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

His Excellency Adon Robert Dick & beloved wife HE Giberet Cobena Dick

His Excellency Adon Aviner ben Abraham and beloved wife HE Giberet Chagit bat Sarah

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!

 

Please pray for your local Rabbi and this work that they may be successful touching many lives with the Torah, well financed; and that they may be for much blessing to all concerned. Amen ve Amen!

 

We pray for HE Giberet Rut bat Sarah who is suffering from migraines, memory problems, and other health problems. Mi Sheberach – He Who blessed our holy and pure Matriarchs, Sarah, Ribkah, Rachel and Leah, bless Her Excellency Giberet Rut bat Sarah and send her a complete recovery and strengthening of body, mind 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 pray for HE Giberet Sarah bat Noach (age 13- the daughter of HE Giberet Sarai bat Sarah) who is hospitalized far away from her family, she will probably transition from in-patient to a residential treatment program in another 1.5 to 2 weeks from now in a probable further away facility. Mi Sheberach – He Who blessed our holy and pure Matriarchs, Sarah, Ribkah, Rachel and Leah, bless Her Excellency Giberet Sarah bat Noach and send her a complete recovery and strengthening of body, mind 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 pray for HE Adon Ruben Lopez Trevino ben Noach the father of HE Giberet Mirit bat Sarah, who is affected with prostate cancer. Mi Sheberach – He who blessed our forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Moses and Aaron, David and Solomon, may He bless and heal the father of HE Giberet Mirit bat Sarah. May the Holy One, Blessed is He, be filled with compassion for him to restore his health, to heal him, to strengthen him, and to revivify him. And may He send him speedily a complete recovery from heaven, among the other sick people of Yisrael, a recovery of the body and a recovery of the spirit and mind, swiftly and soon, and we say amen ve amen!

 

We also pray for the safety of HE Adon Ya’aqob ben David and his business from two of his employees who have left his firm, who may start frivolous suits against him or G-d forbid may do anything harmful to his safety and wellbeing and that of his family together with those among our people of Yisrael afraid for their safety, their family’s safety and welfare, and the safety of their business, and we say amen ve amen!

 

We pray for my friend HE Adon Andrew ben Noach who is suffering from bi-polar problems, and currently sleeping in his car, and also has problems with drink and gambles on the stock market and looses money. Mi Shebarach - He Who blessed our forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Moses and Aharon, David and SOlomon, may He bless and heal HE Adon Andrew ben Noach. May the Holy One, Blessed be He,  be filled with compassion to restore his mental and physical health, as well as improving his welfare, to heal him, to strengthen him, and to revivify him, and may He send him speedily a complete recovery from heaven, among the other sick people of Yisrael, a recovery of the body and a recovery of the spirit and mind, swiftly soon, amd we pray amen ve amen!

 

We also pray for the son of H.E. Giberet Tikiribat bat Noach from Sri Lanka who has had an aortic dissection. He is sufficiently recovered to work on a slow level. He works night shifts. An operation has been discussed by the doctors which is serious, followed by another more difficult surgery in another year or so. Mi Sheberach – He who blessed our forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Moses and Aaron, David and Solomon, may He bless and heal the son of Her Excellency Giberet Tikiribat bat Noach. May the Holy One, Blessed is He, be filled with compassion for him to restore his health, to heal him, to strengthen him, and to revivify him. And may He send him speedily a complete recovery from heaven, among the other sick people of Yisrael, a recovery of the body and a recovery of the spirit and mind, swiftly and soon, and we say amen ve amen!

 

We pray that by the grace and mercy of G-d towards His people Yisrael, that HE Giberet Leah bat Sarah be allowed speedily soon to sell her properties or rent them at a reasonable price, for the sake of her finances, health, and Torah study schedule 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 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!

 

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 “Khi HaGoyim HaEleh” - ”For those nations”

 

 

Summary of the Torah Seder – ‎ D’barim (Deut.) 18:14 – 20:9

 

·        Prophets – Deuteronomy 18:14-22

·        Cities of Refuge – Deuteronomy 19:1-13

·        Removing a Landmark – Deuteronomy 19:14

·        Plotting Witnesses – Deuteronomy 19:15-21

·        Exemption from Service for Warfare – Deuteronomy 20:1-9

 

Reading Assignment:

 

The Torah Anthology: Yalkut Me’Am Lo’Ez - Vol 17: Deuteronomy – III – Gratitude & Discipline

By: Rabbi Yitzchaq Behar Argueti & Rabbi Shmuel Yerushalmi

Published by: Moznaim Publishing Corp. (New York, 1992)

Vol. 17 – “Deuteronomy – III – Gratitude & Discipline,” pp. 250-275.

 

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan

for: D’barim (Deut.) ‎‎18:14 – 20:9

 

Rashi	Targum Pseudo-Jonathan
14. For these nations, which you are to possess, hearken to diviners of [auspicious] times and soothsayers, but as for you, the Lord, your God, has not given you [things] like these.	14. For these nations which you are about to dispossess have listened to inspectors of serpents and enchanters. But you are not to be like them the priests will inquire by Urim and Thummim and a Right Prophet will the LORD your God give you;
15. A prophet from among you, from your brothers, like me, the Lord, your God will set up for you, you shall hearken to him.	15. a Prophet from among you of your brethren like unto me, with the Holy Spirit will the LORD your God raise up unto you; to Him will you be obedient.
16. According to all that you asked of the Lord, your God, in Horeb, on the day of the assembly, saying, "Let me not continue to hear the voice of the Lord, my God, and let me no longer see this great fire, so that I will not die."	16. According to all that you begged before the LORD your God in Horeb on the day of the assembling of the tribes to receive the Law, saying, Let us not again hear the Great Voice {of the Word - Dibbura} from before the LORD our God, nor behold again that great fire, lest we die:
17. And the Lord said to me, "They have done well in what they have spoken.	17. and the LORD said to me, That which they have spoken is right;
18. I will set up a prophet for them from among their brothers like you, and I will put My words into his mouth, and he will speak to them all that I command him.	18. I will raise up unto them a Prophet from, among their brethren in whom will be the Holy Spirit, as in you; and I will put My Word of prophecy in his mouth, and he will speak with them whatsoever I command him;
19. And it will be, that whoever does not hearken to My words that he speaks in My name, I will exact [it] of him.	19. and the man who will not hearken to the words of My prophecy which will be spoken in My Name, My Word will take vengeance upon him.
20. But the prophet who intentionally speaks a word in My name, which I did not command him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.	20. But the false prophet who does wickedly in speaking a thing in My Name, when I have not commanded him to speak, or who will speak in the name of the gods of the Gentiles., that prophet will be slain with the sword.
21. Now if you say to yourself, "How will we know the word that the Lord did not speak?"	21. And if you will say in your thoughts, How will we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?
22. If the prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, and the thing does not occur and does not come about, that is the thing the Lord did not speak. The prophet has spoken it wantonly; you shall not be afraid of him.	22. When a false prophet speaks in the Name of the LORD, and the thing does not come to pass, or be not confirmed, it is a word which the LORD has not spoken; the false prophet spoke it in presumption; fear him not.
1. When the Lord, your God, cuts off the nations, whose land the Lord, your God, is giving you, and you inherit them, and dwell in their cities and in their houses,	1. When the LORD your God will have destroyed the nations whose land the LORD your God gives you, and you possess them, and dwell in their cities and houses,
2. you shall separate three cities for yourself in the midst of your land, which the Lord, your God, is giving you to possess.	2. three cities will you set apart within your land which the LORD your God gives you to inherit.
3. Prepare the road for yourself and divide into three parts the boundary of your land, which the Lord, your God, is giving you as an inheritance, and it will be for every killer to flee there.	3. You will prepare a high road, and divide your limit which the LORD your God bestows upon you, that any manslayer may flee thither.
4. And this is the case of the killer who will flee there, so that he may live: Whoever strikes his fellow [to death] unintentionally, whom he did not hate in times past.	4. And this is the regulation for the manslayer who flees thither that he may live: Whoever will have killed his brother without intention, he not having kept enmity against him yesterday, or the day before,
5. As when a man goes with his fellow into the forest to chop wood, and his hand swings the ax to cut down the tree, and the iron flies off the handle, and it reaches his fellow, and he dies he shall flee to one of these cities, and live.	5. (as for example) if any one goes with his neighbor into the thicket to cut wood, and he drives his hand with the axe to cut wood, and the iron flies apart from the shaft and lights on his neighbor that he die, he may flee to one of those appointed cities, and. save his life.
6. Lest the avenger of the blood pursue the killer, while his heart is hot, and overtake him, because the way is long, and he strikes him to death, whereas he was not deserving of death, for he had not hated him in times past.	6. Lest the avenger of blood follow after him his heart boiling within him on account of his grief, and apprehend him, if the way be long, and take his life, though he is not guilty of the judgment of death, because he had not enmity against him in time past.
7. Therefore, I command you, saying, "You shall separate for yourself three cities."	7. Therefore I command you today that you set apart for you three cities.
8. And when the Lord, your God, expands your boundary, as He swore to your forefathers, and He gives you all the land of which He spoke to give to your forefathers;	8. And if the LORD your God enlarge your border, as He has sworn to your fathers, and give you all the land which He has sworn to your fathers to give,
9. if you will keep all this commandment to perform it, which I command you this day, to love the Lord, your God, and to walk in His ways all the days, you shall add three more cities for yourself, in addition to these three,	9. then will you keep all this commandment which today I command you to do, that you may love the LORD your God, and walk in the ways which are right before Him all days; and you will add yet three cities to those three;
10. so that innocent blood will not be shed in the midst of your land which the Lord, your God, gives you for an inheritance which would deem you guilty of [having shed this] blood.	10. that innocent blood may not be shed in your land which the LORD your God gives you to inherit, and the guilt of the judgment of death may not be upon you.
11. But if a man hates his fellow, lies in wait for him, rises up against him, and strikes him mortally, and he flees to one of these cities,	11. But if a man with enmity against his neighbor will lay wait for him in secret, to destroy his life, and he die, then should he flee into one of those cities,
12. the elders of his city shall send and take him from there and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of the blood, that he may die.	12. the sages of his city will send and take him thence, and give him up into the hand of the pursuer for blood, and he will be put to death.
13. And you shall not pity him, but you shall abolish [the shedding of] the blood of the innocent from Israel, and it will be good for you.	13. Your eye will not spare him, but you will put away shedders of innocent blood from Israel, that it may be well with you.
14. You shall not pull back your neighbor's landmark, which the earlier ones have set as borders in your inheritance, which you will inherit in the land that the Lord, your God gives you, to possess.	14. You will not remove the boundary mark of your neighbors which the predecessors did set for the limit in your possession of inheritance in the land which the LORD your God gives you to inherit.
15. One witness shall not rise up against any person for any iniquity or for any sin, regarding any sin that he will sin. By the mouth of two witnesses, or by the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be confirmed.	15. The testimony of one (witness) will not be valid against a man for any crime (regarding the taking) of life, or guilt concerning money, or any sin with which one may be charged with sinning; but, by the Word of the LORD, (to insure) retribution upon secret crimes, (while) one witness may swear to deny what has been attested against him, the sentence will be confirmed upon the mouth of two witnesses, or of three.
16. If a false witness rises up against a man, to bear perverted testimony against him,	16. When false witnesses stand up against a man to testify wrong things against him,
17. Then the two men between whom the controversy exists shall stand before the Lord, before the kohanim and the judges who will be in those days.	17. then the two men between whom lies the subject of contention will stand in the presence of the LORD, before the priests and judges who will be in those days:
18. And the judges shall inquire thoroughly, and behold, the witness is a false witness; he has testified falsely against his brother;	18. and the judges will question the witnesses of their times fairly; and, behold, false testimony is in the mouth of the witnesses; they have borne false witness against their brother.
19. then you shall do to him as he plotted to do to his brother, and you shall [thus] abolish evil from among you.	19. And so will you do unto them as they had devised to do against their brother, and you will put down the doers of evil from among you.
20. And those who remain shall listen and fear, and they shall no longer continue to commit any such evil thing among you.	20. And the wicked who remain will hear and be afraid, and not add to repeat an evil thing like this among you.
21. You shall not have pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.	21. Your eye will not spare; life for life, the value of an eye for an eye, the value of a tooth for a tooth, the value of a hand for a hand, the value of a foot for a foot.
1. When you go out to war against your enemies, and you see horse and chariot, a people more numerous than you, you shall not be afraid of them, for the Lord, your God is with you Who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.	1. When you go forth to battle against your enemies, and see horses and chariots, and peoples proud, overbearing, and stronger than you, fear them not; for all of them are accounted as a single horse and a single chariot before the LORD your God, whose Word will be your Helper; for He brought you free out of the land of Mizraim.
2. And it will be, when you approach the battle, that the kohen shall come near, and speak to the people.	2. And at the time that you draw near to do battle, the priest will approach and speak with the people,
3. And he shall say to them, "Hear, O Israel, today you are approaching the battle against your enemies. Let your hearts not be faint; you shall not be afraid, and you shall not be alarmed, and you shall not be terrified because of them.	3. and say to them, Hear, Israel, you draw near this day to fight against your adversaries; let not your heart be moved, be not afraid, tremble not, nor be broken down before them:
4. For the Lord, your God, is the One Who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.	4. for the Shekinah of the LORD your God goes before you to fight for you against your enemies, and to save you.
5. And the officers shall speak to the people, saying, What man is there who has built a new house and has not [yet] inaugurated it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the war, and another man inaugurate it.	5. And the officers will speak with the people, saying: Who is the man who has built a new house, and has not set fast its door-posts to complete it? Let him go and return to his house, lest through sin he be slain in the battle, and another man dedicate it.
6. And what man is there who has planted a vineyard, and has not [yet] redeemed it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the war, and another man redeem it.	6. Or, what man has planted a vineyard, and has not redeemed it from the priest to make it common? Let him go and return to his house, lest sin be the occasion of his not redeeming it, but he be slain in the battle, and another make it common.
7. And what man is there who has betrothed a woman and has not [yet] taken her? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the war, and another man take her."	7. And what man has betrothed a wife, but not taken her? Let him go and return to his house, lest sin prevent him from rejoicing with his wife and he be slain in the battle, and another take her.
8. And the officers shall continue to speak to the people and say, "What man is there who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go and return to his house, that he should not cause the heart of his brothers to melt, as his heart."	8. Yet more will the officers speak to the people, and say, Who is the man who is afraid on account of his sin and whose heart is broken? Let him go and return to his house, that his brethren be not implicated in his sins, and their heart be broken like his.
9. And it shall be, that when the officials finish speaking to the people, they shall appoint officers of the legions at the edges of the people.	9. And when the officers will have finished to speak with the people, they will appoint the captains of the host at the head of the people.
10. When you approach a city to wage war against it, you shall propose peace to it.	10. When you come near to a city to make war against it, then you will send to it certain to invite it to peace;
11. And it will be, if it responds to you with peace, and it opens up to you, then it will be, [that] all the people found therein shall become tributary to you, and they shall serve you.	11. and if they answer you with words of peace, and open their gates to you, all the people whom you find therein will be tributaries, and serve you.
12. But if it does not make peace with you, and it wages war against you, you shall besiege it,	12. But if they will not make peace, but war, with you, then you will beleaguer it.
13. and the Lord, your God, will deliver it into your hands, and you shall strike all its males with the edge of the sword.	13. And when the LORD your God will have delivered it into your hand, then may you smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword.
14. However, the women, the children, and the livestock, and all that is in the city, all its spoils you shall take for yourself, and you shall eat the spoils of your enemies, which the Lord, your God, has given you.	14. But the women, children, and cattle, and whatever is in the city, even all the spoil, you will seize, and eat the spoil of your enemies which the LORD your God gives you.
15. Thus you shall do to all the cities that are very far from you, which are not of the cities of these nations.	15. Thus will you do to all cities that are remote from you, which are not of the cities of these seven nations;
16. However, of these peoples' cities, which the Lord, your God, gives you as an inheritance, you shall not allow any soul to live.	16. but of the cities of these peoples, which the LORD your God gives you to inherit, you will not spare alive any breathing thing:
17. Rather, you shall utterly destroy them: The Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivvites, and the Jebusites, as the Lord, your God, has commanded you.	17. for destroying you will destroy them, Hittites, Amorites, Kenaanites, Pherizites, Hivites, and Jebusites, as the LORD your God has commanded you;
18. So that they should not teach you to act according to all their abominations that they have done for their gods, whereby you would sin against the Lord, your God.	18. that they may not teach you to do after their abominations with which they have served their idols, and you sin before the LORD your God.
19. When you besiege a city for many days to wage war against it to capture it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them, for you may eat from them, but you shall not cut them down. Is the tree of the field a man, to go into the siege before you?	19. When you beleaguer a city all the seven days to war against it, to subdue it on the Sabbath, you will not destroy the trees thereof by bringing against them (an instrument of) iron; that you may eat its fruit, cut it not down; for a tree on the face of the field is not as a man to be hidden (put out of sight) before you in the siege.
20. However, a tree you know is not a food tree, you may destroy and cut down, and you shall build bulwarks against the city that makes war with you, until its submission.	20. But the tree that you know to be a tree not making fruit to eat, that you may destroy and cut down. And you will raise bulwarks against the city which makes war with you, until you have subdued it.
1. If a slain person be found in the land which the Lord, your God is giving you to possess, lying in the field, [and] it is not known who slew him,	1. If a male be found slain upon the ground, unburied, in the land which the LORD your God gives you to inherit, lying down, and not hanged on a tree in the field, nor floating on the face of the water; and it be not known who did kill him:
2. then your elders and judges shall go forth, and they shall measure to the cities around the corpse.	2. then two of the sages will proceed from the chief court of judgment, and three of your judges, and will measure to the surrounding cities which lie on the four quarters from the (spot where) the dead man (is found);
3. And it will be, [that from] the city closer to the corpse, the elders of that city shall take a calf with which work has never been done, [and] that has never drawn a yoke,	3. and the city which is nearest to the dead man, being the suspected one, let the chief court of justice take means for absolution (or disculpation). Let the sages, the elders of that city, take an heifer from the herd, not commixed, an heifer of the year, which has not been wrought with nor has drawn in the yoke:
4. and the elders of that city shall bring the calf down to a rugged valley, which was neither tilled nor sown, and there in the valley, they shall decapitate the calf.	4. and the sages of that city will bring the heifer down into an uncultivated field, where the ground has not been tilled by work, nor sowed; and let them there behead the heifer from behind her with an axe (or knife, dolch) in the midst of the field.
5. And the kohanim, the sons of Levi, shall approach, for the Lord, your God, has chosen them to serve Him and to bless in the Name of the Lord, and by their mouth shall every controversy and every lesion be [judged].	5. And the priests the sons of Levi will draw near; for the LORD your God has chosen them to minister to Him, and to bless Israel in His Name, and according to their words to resolve every judgment, and in any plague of leprosy to shut up, and pronounce concerning it;
6. And all the elders of that city, who are the nearest to the corpse, shall wash their hands over the calf that was decapitated in the valley;	6. and all the elders of the city lying nearest to the dead man will wash their hands over the heifer which has been cut off in the field,
7. And they shall announce and say, "Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see [this crime]."	7. and will answer and say: It is manifest before the LORD that this has not come by our hands, nor have we absolved him who shed this blood, nor have our eyes beheld.
8. "Atone for Your people Israel, whom You have redeemed, O Lord, and lay not [the guilt of] innocent blood among your people Israel." And [so] the blood shall be atoned for them.	8. And the priests will say: Let there be expiation for Your people Israel, whom You, O LORD, has redeemed, and lay not the guilt of innocent blood upon Your people Israel; but let him who has done the murder be revealed. And they will be expiated concerning the blood; but straightway there will come forth a swarm of worms from the excrement of the heifer, and spread abroad, and move to. the place where the murderer is, and crawl over him: and the magistrates will take him, and judge him.
9. And you shall abolish the [shedding of] innocent blood from among you, for you shall do what is proper in the eyes of the Lord.	9. So will you, O house of Israel, put away from among you whosoever sheds innocent blood, that you may do what is right before the LORD.

 

Welcome to the World of P’shat Exegesis

 

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

 

The Seven Hermeneutic Laws of R. Hillel are as follows

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

 Rashi’s Commentary on D’barim (Deut.) ‎18:14 – 20:9

 

 

14 [But...] the Lord your God has not given you to hearken to diviners of auspicious times and soothsayers, for He caused His Divine Presence to rest upon the prophets and upon the Urim and Tummim.-[Targum Jonathan]

 

15 [A prophet] from among you, from your brothers, like me This means: Just as I am among you, from your brothers, so will He set up for you [another prophet] in my stead, and so on, from prophet to prophet.

 

20 which I did not command him to speak But which I commanded his fellow prophet [to speak].

 

or who speaks in the name of other gods Even though his words coincide with the halakhah [Jewish law], forbidding what is forbidden or permitting what is permissible.-[San. 89a]

 

[That prophet] shall die By strangulation. Three [sinful prophets] are executed by man [i.e., by the court]: One who prophesies what he has not heard, one who prophesies what was not told to him but was told to his fellow [prophet], and one who prophesies in the name of a pagan deity. However, one who suppresses his prophecy [i.e., does not announce it], or one who transgresses the words of a prophet, or a prophet who transgresses his own words [of prophecy]—their death is by the hands of Heaven, for it is said (verse 19), “ I shall exact [it] from him.”-[San. 89a]

 

21 Now if you say to yourself, ["How will we know the word the Lord did not speak?"]? [This verse alludes to a future time when Israel will want to know which prophet is speaking the word of God. It means:] You are destined to say this when Hananiah, the son of Azzur [a false prophet], came and prophesied, “Behold the vessels of the house of the Lord will be returned from Babylon now hastily” (Jer. 27:16), and Jeremiah stood and cried (Jer. 27:19- 22), “concerning the pillars, concerning the sea,... and concerning the remainder of the vessels...” which had not been exiled, ‘they shall be brought to Babylon’ "together with the exile of Zedekiah.-[Sifrei]

 

22 If the prophet speaks [in the Name of the Lord] And says, “This thing is destined to happen to you,” and you see [afterwards] that it does not come about, “that is the thing the Lord did not speak”; so execute him. But you might say, "This applies to one who prophesies regarding the future. However, suppose one comes and says ‘Do such and such a thing, and I am telling you this by the command of the Holy One, blessed is He,’ [how do we know whether he is speaking the truth? Regarding such a case,] they were already commanded that if someone comes to make you stray from any of the commandments, “Do not hearken to him” (Deut. 13:4), unless you are certain that he is a perfectly righteous person, e.g., Elijah on Mount Carmel, who sacrificed on a high place when high places were forbidden, [but did so] in order to control Israel [against idolatry]. Everything must be done according to the needs of the time, and the need for preventive measures to protect against breaches [in the religion]. Therefore [with respect to this authentic prophet], it is stated, “hearken to him” (verse 15). -[San. 89a]

 

you shall not be afraid of him I.e., do not restrain yourselves from advocating his guilt, and do not fear that you will be punished for this [when your advocating leads to his death].-[Sifrei]

 

 

Chapter 19

 

3 Prepare for yourself the way -"Refuge! Refuge!" was inscribed at each crossroads [directing the way to the nearest refuge city].-[Mak. 10b]

 

and divide into three parts the boundary of your land so that [the distance] from the beginning of the border to the first refuge city should be the same as the distance from this first city to the second, and so from the second to the third and from the third to the opposite border of Israel.-[Mak. 9b]

 

5 And his hand swings [the ax] when he was about to let the ax fall on the tree. The Targum renders this as וְתִתְמְרֵיג יְדֵּיּהּ meaning, וְנִשְׁמְטָה יָדוֹ his hand swayed while letting the stroke of the ax fall upon the tree. [Similarly,] the words הַבָָּקָר כִּי שָׁמְטוּ (II Sam. 6:6), are rendered in Targum Jonathan as: אֲרֵי מַרְגוּהִי תּוֹרַיָּא “for the oxen swayed.”

 

and the iron flies off the handle וְנָשַׁל הַבַּרְזֶל מִן־הָעֵץ Some of our Rabbis say that this means that the iron head [of the ax] slipped off its handle, while others say, the ax chipped a splinter of wood off the tree which was being chopped, and it ricocheted, killing [the victim].-[Mak. 7b]

 

6 Lest the avenger of the blood pursue [the killer] This is why I am telling you prepare a way for yourself, and [to prepare] many refuge cities.

 

8 And when [the Lord your God] expands [your boundary] As He swore to give you the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites.

 

9 you shall add three more [cities] for yourself Thus, [altogether you will have] nine: The three on the other side of the Jordan, the three in the land of Canaan, and three more in the future [when God will expand your boundary].-[Sifrei]

 

11 But if a man hates his fellow [and lies in wait for him...] Through this man’s hatred of his fellow, he comes to “lie in wait for him.” From here our Rabbis derived the maxim: If a man transgresses a minor commandment, he will ultimately transgress a major commandment. [Here,] since he transgressed the command: “You shall not hate your brother in your heart” (Lev. 19:17), he ultimately came to shed blood. This is why it says here, “But if a man hates his fellow,” for it should have written only: “But if a man rises up and lies in wait for his fellow and strikes him mortally.”-[Sifrei]

 

13 And you shall not pity him I.e., you should not say, “The first [person] has already been killed; why should we kill this one too and cause two Israelites to be killed?”-[Sifrei]

 

14 You shall not pull back [your neighbor’s] landmark Heb. לֹא תַסּיג , an expression similar to, “they shall turn back (נָסֽגוּ אָחוֹר) ” (Isa. 42:17). [Here therefore, it means] that he moves the boundary-mark of the land backwards into his neighbor’s field, thereby enlarging his own [property]. But has it not already been stated, “You shall not rob” (Lev. 19:13) ? Why then, is it stated here: “You shall not pull back [the landmark]?” [The answer is that this verse teaches that the person who removes his neighbor’s boundary mark transgresses two negative commandments, “You shall not rob (לֹא תִגְזֽל) ” and “You shall not pull back [the landmark]?” (לֹא תַסִּיג) . Now I might think that [this applies] outside Eretz Israel as well. Therefore it says, “in your inheritance, which you will inherit [in the land]”, [indicating that] in [only] Eretz Israel, one transgresses two negative commandments, whereas outside Eretz Israel, one transgresses only the commandment of “you shall not rob.”-[Sifrei]

 

15 One witness [shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity] This verse establishes a general principle [i.e., from here it is derived] that wherever the term “witness” (עֵד) appears in the Torah, it means two [witnesses], unless the Torah specifies [that] one witness is meant.-[San. 30a]

 

for any iniquity, or for any sin where his testimony would lead to the accused being punished, either with corporal punishment or with or monetary punishment. However, one [witness] may rise up to [compel his fellow to take] an oath, as follows: If one says to his fellow, “Give me the maneh [100 zuzim] that I lent you,” and his fellow replies, “I have nothing of yours,” and one witness testifies for him [the plaintiff] that he [the defendant] owes him [the money], [the defendant] is required to swear [that he did not borrow any money].-[Shev. 40a]

 

By the mouth of two witnesses [... the matter will be established] [The expression, “by the mouth” means here that only the direct, verbal testimony suffices,] but they should not write their testimony in a letter and send it to the court, or have an interpreter stand between the witnesses and the judges. -[Sifrei]

 

16 to bear perverted testimony against him Heb. סָרָה [That is, he testifies about] a thing which is not so, that this witness is removed (הוּסַר) from the whole testimony [meaning that he could not possibly have been a witness,] such as if [a second set of witnesses] said [to the first set of witnesses], “But weren’t you with us on that day in such and such a place [and not with the defendant, as you claim to have been]?”-[Mak. 5a]

 

17 Then the two men... shall stand The text is referring to the witnesses, and it teaches us that there is no testimony by women. It also teaches us that witnesses must submit their testimony while standing.- [Shev. 30a]

 

between whom the controversy exists These are the litigants.

 

before the Lord It should seem to them as though they are standing before the Omnipresent, as it says: “in the midst of the judges He will judge” (Ps. 82:1). - [San. 6b]

 

who will be in those days [Now could one stand in front of those who are not in his day? Rather, it means that] Jephthah [one of the less important judges] in his generation, is [to be considered] as Samuel [the greatest judge] in his generation; you must treat him with respect.

 

18 And the judges shall inquire thoroughly By means of the testimony of [the new set of witnesses] who rebut them, that they investigate and examine those who come to prove that they [the first pair] are עֵדִים זוֹמְמִין , “plotting witnesses,” by diligent inquiry and examination.

 

and behold, the witness is a false witness Wherever עֵד , witness, is written, Scripture is speaking of two [witnesses].-[San. 30a]

 

19 as he plotted But not as he did. From here [our Rabbis] said that if the first set of witnesses [before being proven false,] already killed the defendant [by their testimony], they are not to be put to death.-[Mak. 5b]

 

to do to his brother Why does Scripture state, “to his brother?” To teach, that in the case of witnesses who conspired against a married daughter of a kohen [by accusing her of adultery], that they are not executed with burning [the form of execution to which she would have been subjected], but rather, by strangulation, the form of execution of the adulterer. For it says [regarding such a woman] “she shall be burnt with fire” (Lev. 21:9) -"she," but not her paramour [who is dispatched by strangulation]; therefore it says here, "to his brother"—"as he plotted to do to his brother," but not as he plotted to do to his sister. With other crimes, however, Scripture regards women equally with men, and conspiring witnesses against a woman are executed in the same way as those who conspired against a man. For instance, if they testified that a women killed a person, or that she desecrated the Sabbath [and they are revealed to be false witnesses before she is executed], then they are executed in the form that they intended for her, for Scripture does not exclude his sister [by stating “brother”] except in a case where one may carry out the punishment of the conspiring witnesses by the form of execution of the adulterer [as opposed to the adulteress].-[Sifrei and San. 90a]

 

20 shall listen and fear From here, [we derive the law] that a public announcement is required: “So-and-so and so- and-so are to be executed because they were proven by the court to be plotting witnesses.”-[San. 89a] [Note that Rashi on Mak. 5a and San. 89a writes that the proclamation is made after the perpetrators have been executed.]

 

21 Eye for eye i.e., financial compensation; and similarly, “tooth for tooth, etc.”-[Sifrei, B.K. 87a]

 

Chapter 20

 

1 When you go out to war Scripture juxtaposes the departure for war alongside this ["eye for eye etc."] to teach us that a person with a missing limb does not go out to war. - [Sifrei] Another explanation: It teaches that if you execute righteous judgment, you can be sure that when you depart for war you will be victorious. Similarly, David says, “I performed justice and righteousness; do not leave me to my oppressors” (Ps. 119:121). -[Tanchuma]

 

against your enemies Let them be in your eyes as enemies; have no pity on them, for they will have no pity upon you.

 

horse and chariot In My eyes, they are all like one horse. Similarly, it says,"and you shall strike Midian as one man." (Jud. 6:16) And similarly, it says,, “When Pharaoh’s horse... came [into the sea]” (Exod. 15:19). -[Sifrei]

 

a people more numerous than you In your eyes, they are numerous, but in My eyes, they are not numerous.-[Sifrei]

 

2 when you approach the battle When you are on the point of leaving the border.

 

that the kohen shall come near This refers to the kohen anointed for this purpose, and he is called “the one anointed for war.”

 

and speak to the people in the Holy Tongue.-[Sotah 42a]

 

3 “Hear, O Israel” Even if you have no merit other than the reading of the Shema, you are worthy that He [God] save you.-[Sotah 42b]

 

against your enemies These are not your brothers, for if you fall into their hands, they will not have pity on you; this is not like the war of Judah with Israel, of which the verse states, "And the men, who were mentioned by name, rose up and took hold of the captives, and, and clothed all their nakedness from the spoils, and they dressed them and shod them, and fed them and gave them to drink, and anointed them, and led them on donkeys, every feeble one, and they brought them to Jericho, the city of the palms, beside their brothers, and they returned to Samaria" (II Chron. 28:15). You, however, are going against your enemies; therefore strengthen yourselves for battle.-[Sifrei ; Sotah 42a]

 

Let your hearts not be faint; you shall not be afraid, you shall not be alarmed, and you shall not be terrified Four warnings, corresponding to four practices in which the kings of the nations engage [during battle]: They hold their shields close together to strike them against one another, thereby producing a loud noise to alarm those confronting them, so that they should flee; they stamp [the ground heavily] with their horses and make them neigh, sounding the beating of their horses’ hoofs, and they shout loudly and blow horns and [other] kinds of noisy instruments.

 

Let your hearts not be faint Because of the neighing of the horses;

 

you shall not be afraid of the noise made by the fastening of the shields;

 

and you shall not be alarmed At the sounds of the horns;

 

and you shall not be terrified By the noise of the shouting.-[Sifrei ; Sotah 42a]

 

4 For the Lord, your God... They are coming with the victory of flesh and blood, whereas you approach with the victory of the Omnipresent. The Philistines came with the victory of Goliath—What was his end? He fell, and they fell with him.

 

Who goes with you This refers to the camp of the ark.-[Sotah 42a]

 

5 [What man is there who has built a new house] and has not [yet] inaugurated it i.e., has not yet lived in it. The term חִנּוּךְ  denotes beginning.

 

[Lest he die in the war,] and another man inaugurate it This would be a source of great grief.

 

6 [And what man is there that has planted a vineyard,] and has not [yet] redeemed it Heb. וְלֹא חִלְּלוֹ . He has not redeemed the vineyard in the fourth year [of its growth], for the fruits [of the fourth year] have to be eaten in Jerusalem or redeemed [by exchanging them] for money, and to eat [food purchased with] the money in Jerusalem.

 

7 lest he die in the war He should return lest he die, for if he does not obey the kohen, he deserves to die.-[Sifrei]

 

8 And the officers shall continue Why does it say here: “shall continue” [lit. shall add]? They add this [statement] to the words of the kohen, for the kohen speaks and announces aloud to the people from “Hear, O Israel” (verse 3) until “to save you,” (end of verse 4) while “What man is there” (verse 5), and the second and third one [with the same beginning (verses 6 and 7)], the kohen speaks, and an officer announces aloud [to the people]. This verse, however, an officer speaks, and an officer announces aloud. - [Sotah 43a] According to several incunabula editions of Rashi, “a kohen announces aloud.” [See Yosef Hallel.]

 

[What man is there] who is fearful and fainthearted Rabbi Akiva says: [This verse is to be understood] according to its apparent meaning, that he cannot stand in the closed ranks of battle and look upon a drawn sword. Rabbi Jose the Galilean says that [it means] one who is afraid of his sins [that they will cause him to fall in war, as he is unworthy], and therefore, the Torah gives him the excuse of attributing his return home because of a house, a vineyard, or a wife, to cover up for those who return because of their sins, so that people should not understand that they are sinners. [Consequently,] one who sees this person returning would say, “Perhaps he has built a house, or planted a vineyard, or betrothed a woman.”-[Sotah 44a]

 

9 [They shall appoint] officers of the legions This means that they place (זַקָּפִין) guards in front of them and behind them, with iron arrows in their hands, and if anybody attempted to retreat, the guard had the authority to strike his legs. זַקָּפִין are people who stand at the edge of the battle array to pick up (לִזְקֽף) the fallen and to encourage them with words: “Return to the battle and do not flee, for flight is the beginning of defeat.”-[Sifrei, Sotah 44a]

 

 Ketubim: Tehillim (Psalms) 123:1 – 126:6

 

Rashi	Targum
1. A song of ascents. To You I lifted up my eyes, You Who dwell in heaven.	1. A song that was uttered on the ascents of the abyss. Before You I have lifted up my eyes, You who sit on a throne of glory in heaven.
2. Behold, as the eyes of slaves to the hand of their masters, as the eyes of a handmaid to the hand of her mistress, so are our eyes to the Lord our God, until He favors us.	2. Behold, as the eyes of menservants, on one side, watch at the hands of their masters; and as the eyes of maidservants, on the other side, watch at the hands of their mistresses; thus our eyes watch in the presence of the LORD our God for the time when He will show compassion to us.
3. Favor us, O Lord, favor us, for we are fully sated with contempt.	3. Have compassion on us, O LORD, have compassion on us; for we have had too much of contempt.
4. Our soul is fully sated with the ridicule of the complacent, the contempt [shown] to the valley of doves.	4. Our soul has had too much of scorn, for the arrogant and proud are at ease.
1. A song of ascents. Of David. Had it not been for the Lord Who was with us, let Israel declare now.	1. A song that was uttered on the ascents of the abyss, composed by David. Had it not been for the LORD who was our help let Israel say now,
2. Had it not been for the Lord Who was with us when men rose up against us,	2. Had it not been for the Word of the LORD who was our help, when a son of man rose against us.
3. Then they would have swallowed us raw when their anger was kindled against us.	3. Then they would have swallowed us while alive, when their anger grew strong against us.
4. Then the waters would have washed us away; illness would have passed over our soul.	4. Then the waters would have washed us away, sickness would have passed over our soul.
5. Then the wicked waters would have passed over our soul.	5. Then the king would have passed over our soul, he who is likened to the malicious waters of the sea.
6. Blessed is the Lord, Who did not give us as prey for their teeth.	6. Blessed is the name of the LORD, who has not handed us over as dead meat to their teeth.
7. Our soul escaped like a bird from the hunters' snare; the snare broke, and we escaped.	7. Our soul is like a bird saved from the traps of the fowlers; the trap broke, and we have been saved.
8. Our help is in the name of the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.	8. Our help is in the name of the Word of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
1. A song of ascents. Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which will not falter but will abide forever.	1. A song that was uttered on the ascents of the abyss. The righteous/generous who trust in the Word of the LORD are like Mount Zion; it will not totter, it is inhabited forever.
2. Jerusalem has mountains around it, and the Lord is around His people from now and to eternity.	2. Mountains are round about Jerusalem, and the Word of the LORD is round about his people from this time and forever.
3. For the rod of wickedness will not rest on the lot of the righteous, because the righteous do not stretch out their hands into wrongdoing.	3. For the scepter of wickedness will not rest on the lot of the righteous/generous, so that the righteous/ generous will not stretch out their hand to deceit.
4. Be good, O Lord, to the good and to the upright in their hearts.	4. Be good, O LORD, to the good, and to those upright/generous in their heart.
5. And those who turn their crooked ways- may the Lord lead them away with the workers of iniquity, [and may there be] peace on Israel.	5. But those who go astray following their perversity the LORD will make them go to Gehenna; their portion is with the workers of deceit. Peace be upon Israel!
1. A song of ascents. When the Lord returns the returnees to Zion, we shall be like dreamers.	1. A song that was uttered on the ascents of the abyss. When the LORD makes the exiles of Zion return, we were like the sick who were healed.
2. Then our mouths will be filled with laughter and our tongues with songs of praise; then they will say among the nations, "The Lord has done great things with these."	2. Then will our mouths be full of laughter, and our tongue with praise; then will they say among the Gentiles, "The LORD has done great good to these."
3. "The Lord has done great things with us; we were happy."	3. The LORD has done great good to us; we are joyful.
4. Return, O Lord, our captivity like rivulets in arid land.	4. O LORD, make our exiles return, like a land that is made habitable when fountains of water flow during drought.
5. Those who sow with tears will reap with song.	5. Those who sow with tears will harvest with praise.
6. He will go along weeping, carrying the valuable seeds; he will come back with song, carrying his sheaves.	6. He will surely go with weeping; the ox that bears a load of seed will surely come with praise, when he bears his sheaves and grazes on the young growth from the furrow.

 

Rashi’s Commentary on Tehillim (Psalms) 123:1 – 126:6

 

1 Who dwell Heb. הישבי .The “yud” is superfluous.

 

4 the ridicule of the complacent [With] the ridicule of the complacent heathens we are sated.

 

the contempt that they despised the valley of doves, which is Jerusalem.

 

the complacent Heb. לגאיונים . It is written as one word and read as two.

 

Chapter 124

 

3 when their anger was kindled against us Heb. בחרות , “when their anger was kindled against us,” is the same form as בעשות , “when he made.”

 

4 illness Heb. נחלה ,  expression of illness (חלי) .

 

7 Our soul escaped like a bird [It escaped] from them like a bird that escaped from the hunter’s snare.

 

Chapter 125

 

1 Those who trust in the Lord will not falter, like Mount Zion, which will not falter, for just as Jerusalem is surrounded by mountains, so is the Holy One, blessed be He, around His people.

 

3 For the rod of wickedness will not rest on the lot of the righteous For the Holy One, blessed be He, will not allow the rule of the wicked to rest on the righteous/generous because the righteous/generous are careful not to stretch out their hand in wrongdoing.

 

5 and those who turn their crooked ways on the people to find wicked accusations may the Lord lead them away with the workers of iniquity.

 

Chapter 126

 

1 When the Lord returns the returnees to Zion from the Babylonian exile, we were like dreamers.

 

4 like rivulets in arid land Like rivulets in arid land, which moisten it, so shall we be moistened [freshened] when You return [us from] our captivity, for those who sow in an arid land, with tears, worrying that it will not grow, reap with song through the rivulets of water, when they are directed into it [that land].

 

6 He will go along weeping, etc. So do Israel in exile sow charity in tears, and they will reap it when You pay their reward in the future.

 

Meditation from the Psalms

Psalms 123:1 – 126:6

By H. Em. Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David

 

Psalms chapter 123 concerns the dismal galut experience of the Jews, who have become a despised and degraded people. Indeed, Israel's humiliation in exile follows a specific Divine design, for when Israel displayed undesirable character traits they became an abomination to G-d, and He was compelled to expel them from the Holy Land. The suffering of the exile is imposed upon the Jews with the intent that it purge these negative traits from their characters.

 

The most repulsive abomination in the eyes of HaShem is arrogance, as Proverbs 16:5 states: The abomination of HaShem is anyone who is haughty of heart. The prosperity and tranquility that the Jews enjoyed in their homeland made them smug, proud, and defiant. The wealthy and contented nation no longer felt dependent upon HaShem.

 

Reacting to this haughty attitude, the prophet Zephaniah[1] thundered at the Jews in the name of HaShem: Then I shall remove from your midst those who revel in your arrogance and you shall no longer display pride on My holy mountain. And I shall leave in your midst a poor and destitute nation and they will find refuge in the Name of HaShem.[2]

 

Here the Psalmist vividly describes how the Jews, humbled by exile, will acknowledge their total dependence upon HaShem. They will cry out: Like the eyes of servants unto their masters' hand ... so are our eyes unto HaShem, our G-d, until He will favor us.[3]

 

When Jews become genuinely humble, they will have elevated their spiritual stature immeasurably and they will be worthy of singing this Song of Ascents.

 

In Psalms chapter 124, the Psalmist gives thanks to HaShem for helping His children, Israel, survive the exile, despite our enemies' attempts to destroy us. In every generation, enemies arose to crush the soul of our holy nation, but none prevailed over HaShem’s chosen.

 

The nations are compared to deep waters, which can drown us, and to swift currents, which sweep by and threaten to wash us away.[4] But we are strengthened and supported by our intense, eternal love for HaShem. We brave all hazards confidently, with the knowledge that our help is through the Name of HaShem, Maker of heaven and earth.[5]

 

In Psalms chapter 125, the defense and security of the Jewish nation is a matter of primary concern. Historically, the invasions and onslaughts of invading nations have often found Israel vulnerable and helpless. Here the Psalmist emphasizes that the true fortifications of our nation are internal. When Israel is filled with faith in HaShem, the Almighty will not fail us.

 

Sforno explains that the Psalmist is addressing this lesson to the Jews who are destined to be saved at the time of קיבוץ גלויות, the ingathering of exiles. The Jerusalem to which they return will have been stripped of its massive protective walls, yet the people will dwell in total security, for they will enjoy Divine protection.

 

However, this utopian state is reserved exclusively for those who are good and upright in their hearts.[6] The perverse and the workers of iniquity will be rejected from the midst of this righteous assembly. Then the Jews will achieve their long-awaited goal, that peace be upon Israel.[7]

 

In keeping with the concerns of Psalms chapter 123, lets take a closer, deeper look at the galut, exile, that we have been through.

 

The Jewish people have been subjected to four exiles, according to Our Sages. These are in addition to the Egyptian exile which was the prototype for all future exiles. Why did HaShem send us into exile, four times?

 

Our Sages have given us the answer in the Gemara:

 

Menachoth 53b R. Isaac said, At the time of the destruction of the Temple the Holy One, blessed be He, found Abraham standing in the Temple. Said He, ‘What hath My beloved to do in My house?’[8] Abraham replied, ‘I have come concerning the fate of my children’ . . . Said He, ‘Thy children sinned and have gone into exile’. ‘Perhaps’, said Abraham, ‘they only sinned in error?’ And He answered, ‘She hath wrought lewdness’.[9] ‘Perhaps only a few sinned?’ ‘With many’, came the reply. ‘Still’, he pleaded, ‘Thou shouldst have remembered unto them the covenant of circumcision’. And He replied, ‘The hallowed flesh is passed from thee.’[10] ‘Perhaps hadst Thou waited for them they would have repented’, he pleaded. And He replied, ‘When thou doest evil, then thou rejoicest!’ Thereupon he put his hands on his head and wept bitterly, and cried, ‘Perhaps, Heaven forfend, there is no hope for them’. Then came forth a Heavenly Voice and said, The Lord called thy name a leafy olive-tree, fair with goodly fruit:[11] as the olive-tree produces its best only at the very end,[12] so Israel will flourish at the end of time.

 

Thus, Our Sages teach that The Bne Israel[13] were sent, four times, into exile because of their sins. These were not petty issues, but premeditated wickedness. Thus, we can understand that exile was/is the tikkun, the correction, for premeditated wickedness. However, HaShem has big plans for His world. He is going to have the Jews do double duty. In addition to being fixed up for their sin, they will also be role models for the Gentiles. To understand this, we need to understand that Gentiles, not proselytes, are given to Israel as an inheritance:

 

Tehillim (Psalm) 2:7-9 I will declare the decree: HaShem hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. 8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen[14] for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. 9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

 

It seems that when we are sent into exile, we provide an example that causes the Gentiles to either become proselytes, or to be condemned. Further, when we went into exile, we did not go alone.

 

When we went into Egypt, the prototype for all exiles, we did not go alone. Notice Who went with us.

 

Bereshit (Genesis) 46:3-4 And he said, I am G-d, the G-d of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation: 4 I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.

 

Thus, we see that G-d[15] accompanied us into exile. We did not go alone! However, this is not the only unusual thing about our exiles.

 

In all of human history, exiles of a nation out of their country have been very rare. It’s a highly unusual phenomenon to take a whole nation and exile them from their country. Multiple exiles are unheard of, since, after the first one, the distinctive people disappear as they become assimilated among the other peoples. As a matter of fact, in human history, multiple exiles and dispersions are unique only to the Jewish people.

 

Nor only is the concept of multiple exiles and dispersion, of the Jews, unique in history, the very survival of the Jews is a singular event. No other nation has ever survived without a homeland. Yet, from the destruction of the second Temple in seventy CE until the rebirth of the modern State of Israel in the twentieth century, the Jewish people survived, in the diaspora, without a state.

 

Why? What is the purpose of the multiple exiles of the Jewish people?

 

The Talmud offers the following explanation for the phenomenon of galut:[16]

 

Pesachim 87b R. Eleazar said: Even when the Holy One, blessed be He, is angry, He remembers compassion, for it is said, for I will no more have compassion upon the house of Israel.[17] R. Jose son of R. Hanina said [i.e., deduced] it from this: that I would in any wise pardon them. R. Eleazar also said: The Holy One, blessed be He, did not exile Israel among the nations save in order that proselytes might join them, for it is said: And I will sow her unto Me in the land;[18] surely a man sows a se’ah in order to harvest many kor!

 

The Children of Israel were exiled amongst the nations only so that converts might be added to them![19]

 

The Maharsha, Rabbi Shmuel HaLevi Eidels,[20] explained[21] that had HaShem merely wished to punish the Jews, He did not have to exile them from their homeland; the fact that He did exile His nation shows that He intended for another outcome, namely, the addition of proselytes into the Jewish body.

 

To build on this idea, we need to look at the word Adam. Adam is a legal term, according to Our Sages, that applies to Israel.

 

Baba Metzia 114b R. Simeon b. Yohai said: The graves of Gentiles do not defile, for it is written, And ye my flock, the flock of my pastures, are men (Adam);[22] only ye are designated ‘men (Adam)’.[23]

 

Thus, we see that only Israel is called Adam.

 

Adam = Israel

 

So, the question is: Who is Israel?

 

Our Sages answer this question in the Talmud Yerushalmi: “Adam includes Proselytes”.[24] Israel is not clearly defined because Israel is in constant movement and change because proselytes are constantly being added.

 

From this we understand that Israel is sent into exile in order to make proselytes. These proselytes (converts) become a part of Israel! In exile we become complete by making proselytes. Yet, we must still ask: How did proselytes correct the premeditated wickedness that caused us to be sent into exile? To answer this question, we still need a bit more background.

 

The Gemara teaches us that exile makes an atonement:

 

Berachoth 56a For a Master has said: Exile makes atonement for iniquity.

 

Ta’anith 16a We have exiled ourselves [from the House of God] may our exile atone for us.

 

Sanhedrin 37b R. Johanan said: Exile atones for everything, for it is written, Thus saith the Lord, write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days, for no man of his seed shall prosper sitting upon the throne of David and ruling any more in Judah.[25] Whereas after he [the king] was exiled, it is written, And the sons of Jeconiah, — the same is Assir — Shealtiel his son etc.[26]

 

Ruth was a proselyte. Ruth, as we saw in a previous study, was a picture of the Children Israel as they stood at Mt. Sinai to receive the Torah. At Sinai we Jews were all proselytes accepting Torah for the very first time. Further, Ruth’s chesed, her kindness, had such a profound effect on the Jewish people that she became the grandmother of King David! Now lest we forget, Ruth became a convert only because Elimelech took his family into exile in Moab, during a famine. Thus because of this minor exile, we made one very, very significant proselyte who became a significant part of the Messianic line. This proselyte’s life was so important that Shmuel the Prophet wrote a book about her.

 

Yitro, Moshe’s father-in-law who, as a proselyte, had a tremendous positive impact on the Torah’s Judicial system[27] and Judaism as a whole, while the Children of Israel were in exile. His advice to Moshe became the standard for the rest of Jewish history! Yitro became a proselyte because Moshe went into exile from Egypt to Midian.

 

Rahab was a prostitute and innkeeper, who was visited by the most important dignitaries and leaders of her generation[28] yet after being exposed to the greatness of two Torah giants, Caleb and Phinehas, who were on a reconnaissance mission to Canaan[29] she converted and married Joshua.[30] Counted among her descendants are priests and prophets including Huldah the Prophetess, Yirmeyahu, Baruch, Neryah, Sharya, Chilkiyah, and Chanamel.[31]

 

Onkelos, a proselyte, wrote a Targum on the Torah that sheds significant light on the meaning of the Torah. Jews throughout the ages have learned from his Targum.

 

Rabbi Akiva was a famous Jewish rabbi of the second century, during the beginning of the Edomite exile. He was a great authority in the matter of Jewish tradition, and one of the most central and essential contributors to the Oral Torah, mainly the Mishna and the Midrash Halakha. He laid the foundations of the mishnaic dispute, by which pairs or larger groups of Sages dispute points of Halakha or Biblical interpretation.

 

When Edom sent Israel into exile, Mashiach ben Yosef commanded His Talmidim to teach them and to make them into Talmidim:

 

Matityahu (Matthew) 28:18 And Yeshua came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and talmudize all the Gentiles …

 

Hebrew is very precise because it is the language of creation. In Hebrew, “Exile” is called “Golah”. But this word contains the solution to exile with a hint to the redemption. By inserting the letter alef (א), the word “Golah” (גולה), “Exile” becomes “Geulah” (גאולה), “redemption”. This implies that the Jewish people’s service involves bringing HaShem, The Alef, into the exile, and thus, transforming the exile into redemption. Not only are the Jewish people redeemed, but as the Talmud teaches,[32] so also are the Gentiles who become proselytes, or converts. Thus, dispersion is for the purpose of gathering.

 

And so, it has been throughout Jewish history; every time we were sent into exile, HaShem sent great proselytes to help effect the needed tikkun for our sins.

 

In the beginning

 

In the beginning G-d created the heavens and the earth. When He created the world, He created it with a master plan. As history has unfolded, we have begun to get a clear picture of parts of His plan. Part of His plan included the exile of His people, four times (not including Egypt). These four exiles are going to form an outline that will frame the history of the Children of Israel.

 

In the Jewish view of history, there are four kingdoms which oppressed, or are oppressing, the Children of Israel. These are Bavel - בבל[33] (Babylon), Madai[34] - מדי[35] (Media), Yavan - יון[36] (Greece), and Edom - אדם[37] (Rome). The sequence of these four nations is alluded to all over the Tanach,[38] as we shall see.

 

Why does this list not include the descendant of Ishmael?[39] Even though the Jews were subject to Muslim control at various points in history. In his work Ner Mitzva, the Maharal deals with this issue. He writes that the four exiles all fit one of two criteria: either they wrested power from the Jews directly, or they took over from another nation that had already done the task of overpowering and subjugating the Jews. Since the descendants of Ishmael never took power in either of these two ways, they are not included by the Sages among the list of exiles.

 

To recap, the four exiles are:

 

Bavel (Babylon),

Madai / Paras (Media / Persia),

Yavan (Greece), and

Edom (Rome),

 

Ever since the six days of creation, there is nothing new before HaShem. Before creation He looked ahead to the end of history in His world and arranged every incident that will happen on earth according to a timetable, as the Sages interpreted Bereshit (Genesis) 1:2 as alluding to the four exiles and the ruach[40] of the Mashiach.[41] 

 

* * *

 

Bereshit (Genesis) 1:2 And the earth was without form (tohu), and void (bohu); and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

 

With respect to this seemingly uninformative verse, Our Hakhamim have explained the words this way:

 

Midrash Rabbah - Genesis II:4 R. Simeon b. Lakish applied the passage to the [foreign] Powers. NOW THE EARTH WAS TOHU (E.V. ‘UNFORMED’) symbolizes Babylonia: I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was tohu-E.V. ‘waste’ (Jer. IV, 23)[42]; AND BOHU (E.V. ‘VOID’) symbolizes Media: They hastened (wa-yabhillu) to bring Haman (Est. VI, 14).[43] AND DARKNESS symbolizes Greece, which darkened the eyes of Israel with its decrees, ordering Israel, ‘Write on the horn of an ox that ye have no portion in the God of Israel.’[44] UPON THE FACE OF THE DEEP - this wicked State[45]:just as the great deep cannot be plumbed, so one cannot plumb [the depths of iniquity of] this wicked State. AND THE SPIRIT OF GOD HOVERED: this alludes to the spirit of Messiah, as you read, And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him (Isa. XI, 2). In the merit of what will [this spirit] eventually come? [For the sake of that which] HOVERED OVER THE FACE OF THE WATERS, i.e. in the merit of repentance which is likened to water, as it is written, Pour out thy heart like water (Lam. II, 19). R. Haggai said in the name of R. Pedath: A covenant was made with water[46] that even in the hot season a breeze stirs over it.[47]

 

 

 

Within this single and ominous verse, there is an allusion to all four exiles that the Jewish people were destined to experience throughout their long history until the Messianic time, which has still yet to occur. And without exception, all of them have come to pass as predicted, with the final exile, the “Roman Exile” (Edom) still in progress.

 

HaShem hinted to these four exiles in the story of creation, as we saw earlier. At the beginning of creation, it is written that, “The world was tohu and bohu, and darkness covering the deep.” The four phrases:

1) “tohu”,

2) “bohu”,

3) “darkness”, and

4) “covering the deep”

 

The four phrases hint to the four exiles:

 

 

The final exile, Edom, corresponds to the phrase, “covering the deep” because just as we cannot grasp the depth of the ocean, so too we cannot grasp how terrible this exile is.

 

The Maggid of Kozhnitz seeks to understand the concept of HaShem’s tears[48] on the basis of the Midrash that interprets the verse, “And the earth was void and chaos…”[49] as referring to the four exiles.[50] Here, too, the Midrash attributes historical significance to a natural phenomenon, in this case, the primal “void and chaos.” The “void,” “chaos,” “darkness,” and “deep” hint at the suffering of the four exiles that Israel will endure. In other words, the suffering has its roots in creation; it is part of a necessary periodicity which is fundamental to the existence of the world. What appears to us as a stage preceding creation (the “void and chaos…”) is interpreted here as applying to all of history. We may have thought that the chaos and void belonged to the reality that preceded the creation of the world. The Midrash comes to tell us that history itself is “void and chaos and darkness,” and the light that is described as coming afterwards, and, in a more general sense, the orderly world that the Torah presents in chapter 1 of Bereshit, belongs to the future, not the past. History is one long process of movement from “void” to “chaos,” from “chaos” to “darkness,” etc., up until the light and redemption that are promised at the end.

 

Since the Torah is the blueprint of the world, something written at the very beginning of the blueprint indicates that these exiles are a fundamental process in the history of the world.

 

The Number Four

 

According to Chazal, our Sages, the number four signifies completion, wholeness, or fullness. One can see this by looking at the fingers on your hand. We have four that move in the same direction and are regularly used together. These four fingers are a complete set of fingers. Note, however, that the thumb is similar to the other fingers, yet it is different. Thus, whenever we see four, we will always find a fifth which is similar yet materially different.

 

The four exiles, represented by the four fingers, are:

 

Bavel (Babylon),

Madai / Paras (Media / Persia),

Yavan (Greece), and

Edom (Rome).

]

The fifth exile, represented by the thumb, is the Egyptian exile. Like the other four, the Egyptian exile provided atonement. Unlike the other four, the Egyptian exile was not forced by a foreign nation, but rather by a famine. Unlike the other four exiles, the Egyptian exile was also relatively peaceful and trouble free as long as Joseph was alive.

 

The number four is a number of separation, and represents dispersal in all four directions. We see scripture describing division and separation as: 

 

Zechariah 2:10 ...for I have scattered you like the four directions of the heavens.

 

Four is the number representing exile, as we have already begun seeing.

 

The Four Rivers

 

We find a hint to the four exiles in the description of the Garden of Eden, from which came out a river that split into four smaller rivers: Pishon, Gichon, Chidekel, and P’ros (Euphrates). These four rivers also correspond to the four exiles of Bavel, Madai, Yavan and Edom.

 

Bereshit (Genesis) 2:10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. 11 The name of the first is Pishon: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; 12 And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.13 And the name of the second river is Gichon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. 14 And the name of the third river is Chidekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is P’ros (Euphrates).

 

The first use of the number four, in the Torah, is found in connection with the water that flowed out of Gan Eden.

 

The Covenant Between The Parts

 

In this next passage we see Avraham being told that his descendants would be going into exile in Egypt. Chazal see a hint, also, the four exiles that would enslave the Children of Israel throughout time.

 

Bereshit (Genesis) 15:12-21 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, behold, a fear, a great darkness fell upon him. 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. 15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. 16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. 17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. 18 In the same day HaShem made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: 19 The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, 20 And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, 21 And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

 

The nations which kept us in exile were hinted to in verse twelve, which says that after Avraham fell asleep, “And behold, a fear, a great darkness fell upon him.” The words form a remez, according to the Midrash:

 

Midrash Rabbah - Genesis XLIV:17 AND, LO, A DREAD, EVEN A GREAT DARKNESS, FELL UPON HIM (ib.). DREAD refers to Babylon, as it is written, Then was Nebuchadnezzar filled with fury (Dan. III, 19).[51] DARKNESS refers to Media, which darkened the eyes of Israel with fasting and tribulation; GREAT refers to Greece. R. Simon said: The Kingdom of Greece set up one hundred and twenty commanders, one hundred and twenty governors, and one hundred and twenty generals. The Rabbis said: Sixty of each, for it is written, Serpents, fiery serpents, and scorpions (Deut. VIII, 15)[52]: just as the scorpion lays sixty eggs at a time, so did the Greek state set up sixty of each. FELL UPON HIM alludes to Edom [Rome], as it is written, The earth quaketh at the noise of their fall (Jer. XLIX, 21).[53] Some reverse it: FELL UPON HIM (ib.) alludes to Babylon, as it is written, Fallen, fallen is Babylon (Isa. XXI, 9). GREAT alludes to Media, as it is written, King Ashuerus did make great, etc. (Est. III, 1). DARKNESS alludes to Greece that darkened the eyes of Israel with its decrees.’ DREAD alludes to Edom, as it is written, After this I saw... a fourth beast[54], dreadful and terrible (Dan. VII, 7).[55]

 

Fear: This refers to Bavel, the Babylonian exile.

Darkness: This refers to Madai, the Median exile.

Great: This refers to Yavan, the Greek exile.

Fell upon him: This refers to the Edomite exile, the last of the four exiles, in which we still suffer.

 

 

The Tzadik of Ruzhin concluded, “Even before we sinned the exile was decreed upon us. The ‘four exiles’ and ‘two destructions’ were already decreed in the time of our Patriarch Avraham at the Covenant Between The Pieces.

 

Egypt – The Prototype

 

There is a Midrashic[56] view that maintains that the impurity of Egypt is the source of all further exiles and is too profound to be listed as one of the four. The Egyptian exile lasted two hundred and ten years,[57] from the time Yaaqov Avinu and his sixty-nine family members crossed the borders of Egypt.

 

This prototypical exile has at least one very important lesson for us.

 

Our salvation, the salvation of all Jews, depends on us saving the Gentiles first

 

We learn this from the Egyptian exile where a Jew, Joseph ben Yaaqov, first saved the Gentiles before he saved his family – the rest of the Jews. Thus, we need to absorb a very powerful lesson:

 

Our salvation depends

on the salvation of the Gentiles!

 

We save the Gentiles by scattering the seeds of the oral Torah amongst the Gentiles. The scattering of the seeds of the oral law, amongst the Gentiles, is illustrated by a simile in Mark[58]:

 

Mark 4:13-20 And he said to them: “Do you not comprehend[59] this simile?[60] And how will you comprehend all similes? The sower sows the seed of the Oral Torah.[61] And these are those along the way (path) where the seed of the Oral Torah is sown. And when they hear, the adversary (Yester HaRa) comes immediately^[62] and takes away the seed of the Oral Torah having been sown in their hearts. And likewise, these are the ones having been sown on the rocky (soil),^[63] who, when they hear the Oral Torah, they immediately receive it with joy, Yet they have no root (faithfulness) in themselves, but are temporal opportunists.[64] Then when trouble or persecution[65] has occurred because of the Oral Torah, they immediately stumble[66] (and fall away). These are those being sown into the thorn bushes, those hearing the Oral Torah, And the cares of this age, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts about other things entering in, they choke the Oral Torah, and it becomes unfruitful.[67] And these are those being sown on the good ground, who hear and welcome the Oral Torah and bring forth fruit, one thirty, and one sixty, and one a hundredfold.

 

The Egyptian exile which is, for us, the paradigm of all exiles. When HaShem freed us from Egyptian bondage, He used four terms of redemption. He said,

 

• “I will take you out (v’hotzeiti) of the land of Egypt,
• And I will save you (v’hitzalti) from serving them.
• And I will redeem you (v’gaalti) from slavery to freedom,
• And I will take you (v’lakachti) to Me as a nation”.

 

 

“v’hotzeiti” hints at Galut Bavel, for so the Prophet writes in Yeshayahu “Go out from Bavel ... , flee from the Kasdim”;[68]

“v’hitzalti” hints at Galut Paras and Madai, since that is where they were saved from physical annihilation;

 

“v’gaalti” hints at Galut Yavan, because that is where their spiritual existence was threatened; whilst –

 

“v’lakachti eschem li le’Am” hints at Galut Edom, where HaShem will take us as His nation once and for all, when the time comes.

 

The Four Cups

 

The Talmud Yerushalmi[69] says that the four cups of wine at the seder parallel four phrases of redemption. The Yerushalmi goes on to say that the four cups represent our freedom from the four nations who oppressed us: Bavel, Madai, Yavan, and Edom.

 

The early experiences of the Jewish people are considered to foreshadow our later experiences in history. For us, history truly repeats itself. And so, our Egyptian experience is a forerunner of all the later times we would be oppressed by the nations of the world.

 

During the seder we take four cups of wine, which correspond with these four expressions of redemption.

 

This prototypical exile confirms the words of Our Sages when they taught that the purpose of exile is to make converts:

 

Shemot (Exodus) 12:37 And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children. 38 And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle.

 

Thus, we see that the Erev Rav, the mixed multitude, also came out with the Children of Israel. These Gentiles had attached themselves to Israel and would receive a portion of the Promised Land.

 

Egypt is viewed as the prototype of all the future exiles and therefore remains in a class of its own. It was the Egyptian paradigm that enabled the sages to view Israel’s exile in such broad perspective. Just as they compared the first redeemer (Moses) to the final redeemer (Messiah of the house of David), and the first redemption to the final redemption, so they considered the first Galut to be the model for all future exiles. HaShem’s promise to Yaakov Avinu was thus interpreted by the Rabbis as applying to every Galut experience:

 

Bereshit (Genesis) 46:3-4 Fear not to go down into Egypt, for I will ... go down with you into Egypt and surely bring you up again.

 

The Rabbis understand this literally to mean that HaShem Himself, as it were, accompanies His people into exile. A new concept was thus born, known as Shekhinta be-Galuta, “the Divine Presence [is] in exile”,[70] which would later become potent in the Kabbalah.

 

This exile is puzzling. Seventy righteous, holy, and undefiled Jewish souls went down to Egypt and 600,000 souls emerged mired in forty-nine levels of defilement! What purpose did this exile serve? The goal of the exile was to scour the Jewish people and prepare them for their mission as the chosen people. This is what HaShem meant when He told Avraham: “Know for sure” that if you want your descendants to be the chosen people they must endure four hundred years of purification in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed, not because they sinned, but in order to be cleansed and prepared for the mission that awaits them.

 

When we left Egypt, we brought a large mixed multitude of Gentiles with us. This is one of the ultimate goals of exile.

 

Tehillim (Psalms) 123:3 Be gracious unto us, HaShem, be gracious unto us; for we are full sated with contempt.

 

 

Ashlamatah: Mikha (Micah) 5:11 - 6:8

 

Rashi	Targum
07. ¶ And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples-like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among the flocks of sheep, which, if it passes through, treads down and tears in pieces, and no one [can] save anything.	07.
08. Your hand shall be raised above your oppressors, and all your enemies shall be destroyed.	08.
09. And it shall come to pass on that day, says the Lord, that I will cut your horses out of your midst, and I will destroy your chariots.	09.
10. And I will destroy the cities of your land, and I will break down all your fortresses.	10.
11. And I will destroy sorcery from your hand, and you will have no soothsayers.	11.
12. And I will destroy your graven images and your monuments from your midst, and you shall no longer prostrate yourself to your handiwork.	12.
13. And I will uproot your asherim from your midst, and I will destroy your enemies.	13.
14. And in anger and fury I will execute vengeance upon the nations who have paid no heed.	14.
Hear now what the Lord says; Rise; contend with the mountains, and may the hills hear My voice.	01.
02. Hear ye, O mountains, the controversy of the Lord; and you mighty ones, the foundations of the earth; for the Lord has a controversy with His people, and with Israel He shall contend.	02.
03. O My people, what have I done, and how have I wearied you? Testify against Me.	03.
04. For I brought you up out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.	04.
05. My people, remember now what Balak king of Moab planned, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him. From Shittim to Gilgal, may you recognize the righteous deeds of the Lord.	05.
06. With what shall I come before the Lord, bow before the Most High God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with yearling calves?	06.
07. Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with myriad streams of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?	07.
08. He has told you, O man, what is good, and what the Lord demands of you; but to do justice, to love loving-kindness, and to walk discreetly with your God.  {S}	08.

 

Rashi’s Commentary on Micah 5:11 - 6:8

 

Chapter 6

 

1 with the mountains -with the Patriarchs.

 

the hills -the Matriarchs.

 

3 what have I done for you -Put your heart to recognizing what benefit I have done for you.

 

and how have I wearied you -with My worship? 

 

4 For I brought you up -Although I bestowed all this benefit upon you, I did not weary you with much worship or with large sacrifices.

 

Moses, Aaron, and Miriam - Jonathan paraphrases: Moses to teach the transmission of the laws, Aaron to atone for the people, and Miriam to instruct the women. 

 

5 and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him -(Num. 23:8) “How shall I be angry if God is not angry?” for I did not become angry all those days. [from Berachot 4a]

 

from Shittim -where you sinned before Me. You should recognize My righteous deeds, for I did not withhold My kindness and My assistance from you until I brought you to Gilgal, and I conquered the land before you.

 

6 bow I will be humbled. 

 

7 streams of oil -for meal offerings.

 

Shall I give my firstborn? -as a sacrifice for my transgression. 

 

8 He has told -The Holy One, blessed be He, has told you what is good for you to do.

 

and to walk discreetly - Jonathan renders: Walk discreetly in the fear of your God. Another explanation: And walk discreetly. The standard of flesh and blood is not like the standard of the Holy One, blessed be He. The standard of flesh and blood is: If one man embarrasses his fellow and comes to placate him, the fellow says to him, “I will not accept your apology until so and so and so and so, before whom you disgraced me, come.” But the Holy One, blessed be He, desires only that the man’s return to Him be between the two of them. [from Pesikta d’Rav Kahana 163b] .

 

Verbal Connections

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

HH Giberet Dr. Elisheba bat Sarah

 

Debarim (Deuteronomy) 18:14 – 20:9

Tehillim (Psalms) 123:1 -125:5

Micah 5:11 - 6:8

Mk 15:1-5, Lk 23:1-16, Jam. 3:1-2

 

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Psalm are:

LORD - יהוה, Strong’s number 03068.

God - אלהים, Strong’s number 0430.

Suffered / Give / Given - נתן, Strong’s number 05414.

 

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Ashlamata are:

Nations / Heathen - גוי, Styrong’s number 01471.

Hearken / Heard / Hear - שמע, Strong’s number 08085.

Times / Soothsayer - ענן, Strong’s number 06049.

LORD - יהוה, Strong’s number 03068.

God - אלהים, Strong’s number 0430.

Suffered / Give / Given - נתן, Strong’s number 05414.

 

Debarim (Deuteronomy) 18:14 For these nations <01471>, which thou shalt possess, hearkened <08085> (8799) unto observers of times <06049> (8781), and unto diviners: but as for thee, the LORD <03068> thy God <0430> hath not suffered <05414> (8804) thee so to do.

 

Tehillim (Psalms) 123:2  Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the LORD <03068> our God <0430>, until that he have mercy upon us.

Tehillim (Psalms) 124:6  Blessed be the LORD <03068>, who hath not given <05414> (8804) us as a prey to their teeth.

 

Micah 5:12 And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand; and thou shalt have no more soothsayers <06049> (8781):

Micah 5:15 And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen <01471>, such as they have not heard <08085> (8804).

Micah 6:1 Hear <08085> (8798) ye now what the LORD <03068> saith; Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills hear <08085> (8799) thy voice.

Micah 6:6 Wherewith shall I come before the LORD <03068>, and bow myself before the high God <0430>? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?

Micah 6:7 Will the LORD <03068> be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give <05414> (8799) my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

 

 

 

 

 

Hebrew:

 

 

 

Greek:

 

GREEK	ENGLISH	Torah Reading Deut. 18:14 – 20:9	Psalms 123:1 -125:5	Ashlamatah Mic 5:11 - 6:8	Peshat Mishnah of Mark, 1-2 Peter, & Jude Mk 15:1-5	Tosefta of Luke Lk 23:1-16	Remes/Gemara of Acts/Romans and James Jam. 3:1-2
ἀδελφός	brother	Deu 18:15 Deu 18:18 Deu 19:18 Deu 19:19 Deu 20:8					Jas. 3:1
ἀκούω	hear, listen	Deut. 18:14 Deut. 18:15 Deut. 18:16 Deut. 18:19 Deut. 19:20 Deut. 20:3		Mic. 5:15 Mic. 6:1 Mic. 6:2		Lk. 23:6 Lk. 23:8
ἄνθρωπος	man, men	Deu 18:19 Deu 19:11  Deu 19:15  Deu 19:16  Deu 19:17  Deu 20:5  Deu 20:6  Deu 20:7  Deu 20:8	Ps. 124:2	Mic. 6:8		Lk. 23:4 Lk. 23:6 Lk. 23:14
ἀνίστημι	raise up, rise	Deut. 18:15 Deut. 18:18 Deut. 19:11 Deut. 19:15 Deut. 19:16	Ps. 124:2	Mic. 6:1		Lk. 23:1
ἀποκρίνομαι	answered			Mic 6:5	Mk. 15:2 Mk. 15:3 Mk. 15:4 Mk. 15:5	Lk. 23:3 Lk. 23:9
ἀποστρέφω	return	Deu 20:5 Deu 20:6  Deu 20:7  Deu 20:8				Lk. 23:14
βασιλεύς	king			Mic 6:5	Mk. 15:2	Lk. 23:2 Lk. 23:3
γραμματεύς	scribes	Deu 20:5 Deu 20:8 Deu 20:9			Mk. 15:1	Lk. 23:10
δίδωμι	appoimted, gave, give, given	Deut. 18:14 Deut. 18:18 Deut. 19:1 Deut. 19:2 Deut. 19:8 Deut. 19:10 Deut. 19:12 Deut. 19:14	Ps. 124:6	Mic. 6:7		Lk. 23:2
ἔθνος	nations	Deut. 18:14 Deut. 19:1		Mic. 5:15		Lk. 23:2
εἴδω	behold	Deu 20:1				Lk. 23:8	Jas. 3:1
εἰρήνη	peace		Psa 125:5		Mar 5:34
ἐξέρχομαι	came forth, go forth	Deu 20:1
ἔπω	said	Deut. 18:16 Deut. 18:17 Deut. 18:21 Deut. 19:7 Deut. 20:3 Deut. 20:5 Deut. 20:8	Ps. 124:1	Mic. 6:1	Mk. 15:2	Lk. 23:4 Lk. 23:14
ἡμέρα	days	Deu 18:16 Deu 19:9  Deu 19:17				Lk. 23:7 Lk. 23:12
θάνατος	of death	Deu 19:6				Lk. 23:15
ἰδού	behold, see	Deu 19:18	Psa 123:2			Lk. 23:14 Lk. 23:15
ἵστημι	establish, stood, set up	Deu 19:14  Deu 19:15  Deu 19:17			Matt. 26:73	Lk. 23:10
κρίμα	judgment, equity			Mic 6:8			Jas. 3:1
λαμβάνω	take	Deu 19:12 Deu 20:7					Jas. 3:1
λαός	people	Deut. 20:1 Deut. 20:2 Deut. 20:5 Deut. 20:8 Deut. 20:9	Ps. 125:2	Mic. 6:2 Mic. 6:3 Mic. 6:5		Lk. 23:5 Lk. 23:13 Lk. 23:14
λέγω	saying	Deu 18:16 Deu 19:7  Deu 20:5			Mk. 15:2 Mk. 15:4	Lk. 23:2 Lk. 23:3 Lk. 23:5
λόγος	words	Deu 18:19				Lk. 23:9	Jas. 3:2
οὐκέτι	no longer			Mic 5:13	Mk. 15:5
παραδίδωμι	deliver	Deu 19:12			Mk. 15:1
ποιέω	do, did, done, make, made	Deut. 19:9 Deut. 19:19 Deut. 19:20	Ps. 124:8	Mic. 5:15 Mic. 6:3 Mic. 6:8	Mk. 15:1
πολύς  /  πολλός	numerous, many, much	Deut. 20:1	Ps. 123:3 Ps. 123:4		Mk. 15:3	Lk. 23:8	Jas. 3:1 Jas. 3:2

 

 

 

Nazarean Talmud

Sidra of “D’barim (Deut.) 18.14 – 20.9

“Khi HaGoyim HaEleh” -  ” For those nations”

By: H. Em Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham

 

 

School of Hakham Shaul’s Tosefta Luqas (LK)	School of Hakham Tsefet’s Peshat Mordechai (Mk)
And the whole assembly of them rose up and brought him before Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying he himself is Messiah, a king!” And Pilate asked him, saying, “Are you the king of the Jews?” And he answered him and said, “Those are your words.”[71] So Pilate said to the Kohen Gadol and the assembly (of Tz’dukim – Sadducees), “I find no basis for an accusation against this man.”[72] But they were urgent,[73] saying, “He incites the people,[74] teaching throughout the whole of Judah and beginning from Galilee as far as here.”  Now when Pilate heard this, he asked if the man (Yeshua) was a Galilean. And when he found out that he was from the jurisdiction of Herod, he sent him over to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time. And when Herod saw Yeshua, he was very glad, for he had been wanting to see him for a long time, because he had heard about him and was hoping to see some sign performed by him. So he questioned him at considerable length, but he (Yeshua) would not answer him. And the Kohen Gadol and the Soferim of the Tz’dukim were standing there forcibly accusing him. And Herod with his soldiers also treated him with contempt, and after mocking him and dressing him in glistening clothing, he sent him back to Pilate.   Both Herod and Pilate became friends with one another on that same day, for they had previously been enemies of one another. So Pilate called together the Kohen Gadol and the head rulers of the Tz’dukim and the people and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was misleading the people, and behold, when I examined him before you, I found nothing in this man as basis for the accusation which you are making against him. But neither did Herod, because he sent him back to us. And behold, nothing deserving death has been done by him. Therefore I will punish him and release him.”		¶And first thing in the morning,[75] the Kohen Gadol held a consultation with the Zekanim and Soferim (of the Tz’dukim) and they, with determination[76] bound Yeshua, and led (him) away, and delivered[77] (him) to Pilate. Then Pilate asked him, "Are You the King of the Jews?"[78] He answered and said to him, "(It is as) you say." And the Kohen Gadol accused him of many[79] things, but he answered nothing. Then Pilate asked him again, saying, "Do you have an answer? See how many things they testify against you!" But Yeshua still said nothing, so that Pilate marveled.
School of Hakham Ya’aqob’s Remes   James 3.1-2 My brethren do not many seek to become self-constituted[80] Rabbis, and those who censor and reprovers of others,[81] for I want you to know that we Rabbis will be judged by a higher standard and with greater severity than other people; thus, we assume greater accountability and more judgment. 2 For we all often stumble and fall and offend in many things. And if anyone does not offend in speech[82] he is a Hakham with a fully developed character and a perfect[83] man, able to master his Yetser[84] and to curb his entire nature.

 

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

 

 

Commentary to Hakham Tsefet’s School of Peshat

Here the Greek text uses “συνέδριον,” (assembly) which is also the formal title of the Sanhedrin; however, use of συνέδριον does not always mean that there was a formal meeting of the Sanhedrin. We find that the Greek συνέδριον is actually a compound σύν (G4862) and ἑδραι̑ος (G1476). The word ἑδραι̑ος is used sparingly in the Nazarean Codicil. It is most common use is related to “being steadfast” or “determined in a course of action.” Hakham Shaul uses the word three times to indicate the walk of the talmidim of Yeshua. Here the context causes us to translate the compound as “with determination.” As we stated previously, we cannot believe that the whole Sanhedrin met and accused Yeshua of any crime on the eve of the Sadducean Pesach. We are able to make this determination by facts that governed the meeting times and schedules of the formal Sanhedrin.

 

m. San. 4:1 In capital cases they come to a final decision for acquittal on the same day, but on the following day for conviction. (Therefore, they do not judge [capital cases] either on the eve of the Sabbath or on the eve of a festival.

 

Firstly, the Sanhedrin could not meet on the day of or the day before a Festival.

 

Secondly, the procedure for capital cases required at minimum a two-day setting of a court a minimum of 23 judges.

 

Therefore, the eve of Pesach for the Tz’dukim and or the P’rushim is disallowed as a possible date for the proper Sanhedrin. Because the Tz’dukim and P’rushim celebrated Pesach on different days, the whole scene here is that of an ad hoc court of despotic thugs.

 

Furthermore, the men, who sat on the Sanhedrin, must be men who possess a genuine fear of G-d.

 

Exo 18:21 Moreover thou will provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating unjust gain; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.^[85]

 

The “council” of our present pericope is not a council of G-d fearing men. These men have an agenda of their own. They did not consult G-d in an attempt to find innocence or guilt.

 

If we were to use the above-cited passage as a rule, we could dismiss this court on three accounts.

 

1. They did not fear God
2. They were not men of truth
3. They were not men hating unjust gain

Hakham Tsefet’s passion account has been carefully prepared in the preceding pericopes but now begins to form its climax. However, this leaves us with the question, what exactly was the character of Pilate? Was he the timid character that Scholars have made him out to be, or was his character otherwise? Philo does not place him in a positive light.

 

…particulars of his government, in respect of his corruption, and his acts of insolence, and his rapine, and his habit of insulting people (specifically the Jewish people), and his cruelty, and his continual murders of people untried and uncondemned, and his never ending, and gratuitous, and most grievous inhumanity.^[86]

 

Carefully investigating the facts, we note that the parties responsible for Yeshua’s death and crucifixion were in collaboration. Yosef bar Qyp^[87] (Caiaphas) and Pilate could not allow Yeshua to continue in the ministry and mission if either were to maintain status quo. Pilate was the Roman prefect (governor) of Judah whose tenure lasted from 26 C.E. – 36 C.E. Yosef bar Qyp (Caiaphas) served as high Priest from 18 C.E. – 36 C.E. What is immediately evident is the fact that the offices of both individuals end in the same year. This would lead us to believe that they were interconnected and served to perpetuate a joint agenda.

 

Why does Yosef bar Qyp convene his ad hoc court so “immediately,” i.e. in the middle of the night? Why does the conclave carry Yeshua to Pilate? We believe this demonstrates that the crime against Yeshua demonstrates that this could not have been a legitimate Sanhedrin as noted above. While scholars bicker over the idea that the Sanhedrin was dislodged from the “Chamber of Hewn Stone,” We believe this demonstrates that it could not have been a genuine Sanhedrin.

 

What should also be noted from the Tosefta of Luqas is…

 

When Jesus' pronouncement in verse 62 leads to his condemnation on a charge of blasphemy, it is apparently members of the council who spit on him, cover his face, strike him and demand that he prophesy to them (v. 65) – hardly suitable behavior for responsible members of a court.^[88]

 

Our arguments are based on the fact that Pilate makes his claim against the Master from the accusations of the Kohen Gadol, Yosef bar Qyp. “Are you the King of the Jews?”^[89]

 

Never before has anyone referred to Jesus as King, yet it is the charge against Jesus inscribed above the cross (15.26) and in chapter 15 Mark concentrates on this theme, defining in what sense Jesus really was the King of Israel.^[90]

 

Thus, the role of Messiah is related to the Monarchy of David. Consequently, Yeshua is accused of sedition, not blasphemy, which the Kohen Gadol accused him of in our previous pericope. Perhaps this is, as some scholars suggest because the Jews had no power to sentence a man to death. Regardless, this is NOT a legitimate Sanhedrin. Therefore, the Kohen Gadol must bring charges before Pilate, since only Pilate could pronounce the death penalty in these circumstances. Furthermore, Pilate would be in Jerusalem during the Pesach festival. This would be the most opportune time to have Yeshua sentenced by the Roman governor. However, in pandering to the Remes potential of our Tosefta of Luqas we note that Pilate, as a model of Edom - Rome cannot correctly develop a legitimate perception of Messiah. This is especially true in the present pericope of Luqas where Yeshua is carried before Herod.

 

Herod with his soldiers also treated him with contempt, and after mocking him and dressing him in glistening clothing, he sent him back to Pilate.

 

The day on which Yeshua is tried is the day when the P’rushim prepared for Pesach. The Tz’dukim celebrated their Passover the previous day and now proceed with their plan to eliminate Yeshua. Therefore, with the P’rushim out of the way they want the process to be as expedient as possible. This means that they knew perfectly well they would never have the support of the P’rushim in this matter.

 

Why did Pilate and Herod suddenly “become friends” on this day? Is it not because the threat that Yeshua posed against the complete governmental structure was in jeopardy? Their necks were on the chopping block per se. We will also opine that there had been a plot against Yeshua now for some time. A conspiracy would include Yehudah Ish Keriyoth (the man from Keriyoth of Edom) Yosef bar Qyp (Caiaphas) the Kohen Gadol, Herod, of the Edomites who were forcibly converted to Judaism and Pilate a despotic tyrant, make up the circle of despotic leaders. Now all of these are contented because they have in their possession the single greatest threat to their Pax Romana.^[91]

 

Yehudah Ish Keriyoth, one of the twelve talmidim went out to the Kohen Gadol in order to give (betray) him (Yeshua) to them. And when they (the Kohen Gadol and his soferim) were delighted (greatly) and promised to give him money.^[92]

 

The coming pericopes will reveal the true character of all of these men.

 

Psalm 2:1 Why do the heathen (Gentile Kings) rage, and the people (their constituents) imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed (Messiah – Hakham), saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sits in the heavens laughs: the Lord has them in derision.

 

Further as we have learned, Rashi commenting upon Exodus 21:1, states:

 

before them But not before gentiles. Even if you know that they [gentiles] judge a certain law similarly to the laws of Israel, do not bring it to their courts, for one who brings Jewish lawsuits before gentiles profanes the [Divine] Name and honors the name of idols to praise them (other editions: to give them importance), as it is said: “For not like our Rock [God] is their rock, but [yet] our enemies judge [us]” (Deut. 32:31). When [we let] our enemies judge [us], this is testimony to [our] esteem of their deity.-[From Tanchuma 3]

 

Here alone it becomes obvious how much Herod (the Roman appointed king over the Jews) and Caiphas (the Roman appointed High-Priest over the Jewish people, erred willingly from the truth of the Torah!

 

 

 

Commentary to Hakham Ya’aqob’s School of Remes

 

“כִּי הַגּוֹיִם הָאֵלֶּה”

Those nations that you are about to dispossess do indeed resort to soothsayers and augurs; to you, however, the LORD your God has not assigned the like.

 

The Torah Seder sets the stage for understanding the pericope of Ya’aqob this week. The key words have to do with the ability or qualifications to prophecy. We know that this office (prophecy) has passed to the Sages and Torah Scholars.

 

Baba Batra 12a Said R. Abdimi of Haifa, “From the day on which the house of the sanctuary was destroyed, prophecy was taken away from prophets and given over to sages.” So are sages not also prophets? This is the sense of the statement: Even though it was taken from the prophets, it was not taken from sages. Said Amemar, “And a sage is superior to a prophet: ‘And a prophet has a heart of wisdom’ (Ps. 90:12). Who is compared to whom? Lo, the lesser is compared to the greater.”^[93]

 

Piska 174

For these nations, that thou art to dispossess —perform the commandment stated in this matter, for as a reward you will dispossess these nations — hearken unto soothsayers, and unto diviners ( 1 8:1 4 ) : Lest you should say, "They have ways of inquiring, and I do not," the verse goes on to say, But as for thee, the Lord thy God hath not suffered thee so to do. (A prophet will the Lord thy God raise up unto thee) (18 :1 4 - 15). [Suffered thee—it has been given to you, but you forsake the words of Torah and busy yourselves with making it void.2] ^[94]

 

Piska 175

A prophet from the midst of thee—and not from outside the (Holy) Land—of thy brethren—and not from foreigners—will the Lord thy God raise up unto thee (18 :15) — and not unto the nations. How then am I to obey the command, I have appointed thee a prophet unto the nations (Jer. 1:5)? (A prophet) unto those who behave like the nations. Unto him ye shall hearken (18:15): Even if he tells you to disobey one of the commandments of the Torah in order to meet the needs of the hour, as did Elijah at Mount Carmel, hearken unto him.^[95]

 

Self-constituted^[96] Rabbis,

 

Today everyone is special. Everyone is more important than all his peers. Likewise, everyone is more qualified to interpret Scripture than the learned Scholar who spends countless hours in study and research.

 

Hakham Ya’aqob sets the record straight. The Torah on the lips of the Torah Scholar/Rabbi/Hakham is not free. Thus, the self-proclaimed teachers, prophets are the same as the soothsayers of our Torah Seder. And what they have not learned is that there is a great responsibility with the office of the Teacher - Rabbi, Hakham, Sage, Torah Scholar etc. The Sage must weigh each word that comes from his mouth as he will be responsible and held accountable for everything he says. Perhaps the words of Hakham Ya’aqob can better be understood to say … 

 

You should not want to be a teacher until you understand that teachers have greater standards of being and are judged accordingly. Or perhaps you should not wish to be a “Rabbi” until you really understand the responsibility and accountability you will be held to. 

 

1. Being a self-constituted Rabbi

Assumes no responsibility or accountability for the words he speaks.

 

2. The Judgment of Rabbis – without true ordination and appointment

Is harsher than those who have been ordained and taught by a qualified Mentor.

 

Process of selection as taught in the Nazarean Codicil.

 

This process of selection teaches us how the process of developing into a Rabbi is accomplished. And the Nazarean Hakhamim show us that they have submitted to the ordinary process of becoming Rabbis and Hakhamim.

 

II Luqas (Acts) 6:1-6

Now in those days, the talmidim were multiplied, and a complaint from the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews, because their widows were overlooked in the daily rationing. And the Twelve called to themselves the congregation of the talmidim and said, it is not beneficial for us, to leave the Word of G-d, in order to serve the bench as Paqidim. Therefore, brothers, appoint seven men from among yourselves of good reputation and standing, full of the Mesorah (Oral Torah) and wisdom (Hokhmah), who we may appoint to this duty (as Paqidim). But we will give ourselves continually to the service of the Torah at the bench and to prayer. And the saying pleased the whole congregation. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faithful obedience and of the Mesorah, and Peresh (Philip), and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicholas, a Jewish proselyte of Antioch. They set these before the emissaries (Nazarean Hakhamim/Rabbis). And having prayed, they laid hands on them.

 

These seven men are called upon to life the responsibility of being a Paqid from the Sh’liachim (Apostles). While being a Paqid is a prerequisite for becoming a Hakham (Rabbi) it should be only entered upon with great fear and trepidation.  The “REAL” Rabbis count the cost of their words and realize that everything has a consequence. And, these consequences should be weighed …

 

1. Before entering the official office of a Rabbi
2. Before making any decisions as a Rabbi
3. Before teaching anything about Halakhah
4. Before teaching about anything having to do with legal decisions

 

Each of these things have an eternal impact overall of the Jewish people. This can be both positive and negative.

 

As Rabbis we have made decisions and statements that will be weighed on an eternal scale. I have made statements in the past to the affect of … “follow this course of action and if it is wrong, I will bear the blame.” Whether this statement is announced or not the Rabbi is making that kind of proclamation every time he makes a legal decision. We have held to the teaching that we will all spend a period of times in hades (hell). This time is not for punishment. It is for the sake of purification. But each legal decision carries the weight of blessing or punishment. “Self-constituted^[97] Rabbis” means that the self-proclaimed Rabbi either does not know the responsibility or price required for each lesson he has taught. The ignorant will say “I will never submit to a Rabbi.” That single statement alone shows their vast ignorance. Being a self-proclaimed Teacher means that you will bear the responsibility for every false statement or thought uttered or communicated. Those who have submitted to having a mentor and guide in a Rabbi have sought shelter under the wings of the Divine Presence and are a part of the community of G-d (Jewish people). The Rabbi can rely on his chain of continuity all the way back to Moshe Rabbenu. They can count on repeating the words of their mentor and rest assured that there is legal precedent for their remarks and decisions. But when there is no chain of “kibal ha Torah” (receiving the Torah from a mentor and/or teacher) the lesson is from an empty head and a big mouth.

 

The Torah Seder goes beyond the words of Hakham Ya’aqob. Or, we should understand that Hakham Ya’aqob’s words are reinforced by the stringency of the Torah.

 

אמן ואמן סלה

 

 

 

Questions for Understanding and Reflection

 

1. From all the readings for this week, which verse or verses touched your heart and fired your imagination?

 

2. What are the four exiles that the Jewish people have to undergo, and which one is the longest and more cruel?

 

3. In the Targum Yonatan for Debarim 18:15 it says: “a Prophet from among you of your brethren like unto me, with the Holy Spirit will the LORD your God raise up unto you; to Him will you be obedient.” What qualifications must this prophet have? And according to Matityahu 21:11 who is this prophet? And what are our obligations towards this prophet?

 

4. This week in Mordechai why does Pilate ask our Master “"Are You the King of the Jews?"

 

5. 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!”

 

Next Sabbath:

 

“               Shabbat “Khi Tiq’rav El I’ir” – “When you come near unto a city”

 

 

Coming Festival: Chanukah

[Evening December the 2^nd – Evening December the 10^th 2918]

For further information please see:

http://www.betemunah.org/lapin.html ; http://www.betemunah.org/connection.html ;

http://www.betemunah.org/chanukah.html ; http://www.betemunah.org/lights.html

 

Shalom Shabbat!

 

Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David

Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham