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Esnoga Bet Emunah United States of America © 2018 E-Mail: gkilli@aol.com |
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Esnoga Bet El 102 Broken Arrow Dr. Paris TN 38242 United States of America © 2018 E-Mail: waltoakley@charter.net |
Triennial Cycle (Triennial Torah Cycle) / Septennial Cycle (Septennial Torah Cycle)
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Three and 1/2 year Lectionary Readings |
Third Year of the Triennial Reading Cycle |
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Iyar 20, 5778 – May 04/05, 2018 |
Third Year of the Shmita Cycle |
Candle Lighting and Habdalah Times:
Please go to the below webpage and type your city, state/province, and country to find candle lighting and Habdalah times for the place of your dwelling.
See: http://www.chabad.org/calendar/candlelighting.htm
Roll of Honor:
This Commentary comes out weekly and on the festivals thanks to the great generosity of:
His Eminence Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David and beloved wife HH Giberet Batsheva bat Sarah
His Eminence Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham and beloved wife HH Giberet Dr. Elisheba bat Sarah
His Honor Paqid Adon David ben Abraham
His Honor Paqid Adon Ezra ben Abraham and beloved wife HH Giberet Karmela bat Sarah,
His Honor Paqid Adon Tsuriel ben Abraham and beloved wife HH Giberet Gibora bat Sarah
Her Excellency Giberet Sarai bat Sarah & beloved family
His Excellency Adon Barth Lindemann & beloved family
His Excellency Adon John Batchelor & beloved wife
Her Excellency Giberet Leah bat Sarah & beloved mother
His Excellency Adon Yehoshua ben Abraham and beloved wife HE Giberet Rut bat Sarah
His Excellency Adon Michael ben Yosef and beloved wife HE Giberet Sheba bat Sarah
Her Excellency Giberet Prof. Dr. Emunah bat Sarah & beloved family
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His Excellency Adon Ovadya ben Abraham and beloved wife HE Giberet Mirit bat Sarah
His Excellency Adon Brad Gaskill and beloved wife Cynthia Gaskill
His Excellency Adon Shlomoh ben Abraham
His Excellency Adon Ya’aqob ben David
Her Excellency Giberet Eliana bat Sarah and beloved husband HE Adon James Miller
For their regular and sacrificial giving, providing the best oil for the lamps, we pray that GOD’s richest blessings be upon their lives and those of their loved ones, together with all Yisrael and her Torah Scholars, amen ve amen!
Also, a great thank you and great blessings be upon all who send comments to the list about the contents and commentary of the weekly Torah Seder and allied topics. 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!
Please pray for this work that it may be successful touching many lives, well financed; and that it may be for much blessing to all concerned. Amen ve Amen!
We pray for H.E. Giberet Leah bat Sarah and her mother, for safety and blessings in a small trip they are undertaking, amen ve amen!
We also pray about a litigation case in which HE Adon Ya’aqob ben David is involved in the civil courts, praying that G-d who sees all things who knows all things, and justly superintends the whole universe, bring a favorable and prompt resolution to this matter for HE Adon Ya’aqob, amen ve amen!
We pray for the wife of Adon John Batchelor who is recovering from cancer. Mi Sheberach – He Who blessed our holy and pure Matriarchs, Sarah, Ribkah, Rachel and Leah, bless Her Excellency Mrs. Batchelor and send her a complete and strengthening of body and soul. Please G-d heal her, please. Please G-d heal her, please. Please G-d heal her, please. Cure her, strengthen her, make her healthy and return her to her original strength, together with all the sick of Yisrael. And may it be recovery so willed, and we will say, Amen ve Amen!
We pray for Her Honor Ha Rabbanit Giberet Elisheba bat Sarah who is suffering from bouts of loss of equilibrium. Mi Sheberach – He Who blessed our holy and pure Matriarchs, Sarah, Ribkah, Rachel and Leah, bless Her Honor Ha Rabbanit Giberet Elisheba bat Sarah and send her a complete recovery and strengthening of body and soul. Please G-d heal her, please. Please G-d heal her, please. Please G-d heal her, please. Cure her, strengthen her, make her healthy and return her to her original strength, together with all the sick of Yisrael. And may it be so willed, and we will say, Amen ve Amen!
We also pray for a problem with a property of H.E. Giberet Leah whose neighbor is spreading Lashon Hara to anyone who approaches to buy, resulting in buyers going back on their intention to purchase the property. This is very important to H.E. Giberet Leah. Let us pray for HaShem’s mighty and just intervention in this matter, and that this property be sold speedily soon, and let us say, amen ve amen!
We pray also for H.E. Giberet Rachel bat Batsheva who is afflicted with systemic mastocytosis. Mi Sheberach – He Who blessed our holy and pure Matriarchs, Sarah, Ribkah, Rachel and Leah, bless Her Excellency Giberet Rachel bat Batsheva and send her a complete recovery and strengthening of body and soul. Please G-d heal her, please. Please G-d heal her, please. Please G-d heal her, please. Cure her, strengthen her, make her healthy and return her to her original strength, together with all the sick of Yisrael. And may it be so willed, and we will say, Amen ve Amen!
Thursday Evening May 03, 2018
Evening: Counting of the Omer Day 33
Evening Counting of the Omer Day 33
(Semi-festival of Lag BaOmer)
Then read the following:
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Day of the Omer |
Ministry |
Date |
Ephesians |
Attributes |
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33 |
Parnas 2 |
Iyar 18 |
5:6-7 |
(Glory) - Orange Virtue: Temimut (Sincerity) Ministry: Parnas [Pastor] |
Ephesians 5:6-7 Let no man deceive you[1] with vain words,[2] for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the children (sons) of disobedience.[3] Therefore, do not be partakers with them.[4]
Evening: Counting of the Omer Day 34
Evening Counting of the Omer Day 34
Then read the following:
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Day of the Omer |
Ministry |
Date |
Ephesians |
Attributes |
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34 |
Parnas 2/Parnas 3 |
Iyar 19 |
5:8-10 |
Sincerity united with Truth |
Ephesians 5:8-10 For in the past you were darkness,[5] but now you are light[6] in the Lord; walk[7] as children of light (for the fruit of the Nefesh Yehudi is in all goodness and righteousness/generosity and truth), allowing[8] only what is pleasing to the Lord.[9]
Blessings Before Torah Study
Blessed are You, Ha-Shem our GOD, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us through Your commandments, and commanded us to actively study Torah. Amen!
Please Ha-Shem, our GOD, sweeten the words of Your Torah in our mouths and in the mouths of all Your people Israel. May we and our offspring, and our offspring's offspring, and all the offspring of Your people, the House of Israel, may we all, together, know Your Name and study Your Torah for the sake of fulfilling Your delight. Blessed are You, Ha-Shem, Who teaches Torah to His people Israel. Amen!
Blessed are You, Ha-Shem our GOD, King of the universe, Who chose us from all the nations, and gave us the Torah. Blessed are You, Ha-Shem, Giver of the Torah. Amen!
Ha-Shem spoke to Moses, explaining a Commandment. "Speak to Aaron and his sons and teach them the following Commandment: This is how you should bless the Children of Israel. Say to the Children of Israel:
May Ha-Shem bless you and keep watch over you; - Amen!
May Ha-Shem make His Presence enlighten you, and may He be kind to you; - Amen!
May Ha-Shem bestow favour 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: Honoring one's father and mother; doing acts of kindness; early attendance at the place of Torah study -- morning and night; showing hospitality to guests; visiting the sick; providing for the financial needs of a bride; escorting the dead; being very engrossed in prayer; bringing peace between two people, and between husband and wife; but the study of Torah is as great as all of them together. Amen!
Shabbat: “Pin’chas ben El’a’azar” – Sabbath: “Phinehas, the son of Eleazar”
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Shabbat |
Torah Reading: |
Weekday Torah Reading: |
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פִּינְחָס בֶּן-אֶלְעָזָר |
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Saturday Afternoon |
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Reader 1 – B’Midbar 25:10-18 |
Reader 1 – B’Midbar 26:52-54 |
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Reader 2 – B’Midbar 26:1-7 |
Reader 2 – B’Midbar 26:54-56 |
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“¿Quién puede contar…?” |
Reader 3 – B’Midbar 26:8-14 |
Reader 3 – B’Midbar 26:52-56 |
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B’Midbar (Num.) 25:10 – 26:51 |
Reader 4 – B’Midbar 26:15-22 |
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Ashlamatah: Mal 2:5-7 + 3:1-6, 10 |
Reader 5 – B’Midbar 26:23-34 |
Monday and Thursday Mornings |
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Reader 6 – B’Midbar 26:35-41 |
Reader 1 – B’Midbar 26:52-54 |
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Psalms: 104:27-35; 105:1-16 |
Reader 7 – B’Midbar 26:42-51 |
Reader 2 – B’Midbar 26:54-56 |
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Maftir – B’Midbar 26:48-51 |
Reader 3 – B’Midbar 26:52-56 |
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Mk 11:15-26: Luke 19:45-48; Rm 11:33-36 + 12:1-8; |
Mal 2:5-7 + 3:1-6, 10 |
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Summary of the Torah Seder
· Phinehas’ reward – Numbers 25:10-15
· War declared against the Midianites – Numbers 25:16-18
· The Second Census – Numbers 25:19 – 26:3
· Census taken from all the tribes with the exception of Levi (Part I) – Numbers 26:5-18
· The Sons of Judah – Numbers 26:19-22
· The Sons of Issachar – Numbers 26:22-25
· The Sons of Zebulun – Numbers 26:26-27
· The Sons of Joseph – Numbers 26:28-34
· The Sons of Ephraim – Numbers 26:35-37
· The Sons of Benjamin – Numbers 26:38-41
· The Sons of Dan – Numbers 26:42-43
· The Sons of Asher – Numbers 26:44-47
· The Sons of Naphtali – Numbers 26:48-50
· Numbered of the Children of Israel – Numbers 26:51
Reading Assignment:
The Torah Anthology: Yalkut Me’Am Lo’Ez - Vol 14: Numbers – II – Final Wonderings
By: Rabbi Yitzchaq Magriso
Published by: Moznaim Publishing Corp. (New York, 1983)
Vol. 14 – “Numbers – II – Final Wonderings,” pp. pp. 223-246.
Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan
for: B’midbar (Numbers) 25:10 – 26:51
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Rashi |
Targum Pseudo Jonathan |
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10. The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: |
10. AND the LORD spoke with Mosheh, saying: |
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11. Phinehas the son of Eleazar the son of Aaron the kohen has turned My anger away from the children of Israel by his zealously avenging Me among them, so that I did not destroy the children of Israel because of My zeal. |
11. Phinehas the zealous, the son of Elazar bar Aharon, the priest, has turned away mine anger from the children of Israel, in that, when zealous with My zeal, he has slain the sinners who were among them; and for his sake I have not destroyed the children of Israel in My indignation. |
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12. Therefore, say, "I hereby give him My covenant of peace. |
12. Swearing by My Name, I say to him, Behold, I decree to him My covenant of peace, and will make him an angel of the covenant, that he may ever live, to announce the Redemption at the end of the days. |
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13. It shall be for him and for his descendants after him [as] an eternal covenant of kehunah, because he was zealous for his God and atoned for the children of Israel." |
13. And because they defamed him, saying, Is he not the son of Phuti, the Midianite? behold, I will make him to possess the high priesthood; and because he took the lance with his arm, and struck the Midianitess in her body, and prayed with his mouth for the people of the house of Israel, the priests will be held worthy of the three gifts of the shoulder, the cheek-bone, and the inwards; and it will be to him, and to his sons after him, an everlasting covenant of consecration, because he was zealous for the LORD, and propitiated for the children of Israel. |
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14. The name of the Israelite man who was killed, who was slain with the Midianite woman was Zimri the son of Salu, the chieftain of the Simeonite paternal house. |
14. Now the name of the man of Israel who was slain with the Midianitha was Zimri bar Salu, a chief of the house of his fathers of the tribe of Shimeon. |
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15. And the name of the Midianite woman who was slain was Cozbi the daughter of Zur, a national leader of a paternal house in Midian. |
15. And the name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Kosbi, daughter of Zur, who was called Shelonae, a daughter of Balak, the prince of the people of Moab, whose dwelling-place was in Midian. |
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16. The Lord spoke to Moses saying: |
16. And the LORD spoke with Mosheh, saying: |
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17. Distress the Midianites, and you shall smite them. |
17. Trouble the Midianites and slay them, |
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18. For they distress you with their plots which they contrived against you in the incident of Peor and in the incident of Cozbi their sister, the daughter of the Midianite chieftain, who was slain on the day of the plague [that had come] because of Peor. |
18. because they troubled you by their deceitful counsels when they beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and of Kosbi their sister, daughter of the prince of Midian, who was slain in the day of the plague for the matter of Peor. |
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19. And it came to pass after the plague, that the compassions of the heavens were turned to avenge His people with judgment. |
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1. It was after the plague, that the Lord spoke to Moses and to Eleazar the son of Aaron the kohen, saying: |
1. And the LORD spoke to Mosheh and Elazar bar Aharon the priest, saying: |
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2. Take a census of all the congregation of the children of Israel from twenty years old and upwards, following their fathers' houses, all that are fit to go out to war in Israel. |
2. Take the sum of the account of the whole congregation of the Bene Israel, from twenty years old and upward, according to the house of their fathers, of every one who goes forth with the host in Israel. |
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3. Moses and Eleazar the kohen spoke with them in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying: |
3. And Mosheh and Elazar the priest spoke with the leaders, and commanded that they should number them in the plain of Moab, by the Jordan (over against) Jericho, saying |
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4. "From the age of twenty and upward, as the Lord commanded Moses and the children of Israel who had come out of Egypt." |
4. (You are to number them) from a son of twenty years and upward, as the LORD commanded Mosheh and the sons of Israel when they came out of the land of Mizraim. |
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5. Reuben, Israel's firstborn: The descendants of Reuben were: the family of the Hanochites from Hanoch; the family of the Paluites from Palu, |
5. Reuben, the first-born of Israel: the sons of Reuben, Hanok, the family of Hanok; of Phallu, the family of Phallu; |
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6. the family of the Hezronites from Hezron, and the family of the Carmites from Carmi. |
6. of Hezron, the family of Hezron; of Karmi, the family of Karmi. |
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7. These were the families of the Reubenites, and they numbered forty three thousand, seven hundred and thirty. |
7. These are the families of Reuben, and their numbers were forty-three thousand seven hundred and thirty. And the sons of Phallu Eliab; |
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8. The sons of Palu were Eliab. |
8. - |
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9. The sons of Eliab were Nemuel, Dathan and Abiram they are Dathan and Abiram, the chosen of the congregation who incited against Moses and Aaron in the assembly of Korah, when they incited against the Lord. |
9. the sons of Eliab, Nemuel, and Dathan, and Abiram. The same were Dathan and Abiram who brought together the congregation that gathered and made the division against Mosheh and Aharon in the congregation of Korach, when they gathered together and made division against the LORD, |
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10. And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and Korah, when that assembly died, and when fire destroyed two hundred and fifty men, and they became a sign. |
10. and the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them and Korach, when the congregation of the wicked died, when the fire devoured the two hundred and fifty men, and they were made an example. |
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11. Korah's sons, however, did not die. |
11. But the sons of Korach were not in the counsel of their father, but followed the doctrine of Mosheh the prophet; and therefore they died not by the plague, nor were smitten by the fire, nor engulfed in the yawning of the earth. |
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12. The descendants of Simeon according to their families: the family of the Nemuelites from Nemuel, the family of the Jaminites from Jamin, the family of the Jachinites from Jachin, |
12. The Bene Shimeon, Nemuel, Jamin, Jakin, Zerach,
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13. the family of the Zerahites from Zerah, the family of the Shaulites from Shaul. |
13. ___ Shaul, with their families, |
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14. These were the families of the Simeonites twenty two thousand and two hundred. |
14. ___ twenty-two thousand two hundred. |
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15. The descendants of Gad according to their families: the family of the Zefonites from Zefon, the family of the Haggites from Haggi, the family of the Shunites from Shuni, |
15. Of Gad, the families of Zephon, Haggi, Suni, |
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16. the family of the Oznites from Ozni, the family of the Erites from Eri, |
16. Ozni, Heri, _ |
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17. the family of the Arodites from Arod, the family of the Arelites from Areli. |
17. Arod, _ Areli, |
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18. These were families of Gad according to those of them counted, forty thousand and five hundred. |
18. _ forty thousand five hundred. |
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19. The sons of Yehudah are Eir and Onan; Eir and Onan died in the land of Canaan. |
19. Of Jehudah, Her and Onan. But Her and Onan died, on account of their sins, in the land of Kenaan. |
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20. The descendants of Yehudah by their families are: The Sheilanite family from Sheila, the Partzite family from Peretz, the Zarchite family from Zerach. |
20. Of the Beni Jehudah, the families of Shela, Pherez, Zerach. |
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21. The descendants of Peretz were: The Chetzronite family from Chetzron, and the Chamulite family from Chamul. |
21. The sons of Pherez, Hezron, Amul. |
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22. These are the families of Yehudah and they numbered seventy-six thousand and five hundred. |
22. The numbers of the families of Jehudah, seventy‑six thousand five hundred. |
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23. The descendants of Yissachar by their families are: The Tolaite family from Tola, the Punite family from Puva, |
23. Of Issakar, the families of Thola, Puah, |
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24. the Yashuvite family from Yashuv, and the Shimronite family from Shimron. |
24. Jashub, Shimron, |
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25. These are the families of Yissachar and they numbered sixty-four thousand and three hundred. |
25. sixty‑four thousand three hundred. |
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26. The descendants of Zevulun by their families are: The Sardite family from Sered, the Eilonite family from Eilon, [and] the Yachle'eilite family from Yachle'eil. |
26. Of Zebulon, the families of Sered, Elon, Jahleel, |
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27. These are the families of Zevulun and they numbered sixty thousand and five hundred |
27. sixty thousand five hundred. |
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28. The descendants of Yosef by their families are: Menashe and Ephraim. |
28. Of Joseph, the Bene Menasheh, |
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29. The descendants of Menashe are: The Machirite family from Machir; Machir's son was Gil'ad, the Gil'adite family from Gil'ad. |
29. Makir, Gilead, |
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30. The descendants of Gil'ad are: The I'ezerite family from I'ezer, the Chelkite family from Cheilek, |
30. Thezar, Helek, |
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31. the Asrieilite family from Asrieil, the Shechemite family from Shechem, |
31. Asriel, Shekem, |
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32. the Shemidaite family from Shemida, and the Chefrite family from Cheifer. |
32. Shemida, Hepher. |
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33. Tzelofchad the son of Cheifer had no sons, only daughters; The name[s] of Tzelofchad's daughters were Machlah, No'ah, Choglah, Milkah and Sirtzah. |
33. But Zelophehad bar Hepher had no sons, but daughters only; and the names of the daughters of Zelophebad were, Mahelah, Nohah, Hogelah, Milchah, and Thirzah. |
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34. These are the families of Menashe and they numbered fifty-two thousand and seven hundred. |
34. These are the families of Menasheh, and their number fifty‑two thousand seven hundred. |
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35. The descendants of Ephraim by their families are: The Shusalchite family from Shuselach, the Bachrite family from Becher, and the Tachanite family from Tachan. |
35. The Beni Ephraim, Shuthelah, Bekir, Tachan, |
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36. These are the sons of Shuselach: The Eiranite family from Eiran. |
36. Heran the son of Shuthelah, |
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37. These are the families of Ephraim's descendants, and they numbered thirty-two thousand and five hundred; these are the descendants of Yoseif by their families. |
37. their numbers thirty‑two thousand five hundred.
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38. The descendants of Binyamin by their families were: The Balite family from Bela, the Ashbelite family from Ashbeil, the Achiramite family from Achiram, |
38. The families of Benjamin, Bela, Ashbel, Abiram, |
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39. the Shufamite family from Shfufam, and the Chufamite family from Chufam. |
39. Shephuphia, |
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40. The sons of Bela were Ard and Na'aman [giving rise to] the Ardite family, and the Na'amite family from Na'aman. |
40. (the sons of Bela, Ared and Naaman,) |
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41. These are the descendants of Binyamin by their families, and they numbered forty-five thousand and six hundred. |
41. forty‑five thousand six hundred.
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42. These are the descendants of Dan by their families: The Shuchamite family from Shucham, these are Don's families. |
42. The Bene Dan, the families of Shuham, |
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43. All Shuchamite families numbered sixty-four thousand and four hundred |
43. sixty‑four thousand four hundred. |
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44. The descendants of Asher by their families are: The Yimnite family from Yimnah, the Yishvite family from Yishvi, [and] the Bri'ite family from Briah . |
44. Those of Asher, Jimnah, Jishvah, Beriah, and of the sons of Beriah, |
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45. The descendants of Briah are: The Chevronite family from Chever, the Malkieilite family from Malkieil. |
45. Heber and Malkiel. |
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46. The name of Asher's daughter was Serach. |
46. The name of the daughter of Asher was Sarach, who was conducted by six myriads of angels, and taken into the Garden of Eden alive, because she had made known to Jacob that Joseph was living. |
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47. These are the families of Asher and they numbered fifty-three thousand and four hundred. |
47. The numbers of Asher, fifty-three thousand four hundred. |
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48. The descendants of Naftali by their families are: the Yachtze'eilite family from Yachtze'eil, the Gunite family from Guni, |
48. The Bene Naphtali, according to their families, Jaczeel, Guni, |
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49. the Yitzrite family from Yeitzer, and the Shileimite family from Shileim. |
49. Jezer, Shillem, |
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50. These are the families of Naftali and they numbered forty-five thousand and four hundred. |
50. forty‑five thousand four hundred. |
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51. The total number of B’ne Yisrael was six hundred and one thousand, seven hundred and thirty. |
51. These are the numbers of the sons of Israel, six hundred and one thousand seven hundred and thirty. |
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Rashi Commentary for: B’Midbar (Num.) 25:10 – 26:51
11 Phinehas the son of Eleazar the son of Aaron the kohen Since the tribes were disparaging him, saying, Have you seen the son of Puti, whose mother’s father [Jethro] fattened (פִּטֵּם) calves for idols (See Rashi, Exod. 6:25), and who killed a chieftain of an Israelite tribe? For this reason, Scripture traces his pedigree to Aaron.-[Sanh. 82b, Num. Rabbah 21:3, Mid. Tanchuma Pinchas 2]
by his zealously avenging Me Heb. בְּקַנְאוֹ אֶת־קִנְאָתִי , by his avenging My vengeance, by his releasing the wrath that I should have released. The term קִנְאָה always denotes someone motivated to take vengeance for some matter, in old French, enprenemant.
12 My covenant of peace That it should be a covenant of peace for him. Just as a man owes gratitude and favor to someone who did him a favor, so here God expressed to him His feelings of peace.
13 It shall be This covenant of Mine [mentioned in the previous verse] shall be for him.
an eternal covenant of kehunah Although the kehunah had already been given to Aaron’s descendants, it had been given only to Aaron and his sons who were anointed with him, and to their children whom they would beget after their anointment. Phinehas, however, who was born before that and had never been anointed, had not been included in the kehunah until now. And so, we learn in [Tractate] Zevachim [101b], “Phinehas was not made a kohen until he killed Zimri.”
for his God Heb. לֵאלֹהָיו , for the sake of his God, as in (11:29),"Are you zealous for my sake (לִי) ?" and (Zech. 8:2),"I am zealous for Zion (לְצִיּוֹן) "-for the sake of Zion.
14 The name of the Israelite man In the place it [Scripture] traces the lineage of the righteous man for praise, it traces the lineage of the wicked man for shame.-[Mid. Tanchuma Pinchas 2, Num. Rabbah 21:3]
the chieftain of the Simeonite paternal house Of one of the five paternal houses belonging to the tribe of Simeon. Another interpretation: To proclaim the praise of Phinehas, for although he [Zimri] was a chieftain, he [Phinehas] did not refrain from acting zealously against a profanation of the Divine Name. This is why Scripture tells us the name of the one who was slain.-[Mid. Aggadah]
15 The name of the slain... woman... To inform you of the hatred of the Midianites [toward Israel], for they submitted a princess to prostitution to entice Israel into sin.-[Mid. Tanchuma Pinchas 2, Num. Rabbah 21:3]
a national leader One of the five Midianite kings: “Evi, Rekem, Zur...” (31:8). He was the most prominent of them all, as it says, “a national leader.” But because he degraded himself by abandoning his daughter, he is listed only as the third [king].-[Mid. Tanchuma Pinchas 2]
a paternal house There were five paternal houses in Midian: Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Elda’ah (Gen. 25:4). This was the king of one of them.
17 Distress Heb. צָרוֹר , like זָכוֹר , ‘remember,’ (Exod. 20:8), and שָׁמוֹר , ‘keep’ (Deut. 5:12); a term describing a continual action [as if to say,] You must [constantly] show hostility toward them.
18 For they distress you... in the incident of Cozbi By submitting their daughters for prostitution so as to entice you to stray after Peor. He did not order the destruction of Moab for the sake of Ruth, who was destined to issue from them, as is stated in [Tractate] Bava Kamma [38b].
Chapter 26
1 It was after the plague This can be compared to a shepherd whose flock was intruded by wolves who killed some of them [his sheep]. He counted them to know how many were left. Another interpretation: When they left Egypt and were entrusted to Moses, they were delivered to him with a number. Now that he was close to death and would soon have to return his flock, he returns them with a number.-[Mid. Tanchuma Pinchas 4, Num. Rabbah 21:7]
2 following their fathers’ houses Their lineage followed their father’s tribe, not their mother’s.-[B.B. 109b]
3 Moses and Eleazar the kohen spoke with them They spoke with them concerning this, namely that the Omnipresent had commanded to count them.
saying They said to them, “You must be counted.”
4 From the age of twenty and upward, as the Lord commanded... that they be counted from the age of twenty and upwards, as it says, “Everyone who goes through the counting, [from the age of twenty and upward]” (Exod. 30:14).
5 the family of the Hanochites Heb. מִשְׁפַּחַת הַחֲנֽכִי . Since the nations were denigrating them and saying, "How can they trace their lineage by their tribes? Do they think that the Egyptians did not exploit their mothers? If they mastered their bodies, all the more so [did they exercise authority over] their wives. Therefore, the Holy One, blessed is he, appended His Name to them, the [letter] ‘hey’ to one side and the ‘yud’ to the other side, as if to say, “I bear witness for them, that these are the sons of their fathers.” This is stated explicitly by David, “the tribes of God, (יָהּ) testimony to Israel” (Ps. 122: 4)—this Name (יָהּ) testifies for them regarding their tribes. For this reason, in each of them Scripture writes, הַחֲנֽכִי , הַפַּלֻּאֵי [the Hanochites, the Paluites in which each name begins with a ‘hey’ and ends with a 'yud’] (Song Rabbah 4:12; Pesikta d’Rav Kahana p.82b, 93a), but in the case of Jimnah יִמְנָה , it is unnecessary for it to say [for the family of the Jimnites,] מִשְׁפַּחַת הַיִּמְנִי [only מִשְׁפַּחַת הַיִּמְנָה ], since the Divine Name is already affixed to it—the ‘yud’ at the beginning and the ‘hey’ at the end.- [Mid. Aggadah]
9 who incited Israel against Moses and Aaron.
when they incited The people against the Lord.
incited Heb. הִצּוּ . They enticed Israel to quarrel with Moses, a causative term.
10 and they became a sign A sign and a reminder, “so that no outsider, who is not of the seed of Aaron, shall approach” (above 17:5) to dispute the kehunah any more.
11 Korah’s sons, however, did not die They were originally involved in the conspiracy, but during the dispute they contemplated repentance; therefore, an elevated area was set apart for them in Gehinnom, and they stayed there.-[Sanh. 110b]
13 from Zerah This was Zohar [see Exod. 6:15], a name derived from the word צֽהַר , which means shining [a synonym of זֶרַח , Zerah]. However, the family of Ohad [mentioned in Exodus] died out, as did five from the tribe of Benjamin. For he came to Egypt with ten sons, but only five are listed here. So it was with Ezbon of the tribe of Gad, so [altogether] seven families [no longer existed]. I found [the reason for this] in the Talmud Yerushalmi [Sotah 1:1]. When Aaron died, the clouds of glory withdrew, and the Canaanites came to fight against Israel. They [the Israelites] set their hearts on returning to Egypt, and they went back eight stages of their journey [compare 21:4], from Mount Hor to Moserah, as it says, “The children of Israel journeyed from the wells of Bene Yaakan to Moserah; there Aaron died” (Deut. 10:6). Now did he not die at Mount Hor? And [furthermore,] going back from Moserah to Mount Hor there are eight stages in the journey! However, they turned back, and the Levites pursued them to bring them back, killing seven of their families. The Levites lost four families [in the battle]: the families of the Shimeites and the Uzzielites, and of the three sons of Izhar, only the family of the Korahites is mentioned. I do not know [the identity of] the fourth one. R. Tanchuma expounds that they [the seven Israelite families] fell in the plague in connection with Balaam [see 25:9] (Mid. Tanchuma Pinchas 5), but [this cannot be, for] according to the number missing from the tribe of Simeon in this census compared with the first census [which took place] in the Sinai desert, it would appear that all twenty-four thousand who fell [in the plague] were from the tribe of Simeon. -[Mid. Tanchuma Vayechi 10]
16 from Ozni I believe that this was the family of Ezbon (see Gen. 46:16), but I do not know why his family was not called after him.
24 from Jashub This is Iob listed among those who migrated to Egypt (Gen. 46:13), for all the families were named after those who migrated to Egypt, but as for those born from that time on, their families were not called after them except for the families of Ephraim and Manasseh—all of whom were born in Egypt—and Ard and Naaman, the sons of Bela the son of Benjamin. I found in the writings of R. Moshe Hadarshan [the preacher], that their [Ard and Naaman’s] mother migrated to Egypt while she was pregnant with them, and that is why they formed separate families just as did Hezron and Hamul—who were Judah’s grandsons—and Heber and Malchiel, who were Asher’s grandchildren. If this is an Aggadah, all well and good, [we must accept it,] but if not, I maintain that Bela had numerous grandchildren, and from two of them—Ard and Naaman—two large families issued, and the descendants of all the other children were called after Bela’s name, whereas the descendants of these two were called after them [i.e. Ard and Naaman]. Similarly, I maintain that the sons of Machir were divided into two families, one was called after him and one was called after his son Gilead. Five families are missing from the sons of Benjamin, and here the prophecy of his mother [Rachel] was partially fulfilled. She called him Ben Oni, the son of my mourning. As a result of the incident of the concubine at Gibeah (see Jud. 20:35), it was completely fulfilled [as nearly the entire tribe was wiped out]. I found this in the writings of R. Moshe Hadarshan [the preacher].
36 And these were the descendants of Shuthelah... The descendants of the other sons of Shuthelah were called after Shuthelah. A large family issued from Eran, so they were called after him. Thus, the descendants of Shuthelah were considered two families. Go and figure it out and you will find that fifty-seven families [are listed] in this chapter, together with eight from the sons of Levi, totaling sixty- five. This is the meaning of what is said, “For you are the least (הַמְעַט) of all the peoples” (Deut. 7:7). [The word הַמְעַט denotes ‘five’ (ה) ‘less’ (מְעַט) .] You are five less than the families of all the nations, since they are seventy [and you are sixty-five]. This too I expounded from the writings of R. Moshe Hadarshan [the preacher], but I had to delete some of his words and add to them. -[Mid. Aggadah.]
38 from Ahiram This is Ehi, who migrated to Egypt. Since he was named after Joseph, who was his [Benjamin’s] brother (אֲחִי) , and greater (רָם) than he, he was called Ahiram (אֲחִירָם) . -[Mid. Aggadah.]
39 from Shupham This is Muppim, so named because Joseph was humbled (שָׁפוּף) among the nations.
42 From Shuham This is Hushim (see Gen. 46:23).
46 The name of Asher’s daughter was Serah Because she was still alive, she is mentioned here.-[Sotah 13a, Mid. Aggadah]
Ketubim: Psalm 104:27-35; 105:1-16
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Targum |
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1. My soul, bless the Lord. My God, You are very great, You are attired with majesty and beauty. |
1. Bless, O my soul, the name of the LORD. O LORD my God, You are greatly exalted; You have put on praise and splendor. |
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2. [You] enwrap Yourself with light like a garment; [You] extend the heavens like a curtain. |
2. Who wraps Himself in light like a sheet, who stretches out the heavens like a curtain. |
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3. Who roofs His upper chambers with water; Who makes clouds His chariot, which goes on the wings of the wind. |
3. Who covers His chambers with water like a building with beams; who placed His chariot, as it were, upon swift clouds; who goes on the wings of an eagle. |
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4. He makes winds His messengers, burning fire His ministers. |
4. Who made his messengers as swift as wind; his servants, as strong as burning fire. |
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5. He founded the earth on its foundations that it not falter to eternity. |
5. Who lays the foundation of the earth upon its base, so that it will not shake for ages upon ages. |
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6. You covered the deep as [with] a garment; the waters stand on the mountains. |
6. You have covered over the abyss as with a garment; and the waters split on the mountains, and endure. |
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7. From Your rebuke they fled; from the sound of Your thunder they hastened away. |
7. At Your rebuke, they will flee, flowing down; at the sound of Your shout, they will be frightened, pouring themselves out. |
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8. They ascended mountains, they descended into valleys to this place, which You had founded for them. |
8. They will go up from the abyss to the mountains, and descend to the valleys, to this place that You founded for them. |
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9. You set a boundary that they should not cross, that they should not return to cover the earth. |
9. You have placed a boundary for the waves of the sea that they will not cross, lest they return to cover the earth. |
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10. He sends the springs into the streams; they go between the mountains. |
10. Who releases springs into rivers; they flow between the mountains. |
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11. They water every beast of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. |
11. They water all the wild animals; the asses will break their thirst. |
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12. Beside them the fowl of the heavens dwell; from between the branches they let out their voices. |
12. The birds of heaven will settle on them; they will give out a sound of singing from among the branches. |
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13. He waters the mountains from His upper chambers; from the fruit of Your works the earth is sated. |
13. Who waters the mountains from his upper treasury; the earth will be satisfied with the fruit of your deeds. |
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14. He causes grass to sprout for the animals and vegetation for the work of man, to bring forth bread from the earth. |
14. Who makes grass grow for beasts, and herbs for the cultivation of the son of man, that bread may come forth from the earth; |
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15. And wine, which cheers man's heart, to make the face shine from oil, and bread, which sustains man's heart. |
15. And wine that gladdens the heart of the son of man, to make the face shine by oil; and bread will support the heart of the son of man. |
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16. The Lord's trees are sated, the cedars of Lebanon, which He planted. |
16. The trees that the LORD created are satisfied, the cedars of Lebanon that He planted: |
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17. Where birds nest; as for the stork-the high junipers are its home. |
17. Where the birds make nests; the stork's dwelling is in the cypresses. |
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18. The lofty mountains for the ibexes; the rocks a shelter for the hyraxes. |
18. The high mountains are for the wild goats; the rocks are security for the conies. |
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19. He made the moon for the appointed seasons; the sun knows its setting. |
19. He made the moon to calculate times by; the sun knows the time of his setting. |
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20. You make darkness and it is night, in which every beast of the forest moves about. |
20. You will make darkness and it will be night; in it all the beasts of the forest creep about. |
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21. The young lions roar for prey and to beg their food from God. |
21. The offspring of lions roar to find food, and to seek their sustenance from God. |
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22. When the sun rises they gather in and couch in their dens. |
22. The sun will shine, they gather together; and they lay down in their dwelling place. |
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23. Man goes out to his work, to his labor until evening. |
23. A son of man will go forth to his work and to his cultivation, until the sunset of evening. |
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24. How great are Your works, O Lord! You have made them all with wisdom; the earth is full of Your possessions! |
24. How many are Your works, O LORD! You have made all of them in wisdom; the earth is full of your possessions. |
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25. This sea-great and wide; there are creeping things and innumerable beasts, both small and large. |
25. This sea is great and broad in extent; creeping things are there without number, both tiny creatures and large. |
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26. There the ships go; You formed this leviathan with which to sport. |
26. There the ships go about, and this Leviathan You created for the sport of the righteous at the supper of His dwelling place. |
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27. They all look to You with hope, to give their food in its time. |
27. All of them rely on You to give their food in its time. |
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28. You give them that they may gather; You open Your hand that they may be sated with goodness. |
28. You will give it to them, and they gather it; You will open your hand, and they are satisfied with goodness. |
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29. You hide Your countenance and they are frightened; You gather in their spirit and they perish and return to their dust. |
29. You will remove Your presence, they are dazed; You will gather their spirit and they expire, and return to their dust. |
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30. You will send forth Your spirit and they will be created, and You will renew the surface of the ground. |
30. You will send out your holy spirit and they are created; and You will make new the surface of the earth. |
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31. The glory of the Lord will be forever; the Lord will rejoice with His works. |
31. May the glory of the LORD be eternal; the LORD will rejoice in His works. |
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32. He Who looks at the earth and it quakes; He touches the mountains and they emit smoke. |
32. Who looks at the earth, and it shakes; He draws near to the mountains, and they emit smoke. |
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33. I shall sing to the Lord while I am alive; I shall sing praises to my God as long as I exist. |
33. I will sing praise in the presence of the LORD during my life; I will make music to my God while I exist. |
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34. May my speech be pleasing to Him; I shall rejoice with the Lord. |
34. May my talk be pleasing in his presence; I will rejoice in the word of the LORD. |
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35. Sinners will be destroyed from the earth and the wicked will be no more; my soul, bless the Lord. Hallelujah. |
35. The sinners will be destroyed from the earth, and wicked exist no longer. Bless, O my soul, the name of the LORD. Hallelujah! |
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1. Give thanks to the Lord, call out in His name; make His deeds known among the peoples. |
1. Sing praise in the presence of the LORD, call on His name; tell of His deeds among the Gentiles. |
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2. Sing to Him, play music to Him, speak of all His wonders. |
2. Sing praise in His presence, make music in His presence; speak of all His wonders. |
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3. Boast of His holy name; may the heart of those who seek the Lord rejoice. |
3. Sing praise in His holy name; may the heart of those who seek instruction from the presence of the LORD be glad. |
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4. Search for the Lord and His might; seek His presence constantly. |
4. Seek the teaching of the LORD, and His Torah; welcome His face continually. |
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5. Remember His wonders, which He performed, His miracles and the judgments of His mouth. |
5. Call to mind the wonders that he has done; his miracles, and the judgments of his mouth. |
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6. The seed of Abraham His servant, the children of Jacob, His chosen ones. |
6. O seed of Abraham His servant, O sons of Jacob, His chosen ones. |
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7. He is the Lord our God; throughout all the earth are His judgments. |
7. He is the LORD our God; His judgments are extended over all the earth. |
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8. He remembered His covenant forever, the word He had commanded to the thousandth generation, |
8. He remembered His covenant forever; He commanded a word for a thousand generations. |
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9. Which He had made with Abraham, and His oath to Isaac, |
9. That which He made with Abraham, and His covenant with Isaac. |
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10. And He set it up to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant, |
10. And He established it for Jacob as a decree, for Israel as a perpetual covenant. |
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11. Saying, "To you I shall give the land of Canaan, the portion of your heritage." |
11. Saying, "To you I will give the land of Canaan as the lot of your inheritance." |
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12. When they were but a few men in number. Yea, very few, and sojourners in it, |
12. When you were a people few in number, like little ones, and dwelling in it. |
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13. And when they went about from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people, |
13. And they went from people to people, from one kingdom to another people. |
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14. He suffered no man to do them wrong, yea, for their sake He reproved kings: |
14. He did not allow anyone to oppress them, and He rebuked kings on their account. |
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15. “Touch not Mine anointed ones, and do My prophets no harm.” |
15. “Do not come near My anointed ones (Messiah’s), and do no harm to My prophets. |
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16. He called a famine upon the land; He broke every staff of bread. |
16. And He proclaimed a famine against the land; He broke every support of food. |
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Rashi’s Commentary for Psalm 104:27-35; 105:1-16
29 You gather in their spirit Heb. תסף , an expression of destruction, as (above 73:19): “They were completely consumed (ספו) .”
30 You will send forth Your spirit with the resurrection of the dead.
32 He touches the mountains and they emit smoke as is depicted of Sinai (Exod. 19:18): “And Mount Sinai was all in smoke.”
33 as long as I exist Heb. בעדי , like (Deut. 31:27): “When I am still (בעודני) alive.”
35 Sinners will be destroyed Heb. חטאים, sinners [rather than sins, but see Tal. Ber. 10a].
Chapter 105
1 His deeds Heb. עלילותיו , His deeds.
3 Boast of His holy name Boast of the stronghold of His holy name that you have a patron like Him. התהללוּ is “porvontez vous” in Old French, [vantez vous in modern French, boast].
8 the word He had commanded to the thousandth
generation The Torah, which He commanded to make known in the world
after a thousand generations, but He saw that the world could not exist without
Torah, so he skipped 974 generations of them. It may also be interpreted
according to its simple meaning: He remembered for Israel His covenant, which
He commanded and promised to keep for them for a thousand generations, as the
matter of (Deut. 7:9): “Who keeps the covenant and the kindness for those who
love Him and who keep His commandments, to a thousand generations.”
11 Saying, “To you I shall give, etc.” That is the covenant that He made for them.
13 And they walked from nation to nation Abraham sojourned in the land of the Philistines, in Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, and so Isaac, and so Jacobthey all were exiled from one strange place to another strange place.
14 and He reproved kings on their account (Gen. 12:17): “And the Lord plagued Pharaoh”; (ibid. 20:18), “For the Lord had closed up every womb of the house of Abimelech.”
15 My anointed ones My great ones. Every [expression of] anointing is an expression of rulership and greatness.
16 He called a famine in order to exile them to Egypt (I found).
Meditation from the Psalms
Psalms 104: 27-35; 105:1-16
By: H.Em. Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David
Psalms chapter 105 was composed on the day King David brought the Holy Ark from its temporary quarters in the home of Oved Edom to the holy city of Jerusalem, where it was installed with great ceremony and honor. The full details of the event are described in I Chronicles, chapter 16. Verses 8-22 of that chapter closely parallel the first fifteen verses of this psalm, while verses 23-33 of that chapter are an almost exact repetition of psalm 96.
Verse 7 there reads: On that day David determined the foremost activity to be the offering of thanks to HaShem, under the direction of Assaf and his brothers. Rashi explains that Assaf would recite one verse of praise at a time, which would then be repeated by his fellow Levites.
In this composition, the Psalmist emphasizes that the Jews who escorted the Holy Ark are the seed of Abraham, His servant. Abraham's greatest accomplishment was that he traveled from place to place teaching and publicizing the Name of the One G-d. The Holy Ark of the Law also represents G-d's Name. Thus, when David carried the Ark from place to place to the accompaniment of thanksgiving to the Almighty, he resembled his illustrious forebear, Avraham.[10]
Radak and Malbim[11] explain that the Levites sang psalm 105 each morning and psalm 96 each evening while the Holy Ark was housed in a temporary tent in Jerusalem. When Solomon built the Temple and the Ark was placed in its permanent abode, a perpetual order of songs was established. These were the Songs of the Day which were related to the respective days of the week and to each special festival.[12]
Psalm 105 is unique as the only psalm that mentions the patriarch Avraham and does so not just once but three times.[13]
Tehillim (Psalms) 105:6 O ye seed of Abraham His servant, ye children of Jacob, His chosen ones.
Tehillim (Psalms) 105:9 [The covenant] which He made with Abraham, and His oath unto Isaac;
Tehillim (Psalms) 105:42 For He remembered His holy word unto Abraham His servant;
This emphasis on Avraham stands in stark contrast to the absence of any reference to David who is the major figure in most of the book of Psalms. It is only fitting, therefore, that we should spend a bit of time studying Avraham Avinu.
In Bereshit (Genesis) chapter 15 we read of one of the most significant turning points in the history of man.[14] We find Avraham making himself into dust[15] and ashes and then using this dust[16] to make himself into an entirely new creature.
We read this significant chapter twice in a Sabbatical cycle, when using the triennial Torah cycle. We read it once in the end of Kislev just before the tekufat[17] Tebet[18] and again in the end of Sivan just before the tekufat Tammuz.[19] It is read both times on the last Shabbat before Rosh Chodesh. The timing suggests a significant turning point in the year. This is an entirely appropriate time to read of the turning point of mankind. Curiously, our psalm which reference Avraham in an unusual manner is being read only a couple of weeks before Kislev.
The following paper is based on a study by Rabbi Noson Weisz.
The first covenant recorded in the Torah between HaShem and man that is arrived at by a process of negotiation is recorded in Bereshit:
Bereshit (Genesis) 15:18 On that day HaShem made a covenant with Avraham saying, "To your descendants have I given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates river.
This covenant constitutes a legal contract between HaShem and man where each takes on obligations and burdens. This covenant is a major cornerstone upon which the Bne Israel, the Children of Israel, stands.
As can be seen from the above text, the subject of the covenant was the grant of the land of Israel to the children of Avraham. In this covenant HaShem promised Avraham two things:
1. HaShem promised him offspring. Avraham accepted this part of the covenant:
Bereshit (Genesis) 15:2 And Abram said, Lord HaShem, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? 3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. 4 And, behold, the word of HaShem came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. 5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. 6 And he believed in HaShem; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
2. HaShem promised Avraham the land of Israel. This promise Avraham raised some doubts for Avraham:
Bereshit (Genesis) 15:7 And he said unto him, I am HaShem that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it. 8 And he said, Lord HaShem, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?
Why did the promise of the land raise doubts in Avraham’s mind? Why did Avraham have more trouble accepting the promise of land than the promise of children?
At the time of the signing of this covenant HaShem told Avraham:
Bereshit (Genesis) 15:13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; 14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
The four hundred year exile began when Avraham’s descendent, Yitzchak, was born. A hundred and ninety years later, Avraham’s descendants went into exile in Egypt. They spent two hundred and ten years in Egypt.[20] According to the Gemara, this 210 year exile and oppression were a result of Avraham's questioning HaShem’s promise of the land of Israel, and his subsequent request for proof:
Nedarim 32a R. Abbahu said in R. Eleazar's name: Why was our Father Abraham punished and his children doomed to Egyptian servitude for two hundred and ten years? Because he pressed scholars into his service, as it is written, He armed his dedicated servants born in his own house. Samuel said: Because he went too far in testing the attributes [i.e., the promises] of the Lord, as it is written, [And he sand, Lord God,] whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it? R. Johanan sand: Because he prevented men from entering beneath the wings of the Shechinah, as it is written, [And the king of Sodom said it to Abraham,] Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.
Why did HaShem have such a significant time period attached to Avraham’s question? A two hundred and ten year exile for simply asking a question? In answering all these questions, let us begin by trying to understand why it took a covenant with HaShem to allow Avraham to have children.
We are not only seeking an explanation for the workings of HaShem that determined that Avraham and Sarah should be naturally childless. We also have to explain why a couple bearing a child in their middle years[21] takes on the proportions of such an immense miracle. After all, Avraham was willing to enter a fiery furnace[22] out of loyalty to HaShem, so why did the mere belief in the promise of having children earn him so much praise from HaShem? What is so immense here?
The Midrash relates that when HaShem told Avraham to leave Ur, Avraham was nervous that people would criticize him for abandoning his parents just as they were getting old. HaShem told Avraham that he is absolved from the obligation of honoring his parents.
Midrash Rabbah - Genesis 39:7 Now what precedes this passage? And Terah died in Haran (ib. XI, 32), [which is followed by] NOW THE LORD SAID UNTO ABRAM: GET THEE (LEK LEKA). R. Isaac said: From the point of view of chronology a period of sixty-five years is still required.[23] But first you may learn that the wicked, even during their lifetime, are called dead.[24] For Abraham was afraid, saying, ' Shall I go out and bring dishonor upon the Divine Name, as people will say, “He left his father in his old age and departed”? ‘Therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, reassured him: ‘I exempt thee (leka) from the duty of honouring thy parents, though I exempt no one else from this duty.[25] Moreover, I will record his death before thy departure.’ Hence, 'And Terah died in Haran’ is stated first, and then, NOW THE LORD SAID UNTO ABRAM, etc.
HaShem added that Avraham was the only person in all of human history who would ever receive such absolution. But why was Avraham absolved?
The Maharal[26] explains in his work Gevurat HaShem[27] that Avraham received this absolution because he was a new beginning. Usually, children inherit their potential, whether physical or spiritual, entirely from their parents. As such, they owe their parents honor and respect as the ultimate source of their beings.
On his own, Avraham climbed to a new pinnacle of spirituality. Avraham did not inherit his spiritual potential from anyone. On his own he climbed to a new pinnacle of spirituality whose potential was innate in all human beings but that no one else had ever actualized since the fall of Adam.
The ability to form the powerful spiritual bond with HaShem which prompted HaShem to finally command Avraham to depart from Ur to go to live in the Holy Land was a heretofore unexploited human resource that Avraham obtained directly from Adam himself, as no human being had ever tapped into it before.
Avraham is described by the Midrash[28] as the very first convert to Judaism:
Tehillim (Psalms) 47:9 The princes of the people are gathered together, even the people of the G-d of Abraham: for the shields of the earth belong unto God: he is greatly exalted.
The G-d of Avraham and not the G-d of Yitzchak and Yaaqov? The G-d of Avraham who was the very first convert to Judaism. [He is the noble of spirit among the peoples, as it was only Avraham's nobility of spirit that brought him to HaShem. He was not raised to be a Jew by his parents. Isaac and Jacob already had Jewish parents.] The ruling that applies to all new converts to Judaism, stated many times in the Talmud is that the convert is like a new born child.
Yevamoth 48b R. Jose said: One who has become a proselyte is like a child newly born.[29]
In the eyes of Jewish Law, he is no longer related to his previous family. On the other hand, all converts are considered the children of Avraham, their predecessor and the very first convert.
But there is a necessary downside to this. The ability to have children is also a potential one inherits from his parents. Indeed, it could be argued that the human genome is the most basic human factor that is transmitted from generation to generation. Each and every human being who is born represents yet another link in the endless chain of DNA that stretches all the way back to the first man. If Avraham is not a continuation of this chain, but represents an entirely new human departure, then it follows that he cannot serve as a connecting link along the existing chain of generations, but has to originate a brand-new chain of his own. To transform oneself is one thing, to be able to transmit this transformation to all future generations of one's descendants is quite another. This is the background to the covenant described in Bereshit (Genesis) 15.
Above the Stars
Shabbath 156a Rab too holds that Israel is immune from planetary influence. For Rab Judah said in Rab's name: How do we know that Israel is immune from planetary influence? Because it is said, and he brought him forth from abroad.[30] Abraham pleaded before the Holy One, blessed be He, ‘Sovereign of the Universe! one born in mine house is mine heir.’ ‘Not so,’ He replied, ‘but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels.’ ‘Sovereign of the Universe!’ cried he, ‘I have looked at my constellation and find that I am not fated to beget child.’ ‘Go forth from [i.e., cease] thy planet [gazing], for Israel is free from planetary influence.
According to Jewish thought, all physical potential is mapped out in the stars, which serve as both reservoir and conduit of the spiritual force required to bring about all physical changes in the world. Avraham was an expert in the science of reading the stars. Thus, he concluded, that his lack of offspring did not result from a mere physical defect which could theoretically be repaired by some sort of operation or its miraculous equivalent, but was due to the fact that the natural universe contained no spiritual energy that could be translated into providing him with offspring. HaShem was informing Avraham that he was correct in this assessment but it was irrelevant, as He, HaShem, was moving him out of this entire system controlled by the stars.
However, there is a major difficulty in the way of going above nature and drawing energy straight from this ultimate source. HaShem may be perfectly willing to supply the necessary inputs, but the recipient has to be able to reach up all the way to the ultimate source to be able to receive this input. In order to be able to accomplish this, Avraham had to somehow increase his own stature so that he could reach above nature, and such length of reach was not yet programmed into human beings.
Here is where emunah[31] or the power of faithful obedience comes in to the picture. Suppose that a person who is naturally potent genuinely believes himself or herself to be sterile. As they inherited the capacity to conceive from their parents, and such capacity is already part of their phenotypes, their lack of belief is unlikely to interfere with their ability to actually bring children into the world. They may find themselves shocked to be pregnant. But the contrary is certainly not so. For someone who did not inherit any such capacity, belief is very much an issue. Avraham, who was not born with a capacity to reproduce and had to acquire it in midlife, could only accomplish such acquisition through the power of emunah, faithful obedience.
Perhaps the most illustrative example of this principle at work is in the story of Nachshon ben Aminadav. In Shemot (Exodus) 14, the Torah relates the story of the splitting of the sea. The pursuing Egyptians found the Jewish people encamped on the shores of the Red Sea and began their attack. Faced by the sea on one side, and the hostile Egyptians on the other, the Jewish people had nowhere to run. Moses assured them that HaShem would save them and then immersed himself in prayer.
Shemot (Exodus) 14:15 The Lord said to Moses: “Moses, Why do you cry out to me? Speak to the Children of Israel and let them journey forth.”
But what else was Moses supposed to do? The sea was raging before them. There was nothing else to do except pray. Explains Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin, the student of the Gaon of Vilna:
“HaShem told Moses that from His part, He had done everything He could possibly do to split the sea. But the miracle could not happen unless the Jewish people believed it could happen. They had to start moving in to the sea as though it would get out of their way.”
The Gemara[32] relates that Nachshon ben Aminadav walked straight into the water. First it covered his knees, soon he was immersed in the water up to his neck, and finally it was over his nose and he began to drown. But Nachshon believed that the water could not drown him, as HaShem had told the children of Israel to start traveling. Following HaShem's orders could not lead him into danger. Just before he reached the point of drowning this power of emunah finally parted the waters and others who were not on this level of emunah were also able to follow. His faithful obedience was the key!
The connection between emunah and Avraham's children and the need for a covenant with HaShem to bring this about is now clear.
Let us now move on to the land of Israel.
If Avraham had the necessary strength of emunah to reach above nature, connect directly to HaShem, and bring the power of reproduction down to the world, why did this emunah fail him about receiving the land of Israel? Why did he ask for a guarantee on this promise?
We must understand what is so special about this land of Israel that HaShem promised Avraham.
The answer to this question also emerges from these same ideas that we have been exploring. First of all, we must understand what is so special about this land of Israel that HaShem promised Avraham. Why did HaShem want Avraham to leave a place where he had a large following and was a major force for good and travel to the land of Canaan? After all isn’t HaShem everywhere?
In the world as HaShem arranged it, the human habitat is always perfectly adjusted to sustain the people it must support. The same spiritual forces that were implanted by HaShem into nature which produce human children also must be able to produce the energy required to sustain them. It would be futile to place human beings into the world without providing them with the necessities of survival. This connection between man and his world is clearly enunciated in the following passage of the Talmud, commenting on the following Torah pasuk.
Bereshit (Genesis) 7:23 And He blotted out all existence that was on the face of the ground -- from man to animals to creeping things and to the bird of the heavens.
Sanhedrin 108a And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, [both man and cattle]. If man sinned, how did the beasts sin? — A Tanna taught on the authority of R. Joshua b. Karha: This may be compared to a man who set up a bridal canopy for his son, and prepared a banquet with every variety [of food]. Subsequently his son died, whereupon he arose and broke up the feast, saying, ‘Have I prepared all this for any but my son? Now that he is dead, what need have I of the banquet?’ Thus the Holy One, blessed be He, said too, ‘Did I create the animals and beasts for aught but man: now that man has sinned, what need have I of the animals and beasts?’
But if this is so, then Avraham's offspring must face another serious problem. For just as nature contained no spiritual energy that Avraham could draw on to reproduce, it also contained no energy for the habitat to sustain any potential offspring that he might have. The promise of offspring and the promise of the land of Israel are thus intertwined.
Just as Avraham had to surmount nature to access his children, he had to reach above the natural world to provide them with a habitat. This habitat is the land of Israel. To bring this down to earth, Avraham had to leave Ur and travel to Canaan. But to bring it to earth also required emunah. Oddly enough however, the reach for the habitat takes more emunah than the reach for offspring.
To understand this point let us consider the remedy for Avraham's lack of emunah, the four hundred year long exile, a large part of which was the 210 years spent in Egypt in a state of oppression. The final step of the Exodus was the splitting of the sea referred to above about which is written:
Shemot (Exodus) 14:31 And the people revered HaShem, and they had faith in HaShem and in Moses, His servant.
The type of emunah required to calmly walk into the waves of the sea, or to follow HaShem into the barren desert, is the type of faithful obedience that is ready to accept the possibility of existing in the physical world without the aid of any natural inputs. Thus, man can breathe in the absence of air, can relieve his thirst in the absence of water, and can satisfy his hunger in the absence of food if that is the will of HaShem.
It takes great emunah to be able to reach up to heaven and bring the land of Israel down to earth.
It is obviously this type of emunah in HaShem that is required to be able to reach up to heaven and bring the land of Israel down to earth. Avraham was not certain that he could pass this type of emunah down the chain of generations along with his genes. He knew that in the absence of such emunah it was impossible to hold on to the land of Israel. And so, he asked HaShem for a guarantee.
Thus, the four hundred year exile was not a punishment but a means by which the nation of Israel could acquire the necessary emunah to be able to settle and hold onto the land of Israel.
In the natural world there is no room or provision for the children of Avraham. But if they can survive intact for four hundred years and grow into a great nation without their own land or country or army, they will internalize the emunah that their prosperity and survival comes from HaShem Himself, bypassing the conduit of the world of nature. This emunah will also give them a long enough reach to stretch their arm all the way up to heaven and bring down for themselves their country, Israel.
If an exile of four hundred years was sufficient to bequeath the Jewish people such great emunah, how much more potent should an exile of two thousand years have proven to be. One would think that the Jewish people can certainly not be far away from the emunah necessary to bring the final redemption. Yet we are experiencing great difficulties in merely hanging on to a portion of the land of Israel. Why is this so? How can we explain such a total lack of emunah after such a long period of survival against great odds?
The truth is that the power of emunah hidden in the Jewish people is immense. The trouble with emunah is that we only push the switch that turns it on when we are convinced that there is no way to achieve our objectives according to natural law.
If we look at the history of modern Israel, it is clearly divisible into two parts. Before 1967 everything we touched turned to gold. Since then things haven't gone so smoothly to put it mildly.
This difference in our success in the outer world is entirely matched by the rise and fall of the power of emunah[33] within us.
Before 1967, the power of our emunah was at full strength. Back then, we looked at ourselves as a people who had to survive against great odds through the strength of our faith and determination. The world has regarded us this way as well. Since then we've come to regard ourselves as a local superpower that is able to manage on its own. The world also treats us this way.
As our emunah has waned and so has our worldly success. The lessons of history are obvious. We have only to read the book. Now, we can understand how king David could connect Avraham with the land that was promised:
Tehillim (Psalms) 105:7 He is HaShem our God; His judgments are in all the earth. 8 He hath remembered His covenant for ever, the word which He commanded to a thousand generations; 9 [The covenant] which He made with Abraham, and His oath unto Isaac; 10 And He established it unto Jacob for a statute, to Israel for an everlasting covenant; 11 Saying: 'Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance.'
Ashlamatah: Mal. 2:5-7 + 3:1-6,10
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Rashi |
Targum |
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1. And now, to you is this commandment, O priests. |
1. "And now this commandment is for you, O priests. |
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2. If you do not heed, and if you do not take it to heart to give honor to My Name, says the Lord of Hosts, I will send the curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings. Indeed I have [already] cursed it, for you do not take it to heart. |
2. If you do not hearken, and if you do not lay my fear upon (your) heart so as to give honor to my name, says the LORD of hosts, then I will send the curse among you and I will curse your blessings; and I will indeed curse them, for you are not laying my fearl upon (your) heart. |
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3. Behold! I rebuke the seed because of you, and I will scatter dung upon your face- the dung of your festive sacrifices, and it shall take you to itself. |
3. Behold, I am about to rebuke your increase from the land, and I will reveal the shame of your sins upon your faces, and I will put an end to the glory of your festivals, and your share will be withheld from it. |
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4. And you shall know that I have sent you this commandment, that My covenant be with Levi, says the Lord of Hosts. |
4. And you will know that I have sent this commandment to you that My covenant which was with Levi may hold, says the LORD of hosts. |
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5. My covenant was with him, life and peace, and I gave them to him [with] fear; and he feared Me, and because of My Name, he was over-awed. |
5. My covenant was with him (for) life and peace, and I gave him the perfect teaching of My law and he feared from before Me and feared from before My name. |
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6. True teaching was in his mouth, and injustice was not found on his lips. In peace and equity he went with Me, and he brought back many from iniquity. |
6. True instruction was in his mouth and deceit was not found on his lips; in peace and in uprightness did he walk before Me, and he turned many back from sin. |
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7. For a priest's lips shall guard knowledge, and teaching should be sought from his mouth, for he is a messenger of the Lord of Hosts. |
7. For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge, and men seek instruction from his mouth; for he serves before the LORD of hosts. |
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8. But you have turned aside from the way. You caused many to stumble in the Torah. You corrupted the covenant of the Levites, said the Lord of Hosts. |
8. But you have strayed from the way; you have caused many to stumble by (your) instruction; you have corrupted the covenant which was with Levi, says the LORD of hosts. |
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9. And now I, too, have made you contemptible and low to the entire people according to how you do not keep My ways and [how] you show favoritism in the Torah. {P} |
9. And moreover, I have made you despised and enfeebled before all the people, inasmuch as you do not follow paths that are good before Me but show partiality in (your) instruction.” |
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1. Behold I send My angel, and he will clear a way before Me. And suddenly, the Lord Whom you seek will come to His Temple. And behold! The angel of the covenant, whom you desire, is coming, says the Lord of Hosts. |
1. "Behold, I am about to send my messenger and he shall prepare the way before me, and suddenly the Lord whom you seek shall enter his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. |
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2. Now who can abide the day of his coming, and who will stand when he appears, for it is like fire that refines and like fullers' soap. |
2. But who may endure the day of his coming and who will stand when he is revealed? For his anger dissolves like fire and (is) like soap which is used for cleansing, |
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3. And he shall sit refining and purifying silver, and he shall purify the children of Levi. And he shall purge them as gold and as silver, and they shall be offering up an offering to the Lord with righteousness. |
3. And he will be revealed to test and to purify as a man who tests and purifies silver; and he will purify the sons of Levi and will refine them like gold and silver, and they will be presenting an offering in righteousness/ generosity before the LORD. |
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4. And then the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem shall be pleasant to the Lord, as in the days of old and former years. |
4. And the offering of the people Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will be accepted before the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years. |
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5. And I will approach you for judgment, and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers and against those who swear falsely; and also against those who withhold the wages of the day laborers, of the widow and fatherless, and those who pervert [the rights of] the stranger, [and those who] fear Me not, says the Lord of Hosts. |
5. 5. And I will reveal myself against you to exercise Judgment, and My Memra will be for a swift witness among you, against the sorcerers and adulterers, and against those who swear falsely and those who oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow and the orphan, and who pervert the judgement of the stranger, and have not feared from before Me, says the LORD of hosts. |
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6. For I, the Lord, have not changed; and you, the sons of Jacob, have not reached the end. |
6. For I the Lord have not changed my covenant which is from of old; but you, o house of Israel, you think that if a man dies in this world his judgment has ceased." |
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7. From the days of your fathers you have departed from My laws and have not kept [them]. "Return to Me, and I will return to you," said the Lord of Hosts, but you said, "With what have we to return?" |
7. From the days of your fathers you have wandered from My statutes and have not observed (them). Return to My service and I will return by My Memra to do good for you, says the LORD of hosts. And if you say, 'How will we return?'-- |
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8. Will a man rob God? Yet you rob Me, and you say, "With what have we robbed You?"-With tithes and with the terumah-levy. |
8. will a man provoke before a judge? But you are provoking before Me. And if you say, ‘How have we provoked before you?’ - in tithes and offerings." |
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9. You are cursed with a curse, but you rob Me, the whole nation! |
9. You are cursed with a curse, and you are provoking before Me, the whole nation of you. |
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10. Bring the whole of the tithes into the treasury so that there may be nourishment in My House, and test Me now therewith, says the Lord of Hosts, [to see] if I will not open for you the sluices of heaven and pour down for you blessing until there be no room to suffice for it. |
10. Bring the whole tithe to the storehouse and there will be provision for those who serve in my Sanctuary; and make trial now before Me in this, says the LORD of hosts, to see whether I will not open to you the windows of heaven and send down blessings to you, until you say, ‘Enough!’ |
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11. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sake, and he will not destroy the fruits of your land; neither shall your vine cast its fruit before its time in the field, says the Lord of Hosts. |
11. And I will rebuke the destroyer for you and it will not destroy the fruit of your ground; nor will the vine in the field fail to bear fruit for you, says the LORD of hosts. |
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12. And then all the nations shall praise you, for you shall be a desirable land, says the Lord of Hosts. {P} |
12. And all the Gentiles will praise you, for you will be dwelling in the land of the house of My Shekinah and will be fulfilling My will in it, says the LORD of hosts. |
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Rashi’s Commentary to Mal. 2:5-7+3:1-6,10
Chapter 2
1 to you, etc., O priests I charge you with this commandment, that you shall not sacrifice these on My altar.
2 and I will curse And I will curse your blessings; how I should bless the grain, the wine, and the oil for you.
Indeed I have [already] cursed it Indeed, it is unnecessary to have the matter depend on the condition upon which I made it depend: if they do not obey. For I know that you will not obey. Therefore, I have already cursed it - from now.
3 and I will scatter dung of the animals of your festive sacrifices; that is to say, you will not receive reward from Me, but [you will receive a curse] for harm and shame. And I will rebuke the seed of the field because of you. and it shall take you to itself The dung of your sacrificial animals will take you to itself to [make you] cheap and despised, as it is.
4 that My covenant be with Levi for I wish that you will exist with Me with the covenant that I formed for the tribe of Levi.
5 life and peace As it was said to Phinehas (Num. 25:12): “My covenant of peace”; and it was promised to him and to his seed after him, thus indicating that his seed will be alive.
and I gave them to him that he accept them with fear, and so he did, and he feared Me.
he was over-awed an expression of חִתַּת , fear; he was afraid.
6 In peace and equity he went with Me Aaron, Eleazar, and Phinehas and so in the episode of the calf, they brought back all their tribe from iniquity, as it is said (Ex. 32:26), “all the children of Levi gathered to him.”
7 For a priest’s lips It is incumbent upon them to guard knowledge. Why? Because...
teaching should be sought from his mouth This matter has already (Deut. 33:10) been delivered to them. “They shall teach Your judgments to Jacob.”
for he is a messenger the agent of the Holy One, blessed be He; like the ministering angels, to serve Him and to enter into His compartment. [I.e., into the place where God’s presence is manifest.]
Chapter 3
1 Behold I send My messenger to put the wicked away.
and he will clear a way of the wicked.
the Lord Whom you seek The God of justice.
and the angel of the covenant who avenges the revenge of the covenant.
2 Now who can abide This is synonymous with; וּמִי יָכִיל
and who will stand Will be able to stand.
and like fullers’ soap Like soap used by the fullers, which removes the entire stain. So will he remove all the wickedness.
and like soap It is an herb which removes stains, erbe savonijere in Old French, probably soapwort. The word בּֽרִית signifies a thing that cleans and purifies, as in (Ps. 73:1), “to the pure of heart.”
3 And he shall sit refining He will free himself from all his affairs to be like a refiner, who refines and purifies silver.
6 For I, the Lord, have not changed Although I keep back My anger for a long time, My mind has not changed from the way it was originally, to love evil and to hate good.
and you, the sons of Jacob Although you die in your evil, and I have not requited the wicked in their lifetime
you have not reached the end You are not finished from before Me, for I have left over the souls to be requited in Gehinnom. And so did Jonathan render. And you of the House of Jacob, who think that whoever dies in this world, his verdict has already ended, that is to say, you think that My verdict has been nullified, that he will no longer be punished. Our Sages (Sotah 9a), however, explained it: לֹא שָׁנִיתִי - I did not strike a nation and repeat a blow to it; but as for you, I have kept you up after much punishment, and My arrows are ended, but you are not ended.
8 Will a man rob Our Sages explained this as an expression of robbery, and it is an Aramaism.
With tithes and with the terumah levy The tithes and the terumah - levy that you steal from the priests and the Levites is tantamount to robbing Me.
9 You are cursed with a curse because of this iniquity, for which I send a curse into the work of your hands; but nevertheless, you rob Me.
10 so that there may be nourishment in My House There shall be food accessible for My servants.
11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sake The finishing locusts and the shearing locusts, which devour the grain of your field and your vines.
12 a desirable land A land that I desire.
Verbal Tallies
By: HEm Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David
& HH Giberet Dr. Elisheba bat Sarah
B’midbar (Numbers) 25:10–26:51
Tehillim (Psalms) 104:27-35 & 105:1-16
Malachi 2:5-7 + 3:1-6, 10
Mk 11:15-26, Lk 19:45-48, Rm 11:33-36, 12:1-8
The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Psalm are:
LORD - יהוה, Strong’s number 03068.
Saying / Say / Saith - אמר, Strong’s number 0559.
Son / Children - בן, Strong’s number 01121.
Turn / Away / Returned - שוב, Strong’s number 07725.
Israel - ישראל, Strong’s number 03478.
The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Ashlamata are:
LORD - יהוה, Strong’s number 03068.
Saying / Say / Saith - אמר, Strong’s number 0559.
Son / Children - בן, Strong’s number 01121.
Priest - כהן, Strong’s number 03548
Turn / Away / Returned - שוב, Strong’s number 07725.
Consumed - כלה, Strong’s number 03615.
Bamidbar (Numbers) 25:10 And the LORD <03068> spake unto Moses, saying <0559> (8800), 11 Phinehas, the son <01121> of Eleazar, the son <01121> of Aaron the priest <03548>, hath turned <07725> my wrath away <07725> (8689) from the children <01121> of Israel <03478>, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed <03615> (8765) not the children <01121> of Israel <03478> in my jealousy.
Tehillim (Psalms) 104:29 Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return <07725> (8799) to their dust.
Tehillim (Psalms) 104:31 The glory of the LORD <03068> shall endure for ever: the LORD <03068> shall rejoice in his works.
Tehillim (Psalms) 105:6 O ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye children <01121> of Jacob his chosen.
Tehillim (Psalms) 105:10 And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel <03478> for an everlasting covenant:
Tehillim (Psalms) 105:11 Saying <0559> (8800), Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance:
Malachi 2:6 The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn <07725> many away from iniquity.
Malachi 2:7 For the priest’s <03548> lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD <03068> of hosts.
Malachi 3:1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith <0559> (8804) the LORD <03068> of hosts.
Malachi 3:6 For I am the LORD <03068>, I change not; therefore ye sons <01121> of Jacob are not consumed <03615> (8804).
Hebrew:
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Hebrew |
English |
Torah Reading Num. 25:10–26:51 |
Psalms 104:27-35 |
Ashlamatah Mal 2:5-7 + 3:1-6, 10 |
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~yhil{a/+ |
God |
Num. 25:13 |
Ps. 104:33 |
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rm;a' |
saying |
Num. 25:10 |
Mal. 3:1 |
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#r,a, |
land, earth |
Num. 26:4 |
Ps. 104:32 |
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vae |
fire |
Num. 26:10 |
Mal. 3:2 |
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tyIB; |
house |
Num. 25:14 |
Mal. 3:10 |
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!Be |
son |
Num. 25:11 |
Mal. 3:3 |
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tyrIB. |
covenant |
Num. 25:12 |
Mal. 2:5 |
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yx; |
live |
Ps. 104:33 |
Mal. 2:5 |
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[r;z< |
descendents, seed |
Num. 25:13 |
Ps. 105:6 |
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yx; |
live |
Ps. 104:33 |
Mal. 2:5 |
|
|
hd'Why> |
Judah |
Num. 26:19 |
Mal. 3:4 |
|
|
hw"hoy> |
LORD |
Num. 25:10 |
Ps. 104:31 |
Mal. 2:7 |
|
~Ay |
day |
Num. 25:18 |
Mal. 3:2 |
|
|
bqo[]y: |
Jacob |
Ps. 105:6 |
Mal. 3:6 |
|
|
!heKo |
priest |
Num. 25:11 |
Mal. 2:7 |
|
|
hl'K' |
consume |
Num. 25:11 |
Mal. 3:6 |
|
|
jP'v.mi |
judgments |
Ps. 105:5 |
Mal. 3:5 |
|
|
!t;n" |
give, gave |
Num. 25:12 |
Ps. 104:27 |
Mal. 2:5 |
|
~l'A[ |
everlasting, forever |
Num. 25:13 |
Ps. 104:31 |
Mal. 3:4 |
|
bre[' |
sweet |
Ps. 104:34 |
Mal. 3:4 |
|
|
hP, |
mouth |
Num. 26:10 |
Mal. 2:6 |
|
|
~ynIP' |
face, before |
Ps. 104:29 |
Mal. 2:5 |
|
|
xt;P' |
opened |
Num. 26:10 |
Ps. 104:28 |
Mal. 3:10 |
|
ab'c' |
to war |
Num. 26:2 |
Mal. 2:7 |
|
|
ayrIq' |
represenatives, call |
Num. 26:9 |
Ps. 105:1 |
|
|
bWv |
turn back return |
Num. 25:11 |
Ps. 104:29 |
Mal. 2:6 |
|
~Alv' |
peace |
Num. 25:12 |
Mal. 2:5 |
|
|
xl;v' |
send, sent |
Ps. 104:30 |
Mal. 3:1 |
|
|
~ve |
name |
Num. 25:14 |
Mal. 2:5 |
|
|
hnEv' |
years |
Num. 26:2 |
Mal. 3:4 |
Greek:
|
GREEK |
ENGLISH |
Torah Reading Num. 25:10–26:51 |
Psalms 104:27-105:6 |
Ashlamatah Mal 2:5-7 + 3:1-6, 10 |
Peshat Mishnah of Mark, 1-2 Peter, & Jude Mk 11:15-26 |
Tosefta of Luke Lk 19:45-48 |
Remes/Gemara of Acts/Romans Rm 11:33-12:8 |
|
ἀγοράζω |
buy |
Psa 105:3 |
Mk. 11:15 |
Lk. 19:45 |
|||
|
αἰών |
eon |
Psa 104:31 |
Mal 3:4 |
Rom. 11:36 |
|||
|
ἀκούω |
hearken, hear, heard |
Mk. 11:18 |
Lk. 19:48 |
||||
|
ἀμήν |
assuredly, amen |
Mk. 11:23 |
Rom. 11:36 |
||||
|
ἀπόλλυμι |
destroy |
Mk. 11:18 |
Lk. 19:47 |
||||
|
ἀρχιερεύς |
priests |
Mk. 11:18 |
Lk. 19:47 |
||||
|
ἄρχομαι |
began |
Mk. 11:15 |
Lk. 19:45 |
||||
|
βάλλω |
cast |
Mk. 11:23 |
|||||
|
γνῶσις |
knowledge |
Mal 2:7 |
Rom. 11:33 |
||||
|
γραμματεύς |
scribes |
Mk. 11:18 |
Lk. 19:47 |
||||
|
γράφω |
written |
Mk. 11:17 |
Lk. 19:46 |
||||
|
διδάσκω |
teach |
Mk. 11:17 |
Lk. 19:47 |
Rom. 12:7 |
|||
|
δίδωμι |
give, gave |
Num. 25:12 |
Ps. 104:27 |
Mal. 2:5 |
Rom. 12:3 |
||
|
δόξα |
glory |
Psa 104:31 |
Rom. 11:36 |
||||
|
ἔθνος |
nations |
Num 25:15 |
Psa 105:1 |
Mk. 11:17 |
|||
|
εἰρήνη |
peace |
Num. 25:12 |
Mal. 2:5 |
||||
|
εἰσέρχομαι |
come, came |
Mk. 11:15 |
Lk. 19:45 |
||||
|
ἐκβάλλω |
cast |
Mk. 11:15 |
Lk. 19:45 |
||||
|
ἐκπορεύομαι |
going forth |
Num 26:2 |
Mk. 11:19 |
||||
|
ἔπω |
say, spoke, speak |
Num_25:12 |
Mk. 11:23 |
||||
|
εὑρίσκω |
found, find |
Mal 2:6 |
Lk. 19:48 |
||||
|
ζητέω |
seek |
Mal 3:1 |
Mk. 11:18 |
Lk. 19:47 |
|||
|
ἡμέρα |
day |
Num. 25:18 |
Mal. 3:2 |
Lk. 19:47 |
|||
|
θεός |
God |
Num. 25:13 |
Ps. 104:33 |
Mal 3:6 |
Mk. 11:22 |
Rom. 11:33 |
|
|
θυσία |
sacrifice |
Mal 3:3 |
Rom. 12:1 |
||||
|
ἰδού |
behold |
Num 25:12 |
Mal 3:1 |
||||
|
καρδία |
heart |
Psa 105:3 |
Mk. 11:23 |
||||
|
κρίμα |
judgments |
Psa 105:5 |
Rom. 11:33 |
||||
|
κύριος |
LORD |
Num. 25:10 |
Psa 104:31 |
Mal. 2:7 |
Rom. 11:34 |
||
|
λαμβάνω |
take, took |
Num 26:2 |
Mk. 11:24 |
||||
|
λέγω |
saying |
Num. 25:10 |
Mal. 3:1 |
Mk. 11:17 |
Lk. 19:46 |
Rom. 12:3 |
|
|
λῃστης |
thieves, robbers |
Mk. 11:17 |
Lk. 19:46 |
||||
|
ὁδός |
way, highways |
Mal 3:1 |
Rom. 11:33 |
||||
|
οἶκος |
house |
Num. 25:14 |
Mal. 3:10 |
Mk. 11:17 |
Lk. 19:46 |
||
|
ὄνομα |
name |
Num. 25:14 |
Mal. 2:5 |
||||
|
ὄρος |
mountain |
Psa 104:32 |
Mk. 11:23 |
||||
|
οὐδείς |
anyone |
||||||
|
οὐρανός |
heavens |
Mal 3:10 |
Mk. 11:25 |
||||
|
πίστις |
faith |
Mk. 11:22 |
Rom. 12:3 |
||||
|
ποιέω |
do, did, done, make, made |
Psa 104:32 Psa 105:5 |
Mk. 11:17 |
Lk. 19:46 |
|||
|
προσευχή |
prayer |
Mk. 11:17 |
Lk. 19:46 |
||||
|
πῦρ |
fire |
Num. 26:10 |
Mal. 3:2 |
||||
|
πωλέω |
sold |
Mk. 11:15 |
Lk. 19:45 |
||||
|
σπήλαιον |
den |
Mk. 11:17 |
Lk. 19:46 |
||||
|
υἱός |
son |
Num. 25:11 |
Psa 105:6 |
Mal. 3:3 |
|||
|
φοβέω |
fear |
Mal 2:5 |
Mk. 11:18 |
||||
|
χείρ |
hand |
Psa 104:28 |
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Abarbanel On
Pirqe Abot
Pereq 1, Mishnah 4
Yosi hen Yoezer, a man of Tzereidah, and Yosi hen Yohanan of Jerusalem received [the tradition) from them. Yosi hen Yoezer used to say: Let your house be a meeting place for sages, roll in the dust of their feet and drink their words with thirst.
In his inimical fashion, Abarbanel connects this mishnah with a previous one. Starting with Shimon ha-Zaddik who stated that the world stands on three pillars: Torah, service, and kindness, Antigonus, in the preceding mishnah had elaborated on what constitutes service. Now, in the present mishnah, Yosi hen Yoezer addresses himself to another of Shimon ha-Zaddik's principles - Torah. He believes that in order to achieve a measure of Torah, the first prerequisite is that one's home environment must be one that is characterized by the love of Torah and serve as a meeting place for scholars. However, there are two conditions. The first is that you do not lord it over them like a rich host over his impoverished guests, but rather that you see them as the host and yourself as their guest. This is the thrust of "roll in the dust of their feet." The second condition is that you do not become bored by the abundance of Torah you will hear but, with perseverance, drink it all with great thirst.
From this dictum, Abarbanel learns that not all places are equal as far as Torah is concerned. Torah can be best studied in a place specifically designated for that purpose and to bolster this thought, he cites the story of the Shunamite woman who was fascinated by Elisha, the prophet of God. She said to her husband that since the holy man passed through their neighborhood frequently, they should make a small apartment for him in their home with the proper appurtenances, for Elisha to rest and meditate there. She understood that contemplation, and even more so prophecy, requires a special place set aside specifically for that purpose.
However, there always lurks the danger of unjustified pride and unbridled arrogance. You may very easily fall victim and believe that you are doing the scholars a favor by giving them food and drink. Although that is true, a man must always realize that the benefit he derives from the learned is much greater than what they derive from him. The wisdom, insight and cultural gains that he will gain from the sage who visits his home are priceless. Therefore, Yosi hen Yoezer teaches, make of your home a meeting place for the wise - but do not exaggerate your own importance. Here, too, Abarbanel resorts to the Torah to prove his point: When Abraham, soon after his circumcision, sat at the entrance to his tent and saw three strangers coming, he ran from the entrance to greet them and invited them to come in and be his guests. Although they were only lowly desert travelers, Abraham himself served them. In this light, we can understand the advice of the sage that one should humble oneself before the dust of the feet of the scholars.
There is a pronounced difference between one who studies Torah with passive commitment and one who is passionately and inextricably involved in the pursuit of this study. The latter thirsts for every word and letter that he can draw from the deep wells of Torah learning. In fact, the rabbis of the Talmud, commenting on the Biblical view (Deuteronomy 26:16, see Rashi), caution us that each and every day of one's life we should consider the Torah as a new gift from God.
Finally, Abarbanel comes up with a unique interpretation: "Let the housing of your intellect - your mind - be open to accept the counsel of wise men." In other words, no matter how advanced your education and intellect are, you should not arrogantly disregard any wisdom that you can yet gain from other scholars. On the other hand, you should imbibe these newly found waters with moderation and discipline. You should accept counsel in the same manner you drink water. A person who is dehydrated can benefit by sipping a little at a time: he can injure himself by gulping without waiting to take a breath of air. The optimal way of learning is to study intermittently and pause to think, analyze and digest the material studied.
Miscellaneous Interpretations
Rabbenu Yonah, commenting on the statement in the mishnah that one should let his house be a meeting place for the sages, underlines the idea that one's home should acquire a reputation as a center of cultural activity. When scholars will need to meet and discuss intricate religious problems they will not hesitate to gather there. It then behooves the owner of the home to conduct himself with great dignity since men of superior talents will be visiting there frequently.
Rabbenu Ovadiah explains the imagery of "Roll in the dust of their feet." When a man walks along a dusty road his feet kick up dust in the face of one who is following him; even so, when one is following a scholar he should not be concerned with any inconvenience that may result. To the contrary, he should be grateful to be in the shadow of a scholar from whom he can gain something of value.
Midrash Shemuel: In order to fully comprehend the meaning of this mishnah, we must start with the second part of the maxim and then return to the first part. Thus, if one wishes to assure himself that his home will be a center for learning and that all his peers will recognize his position in intellectual circles and will turn to him for enlightenment - let him first sit in the dust of the feet of the great luminaries and drink with thirst whatever they have to teach. In other words, Yosi ben Yoezer is not offering us cautious advice, but rather a prescription for success and its rewards.
But why use the phrase, "And roll in the dust of their feet?" In the first place the sage of mishnah could have chosen a more discreet phraseology to make his point. Secondly, most of the English translations of this maxim interpret the word mitavek - to sit. Technically this is not correct; the Hebrew word is closer to the meaning of to joust - to contest. The answer suggested is that when two people are jousting they kick up a great deal of dust, each one endeavoring to trip and fell his opponent. Hence, in a home of culture one should be eager to match skills and cross intellectual swords with colleagues in order to rise to a higher level.
Rashi proposes a novel interpretation: "Roll in the dust of their feet," means to attend to the personal need of the sages. This approach can be questioned: If a student takes the time out to do this he will be losing time from study. It is in that context that Yosi ben Yoezer advocates that it is better to interrupt the study periods and take deep drafts of the lifestyle of the scholars and then return to your studies. You will then take to your scholarly endeavors with much greater enthusiasm and eagerness.
Rabbi Moshe Almosnino is practically the only commentator who maintains that, "Let your home" means a house of study- not a private home. This is to say, one should be as at ease and comfortable in the bet ha-midrash which is the gathering place for scholars as much as he is in his own home.
Nazarean Talmud
Sidra of B’midbar (Numbers) 25:10 – 26:51
“Pin’chas ben El’a’azar” - “Phinehas, the son of Eleazar”
By: H. Em Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham &
H. Em. Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai
|
School of Hakham Shaul’s Tosefta Luqas (Lk) 19:45-48 |
School of Hakham Tsefet’s Peshat Mordechai (Mk) 11:15-19 |
|
And he entered the temple courts and began to drive out those who were selling (on Shabbat), saying to them, “It is written…
“Even them will I bring to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer; their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable upon Mine altar; for My house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples. Is this house, whereupon My name is called, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it, says the LORD.” (Is. 5:7, Jer. 7:11)
And he was teaching every day in the temple courts, and the chief priests and the scribes (Heb. Soferim) of the Sadducees - Heb. Tz'dukim and the most prominent men (i.e. Zeqanim – elders) of the people were seeking to destroy him. And they did not find anything they could do, because all the people were paying close attention to what they were hearing from him. |
And they came to Yerushalayim. And entering the temple, Yeshua began to throw out those selling and buying on the Sabbath in the temple; also, he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats[34] of those selling the doves. And he would not allow any to carry a vessel through the temple on the Sabbath. And he taught, saying to them, has it not been written...
Even them will I bring to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer; their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable upon Mine altar; for My house will be called a house of prayer[35] for all peoples. Is this house, whereupon My name is called, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it, says the LORD. (Is. 5:7, Jer. 7:11)
And the scribes (Heb. Soferim) of the Sadducees - Heb. Tz'dukim and the chief priests (of the Sadducees Heb. Tz'dukim) heard. And they looked for a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the congregation was astonished by his teachings (Mesorot). And he went out of the Holy City when evening[36] came. |
Mordechai 11.20-26
And in the morning, they (Yeshua and his talmidim) were passing beside the fig tree, and they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. And Hakham Tsefet remembering said to him (Yeshua), "Rabbi (Hakham), look, the fig tree which you cursed has dried up." And Yeshua responded saying to them, “you must have faithful obedience (Heb. Emunah) to G-d.” Amen ve’amen for I say to you, whoever should say to this mountain, be lifted up and be thrown into the sea, and is not divided in his heart, if he is faithfully obedient to G-d whom he is asking, he will have it if he is to have it. By this, I am saying to you, all that you pray for and you are requesting, be faithfully obedient that you may have it and grasp a hold of what you petition G-d for, and it will be granted to you. And whenever you recite the Standing Prayer (Heb. Amidah), forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father also who is in (the) heavens may forgive you your transgressions. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in (the) heavens forgive your transgressions.
|
School of Hakham Shaul’s Remes Romans 11:33-36 |
|
Oh, the depth of the riches[37] and the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and how incomprehensible are His ways! “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor? Or who has given in advance to him, and it will be paid back to him?” For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory for eternity! Amen.
Romans 12.1-8 Therefore, brethren[38] I urge you, by the mercies of God that you stand as if your bodies were a living sacrifice[39] set apart (agios) for God's service (purposes) by formal, legal restrictions and limitations accepted[40] by God, and appointed to logical service (abodah). And do not be conformed to the ideologies and fads of the present secular age[41] but be transformed through mental renewal,[42] for our goal is to fulfill God’s desire (delight) through logical deduction (a living sacrifice for the sake) of fulfilling God’s desire for your life which is an appropriate goal.
¶ The loving-kindness[43] of God shown to me says that we should think ourselves in terms of mental objectivity because God has allotted gifts to each[44] of us according to our faithful obedience. In the same sense as the body has many parts and organs but they do not all share in the same function, so, the many[45] (Gentiles) become one[46] in the body (politic) of Messiah and each one members of one another. Therefore, having differing favorable gifts given[47] to us such as the “Magid”[48] appointed and apportioned according to his (their) faithfulness (to the congregation – community). If Yesod[49] serves, the Meturgeman teaches,[50] the first Parnas exhorts, and the second Parnas gives while the Chazan leads (in the services) and the Masoret shows the congregation loving-kindness and mercy, and thus the body of Messiah is unified.
|
Nazarean Codicil to be read in conjunction with the following Torah Seder
|
Num 25:10 – 26:51 |
Ps 104:27-35; 105:1-16 |
Mal 2:5-7 + 3:1-6, 10 |
Mord. 11:15-26 |
1 Luqas 19:45-48 |
Romans 11:33-36 + 12:1-8 |
Commentary to Hakham Tsefet’s School of Peshat
m. Middot 1:1 In three places do the priests keep watch in the sanctuary:
(1) in Bet Abtinas,
(2) in Bet Hanitzot (house of the spark - flame), and
(3) in Bet Hamoked (house of the hearth).
And the Levites [keep watch] in twenty-one places [I Chron. 26:17–18]: five at the five gates of the Temple mount; four at the four corners on the inside [of the Temple wall]; five at the five gates of the courtyard; four at the four corners on the outside [the wall of] the courtyard; and one at the office of the offering [M. 1:6], and one at the office of the veil, and one behind the Mercy Seat [outside of the western wall of the holy of holies, M. 5: 1].
These expanded areas had a higher level of sanctity than the rest of Yerushalayim but did not have the sanctity of the 500 by 500 area. This 500 amot[51] (cubits) square included not only the Temple and its courtyards but also the area of the palace of the king. The king’s palace was destroyed at the end of the First Temple Period and was not rebuilt in the Second Temple Era. The area of the palace was outside the Soreg[52], (fence or barrier) with a lower sanctity than within the Soreg.
Middot 2.3 Within it (Har haBayit) was a latticework (Soreg), ten tefaḥim (handbreadths) high, and thirteen breaches were there that the kings of Greece breached, and they repaired them again, and decreed thirteen prostrations opposite them. Within it was the Ḥeil ten amot, and twelve steps were there, the height of each step was half an amah, and its depth half an amah. All the steps that were there, the height of each step was half an amah, and its depth half an amah, except those to the ulam. . .
Wars 5:193-194 Approaching the second court before the Temple was a fence made of stone three cubits high, entirely surrounding the temple with graceful proficiency. Standing at equal intervals were monuments of stone announcing the laws of purity written in Greek and Latin forbidding foreigners to be present or entrance into the sacred precincts.[53]
1 - The Caption on the Soreg, a warning to Gentiles
The above caption reads…
NO FOREIGNER
IS TO GO BEYOND THE BALUSTRADE
AND THE PLAZA OF THE TEMPLE ZONE
WHOEVER IS CAUGHT DOING SO
WILL HAVE HIMSELF TO BLAME
FOR HIS DEATH
WHICH WILL FOLLOW
To this very day understanding of the Second Temple complex and its layout is a matter of much scholarly research and debate. Having been involved in some of that research we can attest to the complexities of understanding the layout of the Second Temple precincts. Therefore, we conclude that the events of our present pericope occurred within the court of the gentiles. ALL other courts had higher levels of sanctity and would not allow gentiles to pass beyond the soreg as detailed above.
Therefore, we will also note that the proposition that these events took place on Shabbat and within the Court of the Gentiles. We can say that this opinion is based on logic (Severah - logical deduction, drash deductive hermeneutic). However, our pericope shows a clear disdain for holiness and the things of G-d. While we see that the disdain for the true palace of G-d was being exhibited by the money-changers, we also believe that the courts of sanctity were not opened for practices such as buying and selling regardless of the need.
Mishnah Middot cited above elaborates on the extensive locations where the Kohanim guarded the Temple. As we will see, the “guards” were not there to protect the Temple from theft etc. However, we can also see that for a Gentile to pass into a forbidden court was a capital offence.
The information cited above teaches us about the sanctity of the Temple. The issue at hand has to do with the violation of Shabbat. We noted this immediately in preparing for the translation of Mordechai.
Another aspect of the present Torah Seder is the wearing of tzitzit. Here the question of how Hakham Tsefet was able to interlace all of the Torah Seder material into one short pericope is amazing.
The soreg bespeaks sanctity as does Shabbat and the Tzizit. It is clear from our pericope that there was a loss of reverence for the Temple, Shabbat and the things of G-d in general. However, Yeshua’s consternation is the result of violating the Sabbath. Yeshua was not trying to say that the money-changers or other services were in some way unacceptable. The Temple required these services.
The actions of Yeshua teach us clearly that Shabbat bears sanctity above all the other days of the week. This should go without saying.
One should not enter the Temple mount with his walking stick, his overshoes, his money bag, or with dust on his feet…
If we apply the hermeneutic rule of Ḳal va-ḥomer: "Argumentum a minori ad majus" or "a majori ad minus"; corresponding to the scholastic proof a fortiori we will understand that if one was not able to enter the Temple precincts (the courts of sanctity) with a walking stick, overshoes, his money bag or dust on his feet, we will draw the conclusion that this was much the more prohibited on Shabbat.
On the normal weekdays, it was permitted to exchange foreign monies with the moneychangers. Actually, it was required. However, what would have brought great consternation was when the moneychangers moved into the court of the Gentiles. The text of the Torah Seder along with the pericope of Mordechai teaches us clearly, when there is a disregard for the Sabbath there is erosion that causes degradation of all the mitzvot of G-d.
However, the “soreg” addresses other issues in relation to our pericope.
Mar 11:17 And he taught, saying to them, Has it not been written...
Isa 56:7 Even them will I bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer; their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices shall be acceptable upon Mine altar; for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.
Yeshua declares that the Temple would become a house of prayer for all nations (peoples). And the Torah states:
B’Midbar15:14 – 16 If a proselyte resides with you, or those among you in future generations, and he offers up a fire offering of pleasing fragrance to the Lord, as you make it, so will he make it. One rule (Chuqah) applies to the assembly, for yourselves and for the proselyte who resides with you; one rule applies throughout your generations just as it is for you, so it is for the proselyte, before the Lord. There will be one law and one ordinance for you and the proselyte who resides with you.
The rules of the Temple and Shabbat were required to follow all the Laws of the Torah in relation to Shabbat, fringes and offerings, how much the more should the Proselyte have to guard these things?
The lesson of the soreg discussed above is rather simple. First, we must realize that there are levels of sanctity. Secondly, we should realize that there are boundaries and boarders in life that we are not permitted to cross.
House of Prayer for the Nations
The Mesorah of Yeshua includes Gentiles. In other places, this teaching caused the leaders of the city to try to throw Yeshua off the edge of a cliff.[54] We can see here the masterful art of Hakham Tsefet in weaving a pericope into the Torah Seder. Likewise, Yeshua’s masterful teachings as a Hakham taught the Messianic aspects of the Torah from a triennial Torah reading cycle. This seems to be most logical because dominate scholarly consensus is that Yeshua’s ministerial life is believed to have lasted for three and one-half years.
Yeshua’s citing of the passage from Yeshayahu[55] is not a claim at deity. It is clear from Yeshua’s teachings that he believed that Judaism should be the universal religion for ALL humanity. This is elaborated at length by Professor Jacob Neusner in his work titled “Recovering Judaism.”[56] The so called “Great Commission” was to “talmudize” all nations or peoples.[57] This “talmudizing” required teaching foreign nations how to walk and conduct life after the manner of Yeshua’s Mesorah. Note here that the teachings of Yeshua are in perfect agreement with the Torah Seder. We will also posit the idea that halakhah follows universal rules and truths along specific rules of logical analogy.[58] Consequently, the logical thinking man should be able to deduce the rationality of the halakhah as taught by the Rabbis. The teachings of Yeshua are at unity with the teachings of the Rabbis, specifically the House of Hillel. These “teachings” naturally deduce the monotheistic conduct that the first century Talmidim followed.
It is very interesting to note that the point of connection would cause the hermeneutic rule of “Dabar ha-lamed me-'inyano: Interpretation deduced from the context” to posit that the gentile proselytes would have to follow the mitzvot in the same way that the native-born Jew does. Again, Professor Jacob Neusner’s thoughts and logic ring true.[59]
It is also noteworthy to mention Abarbanel’s view of the resurrection in relation to the Gentiles. It is also noteworthy to mention that the House of Shammai did not have the same universal view of Judaism that the House of Hillel possessed. The House of Hillel saw the universal aspects of Judaism as taught by the Prophets. This should be obvious here since His Majesty King Yeshua, emanating from the House of Hillel is quoting a prophetic passage to demonstrate the universalistic message of Judaism.[60]
A Dead Fig Tree
Once again, we have an analogous picture of the death of a fig tree. This analogous picture shows that there are those who will not have their share in the Y’mot HaMashiach and the Olam HaBa. However, this time the fig tree represents another rebellious group. We should note here that the fig tree is used in the previous pericope as a rebellious generation. Therefore, we have two occasions where Hakham Tsefet draws and analogy of the fig tree using it to represent a rebellious people or generation.
Mar 11:22 And Yeshua responded saying to them, “you must have faithful obedience (Heb. Emunah) to G-d
This passage demands faithfulness to G-d.
The Greek εχετε – echete (have) is imperative rather than indicative. Therefore, the language demands faithfulness to G-d. The phrase πίστιν θεοῦ (pistin theou) indicates the object of faithfulness. Consequently, we see Yeshua’s demand for faithfulness to G-d. This brings us to a question. Since our pericope is connected to the Torah Seder of B’Midbar (Num.) 25:10 – 26:51 we must apply the hermeneutic of Dabar ha-lamed me-'inyano: Interpretation deduced from the context, we must realize that this means being faithful to G-d and faithful to his agent. During the times of the Nazarean Codicil we would say that it meant being faithful to Yeshua as a Hakham and a King. In present times we must realize that it means being faithful to the agent of G-d in our lives at present. i.e. our Hakham.
Mark 11:23 Amen ve amen for I say to you, whoever should say to this mountain, be lifted up and be thrown into the sea, and is not divided in his heart, if (he is) faithfully obedient to G-d who he is saying (asking), he will have it if he is to have it.
This set of passages is one of the most abused passages in all the Nazarean Codicil. The key to understanding this passage is the “divided heart.” The “divided heart” represents a student who has more than one teacher or one who does not trust his Hakham. This passage is used by the so-called Faith Teachers to say that whatever you say you will receive if you just have “faith.” The Greek word “pistis” parallels the Hebrew word emunah, which means faithfulness (faithful obedience). Our next passage will clarify this point more clearly.
Mark 11:24 By this, I am saying to you, all that you pray for and you are requesting, be faithfully obedient that you may have it, and grasp a hold of what you petition G-d for, and it will be granted to you.
Verse 24 contains a measure of doubt in the final clause. In other words, it questions if it will be or if it is to be. This would leave room for a request to be determined by G-d rather than the will of man. Furthermore, the verse demands faithfulness to G-d as a condition for a petition to be accepted. Likewise, the speech should be seen as analogous rather than a literal request.
Mar 11:25 And whenever you recite the Standing Prayer (Heb. Amidah), forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father also who is in (the) heavens may forgive you your transgressions. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in (the) heavens forgive your transgressions.
Pardon us, our Father, for we have sinned, forgive us, our King, for we have transgressed. For You are a good and forgiving Almighty. Blessed are You, Adonai, Gracious One, Who pardons abundantly.[61]
Materials are beginning to surface which would suggest that Hakham Tsefet played a part in helping to assemble parts of the Siddur and the Machzor.
Commentary to Hakham Shaul’s School of Remes
Wisdom Hokhmah
Judgments Binah
Da’at Da’at
Wisdom is a person?
In the beginning was the Mesorah
We read the phrase last week from Hakham Shaul’s Remes, “they are opposed to the Mesorah, are the enemies of God.” In the “Gospel” of Yochanan (John), begins with the personification of the Mesorah (Logos) who is the tool or agent of “Elohim” i.e. judgments. Hakham Shaul builds his present pericope on the triad of the Hakhamim, Hokhmah, Binah and Da’at. However, he refers to Binah as “judgments” (Elohim). These men are the “Mesorah” of G-d. Another way of stating the same thing is they who are opposed to Hokhmah, are the enemies of God.”
Dan 12:3 And they that be wise (Hakhamim)[62] will shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteous/generosity as the stars for ever and ever.
Thus, Hakhamim are the living personifications of the Mesorah. And we reiterate that those who oppose the Mesorah are enemies of G-d. For Hakham Shaul the “unsearchable riches of G-d are a reference to the Torah/Mesorah. Now the Torah is a string of and or a collection of letters. However, it initially was a shapeless idea that began in the mind of the Creator. The first, chief and principal of those thoughts being Messiah (The King of Israel). From the single thought, the entire cosmos has blossomed. From the secret source of the Torah, which issued from the first point of Messiah the cosmos is given its infinite value, i.e. unsearchable riches. The true Torah stands outside the narrative and, if it does not describe it, it prophesies it. In other words, the true Torah is the Torah that exists in the mind of the wise.
Zohar 1:31a R. Eleazar came forward first and expounded the verse: “The voice of the Lord is over the waters: The God of glory thunders, even the Lord over mighty waters” (Ps. 29:3). He said, “The voice of the Lord is the supernal voice appointed over the waters, flowing from elevation to elevation until they are all collected in one place and form one gathering.”
We will not elaborate on the So’odic meaning of this passage other than to say that waters in So’odic materials is a reference to the Gentiles. But, we will use our Remes hint to go beyond the simple meaning (Peshat) of this verse. The collections of waters can be many things in Remes. However, we will note that it is the “Voice” of the Lord upon the waters causing them to collect into specific places. From this, we understand that waters collect in specific places because the Lords voice collects them in that location. For there to be a collection of “waters” there must be a collection of G-d’s words. As such, there is a flowing of letters (i.e. the Alef-Bet) (Peshat). Then we have a flowing of words, i.e. Remes. This is followed by a string of sentences i.e. Drash. These culminate in the flow of paragraphs making chapters, books and sederim (orders).[63] Where these waters and words collect there is an immersion in the unsearchable riches of G-ds Mesorah, contained in books and sederim.
Now the meaning of Hakham Shaul’s words from the previous pericope makes sense, “they that are opposed to the Mesorah, are the enemies of God.”[64] The mystery of the Gentiles[65] (with the Nefesh Yehudi), and how their full (chosen) number will come in.[66]
Looking a bit deeper
And a river went out of Eden (Machpella – Hebron) to water the garden (Yisrael); and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.[67]
We have always looked at this verse without considering which of the four rivers is the principal river. Each river has specific allegorical meanings. What we call to attention is that a water source flows from Hebron (Machpella) even today. When doing research on the watering system of the Temple, we discovered that there is an ancient water-duct that flowed from Hebron to Har HaBayit (the Temple Mount). From here, a river (underground) flows into a valley below (South) of the Temple mount. From the location of the Temple the waters of Eden – Machpella are gathered into large pools before flowing out from there. In other word, wisdom flows from the Temple of G-d. Now we must understand that these words are allegorical. And as such, we note that the “Living Stones” of G-d are now the “Temple” of G-d. The living water within the “Living Stones” is collected in letters, words, sentences, paragraphs, chapters and books. The valley that is below the Temple is called “Gehenna (Gehennah).” If the “Living Stones” collect the waters of Eden (Machpella – the Holy forefathers) we will rescue from Gehenna (Gehennah) those souls with the Nefesh Yehudi chosen from among the nations.
Yochanan 7:38 He that is faithful to me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly will flow rivers of living water.
Lest we come to think that our discussions on the “Hakhamim” are pointed at lauding the Rabbis, we need to remember that at Har Sinai even the lowliest handmaid had exceeded the levels of the Prophets. Therefore, our point is in encouraging all our august body to become the Kallah, Bride who is occupied with the intimacies of her Lover, i.e. G-d.
It is obvious that the present pericope of Romans is an allegorical look at the unity of the seven men of the congregation as an appointed and fit offering for the unification of the congregation. For example, in Peshat there can be no such thing as a “living sacrifice.” Therefore, we must look at what Hakham Shaul is saying through the lens of allegorical speech.
Time and space will not allow us to look at the whole process of the sacrificial system of the First Century Temple. Now the animal that was to be used as a sacrifice was brought to the Bet HaMikdash through the “Mifqad Gate.” Here the number of animals was counted and tallied. Each animal was inspected to see that it met the appropriate qualifications. If the animal were free of blemish, it would be “appointed” (mifqad –associated with Paqid)[68] for sacrifice. The act of seeing one’s self as a “living sacrifice” is a mental state of sacrificing the whole mind to G-d. Only when we have achieved a perfected balance of Yetzer haTob and Yetser haRa will we see the true mysteries of G-d. This requires a mental status of “guarding” (shomer) each thought as Hakham Shaul says in his second Igeret to the Corinthians.[69] In this, we are called upon to develop and possess “Virtuous Minds.”[70]
Therefore, brethren[71] I urge you, by the mercies of God that you stand as if your bodies were a living sacrifice[72] set apart (agios) for God's service (purposes) by formal, legal restrictions and limitations accepted[73] by God, and appointed to logical service (abodah). And do not be conformed to the ideologies [and fads] of the present secular age[74] but be transformed through mental renewal,[75] for our goal is to fulfill God’s desire (delight) through logical deduction (a living sacrifice for the sake) of fulfilling God’s desire for your life which is an appropriate goal.
Mental renewal requires guarding as we have just stated.
Destroying vain speculations and every lofty thought raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are to take every thought captive bringing it into obedience to the body of Messiah[76]
Because we have are freed from the “constrictions” of Mitzrayim we must now look at those things that we have carried on our backs as pieces of Mitzrayim that keep us bound to lawlessness. The Pascal Sacrifice made it possible to open a door to freedom.
Hakham Shaul used the Greek word ἅγιος – hagios “agios” freely. This word is usually translated as “holy” etc. However, it is interesting that the Strong’s Enhanced Lexicon associates this word with…
40 ἅγιος [hagios /hag·ee·os/] adj. From hagos (an awful thing) [cf 2282]; 229 occurrences; AV translates as “holy” 161 times, “saints” 61 times, “Holy One” four times, and translated miscellaneously three times. 1 most holy thing, a saint. [77]
We have highlighted the number 2282 in the dictionary trace. But we must know that this number is not a Greek number but rather a reference to the Hebrew lexicon.
2282 חַג [chag, chag /khag/] n. m. From 2287; TWOT 602a; GK 2504 62 occurrences; AV translates as “feast” 56 times, “sacrifice” three times, “feast days” twice, and “solemnity” once. 1 festival, feast, festival-gathering, pilgrim-feast. 1a feast. 1b festival sacrifice.[78]
It would appear that the Strong’s Enhanced Lexicon is connecting to the cultic sense of the word ἅγιος – hagios. The Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Second Edition[79] makes the following association.
ⓐ in the cultic sense dedicated to God, holy, sacred, i.e. reserved for God and God’s service:[80]
While we, at present have no other evidence, we know that the Sages of Eretz Yisrael were accustomed to borrowing Greek words and their possible meanings for their use. Here we opine that this is a case in point.[81]
An animal once “appointed” as being “holy” it is “set apart (ἅγιος hagios) for God's service (purposes) by formal, legal restrictions and limitations.” Now if we look at the imagery and allegory of Hakham Shaul closely we will begin to notice what he is propounding in the second part of his pericope.
The key to “unity” in the body of Messiah is found in these final words.
Therefore, having differing favorable gifts given to us such as the “Magid” appointed and apportioned according to his (their) faithfulness (to the congregation – community). If Yesod serves, the Meturgeman teaches, the first Parnas exhorts, and the second Parnas gives while the Chazan leads (in the services) and the Masoret shows the congregation loving-kindness and mercy the body of Messiah is unified.
Hakham Shaul lists “Seven” things, personas that guard the unity of each congregation. One might say that these “Seven” characters guard (shomer) the mental integrity and real estate of that congregation. Now we have learned that Greek word order has little meaning other than those important words that are placed at the beginning and end. If we order these offices and officers correctly, the wording might be…
Appointed and apportioned according to their faithfulness (to the congregation – community)
- the Masoret shows the congregation loving-kindness and mercy
- the Chazan leads (in the services)
- the “Magid” prophesies
- the first Parnas exhorts,
- the second Parnas gives
- Yesod serves
- the Meturgeman teaches
If these officers hold and guard their place, the congregation is at unity with each other, with Messiah and with the Divine. Now if these officers are not heeded and obeyed people place themselves at risk because by their actions of dissent they consider themselves NOT to be a part of the Congregation and this is tantamount to being “cut off.’
However, when we stop to reflect on what we have learned from Hakham Shaul’s Igeret to the Romans, we note that he has laid out a set of halakhic rules that deal with how the Hebrew people of the lost tribes are given an opportunity to return. The exile has been long and arduous, but we need to persevere as we join in the task of cosmic tikun. It may take years to recover one single soul but we must be patient and tenacious all at the same time. The greatest key is found in faithful obedience to the Master and his Mesorah.
Questions for Understanding and Reflection
- From all the readings for this week, which verse or verses touched your heart and fired your imagination?
- In your opinion 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 05, 2018
Evening: Counting of the Omer Day 35
Evening Counting of the Omer Day 35
Then read the following:
|
Day of the Omer |
Ministry |
Date |
Ephesians |
Attributes |
|
35 |
Parnas 2/Moreh |
Iyar 20 |
5:11-14 |
Sincerity united with Humility |
Ephesians 5:11-14 Do not associate[82] with the fruitless works[83] of darkness, but rather reprimand[84] them. For it is a shame[85] even to mention of those things, which they do in secret.[86] But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light,[87] for light makes all things visible. Therefore he says,[88] “Wake up, sleeper![89] And arise from the dead,[90] and Messiah will shine[91] on you.”[92]
Sunday Evening May 06, 2018
Evening: Counting of the Omer Day 36
Evening Counting of the Omer Day 36
Then read the following:
|
Day of the Omer |
Ministry |
Date |
Ephesians |
Attributes |
|
36 |
Parnas 3/Masoret |
Iyar 21 |
5:15-16 |
Truth united with Chesed |
Ephesians 5:15-16 See then how your conduct (walk)[93] is (to be) in Chochmah (wisdom),[94] not as those without wisdom (fools),[95] but as wise,[96] redeeming[97] the time,[98] because the days are evil.[99]
Monday Evening May 07, 2018
Evening: Counting of the Omer Day 37
Evening Counting of the Omer Day 37
Then read the following:
|
Day of the Omer |
Ministry |
Date |
Ephesians |
Attributes |
|
37 |
Parnas 3/Chazan |
Iyar 22 |
5:17-20 |
Truth united with Reverential Awe |
Ephesians 5:17-20 Therefore, do not be like those without wisdom,[100] but hold to understanding[101] what the will[102] of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine,[103] in which is dissipation,[104] but be filled with the Mesorah,[105] speaking to one another[106] in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks (hodu) for all things[107] to God the Father in the authority of our master Yeshua HaMashiach,
Tuesday Evening May 08, 2018
Evening: Counting of the Omer Day 38
Evening Counting of the Omer Day 38
Then read the following:
|
Day of the Omer |
Ministry |
Date |
Ephesians |
Attributes |
|
38 |
Parnas 3/Darshan |
Iyar 23 |
5:21-23 |
Truth united with Compassion |
Ephesians 5:21-23 Submitting yourselves[108] to one another[109] in the reverential awe of Messiah.[110] Wives,[111] submit[112] yourselves to your own husbands,[113] as to the priest of the home.[114] For the man (husband) is principle chief (agent) before the woman (wife),[115] even as Messiah is the principle chief of the Esnoga (congregation/Synagogue); and he (Messiah and the Husband) is the guardian[116] (shomer) of the body.
Wednesday Evening May 09, 2018
Evening: Counting of the Omer Day 39
Evening: Counting of the Omer Day 39
Then read the following:
|
Day of the Omer |
Ministry |
Date |
Ephesians |
Attributes |
|
39 |
Parnas 3/Parnas 1 |
Iyar 24 |
5:24-28 |
Truth united with Confidence |
Ephesians 5:24-28 Just as the Esnoga (congregation/Synagogue) submits to Messiah,[117] so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.[118] Husbands, love[119] your wives,[120] even as Messiah also loved the Esnoga and gave himself for it,[121] that he might sanctify (set apart) and cleanse[122] it with the washing of water[123] by the Torah,[124] that he cause it to stand by[125] himself as the glorious Esnoga/Congregation, without spot or wrinkle or any such things,[126] but that it should be holy and without blame.[127] Therefore, men should follow the example of Messiah and love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
Thursday Evening May 10, 2018
Evening: Counting of the Omer Day 40
Evening Counting of the Omer Day 40
Then read the following:
|
Day of the Omer |
Ministry |
Date |
Ephesians |
Attributes |
|
40 |
Parnas 3/Parnas 2 |
Iyar 25 |
5:29-33 |
Truth united with Sincerity |
Ephesians 5:29-33 For, no man ever hates his own body,[128] rather (he) sustains and values[129] it, even as the Master loves the Congregation (of Messiah). For we are members of his body, his flesh, and of bones.[130] As it is written, “For this cause a man will leave his father and mother and will be joined to his wife, and the two of them will be one flesh.”[131] This is a profound So’od, (secret – mystery)[132] but I speak concerning Messiah and his congregation. But also let everyone of you in particular so love his wife even as himself, and the wife should defer to her own husband.
Next Sabbath:
Shabbat: “LaEleh, Techaleq” – Sabbath: “To these will be divided”
|
Shabbat |
Torah Reading: |
Weekday Torah Reading: |
|
לָאֵלֶּה, תֵּחָלֵק |
|
Saturday Afternoon |
|
Reader 1 – B’Midbar 26:52-56 |
Reader 1 – B’Midbar 27:15-17 |
|
|
Reader 2 – B’Midbar 26:57-59 |
Reader 2 – B’Midbar 27:18-20 |
|
|
“A éstos se repartirá” |
Reader 3 – B’Midbar 26:60-62 |
Reader 3 – B’Midbar 27:21-23 |
|
B’Midbar (Num.) 26:52 – 27:14 |
Reader 4 – B’Midbar 26:63-65 |
|
|
Ashlamatah: Is 57:13-19 + 58:12-14 |
Reader 5 – B’Midbar 27:1-5 |
Monday and Thursday Mornings |
|
Reader 6 – B’Midbar 27:6-11 |
Reader 1 – B’Midbar 27:15-17 |
|
|
Psalms: 105:7-11 |
Reader 7 – B’Midbar 27:12-14 |
Reader 2 – B’Midbar 27:18-20 |
|
|
Maftir – B’Midbar 27:12-14 |
Reader 3 – B’Midbar 27:21-23 |
|
Mk 11:27-33: Luke 20:1-8; Rm 12:9-21; |
Is 57:13-19 + 58:12-14 |
|
Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai
Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David
Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham