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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 performing acts of kindness; and there is no maximum amount of Torah that a person must study.

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

Please pray for this work that it may be successful touching many lives, well financed; and that it may be for much blessing to all concerned. 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 Her Honor Giberet Zahavah bat Sarah, the beloved wife of His Eminence Rabbi Dr. Haggai, who is struggling with health issues. Mi Sheberach – He Who blessed our holy and pure Matriarchs, Sarah, Ribkah, Rachel and Leah, bless Her Honor Giberet Zahavah bat Sarah and send her a complete recovery and strengthening of body and soul. Please G-d heal her, please. Please G-d heal her, please. Please G-d heal her, please. Cure her, strengthen her, make her healthy and return her to her original strength, together with all the sick of Yisrael. And may it be so willed, and we will say, Amen ve Amen!

A Prayer for Israel

Our Father in Heaven, Rock, and Redeemer of Israel, bless the State of Israel, the first manifestation of the approach of our redemption. Shield it with Your lovingkindness, envelop it in Your peace, and bestow Your light and truth upon its leaders, ministers, and advisors, and grace them with Your good counsel. Strengthen the hands of those who defend our holy land, grant them deliverance, and adorn them in a mantle of victory. Ordain peace in the land and grant its inhabitants eternal happiness.

Lead them, swiftly and upright, to Your city Zion and to Jerusalem, the abode of Your Name, as is written in the Torah of Your servant Moses: “Even if your outcasts are at the ends of the world, from there the Lord your God will gather you, from there He will fetch you. And the Lord your God will bring you to the land that your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it, and He will make you more prosperous and more numerous than your fathers.” Draw our hearts together to revere and venerate Your name and to observe all the precepts of Your Torah, and send us quickly the Messiah son of David, agent of Your vindication, to redeem those who await Your deliverance.

Shabbat:

“Za, Me’en Hataevah” “Go from the Ark”

Shabbat:	Torah Reading:	Weekday Torah Reading:
צֵא, מִן-הַתֵּבָה
“Za, Me’en Hataevah”	Reader 1 – B’resheet 8:15-19	Reader 1 – B’resheet 8:15-17
“Go from the Ark”	Reader 2 – B’resheet 8:20-22	Reader 2 – B’resheet 8:18-20
“Sair da Arca”	Reader 3 – B’resheet 9:1-3	Reader 3 – B’resheet 8:21-9:1
B’resheet (Genesis) 8:15-9:17	Reader 4 – B’resheet 9:4-7
Ashlamatah: Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 42:7-15 +21	Reader 5 – B’resheet 9:8-11
	Reader 6 – B’resheet 9:12-13	Reader 1 – B’resheet 8:15-17
Tehillim (Psalms) 7:1-18	Reader 7 – B’resheet 9:14-17	Reader 2 – B’resheet 8:18-20
N.C.:  Mark 1:16-18 Luke 5:1-2	Maftir – B’resheet 9:14-17 Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 42:7-15 + 21	Reader 3 – B’resheet 8:21-9:1

Contents of the Torah Seder

· Leaving the Ark and Building an Altar – Gen. 8:15-22

· The Covenant with Noah and the Seven Laws of Noah – Gen. 9:1-17

Rashi & Targum for: B’resheet 8:15 – 9:17

Rashi’s Translation	Targum Pseudo Jonathan
15. And God spoke to Noah saying:	15. And the LORD spoke with Noah, saying:
16. "Go out of the ark, you and your wife, and your sons, and your sons' wives with you.	16. Go forth from the ark, you, and your wife, and your sons, and the wives of your sons, with you.
17. Every living thing that is with you of all flesh, of fowl, and of animals and of all the creeping things that creep on the earth, bring out with you, and they shall swarm upon the earth, and they shall be fruitful and multiply upon the earth."	17. Every living animal that is with you of all flesh, of fowl, of cattle, and of every reptile that creeps on the earth, bring forth with you, that they may reproduce in the earth, and spread abroad and multiply on the earth.
18. So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives with him.	18. And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and the wives of his sons, with him.
19. Every beast, every creeping thing, and all fowl, everything that moves upon the earth, according to their families they went forth from the ark.	19. Every animal, every reptile, and every bird, which moves upon the earth, according to its seed, went forth from the ark.
20. And Noah built an altar to the Lord, and he took of all the clean animals and of all the clean fowl and brought up burnt offerings on the altar.	20. And Noah built the altar before the LORD; that altar which Adam had built in the time when he was cast forth from the garden of Eden and had offered an oblation upon it; and upon it had Kain and Habel offered their oblations. But when the waters of the deluge descended, it was destroyed, and Noah rebuilt it; and he took of all clean cattle, and of all clean fowl, and sacrificed four upon that altar. And the LORD accepted his oblation with favour:
21. And the Lord smelled the pleasant aroma, and the Lord said to Himself, "I will no longer curse the earth because of man, for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth, and I will no longer smite all living things as I have done.	21. and the LORD said in His Word, I will not add again to curse the earth on account of the sin of the children of men; for the imagination of the heart of man is evil from his youth; neither will I add to destroy whatever lives as I have done.
22. So long as the earth exists, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease."	22. Until all the days of the earth, sowing in the season of Tishri, and harvest in the season of Nisan, and coldness in the season of Tebeth, and warmth in the season of Tammuz, and summer and winter, and days and nights will not fail. JERUSALEM: Until all the days of the earth from now, sowing and reaping, and cold and heat, and days and nights will not cease.
1. And God blessed Noah and his sons, and He said to them: "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.	1. And the LORD blessed Noah, and his sons, and said to them, Spread forth and multiply, and replenish the earth.
2. And your fear and your dread shall be upon all the beasts of the earth and upon all the fowl of the heaven; upon everything that creeps upon the ground and upon all the fish of the sea, [for] they have been given into your hand[s].	2. And the fear of you and the dread of you will be upon every beast of the earth, and on every fowl of the heavens; of all that the earth swarms forth, and all the fishes of the sea, into your hand are they delivered.
3. Every moving thing that lives shall be yours to eat; like the green vegetation, I have given you everything.	3. Every moving thing which lives to you will be for food: as the green herb have I given to you the whole.
4. But, flesh with its soul, its blood, you shall not eat.	4. But flesh which is torn of the living beast, what time the life is in it, or that torn from a slaughtered animal before all the breath has gone forth, you will not eat.
5. But your blood, of your souls, I will demand [an account]; from the hand of every beast, I will demand it, and from the hand of man, from the hand of each man, his brother, I will demand the soul of man.	5. But the blood of your lives I will I require of every animal which has killed a man, I will require that it be put to death on his account. And from the hand of the human being, from the hand of the man who has shed the blood of his brother, will I require the life of man.
6. Whoever sheds the blood of man through man shall his blood be shed, for in the image of God He made man.	6. Whosoever sheds the blood of man, the judges, by witnesses, will condemn him unto death; but he who sheds it without witnesses, the LORD of the world will bring punishment on him in the day of the great judgment; because in the image of the LORD He made man.
7. And you, be fruitful and multiply; swarm upon the earth and multiply thereon."	7. And you, spread yourselves abroad and multiply; bring forth in the earth, and increase in it.
8. And God said to Noah and to his sons with him, saying:	8. And the LORD spoke to Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,
9. "And I, behold I am setting up My covenant with you and with your seed after you.	9. I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your children after you;
10. And with every living creature that is with you, among the fowl, among the cattle, and among all the beasts of the earth with you, of all those who came out of the ark, of all the living creatures of the earth.	10. and with every living soul that is with you, of birds, and of cattle, and of every beast of the earth that is with you, of all that go forth from the ark, of every beast of the earth.
11. And I will establish My covenant with you, and never again will all flesh be cut off by the flood waters, and there will never again be a flood to destroy the earth."	11. And I will establish my covenant with you and will not again cause all flesh to perish by the waters of a flood; and there will not again be a flood to destroy the earth.
12. And God said: "This is the sign of the covenant, which I am placing between Me and between you, and between every living soul that is with you, for everlasting generations.	12. And the LORD said, This is the sign of the covenant which I establish between My Word and between you and every living soul that is with you, unto the generations of the world.
13. My rainbow I have placed in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Myself and the earth.	13. I have set My Bow in the cloud, and it will be for a token of the covenant between My Word and the earth.
14. And it shall come to pass, when I cause clouds to come upon the earth, that the rainbow will appear in the cloud.	14. And it will be that when I spread forth My glorious cloud over the earth, the bow will be seen in the day (time), while the sun is not sunk (or hidden) in a cloud.
15. And I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and between you and between every living creature among all flesh, and the water will no longer become a flood to destroy all flesh.	15. And I will remember My covenant which is between My Word and between you and every living soul of all flesh, that there will not be the waters of a flood to destroy all flesh.
16. And the rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will see it, to remember the everlasting covenant between God and between every living creature among all flesh, which is on the earth."	16. And the bow will be in the cloud, and I will look upon it, to remember the everlasting covenant between the Word of the Lord and every living soul of all flesh that is upon the earth.
17. And God said to Noah: "This is the sign of the covenant that I have set up, between Myself and between all flesh that is on the earth."	17. And the LORD said to Noah, This is the sign of the covenant that I have covenanted between My Word and between the word for all flesh that is upon the earth.

The seven Noachide laws:

1. Murder is forbidden.

2. Theft is forbidden.

3. Incestuous and adulterous relations are forbidden.

4. Eating the flesh of a living animal is forbidden.

5. Idolatry is forbidden.

6. Cursing the name of HaShem is forbidden (Blasphemy).

7. Mankind is commanded to establish courts of justice (Judiciary).

His Eminence Dayan Dr. Isidor Grunfeld,^[1] explains how these laws are derived:

In order to understand how the Talmud^[2] derives the Seven Laws of Noach from the verse preceding the commandment not to eat of the Tree of Good and Evil, we must have the full Hebrew Scriptural text and its translation in front of us:

וַיְצַו יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים, עַל-הָאָדָם לֵאמֹר:  מִכֹּל עֵץ-הַגָּן, אָכֹל תֹּאכֵל וּמֵעֵץ, הַדַּעַת טוֹב וָרָע--לֹא תֹאכַל, מִמֶּנּוּ:  כִּי, בְּיוֹם אֲכָלְךָ מִמֶּנּוּ--מוֹת תָּמוּת. – “And HaShem God commanded the man, saying: ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you will not eat of it; for in the day that you eat thereof you will surely die’” (Gen. 2:16-17).

This is the Talmudical explanation of the first of the two verses –Vay’tsav –הדינין אלו - ויצו “And God commanded”: This refers to the administration of justice which is one of the general laws of morality to be observed by the whole of mankind.

Adonai ה׳ ברכת זו - ה׳ -The law was given to man in the name of God (HaShem) and man has a duty to keep the name of God holy. This implies the prohibition of blasphemy.

Elohim זרה עבודה זו - א׳ – God (Elohim) is not only the Creator of the Universe but also the universal Lawgiver, which is implied in the name א׳. Thereby the deification of any other being is automatically denied and forbidden as idol worship.

Al HaAdam דמים שפיכות זו - על-האדם - Human life is holy, as man was created in the image of God. Every human person is of irreplaceable value and the taking of human life is therefore a capital crime and a destruction of a micro-cosmos.

Lemor עריות גלוי זו - לאמר - The handing down of God's commandments from generation to generation presupposes an ordered family life which can only be guaranteed by the purity of sexual morals. The word לאמר - which means handing down – therefore includes the prohibition of adultery.

MiKol Etz HaGan גזל ולו - מכל עץ-הגן - Man was only to eat from what was his property given to him by God. The words מכל עץ-הגן exclude therefore theft and robbery.

Akol Tokel - החי מן אבר ולו - אכל תאכל - Man's food must be such that it prevents base animal substances and instincts from being introduced into the human body. This refers especially to

Nefesh Behemah the animal soul -which can never be assimilated to the human soul, whereas animal flesh can be assimilated to human flesh. First, however, the animal life must have departed before man is allowed to consume any part of the animal. Apart from this it would be most inhuman and barbaric to tear off part of a living creature for human consumption. The words אכל תאכל exclude therefore Eber Min HaChai - the cutting off for food of a part of a living animal.

Rabbi Yochanan furnishes a source for all of the seven Noachide laws from our seder this week:

1. Murder is forbidden.

2. Theft is forbidden.

3. Incestuous and adulterous relations are forbidden.

4. Eating the flesh of a living animal is forbidden.

5. Idolatry is forbidden.

6. Cursing the name of HaShem is forbidden (Blasphemy).

7. Mankind is commanded to establish courts of justice (Judiciary).

Sanhedrin 59a From whence are these seven things derived?  Said Rabbi Yochanan: the text states that "God Lord commanded the earthling saying: you may surely eat from all of the trees of the garden…".^[3]

The words "(He) commanded" refer to providing for a judiciary, as the verse states: "I know him that he will command his descendents and his household after him to observe the ways of God and to do that which is righteous and just…".^[4]

The word "God" refers to the prohibition of blasphemy, as the verse states: "He that blasphemes the name of God shall surely be put to death".^[5]

The word "Elohim" refers to the prohibition of idolatry, as the verse states: "You shall not have other elohim before Me…".^[6]

The words "the earthling" ("haAdam") refer to the prohibition of murder, as the verse states: "He that sheds the blood of a person ("haadam") shall have his own blood shed by other people…".^[7]

The word "saying" refers to the prohibition of adultery and incest, as the verse states: "Saying: behold if a man sends forth his wife and she becomes married to another man, shall she then return to her first husband?  Shall not that land become defiled?".^[8]

The words "from all of the trees of the garden" imply the prohibition of theft. 

The words "you shall surely eat" refer to the prohibition of eating a limb torn from a living creature.

The Seven Laws

The Seven Noachide laws are all prohibitory, with the possible exception of the injunction to establish courts of justice (which can be viewed as a prohibition against injustice).

Sanhedrin 56a-b Our Rabbis taught: seven precepts were the sons of Noach commanded: 1 social laws; to refrain from 2 blasphemy, 3 idolatry; 4 adultery; 5 bloodshed;6 robbery; and 7 eating flesh cut from a living animal.

R. Hanania b. Gamaliel said: Also not to partake of the blood drawn from a living animal. R. Hidka added emasculation. R. Simeon added sorcery. R. Jose said: The heathens were prohibited everything that is mentioned in the section on sorcery. viz., There shall not be found among you any one, that maketh his son or daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them [sc. the heathens in Canaan] out from before thee.1 Now, [the Almighty] does not punish without first prohibiting. R. Eleazar added the forbidden mixture [in plants and animals]: now, they are permitted to wear garments of mixed fabrics [of wool and linen] and sow diverse seeds together; they are forbidden only to hybridize heterogeneous animals and graft trees of different kinds.

Whence do we know this? — R. Johanan answered: The Writ saith: And the Lord God commanded the man saying, of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat. And [He] commanded, refers to [the observance of] social laws, and thus it is written, For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment. The Lord-is [a prohibition against] blasphemy, and thus it is written, and he that blasphemest the name of the Lord, he shall surely be put to death. God-is [an injunction against] idolatry, and thus it is written, Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. The man-refers to bloodshed [murder], and thus it is written, Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed. Saying-refers to adultery, and thus it is written, They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and became another man's. Of every tree of the garden-but not of robbery. Thou mayest freely eat-but not flesh cut from a living animal.

… Surely it has been taught: Just as the Israelites were ordered to set up law courts in every district and town, so were the sons of Noach likewise enjoined to set up law courts in every district and town!

Reading Assignment: The Torah Anthology: Yalkut Me’Am Lo’Ez – Vol I By: Rabbi Ya’aqob Culi Published by: Moznaim Publishing Corp. (New York, 1988) Vol. 1 – “Genesis,” pp. 372 - 389

Reading Assignment: Ramban: Commentary on the Torah Translated and Annotated by Rabbi Dr. Charles Chavel Published by Shilo Publishing House, Inc. (New York, 1971)  pp. 131 - 139

Welcome to the World of P’shat Exegesis

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

The Seven Hermeneutic Laws of R. Hillel are as follows

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rashi’s Commentary for: B’resheet (Genesis) 8:15 – 9:17

16 you and your wife, etc. A man and his wife. Here He permitted them to engage in marital relations. See above 6:18, 7:7.

17 bring out It is written הוֹצֵא, but it is read הַיְצֵא. הַיְצֵא means: tell them that they should come out. הוֹצֵא means: if they do not wish to come out, you take them out.-[from Gen. Rabbah 34:8]

and they shall swarm upon the earth But not in the ark. This tells us that even the animals and the fowl were prohibited from mating. -[from Gen. Rabbah ad loc.]

19 according to their families They accepted upon themselves the condition that they cleave to their own species.

20 of all the clean animals He said, “The Holy One, blessed be He, commanded me to take in seven pairs of these only in order to offer up a sacrifice from them.”- [from Tan. Vayakhel 6, Gen. Rabbah 34:9]

21 from his youth This is written: מִנְעֻרָיו [i.e., without a “vav”] [implying that] from the time that he [the embryo] shakes himself [ נִנְעָר] to emerge from his mother’s womb, the evil inclination is placed in him. - [from Gen. Rabbah 34:10]

I will no longer...and I will no longer He repeated the words to denote an oath. That is what is written (Isa. 54:9): “That I swore that the waters of Noah shall never again pass over the earth,” and we do not find an oath concerning this matter except in this [statement, in] which He repeated His words, and this [repetition denotes that it] is an oath. So did our Sages expound in Tractate Shevuoth (36a).

22 So long as the earth exists… shall not cease Each of these six seasons has two months, as we learned: Half of Tishri, Marcheshvan, and half of Kislev are “seedtime.” Half of Kislev, Teveth, and half of Shevat are the “cold” season, etc. in B.M. (106b). (Other editions add:

So long as the earth exists Heb. עֽד means “always”, like (Num. 19:13): “his uncleanness is permanently (עוֹד) upon him.”

cold is more severe than winter.

winter Heb. חֽרֶף, the time for sowing barley and beans, which are early (חֲרִיפִין) to ripen quickly. The cold period is half of Shevat, Adar, and half of Nissan.

Summer - קַיִץ This is half of Sivan, Tamuz, and half of Av, which is the time of the gathering of the figs and the time when they dry them in the fields, and it (the dried fig) is קַיִץ, as (II Sam. 16:2): “the bread and the dried fruits (וְהַקַיִץ) for the young men to eat.”

heat That is the end of the sunny season, half of Av, Elul, and half of Tishri, when the world is hottest, as we find in Tractate Yoma (29a): The end of the summer is more severe than the summer.

and day and night shall not cease From here we deduce that they ceased for the duration of the Flood: the planets did not function, and day was indistinguishable from night. -[from Gen. Rabbah 25:2, 34:11]

shall not cease All these shall not cease to perform according to their natural course.

Chapter 9

1 and your dread Heb. וְחִתְּכֶם , means “your fear,” like (Job 6:21): “You see terror (חַתַת) .” According to the Aggadah (Shab. 151b), however, it is an expression of life (חַיוּת) , for as long as an infant [even] one day old is alive, there is no need to guard him from mice, but if Og, the king of Bashan is dead, he must be guarded from mice, as it is said: “And your fear and your life shall be.” When will your fear be upon the creatures? As long as you are alive.

3 shall be yours to eat -(Sanhedrin 59b) For I did not permit the first man [Adam] to eat meat, but only vegetation, but for you, just as the green vegetation which I permitted for the first man, I have given you everything.

4 flesh with its soul He prohibited them [to eat] a limb [cut off from] a living creature, i.e., as long as its soul is in it, you shall not eat the flesh.-[from Sanh. ad loc.] [i.e., if the limb is cut from the animal while it is alive, it is forbidden to be eaten even after the animal expires.]

with its soul, its blood As long as its soul is within it.

flesh with its soul...you shall not eat This refers to a limb of a living creature. And also, its blood, you shall not eat-This refers to blood of a living creature.-[from above source]

5 But your blood Even though I permitted you to take the life of animals, your blood I will demand of one who sheds his own blood [i.e., who commits suicide].-[from Gen. Rabbah 34:13, B.K. 91b]

of your souls Also one who strangles himself, even though no blood issued from him.-[Gen. Rabbah ad loc.]

from the hand of every beast Since the Generation of the Flood had sinned, and they were abandoned as prey for the wild beasts, which would have power over them, as it is said (Ps. 49:13, 21): “he is compared to the silenced animals”; therefore, it was necessary to warn the beasts about them [not to kill them].-[from unknown midrashic sources]

and from the hand of man From the hand of one who kills intentionally, without witnesses, I will demand [his life]. Cf. Targum Jonathan, verse 6.

from the hand of each man, his brother From the hand of the one who loves him like a brother, and killed him unintentionally, I will demand [punishment], if he does not go into exile nor beg that his iniquity be forgiven. For even the inadvertent sinner requires atonement. If there are no witnesses to sentence him to exile, and he does not humble himself, the Holy One, blessed be He, will demand it of him, as our Rabbis expounded [on the verse] (Exod. 21:13): “And God placed him into his hand,” in Tractate Makkoth (10b): the Holy One, blessed be He, causes them to meet at the same inn, etc. [The passage reads: What is this verse speaking of? Of two men, each of whom had murdered a person; one had murdered intentionally, and one had murdered unintentionally. This one had no witnesses, and that one had no witnesses. The Holy One, blessed be He, causes them to meet at the same inn; the one who murdered intentionally sits under a ladder, and the one who murdered unintentionally climbs down the ladder, and falls upon him, killing him. The one who murdered intentionally is killed, and the one who killed unintentionally is exiled.]

6 through man shall his blood be shed If there are witnesses, you kill him. Why? “For in the image of God, etc.”

He made man This is an elliptical verse. It should read: “the Maker made man,” and there are many such instances in Scripture.

7 And you, be fruitful and multiply- According to its simple meaning: the first [mention of this expression] (verse 1) was a blessing, and this [mention] is a commandment. According to its midrashic interpretation, [it is written here] to compare one who does not engage in propagation to one who sheds blood.-[from Yev. 63b]

9 And I, behold I Agree with you, for Noah was afraid to engage in propagation until the Holy One, blessed be He, promised him never to destroy the world again, and so He did. He ultimately said to him, “Behold I agree to make a confirmation and a strengthening of a covenant for My promise, and I will give you a sign.”-[from Tan. Buber, Noach 17]

10 and among all the beasts of the earth with you These are the ones that walk with people.

of all those who came out of the ark to include abominable creatures and creeping animals.

the living creatures of the earth to include the demons, which are not included in “every living creature that is with you,” for they do not walk with human beings.

11 And I will establish I will make a confirmation for My covenant, and what is its confirmation? The rainbow, as it [Scripture] proceeds to conclude. Note that the Oxford ms. and the Guadalajara ed. read: the sign of the rainbow. However, our edition coincides with other early editions.

12 for everlasting generations It [the word דֽרֽת ] is written defectively [without the letter “vav”] because there were generations that did not require the sign because they were completely righteous, such as the generation of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, and the generation of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai (Gen. Rabbah 35:2).

14 when I cause clouds to come when it comes to My mind to bring darkness and destruction to the world.- [from Gen. Rabbah 35:3]

16 between God and between every living creature Between the Standard of Justice of Heaven and between you, for it should have stated, “Between Me and every living creature!” But the following is its midrashic interpretation: When the standard of justice comes to accuse you (to condemn you), I will see the aforementioned sign.-[Gen. Rabbah 35:3] Other editions read: I will see the sign, and it will be remembered.

17 This is the sign of the covenant He showed him [Noah] the bow and said to him, “Here is the sign of which I spoke.” [The expression, “This is,” always denotes that the object is being pointed out by the speaker. Cf. Rashi, Exod. 12:2, 30:13, Lev. 8:5, 11:2.]

It is the obligation of every Jew to teach the Gentile to begin with the laws of Noach! The Rambam explicitly rules:

"Moshe Rabeinu commanded from the mouth of G-d to convince all the inhabitants of the world to observe the commandments given to the Children of Noach."^[9]

These Noachide Gentiles will be the inheritance of Israel.[10]

Noachide theology is based upon the covenant that HaShem made with Noach. That covenant embraced seven categories of laws.

Noach and his sons (and by extension, all of mankind, since there were no others after the flood) had a relationship with HaShem based upon the Noachide covenant and Laws. Noach knew HaShem as Adonai (Lord and Master), Shaddai (Almighty), and as Elohim (Creator and the Judge). Obedience to the laws of Noach was principally motivated by fear of judgment and punishment according to:

Iyov (Job) 31:23 For destruction from God was a terror to me, and by reason of his highness I could not endure.

It is incorrect to think that since the Children of Israel have 613 commandments and the Children of Noach have seven commandments, that the ratio of spiritual worth is proportionally 613 to seven. The Seven Noachide laws are general commandments, each containing many parts and details, whereas the 613 Commandments of the Torah are specific, each relating to one basic detail of the Divine Law. Therefore, the numerical disparity in no way reflects the relative spiritual worth of the two systems of commandments.

Seven Turns Into Sixty-Six^[11]

From these seven laws our Sages derived the following 66 laws:

1. MURDER:

(1) against anyone murdering anyone. [Some say that this also prohibits Lashon HaRa, evil speech.]

2. THEFT:

(1) against stealing;

(2) against committing robbery

(3).against shifting a land mark;

(4) against cheating;

(5) against repudiating a claim of money owed;

(6) against overcharging;

(7).against coveting;

(8) against desiring;

(9) a laborer shall be allowed to eat of the fruits among which he works (under certain conditions);

(10) against a laborer eating of such fruit (when certain conditions are not met);

(11) against a laborer taking of such fruit home;

(12) against kidnapping;

(13) against the use of false weights and measures;

(14) against the possession of false weights and measures;

(15) that one shall be exact in the use of weights and measures; and

(16) that the robber shall return (or pay for) the stolen object.

3. ILLICIT INTERCOURSE:

(1) against (a man) having union with his mother;

(2) against (a man) having union with his sister; (3) against (a man) having union with the wife of his father;

(4) against (a man) having union with another man's wife;

(5) against (a man) copulating with a beast;

(6) against a woman copulating with a beast;

(7) against (a man) lying carnally with a male;

(8).against (a man) lying carnally with his father;

(9) against (a man) lying carnally with his father's brother; and

(10) against engaging in erotic conduct that may lead to a prohibited union.

[Some have suggested that this list should also forbid intercourse with a woman who is Niddah. The Shulchan Aruch also has a chapter about adulterous thinking and discharging one's seed in vain, which is also forbidden.]

4. LIMB OF A LIVING CREATURE:

(1) against eating a limb severed from a living animal, beast, or fowl; and

(2) against eating the flesh of any animal which was torn by a wild beast, which, in part, prohibits the eating of such flesh as it was torn off an animal while it was still alive.

5. IDOLATRY:

(1) against entertaining the thought that there exists a deity except HaShem;

(2) against making any graven image (and against having anyone else make one for us);

(3) against making idols for use by others;

(4) against making any forbidden statues (even when they are for ornamental purposes);

(5) against bowing to any idol (and not to sacrifice nor to pour libation nor to burn incense before any idol, even where it is not the customary manner of worship to the particular idol);

(6) against worshipping idols in any of their customary manners of worship;

(7) against causing our children to pass (through the fire) in the worship of Molech;

(8) against practicing Ov;

(9) against the practice of Yiddoni [Sorcerer, Soothsayer, Magician]; and

(10) against turning to idolatry (in word, in thought, in deed, or by any observance that may draw us to its worship).

6. BLASPHEMY:

(1) to acknowledge the existence of HaShem;

(2) to fear HaShem;

(3) to pray to HaShem;

(4) to sanctify HaShem's name (in face of death, where appropriate);

(5) against desecrating HaShem's name (even in face of death, when appropriate);

(6) to study the Torah;

(7) to honor the scholars, and to revere one's teacher; and

(8) against blaspheming.

7. JUSTICE:

(1) to appoint judges and officers in each and every community;

(2) to treat the litigants equally before the law;

(3) to inquire diligently into the testimony of a witness;

(4) against the wanton miscarriage of justice by the court;

(5) against the judge accepting a bribe or gift from a litigant;

(6) against the judge showing marks of honor to but one litigant;

(7) against the judge acting in fear of a litigant's threats;

(8) against the judge, out of compassion, favoring a poor litigant;

(9) against the judge discriminating against the litigant because he is a sinner;

(10) against the judge, out of softness, putting aside the penalty of a mauler or killer;

(11) against the judge discriminating against a stranger or an orphan;

(12) against the judge hearing one litigant in the absence of the other;

(13) against appointing a judge who lacks knowledge of the Law;

(14) against the court killing an innocent man;

(15) against incrimination by circumstantial evidence;

(16) against punishing for a crime committed under duress;

(17) that the court is to administer the death penalty by the sword;

(18) against anyone taking the law into his own hands to kill the perpetrator of a capital crime (this point is disagreed upon by different writers: "The Noachides are not restricted in this way but may judge singly and at once.");

(19) to testify in court; and

(20) against testifying falsely.

In addition to these sixty-six laws, there is evidence to suggest several more laws that also apply to the Gentiles. Since the Bet HaMikdash was a house of prayer for all of the nations, it follows that the Ger Toshav would also have a siddur (prayerbook) to follow along during the prayers.

Since the Ger Toshav was forbidden to eat the limb of a living creature, it stands to reason that he must eat kosher. As we will shortly see, the Nazarean Codicil forbade “blood” to the Ger Toshav. This suggests that the animals must be slaughtered according to the laws of kashrut and that the meat must also be salted and soaked. Additionally, since Noach was forbidden to eat blood (Bereshit 9:3-4), it follows that this was the beginning of kosher meat.

Bereshit (Genesis 9:3-4 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. 4 But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.

Rabbinic Authority

Those who would keep the covenant of Noach must obey the commands of the Rabbis. It is the Rabbis who teach us how to keep these commands. The rebellion of Korah and his followers, was a rebellion against Rabbinic authority. The consequences of theis rebellion are well known:

Bamidbar (Numbers) 16:1-4 Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men: 2 And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown: 3 And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and HaShem is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of HaShem? 4 And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face:

Their rebellion against the authority of Moses and Aaron ultimately brought about their complete destruction when the earth swallowed them alive along with their families and all of their possessions.

Bamidbar (Numbers) 16:28-35 And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that HaShem hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind. 29 If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then HaShem hath not sent me. 30 But if HaShem make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked HaShem. 31 And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them: 32 And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. 33 They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation. 34 And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also.35 And there came out a fire from HaShem, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.

Thus we see that rebellion against the Rabbinic authority, the authority of those appointed by HaShem, is a very serious transgression.

The seven Noachide laws are based on the oral law and the authority of our Hakhamim, our Rabbis. The seven laws are not spelled out in the Tanach^[12], though they are derived from the Tanach. This means that without the oral law there is no way to derive or understand the seven laws with all of their ramifications.

The seven laws are spelled out in the part of the oral law called the Talmud, in a tractate called Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin, during Temple days, was the highest court of Rabbinic authority. They provided justice for the people comparable to our Supreme Court. Additionally, we can find the seven laws in the Tosefta and the Nazarean Codicil^[13]. Both of these works are codifications of Rabbinic rulings. In the Nazarean Codicil, for example, Hakham Yaaqov is the Rosh Bet Din of the Sanhedrin that adjudicates the questions of circumcision for the salvation of the Gentiles. In this ruling, Hakham Yaaqov (Jacob the brother of Yeshua) declares the seven laws to be the starting point for all Gentiles who are turning to HaShem. He goes on to indicate that full conversion is the goal, but it requires that they “learn Moses in the Synagogue on the Sabbath”. After they have learned from Moses, in the synagogue, they can choose to enter the Mosaic covenant with its 613 commands.

Without Rabbinic authority and the oral law it is impossible to understand the scope of the seven laws. For example, one of the seven laws forbids stealing. Now we need to ask, “What is stealing”? Most Gentiles would tell us that stealing is taking something that does not belong to you. Our Hakhamim (Rabbis) give quite a different answer. Our Hakhamim define stealing as: Taking something that does not belong to you, and that permission would have been denied if the owner had been asked. For example: If a wife takes her husbands car keys to bring in the groceries from the car; by the Gentile definition, she just stole the keys. By the definition of our Hakhamim, no theft was involved because if she had asked her husband, he would surely have given her permission. Thus we see that without Rabbinic authority it is impossible to know or understand the seven laws, let alone define them!

The Torah explicitly states this authority in:

Devarim (Deuteronomy) 17:8 If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, being matters of controversy within thy gates: then shalt thou arise, and get thee up into the place which HaShem thy God shall choose; 9 And thou shalt come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days, and enquire; and they shall shew thee the sentence of judgment: 10 And thou shalt do according to the sentence, which they of that place which HaShem shall choose shall shew thee; and thou shalt observe to do according to all that they inform thee: 11 According to the sentence of the law which they shall teach thee, and according to the judgment which they shall tell thee, thou shalt do: thou shalt not decline from the sentence which they shall shew thee, to the right hand, nor to the left. 12 And the man that will do presumptuously, and will not hearken unto the priest that standeth to minister there before HaShem thy God, or unto the judge, even that man shall die: and thou shalt put away the evil from Israel. 13 And all the people shall hear, and fear, and do no more presumptuously.

The Death Penalty

The Talmud also states the penalty for disobedience:

Sanhedrin 57a One additional element of greater severity is that violation of any one of the seven laws subjects the Noachide to capital punishment by decapitation.

A Novel Concept

In this essay, I would like to propose a novel concept in the understanding of Mashiach ben Yosef’s role. I would like to propose that the earliest written mention of the Noachide laws is in the Nazarean Codicil, in II Luqas (Acts) 15:19-21:

II Luqas 15:19-21^[14] Wherefore my judgment is that we trouble not them which from among the Gentiles turn to God: but that we enjoin on them to abstain from the pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from blood: and that whatsoever they would not should be done to them ye do not to others. For Moses from generations of old has in every city them that proclaim him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.

In this passage we can clearly see the seven laws of Noach:

2 Luqas 15^[15]

Courts^[16]

Blasphemy^[17]

Idolatry

Adultery^[18]

Bloodshed^[19]

Robbery^[20]

Flesh of a living animal^[21]

Some are more clearly stated than others. For example the requirement to establish courts of justice is implied from the fact that a court is handing down this sentence. The prohibition from blood is seen as relating to murder and eating the limb of a live animal. Theft is understood as a minimum of ethical conduct for those who live in community. However, theft is also understood from the command to abstain from idols which are clearly a theft of that which belongs to HaShem alone.

That this is the earliest codification of these laws is confirmed by Aaron Lichtenstein in his book, “The Seven Laws of Noah”,[22] when he states under the title, “ABSENCE OF TEXT”, on page 11:

“That we know anything at all about the Hammurabi, Hittite, or Assyrian Codes is due to the preservation of the ancient cuneiform tablets and stones upon which the statutes of these codes were engraved. However, there exists no original text of the Noahide code, and never was the existence of such a text ever reported. The earliest sources to give systematic treatment to Noachide Law are talmudic, and the earliest book of the Halakha which undertakes to deliniate the Seven Laws is the Tosefta, attributed to Hiyya bar Abba, born circa 160.”

Aaron Lichtenstein, in his scholarly treatise, could find only Talmudic sources for his earliest codification. An analysis of the II Luqas 15 suggests that the seven laws of Noach were codofied even earlier than the Talmud.

The oral law lists these seven commands in various orders depending on the genre of the oral law:

2 Luqas (Acts) 15^[23]	Talmud	Midrash	Zohar	Tosefta
Courts^[24]	Courts^[25]	Idolatry	Idolatry	Courts
Blasphemy^[26]	Blasphemy	Blasphemy	Blasphemy	Idolatry
Idolatry	Idolatry	Courts^[27]	Courts^[28]	Blasphemy
Adultery^[29]	Adultery	Bloodshed	Bloodshed^[30]	Adultery
Bloodshed^[31]	Bloodshed	Adultery^[32]	Adultery^[33]	Bloodshed
Robbery^[34]	Robbery	Robbery	Robbery	Robbery
Flesh of a living animal^[35]	Flesh of a living animal	Flesh of a living animal	Flesh of a living animal	Flesh of a living animal

Ketubim: Psalms 7:1-18

Rashi’s Translation	Targum
1. A shiggayon of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush the Benjamite.	1. A rendition of the thanksgiving of David, who gave praise to the LORD; for he spoke a song about the ruin of Saul son of Kish, from the tribe of Benjamin.
2. O Lord, my God, I have taken refuge in You; save me from all my pursuers and deliver me.	2. O LORD my God, I have trusted in Your Word; deliver me from all my persecutors and save me.
3. Lest he tear my soul like a lion, rending it to pieces with no one to save [me].	3. Lest he crush my soul like a lion; he will tear and there is no one who will deliver me.
4. O Lord, my God, if I have done this, if there is any injustice in my hands;	4. O LORD my God, if I have made this song with evil intent, if there is oppression in my hand,
5. if I repaid the one who did evil to me, and I stripped my adversary into emptiness,	5. If I have repaid my ally with evil, or thrust away my oppressor for nothing,
6. may the enemy pursue my soul and overtake [me] and trample my life to the ground and cause my soul to rest in the dust forever.	6. May the enemy pursue my soul, and may he overtake and trample my life to the ground and may my honor rest in the dust forever.
7. Arise, O Lord, with Your wrath; exalt Yourself with anger upon my adversaries and awaken for me the judgment that You commanded.	7. Arise, O LORD, in Your might; be lifted up in anger against my oppressors; and bring hastily to me the justice that You commanded.
8. And [if] a congregation of kingdoms surrounds You, return on high over them.	8. The gathering of the nations will surround You; because of it return to the place of Your presence.
9. May the Lord judge the peoples; judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness and according to my innocence, which is upon me.	9. The word of the LORD will judge the Gentiles; judge me, O LORD, by my merit, and for my innocence recompense me.
10. May evil destroy the wicked, and may You establish the righteous, for the righteous God tests the hearts and the reins.	10. Now may the evil of the wicked perish; and let the righteous be firmly established; and the righteous God examines hearts and minds.
11. My shield is upon God, Who saves the upright in heart.	11. My shield is on God, redeemer of the upright of heart.
12. God is a righteous judge, and God is incensed every day.	12. God is the righteous/generous judge, and in might is angry at the wicked every day.
13. If he does not repent, He will whet His sword; He has trodden His bow and made it ready.	13. If one does not repent and reverence Him, His sword is whetted, His bow drawn and ready.
14. And He has prepared deadly weapons for him; He will make arrows for pursuers.	14. On his account, He has prepared the weapons of death; He will make his arrows for those who pursue the righteous/generous.
15. Behold, he travails with iniquity; he conceives mischief, and gives birth to lies.	15. Behold, he will be in pains with falsehood, and will conceive trouble, and give birth to falsehood.
16. He dug a pit and deepened it, and he fell into the pit that he made.	16. He has dug a pit and deepened it; and he fell in the pit he made.
17. His mischief will return upon his head, and his violence will descend upon his crown.	17. His misery will return on his head; and on his pate his rapacity will descend.
18. I will thank the Lord according to His righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.	18. I will thank the LORD according to His righteousness/generosity; and I will praise the name of God Most High.

Rashi’s Commentary on Tehillim (Psalms) 7:1-18

1 A shiggayon of David Menachem says (p. 170) that this, too, is one of the names of a melody named for the instrument, and so he explained “on shigyonoth,” [in Habakkuk 3:1]. But our Sages (Mid. Ps. 7:18) explained it as an expression of error, that he confessed and prayed about the error that he had [committed by] reciting a song upon Saul’s downfall, as it is stated (in II Sam. 22:1): “And David spoke to the Lord, etc.” The contents of the psalm, however, do not indicate this, because it speaks of the nations (in verse 9): “May the Lord judge the peoples.” I, therefore, say that he recited it concerning Ishbi in Nob (II Sam. 21:16), who came upon him as a punishment for Saul; as our Rabbis explained, that the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “Through you, Doeg the Edomite was banished; through you, Saul and his sons were slain, etc.” as is stated in “Chelek” (Sanh. 95a). The errors that David asked of the Holy One, blessed be He, [were] that he [himself] be delivered into the hands of his enemies and that his descendants should not be destroyed. (The last sentence does not appear in all editions.) [Therefore, because his life was endangered,] David reversed his prayer and prayed that he should not fall into the hands of his enemies. Now this is its meaning: An error that David sang to the Lord because he had erred in saying to the Holy One, blessed be He, to deliver him into the hands of his enemies on account of Saul, who was slain because of him. Another explanation: Concerning the error of the skirt of Saul’s coat, which he had severed.

Cush Just as a Cushite has unusual skin, so did Saul have unusual deeds.

3 rending it to pieces Heb. פרק, an expression of (Exod. 32:2): “Break off (פרקו) the golden rings.”

4 if I have done this What is delineated after it.

5 if I repaid the one who did evil to me If I repaid him according to his deeds.

and I stripped my adversary into emptiness I destroyed his garment when I severed the skirt of his coat. Did I do it to destroy and to strip him and cause him to stand empty, and [was it done] with hatred? Only to let him know that he was delivered into my hand to kill him, and I did not kill him. [The word] חלצה is an expression of stripping off clothing.

7 Arise, O Lord, with Your wrath against my enemies, such as Ishbi and his brothers and the Philistines, that I should not be delivered into their hands.

exalt Yourself boast, to show me the revenge of Your anger when You become angry with them.

and awaken for me that I should be able to execute upon them the judgment of revenge that You commanded. Now where did You command [it]? “You shall break them with an iron rod” (above 2:9). “Then I will be an enemy to your enemies” (Exod. 23:22). I found this in the Midrash (Mid. Ps. 7:6; Tan. Ki Thissa 20, Buber 13 with variations).

8 And [if] a congregation of kingdoms surrounds You If troops of nations follow You to save them, do not hearken to their voice. Distance Yourself from them and go back to sit in Your place on high; repoxa in Old French, repose. Another interpretation: Return on high to show them that You have the upper hand.

9 May the Lord judge the peoples Reverse the sentence from upon us and place it upon the nations.

judge An expression of chastisements.

judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness But judge Israel according to the good deeds they have done and not according to the sins.

10 destroy Heb. יגמר , lit. finish. An expression of destruction, and so did Menachem (p. 57) interpret: (77:9), “destroyed (גמר) His word”; (12:2), “a pious man has perished (גמר) ,” and so all of them. (This does not appear in certain editions.)

and may You establish the righteous...tests the hearts You know who is the righteous/generous man that You may establish him.

the righteous God That is Your name.

12 a righteous judge are You to judge with righteousness/generosity.

is incensed every day when He sees the deed of the wicked.

13 If he does not repent [i.e., if] the wicked [does not repent] of his wickedness.

He will whet His sword The Holy One, blessed be He, [will whet His sword] for him. ילטוש means forbira in Old French, to polish, furbish; and He will tread His bow.

14 And...for him And for the wicked man, the Holy One, blessed be He, has prepared deadly weapons.

for pursuers Heb. לדלקים, for pursuers, as (in Gen. 31: 36): “that you pursued (דלקת) me.” And this is its meaning: His arrows to slay the wicked who pursue the righteous, the Holy One, blessed be He, will make and prepare them to slay them. Every [instance of] דליקה is an expression of pursuit.

15 Behold, he travails Heb. יחבל an expression of conception and birth, as (in Song 8:5): “there your mother was in travail with you (חבלתך).”

he conceives mischief and gives birth to lies Whatever he begets and toils, everything betrays him. The adage says: Whatever lies beget, diminution takes.

18 I will thank the Lord according to His righteousness When He executes strict justice with righteousness, to judge the wicked according to their wickedness.

Meditation from the Psalms

Tehillim (Psalms) chapter 7

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

This Psalm is dedicated to King Saul,^[36] whom David considered his most difficult enemy.^[37] For, unlike the rest of his foes, Saul was a truly great and righteous man. In many ways, his excellence even surpassed that of David. Moreover, although Saul relentlessly pursued David with large armies, David could not strike back, for he, more than anyone, appreciated Saul’s exalted and privileged status as ‘The Anointed of HaShem’. Although constantly in mortal danger, David never compromised his firm conviction that harming Saul would be the equivalent of defying HaShem Himself, for HaShem had chosen Saul to be His first king.

Twice Saul unwittingly fell into David’s hands. Once, while pursuing him, Saul entered a cave not knowing that the fugitive and his men were hiding in the depths of that very cavern. David could have slain Saul easily; instead, unbeknown to Saul, he merely cut off the corner of the royal robe as evidence of the opportunity he forfeited.^[38]

Another time David stood over the slumbering, helpless Saul but instead of slaying him, he took the king’s spear as a token of what he could have done.^[39]

In both cases, Saul, overwhelmed by David’s generosity, solemnly swore never to harm him again. But he did not keep his word, for God punished him with a spiritual malady, a dark, jealous depression. ‘An evil spirit from G-d descended upon Saul and he raved madly in the palace’.^[40] Saul himself admitted that he was inconsistent and untrustworthy in his dealings with David. ‘And Saul said: I have sinned . . . behold I have acted like a fool and erred very much’.^[41]

In this psalm, David proclaims that he has been completely upright and just in all of his dealings with Saul. Through it all, he has made but one minor ‘error’. Although he mourned Saul’s death bitterly and eloquently eulogized him, he also sang in gladness over his personal salvation from mortal danger with the death of his pursuer.^[42] David fears now that this was wrong for it displayed a lack of total grief over the demise of one as great as King Saul.

The Sages taught that this psalm was the ‘Song of the day’ for Purim.^[43]

Yaavetz^[44] tells us, as the reason why this psalm is the psalm of Purim, that Mordecai was a descendant of Saul. Furthermore, the verse ‘He digs a pit, digs it deep, only to fall into his own trap’^[45] describes Haman who was hung on the very gallows which he prepared for Mordecai.^[46]

Midrash Rabbah - Esther X:2 TO HANG MORDECAI ON THE GALLOWS THAT HE HAD PREPARED FOR HIM. A teacher commented: He prepared for himself; and to him can be applied the verse, He hath also prepared for himself^[47] the weapons of death, yea, his arrows which he made sharp... he hath digged a pit, and hollowed it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made.^[48]

I would like to examine the background story which links Mordechai and King Saul. Let us take a brief look at Haman's ancestry:

King Saul receives instructions, G-d, to eradicate the entire nation of Amalek. He is not to spare one of them. Such is the message that Saul receives from the Prophet Samuel. But Saul, in his mercy, takes pity on Agag King of Amalek. Although Agag is ultimately put to death, he succeeds during his captivity to father a child, and so the Amalek dynasty continues. Ultimately, Haman descends from Agag’s son. We can see that Megillat Esther makes this connection for us by explicitly linking Agag and Haman:

Esther 3:1 After these things did king Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that were with him.

Saul is heavily criticized for sparing Agag.^[49] At first glance this harsh criticism seems a little misplaced. Surely it was due to Saul's commendable traits of kindness and mercy that Agag was spared. Never the less, so serious is Saul’s transgression, at Saul’s immense spiritual level, that he loses the kingship.^[50]

It is worth noting that our Torah portion and Psalms chapter both speak about exceedingly great men who had minor ‘imperfections’. Our psalm speaks of King Saul and our Torah portion speaks of Noach. The Gemara tells us of King Saul’s greatness:

Yoma 22b R. Huna said: How little does he whom the Lord supports need to grieve or trouble himself! Saul sinned once and it brought [calamity] upon him, David sinned twice and it did not bring evil upon him — What was the one sin of Saul? The affair with Agag.^[51] But there was also the matter with Nob,^[52] the city of the priests? — [Still] it was because of what happened with Agag that Scripture says: It repenteth Me that I have set up Saul to be king.^[53] What were the two sins of David? — The sin against Uriah^[54] and that [of counting the people to which] he was enticed.^[55]

A number of years later finds David, Saul's successor, as King. David has a long-standing dispute with Shimi ben Gerah.

II Shmuel (Samuel) 16:5 And when king David came to Bahurim, behold, thence came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shim Es 2:5 Now in Shushan the palace there was a certain Jew, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite; the son of Gera: he came forth, and cursed still as he came. 6 And he cast stones at David, and at all the servants of king David: and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left. 7 And thus said Shimi when he cursed, Come out, come out, thou bloody man, and thou man of Belial: 8 HaShem hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead thou hast reigned; and HaShem hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son: and, behold, thou art taken in thy mischief, because thou art a bloody man. 9 Then said Abishai the son of Zeruiah unto the king, Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? let me go over, I pray thee, and take off his head. 10 And the king said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? So let him curse, because HaShem hath said unto him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Wherefore hast thou done so? 11 And David said to Abishai, and to all his servants, Behold, my son, which came forth of my bowels, seeketh my life: how much more now may this Benjamite do it? let him alone, and let him curse; for HaShem hath bidden him. 12 It may be that HaShem will look on mine affliction, and that HaShem will requite me good for his cursing this day.

It seems that David would have been well within his rights to have Shimi put to death; challenging the monarchy is a capital offense. However, David in an apparent display of sympathy spares Shimi. And who is descended from Shimi? The hero of the Purim story -- Mordechai!^[56]

Esther 2:5 Now in Shushan the palace there was a certain Jew, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimi, the son of Kish, a Benjamite;

Here are two stories, which seem remarkably similar. But the results could not be more different. Why did David's noble act of mercy produce Mordechai, whereas Saul's benevolent sympathy resulted in the wicked Haman?

Saul's fault was in not adhering to G-d's command. G-d had sent instructions to Saul via Samuel's prophecy. The message was clear: Do not leave even one. From that one individual would ultimately sprout all those Hamans and Hitlers who have tormented and killed Jews for so many generations. There is a time for mercy and there is a time for might.

David, however, with his mercy, was observing the Torah precept of not taking revenge. It may be true that according to the letter of the law David could have had Shimi put to death, but revenge, although sweet, is certainly not advocated by the Torah.

These two stories contain a powerful message. Only HaShem can look into the distant future; only HaShem can know of the suffering that can be caused by a seemingly harmless act. Similarly, when we follow HaShem’s will, we need not worry about the potential side affects.

There is an additional allusion to Purim in:

Tehillim (Psalms) 7:4 HaShem my God, if I have done this; if there be iniquity in my hands; 5 If I have requited him that did evil unto me, or spoiled mine adversary unto emptiness; 6 Let the enemy pursue my soul, and overtake it, and tread my life down to the earth; yea, let him lay my glory in the dust. Selah

The most powerful lesson in our Psalm is that David was not afraid to admit that he made a mistake^[57] and to print it in writing and publicize it. David’s mission in life was to bring out the Honor of HaShem and to teach the world how to properly repent.^[58] The verse^[59] states, “when the king will sin….” and goes on to describe the sacrifice that he must bring. The verse does not state, “if the king sins,” it is not only a possibility, rather it states, “when the king sins,” it is inevitable! As King David’s son Shlomo states,^[60] “there is no one in the world who is free from sin.” Everyone makes mistakes, but only a real man can admit a mistake! Rashi^[61] states, “Praiseworthy is a nation whose leader was willing to contemplate bringing a sacrifice on account of his sin”. One of David’s greatest messages was the power of repentance and being honest with oneself. David took full responsibility for his actions. This way he was able to apologize, rectify the situation and charge forward with growth. This was the exact theme of Purim. The Jews admitted that they had gone against the advice of their sages and had turned their backs on HaShem and were thus deserving of death. When they repented and admitted their sins, they were saved miraculously and gained a most amazing day of celebration for eternity.

Now that we have explored this background story, lets return to our chapter of Psalms.

Psalms chapter seven precedes Psalms chapter six chronologically. The verbal tallies between the Torah and Psalm seven are son and God. The ‘son’ applies to King Saul and ‘God’ refers to the Judge judge King Saul and King David, the composer of this psalm, if HaShem gives him over to his enemies. This psalm was inspired mainly by King Saul’s downfall. David recognizes his rejoicing at the downfall of King Saul as an error^[62] on his part.^[63] The Gemara gives us some insight on this issue:

Mo’ed Katan 16b And David spoke unto the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies and out of the hand of Saul.^[64] The Holy One, blessed ‘be He, said to David, David do you compose a song on the downfall of Saul? Had you been Saul and he David, I would have annihilated many a David out of regard for him. Hence it is written, ‘Shiggaion^[65] of David, which he said unto the Lord, concerning Cush a Benjamite.^[66] Was Cush that Benjamite’s name? And was not his name Saul? — But, just as a Cushite [Ethiopian]^[67] is distinguishable by his skin, so was Saul distinguished by his deeds.

The first pasuk of our psalm uses an interesting Hebrew word which elicits comments from many commentators:

Tehillim (Psalms) 7:1 Shiggaion^[68] of David, which he sang unto HaShem, concerning Cush a Benjamite.

Our psalm uses this word to introduce the content of this psalm. Let’s explore David’s background for this word.

David restrained himself from taking vengeance upon Shaul. However, Chazal teach that HaShem did hold David accountable for cursing him.^[69] HaShem said to David, “Why do you curse my anointed one? You said,^[70] ‘Let all my foes by shamed and utterly confounded, they will regret and be shamed in an instant.’ Who are your enemies? Surely King Saul, about whom you said,^[71] ‘On the day that HaShem delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Shaul.’ But one may not curse the king, as it says,^[72] ‘Even in your thoughts do not curse a king.’” David replied, “Master of the Universe! You are accusing me of willfully sinning! But that was not my intention, for “who can discern mistakes – מי שגיאות יבין?”.^[73] David expressed his regret by saying,^[74] “… לדוד שגיון – A [song of the] Shiggaion, by David.” The word שגיון (a type of musical instrument) is similar to the word שגיות (mistakes).

This accords well with what the Midrash tells us:

Midrash Rabbah - Leviticus XXXII:2 Who was your enemy? Was it not Saul? Is it not in fact written, In the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, to wit,^[75] from the hand of Saul?^[76] Thereupon David said to the Holy One, blessed be He: ‘Sovereign of the Universe! Account it not unto me as presumptuous sin but as error!’ Hence it is written,^[77] An error^[78] of David.^[79]

As we have seen, Shaul HaMelech and David HaMelech were both very righteous individuals and should be judged only at their level. Their level is so far beyond this generation that it is hard for us to even fathom their sins. Our chapter of psalms speaks of these righteous men while our Torah portion speaks of the righteous/generous Noach and his progeny. Both speak of subtle sins that are difficult for this generation to relate to. When we turn on the television we see more nakedness that Ham saw, yet we think nothing of it. This speaks to the descent of our generation.^[80]

Man should keep himself from sinning, since he knows not the time when judgment will rest upon him. He sits at home and judgment rests upon him, he goes outside his house [and is therefore in a more dangerous place] and he is even more susceptible to judgment, and he cannot know whether he shall return [safely] home or not. And when traveling, all the more so, since then judgment [surely] goes out before him, as written: "judgment goes before him."[81] Man should therefore anticipate this and ask for mercy before the King, to be saved from the judgment at the time it dwells upon the world. For each and every day, judgment dwells in the world, as it says: "And God is indignant [i.e. vengeful] every day".[82] [83]

Ashlamatah:  Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 42:7-15 + 21 with Targum Pseudo Yonatan

Rashi’s Translation	Targum Pseudo Jonathan
42:7 To open blind eyes, to bring prisoners out of a dungeon, those who sit in darkness out of a prison.	7 To open the eyes of the house of Israel, who are blind to the law, to bring back their captivity from among the nations, where they are like prisoners, and to redeem them from the servitude of the kingdoms being shut up as those that are bound in darkness.
8 I am the Lord, that is My Name; and My glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to the graven images.	8 I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory in which I am revealed to you I will not give to another people; nor my praise to the worshippers of images.
9 The former things, behold they have come to pass, and the new things I tell; before they sprout I will let you hear.	9 Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: I apprize you of them before they come to pass.
10 Sing to the Lord a new song, His praise from the end of the earth, those who go down to the sea and those therein, the islands and their inhabitants.	10 Sing unto the Lord a new song, proclaim His praise from the ends of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and its fulness; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof.
11 The desert and its cities shall raise [their voice]; Kedar shall be inhabited with villages; the rock dwellers shall exult, from the mountain peaks they shall shout.	11 Let the wilderness praise Him, and the cities that are in it, the villages which inhabit the wilderness of the Arabians; let the dead praise Him, when they go forth from their long abodes; from the tops of the mountains let them lift up their voice.
12 They shall give glory to the Lord, and they shall recite His praise on the islands.	12 Let them ascribe glory unto the Lord, and declare His praise in the islands.
13 The Lord shall go out like a hero; like a warrior shall He arouse zeal; He shall shout, He shall even cry, He shall overpower His foes.	13 The Lord shall be seen to do mighty things: He shall reveal Himself in anger to do a mighty work by the word of His wrath; He shall reveal Himself to His enemies by His might in an earthquake.
14 I was silent from time immemorial; I am still, I restrain Myself. Like a travailing woman will I cry; I will be terrified and destroy them together.	14 I have given them prolongation for a long time, if they would but return to my law; but they did not return. My judgment shall be revealed upon them, as pains on a woman in travail; they shall be destroyed, and come to an end together.
15 I will destroy mountains and hills, and all their grass I will dry out, and I will make rivers into islands and I will dry up the pools.	15 I will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools.
21 The Lord desires [this] for His righteousness' sake; He magnifies the Torah and strengthens it.	21 The Lord delights in justifying Israel; He will magnify those that obey His law, yea. He will strengthen them.

Rashi’s Commentary for: Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 42:7-15 + 21

7 To open blind eyes: who do not see My might, to take heart to return to Me.

to bring prisoners out of a dungeon: And because their eyes will be opened, the prisoners will come out of the dungeon. Another explanation: To inform them of the exile destined to befall them, out of which they will eventually come.

8 that is My Name: This is explained as an expression of Lordship and power. I must show that I am the Master. Therefore, My glory I will not give to another, that the heathens shall rule over My people forever and say that the hand of their God is powerful.

9 The former things: that I promised Abraham concerning the exile of Egypt (Gen. 15:14), “And also the nation etc.”

behold they have come to pass: I kept My promise, and now new things I tell My people, to promise them concerning a second exile.

10 His praise from the end of the earth: Perforce, when they see My mighty deeds for Israel, all the heathens (nations [Parshandatha, K’li Paz]) will admit that I am God.

those who go down to the sea: Those who embark in ships.

and those therein: Those whose permanent residence is in the sea and not in the islands, but in the midst of the water, they spill earth, each one of them, enough for a house, and go from house to house by boat, like the city of Venice. [As in Warsaw ed. and Parshandatha.]

11 The desert and its cities shall raise [their voice]: their voice in song.

Kedar shall be inhabited with villages: (Connected to “The desert… shall raise.” The desert of Kedar, where they now dwell in tents, shall raise their voice and sing. It is like: And the villages with which Kedar is settled.) The desert of Kedar, where they now dwell in tents, will be permanent cities and villages.

rock dwellers: The dead who will be resurrected. So did Jonathan render this.

from the mountain peaks they shall shout: From the mountain peaks they shall raise their voices [from Jonathan].

14 I was silent from time immemorial: Already for a long time I have been silent about the destruction of My Temple, and always…

I am still; I restrain Myself: This is present tense. Until now My spirit has constrained Me, and from now, like a travailing woman will I cry.

I will be terrified: Heb. אֶשֹּׁם, I will be terrified.

and destroy [them] together: And I will long to destroy everyone together, all My adversaries.

15 I will destroy mountains and hills: I will slay kings and rulers.

and all their grass: All their followers.

I will dry out: Heb. אוֹבִישׁ. This is an expression of drying, used in reference to wet things, e.g., grass and rivers.

21 The Lord desires: to show you and to open your ears for His righteousness’ sake; therefore, he magnifies and strengthens the Torah for you.

Verbal Tallies

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

Bereshit (Genesis) 8:15 – 9:17

Tehillim (Psalms) 7:1-18

Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 42:7-15, 21

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Ashlamata are:

Forth / bring out – יצא, Strong’s number 3318.

The verbal tally between the Torah and the Psalms are:

God – אלהים, Strong’s number 0430.

Son - בן, Strong’s number 01121.

Bereshit (Genesis) 8:16  Go forth <03318> (8798) of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons’ wives with thee.

Bereshit (Genesis) 8:17 Bring forth <03318> (8685) with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.

Yeshayahu (Isaiah 42:7)  To open the blind eyes, to bring out <03318> (8687) the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.

Tehillim (Psalms) 8:1 «Shiggaion of David, which he sang unto the LORD, concerning the words of Cush the Benjamite <01121> <01145>.» O LORD my God <0430>, in thee do I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me:

NAZAREAN TALMUD

Sidra Of B’resheet (Genesis) 8:15 -9:17

“Za, Meen Hataevah” “Go from the Ark”

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

School of Hakham Shaul Tosefta (Luke 5:1-2) Mishnah א:א	School of Hakham Tsefet Peshat (Mark 1:16-18) Mishnah א:א
And now it happened that Yeshua was standing at the shore of the Kineret (The Galil) and the congregation was insisting on him to hear the Torah of God (his oral elucidation of the Torah) and he saw two boats sitting at the shore of the sea (the Kineret); the fishermen were out cleaning their nets.	And walking about the sea of the Galil (Kineret), he (Yeshua) saw Shimon^[84] bar Yonah and his brother Adam bar Yonah casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And Yeshua said to them, come follow me and I will make you into fishers of men.^[85] And immediately^[86] they left their nets and followed after him.

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

Gen. 8:15 – 9:17

Ps 7:1-18

Isaiah 42:7-15 + 21

Mk 1:16-18

Luke 5:1-2

Commentary to Hakham Tsefet’s School of Peshat

Connection to the “call words” of B’resheet 9:18 “And were the sons of Noah” can readily be made by slightly rewording the opening phrase of the present Mishnaic text of Hakham Tsefet.

“And walking about the sea of the Galil (Kineret), he (Yeshua) saw Shimon^[87] bar Yonah and his brother Adam bar Yonah”

These words can be read as… “And as Yeshua was walking about the Kineret he saw the sons of Yonah, Shimon and his brother Adam were casting a net into the sea.” Herein we have a perfect connection to the present Torah Sederim.

The mention of “Ya’akov and Yochanan ben Zabdeyel” can also be read as… And he going a little further he saw Ya’akov and Yochanan sons of Zabdeyel, who were in their boats preparing their nets.

The Word of G-d

The Peshat text of Hakham Tsefet of the second section of our readings tells us that Yeshua went to the Esnoga (Synagogue) every Shabbat and taught. The Lukan Tosefta of Hakham Shaul fills in the missing pieces by telling us that the attendees of the Esnoga wanted Yeshua to teach the “Word of G-d.” The Lukan account does not place Yeshua in the Esnoga literally as does the Peshat materials, nevertheless they hint to Yeshua attending Shabbat services. Nevertheless, we should note that Yeshua teaches with “authority.” In other words, we should note that Yeshua is a fully ordained Rabbi (Hakham)^[88]. We should not read too much into the idea that the soferim (scribes) were not able to teach with “authority.” This only stands to reason. The soferim were not Rabbis, nor were they Kohanim (Priests). Therefore, they could read the text to their audiences without being able to determine halakhic protocols. Their skill in reading and interpretation the text was the extent of their duties. Yeshua’s teaching with authority demonstrates the coming paradigmatic shift of authority noted in Yeshua’s immersion. The defunct Kohanic priesthood would yield its authority to the Hakhamim and Bate Din.

Again, the Lukan account of the events tells us that the congregation “pressed” Yeshua. As a result, Yeshua is forced to enter a boat and push offshore in order to teach.  However, the Greek word ἐπίκειμαι (epikeimai) also conveys the thought of imposition. Therefore, we understand that the congregations impose on this Rabbinic Scholar with the authority of the Academy of the School of Hillel to teach the “Word of G-d.” We have translated this phrase as the “Torah of G-d” because the “Torah of G-d” is the   “G-d-breathed” Torah and Oral Torah. Therefore, the congregation is not merely looking for another sermon. They want the Torah elucidated in a halakhic way. This congregation wants to know how to “walk” out the written Torah. This wording informs us of the spiritual desire this particular congregation possessed.

We find in these materials a subtle allusion to Shavuot. Firstly, in the statement noted that they want to hear the “Torah of G-d.” Secondly, the wise and crafty Serpent Hakham Shaul carefully picks his words.  He cites Yeshua telling Hakham Tsefet “not to be afraid.” Moshe Rabbenu in Shemot (Exodus) 20:20 (on Shavuot) used this same nomenclature.

Abandoning All?

Josephus notes the place of the Torah in the life of the Jewish people of the first century.

Apn 2:175 for he did not suffer the guilt of ignorance to go on without punishment, but demonstrated the Law to be the best and the most necessary instruction of all others, permitting the people to stop their other employments, and to assemble together for the hearing of the Law, and learning it exactly, and this not once or twice, or oftener, but every week; which thing all the other legislators seem to have neglected.

Josephus does not teach us that abandonment of life and livelihood is the way of the Torah, nor does Hakham Tsefet or Hakham Shaul. The Peshat makes it clear that the business is placed in the hands of Zabdeyel and hired hands. The interpretation here is that the talmidim now make becoming Hakhamim a priority in life. Furthermore, we should learn a lesson from this. We can become and should strive for becoming Hakhamim in the Master’s service. However, this does not suggest an abandonment of life and livelihood.

We should also note the threefold immediacy of their commitment. This characteristic is found in Abraham Abinu who “rose early” to saddle his donkey in the story of Yitzach’s binding. His Eminence Rabbi Dr Yosef ben Haggai teaches us that this is “the quintessential characteristic of a true TALMID (Rabbinic Disciple/Apprentice), and the much the more of a Nazarean TALMID (Nazarean Rabbinic Disciple/Apprentice).” We will further one more characteristic of the talmidim as will be unfolded. That is the characteristic of faithful obedience.

Yeshua teaches the congregations with “authority.”  We must derive hermeneutically that Yeshua taught his talmidim with the same authority. We must contend that M. Hengel’s assessment that this is not a formal Rabbi – talmid relationship is incorrect.^[89]

Peroration

We surmise that Yeshua’s selection of these talmidim is intentional and determinate. Yeshua selects men that will be the perfect embodiment of the Mesorah. These men are hardworking and deeply spiritual. Hakham Tsefet’s statement that he is a “sinful man” can hardly mean that he is truly a sinner. If this were truly the case, he would most likely be disqualified as a talmid. Hakham Tsefet is noting for us that Yeshua is a righteous /generous Tsaddiq. We must here also note that the Hakham (Yeshua) was understood for his righteousness and generosity. This is because in the Lukan account the Master uses the boat of Hakham Tsefet. As rental, the Master performs the miracle of fishes. Herein we see the Master and talmid have a positive reciprocal relationship supporting and encouraging one another. The talmid supplied the Master by means of his occupation and craft. The Master reciprocates with his occupation and abilities.

Some Questions to Ponder:

1. From all the readings for this week, which particular verse or passage caught your attention and fired your heart and imagination?

2. In your opinion, and taking into consideration all of the above readings for this Sabbath, what is the prophetic message (the idea that encapsulates all the Scripture passages read) for this week

Blessing After Torah Study

Barúch Atáh Adonai, Elohénu Meléch HaOlám,

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

Barúch Atáh Adonái, Notén HaToráh. Amen!

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

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

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

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

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

Next Shabbat:

“Vayihyu B’ne Noach” - “And were the sons of Noach”

Shabbat Mevar’chin HaChodesh Kislev

Announcing of the New Moon for the Month of Kislev

Evening Wednesday 23^rd of November – Friday 25^th of November 2022

Shabbat:	Torah Reading:	Weekday Torah Reading:
ויהיו בני נח		Saturday Afternoon
“Vayihyu B’ne Noach” Shabbat Kislev HaChodesh	Reader 1 – B’resheet 9:18-23	Reader 1 – B’resheet 11:1-3
“And were the sons of Noach”	Reader 2 – B’resheet 9:24-29	Reader 2 – B’resheet 11:4-6
“Y fueron los hijos de Noé”	Reader 3 – B’resheet 10:1-5	Reader 3 – B’resheet 11:7-9
B’resheet (Genesis) 9:18 - 10:32  Bemidbar (Numbers) 28:9-15	Reader 4 – B’resheet 10:6-14
Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 49:9-17 + 23 1 Samuel 20:18 + 42	Reader 5 – B’resheet 10:15-20	Monday & Thursday Mornings
	Reader 6 – B’resheet 10:21-24	Reader 1 – B’resheet 11:10-15
Tehillim (Psalms) 8:1-10	Reader 7 – B’resheet 10:25-32	Reader 2 – B’resheet 11:16-21
	Maftir – B’midbar 28:9-15	Reader 3 – B’resheet 11:22-26
NC., Mark 1:19-20; Luke 5:3-11	Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 49:9-17, 23                  1 Samuel 20:18, 42

Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David

Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham

Edited by Adon Ovadyah ben Abraham and Paqid Adon Aviner ben Abraham

This weekly seder is a team effort, and we wish to thank

HH Giberet Gibora bat Sarah, and Her Excellency Giberet Sarai bat Sarah for their work

Please e-mail any comments, questions, or suggestions to chozenppl@gmail.com

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[1] Grunfeld, I.  (1972), The Jewish Dietary Laws, London: The Soncino Press, vol, I, pp. 41-44

[2] Sanhedrin 56b

[3] Bereshit (Genesis) 2:16

[4] Bereshit (Genesis) 18:19

[5] Vayikra (Leviticus) 24:16

[6] Shemot (Exodus) 20:2

[7] Bereshit (Genesis) 9:7

[8] Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah) 3:1

[9] Code, Kings 8:10

[10] Tehillim (Psalms) 2:8

[11] Aaron Lichtenstein in his book, The Seven Laws of Noach, published by Z. Berman Books, gives a full treatment of these other laws and details that complement the seven major categories

[12] Old Testament

[13] New Testament

[14] Varient reading based on Codex Bezae.

[15] Varient reading based on Codex Bezae.

[16] Court is held in the synagogue by the bench of three.

[17] Derived from Idolatry

[18] Would also include incest as well as the fornication specifically mentioned.

[19] Varient reading based on Codex Bezae

[20] Varient reading based on Codex Bezae

[21] Varient reading based on Codex Bezae

[22] “The Seven Laws of Noach” By Aaron Lichtenstein. The Rabbi Jacob Joseph School Press, New York. 1981.

[23] Varient reading based on Codex Bezae.

[24] Court is held in the synagogue by the bench of three.

[25] Social laws

[26] Derived from Idolatry

[27] Authority of judges

[28] Perversion of justice

[29] Would also include incest as well as the fornication specifically mentioned.

[30] Murder

[31] Varient reading based on Codex Bezae

[32] Incest

[33] An altar is the place of sacrifices = food where we connect with HaShem. This would include incest.

[34] Varient reading based on Codex Bezae

[35] Varient reading based on Codex Bezae

[36] Mo'ed Katan 16b Hence it is written, ‘Shiggaion of David, which he said unto the Lord, concerning Cush a Benjamite. Was Cush that Benjamite's name? And was not his name Saul? — But, just as a Cushite [Ethiopian] is distinguishable by his skin, so was Saul distinguished by his deeds. [Our Torah portion speaks of Cush and his descendants. It is likely that this caught David’s eye for this Psalm.]

[37] Moed Katan 16b

[38] I Shmuel (Samuel) Chapter 24.

[39] I Shmuel (Samuel) Chapter 26.

[40] I Shmuel (Samuel) 18:10.

[41] I Shmuel (Samuel) 26:21.

[42] cf. comm. Tehillim (Psalms) 18:1. That entire psalm was inspired mainly by Saul’s downfall.

[43] Sofrim 18:2

[44] Joseph ben Hayyim Jabez (also "Yaavetz") (15th century-16th century) was a Spanish-Jewish theologian. He lived for a time in Portugal, where he associated with Joseph Hayyun, who inspired him with that taste for mysticism which he subsequently displayed in his writings.

[45] Tehillim (Psalms) 7:16.

[46] This introduction was edited and excerpted from: The ArtScroll Tanach Series, Tehillim, A new translation with a commentary anthologized from Talmudic, Midrashic, and rabbinic sources. Commentary by Rabbi Avrohom Chaim Feuer, Translation by Rabbi Avrohom Chaim Feuer in collaboration with Rabbi Nosson Scherman.

[47] This comment refers KING to God.

[48] Tehillim (Psalms) 7:14ff

[49] I Shmuel (Samuel) 15:20-33.

[50] I Shmuel (Samuel) 15:28

[51] I Shmuel (Samuel) 15:2ff

[52] I Shmuel (Samuel) 22:19

[53] I Shmuel (Samuel) 15:11

[54] II Shmuel (Samuel) 11:2-27

[55] II Shmuel (Samuel) 24:1

[56] Jewish Encyclopedia: Targum Sheni (to Esth. ii. 5) traces the complete genealogy of Mordecai back to Benjamin through Shimi (identifying this Shimi with Shimei, son of Gera; comp. II Sam. 16:5-6, 13; I Kings 2:8, 36-46), Jonathan, and Saul. Still the discrepancy in Esth. 2:5, which makes Mordecai a descendant of both Judah and Benjamin, puzzled the Rabbis considerably, and various explanations of it are given, among others the following: (1) Mordecai, was on his father's side a descendant of Benjamin, and on his mother's a descendant of Judah. (2) He was a Benjamite; but his birth was caused through David, who was of Judah; for had David followed the advice of Abishai and killed Shimi (comp. II Sam. 16:7); Mordecai would never have come into existence.

[57] Tehillim (Psalms) 7:1

[58] Avodah Zarah 5a

[59] Vayikra (Leviticus) 4:22

[60] Kohelet 7:20

[61] Kohelet 7:20. based on Horayoth 10b

[62] Some translations translate Shiggaion as mistake, see: Da’ath Sofrim, Commentary to the book of Psalms, by Rabbi Chaim Dov Rabinowitz, translated from Hebrew by Rabbi Y. Starrett, edited by Shalom Kaplan.

[63] The ArtScroll Tanach Series, Tehillim, A new translation with a commentary anthologized from Talmudic, Midrashic, and rabbinic sources. Commentary by Rabbi Avrohom Chaim Feuer, Translation by Rabbi Avrohom Chaim Feuer in collaboration with Rabbi Nosson Scherman.

[64] II Shmuel (Samuel) 22:1

[65] שגין (from שגה ) is here taken to mean an error. It was an error on his part to celebrate in song the downfall of Saul.

[66] Tehillim 7:1

[67] Aithiops in Greek means ‘fiery-looking’, ‘flashing’.

[68] From the root “shagah" which means "to wander, go astray, to reel”.

[69] Midrash Tehillim 7:1

[70] Tehillim (Psalms) 6:11

[71] ibid. 18:1

[72] Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) 10:20

[73] Tehillim (Psalms) 19:13

[74] Tehillim (Psalms) 7:1

[75] This is how the copula is here understood; E.V. ’and’.

[76] Tehillim (Psalms) 18:1

[77] In the immediate context.

[78] E.V. ’shiggaion’.

[79] Tehillim (Psalms) 7:1

[80] Yeridat ha-dorot (Hebrew: ירידת הדורות), meaning literally "the decline of the generations", or nitkatnu ha-dorot (נתקטנו הדורות), meaning "the diminution of the generations", is a concept in classical Rabbinic Judaism and contemporary Orthodox Judaism expressing a belief of the intellectual inferiority of subsequent, and contemporary Torah scholarship and spirituality in comparison to that of the past. It is held to apply to the transmission of the "Revealed" ("Nigleh") aspects of Torah study, embodied in the legal and homiletic Talmud, and other mainstream Rabbinic literature scholarship. Its reasoning derives from the weaker claim to authoritative traditional interpretation of Scripture, in later stages of a lengthening historical chain of transmission from the original Revelation of the Torah at Mount Sinai, and the codification of the Oral Torah in the Talmud. This idea provides the basis to the designated Rabbinic Eras from the Tannaim and Amoraim of the Talmud, to the subsequent Gaonim, Rishonim and Acharonim. Additionally, it has an extra metaphysical explanation in Kabbalah, regarding lower levels of souls in succeeding generations.

[81] Tehillim (Psalms) 85:14

[82] Tehillim (Psalms) 7:12

[83] Based on the Zohar Vayikra 30B

[84] Here Hakham Tsefet (Simeon Peter) is referred to as Shimon. He will receive the name “Tsefet” in Mk 3:16

[85] Cf. Amos 4:2.

[86] See Targum Pseudo Jonathan Gen. 11:28.

[87] Here Hakham Tsefet (Simeon Peter) is referred to as Shimon. He will receive the name “Tsefet” in Mk 3:16

[88][88] A person teaching “without authority” would be described today in terms of a “lay preacher.” However, an ordained Rabbi always “teaches with authority,” since he has been authorized by his teacher to do so on his own responsibility.

[89] France, R. (2002). The New International Greek Testament Commentary, The Gospel of Mark. Grand Rapids MI: Wm. B. Eerdmand Publishing Co. p. 96 see M. Hengel,  The Charismatic Leader and his Followers. ET Edinburg: T&T Clark, 1981.