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

 

 

Candle Lighting and Habdalah Times: https://www.chabad.org/calendar/candlelighting.htm

 

Roll of Honor:

This Commentary comes out weekly and on the festivals thanks to the great generosity of:

 

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

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

His Honor Paqid Adon David ben Abraham

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

His Excellency Adon Luqas Nelson

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

Her Excellency Giberet Sarai bat Sarah & beloved family

His Excellency Adon Barth Lindemann & beloved family

His Excellency Adon John Batchelor & beloved wife

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

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

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

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

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

His Excellency Adon Brad Gaskill and beloved wife Cynthia Gaskill

His Excellency Adon Shlomoh ben Abraham

His Excellency Adon Ya’aqob ben David

 

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

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

 

 

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!

 

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.

 

 

A Prayer for our Beloved Hakhamim

 

We would like to ask for prayers on behalf of our three Hakhamim, Hakham Dr. Yoseph ben Haggai, Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David, and Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham for their health, as well as for this work, that it may prosper, be of great benefit to all, and that it may be well supported, and we all say, Amen ve Amen!

 

Shabbat: “Binyamin”

7th Sabbath of Consolation/Strengthening

(Shabbat Nachamu VII)

 

Shabbat	Torah Reading:	Weekday Torah Reading:
בִּנְיָמִין		Saturday Afternoon
“Binyamin”	Reader 1 - B’resheet 49:27-30	Reader 1 - Sh’mot 1:1-4
“Benjamin”	Reader 2 - B’resheet 49:31-33	Reader 2 - Sh’mot 1:5-7
“Benjamín”	Reader 3 - B’resheet 50:1-5	Reader 3 - Sh’mot 1:8-10
B’resheet (Genesis) 49:27 – 50:26	Reader 4 - B’resheet 50:6-9
Ashlamatah: I Samuel 9:1-10	Reader 5 - B’resheet 50:10-14	Monday / Thursday Mornings
Special: Isaiah 61:10 – 63:9	Reader 6 - B’resheet 50:15-23	Reader 1 - Sh’mot 1:1-4
Tehillim (Psalms) 41:5-14	Reader 7 - B’resheet 50:24-26	Reader 2 - Sh’mot 1:5-7
	Maftir- B’resheet 50:24-26        I Samuel 9:1-10	Reader 3 - Sh’mot 1:8-10
N.C.: Mk 4:35-41; Lk 8:22-25

 

 

Contents of the Torah Seder- B’resheet (Genesis) 49:27 – 50:26

 

·       Blessing upon Benjamin - Gen 49:27

·       Summary of blessings and Jacob’s last instructions – Gen. 49:28-31

·       Jacob’s Death and Burial – Gen. 50:1-21

·       Joseph’s Death – Gen. 50:22-26

 

 

 

 

 

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan for: B’Resheet (Genesis) 49:27 – 50:26

 

 

 

"Chazak! Chazak! Venitchazek!"

("Be strong! Be strong! And may we be strengthened!")

 

 

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.

 

 Welcome to the World of Remes Exegesis

 

Thirteen rules compiled by Rabbi Ishmael b. Elisha for the elucidation of the Torah and for making halakic deductions from it. They are, strictly speaking, mere amplifications of the seven Rules of Hillel, and are collected in the Baraita of R. Ishmael, forming the introduction to the Sifra and reading as follows:

 

1. Ḳal wa-ḥomer: Identical with the first rule of Hillel.

2. Gezerah shawah: Identical with the second rule of Hillel.

3. Binyan ab: Rules deduced from a single passage of Scripture and rules deduced from two passages. This rule is a combination of the third and fourth rules of Hillel.

4. Kelal u-Peraṭ: The general and the particular.

5. u-Peraṭ u-kelal: The particular and the general.

6. Kelal u-Peraṭ u-kelal: The general, the particular, and the general.

7. The general which requires elucidation by the particular, and the particular which requires elucidation by the general.

8. The particular implied in the general and excepted from it for pedagogic purposes elucidates the general as well as the particular.

9. The particular implied in the general and excepted from it on account of the special regulation which corresponds in concept to the general, is thus isolated to decrease rather than to increase the rigidity of its application.

10. The particular implied in the general and excepted from it on account of some other special regulation which does not correspond in concept to the general, is thus isolated either to decrease or to increase the rigidity of its application.

11. The particular implied in the general and excepted from it on account of a new and reversed decision can be referred to the general only in case the passage under consideration makes an explicit reference to it.

12. Deduction from the context.

13. When two Biblical passages contradict each other the contradiction in question must be solved by reference to a third passage.

 

Rules seven to eleven are formed by a subdivision of the fifth rule of Hillel; rule twelve corresponds to the seventh rule of Hillel, but is amplified in certain particulars; rule thirteen does not occur in Hillel, while, on the other hand, the sixth rule of Hillel is omitted by Ishmael. With regard to the rules and their application in general. These rules are found also on the morning prayers of any Jewish Orthodox Siddur.

 

 

Reading Assignment:

 

 

 

Rashi’s Commentary for: B’Resheet (Genesis) 49:27 – 50:26

 

27 Benjamin is a wolf, he will prey He is a wolf for he will prey. He (Jacob) prophesied that they were destined to be “grabbers”: “and you shall grab for yourselves each man his wife” (Jud. 21:21), in [the episode of] the concubine [who happened to be] in Gibeah (ibid., chs. 19-21); and he prophesied about Saul, that he would be victorious over his enemies all around, as it is said: “And Saul took the kingdom… and he waged war…against Moab, and against the children of Ammon, and against Edom, etc., and wherever he turned, he caused them to tremble” (I Sam. 14:47). -[From Shitah Chadashah and Gen. Rabbah98:3]

 

in the morning he will devour plunder Heb. עַד, an expression of plunder and spoil, translated into Aramaic as עֲדָאָה. There is another example of its use in Hebrew: “Then plunder and booty (עַד שָׁלָל)were divided” (Isa. 33:23). He (Jacob) is referring to Saul, who arose at the beginning of the “morning (other editions: עַד is the blossoming) and sunrise” of Israel.-[From Esther Rabbah 10:13]

 

and in the evening he will divide the spoil Even when the sun will set for Israel through Nebuchadnezzar, who will exile them to Babylon, he (Benjamin) will divide the spoil. Mordecai and Esther, who were of [the tribe of] Benjamin, will divide the spoils of Haman, as it is said: “Behold, the house of Haman I have given to Esther” (Esther 8:7) (Esther Rabbah 10:13). Onkelos, however, rendered it as regarding the “spoils” of the priests, i.e., the holy things of the Temple, [namely the priests’ share of the sacrifices].

 

28 and this is what their father spoke to them and blessed them Now is it not so that some of them he did not bless, but [in fact] chided? Rather, this is what is intended: And this is what their father spoke to them-what is related in this section. One might think that he did not bless Reuben, Simeon, and Levi. Therefore, Scripture states: and he blessed them, meaning all of them.-[From Pesikta Rabbathi 7]

 

according to his blessing With the blessing destined to befall each of them.

 

he blessed them Scripture should have said, “each man, according to his blessing, he blessed him.” Why does Scripture say, “he blessed them”? Since he (Jacob) bestowed upon Judah the might of a lion, and upon Benjamin the power to seize like a wolf, and upon Naphtali the fleetness of a gazelle, I might think that he did not include all of them in all the blessings. Therefore, Scripture states: “he blessed them.”-[From Tanchuam Vayechi 16]

 

29 I will be brought in to my people-Heb. נֶאֱסָף [The term נֶאֱסָף is utilized] because they brought souls into the place where they are concealed. There are instances of אֲסִיפָה in Hebrew that mean bringing in, e.g. “but no one brought them (מְאַסֵּף) home” (Jud. 19:15); “you shall take it (וַאֲסַפְתּוֹ) into your house” (Deut. 22:2); [and] “when you bring in (בְּאָסְפְּכֶם) the produce of the land” (Lev. 23:39). It is [the produce] brought into the house because of the rains. [Another instance is:] “When you bring in (בְּאָסְפְּךָ) your labors” (Exod. 23:16). Likewise, every instance of אֲסִיפָה mentioned in connection with death is also an expression of “bringing in.”

 

with my fathers Heb. אֶל, lit., to my fathers. [Here it means] with my fathers.

 

33 and he drew his legs-Heb. וַיֶאֱסֽף רַגְלָיו, he drew in his legs.

 

and expired and was brought in But no mention is made of death in his regard, and our Rabbis of blessed memory said: Our father Jacob did not die.-[From Ta’anith 5b]

 

 

Chapter 50

 

2 to embalm his father This involves compounding aromatic spices.-[From Targum Jonathan and Targum Yerushalmi]

 

3 And forty days were completed for him They completed for him the days of his embalming, when forty days were completed for him.

 

and the Egyptians wept over him for seventy days Forty [days] for embalming and thirty for weeping, because a blessing had come to them when he arrived-the famine ended and the waters of the Nile increased.-[From Bereshith Rabbathi, Targum Jonathan]

 

5 which I dug for myself Heb. כָּרִיתִי. According to its simple meaning, it (כָּרִיתִי) is similar to “If a man digs (יִכְרֶה)” (Exod. 21:33) (Targum Jonathan ben Uzziel). Its midrashic interpretation also fits the language [of the text here] [viz., that it is] like קָנִיתִי, I bought. Rabbi Akiva said, “When I went to [some] cities by the sea, they called selling (מְכִירָה) כִּירָה ” (Rosh Hashanah 26a). [Similarly, it may have been used for “buying.”] Another midrashic interpretation is that it is a term derived from כְּרִי, a stack, [meaning] that Jacob took all the silver and gold that he had brought from Laban’s house and made it into a stack. He said to Esau, “Take this for your share in the cave” (Tanchuma Buber, Vayishlach 11; Gen. Rabbah 100:5). See Rashi on 46:6.

 

6 as he adjured you But were it not for the oath, I would not permit you [to go]. He (Pharaoh) was afraid to tell him (Joseph) to transgress the oath, however, lest he say, “If so, I will transgress the oath that I swore to you that I would not reveal that I understand the holy tongue (Hebrew) in addition to seventy languages of the nations of the world, but you do not understand it (Hebrew),” as is found in Tractate Sotah 36b.

 

10 the threshing floor of the thorn-bushes It was surrounded by thornbushes. Our Rabbis, however, interpreted it [that it was called the threshing floor of the thornbushes] to commemorate the event, when all the people of Canaan and the princes of Ishmael came to [fight a] war. When they saw Joseph’s crown hanging on Jacob’s coffin, they all stood up and hung their own crowns on it and surrounded it with crowns, like a threshing floor surrounded by a fence of thorns.-[From Sotah 13a]

 

12 as he had commanded them What was it that he had commanded them?-[What the Torah elaborates in the following verse.]

 

13 And his sons carried him But not his grandsons, for so he had commanded them: “Neither shall any Egyptian carry my coffin nor any of your sons, for they are born of the daughters of Canaan, but you [alone].” He designated a position for them [by his coffin], [so that] three [of them would carry] on the east, and so on for [all] four directions. [This was] similar to their arrangement in the traveling of the camp [in the desert] of the groupings [of the tribes as] they were designated here. [He also ordered,] “Levi shall not carry it because he (i. e., his tribe) is destined to carry the Ark. Joseph shall not carry it because he is a king. Manasseh and Ephraim shall carry it instead of them.” That is the meaning of “Each one according to his group with signs” (Num. 2:2), according to the sign that their father gave them to carry his coffin.-[From Tanchuma Bamidbar 12]

 

14 he and his brothers, and all who had gone up with him Here, when they returned, [Scripture] places his brothers before the Egyptians who had gone up with him, whereas when they left, [Scripture] places the Egyptians before his brothers, as it is said: “and all Pharaoh’s servants…went up with him” (verse 7), and afterwards, “And Joseph’s entire household and his brothers” (verse 8). But because they (the Egyptians) saw the honor that the kings of Canaan had bestowed, (i.e.,) that they hung their crowns on Jacob’s coffin, they treated them (Joseph’s brothers) with respect.-[From Sotah 13b]

 

15 Now Joseph’s brothers saw that their father had died What does it mean that they saw? They recognized his (Jacob’s) death in Joseph, for they were accustomed to dine at Joseph’s table, and he was friendly toward them out of respect for his father, but as soon as Jacob died, he was no longer friendly toward them.-[From Targum Jonathan ben Uzziel ; Tanchuma Buber, Shemoth 2]

 

Perhaps Joseph will hate us Heb.לוּ [The word] לוּ has many different meanings. לוּ is used as an expression of request or to denote “if only,” [as in these examples:] “If only (לוּ) it would be as you say” (Gen. 30:34); “If only (לוּ) you would listen to me” (ibid. 23:13); “If only (לוּ) we had been content” (Josh. 7:7); “If only (לוּ) we had died” (Num. 14:2). לוּ sometimes means “if” (אִם) or “perhaps” (אוּלַי), e. g., “If (לוּ) they had been wise” (Deut. 32:29); “Had (לוּא) you hearkened to My commandments” (Isa. 48:18); “And even if (וְלוּ) I should weigh on my palms” (II Sam. 18:12). לוּ sometimes serves as an expression of “perhaps,” [as in] “Perhaps (לוּ) will hate us” (Gen. 50:15). And there is no similar use [of this word] in Scriptures. It is [used as] an expression of “perhaps” (אוּלַי), like “Perhaps (אוּלַי) the woman will not follow me” (Gen. 24:39), which denotes “perhaps.” There is also an example of אוּלַי [used as] an expression of a request, e.g., “If only (אוּלַי) the Lord will see [the tears of] my eye” (II Sam. 16:12); “If only (אוּלַי) the Lord will be with me” (Josh. 14:12). This is similar to “If only (לוּ) it would be as you say” (Gen. 30:34). Sometimes אוּלַי is an expression of “if”: “If (אוּלַי) there are fifty righteous men” (Gen. 18:24). -[From Targum Onkelos]

 

16 they commanded [messengers to go] to Joseph Like “and He commanded them to the children of Israel” (Exod. 6:13). [That is,] he commanded Moses and Aaron to be messengers to the children of Israel. In this case, too, they (the brothers) commanded their messenger to be a messenger to Joseph to say this to him. Whom did they command? Bilhah’s sons who were frequently with him, as it is said: “and he was a lad [and was] with the sons of Bilhah” (Gen. 37:2). -[From Targum Yerushalmi as quoted by Chizkuni]

 

Your father commanded They altered the facts for the sake of peace.-[From Yeb. 65b, Tanchuma Toledoth 1].

 

17 please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father Although your father is dead, his God is alive, and they are His servants.-[From Tanchuma Buber, Shemoth 2]

 

18 His brothers also went in addition to sending messengers.

 

19 for am I instead of God?-Heb. הֲתַחַת. Am I perhaps in His place? [The prefixed “hey” denotes] wonder. If I wanted to harm you, would I be able? Did not all of you plan evil against me? The Holy One, blessed be He, however, designed it for good. So how can I alone harm you?

 

21 and spoke to their hearts Convincing words. Before you came down here, they (the Egyptians) were spreading rumors about me that I was a slave. Through you, it became known that I am a free man. Now if I kill you, what will people say? “He (Joseph) saw a group of young men and glorified himself through them by saying, ‘They are my brothers’ and at the end he killed them. Is there such a thing as a brother who kills his brothers” (Gen. Rabbah 100:9)? Another explanation: If ten candles could not extinguish one candle, [how can one candle extinguish ten candles?] (Meg. 16b).

 

23 on Joseph’s knees As the Targum renders: [were born and Joseph raised them, i.e.,] he raised them between his knees.

 

Ketubim: Tehillim (Psalms) 41:5 - 14

 

Rashi’s Commentary on Tehillim (Psalms) 41:5-14

 

5 I said, “O Lord, be gracious to me” As for me, I have none who visit for good, and when I cry out from my illness and say, “O Lord, be gracious to me, etc,” my enemies rejoice over me and say evil things about me: “When will he die, etc.”

 

7 he speaks falsely He pretends to be troubled, and when he sits before me, his heart gathers thoughts of violence to himself, [of] what evil he will speak when he leaves, and when he goes outside, he speaks of it.

 

8 whisper about me something that is harmful to me, and what is that thought?...

 

9 An evil thing shall be poured into him All the wicked things that he did shall be poured and spilled into his body, and if he lay down, he shall not rise. This is how they curse me.

 

10 developed an ambush for me Heb. עקב, an ambush, as (in Josh. 8:13): “and their ambush party (עקבו) on the west of the city.”

 

12 With this I shall know, etc. When You are gracious to me and raise me up, I shall know that You have desired me; when my enemy will not shout with shouts of joy over me, and I will see that because of my innocence, You have supported me.

 

14 Blessed is the Lord When I stand up from my illness, I will bless You in this manner.

 

Meditation from the Psalms

Psalms ‎‎41:5-14

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

 

With this chapter David closes the series of psalms^[1] in which he expresses gratitude^[2] to God for having healed him. He dedicates this work to the Lord 'Who cares wisely for the sick'.

 

A human physician confines his diagnosis to physical symptoms. God alone has the understanding to detect the deeper spiritual deficiency which saps the sinner's vitality. Sickness is inflicted upon a person to make him aware of God's displeasure with his moral shortcomings.

 

Rabbenu Yonah^[3] sets forth this principle: 'Just as the body is susceptible to sickness, so is the soul'. The illness afflicting the soul stems from its evil traits and its sins. God heals the soul through the ailments of the body as David said, HaShem, show me favor, heal my soul for I have sinned against You.^[4]

 

David was particularly upset because his illness prevented him from realizing the great ambition of his life — the construction of the Temple.

 

God cured the ailing king, allowing him the privilege of preparing the plans and materials for Solomon's construction of the Temple. This was the pinnacle of David's career; therefore, this psalm comes as the climax and conclusion of the First Book of Psalms, his first compilation of God's praises.^[5]

 

Lets continue our study of sickness that we began with the first part of this chapter of Psalms.

 

The Ramchal^[6] teaches that the world was not created perfect. It had an imperfection, but only in potential. It is a mistake to think that the world was created perfect. We think that HaShem^[7] is perfect, therefore His creation is perfect. This is not true. The world we see is imperfect according to our standard, how much more according to HaShem’s standard! The world was created with an imperfection, i.e. it was created with a distance from HaShem. We can see natural disasters, human and animal suffering, and even plants are far from perfect. They all have imperfections. This world is full of limitations; it is not infinite. The plants, animals, and men all have limitations. One would expect that since HaShem is infinite, His world would be infinite.^[8]

 

If Adam,^[9] upon awakening, had realized how far he was from HaShem; if he had been aware of this distance, he would have fulfilled his obligation of exile forever! When he was placed in that garden^[10] he should have had a sense of the tragedy that he had been created and was no longer part of the Creator. If he had felt that distance he would have immediately returned to HaShem. Instead, he manifested the human tendency to say, “Hmmm, this is not bad”. This world is not so bad, according to his perception. This tendency required ‘exile’ in order to be excised from the human psyche.^[11] That is why the current exile is so bad. Consider how often we wake up and consider that our own world is ‘not so bad’. If this is our perception of a sinful world, then how much more did Adam perceive that his world was ‘not so bad’!

 

If you ask whether this world was created with a degree of suffering; the answer is ‘No’! With our attitude, we have forced the world to have a greater degree of suffering. Because we take the changes to the world wrought by our sins; and we say ‘it is not so bad’. We force HaShem to step up His game, so to speak. To deepen the exile and bring greater suffering to bring us to the realization of just how far we are from HaShem.

 

The world was created with an imperfection, i.e. it was a created entity and was created with a distance from The Creator. For example, if Adam chose to use his free will incorrectly he could bring death and destruction to the world, which he did! He brought the world with potential for death, he brought that potential into the actual. If Adam had realized the potential of the world, in this regard, and had used his free will to negate all the possibilities of suffering, then we could have avoided going through all of this.

 

Consider that a child can learn to trust his mother, who commands him not to touch the hot stove. Or he can touch the hot stove, get burnt, and learn the hard way that he should have trusted his mother’s word. She created the danger by cooking on the stove, but the child had two ways to deal with this potential problem: He could do what his mother commanded, or he could touch the hot stove, suffer the burning pain, and then learn not to touch hot stoves. Thus the child, like Adam, brought the potential for suffering into the world in actuality.

 

HaShem made the world like a glass sculpture. He did not create the broken pieces that resulted from your carelessness in dropping that sculpture. He did create it as fragile, as a world capable of being broken. HaShem gave us a fragile world and He gave us the task of handling it properly. We need to use our free will to choose the correct path. Unfortunately, we don’t always choose wisely. Thus we can accuse HaShem of creating a fragile world, but we cannot accuse Him of breaking it with all of the accompanying problems. We broke His world.

 

If you go back to the beginning, you will find that HaShem created an idyllic world without death and illness, but man chose to break that idyllic world and bring death and suffering into the world. Man created death and suffering, so to speak. Our merit, however, is that HaShem gives us the ability to fix our crashed world. The Talmud^[12] has a passage where Chazal express gratefulness that HaShem created a fragile world because otherwise we would not be here, and we would not have the ability to fix it, and thus acquire merit.

 

The world was created with the potential for imperfection, and ever since that first sin it has continued to break down. This includes suffering, even suffering we cannot understand.

 

Why can’t we understand why suffering and illness come into the world? We need to understand that we live in a phase of history where HaShem hides His face.^[13] The reason for this is that we have moved very far from the beginnings at Sinai, and very far from the source of His “voltage”. The voltage has dropped considerably. Each generation adds to the sins of the world and each generation contributes to the darkening of the world. We are in the post-prophecy phase. This is the age where there is no prophecy or prophets. In the phase where we had prophecy, one could go to the prophet and he would tell you the spiritual reason for your sickness. Once you corrected the underlying spiritual problem, the phyical manifestation of that problem was also corrected. While a doctor could see symptoms that could be adjusted, he could never see the underlying spiritual cause.

 

In those days we had the book of cures. The Talmud^[14] teaches about King Chizkiyahu^[15] hiding away “The Book of Cures – Sefer HaRefuot”. The remedies written down in that book could heal anything and the chance of getting healed was extremely high or almost 100%. It is unknown who wrote it. Some people claim that it was Shlomo HaMelech.^[16] The Talmud,^[17] however, teaches us that King Chizkiyahu decided to hide the book. Why? Wouldn’t such a book be great because it would enable everyone to get healed? There are actually different opinions on why King Chizkiyahu hid the book away. For instance, Rashi says that Chizkiyahu wanted the Jews to rely on G-d and pray to Him when they are sick. People got so used to relying on the book and getting healed that they forgot thanking G-d afterwards. One of the intended consequences of an illness is to give us a sense of our own vulnerability.

 

Sickness for our benefit

 

Originally, death came without warning. One sneezed^[18] and we died.[19] The infirmities of old age were given to highlight our vulnerability for a very special reason. This vulnerability causes us to start preparing for our own demise. It gives us a warning to get our spiritual house in order, knowing that our end is near. This is a legacy of our Patriarchs who prayed that we should have old age and infirmities so that we would be warned that our end is approaching.^[20] This warning gave us time to correct our faults and perform teshuva.^[21] This is a precious gift!

 

Note that even when we had old age, infirmities, and sickness, in those days, of the first phase, we still had the book of cures. But, to go back to answer our question: Why can’t we understand why suffering and illness come into the world? The answer is we can never know, now, because we no longer have access to prophets. Living in this phase where HaShem hides his face is specifically designed so that we will not know why things happen the way they do. It is a tragic error to go to modern mystics who claim to know such things. Even if they know, they are not to be trusted because we are not to know. Our Hakhamim^[22] are not given this specific knowledge, they are only given generalities.

 

There are some rare individuals who are given direct knowledge about why things happen to them. But, this is a special occurrence that is very rare.

 

Today, when we are sick we go to the doctor. A doctor does not have the book of cures and he certainly does not know the underlying spiritual condition that needs to be corrected. Never the less, HaShem uses doctors to bring about His desire and His treatment. The doctor merely disguises HaShem’s hand so that HaShem’s face will remain hidden. We function in the darkness. The great blessing of functioning in the darkness is that we are less responsible for correcting the errors. As we move away from HaShem the darkness intensifies and we become less responsible. This is analogous to working with the low voltage of a battery where mistakes have minimal consequence. Now the first phase would be analogous to using high tension voltage where the slightest mistake will get you fried. That is why, in Jewish history, every time man made a mistake with HaShem’s Torah, HaShem took a step back and became more hidden in order to protect us from the consequences of our mistakes. The tragedy is that we live in the darkness and we don’t know how to correct specific spiritual illnesses to correct the resulting physical illness, and we are very far from HaShem.

 

So, if a person gets ill, what should he be doing? The normative Torah requirement is that we do whatever is considered ‘normal’. So, if the question is: How many locks should I have on my door? The answer is: Whatever is considered normal in that area. In a big city, normal might include a deadbolt, a locking knob, and a chain. In the country they may not even use a lock. Clearly locks offer no protection if HaShem is bringing us trouble, and no locks are needed if HaShem is guarding our door. The locks, whatever they may be, simply disguise HaShem’s hand. If we use more than the normal amount of locks it is considered a lack of faith. Somehow you perceive that one more lock will protect you. If we use fewer that the normal number of locks it is considered irresponsible. In the same way, we should do whatever is considered normal, in our location, for any illness.

 

When we are sick we should undertake to get the normal healing; what ever is wide spread in your time and place. It does not matter if it is considered an alternative form of medicine; once it becomes accepted on a wide spread basis, that is the route we should pursue. And the reason, as we stated before, is that HaShem heals us and the medical treatment merely hides His hand. Our headache is not cured by the aspirin tablet, it is cured by the hand of HaShem and the aspirin is just a cover-up. One of the basic facts of life is that Hashem runs this world. While it may appear that man is in charge, HaShem orchestrates every activity on the planet. The question is: What is man’s part? If HaShem determines all outcomes, how is man supposed to act?

 

Chovot HaLevavot^[23] teaches us that we are obligated to act b’derech hatevah – in the ways of the world. In other words, we are obligated to go through the motions as if the results are dependent upon us, knowing all the while that the outcome is completely out of our hands, and is in the hands of HaShem.

 

We work for a living, knowing the amount of money we are to make has been set on Rosh HaShanah.^[24] We go to doctors when we are sick, even though we know our health is determined solely by HaShem. We put in our effort, knowing all the while it is HaShem’s world and He alone determines the outcome.

 

One does not need to scour the world looking for a cure. If the illness is rare and it can only be found in a distant place, then we must do what is considered normal and travel to that place. On the other hand, if there is an accepted treatment at hand, then we should use that treatment. Can we spend a fortune and travel the world looking for an exotic cure if we wish to? The answer is: It depends. In general, making excess effort is a lack of faith, just like putting too many locks on your door. Conversely, you must at least do what is ‘normal’, if we do otherwise we have not done what HaShem requires of us.

 

Now, everyone knows that medical treatment is constantly changing. What is accepted today will certainly change tomorrow. Never the less, we are to seek the treatment that is considered normal for our time and place. This begs an interesting question: What if the normal treatment causes a person harm? For example, what if the medicine has severe side effects? The answer is that we seek the normal treatment and if it causes us harm, then HaShem intended for us to have that side effect. And, He does it for our benefit! In effect, we needed that harm.

 

This does not mean we ignore extenuating circumstances! For example: If a vaccine is suspected of cause one of your children to be autistic, then one must consider that the treatment, while normal, is abnormal for your family. That is why a child would not be circumcised on the eight day IF his brother died, or had serious consequences from a prior circumcision. Remember that the mitzvot were meant to bring life, not death:

 

Vayikra (Leviticus) 18:5 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am HaShem.

 

This plays out in another circumstance: Suppose that the normal treatment is very ineffective. Are you obligated to try it anyway? The answer is no; we are obligated to the normal cure If it is reasonably effective. For those cures which are not effective, there is no obligation to use an ineffective cure, and there is no penalty if you do decide to use it. After all, if HaShem brings the cure He can bring it no matter how ineffective the treatment might be. This ineffective treatment is allowed if there is no other hope and all alternatives have already been explored.

 

The same applies to experimental treatments. If all the research has been done, due care has been exercised, and the situation is dire, then we can engage experimental treatment, but there is no obligation to engage that treatment.

 

I read in a computer journal about a woman who had twin daughters who were two years old when they were diagnosed with Niemann Pick Type C^[25] disease. This disease kills before you are old enough to go to school and produces severe brain problems like Alzheimer’s disease.^[26] The disease is caused by a build-up of cholesterol^[27] in the brain. She heard about a treatment, for rats, that uses a type of sugar^[28] that removes cholesterol from the bodies of rats. Because the twins were in a bad way, our Hakhamim would have given permission to use this experimentally to treat Niemann Pick disease.

 

If the treatment has no evidence that it will cure, yet it has evidence that it will not harm, then one may engage the treatment, but there is no obligation.

 

If you are on an exceptional level in your emunah, your faithfulness, then there are some who say you can make less than the normal effort. However, these would be the exceptional people.

 

There are many limitations to the knowledge of medical doctors. For example, doctors have no idea why your fingernails keep growing, but your fingers do not. No one knows why the body reaches a certain level of development and then it just stops. This should be sufficient for one to trust HaShem and not a doctor, even though we should seek his treatment.

 

Before the flood, people lived hundreds of years. After the flood, man’s lifetime was greatly decreased. In the Messianic age men will again live hundreds of years. A person who dies at 700 years of age will be called a ‘lad’, a young boy. There is no medical reason why we should not be able to live hundreds of years today. No one knows why we have this limitation. Some turtles, for example, live hundreds of years today.

 

Given our life time limitation, our Hakhamim have decreed that we are not allowed to harm ourselves, therefore smoking is forbidden. For example, the thought of a physician assisting a patient to commit suicide is anathema to a Jewish view of medicine. Physicians (and for that matter, anyone else with medical knowledge such as nurses, emergency medical technicians, or lifeguards) are granted a mandate to heal. However, it is unequivocally clear from halacha^[29] that permission is granted to a physician to treat a patient only when he can offer that patient therapy that can be reasonably expected to be efficacious. This, at times, may include even experimental treatments that could be helpful.

 

When a physician cannot offer effective therapy, cannot alleviate pain, and cannot cure the patient, he or she ceases to function as a physician. In such a case, he or she has no more of a license than anyone else to cause harm to another person. Physician-assisted suicide is wrong because it undermines the mandate that the Torah grants to physicians to be G-d’s partners in the treatment of the sick.

 

On the other hand, one might also ask: If HaShem made you sick, what right do you have to go get a cure?

 

There actually is a great deal of controversy in Jewish halachic literature as to where we derive the mandate to heal. While most authorities derive a very broad mandate, there are a few very famous minority opinions that severely limit the scope of the authorization to provide medical care.

 

The most obvious source to look for the authority to heal would be from the case of two men fighting in:

 

Shemot (Exodus) 21:18-19 If one man strikes another and the victim does not die,^[30] “[the aggressor] shall pay for his [lost] time [from work] and he shall cause [the victim] to be thoroughly healed.”

 

Rashi, the great Biblical commentator, learns that this passage instructs us that “he shall pay the fee of the physician.” Clearly, if the aggressor is commanded to pay the doctor’s bills, then seeking medical treatment and providing medical treatment must be not only permissible, but also obligatory.

 

Not so, writes the Ibn Ezra,^[31] another great Biblical commentator. The command to heal “is a sign that permission has been granted to physicians to heal blows and wounds that are externally visible. But, all internal illnesses are in G-d’s hand to heal”.

 

Why does the Ibn Ezra take a limited view of the mandate to heal? Are we indeed in agreement with the Christian scientists who teach that all healing comes from G-d, to the exclusion of human medical intervention? The Ibn Ezra’s case is not a hard one to make. The Torah itself instructs that if we listen carefully to the mitzvot of the Torah:

 

Shemot (Exodus) 15:26 26 and He said: ‘If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of HaShem thy G-d, and wilt do that which is right in His eyes, and wilt give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases upon thee, which I have put upon the Egyptians; for I am HaShem that healeth thee.’

 

This verse implies that G-d does not need man to cure the afflictions that He creates. The Ibn Ezra argues that the meaning of this Torah passage is that because G-d acts as the (sole) healer of all illness, we will not need physicians. If this is the case, is it not a lack of faith that would lead us to seek medical care?

 

If Ibn Ezra is correct, by what virtue does man attempt to “short circuit” G-d’s will and attempt his own meager cures? Does man have any right to heal at all, and if he does, are there any limitations on how it may be accomplished? Is every action done in the name of therapy justified, solely because a physician performs it?

 

Because Judaism recognizes the enormity of these questions, it requires direct permission from G-d to permit the practice of medicine and carefully circumscribes the limits of medical practice. The duty to save one’s fellow man is well grounded in the Torah and the restrictions are discussed at length in our codes of Jewish law.

 

The complexity of the previously mentioned philosophical tension between G-d’s control of health and the role of the human healer is encapsulated by the enigmatic opening words of the Code of Jewish Law’s discussion of the laws applying to physicians: “The Torah gives permission to the physician to heal; moreover, this is a mitzva^[32] and it is included in the mitzva of saving a life; and, if he withholds his services, he is considered a shedder of blood”.

 

This sentence is rather puzzling. We do not find the Code of Jewish Law informing us that the Torah gives permission to keep kosher, the Sabbath, or any of the other mitzvot enumerated in the Torah. Why is permission specifically granted here? Because only here we may have thought that the action should be forbidden. Left to our own logic, we would have no choice but to assume that G-d makes people sick and G-d alone heals.

 

So, are the Christian scientists^[33] correct? No, they are not. Once the Torah clearly stated that healing is permitted, it immediately becomes a mitzva, like all other mitzvot. Therefore, the Code of Jewish Law quite appropriately states that “The Torah gives permission to the physician to heal; moreover, this is a mitzva”.^[34]

 

Chazal teach that we are forbidden to rely ONLY on prayer for our healing. Once the Torah permits using a doctor, at that point we MUST use a doctor!

 

So what part does prayer play in dealing with an illness? Chazal teach that we must be a bit schizophrenic in the handling of illness. On the one hand, we must realize that there is no cure except by HaShem’s hand, and therefore we pray like nothing else will bring a cure, or perhaps it is better to say that we should pray that the doctor will cure us; while at the same time we must put our full effort into seeking a physician and completely following their recommendation. In essence, we must pray that the medicine we are about to take should provide a cure, knowing full well that it is HaShem who will use that medicine to hide the fact that He provided the cure and the medicine was worthless except by His command it becomes efficacious.

 

To a certain extent, this schizophrenic attitude should accompany every action and every thought in all areas of life. For example, we must understand that HaShem provides our living and everything is determined on Rosh HaShana, while at the same time putting our heart and soul into earning a living.

 

What is the Jewish approach to the physician? There is a fascinating insight about King Asa^[35] when he became ill. The Bible records that:

 

Divrei HaYamim (II Chronicles) 16:12 And in the thirty and ninth year of his reign Asa was diseased in his feet; his disease was exceeding great; yet in his disease he sought not to HaShem, but to the physicians.

 

If healing and guarding health are mitzvot, what did King Asa do wrong? His error was that he only sought out the doctors. Healing is a partnership between G-d and a man. While G-d is the ultimate healer, He delegates part of His role to mankind and asks the physician to practice medicine for the good of man. This relationship can be conceived of as follows: G-d makes a person ill until he finds the right doctor to heal him.

 

That is, part of the “punishment” of illness is the fear that one will not find the right physician capable of healing him. This is why the Code of Jewish Law states: “if he withholds his services, he is considered a shedder of blood. And even if there is someone else (available) capable of healing, not every physician is able to heal every patient”.^[36]

 

Medicine is an art and therefore one must pray that he finds the right doctor who can cure him. Similarly, no physician may excuse himself from a case merely because there is another physician present, for he may be the one destined to cure this patient (i.e. he may be the one who will make the right diagnosis and prescribe appropriate treatment when all others are baffled or incorrect). This approach must obviously exist within the reality of the physical limitations of each physician.

 

The Jewish approach to illness and medicine requires us to recognize the preeminent role of G-d in healing, while seeking appropriate medical care. Asa’s sin was seeking out the doctors only, without the recognition of G-d as the ultimate healer.

 

The Talmud^[37] states: “the best of the doctors are bound for hell”. Such a statement appears antithetical to the positive view Judaism promulgates regarding physicians. One traditional explanation is that the physician must recognize the awesome responsibility that he holds in treating illness, with even a small error possibly leading to death. Constant vigilance is required to avoid making a preventable error that would be considered bordering on criminal negligence.

 

A second understanding of this mysterious passage sheds light on one of the great risks of medical practice, arrogance. The statement can be understood to mean that it the specifically those doctors who consider themselves to be the best that are bound for Gehenom. The humble physician will realize his limitations and consult with colleagues, bringing the best care to his patients. The “best” doctor will see no need to consult with those less qualified than himself, eventually causing unnecessary harm to a patient for which he will be culpable.

 

Like the patient, the physician must have the same recognition of his role as an intermediary in healing, not its source. When the physician begins seeing himself as the source of healing, he is destined for Gehenom.^[38]

 

By now we should be able to understand how Yaaqob knew that his end was approaching in our parash. We can also appreciate how David would be inspired to write this chapter of Psalms.

 

Ashlamatah: Shmuel alef (I Samuel) 9:1-10

 

           

Rashi’s Commentary for: Shmuel alef (I Samuel) 9:1-10

 

5 into the land of Zuph: (Jonathan renders:) into the land wherein there was a prophet.

 

 Zuph: like ‘Zopheh,’ a prophet (or seer).

 

 lest my father cease to worry about the she-asses: because his worry for us will increase until he forgets the she-asses.

 

 and worry: doutera in French.

                                                                     

 6 our way: The story of the she-asses, i.e., what has become of them, for whom we have gone all this way.

 

 7 and what shall we bring to the man: Jonathan paraphrases: If he accepts money, what shall we bring to the man? Saul was not familiar with Samuel’s practice and thought that he would ask for a reward.

 

 and there is no present: (Heb ‘t’shurah’) Jonathan renders: and there is nothing proper. This is an expression of ‘yosher,’ propriety. (The root is ‘yashor.’ The yud is missing, and the ‘tav’ is a prefix.) Menahem, however, explains ‘t’shurah’ as an expression of an offering for the privilege of seeing a king or an important person. An expression related to ‘ashurenu,’ “I behold them” (Num. 24: 17). And his opinion is acceptable to me.

 

 

8 a fourth of a shekel: one zuz of silver (from Jonathan).

 

9 Formerly in Israel: The author wrote this. This is not part of the statement of Saul’s servant.

 

 for he who is called prophet today: (lit., to the prophet today.) The one who is called a prophet today, was formerly  called a seer.

 

Special Ashlamatah: Yeshayahu (Isaiah) ‎‎ 61:10 – 63:9

Shabbat Nachamu VII

 

 

Rashi’s Commentary for: Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 61:10 – 63:9

 Shabbat Nachamu VII

 

10 like a bridegroom who dons garments of glory like a high priest.

 

and like a bride, who adorns herself with her jewelry Heb. כֵלֶיהָ , [lit. her utensils, in this case,] her jewelry.

 

Chapter 62

 

1 For the sake of Zion I will do, and I will not be silent concerning what they did to her.

 

I will not rest There will be no peace before Me until her righteousness comes out like brilliance.

 

2 shall pronounce Heb. יִקֳּבֶנּוּ , shall pronounce.

 

4 “inhabited” Heb. בְּעוּלָה , [lit. possessed,] inhabited.

 

5 As a young man lives with a virgin, etc. As a young man lives with a virgin, so shall your children live in you [after Jonathan].

 

6 On your walls, O Jerusalem Our Rabbis expounded it according to its apparent meaning as referring to the angels who remind the Lord concerning its destruction, to build it. What do they say? (Ps. 102:14) “You shall rise, You shall have mercy on Zion”; (ibid. 132: 13) “For the Lord has chosen Zion.” As is found in the Tractate Menahoth (87a, Rashi ad loc.). Jonathan, [however,] renders “your walls,” the early forefathers, who protect us like a wall.

 

I have appointed watchmen to inscribe a book of remembrances, that their merit be not forgotten from before Me.

 

they shall never be silent not to mention their merit before Me.

 

those who remind the Lord of the merit of the forefathers.

 

be not silent Heb. אַל־דֳּמִי לָכֶם , [lit. let there be no silence to you,] be not silent.

 

9 shall eat it This refers back to “your grain.”

 

shall drink it This refers back to “your wine.”

 

10 Pass, pass through the portals Said the prophet, “Pass and return in the portals; turn the heart of the people to the proper path” [after Jonathan].

 

pave, pave the highway Heb. סֽלּוּ . Pave the road, batec lokemin in O.F., beat down the road. סֽלּוּ is the same root as מְסִלָּה .

 

clear it of stones Clear the highway of stones and cast the stumbling blocks to the sides.

 

of stones of there being there a stone, and he is alluding to the evil inclination. It may also be interpreted as referring to the repairs of the road for the ingathering of the exiles.

 

clear it of stones Heb. סַקְּלוּ , espedrec in O.F., to rid of stones.

 

lift up a banner A staff, perche in French. That is a sign, that they gather to Me and bring Me those exiled beside them [i.e., those exiled in their land].

 

11 Behold his reward [that is prepared] to give to His servants is prepared with Him.

 

and His wage [Lit. His deed.] The reward for the deed they did with Him, is before Him, prepared to give.

 

Chapter 63

 

1 Who is this coming from Edom The prophet prophesies concerning what the Holy One, blessed be He, said that He is destined to wreak vengeance upon Edom, and He, personally, will slay their heavenly prince, like the matter that is said (supra 34:5), “For My sword has become sated in the heaven.” And afterward, (ibid.) “it shall descend upon Edom,” and it is recognizable by the wrath of His face that He has slain [them with] a great massacre, and the prophet is speaking in the expression of the wars of human beings, dressed in clothes, and when they slay a slaying, the blood spatters on their garments, for so is the custom of Scripture; it speaks of the Shechinah anthropomorphically, to convey to the ear what it can hear. Comp. (Ezek. 43:2) “His voice is like the voice of many waters.” The prophet compares His mighty voice to the voice of many waters to convey to the ear according to what it is possible to hear, for one cannot understand and hearken to the magnitude of the mighty of our God to let us hear it as it is.

 

Who is this coming from Edom Israel says, “Who is this, etc.?” And He is coming with soiled garments, colored with blood, and anything repugnant because of its smell and its appearance fits to the expression of חִמּוּץ , soiling.

 

from Bozrah Our Rabbis said (see Makkoth 12a): “The heavenly prince of Edom is destined to commit two errors. He thinks that Bozrah is identical with Bezer in the desert, which was a refuge city. He will also err insofar as it affords refuge only for inadvertent murder, but he killed Israel intentionally.” There is also an Aggadic midrash (see above 34:6) that because Bozrah supplied a king for Edom when its first king died, as in Gen. (36:33), “And Jobab the son of Zerah from Bozrah reigned in his stead,” and Bozrah is of Moab, according to the matter that is stated (Jer. 48:24): “Upon Kerioth and upon Bozrah.”

 

this one who was stately in His attire, צֽעֶה , and girded with the greatness of His strength. And the Holy One, blessed be He, replies to him, ‘It is I, upon Whom the time has come to speak of the righteousness of the Patriarchs, and of the righteousness of the generation of religious persecution, and My righteousness, too, is with them, and I have revealed Myself as being great to save.’ And they say, ‘Why is your clothing red? Why are your garments red?’

 

3 and from the peoples, none was with Me standing before Me to wage war.

 

and their lifeblood sprinkled Heb. נִצְחָם , Their blood, which is the strength and victory (נִצָּחוֹן) of a man.

 

I soiled Heb. אֶגְאָלְתִּי . Comp. (Lam. 4:14) “They were defiled (נִגּֽאֲלוּ) with blood.”

 

5 And I looked, and there was no one helping Israel. and I was astounded An expression of keeping silent, and I have already explained it above (57:16): “And He was astounded for there was no intercessor.”

 

and My fury that supported Me My fury that I have against the heathens (the nations [mss. and K’li Paz]), for I was a little wrath with My people, and they helped to harm them. That strengthened My hand and aroused My heart to mete recompense upon them although Israel is not fit and worthy of redemption.

 

6 And I trod Heb. וְאָבוּס . An expression of wallowing in blood and treading with the feet. Comp. (Ezekiel 16:6) “wallowing (מִתְבּוֹסֶסֶת) in your blood.” Comp. also (Jer. 12:10): “They trod (בּֽסְסוּ) My field.” their power Heb. נִצְחָם, the might of their victory.

 

7 The kind acts of the Lord I will mention The prophet says, I will remind Israel of the kind acts of the Lord.

 

and much good I will remind Israel of what He bestowed upon the house of Israel with His mercies.

 

8 They are but My people Although it is revealed before Me that they would betray Me, they are, nevertheless, My people, and they are to Me like children who will not deal falsely.

 

9 In all their trouble that He would bring upon them.

 

He did not trouble [them] He did not trouble them according to their deeds, that they deserved to suffer, for the angel of His presencei.e., Michael the prince of the Presence, of those who minister before Him saved them always as an agent of the Omnipresent.

 

Verbal Tallies

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

& H.H. Giberet Dr. Elisheba bat Sarah

 

Beresheet (Genesis) 49:27 – 50:26

Tehillim (Psalms) 41: 5-14

Shmuel alef (I Samuel) 9:1-10

Mk 4:35-41, Lk 8:22-25

 

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the psalm are:

Devour / Eat - אכל, Strong’s number 0398.

Israel - ישׂראל, Strong’s number 03478.

Blessed - ברך, Strong’s number 01288.

One / Man / Friend - אישׁ, Strong’s number 0376.

 

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Ashlamata are:

Benjamin - בנימין, Strong’s number 01144.

Israel - ישׂראל, Strong’s number 03478.

Father - אב, Strong’s number 01.

One / Man / Friend - אישׁ, Strong’s number 0376.

 

Beresheet (Genesis) 49:27 Benjamin <01144> shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour <0398> (8799) the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.

28 ¶ All these are the twelve tribes of Israel <03478>: and this is it that their father <01> spake unto them, and blessed <01288> (8762) them; every one <0376> according to his blessing he blessed <01288> (8765) them.

 

Tehillim (Psalms) 41:9 Yea, mine own familiar friend <0376>, in whom I trusted, which did eat <0398> (8802) of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.

Tehillim (Psalms) 41:13 Blessed <01288> (8803) be the LORD God of Israel <03478> from everlasting, and to everlasting. Amen, and Amen.

 

Shmuel alef (I Samuel) 9:1 Now there was a man <0376> of Benjamin <01144>, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power.

Shmuel alef (I Samuel) 9:2 And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel <03478> a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.

Shmuel alef (I Samuel) 9:3 And the asses of Kish Saul’s father <01> were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son, Take now one of the servants with thee, and arise, go seek the asses.

 

 

Hebrew:

 

 

 

Greek:

 

 

Abarbanel On

Pirqe Abot

Pereq 1, Mishnah 6

 

Yehoshua hen Perahyah and Nitai of Arhel received [the tradi­tion) from them. Yehoshua hen Perahyah said: Provide [literally: make) yourself with a teacher and acquire [literally: buy) for yourself an associate. And judge all men meritoriously .

 

It is amazing that Abarbanel starts his comments on this Mishnah with the cursory remark that Yehoshua hen Perahyah was a teacher of Jesus, the founder of Christianity. What moved him to digress and to make this observation is open to speculation. After Abarbanel apprises us of this fact, he launches into a short history of the Karaites, which sect, he claims, began in the time of Yehoshua hen Perahyah. According to Abarbanel, Karaism started during the reign of King Hyrcanus, who was also the high priest. At a banquet which he gave for his ministers and the scholars of his day, Hyrcanus said to the sages, "I am your disciple, if you ever see me leave the true path, rebuke me and return me to it, because you are the proper people to rebuke and I will accept it." The sages replied that in their estimation he was a saintly person, a faithful king and a righteous high priest. This, of course, pleased the king immensely. But then, one of the sages - his name was Elazar and he was a wicked and contentious man - spoke up and contradicted the sages and said, "Hyrcanus, if you like being rebuked you should relin­quish your station as a high priest because your mother was captured by the army of Antiochus and may have been sexually violated, thus disqualifying you as a priest." Noting that the other sages remained silent during this diatribe, the king became infuriated and had many of them put to death. He was advised by his counsellors to forsake the Oral Law, so as not to need the services of the sages and drive them all out of the country. Although they eventually returned and reestab­lished their authority, the concept of defying the Oral Law became an established fact.

 

As we noted above, it is difficult to understand what prompted Abrabanel to speak about Jesus and the Karaites before delving into the substance of this Mishnah. Perhaps he intended to set the histori­cal background to Yehoshua ben Perahyah's dictum.

 

True to fashion, Abrabanel connects this Mishnah with an earlier one in which Yosi ben Yoezer teaches us the importance of moving in the circles of the scholarly, to the extent that one's home should be open to them at all time on the basis that you can always gain intellec­tually in their presence. Along comes Yehoshua ben Perahyah and gives us an exercise in the process and methodology of learning. It is not wise to gather scholars into one's home for the sake of amassing cultural tidbits, because unorganized and undisciplined study will only lead to confusion and obfuscation. The only advisable way to relate to scholars is to choose one primary master and learn from him as much as you can; then to turn to a master of another discipline and begin studying under him. The use of the verb “A’asah L’kha” - make for yourself - is explained by Abrabanel to mean that even if the person you choose to be your teacher is not the greatest scholar there is, you should make him your teacher.

 

Abrabanel refers to Seneca, the Roman philosopher, who compared an unorganized educational program to an upset stomach which re­sults from devouring all kinds of foodstuffs at one sitting.

 

A question presents itself: In Chapter IV of Pirkei Avot, Ben Zoma says: "Who is a wise man? He who learns from all men." This seems to contradict the concept of sitting at the feet of one master at one time. However, Abrabanel does not see this as a contradiction. One does not study the dicta of Shammai and Hillel simultaneously with the natural sciences of Aristotle and the geometry of Ptolemy. To study the discip­lines individually and at different periods is productive, to attack them all at one time is unproductive.

 

Abrabanel is alerted to the difference of language that Yehoshua ben Perahyah employs: Provide yourself - “A’asah L’kha” - make for yourself - with a teacher and acquire for yourself – Uq’nah L’kha Chaber – and acquire [literally: buy) for yourself an associate." An associate in a study program is necessary because he challenges and sharpens the mind of the student. There are times when a student is reticent and too inhi­bited to ask of his master a difficult problem. When one has an associ­ate, however, and they debate, analyze and challenge each other, the student becomes more confident in the presence of the master. Thus, Yehoshua ben Perahyah is emphatic that even if one has to pay another student to be his associate he should do so. As for the importance of accepting the authority of a master, Abrabanel cites the Talmud (Ta'anit 4a; Tosefot) where the sages bemoan the incident involving Yiftah and his vow which ended in tragedy. Yiftah vowed that if he returned victorious from war he would sacrifice the first thing that emerged from his house. He had been thinking of an animal; his daugh­ter was the first creature to come out of his house and he sacrificed her. However, it need not have been so. He could have approached Pinhas the prophet and requested that his vow be nullified. Yiftah knew this, but demanded that Pinhas come to him, the political leader of the nation. Pinhas was equally adamant. He was the prophet of God, and Yiftah would have to come to him. The catastrophe came about because Yiftah refused to relate to Pinhas as his master.

 

Finally, Abrabanel is quick to caution the searching student that although he should attach himself to one master at a time and have one associate, he should not consider other scholars as unworthy. This is the thrust of Yehoshua ben Perahyah's words, "Judge all men meritori­ously." There may be many other scholars of equal standing. It is just that you have chosen this scholar to be your master.

 

To embellish this line of reasoning, Abrabanel looks to the Torah where we find that God gave the Children of Israel only one master, Moshe, and an associate, Aaron. Moshe, too, chose only one successor, Joshua and so it went on throughout the ages. Even in the days of Joshua there may have been scholars who were his equal, but Moshe felt that the most functional method was to appoint one. In later centuries there was one president and one head of the Sanhedrin.

 

In concluding his comments on this Mishnah, Abrabanel refers to Rambam's interpretation of "Judge all men meritoriously." Rambam is realistic in bis assessment of human beings. When an individual is renowned for his piety and noble behavior and suddenly wanders off the straight and narrow path, the sage of the Mishnah urges us not to condemn him. We must look for extenuating circumstances to explain his sudden lapse. Then, again, even if a person does not enjoy any singular distinction - he is not reputed to be either a saint or a sinner -he, too, should be judged meritoriously and be given the benefit of the doubt. However, when a man is known for his habitual transgressions, he does not deserve any favorable consideration by the community.

 

Miscellaneous Interpretations

 

Rabbenu Yonah comments on the first of the three dicta of Yehoshua ben Perahyah that a man should provide himself with a teacher. He argues that when a student studies under the disciplined tutorship of a master he is apt to remem­ber what was taught more than if he studied by himself. Moreover, there is always the possibility that the disciple will better understand the subject matter than his teacher, express himself and thus the student, for the moment, will become the tutor.

 

On the subject of acquiring an associate, the second of the three dicta, Rabbenu Yonah enumerates three reasons for so doing. First, basing his thesis on a Talmudic statement (Ta'anit 7a), where one rabbi confides that, "I have learned much from my masters but even more from my associates," he opines that this refers to the study of Torah. The give and take in the intricacies of Talmudic study will be beneficial both to him and his associate. The second reason deals with the personal and religious behavior of the two associates. It does not take very much for a man to digress from righteous living. A devoted friend will immediately alert the other to the folly of his ways and influence him to repent. Under these circumstances they will both stay on the straight and narrow path. Lastly, a friend is a valuable asset when one needs to unburden oneself of one's problems. To feel all alone can be stifling and oppressive; to have a confidante brings relief and comfort.

 

On the matter of the third dictum, "And judge all men meritoriously," Rabbe­nu Yonah fully agrees with Rambam who contends that this attitude is not to be applied in every case. If a person has a reputation of being an extremely righteous person, but is discovered to have deviated temporarily, he is to be judged not harshly but meritoriously. The rabbis (Berakhot 19a) took up this matter and concluded that if a scholar is seen committing a wrong during the nighttime, we must not condemn him the following day because immediately after the transgression he surely repented. Thus, the next morning he will have returned to his state of righteousness and any condemnation is unwarranted and unjustified.

 

On the other hand, an extremely wicked person cannot be allowed to enjoy our charitable attitude. Even when he does something meritorious on occasion, it is only a fluke and he does not intend it to be a sign that he has mended his ways. The main thrust of this Mishnah concerns the one who is deemed by society to be "so, so." In this case the rabbi asks us to be sympathetic and understanding and judge him meritoriously.

 

Me'iri pauses to analyze the language of the Mishnah, Why, in reference to a teacher, did the sage use the word A’asah (make), but when speaking of an associate employs the word Q’nah (buy)? The answer he proposes: The importance of having a teacher dictates that one is required to work and toil to attract a master to him. In the matter of an associate, no such conscientious effort must be made. It is possible that he can be bought with material means.

 

Rabbi Moshe Alshakar: How does one recognize an associate? What identifies a man as a desirable associate? The word Chaber implies a close relationship. If a man has only good things to say about his peers and showers praises upon them, it demonstrates that he is the type of a person who wants to be closely involved with others. This is a sure sign that he is the one you should seek out as an associate.

Nazarean Talmud

Beresheet (Genesis) 49:27 – 50:26

“Benjamin” “Binyamin”

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

 

School of Hakham Shaul Tosefta (Luqas Lk 8:22-25) Mishnah א:א		School of Hakham Tsefet Peshat (Mk 4:35-41) Mishnah א:א
One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, "Let us go across to the other side of the lake." So they set out, and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. And they went and woke him, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!" And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm. He said to them, "Where is your faithfulness (faithful obedience)?" And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, "Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?	On that day, when evening[39] had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the congregation and other boats were with him, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And (suddenly) a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking (over) into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion.[40] And they woke him and said to him, “Rabbi (your Eminence),[41] don’t you care that we are about to die?” And he woke up and commanded[42] the storm to desist (be silent/still) saying to the sea, “Peace! Be still! (Shut up)” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so timid (afraid)?[43] How is it that you have no faithfulness (faithful obedience)?” And  great sense of awe[44] (of HaShem) came upon them, and they said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea (faithfully) obey him and hear (listen to him)?”

 

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

 

 

Commentary To Hakham Tsefet’s School Of Peshat

 

Yeshua and Yonah

 

Hakham Tsefet in the presents the present pericope couched in hyperbolic terms. This hyperbolic Peshat/Midrash is a Peshat aggadah (story) with deep So’od substructures. Some aspects of the story we cannot reveal from Peshat hermeneutic. However, we will concentrate on those items, which Hakham Tsefet wanted us to learn.

 

Hakham Tsefet has formulated his language so that we must look at each phrase carefully. Sabin notes the following…

 

As in the similes that Jesus tells, in the present simile he enacts is composed of echoes of Scripture. In this case, the direct echo is of some of the Psalms that reflect on God’s power over creation:

 

LORD, God of hosts, who is like You? ...

You rule the raging sea;

You still its swelling waves (Ps. 89:9a, 10)

 

You still the roaring of the seas,

The roaring of their waves (Ps. 65:8)

 

[The LORD] hushed the storm to a murmur;

The waves of the sea were stilled (Ps. 107:29)

 

Mark, steeped in the Hebrew Bible himself, surely assumed that when he quotes the disciples saying: “Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?” (4:41), his audience would have heard the answer in the memory of these psalms.”[45]

 

Here we agree to a point with Noonan Sabin, in that what we find in this section is the Master turning himself into a simile providing an analogy as to what the Kingdom/Governance of G-d is like!

 

While there is merit to the Psalms quoted above as the background to this section, we find greater merit in the book of the Prophet Yonah (Jonah) as the immediate background to this section, and the story of Moshe being found in the present Torah Seder from the hidden background. These things have been discussed at length in the Torah Seder of Ab 25, 5769. Therefore, we highly encourage the reader to look at that data as a further explanation to these events.

 

Against the Tide

 

The pressing question for the present pericope conjoined with the Torah Seder “Sh’mot” is what does Moshe, Yonah and Yeshua all have in common? Or, why does Hakham Tsefet juxtapose these three characters? We can understand that the connecting element is “water” on the most simplistic level. Each of these men is in a “boat” of sorts. Therefore, it is not difficult to conjoin them by means of boats and water. However, this still leaves the daunting question of why Hakham Tsefet connects these characters.

 

In subtle amazement, the Nazarean Codicil has made the transition from B’resheet to Sh’mot by a change in scenery. This is amazing because we will finish the fourth chapter of Mordechai (Mark) with our initiation of Sh’mot. The astute can see that there is an abrupt change in scenery and nomenclature of the Nazarean Codicil. We have traversed the sown grounds of fields and come into the “herb garden.” Now we are exiled to a boat in the dark with raging winds and waves. The change of scenery is very relevant.

 

Hakham Tsefet has as a core to his teachings that Yeshua is the “Prophet like Moshe.”[46] Therefore, we opine that Hakham Tsefet’s juxtaposes Moshe and Yeshua keeping in mind the theme of Yonah. However, this compounds the matter of why we have a direct tie to Yonah.

 

Our Father Abraham

 

We can connect Moshe with Yonah and Yeshua as noted above. However, we can also associate Abraham with the present pericope in a multifarious number of ways.

 

Sh’mot will demonstrate G-d’s faithfulness to His prophecy given to Abraham at the “Covenant of the pieces.” Therefore, we find a natural connection between Moshe and Abraham. It now behoves us to determine the Abrahamic connection to Yeshua and Yonah.

 

Firstly, both Yonah and Moshe were prophets. Secondly, both Abraham and Yonah had a mission to the Gentiles. Abraham rescued many souls in his day by his great hospitality and monotheistic belief in the One G-d of all humanity. His efforts turned many Gentiles to HaShem. Similarly, Yonah was specifically sent to the Gentiles of Nineveh. However, his attitude needed some slight adjustment. Interestingly, we read his story at Yom Kippur, situated at the end of our days of repentance. Consequently, we can connect Yonah with Abraham.

 

Now the task at hand, is to connect Abraham with Yeshua. Abraham was the first to be called a “Hebrew,”[47] one from “the other side.” The present Marqan text begins with this same phrase.

 

When evening^[48] had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.”

 

Hakham Tsefet gives a subtle clue as to where we need to look for the hermeneutic key for our pericope and Torah Seder. How does this information teach us what Hakham Tsefet was trying to say? And, how does all of this relate to the Torah Seder?

 

The calamity of destructive winds and a life-threatening storm bespeak a very particular adversary.

 

While there are ten classes of angels,[49] generally they fall they divide into three groups.

 

1.      The First group is the mechanism of the Universe – Pro-Torah angels. These angels promote and enforce Torah observance since the Universe was created by the Torah/Nomos.[50] This group of angels will be very “pro-Jewish” per se.

 

2.      The Second group of angels is the group that desires the destruction of humanity by and at large. Among those angels is the fallen light-bearer Lucifer.

 

3.      The final group of angels is the group, which rebelled when G-d desired to give the Torah to humanity, specifically the Jewish people.

 

Severah

Because the first group of angels has influence over “nature” per se we must logically deduce that angelic powers have varied abilities to manipulate nature. The Midrash tells us that not even a single blade of grass grows without an angel (constellation) striking it to make it grow.[51] These “constellations” are Divine messengers.

 

As noted there are Cosmic Messengers (angels) who assure Torah observance in the world. There are also Divine Messengers on earth, the Hakhamim, who have the same occupation. In other words, the Hakhamim are the Cosmic Messengers who ensure Torah observance in the world. The Hakhamim are the Cosmic Police Officers who manage the security and stability of the world every day.

 

b. Chag 13b – 14a R. Nahman b. Isaac said: The words, Asher Kummetu, indicate blessing: these are the scholars who wrinkle[52] themselves over the words of the Torah in this world, [wherefore] the Holy One, blessed be He, will reveal a secret (So’od) to them in the ever coming world, for it is said: To whom a secret is poured out as a stream. Every day ministering angels are created from the fiery stream (of words that emanate from G-d’s mouth), and utter song, and cease to be, for it is said: They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness.

 

Each word of G-d is an “angel.” Each word of G-d is a message, messenger. Therefore, when the bent ones (wrinkled ones explained in the footnote above) study the Torah they become its message and messenger. They capture the essence of the cosmic message and become the messenger. If it were not for these Cosmic Police Officers, the world would be destroyed immediately.

 

The Chazan as the “angel” of the congregation and the Hakham as the initiation of that message borne by the Chazan are the apothecary of the congregation. The Hakham as R. Simon said: There is not a single herb but has a constellation (mazal – angel) in the heavens, which strikes it and says, Grow! The Hakham is the father of the congregation.

 

Abraham and Yeshua

 

B’resheet 15:5 And He took him outside, and He said, "Please look heavenward and count the stars, if you are able to count them." And He said to him, "So will be your seed."

 

Rashi’s comments on B’resheet 15:5 below …

 

5 And He took him outside According to its simple meaning: He took him out of his tent, outdoors, to see the stars. But according to its midrashic interpretation, He said to him, “Go out of your astrology,” for you have seen in the signs of the zodiac that you are not destined to have a son. Indeed, Abram will have no son, but Abraham will have a son. Similarly, Sarai will not give birth, but Sarah will give birth. I will give you another name, and your destiny will change (Ned. 32a, Gen. Rabbah 44:10). Another explanation: He took him out of the terrestrial sphere and lifted him above the stars. This explains the expression of הבטה, looking down from above (Gen. Rabbah 44:12).

 

In a matter of speaking G-d was telling Abraham that he was the master of his own destiny. Abraham and his progeny would not need to look UP to the constellations; they would look down from above. Therefore, in Peshat language, the agency of the Jewish people is greater than the agency of the Constellations.

 

In a similar manner, Moshe Rabbenu did not accept the direct agency of the angels.

 

Eph 4:8 Therefore He (G-d) says, "You have ascended on high, you have led captivity captive; you have received gifts among men, yes, among the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell (tabernacle) there"(Psa. 68:18).

This verse relates to Moshe when he ascended the mountain and was given by G-d, not only the Torah, but also the ability to share his given gifts to men in the form of the 70 Elders of Israel and Y’hoshua (a figure of Yeshua). Conversely Yeshua as the second Moshe (Deut. 18:15) relives this experience again, and reinvigorates these gifts which were temporarily weakened because of the multitude of sins amongst our people.

 

Moshe Rabbenu ascended and took the Torah from those cosmic forces,[53] which wanted to keep the Torah for themselves. This instigated that rivalry of angels mentioned above. Therefore, we see Yeshua as G-d’s appointed agent acting as Abraham, Moshe, Y’hoshua and the prophets. We will elaborate on these things from a Remes perspective below.

 

Peroration

 

We must expect Messiah to conduct himself after the manner of protocols established by our forefathers. However, these protocols being established in our ancestors, we should expect the Master to function as Messiah within the norms of Judaism. His argument with the wind and the waves is an argument with the cosmic opponents that every Jewish person must battle. Yonah was defunct in his duties as a prophet. Therefore, the winds and waves, the cosmic forces, which ensure Torah observance, possessed legitimate authority to operate against him. In the Peshat of our Marqan pericope, the cosmic energies (angels) were not the same angels as those faced by Yonah. The cosmic energies of the Marqan pericope were those angels who rebelled when G-d determined to give the Jewish people the Torah. We can deduce this from simple logic. Groups 2-3 in the numbered list above contested Yeshua as the personification of the Torah to humanity.

 

 

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?

 

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: Tishri 1, 5784 – September 15/17, 2023

Shabbat: “Rosh Hashanah” – “New Year”

 

 

 

 

 

Coming Festival

Rosh HaShannah – New Year 5784

Friday Evening 15th – Sunday Evening 17th of September 2023

For further information see:

http://www.betemunah.org/teruah.html ; http://www.betemunah.org/shofar.html ;

http://www.betemunah.org/knowday.html

 

 Coming Fast:

Monday 18^th of September 2023 Fast of Gedaliah

http://www.betemunah.org/gedaliah.html

 

 

 

 

Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David

Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham

 

 

Edited by Paqid Ezra ben Abraham.

A special thank you to Giberet Giborah bat Sarah for her diligence in proof-reading every week.