Torah Seder Heshvan 8, 5768

Esnoga Bet Emunah

227 Millset Chase - San Antonio, Texas 78253

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

Three and 1/2 year Lectionary Readings	Fourth Year of the Reading Cycle
Heshvan 8, 5768 – Oct. 19/20, 2007	Seventh Year of the Shmita Cycle

Candle Lighting and Havdalah Times

San Antonio, Texas, U.S. Brisbane, Australia:

Friday October 19, 2007 – Candles at 6:42 PM Friday October 19, 2007 – Candles at 5:39 PM

Saturday Oct. 20, 2007 – Havadalah 7:35 PM Saturday Oct. 20, 2007 – Havadalah 6:33 PM

Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Singapore, Singapore

Friday October 19, 2007 – Candles at 6:42 PM Friday October 19, 2007 – Candles at 6:34 PM

Saturday October 20, 2007 – Havadalah 7:36 PM Saturday Oct. 20, 2007 – Havadalah 7:23 PM

Cebu, Philippines Jakarta, Indonesia

Friday October 19, 2007 – Candles at 5:15 PM Friday October 19, 2007 – Candles at 5:28 PM

Saturday Oct. 20, 2007 – Havadalah 6:06 PM Saturday Oct. 20, 2007 – Havadalah 6:17 PM

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

Coming Festival: Chanukah

25^th of Kislev – 3^rd of Tebet 5768 – December 5-12, 2007

For further study see: http://www.betemunah.org/chanrabn.doc

http://www.betemunah.org/connection.doc; and http://www.betemunah.org/chanukah.doc

Shabbat	Torah Reading:	Weekday Torah Reading:
שְׁלַח-לְךָ אֲנָשִׁים
“Sh’lach L’kha Anashim”	Reader 1 – B’midbar 13:1-3	Reader 1 – B’midbar 14:11-14
“Send for you men”	Reader 2 – B’midbar 13:4-16	Reader 2 – B’midbar 14:14-16
“Envía tú hombres”	Reader 3 – B’midbar 13:17-20	Reader 3 – B’midbar 14:17-19
B’midbar (Numbers) 13:1 – 14:10	Reader 4 – B’midbar 13:21-24
Ashlamatah: Joshua 2:1-9, 23-24	Reader 5 – B’midbar 13:25-27
	Reader 6 – B’midbar 13:28-33	Reader 1 – B’midbar 14:11-14
Psalm 100	Reader 7 – B’midbar 14:1-10	Reader 2 – B’midbar 14:14-16
	Maftir – B’midbar 14:8-10	Reader 3 – B’midbar 14:17-19
N.C.: Matityahu 21:12-22	Joshua 2:1-9, 23-24

Roll of Honor:

This Torah commentary comes to you courtesy of His Honor Paqid Adon Hillel ben David and most beloved family, and that of Her Excellency Giberet Sarai bat Sarah and beloved family, as well as that of His Excellency Adon Barth Lindemann and beloved family and that of His Excellency Adon John Batchelor and beloved wife, and that of His Excellency Adon Ezra ben Abraham and his beloved wife Giberet Karmela bat Sarah. For their regular and sacrificial giving, providing the best oil for the lamps, we pray that G-d’s richest blessings be upon their lives and those of their loved ones, together with all Yisrael, amen ve amen! Also a great thank you to all who send comments to the list about the contents and commentary of the weekly Seder.

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

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan

for: B’midbar (Numbers) 13:1 – 14:10

RASHI	TARGUM PSEUDO JONATHAN
1. And Adonai spoke to Moshe, saying;	1. AND the Lord spoke with Mosheh, saying:
2. "Send, for yourself, men, and have them scout the Land of Cana'an, which I am giving to B’ne Yisrael; one man, one man each, for his father's tribe you will send them, each leader among them."	2. Send you keen-sighted men who may explore the land of Kenaan, which I will give to the children of Israel; one man for each tribe of their fathers, you will send from the presence of all their leaders.
3. Moshe sent them from the desert of Paran by the word of Adonai; all of them [were] men of distinction, they were the heads of B’ne Yisrael.	3. And Mosheh sent them from the wilderness of Pharan, according to the mouth of the Word of the Lord; all of them acute men, who had been appointed heads over the sons of Israel.
4. These are their names; for the tribe of Reuven, Shamua the son of Zaccur.	4. And these are the names of the twelve men, the explorers: the messenger of the tribe of Reuben, Shamua bar Zakkur;
5. For the tribe of Shimon, Shafat the son of Chori.	5. of the tribe of Shemeon, Shaphat bar Hori;
6. For the tribe of Yehudah, Calev the son of Yefuneh.	6. for Jehudah, Kaleb bar Jephunneh;
7. For the tribe of Yissachar, Yigal the son of Yosef.	7. for Issakar, Yiggeal bar Joseph;
8. For the tribe of Ephraim, Hosheah the son of Nun.	8. for Ephraim, Hoshea bar Nun;
9. For the tribe of Binyamin, Palti the son of Raphu.	9. for Benjamin, Palti bar Raphu;
10. For the tribe of Zevulun, Gadiel the son of Sodi.	10. for Zebulon, Gadiel bar Zodi;
11. For the tribe of Yosef, for the tribe of Menashe, Gadi the son of Susi.	11. for Menasheh, Gaddi bar Susi;
12. For the tribe of Dan, Amiel the son of Gemali.	12. for Dan, Ammiel bar Gemmalli;
13. For the tribe of Asher, Sesur the son of Michael.	13. for Asher, Sether bar Michael;
14. For the tribe of Naftali, Nachbi the son of Vafsi.	14. for Naphtali, Nachbi bar Vaphsi;
15. For the tribe of Gad, Geu'el the son of Machi.	15. and for Gad, Geuel bar Machi..
16. These are the names of the men whom Moshe sent to scout the land, and Moshe called Hosheah the son of Nun, Yehoshua.	16. These are the names of the men whom Mosheh sent to explore the land; and when Mosheh saw his humility, he called Hoshea bar Nun Jehoshua.
17. Moshe sent them to scout the land of Cana'an and he said to them: “Go up this [way], to the south and go up to the mountain.	17. And Mosheh sent them to survey the land of Kenaan, and said to them, Go up on this side by the south, and ascend the mountain,
18. See what the land is; and the people living on it; are they strong or weak, if they are few or many;	18. and survey the country, what it is, and the people who dwell in it; whether they be strong or weak, few or many;
19. and how is the land in which they live, is it good, or bad? And how are the cities in which they reside; are they open, or are they fortified?	19. what the land is in which they dwell, whether good or bad; what cities they inhabit, whether they live in towns that are open or walled;
20. How is the land (soil) is it fat (rich) or lean (poor), does it have trees, or not? You will strengthen yourselves, and you will take some fruit of the land.” Those days were the days of the first ripening of the grapes.	20. and what the reputation of the land, whether its productions are rich or poor, and the trees of it fruitful or not. And do valiantly, and bring back some of the fruit of the land. [JERUSALEM. And what the land is, whether the fruits of it are rich: or trees.] And the day on which they went was the nineteenth of the month of Sivan, (about) the days of the first grapes.
21. They went up and they scouted the land from the desert of Tzin until Rechov, at the entrance of Chamas.	21. They went up, therefore, and explored the country, from the wilderness of Zin, unto the roads by which you come unto Antiochia.
22. They went up, into the southern part [of the land] and [he] came to Chevron; and there, were Achiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the offspring of the giant. [The city of] Chevron was built seven years before the city of Tzo'an in Egypt.	22. They went up from the side of the south and came to Hebron, where were Achiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, sons of Anak the giant Now Hebron was built seven years before Tanis in Mizraim.
23. They came until the Valley of Eshkol, and from there they cut off a branch and one cluster of grapes, and they carried it between two on a pole, [and they took] some pomegranates and some figs.	23. They came then to the stream of the grapes (or bunches, ethkala), and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and carried it on a staff on the shoulders of two of them, and also took they of the pomegranates and the figs. [JERUSALEM. And they came to the stream of the grape clusters, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and carried it on a rod between two men; and also of the pomegranates and of the figs.]
24. That place they called the Valley of Eshkol, because of the event of the cluster that B’ne Yisrael cut from there.	24. Now that place they call the stream of the cluster, from the branch which the sons of Israel cut down there; and wine was dropping from it like a stream.
25. They returned from spying the land, at the end of forty days.	25. And they returned from exploring the land on the eighth day of the month Ab, at the end of forty days.
26. They went and came to Moshe and Aharon and to the entire congregation of B’ne Yisrael [that came] to the desert of Paran, in Kadeish. They brought word back to them, and to the entire congregation, and they showed them the fruit of the land.	26. And they came to Mosheh and Aharon, and all the congregation of the children of Israel in the wilderness of Pharan, at Rekem, and returned them word, to them and the whole congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land.
27. They recounted to him, and they said: “We came into the land into which you sent us, and it indeed flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.	27. And they recounted to him, and said: We went into the country to which you did send us; and it indeed produces milk and honey, and this is the fruit of it.
28. However, the nation is mighty, those who inhabit the land, and the cities are greatly fortified to the utmost, and we also saw the offspring of the giant over there.	28. But the people who inhabit the country are strong, and the fortified cities they inhabit very great; and we saw also there the sons of Anak the giant.
29. Amalek dwells in the southern part of the land, the Chiti, Yevusi and Emori dwell in the mountain and the Cana'ani dwell by the sea and next to the Yarden.”	29. The Amalekites dwell in the south, the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites in the mountains; but the Kenaanites dwell by the sea, and by the bank of the Jordan.
30. Calev silenced the people to [hear about] Moshe, and he said: “We can surely go up [to the land] and we will possess it for we are surely able to overcome it.”	30. And Kaleb stilled the people, and made them listen to Mosheh, and said: Let us go up and possess it, for we are able to take it. [JERUSALEM. And he stilled.]
31. But the men who went up with him said: “We are not able to go up against the nation, for they are more powerful than we.”	31. But the men who had gone up with him said, We are not able to go up to the people, for they are stronger than we.
32. They spread slander about the land that they had scouted, to B’ne Yisrael, saying: “The land through which we have passed to scout it, is a land which consumes its inhabitants; and every one of the people we saw in it, are men of dimensions.	32. And they brought out an evil report about the land which they had surveyed, to the sons of Israel, saying, The country through which we have passed to explore it is a land that kills its inhabitants with diseases; and all the people who are in it are giants, masters of evil ways.
33. There we saw the giants, the sons of the giant, of the Nephilim, and we were like grasshoppers in our eyes, and so we appeared in their eyes.”	33. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, of the race of the giants; and we appeared to ourselves to be as locusts; and so we appeared to them.

1. The entire community arose and raised their voices; and the people wept that night.	1. And all the congregation lifted up and gave forth their voice, and the people wept that night: and it was confirmed (as a punishment) that they should weep on that night in their generations.
2. They railed against Moshe and Aharon--- all of B’ne Yisrael--- and the entire congregation said to them: “Would we had died in the land of Egypt or in this desert, would that we had died.	2. And all the sons of Israel murmured against Mosheh and Aharon, and said: Would that we had died in the land of Mizraim, or that we may die in this wilderness!
3. Why does Adonai bring us into this land to fall by the sword; our wives and infants would be as spoils; is it not better for us to return to Egypt"?	3. Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword of the Kenaanaah, and our wives and little ones to become a prey? Will it not be better to return into Mizraim?
4. They said to each other: “Let us appoint (lit. place) a head and we will return to Egypt.”	4. And one man said to his brother, Let us appoint a king over us for a chief, and return to Mizraim. [JERUSALEM. Let us set a king over us, and go round to Mizraim.]
5. Moshe and Aharon fell on their faces before the entire gathering of the congregation of B’ne Yisrael.	5. And Mosheh and Aharon bowed upon their faces before all the congregation of the sons of Israel;
6. Yehoshua the son of Nun and Calev the son of Yefuneh, who were among those who scouted the land, tore their clothing [in grief].	6. and Jehoshua bar Nun and Kaleb bar Jephunneh of the explorers of the land rent their clothes,
7. They said to the entire congregation of B’ne Yisrael, saying: “The land through which we have passed to scout it; that land is very, very good.	7. and spoke to the congregation, saying: The land we went to see is an exceedingly good land.
8. If Adonai desires us, He will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land which flows with milk and honey.	8. If the Lord has pleasure in us, He will bring us into this land, and give it us, a land producing milk and honey.
9. However, do not rebel against Adonai and you do not be afraid of the nation of the land, for they are [as] our bread, their protection is removed from them, and Adonai is with us; do not be afraid of them."	9. Only do not rebel against the commandments of the Lord, and you need not fear the people of the land, for they are delivered into our hands; the strength of their power hath failed from them, but the Word of the Lord will be our helper; fear them not.
10. The entire congregation said that they should be stoned to death, when the glory of Adonai appeared in the Tent of Meeting, to all of B’ne Yisrael.	10. But all the congregation said they would stone them with stones.

Midrash Rabba for: B’midbar (Numbers) 13:1 – 14:10

1. Halakhah: Is it permitted to set sail upon the Great Sea three days before the Sabbath? Our Rabbis have taught (Shab. 19a): One may not set sail upon the Great Sea three days before the Sabbath at a time when one is going to a distant place, but if one wishes to sail, for example, from Tyre to Zidon he may set sail even on the eve of the Sabbath, because it is obvious that he can arrive while it is yet day. This applies to one whose errand is optional, but if he is engaged on a religious duty he may set sail any day he pleases. Why? Because he is engaged in the performance of a religious duty, and such an one may override the Sabbath. Similarly you find in the case of the Sukkah For we have learned (Suk. 25a) that those charged with the performance of a religious duty are exempt from sitting in the Sukkah, because there is none so dear to the Holy One, blessed be He, as one who is commissioned to perform a religious duty, risking his life in order to carry out his mission successfully. No other people sent to perform a religious duty and risking their lives in order to succeed in their mission can compare with the two men whom Joshua the son of Nun sent; as it says, And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two spies heresh (Josh. II, 1). Who were they? Our Rabbis taught: They were Phinehas and Caleb. They went and risked their lives and succeeded in their mission. What is the meaning of the word ’heresh’? It teaches that they provided themselves with pots, and cried: ‘Here are pots! Whoever wishes let him come and buy!' Why all this trouble? That no one might detect them --reading the word heres (earthenware)--and that people should not say that they were spies. And they went, and came into the house of a harlot whose name was Rahab. And lay there (ib.). She rose and welcomed them. The king of Jericho became aware of their presence and heard that they had come to search out the land; as it says, And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, etc. (ib. 2). When they came to seek them, what did Rahab do? She took them away to hide them. Phinehas said to her: ‘I am a priest and priests are compared to angels’; as it says, For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth; for he is the angel1 of the Lord of hosts (Mal. II, 7), and an angel, if he wishes, can be visible, and if he wishes he can be invisible. How can we infer that prophets are compared to angels? From the fact that it says in reference to Moses, And sent an angel, and brought us forth out of Egypt (Num. XX, 16). Was it not Moses who brought them out? Certainly; but you can infer from this that prophets are compared to angels. Similarly it says, And the angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said:... I made you go up out of Egypt (Judg. II, 1). But was it not Phinehas who said this? Yes; but you can infer from it that the prophets are called angels. Phinehas, then, said to Rahab: ‘I am a priest and do not need to be hidden. Hide Caleb, my companion. I will stand before them and they will not see me.’ She did so; as may be inferred from the verse, And the woman took the two men, and she hid him (Josh. II, 4)3: not ‘she hid them’, but ‘she hid him’ is written. This proves that she did not hide Phinehas but only Caleb. All this serves to teach you how much these two righteous/generous men risked their lives in order to perform their mission. The messengers whom Moses sent, however, were wicked/lawless men. How can we infer this? From what we read in the present section, SEND YOU MEN (XIII, 2 ff.).

2. Consider the text, The stout-hearted are bereft of sense, they sleep their sleep (Ps. LXXVI, 6). The expression ‘Bereft of sense’ alludes to Moses and Aaron. They sent the spies, who came and uttered slander about the land, so that they did not know what to do. Even Moses and Aaron lost courage. Caleb instantly rose and silenced all those hosts; as it says, And Caleb stilled (vayyahas) the people (Num. XIII, 30). He stood on a bench and silenced them, saying: 'Silence (has)!' They kept silence to hear him. Said he to them: ‘The land ... is an exceeding good land’ (ib. XIV, 7). The Holy One, blessed be He, therefore, said to Moses: ‘I am exceedingly grateful to him’; as may be inferred from the text, Save (zulathi) Caleb the son of Jephunneh, he will see it... because he has wholly followed the Lord (Deut. I, 36). What is the implication of ‘zulathi’? It signifies lazeh itti, ‘this one was with Me,’ more than the sixty myriads of you! You could not find your hands [and feet], but failed in courage! This is why it says, ‘The stout-hearted are bereft of sense.’ Why did it come to this? Because the messengers they sent were fools. Of such as these Solomon observed, He that sends a message by the hand of a fool cuts off his own feet, and drinks damage (Prov. XXVI, 6).

3. SEND YOU MEN. R. Aha the Great opened his discourse: The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand for ever (Isa. XL, 8). To what is this like? To the case of a king who had a friend with whom he made a stipulation, saying: ‘Come with me, and I will give you a present.’ He went with him and died. Said the king to his friend's son: ‘Although your father is dead, I will not withdraw the promise of a present which I made to him. You come and take it.’ So it is the case here. The king is the Supreme King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, and the friend is Abraham; as it says, The seed of Abraham, My friend (ib. XLI, 8). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: ‘Come with Me, Get you out of your country, and from your kindred, and from your father's house’ (Gen. XII, 1). He stipulated with him that He would give him a present; as it says, Arise, walk through the land (ib. XIII, 17) and this is supported by the text, For all the land which you see, to you I will give it (ib. 15). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: ‘Although it is to the Patriarchs that I made a promise to give them the land, and they are dead, I will not retract,’ but ‘The word of our God will stand for ever’.

4. SEND YOU MEN. This bears on the text, As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them that send him (Prov. X, 26). It could be seen from the first that the spies were going to utter slander about the land; as it says, And they bend their tongue, their bow of falsehood (Jer. IX, 2). To what may this be compared? To the case of a rich man who possessed a vineyard. Whenever he saw that the wine was good he would say to his men: ‘Bring the wine into my house,’ but when he saw that the wine had turned to vinegar, he would say: ‘Bring the wine into your houses.’ It was the same with the Holy One, blessed be He. When He saw the elders and how worthy their deeds were, He called them His own; as it says, Gather unto Me seventy men (Num. XI, 16), but when He saw the spies and how they would later sin He ascribed them to Moses, saying, SEND YOU [lit. YOUR] MEN.

5. Consider the text, ‘He that sends a message by the hand of a fool cuts off his own feet, and drinks damage’ (Prov. XXVI, 6). But were the spies fools? Is it not already stated, SEND YOU MEN. and in every instance where the expression ’men’ is used it implies righteous/generous people; as is borne out by the quotation, And Moses said to Joshua: Choose us out men (Ex. XVII, 9), and it also says, And the man was an old man (sc. Hkaham) in the days of Saul, coming among men (I Sam. XVII, 12), and also, But will give unto Your handmaid seed who are men [i.e. pious children] (I Sam. I, 11). Can you then call these spies fools? They were only called fools on account of their having spread an evil report about the land; in accordance with what it says: He that utters a slander is a fool (Prov. X, 18). Nevertheless they were great men, although they made fools of themselves. Concerning them it is that Moses said: For they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faithfulness (Deut. XXXII, 20). For they had been chosen out of all Israel by the command of the Holy One, blessed be He, and by that of Moses; as it is written, And the thing pleased me well; and I took twelve men of you (Deut. I, 23); from this you can infer that they were righteous/generous both in the opinion of Israel and in that of Moses. Yet even Moses did not like to send them on his own responsibility, so he consulted the Holy One, blessed be He, about each individual, mentioning the name and tribe of each, and God said to him: ‘They are worthy.’ How can we infer that the Holy One, blessed be He, told him that they were worthy? Because it says, And Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran according to the commandment of the Lord (Num. XIII, 3). Afterwards at the end of forty days they changed and made all the trouble, causing that generation to be smitten with the punishment [recorded in Scripture]; thus it says, ‘For they are a very froward (tahpukoth) generation,’ since when they were selected they were righteous/generous and then they changed (nithhapeku). Accordingly it says, SEND YOU MEN and afterwards: These are the names of the men (Num. XIII, 16).

6. Another exposition of the text SEND YOU MEN. THAT THEY MAY SPY OUT (XIII, 2). First we read, And Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses (ib. XII, 1) and after that, SEND YOU MEN. This bears on what Scripture says: They know not, neither do they understand; for their eyes are bedaubed, that they cannot see (Isa. XLIV, 18). What reason had Scripture for saying, after the incident of Miriam, SEND YOU MEN? The fact is that the Holy One, blessed be He, foresaw that the spies would utter a slander about the Land. Said the Holy One, blessed be He: ‘They will not say, “We did not know the penalty for slander.”’ The Holy One, blessed be He, therefore placed this section next to the other--for Miriam had spoken against her brother and had been smitten with leprosy--in order that all might know the penalty for slander, and that if people were tempted to speak slander they might reflect what had happened to Miriam. Nevertheless, the spies did not want to learn. For this reason it says, ‘They know not, neither do they understand; for their eyes are bedaubed, that they cannot see.’

7. Another exposition of the text, SEND YOU MEN. Although the Holy One, blessed be He, told him, SEND YOU. it was not the wish of the Holy One, blessed be He, that the spies should go. Why? Because the Holy One, blessed be He, had already told them the virtues of the Land of Israel; as it says, For the Lord your God brings you into a good land, etc. (Deut. VIII, 7), and in the same strain it says, For the land, where you go in to possess it... is a land of hills and valleys, etc. (Deut. XI, 10 ff.). While they were still in Egypt He said: I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land, unto a land flowing with milk and honey, etc. (Ex. III, 8). Moreover, Scripture says, And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them the way (ib. XIII, 21). What then was the purpose of telling him, SEND YOU MEN? The fact is that it was Israel who asked for this. When they drew near to take possession of the boundaries, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to them: ‘Behold, the Lord your God has set the land before you’ (Deut. I, 21). On that occasion Israel approached Moses; as it says, And you came near unto me every one of you (ib. 22). This is what Ezra referred to when he said, And hearkened not to Your commandments and refused to hearken, neither were mindful of Your wonders (Neh. IX, 16 f.), for it says in fact, And the ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them... to seek out a resting-place for them (Num. X, 33), yet they demanded: Let us send men before us, that they may search the land for us (Deut. I, 22)! The truth is that they did not have faithful obedience. David, speaking in the same strain, says, Because they believed not in God (Ps. LXXVIII, 22), and it is written, And they refused to walk in His Law (ib. 10) R. Joshua says: To what might they be compared? To the case of a king who secured for his son a wife who was beautiful, of good parentage, and rich. The king said to him: ‘I have secured for you a wife who is beautiful, of good parentage, and rich.’ Yet the son said to him: ‘Let me go and see her!’ For he did not believe his father. His father was thus placed in a difficulty and, sorely vexed, he said to himself: ‘What shall I do? If I tell him, “I will not show her to you,” he will now think: “She is ugly; that is why he does not want to show her.”’ At last he said to him: ‘See her and you will know whether I have lied to you! But because you did not have faithful obedience in me, I swear that you will never see her in your own home, and that I will give her to your son!’ Similarly, the Holy One, blessed be He, assured Israel, ‘The land is good,’ but they had no faithful obedience, and said, ‘Let us send men before us that they may search the land for us.’ Said the Holy One, blessed be He: ‘If I prevent them they will say: “He does not show it us because it is not good.” Better let them see it. I take an oath, however, that not one of them will enter the land’; as it says, Surely they will not see the land which I swore unto the fathers, neither will any of them that despised Me see it (Num. XIV, 23), but I will give it to their children.

8. When they said to Moses, ‘Let us send men before us,’ Moses began to wonder. He said: ‘Can I do anything before consulting the Holy One, blessed be He?’ So he went and consulted Him. He said to Him: ‘Your children are asking for such and such a thing.’ Said the Holy One, blessed be He, to him: ‘This is not their first offence. While they were still in Egypt they jeered at Me’; as it says, This was their derision in the land of Egypt (Hos. VII, 16). ‘This is their usual way. I do not need to test them’; for it is written, He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him (Dan. II, 22). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: ‘Moses, I know what they are, but since you have asked, SEND YOU, i.e. On your own account.’ How do we know that this was so? Because it is in fact written, These are the names of the men that Moses sent to spy out (Num. XIII, 16).

9. AND MOSES CALLED HOSHEA THE SON OF NUN JOSHUA (XIII, 16). What reason did Moses see for adding a yod to the name of Joshua? Caleb had taken his reward in the form of a share in the land; as it says, Surely the land whereon your foot has trodden will be an inheritance to you and to your children for ever (Josh. XIV, 9), while Joshua received the reward that should have gone to the ten spies, as is implied by the fact that an extra yod was added to his name; yod being ten. AND MOSES CALLED HOSHEA THE SON OF NUN JOSHUA. Another exposition: When Moses saw that the others were wicked/lawless men he said to Joshua: ‘May God save you from this generation.’

10. THESE ARE THE NAMES OF THE MEN (XIII, 16). What were their names? SETHUR THE SON OF MICHAEL... NAHBI THE SON OF VOPHSI... GEUEL THE SON OF MACHI (ib. 13 ff.). There are some people whose names are fair and whose deeds are hideous; there are others whose names are hideous and whose deeds are fair; there are others still whose names are fair and whose deeds are pleasing; while some there are whose names and deeds are hideous. Examples of those whose names are fair and whose deeds are hideous are Ishmael and Esau. ‘Ishmael’ stands for “yishma El” (God hears). ‘Esau’ stands for “oseh rezon ‘osav” (he performs the will of his Maker). Their deeds, however, were evil. Examples of those whose names are hideous and whose deeds are fair are the returned exiles, The children of Barkos, the children of Sisera, the children of Temah (Ezra II, 53). Examples of those whose names are hideous and whose deeds are hideous are the spies. What is written in that connection? SETHUR.; implying that He destroyed him and cast him (setharo) from the world.

11. AND SAID UNTO THEM: GET YOU UP (‘ALU) HERE INTO THE SOUTH (XIII, 17), namely, to a people who rise high (‘olim). R. Berekiah the priest, son of Rabbi, expounded: They found the three sons of the Anakim; And Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the children of Anak, were there (ib. 22). Why was his name called ’Ahiman’? Because he used to boast: ‘O my brothers (ahai), who (man) can come against me?’ ‘Sheshai’? Because he was as strong as marble (shayish). ‘Talmai’? Because he used to make ridges (telamim) in the earth. ‘The children of Anak’? Because they saw that he wore the sun like a chain about his neck (‘onek). When the spies saw them they were afraid, and they therefore said: For they are stronger than He (Num. XIII, 31). Resh Lakish explained: They cast insulting words at the One above. Because of this transgression severe decrees were issued against them. What did the Holy One, blessed be He, say to Jeremiah? ‘Go and tell them: “You do not know what you have uttered with your mouth. With the noise of a great tumult (Jer. XI, 16) which you uttered, what have you brought upon yourselves? He has kindled fire (ib.) upon you; For every day a year, will you beat your iniquities/lawlessness”’ (Num. XIV, 34). When the spies said, And we were in our own sight as grasshoppers (ib. XIII, 33), the Holy One, blessed be He, observed: ‘I will forgive them this remark.’ But when they said: And so we were in their sight (ib.), He asked: ‘Did you know how I made you appear in their sight? Who can say that you did not appear in their sight as angels? What have you brought upon yourselves? After the number of the days in which ye spied out the land,’ etc. (ib. XIV, 34). As though this punishment was not enough for them, they did not even enter the land. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel: ‘In this world it was decreed against the spies that they should not enter into the land, because they were human messengers. In the World to Come, however, I will send you My angel, suddenly, and will clear the way; as it says, Behold, I send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me; and the Lord whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple’ (Mal. III, 1).

12. AND MOSES SENT THEM TO SPY OUT THE LAND OF CANAAN, AND SAID UNTO THEM: GET YOU UP HERE IN THE SOUTH, AND GO UP INTO THE MOUNTAINS (XIII, 17). In the same manner as merchants show their inferior wares first and afterwards display the best. AND SEE THE LAND (ib. 18). Three times he said to them, And what the land is (ib. 19, 20; and cf. 18). Why? By the first, AND SEE THE LAND, WHAT IT IS (ib.) he implies: Look carefully at the Land of Israel. There are lands that rear strong men and there are lands that rear weaklings. Some lands breed large armies and some breed small armies. This is the charge he gave them. AND THE PEOPLE THAT DWELLS THEREIN WHETHER THEY ARE STRONG OR WEAK, WHETHER THEY ARE FEW OR MANY; AND WHAT THE LAND IS THAT THEY DWELL IN (ib. 18 f.). How can you tell their strength? If they dwell in camps, they are strong, for they rely on their own strength. If they dwell in strongholds they are feeble and their hearts are timid. AND WHAT THE LAND IS, WHETHER IT IS FAT (ib. 20), i.e. whether its fruits are light in weight or fleshy. He said to them: ‘Examine the stones and pebbles; if they are granite-like the fruits are fat, but if they are like earthenware, the fruits are lean.’ Now THE TIME WAS THE TIME OF THE FIRST-RIPE GRAPES (ib.). Hence the Sages have observed: The summer solstice is never without figs and grapes [i.e. by that time they must be ripe].

13. SO THEY WENT UP, AND SPIED OUT THE LAND. (XIII, 21). How did they do it? When they entered a city, pestilence would strike the chiefs. The townspeople being busy with their burial, no human being saw them. For this reason they said, The land, through which we have passed... is a land that eats up the inhabitants (ib. 32). They used the very miracles which the Holy One, blessed be He, wrought for them, to spread slander. AND THEY WENT UP INTO THE SOUTH, AND CAME UNTO HEBRON; AND AHIMAN, SHESHAI, AND TALMAI, THE CHILDREN OF ANAK, WERE THERE (ib. 22). This serves to inform us that they were exceedingly strong; as it says, Whom you know, and of whom you have heard say: Who can stand before the sons of Anak? (Deut. IX, 2). NOW HEBRON WAS BUILT SEVEN YEARS BEFORE ZOAN IN EGYPT (XIII, 22). This serves to acquaint you with the excellence of the Land of Israel, and teaches that the most inferior ground in that land is far superior to the best of Egypt. For when the sons of Noah came out of the ark and took possession of the world after the Flood, they first built towns, not in the best but in the worst parts of the Land of Israel. Now Zoan of Egypt had the best soil in the land of Egypt, and Hebron preceded it by seven years. If you object that the one who built the former was not the same as the one who built the latter, I can answer that at any rate it was built in the same generation and by the same family; as it says, And the sons of Ham: Cush, and Mizraim, and Put, and Canaan (Gen. X, 6), and these rose and built one before the other, and HEBRON WAS BUILT SEVEN YEARS BEFORE ZOAN IN EGYPT.

14. AND THEY CAME UNTO THE VALLEY OF ESHCOL AND CUT DOWN, etc. (XIII, 23). They would not have taken from the fruits of the Land of Israel had it not been for Caleb, who drew a sword and ran before them, saying: ‘If you will not take it, then either you will kill me or I will kill you!’ They refused to take it. Therefore, Surely the land whereon your foot has trodden will be an inheritance to you (Josh. XIV, 9). AND THEY BORE IT UPON A POLE WITH TWO, i.e. on not less than two poles; for it does not say, ‘Two upon a pole,’ but UPON A POLE WITH TWO. Some say on three poles; UPON A POLE is one and WITH TWO makes a total of three. What was the weight of the burden that each one carried? Of the stones which were taken from the Jordan it says, And those twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, did Joshua set up in Gilgal (Josh. IV, 20). What was roughly the weight of each stone? It weighed as much as forty se'ah. From this you can calculate the weight of that cluster of grapes. A man about to carry a burden can himself lift a se'ah; he can carry two se'ah if his companion lifts it on to his back; and if he is carrying two se'ah he can carry three with the help of his companion. Thus you can calculate from this the weight of the cluster.

15. AND THEY RETURNED FROM SPYING OUT THE LAND AT THE END OF FORTY DAYS (XIII,25). But do you not find that they walked [only] from the south to the north in forty days? Would they then have walked through the whole of it in forty days? [Certainly not;] but it was clear to the Holy One, blessed be He, that they would come and utter slander concerning the land, and that years of suffering would be decreed against that generation, a year for each day of spying, and so the Holy One, blessed be He, caused the road to shrink for them.

16. THAT PLACE WAS CALLED THE VALLEY OF ESHCOL (XIII,24). This is related to the text, Declaring the end from the beginning (Isa. XLVI, 10). Everything is foreseen by the Holy One, blessed be He. Eshcol was Abraham's friend He was called Eshcol in allusion to the cluster (eshcol) which Israel were subsequently to cut off from the place that belonged to him.

17. AND THEY WENT AND CAME TO MOSES, AND TO AARON... AND THEY TOLD HIM, AND SAID: WE CAME UNTO THE LAND... IT FLOWS WITH MILK AND HONEY... HOWBEIT THE PEOPLE THAT DWELL IN THE LAND ARE FIERCE (XIII, 26 ff.). Such is the way of those who utter slander; they begin by speaking well of one and conclude by speaking ill.

18. AMALEK DWELLS IN THE LAND OF THE SOUTH (XIII, 29). What reason did they see for commencing with Amalek? The case is like that of a child who misbehaved and was beaten with a strap. Whenever people wanted to frighten him they used to remind him of the strap with which he had been beaten. In the same way Amalek was Israel's evil strap. What reason did Amalek see for stationing himself on the boundary in the way of Israel's entry into the land? His grandfather Esau told him to do so, namely, to forestall them on the road, so he moved from his position and stationed himself in the way; as it says, Then the Amalekite and the Canaanite... came down, and smote them and beat them down, even unto Hormah (ib. XIV, 45).

19. AND CALEB STILLED (XIII, 30). He at first told the spies, ‘I am of the same opinion as you,’ but in his heart he purposed to speak the truth; as may be inferred from the text, And I brought him back word as it was in my heart. Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt (Josh. XIV, 7 f.). The Holy One, blessed be He, also testifies about him accordingly; as it says, But My servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him (Num. XIV, 24). When the spies came they said: ‘We can trust Caleb.’ Thereupon he stood on a bench and silenced all Israel, who were clamoring against Moses; as it says, AND MOSES STILLED. They thought that he was going to calumniate and so they kept silence. Then he said: We should go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it (ib. XIII, 30). Instantly they contradicted him and said: We are not able to go up against the people, etc. (ib. 31).

20. AND ALL THE CONGREGATION LIFTED UP THEIR VOICE, AND CRIED (XIV, 1). This bears on the text, The words of a murmurer (nirgan) are as mighty blows [E.V. ’The words of a whisperer are as dainty morsels’] and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly (Prov. XVIII, 8), which implies that the words which they cast up (ragenu) towards the Holy One, blessed be He, brought upon them great suffering, for had they not identified themselves with the spies they would not have been punished with them. They, however, completed the spies’ remarks; as may be inferred from the text, And you murmured (vatteragenu) in your tents, and said (Deut. I, 27). What is the implication of ‘vatteragenu’? It signifies: You have sought out (tartem) the shortcomings (genuth) of the Land of Israel, which the Holy One, blessed be He, described as a good land. AND ALL THE CONGREGATION LIFTED UP THEIR VOICE, AND CRIED. This bears on the text, She has uttered her voice against Me; therefore have I hated her (Jer. XII, 8). It implies: The very voice with which you wept was the cause of your being hated. Of that generation Isaiah said: In the day of your planting you did make it grow (tesagsegi), and in the morning you did make your seed to blossom--tafrihi (Isa. XVII, 11). The first part of the verse means: On the day when He intended to plant you in the Land you became dross (sigim); ‘And in the morning tafrihi your seed’ implies that before the noon-day heat arrived you faded (perahtem). A heap of boughs in the day of grief--nahlah (ib.). This signifies: on the day when I came to give you the inheritance of (nahlath) your forefather, you became degraded in the world. And of desperate pain (ib.). This alludes to the punishment which you received as a heritage for future generations. For Israel had wept on the night of the ninth of Ab, and the Holy One, blessed be He, had said to them: ‘You have wept a causeless weeping before Me. I will therefore fix for you a permanent weeping for future generations.’ At that hour it was decreed that the Temple should be destroyed and that Israel should be exiled among the gentiles; for so Scripture says, Therefore He lifted up His hand [swore] concerning them, that He would overthrow them in the wilderness; and that He would cast out their seed among the gentiles, and scatter them in the lands (PS. CVI, 26 f.). The ‘lifting up of the hand’ was a retribution for the ‘lifting up of the voice’.

21. AND ALL THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL MURMURED AGAINST MOSES AND AGAINST AARON; AND THE WHOLE CONGREGATION (‘EDAH) SAID UNTO THEM (XIV, 2). EDAH refers to the Sanhedrin. WOULD THAT WE HAD DIED IN THE LAND OF EGYPT! OR WOULD WE HAD DIED IN THE WILDERNESS! (ib.). The matter may be compared to the case of a king before whose tribunal a man came up for judgment. He let a word slip from his mouth by which he condemned himself; whereupon the king, laying aside his own penal code, convicted him out of his own mouth. Said he to the man: ‘I will pass upon you the sentence which you have uttered with your own mouth. You will get what you have said.’ The Holy One, blessed be He, in the same manner said to Israel: As I live, says the Lord, surely as you have spoken in Mine ears, so will I do to you: your carcasses will fall in this wilderness (Num. XIV, 28 f.). Israel said: WHEREFORE DOES THE LORD BRING US UNTO THIS LAND? ... AND THEY SAID ONE TO ANOTHER: LET US MAKE A CAPTAIN, AND LET US RETURN INTO EGYPT. THEN MOSES AND AARON FELL ON THEIR FACES BEFORE ALL THE ASSEMBLY OF THE CONGREGATION OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL. AND JOSHUA THE SON OF NUN AND CALEB THE SON OF JEPHUNNEH, WHO WERE OF THEM THAT SPIED OUT THE LAND, RENT THEIR CLOTHES. AND THEY SPOKE UNTO ALL THE CONGREGATION OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, SAYING ... IF THE LORD DELIGHT IN US, THEN HE WILL BRING US INTO THIS LAND ... ONLY REBEL NOT AGAINST THE LORD, NEITHER FEAR YOU (ib. 3-9). The people answered them: ‘We have no confidence in you! Our brethren care for us more than you do!’ As it says, Whither are we going up? Our brethren have made our heart to melt, saying (Deut. I, 28). ALL THE CONGREGATION BADE STONE THEM WITH STONES (XIV, 10). Who is THEM? Moses and Aaron. WHEN THE GLORY OF THE LORD APPEARED (ib.). This teaches that they cast stones, but the cloud received them.

22. AND THE LORD SAID UNTO MOSES: HOW LONG WILL THIS PEOPLE DESPISE ME AND HOW LONG WILL THEY NOT BELIEVE IN ME? (XIV, 11). The Holy One, blessed he He, said: ‘I have uttered two cries [of "how long"] on your account! You will ultimately utter four cries for your subjection to foreign governments: (1) How long, O Lord, will You forget me for ever?; (2) How long will You hide Your face from me? (3) How long will I take counsel in my soul? (4) How long will mine enemy be exalted over me? (Ps. XIII, 2f.). I have cried: How long will I bear with this evil/lawless congregation (Num. XIV, 26). You will ultimately cry: My soul also is sore affrighted; and You, O Lord, how long?’ (Ps. VI, 4). I WILL SMITE THEM WITH PESTILENCE (XIV, 12). Said Moses: ‘Sovereign of the Universe! Look to Your covenant with their ancestors, to whom You have sworn that You would rear up kings, prophets and priests from them!’ ‘But,’ said the Holy One, blessed be He, to him, ‘are you not one of their children?’ I WILL MAKE OF YOU A NATION GREATER etc. (ib.). When Moses saw that matters stood thus, he took a different course. AND MOSES SAID UNTO THE LORD: WHEN THE EGYPTIANS WILL HEAR ... THEY WILL SAY TO THE INHABITANTS OF THIS LAND (ib. 13 f.); they will say: ‘He had no means of maintaining them!’ Said He to him: ‘But have they not seen the miracles and the mighty deeds that I wrought for them by the sea?’ Moses replied: ‘They will say: “He could stand against us, but He could not stand against the thirty-one kings.” Sovereign of all the worlds! Do it for Your own sake; AND NOW, I PRAY TO YOU, LET THE POWER OF THE LORD BE GREAT (XIV, 17), and let Your Attribute of Mercy conquer Your Attribute of Justice, ACCORDING AS YOU HAVE SPOKEN, SAYING (ib.). I asked You: “With what Attribute do You judge Your world?” Show me now Your ways (Ex. XXXIII, 13)! And You have removed (he'ebarta) from me the Attribute of Justice’; as it says, And the Lord passed (vayya'abor) by before him, and proclaimed: The Lord... merciful, etc. (Ex. XXXIV, 6). ‘That Attribute, then, of which You did speak to me, is still potent, viz. “Lord, Lord, God, merciful and gracious” (ib.), PARDON I PRAY TO YOU (XIV, 19). The Holy One, blessed be He, accepted his words and acknowledged their justice. AND THE LORD SAID: I HAVE PARDONED ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD (ib. 20), for the Egyptians indeed will speak in accordance with your words.

23. BUT IN VERY DEED, AS I LIVE (XIV, 21). The oath was: Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, will see the land (ib. XXXII, 11). A man who was twenty years old died whether he was of the same mind as the spies or not. One who was under twenty and had not produced two pubic hairs also died whether he was of the same mind as they or not. If he had produced two pubic hairs and was under twenty, then if he was of the same mind as they he did not enter the land. Nevertheless, no one died under sixty years of age. Come and observe the difference Between the righteous/generous and the wicked/lawless, between him that serves God and him that serves Him not (Mal. III, 18). This may be illustrated by the parable of a lady who had an Ethiopian maid, and whose husband went to a country beyond the sea. All night the maid said to the mistress: ‘I am fairer than you and the king loves me more than you.’ The mistress answered her: ‘When morning comes we will know who is fairer and whom the king loves.’ In the same way the nations of the world say to Israel: ‘Our deeds are commendable and the Holy One, blessed be He, delights in us!’ Accordingly Isaiah said: Let the morning come and we will know in whom He delights; as it says, The watchman said: The morning comes, and also night (Isa. XXI, 12). He meant: When the time of the World to Come arrives, which is called ‘morning’, then we will know in whom He delights; Then you will again discern between the righteous/generous and the wicked/lawless (Mal. loc. cit.). It is written, Men of low degree are vanity (hebel), and men of high degree are a lie (Ps. LXII, 10).

R. Hiyya in the name of R. Levi expounded: All the foolish things (habalim) that Israel do during all the days of the year will vanish in mozenayim (ib.); that is to say, will be pardoned by the Holy One, blessed be He, in the constellation Libra (mozenayim) during the month of Tishri; as it says, For on this day will atonement be made for you, to cleanse you (Lev. XVI, 30).

24. AND THE LORD SAID... HOW LONG WILL THIS PEOPLE DESPISE ME? (XIV, 11). This bears on the text, But you have set at nought (vattifre'u) all my counsel and would not of my reproof... They despised all my reproof (Prov. I, 25, 30). What is the implication of ‘vattifre'u’? It signifies [says God] that all the good that I purposed to do on your behalf you foiled and marred; as it says, ‘But ye have set at nought (vattifre'u) all my counsel.’ At the beginning, I came down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians (Ex. III, 8), but you did not act in the right manner. You came to the sea and straightway foiled My plan; as it says, But were rebellious at the sea, even at the Red Sea (Ps. CVI, 7). I came down on your account with thousands upon thousands and myriads upon myriads of angels and presented to each of you two angels; one to gird every Israelite with his weapons and one to put a crown upon his head. R. Judah of Sepphoris (town of upper Galilee) said: He girded them with cuirasses; while R. Simai said: He clothed them with royal cloaks. The Ineffable Name was engraved on them and as long as they possessed it no evil thing could touch them, neither the Angel of Death nor anything else. As soon as they sinned Moses said to them: Therefore, now, put off your ornaments from you, that I may know what to do unto you (Ex. XXXIII, 5). Thereupon, When the people heard these evil tidings (ib. 4), what does it say? And no man did put on him his ornaments (ib.). What had the Holy One, blessed be He, done at the giving of the Torah? He had brought the Angel of Death and said to him: ‘You have jurisdiction over the whole world, except this people whom I have chosen for Myself.’ R. Eleazar b. R. Jose the Galilean remarked: The Angel of Death complained to the Holy One, blessed be He: ‘I have then been created in the world to no purpose!’ The Holy One, blessed be He, replied: ‘I have created you in order that you will destroy idol-worshippers, but not this people, for you have no jurisdiction over them.’ See the plan the Holy One, blessed be He, had made for them! That they should live and endure for ever; as it says, But you that did cleave unto the Lord your God are alive every one of you (Deut. IV, 4). In the same strain it says, The writing was the writing of God, graven (haruth) upon the tables (Ex. XXXII, 16). What is the signification of ’haruth’? R. Judah says: Freedom (heruth) from foreign governments; R. Nehemiah says: From the Angel of Death; and Rabbi says: From suffering. See then the plan the Holy One, blessed be He, had made for them! Yet forthwith they frustrated the plan after forty days. Accordingly it says, ‘But you have set at nought all my counsel.’ The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them: ‘I thought you would not sin and would live and endure for ever like Me; even as I live and endure for ever and to all eternity; I said: You are godlike beings, and all of you sons of the Most High (Ps. LXXXII, 6), like the ministering angels, who are immortal. Yet, after all this greatness, you wanted to die! Indeed, you will die like men-- Adam (ib.), i.e. like Adam whom I charged with one commandment which he was to perform and live and endure for ever’; as it says, Behold, the man was as one of us (Gen. III, 22). Similarly, And God created man in His own image (ib. I, 27), that is to say, that he should live and endure like Himself. Yet [says God] he corrupted his deeds and nullified My decree. For he ate of the tree, and I said to him: For dust you are (ib. III, 19). So also in your case, ‘I said: You are godlike beings,’ but you have ruined yourselves like Adam, and so, ‘Indeed, you will die like Adam.’ Who brought this upon them? The fact that ‘You have set at nought all my counsel’. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them- ‘You provoke Me by means of the very good that I have conferred upon you! When they came to the wilderness, I gave them manna to eat forty years, and none of them needed to answer nature's call during all those forty years. They ate the manna and it was transformed into flesh for them’; as it says, Man did eat the bread of the mighty (Ps. LXXVIII, 25). With this bread they provoked Him. One would say to the other: ‘Do you not know that we have passed many days without having had a call of nature, and that a man who does not receive such a call four or five days dies? Moreover Our soul loathes this light (kelokel) bread’ (Num. XXI, 5), for it was easily digested (kal) in their bowels. The Holy One, blessed be He, said: ‘With the very benefits which I conferred on them they provoked Me’; as may be inferred from the text, What could have been done more to my vineyard? (Isa. V, 4). It was the same when the spies went and saw the land. You find that wherever an Israelite goes he is recognized as such; as it says, All that see them will recognize them (ib. LXI, 9). The Holy One, blessed be He, therefore thought: If the Amorites see them they will recognize them to be Israelites and will kill them. What then shall I do? In every province that they entered, the head of the province was stricken with a plague, or the king was so stricken, in order that people might be occupied in carrying out their dead. They would thus pay no attention to the spies and so did not kill them. The spies, however, provoked Him by means of this very thing. When they came to Moses and to Israel they reported to them what kind of land it was. Wherever they had entered they had seen dead bodies! What use is a land that eats up its inhabitants (Num. XIII, 32)? Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes (Isa. loc. cit.). The Holy One, blessed be He, said: ‘I thought that you would become like the Patriarchs, like grapes in the wilderness (Hos. IX, 10). I did not think that you would become like Sodom’; as it says, For their vine is of the vine of Sodom (Deut. XXXII, 32). ‘Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?’ For all these reasons He said: HOW LONG WILL THIS PEOPLE DESPISE ME?

25. Moses said to Him: THE INHABITANTS OF THE LAND... HAVE HEARD THAT YOU LORD ARE IN THE MIDST OF THIS PEOPLE ... NOW IF YOU WILL KILL THIS PEOPLE AS ONE MAN (XIV, 14 f.). He implied: Do not do this, that the gentiles of the world may not say: ‘The gods of Canaan are more difficult to overcome than the gods of Egypt. The gods of Egypt are false but those of Canaan are possessed of strength.’ THEY WILL SAY TO THE INHABITANTS ... BECAUSE THE LORD WAS NOT ABLE--YEKOLETH (ib. 14 ff.). Because, they will imply, He was unable to supply them with food, He brought them out to slay them in the wilderness. The expression YEKOLETH cannot but signify food; as is borne out by the text, Twenty thousand measures of wheat for food (makkoleth) to his household (I Kings V, 25). Another exposition: Do not do it, that the gentiles of the world may not regard you as a cruel Being and say: ‘The Generation of the Flood came and He destroyed them, the Generation of the Separation came and He destroyed them, the Sodomites and the Egyptians came and He destroyed them, and these also, whom He called My son, My firstborn (Ex. IV, 22), He is now destroying! As that Lilith (kelilith) who, when she finds nothing else, turns upon her own children, so Because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land ... He has slain them’ (Num. XIV, 16)! Moses said: ‘Sovereign of the worlds! INASMUCH AS YOU, LORD, ARE SEEN FACE TO FACE- ‘AYIN BE'AYIN’ (ib. 14). What is the implication of AYIN BE’ AYIN? Resh Lakish explained: ‘Behold,’ said Moses, ‘the scales are evenly balanced (me'uyan)! You say: I will smite him with pestilence (ib. 12), and I say: Pardon, I pray to You (ib. 19). Let us see whose words will take effect! ' Scripture in fact states: And the Lord said, ‘I have pardoned according to your word’ (ib. 20). Nevertheless, the decree of the Holy One, blessed be He, which He communicated to Moses, saying: I will make of you a nation greater, etc. (ib. 12), did not come to nought, for He raised up from him sixty myriads; as may be inferred from the text, But the sons of Rehabiah were very many (I Chron. XXIII, 17), In the time to come the Holy One, blessed be He, will bring them together; as may be inferred from the text, Behold, these will come from far; and lo, these from the north and from the west, and these from the land of Sinim (Isa. XLIX, 12). The other exiles will come with them, and the tribes who are living beyond the River Sambatyon and beyond the Mountains of Darkness will gather together and come to Jerusalem. Isaiah stated: Saying to the prisoners; Go forth (ib. 9). He was referring to those exiles who were living beyond Sambatyon. To them that are in darkness: Show yourselves. By this he was referring to those who were living beyond the cloud of darkness. They will feed in the ways, and In all high hills will be their pasture (ib.). By this he was referring to those who were living in Daphne Antiochene. When the time comes they will be redeemed and will come to Zion in gladness; as it says, And the ransomed of the Lord will return, and come with singing unto Zion, etc. (ib. LI, 11).

26. HOW LONG? etc. (XIV, 27). Halakhah: What is the law as regards moving a child, who is holding a stone in his hand, on the Sabbath? Our Rabbis have taught: A man may carry his son while the latter holds a stone in his hand, or a basket in which there is a stone. You may deduce this from the case of the generation of the wilderness, for the Holy One, blessed be He, carried them in the wilderness, if the expression be permitted, As a man does bear his son (Deut. I, 31), though they had in their possession an idolatrous object; as it says, They have made them a molten calf (Ex. XXXII, 8). You likewise find that when they crossed the Red Sea, Micah's image crossed with them; as may be inferred from the text, And over the sea affliction (zarah) will pass (Zech. X, 11). Yet, for all that, the Holy One, blessed be He, did not forsake them, and He said to Moses: ‘I have divided the sea for them, and still they provoked Me’; as it says, How oft did they rebel against Him (Ps. LXXVIII, 40). ‘In the present instance also they defamed the land and I am unable to bear it. How long will I bear with them? How LONG WILL I BEAR WITH THIS EVIL CONGREGATION?

27. Another exposition of the text, HOW LONG? It bears on the text, For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same, My name is great (Mal. I, 11) The Holy One, blessed be He, said: ‘The nations of the world honor Me, but you, though I have wrought for you so many miracles, yet provoke Me! Do you wish for proof? Eglon king of Moab was an uncircumcised man. Ehud son of Gera went in to him, and when he mentioned My name to him he showed Me honor and stood up from his throne’; as is proved by the text, And Ehud said: I have a message from God unto you. And he arose out of his seat (Judg. III, 20); which serves to confirm the text: ‘For from the rising,’ etc. The Holy One, blessed be He, then said: ‘The nations of the world honor Me and show Me respect, but with you, though you provoke Me, I bear. How long will I suffer? How LONG WILL I BEAR WITH THIS EVIL CONGREGATION? The Holy One, blessed be He, said: ‘A man, if the comparison be permitted, buys a slave for himself in order that the slave may take a lantern and give light to the one who bought him. I, however, do not do so, but though you are My servants--For unto Me the children of Israel are servants (Lev. XXV, 55)--I take the lantern and give light to you.’ Another exposition: Usually a man buys a slave so that if he goes out on a journey his slave may precede him and prepare for him safe and well supplied quarters. I, however, did not do so, but, though you are My servants, I prepared safe and well supplied quarters for you; as it says, And the ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them ... to seek out a resting-place for them (Num. X, 33). Another exposition: Usually a man buys a slave so that his slave may bake bread for him, but I did not do so. You are My servants, yet I bake bread for you in heaven. In the same strain it says, Man did eat the bread of the mighty (Ps. LXXVIII, 25).

28. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: ‘I will destroy them from before Me.’ Said he to Him: ‘Sovereign of the worlds! You are slow to anger! Now if a servant whose deeds are good and who is obedient to his master is looked upon with favor by his master, no one will consider this any merit on the part of the latter. When will they so consider it? When the servant takes to evil/lawless courses and yet his master looks upon him with a friendly countenance. So do You also look not to their stubbornness’; as it says, Look not unto the stubbornness of this people (Deut. IX, 27). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: ‘On your account I will pardon them’; as is borne out by the text, ‘And the Lord said: I have pardoned according to your word’ (Num. XIV, 20).

Ketubim Targum Tehillim (Psalms) 100

JPS Translation	TARGUM
1. A Psalm of thanksgiving. Shout unto the LORD, all the earth.	1. A psalm on the offering of thanksgiving. Give a shout in the presence of the Lord, all inhabitants of the earth.
2. Serve the LORD with gladness; come before His presence with singing.	2. Worship in the presence of the Lord with joy; come before him with praise.
3. Know you that the LORD He is God; it is He that has made us, and we our His, His people, and the flock of His pasture.	3. Make it known, for the Lord is God; He has made us and we are His, His people and the flock of his pasture.
4. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise; give thanks unto Him, and bless His name.	4. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, His courts with praise; give thanks in His presence, bless His name.
5. For the LORD is good; His mercy endures for ever; and His faithfulness unto all generations.	5. For the Lord is good, His goodness is forever, and His faithfulness lasts for all generations.

The Midrash on Psalms (Midrash Tehillim): Psalm 100

I. A Psalm of avowal. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all you lands (Ps. 100:1). R. Jacob taught in the name of R. Abbahu who taught in the name of R. Ala: The words A Psalm of avowal, etc., mean that the Holy One, blessed be He, declared: Let all the lands of the earth avow Me, and I will receive them, as is said Look Unto Me, and be you saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else. By Myself have I sworn, the word is gone forth from My mouth in righteousness/generosity, and will not come back, that unto Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear (Isa. 45:22-23) – that is, “When every knee bows to Me and every tongue swears, I will receive them.”

II. A different interpretation of A Psalm of avowal, Elsewhere, this is what Scripture says: He that covers his transgressions will not prosper; but whosoever avows and forsakes them will obtain mercy (Prov. 28:13). The first part of this verse applies to Adam who said to the Holy One, blessed be He: The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat (Gen. 3:12). For Adam was unwilling to repent. When God would have restrained him, saying, “And now,” nevertheless he put forth his hand, and took of the tree of life (ibid. 3:22) According to R. Abba bar Kahana, when the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Adam, “Repent,” Adam answered, “Never. theless, I—,” although the word now was clearly a summoning to repentance, as in the verse And now, Israel, what does the Lord Your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, etc. (Deut. 10:12). Hence, He that covers his transgressions will not prosper.

The end of the verse, But whosoever avows and forsakes them will obtain mercy, applies to Cain, of whom it is said And Cain went forth from the presence of the Lord (Gen. 4:16). On this verse, R. Huna commented in the name of R. Hanina bar Isaac: The words Cain went forth show that Cain went forth joyful, as it is also said Then went Haman forth that day joyful and with a glad heart (Esth. 5:9). When Adam came upon Cain and asked him: “What was done in punishment of you?” Cain replied: “I repented and was granted clemency.” Whereupon Adam said: “If repentance is so mighty, It is a good thing to confess to the Lord” (Ps. 92:2).

In a different exposition, the words He that covers his transgressions will not prosper are applied to Saul, who said: I have performed the commandment of the Lord, and to whom Samuel said: “What means then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?” (I Sam. 15:13-14)? The end of the verse, But whosoever avows and forsakes them will obtain mercy, applies to David, of whom it is said And David spoke unto the Lord ... and said: “Lo, I have sinned and I have done lawlessly” (2 Sam. 24:17); and of whom it is also said And David said unto the Lord: 1 have sinned greatly in what 1 have done (ibid. 24:10). Thereupon the prophet Samuel said to David: The Lord also has put away your sin; you will not die (I Sam. 12:53). Thus whosoever avows and forsakes them will obtain mercy.

In another exposition of He that covers his transgressions will not prosper, R. Simon and R. Joshua ben Levi said in the name of R. Halafta: A mortal—when he confesses, they pronounce judgment upon him; when he does not confess, they remit the charge against him. But the Holy One, blessed be He, acts otherwise—when a man does not confess, He pronounces judgment upon him; but when he confesses, He remits the charge against him. Hence, He that covers his transgressions will not prosper.

This Moses understood, and so on the theme of confession, he composed the Psalm, A Psalm of avowal.

III. Serve the Lord with gladness (Ps. 100:2). But another verse says Serve the Lord with fear (Ps. 2:11)! If served with gladness, how served with fear? If served with fear, how served with gladness? R. Aibu explained: When you stand at prayer, be glad at prayer, but also be in fear of the Holy One, blessed be He.

Another explanation: Since one verse says, Serve the Lord with gladness, lest it be argued that it is not necessary to serve Him with fear also, therefore the other verse says with fear.

R. Aba taught that God said: Serve the Lord with fear in this world, and rejoice at trembling, for when you arrive with gladness in the world-to-come and then, in the time-to-come, look upon the trembling which seizes the heathen, you will know a joy of joys because of the trembling I will have caused to come upon the [hostile] gentiles of the earth.

IV. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise; give thanks unto Him, and bless His name (Ps. 100:4). R. Phinehas, R. Levi, and R. Johanan said in the name of R. Menahem the Galilean: In the time-to-come, all offerings will cease, except the thank-offering: this will never cease. All prayers will cease, except the prayer of thanksgiving: this will never cease, for in the verse I will render thank-offerings unto You (Ps. 56:13), the term thank-offerings is used of prayer as well as of offering.

Thus also in the verse The voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that will say: “Give thanks to the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is good, for His mercy endures for ever,” and of them that will bring offerings of thanksgiving into the house of the Lord (Jer. 33:11), Give thanks to the Lord is an enjoining of prayers of thanksgiving; while them that will bring offerings of thanksgiving is an enjoining of thank-offerings. In the Psalm also, Give thanks unto Him, and bless His Name (Ps. 100:4), which is an enjoining of a prayer of thanksgiving, is followed directly by the words For the Lord is good; His mercy endures for ever (Ps. 100:5).

Ashlamatah: Joshua 2:1-9, 23-24

1. And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two spies secretly, saying: ‘Go view the land, and Jericho.’ And they went, and came into the house of a harlot whose name was Rahab, and lay there.

2. And it was told the king of Jericho, saying: ‘Behold, there came men in here to-night of the children of Israel to search out the land.’

3. And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying: ‘Bring forth the men that are come to you, that are entered into your house; for they are come to search out all the land.’

4. And the woman took the two men, and hid them; and she said: ‘Yes, the men came unto me, but I knew not whence they were;

5. and it came to pass about the time of the shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out; whither the men went I know not; pursue after them quickly; for you will overtake them.’

6. But she had brought them up to the roof, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had spread out upon the roof.

7. And the men pursued after them the way to the Jordan unto the fords; and as soon as they that pursued after them were gone out, the gate was shut.

8. And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof;

9. and she said unto the men: ‘I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you.

10. For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you, when you came out of Egypt; and what you did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were beyond the Jordan, unto Sihon and to Og, whom you utterly destroyed.

11. And as soon as we had heard it, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more spirit in any man, because of you; for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above, and on earth beneath.

12. Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the LORD, since I have dealt kindly with you, that you also will deal kindly with my father's house - and give me a true token -

13. and save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.’

14. And the men said unto her: ‘Our life for yours, if you tell not this our business; and it will be, when the LORD gives us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you.’

15. Then she let them down by a cord through the window; for her house was upon the side of the wall, and she dwelt upon the wall.

16. And she said unto them: ‘Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers light upon you; and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers be returned; and afterward may you go your way.’

17. And the men said unto her: ‘We will be guiltless of this your oath which you have made us to swear.

18. Behold, when we come into the land, you will bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which you did let us down by; and you will gather unto yourself into the house your father, and your mother, and your brethren, and all your father's household.

19. And it will be, that whosoever will go out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood will be upon his head, and we will be guiltless; and whosoever will be with you in the house, his blood will be on our head, if any hand be upon him.

20. But if you utter this our business, then we will be guiltless of your oath which you have made us to swear.’

21. And she said: ‘According unto your words, so be it.’ And she sent them away, and they departed; and she bound the scarlet line in the window.

22. And they went, and came unto the mountain, and abode there three days, until the pursuers were returned; and the pursuers sought them throughout all the way, but found them not.

23. Then the two men returned, and descended from the mountain, and passed over, and came to Joshua the son of Nun; and they told him all that had befallen them.

24. And they said unto Joshua: ‘Truly the LORD has delivered into our hands all the land; and moreover all the inhabitants of the land do melt away before us.’ {S}

Midrash of Matityahu (Matthew) 21: 12-22

Then Yeshuah came into the House of Ha-Shem and threw out all those who were buying and selling in the Bet Ha-Miqdash (Temple) and over-turned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those selling doves.
He said to them: “It has been written (Isaiah 567) ‘For My house will be called a Bet Tefilah (House of Prayer) for all of the kinsman,’ and (Jeremiah 7:11) ‘Has this House, whereupon My Name will be called, become a den of robbers in your eyes?’”

The blind and the crippled came near to him in the Bet Ha-Miqdash (Temple) and he cared for them.
Then seeing the amazing things which he did, and the youths shouting in the Be Ha-Miqdash (Temple) saying, “Hoshana Ben David!” (Hosanna Son of David!), the Sadducees and the [Greco-Roman oriented] Chief Kohanim (Priests) were indignant.
And said to him: “Do you hear what these boys are saying?” Yeshuah said to them, “Yes. Have you never read (Psalms 8:3): “Out of the mouth of babies and sucklings You have founded strength?”

In the early evening, Yeshuah went forth to Bet-Khanan with his twelve Talmidim.

While going to Bet-Khanan, Yeshuah was hungry.
From a distance he saw a fig tree loaded with leaves, and he went there to see if there were any figs on it. He did not find any figs, only leaves, because early spring is not the season for figs. Then he said, “May no edible fruit go forth from you.”
Right after the fig tree shriveled up. Seeing it, the Talmidim were amazed saying, “How did the fig tree shrivel up right after that?”
Replying, Yeshuah said to them, “Amen, I tell you that if you have trust and do not fabricate judgments, not only will you perform this to the fig tree, but, rather, if indeed you should say to this mountain, ‘Pick up from there and be thrown into the sea,’ it will become.
Everything which you [Talmidim Hakham] will ask in prayer trusting, you will receive/take.

The Rabbi’s Private Prophetic Study

There are two critical sins in the history of the people of Israel. The first is the sin of the golden calf, and the second is the sin of the spies and the people. It seems from the Nazarean Codicil that Messiah ben Yosef offered rectification for the sin of the golden calf, and the Messiah ben David upon his coming will offer rectification for the sin of the spies, and at which time all the people of G-d, most blessed be He will be returned to the land to remain there at least for a thousand years of the Messianic Era.

Concerning this sin of the spies and the people, Messiah King David states in Psalms 95:

7 For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the flock of His hand. To-day, if ye would but hearken to His voice!

8 ‘Harden not your heart, as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the wilderness;

9 When your fathers tried Me, proved Me, even though they saw My work.

10 For forty years was I wearied with that generation, and said: It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known My ways;

11 Wherefore I swore in My wrath, that they should not enter into My rest.’

Hakham Shaul offers the following Midrash concerning the statements in this Psalm (Hebrews 3:7 – 4:13)

7. For this reason, just as the Holy Spirit says, “Today if you hear His voice,

8. stop hardening your hearts [fig., becoming stubborn] as in the rebellion, in the day of the testing in the wilderness,

9. where your fathers tested Me; they tried Me and saw My works [for] forty years.

10. For this reason, I was angry with that generation, and said, ‘They are always being led astray in heart [fig., being deceived in their inner selves], and these did not know My ways.’

11. So in My anger I took an oath: ‘They will not enter into My rest.’” [Psalm 95:7-11]

12. Be watching, brothers [and sisters], lest [there] will be in any of you an evil [lawless] heart [fig., inner self] of unfaithfulness [which] falls away from the living God.

13. But be encouraging one another daily, while it is being called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened [fig., are made stubborn] by [the] deception of sin (i.e. transgression of the Law – 1 John 3:4).

14. For we have become sharers of Messiah, if indeed we hold fast the beginning of [our] assurance until the end,

15. [while] it is being said, “Today if you hear His voice, stop hardening your hearts [fig., becoming stubborn] as in the rebellion." [Psalm 95:7,8]

16. For who having heard rebelled? But it was not all the ones having come out of Egypt through Moses, was it?

17. Now with whom was He angry forty years? [It was] the ones having sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness, was it not?

18. And to whom did He take an oath [that they] would not enter into His rest, if not to the ones having refused to faithfully obey?

19. And [so] we see that they were not able to enter because of unfaithfulness.

1. Therefore, since a promise has been left [fig., remains] to enter into His rest, let us fear lest anyone of you seems to have come short.

2. For we also have had the Masorah (traditions) proclaimed [to us], even as they (i.e. the Israelites that wandered in the wilderness for forty years); but the Word [which they] heard was of no use to them, it not having been mixed with faithful obedience by the ones having heard.

3. For we, the ones having faithfully obeyed, enter into that rest, just as He has said, “So in My anger I took an oath: ‘They will not enter into My rest’”-His works were done from [the] laying of the foundation of [the] world [or, from [the] beginning of the creation of [the] universe]. [Psalm 95:11]

4. For He has said somewhere concerning the seventh [day] thus, “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works;” [Gen 2:2]

5. and in this [place] again, “They will not enter into My rest.’” [Ps 95:11]

6. Therefore, since it remains for some to enter into it, and the ones having first heard the Masorah (Traditions) did not enter in because of disobedience due to unfaithfulness,

7. again He designates a certain day, “Today,” saying in David, after such a long time just as it has been said, “Today if you hear His voice, stop hardening your hearts [fig., becoming stubborn].” [Psalm 95:7,8]

8. For if Joshua had given them rest, He [i.e., God] would not have spoken concerning another day after these [things].

9. So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.

10. For the one having entered into His rest, also [has] rested himself from his works, even as God [rested] from His own [works].

11. Therefore, let us be eager [or, diligent] to enter into that rest, lest anyone falls in the same example of disobedience due to unfaithfulness.

12. For the Word of God [is] living and effective and sharper than every double-edged sword, and [is] penetrating as far as [the] division of both soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and [is] able to discern [the] thoughts and intentions of the heart [fig., inner self].

13. And no created thing is able to be hidden before Him, but all [things are] naked and have been exposed to His eyes to whom we [must give] an account.

Please note that Hakham Shaul here is not speaking about “salvation” (i.e. having a saving relationship with G-d by partaking of His covenant), what he is speaking here is about “working of our salvation with fear and trebling” and not following aster the example of disobedience and unfaithfulness towards G-d’s Word as revealed in the Written and Oral Torah faithfully transmitted to us by our Sages till this very day.

We Jews have undergone the most bitter punishments and horrendous persecutions and yet all in all our most noble nation and its wise Sages throughout the last 4,000 years have kept the light of the Written and Oral Torah alive. Those from the Gentiles or those who call themselves Yisraelites or Messianic have no right to now tell us how to observe the Laws of the Torah. For Hakham Shaul well said:

“What then [is] the advantage of being a Jew? Or what [is] the benefit of circumcision? Much in every way! For indeed first that they are being entrusted with the oracles of God.” (Romans 3:1-2)

Please note that we do not read: “What then is the advantage of being a Gentile?” Nor do we read: “What then is the advantage of being a returning Yisraelite on his own terms?” Therefore the Oracles of G-d –The Oral Torah was never delivered nor entrusted to any Gentile no matter how righteous/generous he/she might be nor to any returning Yisraelite for that manner. None of these are qualified to teach to the Jews contrary to the Oral Torah of our Sages, and to do so is to perpetuate the rebellion of the golden calf and that of the spies.

We plead this Sabbath with all men and women of good will, to return to Torah, to put away lawlessness and rebellion and to “stop hardening the hearts [fig., becoming stubborn] as in the rebellion by [the] deception of sin (i.e. continual transgression of the Law).”

Shalom Shabbat!

Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai