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

 

 

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

 

Roll of Honor:

 

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

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

His Honor Paqid Adon David ben Abraham

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

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

Her Excellency Giberet Sarai bat Sarah & beloved family

His Excellency Adon Barth Lindemann & beloved family

His Excellency Adon John Batchelor & beloved wife

Her Excellency Giberet Leah bat Sarah & beloved mother

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

His Excellency Adon Bill Haynes and beloved wife HE Giberet Diane Haynes

 

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.

 

 

We pray for our beloved Hakham His Eminence Hakham 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 His Eminence 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 Excellency Giberet Miriam bat Sarah, Mi Shebeirach; He Who blessed our holy and pure Matriarchs, Sarah, Ribkah, Rachel and Leah, may he bless and heal Giberet Miriam bat Sarah and may He send her a complete recovery to her 248 organs and her 365 sinews. Please heal her, please heal her, please heal her and strengthen her and return her to her original strength. May He send her a complete recovery of her body and her soul from the heavens among the other sick of Yisrael, 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.

 

Reading Assignment

 

 

 

Welcome to the World of Pshat Exegesis

 

In order to understand the finished work of the Pshat mode of interpretation of the Torah, one needs to take into account that the Pshat 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.

 

Blessings Before Torah Study

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

Shabbat: “Torat HaM’tsora” – “The Law of the Leper”

&

Seventh Sabbath of Consolation

&

Shabbat Mevar’chim HaHodesh

 

Contents of the Torah Seder

·       Purification of a Person Afflicted with Miraculous Leprosy – Leviticus 14:1-32

 

Special Notice

 

Today, Shabbat, is Elul 25. The 1st day of creation, on which God created existence, time, matter, darkness and light, was the 25th of Elul. (Rosh Hashanah, on which we mark "the beginning of Your works", is actually the 6th day of creation, on which the world attained the potential for the realization of its purpose, with the creation of the first man and woman, Adam and Eve. Rosh Hashanah is therefore the day from which the Jewish calendar begins to count the years of history; the 1st day of creation thus occurred on the 25th of Elul of what is termed -1 from creation.

 

Some have the custom to read each day the chapter in Genesis that corresponds to that respective day of creation: on Elul 25 the verses that discuss day one of creation; on Elul 26 day two of creation; and so on.

 

Bilaam the prophet gave a prophecy for the end of days. This prophecy may be very relevant for the comets that will visit us in 2024. Let’s first look at this prophecy before we dig deeper:

 

Bamidbar (Numbers) 24:14-19 "And now," said Bilaam, "I am returning to my people.  Let me counsel you as to what this nation shall do to your people at the end of days!"  He (Bilaam) proclaimed his oracle and said: "These are the words of Bilaam son of Be'or, the words of the man with the seeing eye. This is the pronouncement of the one who heard the words of the Almighty, who knows the knowledge of the Most High, who perceived a vision of the All Powerful, falling down but with open eyes.  I see him but not now, I gaze upon him but not soon.  A star will shoot forth out of Jacob, a scepter shall rise from Israel, who shall crush the princes of Moab and demolish all of Shet's descendants.  Edom shall be their inheritance, Seir their enemies shall be their inheritance, and Israel shall be triumphant.  A ruler shall issue forth from Yaakov, and he shall destroy the remnant of the city…".

 

The Targum of Onkelos translates the whole passage thus: “I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but he is not near. When a king shall arise from the house of Jacob, and the Messiah be anointed from the house of Israel, he shall slay the princes of Moab, and rule over all the children of men; And Edom shall be an inheritance, and Seir a possession of his adversaries. But Israel shall prosper in riches. One will descend from the house of Jacob, who will destroy him that escapes from the city of the peoples.”

 

The Jerusalem Targum is a little different: “A king shall arise from the house of Jacob, a redeemer and governor from the house of Israel, who shall slay the chiefs of the Moabites, and empty out and destroy all the children of the East”.

 

The Ramban, R’ Moshe ben Nachman states: “THERE SHALL STEP FORTH A STAR OUT OF JACOB. Because the Messiah will gather together the dispersed of Israel from all corners of the earth, Balaam compares him [metaphorically] to a star that passes through the firmament from the ends of heaven, just as it is said about [the Messiah]: and behold, there came with the clouds of heaven, one like unto a son of man etc.”

 

The Zohar brings a more mystical understanding.

 

Zohar III, 212b It is taught that in the future, the Holy One, blessed be He, will rebuild Jerusalem and reveal one firm star, glowing with seventy pillars of fire, and with seventy sparks flashing from it in the middle of the Firmament, and they will be reigned over by seventy other stars, and it will glow and burn for seventy days. And [the star] will be seen on the sixth day, on the 25th day of the sixth month. It will be gathered on the seventh day, at the end of seventy days. On the first day it will be seen in a city of Rome. On that same day, three high structures of that city of Rome will fall and a great edifice will fall. The ruler of that city will die. Then the star will spread out to be seen in the rest of the world. In that time, great wars will stir all around the four comers of the world and no faith will be found among [its people]. On the day that the star will be hidden, the Holy Land will tremble forty-five miles around the place of the Holy Temple, revealing an underground cave. From this cave will come out a blazing fire to bum the world. And from this cave a great branch will grow out, and it will rule over the whole world, and to it will be given the kingdom. The Holy Beings will gather to it. Then Mashiach will be revealed to the entire world... He will be revealed in a time when the people of the world will experience one distress after another, and the haters of Israel will grow stronger. Then the spirit of Mashiach will stir against them, and will destroy the wicked Edom, and the entire land of Seir will go up in flames. Concerning that time, it is written: “And Israel shall do valiantly”^[1]... At that time, the Holy One, blessed be He, will raise the dead of His people and remove death from them. This is what it says, “The right hand of Hashem does valiantly. I shall not die, but live”.^[2] It is further written: “And saviours shall ascend...”^[3] and then: “And HaShem shall be king...”^[4]

 

On the 25^th of Elul this star will appear, as the Zohar prophesied.

 

Zohar III, 212b And [the star] will be seen on the sixth day, on the 25th day of the sixth month. It will be gathered on die seventh day, at the end of seventy days. On the first day it will be seen in a city of Rome. On that same day, three high structures of that city of Rome will fall and a great edifice will fall. The ruler of that city will die. Then the star will spread out to be seen in the rest of the world. In that time, great wars will stir all around the four comers of the world and no faith will be found among [its people].

  

Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) has been discovered by the observatories above. This comet’s projected perihelion^[5] is Friday, September 28, 2024 – Elul 25, 5784.

 

If the most optimistic predictions are to be believed this comet might even be the best comet for a long time. There are even whispers of it being a Great Comet!

 

Initial data seems to suggest that Comet C/2023 A3 completes an orbit every 80,000 years.

 

On Friday, the 25^th of Elul – September 28, 2024 this star (comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) will appear. Forty days before Elul 25 is Tu B’Av, the day that was designated for marital union.

 

If the comet survives its passage around the Sun the main northern observing period will begin after  October 11/12, 2024 – Tishri 9/10, 5785 – Yom Kippur, when the comet moves up into the evening sky, visible after sunrise, a little higher and easier to see each evening.

 

Some very interesting events are associated with Elul 24 / 25:

 

• The world was created on this day, according to the Rabbis. “Let there be light”. Vayikra Rabba 29:1. Pirke D’Rebbe Eliezer, ch. 8. Rabbenu Nissim, Rosh Hashana 16a. This is according to Rabbi Eliezer—Rosh Hashana 10b-11a.

 

• Noah's dove brings back an olive branch.  Rashi on Genesis 8:11

 

• David marries Bathsheba. Shalshelet ha-Kabbalah, Soncino Zohar, Bereshit, Section 1, Page 8b

 

• Preparations made to work on Ezra's temple begins (first full day) 3426 (335 BCE). The rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem, which had been in ruins since the destruction of the First Temple by the Babylonians 88 years earlier, was completed by Nechemia, as related in the Book of Nechemia.  Haggai 1:14-15

 

• The Jerusalem wall was finished, in 52 days, by Nehemiah.  Nehemiah 6:15

 

Is comet .2023 A3 Kochav Yaakov? Consider the following:

 

Bamidbar (Numbers) 24:14-19 "And now," said Bilaam, "I am returning to my people.  Let me counsel you as to what this nation shall do to your people at the end of days!"  He (Bilaam) proclaimed his oracle and said: "These are the words of Bilaam son of Be'or, the words of the man with the seeing eye. This is the pronouncement of the one who heard the words of the Almighty, who knows the knowledge of the Most High, who perceived a vision of the All Powerful, falling down but with open eyes.  I see him but not now, I gaze upon him but not soon.  A star will shoot forth out of Yaaqob, a scepter shall rise from Yisrael, who shall crush the princes of Moab and demolish all of Shet's descendants.  Edom shall be their inheritance, Seir their enemies shall be their inheritance, and Israel shall be triumphant.  A ruler shall issue forth from Yaakov, and he shall destroy the remnant of the city…".

 

It was all forecast 3,300 years ago by Bilaam the gentile prophet in Parshat Balak. דרך כוכב מיעקוב -- "When the star of Yaakov is on its pathway towards the earth" -- is that exact prediction. When the star of Yaakov is en route...then קם שבט מישראל... Mashiach Ben Yoseph will rise up.

 

The Ramak, Rabbi Moshe Cordevero, classically and clearly explains the Zohar on this key pasuk [Balak 212b] in such detail that he even draws a picture of how the star will look. Remember we used to play with Jacks? That's precisely what he drew. A star with several smaller bodies surrounding it with 70 rays of light streaming out of [Nibiru] connecting itself to each body surrounding the star.

 

This display will be seen above the earth when he states that all will marvel at the following event: The rays of light will gradually [over 70 days] swallow each of the seven smaller bodies that will be absorbed into this Star [I believe this represents the seven continents].

 

The whole world will see this happen and will indeed panic but know this is from Hashem who is arranging this display because of us - Yaakov [Yisroel] since he had a family of 70 vs. the 70 nations of the world.

 

I believe scientists and astrologers may attempt to explain it away as a “natural phenomenon” saying it is either turning into a black hole or going supernova - but they will try to explain it away when it is anything but a "natural " occurrence.

 

Immediately after this they will be overcome by Mashiach -- the True Star after the 70 days of viewing this heavenly display.

 

 ...During those 70 days the ruler of the Palace in Rome (Vatican?) will die." There is another Midrash contained in Sefer Beit Hamidrash  reveals that during that time "marauders" (terrorists) will attack and destroy the Vatican thereby allowing Mashiach ben Yoseph and his 30,000 tzaddikim with him to enter the Vatican and retrieve the many stolen items including the hidden vessels of the Temple which includes the recovery by them of the holy flask containing the last remaining sample of Manna that HaShem instructed Moshe to save for all time.

 

This retrieval will occur amidst the confusion caused by this 'Star of Yaakov' and I assume one reason for it which is to distract the world for Mashiach to embark on his divine Missions to accomplish the geula Shleima  (redemption).

 

According to the Ramak's interpretation of that Zohar and thus there is 70 days from 25th of Elul thru 8th of Kislev.

 

The Ramak even gives the date: the 25th day of the six month -  Elul 25 -  since that was the date of creation, so HaShem will begin this display just prior to a Briah Chadash - new creation coming.''

 

Again, for clarity sake. it first appears on the 25th of Elul where it will be seen only over Rome and then over the whole world which later disappears in the 8th of Cheshvan

 

Zohar, Balak, 212b I will show you, but not for now, for these things will only come to be at that time, some after time and some in the Days of King Mashiach. "A star has gone forth from Jacob ...".^[6] This teaches us that in the future, the Holy One, Blessed is He, will build Jerusalem, and one star will spark within seventy pillars of fire and seventy sparks will receive light from it in the middle of the sky. The other seventy stars will be swallowed within it. It will give off light and blaze for seventy days. At the end of the sixth day it will become visible at the beginning of the twenty-fifth day of the sixth month. It will be gathered in at the end of seventy complete days and be visible in the city of Rome,^[7] and on that day, three great walls will fall and a great hall will fall, and the power of that city will die. Then the star will spread out to be seen in the rest of the world. In that time, great wars will stir all around the four comers of the world and no faith will be found among [its people].

 

Now, we know that there is a cave, underground, which leads to Gan Eden – at Machpelah. The Cave of Machpelah is the gateway to Gan Eden (Garden of Eden) through which all souls pass and the Beit HaMikdash is the gateway to heaven.

 

We also know the king Yoshiahu (Josiah) had the Ark of the Covenant, and all of the other holy objects, secreted to the secret underground place that King Shlomo prepared for it. In this underground place, Chazal teach that the western lamp of the menorah is still burning. The question is: Is this what the above Zohar is alluding to?

 

Is the great branch referring to Mashiach ben Yosef?

 

In Sifrei Yirmiyahu and Zecharyah, Mashiach is called “Tzemach”,^[8] which is also the way he’s referenced in our blessing of the Shemoneh Esrei, “Speedily cause the scion (Tzemach) of David Your servant to flourish”. “Tzemach”, a plant, is a strange moniker for Mashiach; names alluding to deliverance and redemption would seem more appropriate.

 

In Zechariah, the Mashiach is called Tzemach:^[9]

 

Zechariah 6:12 Behold, there is a man, and his name is Tzemach, and he will flourish in his place; he will build the sanctuary of HaShem.”

 

When we plant a seed, it undergoes a process of decomposition. Exposure to water and soil causes the seed to fester and decay, and from this state of apparent disintegration, a new seedling emerges. Rav Chaim Friedlander (Sifsei Chaim) explains that the process of Mashiach’s arrival will follow an identical progression.

 

Ikveta D’Meshicha, the Footsteps of Mashiach, is the period when Mashiach’s arrival is so imminent that we, as if, hear the echo of his approaching footfalls. Paradoxically, at this time conditions in the Jewish world will decline, and it will appear that we’re regressing away from a state of redemption, rather than approaching it. Conditions will continue to deteriorate until they reach a state that seems to portend utter disaster. And then, like the seed that seemed at the point of decay, only to yield a tender shoot, the destruction will sprout salvation. Ultimately, Geula sprouts from decline.

 

Remember that at the time of Yeshua, some 50 or 60 years earlier, there were messianic expectations:

 

Mordechai (Luke) 3:15 And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Mashiach, or not;

 

Shimon bar Kokhba (born Shimon bar Kosiba - שמעון בן כוסבא‎) - שמעון בר כוכבא, led a Jewish revolt against the Roman Empire in the years 132-135 CE. After the failure of the revolt, the rabbinical writers referred to bar Kokhba as "Shimon bar Koziba" (בר כוזיבא‎, or "Son of the disappointment").

 

Beitar fell to the Romans on Tisha B’Ab, the ninth day of the month of Ab, in 135 CE, adding it to calamitous national tragedies of the Jewish people.^[10]

 

It was Rabbi Akiva ben Joseph who ascribed to Shimon bar Kochba the famous messianic verse: “A star will shoot forth from Jacob”.^[11] That is how he got the name “Kochba”, which means “star”. In essence, Rabbi Akiva crowned him the Messiah. Rabbi Akiva was so widely respected among the people that if he saw in Shimon messianic qualities then the people immediately elevated him to the level of the Messiah.

 

Simeon bar Kosiba was given the sobriquet Bar Kokhba, “Son of a Star,” was given to him in accord with:

 

Bamidbar (Numbers) 24:17 I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not nigh; there shall step forth a star out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite through the corners of Moab, and break down all the sons of Seth.

 

This was taken to refer to the messiah.

 

Bar Kochba accused the great sage, Rabbi Elazar, of being the spy that betrayed Beitar and executed him. He then lost the support of the rabbis completely. It eroded all chance of reconciliation. Then they began calling him, “Bar Koziba,” meaning the son of a lie; a false messiah. Their hopes were dashed.

 

It was all forecast 3,300 years ago by Bilaam the gentile prophet in Parshat Balak. דרך כוכב מיעקוב -- "When the star of Yaakov is on its pathway towards the earth" -- is that exact prediction. When the star of Yaakov is en route...then קם שבט מישראל... Mashiach Ben Yoseph will rise up.

 

The Ramak, Rabbi Moshe Cordevero, classically and clearly explains the Zohar on this key pasuk [Balak 212b] in such detail that he even draws a picture of how the star will look. Remember we used to play with Jacks? That's precisely what he drew. A star with several smaller bodies surrounding it with 70 rays of light streaming out of [Nibiru^[12]] connecting itself to each body surrounding the star.

 

This display will be seen above the earth when he states that all will marvel at the following event: The rays of light will gradually [over 70 days] swallow each of the seven smaller bodies that will be absorbed into this Star [I believe this represents the seven continents].

 

The whole world will see this happen and will indeed panic but know this is from Hashem who is arranging this display because of us - Yaakov [Yisroel] since he had a family of 70 vs. the 70 nations of the world.

 

I believe scientists and astrologers may attempt to explain it away as a "natural phenomena" saying it is either turning into a black hole or going supernova - but they will try to explain it away when it is anything but a "natural " occurrence.

 

Immediately after this they will be overcome by Mashiach -- the True Star after the 70 days of viewing this heavenly display.

 

The Ramak even gives the date: the 25th day of the six month -  כה׳ אלול  [Elul 25 -  since that was the date of creation, so HASHEM will begin this display just prior to a briah chadasha - new creation coming.''

 

There shall shoot forth a star out of Jacob . . . (24:17)

 

The Melech haMashiach (“anointed king”) is destined to arise and restore the kingdom of David to its glory of old, to its original sovereignty. He will build the Holy Temple and gather the dispersed of Israel. In his times, all the laws of the Torah will be reinstated as before; the sacrifices will be offered, the Sabbatical year and the Jubilee year instituted as outlined in the Torah.^[13]

 

Also in the story of Balaam is it spoken of, and there it is prophesied on, the two “anointed ones”: the first Mashiach, who is David, who saved Israel from its enemies; and the last Mashiach, who shall be of his descendants, who will save Israel in the end [of the exile]. There he says:

 

“I see him, but not now”—this is David;

 

“I behold him, but he is not near”—this is the King Mashiach;

 

“There shall shoot forth a star out of Jacob”—this is David;

 

“And a scepter shall rise out of Israel”—this is the King Mashiach;

 

“And shall smite the corners of Moab”—this is David, as it is written (II Samuel 8:2), “He smote Moab, and he measured them with a line”;

 

“And rule over all the children of Seth”—this is the King Mashiach, as it is written (Zechariah 9:10), “And his dominion shall be from sea to sea” . . .

 

If there arises a king from the house of David, who studies the Torah and fulfills its precepts . . . who will prevail upon all of Israel to follow it and repair its breaches, and will wage the battles of God—he is presumed to be Mashiach. If he did so and was successful, and he built the Holy Temple on its site and gathered the dispersed of Israel—he is certainly Mashiach. He will correct the entire world to serve God together, as is written (Zephaniah 3:9): “For then I shall turn to the nations a pure tongue, that all shall call upon the name of God to serve Him as one” . . .

 

 

 

 

 

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan for: Vayikra (Leviticus) 14:1-32

 

 

 

Rashi’s Commentary for: Vayikra (Leviticus) 14:1-32

 

2 This shall be the law of the person afflicted with tzara’ath, on the day... This teaches [us] that [one afflicted with tzara’ath] is not [pronounced] clean at night.-[Torath Kohanim 14:3; Meg. 21a]

 

3 outside the camp [I.e.,] outside the three camps, [namely, a) the camp of the Shechinah, in which the sanctuary is situated, b) the Levite camp, and c) the camp of Israel, where the ordinary Israelites encamped], where he was sent during the time of his “definite” uncleanness (See 13:46).

 

4 live [birds] Heb., חַיּוֹת, excluding [birds] that have a fatal disease or injury.- [See Chul. 140a]

 

clean [birds] Excluding an unclean bird, [i.e., forbidden to be eaten] (see Chul. 140a). [Why are birds required for this cleansing rite?] Because lesions of tzara’ath come as a result of derogatory speech, which is done by chattering. Therefore, for his cleansing, this person is required to bring birds, which twitter constantly with chirping sounds.-[Arachin 16b]

 

a cedar stick Because lesions of tzara’ath come because of haughtiness [symbolized by the tall cedar].-[Arachin 16a]

 

a strip of crimson [wool], and hyssop What is the remedy that he may be healed [of his tzara’ath]? He must humble himself from his haughtiness, just as [symbolized by] the תּוֹלַעַת [lit., “a worm,” which infested the berries from which the crimson dye was extracted to color wool], and the [lowly] hyssop.-[Tanchuma 3]

 

cedar stick Heb. וְעֵץ אֶרֶז, a stick of cedar wood.-[Torath Kohanim 13:12]

 

a strip of crimson [wool] Heb. וּשְׁנִי תוֹלַעַת, a tongue-like strip of wool dyed crimson.-[Torath Kohanim 14:13].

 

5 over spring water He places [i.e., pours] it into the vessel first, in order that the blood of the bird should be recognizable in it. And how much [water is necessary]? A revi’ith [a quarter of a log].-[Torath Kohanim 14:21; Sotah 16b]

 

6 [As for] the live bird, he shall take it [Scripture separates the taking of the bird from that of the other items.] This teaches [us] that he does not bind it with them, but separates it, by itself. The cedar stick and the hyssop, however, are bound together with the tongue-like strip of crimson wool, as the matter is stated, “and then the cedar stick, the strip of crimson [wool], and the hyssop,” i. e., one [act of] taking for the three of them. [I.e., the cedar stick and the hyssop are bound together with one end of the tongue of crimson wool, and the loose end is dipped into the blood together with them (Torath Kohanim 14:21). Now, one might think that since it [the bird] is not included in the binding, it is not to be included in the dipping [in the blood]. Therefore, Scripture says here, “and, along with the live bird, he shall dip them,” thereby, re-including the bird for the dipping.-[Torath Kohanim 14:24]

 

8 but he shall remain outside his tent [for seven days] This teaches [us] that [during this period,] he is prohibited to have marital relations.-[Torath Kohanim 14:34; Mo’ed Katan 15b]

 

9 all his hair... [This is] a general statement, followed by a specific statement [namely, “that of his head, his beard, his eyebrows,”] followed, in turn, by another general statement [namely, “all his hair,]” to include [the shaving of] every place where hair grows in a bunch and is visible, [bearing a similarity to the hair of the head, the beard, and the eyebrows].-[Sotah 16a]

 

10 one... ewe lamb [One male lamb and one ewe lamb were to be sacrificed, one as a burnt offering and one as a sin-offering (see verse 19), although Scripture does not specify which animal was for which sacrifice. However, since a female animal is never brought as a burnt offering (see Lev. 1:3), it is obvious that this ewe lamb was to be sacrificed] as the sin-offering.

 

three tenths [of an ephah of... flour]- for the libations [i.e., to accompany the libations] of these three lambs, for [unlike other sin-offerings and guilt-offerings,] the sin-offering and the guilt-offering of one stricken with tzara’ath require libations.-[Men. 91a]

 

and one log of [olive] oil to sprinkle on his behalf [Heb. עָלָיו, lit. on him, absent in all incunabula editions (Yosef Hallel)] seven times (see verse 16), and to place some of it on the cartilage of his ear, and for the applications on the thumb and big toe (see verses 16, 17).

 

11 before the Lord [This expression usually means within the Temple courtyard. In this case, however, it means that he is to be placed] at The Nicanor gate, but not within the courtyard itself, since he is lacking atonement. [The Nicanor gate was at the eastern end of the courtyard, directly facing the Holy; thus, when standing inside the gateway, the person was placed “before the Lord” without entering the courtyard. For this purpose, the space under The Nicanor gate was left unsanctified.]-[Torath Kohanim 14:44; Sotah 7a]

 

NICANOR'S GATE, one of the gates leading to the Temple courtyard during the period of the Second Temple. According to the Mishnah, "There were seven gates in the Temple courtyard.… In the east there was the gate of Nicanor, which had two rooms attached, one on its right and one on its left, one the room of Phinehas the dresser and one the room of the griddle cake makers" (Mid. 1:4). This gate was one of the best known of the gifts made to the Temple and "miracles were performed in connection with the gate of Nicanor and his memory was praised" (Yoma 3:10). Of these miracles the Talmud states: "What miracles were performed by his doors? When Nicanor went to Alexandria in Egypt to bring them, on his return a huge wave threatened to engulf him. Thereupon they took one of the doors and cast it into the sea but still the sea continued to rage. When they prepared to cast the other one into the sea, Nicanor rose and clung to it, saying 'cast me in with it.'" The sea immediately became calm. He was, however, deeply grieved about the other door. As they reached the harbor of Acre it broke the surface and appeared from under the sides of the boat. Others say a sea monster swallowed it and ejected it out onto dry land. Subsequently all the gates of the Sanctuary were changed for golden ones, but the Nicanor gates, which were said to be of bronze, were left because of the miracles wrought with them. But some say that they were retained because the bronze of which they were made had a special golden hue. R. Eliezer b. Jacob said, "It was Corinthian copper which shone like gold" (Yoma 38a). Corinthian gold was the name given to a family of copper alloys with gold and silver which were depletion-gilded to give them a golden or silver luster (see Jacobson). An important production center for Corinthian gold was in Egypt, where, according to tradition, alchemy had its origins.

 

Scholars disagree over where the gates stood. Some claim that they were on the western side of the Court of Women which was to the east of the Court of Israelites; others maintain that they were on the eastern side of the Court of Women. The basis of this conflict is in the interpretation of a passage in Josephus (Wars, 5:204). Schalit's discussion of the problem concludes that the words of Josephus are to be explained as meaning that the gates of Nicanor were "beyond" the entrance to the Sanctuary and facing "the gate that was larger," i.e., that it was on the eastern side of the Court of Women. The gates were undoubtedly made after the time of Herod (the most reasonable date being about the middle of the first century, a generation before the destruction) and were the work of an Alexandrian craftsman. Nicanor is also recorded in a first century C.E. inscription on an ossuary found in October 1902 in a cave on Mt. Scopus in Jerusalem ("the Cave of Nicanor"). The Greek inscription reads: "the remains of the children of Nicanor of Alexandria who made the doors." Nicanor's name also appears in a Hebrew inscription as well. Nicanor's gift was so well known that no additional explanation was necessary. Nicanor was an Alexandrian, though he may have gone to live in Jerusalem. It seems more likely, however, that his remains were brought from Alexandria to Jerusalem, where he had a family tomb. The ossuary mentioning Nicanor is now in the collections of the British Museum. Klein (1920; see also Tal 2002) expressed certainty that the Nicanor of the ossuary was the same as the Nicanor who made the set of gates of the Temple according to rabbinic sources; Schwartz (1991), however, has expressed some doubts about this.

 

12 and bring it as a guilt-offering He shall bring it inside the courtyard for the purpose of a guilt-offering, in order to wave it, for it requires waving [while it was still] alive.-[Men. 61a]

 

and he shall wave them i.e., the guilt-offering and the log.-[Men. 61a]

 

13 In the place where one slaughters the sin-offering and the burnt offering Namely, on the side of the [copper] altar, at the north [of the sanctuary courtyard]. But what is this verse coming to teach us? Was it not already stated regarding the law of the guilt-offering in the parashah of צַַו אֶת־אַהֲרֹן (Lev. 7:2) that the guilt-offering was required to be slaughtered in the north? But since this guilt-offering differs from other guilt-offerings insofar as it requires placing [together with the one bringing it], one might think that the animal should be slaughtered where it is placed [i.e., at The Nicanor gate and not at the northern side of the altar]. Scripture, therefore, says, “He shall slaughter the lamb in the place where one slaughters the sin-offering and the burnt offering.”-[Torath Kohanim 14:46]

 

For...it is like the sin-offering [I.e.,] For it is like all sin- offerings.

 

the guilt-offering [I.e.,] this guilt- offering [is like a sin-offering, insofar as:]

 

it is to the kohen In all the procedures of holy service [performed] by the kohen, this guilt-offering is likened to a sin-offering. [This is specified] so that one should not say that, since the blood of this guilt-offering is unlike that of other guilt-offerings, insofar as it is placed on the cartilage of the ear and on the thumb and big toe (see verse 14), it should also [be an exception in that it] should not require applications of blood and the prescribed fats upon the altar. Therefore, it is said, “regarding the [service of the] kohen, the guilt-offering is just like the sin-offering.” [However, if this is so,] one might think that its blood is applied above [the red line demarcating the upper and lower parts of the altar (see Rashi Lev. 1:5)], like [the blood of] a sin-offering. Scripture, therefore, says [(Lev. 7:1): “And this is the law of a guilt-offering,” where the term  תּוֹרָה, “law,” is an inclusive term, coming here to include this special guilt-offering, that its blood should be applied below the red line as with other guilt-offerings, [even though in all other respects this sacrifice is similar to a sin-offering].- [Torath Kohanim 14:47; Zev. 49a]

 

14 cartilage Heb. תְּנוּךְ. The middle wall of the ear (Torath Kohanim 14:50). The actual etymology of the term תְּנוּךְ is unknown to me [i.e., whether it is Hebrew or Aramaic], but the interpreters call it tendron [or tandrum].

 

thumb Heb. בֹּהֶן. The thumb [or the big toe].

 

16 [And sprinkle...] before the Lord opposite, [i.e., in the direction of] the Holy of Holies.-[Torath Kohanim 14:53]

 

20 and the meal offering [A collective term, referring to all three] libation meal offerings of [these] animals. [See Rashi on verse 10]

 

21 and one tenth [of an ephah] of fine flour for [the libation meal offering to accompany] this lamb, which is one, he shall bring one “tenth” [of an ephah of flour] for his libation offering [to accompany his one lamb].

 

and a log of oil to place some of it [upon the cartilage of the ear and] on the thumb and big toe. However, as far as the [amount of] oil required for the libation meal offerings, Scripture did not need to specify [for we know it from another passage (see Num. 15)].

 

23 on the eighth day of his cleansing [I.e.,] on the eighth day after [he had brought] the birds and been sprinkled with the cedar stick, the hyssop, and the strip of crimson wool [for that procedure is also called a “cleansing,” albeit interim].

 

28 on the place of the blood of the guilt-offering Even if the blood had been wiped off. This teaches us that the blood is not

 

Ketubim: Tehillim (Psalms) 79:1-4

 

 

Rashi’s Commentary for: Tehillim (Psalms) 79:1-4

 

1 into heaps Now what is this song? Is it not a lamentation? But because it says (Lam. 4:11): “The Lord has spent His fury.” With what has He spent it? “He has kindled a fire in Zion.” This is a song and an occasion for singing, for He poured out His fury on the wood and stones and did not utterly destroy His children.

 

2 the flesh of Your pious ones Now were they not wicked? But since they received their punishment, they are accounted as pious men. Similarly, Scripture states (Deut. 25:3): “your brother would be degraded before your eyes.” As soon as he is lashed, he is your brother. It is explained in this manner in the Aggadah (Mid. Ps. 79:4).

 

4 and derision Heb. וקלס, an expression of speech, to speak of them as for a byword.

 

Meditation from the Psalms

Tehillim (Psalms) ‎‎79:1-4

By: Hakham Dr. Hillel ben David

 

The superscription of this psalm ascribes authorship to Assaf, son of Qorach. Assaf composed many psalms, whose relationship to his personal life is not readily apparent. In this case however, Midrash Shocher Tov^[14] explains that Assaf's approach to this subject can be un­derstood by means of a parable:

 

A beggar's daughter once went to fill her earthenware jug at a well. Much to her dismay, the rope snapped and her jug fell deep into the well. The poor girl was crushed by the loss of her only vessel, for she knew that no one would make an effort to retrieve such an inexpensive utensil Suddenly, however, the king's daughter arrived to draw some well water in her golden pitcher. Accidently, this precious pitcher also tumbled into the well. Upon observ­ing this, the beggar's daughter burst into a joyous dance, saying 'The person who descends into the pit to retrieve the princess' precious pitcher will be able to retrieve my jug as well!'

 

Midrash Shocher Tov explains that Assaf had been distressed when his father, Qorach, was swallowed into the bowels of the earth.^[15] He lost all hope for his father's return, until he received a prophetic vision that the gates of the Temple would also be swallowed by the earth, while the rest of the Sanctuary was destroyed. The vision concluded with these very same gates being raised it to their former glory. Then Assaf became ecstatic. He composed this psalm, saying, 'He who shall descend to the bowels of the earth to retrieve the Temple's gates will also raise my father, Qorach.'

 

A similar problem was presented to Haman in Megillat Esther. Haman was casting lots to choose the most auspicious time to annihilate the Jews. The lot fell on Adar, which seemed auspicious to Haman because Moshe died on Adar 7. Unfortunately for Haman, Moshe was also born on Adar 7. So instead of helping Haman, his endeavor was doomed.

 

Since this psalm focuses on Qorach, I thought I’d spend a little time to look at this man.

 

Qorach was a very great man, though one must read carefully to appreciate this fact. The name of this Torah reading, Qorach, provokes an obvious question: Why is this portion named after a man who appears to be very wicked? It is written:

 

Proverbs 10:7 The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot.

 

To understand the answer to this question, we must remember that Qorach’s identity is perpetuated forever, since the Torah is eternal. From a mystical perspective,^[16] it is explained that Qorach’s desires reflected the spiritual heights to be reached in the era of the redemption. Qorach’s problem was a problem with timing. He was ahead of his time. Unfortunately, this bad timing also manifested a split in the congregation. Thus, we see that Qorach was appropriately named, for the Hebrew root word qorach means “division” or “split”,^[17] and Chazal^[18] associate Qorach, not only in fact, but also in essence, with the cause of a division. The Targum Onkelos tells us that Qorach made a ‘division’.

 

Targum Onkelos to Numbers 16:1 But Korach bar Izhar bar Kahath bar Levi, and Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On bar Pelath of the Beni Reuben, made a division.

 

In the Messianic age, the Levites (Qorach’s tribe) will be elevated to the station of priests, and the entire Jewish people will reach pinnacles of spiritual experience, as we read in the Prophet Yoel:

 

Yoel 3:1-2 And it shall come to pass afterward, I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: 2 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.

 

Now that we realize that Qorach was a great man, we can begin to understand his sin.

 

The commentators explain that Qorach’s sin was an infraction, for which there is no room for forgiveness. First, his declaration that Moshe had no right to lead a nation in which everybody was holy, contradicts the order of creation. The world was created upon the principle of a mashpia (giver), one who influences, who inspires others, and on a mekabel (receiver), one who is influenced, who accepts from him. This is the relationship of male and female, heaven and earth, Rebbe and talmid, teacher and student. Just as there is nothing on this physical world that is not in some way connected to the spiritual world from which it receives its sustenance, so, too, is everything in this world sustained through the mashpia/mekabel process. Qorach wanted to exist beyond the parameters that HaShem set for this world. He wanted everyone to be equal. This indicated rebellion against HaShem’s course of directing the world.

 

The Jewish Encyclopedia, in the article “Sun”, tells us the following:

 

The sun and the moon are employed as symbols in the Kabbala. Generally, the sun is masculine and represents the principal or independent—technically it is the “giver” (“mashpia”); Abraham is the sun; so is Samuel, because he was independent, accepting no gift or fee from any one.^[19] The moon is feminine, and represents the secondary or dependent—technically the “receiver” (“mekabel”). Thus, the sun means the father; the moon, the mother. Moses and Aaron; the rich man and the poor man; the Torah and the Talmud; Rabbi and Rabina (or R. Ashi), are respectively the sun and the moon.^[20] Samson’s name denotes “sun,” as he, likewise, was independent. The initial letters of the names Samuel, Moses, and Samson spell “shemesh” (= “sun”). The Messiah is the sun: “And his throne as the sun before me”.^[21]

 

1. How do we understand this dispute? What was the root reason behind this dispute?

 

The root reason is that Qorach believed that they had already entered the Messianic age. He disputed that he had to be a receiver. It was Qorach’s understanding that he had become a giver, along with the other two-hundred and fifty men. They believed that they no longer needed to be receivers. There was no more Rebbe and talmid. We are all holy, we are all Shabbat, we are all the sun, we are all givers.

 

The face of Moshe was like the face of the sun, where the face of Joshua was like the face of the moon.^[22] The Hebrew word for afternoon is צוהריים  tzoharayam, this word has the same gematria as Moshe = 345. The value is equal because the afternoon is when the sun is shining the brightest, and Moshe is the sun.

 

Not all those who were in Qorach’s company were enticed:

 

Sanhedrin 109b  Rab said: On, the son of Peleth, was saved by his wife. Said she to him, ‘What matters it to thee? Whether the one [Moses] remains master or the other [Qorach] becomes master, thou art but a disciple.’ He replied, ‘But what can I do? I have taken part in their counsel, and they have sworn me [to be] with them.’ She said, ‘I know that they are all a holy community, as it is written, seeing all the congregation are holy, everyone of them. [So,]’ she proceeded, ‘Sit here, and I will save thee.’ She gave him wine to drink, intoxicated him and laid him down within [the tent]. Then she sat down at the entrance thereto and loosened her hair. Whoever came [to summon him] saw her and retreated. Meanwhile, Qorach’s wife joined them [the rebels] and said to him [Qorach], ‘See what Moses has done. He himself has become king; his brother he appointed High Priest; his brother’s sons he hath made the vice High Priests. If terumah is brought, he decrees, Let it be for the priest; if the tithe is brought, which belongs to you [i.e., to the Levite], he orders, Give a tenth part thereof to the priest. Moreover, he has had your hair cut off, and makes sport of you as though ye were dirt; for he was jealous of your hair.’ Said he to her, ‘But he has done likewise!’ She replied, ‘Since all the greatness was his, he said also, Let me die with the Philistines. Moreover, he has commanded you, Set [fringes] of blue wool [in the corners of your garments]; but if there is virtue in blue wool, then bring forth blue wool, and clothe thine entire academy therewith.’ Thus it is written, Every wise woman buildeth her house — this refers to the wife of On, the son of Peleth; but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands — to Qorach’s wife.

 

HaShem clearly delineates the positions, rights, and duties of priests and Levites; He quickly rejects Qorach’s impressive, but premature, attempt to establish a Messianic democracy. The wicked both quickly flourish and quickly wither:

 

Tehillim (Psalms) 92:7 When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed for ever… 12 The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

 

The final letters of that verse’s last three words tsadik katamar yifrach spell Qorach-- in the end of days, his egalitarian vision will indeed prevail.^[23]

 

“Qorach was such an intelligent person, how could he have made such a colossal blunder [and rebel against Moshe]?” This is the question that our Sages pose.^[24] They answer that he misinterpreted the information that he had. Qorach knew prophetically that he would have extremely great descendants. The prophet Samuel, equal in stature to Moshe and Aharon, was one of them. Qorach reasoned that the merit and service of his future offspring were so great that it had be he that would prevail in the rebellion. The problem is that Qorach did not hear that this greatness would be due to his sons, not to his own actions. Qorach’s sons, Assir, Elkanah, and Avaisaph, saints and prophets, repent before it’s too late, and they survive;^[25] they’re the first of forty-eight prophets succeeding Moshe.^[26] They authored Tehillim (Psalms) 42, 44-9, 84-5, 87-8.

 

Qorach was the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi. We do not mention that he was the son of Yaaqov. Rashi introduces our Parasha with the statement: “This Parasha is explained nicely in the midrash of Rabbi Tanchuma”. Rashi quoted the midrash Tanchuma, that the Patriarch Yaaqov had pleaded not to have any share in the rebellion of Qorach. For that reason, Qorach’s genealogy stops before mentioning Yaaqov:

 

Rashi:  the son of Izhar the son of Kohath the son of Levi [The verse] does not mention, “the son of Jacob,” because he [Jacob] prayed not to be mentioned in connection with their quarrel, as it is stated, “my honor, you shall not join their assembly” (Gen. 49:6). And where is his name mentioned in connection with Qorach? In (I) Chron. (6:22, 23), where their genealogy is traced for the service of the Levites on the platform [in the Temple], as it says, “the son of Qorach, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, the son of Israel”.^[27]

 

The Midrash Rabbah adds additional insight:

 

Midrash Rabbah - Numbers XVIII:5 NOW KORAH, THE SON OF IZHAR, THE SON OF KOHATH, THE SON OF LEVI... TOOK. Why is it not written, ‘The son of Jacob’ or ‘The son of Israel’? This bears on the text, Let my soul not come into their council (Gen. XLIX, 6), namely that of the spies; Unto their assembly let my glory not be united (ib.), namely to that of Qorach. Jacob said to the Holy One, blessed be He: ‘Sovereign of the Universe! Let not my name be mentioned with those wicked people, either in connection with the spies or in connection with Qorach’s quarrel. When then should my name be mentioned? When they trace their pedigrees to take their stand upon the dais; and so it says, The son of Tahlath, the son of Assir, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Qorach, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, the son of Israel.^[28]

 

2. Why didn’t Yaaqov want to have his name associated with the sin of Qorach, as opposed to the golden calf or the sin of the spies?

 

Yaaqov was the ultimate receiver. Yaaqov is represented by the moon. In Kiddush Lavanah (the moon blessing) we face the moon and we say:

 

ברוך יוצריך	Blessed be your Maker,	The first letter of each word spells: יעקב - Yaaqov. The “man in the moon”, the face, is the face of Yaaqov. This explains why he did not want to be associated with a receiver who had failed.
ברוך עושיך	blessed be your Former,
ברוך קוניך	blessed be your Creator,
ברוך בוראיך	blessed be your Possessor.

 

Qorach went around “all night” according to the Midrash:

 

Midrash Rabbah - Numbers XVIII:10 NEITHER HAVE I HURT ONE OF THEM (XVI, 15). By this Moses meant: I did not condemn the innocent nor acquit the guilty. When Moses saw that they persisted in their haughtiness, he said to them: BE THOU AND ALL THY CONGREGATION BEFORE THE LORD... TO-MORROW  (ib. 16) Qorach went about all that night and misled the Israelites. He said to them: ‘ What do you suppose? That I am working to obtain greatness for myself? I desire that we should all enjoy greatness in turn, not like Moses who has appropriated the kingship to himself and has given the High Priesthood to his brother!’ And so he went about winning over each tribe with arguments suited to that particular tribe, until they made common cause with him. How is this inferred? From the text, AND KORAH ASSEMBLED ALL THE CONGREGATION AGAINST THEM  (ib. 19). They approached Moses, all speaking as Qorach did. Instantly, THE LORD SPOKE UNTO MOSES AND UNTO AARON, SAYING: SEPARATE YOURSELVES FROM AMONG THIS CONGREGATION,.. AND THEY FELL UPON THEIR FACES  (ib. 20 f.).

 

3. Why does the Midrash stress that Qorach sought support all night?

 

Qorach did his work of gaining support at night, because subconsciously he knew that he did his best work at night. Qorach is the night man. The night is the receiver in the same way Qorach was a receiver. Rashi tells us about Qorach’s nighttime work:

 

Rashi: 19 Qorach assembled... against them with words of mockery. All that night, he went to the tribes and enticed them [saying,] “Do you think I care only for myself? I care for all of you. These [people] come and take all the high positions: the kingship for himself and the kahuna for his brother,” until they were all enticed.^[29]

 

Moses says that “in the morning” HaShem will reveal His will. The Midrash lends us some additional insight:

 

Midrash Rabbah - Numbers XVIII:4 Said He: In the morning the Lord will show who are His (Num. XVI, 5). What is the reason why He chose such a time? R. Nathan explained: The Holy One, blessed be He, said: ‘ If all the magicians of the world were to assemble and try to turn the morning into evening, they would not be able to do so, and as I made a partition between light and darkness, so have I set Aaron apart to sanctify him as most holy.’

 

4. Why does Moses wait till the morning to resolve this issue? Why not resolve it now?

 

Moshe procrastinated till the morning because he is the sun, the daytime. Qorach is the moon, he is the night. Therefore, Moshe wanted to wait until his time, his turf had arrived. Moshe wanted Qorach to see that this is the reality, that Qorach is the receiver.

 

Rashi alludes to this:

 

Rashi: near to Him Heb. וְהִקְרִיב אֵלָיו . And the Targum [Onkelos] proves this [that it is referring to both the Levites and the kohanim], for he renders the first phrase, “He will bring them close to Him” [and the second phrase] “He will bring into His service.” The Midrashic interpretation of בּֽקֶר , morning, [rather than מָחָר , tomorrow] is: Moses said to him [Qorach], The Holy One, blessed is He, assigned boundaries to His world. Are you able to transform morning into evening? That is how possible it is for you to undo this, as it says, “It was evening and it was morning... and He separated (וַיַּבְדֵּל) “ (Gen. 1:5, 7); similarly, “Aaron was set apart (וַיִּבָּדֵל) to sanctify him...”^[30].^[31]

 

Rashi also tells us why Moshe put the decision off till the morning:

 

Rashi: 5 In the morning, the Lord will make known Night is a time of drunkenness for us, and it is improper to appear before Him. His real intention was to delay, with the hope that they might retract [their opposition].^[32]

 

Midrashim relate that Qorach’s 250 men donned solid blue four-cornered garments (tallit) and ridiculed Moshe’s ruling, that they still needed the blue string, amidst the other fringes, at each corner of the garment. The Midrash Rabba offers further insight:

 

Midrash Rabbah - Numbers XVIII:3 NOW KORAH... TOOK. What is written in the preceding passage? Bid them that they make them... fringes... and that they put with the fringe of each corner a thread of blue (Num. XV, 38). Qorach jumped up and asked Moses: ‘If a cloak is entirely of blue, what is the law as regards its being exempted from the obligation of fringes? ‘Moses answered him:’ It is subject to the obligation of fringes. ‘Qorach retorted:’ A cloak that is entirely composed of blue cannot free itself from the obligation, yet the four blue threads do free it! If,’ he asked again, ‘a house is full of Scriptural books, what is the law as regards its being exempt from the obligation of mezuzah?’ He answered him: ‘It is under the obligation of having a mezuzah.’ ‘The whole Torah,’ he argued, ‘which contains two hundred and seventy-five sections, cannot exempt the house, yet the one section in the mezuzah exempts it! These are things,’ he continued, ‘which you have not been commanded, but you are inventing them out of your own mind!’

 

The Keli Yakar quotes the above Midrash. At the end of the previous Parasha (Shelach), we were informed of the mitzva of tzitzit. Qorach “took” the Parasha of tzitzit and challenged Moshe in the realms of Halacha. If a garment is completely made of Techelet does it need tzitzit of Techelet on its’ fringes? Moshe replied in the affirmative. Qorach challenged the answer given by Moshe.

 

Rashi gives us a similar response:

 

Rashi:  Dathan and Abiram Since the tribe of Reuben was settled in the south when they camped, thus being neighbors of Kohath and his children who were also camped in the south, they joined with Qorach in his rebellion. Woe to the wicked, and woe to his neighbor! Now what made Qorach decide to quarrel with Moses? He envied the chieftainship of Elizaphan the son of Uzziel whom Moses appointed as chieftain over the sons of Kohath by the [Divine] word. Qorach claimed, “My father and his brothers were four [in number]” as it says, “The sons of Kohath were...” (Exod. 6:18). Amram was the first, and his two sons received greatness—one a king and one a kohen gadol. Who is entitled to receive the second [position]? Is it not I, who am the son of Izhar, who is the second brother to Amram? And yet, he [Moses] appointed to the chieftainship the son of his youngest brother! I hereby oppose him and will invalidate his word.^[33] What did he do? He went and assembled two hundred and fifty men, heads of Sanhedrin, most of them from the tribe of Reuben, his neighbors. These were Elitzur the son of Shedeur and his colleagues, and others like him, as it says, “chieftains of the congregation, those called to the assembly.” And further it states, “These were the chosen ones of the congregation” (1:16). He dressed them with cloaks made entirely of blue wool. They came and stood before Moses and asked him, “Does a cloak made entirely of blue wool require fringes [‘tzitzit’], or is it exempt?” He replied, “It does require [fringes].” They began laughing at him [saying], “Is it possible that a cloak of another [colored] material, one string of blue wool exempts it [from the obligation of Techelet], and this one, which is made entirely of blue wool, should not exempt itself?^[34]

 

If one thread of Techelet can be used to exempt a garment of tzitzit, then surely a garment of Techelet would not require tzitzit?

 

5. Why does Qorach choose tzitzit (fringes) for his argument as opposed to the Parah Adumah or another chok?^[35]

 

The word tzitzit, fringes, is related to that which bursts forth with life from seemingly dead earth and trees;  after Qorach’s debacle, we read that only Aaron’s rod flowered, “Vayatzetz Tzitz”, and put forth buds.^[36] The garment, Heb. begged, represents external physical reality, the illusory world of the senses, limited by its four corners, unless one progresses to the transcendental world of truth and eternity, via the mitzvot, linking every aspect of mundane life to HaShem, it’s represented by the blue string.

 

We are to see the tzitzit. If we wear a tallit at night, we do not need tzitzit. They only need tzitzit by day so that we can see them. Thus we understand that the reason Qorach chose to dispute this mitzva was due to his perspective. He was coming from the perspective of night! And from his perspective, he was right!

 

Moshe took his perspective of the sun, of daytime. The tallit requires tzitzit during the day.

 

Qorach’s eye mislead him. Qorach saw that Shmuel the prophet would be his descendant. He sought leadership because he saw how great his descendants would be, even though the one not chosen would die. The Midrash confirms this:

 

Midrash Rabbah - Numbers XVIII:8 Now Qorach, who was a clever man--what reason had he for such folly? His mind’s eye misled him. He foresaw that a long and distinguished progeny would emanate from him, particularly Samuel, whose importance would equal that of Moses and Aaron; as may be inferred from the text, Moses and Aaron among His priests, and Samuel among them that call upon His Name,^[37] and that from among his descendants there would be formed twenty-four Levitical divisions all of whom would prophesy under the influence of the Holy Spirit; as it says, All these were the sons of Heman.^[38] He argued: ‘Is it reasonable that, since such greatness is destined to emanate from me, I should keep silent?‘ He did not, however, foresee accurately. In fact his sons repented, and it was from them that the distinguished progeny was to emanate. Moses, however, did foresee it. The reason then why Qorach was foolish enough to risk that danger was because he heard from Moses that they would all perish and one of them would escape; as it says, AND IT SHALL BE THAT THE MAN WHOM THE LORD DOTH CHOOSE, HE SHALL BE HOLY.

 

Rashi also tells us about these great descendants:

 

Rashi:  7 you have taken too much upon yourselves, sons of Levi Heb. רַב לָכֶם בְּנֵי לֵוִי , [interpreted Midrashically as:] I have told you a very great thing. Were they not fools? For he warned them about it and they [still] took upon themselves to offer [the incense]. They sinned at the cost of their lives, as it says, “the censers of these who sinned at the cost of their lives” (17:3). But what did Qorach, who was astute, see [to commit] this folly? His vision deceived him. He saw [prophetically] a chain of great people descended from him: Samuel, who is equal [in importance] to Moses and Aaron. He [Qorach] said, “For his sake I will be spared. [He also saw] twenty-four watches [of Levites] emanating from his grandsons, all prophesying through the holy spirit, as it says, “all these were the sons of Heman” (I Chron 25:5). He said, “Is it possible that all this greatness is destined to emanate from me, and I should remain silent?” Therefore, he participated [in the rebellion] to reach that prerogative, for he had heard from Moses that they would all perish and one would escape [death]: “the one whom the Lord chooses—he is the holy one.” He erred in thinking that it referred to him. He, however, did not “see” properly, for his sons repented [and thus did not die at that time]. Moses, however, foresaw this.^[39]

 

6. If Qorach had prophecy, why did Qorach’s eye not see that the descendants greatness was due to his children’s merit, not his?

 

Because in order to hear a prophecy in its entirety, one must learn how to listen, how to be a receiver. Without this skill, Qorach did not hear the whole prophecy. Qorach wanted to give, therefore he missed the part that comes from a giver. Moshe, on the other hand, had perfected the art of hearing by being the receiver from HaShem. He had perfected the art of hearing.

 

7. Why did Dathan and Abiram say that they will not come even if Moses would pull their eyes out of their sockets? Why eyes?

 

The eyes see during the day. We need light to see. Dathan and Abiram said they were givers, men of the day, and they did not need to see, because eyes receive whilst we are givers now. Light will come from our eye sockets, we are givers now. They had bought into Qorach’s arguments.

 

8. Why did HaShem open the ground to kill Qorach and his followers, as opposed to plague or some other way?

 

The ground “received” Qorach to indicate that Qorach and his followers were receivers. This was HaShem’s last message to Qorach. The ground formed a mouth which receives, and the mouth swallowed Qorach.

 

9. Why did HaShem have to prove that Aharon was the man with the sprouting rods? Why not use a bat kol?

 

Aharon was the giver in the area of the priesthood. Aharon represented the sun, too. Obviously Aharon’s staff was still connected to its source. It produced fruit because it is still connected to its source. Aharon was therefore the source – the giver. Everyone else is the receiver that had cut themselves off from Aharon the giver.

 

10. In Tehillim 92:13, it says:  צדיק כתמר יפרח - The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: – the last letters spell Qorach’s name. The Arizal says that Qorach was a  צדיק - Tzadik.

 

Qorach was wise and there will be a time when he is a giver. Unfortunately, his timing was way off. Qorach was trying to assume the role of a giver at a time when HaShem still had him as a receiver. But the letters of Qorach’s name appear at the end of the words to indicate that in the end Qorach will be a Tzadik, not now.

 

11. Why was Joshua punished by having laws removed from his memory?

 

Moshe receives Torah from HaShem and then he turns around and becomes the Rebbe, the teacher, giving Torah to Joshua and the people. Joshua later turns around and becomes the giver. However, because he assumes the role of the giver a minute early, his punishment is to forget what he received, because he is still supposed to be a receiver! Joshua said that he had never left Moshe’s side, therefore he had received everything, yet it was not yet his time to be a giver. In each generation there is a Torah teacher who is the giver of his generation. One day the world will be filled with the knowledge of HaShem. We will all be filled to capacity. Thus we learn that this current situation where we have a Rebbe and a talmid, is a temporary situation. It will not always be this way.

 

12. In the Song of Shabbat, Psalm 92, the first letters of each word spell Moshe, thus Moshe is Shabbat. Moshe was called Shabbat. How can this be?

 

Only Shabbat has sanctity, the six days have no inherent sanctity, but rather they receive their sanctity from Shabbat. That is why we begin Shabbat early on the sixth day and extend Shabbat into the first day of the week. We are injecting the sanctity of Shabbat into the six work days by affecting the first and the last of those six days. In the same way, Moshe was holy and was giving that holiness to the people. He was giving the Torah and they were receiving it. Moshe is the sun, he is Shabbat, he is the giver. Qorach and the people are the moon, they are the six work days, they are the receivers.

 

On the fourth day, HaShem created the two great luminaries, later it calls them a greater and a lesser luminaries. This is because the sun and the moon were equal, later the moon was diminished. Shabbat and Rosh Chodesh: This represents a fusion of opposites. Shabbat is associated with the weekly cycle of the sun, whereas Rosh Chodesh is associated with the lunar cycle. The two reflect the difference between a mashpia (giver) and a mekabel (receiver). This very differentiation, however, also implies that a connection is established between them; the mashpia and the mekabel are united.

 

The concepts of mashpia and mekabel are reflected in Parshat Qorach. Qorach appreciated the positive quality of the recipients. Thus, he asked Moshe: “Why do you raise yourself above the congregation of G-d?”^[40] This was a mistake. Although the recipients have great positive qualities, these qualities are revealed when they submit themselves to the guidance of the mashpia.

 

13. Why can’t there be two kings with the same crown? Why can’t both the moon and the sun be equal?

 

Everything that HaShem created is a pair: Heaven and earth, sun and moon, Adam and Chava, man and woman, this world and the next world, givers and receivers, Rebbe and talmid, Shabbat and the six work days. However, HaShem is One and He is unique, He is NOT a pair. Everything in this world works as either a giver or a receiver. These pairs define everything in this world. A man gives and a woman receives. Though on occasion they assume opposite roles, never the less, they are primarily in these roles. Thus the sun is the giver and the moon is the receiver.

 

14. Why did HaShem create them equal and then later diminish one?

 

The world operates with givers and receivers now, but, that was not how it was in the beginning, nor is it how we will function in the end.^[41] When Mashiach comes, there will be a drastic change when everyone will become a giver.

 

In the Kiddush Lavanah we say: Fill the lacking of the moon that there be no diminishing of the moon and that its light be equal to the sun as it was in the beginning. One day we will all be able to give, even as the moon will be able to give its own light.

 

Ashlamata: Melachim bet (II Kings) 7:3-11 + 8:4-5

 

 

Rashi’s Commentary to: Melachim bet (II Kings) 7:3-11 + 8:4-5

 

Chapter 7

 

3 Now there were four men Gehazi and his sons.

 

at the entrance of the gate as it is said (Lev. 13:46) “He shall live alone; outside the camp shall be his habitation.”

 

6 had caused the Aramean camp to hear It seemed to them as though they were hearing.

 

9 We will incur guilt We will be held guilty by the throne.

 

10 as they were as they were full at the beginning; they did not take out what was in them.

 

12 that we are hungry and long to go out to the loot and to the food.

 

13 that are left there within the city, that did not die of hunger.

 

Behold, they are like all the multitude of Israel that are left there If they will say that they are imperiled lest the Arameans kill them, behold they are in this city in peril of famine like the rest of all the multitude of Israel that are left there, and if they die, they are like all the multitude of Israel that have perished from hunger.

 

15 in their haste in their hurry to flee.

 

17 upon whose hand he leaned on the day before, when he came to Elisha’s house.

 

Chapter 8

 

1 Now Elisha had spoken to the woman already seven years before.

 

for the Lord has decreed a famine This is the famine that took place in the days of Joel the son of Pethuel.

 

3 about her house and about her field which robbers occupied.

 

Commentary on the Ashlamata of Melakhim 2(2 Kings 7:3-11 + 8:4-5

By: H.Ex. Adon Shlomoh Ben Abraham

 

Back in the day, being a prophet was a dangerous job. The king of Israel Jehoram^[42] had decided that the long famine which had lasted for seven years that come upon them was Elisha’s fault and it was time for him to die. The king and his messenger/Captain went down to take care of the problem when Elisha proceeded to relate G‑d’s word to the king that in fact the famine was about to abruptly end. The king’s close aide, the messenger who was there with his master to kill the prophet, could not contain himself, and exclaimed in disbelief: v.1-2. “How is this possible?! Even if G‑d caused the flour and barley to rain from the heavens,^[43] they could never become so cheap!”  In response, Elisha told them that he would indeed see the prophecy come true, but he (the messenger) would not live long enough to enjoy it. V.17f.

 

It is at this point in the story that the obvious connection to the Torah reading is in the opening sentence. The Parshah (or both Parashiot when Tzaria and Metzora are joined) deals with the laws of tzaraat, (leprosy) the biblical malady that would come upon either a home, clothes or one’s own skin. Our reading begins with the scene of four metzora’im  (individuals suffering from tzaraat) sitting at the city gates. The Torah instructs that a metzora must live in the “outskirts of the camp” until his tzaraat is cured, and it was for this reason that they were sitting at the city gate.^[44]

 

The Talmud identifies these four metzora’im as Gehazi^[45] and his three sons.^[46] Gehazi was the servant of Elisha and had been stricken by tzaraat because of a previous incident. An earlier episode relates how Elisha cured Naaman, the general of Aram, from his condition of tzaraat. Elisha had refused to take any gift from Naaman in appreciation for the miracle. After Naaman had gone on his way, Gehazi seized the opportunity and ran after the general. Pretending to speak on behalf of his master, Gehazi asked Naaman for some silver and clothes for two “disciples of the prophets” who had just come to Elisha. Naaman willingly obliged. Elisha, who knew prophetically about the actions of his servant, told him that as punishment, the tzaraat that was lifted from Naaman would come to both Gehazi and his children, who collaborated with him on this. Gehazi and his three sons remained metzora’im for the rest of their lives.^[47]  It looks like after the Leprosy came on Gehazi and his sons, they just continued the downward path they choose, now it was lying, deception, fraud and possible thief and leading to maybe murder if they did not tell the king of the deserted riches of the Syrians.  A practical lesson for us here as we are now in the middle of the month of Elul, which is the period of TESHUVAH, repentance, self-examination and reflection.

 

The four lepers, we're sitting at the gate discussing whether they should sit there and die. Or maybe go down there to the enemy’s camp and join the Syrians/Aramean. They reasoned the Syrians who are at war with Israel will either kill us or give us something to eat. Either way, they knew they could not go back into the city and besides, the city was starving to death also, so reason would lead them to the Syrians.  They rose up at twilight in the evening as the sun went down.^[48] When they got to the Syrian camp, there was nobody there. They had deserted all their equipment, food, money and animals.

 

Hashem made the host of the Syrians hear a noise of Chariots and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host. We're not told how. But the Assyrian army said one to another, the king of Israel had hired against us, the kings of the Hittites and Egyptians. Hashem was messing with their minds and in their fear, they arose and flew in the twilight to escape, while leaving everything they fled through their lives. This past week we had a similar incident where the enemies of Israel was humiliated just after they hear a sound in their ears and in a metaphorical way had their tents looted.

 

The four lepers came to the tents and found them all empty. They went into one tent and began to eat and drink, then they began to carry out the silver and gold, then they came again to another tent and carried out the riches. We're only told of two but there may have been more. As they began to talk amongst themselves, they said we should not do this. They remembered their fellow countrymen back in the city of Samaria, who were perishing from hunger, and they return to share the good news with their fellow Israelites. The result of the “good news” the feminine is over there is an abundance of food.

 

 Elisha had called for the seven years of fame and to chastise the hearts of the Israelites.   All famines are chastisements inflicted by the hand of God; and this famine was double duration of the one which happened in the time of Elijah a doubling of severity, since the Israelites continued in their sin.  According to the rabbis, the first year of the famine, the Israelites who remained in their own territories ate everything they had left in their homes. In the second year, they eat everything left in their fields, in the third year, they ate the meat of their kosher animals, and in the fourth year. They ate the meat to their nonkosher animals in the 5th year they ate the meat of mice and rats and such like. And then the 6th year, their sons and daughters. In the 7th year they begin to eat the flesh of their own arms.^[49]

 

It's an interesting text, these four lepers^[50] began to reason with themselves, we are not doing right.  This day is a day of good tidings^[51], and we hold our peace. We'd better not wait for the morning; we must go and tell the King's household.  So, they went to the gate to tell the Porter, and he woke up the king. The king sent men to check it out and then we have the king talking with Gehazi. Maybe he wanted to know a little bit more about the situation since Gehazi had been the one who reported to the king about the Syrian Army fleeing. Within the conversation, the King asked about the man of God (Gehazi having been his servant). What's Elisha been up to? What has he done? So Gehazi begins to tell the king how Elisha had restored a dead body to life, as he was beginning to tell the story, lo and behold, up walked woman whose son he had restored.  Gehazi saw her walk up and exclaim.  OHH, my Lord King, this is the woman, and this is her son who my master Elisha has restored. The Shunammite women came to appeal to the King for the restoration of her land that had been taken over by squatters while she was away during the famine.

 

It's a nice story and it seems to have had a happy ending? But if we may, let us investigate the story and see what we can discover.  Below are some observations, for us to think about...

 

-Who is the king?  The king is identified as Jehoram, king of the ten Northern tribes.

-Who is Gehazi? A servant of Elisha, who seemed to not have much faith in the Prophet, nor did he seem  

  to have a true heart. Which preceded his leprosy.

-Who are the four lepers sitting outside the gate?  The Rabbis say, Gehazi and his three sons, who took

  part in his crimes. Why four and not three or two or even just Gehazi. The others do not seem to play a

  substantial part in moving the story forward and are not mentioned again.

-Where is our geographical location? In Samaria, located about halfway between Judea in the south and

  galilee in the north looking down over the Jezreel valley.

-Both Elijah and “double portion” Elisha were prophet to the northern kingdom.     

-The theme that runs through the book of Melakhim: the prophets reminded the King and the people that

  their future depended on the faithfulness to God and their covenant responsibilities.

-Three miracles of Elisha are brought together in our text. 1.) The prophecy of a son’s birth and the raising

  of that son from the dead.2ki.4:8-37.  2.) Healing of Naaman a gentile leper, and his leprosy being placed

  on Gehazi and his sons (measure for measure). 3.) The miracle of the fleeing Syrians, God made them hear

  the sound of a great army, the famine ended, and the next day relief came to the ten tribes of Israel.

-The reason the lepers headed to the Syrian camp was an act of survival. At the same time the famine had

  been degreed over. The 7-year famine ended in Nissan.

-The lepers went to the gatekeeper (שׁוֹעֵר šôʿēr)

-The Shunammite woman 4:8-37, is said to be of the tribe Issachar. Issachar’s blessing is the calling of

  people. Rashi says, “they will suck the fish of the sea and the treasure of the sand”.

-The Shunammite woman’s story is similar to, the birth stories of the Matriarchs. Her promised son born

  in spring of the next year, Nissan

-The Shunammite story has echoes of the story of Ruth.4:13 “I dwell among my on people”. She goes to

  the King to request her land back. Naomi and Ruth arrive in Bethlehem Nissan 14. When she meets the

  King while talking to Gehazi, with her son in tow, he is believed to be 10-12 years. Both Naomi and the

  Shunammite left the Land due to a famine and returned at the end of the seven years. Both women fall

  at the feet of a man. Ruth the Goel and Shunammite the prophet.

-The themes of the promised son, prophecy of the birth of a son and death of a son echoes our reading

  sabbaths of consolation and the story of Ruth.

-Jacob described Issachar as “between the burdens” which can also be translated as between the walls”

  and as a strong donkey. Gen49:14. We have walls and a donkey in the text of the Shunammite.

 

It seems in the bringing together of these characters and the events in their lives, the events that brought them into our present text, we should be able to see a few of the messianic connections. That I think are to be found in this Parsha.   Just as in our own personal lives we get so caught up in the day to day living that we fail to see all the many times Gods hand is working to help us get to that single defining point in the future that we need to get to.

 

Special Ashlamata for the Seventh Sabbath of Consolation

Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 61:10 – 63:9

 

 

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

 

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 Menachoth (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 presence., Michael the prince of the Presence, of those who minister before Him saved them always as an agent of the Omnipresent.

 

Commentary on the Ashlamata of Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 61:10 – 63:9

By: H.Ex. Adon Shlomoh Ben Abraham

 

As we look back over these last seven, Sabbaths of consolation. They carried a different theme or rather a prophetic message in the opening verse. Week 1 was Comfort ye, O Comfort ye my people.^[52]   God comforts the nation, assures them that their term of punishment in the exile, has ended and promises them that they will soon return to Zion.  Although we have suffered a great loss in our temple and exile, God is letting us know that He is there with us.

 

Week 2 we are hurting, and the pain is almost unbearable. God has forsaken me and forgotten me.^[53]  We're feeling the void, the emptiness and the loss more profoundly, our hearts are broken, our soul pierced.

 

As we enter week 3; We are the afflicted storm, tossed one. We are not consoled.^[54] There doesn't seem to be any comfort to be found for us at all. We are unable to find rest or peace, we are most miserable.

 

Week 4; Hashem in his steadfast love tells us, I am he who comforts you, not another. I, I will be the one that comforts you.^[55] With this small glimmer of hope we are reassured that we can, and we will make it through and be restored to our Father, our King and our Lover. Can our hearts ever begin to mend?

 

Week 5 brings us expectations for the future. Sing, O barren one, you who did not bear, break forth into singing, and cry aloud you who did not labor with child.^[56]  As mentioned before it seems we are turning a corner, our hearts are beginning to sense that we have a future, and it lays just ahead of us.

 

Week 6; Arise and shine, for your light has come. We are told, darkness will cover the earth and a thick darkness the people, but God will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you, and nations will come to your light and kings to the brightness of your rising. Though you were forsaken and hated. I will make you an eternal majesty.^[57]

 

As we enter week 7; the wind is moving under our wings; I will greatly rejoice in Hashem, my soul should exalt in my Elohim: for he hath clothed me with garments of salvation.^[58] 

 

We come to see in these seven weeks that there is a conclusion and end to the redemption process, our sins will be forgiven. Our standing with our master will be restored, the glory of God will shine upon us, and we will rejoice in his salvation. He will cover me with the robes of righteousness as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. Simone Ben Gamaliel once said. “All who mourns over Jerusalem during her state of destruction shall rejoice in her rebuilding.”  This tells us that the promise of salvation is open to all people and all who rejoice in the final redemption of Israel will see that redemption and salvation.

 

Never more shall you be called forsaken nor your land desolate.  These are two separate words that point

us to a totally different future.  Ibn Ezra on Isaiah 62:4 said, the land shall be espoused, Shalt be married to the land.  “Only the Jewish people, those people of Israel who belong to the land. The freshness of joy between a bride and a bridegroom will be forever between the Jewish people and God. Although it may seem that God is like a husband taking back his divorcee, their relationship will now be on a new level. Throughout the long exile, the Jewish people remained faithful, and their mutual love only increased. In fact, their marriage with God will only now be consummated. Because at Mount Sinai they were only betrothed”.^[59]

 

Ezekiel prophesied. The land that was desolate has become like the Garden of Eden and the waste and desolation are cities that become fenced and inhabited. 36:35. Israel receives about twenty inches of rain a year.  The nations scream about climate change as if they can control the creator. Nothing ever happens without Gods direction and if we have eyes to see what is happening and it is all happening for a reason then we can conclude that Israel is going to have to double or triple its rain fall to fulfill this prophecy. Our passage goes on to say, thou shalt be called Hephzibah. “My delight is in her". Hephzibah was the name of Hezekiah's queen.  As the bridegroom rejoiced over the bride.v.5 We find a double employment of the analogy with marriage here. The land Judah personified as a female, is married to her sons. For her, people are regarded in this connection as a male. The people are recognized as female, the “virgin daughter of Zion”, in 37:22. Which is also married to Hashem and recognizes him as her bridegroom in 54:5. And as a bridegroom, Hashem here calls his bride Hephzibah. “My delight is in her”.

     

The prophet addresses Jerusalem and informs her of the reversal of her sad condition. He tells us to remind God that Jerusalem still awaits the restoration and that the city is not yet established. For the sake of Zion, I will not be silent. The prophet tells us to give God no rest in our prayers and supplications. For the sake of Jerusalem, I will not be still. Till they should see her victory and every king, Her Majesty. And then she shall be called by a new name. Which the Lord himself shall bestow. Zion will become a glorious crown in the hand of the Lord.

 

At the end of our reading, we come to a disturbing passage concerning divine vengeance against God's enemies. “I trampled people in My anger, I crushed them in My wrath, etc.” [63:6]. I will trample the nations and crush them with My wrath. I will bring down their strength to the ground, symbolized by the Edomites. This relates to chapter 34. Where the prophet predicts a great slaughter in the land of Edom.  For I have planned a day of vengeance in My heart, and the time has come to bring it to pass, and the year of My redemption has come, when the day of vengeance will occur.63:1-4.

 

The annual reading for this Shabbat is Deuteronomy 30.2-3. It Says: If you will return to the Lord your God, listen to His voice, then God will bring back your captivity and have mercy on you. He will return and gather you from all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you. Rashi Quoting R. Simeon Bar Yohai, makes a comment that the text should have read: He will return your captivity.^[60] And our sages learned from this that the Shekinah remains with Israel as it were, in the distress of their exile. And when they are redeemed, he brings redemption to himself, for he will return with them. In the closing verse of our Ashlamata the same idea is echoed. In all their affliction he was afflicted. And the Angel of his presence saved them. In his love and pity, He himself redeemed them. He lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. Iben Ezra explains how the “keri u-ketiv” - the traditional reading of the verse, which differs slightly from the written text, reflects how God Himself, as it were, is afflicted, and therefore He hastens to deliver His people.

 

Editor’s note: In this last haftarah of the Sheva d’Nechamta (the Seven Shabbatot of Consolation), the final verse (63:9) should serve as a summation of the idea of consolation. Instead it presents us with an interpretative dilemma. There are two different traditions of how this verse should be read, each of which carries a different message with regard to HaShem’s relationship to His people. The focus of this problem is on how we are to read a single word. The “written” tradition (the ktiv) records this word “lo” with the Hebrew letters ‘lamed’ and ‘alef’ meaning “not”. The verse, according to this tradition should be understood to mean: “HaShem will not (lo) multiply their [the people of Israel’s] troubles. Rather, He will save them from it.” (see Targum Yonaton and Radak) The “read” tradition (the kri) understood the word “lo” to be spelled with the letters ‘lamed’ and ‘vav’ meaning “to him”. The resulting translation would be “In all of their troubles HaShem is also troubled”.

 

 

Rabbi Isaac Abrabanel, the 14th-15th Spanish statesman and Bible commentator, used the example of the experience of the children of Israel during their trek through the desert to explain the first interpretation (ktiv). He explains that during the desert trek, HaShem was never the source of their troubles. Instead, He was there to save them in their every trial and tribulation. HaShem was not to be seen as an enemy. Whenever they were in trouble, HaShem was a source of salvation for them. Similarly, HaShem is always present to help us in our time of need.

 

Abrabanel explains the second interpretation of this verse with a teaching of the famous sage Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai: ‘Beloved are the people of Israel before the Holy One blessed be He. Every place where people of Israel were exiled, the Shechina (the Divine Presence) was with them. When they went into exile in Egypt, the Shechina was with them... When they were exiled to Edom, the Shechina was with them.... When they were exiled to Babylonia, the Shechina was with them... So too, when they returned from exile, HaShem was with them. HaShem‘s interest was not in their suffering. Their pain and anguish were His pain and anguish.” Here we note that HaShem empathizes with our suffering and He is with us in both our suffering and in our triumphs.

 

Gemara in Masechet Ta’anit 16b explains this way regarding the order of prayer practiced on fasts:

 

Why are ashes placed on the Teibah (prayer stand)? R. Yehuda b. Pazi says: As if to say, “I am with him in suffering.” Reish Lakish says, [like the pasuk]: “In all their troubles he was troubled.”

 

The Gemara in Sotah 31a also shows that one should not interpret the written form, “were not,” that HaShem does not care about their troubles and is not bothered by them, since the pasuk continues, “so an angel from before Him saved them.” Rather, even the written form of our pasuk, “were not,” hints to HaShem‘s love of His nation. Even when He punishes them, He does it with love, like a father who suffers with the troubles of his children.

 

The Zohar similarly comments on the pasuk, “Despite all this, while they will be in the land of their enemies, I will not have been revolted by them nor will I have rejected them l’chalotam (lit., to obliterate them)”:^[61]

 

This is comparable to a person who loved a certain woman, who lived in a tanning market [which has a very foul odor]. Were she not there, he would never enter there. But since she was there, it seemed to him like a perfume market, where all the good fragrances of the world were found. So too here: “While they will be in the land of their enemies” -- which is the tanning market -- “I will not have been revolted by them nor will I have rejected them.” Why? “L’chalotam” -- because my heart longs for them, since I love them.

 

Special Ashlamata for Shabbat Mevarchim (No announcement of the New Moon.)

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan for: Shmuel alef (I Samuel) 20:18-42

 

 

Rashi’s Commentary for: Shmuel alef (I Samuel) 20:18-42

 

18 Tomorrow is the new moon: and it is the custom of all those who eat at the king’s table to come on the festive day to the table.

 

and you will be remembered: My father will remember you, and ask where you are.

 

for your seat will be vacant: for your seat in which you sit, will be vacant, and so did Jonathan render: and you will be sought, for your seat will be vacant.

 

and you will be remembered: [ונפקדת  is] an expression of remembering.

 

will be vacant: [יפקד  is] an expression of lacking.

 

19 And for three days you shall hide very well: And you shall triple the days, and then you shall descend very much, i.e., when the third day arrives, you shall descend into a secret place, and hide very well, for then they will seek you. And you shall come to this secret place, wherein you are hiding today, which is a workday. And so did Jonathan render: on the weekday, for he hid on that day, as it is stated: (infra v. 24) “And David hid in the field;” immediately, “and it was the new moon” on the morrow.

 

the travelers’ stone: (Heb. ‘even-ha azel,’ lit., the going stone, i.e.) a stone which was a sign (a landmark) for travelers.

 

Ha-azel: those who go on the road. And so did Jonathan render: even atha, the stone which was a sign.

 

20 to the side, I shall shoot: This is not a ‘mappiq-heh’ (aspirate ‘heh’).צדה  is to be interpreted like לצד, to a side, for every word which requires a ‘lamed’ as a prefix, the Scripture gives a ‘he’ as a suffix. (Jeb. 13b) At the side of that stone, I shall shoot arrows to a mark, so that the youth will not understand, and this sign shall be for you to divine whether you must flee.

 

21 And behold, I shall send, etc.: And it is customary for one who seeks an arrow which has been shot, to go to the place where he sees the arrow flying, but he cannot ascertain exactly. Sometimes he searches for it, and the arrow is beyond him, and sometimes he goes beyond the arrow and searches for it, and you shall have this sign.

 

If I say to the youth… take it and come: you yourself emerge from your hiding place, and take it, and come to me, for you have not to fear, for it is well with you. The Holy One Blessed be He, desires that you be here, and even if I have heard evil from Father.

 

22 But, if I say thus… Go! For the Lord has sent you away: The Holy One Blessed be He tells you to flee and escape.

 

23 And concerning the matter which we have spoken: the covenant which we made together.

 

behold, the Lord is between me and you: as Witness concerning that matter.

 

25 the seat by the wall: at the head of the couch beside the wall.

 

and Jonathan arose: He got up from his place, since it is not proper for a son to recline beside his father. Since their custom was to eat reclining on couches and David would recline between Jonathan and Saul, now that David did not come, Jonathan did not recline until Abner sat down beside Saul, and afterwards, Jonathan sat beside Abner. And if you say that he did not sit at all, the Scripture states: (infra v. 34) “And Jonathan arose from the table,” implying that he had been sitting.

 

26 It is an incident: He has experienced a seminal emission.

 

he is not clean: and he has not yet immersed himself, for had he immersed himself for the uncleanness of his emission, he would not have to wait until sunset in order to eat ordinary food.

 

for he is not clean: This clause gives the reason for the matter; i.e., since he is not clean, he, therefore, did not come, lest he contaminate the feast.

 

27 on the morrow of the new moon: on the morrow of the renewal of the moon.

 

the second: on the second day of the month.

 

29 and he, my brother, commanded me: The eldest of the house, commanded me that I be there. And he is my brother Eliab.

 

let me slip away: ‘Escamoter’ in French. I shall go away for one day and come back.

 

30 a straying woman, deserving of punishment: (בן נעות המרדות) An expression of straying and wandering, נע ונד, a gadding woman. Just as you say זעוה  from זע, and the ‘tav’ is for the construct state, for it is connected to the word המרדות.

 

deserving of punishment: (Heb. המרדות), who deserves to be chastised and disciplined. Another explanation is as follows: When the men of Benjamin grabbed the girls of Shiloh, who came out to dance in the vineyards (Jud. 21:21), Saul was bashful, and did not want to grab [a girl], until she came herself, behaving insolently, and pursued him.

 

straying woman: because of the vineyards. And that is a winepress, like (the Talmudical passage): Purge the winepress (which was used for forbidden wine) (Ab. Zarah 74b); His winepresses will drip with wine (Targum Onkelos, Gen. 40:12)….(The last three words of Rashi are incomprehensible, and are probably erroneous. The correct version is unknown to us.)

 

34 he was grieved (lit.) to David: concerning David.

 

for his father had put him to shame: concerning David.

 

35 at David’s appointed time: at the time which David had set for him.

 

36 to cause it to go beyond him.: The arrow went beyond the boy.

 

41 from a place toward the south: (lit., from by the south. Jonathan renders:) from the side of the travelers’ (or sign) stone which was toward the south.

 

until David exceeded: He cried more.

 

42 Go in peace: And the oath which we have sworn, may the Lord be witness thereon forever.

 

Verbal Tallies

By: Hakham Dr. Hillel ben David & H.H. Giberet Dr. Elisheba bat Sarah

 

Vayikra (Leviticus) 14:1-32

Tehillim (Psalms) 79:1-4

Melachim Bet (II Kings) 7:3-11 + 8:4-5

1 Pet 2:13-17, Lk 11:1-14

 

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Psalm are:

Brought / Enter / Come / Go - בוא, Strong’s number 0935.

 

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Ashlamata are:

Spoke / Talked - דבר, Strong’s number 01696.

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

Leper - צרע, Strong’s number 06879.

Day - יום, Strong’s number 03117.

Brought / Enter / Come / Go - בוא, Strong’s number 0935.

 

Vayikra (Leviticus) 14:1 And the LORD spoke <01696> (8762) unto Moses, saying <0559> (8800), 2  This shall be the law of the leper <06879> (8794) in the day <03117> of his cleansing: He shall be brought <0935> (8717) unto the priest:

 

Tehillim (Psalms) 79:1 A Psalm of Asaph. » O God, the heathen are come <0935> (8804) into thine inheritance; thy holy temple have they defiled; they have laid Jerusalem on heaps.

 

Melachim Bet (II Kings) 7:3 And there were four leprous <06879> (8794) men at the entering in of the gate: and they said <0559> (8799) one to another, Why sit we here until we die?

Melachim Bet (II Kings) 7:4 If we say <0559> (8804), We will enter <0935> (8799) into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there: and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die.

Melachim Bet (II Kings) 7:9 Then they said <0559> (8799) one to another, We do not well: this day <03117> is a day <03117> of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, some mischief will come upon us: now therefore come, that we may go <0935> (8799) and tell the king’s household.

Melachim Bet (II Kings) 8:4 And the king talked <01696> (8764) with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying <0559> (8800), Tell me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elisha hath done.

 

 

Hebrew:

 

 

 

Greek:

 

 

 

Pirqe Abot

(Chapters of the Fathers)

Mishna 1:11-12

By: Rabbi Reuven P. Bulka

 

‎11 Avtalyon says: Scholars - be careful with your words lest you incur the penalty of exile, and will be exiled to a place ‎of evil waters, and the disciples who follow you will drink from them and die, and thus the Name of Heaven will be ‎profaned. ‎

 

Although one should not seek to join the high society of rulership, this does not mean that one should publicly denigrate the ruling authorities ‎or even be insensitive to their potential reactions. ‎

 

Precisely because the rulers are likely to legislate laws which are unfair and even cruel, as they are removed from the grass roots, precisely for ‎this reason is the Scholar who is committed to communal concern likely to rebel or protest. ‎

 

Scholars, however, carry on their shoulders a heavy responsibility. They have a community which follows them, the community of people ‎thirsting for knowledge. The scholar must therefore weigh very carefully any remark of protest before making it. If there is a chance the protest ‎will awaken the slumbering authorities to what is just, the protest should be made. But if the protest is likely to be met by a violent reaction, ‎the exile of the Scholar from the community to an isolated area removed from the immediate pale, then second thought must be given. It is ‎good to be a hero, but irresponsible to be a hero when other people are likely to suffer. The students of the Scholar, dutifully following even to ‎a place of evil waters, a place divorced from communal roots and lacking in spiritual vibrancy, are still in a developmental phase. The ‎disparity between what they are taught and their new environment may create conflict in them, and lead them away from their tradition. ‎Though they will be thought of as students of the Scholar, they will go a different way, even possibly profaning the Name of Heaven through ‎their misrepresentation. ‎

This scenario may seem a bit far-fetched, but it is not outside the realm of possibility. The ethics of protest demand that the Scholar-protester ‎be concerned with more than getting an opinion expressed to rid the self of guilt. The Scholar must weigh with meticulous care the full ‎implications and possible ramifications of the outburst.

 

‎12 Hillel and Shammai received the tradition from them [Shemaya and Avtalyon]. Hillel says: Be of the disciples of ‎Aharon, loving peace and pursuing peace, loving humankind and bringing them near to the Torah. ‎

 

In exhibiting meticulous care and concern for others, Aharon is an outstanding model. Even today it is possible to be a disciple of Aharon. ‎Being a disciple does not mean merely to listen to the lectures of a teacher, in which case presence would be mandatory. Being a disciple means ‎to follow the teachings of the sage or saint. This following transcends time and spans the generations. ‎

 

The difference between loving peace and pursuing peace is the difference between passivity and activity. More precisely, pursuing peace is ‎the natural tendency of one who truly loves peace. It is a necessity to fully appreciate the need for peace as a societal norm and love peace ‎before one can authentically venture out to pursue peace. But, once having been convinced of the need for peace and therefore loving it, one ‎cannot help but pursue it. ‎

 

Still, even peace is not the ultimate goal. Peace is a stable equilibrium, a form of social homeostasis. It is too static to be viable, and is likely, ‎lacking directedness, to give birth to irritation, frustration, and eventual disintegration of the peace. ‎

 

Peace must be based on a love of humankind and a concern for its development. Once peace is achieved, the ‎immediate task is to give life direction and purpose. Loving humankind and bringing them near to the Torah gives peace the directedness and value orientation which at once ensures the peace and brings personal and communal harmony. ‎

Nazarean Talmud

Sidra of Vayikra (Lev.) Lev 14:1-32

““Torat HaM’tsora” “The Law of the Leper”

By: Hakham Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham

 

Hakham Shaul’s School of Tosefta

Hakham Tsefet’s School of Peshat

And now it happened that while he was in a certain place praying,[62] when they finished, a certain one of his talmidim said to him, “Master, (now)[63] teach us to pray, just as Yochanan also taught his talmidim.” And he said to them, “When you pray, say, “Father, may your name be sanctified. May your kingdom/governance (sovereignty) of G-d through the Hakhamim and Bate Din as opposed to human kings continue coming. Give us each day our necessary bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also will forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not allow us to be lead into testing.” And he said to them, “Who of you will have a friend, and will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, because a friend of mine has come to me on a journey, and I do not have anything to set before him.’ And that one will answer from inside and say, ‘Do not disturb me! The door has already been shut and my children are with me in bed! I am not able to get up to give you anything.’ I tell you, even if he does not give him anything after he gets up because he is his friend, at any rate because of his impudence he will get up and give him whatever he needs. And I tell you, ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. But what father from among you, if his son will ask for a fish, instead of a fish will give him a snake? Or also, if he will ask for an egg, will give him a scorpion? Therefore if you, although you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father from heaven give the Ruach HaQodesh to those who ask him?”

Make yourselves subject to every ordinance[64] of Noble Jewish men (i.e Hakhamim), established through the Lord; to kings, because of their excellency; and to governors, because they are sent by Him (God) for the punishment of evil workers and because of the honor due to them behave appropriately (uprightly) doing works of righteous/generosity. Because this is the will[65] of God (pleasing to God) that your acts of righteousness/generosity[66] will silence (muzzle and cause speechlessness)[67] the foolishness[68] of ignorant men: as free men and not as those who conceal their depravity (lawlessness) as if at liberty from (who conduct themselves as if free from the Torah) God but are truly bound as slaves.[69] Show Honor to all, (those who are honorable, i.e. the Torah Scholars) loving their fellowship, fear God, honor the king.

 

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

 

 

Commentary to Hakham Tsefet’s School of Peshat

 

Free men and Slaves

 

Hakham Tsefet’s word “ordinance” relates to the Hebrew idea of Yesod (foundation). Therefore, the ordinances of the Jewish Hakhamim are related to the foundation of the world. These foundations are sandwiched between creation and the legislative portions of the Torah, as elucidated in the Oral Torah. The “Foundations of Torah” (תורה של יסודות) unfold as a sequence that we know of as time. However, as we have previously stated, time is also energy. Thus, the “Foundations of Torah” (תורה של יסודות) relates to that energy and the unfolding of time. A key element in Jewish life is the “sanctification of time” (הזמן של קידושו). Hakham Tsefet shows that these elemental foundations are established through the L-rd. This foundational concept relates to things far more profound than Peshat will allow us to discuss. Yet, the wise talmid will investigate the words carefully and see the amazement of the repetitive interconnecting cycle.

 

On a Peshat level, the “ordinance,” “Foundations of Torah” (תורה של יסודות) of Jewish Noblemen is the cosmic energy that drives the world. The relationship between the world's creation and the Jewish Noblemen's legislative enactments is unfolded by looking at the architecture of the natural world and the heavens above. The beauty and ingenuity of their design is more than awe-inspiring. Hakham Tsefet weighs those who are subservient to the “Foundations of Torah” (תורה של יסודות) against those who vainly believe they are free (from the Torah). In creation, we see the marriage between the immortal and mortal within Adam HaRishon. The man who subjects himself to the beauty of the immortal, i.e., “Foundations of Torah” (תורה של יסודות) finds that the engine of the cosmos aids him in spiritual endeavors. Secular men may amass material objects, which they deem treasures, but the soul, subject to the Oracles of Jewish men, is married to the immortal. The life of secular men attached to material goods rejects the immortal and, thereby, the eternal. In other words, the attachment to the material world disavows the attachment to the eternal. The “Foundations of Torah” (תורה של יסודות) established by Jewish Noblemen teaches men to be honorable, moral and upright. Each of these thoughts bears restraints that the secular, worldly man finds offensive. The “ordinances” of Jewish Noblemen set appropriate boundaries that distinguish nobility from rogue. The soul of the Nobleman, attached to virtue by way of his disposition, finds the ordinances of the Sages refreshing. The treasure of his heart, being immortal, grants and guarantees life in the Olam HaBa. The soul of nobility accepts the Foundations of the Torah as a tool for training his disposition towards righteous/generosity. The charlatan finds these institutions and commandments offensive. Thievery is a path to a fortune of material possessions. Of course, he does not realize that these ventures bind his soul to the material and mortal. When the charlatan’s soul leaves the mundane, he is in overwhelming torment. This is because he has traveled into a world where no mundane treasures or possessions can be misappropriated. The promised castles, virgins, and nirvana are nowhere to be found. These materialists have made their lower states of consciousness their god. Consequently, these gods do not exist in the dimensions of the immaterial. They are contrary to those who have made their lower states of consciousness subservient to G-d.

 

τα έργα του νόμου – The Works of the Law

 

Since the age of the “Reformation,” there has been an overwhelming fear of the Torah due to Martin Luther’s rebellion against the Catholic Church. Hakham Shaul’s “Theology” has been misunderstood because it is read through the lens of Luther and the Reformation.^[70] As defined by Luther, legalism had nothing to do with Judaism or the Torah and associated “works.” Luther’s rebellion and personal struggles have been interpreted through recent scholarship to mean that he was not referring to Pharisaic Judaism or any association with the Torah. Sanders established that “Judaism was/is not a religion where acceptance with God is earned through the merit of religious merit based on works.”^[71] Sanders and other scholars like Gaston, Stendahl, and Dunn have begun a new interpretation of Hakham Shaul, labeling it “New Perspectives on Paul.” However, other misguided scholars, too foolish to see what Luther was talking about, believed that he was speaking in terms of Rabbinic Judaism. Luther’s convoluted schemes were aimed at the “traditions” of Catholicism rather than the writings of Hakham Shaul. This bias has been overlooked at the price of truth and detriment to the advanced honest dialogue between the Jewish people and Christianity. Only those scholars who realize what Luther was saying in his rebellion against Catholicism can interpret and find a way through the maze of impairment caused by this misunderstanding. This is not an acceptance of Luther and his “reforms.” As Nazarean Jews, we find the matter distasteful and counterproductive at best.

 

Understanding that “Judaism was not a religion where acceptance with God is earned through the merit of religious merit based on works,” we know that acceptance of the “Foundations of Torah” (תורה של יסודות) have merit to the righteous/generous. The “New Perspective on Paul” is the “old perspective on Paul.” Or, we might say that scholars are finally beginning to see the real Hakham Shaul. The real Hakham Shaul is being asked to stand. As the “real” Hakham Shaul stands, we hear his testimony.

 

If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in observances, I have more: circumcised the eighth day of the stock of Jewish Noblemen, of the tribe of Benyamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the Torah, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the Nazarean Congregations; concerning the righteousness/generous which is in the Torah, blameless.^[72]

 

I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee;^[73]

 

Being found blameless in the eyes of the Torah and Hakhamim is a very “tall order,” as they say. Finding Hakham Shaul blameless in the Torah is paramount for those turning to their Jewish ancestry. “Since Judaism was not a religion of works of righteousness, Paul did not have to move from legalism to grace, as in the typical protestant schema.”^[74] Therefore, those turning to Judaism should not see their journey as one from “faith” to “works.” It is time to accept the Oral and written Torah for what it truly is: “instruction and teachings” for the righteous and generous. When we reach the Igeret to the Romans, we will have more to say.

 

The Mastery of Manhood

 

What is the difference between the evildoers and the Noblemen of righteousness/generosity? The evil-doer believes himself to be free from the Torah, the Law of the Cosmos. Yet, as Hakham Tsefet readily explains they are slaves to G-d. The mastery of manhood or womanhood is the opposite. The man or woman who submits to G-d and the Torah of the Cosmos is rewarded with a unique name, אנושׁ  – Enosh. In other words, he (or she) has mastered all of humanity and is superior in rank to a universe of evil-doers. It is from this idea that we call men (Ish) Royal Anashim,^[75] Men of true dignity and worth. It is as if the entire universe was created on their behalf. And, if one of these Royal Anashim were to be injured or killed it is as if a whole universe was destroyed.

 

For the Ba’al Teshuba, a similar thought is purported. A man who has followed the path of the evil doers and exchanged it for the path of the righteous, of this man, it is said, “and God took him.”^[76] He has ceased to exist on one plane, so much so that he can no longer be found. Of these men, it is also said that they are “without father, without mother, without beginning, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Ben Elohim (i.e., Messiah – the Jewish people), who remain eternal priests (of the firstborn).” Philo says that this man has turned his head around,^[77] referring to the similitude of Abraham. Furthermore, it is for this reason that we refer to the Ba’al Teshuba as Ben Abraham or Bat Sarah. When the adversary comes to find the Ba’al Teshuba, he only sees a vacancy left and the occupant missing. The Yetser HaRa is a vital part of the equation. However, the Royal Anashim, be they of Jewish birth or a Ba’al Teshuba, use the Yetser HaRa as an engine to drive themselves forward into righteousness/generosity. The Yetser HaRa never realizes that the Tsaddiq has enslaved it in service to G-d.

 

There is a world of people given to spiritual apathy. Their torpor renders them dead to the things of G-d. Abraham deduced from nature that there was only one G-d. His mental processes were alive and filled with the awe of G-d. In our generation, we must take a lesson from Abraham. Hakham Tsefet wants us to see that mental apathy towards the ordinances of the Sages is mental suicide. The Sages do not ask for blind acceptance. It is the exact opposite. Halakhic decisions are complex and mentally demanding. However, G-d expects immediate acceptance based on Halakhot's logic. The reason halakhot are contested is mental lethargy and anarchy. When one looks at the purpose behind any halakhah with actual logic, meditation, and practice, one will appreciate the work of the Sages. It is a law of nature that the Creator must maintain what He has created. This means that the Oral Torah, which is the cosmos, maintained through mental diligence, rumination, and practice, must permeate our souls. This is why we diligently stress that it is the occupational goal of every Nazarean to become a Hakham. Nazarean Judaism is not for those who like safety in numbers. Nor is it for those who would resign themselves to the doctrines of the wolves who refuse Rabbinic Authority. The truth is that Nazarean Hakhamim invites, rather than excludes, the congregation to become Sages rather than blindly following a set of rules that they do not understand. How are we to access the truth of the Oral Torah? The Masters of Wisdom teach us a valuable lesson concerning this process. We can see the sun utilizing the sun. Likewise, we can see the stars using their light. The application of this analogy shows us that the only way to see and understand the Oral Torah is by practicing and studying it. If we reject the Oral Torah’s wisdom, we reject the Law of the cosmos. If we reject the Torah of the cosmos, we reject the authority of G-d. Those who make these mental assessments fail to realize that they are slaves to G-d, the Oral Torah, and G-d’s established authorities to the detriment of their soul.

 

Vayikra 7:20 teaches us a vital principle.

 

Vayikra (Lev.) 7:20 But the person who eats the flesh of the sacrifice of the peace offering that belongs to the LORD, while he is unclean, that person will be cut off from his people.

 

Failure to heed the logic, deliberation, and practice of the Oral Torah will result in being כָּרַת – karet (cut off). The valid reward for the righteous/generous scholar is the Olam HaBa, a spiritual existence in which one is occupied exclusively with knowing God. This reward is not granted so much as achieved; whatever level one achieves in one's life continues into a spiritual existence afterward. The Rambam illustrates that “knowing G-d” is associated with “cleaving to the Hakhamim,” i.e., the Oral Torah.^[78] We should then interpret this to mean that our “reward” of knowing G-d in the Olam HaBa is to be better acquainted with the seminal wisdom (Hakhmah) of the Hakhamim. By speaking of the seminal wisdom of the Hakhamim, we are relating to unspoken things, i.e., So’od. The ultimate reward for the Tsadiqim will be the fulfillment of human potential.

 

Psa 31:19-20 Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have hidden for those who fear You (i.e. the Tsadiqim). You have prepared for those who take refuge in You, in the presence of the sons of men! You will hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the plotting’s of man; You will keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.

 

Like the Ohr HaGanuz that has been hidden for the Tsadiqim (righteous/generous)^[79] The Olam HaBa is concealed from view for those who fear G-d. This brings a connection of three of the positive mitzvoth: Fear G-d, Worship, and Cleaving to G-d through his Sages. The Sages did not use the expression “the world to come” with the intention of implying that this realm does not presently exist or that the present realm will be destroyed, and then that realm that surrounds us will become a living reality. These Sages have taught us how to see the Ohr HaGanuz with their seminal wisdom. As stated above, we see the sun by the power of the sun, and we see the stars by the power of their light. We can only see the Olam HaBa, the “ever-coming world,” only by experiencing the Olam HaBa through involvement in the present world. The reward of the Tsaddiq is to experience this good. For the wicked, their retribution is that they will be “Cut Off.” The retribution beyond which there is no greater reprisal is that the soul will be “Cut Off” and not merit life in the Olam HaBa.

 

 

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: “V’Natati Nega’a” – “And I put an infection

(of miraculous leprosy)”

&

Shabbat Shuva

 

 

Coming Festival: Rosh HaShana – October (evening of) 2-4, 2024

 

Coming Fast:         Fast of Gedalia (daylight) – October 6, 2024

 

Coming Festival: Yom HaKippurim – October (evening of) 11-12, 2024

 

 

  

Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

Hakham Dr. Hillel ben David

Hakham Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham