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

Three and 1/2 year Lectionary Readings	Second Year of the Triennial Reading Cycle
Iyar 10, 5774 – May 09/10, 2014	Sixth Year of the Shmita Cycle

Candle Lighting and Habdalah Times:

Amarillo, TX, U.S. Fri. May 09 2014 – Candles at 8:21 PM Sat. May 10 2014 – Habdalah 9:22 PM	Austin & Conroe, TX, U.S. Fri. May 09 2014 – Candles at 7:56 PM Sat. May 10 2014 – Habdalah 8:53 PM	Brisbane, Australia Fri. May 09 2014 – Candles at 4:53 PM Sat. May 10 2014 – Habdalah 5:47 PM
Chattanooga, & Cleveland, TN, U.S. Fri. May 09 2014 – Candles at 8:15 PM Sat. May 10 2014 – Habdalah 9:15 PM	Everett, WA. U.S. Fri. May 09 2014 – Candles at 8:14 PM Sat. May 10 2014 – Habdalah 9:28 PM	Manila & Cebu, Philippines Fri. May 09 2014 – Candles at 5:57 PM Sat. May 10 2014 – Habdalah 6:48 PM
Miami, FL, U.S. Fri. May 09 2014 – Candles at 7:38 PM Sat. May 10 2014 – Habdalah 8:33 PM	Murray, KY, & Paris, TN. U.S. Fri. May 09 2014 – Candles at 7:32 PM Sat. May 10 2014 – Habdalah 8:34 PM	Olympia, WA, U.S. Fri. May 09 2014 – Candles at 8:14 PM Sat. May 10 2014 – Habdalah 9:27 PM
San Antonio, TX, U.S. Fri. May 09 2014 – Candles at 7:57 PM Sat. May 10 2014 – Habdalah 8:54 PM	Sheboygan & Manitowoc, WI, US Fri. May 09 2014 – Candles at 7:44 PM Sat. May 10 2014 – Habdalah 8:52 PM	Singapore, Singapore Fri. May 09 2014 – Candles at 6:48 PM Sat. May 10 2014 – Habdalah 7:38 PM
St. Louis, MO, U.S. Fri. May 09 2014 – Candles at 7:42 PM Sat. May 10 2014 – Habdalah 8:45 PM	Tacoma, WA, U.S. Fri. May 09 2014 – Candles at 8:13 PM Sat. May 10 2014 – Habdalah 9:26 PM

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

Roll of Honor:

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

His Honor Paqid Adon David ben Abraham

His Honor Paqid Adon Ezra ben Abraham and beloved wife HH Giberet Karmela 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 Laurie Taylor

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

Her Excellency Prof. Dr. Conny Williams & beloved family

Her Excellency Giberet Gloria Sutton & beloved family

His Excellency Adon Yoel ben Abraham

His Excellency Adon Tsuriel ben Abraham and beloved wife HE Giberet Gibora bat Sarah

His Excellency Adon Gabriel ben Abraham and beloved wife HE Giberet Lisa Elisheba bat Sarah

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

His Excellency Adon Michael Murray and beloved wife HE Giberet Leah Murray

His Excellency Adon Elisha ben Abraham

His Excellency Adon Ze’ev ben Abraham and beloved wife HE Giberet Hadassah bat Sarah

His Excellency Adon Michael Harston

Her Excellency Giberet Whitney Mathison

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 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.

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 benhaggai@GMail.com with your E-Mail or the E-Mail addresses of your friends. Toda Rabba!

This Torah Seder commentary is dedicated to Her Excellency Giberet Zehavah bat Sarah who has been operated and is still in hospital convalescing. We pray that He who blessed our holy and pure matriarchs, Sarah, Rivkah, Rachel, and Leah, Miryam the prophetess and Avigayil, and Ester may He bless Her Excellency Giberet Simacha bat Sarah. And may He send a complete and speedy healing to her 252 organs and 365 sinews. Please G-d heal her! And cure her and strengthen her, and make her healthy, and return her to her original strength. So may it be His will, and we all say Amen!

We also dedicate this Torah Seder commentary to Her Excellency Giberet BetT’einah bat Sarah on occasion of her birthday. We wish her a most joyful Yom Huledet Sameach together with loved ones, and may she have a long and healthy and prosperous life with many opportunities to perform great deeds of loving-kindness, amen ve amen!

Friday Evening May 09, 2014

Evening: Counting of the Omer Day 25

Then read the following:

Day of the Omer	Ministry	Date	Ephesians	Attributes
25	Parnas 1	Iyar 10	4:20-24	Confidence^[1]

Ephesians 4:20-24 Your lessons on Messiah have taught you better than this,^[2] assuming you have paid attention to our teachings^[3] about him.^[4] Just as this instruction is the truth in (the Torah^[5] concerning) Yeshua.^[6] For you ought to put off^[7] the old man,^[8] (your previous way of living) which is destroyed by deceitful passions, and be renewed^[9] in the spirit of your mind.^[10] And you should put on the Nefesh Yehudi (new man),^[11] having been created after God’s likeness in righteousness/generosity and true holiness.

Shabbat “Shemen Zayit Zakh” – Sabbath: “Olive oil pure”

Shabbat	Torah Reading:	Weekday Torah Reading:
שֶׁמֶן זַיִת זָךְ
“Shemen Zayit Zakh”	Reader 1 – Vayiqra 24:1-4	Reader 1 – Vayiqra 25:14-17
“Olive oil pure”	Reader 2 – Vayiqra 24:5-9	Reader 2 – Vayiqra 25:18-24
“Aceite de olivas puro”	Reader 3 – Vayiqra 24:10-12	Reader 3 – Vayiqra 25:25-28
Vayiqra (Lev.) Lev 24:1 – 25:13	Reader 4 – Vayiqra 24:11-23
Ashlamatah: Jer 11:16 – 12:2 + 15:15-16	Reader 5 – Vayiqra 25:1-3	Monday & Thursday Mornings
	Reader 6 – Vayiqra 25:4-7	Reader 1 – Vayiqra 25:14-17
Psalm 88:1-	Reader 7 – Vayiqra 25:8-13	Reader 2 – Vayiqra 25:18-24
Abot: 3:15	Maftir: Vayiqra 25: 11-13	Reader 3 – Vayiqra 25:25-28
N.C.: II Pet 3:1-7; Lk 17:5-19; Acts 28:7-16	- Jer 11:16 – 12:2 + 15:15-16

Blessings Before Torah Study

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

Please Ha-Shem, our G-d, 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 desire. Blessed are You, Ha-Shem, Who teaches Torah to His people Israel. Amen!

Blessed are You, Ha-Shem our G-d, 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!

Contents of the Torah Seder

1. The Lamps and the Shewbread – Leviticus 24:1-9

2. The Penalty of Blasphemy – Leviticus 24:10-23

3. The Sabbatical Year – Leviticus 25:1-7

4. The Jubilee – Leviticus 25:8-13

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan

for: Vayiqra (Leviticus) 24:1 – 25:13

Rashi	Targum
1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,	1. And the LORD spoke with Mosheh, saying:
2. Command the children of Israel, and they shall take to you pure olive oil, crushed for lighting, to kindle the lamps continually.	2. Command the children of Israel that they bring of their own, pure beaten olive oil for the light, that the lamps may burn continually, on the day of Sabbath, and on the day of work;
3. Outside the dividing curtain of the testimony in the Tent of Meeting, Aaron shall set it up before the Lord from evening to morning continually. [This shall be] an eternal statute for your generations.	3. outside of the veil of the testimony for evermore, because the Shekinah dwells in Israel: in the tabernacle of ordinance will Aharon order it from evening till morning before the LORD continually, by an everlasting statute unto your generations.
4. Upon the pure menorah, he shall set up the lamps, before the Lord, continually.	4. . . .
5. And you shall take fine flour and bake it [into] twelve loaves. Each loaf shall be [made from] two tenths [of an ephah of flour].	5. And you will take flour, and bake thereof twelve cakes, according to the twelve tribes; two tenths will be one cake.
6. And you place them in two stacks, six in each stack, upon the pure table, before the Lord.	6. And you will set them in two orders (rows), six in one order, and six in the other upon the table in its purity, as it is ordained before the LORD.
7. And you shall place pure frankincense alongside each stack, and it shall be a reminder for the bread, a fire offering to the Lord.	7. And you will put upon the orders pure frankincense, that it may be an oblation of memorial bread before the LORD.
8. Each and every Sabbath day, he shall set it up before the Lord [to be there] continuously, from the children of Israel an eternal covenant.	8. From Sabbath day to Sabbath day he will order it anew before the LORD continually from the children of Israel. This will be an everlasting statute.
9. And it shall belong to Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place, for it is holy of holies for him, among the fire offerings of the Lord, an eternal statute.	9. And it will be for Aharon and for his sons, and they will eat it after they have taken it from off the table in the holy place; for it is most sacred to him of the oblations of the LORD by an everlasting statute.
10. Now, the son of an Israelite woman and he was the son of an Egyptian man went out among the children of Israel, and they quarreled in the camp this son of the Israelite woman, and an Israelite man.	10. But a wicked man, a rebel against the God of heaven, had come out of Mizraim, the son of the Mizraite man who had killed the man of Israel in Mizraim, and had gone in unto his wife, who conceived and bare a son among the children of Israel. And while the Israelites were dwelling in the wilderness, he had sought to spread his tent in the midst of the tribe of the children of Dan; but they would not permit him, because in the arrangements of Israel every man dwelt with his family by the ensigns of the house of their fathers. And they contended together in the camp, and the son of the Israelitess with a man of Israel, who was of the tribe of Dan, went to the house of judgment;
11. And the son of the Israelite woman pronounced the [Divine] Name and cursed. So they brought him to Moses. His mother's name was Shelomith the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.	11. and when they had come out from the house of judgment, where he had been condemned, the son of the daughter of Israel expressed and reviled the great and glorious Name of Manifestation which he had heard at Sinai, and defiled and execrated; and the name of his mother was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibree, of the tribe of Dan. JERUSALEM: And the son of the woman of Israel reviled the Manifested Name and defied.
12. They placed him in the guardhouse, [until his sentence would] be specified to them by the word of the Lord.	12. This is one of four judgments which were brought in before Mosheh the prophet, who decided them by the dictate of the Word, who is above. They were judgments about money and about life. In judgments on money Mosheh was prompt; but in the judgment on life he was deliberate (or slow by delay) each (party) Mosheh said, I have not heard: that he might teach the chiefs of the Sanhedrin of Israel, who were to arise after him, to be prompt in judgments respecting money, but slow in judgments that affected life; and not to be ashamed to inquire for counsel in cases that should be too hard for them, forasmuch as Mosheh, Rabban of Israel, had need to say, I have not heard. Therefore they shut him up in the house of confinement till the time that it should be explained to them by the decree of the Word of the LORD. JERUSALEM: This is one of four judgments that were brought before Mosheh our Rabbi. In two of them was Mosheh slow by delay, and in two of them was Mosheh expeditious. With the blasphemer who blasphemed the Holy Name with scoffings and with the gatherer of sticks who profaned the Sabbath, Mosheh had delay, because they were judgments that affected life; but in the case of unclean persons who could not perform the Pascha in its time, and in that of the daughters of Zelophehad, Mosheh could be prompt, because they were judgments on temporal matters. But to those he would say, I have not heard: to teach the judges who were to arise after Mosheh to be slow in judgments on life and to be expeditious in judgments of Mammon; and not to be ashamed to say, I have not heard; for Mosheh our Rabban said, I have not heard. And they shut him up in confinement, while as yet it had not been explained to them from before the LORD with what judgments they were to deal with him.
13. Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:	13. And the LORD spoke with Mosheh, saying:
14. Take the blasphemer outside the camp, and all who heard [his blasphemy] shall lean their hands on his head. And the entire community shall stone him.	14. Bring forth the blasphemer without the camp, and let the witnesses who heard his blasphemy, and the judges, lay their hands upon his head, and let the whole congregation stone him with stones.
15. And to the children of Israel, you shall speak, saying: Any man who blasphemes his God shall bear his sin.	15. And speak you with the sons of Israel, saying: A man young or old who will blaspheme the known Name of his God will bear his sin.
16. And one who blasphemously pronounces the Name of the Lord, shall be put to death; the entire community shall stone him; convert and resident alike if he pronounces the [Divine] Name, he shall be put to death.	16. Whosoever expresses and reviles the Name of the LORD will verily be put to death; all the congregation will cast stones upon him, whether he be a sojourner or native-born, when he has blasphemed the Name that is Alone, he will die.
17. And if a man strikes down any human being he shall be put to death.	17. And if a man destroy the life of any one of the children of Israel, he will verily be put to death by the sword.
18. And one who slays an animal shall pay for it [the value of] a life for the life [he took].	18. And he who destroys the life of an animal will make it good, a living animal for a living one.
19. And a man who inflicts an injury upon his fellow man just as he did, so shall be done to him [namely,]	19. And a man who inflicts a blemish on his neighbor, whatsoever he has done it will be done unto him:
20. fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. Just as he inflicted an injury upon a person, so shall it be inflicted upon him.	20. the value of a fracture for a fracture; the value of an eye for an eye; the value of a tooth for a tooth; whatsoever blemish he inflicts upon the man, the same will be rendered unto him. JERUSALEM: Fracture will be compensated by fracture, an eye will be compensated by an eye, a tooth for a tooth, the blemish he has given to the man it will be given unto him.
21. And one who injures an animal shall pay for it. And one who strikes a person shall be put to death.	21. He who kills a beast will restore it; but be who slays a man will be slain.
22. One law shall be exacted for you, convert and resident alike, for I am the Lord, your God.	22. One judgment will you have for the stranger and for the native; for I am the LORD your God.
23. And Moses told [all this] to the children of Israel. So they took the blasphemer outside the camp and stoned him, and the children of Israel did just as the Lord had commanded Moses.	23. And Mosheh spoke with the sons of Israel, and they brought forth the blasphemer without the camp, and stoned him with stones; and the sons of Israel did it, by laying their hands upon, leading him away hanging, and burying him, as the LORD had commanded Mosheh.
1. And the Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying,	1. AND the LORD spoke with Mosheh in the mountain of Sinai, saying:
2. Speak to the children of Israel and you shall say to them: When you come to the land that I am giving you, the land shall rest a Sabbath to the Lord.	2. Speak with the children of Israel, and say to them: When you have entered into the land that I will give to you, then will the ground rest for a rest before the LORD.
3. You may sow your field for six years, and for six years you may prune your vineyard, and gather in its produce,	3. Six years you will sow your fields, and six years prune your vineyards and gather in the fruit;
4. But in the seventh year, the land shall have a complete rest a Sabbath to the Lord; you shall not sow your field, nor shall you prune your vineyard.	4. but in the seventh year there will be a rest of remission to the earth, that she may rest before the LORD; you will not sow your fields, nor prune your vineyards.
5. You shall not reap the aftergrowth of your harvest, and you shall not pick the grapes you had set aside [for yourself], [for] it shall be a year of rest for the land.	5. The after crop which remains from your harvests you may not reap, nor of your later grapes make a vintage; a year of remission it will be unto the earth;
6. And [the produce of] the Sabbath of the land shall be yours to eat for you, for your male and female slaves, and for your hired worker and resident who live with you,	6. but the remission of the ground will be to you for food, to you, to your servant, and to your handmaid, and to your hireling, and to the stranger who dwells with you;
7. And all of its produce may be eaten [also] by your domestic animals and by the beasts that are in your land.	7. and for your cattle and for the animals that are in your land will be the produce of it (also).
8. And you shall count for yourself seven sabbatical years, seven years seven times. And the days of these seven sabbatical years shall amount to forty nine years for you.	8. And you will number to yourself seven Sabbaths of years, seven times seven years, and they will be to you the sum of the days of seven Sabbaths (or remissions, shemittin) of years, forty and nine years.
9. You shall proclaim [with] the shofar blasts, in the seventh month, on the tenth of the month; on the Day of Atonement, you shall sound the shofar throughout your land.	9. And you will make the voice of the trumpet to sound a jubilee in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, on the Day of the Expiations you will make the voice of the trumpet of Liberty to pass through all your land.
10. And you shall sanctify the fiftieth year, and proclaim freedom [for slaves] throughout the land for all who live on it. It shall be a Jubilee for you, and you shall return, each man to his property,_ and you shall return, each man to his family.	10. And you will sanctify that year, the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty in the land of Israel to all the inhabitants; Jubilee will it be to you, and you will return every man to his inheritance, and every man unto his family, you will return.
11. This fiftieth year shall be a Jubilee for you you shall not sow, nor shall you reap its aftergrowth or pick [its grapes] that you had set aside [for yourself].	11. The year of Jubilee will that fiftieth be to you: you will not sow, nor reap the after crop, nor make vintages of the grapes which have been let alone.
12. For it is Jubilee. It shall be holy for you; you shall eat its produce from the field.	12. For that Jubilee will be sacred to you, the produce of the field will you eat.
13. During this Jubilee year, you shall return, each man to his property.	13. In this year of Jubilee you will return every man unto his inheritance.

Welcome to the World of P’shat Exegesis

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

The Seven Hermeneutic Laws of R. Hillel are as follows

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rashi’s Commentary for: Vayiqra (Leviticus) 24:1 – 25:13

2 Command the children of Israel [and they shall take to you pure olive oil... to kindle the lamps continually] This is the passage of the commandment of the lamps, and the passage [that begins with] “And you will command...” (Exod. 27:20-21) was stated only in context of describing the construction of the Mishkan, i.e., stating the necessity of the menorah. And the meaning [of that passage] is: “You will eventually command the children of Israel regarding this” [namely, here in our passage].

pure olive oil Three [grades of] oil are extracted from an olive: The first [drop of oil that the olive issues after crushing] is called זָךְ, “pure,” [and is used for the menorah; the second and third oils that result from grinding are used for the meal offerings]. These [grades of oil] are enumerated in Tractate Men. (86a) and in Torath Kohanim (24: 210).

continually Heb. תָּמִיד. From [one] night to the next [i.e., even though it was to burn only until the morning—see verse 3—it was continual (תָּמִיד) in that it was to be lit each night]. This is similar to the continual burnt offering (עוֹלַת תָּמִיד) which was only from day to day, [as in Num. 28:18].

3 the dividing curtain of the testimony which was situated in front of the ark, which was called “the Testimony (הָעֵדֻת).” And our Rabbis expounded [that the הָעֵדֻת alludes to] the western lamp, which was a “testimony (עֵדֻת) ” to all the creatures on earth that the Shechinah rested upon Israel, for [the Kohen Gadol] would place into it the same amount of oil he placed into the other lamps, and from it he would begin [the kindling] and with it he would finish [the cleaning, since it continued to burn miraculously until the following evening].-[Rashi Shab. 22b; Nachalath Ya’akov]

Aaron shall set it up from evening to morning He shall set it up in such a way that it has enough [oil] for it to burn for the entire night. And our Sages estimated [this amount to be] half a log for each lamp. This [amount] is sufficient even for the [long, winter] nights of the Teveth season. And this measure became fixed for them [i.e., for the lights even during the shorter, summer nights].- [Mizrachi ; Men. 89a]

4 pure menorah [The menorah] which was [made of] pure gold. Another explanation [for “Upon the pure menorah”] is: [He shall set up the lamps] upon the purity (טָהֳרָהּ) of the menorah, because [before kindling] he would first clean it up (מְטַהֵר) and clear it of ashes [from the previous night’s burning].-[See Torath Kohanim 24:218]

6 six in each stack - שֵׁשׁ הַמַּעֲרֶכֶת, lit. six the stack, six loaves in one stack.

upon the pure table Heb. הַשֻׁלְחָן הַטָהֹר, [the table] of pure gold. Another explanation: upon the top surface (טָהָר) of the table [as in Arabic]. The loaves of bread were thin and thus fragile. Therefore, in order to prevent them from cracking when stacked upon each other, separating racks supported each loaf—except for the very bottom loaf in each stack, which must rest directly “upon the surface of the table הַשֻׁלְחָן הַטָהֹר) (עַל,” without any rack intervening between the loaf and the table surface] so that the racks should not [intervene and] raise the [bottom loaf of] bread [in each stack] from [direct contact with] the surface of the table.-[Torath Kohanim 24:225]

7 And you shall place...alongside each stack Heb. וְנָתַתָּ עַל הַמַּעֲרֶכֶת, [lit., “And you shall place (pure frankincense) upon the stack.” Here, the meaning is: And you shall place pure frankincense] alongside each of the two stacks (Sifthei Chachamim, see also, Men. 62a, and 96a, Chok vol. 5, pg. 177, for the opinion of Abba Shaul and Rabbi Yehudah Hanassi). There were two bowls of frankincense, each bowl containing a fist-full (מְלֹא קֹמֶץ). -[See Rashi on Lev. 2:2; Torath Kohanim 24:228] shall be [I.e.,] this frankincense [shall be].

a reminder for the bread Because nothing of the bread [itself] was offered to the most High [on the altar]. Rather, the frankincense was burned when they removed it on every Sabbath. Thus, the frankincense was a “reminder” for the bread, by which it is “remembered” above, like the fist-full [of flour and oil] which is the reminder for the meal offering. - [see Lev. 2:13]

9 shall belong Heb. וְהָיְתָה. This meal offering (מִנְחָה, which is feminine) [shall belong]. For [although, strictly speaking, the bread is not the usual “meal offering (מִנְחָה),” it is included in that category, because] any offering that comes from grain falls under the category of a meal offering.

and they shall eat it Heb. וַאֲכָלֻהוּ, [in the masculine gender] referring to the bread (לֶחֶם), which is in the masculine gender.

10 the son of an Israelite woman...went out From where did he go out? Rabbi Levi says: “He went out of his world” [i.e., he forfeited his share in the World to Come. See Be’er Basadeh, Maskil L’David]. Rabbi Berechiah says: “He went out of the above passage.” He mocked and said, “[Scripture says,] ‘Each... Sabbath day, he shall set it up.’ But surely it is the practice of kings to eat warm [fresh] bread every day! Perhaps cold bread, nine days old?” [he said] in astonishment. [In fact, the bread remained miraculously warm and fresh until it was removed the following week (Chag. 26b).] The Baraitha states: He “went out” of Moses’ tribunal [with a] guilty [verdict. How so?] He had come to pitch his tent within the encampment of the tribe of Dan. So [this tribe] said to him, “What right do you have to be here?” Said he, “I am of the descendants of Dan,” [claiming lineage through his mother, who was from the tribe of Dan (see verse 11)]. They said to him, “[But Scripture states (Num. 2:2): ‘The children of Israel shall encamp] each man by his grouping according to the insignias of his father’s household,’” [thereby refuting his maternal claim]. He entered Moses’ tribunal [where his case was tried], and came out guilty. Then, he arose and blasphemed.-[Vayikra Rabbah 32:3]

the son of an Egyptian man the Egyptian whom Moses had slain, [uttering the Divine Name (see Rashi on Exod. 2:14). When the man heard this, he arose and began blaspheming against the Divine Name.]-[Sifthei Chachamim ; Vayikra Rabbah 32:4]

among the children of Israel [This] teaches [us] that he converted. [Although he was halachically a Jew, since he was born to a Jewish mother, “he converted” here means that he immersed and was circumcised at Mount Sinai “among the children of Israel,” i.e., together with all the children of Israel.]-[Ramban ; Torath Kohanim 24:235]

They...quarreled in the camp regarding the encampment. [See Rashi on the beginning of this verse].-[Torath Kohanim 24:235).

an Israelite man This was his opponent, the one who prevented him from pitching his tent [in the encampment of Dan].-[Torath Kohanim 24:235]

11 blasphemously pronounced Heb. וַיִּקֹּב. As the Targum [Onkelos] renders: וּפָרֵישׁ, "and he pronounced"—he pronounced the ineffable Divine Name and cursed. This [Name that must not be pronounced] was the explicit [four-letter] Divine Name that this man had heard from [the revelation at Mount] Sinai.-[Torath Kohanim 24:235]

His mother’s name was Shelomith the daughter of Dibri [Why is her name mentioned? This teaches us] the praise of Israel, for Scripture publicizes this one, effectively telling us that she alone [among all the women of Israel] was [involved in an] illicit [relation (Vayikra Rabbah 32:5), albeit unwitting on her part. (See Rashi on Exod. 2:11.) Nevertheless, no other Israelite woman had even unwitting illicit relations].- [Mizrachi]

Shelomith Heb. שְׁלוֹמִית. [Her name denotes that] she was a chatterbox, [always going about saying] “Peace (שָׁלוֹם) be with you! Peace be with you! Peace be with you [men]!” (Vayikra Rabbah 32:5). [She would] chatter about with words, greeting everyone.

the daughter of Dibri [This denotes that] she was very talkative, talking (מְדַבֶּרֶת) with every person. That is why she fell into sin.

of the tribe of Dan [This] tells us that a wicked person brings disgrace to himself, disgrace to his father, and disgrace to his [entire] tribe. Likewise, [the converse is true regarding a righteous man,] “Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan” (Exod. 35:34), [for Oholiab brought about] praise to himself, praise to his father, and praise to his [entire] tribe.-[Torath Kohanim 24:237]

12 They placed him [Since Scripture does not say, “they placed (וַיִּשִׂימוּ or וַיִּתְּנוּ) him in the guardhouse,” but rather, “they left him (וַַיַּנִּיחֻהוּ) in the guardhouse,” which means that they left him] alone, and they did not leave the one who gathered wood [on the Sabbath] with him (see Num. 15:32-36), for these two [episodes, namely, of the wood gatherer and the blasphemer,] occurred at the same time. Now, they knew that the wood gatherer was liable to death, as is stated “those who profane it shall be put to death.” (Exod. 31:14) The mode of death, however, had not yet been specified to them [by God]. Thus it says (Num. 15:34), "for it had not [yet] been specified what should be done to him"—while in the case of the blasphemer [here], Scripture says לִפְרשׁ לָהֶם, [lit., “to specify for them,” namely to specify his sentence], for they did not know whether or not he was liable to the death penalty [at all, and if he would be placed together with the wood gatherer, it might have caused him unnecessary fear, since he could assume thereby that he was on death row. Therefore, at that point he had to be kept separately].-[Be’er Basadeh, Torath Kohanim 24:237]

14 who heard These were the witnesses. - [Torath Kohanim 24:239]

all [who heard] [The word “all” comes] to include the judges.-[Torath Kohanim 24:237]

[shall lean] their hands [on his head] They say to him: “Your blood is on your own head! We are not to be punished for your death, for you brought this upon yourself!”-[Torath Kohanim 24:239]

And the entire community [shall stone him] [I.e., he is to be stoned by the witnesses] in the presence of the entire community (Torath Kohanim 24:240). From here [we learn] that an agent of a person is considered as [the person] himself, [for only the witnesses are to stone him, but since they are acting as agents of the entire community, Scripture considers it as if the entire community is stoning him].

15 [Any man...who blasphemes his God] shall bear his sin [He shall be punished] by excision, if there was no warning -[Torath Kohanim 24:243].

16 And one who blasphemously pronounces the Name [This teaches us that] one is not liable [to the death penalty] unless he pronounces the [four-letter Divine] Name. However, one who curses using an ancillary Name [for God, rather than the explicit, four-letter Name], is not [liable to the death penalty].-[Torath Kohanim 24:243]

And one who blasphemously pronounces Heb. וְנֹקֵב. [This term] denotes cursing, as in, “What can I curse (אֶקֹּב)...?” (Num. 23:8). -[Sanh. 56a]

17 And if a man strikes down [any human being] Since Scripture states, “One who strikes a man so that he dies [shall surely be put to death]” (Exod. 21:12), I know only that [the death penalty applies to] one who kills a “man.” How do I know [that it applies also to one who kills] a woman or a minor? Therefore, Scripture says, “[If a man strikes down] any human being.”-[Torath Kohanim 24:245]

20 so shall be done to him Heb. כֵּן יִנָּתֵן בּוֹ. Our Rabbis explained that this does not mean the actual infliction of a wound, but payment of money. [And how is an injury estimated? The victim] is evaluated as a slave [if he would not have had the injury, and how much with the injury, and the difference is the compensation]. This is why Scripture uses the expression נְתִינָה, “giving,” [thereby alluding to] something that is “handed over (הַנָתוּן) ” from hand to hand.-[B.K. 84a]

21 And one who injures an animal shall pay for it [Verse 18] above is speaking of one who kills an animal, whereas here it is speaking of one who inflicts an injury upon it.

And one who strikes a person shall be put to death even if he did not kill him, but just inflicted an injury upon him. For the term נֶפֶשׁ is not used here. Scripture is speaking here of someone who strikes his father or his mother. And Scripture places this case in juxtaposition to the case of someone who strikes an animal [in order to teach us that]: just as if someone strikes an animal [he is liable only if] it is alive, so is one who strikes his father [or mother liable only if] they are alive. This comes to exclude the case of one who strikes [his father or mother] after [their] death. [Why is this case excluded here?] Since we find that one who curses his [father or mother] after [their] death is liable [to the death penalty—see Rashi on Lev. 20:9 Scripture finds it necessary here to teach us that one who strikes [his parent after death] is exempt. And [this juxtaposition also teaches us that] just as in the case of [one who strikes] an animal, [he is liable only if he inflicted an] injury, but if there was no injury, there is no compensation—likewise, one who strikes his father is not liable [to the death penalty] unless he inflicts an injury upon him.-[Torath Kohanim 24:250]

22 I am the Lord your God the God of all of you. Just as I attach My Name uniquely upon you [native Jewish people], so do I attach it uniquely upon the converts [to Judaism].

23 and the children of Israel did the whole procedure of stoning, described elsewhere [in Scripture]—namely, “pushing” [him off a two-story building—see Rashi on Exod. 19:13 and Sanh. 45a] the actual “stoning” and “hanging” [him afterwards on a pole, taking him down before nightfall and burying him then—see Deut. 21:22-23 and Rashi there].-[Torath Kohanim 24:252]

1 on Mount Sinai What [special relevance] does the subject of Shemittah [the “release” of fields in the seventh year] have with Mount Sinai? Were not all the commandments stated from Sinai? However, [this teaches us that] just as with Shemittah, its general principles and its finer details were all stated from Sinai,likewise, all of them were stated—their general principles [together with] their finer details—from Sinai. This is what is taught in Torath Kohanim (25:1). [And why is Shemittah used as the example to prove this rule, especially since the very fine details are not even specified here (Sefer Hazikkaron)?] It appears to me that its explanation is as follows: [At the plains of Moab, Moses reiterated the majority of the laws of the Torah to the Israelites before their entry into the land of Israel, this reiteration comprising most of the Book of Deuteronomy. Now,] since we do not find the laws of Shemittah ["release"] of land reiterated on the plains of Moab in Deuteronomy, we learn that its general principles, finer details, and explanations were all stated at Sinai. Scripture states this [phrase] here to teach us that [just as in the case of Shemittah,] every statement [i.e., every commandment] that was conveyed to Moses came from Sinai, [including] their general principles and finer details [and that the commandments delineated in Deuteronomy were merely] repeated and reviewed on the plains of Moab [not originally given there].

2 a Sabbath to the Lord For the sake of the Lord, just as is stated of the Sabbath of Creation (see Exod. 20:10) [i.e., just as every seventh day is a holy Sabbath day, acclaiming that God Himself rested on the seventh day and thus acclaiming that God is the Supreme Creator of all existence, likewise, man must rest from working the land on the seventh year, for the sake of God, not for the sake of the land, so that it should gain fertility by lying fallow for a year].-[Sifthei Chachamim ; Torath Kohanim 25:7]

4 the land shall have [a complete rest] for fields and vineyards [but you may dig holes in your land].-[Sifthei Chachamim]

nor shall you prune Heb. לֹא תִזְמֹר. [This refers to the procedure in which] they cut off the [excessive] vine-branches (זְמוֹרוֹת) [and this expression] is rendered [by Onkelos] as לָא תִכְסָח, you shall not cut off, and similar to it is “as thorns cut down (כְּסוּחִים) [that are burned in fire]” (Isa. 33:12), and "it is burned with fire, it is cut (כְּסוּחָה) down.

5 the aftergrowth of your harvest although you did not sow it, but it grew by itself from seeds that [inadvertently] had dropped on [the ground] at the time of harvesting. This is called סְפִיחַ.

You shall not reap to keep it like a regular harvest, but it must be rendered ownerless, [and available] for everyone [to take at will].-[Be’er Basadeh]

the grapes you had set aside [for yourself] [i.e., those grapes] that you set aside (הִנְזַרְתָּ) and kept people away from them and did not declare them ownerless.

you shall not pick Those, you shall not pick, but [you may pick] from crops declared ownerless.-[Torath Kohanim 25:8]

6 And [the produce of] the Sabbath of the land, shall be [yours to eat] Although I have prohibited the produce [of the Shemittah year] to you, I did not prohibit you to eat it or to derive benefit from it, only that you should not treat it as if you were its owner. Rather, everyone is deemed equal [regarding the use of the Shemittah year’s produce]—you, [your slaves,] and your hired worker and resident.

And the produce of the Sabbath of the land... yours to eat - הָאָרֶץ שַׁבַּת. You may eat from what you treated as ownerless (שָׁבוּת), [see Sifthei Chachamim], but from that [produce] which is stored away, you shall not eat.-[Torath Kohanim 25:10]

for you, for your male and female slaves Since Scripture says [regarding Shemittah], “and the poor of your people shall eat [it]” (Exod. 23:11), one might think that it [the produce of the Shemittah year] is prohibited to be eaten by wealthy people. Scripture, therefore, says here, "for you, for your male and female slaves,"—we see that the [wealthy] owners and the male and female slaves are included here [to permit them also to eat of the Shemittah year produce].-[Torath Kohanim 25:12 and see Sefer Hazikkaron]

and for your hired worker and resident [who live with you] Even non- Jews.-[Torath Kohanim 25:14] [Hired worker is one hired by the day. Resident is one hired by the year (Bechor Shor).

7 by your domestic animals and by the beasts But if a beast may eat [Shemittah produce], how much more so are domestic animals [allowed to eat it], since you are obliged to feed them! So why does Scripture mention "by your domestic animals"? [The answer is that Scripture] compares the domestic animal to the beast. As long as beasts [have a particular food available for them to] eat in the field, you may feed your domestic animals from your house. However, once that [particular food] has been consumed by the beasts in the field, you must remove what you had [stored] in your house for your domestic animals [and make that food freely available to everyone].-[Torath Kohanim 25:15]

8 sabbatical years Heb. שַׁבְּתֹת שָׁנִים, sabbatical years. Now, [since our verse therefore tells us to count “seven sabbatical years,”] one might think that we should observe seven consecutive sabbatical years, and then make a Jubilee year after them. Scripture, therefore, continues here, “seven years seven times,” thus showing us that every Shemittah year occurs in its own time [namely, every seventh year].-[Torath Kohanim 25:13]

And the days of these seven [sabbatical years will amount to forty-nine years] [But is it not already clear that seven years seven times equals forty-nine? However, this] comes to tell us that even though you have not observed the Shemittah years [throughout that period], nevertheless, make a Jubilee at the end of forty-nine years.-[Torath Kohanim 25:14] [This is a Midrashic explanation, linking the end of our verse with the next, to read, “And the days of these seven sabbatical years will amount to forty-nine years for you (and) Then...you shall proclaim with shofar blasts.”] The simple meaning of our verse is, however, that the calculation of the years of the Shemittah cycles will amount to the number forty-nine.

9 You shall proclaim Heb. וַהַעֲבַרְתָּ, [lit., “you shall pass” something from one place to another. But here, this term] stems from [the similar expression in the verse], “and they proclaimed קוֹל) (וַיַּעֲבִירוּ throughout the camp” (Exod. 36:6), an expression of proclamation.-[R.H. 34a]

[On the tenth of the month,] on the Day of Atonement But since it says, “on the Day of Atonement,” do I not already know that this occurs "on the tenth of the month"? So why does Scripture need to state, "on the tenth of the month"? However, [it does so,] in order to teach you the following: [The obligation] to sound the shofar on the tenth of the month [i.e., on the Yom Kippur of the Jubilee year] overrides the [prohibition of sounding the shofar on the] Sabbath “throughout your entire land,” whereas [the obligation] to sound the shofar on Rosh Hashanah does not override the [prohibition of sounding the shofar on] Sabbath “throughout your entire land,” except in the court of law [where this prohibition does not apply (see Ramban on our verse)].-[Torath Kohanim 25:16]

10 And you shall sanctify [the fiftieth year] [How?] At its commencement, [this Jubilee year] is sanctified in the court, [at which time] they declare: “This year is holy!”

and proclaim freedom for slaves, whether a נִרְצָע [a Jewish slave who chose to remain with his master even after his being permitted to go free at the end of six years and who therefore had to have his ear bored (see Exod. 21:16) or a slave] for whom his six-year period since having been sold has not yet elapsed. Said Rabbi Judah: What does this term דְּרוֹר mean? As one who dwells (כִּמְדַייֵר) in a dwelling (בֵּי דַייְרָא)etc., who dwells wherever he wishes, and is not under the domain of others [thus, the term דְּרוֹרdenotes “freedom”].-[Torath Kohanim 25:18, R.H. 9b and see Rashi there]

It shall be a Jubilee This year is distinguished from all other years, for only it has a special name. And what is that name? It is called יוֹבֵל [meaning “ram’s horn” (see Rashi on Exod. 19:13)], because of the shofar that is sounded [upon its commencement].

and you shall return, each man to his property that the fields revert to their owners. [This verse does not mean that the owner must return to his field, but that the ownership of the field returns to the one who had sold it (Mesiach Illemim)].

and you shall return, each man to his family [This clause comes] to include the “bored one.” (See second Rashi on this verse.) -[Kid. 15a]

11 This fiftieth year shall be a Jubilee for you What does this come to teach us?" Since Scripture says (preceding verse),"And you shall sanctify [the fiftieth year," one might think that just as, at the beginning of the year, it gains sanctity progressively, so should its sanctity extend after the year, as it is with other instances of sanctification of holy times, e.g., Sabbath or a holy Festival, with which some ordinary time is added on to the holy time, here, too, some of the year following the Jubilee must be added on to it. Scripture, therefore, says, “This fiftieth year shall be a Jubilee for you” — only the fiftieth year, with no extensions. The above] is taught in Tractate R.H. (8b) and Torath Kohanim (25:23).

its [grapes that] you had set aside Heb. נְזִרֶיהָ, those grapes stored away, but you may harvest those that have been rendered ownerless. [For] just as with Shemittah [the term נְזִירֶךָ] is stated [specifically referring to grapes (see Rashi verse 5 above)], so with Jubilee, [this term נְזִרֶיהָ] is stated [and refers specifically to grapes, for Shemittah and Jubilee are equal in all matters. (Mesiach Illemim, Devek Tov, Sifthei Chachamim) See also Be’er Basadeh, Maskil L’David]. Thus, two holy years are found right next to each other—the forty-ninth year [in each cycle] is Shemittah and the fiftieth year is Jubilee.

12 It shall be holy for you [The produce of Jubilee] attaches its holiness onto the money [it is sold for] like items dedicated to the Holy Temple. However, one might think that [just like items dedicated to the Holy Temple, this produce] leaves [its holy status,] to become unholy—Scripture, therefore, says here “It shall be,” [as if to say,] they shall remain as they were.-[Suk. 40b]

You shall eat [its produce] from the field You shall [gauge your] eating in the house, by way of the field. [That is to say,] once [a particular food] has been consumed by the beasts in the field, you must remove [what you had stored of that food] from your house [and make it freely available to all]. (See Rashi on verse 7 above; Torath Kohanim 25:26). Just as was stated regarding Shemittah, so it is stated regarding the Jubilee.

13 you shall return, each man to his property But has this not already been stated, [when Scripture says], “ and you shall return, each man to his property” (verse 10 above)? However, [this clause is stated here,] to include one who sold his field, and his son arose and redeemed it, that it reverts to his father in the Jubilee.-[Torath Kohanim 25:28]

Ketubim: Tehillim (Psalms) 88:1-19

Rashi	Targum
1. A song with musical accompaniment of the sons of Korah, for the conductor, about the sick and afflicted one, a maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.	1. A song and a psalm composed by the sons of Korah, with a prayer; for praise; a good lesson composed by Heman the native.
2. O Lord, the God of my salvation! I cried by day; at night I was opposite You.	2. O LORD God my redemption, daily I have made complaint; in the night my prayer is before You.
3. May my prayer come before You; extend Your ear to my supplication.	3. May my prayer come before You; incline Your ear to my plea. ANOTHER TARGUM: Let my prayer for Your people, the house of Israel, come before You; and incline Your ear to my psalm that I have sung for Your glory.
4. For my soul is sated with troubles, and my life has reached the grave.	4. For my soul has had its fill of evils; and my life has arrived at Sheol.
5. I was counted with those who descend into the Pit; I was like a man without strength.	5. I am reckoned with those who go down to the prison-house; I have become like a son of man who has no strength.
6. I am considered among the dead who are free, as the slain who lie in the grave, whom You no longer remember and who were cut off by Your hand.	6. Like the wicked who died and did not return, having been made free from strife; like those slain by the sword, lying in the grave, whom You no longer remember, since they have been separated from the face of Your presence.
7. You have put me into the lowest pit, into dark places, into depths.	7. You have placed me in exile, which is likened to the lower pit, among the oppressed in the depths.
8. Your wrath lies hard upon me, and [with] all Your waves You have afflicted [me] constantly.	8. Your fury rests on me, and all evil decrees have broken me; You have afflicted me forever.
9. You have estranged my friends from me; You have made me an abomination to them; [I am] imprisoned and cannot go out.	9. You have removed those who know me far from me; You have made me loathsome to them; enclosed in prison, and I may not go out.
10. My eye has failed because of affliction; I have called You every day, I have spread out my palms to You.	10. My eye has flowed with tears because of affliction; every day I have called to You, O LORD; I have spread my hands to You in prayer.
11. Will You perform a wonder for the dead? Will the shades rise and thank You forever?	11. Could it be that You would work miracles for the dead? Or will bodies that have decayed in dust arise and give thanks in Your presence forever?
12. Will Your kindness be told in the grave, Your faith in destruction?	12. Could it be that Your goodness will be talked of in the grave? Your truth in the place of perdition?
13. Will Your wonder be known in the darkness, or Your righteousness in the land of oblivion?	13. Could it be that Your wonders will be known in the darkness of Gehenna? And Your generosity in the land of thirst and desolation?
14. As for me, O Lord, I have cried out to You, and in the morning my prayer comes before You.	14. But I have prayed in Your presence, O LORD; and in the morning my prayer will come before You.
15. Why, O Lord, do You abandon my soul, do You hide Your countenance from me?	15. Why, O LORD, have You forsaken my soul, why will You hide your face from me, that I may not see illumination by Your light?
16. I am poor, and close to sudden death; I have borne Your fear, it is well- founded.	16. I am afflicted and frail from childhood; I have borne the fear of You, loaded upon me.
17. Your fires of wrath have passed over me; Your terrors have cut me off.	17. Your anger has passed over me; Your terrors have destroyed me.
18. They surround me like water all the day; they encompass me together.	18. They have surrounded me like water all day; they have encompassed me together.
19. You have estranged from me lover and friend; my acquaintances are in a place of darkness.	19. You have removed friend and fellow far from me; as for those who know me, I am lowly in their mouth.

Rashi’s Commentary for: Psalms 88:1-19

1 about the sick and afflicted one Heb. על־מחלתלענות, concerning the one sick with love and afflicted, for she is afflicted with the pains of the exile.

of Heman the Ezrahite One of the musicians who played a musical instrument, and the sons of Korah established this psalm that Heman should recite it on the “duchan” [the platform].

of Heman the Ezrahite He was one of the sons of Zerah the son of Judah, for his lineage is delineated in (I Chron. 2:6): “And the sons of Zerah were Zimri, Ethan, Heman, Chalcol, and Darda [sic].” All five were great sages, as is said in reference to Solomon (I Kings 5: 11): “And he was wiser than all men, than Ethan the Ezraite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol,” and they established the Psalms, which were set down in the Book of Psalms. Therefore, they are called the sons of Mahol. So have I found in exact commentaries.

a maskil Wherever it says “maskil,” it was said through an interpreter. The prophet would set up an interpreter before him, and when he perceived a prophecy coming upon him, he would recite the prophecy to the interpreter, who would make it heard.

2 I cried by day; at night And also at night I am ready before You.

4 For my soul is sated with troubles He says this concerning the people of Israel.

5 without strength Heb. איל, as (above 22:20): “My strength (אילותי), hasten to my assistance.”

6 among the dead, who are free I am among the dead, free from the world, and like the slain, who are free from the world.

and who were cut off by Your hand By Your blows, they were cut off from the world.

7 You have put me into the lowest pit That is the exile.

8 lies hard leans and hangs [sic] on me.

and [with] all Your waves You have afflicted [me] constantly Heb. משבריך, an expression of the waves of the sea. They are all the storms of Your wrath; with all of them have You constantly afflicted me.

9 You have made me an abomination to them The nations, in whose eyes I was esteemed now I am repugnant to them.

[I am] imprisoned Confined in a prison, and I cannot go out.

11 Will You perform a wonder for the dead? Do You perform a wonder and miracles for the wicked, who are called dead even in their lifetime?

Will the shades rise and thank You Heb. רפאים, lit. the weak. Will the nations that weakened their [Israel’s] hands from Your service rise and thank You? This is a wonder.

12 Will Your kindness be told in the grave if we die in the hands of our enemies, will we be able to recite Your praise in the grave?

16 and close to sudden death Heb. וגוע מנער, dying from the strangulation of sudden death, as (Exod. 14:27): “and the Lord strangled (וינער).” Menachem (p. 123) defines וינער as an expression of beating, as (Isa. 33:15): “who shakes (נוער) his hands from taking hold of bribe”; (Isa. 52: 2), “Shake yourself (התנערי) from the dust, arise”; (Isa. 1:31), “And the[ir] strength will become as tow (לנערת) ”; (Job 38:13), “so that the wicked will be shaken (וינערו) from it”; (Neh. 5:13), “even thus may he be shaken out (נעור) and emptied.”

it is well-founded Heb. אפונה. Your fear is settled and based in my heart. אפוּנה is an expression of (Prov. 25:11): “a word spoken with proper basis (אפניו) ”; on its basis.

19 From my acquaintances, I am withdrawn Heb. מחשך. I am withdrawn and withheld from them.

Meditation from the Psalms

Psalms 88:1-19

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

Israel’s exile and dispersion were Divinely ordained as instruments to spur Israel’s spiritual development in the pursuit of excellence. In exile, the lonely, insecure Jew is compelled to turn to a Divine source of strength in order to find security and a purpose for his life. The one in exile is exceptionally close to HaShem, for no secular national loyalties interfere with his devotion to HaShem. Ideally, the holiness of Eretz Yisrael should have brought the people to heightened perceptions of G-d and to fulfillment of their spiritual potential. But instead of utilizing the land to enhance their development, they allowed themselves to become creatures of the earth. Therefore they were exiled so that they would realize that their ‘home’ is the Torah, not a parcel of real estate; and their success depends on mitzvot, not on a plow.

Despite the opportunity for spiritual development which the galut (exile) offers, depression, disgrace, and doom threaten the suffering wanderer. In the following verses, Korach’s sons^[12] vividly depict the agonies of galut (think of Mitzrayim and the wandering in the wilderness during the exodus) and express Israel’s yearning for Divine redemption.^[13]

Our Torah portion speaks of Sabbatical years and of the Yovel years.^[14] This parallels the counting of the Omer which was explicitly given in last week’s parsha. Last night we counted the 24^th day of the omer, which are three weeks and three days of the Omer. This omer period was a period of intense troubles in which we came very close to death.

The Omer period, is a period of national semi-mourning (no weddings or even haircuts). It was during this period that Rabbi Akiva’s 24,000 students died for not showing proper respect towards each other. It is a time for reflection upon how we look upon and treat our fellow Jews and upon the tragedies that have befallen us because of unfounded (self-justified) hatred.

When all 24,000 of Rabbi Akiva’s students had died, the world was desolate. The Torah had been forgotten. There were no pupils to go out and teach and disseminate the light of Torah. Rabbi Akiva traveled to the Hakhamim of the South and taught them his Torah. On Lag B’Omer he laid his hands on the heads of these, his last pupils, giving them smicha (rabbinical ordination) [Note: His Majesty King Yeshua is bestowing smicha on His disciples on Lag B’Omer]. And from that day, the world began to brighten from the Torah’s light by virtue of these students. As the day of their ordination was the 33rd day of the Omer, we light bonfires in Eretz Israel to symbolize the great light that the Torah represents.

These fifty days also correspond to the seven weeks after the Exodus from Egypt when the Jewish people prepared themselves to receive the Torah at Mt. Sinai. When we left Egypt we were on the 49th level of Tumah, spiritual degradation. Each day we climbed one step higher in spirituality and holiness.

Iyar is unique amongst all the months of the year. For each and every single day in Iyar, brings with it the opportunity to perform a mitzva, the mitzva to count the omer.

Iyar ten is a day for trouble. On this day The Ark of the Covenant is taken captive by the Philistines.^[15] This is also the day when The Tabernacle at Shiloh was destroyed.^[16]  Finally, this day also saw the death of Eli, the Kohen Gadol, and his sons.^[17]

The author of our Psalm, Heman the Ezrahite,^[18] was looking at the troubles that we experienced when we were in the wilderness, after the exodus from Mitzrayim.^[19] He was also looking at the other calamities that befell us on this date. This mournful psalm details the feelings that we underwent in those experiences. He also conflates these historical experiences and the Torah portion, as he reminisced, and mourns, during the period of the omer.

Our Ashlamata^[20] contains that most famous questions: Why do the wicked prosper? As I have explained before, when we are born, we are planted right in the middle between righteousness/generosity and wickedness. It is our life’s work to move ourselves to the side of righteousness/generosity. The troubles we experienced during the exodus and the omer period, are all about daily exercises to move to the right and prune off our branches that hang over into the side of wickedness.

This goal of righteousness/generosity is achieved through the mitzvot which sanctify us. However, after we die, there are no more mitzvot, as our psalmist declares:

Tehillim (Psalms) 88:6 Free among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, whom You remember no more: and they are cut off from Your hand.

The Gemara then explains this enigmatic phrase by showing us that during our lifetime we have the opportunity to draw near to HaShem through the performance of mitzvot, but after we die, there is no more movement, no more opportunity to draw nearer to HaShem.

Shabbath 30a Thy father David said, The dead praise not the Lord;^[21] whilst thou saidest, Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead^[22] but yet again thou saidest, for a living dog is better than a dead lion.^[23] Yet there is no difficulty. As to what David said: ‘The dead praise not the Lord’, this is what he meant: Let a man always engage in Torah and good deeds before he dies, for as soon as he dies he is restrained from [the practice of] Torah and good deeds, and the Holy One, blessed be He, finds nought to praise in him. And thus R. Johanan said, What is meant by the verse, Among the dead [I am] free?^[24] Once a man dies, he becomes free of the Torah and good deeds. And as to what Solomon said, ‘Wherefore I praised the dead that are already dead’ for when Israel sinned in the wilderness, Moses stood before the Holy One, blessed be He, and uttered many prayers and supplications before Him, but he was not answered. Yet when he exclaimed, ‘Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants!’^[25] he was immediately answered.

Thus we understand that we need to make use of our lives to make progress in our relationship with HaShem. In this world we can praise HaShem for His faithfulness, but after death, we no longer have this opportunity, as we see in the Gemara:

Eiruvin 19a R. Joshua b. Levi stated: Gehenna has seven names, and they are: Nether-world,^[26] Destruction, Pit,^[27] Tumultuous Pit, Miry Clay, Shadow of Death and the Underworld. ‘Nether-world’, since it is written in Scripture: Out of the belly of the nether-world cried I, and Thou heardest my voice;^[28] ‘Destruction’, for it is written in Scripture: Shall Thy Mercy be declared in the grave? Or thy faithfulness in destruction;^[29] ‘Pit’,^[30] for it is written in Scripture: For Thou wilt not abandon thy soul to the nether-world; neither wilt Thou suffer Thy godly one to see the pit;^[31] ‘Tumultuous Pit’ and ‘Miry Clay’, for it is written in Scripture: He brought me up also out of the tumultuous pit, out of the miry clay;^[32] ‘Shadow of Death’, for it is written in Scripture: Such as sat in darkness and in the shadow of death;^[33] and the [name of] ‘Nether-world’ is a tradition.

We are reading this Torah portion during the Nisan cycle of the septennial Torah cycle. In the Tishri cycle of our bi-modal Torah reading, We read this portion very close to Chanukah. This suggests an intimate connection between this Torah reading and this special rabbinic festival.

Shabbat 21b “What is Chanukah? Our Rabbis taught: On the twenty-fifth of Kislev begin the eight days of Chanukah; we may not eulogize on these days nor may we fast on them. When the Greeks entered the Temple, they defiled all the oil in the Temple. And when the royal house of the Hashmonian’s prevailed and were victorious over them, they searched and found only one vial of oil which still had the stamp of the Kohen Gadol (High Priest) intact, and it contained enough to light for only one day. A miracle occurred and they used this oil to light for eight days. The next year, they fixed this date and made it a festival, celebrated with praise and thanks.”

The twelfth rule of Ishmael tells us that we can understand one passage by understanding the passages that come before it and after it. Thus we understand that Vayikra 24 is related, and explains Vayikra 23. Our Torah portion contains a hint to Chanukah. Vayikra (Leviticus) chapter 23 lists each of the festivals in order, finishing with the Feast of Tabernacles. The order in which they are mentioned is as follows: Shabbat, Pesach, Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah, Yom HaKippurim and Succoth. Immediately following this the Torah continues, "HaShem said to Moshe: 'Command the Children of Israel that they take to you pure olive oil, pressed for lighting, to kindle a continual lamp.'" This is a hint to Chanukah, which follows Succoth on the calendar, and in which using olive oil is the most preferable way to fulfill the mitzva.^[34] This mitzva, of pure olive oil, also hints to the pure oil that burned for eight days at Chanukah, during the days of the Maccabbees.

Chanukah is not specifically mentioned in the Torah, since the story happened after the Torah was written. Moses finished writing the Torah in the year 2488 after creation.^[35] The Chanukah miracles occurred over a thousand years later, in the years 3621–3622.^[36] Nevertheless, HaShem is above the limitations of time, and as such, He included in the Torah allusions to Chanukah.

Our psalmist is hinting that there is something special about this particular mitzva of kindling lamps on Chanukah. The darkness, in v.19, and the night time reference , in v.2, are particular terms used by our Sages to describe our current exile. In this current exile, the last time that HaShem presented us with a miracle, in the Temple, was the miraculous burning^[37] of the pure olive oil, for eight days. We understand, from this hint, that it is the kindling of the chanukiya that will sustain us through this dark exile. This mitzva will transcend the discouragement of seeing the “wicked prosper”. It will remind us that there will be a day when the light of creation,^[38] will once again be manifest on a large scale, which today is only manifested by the light of Chanukah.^[39]

Chanukah is an observance commemorating the rededication^[40] of the Second Temple of Jerusalem after its desecration three years earlier by order of Antiochus IV Epiphanes; the Syrian king was thus frustrated in his attempt to extirpate the Jewish faith. Though modern Israel tends to emphasize the military victory of Judas Maccabeus, the distinctive rite of lighting the menorah also recalls the Talmud story of how the small supply of non-desecrated oil, enough for one day, miraculously burned in the Temple for eight full days until new oil could be obtained. Beginning on Kislev 25 (Kislev 25 generally falls in December), Chanukah is celebrated for eight days. During this time, in addition to the lighting of the candles, gifts are exchanged and children play holiday games^[41]

Chanukah is the only feast, which runs for over a week; the only other feast, which comes close, is Succoth, the Feast of Tabernacles. In fact, the celebration of Chanukah was a belated celebration of Succoth, the Feast of Tabernacles, which the Maccabees had missed due to their fight with the Syrians. It is also the only feast to span two different months. It seems to need to draw influence from two zodiac signs to make itself happen. These anomalies serve to highlight a basic distinction between Chanukah and all other holidays. On Pesach, the Feast of Passover, we are not celebrating miracles, even as we relate them; the holiday commemorates freedom. Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks, commemorates the giving of the Torah, Yom Teruah, the Feast of Trumpets, is the Day of Judgment and HaShem‘s kingship, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, and Succoth celebrates the presence of HaShem and His providence. The miracles associated with those events served as means to achieve a goal, but the holiday celebrates the goal itself, the spiritual state, which is a permanent and necessary component of the existence of HaShem’s people. The Torah defines for us the crucial stages of HaShem‘s people: you must experience freedom, you must experience Torah, you must experience majesty, judgment and repentance, and you must experience HaShem‘s presence.

Chanukah, as the Sages define it, celebrates the event of the miracle itself, the bare fact that a small cruse of oil kept burning. As various commentators have pointed out, the net result of this miracle was not particularly significant, the menorah could have been lit with impure oil if no pure oil were available, and, in any event, after eight days, the menorah would have been lit, one way or another. In other words, this holiday celebrates the process, the means, the fact that HaShem performs miracles and that that is the background to the existence of HaShem‘s people, rather than a particular state or result. The eighth day forces us to concentrate on that point, forces us to continue Chanukah beyond a natural cycle.

While eight lights are required on the chanukiyah, one lit each night of Chanukah, it is customary for the chanukiyah to have a place for nine flames. The ninth flame is called the shamash or servant flame. It’s sole purpose is to light the others, in Ashkenazim households, (Sefardim do not even use the shamash to light the other lights) in order to avoid the possibility that the others might be used...they are NOT to be used, even for light, this is the halakah!

This law reflects the unique nature of this mitzvah. Though every mitzva earns a reward, in certain cases the reward is spiritual, while in others it is also manifest in the material world. The visible light of the Chanukah candles indicates that the positive effects generated by this mitzva are apparent in our material world as well as in the spiritual realm. However, just as we do not make use of the light of the Chanukah lights for mundane purposes, our goal in performing this mitzva is not material reward. We fulfill it only because “You have sanctified us with Your commandments and commanded us,”^[42] without thought of reward or any other ulterior motive. This level of performance, avodah lishmah (“divine service for its own sake”), is the highest that can be attained through our own spiritual endeavors.^[43] Like many human behaviors, even our divine service may be motivated by a desire for spiritual, if not physical, rewards. The Chanukah lights teach us to transcend our tendencies toward self-interest and dedicate ourselves to serving HaShem for His sake alone. The Chanukah lights, which burn in the darkness of the night, demonstrate moreover that we can reach this advanced level of divine service, not only during daylight (which symbolizes manifest Godliness), but also in times when effort is necessary to transform the darkness around us.

Our psalm also contains an additional hint to Chanukah in the first pasuk, where it mentions one of the eight^[44] musical instruments, accompanying the psalms of the Levites during the service, i.e., seven instruments and the choir itself, for a total of eight.

1. Stringed instruments - Psalm 4:1

2. Flutes - Psalm 5:1

3. Gitit - Psalm 8:1

4. Machalat Le’annoth^[45] - Psalm 88:1

5. Yedutun - Psalm 39:1

6. Harp - Psalm 33:2

7. Lyre - Psalm 33:2

8. Voices

Ashlamatah: Jer 11:16 – 12:2 + 15:15-16

Rashi	Targum
6. ¶ And the Lord said to me; Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying: Hearken to the words of this covenant and you shall do them.	6. ¶ And the LORD said to me, Prophesy all these words in the cities of the house of Judah and in the market-places of Jerusalem, saying: Heed the words of this covenant, and do them.
7. For I warned your forefathers on the day I brought them up from the land of Egypt until this day, warning early every morning, saying: Hearken to My voice.	7. For I truly warned your fathers, on the day that I brought them up from the land of Egypt even up to this day, rising up early and warning, saying, Heed My Memra.
8. But they did not hearken, neither did they bend their ears, and they went, each man according to the view of his evil heart, and I brought upon them all the words of this covenant that I commanded to do, and they did not do. {S}	8. But they did not heed it, and did not incline their ear, but each man walked in the corrupt fancy of his evil heart. So I brought punishment upon them because they had not listened to the words of this covenant which I commanded them to do, and they did not do it.” {S}
9. And the Lord said to me; A conspiracy has been found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.	9. And the LORD said to me, “It has been found that the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem have rebelled.
10. They have returned to the iniquities of their first forefathers, who refused to hearken to My words, and they followed other gods to worship them; the house of Israel and the house of Judah broke My covenant that I made with their forefathers. {S}	10. They have returned to the sins of their first fathers who refused to heed My words, and they have wandered after the idols of the nations to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah changed My covenant/ which I had made with their fathers. {S}
11. Therefore, so says the Lord: Behold, I bring upon them evil which they shall be unable to escape, and, although they shall cry out to Me, I will not heed them.	11. Therefore thus says the LORD, Behold, I am bringing evil upon them from which they cannot be rescued and they shall pray before Me, but I will not receive their prayer.
12. And they shall go [from] the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and cry out to the gods to whom they burn incense, and they shall not save them at the time of their misfortune.	12. And the men of the cities of the house of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall go and make request of the idols to which they offer incense: will they be able to deliver them in the time of their misfortune?
13. For as many as your cities were your gods, O Judah, and as many as the streets of Jerusalem you have made altars for the shameful thing, altars to burn incense for the Baal.	13. For according to the number of your cities are your deities, O you of the house of Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem you have made altars for Shame, altars to offer incense to Ba'al.
14. And you, do not pray for this people, neither shall you lift up cry nor prayer, for I do not hearken at the time they call out to Me because of their misfortune. {S}	14. And as for you, do not pray for this people, and do not make supplication for them (with) petition and prayer, for there is no pleasure before Me to receive their prayer at the time when you pray for them before Me, at the time of their misfortune. {S}
15. What has My beloved to do in My house, [seeing that] the many perform evil design, and the holy flesh they remove from you, for [with] your evil then you rejoice.	15. What is there for the people which was beloved before Me? They have forsaken the worship of the house of My sanctuary, and have made counsel into sin. Many mix flesh of profane things with holy flesh and they will go into exile from you because of your wickedness; would you then be strong?
16. A leafy olive-tree fair with goodly fruit, has the Lord called your name; to the sound of a great tumult, He has kindled fire upon it, and they have broken its branches.	16. Behold, like the olive tree which is handsome in its appearance and beautiful in its looks, and its boughs are exalted among the trees, so the Lord has raised your name to dignity among the nations; but when you transgress the Law, the armies of the nations who are as strong as fire will come against you, and auxiliaries will be joined to them.
17. And the Lord of Hosts Who planted you spoke evil concerning you, about the evil of the house of Israel and the house of Judah, which they did to them to provoke Me, to burn sacrifices to Baal. {P}	17. And the LORD of Hosts, who has established you, has decreed to bring evil upon you because of the wickedness of the house of Israel and the house of Judah, which they committed for themselves, so as to provoke to anger before Me to offer up incense to the Ba’al.” {P}
18. And the Lord let me know, and I knew, then You showed me their deeds.	18. Thus the LORD taught me, and I learned: therefore You have made me see their works.
19. And I was like a lamb and a bull, [that is] brought to the slaughter, and I did not know that they had devised plans about me, "Let us destroy his food with wood, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, and let his name no longer be remembered."	19. But I was brought like a choice lamb which is led to the slaughter, and I did not know that they had devised evil plans against me, saying: "Let us cast deadly poison into his food and destroy him from the land of Israel, and let his name no longer be remembered.”
20. And the Lord of Hosts is a just Judge, Who searches the kidneys and the heart, "Let me see Your vengeance against them, for to You, I have revealed my cause. {S}	20. But the LORD of Hosts is a true judge: reins and heart are revealed before Him. Let me see the reward of your judgment on them, for I have uttered my humiliation before You. {S}
21. Therefore, so says the Lord of Hosts concerning the men of Anathoth, who seek your life, saying, "You shall not prophesy in the name of the Lord, and you shall not die by our hand." {P}	21. Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the men of Anathoth who seek to kill you saying: “Do not prophesy in the Name of the LORD, then you will not die at our hands.” {P}
22. Therefore, so says the Lord of Hosts: Behold, I will visit retribution upon them; the young men shall die by the sword; their sons and daughters shall die through hunger.	22. Therefore thus says the LORD of Hosts: “Behold, I am going to punish them: their young men will be killed with the sword; their sons and their daughters will die in the famine.
23. And they shall have no remnant, for I will bring misfortune upon the men of Anathoth in the year of their remembrance. {S}	23. And they will have no remnant, for I will bring misfortune upon the men of Anathoth, the year of the visitation of their sins. {S}
1. You are right, O Lord, when I contend with You, but I will argue with You. Why has the way of the wicked prospered, all who deal with treachery have peace?	1. O LORD, you are too righteous/generous (for me) to contend against Your word. But I am asking from before You a question about judgements. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are all who utter falsehood unconcerned, and at ease?
2. You have planted them, they have even taken root, they have even produced fruit. You are near in their mouths but far from their thoughts.	2. You have established them; moreover they are strong, they have grown rich; they have also acquired possessions. The words of Your Law are near, in their mouth, but Your fear is far from their hearts
3. But You, O Lord, have known me, You see me, and You try my heart with You. Draw them out like sheep to the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of slaughter. {P}	3. But as for you, O LORD, all is known and revealed before You, for You test the hearts of those who take pleasure in Your service. As for the wicked, He has ordained them as sheep for the slaughter, and has appointed them for the day of slaughter {P}
15. You know, O Lord, remember me and think of me, and avenge me of my pursuers. Take me not to Your long suffering, know, I bore disgrace for Your sake.	15. As for You, it is revealed before You, O LORD; let the memory of me come in before You, and command me to do well for myself so that I may punish my enemy and exact retribution for myself from my pursuers; and do not give any length of time for my humiliation. It is revealed before You that I received shame on account of Your Memra.
16. Your words were found and I ate them, and Your word was to me a joy and a rejoicing of my heart, for Your name was called upon me, O Lord God of Hosts. {S}	16. I received Your words and confirmed them, and Your Memra became for me rejoicing and the gladness of my heart: for Your Name has been called over me, O LORD God of Hosts. {S}

Rashi’s Commentary on Jer 11:16 – 12:2 + 15:15-16

7 For I warned Heb. העידתי, an expression of warning.

8 And I brought upon them all the words of this covenant The curses stated in the covenant for the things that I commanded to do and they did not do.

12 And they shall go the cities of Judah From the cities of Judah.

14 cry nor prayer This follows the Targum.

15 What has my beloved to do in My house What reason has My treasured people to come anymore into My house?

[seeing that]...perform evil design That she does the evil design of her sinful plans.

the many of them.

and the holy flesh they remove from you Even the circumcision through which they were hallowed to Me, they have abolished from their flesh.

for [with] your evil, then you rejoice When you commit a transgression, you rejoice.

16 to the sound of a great tumult Heb. המולה, an expression of the tumult of a large multitude that will come upon them.

18 And the Lord let me know So said the prophet, The Holy One, blessed be He, let me know their retribution.

19 And I was like a lamb [and] a bull that will be brought to the slaughter.

brought Since I let them know of the evil, they plan to kill me.

like a lamb [and] a bull Heb. ככבש אלוף. Dunash and Judah son of Kudish (Karish) interpreted it as a lamb and a bull, brought to the slaughter. And אלוף is like (Deut. 28:4) “the offspring of your cattle (אלפיך).” Although it was not stated ואלוף, we find similar cases, e.g., (Habukkuk 3:11) “The sun [and] the moon (ירח) stood on high”; (Isaiah 38:14) “Like a crane [and] a swallow (עגור) so I chirp.” And Menahem interpreted ככבש אלוף, a large lamb (see Psalms 58:9, Rashi ad loc.), and Jonathan supports him, since he renders like a choice lamb.

Let us destroy his food with wood Let us put poison into his food.

20 Let me see Your vengeance against them He cursed the people of Anathoth.

23 upon the men of Anathoth Heb. אל־אנשי ענתות, like על־אנשי ענתות, upon the men of Anathoth.

1 You are right, O Lord, when I contend with You When I debate with You, I know that you will be right in Your words, but I wish to argue with You so that You will let me know Your way.

Why has the way of the wicked prospered? That You have given greatness to Nebuchadnezzar the wicked, and you have made him succeed in destroying Your house? Another explanation is that he was crying and complaining about the men of Anathoth.

have peace Heb. שלו, an expression of שלוה, peace.

3 But You, O Lord, have known me Also, concerning the men of Anathoth You have aided me, for You have known me.

Draw them out like sheep to the slaughter Draw them out of life to death (detache les in French, separate them, cut them off). Comp. (Joshua 8:6) “until we have drawn (התיקנו) them from the city.”

and prepare them Heb. הקדישם, prepare them.

15 Take me not to Your long suffering Jonathan renders. Do not grant a reprieve for my humiliation. Do not take my cause to leave it for Your long suffering, but hasten and avenge me.

I bore like סָבַלְתִּי bore.

for Your sake for You.

16 Your words were found and I ate them eagerly at the beginning, and they were a joy for me, for I thought that now they would listen to me.

Pirqe Abot – MeAm Lo’ez

Pereq Gimel

Mishnah 3:15

By: Rabbi Yitschaq (ben Mosheh) Magriso

Rabbi Eleazar of Modin said: One who desecrates sacred things, one who denigrates the festival, one who publicly shames his fellow man, one who breaks the covenant of Abraham, and one who brazenly affronts the Torah, controverting the Law, even though he possesses Torah and good deeds, he has no portion in the World to Come.

One who commits any of the sins in this Mishnah has no portion in the World to Come. We have already discussed most of these items at some length in our general discussion of those who have no portion in the Future World. There is no need to elaborate on them here; we will merely discuss them briefly.

"Desecrating sacred things" denotes profaning things that are consecrated to God, thus making selfish use of things that belong to God.

"Denigrating the festivals" means treating the intermediate days of a festival (chol ha-moed) as ordinary workdays, doing the work just as all year round.

"Publicly shaming one's fellow man," means embarrassing someone in the presence of others. The Talmud teaches that a person should allow himself to be thrown into fire rather than publicly shame another. Physical fire can readily be extinguished, but, when a person publicly embarrasses another, his punishment is very great; he has no place in the World to Come. Although almost all the wicked who go to purgatory (gehinom) eventually leave, there are three groups that never leave, and one of these groups includes those who publicly shame others.

When a person puts his fellow man to shame in public, his blood is drawn, and this is worse than killing him. Embarrassing a person is therefore referred to as "making the face of one's fellow white" (malbin peney chavero). Shame causes the heart to be faint, and one's blood vessels react, causing the face to become pale and white.

"Breaking the covenant of Abraham" denotes refusing to undergo circumcision (berith milah).

"Brazenly affronting the Torah" denotes committing sins high-handedly, without being ashamed from G-d or man.

One who does any one of these practices and does not repent has no portion in the World to come. This is true even though he may have some Torah study and good deeds to his credit.

Correlations

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

& H.H. Giberet Dr. Elisheba bat Sarah

Vayikra (Leviticus) 24:1 – 25:13

Yiremyahu (Jeremiah) 11:16 – 12:2 + 15:15-16

Tehillim (Psalms) 88

2 Pet 3:1-7, Lk 17:5-19, Acts 28:7-16

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Ashlamata are:

LORD - יהוה, Strong’s number 03068.

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

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

Children / Sons - בן, Strong’s number 01121.

Israel - ישראל, Strong’s number 03478.

Bring / Take me not away - לקח, Strong’s number 03947.

Olive - זית, Strong’s number 02132.

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Psalm are:

LORD - יהוה, Strong’s number 03068.

Children / Sons - בן, Strong’s number 01121.

Vayikra (Leviticus) 24:1 And the LORD <03068> spoke <01696> (8762) unto Moses, saying <0559> (8800), 2 Command the children <01121> of Israel <03478>, that they bring <03947> (8799) unto you pure oil olive <02132> beaten for the light, to cause the lamps to burn continually.

Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 11:16 The LORD <03068> called your name, A green olive tree <02132>, fair, and of goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult He has kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken.

Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 11:17 For the LORD <03068> of hosts, that planted you, has pronounced <01696> (8765) evil against you, for the evil of the house of Israel <03478> and of the house of Judah, which they have done against themselves to provoke Me to anger in offering incense unto Baal.

Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 11:21 Therefore thus says <0559> (8804) the LORD <03068> of the men of Anathoth, that seek your life, saying <0559> (8800), Prophesy not in the name of the LORD <03068>, that you die not by our hand:

Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 11:22 Therefore thus says <0559> (8804) the LORD <03068> of hosts, Behold, I will punish them: the young men will die by the sword; their sons <01121> and their daughters will die by famine:

Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 15:15 O LORD <03068>, You know: remember me, and visit me, and revenge me of my persecutors; take me not away <03947> (8799) in Your longsuffering: know that for Your sake I have suffered rebuke.

Tehillim (Psalms) 88:1 « A Song or Psalm for the sons <01121> of Korah, to the chief Musician upon Mahalath Leannoth, Maschil of Heman the Ezrahite. » O LORD <03068> God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before You:

Hebrew:

Hebrew	English	Torah Seder Lev 24:1- 25:13	Psalms  Psa 88: 1-18	Ashlamatah  Jer 11:16 – 12:2 15:15-16
vyai	man	Lev. 24:10 Lev. 24:15 Lev. 24:17 Lev. 24:19 Lev. 25:10 Lev. 25:13		Jer. 11:21 Jer. 11:23
lk;a'	eat	Lev. 24:9 Lev. 25:7 Lev. 25:12		Jer. 15:16
~yhil{a/	GOD	Lev. 24:15 Lev. 24:22	Ps. 88:1	Jer. 15:16
rb;D'	saying, speak	Lev. 24:1 Lev. 24:13 Lev. 24:15 Lev. 25:1 Lev. 25:2		Jer. 11:21 Jer. 11:22
#r,a,	land, earth	Lev. 25:2 Lev. 25:4 Lev. 25:5 Lev. 25:6 Lev. 25:7 Lev. 25:9 Lev. 25:10	Ps. 88:12	Jer. 11:19
rv,a]	which, whom	Lev. 25:2	Ps. 88:5	Jer. 11:17
aAB	go, come	Lev. 24:11 Lev. 25:2	Ps. 88:2	Jer. 11:23
!Be	son	Lev. 24:2 Lev. 24:8 Lev. 24:9 Lev. 24:10 Lev. 24:11 Lev. 24:15 Lev. 24:23 Lev. 25:2	Psa 88:0	Jer. 11:22
rq,Bo	morning	Lev. 24:3	Ps. 88:13
tB;	daughter	Lev. 24:11		Jer. 11:22
rb;D'	speak	Lev. 24:1 Lev. 24:13 Lev. 24:15 Lev. 24:23 Lev. 25:1 Lev. 25:2		Jer. 11:17 Jer. 12:1
hy"h'	have	Lev. 25:4 Lev. 25:5 Lev. 25:6 Lev. 25:7 Lev. 25:8 Lev. 25:11	Ps. 88:4	Jer. 11:23 Jer. 15:16
tyIz"	olives	Lev. 24:2		Jer. 11:16
rk;z"	remember		Ps. 88:5	Jer. 11:19 Jer. 15:15
bv;x'	reckoned, devised		Ps. 88:4	Jer. 11:19
dy"	hands	Lev. 24:14	Ps. 88:5	Jer. 11:21
[d'y"	aquaintances, made, known		Ps. 88:8 Ps. 88:12 Ps. 88:18	Jer. 11:18 Jer. 11:19 Jer. 15:15
hwhy	LORD	Lev. 24:1 Lev. 24:3 Lev. 24:4 Lev. 24:6 Lev. 24:7 Lev. 24:8 Lev. 24:9 Lev. 24:12 Lev. 24:13 Lev. 24:16 Lev. 24:22 Lev. 24:23 Lev. 25:1 Lev. 25:2 Lev. 25:4	Ps. 88:1 Ps. 88:9 Ps. 88:13 Ps. 88:14	Jer. 11:16 Jer. 11:17 Jer. 11:18 Jer. 11:20 Jer. 11:21 Jer. 11:22 Jer. 12:1 Jer. 15:15 Jer. 15:16
~Ay	day	Lev. 24:8 Lev. 25:8 Lev. 25:9	Ps. 88:1 Ps. 88:9 Ps. 88:17
ac'y"	went, bring	Lev. 24:10 Lev. 24:14 Lev. 24:23	Ps. 88:8
laer'f.yI	Israel	Lev. 24:2 Lev. 24:8 Lev. 24:10 Lev. 24:15 Lev. 24:23 Lev. 25:2		Jer. 11:17
lKo	all, every, entire	Lev. 24:14 Lev. 24:16 Lev. 24:17 Lev. 25:7 Lev. 25:9 Lev. 25:10	Ps. 88:7 Ps. 88:9 Ps. 88:17	Jer. 12:1
!Ke	so, thus	Lev. 24:19 Lev. 24:20		Jer. 11:21 Jer. 11:22
aAl	no, nor, none	Lev. 25:4 Lev. 25:11	Ps. 88:5 Ps. 88:8	Jer. 11:19 Jer. 11:21
~x,l,	bread	Lev. 24:7		Jer. 11:19
xq;l'	take, bring	Lev. 24:2 Lev. 24:5		Jer. 15:15
tWm	die, death	Lev. 24:16 Lev. 24:17 Lev. 24:21	Ps. 88:5 Ps. 88:10	Jer. 11:21 Jer. 11:22
!mi	outside	Lev. 24:3 Lev. 24:14 Lev. 24:23	Ps. 88:9
jP'v.mi	standard, matters	Lev. 24:22		Jer. 12:1
vp,n<	life, soul	Lev. 24:17 Lev. 24:18	Ps. 88:3 Ps. 88:14	Jer. 11:21
af'n"	bearm, suffer, endure	Lev. 24:15	Ps. 88:15	Jer. 15:15
%m;s'	lay, rested	Lev. 24:14	Ps. 88:7
rp;s'	count, declared	Lev. 25:8	Ps. 88:11
dA[	more		Ps. 88:5	Jer. 11:19
!yI[;	eye	Lev. 24:20	Ps. 88:9
l[;	upon, above		Ps. 88:16	Jer. 11:17 Jer. 11:19 Jer. 11:21 Jer. 15:15
hP,	command, lips	Lev. 24:12		Jer. 12:2
~ynIP'	before, face	Lev. 24:3 Lev. 24:4 Lev. 24:6 Lev. 24:8	Ps. 88:2 Ps. 88:14
ar'q'	called, proclaimed	Lev. 25:10	Ps. 88:9	Jer. 11:16 Jer. 15:16
~ve	name	Lev. 24:11 Lev. 24:16		Jer. 11:16 Jer. 11:19 Jer. 11:21 Jer. 15:16
hn"v'	years	Lev. 25:3 Lev. 25:4 Lev. 25:5 Lev. 25:8 Lev. 25:10 Lev. 25:11 Lev. 25:13		Jer. 11:23
> rb;['	sound	Lev. 25:9	Ps. 88:16
hf'['	did, done	Lev. 24:19 Lev. 24:23	Ps. 88:10	Jer. 11:17 Jer. 12:2
h['r'	troubles		Ps. 88:3	Jer. 11:17 Jer. 11:23

Greek:

Greek	English	Torah Seder Lev 24:1 -25:13	Psalms Ps 88:1-18	Ashlamatah Jer 11:16 – 12:2 15:15-16	Peshat Mk/Jude/Pet 2 Pet 3:1-2 2 Pet 3:3-7	Remes 1 Luke Lk 17:5-10 Lk 17:11-19	Remes 2 Acts/Romans Acts 28:7-10 Acts 28:11-16
ἀγρός	field	Lev 25:3 Lev 25:4 Lev 25:5				Lk. 17:7
ἀκούω	hear, heard	Lev 24:14					Acts 28:15
ἀνήρ	man, men			Jer 11:21		Lk. 17:12
ἄνθρωπος	man, men	Lev 24:15 Lev 24:20 Lev 24:21	Psa 88:4		2 Pet. 3:7
ἀνίστημι	rise up		Psa 88:10			Lk. 17:19
ἀποκρίνομαι	respond, answered		Psa 88:0			Lk. 17:17
avpo,stoloj	apostles				2 Pet. 3:2	Lk. 17:5
ἀπώλεια	destruction		Psa 88:11		2 Pet. 3:7
γῆ	earth, land, ground	Lev 25:2 Lev 25:4 Lev 25:5 Lev 25:6 Lev 25:7 Lev 25:9 Lev 25:10	Psa 88:12	Jer 11:19	2 Pet. 3:5 2 Pet. 3:7
γίνομαι	became		Psa 88:4				Acts 28:8 Acts 28:9
γινώσκω	knows		Psa 88:12	Jer 11:18 Jer 11:19 Jer 15:15	2 Pet. 3:3
δίδωμι	give, given	Lev 24:19 Lev 24:20 Lev 25:2				Lk. 17:18
διέρχομαι	went by, through		Psa 88:16			Lk. 17:11
εἷς	one	Lev 24:5 Lev 24:6 Lev 24:22				Lk. 17:15
εἰσέρχομαι	entered	Lev 25:2	Psa 88:2			Lk. 17:7 Lk. 17:12	Acts 28:8 Acts 28:16
ἐννέα	nine	Lev 25:8				Lk. 17:17
ἐπιτίθημι	place, put	Lev 24:6 Lev 24:7 Lev 24:14					Acts 28:8 Acts 28:10
ἑπτά	earth, land, ground	Lev 25:8					Acts 28:14
ἔρχομαι	come, came				2 Pet. 3:3		Acts 28:13 Acts 28:14 Acts 28:15
ἐσθίω	eat	Lev 24:9 Lev 25:12				Lk. 17:8
εὑρίσκω	find, found					Lk. 17:18	Acts 28:14
euvcariste,w	give thanks					Lk. 17:16	Acts 28:15
ἔχω	had, having					Lk. 17:6 Lk. 17:7	Acts 28:9
ἡμέρα	day	Lev 24:8 Lev 25:9	Psa 88:1 Psa 88:9 Psa 88:17	2 Pet. 3:3 2 Pet. 3:7			Acts 28:7 Acts 28:12 Acts 28:13 Acts 28:14
ἰάομαι	heal					Lk. 17:15	Acts 28:8
κύριος	LORD	Lev. 24:1 Lev. 24:3 Lev. 24:4 Lev. 24:6 Lev. 24:7 Lev. 24:8 Lev. 24:9 Lev. 24:12 Lev. 24:13 Lev. 24:16 Lev. 24:22 Lev. 24:23 Lev. 25:1 Lev. 25:2 Lev. 25:4	Ps. 88:1 Ps. 88:9 Ps. 88:13 Ps. 88:14	Jer. 11:16 Jer. 11:17 Jer. 11:18 Jer. 11:20 Jer. 11:21 Jer. 11:22 Jer. 12:1 Jer. 15:15 Jer. 15:16	2 Pet. 3:2	Lk. 17:5 Lk. 17:6
λαμβάνω	take, taken	Lev. 24:2 Lev. 24:5		Jer. 15:15			Acts 28:15
λέγω	say, said, spoke	Lev 24:1 Lev 24:13 Lev 25:1		Jer 11:19 Jer 11:21 Jer 11:22	2 Pet. 3:4	Lk. 17:5 Lk. 17:6 Lk. 17:7 Lk. 17:8 Lk. 17:10 Lk. 17:13 Lk. 17:14 Lk. 17:17 Lk. 17:19
λόγος	words			Jer 15:16	2 Pet. 3:5 2 Pet. 3:7
μήν	month	Lev 25:9					Acts 28:11
μιμνήσκω	remember		Psa 88:5	Jer 11:19 Jer 15:15	2 Pet. 3:2
ὄνομα	name	Lev. 24:11 Lev. 24:16		Jer. 11:16 Jer. 11:19 Jer. 11:21 Jer. 15:16			Acts 28:7
ὁράω	see, saw					Lk. 17:14 Lk. 17:15	Acts 28:15
πᾶς	all, every	Lev. 24:14 Lev. 24:16 Lev. 24:17 Lev. 25:7 Lev. 25:9 Lev. 25:10	Ps. 88:7 Ps. 88:9 Ps. 88:17	Jer. 12:1	2 Pet. 3:4	Lk. 17:10
πατήρ	father				2 Pet. 3:4		Acts 28:8
ποιέω	made, make, do	Lev 24:5 Lev 24:19 Lev 24:23	Psa 88:10	Jer 11:17 Jer 12:2		Lk. 17:9 Lk. 17:10
πορεύομαι	go, gone				2 Pet. 3:3	Lk. 17:11 Lk. 17:14 Lk. 17:19
προστίθημι	added, put them, increase	Lev 24:8				Lk. 17:5
πρόσωπον	face		Psa 88:14			Lk. 17:16
προφθάνω	beforehand, spoke first		Psa 88:13
prw/toj	first				2 Pet. 3:3		Acts 28:7
πῦρ	fire			Jer 11:16	2 Pet. 3:7
στόμα	mouth			Jer 12:2
τόπος	place	Lev 24:9					Acts 28:7
ὕδωρ / ὕδατος	water		Psa 88:17		2 Pet. 3:5 2 Pet. 3:6
υἱός	son	Lev. 24:2 Lev. 24:8 Lev. 24:9 Lev. 24:10 Lev. 24:11 Lev. 24:15 Lev. 24:23 Lev. 25:2	Psa 88:0	Jer. 11:22
φυτεύω	planted			Jer 12:2		Lk. 17:6
φωνή	voice			Jer 11:16		Lk. 17:13 Lk. 17:15
χείρ	hand	Lev. 24:14	Ps. 88:5	Jer. 11:21			Acts 28:8

Nazarean Talmud

Sidra of Vayikra (Lev.) 24:1 – 25:13

“Shemen Zayit Zakh” “Olive oil pure”

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

H. Em. Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

School of Hakham Shaul Tosefta Luqas (Lk) Mishnah א:א	School of Hakham Tsefet Peshat 1 Tsefet (1 Pet) Mishnah א:א
And the Sh’lichim said to the Master, teach us how to “Grow in our faithful obedience!” So the Master said, “If you have faithful obedience like a tiny mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.^[46] “And which of you who has a slave plowing or shepherding sheep who comes in from the field will say to him, ‘Come here at once and recline at the table’? Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something that I may eat, and dress yourself to serve me while I eat and drink, and after these things you will eat and drink.’ He will not be grateful to the slave because he did what was ordered, will he? Thus you also, when you have done all the things you were ordered to do, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done what we were obligated to do.’ ” And it happened that while traveling toward Yerushalayim, he was passing through the region between Samaria and Galilee. And as he was entering into a certain village, ten men met him—lepers, who stood at a distance. And they raised their voices, saying, “Yeshua, Master, have mercy on us!” And when he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And it happened that as they were going, they were cleansed. But one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. And he fell on his face at his feet, giving thanks to him. And he was a Samaritan. So Yeshua answered and said, “Were not ten cleansed? And where are the nine? Was no one found to turn back and give praise to God except this foreigner?” And he said to him, “Get up and go your way. Your faithful obedience has made you well.”	Beloved, now I write this second igeret (epistle) to you (in both of which I awaken your pure minds by way of reminder), that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and our commandments, the Sh’liachim (apostles) of the Master and strengthener.^[47] Knowing this first, that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own sinful appetites. And saying, "Where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they have from the beginning of creation." For they deliberately make no mention of the fact, that the heavens existed from antiquity, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the Torah (logos) of God^[48] by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But by His Torah (logos) the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the final day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
School of Hakham Shaul Remes 2 Luqas (Acts) Mishnah א:א
Now in the regions around that place were fields belonging to the chief official of the island, named Publius,^[49] who received us and entertained us hospitably for three days.^[50] And it happened that the father of Publius was lying down, afflicted with fever^[51] and dysentery. Hakham Shaul went to him and after praying; he placed his hands on him and healed him. And after this had taken place, the rest of those on the island who had diseases were coming and being healed also. They also honored us with many honors, and when we were putting out to sea, they gave us the things we needed. Now after three months we put out to sea in a ship that had wintered at the island, an Alexandrian one with the twin gods Castor and Pollux as its insignia. And putting in at Syracuse, we stayed there three days. From there we got underway and arrived at Rhegium, and after one day a south wind came up and on the second day we came to Puteoli, where we found brothers, and were implored to stay with them seven days. And in this way we came to Rome. And from there the brothers, when they heard the news about us, came to meet us as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns. When he saw them, Hakham Shaul gave thanks to God and took courage. And when we entered into Rome, Hakham Shaul was allowed to stay by himself with the soldier who was guarding him.

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

Lev 24:1 – 25:13

Ps. 88

Jer 11:16 – 12:2 + 15:15-16

2 Tsefet 3:1-2 2 Tsefet 3:3-7

1 Luqas 17:5-10 1 Luqas 17:11-19

2 Luqas 28:7-10 2 Luqas 28:11-16

Commentary to Hakham Tsefet’s School of Peshat

Awakening the Pure Mind

Asked to define the meaning of the term Shekinah, Rabbi Sherira Gaon, the famous head of the celebrated Academy of Pumbedita, Babylonia, wrote: “Know, that the Shekinah is to be found among the scholars of the Academy, it is the light of God abiding among them.” Divested of its metaphorical expression, this remark of the great leader of Judaism in the second half of the tenth century contains a profound truth, that the spiritual and intellectual life of the Jews always had its center of gravity in the Talmud Academies, or Yeshibot.^[52]

The difficulty with the present pericope of Hakham Tsefet is that he turns to the deepest aspect of our spiritual character and the human complex. Having a true awareness of the human composite brings the student of Torah into the realm of deep So’odic awareness. However, as usual we always try to see what Hakham Tsefet is teaching through Peshat and Normal Mysticism. Normally, Hakham Tsefet looks at the human complex as an organismic whole. This week however, Hakham Tsefet seems to be pointing to the higher functions of the soul. Furthermore, in this pericope Hakham Tsefet employs the elucidation of “apostolic” halakhic norms as a value system for Nazarean Jews. Hakham Tsefet points out that the lexis of the Nazarean Codicil builds on the halakhic norms of previous generations - i.e. “the words spoken by the Holy Prophets.” One will not be able to discern the Nazarean Codicil apart from the halakhic norms of the Jewish Sages. Herein Hakham Tsefet establishes a hermeneutic rule for Nazarean Talmidim.

To “awaken the pure mind” is to “stir” the talmidim into dynamic Torah study. This was the function and purpose of the Yeshibot and the talmudic Hakhamim. The high caliber of the Nazarean writings shows the stature of their education. Finding the Nazarean Codicil as the prototypical format for the Oral Torah is awe-inspiring. As the vanguard for the Jewish mind of the first century, we understand that the Nazarean Hakhamim established archetypal Yeshibot. The ruling classes during the First Century were those who attended the advanced Yeshibot called Kallah. In antiquity, Yisrael was viewed as the “Bride of G-d.” However, the Hebrew term “Kallah” carried other relative connotations. The term “Kallah” often used to refer to either academic instruction or an academic institution.^[53] These institutions were held in apparent sessions.^[54] Degrees of “Kallah” students existed. The “Kallah” were those who had excelled in their studies and obtained a high level of Torah and Halakhic education. These talmidim were in line to become Hakhamim or a part of a Bet Din. They often served, as Paqidim to the “Bench” of three Hakhamim. The “B’ne Kallah” were less educated and most likely on a subordinate level. Yeshua’s talmidim certainly qualified as “Kallah,” the “Bride of Messiah.” Their minds were wide-awake, engaged in the highest forms of Jewish Halakhic study! Therefore, the phrase “bride of Messiah” refers to the elite of the Nazarean Talmidim.

The entire Nazarean Codicil^[55] is a defense of the Torah, read and taught weekly, in the first century. Conversely, we cannot diminish the Nazarean Codicil to a simple elucidation of the Torah. As we will see, the Nazarean Codicil is as much a part of the Torah as is the Oral Torah itself.^[56] We cannot overstate the importance of the Torah to the Jewish people of the First Century.^[57] We must also include Yeshua’s Talmidim, or early followers of Yeshua, within this group. What we will find in this proposition is that the Talmidim were geniuses in their ability to elaborate on the Torah, which they expressed in writing the Nazarean Codicil. We have failed to realize just how deep their training was in the Yeshiva of Yeshua HaMashiach. We have correctly looked at Yeshua and his teaching abilities. The one thing we have failed to see is how he influenced his talmidim in their rabbinic training.

It seems evident when we look closely at the teachings of Yeshua and his mentor Hillel that they both were re-defining the way to read, understand and practice the Torah in their day. Of course, the practical application of their teachings would take some time to be fully implemented. The writing of the Nazarean Codicil was most likely finished before the year 70 C.E. The works of the Mishnah^[58] and Talmud, which recorded the teachings of the Rabbis were not finished until somewhere around 200-600 C.E. Both Hillel and Yeshua shared in a common goal. That goal was to bring the Torah and a Torah way of life into everyday animation. This application of the Torah was dynamic rather than static. They both sought the governance of G-d or the “Kingdom of G-d” in accordance with their teachings. This is probable because Hillel and Yeshua also shared a common Davidic ancestry. This accounts for the high caliber of teaching and exposition in the Nazarean Codicil.

Ned 62a It was taught: That you may love the LORD your God and that you must obey His voice, and that you must cleave unto Him:^[59] [This means] that one should not say, I will read the Torah that I may be called a Sage. I will study, that I may be called Rabbi, I will study,^[60] to be an Elder, and sit in the assembly (yeshivah) [of elders];^[61] but learn out of love, and honour will come in the end, as it is written, Bind them upon your fingers, write them upon the table of your heart.^[62] And, it is also said, Her ways are ways of pleasantness;^[63] also, She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is everyone that retains her.^[64]

The word “Yeshiva” is frequently translated “session.” In some of those cases, the intention is a court, or session of the Sanhedrin. On other occasions, the word “session” implies an educational setting where the Hakhamim taught their Talmidim.

Here we meet with Peshat, “what was learned at the school realized its true purpose only when it was put to practical use in daily life. Consequently, the Bet HaMidrash contributed more than any other institution of antiquity to cause differences of class and caste to disappear from among the Jews.”^[65] They were aristocrats of the intellect; they belonged to an aristocracy, which carried with it no privileges, but many duties.^[66]

Derekh Hakhamim, men of mental purity:

“The way of the wise is to be modest, humble, alert and intelligent; to endure injustice, to make himself beloved of men; to be gracious even in intercourse with subordinates; to avoid wrongdoing; to judge each man according to his deeds; to act according to the motto, ‘I take no pleasure in the good things of this world, seeing that life here below is not my portion.’ Wrapped in his mantle he sits at the feet of the wise; no one can detect anything unseemly in him; he puts pertinent questions and gives suitable answers.”^[67]

The “way of the wise” is not a reference to ascetic life. The Sages do take advantage of some simple pleasures in life. However, the true Hakham looks to be rewarded in the Y’mot HaMashiach and Olam HaBa rather than the Olam HaZeh. Hakham Tsefet shows that the Nazarean Hakhamim are the architects of the Mesorah’s construct. However, it seems evident that the Nazarean Hakhamim founded their works on the “Holy Prophets” who had taught in their Yeshibot and Bate Midrash. Herein lays the purity of the Nazarean Hakhamim. If we divorce the Nazarean Hakhamim from their love of Torah, we have a confabulated and contorted heresy.

Hakham Tsefet also shows that the pseudo-teachers and prophets will eventually be judged by fire. Why does he say that they are “reserved for fire”? And what is he referring to?

Commentary to Hakham Shaul’s School of Remes

The narrative of 2 Luqas builds upon the Greek word πυρά – pura (fire). The father of Publius was sick with a lethal πυρετός – puretos (fever). In true Talmudic fashion this will allow us to answer the questions from our Peshat text. Note that the narrative of Hakham Tsefet opens the door for Allegorical interpretation. Our readers should be consciously aware of the truth that the Hakhamim are pictured as “fire” πυρά – pura.

In the Midrash, we have learned that the scroll that was given to Moshe was made of a parchment of white fire, and was written upon with black fire.^[68] Consequently, if fire is related to judgment, it refers to the Bate Din of Hakhamim. The Yeshibot mentioned in the Peshat commentary are not strictly houses of learning. The Yeshiva is also a place where the Judges “sit” יֹשֵׁב.

San 32b Our Rabbis taught: justice, justice shalt you follow, this means, Follow the scholars to their academies. e.g.. R. Eliezer to Lydda, R. Johanan b. Zakkai to Beror Hai,^[69] R. Joshua to Peki'in,^[70] Rabban Gamaliel [II] to Jabneh,^[71] R. Akiba to Benai Berak,^[72] R. Mathia to Rome,^[73] R. Hanania b. Teradion to Sikni,^[74] R. Jose [b. Halafta] to Sepphoris. R. Judah b. Bathyra to Nisibis,^[75] R. Joshua^[76] to the Exile,^[77] Rabbi to Beth She'arim,^[78] or the Sages^[79] to the chamber of hewn stones.^[80]

Note that all the places mentioned here, as Yeshibot or academies are actually locations for the Great Sanhedrin. The phrase is not exclusive in all rabbinic materials. The Tannaitic materials seem to have this thought in a dominant portion of their uses. The “sessions” of the Judges (Hakhamim) were Yeshibot. This does not mean that it was not a court. This means that our understanding of those “courtly” systems is not comparable with the court systems that we know today. This information should not be surprising since these courts determined Halacha. The elevation to office in the varied Sanhedrin is difficult at minimum to explain and understand. Hagigah explains the individual as being worthy to sit in yeshiva.

Hagigah 14a The elder this means one who is worthy to sit in session (yeshiva).^[81]

The idea of being appointed (ordained) to a seat in the Yeshiva seems synonymous with being appointed a judge or sage in the Sanhedrin.^[82]

Kallah, The Bride under her Canopy

In antiquity, Yisrael was viewed as the “Bride of G-d.” However, the Hebrew term “Kallah” carried other relative connotations. The term “Kallah” often used to refer to either academic instruction or an academic institution.^[83] These institutions were held in apparent sessions.^[84] Superficially, it seems odd to call a rabbinic academy the Bride, “Kallah.” However, when we look at the allegorical imagery of the festivals the idea of a rabbinic session being the “Kallah” (Bride of G-d) is clear. Without delving deeply into the imagery of the coming Festival of Shavuot, we understand that Har Sinai was covered with smoke as if a wedding canopy and the voices of G-d’s Hakhamim were heard audibly. However, on a allegorical note the voices were said to have been seen. It was from here that G-d gave the Torah and betrothed the B’ne Yisrael to G-d. Consequently, the connection to the Torah and Torah Study is very relevant to the term “Kallah.” Some scholars believe that the word “Kallah” is derived from the Greek “kela” meaning cell.^[85] While this may be plausible, we can find no evidence for this.

Philo describes the giving of the Decalogue (on Shavuot) as a festival.

⁴¹ For if the uncreated, immortal, and everlasting God, who is in need of nothing and who is the maker of the universe, and the benefactor and King of kings, and God of gods, cannot endure to overlook even the humble of human beings. But has thought even such worthy of being banqueted in sacred oracles and laws, as if He were about to give him a love-feast, and to prepare for him alone a banquet (drinking party cf. 2 Luqas 2:13-15). This “feast” is for the refreshing and expanding of his soul instructed in the divine will and in the manner in which the great ceremonies ought to be performed.^[86]

⁴⁶ And a voice sounded forth from out of the midst of the fire which had flowed from heaven, a most marvellous and awful voice, the flame being endowed with articulate speech in a language familiar to the hearers, which expressed its words with such clearness and distinctness that the people seemed rather to be seeing than hearing it.^[87]

⁴⁹ And God also intimates to us something of this kind by a figure. Since the property of fire is partly to give light, and partly to burn, those who think fit to show themselves obedient to the sacred commands will live forever and ever as in a light which is never darkened, having his laws themselves as stars giving light in their soul. But all those who are stubborn and disobedient are forever inflamed, and burnt, and consumed by their internal (sinful) appetites, which, like flame, will destroy all the life of those who possess them.^[88]

This explains the statement made by Abbahu in the name of R. Eleazar, The fire of Gehinnom has no power over the Hakhamim.^[89] It is inevitable that the Hakhamim and their talmidim be equated with fire. The Bride of G-d, i.e the Sages of B’ne Yisrael are wrapped in a dress of white fire, written upon with black. She stands under a canopy of blazing torches with lightnings running back and forth.^[90]

With a word of Torah: she reveals herself to no one but her lover. Torah knows that one who is wise of heart hovers about her gate every day. What does she do? She reveals her face to him from the palace and beckons him with a hint, then swiftly withdraws to her hiding place.

No one there knows or reflects - her lover alone does, and heart and soul and everything within flows out to her. This is why Torah reveals and conceals herself. With love she approaches her lover to arouse love within.

Come and see the way of Torah. At first when she begins to reveal herself to someone, she beckons with a hint. If he perceives, good! If not she sends him a message calling him simple.

Torah says to her messenger: “Tell that simple one to come closer, so I can talk with him.” He approaches.

She begins to speak from behind a curtain she has drawn, words he can follow, until he reflects a little at a time. Then she converses with him through a veil, words riddled with allegory.

Once he has grown accustomed to her, she reveals herself face to face, and tells him all her secrets, all the hidden ways, since primordial days secreted in her heart. Now he is a complete human being, spouse of Torah, master of the house. All her secrets she has revealed to him, withholding nothing, concealing nothing.

She says to him, “Do you see that word, that hint with which I first beckoned you? So many secrets there! This one and that one!” ... Human beings should become aware, pursuing Torah to become her lovers.^[91]

Is this not the skill of the Hakham in their Yeshibot teaching their talmidim to peruse the Divine Lover, i.e. Torah (Logos)? Our hearts cry the cry of the Shulamite, “Draw me, we will run after you!”

Questions for Understanding and Reflection

1. From all the readings for this Shabbat which verse or verses impressed your heart and fired your imagination?
2. Taking into consideration all the readings for this Shabbat what is the prophetic statement 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!”

Saturday Evening May 10, 2014

Evening: Counting of the Omer Day 26

Then read the following:

Day of the Omer	Ministry	Date	Ephesians	Attributes
26	Parnas^[92] 1/Parnas 2	Iyar 11	4:25-27	Confidence united with sincerity

Ephesians 4:25-27 Therefore putting away falsehood,^[93] let each man speak^[94] honestly (in sincerity) with his neighbor,^[95] for we are one, and members of one congregation.^[96] Be angry,^[97] and do not sin. Do not let the sun go down upon your anger,^[98] neither give place to the adversary (devil).^[99]

Sunday Evening May 11, 2014

Evening: Counting of the Omer Day 27

Then read the following:

Day of the Omer	Ministry	Date	Ephesians	Attributes
27	Parnas 1/Parnas 3	Iyar 12	4:28	Confidence united with truth

Let him who stole^[100] steal no more, but rather let him labor,^[101] doing honest (beneficial) work with his own hands so that he may have something to share^[102] with anyone who is in need.^[103]

Monday Evening May 12, 2014

Evening: Counting of the Omer Day 28

Then read the following:

Day of the Omer	Ministry	Date	Ephesians	Attributes
28	Parnas 1/Moreh^[104]	Iyar 13	4:29	Confidence united with humility

Ephesians 4:29 Let not any of your former speech^[105] come out of your mouth,^[106] but speak only what is good to building up in showing favor,^[107] that it may only show God’s loving-kindness to the hearers.

Tuesday Evening May 13, 2014

Evening: Counting of the Omer Day 29

Then read the following:

Day of the Omer	Ministry	Date	Ephesians	Attributes
29	Parnas 2/Massoret^[108]	Iyar 14	4:30	Sincerity united with Loving-kindness

Ephesians 4:30 And do not frustrate the Nefesh Yehudi^[109] from God, by whom you are sealed for the day of redemption.^[110]

Wednesday Evening May 14, 2014

Evening: Counting of the Omer Day 30

Then read the following:

Day of the Omer	Ministry	Date	Ephesians	Attributes
30	Parnas 2/Chazan	Iyar 15	4:30	Sincerity united with Reverential Awe

Ephesians 4:30 Let all every form of outburst of resentment^[111] and anger^[112] and verbal abuse and slander be put away from you, with all malice.^[113] And be kind to one another,^[114] compassionate, being gracious to one another, just as God for Messiah's sake was gracious to you.

Thursday Evening May 15, 2014

Evening: Counting of the Omer Day 31

Then read the following:

Day of the Omer	Ministry	Date	Ephesians	Attributes
31	Parnas 2/Darshan	Iyar 16	5:1-2	Sincerity united with Compassion

Ephesians 5:1-2 Therefore,^[115] because you are recipients of the Nefesh Yehudi, now being the beloved children^[116] of God, you must imitate^[117] Him.^[118] And walk^[119] in love, as Messiah our model has loved us, and has given himself as if he had been an offering and a sacrifice^[120] to God^[121] for a sweet smelling savor^[122] for us.^[123]

Next Shabbat:

Shabbat “VeKhi Tim’Keru” – Sabbath: “And if you sell”

Shabbat	Torah Reading:	Weekday Torah Reading:
וְכִי-תִמְכְּרוּ
“VeKhi Tim’Keru”	Reader 1 – Vayiqra 25:14-17	Reader 1 – Vayiqra 26:3-5
“And if you sell”	Reader 2 – Vayiqra 25:18-24	Reader 2 – Vayiqra 25:6-8
“Y cuando vendiereis”	Reader 3 – Vayiqra 25:25-28	Reader 3 – Vayiqra 25:9-13
Vayiqra (Lev.) Lev 25:14 – 26:2	Reader 4 – Vayiqra 25:29-34
Ashlamatah: Is. 24:2-8, 13-15	Reader 5 – Vayiqra 25:35-38	Monday & Thursday Mornings
	Reader 6 – Vayiqra 25:39-46	Reader 1 – Vayiqra 26:3-5
Psalm 89:1-15	Reader 7 – Vayiqra 25:47 - 26:2	Reader 2 – Vayiqra 25:6-8
Abot: 3:16	Maftir: Vayiqra 25:55 - 26:2	Reader 3 – Vayiqra 25:9-13
N.C.: II Pet 3:8-10; Lk 17:20-21; Acts 28:17-32	- Isaiah 24:2-8, 13-15

Coming Festivals:

Pesach Sheni – Second Chance Passover

(Wednesday Evening May 14, 2014)

For further information see:

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

Lag BaOmer

(Evening Saturday 17^th of May – Evening Sunday 18^th of May)

(Hakham’s Jewish Birthday)

For further information see:

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

Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David

Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham

The Ten (3 + 7) Men of a Jewish Nazarean Congregation

Bench of Three Hakhamim (Local Bet Din)			| | | | | | HEAVENLIES Or HEAVENLY PLACES | | | | | | |
	Keter (Crown) – Colourless Ministry: Invisible Divine Will in the Messiah
Binah (Understanding) - Gray Virtue: Simchah (Joy) Ministry: 2^nd of the bench of three APOSTLE		Chochmah (Wisdom) - Black Virtue: Emunah (Faithful Obedience) Ministry: Chief Hakham 1^st of the bench of three APOSTLE
	Da'at (Knowledge) - White Virtue: Yichud (Unity) Ministry: 3^rd of the bench of three APOSTLE
The Seven Paqidim (Servants at the Bench)
Gevurah (Strength/Might) – Scarlet Red Virtue: Yir’ah (Fear of G-d) Ministry: Sheliach [Chazan/Bishop]		G’dolah / Chessed (Greatness/Mercy) – Royal Blue Virtue: Ahavah (love) Ministry: Masoret [Catechist/Evangelist]	| | | | | | | | | | | | | EARTHLY Or EARTHLY PLACES | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
	Tiferet (Beauty) - Yellow Virtue: Rachamim (Compassion) Ministry: Darshan or Magid [Prophet]
Hod (Glory) - Orange Virtue: Temimut (Sincerity) Ministry: Parnas [Pastor]		Netzach (Victory) – Emerald Green Virtue: Bitahon (Confidence) Ministry: Parnas [Pastor]
	Yesod (Foundation) - Violet Virtue: Emet (Truth/Honesty) Ministry: Parnas [Pastor] (Female – hidden)
	Shekhinah / Malkhut (Presence) – Purple Virtue: Humility Ministry: Meturgeman/Moreh/ Zaqen [Teacher/Elder]

---

[1] Hakham Shaul, now deals with confidence. He discusses the confidence the Gentile converts need for their new walk.

[2] Eph. 4:20 ὑμεῖς δὲ οὐχ οὕτως ἐμάθετε τὸν Χριστόν, cannot be translated by a literal word for word method. The concept is that the Gentile has received lessons on or about Messiah. And, therefore they have been taught you that they cannot live as the pagan Gentiles do. His message may sound like, you must change your conduct to match the teachings of the Torah, the 613 commandments and the wisdom of the Hakhamim. Barth translates v20… “But you have not become students of Messiah this way.” Barth, M. (1974). Ephesians, Introduction, Translation, and Commentary on Chapters 4 - 6. (T. A. Bible, Ed.) New Haven, CN: The Anchor Yale Bible. p. 498

[3] We see that activity of the Parnas 1 (1^st Pastor) in these passages. The “teaching” is in fact teaching, instruction, and training in the Mesorah. An Academic setting is implied here. The Moreh is a “teacher” as we will see. However, we note that the Esnoga has many “teachers” and instructors. In the present verses, we see the 1^st Pastoral Officer (Paqid) in action.

[4] Some translations render the clause εἴγε, “in as much as.” This indicates that the readers have heard of Yeshua. However, the “having heard” is not simply an acquaintance. This shows that the Ephesian congregation had learned about Messiah and this is Hakham Shaul’s gentle reminder that they have learned the “mysteries of Messiah by Hakham Shaul’s mouth. (see above 1:1-7; 3:1-6,7-13,14-19) Hoehner, H. W. (2002). Ephesians, An Exegetical Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic. pp. 594-5

[5] Cf. John 17:17

[6] Truth in (concerning) Yeshua, refers to understanding the Mesorah. The phrase “in Messiah (Eph. 4:21 ἐν τῷ Ἰησοῦ ) means in union with Messiah, or in union with his teachings. Therefore, the Ephesian converts are called to be in union with Messiah by observance of his teachings on Mesorah. The deeper So’od meaning here is that those who are “in Messiah/Yeshua” are under his control, i.e. sphere. Our use of “sphere” is in a matter of speaking the equivalent to the Hebrew “mazal” (constellation). The can be better understood when we realize that the phrase “sphere” refers to the angels who are the engine of the universe. We now see that all the angels as “spheres” are under the “sphere” of Messiah. This is the deep mystical meaning of Messiah, which needs further elucidation.

[7] “Putting off “or “casting off” is a once and for all, definite concluding action. The three imperatives, “put off, renew and put on are dependent on the verb “taught/teaching” which we have translated “you have paid attention to our teachings.” Therefore, the “putting off,” “renewal” and “putting on” are all contingent on paying attention – putting to practice the teachings the Ephesians received concerning Messiah. Dibelius see these “teaching’s,” as “hearing” and “learning” possessing a “mystical sense.” Barth, while quoting Dibelius does not accept his thesis. We find that the “teaching,” hearing” and “learning” forwarded to the Ephesians is very “mystical” as a Remes/So’od in accordance with Rabbinic hermeneutics. Barth’s comments are also noteworthy concerning the “academic” nature of the “teachings” Hakham Shaul gave to the Ephesians. He suggests that the teachings are both philosophical and “ethical.” This perfectly matches the idea of a Mesorah that was handed down to him from Hakham Tsefet and Gamaliel. This is noted in Barth’s comment on the fact that the “instruction” parallels the teacher, student relationship in Rabbinic schools of the day. However, note that this is not the “parallel.” This a picture of the exact Hakham Talmid relationship modeled. Barth, M. (1974). Ephesians, Introduction, Translation, and Commentary on Chapters 4 - 6. (T. A. Bible, Ed.) New Haven, CN: The Anchor Yale Bible. pp. 505, 529-533

[8] The “old man” is a man whose mind is filled with darkness and death. The “new man” is filled with the light of Messiah and peace/life. We can also see the discretionary way Hakham Shaul speaks of the Gentile life that they lived before conversion. There are a great number of ideas concerning the idea of the “old” and “new man.” The simplest answer to the “old man” in Ephesians is the notion of “putting off” the former Gentile lifestyle and mindset. This is accomplished by being “renewed in the spirit of the mind.” This language is metaphorical or poetic and non-literal. As noted above the “putting off” is a part of the teachings the Ephesians received by Hakham Shaul in the academic setting he brought when he was with them.

[9] This action is a mental process of continual renewal. For the former gentile this is a continual progressive process.

[10] The ruach/pneuma refers to the five levels of the neshama/soul. The Nefesh is base desire necessary for human survival and perpetuation. Even though this may often be referred to as the yetser har (evil inclination), it is a vital part of human existence. Hakham Shaul’s “putting off” is a reference to controlling human impulses and desires. The destruction of “deceitful passions” carries sexual connotations and adulterous imagery. This is also non-literal. In other words, Hakham Shaul is using infidelity to show that man (Jew/Gentile) is forfeiting spiritual life for physical impulses. Another way of saying this is that man (Jew/Gentile) is forfeiting his relationship with G-d by yielding to his physical impulses. The ruach/pneuma is a higher aspect of the soul, which begins or initiates the elevation of spiritual, ethical conduct. The phrase spirit of the mind shows that the ruach (2^nd level of the soul) is connected to the “mind.” Therefore, the ethical conduct is invigorated by renewal through study and apprehending the aspects and teachings of the Torah. This renewal is the path upward from the animal soul. The passive sense of this phrase shows that the process is continual and ongoing.

[11] The metaphor of “putting off” and “putting on” contains the Jewish imagery of conversion.

[12] In Tehillim ( Psalms) 88:1, the real name behind the pseudonym is given: "A Song, a Psalm of the sons of Korah; for the Leader; upon Mahalath Leannoth. Maschil of Heman the Ezrahite". Who is Heman? In 1 Chronicles, we read: "And these are they whom David set over the service of song in the house of the Lord, after that the ark had rest. And they ministered before the dwelling place of the tabernacle of the congregation with singing, until Solomon had built the house of the Lord in Jerusalem: and then they waited on their office according to their order. And these are they that waited with their children. Of the sons of the Kohathites: Heman a singer, the son of Joel, the son of Shemuel, The son of Elkanah ... the son of Korah, The son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, the son of Israel" (6:31-38 ). Described as the "king's seer in the words of G-d, to lift up the horn" (1 Chron. 25:5 ), Heman is the prophet who serves in King David's court and, using the pen name "the sons of Korah," he is the author of our psalm.

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

[14] Vayikra (Leviticus) 25:1-13

[15] 1 Samuel 4:17-18, Taanit 2

[16] 1 Samuel 4:17-18

[17] 1 Samuel 4:17-18

[18] Son of Joel and grandson of the prophet Samuel; surnamed "the Singer"; a Kohathite (I Chron. 6:19). He was one of the three chief Levites appointed by David to superintend the musical service in the Temple (ib. 6:18-30, 15:17, 25:1). He had fourteen sons, all of whom assisted in the choir under their father, and each of whom was the head of one of the twenty-four courses of the Levites established by David (ib. 25:4-31). Heman was also called "the king's seer in the matters of God" (ib. 25:5), the same term being applied to Asaph (II Chron. 29:30) and to Jeduthun (ib. 35:15).

[19] Mitzrayim = Egypt. The Hebrew word for Egypt is Mitzrayim which means a place of constriction. In Hebrew, the word metzar means a border. The word yam means sea. The Egyptians were called metzar-yam ---Mitzrayim which literally means "border to the sea". Indeed, Egypt's philosophy revolved around the idea that there is no Divine border necessary to contain the sea since there is a natural one. HaShem is irrelevant, they claim.

[20] Yiremyahu (Jeremiah) 12:1

[21] Tehillim (Psalms) 115:17. Chanukah is a most interesting festival because the primary mitzva is Hoda’ah – thanksgiving.

[22] Kohelet (Ecclesastes) 4:2.

[23] Ibid. 9:4.

[24] Tehillim (Psalms) 88:6 (E.V. 5: (Cast off among the dead).

[25] Shemot (Exodus) 32:13.

[26] Or ‘Sheol’

[27] Or, ‘pit of destruction’.

[28] Jonah II, 3.

[29] Tehillim (Psalms) 88:12.

[30] Or, ‘pit of destruction’.

[31] Tehillim (Psalms) 16:10.

[32] Tehillim (Psalms) 40:3.

[33] Tehillim (Psalms) 107:10.

[34] see Orach Chaim 673:1

[35] 1273 BCE

[36] 140–139 BCE

[37] There was only enough oil to burn for one day.

[38] Beresheet (Genesis) 1:3. In the original Hebrew, the 25th word in the Torah is ohr, “light.” We begin lighting the Chanukah lights on the 25th day of the month of Kislev. The light created by HaShem on the first day of Creation was not the light of the sun, moon, or stars; those heavenly bodies were not created until the fourth day. The Talmud says: HaShem made this light - a certain type of light. It was too penetrating. So He only let it last for thirty-six hours. And after thirty-six hours He took it away and hid it for sometime in the future that has not yet come. And He replaced it with a weaker merely physical aspect of that light. But that as long as that light was there, for those thirty-six hours, Adam by means of that light was able to see from one end of the world to the other, and from the beginning of time to the end of time. So that light was the light of total understanding. Isn’t that what light signifies? The Talmud says anytime that the word “light” is used anyway in the Torah or Rabbinic text, that “light” always means knowledge and wisdom and understanding.

[39] Remember that we do not “use” the Chanukah light. This is a reminder that this is not physical light.

[40] 164 BC

[41] Encyclopedia Brittanica

[42] The wording of the blessing recited before the performance of a mitzva.

[43] Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilchos Teshuvah 10:4-5.

[44] The number eight figures prominently in the celebration of Chanukah.

[45] Meiri identifies this as a special musical instrument that moves the listener to anguish and tears. It’s music serves to afflict (Le’annoth) and upset the listener so much that he is prepared to repent with utter sincerity.

[46] This Tosefta leans towards an allegorical interpretation. The saying is not to be taken literally, since there is no reason for miraculously moving a tree into the sea. Black, M. C. (1996). Luke. College Press NIV commentary. Joplin, Mo.: College Press Pub. (Lk 17:6)

[47] Cf. TDNT 7:1005 σωτήρ as Helper, Saver of Life, and Physician.

[48] Cf. B’resheet 1:6

[49] “popular”

[50] Pointing to the coming of Shavuot

[51] Verbal connection to 2 Tsefet 3:1-7 (fire) potentially lethal illness.

[52] Louis Ginzberg, April 1. Students, Scholars and Saints. 1st edition. The Jewish Publication Society and Meridian Books, 1958. Preface vii

[53] Ibid p.155

[54] Berakot 6b I also run. R. Zera says: The merit of attending a lecture lies in the running. Abaye says: The merit of attending the Kallah sessions.

[55] We will use the phrase, Nazarean Codicil throughout this exposition to refrain from using “New Testament”, which would imply that the Tanakh has been abrogated. It should also be understood that we in no way embrace the idea that the Tanakh has been abrogated. Therefore, we will refrain from using the nomenclature of Old and New Testaments. We will further illustrate that the Nazarean Codicil is a document that explains the Messianic nuances of a living “Word of G-d,” which we refer to as the Tanakh. For a better understanding of the word, “Codicil” See Wikipedia article “Codicil.”

[56] The “Oral Torah” considered as the “oral repetition of the Torah.” This constituted the definition deuterosis Gk. “repetition,” i.e. “Mishnah.”

[57] Here we include all the “Disciples” and followers of Yeshua. They were clearly Jews and they followed the Torah and Jewish halakha (rulings on how to conduct daily life). We will further develop these ideas throughout the thesis. Likewise, we will refer to the early community that Yeshua established as the Nazarean Jews.

[58] Some sources suggest that around 200 C.E. completed the compilation of Mishnah.

[59] Deut. XXX, 20.

[60] [So Bah. cur. edd.: ibat ‘I will teach.’ I.e. he teaches others, so that his fame may spread and he may obtain a seat in the Academy.]

[61] Elder’ may simply mean scholar (cf. Kid. 32b), or more exactly a member of the Sanhedrin; cf. Joseph. Ant. XII, 111, p. 3.

[62] Prov. VII, 3: i.e., make it an integral part of thyself, not as something outside thee, cherished only for its worldly advantages.

[63] Ibid. III, 17.

[64] Ibid. 18: this is quoted to show that honor comes eventually.

[65] Louis Ginzberg, Students, Scholars and Saints. 1st edition. The Jewish Publication Society and Meridian Books, 1958. p. 51

[66] Ibid p. 52

[67] Derek Erez Zutta I, The name "Conduct or way of the wise" given to it by several authors of the Middle Ages is most appropriate, comp. the author's article in Jewish Encyclopedia IV, 528-529

[68] Midrash Rabbah - Deuteronomy III:12

[69] [Where he spent the last years of his life, v. Derenbourg, MGWJ. 1893, 304.]

[70] Or Beki'in, a small town in Palestine, between Jabneh and Lydda. A seat of a Talmudic School during the patriarchate of Gamaliel II.

[71] A small town on the N.W. borders of Judea, identified with Jabneel of Naftali (Josh. XIX, 33). Seat of the celebrated school after the destruction of Jerusalem, which locality is replaced as the seat of the Sanhedrin. Scholars (Weiss, Graetz, Halevy) disagree as to the exact authority it possessed.

[72] One of the cities of the tribe of Dan (Josh. XIX, 45) identified with the modern Benai Berak, a flourishing Jewish Colony.

[73] [He left Palestine at the same time as Judah b. Bathyra and R. Hananiah, the nephew of R. Joshua b. Hananiah (v. infra) shortly before the Bar Kochba war, and making his way to Rome he there established a school, v. Bacher, AT., I, 380.]

[74] Sogana (v. Josephus, Vita 51). North of Jotapata in Galilee.

[75] Nisibis, city in North-eastern Mesopotamia, in the ancient province of Migdona.

[76] Read: Haninah (nephew of R. Joshua) about whose journey to Babylon. v. Ber. 63a. V. marginal note.

[77] [He established a school in Nehar Pekod, west of Nehardea, v. Bacher, op. cit. 389.]

[78] A city identified with El Shajerah, south of Sepphoris. (Neubauer, Geographie, p. 200.) One of the stations the Sanhedrin were destined to pass in its ten exiles during the period 30-170 C.E. V. R.H. 31b; Keth. 103b.

[79] The Great Sanhedrin (Rashi).

[80] The chamber of hewn stones in the inner court of the Temple, which was the home of the Great Sanhedrin. [On the refutation of Schurer's view that it was the chamber ‘close to the Xystus’ on the western border of the Temple Mount, v. Krauss, J.E., XII, 576

[81] I.e., as counselor in Yeshiva.

[82] See Y. Ber 4, 7d

[83] David M. Goodblatt, Rabbinic instruction in Sasanian Babylonia, Brill Academic Pub, 1975 p. 155

[84] Berakot 6b I also run. R. Zera says: The merit of attending a lecture lies in the running. Abaye says: The merit of attending the Kallah sessions.

[85] H.L. Strack and Gunter Stemberger, Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash, Fortress Press p. 12

[86] Philo. The Works of Philo: Complete and Unabridged. New updated ed. Peabody, Mass: Hendrickson Pub, 1993. p. 521

[87] Ibid p. 522

[88] Ibid

[89] b. Chag. 27a

[90] R. Judah applied the verse (Song Sol 5:11) to the students of the Torah. LOCKS BLACK LIKE A RAVEN: these are the Hakhamim; they look repulsive and black in this world, but in the time to come, The appearance of them will be like torches, they [will] run to and fro like the lightnings (Nah. II, 5)

[91] Zohar II, 99b

[92] The term “Parnas” in Hebrew means Shepherd/Pastor but not necessarily as these titles are understood in Protestand or Catholic Christianity.

[93] Hakham Shaul now deals with “confidence united with sincerity” in that he shows how the creature is created in the image of G-d. The creature now conducts life after the manner of G-d’s manifestation in the world, i.e. the Torah. Consequently, we see the shift towards “din” justice. G-d conceals Himself in the ten lights. However, while we say that He is concealed He is also revealed. Or we should say, that He reveals what can be known of Him in the lights of Messiah. Therefore, Hakham Shaul will begin to reveal what can be known in these lower lights. Parnas 1 and 2 united bring balance to the congregation. We have an honest sense of compassion. When the 2^nd Parnas is involved we have the honesty which must be expressed in relationships. Therefore, it is noteworthy that Hakham Shaul begins dealing with relationships revealed in the congregation of Messiah. The atmosphere created by the union of the 1^st and 2^nd Parnas is one where mutual space brings tranquility and peace. The 2^nd Parnas presents the Torah in such as ways so as to match the capacity of the recipient. The 2^nd Parnas finds expression in helping others. As we will note below the present pericope is directly related to the Bedtime Shema. We can also see the acceptance of our duty as outlined in the Modeh Ani related to the 2^nd Parnas. The Hebrew title for the sphere that the 2^nd Parnas occupies is called Hod. Modeh Ani is etymologically related to Hod showing that we must submit to the balance of the 2^nd Parnas.

[94] The three Parnasim (pastors) represent three levels of communication, ethos, pathos and logos. The most effective speaker is ethos, the 2^nd Parnas. As a matter of fact, the present pericope (4:25-27) is a perfect description of the 2^nd Parnas.

[95] Hakham Shaul begins a triad of reference to the Mitzvoth (commandments). He begins with “prohibition” moving to the mitzvah and then to motivation. Here he deals with social order. When the structure of Ephesians is scrutinized closely, one will note that the opening passages begin with the origins of the soul per se. In the latter chapters of Ephesians we see conduct being emphasized. Our “heavenly origins” must ensue into earthly works. Hakham Shaul makes this evident to his readers in these final verses. Thielman notes the parallel between Zechariah 8:16 and the present verse. (Zech. 8:16) 'These are the things which you should do: speak the truth to one another; judge with truth and judgment for peace in your gates.’ Thielman, F. (2010). Ephesians. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic. p. 311

[96] Hakham Shaul’s prohibition teaches the Gentile converts that they are now members of the same congregation. This is his way of stressing a different type of behavior.

[97] The left side is always accustoming to din/justice. Therefore, there is always a thrust forward or upward. The 2^nd Parnas is an energized 1^st Parnas. Be angry - ὀργίζω – orgizo from ὀργή – orge. In ὀργή there is actualized the true or false insight of man which impels him to decisive deeds. Oργή – orge can lean towards revenge and punishment. It receives this characteristic from the Chazan. Therefore, Hakham Shaul has to corral this officer and ministry. ὀργή, is always seen to be protecting something recognized to be right, becomes in the political life of the following period the characteristic and legitimate attitude of the ruler who has to avenge injustice. Because the 2^nd Parnas, here described in the Greek word ὀργή – orge has a propensity for justice. Therefore, “anger” must not be allowed to progress into sin.

[98] Here is a subtle reference to the evening/bedtime Shema. The second section of the Bedtime Shema is Ribono Shel Olam Hareni Mochel Ve'solei'ach. This part of the Shema calls us to pardon and forgive anyone who may have sinned against our person. By following this practice, we avoid allowing the “sun to go down on our anger.”

[99] By reciting the Bedtime Shema, we find forgiveness, repentance and protection from the enemy at night. We entrust our soul to HaShem. The Bedtime Shema is deeply esoteric and confronts abstract exhibitions of the adversary. The expressed character of the 2^nd Parnas deals with the adversary and adversity in ways that accept hardships as an opportunity to change and transform adversity into G-dly momentum. The 2^nd Parnas calls for each of us to master his own soul and share that mastery with others in a harmonious space free of conflict and adversity.

[100] Philo uses κλέπτω – klepto to describe the “kidnapper” or one who enslaves other by means of purchasing those in need. His scheme brings other under his submission. He himself does not do honest work with his own hands. Therefore, as Hakham Shaul suggests, let him do honest work with his OWN hands and SHARE with the community rather than enslave others. Thielman, agrees with this idea suggesting that this is not the agrarian laborer being addressed. He suggests that the upper class is “stealing” from the laborer by demanding heavy labor for little or no money. This would keep the laborer in constant need. This practice would be equal to kidnapping and slavery. Thielman, F. (2010). Ephesians. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic. p. 315

[101] The connection of the thief to the community must be addressed. The thief can no longer steal for a living he must be put to work. However, the community must address his needs as well. The two qualities confidence and truth/honesty when applied to the community create an atmosphere where communal trust can transpire. This cannot happen when you have someone in the community that is a thief. This analogy of the thief and the congregation is very apropos when we see the two ministries of Parnas 1 and 3 united. The first Parnas represents energetic initiative and stamina. The thief lacks energetic initiative and his resolve for stamina is thievery. Thievery requires no stamina at all. The daily labor of construction requires true stamina. The third Pastor is the channel for all the energies of the previous officers. She can deal with characteristics that no other officers can. The first Pastor/Parnas addresses the attribute of laziness associated with the thief. The third pastor brings the thief in connection with the community. When this happens, the “thief” can no longer steal from his “brothers.” He must now work and labor as an integral part of the community. This is how the bondservant is addressed in the Jewish community. He is judged and brought before his kinsman for redemption. He is then taught the economy of the Jewish community. When he has learned firsthand through his kinsman/redeemer to correctly interact with the community, he can re-enter the community. The compassion and nature of the third pastor makes all of this possible.

[102] The true character of the thief is one who will not share what he has. On one level, we see that the thief takes from someone who has. On another level, the thief will not share. This was the greatest crime of Sodom and Gomorrah.

[103] This statement shows that there must be structure to society. This perfectly matches that ministry of the 3^rd Parnas who would have been involved in distributing necessary resources from the Congregation. If, as Hoehner suggests that the agrarian laborer struggled in times when there was no labor, the community would have been capable of supporting these cases. However, this would require giving by all the Congregation who had something to give. Hoehner, H. W. (2002). Ephesians, An Exegetical Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic. pp. 624-5

[104] Moreh = Hebrew for School Teacher.

[105] σαπρός – sapros clearly means “corrupt,” with regard to speech etc. However, what most scholars overlook is the fact that those addressed are the Gentile converts. Therefore, we see that Hakham Shaul is telling them that they cannot talk as they used to talk. Nor can they speak in any degrading manner as members of the Congregation.

[106] The teachings of the Moreh united with the 1^st Parnas train the Gentile in how to speak within the Congregation. The Gentile proselyte needs to learn from the Moreh and the Parnas the appropriate manner of speech. He cannot talk or use the vocabulary of the past. Likewise, when the proselyte learns the language of the Torah/Mesorah his perspective changes so that he is a member that edifies the Congregation. Furthermore, the Gentile converts cannot offer any degrading communication towards the Jewish people since he has joined himself to the Community of G-d’s elect.

[107] Thielman, F. (2010). Ephesians. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic. p. 317

[108] Masoret = Hebrew for Enforcer of the Mesorah (traditions), nd functions as the President of the Congregation, Chief Pastor of the congregation and also as Catechist (i.e. teacher of converts together with the Moreh (School Teacher).

[109] Monotheistic vocabulary will not allow us to translate πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον in the traditional sense as “Holy Spirit” referring to the “Spirit” as if it were a member of polytheistic trinitarianism. The context here clearly demands that translation as the Nefesh Yehudi, the (Jewish) Soul/spirit from the heavens. Therefore, the passage as a whole speaks of the conversion process whereby the Gentile Convert is “sealed.” The general covenantal seal for Gentile men as converts is circumcision. Therefore, the “seal” proving that one is in possession of the Nefesh Yehudi is circumcision. Thielman notes the similarity of vocabulary with Yesha’yahu (Isaiah) 63:9-10. Because the vocabulary is only partially synonymous, we can determine that the “Holy Spirit” of those passages is the “Divine Agent” and not an aspect of “Deity.” The Yesha’yahu passages show that the “Holy Spirit” is the Divine “messenger” who was to go before the B’ne Yisrael (Shemot 23:23). Thielman, F. (2010). Ephesians. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic. p. 317

[110] Some sources suggest that the 2^nd Pastor is equated with the idea of “surrender.” This passage clearly denotes this special quality. The Gentile New/Convert and those who would “build up” the Congregation must learn to surrender to the loving-kindness of G-d.

[111] This is an internal issue. Therefore, Hakham Shaul is showing that internal issues when externalized are a serious danger to the congregation.

[112] See ὀργή – orge above

[113] The 2^nd Parnas and the Chazan join in controlling evil speech, temper tantrums and conflict in the congregation. When these two forces are joined, evil does not stand a chance. Their combined effort is Justice mixed with Justice. The 2^nd Parnas is a symbol of surrender as we noted above. However, in the present case the surrender is not on the part of the Congregational Officers. The 2^nd Parnas and the Chazan joined together bring all injustice under appropriate control. However, outbursts of anger as applied here are not simple abusive tantrums. The 2^nd Parnas and Chazan are dealing with legalism here. ὀργή, is always seen to be protecting something recognized to be right, becomes in the political life of the following period the characteristic and legitimate attitude of the ruler who has to avenge injustice. Because the 2^nd Parnas, here described in the Greek word ὀργή – orge has a propensity for justice. Therefore, “anger” must not be allowed to progress into sin. That the two officers 2^nd Parnas and the Chazan are in office here dealing with this problem shows the absolute mastery of their gift and office. The two officers demand a change in conduct.

[114] The element of growth and transformation now laid out for the converts by the 2^nd Parnas with the Chazan who persuade the convert to accept loving-kindness as a lifestyle.

[115] οὖν – oun “therefore” connects with 4:1, 17. In both cases, the Darshan is present. Therefore, we can see our “divisions” are actually interconnected with itself.

[116] Acceptance of the Nefesh Yehudi (Jewish Soul) brings the soul into loving relationship with G-d. The recipients are the beloved children of G-d. As His beloved children, we are called to imitate His actions. This verse could also be read. Be beloved imitators of G-d’s love as His children.

[117] Cf. Lev 11:44 “Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy.” Note here the similarity between the words of Hakham Shaul and Philo. (Spec. 4:73) ⁷³ for it was a felicitous and true saying of one of the wise men of old, that men never act in a manner more resembling the gods than when they are bestowing benefits; and what can be a greater good than for mortal men to imitate the everlasting God? (Virt. 1:168-169) And in another place also the lawgiver gives this precept, which is most becoming and suitable to a rational nature, that men should imitate God to the best of their power, omitting nothing which can possibly contribute to such a similarity as the case admits of. XXIV. Since then you have received strength from a being who is more powerful than you, give others a share of that strength, distributing among them the benefits which you have received yourself, in order that you may imitate God by bestowing gifts like his; ¹⁶⁹ for all the gifts of the supreme Ruler are of common advantage to all men; and he gives them to some individuals, not in order that they when they have received them may hide them out of sight, or employ them to the injury of others, but in order that they may bring them into the common stock, and invite all those whom they can find to use and enjoy them with them. Philo. (1993). The Works of Philo, Complete and Unabridged in one volume. (N. U. Edition, Ed., & C. Yonge, Trans.) Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers. p. 623, 657

[118] This shows us that the gift of the Nefesh Yehudi is earned. Once the recipient has the Nefesh Yehudi as a gift he must “become” the Nefesh Yehudi.

[119] This is Hakham Shaul’s third use of περιπατέω – peripateo, meaning, “walk about.” Each instance περιπατέω – peripateo, “walk” refers to halakhic norms, conduct established in the Torah, and catechistically elucidated in the Oral Torah. Here we have a summons to faithful obedience. The three instances of περιπατέω – peripateo, show three responses expected of the Congregation. However, the phrase refers to habitual conduct. Therefore, we should read, “make this your habitual conduct,” or “make this your habitual walk.”

[120] The Remes text is drawing on allegory to make its point. The point is to be as though you were an offering before G-d. The more familiar example is Yitzchak. The point here is not whether this is a literal sacrifice, which it is not or allegorical speech. Because it is Remes, it is most certainly allegorical. Secondly, the “lesson” is for us to mimic G-d and if that seems impossible, we have Messiah as a model. We must understand that θυσία – thusia does not represent a “sin offering.” Therefore, Messiah’s “sacrifice” is not for the sake of atonement in this case. We find the corresponding offering to be a קֻרְבָּן – qorban meaning to bring near. Therefore, the summary is not that Messiah is a “sacrifice” but a means of drawing near to G-d. Eadie, J. (2005). A Commentary on the Greek Text of Paul's Letter to the Ephesians. (M. G. Rev. W. Young, Ed.) Birmingham, AL: Solid Ground Christian Books. p. 364

[121] The sweet smell, רֵיחַ – reyach נִיחֹחַ – nichowach can be read a smell of comfort, or, the fragrance of the comforter. As Edie points out there is no easy way to say נִיחֹחַ רֵיחַ. As we have stated above the emphasis is not on a “literal” sacrifice, but rather the moral excellence of Messiah. Eadie, J. (2005). A Commentary on the Greek Text of Paul's Letter to the Ephesians. (M. G. Rev. W. Young, Ed.) Birmingham, AL: Solid Ground Christian Books. p. 365

[122] The sweet smelling aroma is the prayers of the Tsadiqim as they recite the liturgical prayers of the Siddur.

[123] Not found in all manuscripts.