Esnoga Bet Emunah

Esnoga Bet Emunah

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Three and 1/2 year Lectionary Readings	Second Year of the Reading Cycle
Kislev 18, 5767 – December 8/9, 2006	Fifth Year of the Sh’mita Cycle

Candle Lighting and Havdalah Times

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

Friday, Dec. 8, 2006 – Candles at: 5:17 PM Friday, Dec. 8, 2006 – Candles at: 6:16 PM

Saturday, Dec. 9, 2006 – Havdalah 6:14 PM Saturday, Dec. 9, 2006 – Havdalah 7:14 PM

Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Singapore, Singapore

Friday Dec. 8, 2006 – Light Candles at 5:11 PM Friday, Dec. 8, 2006 – Candles at: 6:40 PM

Saturday, Dec. 9, 2006 – Havdalah 6:10 PM Saturday, Dec. 9, 2006 – Havdalah 7:31 PM

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

Coming Festival of Chanukah (Festival of Dedication) – December 15-23

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

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

Shabbat	Torah Reading:	Weekday Torah Reading:
נֶפֶשׁ כִּי-תֶחֱטָא
“Nefesh Ki-Techeta”	Reader 1 – Vayikra 4:1-4	Reader 1 – Vayikra 5:1-3
“When a person sins”	Reader 2 – Vayikra 4:5-7	Reader 2 – Vayikra 5:4-6
“Si alguien peca”	Reader 3 – Vayikra 4:8-12	Reader 3 – Vayikra 5:7-10
Vayikra (Lev.) 4:1-35	Reader 4 – Vayikra 4:13-21
Ashlamatah: Ezekiel 18:4-13, 32	Reader 5 – Vayikra 4:22-26
	Reader 6 – Vayikra 4:27-31	Reader 1 – Vayikra 5:11-13
Psalm 74	Reader 7 – Vayikra 4:32-35	Reader 2 – Vayikra 5:14-16
	Maftir – Vayikra 4:32-35	Reader 3 – Vayikra 5:11-16
N.C.: Matityahu 13:1-9	Ezekiel 18:4-13, 32

Roll of Honor:

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

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

We take this opportunity to wish His Honor Paqid Adon Mikha ben Hillel, a humble and studious servant of G-d, copious blessings, much wisdom, long life and good health on occasion of his birthday. From all of us Happy Birthday!

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan for: Vayikra (Leviticus) 4:1-35

RASHI	TARGUM PSEUDO JONATHAN
1 And Adonai spoke to Moshe, saying:	1 And the Lord spoke with Mosheh, saying: Speak with the sons of Israel, saying:
2 Speak to B’ne Yisrael, saying; if a person unwittingly transgresses any commandment of Adonai which should not be done and commits one of these sins.	2 When a man has sinned inadvertently against any of the commandments of the Lord (in doing) what ought not to be done, and he has done it against any one of them:
3 If the anointed kohen should sin to bring guilt on the people, he will bring for his sin which he committed a young, unblemished bullock to Adonai, as a sin-offering.	3 if the high priest who is consecrated with oil has sinned,‑as when he has offered a sin offering for the people not according to the rite, he will bring for his sin a young bullock unblemished before the Lord for a sin offering.
4 He will bring the bullock to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting before Adonai. He will lay his hand on the head of the bullock and slaughter the bullock before Adonai.	4 He will bring in the bullock to the gate of the tabernacle of ordinance, to the presence of the Lord, and lay his right hand upon the head of the bullock, and the slayer will kill the bullock before the Lord.
5 The anointed kohen will take some of the bullock's blood and bring it inside the Tent of Meeting.	5 And the high priest who is anointed with oil will take of the blood of the bullock, and carry it into the tabernacle of ordinance;
6 The kohen will dip his finger into the blood and he will sprinkle from the blood seven times, before Adonai, in front of the Holy Curtain.	6 and the priest will dip his fingers in the blood, and sprinkle the blood seven times in the presence of the Lord before the veil of the sanctuary. [JERUSALEM. And the priest will dip his fingers, and sprinkle some of the blood seven times.]
7 The kohen will put from the blood atop the corners of the spice-burning altar before Adonai, which is inside the Tent of Meeting. He will spill all the [remaining] bullock's blood into the base of the altar of the burnt-offering, which is at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.	7 And the priest will put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar of sweet incense that is before the Lord in the tabernacle of ordinance, and all the rest of the blood of the bullock he will pour out at the foundation of the altar of burnt sacrifice which is at the gate of the tabernacle of ordinance.
8 All the fat of the sin-offering bullock he will separate from it; the fat covering the innards, all the fat on the innards,	8 And all the fat of the bullock of the sin offering he will separate from him, the covering of fat which covers the inwards, even all the fat which is upon the inwards.
9 the two kidneys and the fat on them that are on the flanks. The lobe on the liver, he will remove together with the kidneys,	9 And the two kidneys, and the fat which is upon them, upon the folding, and the caul that is upon the liver, with the kidneys, he will remove.
10 in the same manner as they were separated from the ox of the peace-offering. The kohen will burn them on the altar of the burnt-offering.	10 As it was separated from the bullock of the consecrated sacrifice, so will (these things) be separated from the lambs and from the goats, and the priest will burn them upon the altar of burnt offering.
11 The bullock's skin, all its flesh with its head and feet, its innards and its waste [that is in its intestines].	11 And all the skin of the bullock, and his flesh with his head and with his legs, and his inward parts and his dung,
12 He will take out the entire bullock beyond the encampment, to a pure [undefiled] place, where the ashes are thrown and burn it on logs, in a fire. It will be burned where the ashes are thrown.	12 the whole of the bullock he will carry forth into a clean place without the camp, to a place where the cinders are poured out, and will burn him with wood in the fire, at the place where cinders are poured out will he be burned.
13 If the entire congregation of Yisrael erred and the matter [that error] was concealed from the eyes of the community, and they did [transgress] one of the commandments of Adonai that should not be done, they incur guilt.	13 And if the whole congregation of Israel have erred, and the thing has been hidden from the sight of the congregation in doing inadvertently against one of the commandments of the Lord what was not right to be done, and (thus) have sinned;
14 [When] they realize the sin which they committed, the community will bring a young bullock as a sin-offering and they will bring it to the front of the Tent of Meeting.	14 and the sin which they have sinned be made known to them; the congregation will offer a young bullock as a sin offering, and will bring him before the tabernacle of ordinance.
15 The elders of the congregation will lay their hands on the head of the bullock, before Adonai and he will slaughter the bullock before Adonai.	15 And twelve of the elders of the congregation, the counselors (amarkelin) appointed over the twelve tribes, will lay their hands firmly upon the head of the bullock, and the slayer will kill the bullock before the Lord.
16 The anointed kohen will bring some of the bullock's blood inside the Tent of Meeting.	16 And the high priest will carry some of the blood of the bullock into the tabernacle of ordinance.
17 The kohen will dip his finger into some of the blood and sprinkle [it] seven times before Adonai, in front of the curtain.	17 And the priest will dip his finger into the blood, and sprinkle some thereof seven times in the presence of the Lord before the veil;
18 He will put some of the blood atop the corners of the altar which is before Adonai, inside the Tent of Meeting. He will spill all the [remaining] blood into the base of the altar of the burnt-offering, which is at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.	18 and he will put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar that is before the Lord within the tabernacle of ordinance, and all the (residue of the) blood he will pour out at the foundation of the altar of burnt offering which is at the door of the tabernacle of ordinance.
19 He will remove all its fat from it and burn it on the altar.	19 And all the fat he will separate from him, and burn at the altar.
20 He will do to the bullock [the same] as he did to the sin-offering bullock, so he will do to it. The kohen will atone for them and they will be pardoned.	20 And he will do with the bullock as he did with the bullock for the sin of the high priest, so will he do with him. And the priest will atone for them, and it will be forgiven them.
21 He will take the bullock outside, beyond the encampment, and burn it in the same manner as he burned the first bullock; it is a communal sin-offering.	21 And the bullock will be carried forth without the camp and be burned, as the former bullock of the high priest was burned, that through it the sin of Israel may be forgiven. It is a sin offering for the congregation.
22 If a leader sins, [who] transgresses one of the commandments of Adonai, his G-d, that should not be done, [if he transgressed] unwittingly and incurs guilt.	22 At what time the ruler of his people will have sinned, and done against any of the commandments of the Lord his God that which ought not to have been done, and he has sinned through ignorance;
23 Or, [if his sin] becomes known to him--- [that] which he committed. He will bring as his offering an unblemished, male goat.	23 if his sin that he has sinned be made known to him, he will bring for his oblation a kid of the goats, a male, unblemished;
24 He will lay his hand on the goat's head and slaughter it in the place where the burnt-offering is slaughtered, before Adonai; it is a sin-offering.	24 and he will lay his right band firmly upon the bead of the goat, and the slayer will kill him at the place of the sacrifice of the burnt offering before the Lord. It is a sin offering.
25 The kohen will take some blood of the sin-offering with his finger and put it atop the corners of the altar of the burnt-offering. He will spill its [remaining] blood into the base of the altar of the burnt-offering.	25 And the priest will take of the blood of the sin offering upon his finger, and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt sacrifice, and be will pour out the blood at the foundation of the altar of burnt sacrifice.
26 He will burn all its fat on the altar as [he burned] the fat of the peace-offering. The kohen will atone for him, for his transgression and he will be pardoned.	26 And all the fat he will burn at the altar, as was the fat of the sanctified oblations; and the priest will atone for him on account of his sin, and it will be forgiven him.
27 If a person should unwittingly sin [and he is] one of the ordinary people, by transgressing one of the commandments of Adonai that should not be done and he incurs guilt,	27 And if a man of the people of the land sin through ignorance in doing (against) one of the commandments of the Lord what was not right to do, and he has sinned;
28 or, if his sin becomes known to him--- which he committed. He will bring [as] his offering an unblemished she-goat for his sin which he committed.	28 if his sin that he has sinned be made known to him, he will bring for his oblation an unblemished female of the goats for the sin that he has sinned;
29 He will lay his hand on the head of the sin-offering and slaughter the sin-offering in the [same] place as the burnt-offering.	29 and he will lay his right hand on the head of the sin offering and kill the sin offering at the place of burnt sacrifice;
30 The kohen will take from its blood with his finger and put it atop the corners of the altar of the burnt-offering. He will spill all the [remaining] blood into the base of the altar.	30 and the priest will take of the blood with his fingers and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt sacrifice, and pour out all the blood at the foundation of the altar.
31 He will remove all its fat in the same manner as was removed the fat from the peace-offering. The kohen will burn it on the altar as a pleasing fragrance to Adonai. And the kohen will atone for him and he will be pardoned.	31 And he will remove all her fat, as the fat of the consecrated sacrifices was taken off, and the priest will burn it at the altar, to be received with acceptance before the Lord; and the priest will atone for him, and he will be forgiven.
32 If he brings a sheep as his offering as a sin-offering, he will bring an unblemished female.	32 But if he bring a lamb as his offering for sin, he will bring a female, unblemished;
33 He will lay his hand on the head of the sin-offering and slaughter it as a sin-offering, in the [same] place where he slaughters the burnt-offering.	33 and lay his right hand on the head of the sin offering, and kill it as an oblation for sin, at the place of burnt sacrifice.
34 The kohen will take some blood from the sin-offering with his finger and put it atop the corners of the altar of the burnt-offering. He will spill all its [remaining] blood into the base of the altar.	34 And the priest will take of the blood of the sin offering, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt sacrifice, and pour out all the blood at the foundation of the altar.
35 He will remove all its fat in the same manner as was removed the fat of the lamb of the peace-offering. The kohen will burn them on the altar on the fires of Adonai. The kohen will atone for him, for his sin which he committed and he will be pardoned.	35 And all the fat he will remove, as the fat of the lamb of the sanctified victims was removed, and the priest will burn it at the altar with the oblations of the Lord, and the priest will make atonement for him on account of the sin that he has sinned, and it will be forgiven him.

Midrash Tanchuma (S. Buber Recension) for Vayikra (Leviticus) 4:1-35

1.8 Leviticus 4:1 ff, Part I

(Lev. 4:1-2) And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying: Speak unto the children of Israel, saying: When a soul sins [by mistake] ... Let our master instruct us: Is it right for one to enter the Temple mount with his staff or his money girdle? Thus have our masters taught (in Berakhot 9:5): ONE MAY NOT ENTER THE TEMPLE MOUNT WITH HIS STAFF, HIS MONEY GIRDLE, OR WITH DUST ON HIS FEET (cf. Eccl. R. 4:17:1; Markos (Gospel of Mark) 11:16; Josephus, Contra Apionem 8:106; Berakhot 62a) lest he treat it with disrespect, even in its destruction. The Holy One said (in Lev. 26:2): “You will keep my Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary: I am the Lord.” And what was the reason for comparing keeping the Sabbath with the Sanctuary? Thus did R. Hiyya the Great teach: Just as keeping the Sabbath is forever so is reverence for the Sanctuary forever. Now Solomon cried Out (in Eccl. 3:16): “To the place of justice, thither [came] wickedness/lawlessness.” Solomon was observing how the wicked/lawless subverted justice in the Sanctuary. Solomon said: The place where the Sanhedrin sat to judge criminal law, [civil law,] decisions on scourgings, and decisions on clean and unclean, there they defiled it. See what is written (in Jer. 39:3): “Then all the officers of the king of Babylon came and sat in the middle gate Negral-Sarezer, Samgar-Nebo, Sarsechim the Rab Saris, Nergal-Sarezer the Rab-Mag ...” (Lam. 5:18) “Because of Mount Zion, which lies desolate, the jackals walk over it.” The Holy One said to him: You name those entering, but you do not name those leaving. (Eccl. 3:16) “To the place of justice, thither [came] wickedness/lawlessness” (Lam, 2:20:) “Should priest and prophet be salin in the Sanctuary of the Lord?” Here is the blood of Zechariah shed on the stones (cf. Matityahu (Matthew) 23:35; Lukas (Luke) 11:51), as stated (in Ezek. 24:7): “For her blood was in her midst; she set it upon bare rock.”

1.9 Leviticus 4:l ff, Part II

Another interpretation (of Eccl. 3:16): “To the place of justice, thither [came] wickedness/lawlessness.” This is the central gate in which the Great Sanhedrin sat. “Thither [came] wickedness/lawlessness.” (Lam. 2:9:) “Her gates have sunk into the ground.” The Holy One said (in Eccl. 3:16): “To the place of justice, thither [came] wickedness/lawlessness.” There was one place for the Righteous/Generous One of the World, the Holy Temple, which was set apart for the Divine Presence. Then Manasseh wronged it, and brought an image into its midst.

Another interpretation (of Eccl. 3:16): “To the place of justice,” The Holy One said: I created the soul, and it is delivered into My hand, [as stated] (in Job 12:10): “In whose hand is every living soul.” And justice also is delivered into My hand, as stated (in Deut. 32:41): “My hand lays hold on justice.” But I did not deliver the soul to judgment. Rather <it is in My hand> that it might see what is fitting for it and not sin; yet it does sin. (Eccl. 3:16:) “Thither [came] wickedness/lawlessness,” for the soul is placed next to the judgment.

1.10 Leviticus 4:1 ff, Part III

(Lev. 4:2:) “When a soul sins <by mistake>.” This text is related (to Proverbs 19:2): “Also a soul without knowledge is not good, [and one who hastens with the feet is a sinner].” When someone sins, even by mistake, it is not a good sign for him. How so? There were two stores before him, one belonging to a star worshiper and one belonging to Israel. He entered the one belonging to the star worshiper. He entered deliberately. He is called a sinner, as stated (in Prov. 19:2): “and one who hastens with the feet is a sinner.”

Rav Isaac bar Samuel bar Martha said: There were two ways before him, one long and one short. The short one was full of pebbles, but the long one did not have a pebble in it. He left the long one and went by the short one on the Sabbath. Concerning him it was stated (in Prov. 19:2): “and one who hastens with the feet is a sinner.”

Our masters have taught (in Abot. 4:2): “One good leads to another, and one transgression leads to another.” A person should not worry about a sin which he commits by mistake, but rather that an opening has been made for him to sin, whether by mistake or deliberately. Moreover, one should not rejoice over a good deed which comes to him (for fulfillment), but rather that many good deeds are going to come to him (cf. Abot 4:2 – “the recompense for a good deed is a good deed.”). Therefore, if one has sinned by mistake, this is not a good sign. How much the more so if he sins deliberately! About him it has been stated (in Prov. 19:2): “and one who hastens with the feet is a sinner.” So also (in Prov. 6:16-19): “Six things the Lord hates ... : Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, ... Feet quick to run to evil, <....>” This refers to Ahab ben Kolaiah and Zedekiah ben Maaseiah (the false prophets of Jer. 29:21-23), who sinned in Jerusalem (cf. Sanhedrin 93a). And that was not enough for them, but after they had gone into exile in Babylon, they added to their sin. And what had they done in Jerusalem? They were false prophets. Moreover, they did not forsake their trade in Babylon. Now they would pimp for each other. Ahab would go to visit <one of> the great ones in the kingdom and would say to him: I am so-and-so, a prophet. The Holy One has sent me to say something to your wife. Then he would say to him: Here she is before you, Go on in. When he was alone with her, he would say to her: The Holy One wants to raise up prophets from you. Simply go, have intercourse with Zedekiah, and give birth to prophets from him. So he would come and have intercourse with her. Then Zedekiah would similarly pimp for Ahab. And this was their trade for several years. Come and see how wicked they were. They gave themselves a reputation in Babylon for being great prophets. When some woman became pregnant and saw one of them, she would say to him, O Prophet, what is in my womb? A male or a female? He would say: A male. Then he would go to her neighbors and say: So-and-so will bear a female. If she bore a male, she would say: So-and-so, the prophet, told me. If it was a female, the neighbors would say: Thus did so-and-so, the prophet, tell us; but he did not want to worry you. Now they acted in this way until they came to Shemirah, the wife of Nebuchadnezzar. Zedekiah said to her. Thus says the Lord: Inform Ahab … What caused these wicked men to be burned? It was because they ran with their feet after transgressions. It is therefore stated (in Prov. 19:2): “and one who hastens with the feet is a sinner.” Nevertheless (ibid.) “Also a soul without knowledge is not good.” Therefore, the Holy One said to Moses: Say unto Israel (in Lev. 4:2) “When a soul sins <by mistake>.”

1.11 Leviticus 4:1 ff, Part IV

(Lev. 4:2:) “When a soul sins <by mistake>.” Is it the soul that sins? The Scripture verse (Eccl. 3:16) says: “To the place of justice (tsedeq), thither <came> wickedness/lawlessness.” “The place” is <the source of> the soul, which has been given out of righteousness/generosity (tsedeq), <i.e.> out of a place where there is no iniquity/lawlessness or sin. <When> it does sin, the Scripture verse (Lev. 4:2) cries out in surprise: “When a soul sins <by mistake>!” (Eccl. 3:16:) “To the place of justice (tsedeq), thither <came> wickedness/lawlessness.” To what is the matter comparable? To two children of Adam who sinned against the king. One was a country bumpkin, and one a person from the palace. <When> he saw that both of them had committed a single offense, he released the country bumpkin but rendered a <guilty> verdict against the person from the palace. His palace people said to him: Both of them committed a single offense; <yet> you released the country bumpkin <and> gave a verdict against the person from the palace.

He said to them: I released the country bumpkin because he did not know the laws of the kingdom, but the person from the palace is with me every day and knows what the laws of the kingdom are. Now for the one close to me who sinned, [what verdict] will be pronounced against him? So also the body is a country bumpkin. (Gen. 2:7:) “The Lord formed the human [out of dust from the ground}.” But the soul is a palace person from above. (Ibid., cont.:) “And blew into his nostrils the breath of life.” Yet both of them sinned. Why? Because it impossible for the body to exist without the soul. Thus, if there is no soul, there is no body, and if there is no body, there is no soul. So both of them sinned. (Ezek. 18:20:) “The soul that sins will die.” Therefore the scripture verse (Lev. 4:2) cries out in surprise: “When a soul sins by mistake <against any of the Lord’s commandments>!” What is the significance of “by mistake against any of the Lord’s commandments?” <It is> to teach you that, when anyone sins “by mistake,” [it is as if] one transgresses against “The Lord’s commandments.” And so it says (in Numb. 15:22): “And when you sin unintentionally and do not fulfill all these commandments ,,,” [So also David has said (in Ps. 19:13—14 [12—13]): “Who can discern mistakes? Cleanse me from hidden faults”]. “Also restrain Your servant from willful sins …, And I will be clean of great transgression,” <i.e.> from the great sin which I have committed. But if You do so act (Ps. 19:15 [14]:), “Let the words of my mouth <and the meditations of my heart> be acceptable <before You>.” From here you learn that everyone who sins, even by mistake, is called a sinner. Our masters have said: A mistake in study is accounted as willful sin. It is therefore written (in Lev. 4:2:) “When a soul sins”. <It is> because it is from above that “a person (adam)” is not written here.

1.12 Leviticus 4:1 ff, Part V

In the world to come the Holy One will bring in the soul and say to it: Why have you transgressed against the commandments? Then it will say: The body transgressed against the commandments. From the day that I left it, have I ever sinned? <Then> he will go back and say to the body: For what reason did you transgress the commandments? It will say to him: The soul sinned. Since the soul left me, have I ever sinned? What will the Holy One do? He will bring them both in and judge them as one. To what is the matter comparable? To a king who had an orchard in which were grapes, figs, pomegranates, and early-ripening figs. The king said (to himself): If I post someone there who can see and walk, he will eat the early-ripening figs for himself. He <therefore> posted two guards, one lame and one blind. They stayed and watched the orchard. They smelled the early-ripening figs. The lame one said to the blind one: I see lovely early-ripening figs in the orchard. Come and give me a ride, so we can get them and eat them. The lame one rode upon the back of the blind one, so that he got them, and they ate them. One day the king came. He wanted the early-ripening figs, but he did not find any. He said to the blind one: Did you eat them? He said to him: Do I have any eyes? He said to the lame one: Have you eaten them? He said: Do I have any feet? He <therefore> mounted the lame person on the blind person’s back and judged them as one. So the Holy One will take a spirit and toss it into a body, as stated (in Ps. 50:4): “He summoned the heavens above,” i.e., the soul; (ibid., cont.:) “and the earth to judge His people,” i.e., the body. So David foresaw how the Holy One would judge his creatures. He began to seek mercy for his soul. He said: Master of the World, when you judge your creatures, do not judge me like them. [(Ps. 143:2): “And do not enter into judgment with Your servant, for no one living will be justified before You.]” Rather act justly with me, as stated (in Ps. 17:15): “As for me, I will behold Your face in justice.” The Holy One said: In this world because the evil drive rules in them. You have sinned, but in the world to come I will root it out from you, as stated (in Ezek. 36:26): I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”

Ketubim Targum Psalm 74

1. A good lesson, composed by Asaph. Why, O God, have You moved far off forever? [Why] will your anger be fierce against the flock of your pasture?

2. Remember Your congregation that You acquired of old; You redeemed from Egypt the tribes of Your inheritance, this same Mount Zion on which You made Your presence to abide.

3. Lift up your footsteps to dissolve the nations forever, for the enemy with all his strength has done harm in the holy place.

4. Your oppressors cry out in the midst of Your assemblies; they have set up their standards as signs.

5. He will strike with a hammer like a man who lifts up his hand against a wood thicket to cut it with axes.

6. But now they pull down its carvings together; they pound with the hatchet and the two-edged chisel as if with mallets.

7. They have burned the sanctuary to the ground with fire; they have defiled the tabernacle in which Your name is uttered.

8. Their children spoke in their hearts together; their fathers burned all the assemblies of God in the land.

9. We have not seen our signs that the prophets gave us; there are no longer any prophets and we have none with us who knows how long.

10. How long, O God, will the oppressor show disdain? Will the enemy reject Your name forever?

11. Why will You withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand, from redeeming? Take it out of Your bosom and do away with oppression.

12. But God is the king, whose holy presence is from of old, one who carries out redemption in the midst of the land.

13. You cut off the waters of the sea by Your power; You broke the heads of the sea serpents, and drowned the Egyptians at the sea.

14. You shattered the heads of Pharaoh’s warriors; You handed them over for destruction to the people of the house of Israel, and their corpses to jackals.

15. You split the spring from the rock and it became a stream; you dried up the ford of the streams of the Arnon and the ford of the Jabbok and the Jordan, which were so powerful.

16. Yours is the day-time, Yours, too, is the night; You have made firm the moon and sun.

17. You set up all the boundaries of the earth; summer and winter, You created them.

18. Remember this, the enemy, slanderer of the Lord, and the foolish people who have rejected Your name.

19. Do not deliver the souls of those who teach Your Torah to the Gentiles, who are likened to beasts of the field; do not forget the lives of Your poor forever.

20. Look at the covenant that You made with our fathers, for their children are finished off; darkness is spread over the land, and fraud, and violence.

21. The pauper will not return ashamed; the poor and lowly will praise Your name.

22. Arise, O God; argue Your case; call to mind the disgrace of Your people because of foolish counsel all the day.

23. Do not forget the voice of Your oppressors, the turmoil, always mounting, of those who stand against You.

Ketubim Midrash Psalm 74

I. Maschil of Asaph. O God, why have You cast us off for ever? Why does Your anger smoke against the flock of Your pasture? Remember Your congregation which You did make Your own of old (Ps. 74:1-2). Elsewhere, this is what Scripture says: Remember me, and think of me, and avenge me of my persecutors; take me not away in Your long-suffering (Jer. 15:15). You are long-suffering, as is said “You, O Lord, are

long-suffering” (Ps. 86:15), while we that are born of woman are short of patience, as is said “Man that is born of woman is of few days and full of anger” (Job 14:1). But if You let us suffer too long, nothing will be left of us, and we will die.

So, too, Asaph said, O God, why have You cast us off for ever? And he continued, “Why does the smoke of Your anger rise up even now about Your presence?” Why does Your anger smoke against the flock of Your pasture? That is, “Why do You hide Your face from me like a man that hides his face from the smoke?” And again Asaph asked: How long will You smoke against the prayer of Your people (Ps. 80:5), Your people, that is, the sheep of Your pasture whom You have forgotten?

Remember Your congregation, which You did make Your own of old (Ps. 74:2). What does the phrase of old prove? That before the world was created, the Holy One, blessed be He, had made the children of Israel His own, as is said Lord, You have been our dwelling-place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, for ever You have formed the earth and the world (Ps. 90:1—2).

II. Restore Your times which have long been desolate, ever since the enemy wrought destruction in the sanctuary (Ps. 74:3). Restore Your times, the times of those pilgrimages which You did command of us, saying: “Three times in a year will all your males appear before the Lord your God in the place which He will choose” (Deut. 16:16). Behold now how Your three times have been made desolate!

Your adversaries made a roaring noise in the midst of Your Temple (Ps. 74:4). R. Joshua ben Levi quoted: A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the Temple (Isa. 66:6) – that is, the destroyed Temple lifted its voice in menace of Your adversaries. And what was its menace? Hear the voice of the Lord that renders recompense to His enemies (ibid.).

They read the signs of their divinations (Ps. 74:4) and declared, “On such and such a day, we shall conquer Jerusalem!” They read signs in the flight of arrows, for when they shot an arrow to the north, it flew to the south [toward Jerusalem], as is said For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, to use divination: he shot his arrows, he consulted with images, he looked in the liver (Ezek. 2I:26). And every divination they tried augured that they would prosper. Hence it is said They read the signs of their divinations.

Nevertheless, the enemies felt no gratitude toward God, for they said, Our high hand, and not the Lord, has done all this (Deut. 32:27). Indeed, could they have broken into the heavens and risen against God on high, they would have done so. As the Psalm says, It seemed as if they were wielding axes at the top of a thicket of trees (Ps. 74:5)—that is, as though they were breaking a way to the very top of heaven. Indeed, this was not the end of it. For they acted in just the way their ancestors had acted, who said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name (Gen. 11:4)—that is, make us an idol. Name has this same sense in “And make no mention of the name of other gods” (Ex. 23:13), and also in “Then began men to call themselves by the name of the Lord” (Gen. 4:26). Thus act the wicked who “imagine a mischievous device which they are not able to perform” (Ps. 21:12). And so the generation of confusion set a precedent for them. And mark what they did! As the Psalm says, Now they break down the carved work thereof with hatchet and hammers (Ps. 74:6). They sought to break a way to heaven and could not; therefore, they made war against You on earth.

III. They have cast fire into Your sanctuary, they have defiled the dwelling place of Your name on earth (Ps. 74:7). Your dwelling place is in heaven, and Your dwelling place is also on earth. But because the enemies could not use their power against Your dwelling place in heaven, they used it against Your dwelling place on earth.

In Their descendants all together, said—(Ps. 74:8), whose descendants are meant? The descendants of the generation of confusion, all of whom together were following the design of their ancestors. And what did they say? They said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance (Ps. 83:5). How is their God called? Is He not called the God of Israel? Therefore, if we root up Israel, the name of the God of Israel will be no more in remembrance.

They have burned up all the meeting-places of God on earth (Ps. 74:8), that is, burned up the places where God met the children of Israel for prayer that they might hallow His name and proclaim Him Sovereign over them.

In We see not our signs; there is no more any prophet (Ps. 74:9), the reference is to that sign which You have promised in the verse, “Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the uttermost parts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travails with child together” (Jer. 31:7), and the reference is also to that sign of which it is written “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger of good tidings that says unto Zion: ‘Your God reigns!’” (Isa. 52:7). The sense of There is no more any prophet (Ps. 74:9) is like the sense of “The days are prolonged, and every vision fails” (Ezek. 12:22). Neither is there among us any that knows how long (Ps. 74:9); this has the same sense as “For these things I weep ... the comforter is far from me” (Lam. 1:16): we have no prophet who knows anything at all that can restore our spirits, for everything is shut up before us, as is said Shut up the words, and seal the book (Dan. 12:4). Hence, if You will not act for our sake, act for the sake of Your great name which is reproached and blasphemed in the world, as it is said O God, how long will the adversary reproach? Will the enemy blaspheme Your name for ever? (Ps. 74:10).

Ashlamatah: Ezekiel 18:4-13, 32

4 Behold, all souls are Mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is Mine; the soul that sins, it will die.

5 But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right,

6 and has not eaten upon the mountains, neither has lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither has defiled his neighbor's wife, neither has come near to a woman in her impurity;

7 and has not wronged any, but has restored his pledge for a debt, has taken nothing by robbery, has given his bread to the hungry, and has covered the naked with a garment;

8 he that has not given forth upon interest, neither has taken any increase, that has withdrawn his hand from iniquity, has executed true justice between man and man,

9 has walked in My statutes, and has kept Mine ordinances, to deal truly; he is just, he will surely live, says the Lord GOD.

10 If he begets a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that does to a brother any of these things,

11 whereas he himself had not done any of these things, for he has even eaten upon the mountains, and defiled his neighbor's wife,

12 has wronged the poor and needy, has taken by robbery, has not restored the pledge, and has lifted up his eyes to the idols, has committed abomination,

13 has given forth upon interest, and has taken increase; will he then live? He will not live--he has done all these abominations; he will surely be put to death, his blood will be upon him.

14 Now, lo, if he begets a son, that sees all his father's sins, which he has done, and considers, and does not such like,

15 that has not eaten upon the mountains, neither has lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, has not defiled his neighbor's wife,

16 neither has wronged any, has not taken aught to pledge, neither has taken by robbery, but has given his bread to the hungry, and has covered the naked with a garment,

17 that has withdrawn his hand from the poor, that has not received interest nor increase, has executed Mine ordinances, has walked in My statutes; he will not die for the iniquity/lawlessness of his father, he will surely live.

18 As for his father, because he cruelly oppressed, committed robbery on his brother, and did that which is not good among his people, behold, he dies for his iniquity/lawlessness.

19 Yet you say: Why does not the son bear the iniquity/lawlessness of the father with him? When the son has done that which is lawful and right, and has kept all My statutes, and has done them, he will surely live.

20 The soul that sins, it will die; the son will not bear the iniquity/lawlessness of the father with him, neither will the father bear the iniquity of the son with him; the righteousness/generosity of the righteous/generous will be upon him, and the wickedness/lawlessness of the wicked/lawless will be upon him. {S}

21 But if the wicked/lawless turn from all his sins that he has committed, and keep all My statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he will surely live, he will not die.

22 None of his transgressions that he has committed will be remembered against him; for his righteousness/generosity that he has done he will live.

23 Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked/lawless should die? says the Lord GOD; and not rather that he should return from his ways, and live? {S}

24 But when the righteous/generous turns away from his righteousness/generosity, and commits iniquity/lawlessness, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked/lawless man does, will he live? None of his righteous/generous deeds that he has done will be remembered; for his trespass that he trespassed, and for his sin that he has sinned, for them will he die.

25 Yet you say: The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel: Is it My way that is not equal? Is it not your ways that are unequal?

26 When the righteous/generous man turns away from his righteousness/generosity, and commits iniquity/lawlessness, he will die therefore; for his iniquity/lawlessness that he has done will he die. {S}

27 Again, when the wicked/lawless man turns away from his wickedness/lawlessness that he has committed, and does that which is lawful and right, he will save his soul alive.

28 Because he considers, and turns away from all his transgressions that he has committed, he will surely live, he will not die.

29 Yet says the house of Israel: The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, is it My ways that are not equal? Is it not your ways that are unequal?

30 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, says the Lord GOD. Return, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so shall they not be a stumbling-block of iniquity/lawlessness unto you.

31 Cast away from you all your transgressions, wherein you have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit; for why will you die, O house of Israel?

32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dies, says the Lord GOD; wherefore turn yourselves, and live. {P}

Midrash of Matityahu (Matthew) 13:1-9

¶ In that same day Yeshuah went out of the house and returned to the bank of Yam Kineret.
But such great crowds gathered about him that he got into a Galil-class boat, while all the crowds stood on the shore.
And he told them many things in parables, saying, Look, a farmer went out to sow
And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the way, and the birds came and ate those seeds.
And a few of the same seeds fell on rocky ground, where there wasn’t any moisture, and those seeds dried up.
Some of the seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them out.
And a few of those seeds fell on fertile soil, and its yield was received:-
some a hundred times as much as was sown, some sixty times as much, and some thirty
Whoever has ears, will hear the meaning.

The Rabbi’s Private Prophetic Study

The Torah Seder for this week open with the words: נֶפֶשׁ כִּי-תֶחֱטָא בִשְׁגָגָה – “Nefesh Ki-Techeta BiSh’Gagah” – “When a soul will sin inadvertently.” The expression “NEFESH” includes the body and invisible life-force. When G-d began to create man in Genesis 2:7, the Torah writes: “Then Ha-Shem G-d formed man of the dust of the soil;” and afterwards the Torah adds: “and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life;” and the result being: “וַיְהִי הָאָדָם, לְנֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה – VaY’hi Ha-Adam L’Nefesh Chayah - and man became a living soul.” In other words the word “Adam” means “a perfect combination of body and spirit.” The word “HaNefesh” just as the word “HaAdam” refers to a perfect combination of body and spirit. Therefore, we must understand and appreciate that whatever reward or punishment G-d metes out He metes out to both body and spirit. Thus if G-d punishes someone to have pain in their body, such a person will also have equal pain in his soul. Whilst alive, mind in body are inseparable and what happens to one has equal repercussions on the other.

This is alluded in the parable of the sower quoted by the Master of Nazareth, when understood in its Hebraic setting. In Matityahu 13:23 – the English Bibles read:

“But that sown on the good ground is this: the one hearing the Word, and understanding it, who indeed bears and yields fruit, one truly a hundredfold, and one sixty, and one thirty.”

But the Hebrew Gospel of Matityahu reads:

“That which fell into the fertile earth is the one who hears the word and understands it and makes fruit, that is from good works. He brings forth from the first a hundred, from the second sixty, and from the third thirty. As for the hundred, this the one purified of heart and sanctified of body. As for the sixty, this is the one from the wife’s separations. As for the thirty, this is the one sanctified in matrimony, in body and in heart.”

That is, according to this parable, there are three stages of producing good and acceptable fruit:

The 30 % - those who eagerly and habitually labor to have a successful marriage.

The 60 % - those who eagerly and habitually labor to have a successful marriage and faithfully observe the laws of family purity.

The 100 % - those who eagerly and habitually labor to have both purity of body and mind (i.e. body and spirit).

Of course, this parable alike the introductory words to our Torah Seder goes to the heart of excessive asceticism – of those who believe they are to be totally separate to G-d without any responsibility for a family. The parable is saying that the starting point for a walk with G-d starts with the formation of a family and working out eagerly and habitually to make it a successful marriage, the comes the second step with the laws of family purity, and then, and only then, can a person venture to attain purity of body and mind according to the rules set forth in Written and Oral Torah.

Perfect religion therefore starts with the marriage. If the marriage is not working, then the soil in that couple is not fertile to receive the word of G-d and produce the fruit that is acceptable to G-d.

From this key perspective, i.e. that the soul and body form a total whole greater than the sum of its parts, we can see the vital and important implications of sex. Since the body with the spirit is nothing, and vice versa, sex then must be understood both as a physical and equally spiritual activity. Many religions, unlike Judaism, separate the physical from the spiritual, but the Scriptures clearly teach that all that is physical is simply a mirror of the spiritual, and all that is spiritual is simply a mirror of the physical.

This why Hakham Shaul teaches in 1 Corinthians 6:16-18 –

“1Co 6:16 {Or} do you not know that the one joined to the prostitute is one body [with her]? For He says, "They will be-the two-into one flesh [or, The two will become one flesh]" [Gen 2:24].

1Co 6:17 But the one joined to the Lord is one spirit [with Him].

1Co 6:18 Be fleeing the sexual sin! Every sin, whichever a person commits, is outside of the body, but one committing sexual sin sins against his own body.” :

Now note, carefully what is being taught, Hakham Shaul says that if a man sleeps with a prostitute, then he become one with her – i.e. he partakes of all of her sins. In the same way we can therefore say that a man that is joined to G-d, partakes of all the righteousness/generosity of G-d. So then, when a husband has sex with his wife, all the wife’s sins are transferred to the husband, for as he becomes one with her, he partakes of her sins.

Therefore, when a man prays, he must not only pray for forgiveness of his sins, but also of those of his wife. That is why Jewish man have a Tallith (prayer mantle) in the form of a tent – to remind him that he stands before G-d as a priest for his household, as well as to remind him that he is praying as a member of the congregation of the first-born who are the mediators (priests) between G-d and their households.

Thus, Hakham Shaul continues teaching:

1Co 7:1 Now concerning [the things] of which you wrote to me: [it is] good for a man not to be touching a woman [sexually] [Oh you Corinthian hypocrites].

1Co 7:2 Because of such sexual sins, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband.

1Co 7:3 Let the husband be rendering [and heaping] the affection being owed to the wife, and likewise also the wife to the husband.

1Co 7:4 The wife does not have control [or, authority] over her own body, but the husband; and, likewise also the husband does not have control over his own body, but the wife.

1Co 7:5 Stop depriving one another, except by mutual consent for a time [when the wife is menstruant], so that you will be devoting yourselves to [or, having free time for] fasting and prayer, and [when she becomes clean] again to the same be coming together, lest Satan be tempting you because of your lack of self-control.

It becomes then clear then that we do not make a division between the physical and the spiritual, since they are mutual reflections of one another. And as our Torah Seder concludes the NEFESH, that is the perfect union of the body and the spirit is the one who can only sin, mediate, and receive forgiveness. For the body alone can’t sin nor the spirit alone can sin, and in the same vein neither can the body alone do a good deed, nor the spirit alone can do a good deed, but only the NEFESH can!

Our Torah Seder continues with the topic about G-d’s demand for exactitude. The Spanish Rabbi Bachya ben Asher (Zaragoza, 1255) comments on Leviticus 4:3 as follows:

“If the High Priest becomes guilty of sin … ” (Leviticus 4:3). The list of sinners mentioned in this chapter proceeds in the following order: (1) The High Priest, (2) High Court (collectively) – i.e. the Sanhedrin, (3) The King, (4) the common people. The reason the Torah commences with the High Priest is that he is an outstanding individual (Joshua 14:15) comparable to “an angel of the Lord” (Malachi 2:7). When the people observe that even the High Priest has to bring a sin-offering they will be careful to return to G-d in repentance themselves. They will be encouraged when they see the High Priest bringing such an offering, reasoning that if G-d is willing to forgive the trespasses of even such an highly placed individual as the High Priest, He would most certainly be willing to forgive ordinary people for their trespasses against Him. It is a well known fact that G-d relates more severely to people of distinction who become guilty of sin than He does to ordinary individuals. This is why Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 1:8 – that “the amount of (G-d’s) anger is determined by the degree of wisdom (of the sinner).” The more wisdom one possesses the less forgivable is one’s sin. The best example in Scripture of the truth of this statement is Moses who was punished grievously for committing an error when striking the rock instead of speaking to it (Numbers 20:12).

One must totally agree with this proposition, and even note that the Justice of G-d is exacting beyond measure, for the sins here be spoken of are those being committed unwittingly. Therefore driving the point that G-d demands precision and exactitude from his servants, being accountable and punishable even for sins committed unwittingly! On the other hand, and for the sake of equity, G-d is also exceedingly generous in the rewards stored for His servants for all the good they do and have done, far beyond the exactitude of His justice, for of whom much is demanded, also greater is the reward.

We truly are seeds that G-d has planted on this earth. It is up to us to bring as much fruit as possible from all the gifts and resources that G-d has bestowed upon us. That is why it is so important to take some time out to reflect seriously where we lack in fruit and what we will do to remedy this situation. Nothing this, that he/she who judges himself/herself regularly and fairly has a better chance to produce more abundant and better fruit. This is why prayer in Hebrew is called “the work of the heart” for more than asking things from G-d it also pursues self-judgment.

May G-d, most blessed be He, help us together with all of our most noble people Yisrael to be disiciples of the wise, to be of that seed that produces 100 % - those who eagerly and habitually labor to have both purity of body and mind (i.e. body and spirit), amen ve amen!

Shalom Shabbat!

Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai