|
Esnoga Bet Emunah 4544 Highline Dr. SE Olympia, WA 98501 United States of America © 2015 E-Mail: gkilli@aol.com |
|
Esnoga Bet El 102 Broken Arrow Dr. Paris TN 38242 United States of America © 2015 E-Mail: waltoakley@charter.net |
Triennial Cycle (Triennial Torah Cycle) / Septennial Cycle (Septennial Torah Cycle)
|
Three and 1/2 year Lectionary Readings |
First Year of the Triennial Reading Cycle |
|
Kislev 02, 5776 – Nov 13/14, 2015 |
First Year of the Shmita Cycle |
Candle Lighting and Habdalah Times:
|
Amarillo, TX, U.S. Fri. Nov 13 2015 – Candles at 5:25 PM Sat. Nov 14 2015 – Habdalah 6:22 PM |
Austin & Conroe, TX, U.S. Fri. Nov 13 2015 – Candles at 5:17 PM Sat. Nov 14 2015 – Habdalah 6:12 PM |
Brisbane, Australia Fri. Nov 13 2015 – Candles at 5:57 PM Sat. Nov 14 2015 – Habdalah 6:53 PM |
|
Chattanooga, & Cleveland, TN, U.S. Fri. Nov 13 2015 – Candles at 5:19 PM Sat. Nov 14 2015 – Habdalah 6:16 PM |
Manila & Cebu, Philippines Fri. Nov 13 2015 – Candles at 5:07 PM Sat. Nov 14 2015 – Habdalah 5:58 PM |
Miami, FL, U.S. Fri. Nov 13 2015 – Candles at 5:15 PM Sat. Nov 14 2015 – Habdalah 6:08 PM |
|
Murray, KY, & Paris, TN. U.S. Fri. Nov 13 2015 – Candles at 4:28 PM Sat. Nov 14 2015 – Habdalah 5:26 PM |
Olympia, WA, U.S. Fri. Nov 13 2015 – Candles at 4:21 PM Sat. Nov 14 2015 – Habdalah 5:27 PM |
Port Orange, FL, U.S. Fri. Nov 13 2015 – Candles at 5:13 PM Sat. Nov 14 2015 – Habdalah 6:07 PM |
|
San Antonio, TX, U.S. Fri. Nov 13 2015 – Candles at 5:22 PM Sat. Nov 14 2015 – Habdalah 6:16 PM |
Sheboygan & Manitowoc, WI, US Fri. Nov 13 2015 – Candles at 4:10 PM Sat. Nov 14 2015 – Habdalah 5:12 PM |
Singapore, Singapore Fri. Nov 13 2015 – Candles at 6:33 PM Sat. Nov 14 2015 – Habdalah 7:23 PM |
|
St. Louis, MO, U.S. Fri. Nov 13 2015 – Candles at 4:32 PM Sat. Nov 14 2015 – Habdalah 5:31 PM |
Tacoma, WA, U.S. Fri. Nov 13 2015 – Candles at 4:19 PM Sat. Nov 14 2015 – Habdalah 5:24 PM |
|
|
|
|
|
For other places see: http://www.chabad.org/calendar/candlelighting.htm
Roll of Honor:
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 Yoel ben Abraham and beloved wife HH Giberet Rivka bat Dorit
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 Laurie Taylor
Her Excellency Giberet Gloria Sutton & beloved family
His Excellency Adon Gabriel ben Abraham and beloved wife HE Giberet Elisheba bat Sarah
His Excellency Adon Yehoshua ben Abraham and beloved wife HE Giberet Rut bat Sarah
Her Excellency Giberet Prof. Dr. Emunah bat Sarah & beloved family
His Excellency Adon Robert Dick & beloved wife HE Giberet Cobena Dick
Her Excellency Giberet Jacquelyn Bennett
His Excellency Adon Eliseo Peña and beloved wife HE Giberet Eva Peña
His Excellency Adon Gary Smith and beloved wife HE Giberet Brenda Smith
His Excellency Adon Cory and beloved wife HE Giberet Mariam Felty
His Excellency Adon Jarod Barak Barnum and beloved wife HE Giberet Crystal Barnum
For their regular and sacrificial giving, providing the best oil for the lamps, we pray that G-d’s richest blessings be upon their lives and those of their loved ones, together with all Yisrael and her Torah Scholars, amen ve amen!
Also a great thank you and great blessings be upon all who send comments to the list about the contents and commentary of the weekly Torah Seder and allied topics.
If you want to subscribe to our list and ensure that you never loose any of our commentaries, or would like your friends also to receive this commentary, please do send me an E-Mail to benhaggai@GMail.com with your E-Mail or the E-Mail addresses of your friends. Toda Rabba!
This Torah Seder is dedicated to His Excellency Adon Jarod Barnum, praying that Most High have mercy upon him and that his diabetes comes under control and that he may be blessed with a job suitable to his capabilities, may this be so, promptly, and speedily soon, amen ve amen!
Shabbat: “Lekh L’kha” - “Get up get out”
|
Shabbat |
Torah Reading: |
Weekday Torah Reading: |
|
לֶךְ-לְךָ |
|
|
|
Lekh L’kha |
Reader 1 – B’resheet 12:1-5 |
Reader 1 – B’resheet 14:1-3 |
|
“Get up get out” |
Reader 2 – B’resheet 12:6-9 |
Reader 2 – B’resheet 14:4-6 |
|
“Levántate y vete” |
Reader 3 – B’resheet 12:10-13 |
Reader 3 – B’resheet 14:7-9 |
|
B’resheet (Gen.) Gen. 12:1 – 13:18 |
Reader 4 – B’resheet 12:14-20 |
|
|
Ashlamatah: Joshua 24:3-10 + 14 |
Reader 5 – B’resheet 13:1-4 |
|
|
|
Reader 6 – B’resheet 13:5-12 |
Reader 1 – B’resheet 14:1-3 |
|
Psalms 9:1-21 |
Reader 7 – B’resheet 13:13-18 |
Reader 2 – B’resheet 14:4-6 |
|
|
Maftir – B’resheet 13:16-18 |
Reader 3 – B’resheet 14:7-9 |
|
N.C.: Mark 1:23-28 Luke 4:33-37 & Acts 3:11-16 |
Joshua 24:3-10 + 14 |
|
Blessings Before Torah Study
Blessed are You, Ha-Shem our G-d, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us through Your commandments, and commanded us to actively study Torah. Amen!
Please Ha-Shem, our G-d, sweeten the words of Your Torah in our mouths and in the mouths of all Your people Israel. May we and our offspring, and our offspring's offspring, and all the offspring of Your people, the House of Israel, may we all, together, know Your Name and study Your Torah for the sake of fulfilling Your delight. Blessed are You, Ha-Shem, Who teaches Torah to His people Israel. Amen!
Blessed are You, Ha-Shem our G-d, King of the universe, Who chose us from all the nations, and gave us the Torah. Blessed are You, Ha-Shem, Giver of the Torah. Amen!
Ha-Shem spoke to Moses, explaining a Commandment. "Speak to Aaron and his sons, and teach them the following Commandment: This is how you should bless the Children of Israel. Say to the Children of Israel:
May Ha-Shem bless you and keep watch over you; - Amen!
May Ha-Shem make His Presence enlighten you, and may He be kind to you; - Amen!
May Ha-Shem bestow favor on you, and grant you peace. – Amen!
This way, the priests will link My Name with the Israelites, and I will bless them."
These are the Laws for which the Torah did not mandate specific amounts: How much growing produce must be left in the corner of the field for the poor; how much of the first fruits must be offered at the Holy Temple; how much one must bring as an offering when one visits the Holy Temple three times a year; how much one must do when performing 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!
Contents of the Torah Seder
· The Call of Abraham – Genesis 12:1-9
· Abram in Egypt – Genesis 12:10-20
· Abram and Lot – Genesis 13:1-18
Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan
for: B’resheet 12:1 – 13:18
|
Rashi’s Translation |
Targum Pseudo Jonathan |
|
1. And the Lord said to Abram, "Go forth from your land and from your birthplace and from your father's house, to the land that I will show you. |
1. AND the LORD said to Abram, Go from your land; separate yourself from your kindred; go out from the house of your father; go into the land which I will show you. |
|
2. And I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will aggrandize your name, and [you shall] be a blessing. |
2. And I will make you a great people, and will bless you, and magnify your name, and you will be blessed. |
|
3. And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse, and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you." |
3. And I will bless the priests who will spread forth their hands in prayer, and bless your sons; and Bileam, who will curse them, I will curse, and they will slay him with the mouth of the sword; and in you will be blessed all the generations of the earth. |
|
4. And Abram went, as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him, and Abram was seventy five years old when he left Haran. |
4. And Abram went, according as the Lord had spoken with him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was the son of seventy and five years at his going forth from Haran. |
|
5. And Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had acquired, and the souls they had acquired in Haran, and they went to go to the land of Canaan, and they came to the land of Canaan. |
5. And Abram took Sara his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all the substance which they had acquired, and the souls whom they had proselytized in Haran, and went forth to go to the land of Kenaan. And they came to the land of Kenaan. |
|
6. And Abram passed through the land, until the place of Shechem, until the plain of Moreh, and the Canaanites were then in the land. |
6. And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Shekem, unto the plain which had been showed. And the Kenaanites were then in the land; for the time had not yet come that the sons of Israel should possess it. |
|
7. And the Lord appeared to Abram, and He said, "To your seed I will give this land," and there he built an altar to the Lord, Who had appeared to him. |
7. And the LORD was revealed unto Abram, and said, To your sons will I give this land. And he built there an altar before the LORD, who was revealed to him. |
|
8. And he moved from there to the mountain, east of Beth el, and he pitched his tent; Beth el was to the west and Ai was to the east, and there he built an altar to the Lord, and he called in the name of the Lord. |
8. And he went up from thence to a mountain which was eastward of Bethel, and outspread his tent, having Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and he built there an altar before the LORD, and prayed in the Name of the LORD. |
|
9. And Abram traveled, continually traveling southward. |
9. And Abram migrated, going and migrating unto the south. |
|
10. And there was a famine in the land, and Abram descended to Egypt to sojourn there because the famine was severe in the land. |
10. And there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down into Mizraim to be a dweller there, because the famine was strong in the land. |
|
11. Now it came to pass when he drew near to come to Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, "Behold now I know that you are a woman of fair appearance. |
11. And it was, as he approached to enter the limit of Mizraim, and they had come to the river, and were uncovering their flesh to pass over, that Abram, said to Sara his wife, Behold, until this I have not beheld your flesh; but now I know that you are a woman of fair aspect. |
|
12. And it will come to pass when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, 'This is his wife,' and they will slay me and let you live. |
12. It will be, therefore, when the Mizraee see you, and view your beauty, that they will say, This is his wife; and they will kill me, and you will keep alive. |
|
13. Please say [that] you are my sister, in order that it go well with me because of you, and that my soul may live because of you." |
13. Say, I pray, that you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that my life may be spared on your account. |
|
14. And it came to pass when Abram came to Egypt, that the Egyptians saw the woman, that she was very pretty. |
14. And it was when Abram had entered Mizraim, the Mizraee saw the woman to be very fair; |
|
15. And Pharaoh's princes saw her, and they praised her to Pharaoh, and the woman was taken to the house of Pharaoh. |
15. and the princes of Pharoh beheld her, and praised her to Pharoh; and the woman was conducted to the royal house of Pharoh. |
|
16. And he benefited Abram for her sake, and he had flocks and cattle and he donkeys and men servants and maid servants, and she donkeys and camels. |
16. And Pharoh did good to Abram for her sake; and he had sheep, and oxen, and asses, and servants, and handmaids, and she-asses, and camels. |
|
17. And the Lord plagued Pharaoh [with] great plagues as well as his household, on account of Sarai, Abram's wife. |
17. And the Word of the LORD sent great plagues against Pharoh and the men of his house, on account of Sara, Abram's wife. |
|
18. And Pharaoh summoned Abram, and he said, "What is this that you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? |
18. And Pharoh called Abram, and said, What is this that you have done to me? |
|
19. Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her to myself for a wife? And now, here is your wife; take [her] and go." |
19. Why did you say, She is my sister? When I would take her to me to wife, plagues were at once sent against me, and I went not unto her. And now behold your wife, take (her) and go. |
|
20. And Pharaoh commanded men on his behalf, and they escorted him and his wife and all that was his. |
20. And Pharoh commanded men concerning him, and they led him out, and his wife, and all that he had. |
|
|
|
|
1. And Abram came up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that was his, and Lot with him, to the south. |
1. And Abram went up from Mizraim, he and his wife (and) all that he had; and Lot with him, to go to the south. |
|
2. And Abram was very heavy with cattle, with silver, and with gold. |
2. And Abram had become very strong in cattle, in silver, and in gold. |
|
3. And he went on his journeys, from the south and until Beth el, until the place where his tent had been previously, between Beth el and between Ai. |
3. And he proceeded in his journeys from the south unto Bethel, and returned to the place where he had outspread his tabernacle at the first, between Bethel and Ai, |
|
4. To the place of the altar that he had made at first, and Abram called there in the name of the Lord. |
4. to the place of the altar which he had made there at the beginning; and Abram prayed there in the Name of the LORD. |
|
5. And also Lot, who went with Abram, had flocks and cattle and tents. |
5. And also unto Lot, who was remembered through the righteousness/generosity of Abram, there were sheep and oxen and tents. |
|
6. And the land did not bear them to dwell together, for their possessions were many, and they could not dwell together. |
6. And the land could not sustain them to dwell together, because their possessions were great, and they were not able to dwell together. |
|
7. And there was a quarrel between the herdsmen of Abram's cattle and between the herdsmen of Lot's cattle, and the Canaanites and the Perizzites were then dwelling in the land. |
7. And contentions arose between the shepherds of Abram's flock, and the shepherds of the flocks of Lot; for the shepherds of Abram had been instructed by him not to go among the Kenaanaee and the Pherizaee, who, as yet, had power in the land, and to restrain the cattle that they should make no depredation in going to the place of their pasture: but the shepherds of Lot would go and feed in the grounds of the Kenaanaee and Pherizaee who yet dwelt in the land. |
|
8. And Abram said to Lot, "Please let there be no quarrel between me and between you and between my herdsmen and between your herdsmen, for we are kinsmen. |
8. And Abram said to Lot, Between me and you let there not now be controversy, nor between my shepherds and your shepherds; for we are brother-men. (Heb. אֲנָשִׁים אַחִים, אֲנָחְנוּ. – Anashim Achim Anachnu). |
|
9. Is not all the land before you? Please part from me; if [you go] left, I will go right, and if [you go] right, I will go left." |
9. Is not all the land before you? Separate then from me. If you go to the north, I will go to the south: if you go to the south, I go to the north. |
|
10. And Lot raised his eyes, and he saw the entire plain of the Jordan, that it was entirely watered; before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as you come to Zoar. |
10. And Lot uplifted his eyes towards (the place of) fornication; and beheld all the plain of the Jordan that it was altogether well watered, before the LORD in his wrath had destroyed Sedom and Amorah; a land admirable for trees, as the garden of the LORD, and for fruitage, as the land of Mizraim as you go up to Zoar. |
|
11. And Lot chose for himself the entire plain of the Jordan, and Lot traveled from the east, and they parted from one another. |
11. And Lot chose to him all the plain of the Jordan; and Lot journeyed from the east, and they separated the one man from his brother. |
|
12. Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain, and he pitched his tents until Sodom. |
12. Abram dwelt in the land of Kenaan, and Lot dwelt in the towns of the plain, and spread his tabernacle towards Sedom. |
|
13. And the people of Sodom were very evil and sinful against the Lord. |
13. And the men of Sedom were depraved in their wealth one with another, and they sinned in their bodies; they sinned with open nakedness, and the shedding of innocent blood, and practiced strange worship, and rebelled greatly against the name of the LORD. |
|
14. And the Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, "Please raise your eyes and see, from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward. |
14. And the LORD said to Abram, after that Lot had separated from him, Lift up now your eyes, and look, from the place where you are, to the north and to the south, to the east and to the west: |
|
15. For all the land that you see I will give to you and to your seed to eternity. |
15. for all the land that you see will I give unto you, and to your sons, forever. |
|
16. And I will make your seed like the dust of the earth, so that if a man will be able to count the dust of the earth, so will your seed be counted. |
16. And I will make your sons manifold as the dust of the earth, as that, as it is impossible for a man to number the dust of the earth, so also it will be impossible to number your sons. |
|
17. Rise, walk in the land, to its length and to its breadth, for I will give it to you." |
17. Arise journey in the land, and make occupation of it in length and breadth; for to you will I give it. |
|
18. And Abram pitched his tents, and he came, and he dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord. |
18. And Abram stretched his tent (and made folds) for oxen and sheep, and came and dwelt in the vale of Mamre which is in Hebron, and built there an altar 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.
Reading Assignment:
The Torah Anthology: Yalkut Me’Am Lo’Ez - Vol II: The Patriarchs
By: Rabbi Yaaqov Culi, Translated by: Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan
Published by: Moznaim Publishing Corp. (New York, 1988)
Vol. 2 – “The Patriarchs,” pp. 3-49.
Rashi’s Commentary for: B’resheet (Genesis) 12:1 – 13:18
1 Go forth Heb. לֶךְ לְךָ , lit. go to you, for your benefit and for your good, and there I will make you into a great nation, but here, you will not merit to have children. Moreover, I will make your character known in the world.-[from Rosh Hashanah 16b, Tan.]
2 And I will make you into a great nation Since traveling causes three things: 1) it diminishes procreation, 2) it diminishes money, and 3) it diminishes fame (lit. name), therefore, he required these three blessings, namely that He blessed him concerning children, concerning money, and concerning fame. (Other editions: And this is the meaning of and I will aggrandize your name. I will add a letter to your name, for until now, your name was אַבְרם From now on [your name will be] אַבְרהָם , and אַבְרהָם equals 148, corresponding to a person’s limbs. (Found in an old Rashi.-[from Gen. Rabbah 39:11; Tan. Buber, Chaye Sarah 6)
and I will bless you with money (Genesis Rabbah 39:11).
and [you shall] be a blessing The blessings are entrusted into your hand. Until now, they were in My hand; I blessed Adam and Noah. From now on, you may bless whomever you wish. (Gen. Rabbah) (ad loc.). Another explanation:
And I will make you into a great nation This is [the basis] of saying the God of Abraham.
and I will bless you This is [the basis] of saying the God of Isaac.
and I will aggrandize your name This is [the basis] of saying the God of Jacob [in the initial benediction of the Silent Prayer.] You might think that [the first benediction of the Silent Prayer] should be concluded [by mentioning] them all. Therefore, Scripture states: and [you shall] be a blessing with you they will conclude, and not with them. [i.e., The closing of the blessing is the shield of Abraham, and not the shield of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.] [from Pes. 117b]
from your land Now had he not already gone out of there with his father and come as far as Haran? Rather, thus did He say to him, “Distance yourself more from there and leave your father’s house.”
that I will show you He did not reveal the land to him immediately, in order to make it dear in his eyes and to give him reward for every command. Similarly (below 22:2): your son, your only one, whom you love, Isaac. Similarly (ibid. 2): on one of the mountains that I will say to you. Similarly (Jonah 3:2): and proclaim upon it the proclamation that I will speak to you. [from Gen. Rabbah 39:9]
3 shall be blessed in you There are many aggadoth, but this is its simple meaning: A man says to his son, May you be like Abraham. And so is every instance of [the words] “shall be blessed with you” in Scripture. And the following [text] proves this (below 48:20): “With you, Israel shall bless, saying: May God make you like Ephraim and like Manasseh.”-[from Sifrei, Naso 18]
5 and the souls they had acquired in Haran whom he had brought under the wings of the Shechinah. Abraham would convert the men, and Sarah would convert the women, and Scripture ascribes to them [a merit] as if they had made them (Gen. Rabbah 39:14). (Hence, the expression אֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ , lit. that they made.) The simple meaning of the verse is: the slaves and maidservants that they had acquired for themselves, as in [the verse] (below 31:1): He acquired (עָשָׂה) all this wealth [an expression of acquisition]; (Num. 24:18): and Israel acquires an expression of acquiring and gathering.
6 And Abram passed through the land He entered therein.
until the place of Shechem to pray for Jacob’s sons when they would come to wage war in Shechem. [from unknown midrashic source, also quoted by Redak]
until the plain of Moreh That is Shechem. He showed him Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal, where Israel accepted the oath of the Torah. [from aforementioned midrashic source]
and the Canaanites were then in the land He [the Canaanite] was gradually conquering the Land of Israel from the descendants of Shem, for it fell in Shem’s share when Noah apportioned the land to his sons, as it is said (below 14: 18): “And Malchizedek the king of Salem.” Therefore, (below verse 7): And the Lord said to Abram: To your seed will I give this land. I am destined to restore it to your children, who are of the descendants of Shem. [from Sifra, end of Kedoshim]
7 and there he built an altar [in thanksgiving] for the good tidings concerning his descendants and the good tidings concerning the Land of Israel. [from Gen. Rabbah 39:15-16]
8 And he moved from there his tent. east of Beth-el Heb. מִקֶדֶם , from the east of Beth-el. Hence, Beth-el was to his west. That is what the Torah means by “Beth-el was in the west.”
his tent According to the masoretic text, it is written אהלה , which can be read אָהֳלָה , her tent. First he pitched his wife’s tent and afterwards his own (Gen. Rabbah 39:15).
and there he built an altar He prophesied that his sons were destined to stumble there because of the iniquity of Achan, and he prayed there for them. [from Gen. Rabbah 39:16, Yelammedenu]
9 continually traveling lit. going and traveling. [He traveled] in intervals, staying here for a month or more, traveling from there, and pitching his tent elsewhere. And all his travels were southward, to go to the south of the Land of Israel, and that is to the direction of Jerusalem, (The meaning is that Jerusalem was in the middle of the world and the end of the Land of Israel. So it is explained in Isaiah.) which is in the territory of Judah, who took [his portion] in the south of the Land of Israel, to Mount Moriah, which was his [Judah’s] heritage. (Gen. Rabbah 39:16). [Note that the parenthetic addendum appears in several editions of Rashi, but its connection to this verse is obscure, because the location of Jerusalem in the middle of the world is irrelevant.]
10 a famine in the land in that land alone, to test him, whether he would think ill of the words of the Holy One, blessed be He, Who ordered him to go to the Land of Canaan, and now He was forcing him to leave it. [from Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer, ch. 26]
11 Behold now I know The Midrash Aggadah (Tan. Lech Lecha 5) [states that] until now, he did not recognize her [beauty] because of the modesty of both of them, but now he recognized her [beauty] through an incident. Another explanation: It is customary that through the hardship of travel, a person becomes unattractive, but she remained with her beauty. The simple meaning of the verse is: Behold, now the time has arrived when we must be concerned about your beauty. I have known already for a long time that you are of fair appearance, but now we are coming among black and ugly people, the brothers of the Cushites, and they are not accustomed to a beautiful woman. Similar to this (below 19:2): “Behold now, my lords, please turn.”-[from Gen. Rabbah 40:4]
13 in order that it go well with me because of you They will give me gifts.
14 And it came to pass when Abram came to Egypt It should have said, when they came to Egypt, but it teaches us that he hid her in a trunk, and when they demanded the customs duty, they opened it and saw her. [from Gen. Rabbah 40:5]
15 and they praised her to Pharaoh They praised her among themselves, saying, “This [woman] is fit for the king.”-[from Targum Onkelos according to Ramban]
16 and he benefited Abram Pharaoh [benefited him]for her sake. [from Targum Jonathan]
17 And the Lord plagued Pharaoh [with] great plagues He was stricken with the plague of “ra’athan,” making intercourse harmful to him. Gen. Rabbah (41:2)
as well as his household lit. and his house. As the states: and upon the people of his house, (and its midrashic interpretation (Tan. Lech Lecha 8) is that this includes its walls, pillars, and utensils. In an old Rashi).
on account of Sarai [The words עַל דְבַר שָׂרַי mean literally] according to her words: she would say to the angel, “Strike,” and he would strike. [from Tan. Lech Lecha 5]
19 take [her] and go Not like Abimelech, who said to him (below 20:15): “Here is my land before you.” But he [Pharaoh] said to him, “Go and do not stay, because the Egyptians are lascivious,” as it is said (Ezek. 23:20): “and whose issue is the issue of horses.”- [from Tan. Lech Lecha]
20 And Pharaoh commanded men on his behalf - on his account, to escort him and to guard him.
and they escorted him Heb. וַיְשַׁלְחוּ , to be explained according to the Targum: and they escorted him.
Chapter 13
1 And Abram came up, etc., to the south To come to the south of the Land of Israel, as Scripture stated above (12: 9): continually traveling southward to Mount Moriah. And in every case when one goes from Egypt to the land of Canaan, he goes from south to north, for the land of Egypt is south of the Land of Israel, as is evidenced by the travels [of the Jews in the desert] and by the boundaries of the Land.
2 very heavy laden with burdens.
3 And he went on his journeys When he returned from Egypt to the land of Canaan, he went and lodged in the inns where he had lodged on his way to Egypt. This teaches you etiquette, that a person should not change his lodgings (Arachin 16b). Another explanation (Gen. Rabbah 41:3): On his return, he paid his debts.
from the south The land of Egypt is south of the land of Canaan.
4 that he had made at first, and Abram called there And where Abram had called in the name of the Lord. We may also say that it means: and now he called there in the name of the Lord.
5 who went with Abram What brought about that he had this [wealth]? His going with Abram. [from B.K. 93a]
6 And...did not bear It was unable to supply enough pasture for their cattle, and this is an abbreviated expression, and an additional word is needed. [It is to be explained] as: “And the pasture of the land could not bear them.” Therefore, וְלֽא נָשׂא is written in the masculine gender.
7 And there was a quarrel Since Lot’s herdsmen were wicked, and they pastured their animals in fields belonging to others, Abram’s herdsmen rebuked them for committing robbery, but they responded, “The land was given to Abram, who has no heir; so Lot will inherit him, and therefore this is not robbery.” But Scripture states: “And the Canaanites and the Perizzites were then dwelling in the land,” and Abram had not yet been awarded its possession. [from Gen. Rabbah 41:5]
8 kinsmen meaning relatives, and according to the Midrash Aggadah (Gen. Rabbah 41:6), they resembled each other in their facial features.
9 if [you go] left, I will go right Wherever you dwell, I will not distance myself from you, and I will stand by you as a protector and a helper. And he ultimately needed him, as it is said (below 14:14): “And Abram heard that his kinsman had been captured, etc.”
I will go right [Grammatically, this means] “I will go towards the right,” like וְאַשְׂמְאִילָה , “and I will go towards the left.” Now if you say that it should have been vowelized וְאֲיְמִינָה , we find the same in another place, (viz. II Sam. 14:19): “if anyone can turn to the right (לַהֵמִין) ,” and it is not vowelized לְהַיְמִין
10 that it was entirely watered A land with streams of water.
before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah that plain was:
like the garden of the Lord for [growing] trees.
like the land of Egypt for [growing] seeds (Gen. Rabbah 41:7).
as you come to Zoar Until Zoar. And the Midrash Aggadah interprets it unfavorably: it was because they were lascivious that Lot chose their region for himself (Tractate Horioth 10b).
11 plain Heb. כִּכָּר , the plain, as the Targum renders it. Note that according to Rashi, כִּכָּר is not the generic term for a plain, but the proper name of the Plain of the Jordan. See below (14:5).
from the east He traveled from beside Abram and went away to the west of Abram; hence, he travelled from east to west (Targum Jonathan). According to the Midrash Aggadah (Gen. Rabbah 41:7), he distanced himself from the Ancient One (מִקַדְמוֹנוֹ) of the world. He said, “I care neither for Abram nor for his God.”
12 and he pitched his tents He pitched tents for his herdsmen and his cattle until Sodom.
13 And the people of Sodom were...evil Nevertheless, Lot did not hesitate to sojourn with them. And our Rabbis (Yoma 38b) learned from here that (Prov. 10:7): “the name of the wicked shall rot.” [though they were evil, Lot did not hesitate to live with them.]
evil with their bodies.
and sinful with their money. [from Sanh. 109a]
very...against the Lord They recognized their Master and intended to rebel against Him. [from Sifra, Bechukkothai 2]
14 after Lot had parted As long as the wicked man was with him, the Divine speech withdrew from him (and above, when Lot was with him, and it is written (12: 7): “And the Lord appeared to Abram,” [we must assume that] at that time, he was righteous, and this is easy to understand). [from Tan. Vayeze 10]
16 that if a man will be able Just as it is impossible for the dust to be counted, so will your seed not be counted. [from Targum Onkelos]
18 Mamre the name of a man. [from Gen. Rabbah 42:8]
Ketubim: Psalms 9:1-21
|
Rashi’s Translation |
Targum |
|
1. To the conductor, to brighten the youth, a song of David. |
1. For praise, concerning the death of the man who went out between the armies. A hymn of David. ANOTHER TARGUM: For praise, concerning the sweetness of the sound by a son. A hymn of David. |
|
2. I will thank the Lord with all my heart; I will tell all Your wonders. |
2. I will sing praise in the LORD's presence with all my heart; I will tell all of Your miracles. |
|
3. I will rejoice and exult with You; I will sing praises to Your most high name. |
3. I will be glad and rejoice in Your word; I will praise Your name, O Most High. |
|
4. When my enemies draw backward, they stumble and are destroyed from before You. |
4. When my enemies turn back, they will stumble and perish before You. |
|
5. For You have performed my judgment and my cause; You sat on the throne, O Judge of righteousness. |
5. Because You have accomplished my vindication and my judgment; You sat down on the throne of the righteous/generous judge. |
|
6. You rebuked nations, You destroyed a wicked man; You erased their name forever and ever. |
6. You rebuked the peoples of the Philistines; You destroyed Goliath the wicked; their name You erased forever and ever. |
|
7. The enemy has been destroyed; swords exist forever, and You have uprooted the cities-their remembrance is lost. |
7. And when the enemy fell, his forces were obliterated, and their fortresses were laid waste forever, and as for their cities, You destroyed the memory of them forever. |
|
8. But the Lord shall sit forever; He has established His throne for judgment. |
8. But as for the word of the LORD, his seat is in the highest heaven forever; he has established his throne for judgment. |
|
9. But He judges the world with righteousness, kingdoms with equity. |
9. And He will judge the people of the earth in righteousness/generosity; He will judge the Gentiles in uprightness. |
|
10. And the Lord shall be a fortress for the crushed, a fortress for times of distress. |
10. And the word of the LORD will be strength to the poor, strength in times of distress. |
|
11. And those who know Your name shall trust in You, for You have not forsaken those who seek You, O Lord. |
11. And those who know Your name will look at Your hope, because You have not abandoned those who seek You, O LORD. |
|
12. Sing praises to the Lord, Who dwells in Zion; relate His deeds among the peoples. |
12. Sing praise before the LORD who made His presence rest in Zion; tell His deeds among the Gentiles. |
|
13. For He Who avenges blood remembers them; He has not forgotten the cry of the humble. |
13 For He avenges the innocent blood; He remembers them, he does not neglect the complaint of the humble. |
|
14. Be gracious to me, O Lord, see my affliction from my enemies, You Who raise me up from the gates of death, |
14. Pity me, O LORD; see my pain caused by my enemies, You who lift me up from the entrances of death. |
|
15. in order that I tell all Your praises; in the gates of the daughter of Zion I will rejoice in Your salvation. |
15. So that I may tell all Your praises in the entrances of the gates of the assembly of Zion; I will exult in Your redemption. |
|
16. Nations have sunk in the pit they have made; in this net that they have concealed, their foot has become trapped. |
16. The peoples have sunk in the pit that they made; in the very net they concealed, their feet are caught. |
|
17. The Lord is known for the judgment that He performed; with the act of His hand, the wicked man stumbles. Let us meditate over this forever. |
17. Manifest before the LORD is the judgement He executed: through the works of His hands, the wicked man stumbled, the righteous/generous will rejoice forever. |
|
18. May the wicked return to the grave, all nations who forget God. |
18. The wicked will return to Sheol, all the Gentiles who neglected the fear of the LORD. |
|
19. For the needy shall not be forgotten forever, neither shall the hope of the poor be lost to eternity. |
19. For the needy man is not forever neglected; the hope of the humble will not perish forever. |
|
20. Arise, O Lord; let man have no power. May the nations be judged for Your anger. |
20. Arise, O LORD, may the wicked son of man not grow strong, may the Gentiles be judged in Your presence. |
|
21. O Lord, place mastery over them; let the nations know that they forever are mortal man. |
21. Put, O LORD, fear on them; let the peoples know that they are a son of man forever. |
|
|
|
Rashi’s Commentary on Psalm 9:1-21
1 to brighten the youth Heb. על מות לבן . Some interpret על מות לבן , on the death of Absalom, but this interpretation is not plausible because he [David] states: לבן ; he does not state הבן . Others interpret על מות לבן[as referring to] Nabal. Neither is this plausible, to invert the name. Moreover, no mention is made of him in the psalm. (The preceding paragraph does not appear in most editions.) I saw in the Great Masorah that it is one word, judging by the fact that it is compared to (below 48:15): “He will lead us as in youth (על מות) .” Menachem and Dunash interpreted what they interpreted, but it does not seem correct to me. I saw in the Pesikta (d’Rav Kahana, p. 25a) that the chapter deals with Amalek and Esau (as in verse 6): You rebuked nations; You destroyed a wicked man. But I say that this song, למנצח על מות לבן , is for the future, when the childhood and the youth of Israel will be brightened; their righteousness will be revealed and their salvation will draw near, that Esau and his seed will be erased, according to our Torah. (The last phrase does not appear in most editions.) על מות means childhood. לבן is like ללבן , to whiten. Menachem interpreted על מות לבן , melodies to teach, and this is its interpretation: To the conductor למנצח , to the conductor, melodies to teach, in which case לבן is equivalent to להבין ולבונן , to understand and to comprehend; על מות , named for a musical instrument called עלמות , as is stated (below 46:1): “on alamoth- shir.” Dunash (p. 15f) interpreted לבן as the name of a man whose name was Labben, who fought with David in those days, and the Psalmist’s statement, “You rebuked nations, You destroyed a wicked man”this wicked man is Labben, who slew innocent people. Although you do not come upon a man named Labben anywhere else but this place, you find the same with other names, which are found in Scripture only once. (This entire account of Dunash’s interpretation does not appear in early mss. Menachem’s interpretation is presented very briefly.) 2 all your wonders the final redemption, which is equal to all the miracles, as is stated (in Jer. 23:7): “when they shall no longer say, As the Lord lives, Who brought up, etc.”
5 my judgment and my cause Heb. משפטי ודיני , words doubled in Scripture, for there is no difference between them, as (in Job 16:19): “my Witness is in heaven, and He Who testifies for me is on high”; (ibid. 40:18), “His limbs are as strong as copper, his bones as a load of iron.”
my judgment and my cause in heaven (?).
You sat on the throne The throne of judgment.
6 You rebuked nations [This alludes to Amalek, described in Num. 24:20 as] “Amalek is the first of the nations.”
You destroyed a wicked man Esau.
You erased their name “For I will surely erase the remembrance of Amalek” (Exod. 17:14).
7 The enemy has been destroyed for the swords of hatred are perpetually upon him like a sharp sword. Another explanation: חרבות לנצח that enemy, the swords of whose hatred were upon us forever. That is the one concerning whom it is stated (in Amos 1:11): “and kept their fury forever.” Another explanation: חרבות is an expression of destruction, and this is its interpretation: The enemy has been destroyed; his ruins are perpetual. And so it is stated (in Ezek. 35:9): “I will make you perpetual desolations, and your cities shall not be restored.”
and You have uprooted the cities “Should Edom say, ‘We are poor, but we will return and build the ruins’? So said the Lord of Hosts: ‘They shall build, but I shall demolish’” (Malachi 1:4).
their remembrance is lost at that time.
8 But the Lord shall sit forever, etc. The Name shall be complete and the throne shall be complete, as it is written כסאו , but before it is erased, it is written (in Exod. 17:16): “For a hand is on the throne (כס) of the Eternal (י־ה) .” The throne is lacking [i.e., it is spelled defectively] and the Name is divided [i.e., the final two letters of the Tetragrammaton are missing].
9 But He judges the world with righteousness, kingdoms with equity Until the coming of the end, He was wont to judge them with clemency according to the equity found in them. He would judge them at night, when they would sleep and commit no sins.
10 And the Lord shall be a fortress for the crushed Heb. לדך , an expression of crushed, amenuyze in Old French. In the future, when He establishes His throne for judgment, He will be a fortress for Israel, who are crushed.
for times of distress lit., for times in distress.
12 Sing praises to the Lord, Who dwells in Zion When He restores His dwelling to Zion, they will praise Him in this manner.
13 remembers them The blood that was shed in Israel.
14 Be gracious to me, O Lord now in exile.
You Who raise me up with Your redemption.
16 Nations have sunk This is the praise that I will tell.
17 The Lord is known All this is part of the praise: The Lord is known to the creatures; [it is known] that He governs and rules and wreaks vengeance upon His enemies, for He performs justice upon them, “justice” in French.
the wicked man stumbles Heb. נוקש , the wicked man stumbles.
Let us meditate over this forever הגיון סלה , lit. a constant meditation. Let us meditate over this forever.
18 to the grave Said Rabbi Nehemiah: Every word that requires a “lammed” in the beginning, Scripture places a “hey” at the end, e.g. מצרימה , to Egypt (Gen. 12:10); מדברה , to the desert (I Kings 19:15). They asked him: Is it not written: May the wicked return to the grave (לשאולה) ? Replied Rabbi Abba bar Zavda: To the lowest level of Sheol. What does it mean that they will return? After they emerge from Gehinnom and stand in judgment and are found guilty, they return to the lowest level of Gehinnom.
19 For the needy shall not be forgotten forever [i.e.,] Israel, the needy, [shall not be forgotten] from visiting upon them as they [the wicked nations] enslaved them, neither shall the hope of the poor be forgotten to eternity.
20 Arise, O Lord David was praying before the Holy One, blessed be He, that He rise and hasten to do this.
let...have no power [i.e., let] the wicked man [not] enjoy longevity in his greatness.
for Your anger Because of the anger with which they angered You in Your sanctuary.
21 mastery Heb. מורה , mastery and a yoke (Mid. Ps. 9:16). Another explanation: מורה is an expression of hurling, as (in Exod. 15:4), “He hurled (ירה) into the sea.” Others say that מורה is an expression meaning a razor.
let the nations know that they are human and not deities, that their might should rule.
Meditation from the Psalms
Psalm 9
By: H.Em. Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David
In the previous psalm, David sang of the Divine order manifest in the wonders of creation. G-d purposely made his splendid universal scheme very clear ... to establish strength because of ... tormentors, to silence foe and avenger.[1]
But, the enemies of HaShem are not silenced. They demand: ‘If indeed the earth is HaShem’s, why does He not guide the events of history in accordance with a strict pattern of justice, just as He regulates the world of nature?’
Now, David replies forcefully to his own foes and to Israel’s tormentors — Goliath, Avshalom, Nabal, Lavan, Esau, Amalek, and King Laben.
He declares: ‘The key to world history is to remember that the universe was created לבן, for the son of G-d,[2] Israel, whom G-d is determined to make לבן, pure and innocent [lit. white]. To test the purity of their faith, G-d conceals His ways (עלמות) from the righteous. The confusion, havoc, and ruin wrought by the wicked are but a manifestation of עלמות, concealment. But the joyous song of the devout is not muted by affliction or misery, they continue to sing על מות, even beyond death, עלמות, forever.[3]
Psalm nine tells us that David was its author, in the first pasuk. The Psalmist tells us that this psalm was written on the occasion of the death of “the son”. As to the circumstance surrounding the writing of this psalm, there is considerable disagreement between the various commentators. To keep this meditation short, I’ll merely give a synopsis of the major opinions:
According to Rashi, the psalm refers to the future downfall of Edom-Amalek and the redemption of Israel.[4]
According to Radak, it is dedicated to the death of Goliath.
According to Alshich, David wrote this psalm upon the death of his first son from Batsheba.
However, the opinion that resonates with me is the opinion of R. Shimshon Raphael Hirsch who ties all of these opinions together. His Eminence tells us that:
“David presents to us here an all-encompassing overview of the entire historical experience of Israel as a whole and of her many heroes as individuals. This is a psalm which is eternal, speaking of past, present, and future. It is dedicated to לבן (laBen), to the son of G-d, Israel, who enjoys an especially close filial relationship with his Father in Heaven. Thus none of Israel’s enemies will survive. Nabal (laBen spelled backwards), Absalom, king Laben,[5] Goliath, Amalek, Esau – G-d judges them all מות-אל ‘for death’. Israel alones survives all catastrophes being מות-אל ‘immortal, above death’; living in אלמות, in ‘two worlds’, this world and the World to Come. Thus we maintain אלמות, eternal youth and vigor, because we always act like G-d’s ‘young son’, submitting to His guidance and discipline. This is the secret essence of our immortality. Finally, אלמות means ‘secrecy’ from the word העלם, ‘concealment’. G-d is forever behind the scenes of world history manipulating it so that immortal Israel shall always overcome all odds, however awesome the may be.”[6]
From Hakham Hirsch’s view, we understand that HaShem is asking us to consider[7] and to show the world that we must act like a young son who runs to do his Father’s will just as Avraham got up and went to do the will of HaShem.
Da’ath Soferim tells us that this is the first psalm, of this first book, with a tone of joy and optimism.[8] Surely this must have been Avraham’s emotion as he is told, by the Creator of the universe that he is going to be made into a great nation with a great name. That because of him all the nations of the earth were going to be blessed. This promise was all the more encouraging because he was childless and he really wanted children.
In our Torah portion[9] we learn that in Avraham will all the families of the earth be blessed. In our psalm, David also prays, in v.12, that the Jewish people will have much esteem in order that they speak to the nations about HaShem and His Torah, because people do not listen to poor, down-trodden people. The Talmud speaks of this blessing:
Sotah 49a R. Elai b. Jebarekya said: Had it not been for the prayer of David, all Israel would have been sellers of rubbish,[10] as it is stated: Grant them esteem, HaShem.[11]
Thus we understand that as Avraham followed HaShem, so also was he to teach the nations. This task has been handed down to his descendants. However, David realizes that there is still much to do, so he encourages his audience to be busy with this task. Even in our day there is much to do, as we read in the Mishna:
Pirke Avot 2:20 Rabbi Tarfon said, “The day is short, the work is vast, the wage is great, the workers are lazy and the Master is insistent.”
Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai provides further elucidation on Bereshit 12:3: Genesis 12:3 can also be read without violence to its grammar as:
“I will bless those who bless you, and he who curses you, I will curse; and in you, will all the families of the earth graft themselves in.”
Compare this statement with Romans Chapter 11.
But you may say, Hakham, but the text says “ALL the families of the earth”? Is this not unreal as we see the world today? For example, did the Mumbai terrorists graft themselves in Avraham? And the answer is YES, but at some point they rejected the Jewish olive tree and separated themselves from it to revert back to the wild olive tree status.
What is interesting in this text is that the verbal construction is reflexive – i.e. humanity has to put an effort to graft themselves in. Surely Yeshua has opened a small door of grace, but still every human being has to make an effort to enter the very narrow gate!
Note that Yeshua has opened the very small door, but the grafting in is to Avraham – the Jewish olive cultivated Tree which comes along with three important possessions:
If one claims to be a follower or Rabbinic Disciple of Yeshua one needs to thoroughly graft oneself into these three essential components of Avraham!
Let’s look into Avraham and note some of the interesting facets of this great man.[15]
The first covenant recorded in the Torah between HaShem and man that is arrived at by a process of negotiation is recorded in Bereshit:
Bereshit (Genesis) 15:18 On that day HaShem made a covenant with Avraham saying, “To your descendants have I given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates river.
This covenant constitutes a legal contract between HaShem and man where each takes on obligations and burdens. This covenant is a major cornerstone upon which the Bne Israel, the Children of Israel, stands. As can be seen from the above text, the subject of the covenant was the grant of the land of Israel to the children of Avraham. In this covenant HaShem promised Avraham two things:
1. HaShem promised him offspring. Avraham accepted this part of the covenant:
Bereshit (Genesis) 15:2 And Abram said, Lord HaShem, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? 3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. 4 And, behold, the word of HaShem came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. 5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. 6 And he believed in HaShem; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
2. HaShem promised Avraham the land of Israel. This promise Avraham raised some doubts for Avraham:
Bereshit (Genesis) 15:7 And he said unto him, I am HaShem that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it. 8 And he said, Lord HaShem, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?
Why did the promise of the land raise doubts in Avraham’s mind? Why did Avraham have more trouble accepting the promise of land than the promise of children?
At the time of the signing of this covenant HaShem told Avraham:
Bereshit (Genesis) 15:13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; 14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
The four hundred year exile began when Avraham’s descendent, Yitzchak, was born. A hundred and ninety years later, Avraham’s descendants went into exile in Egypt. They spent two hundred and ten years in Egypt. According to the Gemara, this two hundred and ten years exile and oppression were a result of Avraham’s questioning HaShem’s promise of the land of Israel, and his subsequent request for proof:
Nedarim 32a R. Abbahu said in R. Eleazar’s name: Why was our Father Abraham punished and his children doomed to Egyptian servitude for two hundred and ten years? Because he pressed scholars into his service, as it is written, He armed his dedicated servants born in his own house. Samuel said: Because he went too far in testing the attributes [i.e., the promises] of the Lord, as it is written, [And he sand, Lord G-d,] whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it? R. Johanan sand: Because he prevented men from entering beneath the wings of the Shechinah, as it is written, [And the king of Sodom said it to Abraham,] Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.
Why did HaShem have such a significant time period attached to Avraham’s question? A two hundred and ten year exile for simply asking a question? In answering all these questions, let us begin by trying to understand why it took a covenant with HaShem to allow Avraham to have children.
We are not only seeking an explanation for the workings of HaShem that determined that Avraham and Sarah should be naturally childless. We also have to explain why a couple bearing a child in their middle years[16] takes on the proportions of such an immense miracle. After all, Avraham was willing to enter a fiery furnace[17] out of loyalty to HaShem, so why did the mere belief in the promise of having children earn him so much praise from HaShem? What is so immense here?
The Midrash relates that when HaShem told Avraham to leave Ur, Avraham was nervous that people would criticize him for abandoning his parents just as they were getting old. HaShem told Avraham that he is absolved from the obligation of honoring his parents.
Midrash Rabbah - Genesis 39:7 Now what precedes this passage? And Terah died in Haran (ib. XI, 32), [which is followed by] NOW THE LORD SAID UNTO ABRAM: GET THEE (LEK LEKA). R. Isaac said: From the point of view of chronology a period of sixty-five years is still required.[18] But first you may learn that the wicked, even during their lifetime, are called dead.[19] For Abraham was afraid, saying, ‘ Shall I go out and bring dishonor upon the Divine Name, as people will say, “He left his father in his old age and departed”? ‘Therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, reassured him: ‘I exempt thee (leka) from the duty of honoring thy parents, though I exempt no one else from this duty.[20] Moreover, I will record his death before thy departure.’ Hence, ‘And Terah died in Haran’ is stated first, and then, NOW THE LORD SAID UNTO ABRAM, etc.
HaShem added that Avraham was the only person in all of human history who would ever receive such absolution. But why was Avraham absolved?
The Maharal[21] explains in his work Gevurat HaShem[22] that Avraham received this absolution because he was a new beginning. Usually, children inherit their potential, whether physical or spiritual, entirely from their parents. As such, they owe their parents honor and respect as the ultimate source of their beings.
On his own, Avraham climbed to a new pinnacle of spirituality. Avraham did not inherit his spiritual potential from anyone. On his own he climbed to a new pinnacle of spirituality whose potential was innate in all human beings but that no one else had ever actualized since the fall of Adam.
The ability to form the powerful spiritual bond with HaShem which prompted HaShem to finally command Avraham to depart from Ur to go to live in the Holy Land was a heretofore unexploited human resource that Avraham obtained directly from Adam himself, as no human being had ever tapped into it before.
Avraham is described by the Midrash[23] as the very first convert to Judaism:
Tehillim (Psalms) 47:9 The princes of the people are gathered together, even the people of the G-d of Abraham: for the shields of the earth belong unto G-d: he is greatly exalted.
The G-d of Avraham and not the G-d of Yitzchak and Yaaqov? The G-d of Avraham who was the very first convert to Judaism. [He is the noble of spirit among the peoples, as it was only Avraham’s nobility of spirit that brought him to HaShem. He was not raised to be a Jew by his parents. Isaac and Jacob already had Jewish parents.] The ruling that applies to all new converts to Judaism, stated many times in the Talmud is that the convert is like a new born child.
Yevamoth 48b R. Jose said: One who has become a proselyte is like a child newly born.[24]
In the eyes of Jewish Law, he is no longer related to his previous family. On the other hand, all converts are considered the children of Avraham, their predecessor and the very first convert.
But there is a necessary downside to this. The ability to have children is also a potential one inherits from his parents. Indeed, it could be argued that the human genome is the most basic human factor that is transmitted from generation to generation. Each and every human being who is born represents yet another link in the endless chain of DNA that stretches all the way back to the first man. If Avraham is not a continuation of this chain, but represents an entirely new human departure, then it follows that he cannot serve as a connecting link along the existing chain of generations, but has to originate a brand new chain of his own. To transform oneself is one thing; to be able to transmit this transformation to all future generations of one’s descendants is quite another. This is the background to the covenant described in Bereshit (Genesis) 15.
Above The Stars
Shabbath 156a Rab too holds that Israel is immune from planetary influence. For Rab Judah said in Rab’s name: How do we know that Israel is immune from planetary influence? Because it is said, and he brought him forth from abroad.[25] Abraham pleaded before the Holy One, blessed be He, ‘Sovereign of the Universe! one born in mine house is mine heir.’ ‘Not so,’ He replied, ‘but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels.’ ‘Sovereign of the Universe!’ cried he, ‘I have looked at my constellation and find that I am not fated to beget child.’ ‘Go forth from [i.e., cease] thy planet [gazing], for Israel is free from planetary influence.
According to Jewish thought, all physical potential is mapped out in the stars, which serve as both reservoir and conduit of the spiritual force required to bring about all physical changes in the world. Avraham was an expert in the science of reading the stars. Thus he concluded, that his lack of offspring did not result from a mere physical defect which could theoretically be repaired by some sort of operation or its miraculous equivalent, but was due to the fact that the natural universe contained no spiritual energy that could be translated into providing him with offspring. HaShem was informing Avraham that he was correct in this assessment but it was irrelevant, as He, HaShem, was moving him out of this entire system controlled by the stars.
There is a major difficulty in going above nature and drawing energy straight from this ultimate source.
However, there is a major difficulty in the way of going above nature and drawing energy straight from this ultimate source. HaShem may be perfectly willing to supply the necessary inputs, but the recipient has to be able to reach up all the way to the ultimate source to be able to receive this input. In order to be able to accomplish this, Avraham had to somehow increase his own stature so that he could reach above nature, and such length of reach was not yet programmed into human beings.
Here is where emunah[26] or the power of faithful obedience comes in to the picture. Suppose that a person who is naturally potent genuinely believes himself or herself to be sterile. As they inherited the capacity to conceive from their parents, and such capacity is already part of their phenotypes, their lack of belief is unlikely to interfere with their ability to actually bring children into the world. They may find themselves shocked to be pregnant. But the contrary is certainly not so. For someone who did not inherit any such capacity, belief is very much an issue. Avraham, who was not born with a capacity to reproduce and had to acquire it in midlife, could only accomplish such acquisition through the power of emunah, faithful obedience.
Perhaps the most illustrative example of this principle at work is in the story of Nachshon ben Aminadav. In Shemot (Exodus) 14, the Torah relates the story of the splitting of the sea. The pursuing Egyptians found the Jewish people encamped on the shores of the Red Sea and began their attack. Faced by the sea on one side, and the hostile Egyptians on the other, the Jewish people had nowhere to run. Moses assured them that HaShem would save them and then immersed himself in prayer.
Shemot (Exodus) 14:15 The Lord said to Moses: “Moses, Why do you cry out to me? Speak to the Children of Israel and let them journey forth.”
But what else was Moses supposed to do? The sea was raging before them. There was nothing else to do except pray. Explains Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin, the student of the Gaon of Vilna:
“HaShem told Moses that from His part, He had done everything He could possibly do to split the sea. But the miracle could not happen unless the Jewish people believed it could happen. They had to start moving in to the sea as though it would get out of their way.”
The Gemara[27] relates that Nachshon ben Aminadav walked straight into the water. First it covered his knees, soon he was immersed in the water up to his neck, and finally it was over his nose and he began to drown. But Nachshon believed that the water could not drown him, as HaShem had told the children of Israel to start traveling. Following HaShem’s orders could not lead him into danger. Just before he reached the point of drowning this power of emunah finally parted the waters and others who were not on this level of emunah were also able to follow. His faithful obedience was the key!
The connection between emunah and Avraham’s children and the need for a covenant with HaShem to bring this about is now clear.
Let us now move on to the land of Israel.
If Avraham had the necessary strength of emunah to reach above nature, connect directly to HaShem, and bring the power of reproduction down to the world, why did this emunah fail him about receiving the land of Israel? Why did he ask for a guarantee on this promise?
We must understand what is so special about this land of Israel that HaShem promised Avraham.
The answer to this question also emerges from these same ideas that we have been exploring. First of all, we must understand what is so special about this land of Israel that HaShem promised Avraham. Why did HaShem want Avraham to leave a place where he had a large following and was a major force for good and travel to the land of Canaan? After all isn’t HaShem everywhere?
In the world as HaShem arranged it, the human habitat is always perfectly adjusted to sustain the people it must support. The same spiritual forces that were implanted by HaShem into nature which produce human children also must be able to produce the energy required to sustain them. It would be futile to place human beings into the world without providing them with the necessities of survival. This connection between man and his world is clearly enunciated in the following passage of the Talmud, commenting on the following Torah pasuk.
Bereshit (Genesis) 7:23 And He blotted out all existence that was on the face of the ground -- from man to animals to creeping things and to the bird of the heavens.
Sanhedrin 108a And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, [both man and cattle]. If man sinned, how did the beasts sin? — A Tanna taught on the authority of R. Joshua b. Karha: This may be compared to a man who set up a bridal canopy for his son, and prepared a banquet with every variety [of food]. Subsequently his son died, whereupon he arose and broke up the feast, saying, ‘Have I prepared all this for any but my son? Now that he is dead, what need have I of the banquet?’ Thus the Holy One, blessed be He, said too, ‘Did I create the animals and beasts for aught but man: now that man has sinned, what need have I of the animals and beasts?’
But if this is so, then Avraham’s offspring must face another serious problem. For just as nature contained no spiritual energy that Avraham could draw on to reproduce, it also contained no energy for the habitat to sustain any potential offspring that he might have. The promise of offspring and the promise of the land of Israel are thus intertwined.
Just as Avraham had to surmount nature to access his children, he had to reach above the natural world to provide them with a habitat. This habitat is the land of Israel. To bring this down to earth, Avraham had to leave Ur and travel to Canaan. But to bring it to earth also required emunah. Oddly enough however, the reach for the habitat takes more emunah than the reach for offspring.
To understand this point let us consider the remedy for Avraham’s lack of emunah, the four hundred year long exile, a large part of which was the 210 years spent in Egypt in a state of oppression. The final step of the Exodus was the splitting of the sea referred to above about which is written:
Shemot (Exodus) 14:31 And the people revered HaShem, and they had faith in HaShem and in Moses, His servant.
The type of emunah required to calmly walk into the waves of the sea, or to follow HaShem into the barren desert, is the type of faithful obedience that is ready to accept the possibility of existing in the physical world without the aid of any natural inputs. Thus man can breathe in the absence of air, can relieve his thirst in the absence of water, and can satisfy his hunger in the absence of food if that is the will of HaShem.
It takes great emunah to be able to reach up to heaven and bring the land of Israel down to earth.
It is obviously this type of emunah in HaShem that is required to be able to reach up to heaven and bring the land of Israel down to earth. Avraham was not certain that he could pass this type of emunah down the chain of generations along with his genes. He knew that in the absence of such emunah it was impossible to hold on to the land of Israel. And so, he asked HaShem for a guarantee.
Thus, the four hundred year exile was not a punishment but a means by which the nation of Israel could acquire the necessary emunah to be able to settle and hold onto the land of Israel.
In the natural world there is no room or provision for the children of Avraham. But if they can survive intact for four hundred years and grow into a great nation without their own land or country or army, they will internalize the emunah that their prosperity and survival comes from HaShem Himself, bypassing the conduit of the world of nature. This emunah will also give them a long enough reach to stretch their arm all the way up to heaven and bring down for themselves their country, Israel.
If an exile of four hundred years was sufficient to bequeath the Jewish people such great emunah, how much more potent should an exile of two thousand years have proven to be. One would think that the Jewish people can certainly not be far away from the emunah necessary to bring the final redemption. Yet we are experiencing great difficulties in merely hanging on to a portion of the land of Israel. Why is this so? How can we explain such a total lack of emunah after such a long period of survival against great odds?
The truth is that the power of emunah hidden in the Jewish people is immense. The trouble with emunah is that we only push the switch that turns it on when we are convinced that there is no way to achieve our objectives according to natural law.
If we look at the history of modern Israel, it is clearly divisible into two parts. Before 1967 everything we touched turned to gold. Since then things haven’t gone so smoothly to put it mildly. This difference in our success in the outer world is entirely matched by the rise and fall of the power of emunah within us.
Before 1967, the power of our emunah was at full strength. Back then, we looked at ourselves as a people who had to survive against great odds through the strength of our faith and determination. The world has regarded us this way as well. Since then we’ve come to regard ourselves as a local superpower who is able to manage on its own. The world also treats us this way.
As our emunah has waned and so has our worldly success. The lessons of history are obvious. We have only to read the book.
Ashlamatah: Yehoshua (Joshua) 24:2-10 + 14
|
Rashi’s Translation |
Targum |
|
1. ¶ And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and he called the elders of Israel, and their heads, and their judges, and their officers; and they presented themselves before God. |
1. 1. And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and he called to the elders of Israel and to its heads and to its judges and to its leaders, and they presented themselves before the LORD, |
|
2. And Joshua said to the whole nation, "Thus said the Lord God of Israel, 'Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the river from earliest time, Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor; and they served other gods. |
2. And Joshua said to all the people: Thus said the LORD the God of Israel: Your fathers dwelt across the Euphrates- from of old - Terah the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor; and they worshipped the idols of the nations. |
|
3. And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the river, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac. |
3. And I took your father Abraham from across the Jordan. and I led him into all the land of Canaan, and I multiplied his sons and I gave to him Isaac. |
|
4. And I gave to Isaac Jacob and Esau; and I gave to Esau Mount Seir to inherit it; and Jacob and his children went down into Egypt. |
4. And I gave to Isaac Jacob and Esau, and I gave to Esau Mount Seir to inherit it, and Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt. |
|
5. And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued the Egyptians, according to that which I did in their midst; and afterward I brought you out. |
5. And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I struck down the Egyptians as I did in their midst, and afterward I brought you out. |
|
6. And I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea; and the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. |
6. And I brought out your fathers from Egypt, and you came to the sea, and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and with horsemen to the Red Sea. |
|
7. And they cried to the Lord, and He put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon him, and it covered him. And your eyes have seen what I have done in Egypt. And you sojourned in the wilderness many days. |
7. And they cried out before the LORD, and He put darkness between you and between the Egyptians, and He made the sea come over them and covered them. And your eyes saw what I did among the Egyptians, and you dwelt in the wilderness for many days. |
|
8. And I brought you to the land of the Amorites, who dwelt on the other side of the Jordan, and they waged war with you; and I delivered them into your hand, and you inherited their land; and I destroyed them from before you. |
8. And I brought you into the land of the Amorite who dwells across the Jordan, and they waged battle with you, and I gave them in your hand, and you took possession of their land and finished them off from before you. |
|
9. Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and warred against Israel, and he sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you. |
9. And Balak the son of Zippor the king of Moab arose and waged battle against Israel. And he sent and called to Balaam the son of Beor to curse you. |
|
10. And I did not want to hearken to Balaam, and he blessed you; so I delivered you out of his hand. |
10. And I was not willing to listen to Balaam, and he blessed you with a blessing, and I saved you from his hand. |
|
11. And you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho; and the inhabitants of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I delivered them into your hand. |
11. And you crossed the Jordan, and you came to Jericho, and they waged battle against you - the inhabitants of Jericho, the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Girgashites, the Hivvites and the Jebusitest and I gave them into your hand. |
|
12. And I sent the hornet before you, and it drove them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; not with your sword, nor with your bow. |
12. And I sent before you the hornet, and drove them out from before you - the two kings of the Amorites, not by your sword and not by your bow. |
|
13. And I have given you a land for which you did not labor, and cities which you did not build, and you have settled in them; of the vineyards and olive yards which you did not plant, you eat. |
13. And I gave to you the land in which you did not toil; and the cities which you did not build, you dwell in them; and the vineyards and the olive groves that you did not plant, you are eating. |
|
14. And now fear the Lord, and serve Him in sincerity and in truth; and remove the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the river and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. |
14. And now fear from before the LORD and worship before Him in integrity and in truth. And put away the idols that your fathers worshipped across the Euphrates and in Egypt, and worship before the LORD: |
|
15. And if it displeases you to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the river, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell, but as for me and my household, we shall serve the Lord." {P} |
15. And if it is evil in your eyes to worship before the LORD choose for yourselves this day before whom you will worship - if it be the idols which your fathers who were across the Euphrates worshipped, or the idols ofthe Amorites in whose land you are dwelling. But I and the men of my house - we will worship before the LORD. |
|
|
|
Rashi’s Commentary for: Yehoshua (Joshua) 24:3-10 + 14
3 and multiplied his seed Heb. וְאַרְבֶּה . defective הא (וְאַרְבּ) [from the root ריב , to quarrel] How many quarrels and tests did I cause him to endure before I gave him seed.
7 and brought the sea upon him i.e., upon each individual among them, for if one escaped entering into the sea, a wave of the sea would pursue him and overtake him.
11 and the inhabitants of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, etc. All seven nations are mentioned here, since Jericho is situated on the border, and it was the bolt and lock [i.e., the fortification] of Eretz Israel, and the heroic soldiers of all the seven nations assembled therein.
Verbal Tallies
By: HH Rosh Paqid Adon Hillel ben David
& HH Giberet Dr. Elisheba bat Sarah
Beresheet (Genesis) 12:1 – 13:18
Yehoshua (Joshua) 24:3-10 + 14
Tehillim (Psalm) 9
Mk 1:23-28, Lk 4:33-37, Acts 3:11-16, Mt. 2:10-12
The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Psalm are:
LORD - יהוה, Strong’s number 03068.
Shew / consider - ראה, Strong’s number 07200.
The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Ashlamata are:
LORD - יהוה, Strong’s number 03068.
Get thee out / led - ילך, Strong’s number 03212.
Abram / Abraham - אברם + אברהם, Strong’s numbers 087 and 085.
Country / land - ארץ, Strong’s number 0776.
Father - אב, Strong’s number 01.
Beresheet (Genesis) 12:1 Now the LORD <03068> had said unto Abram <087>, Get thee out <03212> (8798) of thy country <0776>, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s <01> house, unto a land <0776> that I will shew <07200> (8686) thee:
Yehoshua (Joshua) 24:3 And I took your father <01> Abraham <085> from the other side of the flood, and led <03212> (8686) him throughout all the land <0776> of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac.
Yehoshua (Joshua) 24:7 And when they cried unto the LORD <03068>, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them; and your eyes have seen what I have done in Egypt: and ye dwelt in the wilderness a long season.
Tehillim (Psalm) 9:1 « To the chief Musician upon Muthlabben, A Psalm of David. » I will praise thee, O LORD <03068>, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.
Tehillim (Psalm) 9:13 Have mercy upon me, O LORD <03068>; consider <07200> (8798) my trouble which I suffer of them that hate me, thou that liftest me up from the gates of death:
Hebrew:
|
Hebrew |
English |
Torah Seder Gen 12:1 – 13:18 |
Psalms Psa 9:1-21 |
Ashlamatah Josh. 24:3-10, 14 |
|
ba' |
father |
Gen 12:1 |
Josh 24:3 |
|
|
rx;a; |
after |
Gen 13:14 |
Josh 24:5 |
|
|
~yhil{a/ |
GOD |
Ps 9:17 |
Josh 24:14 |
|
|
#r,a, |
country, land, earth |
Gen 12:1 |
Josh 24:3 |
|
|
rv,a] |
which |
Gen 12:1 |
Josh 24:5 |
|
|
aAB |
came, come, go |
Gen 12:5 |
Josh 24:6 |
|
|
!yIB; |
between |
Gen 13:3 |
Josh 24:7 |
|
|
!Be |
son, nephew |
Gen 12:4 |
Josh 24:4 |
|
|
%r'B' |
bless |
Gen 12:2 |
Josh 24:10 |
|
|
yAG |
nation |
Gen 12:2 |
Ps 9:5 |
|
|
%l;h' |
go, come, walk |
Gen 12:1 |
Josh 24:3 |
|
|
rh; |
mountain |
Gen 12:8 |
Josh 24:4 |
|
|
[r'z< |
descendants, seed |
Gen 12:7 |
Josh 24:3 |
|
|
[d'y" |
know, known |
Gen 12:11 |
Ps 9:10 |
|
|
hwhy |
LORD |
Gen 12:1 |
Ps 9:1 |
Josh 24:7 |
|
y[; |
west, westward |
Gen 12:8 |
Josh 24:6 |
|
|
ac'y" |
departed, set, brought |
Gen 12:4 |
Josh 24:5 |
|
|
dr'y" |
went down |
Gen 12:10 |
Josh 24:4 |
|
|
!Der>y" |
Jordan |
Gen 13:10 |
Josh 24:8 |
|
|
bv;y" |
dwelling, remain, settled, lived |
Gen 13:6 |
Ps 9:4 |
Josh 24:7 |
|
lKo |
all, whole |
Gen 12:3 |
Ps 9:1 |
Josh 24:3 |
|
xq;l' |
took. Take |
Gen 12:5 |
Josh 24:3 |
|
|
!mi |
beyond, before |
Ps 9:3 |
Josh 24:3 |
|
|
yrIc.mi |
Egyptians |
Gen 12:12 |
Josh 24:7 |
|
|
~yIr'c.mi |
Egypt |
Gen 12:10 |
Josh 24:4 |
|
|
dg"n" |
tell, declare |
Gen 12:18 |
Ps 9:11 |
|
|
!t;n" |
give, given |
Gen 12:7 |
Josh 24:3 |
|
|
~l'A[ |
forever |
Gen 13:15 |
Ps 9:5 |
|
|
!yI[; |
eyes |
Gen 13:10 |
Josh 24:7 |
|
|
l[; |
concerning, because |
Gen 12:17 |
Ps 9:19 |
|
|
hT'[; |
now |
Gen 12:19 |
Josh 24:14 |
|
|
~ynIP' |
before, face |
Gen 13:9 |
Ps 9:3 |
Josh 24:8 |
|
~Wq |
arise |
Gen 13:17 |
Ps 9:19 |
Josh 24:9 |
|
ll;q' |
curses |
Gen 12:3 |
Josh 24:9 |
|
|
ar'q' |
called |
Gen 12:8 |
Josh 24:9 |
|
|
ha'r' |
show, appeared, saw, see |
Gen 12:1 |
Ps 9:13 |
Josh 24:7 |
|
~Wf |
make, put |
Gen 13:16 |
Josh 24:7 |
|
|
xl;v' |
escorted, away, sent |
Gen 12:20 |
Josh 24:5 |
|
|
~ve |
name |
Gen 12:2 |
Ps 9:2 |
|
|
![;n"K. |
Caanan |
Gen 12:5 |
Josh 24:3 |
|
|
ry[i |
cities |
Gen 13:12 |
Ps 9:6 |
|
|
hf'[' |
make, done, did |
Gen 12:2 |
Ps 9:4 |
Josh 24:5 |
|
wD'x.y" |
great, long |
Gen 13:6 |
Josh 24:7 |
Greek:
|
Greek
|
English
|
Torah Seder Gen 12:1 – 13:18 |
Psalms Psa 9:1-20 |
Ashlamatah Josh. 24:3-10, 14 |
Peshat Mk/Jude/Pet Mk 1:23-28 |
Remes 1 Luke Lk 4:33-37 |
Remes 2 Acts/Romans Acts 3:11-16 |
|
ἅγιον |
holy |
Mar 1:24 |
Luk 4:34 |
Act 3:14 |
|||
|
ἀκάθαρτος |
unclean |
Mar 1:23 |
Luk 4:33 |
||||
|
ἀνακράζω |
aloud |
Mar 1:23 |
Luk 4:33 |
||||
|
ἀνήρ |
men |
Gen 12:20 |
Act 3:12 |
||||
|
ἄνθρωπος |
men |
Gen 13:8 |
|||||
|
ἀποκτείνω |
killed |
Gen 12:12 |
Act 3:15 |
||||
|
ἀπόλλυμι |
perish, destroy |
Psa 9:3 |
Jos 24:10 |
Mar 1:24 |
Luk 4:34 |
||
|
διεγείρω |
give, grant, put |
Gen 12:7 |
Jos 24:4 |
Mar 1:24 |
Act 3:16 |
||
|
δύναμις |
power |
Luk 4:36 |
Act 3:12 |
||||
|
εἴδω |
beheld, see |
Gen 12:12 |
Psa 9:13 |
Jos 24:7 |
Mar 1:24 |
Luk 4:34 |
Act 3:12 |
|
ἐξέρχομαι |
went forth |
Gen 12:1 |
Mar 1:25 |
Luk 4:35 |
|||
|
ἐξουσία |
authority |
Mar 1:27 |
Luk 4:36 |
||||
|
ἐπιτάσσω |
orders |
Mar 1:27 |
Luk 4:36 |
||||
|
ἐπιτιμάω |
reproach |
Psa 9:5 |
Mar 1:25 |
Luk 4:35 |
|||
|
ἔρχομαι |
come |
Gen 13:3 |
Mar 1:24 |
Luk 4:34 |
|||
|
ἦχος |
sound, noise |
Psa 9:6 |
Luk 4:37 |
||||
|
θεός |
GOD |
||||||
|
καλέω |
called |
Gen 12:18 |
Jos 24:9 |
Act 3:11 |
|||
|
κρίνω |
adjudged, judge |
Psa 9:4 |
Act 3:13 |
||||
|
λαός |
peoples |
Psa 9:8 |
Act 3:11 |
||||
|
λέγω |
speaking |
Mar 1:24 |
Luk 4:34 |
||||
|
μέγας |
great |
Gen 12:2 |
Mar 1:26 |
Luk 4:33 |
|||
|
μετά |
with, after, behind |
Gen 12:4 |
Psa 9:6 |
Jos 24:6 |
|||
|
ὅλος |
all, entire |
Psa 9:1 |
Mar 1:28 |
||||
|
ὄνομα |
name |
Gen 12:2 |
Psa 9:2 |
Act 3:16 |
|||
|
παῖς |
servant, |
Gen 12:16 |
Act 3:13 |
||||
|
παραδίδωμι |
delivering up |
Jos 24:8 |
Act 3:13 |
||||
|
πᾶς |
every, all |
Gen 12:3 |
Psa 9:1 |
Jos 24:3 |
Mar 1:27 |
Luk 4:36 |
Act 3:11 |
|
πατήρ |
father |
Gen 12:1 |
Josh 24:3 |
Act 3:13 |
|||
|
περί |
around |
Gen 12:17 |
Luk 4:37 |
||||
|
περίχωρος |
round about |
Gen 13:10 |
Mar 1:28 |
Luk 4:37 |
|||
|
pneuma |
spirit |
Mar 1:26 |
Luk 4:33 |
||||
|
ποιέω |
to make, made |
Gen 12:2 |
Psa 9:4 |
Jos 24:5 |
Act 3:12 |
||
|
πρόσωπον |
face, presence |
Psa 9:3 |
Jos 24:8 |
Act 3:13 |
|||
|
σφόδρα |
greatly, exceedingly |
Gen 12:14 |
|||||
|
συναγωγή |
synagogue |
Mar 1:23 |
Luk 4:33 |
||||
|
τόπος |
place |
Gen 12:6 |
Luk 4:37 |
||||
|
φιμόω |
be halted |
Mar 1:25 |
Luk 4:35 |
||||
|
φωνή |
voice |
Mar 1:26 |
Luk 4:33 |
NAZAREAN TALMUD
Sidra Of B’resheet (Genesis) 12:1 - 13:18
“Lekh Lekha” “Get up and Get Out”
By: H. Em. Rabbi Dr. Adon Eliyahu ben Abraham &
Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai
|
HAKHAM SHAUL’S SCHOOL OF Tosefta (Luke 4:33-43) Mishnah א |
Hakham Tsefet’s School of Peshat (Mark 1:23-28) Mishnah א |
|
|
And in the Synagogue there was a man with the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out making loud noises.[28] “What have you to do with us Yeshua HaNotsri? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God (Heb.: Qedosh HaElohim)!” And Yeshua rebuked[29] him saying “be muzzled[30] and go out[31] of him!” When the demon had thrown him down towards those among them, he went out[32] of him doing no harm. And everyone was amazed and kept saying to each other, “what Oral Torah (word) is this? For in (Rabbinic) authority and expansive power he commends unclean spirits, and they go out”[33]. And his prominence spread to every corner (place) of region. |
And immediately[34] there was a man in the synagogue with an unclean spirit [Hebrew for a person under the control of a demon - shadé; and he cried out (with an loud voice),[35] saying “What have you to do with us Yeshua HaNotsri? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, you are the Holy One of God (Heb.: Qedosh HaElohim)!” And Yeshua rebuked[36] him saying “be muzzled[37] and go out[38] of him!” And the unclean spirit shook him violently,[39] making loud shrieking noises[40] and went out[41] of him. And everyone was amazed asking each other, “What is this? A refreshed teaching with authority? He commands and the unclean spirits obey him.” And immediately his prominence spread throughout the region surrounding the Galil.[42] |
|
|
|
||
|
HAKHAM SHAUL’S SCHOOL OF Remes (2 Luqas (Acts). 3:11-16) Pereq א |
||
|
א And he held onto Hakham Tsefet and Hakham Yochanan, and all the people together ran to them at the portico called Sh’lomo’s Portico, in total astonishment. But when Hakham Tsefet saw this he began to speak to the people, (saying) “Men of Yisrael why do you marvel at this, or why do you watch us as if our own power or righteous/generosity made him walk? The God of Abraham, the God of Yitzchaq and the God of Ya’akov, and the God of our forefathers has glorified His servant Yeshua whom you handed over and rejected in the presence of Pilate, even though he decided to release him. But you rejected the Holy and Righteous/Generous One and asked to have a murderer forgiven by you and you killed the Prince of Life, who God raised from the dead. We are witnesses to this. And by faithful obedience to his authority as Hakhamim this man you see and know is made strong and faithfully obedient through Yeshua, who has given him unimpaired health in your presence. |
||
Commentary to Hakham Tsefet’s School of Peshat
Gen 12:1, 4 Now the LORD said unto Abram: “Get out of your (native) country, and from your relatives, and from your father's house, unto the land that I will show you.”
4 So Abram went, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him; and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.
The present text of B’resheet shows that there is no delay between the command to leave and the act of leaving. Therefore, we deduce that Abram left “immediately.” And this “immediacy” is the quintessential quality of a faithful and genuine Talmid and servant of G-d, when instructed to do or perform any command by the Torah or his teacher.
Immediately
The Markan text frequently gives way to the Greek expression, εὐθύς (euthus)[43] usually translated “immediately” or “straightway.” This phrase is used forty-three times in this account of the Master’s Mesorah. Each use of this Greek expression εὐθύς (euthus) connotes a reflection on the opening words of the Prophetic refrain “make straight”[44] His “ways” as found in Mark 1:3. In that pericope, Mark cites Yesha’yahu (Isaiah) 40:3 in the following manner.
Mk 1:3 THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, 'MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT (εὐθείας – eutheias).'"
Isa 40:3 φωνὴ βοῶντος ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ ἑτοιμάσατε τὴν ὁδὸν κυρίου εὐθείας ποιεῖτε τὰς τρίβους τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμῶν
Therefore, each use of εὐθύς (euthus) in the Markan text connotes reflection of its prophetic use as a moral imperative of urgency[45]. Hakham Tsefet’s use of εὐθύς (euthus) in the opening chapters of the Markan text demonstrates events happening in accordance with the Divine will of G-d the Father.
In a manner of speaking, we can see that each use of the Greek expression εὐθύς (euthus) demonstrates a measure of tikun (restoration). Mark 1:12 “immediately” (straightway) drives Yeshua into the wilderness to be tested by the adversary for forty days[46]. Herein is the tikun (restoration) for the testtings of the B’ne Yisrael in the wilderness.
Mark 1:18 states, And “immediately” they left their nets and followed after him. Yeshua’s talmidim, become “fishers of live men” lost in the Babylonian exile, also making tikun (reparation) for their sin of idolatry. In our present pericope we see the word “immediately” as it applies to the spirit (shad – demon) of uncleanness departing from the vessel it inhabited. The immediate exorcism of the unclean spirit makes tikun (reparation) for the spirit of idolatry, which had permeated the Galil in antiquity. Consequently, we see that εὐθύς (euthus) immediately – straightway is a moral imperative of urgency and tikun.
Note the Analytical lexicon of the Greek New Testament entry for εὐθύς (euthus) reads...
εὐθύς, εῖα, ύ, gen. έως straight; (1) literally, of a roadway straight (AC 9.11); metaphorically, of moral and spiritual preparation for Jesus’ appearing as Messiah εὐθείας τρίβους ποιεῖν literally make straight paths, i.e. change behavior (MT 3.3); substantially (LU 3.5); figuratively, of moral integrity upright, right, correct (AC 8.21); (2) idiomatically εὐθεῖα ὁδός literally straight road, i.e. correct behavior, right way (2P 2.15); (3) neuter singular εὐθύ (and masculine singular εὐθύς) as an adverb immediately, right away, at once (MT 3.16); inferentially, of the immediately following event in a sequence next (MK 1.21); right after that, then (MK 1.30).[47]
By using εὐθύς (euthus) Hakham Tsefet is “signalling a larger irony by which, in spite of all appearances, God’s plan is going straight.” [48]
ישר - Straight
εὐθύς (euthus) is best translated by the Hebrew word ישר. This word is associated with the Hebrew title for Yisrael – Yeshurun (those who go straight). ישר and εὐθύς (euthus) captures the true character and nature of the Jewish people walking out the Torah.
Gen 15:4 And it happened that immediately – straightway the voice of the LORD spoke to him saying, “This one will not be your heir”…
Peroration
The Psalmist captures the idea of the Markan use of εὐθύς (euthus).
Ps. 119:32 I will run the way of Your Commandments, when You shall enlarge my heart.
The Mishnah in Abot teaches us the importance of immediate moral conduct.
m. Aboth 2:1 I A Rabbi says, “What is the straight path which a person should choose for himself? Whatever is an ornament to the one who follows it, and an ornament in the view of others. “Be meticulous in a small religious duty as in a large one, for you do not know what sort of reward is coming for any of the various religious duties. “And reckon with the loss [required] in carrying out a religious duty against the reward for doing it, “and the reward for committing a transgression against the loss for doing it. “And keep your eye on three things, so you will not come into the clutches of transgression: “Know what is above you: “(1) An eye which sees, and (2) an ear which hears, and (3) all your actions are written down in a book.”[49]
m. Aboth 4:2 Ben Azzai says, “Run after the most minor religious duty as after the most important, and flee from transgression.” “For doing one religious duty draws in its wake doing yet another, and doing one transgression draws in its wake doing yet another. “For the reward of doing a religious duty is a religious duty, and the reward of doing a transgression is a transgression.”[50]
εὐθύς (euthus) is a multifaceted word. As we have shown, it carries the connotation of being straight. However, we must not lose sight of the fact that it also carries a sense of immediacy and urgency. In brief, εὐθύς (euthus) bears the weight of moral urgency. This moral urgency is demonstrative of those who hear and obey. Acceptance of the Torah and Oral Torah is not conditional. When we hear we MUST obey with immediate moral acceptance and urgency.
Remes Commentary to Hakham Shaul
“What is this? A renewed teaching with authority.”
And by faithful obedience to his authority (as Hakhamim) this man you see and know is made strong and faithful obedience through Yeshua has given him unimpaired health in your presence.
When we look at these texts, they often seem to be counter-intuitive. Yeshua as a fully ordained Hakham teaching in the Synagogue with the (Rabbinic) authority conferred upon him by the School of Hillel. It seems odd that the people of K’far Nachum note this refreshed authority and teaching. However, we will see in the coming pericopes Yeshua’s introduction of doctrine from the School of Hillel is often at odds with the mindset of some of his contemporaries in that region. The reason is that the Shammite School swayed the majority of the people of Yisrael and the Galil until Yeshua comes to teach from the authority of Hillel. When we look at Yeshua’s own brother Ya’akov, we see that he like Hakham Shaul (Paul) initially followed the School of Shammai.
And Yeshua rebuked[51] him saying “be muzzled[52] and go out[53] of him!” And the unclean spirit shook (him) violently[54] shrieking making loud noises[55] went out[56] of him.
Yeshua’s dealing with the demon [Heb. shade] matches linguistically the vocabulary of the LXX B’resheet 12:1 as shown in the footnotes. Hakham Tsefet notes Yeshua’s faithfulness (faithful/obedience) to his office and authority. Hakham Shaul notices this faithful obedience in his story of the people in Sh’lomo’s Portico.
And by faithful obedience to his authority (as Hakhamim) this man you see and know is made strong and faithful obedience through Yeshua has given him unimpaired health in your presence.
Therefore, the question is how do the materials of Hakham Shaul relate to the Torah Seder and the Peshat of Hakham Tsefet?
The mind is the “House of the LORD?” If G-d inhabits His Word (Torah), we must deduce that when we bring the Torah into our thoughts (minds) through study and research we are making ourselves the “House of the LORD.” Hakham Shaul presents a crippled man receiving his ability to walk. Again, this is allegory for teaching a man (talmid) to STAND.[57] Hakham Shaul draws his cue from Hakham Tsefet’s man possessed with a shad. Encyclopedia Judaica defines three classes of demons as harmful spirits, mazzikim (hamers), shedim or ruḥot.[58]
While we will not offer a demonology class here, we will simply state that these harmful spirits occupy man’s mind as if it were a vessel or container. The present pericope of Mark uses a demon going out of a man as allegory for Abraham’s departure from Ur of Kasdim, a place of demons and idolatry. The demon – possessed man of our pericope found in the Synagogue, is evidence that he wants to be set free of his demon.
And you must not wonder that Moses has called speech in man the abode of the mind, for he also says, that the Mind of the Universe, that is to say, God, has for His abode His own Word (Torah). (Migration of Abraham 1:4) [59]
Gen 28:17 He (Ya’akov) was awestruck saying, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God Beth – El), and this is the gate of heaven."
Philo explains that Ya’akov realizes that the mind is “awesome place” where G-d and His Torah dwells. Herein Philo makes the mind the “gate of the Heavens” (G-d). The present pericope aligned with the present Torah Seder demonstrates through allegory that a man who is “wholly righteous/generous cannot be demon-possessed because his mind is filled with the Torah i.e. the “House of G-d.”
“Faithful obedient through Yeshua (through observance of Yeshua’s Mesorah) has given him unimpaired health in your presence.”
This Remes hint teaches us that through observance of the Mesorah and Torah Study we can be free of the possibility of damaging spirits, which would seek to enter the mind and take control. Those spirits, which would seek entry through the “Gate” of the mind, filled with the Mesorah and Torah will find the gate shut up tight.
Mark 1:11 And a [daughter of a voice] voice (bat kol) came from the heavens [saying], “You are my son, the beloved; with you I have delight.”
Php 2:5 for let this mind be in you, which was also in Yeshua HaMashiach.
Gen 3:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Kerubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
In the Torah Seder “Tol’dot HaShamayim” we have discovered that the we receive a special soul for Shabbat. We have stated in the commentary to the Nazarean Codicil of that Torah portion, that the special soul is the “Mesorah.”
We stated in that commentary…
Adam and Havah received a daily Halakhic lesson by the breath (ruach) of the L-rd G-d. Hakham Tsefet opening his Mishnaic School of Messiah with the words, The chief part of the Masorah (Tradition/Oral Law) is Yeshuah the Messiah, the Son of God (i.e. Ben Elohim = the King/Judge) conveys the primacy of the Mesorah in the life of man. Yeshua, Yehudah HaNasi[60] and Hakham Tsefet realized the great importance that the Mesorah played in the daily life of the B’ne Yisrael. The Master’s restoration of the Mesorah depicts the restoration of Gan Eden on a Remes level. Only when we bask in the beauty of the Torah and its accompanying Mesorah do we feel the Delight of Gan Eden.
Yeshua has restored the Garden of Delight to humanity, through Nazarean Judaism.
The present pericope of Mark demonstrates a man whose mind is permeated with uncleanness. This mindset prevented this man the ability to enjoy or experience Shabbat in the Synagogue. With the Mesorah (spoken Torah) of the Master, this man is liberated and once again, he can enter the Garden of Delight on Shabbat. The mindset of Torah should be understood as allegory for the Garden of Delight. The Garden of Delight can only be experienced and accessed when the mind is filled with the Torah and Mesorah of the Master.
The Kerubim with flaming swords are Malakim, which guard the mind, “gate of the heavens” with the flaming swords of the Torah.
Heb 4:12 For the Word (Torah – Oral Torah) of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any double-edged sword, differentiating between the soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a judge of the thoughts and intents of the mind.
The double-edged swords of the Kerubim guard the “Gate to the Heavens” (the mind) forbidding entry by the destructive and harmful spirits.
Peroration
Our Peshat commentary demonstrates the vital importance of immediate moral excellence. The Allegory of Hakham Shaul furthers this idea by teaching us to guard the mind with the Oral Torah. Or, we might say that the mind is guarded by immediate moral excellence.
An underlying theme built upon in the readings is a name of integrity. This was promised to Abraham Avinu in our Torah Seder. The Nazarean Codicil promotes the positive name Yeshua builds by teaching Torah. These words remind us of Mishnah Aboth.
m. Aboth 4:13 R. Judah says, “Be meticulous about learning, “for error in learning leads to deliberate violation [of the Torah].” R. Simeon says, “There are three crowns: the crown of Torah, the crown of priesthood, and the crown of sovereignty. “But the crown of a good name is best of them all.” [61]
A crown is indicative of the person and office of its wearer. When we see a crown on the head of an individual, we are capable of discerning his charge. Therefore, if we were to see the Hakhamim as wearing crowns of Torah we would know their purpose is Torah Study and transmission of it. Both Yeshua and Abraham Avinu demonstrate this truth.
Amen v’amen
Questions for Understanding and Reflection
- From all the readings for this Shabbat which verse or verses impressed your heart and fired your imagination?
- What question/s (no more than two questions) about the Torah Seder for this Shabbat arose for which Hakham Tsefet’s Mishnah provides an adequate answer/s?
- Taking into consideration all the readings for this Shabbat what is the prophetic statement for this week?
Blessing After Torah Study
Barúch Atáh Adonai, Elohénu Meléch HaOlám,
Ashér Natán Lánu Torát Emét, V'Chayéi Olám Natá B'Tochénu.
Barúch Atáh Adonái, Notén HaToráh. Amen!
Blessed is Ha-Shem our God, King of the universe,
Who has given us a teaching of truth, implanting within us eternal life.
Blessed is Ha-Shem, Giver of the Torah. Amen!
“Now unto Him who is able to preserve you faultless, and spotless, and to establish you without a blemish,
before His majesty, with joy, [namely,] the only one God, our Deliverer, by means of Yeshua the Messiah our Master, be praise, and dominion, and honor, and majesty, both now and in all ages. Amen!”
Next Sabbath: “Vay’hi Bimei Amrafel” - “And in the days of Amraphel”
|
Shabbat |
Torah Reading: |
Weekday Torah Reading: |
|
וַיְהִי, בִּימֵי אַמְרָפֶל |
|
|
|
“Vay’hi Bimei Amrafel” |
Reader 1 – B’resheet 14:1-3 |
Reader 1 – B’resheet 15:1-3 |
|
“And in the days of Amraphel” |
Reader 2 – B’resheet 14:4-7 |
Reader 2 – B’resheet 15:4-6 |
|
“Y en los días de Amrafel” |
Reader 3 – B’resheet 14:8-10 |
Reader 3 – B’resheet 15:1-6 |
|
B’resheet (Gen.) Gen. 14:1-24 |
Reader 4 – B’resheet 14:11-13 |
|
|
Ashlamatah: Isaiah 41:2-5 + 8-13 |
Reader 5 – B’resheet 14:14-16 |
|
|
|
Reader 6 – B’resheet 14:17-20 |
Reader 1 – B’resheet 15:1-3 |
|
Psalms 10:1-18 |
Reader 7 – B’resheet 14:21-24 |
Reader 2 – B’resheet 15:4-6 |
|
|
Maftir – B’Midbar 14:22-24 |
Reader 3 – B’resheet 15:1-6 |
|
N.C.: Mark 1:29-31 Luke 4:38-39 & Acts 3:17-26 |
Isaiah 41:2-5 + 8-13 |
|
Shabbat Shalom!
Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai
Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David
Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham