudaee contended; and seeing Dathan put forth his hand against Abiram to smite him, he said to him, Wherefore do you smite your companion?
14. He [the wicked one] said, "Who made you a man, officer and judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?" Moshe was frightened, and he said, "So the matter is known."	14. And Dathan said to him, Who is he who has appointed you a chief man and a judge over us? Will you kill me, said he, as you did the Mizraite? And Mosheh was afraid, and said, Verily, the thing has become known.
15. Pharaoh heard about the matter, and he planned to kill Moshe. Moshe fled from Pharaoh, and resided in the land of Midian, and he sat [lived] near the well.	15. And Pharaoh heard this thing, and sought to kill Mosheh; and Mosheh escaped before Pharaoh, to dwell in the land of Midian. And he sat by a well.
16. The priest of Midian had seven daughters. They came to draw water [from the well] and fill the troughs to water their father's sheep.	16. And the priest of Midian had seven daughters; and they came and drew, and filled the watering-troughs, to give drink to the flocks of their father.
17. Then the shepherds came and chased them away. Moshe got up and came to their aid, and then watered their sheep.	17. But the shepherds came and drove them away. And Mosheh arose in the power of his might, and rescued them, and gave the flocks drink.
18. When they came to Reu'el, their father, he said [to them], "How did you get to come [home] so early today?"	18. And they came to Reuel, their grandfather, who said to them, How is it that you are come (so) early to-day?
19. They said, "An Egyptian rescued us from the hand of the shepherds; and he also drew [water] for us, and watered the sheep."	19. And they replied, A Mizraite man not only delivered us from the hand of the shepherds, but also himself drawing drew and watered the flock.
20. He said to his daughters, "And where is he? Why did you abandon the man? Call him and let him eat bread."	20. And he said to his son's daughters, And where is he? Why did you leave the man? Call him, and let him eat bread. But when Reuel knew that Mosheh had fled from before Pharaoh he cast him into a pit; but Zipporah, the daughter of his son, maintained him with food, secretly, for the time of ten years; and at the end of ten years brought him out of the pit. And Mosheh went into the bedchamber of Reuel, and gave thanks and prayed before the LORD, who by him would work miracles and mighty acts. And there was shown to him the Rod which was created between the evenings, and on which was engraved and set forth the Great and Glorious Name, with which he was to do the wonders in Mizraim, and to divide the sea of Suph, and to bring, forth water from the rock. And it was infixed in the midst of the chamber, and he stretched forth his hand at once and took it.
21. Moshe agreed to reside with the man, and he gave Moshe his daughter Tzipporah.	21. Then, behold, Mosheh was willing to dwell with the man, and he gave Zipporah, the daughter of his son, to Mosheh.
22. When she gave birth to a son, he named him Gershom, for he said, "I have been a foreigner in a strange land."	22. And she bare him a male child, and he called his name Gershom, Because, said he, a sojourner have I been in a strange land which is not mine.
23. A long time passed and the king of Egypt died. The B'ne Yisrael moaned because of their enslavement, and they cried. Their plea about their enslavement went up to G-d.	23. And it was after many of those days that the king of Mizraim was struck (with disease), and he commanded to kill the firstborn of the sons of Israel, that he might bathe himself in their blood. And the sons of Israel groaned with the labor that was hard upon them; and they cried, and their cry ascended to the high heavens of the LORD.
24. Elohim heard their groaning and Elohim remembered His covenant with Avraham, with Yitzchaq and with Ya’aqob.	24. And He spoke in His Word to deliver them from the travail. And their cry was heard before the LORD, and before the LORD was the covenant remembered which He had covenanted with Abraham, with Yitshak, and with Yakob.
25. Elohim saw the B'ne Yisrael, and Elohim took knowledge of them.	25. And the LORD looked upon the affliction of the bondage of the sons of Israel; and the repentance was revealed before Him which they exercised in concealment, so as that no man knew that of his companion.
1. Moses was pasturing the flocks of Jethro, his father in law, the chief of Midian, and he led the flocks after the free pastureland, and he came to the mountain of God, to Horeb.	1. But Mosheh was keeping the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the rabbi of Midian; and he had led the flock to a pleasant place of pasturage which is behind the desert, and had come to the mountain on which was revealed the glory of the LORD, even Horeb.
2. An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from within the thorn bush, and behold, the thorn bush was burning with fire, but the thorn bush was not being consumed.	2. And Zagnugael,[1] the angel of the LORD, appeared to him in a fame of fire in the midst of the bush. And he gazed, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, yet the bush was neither burned nor consumed with fire. JERUSALEM: And he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, yet remained in freshness, (or, was moist), neither was it consumed.
3. So Moses said, "Let me turn now and see this great spectacle why does the thorn bush not burn up?"	3, And Mosheh said, I will turn aside now and consider this great sight, why the bush is not burned. JERUSALEM: I will look at this great sight, wherefore the bush is refreshed and not burned.
4. The Lord saw that he had turned to see, and God called to him from within the thorn bush, and He said, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am!"	4. And when it was seen before the LORD that he turned to look, the LORD called to him from the midst of the bush and said, Mosheh, Mosheh! And he said, Behold me.
5. And He said, "Do not draw near here. Take your shoes off your feet, because the place upon which you stand is holy soil."	5. And He said, Approach not hither, take the shoes from your feet, for the place on which you stand is a holy place; and upon it you are to receive the Law, to teach it to the sons of Israel.
6. And He said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look toward God.	6. And He said, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Yitschaq, and the God of Ya’aqob. And Mosheh covered his face; for he was afraid to look upon the height of the glory of the Shekinah of the LORD.
7. And the Lord said, "I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and I have heard their cry because of their slave drivers, for I know their pains.	7. And He said, The oppression of My people who are in Mizraim is verily manifest before Me, and heard before Me is their cry on account of them who hold them in bondage; for their affliction is known before Me.
8. I have descended to rescue them from the hand[s] of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land, to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivvites, and the Jebusites.	8. And I have revealed Myself to you this day, that by My Word they may be delivered from the hand of the Mizraee, to bring them up out of the unclean land, unto a good land, and large in its boundaries, a land yielding milk and honey, unto the place where dwell the Kenaanaee, and the Hittaee, and the Amoraee, and the Pherizaee, and the Hivaee, and the Jebusaee.
9. And now, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression that the Egyptians are oppressing them.	9. And now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel comes up before Me, and the bruising of the Mizraee wherewith they bruise them is also revealed before Me.
10. So now come, and I will send you to Pharaoh, and take My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt."	10. And now, come, and I will send you unto Pharoh, and you will bring forth My people, the sons of Israel, out of Mizraim.
11. But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should take the children of Israel out of Egypt?"	11. And Mosheh said before the LORD, Who am I, that I should go to Pharoh, and bring forth the sons of Israel out of Mizraim?
12. And He said, "For I will be with you, and this is the sign for you that it was I Who sent you. When you take the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain."	12. But He said, Therefore My Word will be for your help; and this will be the sign to you that I have sent you: when you have, brought the people forth from Mizraim, you will worship before the LORD, because you will have received the Law upon this mountain.
13. And Moses said to God, "Behold I come to the children of Israel, and I say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they say to me, 'What is His name?' what shall I say to them?"	13. And Mosheh said before the LORD, Behold, I will go to the sons of Israel, and say to them, The LORD God of your fathers has sent me to you: and they will say to me, What is His Name? What will I say to them?
14. God said to Moses, "Ehyeh asher ehyeh (I will be what I will be)," and He said, "So shall you say to the children of Israel, 'Ehyeh (I will be) has sent me to you.'"	14. And the LORD said unto Mosheh, He who spoke, and the world was; who spoke, and all things were. And He said, This you will say to the sons of Israel, I AM HE WHO IS, AND WHO WILL BE, has sent me unto you. JERUSALEM: And the Word of the LORD said to Mosheh, He who spoke to the world, “Be,” and it was; and who will speak to it, “Be,” and it will be. And He said, Thus will you speak to the sons of Israel, EHEYEH has sent me unto you.
15. And God said further to Moses, "So shall you say to the children of Israel, 'The Lord God of your forefathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.' This is My name forever, and this is how I should be mentioned in every generation.	15. And the LORD said again unto Mosheh, Thus will you speak to the sons of Israel, The God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Yitschaq, and the God of Ya’aqob, has sent me unto you. This is His Name forever, and this is His Memorial to every generation and generation.
16. Go and assemble the elders of Israel, and say to them, 'The Lord God of your forefathers has appeared to me, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, "I have surely remembered you and what is being done to you in Egypt." '	16. Go, and assemble the elders of Israel, and say to them, The LORD God of your fathers has appeared unto me, the God of Abraham, Yitschaq, and Ya’aqob, saying,Remembering, I have remembered you, and the injury that is done to you in Mizraim;
17. And I said, 'I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt, to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivvites, and the Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey.'	17. and I have said in My Word, I will bring you up out from the oppression of the Mizraee into the land of the Kenaanaee, and Hittaee, and Amoraee, and Pherizaee, and Hivaee, and Jebusaee, to the land that yields milk and honey.
18. And they will hearken to your voice, and you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt, and you shall say to him, 'The Lord God of the Hebrews has happened upon us, and now, let us go for a three days' journey in the desert and offer up sacrifices to the Lord, our God.'	18. And they will hearken to you: and you and the elders of Israel will go to the king of Mizraim and say to him, The LORD God of the Jehudaee has called us; and now let us go a journey of three days into the wilderness, to sacrifice before the LORD our God.
19. However, I know that the king of Egypt will not permit you to go, except through a mighty hand.	19. But it is manifest before Me that the king of Mizraim will not let you go, (no,) not from fear of Him who is Mighty, until that by My Word he will have been punished with evil plagues.
20. And I will stretch forth My hand and smite the Egyptians with all My miracles that I will wreak in their midst, and afterwards he will send you out.	20. And you will be hindered there until I have sent forth the stroke of My power, and have smitten the Mizraee with all My wonders, that I will do among them; and afterward he will release you.
21. And I will put this people's favor in the eyes of the Egyptians, and it will come to pass that when you go, you will not go empty handed.	21. And I will give this people grace in the eyes of the Mizraee; and it will be that when you go free from there, you will not go empty.
22. Each woman shall borrow from her neighbor and from the dweller in her house silver and gold objects and garments, and you shall put [them] on your sons and on your daughters, and you shall empty out Egypt."	22. But a woman will ask of her neighbour, and from those next to the wall of her house, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and vestments; and you will set them as crowns upon your sons and your daughters, and make the Mizraee empty. JERUSALEM: Fellow resident.
1. Moses answered and said, "Behold they will not believe me, and they will not heed my voice, but they will say, 'The Lord has not appeared to you.' "	1. And Mosheh answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken to me; for they will say, The LORD has not appeared to you.
2. And the Lord said to him, "What is this in your hand?" And he said, "A staff."	2. And the LORD said to him, What is that in your hand? And he said, The rod.
3. And He said, "Cast it to the ground," and he cast it to the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses fled from before it.	3. And He said, Cast it on the ground; and he cast it to the ground, and it became a serpent; and Mosheh fled from before it. JERUSALEM: And He said, Cast it on the ground; and he cast it on the ground.
4. And the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch forth your hand and take hold of its tail." So Moses stretched forth his hand and grasped it, and it became a staff in his hand.	4. And the LORD said to Mosheh, Stretch forth your hand and seize (it) by its tail. And he stretched forth his hand and grasped it, and it became the rod in his hand: JERUSALEM: And grasp the place of its tail.
5. "In order that they believe that the Lord, the God of their forefathers, has appeared to you, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob."	5. In order that they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Yitschaq, and the God of Ya’aqob, has revealed Himself to you.
6. And the Lord said further to him, "Now put your hand into your bosom," and he put his hand into his bosom, and he took it out, and behold, his hand was leprous like snow.	6. And the LORD said to him again, Put now your hand within your breast (Choba); and he put it within his breast, and withdrew it, and, behold, his hand was leprous, it was white as snow.
7. And he said, "Put your hand back into your bosom," and he put his hand back into his bosom, and [when] he took it out of his bosom, it had become again like [the rest of] his flesh.	7. And He said, Return your hand into your bosom (Aitaph); and he returned his hand to his breast, and withdrew it from his breast, and it had become clean as his flesh. JERUSALEM: Put now your hand into your breast, and he put his hand within his breast.
8. "And it will come to pass, that if they do not believe you, and they do not heed the voice of the first sign, they will believe the voice of the last sign.	8. - - -
9. And it will come to pass, if they do not believe either of these two signs, and they do not heed your voice, you shall take of the water of the Nile and spill it upon the dry land, and the water that you take from the Nile will become blood on the dry land."	9. And if they believe not these two signs, nor receive from you, you will take of the water of the river and pour it on the ground, and the water that you will take from the river will become blood upon the ground. JERUSALEM: And if they believe not these two signs, nor receive from you, you will take of the water of the river and pour it on the ground, and the water that you will take from the river will become blood upon the ground.
10. Moses said to the Lord, "I beseech You, O Lord. I am not a man of words, neither from yesterday nor from the day before yesterday, nor from the time You have spoken to Your servant, for I am heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue."	10. And Mosheh said before the LORD, O LORD, I pray: I am not a man of words, nor ever have been before that You did speak with Your servant; for I am of a staggering* mouth and staggering speech. *Or, lame JERUSALEM: And Mosheh said before the LORD, O LORD, I pray: I am not a man of words, nor ever have been before that You did speak with Your servant; for I am of a staggering mouth and staggering speech. (For of a staggering mouth and difficult speech am I.)
11. But the Lord said to him, "Who gave man a mouth, or who makes [one] dumb or deaf or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?	11. And the LORD said, Who is he who first put the language of the mouth into the mouth of man? or who has appointed the dumb or the deaf, the open-seeing or the blind, but I the LORD?
12. So now, go! I will be with your mouth, and I will instruct you what you shall speak."	12. And now go, and I by My Word will be with the speaking of your mouth, and will teach you what you will say.
13. But he said, "I beseech You, O Lord, send now [Your message] with whom You would send."	13. And he said, I pray for mercy before the LORD. Send now Your sending by the hand of Phinehas, by whom it is to be sent at the end of the days. JERUSALEM: Send now by the hand of him by whom it is opportune to send.
14. And the Lord's wrath was kindled against Moses, and He said, "Is there not Aaron your brother, the Levite? I know that he will surely speak, and behold, he is coming forth toward you, and when he sees you, he will rejoice in his heart.	14. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Mosheh, and He said, Is it not manifest before Me that Aharon your brother speaking can speak? And, behold, also, he comes forth to meet you, and will see you and rejoice in his heart.
15. You shall speak to him, and you shall put the words into his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will instruct you [both] what you shall do.	15. And you will speak with him, and put the matter in his mouth, and My Word will be with the word of your mouth, and with the word of his mouth, and I will instruct you what you are to do.
16. And he will speak for you to the people, and it will be that he will be your speaker, and you will be his leader.	16, And he will speak for you with the people, and be to you an interpreter, and you to him the principal, seeking instruction from before the LORD. JERUSALEM: He will be to you an interpreter, and you to him one inquiring instruction from before the LORD.
17. And you shall take this staff in your hand, with which you shall perform the signs."	17. And this rod take you in your hand to work therewith the signs.

Summary of the Torah Seder – Sh’mot (Ex.) 2 – 4:17

           

·        The Call of Moses – Exodus 3:1-10

·        Moses’ First difficulty: He is Unsuited for His Mission – Exodus 3:11-12

·        Moses’ Second Difficulty: The Name of G-d – Exodus 3:13-22

·        Moses’ Third Difficulty: The Israelites May Not Believe His Message of Freedom – Exodus 4:1-9

·        Moses Still Hesitates: He Is Not Eloquent – Exodus 4:10-17

 

Reading Assignment:

 

The Torah Anthology: Yalkut Me’Am Lo’Ez - Vol IV: Israel in Egypt

By: Rabbi Ya’aqob Culi

Published by: Moznaim Publishing Corp. (New York, 1988)

Vol. IV – “Israel in Egypt,” pp. 36 - 110

 

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/s is/are given using the seven Hermeneutic Laws of R. Hillel and as well as the laws of Hebrew Grammar and Hebrew expression.

 

The Seven Hermeneutic Laws of R. Hillel are as follows

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

Rashi’s  Commentary for: Sh’mot (Exodus) ‎‎‎2 – 4:17‎

  

1 and married a daughter of Levi He was separated from her because of Pharaoh’s decree (and he remarried her. This is the meaning of went, that he followed [lit., he went after] his daughter’s advice that she said to him, Your decree is harsher than פַּרְעֹה. Whereas Pharaoh issued a decree [only] against the males, you [issued a decree] against the females as well [for none will be born]. This [comment] is found in an old Rashi), and he took her back and married her a second time. She too was transformed to become like a young woman [physically], but she was [actually] 130 years old. For she was born when they came to Egypt between the חוֺמוֺת and they stayed there 210 years. When they left, Moses was 80 years old. If so, when she conceived him, she was 130 years old, yet [Scripture] calls her a daughter of Levi. [From Sotah 12a,Exod. Rabbah 1:19]

 

2 that he was good When he was born, the entire house was filled with light. [From Sotah 12a, Exod. Rabbah 1:20]

 

3 [When] she could no longer hide him because the Egyptians counted her [pregnancy] from the day that he [Amram] took her back. She bore him after [only] six months and one day (Sotah 12a), for a woman who gives birth to a seven-month child may give birth after incomplete [months] (Niddah 38b, R.H. 11a). And they searched after her at the end of nine [months].

 

reed Heb. גֹּמֶא, GIMI in the language of the Mishnah, and in French jonc, reed grass. This is a pliable substance, which withstands both soft [things] and hard [things]. [From Sotah 12a]

 

with clay and pitch Pitch on the outside and clay on the inside so that the righteous/generous person [Moses] should not smell the foul odor of pitch. [From Sotah 12a]

 

and put [it] into the marsh Heb. וַתָּשֶׂם בַּסּוּף. This is an expression meaning a marsh, rosei(y)l, in Old French [roseau in modern French], reed. Similar to it is reeds and rushes (קָנֶה וָסוּף) shall be cut off (Isa. 19:6). [From Sotah 12b]

 

5 to bathe, to the Nile Heb. עַל-הַיְאֹר. Transpose the verse and explain it: Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe in it.

 

along the Nile Heb. עַל-יַד הַיְאֹר, next to the Nile, similar to: See, Joab’s field is near mine (רְאוּ חֶלְקַת יוֹאָב אֶל-יָדִי) (II Sam. 14:30). יָדִי is a literal expression for hand, because a person’s hand is near himself. [Thus, the word יָדִי denotes proximity.] Our Sages said (Sotah 12b): הֺלְכֺת is an expression of death, similar to: Behold, I am going (הוֹלֵךְ) to die (Gen. 25:32). They [her maidens] were going to die because they protested against her [when she wanted to take the basket]. The text supports them [the Sages], because [otherwise] why was it necessary to write: and her maidens were walking?

 

her maidservant Heb. אֲמָתָהּ, her maidservant. Our Sages (Sotah 12b), however, interpreted it as an expression meaning a hand. [The joint from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger is known as אַמָּה, hence the cubit measure bearing the name, אַמָּה, which is the length of the arm from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger.] Following [the rules of] Hebrew grammar, however, it should have been vowelized אֲמָּתָהּ, with a dagesh in the mem. They, however, interpreted אֶת-אֲמָתָהּ to mean her hand, [that she stretched out her hand,] and her arm grew many cubits (אַמוֺת) [so that she could reach the basket]. [From Sotah 12b, Exod. Rabbah 1:23]

 

6 She opened [it], and she saw him Whom did she see? The child. Its midrashic interpretation is that she saw the Shechinah with him. [From Sotah 12b, Exod. Rabbah 1:23]

 

and behold, he was a weeping lad [Even though he was an infant] his voice was like that of a lad. [From Sotah 12b]

 

7 from the Hebrew women This teaches [us] that she had taken him around to many Egyptian women to nurse, but he did not nurse because he was destined to speak with the Shechinah. [From Sotah 12b, Exod. Rabbah 1:25].

 

8 So the girl went Heb. הָעַלְמָה. She went with alacrity and vigor like a youth. [From Sotah 12b]

 

9 Take Heb. הֵילִיכִי. She prophesied but did not know what she prophesied. [She said,] This one is yours. [From Sotah 12b, Exod. Rabbah 1:25]

 

10 For I drew him from the water Heb. מְשִׁיתִהוּ. The Targum renders: SH’CHALTEI, which is an Aramaic expression of drawing out, similar to [the expression] SHENETA MECHALAVA MASH’CHEL, like one who draws a hair out of milk (Ber. 8a). And in Hebrew, מְשִׁיתִהוּ is an expression meaning I have removed (משׁ), like shall not move away (לֹא-יָמוּשׁ) (Josh. 1:8), did not move away (לֹא-מָשׁוּ) (Num. 14:44). Menachem classified in this way [i.e., under the root משׁ in Machbereth Menachem, p. 120]. I say, however, that it (מְשִׁיתִהוּ) does not belong in the classification of מָשׁ and לֹא-יָמוּשׁ, but [it is derived] from the rootמָשֺׁה, and it means taking out and similarly, He drew me out (יַמְשֵׁנִי, מִמַּיִם רַבִּים) of many waters (II Sam. 22:17). For if it were of the classification of [the word] מָשׁ, it would be inappropriate to say מְשִׁיתִהוּ, butהֲמִישִׁוֺתִהוּ, as one says from קָם (to rise), הֲקִימוֺתִי (I set up), and from שָׁב (to return), הֲשִׁיבוֺתִי (I brought back), and from בָּא (to come), הֲבִיאוֺתִי (I brought). Or מַשְׁתִיהוּ, like and I will remove (וּמַשְׁתִּי) the iniquity of that land (Zech. 3:9). But מָשִׁיתִי is only from the root of a word whose verb form is formed with a “hey” at the end of the word, like מָשָׁה, to take out בָּנָה, to build; עָשָׂה, to do; צִוָּה, to command; פָּנָה, to turn. When one comes to say in any of these [verbs] פָּעַלְתִּי, I did, [i.e., first person past-tense], a “yud” replaces the “hey”: עָשִׂיתִי, I did; בָּנִיתִי, I built; פָּנִיתִי, I turned; צִוִּיתִי, I commanded.

 

11 Moses grew up Was it not already written: The child grew up? Rabbi Judah the son of Rabbi Ilai said: The first one (וַיִּגְדַּל) [was Moses growth] in height, and the second one [was his growth] in greatness, because Pharaoh appointed him over his house. [From Tanchuma Buber, Va’era 17]

 

and looked at their burdens He directed his eyes and his heart to be distressed over them. [From Exod. Rabbah 1:27]

 

an Egyptian man He was a taskmaster appointed over the Israelite officers. He would wake them when the rooster crowed, [to call them] to their work. [From Exod. Rabbah 1: 28]

 

striking a Hebrew man He was lashing and driving him, and he [the Hebrew man] was the husband of Shelomith the daughter of Dibri [who was mentioned in Lev. 24:10], and he [the taskmaster] laid his eyes on her. So he woke him [the Hebrew] at night and took him out of his house, and he [the taskmaster] returned and entered the house and was intimate with his wife while she thought that he was her husband. The man returned home and became aware of the matter. When that Egyptian saw that he had become aware of the matter, he struck [him] and drove him all day [From Exod. Rabbah 1:28]

 

12 He turned this way and that way He saw what he [the Egyptian] had done to him [the Hebrew] in the house and what he had done to him in the field (Exod. Rabbah 1:28). But according to its simple meaning, it is to be interpreted according to its apparent meaning, i.e., he looked in all directions and saw that no one had seen him slay the Egyptian.

 

and he saw that there was no man [I.e., he saw that] there was no man destined to be descended from him [the Egyptian] who would become a proselyte [i.e., a convert]. [From Exod. Rabbah 1:29]

 

13 two Hebrew men were quarreling Dathan and Abiram. They were the ones who saved some of the manna [when they had been forbidden to leave it overnight, as in Exod. 16: 19, 20]. [From Exod. Rabbah1:29]

 

quarreling Heb. נִצִּים, fighting.

 

Why are you going to strike Although he had not struck him, he is called wicked for [merely] raising his hand [to strike him]. [From Sanh. 58b]

 

your friend A wicked man like you. [From Exod. Rabbah 1:29]

 

14 Who made you a man You are still a youth. [From Tanchuma, Shemoth 10]

 

Do you plan to slay me lit., Do you say to slay me. From here we learn that he slew him with the ineffable Name. [From Tanchuma, Shemoth 10]

 

Moses became frightened [To be explained] according to its simple meaning [that Moses was afraid Pharaoh would kill him]. Midrashically, it is interpreted to mean that he was worried because he saw in Israel wicked men [i. e.,] informers. He said, Since this is so, perhaps they [the Israelites] do not deserve to be redeemed [from slavery]. [From Tanchuma, Shemoth 10]

 

Indeed, the matter has become known [To be interpreted] according to its apparent meaning [that it was known that he had slain the Egyptian]. Its midrashic interpretation, however, is: the matter I was wondering about, [i.e.,] why the Israelites are considered more sinful than all the seventy nations [of the world], to be subjugated with back-breaking labor, has become known to me. Indeed, I see that they deserve it. [From Exod. Rabbah 1: 30]

 

15 Pharaoh heard They informed on him.

 

and he sought to slay Moses He delivered him to the executioner to execute him, but the sword had no power over him. That is [the meaning of] what Moses said, “and He saved me from Pharaoh’s חֶרֶב” (Exod. 18:4). [From Mechilta, Yithro 1, Exod. Rabbah 1:321]

 

He stayed in the land of Midian Heb. וַיֵּשֶׁב, he tarried there, like Jacob dwelt וַיֵּשֶׁב (Gen. 37:1).

 

and he sat down by a well Heb. וַיֵּשֶׁב, an expression of sitting. He learned from Jacob, who met his mate at a well. [From Exod. Rabbah 1:32, Tanchuma, Shemoth 10] [The comment on the sentence He stayed in the land of Midian does not appear in some editions of Rashi. Therefore, it is enclosed within parentheses. The first sentence of the second paragraph does not appear in the Mikraoth Gedoloth. It does, however, appear in all other editions of Rashi. Perhaps it was unintentionally omitted. Rashi intends here to differentiate between the first וַיֵּשֶׁב and the second וַיֵּשֶׁב He explains that the first וַיֵּשֶׁב means staying, residing, or tarrying, signifying that Moses resided in Midian. The second וַיֵּשֶׁב denotes, literally, sitting, meaning that Moses sat down by a well. The Sages of the midrashim teach us that Moses sat there intentionally, for he expected to meet his mate, just as Jacob had met Rachel and Eliezer had met Rebecca when he sought a mate for Isaac. Otherwise, Moses would not have sat by the well simply to watch how the flocks were being watered.]

 

16 Now the chief of Midian had Heb. וּלְכֹהֵן מִדְיָן, i.e., the most prominent among them. He had abandoned idolatry, so they banned him from [living with] them. [From Exod. Rabbah 1:32, Tanchuma, Shemoth 11]

 

the troughs Pools of running water, made in the ground.

 

17 and drove them away because of the ban. [From Exod. Rabbah 1:32, Tanchuma, Shemoth 11]

 

20 Why have you left the man He recognized him [Moses] as being of the seed of Jacob, for the water rose toward him. [From Exod. Rabbah 1:32, Tanchuma Shemoth 11]

 

and let him eat bread Perhaps he will marry one of you, as it is said: except the bread that he ate (Gen. 39:6) [alluding to Potiphar’s wife]. [From Exod. Rabbah 1:32, Tanchuma, Shemoth 11]

 

21 consented Heb. וַיּוֹאֶל, as the Targum [Onkelos] renders: (UTS’VI), and similar to this: Accept (הוֹאֶל) now and lodge (Jud. 19:6); Would that we had been content (הוֹאַלְנוּ)(Josh. 7:7); Behold now I have desired (הוֹאַלְתִּי) (Gen. 18:31). Its midrashic interpretation is: וַיּוֹאֶל is] an expression of an oath (אלה), he [Moses] swore to him that he would not move from Midian except with his consent. [From Exod. Rabbah 1:33,Tanchuma, Shemoth 12]

 

23 Now it came to pass in those many days that Moses sojourned in Midian, that the king of Egypt died, and Israel required a salvation, and Moses was pasturing, and a salvation came through him. Therefore, these sections were juxtaposed [i.e., the section dealing with the king of Egypt’s affliction, and that dealing with Moses pasturing flocks]. [From an old Rashi]

 

that the king of Egypt died- He was stricken (נִצְטָרַע), and he would slaughter Israelite infants and bathe in their blood. [From Exod. Rabbah 1:34]

 

24 their cry Heb. נַאֲקָתָם, their cry, similar to From the city, people groan (יִנְאָקוּ) (Job 24:12).

 

His covenant with Abraham Heb. אֶת-אַבְרָהָם, the equivalent of אַבְרָהָם עִם, with Abraham.

 

25 He focused His attention [lit., He set His heart] upon them and did not conceal His eyes from them.

 

Chapter 3

 

1 after the free pastureland to distance himself from [the possibility of] theft, so that they [the flocks] would not pasture in others’ fields.-[from Exodus Rabbah 2:3]

 

to the mountain of God [Mount Horeb is called “the mountain of God”] in view of the [events of the] future.

 

2 in a flame of fire Heb. בִּלַבַּתאֵשׁ, in a flame of (שַׁלְהֶבֶת) fire, the heart (לִבּוֹ) of fire, like “the heart (לֵב) of the heavens” (Deut. 4:11), “in the heart (בְּלֵב) of the terebinth” (II Sam. 18:14). Do not wonder about the tav [in לִבַּת], for we have [an instance] similar to this: How degenerate is your heart  (לִבָּתֵךְ)(Ezek. 16:30).

 

from within the thorn bush But not from any other tree, because of “I am with him in distress” (Ps. 91:15).-[from Tanchuma, Shemoth 14]

 

being consumed Heb. אֻכַָּל, consumed, like “with which no work has been done (עֻבַּד)”; (Deut. 21:3), “whence he had been taken (לֻקַח)”(Gen. 3:23).

 

3 Let me turn now Let me turn away from here to draw near to there.

 

5 Take your shoes off Heb. שַׁל, pull off and remove, similar to: “and the iron [axe head] will slip off (וְנָשַׁל)” (Deut. 19:5), “for your olive tree will drop (יִשַַּׁל)” [its fruit] (Deut. 28:40).

 

is holy soil [Lit., it is holy soil.] The place.

 

7 for I know their pains This is similar to: “and God knew” (Exod. 2:25). That is to say: for I set My heart to contemplate and to know their pains, and I have not hidden My eyes, neither will I block My ears from their cry.

 

10 So now come, and I will send you, etc. And if you ask of what help will this be?

 

and take My people…out Your words will help, and you will take them out of there.

 

11 Who am I Of what importance am I that I should speak with kings?

 

and that I should take the children of Israel out And even if I am of importance, what merit do the Israelites have that a miracle should be wrought for them, and I should take them out of Egypt?

 

12 And He said, “For I will be with you…” He [God] answered his former [question] first, and his latter [question] last. [Concerning] what you said, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?” This [mission] is not yours but Mine, “for I will be with you.” And this vision which you have seen in the thorn bush,

 

is the sign for you that it was I Who sent you And that you will succeed in My mission and that I am able to save you. Just as you saw the thorn bush performing My mission and not being harmed, so will you go on My mission and not be harmed. [Concerning] what you asked, “what merit do the Israelites have that they should go out of Egypt?” I have a great thing [dependent] on this Exodus, for at the end of three months from their Exodus from Egypt they are destined to receive the Torah on this mountain. Another explanation:

 

For I will be with you, and this [namely] that you will succeed in your mission [on which I am sending you]

 

is the sign for you for another promise, which I promise you, [namely,] that when you take them out of Egypt, you will serve God on this mountain, for you will receive the Torah on it, and that is the merit that will stand up for Israel. Similar to this expression [where a future event serves as a sign for a still more distant event], we find: “And this shall be the sign (הָאוֹת) for you, this year you shall eat what grows by itself, etc.” (Isa. 37:30, II Kings 19:29). Sennacherib’s downfall will be a sign for you regarding another promise, [i.e.,] that your land is desolate of fruit, and I will bless what grows by itself.

 

14 “Ehyeh asher ehyeh (I will be what I will be)” “I will be” with them in this predicament “what I will be” with them in their subjugation by other kingdoms. He [Moses] said before Him, “O Lord of the universe! Why should I mention to them another trouble? They have enough [problems] with this one.” He said to him, “You have spoken well. So shall you say, etc.”- [from Ber. 9b] (Not that Moses, God forbid, outsmarted God, but he did not understand what God meant, because originally, when God said, “I will be what I will be,” He told this to Moses alone, and He did not mean that he should tell it to Israel. That is the meaning of “You have spoken well,” for that was My original intention, that you should not tell such things to the children of Israel, only “So shall you say to the children of Israel,” ‘Ehyeh [I will be] has sent me.’” From tractate Berachoth this appears to be the correct interpretation. Give this matter your deliberation.) [Annotation to Rashi] [There appears to be no indication of this interpretation in tractate Berachoth.]

 

15 This is My name forever Heb. לְעֽלָם [It is spelled] without a vav, meaning: conceal it [God’s name] תהַעֲלִימֵהוּ [so] that it should not be read as it is written.-[from Pes. 50a] Since the “vav” of (לְעֽלָ ם) is missing, we are to understand it as לְעַלֵּם, to conceal, meaning that the pronunciation of the way God’s name is written ו-ה) (י-ה- is to be concealed.-[from Pes. 50a.]

 

and this is how I should be mentioned - He [God] taught him [Moses] how it was to be read, and so does David say, “O Lord, Your name is forever; O Lord, the mention of Your name is for every generation” (Ps. 135:14).-[from Pes. 50a]

 

16 the elders of Israel Those devoted to study, for if you say [that it means] ordinary elderly men, how was it possible for him to gather [all] the elderly men of [a nation of] six hundred thousand? [from Yoma 28b]

 

18 And they will hearken to your voice As soon as you say this expression [“I have surely remembered you...," פָּקֽד פָּקַדְתִּי אֶתְכֶם] to them, they will hearken to your voice, for this password was transmitted to them from Jacob and from Joseph, that with this expression they will be redeemed. Jacob said to them, “and God will surely remember (פָּקֽד יִפְקֽד) you (Gen. 50:24). Joseph said to them, “God will surely remember (פָּקֽד יִפְקֽד) you” (Gen. 50:25).- [from Exod. Rabbah 3:11]

 

(God of the Hebrews Heb.  הָעִבְרִיִיםThe “yud” is superfluous. It alludes to the ten plagues.- [From an old Rashi])

 

has happened upon us Heb. נִקְרָה, an expression of an occurrence (מִקְרֶה), and similarly, “God happened (וַיִקָר)” (Num. 23:4), “and I will be met by Him there (וְאָנֽכִי אִקָרֵה כּֽה)” (Num. 23:15).

 

19 the king of Egypt will not permit you to go if I do not show him My mighty hand; i.e., as long as I do not show him My mighty hand, he will not let you go.

 

will not permit Heb. לֽא-יִתֵּן, [lit., will not give. In this case, however, Onkelos renders:] א יִֽשְבּוֽק, will not permit, similar to “Therefore, I did not let you (לֽא-נְתַתִּיךָ)” (Gen. 20:6); but God did not let him (וְלֽא-נְתָנוֹ)harm me” (Gen. 31:7), but they all are expressions of giving. [They are basically expressions of giving, in these cases, giving permission.] Others explain וְלֽא בְּיָד חֲזָקָה - and not because his hand is mighty, for as soon as I stretch forth My hand and smite the Egyptians, etc.” The Targum renders it: “and not because his strength is mighty.” This was told to me in the name of Rabbi Jacob the son of Rabbi Menachem.

 

22 and from the dweller in her house From the one who lives with her in the same house.

 

and you shall empty out Heb. וְנִצַּלְתֶּם, as the Targum renders: וּתְרוּקְנוּן, and you shall empty out. And likewise, and they emptied out (וַיְנצלוּ) Egypt (Exod. 12: 36); “and the children of Israel stripped themselves(וַיִתְנַצְלוּ) of their ornaments” (Exod. 33:6). Hence, the nun is a root letter. Menachem, however, classified it in the classification of the “tzaddi” (Machbereth Menachem p. 149) with “Thus, God separated (וַיַצֵל)your father’s livestock” (Gen. 31: 9); “that God separated (הִצִיל) from our father” (Gen. 31:16). His words are, however, incorrect, because if the “nun” were not part of the root, since it is vowelized with a “chirik”, the word would not be used in the active sense for the second person masculine plural, but in the passive form for the second person masculine plural, similar to: “and you shall be uprooted (וְנִסַּחְתֶּם) from the land” (Deut. 28:63); “and you shall be delivered (וְנִתַתֶּם) into the hand of the enemy” (Lev. 26:25); “and you will be beaten (וְנִגַּפְתֶּם) before your enemies” (Lev. 26:17); “and you will be melted (וְנִתַּכְתֶּם) in its midst” (Ezek. 22:21); and say, ‘We are saved (נִצַלְנוּ)’ ” (Jer. 7:10), a passive expression in the first person plural. Every “nun” that is sometimes in the root and [sometimes] is missing, like the “nun” of נוֹגֵף (beats),נוֹשֵׂא (carries), נוֹתֵן (gives), נוֹשֵׁךְ (bites), when it is used in the active second person plural, is vowelized with a vocalized “schwa,” e.g., “and you shall carry (וּנְשָׂאתֶם) your father” (Gen. 45:19); “and you shall give(וּנְמַלְתֶּם) them” (Num. 32:29); “And you shall circumcise (וּנְתַתֶּם) the flesh of your foreskin” (Gen. 17:11). Therefore, I say that this [nun], which is vowelized with a “chirik”, is part of the root, and the noun is נִצּוּל, which is a heavy expression [with a “dagesh” in the second letter], like דִבּוּר (speech), כִּפּוּר (atonement), לִמוּד (teaching), and when one speaks in the second person plural, it (the first root letter of the verb) is vowelized with a “chirik”, like: “And you shall speak (וְדִבַּרְתֶּם) to the rock” (Num. 20:8); “and expiate (וְכִפַּרְתֶּם) the House” (Ezek. 45:20); “And you shall teach (וְלִמַּדְתֶּם) them to your sons” (Deut. 11:19).

 

Chapter 4

 

2 “What is this in your hand?” Heb. מַזֶּה, [an unusual spelling. Its usual spelling is מַה זֶה in two words.] It is written as one word to imply the meaning: From this (מִזֶה) in your hand you are liable to be stricken because you have suspected innocent people (Exod. Rabbah 3:12). Its simple meaning is [that God is talking to Moses] as a person who says to his friend, “Do you admit that this before you is a stone?” He answers him, “Yes.” “Well, I will make it into a tree.”

 

3 and it became a serpent- [This was how] He hinted to him [Moses] that he had spoken ill of Israel (by saying, “They will not believe me,”) and he had adopted the art of the serpent.-[from Exod. Rabbah 3:12]

 

4 and grasped it- Heb. וַיַּחֲזִיק בּוֹ. This is an expression of taking hold, and there are many such words in Scripture, e.g., “and the men took hold (וַיַּחֲזִיקוּ) of his hand” (Gen. 19:16); “and she grabbed (וְהֶחֱזִיקָה) his private parts” (Deut. 25:11); “and I took hold (וְהֶחֱזַקְתִּי) of his jaw” (I Sam. 17:35). Every expression of חִזוּק attached to a “beth” denotes taking hold.

 

6 leprous like snow צָרַעַת is usually white, [as it is written]: “And if it is a white spot” (Lev. 13:4). With this sign too, He intimated that he [Moses] had spoken ill, by saying, “They will not believe me.” Therefore, He struck him with zara’ath, just as Miriam was stricken with zara’ath for slander.-[from Exod. Rabbah 3:13]

 

7 and [when] he took it out of his bosom-From here, [we learn] that the Divine measure of good comes quicker than the measure of retribution, for in the first instance [verse 6] it does not say, from his bosom.-[from Shab. 97a, Exod. Rabbah 3:13]

 

8 they will believe the voice of the last sign When you tell them, “Because of you I was stricken, because I spoke ill of you,” they will believe you, for they have already learned that those who trespass against them are stricken with plagues, such as Pharaoh and Abimelech, [who were punished] because of Sarah.

 

9 you shall take of the water of the Nile He hinted to them that with the first plague He exacts retribution upon their deities. (This means that when the Holy One, blessed be He, exacts retribution upon the nations, He first exacts retribution upon their deities, for they [the Egyptians] worshipped the Nile, which afforded them sustenance, and He turned them [the deities, i.e., the Nile] into blood. [From an old Rashi])

 

and the water...will become The word וְהָיוּ, will become, appears twice. [The verse means literally: And will be (וְהָיוּ), meaning that the water that you will take from the Nile will become (וְהָיוּ) blood on dry land.] It seems to me that if it said: “And will be (וְהָיוּ) the water that you will take from the Nile will become (וְהָיוּ) blood on dry land,” I understand [that it means] that in his hand it would turn into blood, and also when it descended to earth, it would remain as it is. But now it [the text] teaches us that it would not become blood until on dry land.

 

10 neither from yesterday, etc. We learn [from this] that for a full seven days the Holy One, blessed be He, was enticing Moses in the thorn bush to go on His mission: “from yesterday,” “from the day before yesterday,” “from the time You have spoken”; thus there are three [days], and the three times גַּם [is mentioned] are inclusive words, adding up to six, and he was presently in the seventh day when he further said to Him, “Send now with whom You would send” (verse 13), until He became angry (verse 14) and complained about him. All this [reluctance] was because he [Moses] did not want to accept a position higher than his brother Aaron, who was his senior and was a prophet, as it is said: “Did I appear to the house of your father when they were in Egypt?” (I Sam. 2:27); [“your father” means Aaron. Similarly,] “and made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt” (Ezek. 20:5); “And I said to them, ‘Every man cast away the despicable idols from before his eyes’” (Ezek. 20:7), and that prophecy was said to Aaron.-[from Exod. Rabbah 3:16]

 

heavy of mouth-I speak with difficulty, and in old French, it is balbu, stammerer.

 

11 Who gave man a mouth-Who taught you to speak when you were being judged before Pharaoh concerning the Egyptian [you killed]?

 

or who makes [one] dumb- Who made Pharaoh dumb, that he did not exert any effort [to issue his] command to kill you? And [who made] his servants deaf, so that they did not hear his commandment concerning you? And who made the executioners blind, that they did not see when you fled from the [executioner’s] platform and escaped?-[from Tanchuma, Shemoth 10]

 

Is it not I-Whose name is the Lord (י-ה-ו-ה), [Who] has done all this.

 

13 with whom You would send-With whom You are accustomed to sending, and this is Aaron. Another explanation: With someone else, with whom You wish to send, for I am not destined to bring them into the land [of Israel] and to be their redeemer in the future. You have many messengers.

 

14 wrath was kindled- Rabbi Joshua ben Korchah says: In every [instance that God’s] kindling anger [is mentioned, i.e., that God’s anger was sparked] in the Torah, it is stated [that there was] a consequence [i.e., it was followed by a punishment]. In this [instance, however,] no consequence is stated, and we do not find that a punishment came [to Moses] after this kindling of anger. Rabbi Jose said to him, “Here too you can see a consequence is stated: [namely in the question] ‘Is there not Aaron your brother, the Levite,’ who was destined to be a Levite and not a priest [kohen]. I had said that the priesthood would emanate from you, henceforth it will not be so, but he [Aaron] will be a priest and you the Levite, as it is said: ‘But as for Moses, the man of God—his sons were to be called in the tribe of Levi’ (I Chron. 23:14).”-[from Zev. 102a]

 

and behold, he is coming forth toward you when you go to Egypt.

 

and when he sees you, he will rejoice in his heart Not as you think, that he will resent your attaining a high position. Because of this [Aaron’s goodness and humility], Aaron merited the ornament of the breastplate, which is placed over the heart (Exod. 28: 29).-[from Exod. Rabbah 3:17]

 

16 And he will speak for you Heb לְךָ On your behalf he will speak to the people. This proves that every instance of לָכֶם, לְךָ, לִי, לוֹ and לָהֶם used in conjunction with דִבּוּר, speech, all denote “on behalf of.”

 

will be your speaker lit., your mouth. [He will be] your interpreter, because you have a speech impediment.-[from targumim]

 

leader-Heb. לֵאלֽהִים, as a master and as a prince.

 

 Ketubim: Targum Tehillim (Psalms) 43:1-5

 

Rashi	Targum on the Psalms
1. Avenge me, O God, and plead my cause against an unkind nation, from a man of deceit and justice You will rescue me.	1. Judge me, O Lord with true judgment; it is for You to argue my case with a people that is not righteous/generous; from the deceitful and oppressive man You will save me.
2. For You are the God of my strength, why have You abandoned me? Why should I walk in gloom under the oppression of the enemy.	2. For You are God, my strength; why have You abandoned me? Why do I go about in gloom at the oppression of the enemy?
3. Send Your light and Your truth, that they may lead me; they will bring me to Your Holy Mount and to Your dwellings.	3. Send Your light and your faithfulness; they will guide me, they will bring me to the mount of the sanctuary and the academies, the place of Your presence.
4. And I will come to the altar of God, to the God of the joy of my exultation, and I will thank You with a lyre, O God, My God.	4. And I will come to make His sacrifice at the altar of my God the Lord; to my God from whom is the joy of my gladness; and I will give thanks in Your presence with the lyre, O Lord my God.
5. Why are you downcast, my soul, and why do you stir within me? Hope to God, for I will yet thank Him for the salvations of my countenance and my God.	5. Why will you be lowly, O my soul, and [why] will you rage against me? Wait for God, for again I will praise Him for the redemption that comes from His presence, for He is my God.

 

 

Rashi’s Commentary for: Psalm 43:1-5  

 

1 Avenge me Heb. שָׁפְטֵנִי, lit. judge me.

 

against an unkind nation That is Ishmael, who dwelt between two righteous/generous men [Abraham and Isaac] and did not learn from their deeds.

 

3 Send Your light and Your truth The King Messiah, who is compared to light, as it is stated (below 132:17): “I have set up a lamp for my anointed/Messiah,” and Elijah the prophet, who is true, a faithful prophet.

 

that they may lead me Heb. יַנְחוּנִי, menoront moi in old French, they will lead me.

 

4 to the God To the Holy One, blessed be He, who is the joy of my exultation.

 

and I will thank You with a lyre because You took me out of my exile.

 

 Meditation from the Psalms

Psalms ‎‎43:1-5

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

This psalm is a direct continuation of the preceding one.^[2] Once again the Psalmist expresses his deep yearning for redemption from the agony of exile.

 

The devout Jew who mourns the destruction of the Temple and the long exile of our people arises at midnight to recite Tikkun Chatzot,^[3] a collection of psalms and prayers which reflect the intensity of our grief.

 

Tikkun Chatzot is divided into two sections. The first half, Tikkun Rachel,^[4] is a dirge of sorrow and despair, echoing the bitter tears of Mother Rachel who weeps for her exiled sons.

 

The second section, Tikkun Yaaqob^[5] and Leah, reveals a ray of hope for Israel's future.^[6] The Patriarch Yaaqob was never separated from his first wife, Leah; even in death the couple did not part, for their remains were interred, side by side, in the Cave of Machpelah.^[7] This symbolizes the inseparable ties which link Israel to G-d. Even the apparent death of the nation, its exile from its homeland, has not severed the bond of love which unites Israel with the Almighty. Therefore, Tikkun Yaaqob and Leah begins with Psalms 42 and 43 which tell of Israel's thirst for G-d, a thirst which goes undiminished and unquenched throughout the endless years of exile. Israel awaits with hope the day when it will publicly be wed to its Eternal Partner in the Holy Temple.

 

Psalms 42 and 43 should be considered as one,^[8] even though the division into two psalms is quite ancient, and found in most of the manuscripts, the Septuagint even begins psalm 43 with the words Mizmor Ledavid. The unity of these two psalms can be seen most clearly from the refrain that is repeated twice in Psalm 42 and at the end of Psalm 43.^[9] There are other phrases that occur in both psalms.

 

This is the second of eight psalms penned by the sons of Qorach.^[10] The three sons of Qorach composed these psalms while perched on a ledge, below the earth and above Gehinnom.^[11] Rashi tells us that these eight psalms were composed while the sons of Qorach were perched on this ledge. “There they uttered a song, and there they composed these psalms. [Then] they ascended from there, and the holy spirit rested on them, whereupon they prophesied concerning the exiles, the destruction of the Temple, and the Davidic dynasty.” From Rashi’s words we understand that this psalm concerns itself with the exile and the destruction of the Temple.

 

Psalms forty-two and forty-three are recited also on a couple of special occasions. Let’s look at those occasions to try to get a sense for these psalms.

 

The first special occasion is for Tikkun Chatzot a Jewish prayer of lamentation that is recited after midnight in memory of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, as we mentioned before. It is not universally observed. It is recited more by Sephardim and Chasidim. Tikkun Chatzot is divided into two parts; Tikkun Rachel and Tikkun Leah, named for the two wives of the Patriarch Jacob. Both Tikkun Rachel and Tikkun Leah begin with Psalms forty-two and forty-three, which tell of Israel’s thirst for HaShem. Thus it is fitting that we are reading these psalms as we begin reading the book of Shemot (Exodus), which speaks of the ending of the Egyptian exile, which stands as the prototype for all the future exiles that would come afterwards.

 

On each day of Succoth, before Arbit^[12] and in the Shacharit^[13] prayers, we chant Psalms forty-two and forty-three, as expressions of yearning for the sanctuary, for HaShem’s manifestation and His vindication of the righteous. Succoth is also the quintessential occasion for the atonement of the Gentiles and their salvation. In the Egyptian exodus, the Erev Rab,^[14] the mixed multitude, made up a major part of those who left Egypt. Thus we are not surprised that Succoth is the festival of unity of Jews and Gentiles.

 

At the time of our parasha,^[15] the Bne Israel have less than forty years left of their exile in Egypt. Then, thirty years before the exodus began, some of the Bne Ephraim broke out of Egypt, before HaShem was ready.^[16] This breakout is equivalent to false labor.

 

In terms of the birth of a baby, which serves as a template for the birth of the nation of Israel, the Bne Israel are experiencing the false labor pains. False labor, known as Braxton Hicks contractions,^[17] are sporadic uterine contractions that actually start at about six weeks. unlike true labor, during this so-called false labor the contractions don't grow consistently longer, stronger, and closer together. Thus we can differentiate between true and false labor.

 

The Bne Ephraim were slaughtered by the inhabitants of Gath and their bones left to rot in open fields. The Gemara gives us some insight into this event.

 

Sanhedrin 92b Now, who were they whom Ezekiel revived? — Rab said: They were the Ephraimites, who counted [the years] to the end [of the Egyptian bondage], but erred therein,^[18] as it is written, And the sons of Ephraim; Shuthelah, and Bared his son, and Tahath his son, and Eladah his son, and Tahath his son. And Zabad his son, and Shuthelah his son, and Ezzer, and Elead, whom the men of Gath that were born in that land slew.^[19] And it is written, And Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brethren came to comfort him.^[20]

 

Rashi in his commentary^[21] on the above Gemara explains: And erred: for they should have calculated the edict, “and they shall be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years”^[22] from the birth of Isaac, … but they [the sons of Ephraim] calculated it from the moment [G-d] spoke to Abraham. It is taught in Seder Olam^[23] that our forefather Abraham was seventy years old when HaShem spoke to him at the Covenant of the Pieces,^[24] and another thirty years passed from the Covenant of the Pieces until the birth of Isaac, for it is written: “Now Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him”.^[25] Thus it turns out that from the time He spoke to him at the Covenant of the Pieces until they left Egypt there were four hundred and thirty years, and the sons of Ephraim erred by the thirty years from the time He spoke until the birth of Isaac. Whence do we know the sons of Ephraim left too early and were killed? For it is said: “The sons of Ephraim: Shutelah, …, and they were killed by the men of Gath.”^[26]

 

The Book of Yasher also adds to this picture.

 

Sefer HaYasher Chapter 75 1 At that time, in the hundred and eightieth year of the Israelites going down into Egypt, there went forth from Egypt valiant men, thirty thousand on foot, from the children of Yisrael, who were all of the tribe of Joseph, of the children of Ephraim the son of Joseph. 2 For they said the period was completed which the Lord had appointed to the children of Yisrael in the times of old, which he had spoken to Abraham. 3 And these men girded themselves, and they put each man his sword at his side, and every man his armor upon him, and they trusted to their strength, and they went out together from Egypt with a mighty hand. 4 But they brought no provision for the road, only silver and gold, not even bread for that day did they bring in their hands, for they thought of getting their provision for pay from the Philistines, and if not they would take it by force. 5 And these men were very mighty and valiant men, one man could pursue a thousand and two could rout ten thousand, so they trusted to their strength and went together as they were. 6 And they directed their course toward the land of Gath, and they went down and found the shepherds of Gath feeding the cattle of the children of Gath. 7 And they said to the shepherds, Give us some of the sheep for pay, that we may eat, for we are hungry, for we have eaten no bread this day. 8 And the shepherds said, Are they our sheep or cattle that we should give them to you even for pay? so the children of Ephraim approached to take them by force. 9 And the shepherds of Gath shouted over them that their cry was heard at a distance, so all the children of Gath went out to them. 10 And when the children of Gath saw the evil doings of the children of Ephraim, they returned and assembled the men of Gath, and they put on each man his armor, and came forth to the children of Ephraim for battle. 11 And they engaged with them in the valley of Gath, and the battle was severe, and they smote from each other a great many on that day. 12 And on the second day the children of Gath sent to all the cities of the Philistines that they should come to their help, saying, 13 Come up unto us and help us, that we may smite the children of Ephraim who have come forth from Egypt to take our cattle, and to fight against us without cause. 14 Now the souls of the children of Ephraim were exhausted with hunger and thirst, for they had eaten no bread for three days. And forty thousand men went forth from the cities of the Philistines to the assistance of the men of Gath. 15 And these men were engaged in battle with the children of Ephraim, and the Lord delivered the children of Ephraim into the hands of the Philistines. 16 And they smote all the children of Ephraim, all who had gone forth from Egypt, none were remaining but ten men who had run away from the engagement. 17 For this evil was from the Lord against the children of Ephraim, for they transgressed the word of the Lord in going forth from Egypt, before the period had arrived which the Lord in the days of old had appointed to Yisrael. 18 And of the Philistines also there fell a great many, about twenty thousand men, and their brethren carried them and buried them in their cities. 19 And the slain of the children of Ephraim remained forsaken in the valley of Gath for many days and years, and were not brought to burial, and the valley was filled with men's bones. 20 And the men who had escaped from the battle came to Egypt, and told all the children of Yisrael all that had befallen them. 21 And their father Ephraim mourned over them for many days, and his brethren came to console him. 22 And he came unto his wife and she bare a son, and he called his name Beriah, for she was unfortunate in his house.

 

It is also interesting and instructive to understand that Chazal^[27] connect this incident with Ezekiel’s dry bones^[28] in Ezekiel chapter 37.^[29] Chazal teach that the bones that are resurrected are the Bne Ephraim that died in Gath.

 

Sanhedrin 92b Now, who were they whom Ezekiel revived? — Rab said: They were the Ephraimites, who counted [the years] to the end [of the Egyptian bondage], but erred therein,^[30] as it is written, And the sons of Ephraim; Shuthelah, and Bared his son, and Tahath his son, and Eladah his son, and Tahath his son. And Zabad his son, and Shuthelah his son, and Ezzer, and Elead, whom the men of Gath that were born in that land slew.^[31] And it is written, And Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brethren came to comfort him.^[32]

 

In Ezekiel 37 we see a valley of dry bones which the Gemara teaches us that these were the Bne Ephraim. The Midrash also gives us some insight.

 

Midrash Rabbah - Exodus XX:11 THAT GOD LED THEM NOT BY THE WAY OF THE LAND OF THE PHILISTINES (XIII, 17). God did not conduct Himself with them in the usual manner;^[33] for usually when one purchases servants it is on the understanding that they wash and anoint him, help to dress him and draw his carriage and light the way before him. God, however, did not do so, for He did not lead them in the usual way, but He washed them, as it says: Then washed I thee with water (Ezek. XVI, 9); He anointed them, as it says: And I anointed thee with oil (ib.); He clothed them, for it says: I clothed thee also with richly woven work (ib. 10); He bore them, for it says: And how I bore you on eagles’ wings (Ex. XIX, 4); He illumined the way before them, as it says: And the Lord went before them by day... and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light (ib. XIII, 21)-for this reason does it say: AND GOD LED THEM NOT BY THE WAY OF THE LAND OF THE PHILISTINES, etc. Why did He not lead them through the land of the Philistines?^[34] Because the tribe of Ephraim in error departed from Egypt before the destined time, with the result that three hundred thousand of them were slain.^[35] And why were they slain? Because they counted [the four hundred years] from the day when God spoke with Abraham between the pieces,^[36] but they erred by thirty years, as it says: The children of Ephraim were as archers handling the bow (Ps. LXXVIII, 9).^[37]Had they not thus miscalculated they would not have departed; for who wanted to bring forth his children to the slayer?--Ephraim, himself; as it says: But Ephraim shall bring forth his children to the slayer (Hos. IX, 13). It was the Philistines who slew them, as it says: And the sons of Ephraim: Shuthelah... whom the men of Gath that were born in the land slew (I Chron. VII, 20 f.). Their bones lay in heaps on the road, for they had gone out of Egypt thirty years before the rest of their brethren. Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, reasoned: If Israel behold the bones of the sons of Ephraim strewn in the road, they will return to Egypt.

 

Were the Bne Ephraim over anxious to leave exile? Apparently, yes. Did they leave Egypt too early? It certainly seems so. Yet, because of a strange twist of history, it turns out that they fared better than the Jews who left Egypt thirty years later with Moshe. Almost^[38] every male between the ages of twenty and sixty who left “on time” died in the desert, and some even lost their portions in the Olam HaBa.^[39] Even Moshe, Aharon, and Miriam did not make it to the Promised Land in their lifetimes. However, with respect to the Bne Ephraim, it says:

 

Sanhedrin 92b Rebi Eliezer, son of Rebi Yosi HaGalilee said: “The dead whom Yehezekel revived went up to Eretz Israel, married wives and had sons and daughters. Rebi Yehudah ben Basira rose up and said: ‘I am one of their descendants, and these are the tefillin which my grandfather left me from them.’” Now, who were they whom Ezekiel revived? — Rab said: They were the Ephraimites, who counted [the years] to the end [of the Egyptian bondage], but erred therein,^[40] as it is written, And the sons of Ephraim; Shuthelah, and Bared his son, and Tahath his son, and Eladah his son, and Tahath his son. And Zabad his son, and Shuthelah his son, and Ezzer, and Elead, whom the men of Gath that were born in that land slew.^[41] And it is written, And Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brethren came to comfort him.^[42]

 

Of the approximately 15,000,000 Jews who lived in Egypt at the time of the redemption, approximately 12,000,000 chose to remain in Egypt rather than leave with Moshe, and consequently, died in the Plague of Darkness. Of the remaining 3,000,000 that went out, together with an additional 3,000,000 Erev Rab, most of them complained in the desert, and seemed ready to run back to Egypt the moment the going got tough. Not a good score for the newly emerging Jewish nation.

 

However, apparently, the Bne Ephraim seemed to have been set apart, very set apart. They seemed to have been the only ones willing to risk everything to leave exile and fulfill the prophecy made to Abraham of the fourth generation returning to the Land. In truth, they had been the ones that Moshe should have led when the time for redemption came; their journey to Eretz Israel would have been different than the one the Torah actually relates to us.

 

However, to leave with the rest of the nation on time could have been disastrous for them. In Numbers chapter 13, Caleb bee-lined it right to the burial place of Abraham to prostrate himself on his grave, and to beg for Heavenly help not to be pulled into the evil plan of the ten Spies. He actually had to worry about being made to buy into their point of view, because there is power in numbers. Perhaps the Bne Ephraim, being amongst the rest of the nation, would have had a much greater difficulty remaining so zealous when the rest of the nation was talking about staying in the desert.

 

Admirable as their zealousness was, they could not take the Land earlier than the intended time. However, they were not to be stopped, since their feelings about leaving were so strong. Therefore, their history was put on hold: They died along the way, and were brought back to life, and allowed to pick up their dream of reaching the land of their ancestors where it left off, long after those who left Moshe either died in Egypt in the Plague of Darkness or, because of one punishment or another, in the desert.

 

Thus we understand that at approximately the time frame of last week’s and this week’s parasha, false labor, known as Braxton Hicks contractions began as the tribe of Ephraim left Egypt thirty years too early. They longed to go up Mt. Zion. This is reflected in the pairing of our two psalms forty-two and forty-three. This is the beginning of the end of the Egyptian exile.

 

Look carefully again at psalm forty-three. Do you, now, see the Bne Ephraim? Can you see them through the sons of Qorach? The sons of Qorach are looking at the end of the exile just as the Bne Ephraim were. They were both looking for the ingathering of the exiles.

 

Tehillim (Psalms) 43:3 O send out Thy light and Thy truth; let them lead me; let them bring me unto Thy holy mountain, and to Thy dwelling-places.

 

Our verbal tally of ‘man’^[43] suggests that David wrote this chapter of Psalms to contrast the righteousness of Amram, Moshe’s father, with evil and unjust rulers. Whereas Amram led his people to righteousness, many leaders do not follow this pattern. Given the evil condition of current leaders of the world, one could suggest that David could prophetically see our age, the age of the bottom of the heel.                

 

Ketubim: Psalms ‎‎‎44:1-9

                                                                          

Rashi’s Translation	Targum
1. For the conductor, of the sons of Korah, a maskil.	1. For praise; for David, composed by the sons of Korah, good discernment.
2. O God, with our ears we heard, our forefathers told us; You performed a deed in their days, in days of old.	2. O LORD, with our ears we have heard, our fathers have told us of the deed You did in their days, in the days of old.
3. You-[with] Your hand You drove out nations and planted them; You inflicted harm on kingdoms and sent them away.	3. You drove out the Canaanite Gentiles with Your mighty hand; and You planted them, the house of Israel, in their land; You broke the peoples and sent them away.
4. For not by their sword did they inherit the land, neither did their arm save them, but Your right hand and Your arm and the light of Your countenance, for You favored them.	4. For they did not inherit the land by the strength of their swords, and the might of their arms did not redeem them, for it was Your right hand, and Your strong arm and the light of Your glorious splendor; for whenever they occupied themselves with the Torah, You were pleased with them.
5. You are my King, O God; command the salvations of Jacob.	5. You are my king, O God; at this time command the redemption of the house of Jacob.
6. With You, we will gore our adversaries; with Your name, we will trample those who rise up against us.	6. At Your command we will gore our oppressors; in Your name we will subdue all who rise against us.
7. For I do not trust in my bow, neither will my sword save me.	7. For I do not trust in my bow, and my sword will not redeem me.
8. For You saved us from our adversaries and You put our enemies to shame.	8. For You have redeemed us from our oppressors and from those who hate us, You have brought shame upon them.
9. We praised [ourselves] with God all day long, and we will forever thank Your name, yea forever.	9. By the word of the LORD we sing praise all day; and Your name we will confess forever and ever.

 

Rashi’s Commentary on Psalms ‎‎‎‎44:1-9

 

2 with our ears we heard From here you learn that the sons of Korah were speaking for the generations following them, for if it were for themselves, they should not say, “our fathers told us,” because they themselves witnessed the miracles of the desert, the Jordan, and Joshua’s war. In this manner, it is explained in the Aggadah of Psalms (Mid. Ps. 44:1).

 

3 You inflicted harm on kingdoms You inflicted harm on the seven great nations, You sent them out from before us, and with Your hand and Your strength You drove them out of their land and planted our forefathers in its midst.

 

4 You favored them Heb. רציתם, an expression of favor.

 

5 command the salvations of Jacob Now too.

 

6 we will trample those who rise up against us Heb. נבוס. We will tread and trample our enemies, an expression of (Ezek. 16:6): “wallowing (מתבוססת) in your blood”; (Prov. 27:7), “tramples (תבוס) honeycomb”; (Zech. 10:5), “And they shall be like mighty men, treading (בוסים) the mire of the streets.”

 

Meditation from the Psalms

Psalms ‎‎44:1-9

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

 

 

This psalm, the third composition of the sons of Qorach, is a memoir dedicated to their beloved country, Eretz Israel. They describe vividly the Divine assistance which allowed Israel to conquer the land, and they lament the Divine displeasure which caused Israel to lose it.

 

Arvei Nachal^[44] outlines the strategy for a permanent conquest of the Holy Land. G-d fashioned the earth in general and Eretz Yisrael in particular in accordance with His universal blueprint, the Torah. The spiritual essence of every square inch of soil is related to Torah laws. Through Torah study and the performance of its laws, Israel seizes the spiritual cone of each 'objective', and thereby the conquest of the external physical terrain as a matter of course.

 

The sons of Qorach depict the early triumphs of our people as they entered the Promised Land, invincible, and armed with Torah Laws. They mourn the bitter defeat which our people suffered when they abandoned these divine weapons. Nevertheless, these inspired singers are filled with hope, for even in the exile, the Jewish people have displayed undaunted loyalty to Torah by sacrificing their lives for the sanctification of G-d's Name. Surely this merit will unlock the gates of redemption.^[45]

 

Tehillim (Psalms) 44:1-2 For the leader; a Psalm o f the sons of Qorach. Maskil. O G-d, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have told us, what work You did in their days, in the times of old.

­

Ketubim Midrash Psalm 44 These words are to be considered in the light of what Scripture says elsewhere: He ... led them by the right hand of Moses with His glorious arm ... to make Himself an everlasting Name.^[46] From this you learn that when the children of Israel went forth from Egypt, they could not offer any works of their hands whereby they might be redeemed. And so, not because of the works of their fathers,' and not because of their own works, was the sea rent before them, but only that G-d might make Himself a name in the world.

 

The writer of the above midrash clearly associated our Psalm with the redemption in the days of Moshe. I would like to explore the future redemption a bit based on what the Prophet said:

 

Micah 7:15 'As in the days of thy coming forth out of the land of Egypt will I show unto him marvelous things.'

 

Let’s look at the timing for the Messianic redemption. Let’s start with a question:  What month will bring our redemption?

 

Rosh Hashanah 11a  It has been taught: R. Eliezer says: In Tishri the world was created; in Tishri the Patriarchs^[47] were born; in Tishri the Patriarchs died; on Passover Isaac was born; on New Year Sarah, Rachel and Hannah were visited;^[48] on New Year Yosef went forth from prison; on New Year the bondage of our ancestors in Egypt ceased;^[49] in Nisan they were redeemed and in Nisan they will be redeemed in the time to come. R. Joshua says: In Nisan the world was created; in Nisan the Patriarchs were born; in Nisan the Patriarchs died; on Passover Isaac was born; on New Year Sarah, Rachel and Hannah were visited; on New Year Yosef went forth from prison; on New Year the bondage of our ancestors ceased in Egypt; and in Nisan they will be redeemed in time to come.

 

Our sages teach that just as the first redemption was in Nisan so will the final redemption be in Nisan. This is the opinion of Rabbi Yehoshua.

 

Rabbi Eliezer, however, taught that although the initial redemption was in Nisan, the final redemption will be in Tishri.

 

Both of these opinions are correct. When Moshe first came to Pharaoh, his words only served to anger Pharaoh and to cause him to make the servitude all the harsher, refusing to give the Israelites straw for their bricks. Moshe then returned to his father-in-law Yitro in Midian and remained there six months.^[50] He then returned to Egypt and began to bring the Ten plagues on the Egyptians.

 

There is a tradition that the Ten plagues lasted a full year during which time the Israelites were free from their harsh tasks. From all this, we see that when Moshe appeared before Pharaoh the first time, it was Tishri. Since he then spent six months in Midian, the Ten plagues began in Nisan.

 

This is the significance of Rabbi Eliezer’s teaching. He maintains that in the final redemption the redeemer will also appear in Tishri. This will be the beginning of the redemption. The redeemer will then disappear, only to reveal himself again in Nisan. This will be the time of the complete redemption.

 

Regarding this, it is written, “As in the days when you left Egypt, I will show wondrous things.^[51] The redemption from Egypt took place on two days, first when Moshe initially appeared before Pharaoh and second, when he led the Israelites out of Egypt. The final redemption will also be like this.

 

In Nisan, Messiah redeemed us with outstretched arms. In Tishri, the final redemption will be wrought:

 

Rosh Hashanah 11b On New Year the bondage of our ancestors ceased in Egypt’. It is written in one place, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians,^[52] and it is written in another place, I removed his shoulder from the burden.^[53] ‘In Nisan they were delivered’, as Scripture recounts. ‘In Tishri they will be delivered in time to come’. This is learnt from the two occurrences of the word ‘horn’. It is written in one place, Blow the horn on the new moon,^[54] and it is written in another place, In that day a great horn shall be blown.^[55] ‘R. Joshua says, In Nisan they were delivered, in Nisan they will be delivered in the time to come’. Whence do we know this? — Scripture calls [the Passover] ‘a night of watchings’,^[56] [which means], a night, which has been continuously watched for from the six days of the creation. What says the other to this? — [He says it means], a night which is under constant protection against evil spirits.^[57]

 

Yom Teruah, also called Rosh Hashanah, begins on the first day of the seventh month. This is the day that our final redemption will begin.

 

Our redemption did not occur in limbo, without a mental change. Just before the redemption, the scripture says:

 

Shemot (Exodus) 12:21-28 Then Moshe summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. Not one of you shall go out the door of his house until morning. When HaShem goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down. “Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants. When you enter the land that HaShem will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ Then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to HaShem, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’” Then the people bowed down and worshiped. Then the Children of Israel went and did {so;} just as HaShem had commanded Moshe and Aaron, so they did.

 

 “And the Children of Israel went and did AS HaShem has commanded Moshe and Aaron, so did they do”,^[58] Say our sages: Here they repented from their idols completely. Teshuva,^[59] hence, had brought redemption.

 

And that is not incidental, says Rabbi Eliezer. repentance should always precede redemption. One cannot come without the other. And when do we repent? – On Rosh HaShana. Therefore: “In Nisan was their first redemption, but in Tishri will the final redemption be”.

 

On the other hand, the fact that HaShem split the time shows that He controls the time that He knows when the right time has arrived. Says Rabbi Yehoshua: The redemption will come not by repentance but when the time is ripe”. In Nisan they have been redeemed, and in Nisan they will be redeemed again. There is an exact analogy between the two ‘redemptions’. Both are time-dependent.

 

What hour will bring our redemption? Well, our redemption from Egypt took place at midnight:

 

Shemot (Exodus) 12:29-33 At midnight HaShem struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock as well. Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead. During the night Pharaoh summoned Moshe and Aaron and said, “Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship HaShem as you have requested. Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go. And also bless me.” The Egyptians urged the people to hurry and leave the country. “For otherwise,” they said, “we will all die!”

 

Now our Sages have said that the night speaks of an exile. So midnight suggests the middle of a long exile.

 

It seems fascinating that we have so much information related to the timing, yet very few spell it out. I would like to present the material without trying to say that the redemption will occur on such and such and date in such and such a year. My goal is merely to examine the evidence and let every man draw his own conclusion.

 

The redemption of Israel will take place at the end of the sixth millennium just as the fall of Adam took place at the end of the sixth day. It is well known that the days of creation have an exact correlation with the millenniums of man’s time in this world:

 

Tehillim (Psalms) 90:4 For a thousand years in thy sight [are but] as yesterday when it is past, and [as] a watch in the night.

 

2 Tsefet (Peter) 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day [is] with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

 

The Vilna Gaon echoed this understanding:

 

Know that each day of creation alludes to a thousand years of our existence, and every little detail that occurred on these days will have its corresponding event happen at the proportionate time during its millennium.^[60]

 

Thus the days line up with the millenniums thusly:

 

First Day          First Millennium

Second Day      Second Millennium

Third Day         Third Millennium

Fourth Day       Fourth Millennium

Fifth Day          Fifth Millennium

Sixth Day         Sixth Millennium

Seventh Day     Seventh Millennium

 

According to the creation narrative in Bereshit, the following events occurred in the corresponding day:

 

 

This suggests that if we knew what was happening during each hour of each day, then we would know what to expect during our lifetimes. Unfortunately, we have no record of what happened during the first five days of creation. We do, however, have a record of what happened during each hour of the sixth day. We find this record in the Midrash:

 

Midrash Rabbah - Leviticus XXIX:1 IN THE SEVENTH MONTH, IN THE FIRST DAY OF THE MONTH SHALL BE A SOLEMN REST (XXIII, 24).^[61] This bears on what is written in Scripture: For ever, O Lord, Thy word standeth fast in heaven (Ps. CXIX, 89).^[62] It was taught in the name of R. Eliezer: The world was created on the twenty-fifth of Elul. The view of Rab agrees with the teaching of R. Eliezer. For we have learned in the Shofar Benediction^[63] composed by Rab: ‘This day, on which was the beginning of work, is a memorial of the first day, for it is a statute for Israel, a decree of the God of Yaaqov. Thereon also sentence is pronounced upon countries, which of them is destined to the sword and which to peace, which to famine and which to plenty; and each separate creature is visited thereon, and recorded for life or for death.’ Thus you are left to conclude^[64] that on New Year’s Day, in the first hour the idea of creating man entered His mind, in the second He took counsel with the Ministering Angels, in the third He assembled Adam’s dust, in the fourth He kneaded it, in the fifth He shaped him, in the sixth He made him into a lifeless body, in the seventh He breathed a soul into him, in the eighth He brought him into the Garden of Eden, in the ninth he was commanded [against eating of the fruit of the tree of knowledge], in the tenth he transgressed, in the eleventh he was judged, in the twelfth he was pardoned. ‘This,’ said the Holy One, blessed be He, to Adam, ‘will be a sign to your children. As you stood in judgment before Me this day and came out with a free pardon, so will your children in the future stand in judgment before Me on this day and will come out from My presence with a free pardon.’ When will that be? IN THE SEVENTH MONTH, IN THE FIRST DAY OF THE MONTH.

 

Now we need to put these hours into the perspective of a millennium. We find that a “day” to HaShem is as a thousand years. This leads to the following calculation which reveals how many years is equal to an “hour”:  1000 / 12^[65] = 83.333333333

 

So 83.333 years is equivalent to an hour.^[66]

 

We know that 5772 began in the seventh month of the Gregorian year 2011. This means that we are in the sixth millennium. The following chart spells out the ‘hours’ of the sixth millennium, as they correlate with the Midrash and the Talmud.

 

The Sixth Day

 

 

The Bne Israel^[67] were in Mitzrayim, Egypt, for 210 years, according to Chazal. This can be derived as follows:

 

Jacob stands before Pharaoh at 130 years old. If we add Isaac’s age of 60 when Jacob was born, 190 years passed from the 400 years scheduled from Isaac’s birth, leaving 210 years in Egypt.

 

Yocheved, a daughter of Levi, was 130 years of age when Moshe was born. She was the one recorded in Tanach as born ‘between the walls’. Moshe was 80 when HaShem delivered Bne Yisrael from Mitzrayim.^[68] {210 = 130 + 80}

 

The Zohar,^[69] says that Techiyat HaMetim^[70], “The Resurrection of the Dead,” will begin no later that 210 years (corresponding to the number of years we were enslaved in Mitzrayim) before the year 6000, which is 5790. The “Leshem^[71] Shevo v’Achlamah”^[72] seems to accept this date as being the final and real one. We are now in the year 5772, which is 228 years before the year 6000. This means that Techiyat HaMetim will occur within the next twenty-six years, according to this understanding.

 

Techiyat HaMetim must occur before September 28, 2030 (Tishri 1, 5791).

 

The Zohar^[73] also states that this future period will begin after forty years of Kibbutz Galiot, or, “Ingathering of Exiles.” This term refers to the return of the exiles from the Diaspora to Eretz Israel. Thus, according to this calculation, Kibbutz Galiot would have begun in the year 5750, or, 1990, just about the same time that Russia “mysteriously” collapsed and allowed its Jewish “citizens” to finally emigrate after so many decades of trying.

 

Kibbutz Galiot must begin before September 20, 1990 (Tishri 1, 5751).

 

According to the Leshem, based upon the Zohar and tradition, Yemot HaMashiach, the Messianic Era, must happen in advance of Techiyat HaMetim, specifically sometime within the forty years of Kibbutz Galiot.^[74] As of this writing, that would mean that Mashiach must come and complete his work, the preparation of mankind and the world for Resurrection of the Dead, over the next 27 years.

 

Yemot HaMashiach must occur before September 28, 2030 (Tishri 1, 5791).

 

On Wednesday, November 26, 2003, Professor Eliyahu Rips^[75] gave a presentation at the Israel Center sponsored by the Root & Branch Association.  After showing the numerous ways one could mine repetitive information from the Torah Codes on one subject,^[76] he went off on a bit of a tangent, talking about how the Hebrew date in the Midrash of 5790 (2030) came up in the array that was formed when he typed the phrase Mhayei HaMetim oh,nv hhjn (rising of the dead).  This was in connection with showing how even the Midrash was reflected in the Torah Code, confirming what the Vilna Gaon^[77] had said about the Torah, that everything in the whole universe was somehow alluded to in Torah.

This was the only time that this phrase Mhayei HaMetim appeared encoded in the Torah.  The Big Question is:  Why?

 

The prophet Yehezekel wrote:

 

Yehezekel (Ezekiel) 38:18-20 “It shall come to pass on that day, on the day that Gog shall come against the Land of Israel,” says the Lord, God, “My fury shall rise up ... And in My jealousy, in the fire of My anger, I have spoke-surely on that day there will be a great shaking in Eretz Israel. The fish of the sea and the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field, and all the creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the people who are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at My Presence; the mountains shall be destroyed, the steep places shall fall, and every wall will fall to the ground.”

 

Other prophets, such as Zechariah,^[78] Yirmiyahu (30), Daniel (11-12), Yoel (4), speak of this war. There is an allusion to the war of Gog u’Magog in Tehillim, Psalms, as well. War is the beginning of redemption, as we learn in the Gemara:

 

Megillah 17b What was their reason for mentioning redemption in the seventh blessing?^[79] Raba replied: Because they [Israel] are destined to be redeemed in the seventh year [of the coming of the Messiah],^[80] therefore the mention of redemption was placed in the seventh blessing. But a Master has said, ‘In the sixth year will be thunderings, in the seventh wars, at the end of the seventh the son of David will come’? — War is also the beginning of redemption.

 

However, according to tradition, historically, there are meant to be THREE such major conflicts:

 

Behold, after the arrival of Mashiach the nations will be instigated to a great war against Israel, as it says in the Zohar HaKodesh^[81] ... This is the War of Gog and Magog mentioned in Yehezekel^[82] in chapters 38 and 39. In Midrash Tehillim 118:9, it says: Three times in the future, Gog and Magog^[83] will come against Israel and ascend to Jerusalem; he will anger the nations to go up to Jerusalem ...^[84] Rabbi Elchanan Wasserman,^[85] quoting the Chafetz Chaim,^[86] said that Chazal^[87] say the war of Gog and Magog will be threefold ...”^[88]

 

According to the Septuagint, Gog is Agag:^[89]

 

Zohar 1:119a ... The Children of Ishmael will go up at that time (End-of-Days) with the nations of the world against Jerusalem ... .

 

The body of Ishmael with the soul of Amalek. If Bne Ishmael are not yet Magog, then they must not be too far away from being so.

 

According to Rabbi Moshe Shapiro, shlita,^[90] an authority in both revealed and concealed matters of Torah, there is a tradition that Ishmael will be the final extension of Galut Edom, the Roman Exile, and that it will be with his descendants that the final generation of Jews before the redemption will have to contend. This is also supported by the following Midrash:

 

Israel will say to the king of the Arabs, “Take silver and gold and leave the Temple.” The king of the Arabs will say, “You have nothing to do with this Temple. However, if you want, choose a sacrifice as you did in the past, and we will also offer a sacrifice, and, with the one whose sacrifice is accepted, we will all become one people.” The Jewish people will offer theirs, but it will not be accepted because the Satan will lay charges against them before The Holy One, Blessed is He. Bne Kedar^[91] will offer theirs, and it will be accepted ... At that time, the Arabs will say to Israel, “Come and believe in our faith,” but Israel will answer, “We will kill or be killed, but we will not deny our Belief!” At that time, swords will be drawn, bows will be strung and arrows will be sent, and many will fall ...^[92]

 

According to the Brisker Rav, the Rambam is alluding to an important insight regarding the mitzvah to destroy the memory of Amalek. He says that, even though a person or people have not genetically descended from the Biblical tribe of Amalek, still, they can have the halachic status as being “Amaleki” by the way they behave towards the Jewish people.

 

The Rambam tells us that the resumption of prophecy will be a harbinger of the coming of the Messiah.^[93]

 

Ashlamtah: Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 40:11-18, 21-22

 

Rashi	Targum
9. Upon a lofty mountain ascend, O herald of Zion, raise your voice with strength, O herald of Jerusalem; raise [your voice], fear not; say to the cities of Judah, "Behold your God!"	9. Get you up to a high mountain, prophets who herald good tidings to Zion; lift up your voice with force, you who herald good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up, fear not; say to the cities of the house of Judah, “The kingdom of your God is revealed!”
10. Behold the Lord God shall come with a strong [hand], and His arm rules for Him; behold His reward is with Him, and His recompense is before Him.	10. Behold, the LORD God is revealed with strength, and the strength of His mighty arm rules before Him; behold, the reward of those who perform His Memra is with him, all those whose deeds are disclosed before Him.
11. Like a shepherd [who] tends his flock, with his arm he gathers lambs, and in his bosom he carries [them], the nursing ones he leads.   {S}	11. Like the shepherd who feeds his flock, he gathers lambs in his arm, he carries tender ones in his bosom, and leads nursing ewes gently. {S}
12. Who measured water with his gait, and measured the heavens with his span, and measured by thirds the dust of the earth, and weighed mountains with a scale and hills with a balance?	12. Who says these things? One who lives, speaks and acts, before whom all the waters of the world are reckoned as the drop in the hollow of hand and the length of the heavens as if with the span established, the dust of the earth as if measured in a measure and the mountains as if indeed weighed and the hills, behold just as in the balance.
13. Who meted the spirit of the Lord, and His adviser who informs Him?	13. Who established the holy spirit in the mouth of all the prophets, is it not the LORD? And to the righteous/ generous who perform His Memra He makes known the words of His pleasure.
14. With whom did He take counsel give him to understand, and teach him in the way of justice, and teach him knowledge, and the way of understandings did He let him know?	14. Those who besought before Him, He caused to apprehend wisdom and taught them the path of judgment and gave their sons the Law and showed the way of understanding to their son’s sons.
15. Behold the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and like dust on a balance are they counted; behold the islands are like fine [dust] that blows away.	15. Behold, the peoples are like the drop from a bucket, and are accounted like dust on the scales; behold, the islands are like the fine dust which flies.
16. And the Lebanon-there is not enough to burn, and its beasts-there is not enough for burnt offerings.    {P}	16. The trees of Lebanon will not supply sufficient (wood) for burning, nor are the beasts that are in it enough for a burn offering. {P}
17. ¶ All the nations are as nought before Him; as things of nought and vanity are they regarded by Him.	17. ¶ All the peoples, their deeds are as nothing; they are accounted extirpation and destruction before Him.
18. And to whom do you compare God, and what likeness do you arrange for Him?	18. Why are you planning to contend before God, or what likeness do you prepare before Him?
19. The graven image, the craftsman has melted, and the smith plates it with gold, and chains of silver he attaches.	19. Behold the image! The workman makes it, and the smith overlays it with gold, and the smith attaches silver chains to it.
20. He who is accustomed to select, chooses a tree that does not rot; he seeks for himself a skilled craftsman, to prepare a graven image, which will not move.   {S}	20. He cuts down a laurel, he chooses the wood that rot does not attack; he seeks out a skillful craftsman to set up an image that will not move. {S}
21. Do you not know, have you not heard has it not been told to you from the beginning? Do you not understand the foundations of the earth?	21. Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has not the fact of creation’s orders been told you from thebeginning? Will you not understand, so as to fear before Him who created the foundations of the earth?
22. It is He Who sits above the circle of the earth, and whose inhabitants are like grasshoppers, who stretches out the heaven like a curtain, and He spread them out like a tent to dwell.	22. It is He who makes the Shekhinah of His glory dwell in the strong height, and all the inhabitants of the earth are reckoned before Him as grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a trifle and spreads them like a tent of glory for His Shekhinah’s house;
23. Who brings princes to nought, judges of the land He made like a thing of nought.	23. Who hands over rulers to weakness, and makes the judges of the earth as nothing.
24. Even [as though] they were not planted, even [as though] they were not sown, even [as though] their trunk was not rooted in the earth; and also He blew on them, and they dried up, and a tempest shall carry them away like straw.    {S}	24. Although they grow, although they increase, although their sons are exalted in the earth, He sends His anger among them, and they are ashamed and His Memra, as the whirlwind the chaff, will scatter them.   {S}

Rashi’s Commentary for: Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 40:11-18, 21-22‎

 

9 O herald of Zion Heb. מְבַשֶּׂרֶת . The prophets who herald Zion. [This is the feminine form.] Elsewhere (infra 52:7), he says, “the feet of the herald (מְבַשֵּׂר) .” [This is the masculine form.] This denotes that if they are worthy, he will be as swift as a male. If they are not worthy, he will be as weak as a female and will delay his steps until the end.

 

10 shall come with a strong [hand] to mete out retribution upon the heathens. ([Mss. read:] Upon the nations.)

 

behold His reward is with Him It is prepared with Him for the righteous.

 

and His recompense [lit. His deed,] the recompense for the deed, which He is obliged to give them.

 

11 Like a shepherd [who] tends his flock Like a shepherd who tends his flock; with his arm he gathers lambs, and he carries them in his bosom.

 

the nursing ones he leads [Jonathan renders:] The nursing ones he leads gently, the nursing sheep. he leads Heb. יְנַהֵל , lit. he shall lead, like מְנַהֵל , he leads.

 

12 Who measured etc. He had the power to do all this, and surely He has the power to keep these promises.

 

with his gait Heb. בְּשָׁעֳלוֹ , with his walking, as it is said (Habakkuk 3: 15): “You trod with Your horses in the sea.” Comp. (Num. 22:24) “In the path (בְּמִשְׁעוֹל) of the vineyards, a path (for walking).” Another explanation is that שַׁעַל is the name of a receptacle. Comp. (Ezekiel 13:19) “For measures (בְּשַׁעֲלוֹ) of barley.”

 

measured Amolad in O.F., an expression of measure and number. Comp. (Ex. 5:18) “And the number (וְתֽכֶן) of bricks you shall give.”

 

and measured by thirds Heb. בַּשָּׁלִשׁ , and measured by thirds, one third wilderness, one third civilization, and one third seas and rivers. Another interpretation: בַּשָּׁלִשׁ , from the thumb to the middle finger, the third of the fingers. Menahem explains it as the name of a vessel. Comp. (Ps. 80:6) “And You gave them to drink tears with a vessel (שָׁלִישׁ) .”

 

and weighed mountains with a scale Everything according to the earth, a heavy mountain He inserted into hard earth, and the light ones into soft earth.

 

13 Who meted the Holy Spirit in the mouth of the prophets? The Lord prepared it, and He is worthy of belief.

 

and His adviser who informs Him [and the one with whom He takes counsel He informs] of His spirit. So did Jonathan render it. [Who meted out the spirit? The Lord, and the one with whom He takes counsel He informs him, i.e., the righteous in whom God confides, He informs of His plans for the future.] But, according to its context, וְאִישׁ עֲצָתוֹ refers back to the beginning of the verse. Who meted out His spirit and who is His adviser who informs the Holy One, blessed be He, of counsel?

 

14 With whom did He take counsel and give him to understand With which of the heathens ([mss., K’li Paz:] nations) did He take counsel, as He took counsel with the prophets, as it is said concerning Abraham (Gen. 18: 17): “Do I conceal from Abraham...?”

 

and give him to understand, and teach him in the way of justice With which one of the heathens ([mss., K’li Paz:] nations) did He do so, that He taught him wisdom as He did to Abraham, to whom He gave a heart to recognize Him by himself and to understand the Torah, as it is said (ibid. 26:5): “And he kept My charge,” and Scripture states further (ibid. 18:19), “For he commands etc.” And his kidneys would pour forth wisdom to him, as it is said (Ps. 16:7): “Even at night my kidneys chastised me.”

 

(With whom did He take counsel and who gave Him to understand [With which man did He take counsel and which] man gave the Holy One, blessed be He, [to understand?] Behold all the nations are like a drop in a bucket, and how could they teach Him?)

 

15 Behold the nations are like a drop from a bucket And are not worthy to Him to appoint some of them as prophets to reveal His secret.

 

like a drop from a bucket Heb. כְּמַר , like a bitter drop that drips from the bottom of the bucket, bitter from the putrid water that is embedded in the bucket and the decay of the wood, limonede in O.F.

 

and like the dust of a balance for the copper corrodes and wears off.

 

like fine fine dust. that blows away [lit. that will be taken.] Like dust that is picked up and goes up through the wind, like fine dust that is carried away.

 

16 there is not enough to burn on His altar.

 

and its beasts (the beasts) of the Lebanon there is not enough for burnt offerings. Another explanation is:

 

And the Lebanon etc. to expiate the iniquity of the heathens.

 

17 All the nations are as naught before Him In His eyes they are as naught, and are not regarded by Him.

 

19 melted Heb. נָסַךְ , an expression of melting (מַסֵּכָה) .

 

the craftsman has melted The ironsmith has cast it from iron or from copper, and then the goldsmith plates it with plates of gold and covers it from above.

 

and chains Heb. וּרְתֻקוֹת , and chains.

 

20 He who is accustomed to select הַמְסֻכָּן תְּרוּמָה . Or, if he comes to make it of wood, one who is accustomed to discern between a durable tree and other trees, chooses a tree that does not decay quickly.

 

He who is accustomed Heb. הַמְסֻכָּן . Comp. (Num. 22:30) “Have I been accustomed (הַהַסְכֵּן הִסְכַּנְתִּי) ?”

 

to select Heb. תְּרוּמָה , separation, selection of the trees.

 

21 Do you not know...the foundations of the earth Who founded it, and you should have worshipped Him.

 

22 the circle Heb. חוּג , an expression similar to (infra 44:13) “And with a compass (וּבַמְּחוּגָה) ,” a circle (compass in O.F.).

 

and whose inhabitants are to Him [lit. before Him] like grasshoppers.

 

like a curtain Heb. כַדּֽק , a curtain, toile in French.

 

24 Even [as though] they were not planted They are even as though they were not planted.

 

 

 

Ashlamatah: Shof’tim (Judges) 1:26-35

 

Rashi	Targum
22. ¶ And the house of Joseph, they also went up to Beth-El; and the Lord was with them.	22. ¶ And those of the house of Joseph, they also went up to Beth-El; and the Memra of the Lord was at their aid.
23. And the house of Joseph caused to spy Beth-El. Now the name of the city formerly was Luz.	23. And those of the house of Joseph sent spies to Beth-El; and the name of the city formerly was Luz.
24. And the watchers saw a man leave the city. And they said to him, "Show us now the entrance to the city and we will deal kindly with you."	24. And the guards saw a man going forth from the city, and they said to him: “Show us now the entrance of the city, and we will act kindly with you.”
25. And he showed them the entrance of the city, and they struck the city with the edge of the sword; but the man and his entire family t hey let go.	25. And he showed them the entrance of the city, and they struck down the city by the edge of the sword, and they saved the man and his family.
26. And the man went to the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and called its name Luz; this is its name until this day.   {P}	26. And the man went to the land of the Hittites, and he built a city, and called its name Luz. That is its name until this day.   {P}
27. And Menasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-Shean and its towns, Taanach and its towns, the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, the inhabitants of Yibleam and its towns, the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns; and the Canaanites wanted to remain in this land.	27. And those of the house of Manasseh did not drive out Beth-Shean and its villages, and Taanach and its villages, and the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, and the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages, and the Canaanites began to dwell in this land.
28. And it was when Israel became strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, but they did not drive them out.	28. And when Israel was strong, it appointed the Canaanite to bring tribute, and they did not totally drive them out.
29. And Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer; and the Canaanites dwelt among them in Gezer.   {S}	29. And those of the house of Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who were dwelling in Gezer, and the Canaanites dwelt in their midst in Gezer.   {S}
30. Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; and the Canaanites dwelt among them and became tributary.   {S}	30. Those of the house of Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron and the inhabitants of Nahalol. And the Canaanites dwelt in their midst, and they were bringing tribute.   {S}
31, Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Akko, nor the inhabitants of Zidon, nor of Achlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Chelbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rechob.	31, Those of the house of Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Accho and the inhabitants of Sidon and Ahlab and Achzib and Helbah and Aphik and Rehob.
32. And the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not drive them out.    {S}	32. And those of the house of Asher dwelt in the midst of the Canaanites in habiting the land, for they did not drive them out.    {S}
33. Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-Shemesh, nor the inhabitants of Beth-Anath; and he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. And the inhabitants of Beth-Shemesh and of Beth-Anath became tributary to them.	33. Those of the house of Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Bet-Shemesh and the inhabitants of Beth-Anath, and they dwelt among the Canaanites inhabiting the land; And the inhabitants of Beth-Shemesh and of Beth-Anath were bringing tribute to them
34. And the Amorites forced the children of Dan to the mountain; for they would not let them come down to the valley.	34. And the Amorites forced the sons of Dan to the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the plain.
35. And the Amorites wanted to remain on Mount Cheres, in Ayalon, and in Shaalbim; but the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed and they became tributary.	35. And the Amorite begand to dwell in the hill country of Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim, and the hand of the house of Joseph was strong, and they were bringing tribute.
36, And the border of the Amorites was from Maaleh-Accrabbim, from the rock upward.   {P}	36, And the territory of the Amorite was from the ascent of  Akrabbim, from Kepha and above.    {P}

 

Rashi’s Commentary on Shof’tim (Judges) 1:26-35

 

22 Beth-El Which fell to their lot. Although the idol of Micah was with them, since Micah was from the tribe of Ephraim, it nevertheless states here, “the Lord was with them.” That is what Daniel said, [Daniel 9:7] “To You, Lord, there is charity, and to us there is shame of face.”

 

23 caused to spy Through others, as Targum Jonathan renders וּשְׁלַחוּ  מְאַלְלִין [and they sent spies]. [Num. 13:21] וַיָּתֻרוּ, “And they spied the land,” is said of the spies themselves, and of those that sent spies it is said, וַיַּתִּירוּ ["caused to spy"]. 

 

24 the entrance to the city They entered the city through a cave over which one hazelnut bush (לוּז) stood at the entrance and one would enter through the bush into the cave.

 

Luz Upon which small nuts grow. Courdre [in Old French a hazelnut bush]. 

 

25 And he showed them [By pointing] with his finger. 

 

26 this is its name until this day Sannacherib did not repatriate it, nor did Nebuchadnezzar destroy it. 

 

27 And Menasseh did not drive out The Scripture tells of their shame; they began to betray the Holy One, blessed be He, Who commanded them, [Num. 33: 52] "You shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land, etc."

 

 

Verbal Tallies

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

& HH Giberet Dr. Elisheba bat Sarah

 

Shemot (Exodus) 2:1-25

Shoftim (Judges) 1:26-35

Tehillim (Psalms) 43

Mk 5:14-17, Lk 8:35-39, Acts 15:1-5

 

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Psalm are:

Man - איש, Strong’s number 0376.

 

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Ashlamata are:

Went - ילך, Strong’s number 03212.

Man - איש, Strong’s number 0376.

House - בית, Strong’s number 01004.

 

Shemot (Exodus) 2:1 And there went <03212> (8799) a man <0376> of the house <01004> of Levi, and took to wife a daughter <01323> of Levi.

 

Tehillim (Psalms) 43:1 Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation: O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man <0376>.

 

Shoftim (Judges) 1:26 And the man <0376> went <03212> (8799) into the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and called the name thereof Luz: which is the name thereof unto this day.

Shoftim (Judges) 1:27 Neither did Manasseh drive out the inhabitants of Bethshean and her towns <01323>, nor Taanach and her towns <01323>, nor the inhabitants of Dor and her towns <01323>, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and her towns <01323>, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns <01323>: but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.

Shoftim (Judges) 1:35 But the Amorites would dwell in mount Heres in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim: yet the hand of the house <01004> of Joseph prevailed, so that they became tributaries.

 

 

 

Hebrew:

 

Shemot (Exodus) 3:1 – 4:17

Tehillim (Psalms) 44:1-9

Yeshayahu Isaiah 40:11-18, 21-22

 

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Psalm are:

God - אלהים, Strong’s number 0430.

 

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Ashlamata are:

Kept / Feed - רעה, Strong’s number 07462.

Mountain - הר, Strong’s number 02022.

 

Shemot (Exodus) 3:1 Now Moses kept <07462> (8802) the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain <02022> of God <0430>, even to Horeb.

 

Tehillim (Psalms) 44:1 To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, Maschil. » We have heard with our ears, O God <0430>, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old.

 

Yeshayahu Isaiah 40:11 He shall feed <07462> (8799) his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.

Yeshayahu Isaiah 40:12 Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains <02022> in scales, and the hills in a balance?

 

Hebrew:

 

 

 

 

NAZAREAN TALMUD

Sidra Of Shemot (Ex.) 2:1 – 4:17

 

 “VaYelekh Ish” “And (a royal) man”

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

 

 

Hakham Shaul’s School of Tosefta (Luqas Lk 8:35-40)

When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Yeshua and found the man[94]  from whom the shedim (demons) had gone out,  sitting at the feet of Yeshua, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. And those who  had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed. Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked him  to depart from them, for they were seized with  great fear.

Hakham Tsefet’s School of Peshat

(Mk 5:14-20)

 

The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And ^[95]people came to see what it was that had happened. And they came to Yeshua and saw the demon-possessed man,[96] the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were awestruck. And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. And they began to beg Yeshua to depart from their region.

And as Yeshua returned, the congregation welcomed him, for they had all been waiting for him in expectation.	As he (Yeshua) was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Yeshua had done for him, and everyone marveled.

 

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

 

 

Commentary to Hakham Tsefet’s School of Peshat

The present pericope of Hakham Tsefet through Mordechai his amanuensis, give us a snapshot of what happens when a Jewish person subordinates to foreign gods. We must reiterate that these “foreign gods” serve as G-d’s mediators. But, the Jewish people, as we have pointed out in the past are not subject to them so long as he is subordinate to the Hakhamim and Jewish authority’s will be mentioned below. Hakham Tsefet shows that the Jewish people have no place subordinating to the shedim of foreign regions and countries.

 

The case at hand sounds much like the narrative of the Prodigal Son.^[97] That account has some similarities that are worth looking at. The case opens with the younger of two brothers who is tired of being told what he can and cannot do per se. He comes to his father and makes a request for his part of the inheritance. After a few days the son has headed for a “far country.” Hakham Shaul through Hillel his amanuensis points out that he wastes his possessions on “prodigal” life or senseless behaviour. When the land is ravaged with famine the prodigal is left no means of survival. So, he becomes a citizen of the land in an attempt to rectify the situation. His is given a suitable Jewish occupation of feeding pigs. Which is more that halakhically suspect. All of this is to tell us that there is no aspect of Jewish life left in the young man. But, one thing is certain. He is free and he is his own man. And, he does not have to listen to those Rabbis and Hakhamim who are always telling people what to do.

 

The young man in our Pericope of Mordechai (Mark) has travelled to a place where there is no Rabbinic authority. This leaves the young man without the protection of the Jewish community. Now he is subordinate to the foreign gods of that region/country. He has given himself over to the foreign gods (shedim). But, like the Prodigal he is free and does not have to listen to anyone but to what end. He is his own man per se.

 

In both cases the young men are said to “come to their senses” perse. The Prodigal “comes to his senses” and decides to swallow his pride and return. I will return to my father and be one of his servants. However, the father is no mere “Father.” His father is a Hakham and his is a talmid. Therefore, his words should say, I will arise and go to my Hakham and tell him that I have sinned against him and against the (Kingdom of) “heaven.” In short, he decided to accept the government of the foreign god as opposed to the Hakhamim and Bate Din. The senseless behaviour of the prodigal was actually “lawless” living. He had taken what he learned in the Yeshivah and cast it before the pigs. And we can easily see the results of what happens when a Jew subordinates himself to foreign deities.

Yeshua tells the young man in the present Torah Seder to “Go Home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you.” These words can also be interpreted as saying, go back to your Yeshivah (Home – school of your Hakham) and tell them what you learned about when Jews person rebels against the Hakhamim and submits himself to foreign deities.

 

Yeshua’s Halakhic decree not permitting the young man to follow him (become Yeshua’s talmid) corrected the error in the region of Tiberius. Yeshua would not allow the talmid of another Hakham join his school when he had defected from the house (school) of another Hakham. again, this corrected the error in the region of Tiberius.

 

 

Hakham School of Remes

Romans 1:18-23

 

For the revelation of God’s wrath coming from the heavens is against all the wicked and unjust men who intentionally suppress the truth. This is because even intimate knowledge of God is evident to them, because God revealed Himself^[98] among them. For from the creation of the world, His invisible attributes,^[99] both His everlasting virtuous power and Divine majesty,^[100] are discerned^[101] clearly,^[102] being understood in the things made, so that they are without excuse.

 

Because^[103] although they knew^[104] God, they did not^[105] honor^[106] him as God^[107] or give Him thanks, but they became vain^[108] (futile) in their reasoning,^[109] and their unteachable^[110] minds (hearts)^[111] were darkened. Professing wisdom,^[112] they acted foolishly,^[113] and exchanged the glory of the immortal God with the images (idols) of corrupted human^[114] beings,^[115] birds, quadrupeds and reptiles.

 

 

Commentary to Hakham Shaul’s School of Remes

 

G-d’s wrath is often pictured and spoken of in terms of “G-d’s rage” or “anger.” There is an amazing difference in the nature of G-d as described in this passage. G-d’s chief desire is to show His goodness to His creatures and for His creatures to feel His love. This is the true reason for the existence of the universe, cosmos. The “revelation” (apocalypse) of G-d’s wrath against one of His creatures shows the magnitude of their crimes. Herein the creature has failed to understand the gift of the Yetser HaRa. The Yetser HaRa is given as a means of achieving the highest goals of our humanity, and not just to rebel against its creator.

 

The topic of “G-d’s Wrath against the wicked” starts here in Romans 1:18 and continues until 3:31.

 

The ung-dly – ἀσέβεια – asebeia is generally translated as “ungodly.” However, the root is stronger in intending that those being mentioned are the “wicked” Heb. Rashim (pl.). The rasha (sing.) is one who intentionally does evil against his knowledge of that which is good. The “rasha” knows the mitzvot of G-d but refuses to be complicit. This makes the rasha accountable for his actions and therefore liable for punishment.

 

How are we to understand G-d’s wrath as described by Hakham Shaul? Description of G-d’s wrath can only be understood in allegorical (Remes), parabolic (Midrash) or So’odic (symbolic) terms. The obvious answer to this problem is that G-d is not subject to human emotion and therefore does not have any association with anger retribution or vengeance. Therefore, we understand the pericope to be in terms of allegory.

 

The Sages of the first century, including Yeshua and his subsequent talmidim viewed the cosmos as an organismic whole. However, they often spoke in terms of interdependent absolutes. The subdivisions Middat HaDin (G-d’s justice) Middat HaRachamim (G-d’s Mercy) Torah and Yisrael are an organismic whole. Though the concept Middat HaRachamim (G-d’s Mercy) does not contain G-d's “name,” it is clearly understood to mean "G-d's love.” The two categories Middat HaDin and Middat HaRachamim are two aspects of G-d justice.^[116] G-d’s justice can also be understood in terms of Gemilut Hasidim (G-d’s works of loving-kindness). The creation of the cosmos is a balanced measure (middah) of both Din (justice) and Rachamim (mercy). This is because G-d chastises those that He loves.^[117] However, Hakham Shaul is not speaking in terms of chastisement or Gemilut Hasidim (G-d’s deeds of loving-kindness). He is speaking of Middat HaDin (G-d’s justice) and Middat HaRachamim (G-d’s Mercy). Judgment He pours out on those who subvert the truth and Middat HaRachamim (G-d’s Mercy) is for those He loves.

 

We can also look to the Shema for the answer. We are apprised of the benefits for being faithful to G-d in the verses D’barim (Deut.) 11:13-15. In D’barim (Deut.) 11:16 – 17 we are shown the results of turning to false gods.^[118] “Suppression of the truth” must some way be associated with idolatry and foreign deities. Wrath – ὀργή - orge^[119] is also associated with a “hardened heart,” “willful disobedience,” “stubbornness” and “lack of repentance.” As Middat HaDin (G-d’s justice), ὀργή - orge is for the sake of turning the “sinner” to teshubah (repentance). Nonetheless, Hakham Shaul shows that G-d’s “Middat HaDin” (justice), is revealed in through G-d’s Mesorah.^[120] “G-d’s Mesorah” must be interpreted as the “Mesorah of Elohim” demanding strict justice.

 

The claim that the “G-d of the Torah” is only of justice, stands in contrast to the Nazarean Codicil “G-d of love” represents a gross distortion of the truth. Every objective biblical scholar, Christian and Jewish alike, understands that the Torah conceived of G-d in terms of both love and justice, just as this same G-d of the Nazarean Codicil manifests Himself in justice as well as love.^[121] Herein does the great heresy deserve G-d’s wrath. Those who hold that the G-d of the Torah must be appeased through Messiah blatantly subvert the truth of G-d’s Mesorah. 

 

G-d has impressed His Divine nature into the earth. This impression, though not observable as a visible power perceived with the eye, manifests itself when the earth “produces fruit.” As we have seen, invested in the earth is the ability to bear fruit “after its own kind.”^[122] This power is an invisible stamp of G-d’s image on the earth. G-d made man after His own “image.” Therefore, we deduce from the expressions G-d said “let the earth bring forth,” “after its own kind” and the earth “brought forth” after its own kind” that the earth also bears the Divine Image.^[123] The invisible impression of G-d on the earth is discernable to the invisible soul, which understands this impression as the image of G-d produced in the earth or specific power attributed to the telluric world. With the capacity to perceive the “knowable” (Da’at) ideas of G-d, Adam (man – humanity) has the power to see the invisible creation with his innermost being. Having the capacity to know the attributes of the Divine Majesty we are called to express them in the cosmos as an expression of His Sons (B’ne Elohim). The Dabar/Memra/Logos (Messiah) is the highest expression of G-d’s “ideas.” As the highest expression of G-d’s “ideas,” the Dabar/Memra/Logos is the “idea of ideas.” Even though the Dabar/Memra/Logos is the prototypical pattern for the B’ne Elohim, each Neshamah bears a unique expression of G-d. And each Neshamah bears some resemblance and characteristics of the Dabar/Memra/Logos. “Still, all created beings in the visible world, according to Philo, were preceded by the creation of ideas corresponding to them. Consequently, the created individual minds and souls in the world must have been preceded by the creation of the idea of mind and the idea of soul.”^[124] In summary to what Philo and Hakham Shaul are both saying G-d made a spiritual expression of Himself in the form of “souls” before He placed them in physical vessels. These vessels (bodies) equip and enable the B’ne Elohim to carry out the mitzvoth of G-d and they bear the mark of the Divine Majesty on the souls.

 

In dealing directly with the text, we will note the following. The section of Romans 1:18-32 deals with the Jewish perspective of the Gentile world. While some scholars contest this notion, Professor Paula Fredrikson’s article on Judaism and Circumcision notes the Jewish view of the “average Gentile” in the first century. Even though we have cited this reference in the past, we find these comments apropos.

 

What, on the average, did the average Jew think of the average Gentile? I think that we can rely here on Paul who, even when addressing Gentiles and in some sense acting as their advocate, refers to them, quite unselfconsciously, as ‘sinners’ (Gal.2:15). Their characteristic social and sexual sins—slander, insolence, deceit, malicious gossip, envy, heartlessness, disrespect of parents, homosexual and heterosexual fornication—are the varied expression of a more fundamental spiritual error: they worship idols. Could there be such a thing, then, as a morally good Gentile?^[125]

 

Fredrikson also notes that there are also arguments for the moral superiority of Gentiles who respect Jews and Judaism within the works of Josephus.^[126] Furthermore, Hellenistic Jews such as Philo found the “Stranger” who converted to be not only superior to his “pagan” counterparts but being embraced by the loving-kindness of G-d. Jewish acceptance of the “convert” is therefore considered meritorious.^[127] Consequently, the Gentiles who were “sympathetic” towards the Jewish people were considered to be of a greater moral affluence and worthy of merit. Hakham Shaul may have seen Gentiles that he was addressing in this way. However, what is very evident here is that the view of the Gentiles during the first century tended to be one of disdain and contempt rather than acceptance. The Gentile populace of “Rome” most likely would have found Judaism appealing based on its legal system. This view shows that the Romans considered themselves the vogue society. Acceptance of laws that governed civil and religious life therefore would have been appealing. The civility of Jewish lifestyle would have been a welcomed change from the drunken revelries of Roman debauchery.

 

Roman acceptance of certain aspects of Hellenistic influence had been a societal elevation. “Rules” and “Laws” for the Hellenist meant morality and civility. Monuments and shrines found listing numerous moral maxims in the middle of Grecian cities attest to this very truth.^[128] Interestingly, these “moral maxims,” were religious and philosophical in nature. Their sources varied but of greatest interest is the fact that portions came from Persian magi and Jewish Priests.^[129] The Hellenistic propensity towards high ethic may account for the Legalistic approach of Stephen in 2 Luqas (Acts) 6–7 and following.

 

Roman monarchies often pictured and proclaimed themselves gods. This eventually led to a denigration of the so-called hierarchy among Roman rulers. Even the Roman hierarchy of military was not exempt from having wives, family and children used as depraved sport by their leaders. The grip of paganism was destroyed by true moral civility as modeled by their Jewish subordinates. Code of conduct within family and society were far more appealing than the alternatives. This is not to say that Rome had no strengths worthy of emulation. However, the destruction of Rome was the result of antinomianism.^[130] The lack of certain legal restraint allowed immoral conduct to bring a deterioration and annihilation from within itself.

 

Ephesians 4:17-19 Now I say this, and testify in the Master, that from now on you cannot walk^[131] as (some) other Gentiles do (walk), devoid of truth (Torah) in their mind,^[132] having a mental disposition full of darkness,^[133] alienated^[134] (cut off) from the life of God,^[135] their ignorance is due to an unyielding obstinacy of mind.^[136] For they, being desensitized, have given themselves up to apostasy,^[137] to every kind of impurity.^[138]

 

The consequence of idolatry and rejection of Torah principles results in darkened thinking and thoughts. People prefer a “religion” of their own making (works of the flesh) rather than the Divine revelation. Thus religion is born, springing from a rejected knowledge of G-d.^[139] Διαλογισμός – dialogismos in the Nazarean Codicil is only used in the negative sense for evil thoughts or anxious reflection.^[140] In a sense, the mind of vanity and futility is the judgment G-d has placed on the insolent. This punishment is “middah kneged middah” (justice measure for measure). The lack of gratitude is punishable through a darkening, retarding of the mind. In rejecting the “Da’at” of G-d the mental faculties are effected. Because there is a lack of honoring G-d in idolatrous and human religion, life is not experienced as a gift from G-d. Therefore, it loses touch with Divine reality and condemns itself to vanity and futility. Cf. Ecc. 1:2 The result or vanity of idolatry is always a “darkening” of the mental facilities. “The relation between sin and mental blindness is that of action and re-action. Each sinful/idolatrous action is cause and effect of mental darkening. Here, the darkening of the intellect is represented as the effect or foolish and wicked speculation; the liar comes to believe his own lie.”^[141] Knowing G-d demands the appropriate response due to His δοξάζω (glory). In the Jewish mind, “Knowing G-d” demands a specific response. Knowing G-d is tantamount to experiencing  G-d. They have in fact experienced Him—His wisdom, power, generosity—in every moment of their existence, though they have not recognized Him. It has been by Him that their lives have been sustained, enriched, bounded. In this limited sense, they have known Him all their lives.^[142] Because they did not thank G-d as an appropriate response. Men experience the pleasures of “life” and do not give due benevolence to G-d for any of their likings or gifts. The appropriate response is trust and obedience. Men should have recognized their indebtedness to G-d for His loving-generosity.

 

b. Shabb. 89a Why was Mount Sinai was also called Mount Horeb? Because desolation [hurbah] to idolaters descended thereon.

 

The current pericope of Hakham Shaul’ pericope is perfect parlance of the Torah. The current pericope of Romans summed in “v23” notes a circumstance that is a play on Psalms 106:20 (Lxx 105), which is a reference to the sin of the Golden calf. It may be hard to determine how these fits into the “Jewish perspective” of the Gentile as a “pagan idolater until we know the details. Furthermore, we can see that Hakham Shaul knows the true nature of the sin of the Golden Calf and its relationship “P’qod Kol Bekhor Zakhar,” numbering of all the first-born males.

 

God now commands Moses to appoint the Levites to serve and minister to Aaron (Num. 3:5–10), as a substitute for the consecrated firstborn in Israel (Num. 3:11–13, 44). This appointment recognizes the Levites’ response to Moses’ rallying call and their consequent execution of Israelites for the sin of the golden calf (Exod. 32:26–29; Deut. 10:8–9). They accordingly are given charge of carrying the Ark of the Covenant that leads the Israelites in the desert and in battle (Num. 10:33–36; Josh. 6) and are assigned as assistants to Aaron and his sons (Num. 3:9), to attend on and minister to God (1 Chr. 23:28, 32).^[143]

 

Professing wisdom,^[144] they acted foolishly,^[145] and exchanged the glory of the immortal God with the images (idols) of corrupted human beings,^[146] birds, quadrupeds and reptiles.

 

2Ti 3:8 Just as ^aJannes (Jannis)^[147] and Jambres opposed Moses,^[148] so these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, rejected concerning faithful obedience to G-d and His Torah

 

Some scholars point out that Hakham Shaul’s reference to Jannes and Jambres shows his connection with and use of Jewish Liturgy^[149], i.e. Triennial Torah Reading Cycle. The Timothy passage is especially germane to our present pericope. This is because “Jannes and Jamberes” had full “knowledge” of who G-d was. Hakham Shaul was aware that Jannes (Janis-Jannis) and Jambres opposed Moshe on more than one occasion.

 

Targum Pseudo Yonatan Shemot (Ex) 1:15 And Pharoh told that he, being asleep, had seen in his dream, and, behold, all the land of Mizraim was placed in one scale of a balance, and a lamb, the young of a sheep, was ill the other scale; and the scale with the lamb in it overweighed. Forthwith he sent and called all the magicians of Mizraim and imparted to them his dream. Immediately Jannis and Jambres, the chief of the magicians, opened their mouth and answered Pharoh? A certain child^[150] is about to be born in the congregation of Israel, by whose hand will be destruction to all the land of Mizraim. Therefore, did Pharoh, king of Mizraim, give counsel to the Yehudith midwives, the name of one of whom was Shifra, who is Yokeved, and the name of the other Puvah, who is Miriam her daughter.

 

Targum Pseudo Yonatan Shemot (Ex) 7:11 But Pharoh called the hachems and magicians; and they also, Janis and Jamberes, magicians of Mizraim, did the same by their burnings of divination.

 

Also, relevant to our discussion is the fact that many Gentiles parted from Egypt (Mitzrayim) with the B’ne Yisrael.

 

Targum Pseudo Yonatan Shemot (Ex) 12:38 and a multitude of strangers, two hundred and forty myriads (thousands), went up with them, and sheep, and oxen, and cattle, very many.

 

Among those “strangers” were two infamous magicians, named Jannes and Jambres.

 

JANNES AND JAMBRES, two legendary Egyptian sorcerers whose names appear in various sources as the adversaries of Moses. Jewish tradition seems to identify them with the sorcerers mentioned in Exodus 7:11ff. (cf. Targ. Jon., ibid.). They are also mentioned as the sons of Balaam (Targ. Jon., Num. 22:22; Yal., Ex. 168, 176) and as having played a part in the incident of the golden calf after joining the mixed multitude that accompanied Israel in the exodus from Egypt (Tanḥ., Ki Tissa, 19).^[151]

 

The initiative in demanding the idol (of the Golden Calf) is attributed by some rabbis to the mixed multitude who joined the Israelites at the time of the Exodus (Ex. 12:38). Forty thousand of them, accompanied by two Egyptian magicians, Jannes and Mambres, came to Aaron and claimed that it already was the sixth hour of the 40th day since Moses had left, the hour which he previously had designated for his return. They claimed that since he had not yet appeared, he would never come. Satan (the adversary) added to the state of helplessness of the people by showing them a vision of Moses’ bier, which convinced them that he had died. Only then did they demand that Aaron produce a god for them (Shab. 89a; Tanh. B., Ex.112–3).^[152]

 

The truth of Romans 1:18 is now revealed. For the revelation of God’s wrath^[153] coming from the heavens is against all the wicked^[154] and unjust men (like Jannes and Jambres) who intentionally suppress^[155] the truth. This is because even intimate knowledge of God^[156] is evident to them, because God revealed Himself^[157] among them.

 

b. Shabb. 89a One of the Rabbis asked R. Kahana: have you heard what the mountain of Sinai [connotes]... While what was its [real] name? its name was Horeb. Now they disagree with R. Abbahu, For R. Abbahu said: its name was Mount Sinai, and why was it called Mount Horeb? Because desolation [hurbah] to idolaters descended thereon.

 

Hakham Shaul knows the Aggadah, and the Targum having followed the Jewish liturgical readings of the Torah. Consequently, the Torah, Targum and related materials fashioned the opinion of Hakham Shaul concerning the pagan Gentiles. The “Jewish perspective” of the Gentile as a “pagan idolater was; therefore, more than likely the Rabbinic view. Har Sinai is also Horeb because of the desolation of idolaters. Allegorically we take this to mean that the Torah is a means for destroying idolatry and pagan idolaters. We can look at their destruction as if they were destroyed in some horrific punishable way or we can see their destruction in their acceptance of Torah. It seems evident that Hakham Shaul was looking for the latter.

 

אמן ואמן סלה

 

 

From the “Six Basic Elements of Peshat and Remes Discourse of the Nazarean Codicil” identify their relationship as translated above.

 

1. Identify the context in which this Gemará was crafted;

 

2. Identify the parties or stake-holders of this Gemará debate;

 

3. Controversy of a Mitzvah or Mitzvoth in question;

 

4. Contestation against the Hillelite interpretation of the mitzvah or mitzvoth in question;

 

5. Riposte of the Master or Hakham;

 

 

Questions for Reflection

 

1. From all the readings for this Shabbat which statement touched your heart and fired your imagination?
2. In your opinion, and taking into consideration all the above readings for this Shabbat, 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!

 

Next Shabbat:

Shabbat: “Zakhor” – Sabbath: “Remember”

 

 

Coming Festivals:

 

Fast of Esther

Adar 13, 5780 – Monday 9^th of March 2020

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

 

 

Purim

Adar 14, 5780 – Tuesday 10^th of March 2020

For further information see: http://www.betemunah.org/allegories.html ; http://www.betemunah.org/purim.html ;

http://www.betemunah.org/purims.html & http://www.betemunah.org/r2r.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David

Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham

 

Edited by Adon Aviner ben Abraham (www.chozenppl.com)

Please e-mail any comments to chozenppl@gmail.com