Esnoga Bet Emunah

Esnoga Bet Emunah

227 Millset Chase - San Antonio, Texas 78253

Three and 1/2 year Lectionary Readings	Second Year of the Reading Cycle
Nisan 12, 5767 – March 30/31, 2007	Fifth Year of the Sh’mita Cycle

Candle Lighting and Havdalah Times

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

Friday, March 30, 2007 – Candles at: 7:33 PM Friday, March 30, 2007 – Candles at: 5:31PM

Saturday, March 31, 2007 – Havdalah 8:27 PM Saturday, March 31, 2007 – Havdalah 6:23 PM

Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Singapore, Singapore

Friday March 30, 2007 – Light Candles at 7:38 PM Friday, March 30, 2007 – Candles at: 6:55 PM

Saturday, March 31, 2007 – Havdalah 8:34 PM Saturday, March 31, 2007 – Havdalah 7:44 PM

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

Coming Festival: Passover – Evening of Monday April 2, 2007

Shabbat	Torah Reading:	Weekday Torah Reading:
אִישׁ אִישׁ, כִּי יִהְיֶה זָב
“Ish Ish, Ki Yihyeh Zav”	Reader 1 – Vayikra 15:1-3	Reader 1 – Vayikra 15:25-27
“[When] any man has an issue”	Reader 2 – Vayikra 15:4-6	Reader 2 – Vayikra 15:28-30
“[Cuando] algún hombre tenga flujo”	Reader 3 – Vayikra 15:7-9	Reader 3 – Vayikra 15:31-33
Vayikra (Lev.) 15:1-24	Reader 4 – Vayikra 15:10-12
Ashlamatah: Hosea 6:1-11	Reader 5 – Vayikra 15:13-15
Special Ashlamatah: Malachi 3:4-24*	Reader 6 – Vayikra 15:16-18	Reader 1 – Vayikra 15:25-27
Psalms 79	Reader 7 – Vayikra 15:19-24	Reader 2 – Vayikra 15:28-30
	Maftir – Vayikra 15:22-24	Reader 3 – Vayikra 15:31-33
N.C.: Matityahu 14:22-36	Malachi 3:4-24*

* This Ashlamatah must be read by the greatest Torah Scholar in any particular congregation.

Roll of Honor:

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

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Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan for: Vayikra (Lev.) 15:1-24

RASHI	TARGUM PSEUDO JONATHAN
1 ¶ Adonai spoke to Moshe and to Aharon, saying:	1 And the Lord spoke with Mosheh and with Aharon, saying:
2 Speak to B’ne Yisrael and say to them; should [discharge] flow from the body of any man, [because of] his discharge, he is impure.	2 Speak with the sons of Israel, and say to them: A man, whether young or old, who has a defluxion from his flesh, when he has seen it three times, is unclean.
3 This is the law of his impurity, when his discharge flows; His flesh drips [with] his discharge or his flesh is stopped up by his discharge, it causes him to become impure.	3 And this will be his uncleanness, the appearance of the color of white in his defluxion inflaming, the defluxion of his flesh; or when his flesh has stopped from his defluxion, it is his uncleanness.
4 Anything that is used specifically for sleeping, upon which will lie a zav [a person from whom a discharge flows,] will become impure. Every vessel upon which he sits, will become impure.	4 Every bed on which one who has such defluxion lies will be unclean; and every thing on which such an one sits will be unclean.
5 A person who touches his bed will wash his garments and bathe in water and is impure until the evening.	5 And the man who touches his bed will wash his clothes, and wash himself in forty seahs of water, and will be unclean until evening.
6 Whoever sits on the vessel that was sat upon by a zav will wash his garments and bathe in water and is impure until the evening.	6 And whoever may sit upon a thing whereon such an one who has an issue has sat, let him wash his clothes, and bathe in forty seahs of water, and be unclean until evening.
7 Whoever touches the flesh of a zav will wash his garments and bathe in water and is impure until the evening.	7 And whoever may touch the flesh of one having an issue, let him wash his clothes, and bathe in forty seahs of water, and be unclean until evening.
8 If the zav spits on a ritually clean person, he will wash his garments and bathe in water and is impure until the evening.	8 And if he who has an issue spit upon any one who is clean, let him wash his clothes, and bathe in forty seahs of water, and be unclean until evening.
9 Anything that is used for riding upon which a zav will ride will become impure.	9 And every girdle or saddle upon which he who has an issue rides will be unclean.
10 Anyone who touches anything which is beneath him will be impure until the evening. and whoever carries them will wash his garments and bathe in water and is impure until the evening.	10 And whoever touches any thing that has been under him will be unclean until evening; and he who carries them will wash his clothes, and bathe in forty seahs of water, and be unclean until evening.
11 If a zav touches anyone and his hands were not rinsed in water, he will wash his garments and bathe in water and is impure until the evening.	11 And whoever touches him who has the issue, and washes not his hands in water, will be unclean; if he be a man, he will wash his clothes, and bathe in forty seahs of water, and be unclean until the evening.
12 An earthenware vessel which the zav will touch will be broken. Any wooden vessel will be rinsed in water.	12 And any vessel of earthenware whose inside may have been touched by him who has the issue will be broken; and any vessel of wood will be washed in water.
13 When a zav will become ritually clean, from his discharge-impurity, he will count for himself seven days for his purification and wash his garments, and bathe in running water, and he will be purified.	13 But if he who has had the issue will have ceased from it, he will number to himself seven days for his purification, and wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in spring water, to be clean.
14 On the eighth day he will take for himself two turtledoves or two young pigeons and come before Adonai, to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting and give them to the Kohen.	14 And on the eighth day let him take for himself two large turtle doves, or two young pigeons, and bring them before the Lord at the gate of the tabernacle of ordinance, and deliver them to the priest.
15 The Kohen will do (offer) them, one as a sin-offering and the [other] one as a burnt-offering. The Kohen will atone for him before Adonai, from his discharge-impurity.	15 And the priest will make one a sin offering and one a burnt offering, and the priest will atone for him before the Lord, and he will be cleansed from his issue.

16 ¶ A man, if semen issues from him, he will bathe his entire body in water and is impure until the evening.	16 But if a man sin through ignorance and seed goes from him, let him wash all his flesh in forty seahs of water, and be unclean until evening.
17 Any garment and any leather object upon which there is semen will be washed in water and is impure until the evening.	17 And any garment or skin on which seed may be will be washed in water, and be unclean until evening;
18 A woman, with whom a man will lie conjugally; they will bathe in water, and are impure until the evening.	18 and secondly, a woman with whom a man lies will wash in forty seahs of water, and be unclean until evening.

19 ¶ When a woman has a discharge [and] the discharge will be blood in her body, for seven days she will be in [the state of] her menstrual impurity. Anyone who touches her will be impure until the evening.	19 And if a woman has an issue of blood, red or dark, yellow as saffron, or water of clay, or as red wine mixed with two parts of water, she has an uncleanness of blood in her flesh; she will dwell apart seven days; any one who touches her will be unclean until evening.
20 Everything that she sleeps on, during her menstrual impurity, will become impure and everything that she sits on will be impure.	20 Whatever such an one will lie upon during the time of her separation will be unclean; and whatever such an one sits upon during the time of her separation will be unclean.
21 Anyone who touches what she slept on, will wash his garments and bathe in water and is impure until the evening.	21 And whoever touches her bed will wash his clothes, and bathe himself with forty seahs of water, and be unclean until evening.
22 Anyone who touches any vessel that she sits on, will wash his garments and bathe in water and is impure until the evening.	22 And whoever touches any thing upon which such an one has sat will wash his clothes, and bathe in forty seahs of water, and be unclean until evening.
23 If he is on the bed or on the vessel that she is sitting on, when he touches it, he will be impure until the evening.	23 And if the effusion of her body be upon her bed, or on a thing upon any part of which she sits, what time any one touches it, he will be unclean until evening.
24 If a man will lie conjugally with her, her menstrual impurity will be on him and he is impure for seven days. Anything used for sleeping--- if he should sleep on it--- it will be impure.	24 If a man lie with her in the time of her separation, he will be unclean seven days; and any bed upon which he lies will be unclean.

Midrash Sifra Vayikra (Lev.) 15:1-5

CLX:I

[The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, Say to the people of Israel (Lev. 15:1-2)]: Israelites are susceptible to uncleanness through flux, and gentiles are not susceptible to uncleanness through flux. And even if they [gentiles] are not susceptible to uncleanness through flux, they Impart uncleanness like Zabs. And on their account they burn heave—offering. And on their account are they [who touch gentiles] [T.2:1: not] liable for entering the sanctuary [while unclean on that account]. Since [Scripture speaks of] people of Israel, I know only that Israelites [are susceptible to uncleanness through flux]. How do I know that I should encompass proselytes and slaves? Scripture says, Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, [When any] man [has a discharge from his body, the discharge is unclean (Lev. 15:2)]. I know only that man [is susceptible to uncleanness through flux]. How do I know that I should encompass the woman and child? Scripture says, ‘any man’ (Lev. 15:2),’ the words of R. Judah. And R. Simeon [sic! b. b. Nid.: Ishmael] son of R. Yohanan b. Beroqah says, Lo, Scripture says, ‘[When there will be] flux [from his body], his flux [will be unclean]’ (Lev. 15:2). [This refers both] to male and to female. [In respect to] the male, [it means] any sort of male, whether adult or child, [with respect to] female, [it means] whether adult or child.

CLX:II

“When there will be” [“When any man has a discharge” (Lev. 15:2)] – From the pronouncement [of the Torah] and thereafter. But is it not a matter of logic [so that Scriptural proof is unneeded]? Scripture declared unclean in the case of nega’im (leprosy) and it declared unclean in the case of Zabs. Just as in the case of nega ‘im , Scripture declared clear [of uncleanness] before the pronouncement [of the Torah], so in the case of Zabim [the rule should] declare clear before the pronouncement [of the Torah], on the basis of an argument a fortiori. Now if in the matter of nega ‘im, in which case [Scripture] has declared unclean [those nega ‘im which occur] under constraint [and which therefore impose a more stringent rule], Scripture has declared clear those which appear before the pronouncement of the Torah, Zabim, in which matter Scripture has not declared unclean [those occurrences which come] under constraint, is it not logical that the law should declare clear those which occur before the pronouncement [of the Torah]? No. If you have said so in the case of nega’im, the uncleanness and cleanness of which depend solely upon the priest, will you say so in the case of Zabim, the uncleanness and cleanness of which may be decided by any man [not only a priest, and which therefore are subject to a more stringent rule]. Since the declaration of their uncleanness and cleanness depends upon any man whatsoever, the law [logically] should not declare clear those of them which occur before the pronouncement [of the law]. [Accordingly,] Scripture [is required] to declare [the matter through the text], “When there will be,” meaning, from the pronouncement of the law and thereafter.

CLX:III

“When there will be flux” [“When any man has a discharge from his body” (Lev. 15:2)]: Might [I imagine that even if] the flux is from any place [on the body and not solely from the genitals], he should be unclean? And [the opposite of that very proposition] is logical: Scripture imposed uncleanness in the case of the Zab and also imposed uncleanness in the case of the Zabah. Just as in the case of the Zabah, in the very location through which she imparts uncleanness of a minor order [e.g., dripping semen (Lev. 15:18)], she imparts uncleanness of a major order [menstrual uncleanness], so in the case of the Zab, in the very location in which he imparts uncleanness of a minor order [e.g., semen], he also should impart uncleanness of a major order [Zab’s flux]. No. If you have said so in the case of the Zabah, who imparts uncleanness only upon the basis of three appearances of flux on three days, will you say so in the case of the Zab, who imparts uncleanness on the basis of three appearances of flux even on a single day? Since he imparts uncleanness on the basis of three appearances of flux in a single day, he also should impart uncleanness because of the appearance of flux in any location. Scripture [accordingly is required] to state, From [part of] his body, and not [from] the whole of his body. Since Scripture has made the foregoing distinction, I have succeeded in proving [that] Scripture has declared unclean in the case of the Zab, and it has declared unclean in the case of the Zabah: Just as in the case of the Zabah, flux from the place at which she imparts uncleanness of a minor order, she imparts uncleanness of a major sort, so in the case of the Zab, the place from which he imparts uncleanness of a minor order also should bring about uncleanness of a major order [the penis].

CLX:IV

“...from his body [flesh]” (Lev. 15:2) – Until his uncleanness will exude from his flesh [but not when it is contained within his penis]. But is [the opposite proposition] not logical: Now if the Zabah, who imparts uncleanness only in the event of three appearances of flux on three successive days, imparts uncleanness when the uncleanness is inside [the vagina] as much as when it exudes, the Zab, who imparts uncleanness in the event of three appearances of flux on a single day — is it not logical that he should impart uncleanness when the uncleanness is inside as much as when it exudes outside? Scripture [therefore is required] to say, from his body — until his uncleanness is outside of his flesh.

“...from his body [flesh]” is he made unclean — and not from some other source, on this basis have they said: In seven ways do they examine the Zab before he is confirmed as to flux: as to what he had eaten, as to what he had drunk, as to whether he had jumped, as to what he had carried, and as to illness, and as to what he had seen, and as to what he had fantasized. Once one is confirmed as to flux, they do not examine him again. [Any flux which happens] inadvertently, and any that is subject to doubt, and his semen are unclean, for there is now a basis for the matter [M. Zab. 2:2A-D, J-L].

“His flux is unclean” (Lev. 15:2): [Scripture thus] teaches concerning the flux that it is unclean. Is this proposition not logical? Now if the Zab. whom flux makes unclean, lo, he is unclean, the flux, which causes the uncleanness, surely it itself should be deemed to be unclean. The goat which is sent forth will prove [the contrary] for it causes uncleanness, but it itself is clean. So you should not be surprised concerning the flux, that, even though it causes uncleanness, it itself should not be unclean. [Accordingly] Scripture [is required] to state, “His flux is unclean.” [Thus Scripture] teaches concerning the flux that it itself is unclean. [If that is the case.] might [I then think that] the blood which exudes from his penis should be unclean? Scripture says, “it.” “... it” is unclean, but blood which exudes from his penis is not unclean but clean. I know only that the flux [of the Zab is unclean]. How do I know that his urine [is unclean]? And [in the point of fact] it is a matter of logic: Now if spit [Lev. 15:8], which exudes from a clean place, lo, it is unclean, his urine, which exudes from a place of uncleanness, is it not logical that it should be unclean? Blood which exudes from that same place will prove the matter, for it exudes from a place of uncleanness, and lo, it is clean. And so, you should not be surprised concerning his urine that, even though it exudes from a place of uncleanness, it should not be unclean. Scripture [accordingly] says, “And this” — to encompass also his urine. [If that is the case,] might [I then think that his] sweat and rancid moisture and excrement should be unclean? Scripture says, “it.” I eliminate these, which do not impart susceptibility to uncleanness as liquids, but I shall not eliminate his tear and the blood of his wound and the milk of the woman, which do impart susceptibility to uncleanness as liquids [M. Mak. 6:4-8]. Scripture says, “this.” Thus you turn out to say: Nine liquids apply to the Zab: The secretion and the putrid sweat and the excrement are clean in all respects, his tear and blood of his wound and milk of the woman impart susceptibility to uncleanness as liquids. His flux and his spit and his urine impart stringent uncleanness.

CLXI:I

“And this is [the law] of his uncleanness on account of his discharge” (Lev. 15:3) - His uncleanness depends on his discharge, and it does not depend on [occurrence on three separate] days. And is it not logical? Now if the Zabah imparts uncleanness to the one who has intercourse with her but only imparts uncleanness in the case of three appearances of flux on three successive days, the Zab, who does not impart uncleanness to the one with whom he has intercourse – is it not logical that he should not be unclean unless he produces three appearances of flux on three successive days? Scripture says, “And this is [the law] of his uncleanness on account of his discharge” – His uncleanness depends on his flux, and it does not depend on days.

CLXI:II

“And this is the law of his uncleanness for flux”: “[Whether his body runs with his flux or his body is stopped from flux, it is uncleanness in hut” (Lev. 15:3)]. “...for flux. ..flux. ..flux” [following GRA’s emendation]: This teaches that he is made unclean when there are three appearances of flux. I know only that this is the case when they are profuse. How [do I know that he is unclean if they are] small? Scripture says, “it will be” — meaning, even in any amount at all. “[For his body] is stopped [from discharge]” (Lev. 15:3) — even in any amount at all. “...his body” — even in any amount at all. If this is said in the case of large appearances of flux, why is it said in reference to small appearances of flux? The intent is to impose a measure on the large ones: That is, if he saw one which Is as profuse as three, which is sufficient for one to go from Gad Yon to Shiloah, which is time enough for two immersions and two acts of drying off, lo, this one is entirely a Zab. Rabbi says, To what is the matter likened? To a rope of a hundred amah in length. If one saw [flux] at the beginning one hundred and at the end fifty, and at the end a hundred amah, lo, this one is entirely a Zab. [If] he saw at the beginning a hundred, In the middle fifty, and at the end a hundred, or at the beginning a hundred, and afterward fifty, and at the end a hundred, this one is not entirely a Zab.”

CLXI:III

“[Or if his body is stopped] from discharge” (Lev. 15:3) — [The use of the partitive, “from,” indicates that] even part of his flux imparts uncleanness to bed and chair. This rule is intended to encompass the one who saw two appearances of flux, that he should impart uncleanness to bed and chair. And is it not logical: Now if the Zabah, who does not count seven clean days when she sees two appearances of flux, imparts uncleanness to bed and chair when she sees two appearances of flux, the Zab, who does have to count seven clean days if he sees two appearances of flux — is it not logical that he too should impart uncleanness after two appearances of flux to bed and chair? No, if you have said so in the case of the Zabah, who imparts uncleanness to bed and chair even in the event of a single appearance of flux, will you say so in the case of the Zab, who does not impart uncleanness to bed and chair in the case of a single appearance of flux? Since he does not impart uncleanness to bed and chair in the case of a single appearance of flux, he also should not impart uncleanness to bed and chair in the case of two appearances of flux. [Accordingly] Scripture [is required] to state, from his flux — [which is to say,] even part of his flux [that is, even in the case of two appearances] causes him to impart uncleanness to bed and chair, to encompass the Zab who saw two appearances of flux, that he too should impart uncleanness to bed and chair.

CLXI:IV

“His uncleanness in his flux” (Lev. 15:3) [RSV: “This is the law of uncleanness for a discharge”]: Through white [flux] does he impart uncleanness, but he does not impart uncleanness through a flux of blood. But is not [the contrary proposition] logical? Now if the Zabah, who does not impart uncleanness in the case of a white flow, imparts uncleanness through blood, a Zab, who does impart uncleanness through a white flow — is it not logical that he should impart uncleanness through a flow of blood as well? [Accordingly] Scripture [is required] to state, “His uncleanness is in his flux,” [meaning] through white flow does he become unclean, and he does not become unclean through blood. And [in consequence] it is an argument a fortiori in the case of the Zabah, that she impart uncleanness in the case of a white flow: Now if the Zab, who is not made unclean through blood, is made unclean through a white flow, the Zabah, who is made unclean through blood, all the more so logically should be made unclean through white flow. [Accordingly] Scripture [is required] to state, “It is his uncleanness” — it is the uncleanness of the man that it should be in white flux, and the uncleanness of the woman in blood.

CLXII:I

“Every bed on which he who has the discharge lies shall be unclean; [and everything on which he sits shall be unclean]” (Lev. 15:4)]: Might one suppose that even if such a person should lie down on a board covering a pit or on a door [he should transmit uncleanness to the board or the door, objects not ordinarily used for the purpose of lying]? Scripture says, “bed,” and not a board covering a pit or a door.

I shall then eliminate these, but not a mat made of reeds or cuttings? Scripture says, “bed,” meaning, what is used in particular as a bed.

I know that the law covers only a bed or a garment [used for sitting]. How do I know that the law covers a veil or wrap, a cloak or shawl, a fodder-basket that holds four qabs, a seed bad that holds five qabs, a leather bad that holds a seah of grain, a skin that holds seven qabs? Scripture says, “every bed” as an inclusionary statement. Might I then encompass under the law a stand with shelves, a baker’s board, a large trough in which skins are left to lie? Scripture says, “everything on which he lies,” meaning, something that is used in particular for lying, and in connection with which workers cannot say to someone, “Get up so that we can do our work with that object.”

Or might I exclude from the law a veil or wrap, a cloak or shawl, a fodder-basket that holds four qabs, a seed bad that holds five qabs, a leather bad that holds a seah of grain, a skin that holds seven qabs? Scripture says, “every bed” as an inclusionary statement. How come, then, that you include these items but exclude those? It is because once Scripture used inclusionary language, it proceeded then to use exclusionary language. I include these, which may be used for lying along with other purposes that they serve, but I exclude those, which cannot be used for lying along with other purposes that they serve.

CLXII:II

“Every bed on which he who has the discharge lies shall be unclean; [and everything on which he sits shall be unclean]” (Lev. 15:4)]: Might one suppose that that is the case even if he sat on a stone or a beam? Scripture says, “thing,” but not a stone or a beam.

Then I shall exclude these items, but I shall not exclude a chair made of dung, dirt, or stones [which are insusceptible to uncleanness]? Scripture says, “thing,” meaning, what is used for a thing in particular.

I know that the law covers only a chair, a bench, an ann chair, which are specific to those purposes. How do I know that subject to this form of sitting-uncleanness also are a box used by a bath house attendant, a box, the sides of which are open, a trough that holds from two logs to nine qabs, or one that was split so that one cannot wash a foot in it? Scripture says, “everything,” as an inclusionary statement. Might one suppose that if one overturned a seah-basket and sat on it, or a tarqab basket and sat on it [such an object would be susceptible to the uncleanness of the Zab imparted by his sitting on it]? Scripture says, “on which he will sit,” meaning, something that is used in particular for sitting, and not something concerning which people can say, “Get up, so that we can do our work with that object.”

Might I then exclude from this form of uncleanness a box used by a bath house attendant, a box, the sides of which are open, a trough that holds from two logs to nine qabs, or one that was split so that one cannot wash a foot in it? Scripture says, “everything,” as an inclusionary clause. How come, then, that you include these items but exclude those? It is because once Scripture used inclusionary language, it proceeded then to use exclusionary language. I include these, which may be used for sitting along with other purposes that they serve, but I exclude those, which cannot be used for sitting along with other purposes that they serve.

CLXII:III

“[Every bed on which he who has the discharge lies shall be unclean; and everything on which he sits shall be unclean” (Lay. 15:4)]: I know only that this is the case when he lay down on the bed and sat on the chair [that is, using these objects as they are ordinarily used]. How do I know that if he lay down on the chair or sat on the bed, stands and is suspended [from these] and leans – how do I know [that they are unclean]? Scripture says, “will be unclean.., will be unclean...,” that is to encompass [all sorts of equivalent cases].

CLXII:IV

“...the Zab” [Lev. 15:4: “Every bed on which he who has the discharge lies shall be unclean]” – and not the one who has a seminal emission. And is not [the contrary] logical? Now the Zab’s uncleanness is from the source and, as to the one unclean through seminal emission, his uncleanness is from the source. Just as the Zab imparts uncleanness to bed and chair, so the one who has had a seminal emission should impart uncleanness to bed and chair. [Rejecting the logical consequence of that proposed classification of two forms of uncleanness within the same category,] Scripture says, “the Zab” — and not the one who has had a seminal emission. “...the Zab” — and not the stone which is afflicted with a nega’. And is not [the contrary] logical? Now if the Zab, who does not impart uncleanness through entry [into a house], imparts uncleanness to bed and chair, the stone afflicted with a nega’, which does impart uncleanness through entry — all the more so should it impart uncleanness to bed and chair. [Accordingly,] Scripture [is required] to state, “the Zab” — and not the stone which afflicted with a nega’ “...the Zab” — and not the one made unclean by a corpse. And is not [the contrary] logical? Now if the Zab, who does not require sprinkling on the third and seventh days [for the completion of his purification], imparts uncleanness to bed and chair, the one made unclean by a corpse, who does require sprinkling on the third and seventh day, logically should impart uncleanness to bed and chair. Scripture says. “the Zab” — and not the by a corpse. “...the Zab” — and not by a corpse. And is not [the contrary] logical? Now if the Zab, who does not impart uncleanness for seven days, imparts uncleanness to bed and chair, the corpse, which does impart uncleanness for seven days, logically should impart uncleanness to bed and chair. Scripture says, “the Zab” — and not the one made unclean by a corpse. R. Simeon says, ‘On which he will lie and on which he will sit’ (Lev. 15:4) — that which is subject to lying and subject to sitting imparts uncleanness to bed and chair, but the Zab who died does not impart uncleanness to bed and chair. And as to that which they have said: ‘The Zab who died imparts uncleanness through carrying until his flesh will moulder,’ it is as a decree of the Scribes.

“On which he will lie and on which he will sit” - [that is to say.] on which the greater part of the Zab will be carried.

CLXIII:I

“And anyone who touches his bed shall wash his clothes [and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening]” (Lev. 15:5): A man who touches the bed imparts uncleanness to clothing, but the bed which touches the affected bed does not impart uncleanness to clothing. And is [the contrary proposition] not logical? Now if in a situation in which a man is not made unclean, [that is,] under the Zab, so as to impart uncleanness to man and to impart uncleanness to clothing, the bed is made unclean under the Zab to impart uncleanness to man and to impart uncleanness to clothing, in a situation in which a man is made unclean through contact with the bed, so as to impart uncleanness to man and to impart uncleanness to clothing, is it not logical that the bed [itself] should become unclean through contact with another bed to impart uncleanness to man and to impart uncleanness to clothing? Scripture says, “And a man who will touch his bed will wash his clothing” — The man who touches the bed makes clothing unclean, but the bed which touches the bed does not make clothing unclean. It is an argument a fortiori that [when made unclean] under the Zab, a man should be unclean so that he renders man unclean and renders garments unclean: Now in a situation in which a bed is not made unclean through contact with a bed to impart uncleanness to clothing, it does impart uncleanness to man through contact with a bed so that he imparts uncleanness to clothing, in a situation in which a bed is made unclean when under the Zab to impart uncleanness to man and to impart uncleanness to clothing, is it not logical that man should be made unclean when under the Zab to impart uncleanness to man and to impart uncleanness to clothing? [Accordingly,] Scripture [is required] to state, “Every bed on which the Zab will lie will be unclean” — a bed imparts uncleanness when under the Zab to impart uncleanness to man and to impart uncleanness to clothing, but a man does not impart uncleanness when under the Zab to impart uncleanness to man and to impart uncleanness to clothing.

“...his bed”: but if the bed is broken, it is insusceptible to uncleanness [and not made unclean if the Zab lies on it]. Is it not an argument a fortiori [that that should be the case]? If a clay utensil, which cannot be removed from a state of uncleanness to cleanness, if broken, is clean, a bed, which can be removed from a state of uncleanness to cleanness, if broken — will it not surely be clean! No. If you have invoked that rule with reference to a clay utensil, which can never be so unclean as to serve as a generative source of uncleanness to impart uncleanness to man and to impart uncleanness to clothing, will you say the same of a bed, which can be turned into a generative source of uncleanness so as to impart uncleanness to man and to impart uncleanness to clothing? Since [for the sake of argument] it can be turned into a generative source of uncleanness to impart uncleanness to man and to impart uncleanness to clothing, if it is broken, it should not be removed from uncleanness and be clean. Therefore it is necessary to resort to Scripture, which says, “his bed”: but if the bed is broken, it is insusceptible to uncleanness [and not made unclean if the Zab lies on it].

“...his bed”: but not a rope that extrudes from the bed to a length of less than five handbreadths or from a point more than ten handbreadths from the bed [for rope at such lengths, close or very far from the bed, in no way serve the need of maintaining the bed and therefore is not functionally part of the bed]. Or should I also exclude from uncleanness a case in which the Zab touches the rope of the bed at the length from five handbreadths to ten handbreadths from the bed [which is the part of the rope that functions with the bed]? Scripture says, “is unclean.”

“...his bed”: but not the threads that extrude from the bed by more than three fingerbreadths. Or should I also exclude from uncleanness even the threads that extrude from the bed by more than three fingerbreadths? Scripture says, “unclean.”

“...his bed”: and not one that has been stolen. Might I exclude even one that has been stolen? Scripture says, “is unclean.”

R. Simeon says, “his bed’: “and not one that has been stolen. Or should I also exclude from uncleanness even the threads that extrude from the bed by more than three fmgerbreadths? Scripture says, ‘...unclean They said to him, Why do you include the one and exclude the other? [He replied,] “After Scripture has used inclusionary language, it went ahead and used exclusionary language. I therefore include an object which the owner has given up hope of recovering, but I exclude an object which the owner has not yet given up hope of recovering.

CLXIII:II

“And a man who touches his bed will wash his clothes” (Lev. 15:5) — When he touches it, he makes clothes unclean. When he separates, he does not impart uncleanness to clothing.

CLXIII:III

“And he will wash his clothes” (Lev. 13:5) — Or might [I think that] the flakes of wool [also are made unclean and washed]? Scripture says, “Clothing.” If [we refer specifically to] clothing, might I think that the uncleanness applies [only] to a large white garment, which is susceptible to uncleanness through flux and which is susceptible to uncleanness through nega’im. How do I know that a large dyed garment is susceptible to uncleanness through flux? [Compare T. Neg. 5:3.] [Of if susceptibility applies to] a large white one, [how do I know that it applies to] a small white one [or] a small dyed one? How should you encompass a band with which the hair net is fastened and a net-work girdle — how [do I know that uncleanness applies to all these]? Scripture says, “a garment,”“his garments” — as a mode of encompassing [a wide range of garments]. How do I know that I should treat all other utensils as [I treat] garments? Scripture says, “unclean.” Might I think that it [the uncleanness of the Zab] should also impart uncleanness to man and to clay utensils? Scripture says, “clothing.” Clothing does it render unclean, but it does not render unclean either man or a clay utensil. On this basis did they say: Whoever Imparts uncleanness to clothes when he is in contact with them imparts uncleanness to food and drink, putting them Into the first remove of uncleanness, and hands, placing them In the second remove of uncleanness, and imparts uncleanness to other utensils as to clothing. But he does not Impart uncleanness either to man or to clay utensils. After they separate from it, they impart uncleanness to liquid, putting It Into the first remove, and food and hands, into the second remove. But he does not impart uncleanness to clothes, and it is not necessary to say, to man or a clay utensil.

Ketubim Targum Tehillim (Psalms) 79

1. A psalm composed by Asaph about the destruction of the Temple. He said in the spirit of prophecy: O God, the Gentiles are entering Your inheritance; they have defiled Your holy temple, they have made Jerusalem a desolation.

2. They have given the bodies of Your servants to the birds of heaven for food, the flesh of Your pious ones to the wild beasts.

3. They have poured out their blood like water around Jerusalem, and there is none to bury.

4. We have become a disgrace to our neighbors, a subject of scorn and mockery to our surroundings.

5. How long, O Lord, will You be fierce – forever? [How long] will Your zeal burn like fire?

6. Pour out Your wrath on the Gentiles who have not known You, and on the kingdoms who have not prayed in Your name.

7. For they have destroyed the house of Jacob, and made desolate his sanctuary.

8. Do not remember against us trespasses which were from the beginning; in haste, may Your favors go before us, for we have become very destitute.

9. Help us, O God our redemption, because of Your glorious name; and redeem us, and atone for our sins, for the sake of Your name.

10. Why should the Gentiles say, “Where is their God?” Let the punishment for the blood of Your servants that has been spilled be revealed in our sight among the Gentiles.

11. Let the groan of the prisoners come before You like the great strength of Your arm; release the children who have been handed over to death.

12. And give back to our neighbors a seven-fold requital for the punishment of their oaths, and the aspersions they cast on You, O Lord.

13. But we are Your people, and the sheep of Your pasture; we will give thanks in Your presence forever; for all generations we will recite Your praise.

Ketubim Midrash Tehillim (Psalms) 79

I. A Psalm of Asaph. O God, the heathen are come into Your inheritance; Your Holy Temple have they defiled; they have laid Jerusalem in heaps (Ps. 79 a). These words are to be considered in the light of the verse: The kings of the earth and all the inhabitants of the world would not have believed that the adversary and the enemy would have entered into the gates of Jerusalem (Lam. 4:12). Who would have believed that after the miracles which were wrought within her gates in the days of Sennacherib, Jerusalem would have been subdued by the might of her enemies! Think of the miracles of the past! After the troop of Amalek had come to Ziklag and burned it, and had taken captive everyone— men, women and children—that was in it, as soon as David came and found Ziklag burnt and her inhabitants taken captive, he sat down—he and his men—and wept. According to Scripture, what did David ask of the Holy One, blessed be He? “Will I pursue after this troop? Will I overtake them?” And He answered him: “Pursue; for thou shalt surely overtake them” (1 Sam. 30:8). And so David did. He pursued and overtook them, fell upon them, and smote them, as is said And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day (ibid. 30:17).

This, Asa could not do. Therefore, he said to the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the universe, there is no strength in me to pursue Zerah the Ethiopian king. What did the Holy One, blessed be He do? The Lord smote the Ethiopians before Asa (2 Chron. 14:11).

Jehoshaphat, too, stood up and said: “Master of the universe, there is no strength in me to pursue them, or to make war against them; but we will wait here and You pursue them until they are smitten.” And so the Holy One, blessed be He, did, as is said And when they began in singing and praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they smote one another (2 Chron. 20:22). How did God bring this about? He clothed the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir in mirror-like brilliance, so that when they looked at one another [they saw their own reflection]; taking these reflections, however, for Israelites lying in ambush, they smote one another.

When Sennacherib came, Hezekiah stood up and likewise said: “There is no strength in me to pursue, or even to look upon battles. In the hour when I sleep on my couch, wage You our battles.” The Holy One, blessed be He, replied: “This I will do for you. Sleep you on your couch, and I will wage the battle.” What does Scripture go on to say? And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the Lord went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred fourscore and five thousand (2 Kings 19:35)—and all of these were governors, dukes and marshals— in addition to their uncounted hosts. And many of their hosts had previously gone away. Our Masters said: Only one out of every sixty remained, yet those that remained filled the Land of Israel, for it is said The radial bone of his wings will be spread over the land (Isa. 8:8); and the radial bone of a cock’s wing is but one-sixtieth of the spread of his wings.

All these Assyrians died. And how many were left alive? Rab said: Ten, for it is said That a child may write them down (ibid. 10:19). And what character does a child write most easily? The yod which stands for ten. R. Eleazar said: Six, for it is said That a child may write them down, And what character does a child write most easily? The vav which stands for six. R.’Judah said: Five, for the verse Two ... three berries in the top of the uppermost bough (ibid. 17:6) proves that five of the Assyrians were left alive. R. Tanhum and R. Hanilai said: Nine of them were left alive, for the verse four ... five in the branches (ibid.) proves that there were nine. R. Tanhum bar Hanilai said: Fourteen, for in the verse: Two ... three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four ... five in the branches of the fruitful tree (ibid.), the words two ... three prove that there were five; the words four ... five prove that there were nine more; thus fourteen of them were left alive. And Nebuchadnezzar was one of them.

When the men of Jerusalem provoked their Creator, the Holy One, blessed be He, meant to bring up Nebuchadnezzar against them to destroy Jerusalem and banish Israel from the land, as is said Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, My servant (Jer. 43:10).

II. R. Levi taught that for eighteen years a divine voice kept crying out in the house of Nebuchadnezzar, saying: “Wicked/lawless servant, go up and destroy the house of your Master, for the children of your Master do not hearken to Him.” And Nebuchadnezzar was afraid to come up because he knew what had befallen Sennacherib in the days of Hezekiah, and he did not believe that the Holy One, blessed be He, would destroy Jerusalem. What did Nebuchadnezzar do? He set a diviner to find out whether he should go up or not, for it is said The king of Babylon stands at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination; he shoots the arrows to and fro (Ezek. 21:26). This verse teaches that when he shot the arrow in the direction of Antioch, or in the direction of Tyre, or in the direction of Laodicea, the arrow broke, but that when he shot an arrow in the direction of Jerusalem, it did not break. Thus he knew that Jerusalem would be destroyed by his hand. When he perceived this, he said at once to the Holy One, blessed be He: “Master of the universe, who would have believed that enemies could enter into Jerusalem and destroy it, could enter the very place which no mortal has ever been able to approach!”

Behold, the enemies did come in and did defile Your holy place and did slay Your children, as is said: O God, the heathen are come into Your inheritance; they have defiled Your Holy Temple. ... They have given the dead bodies of Your servants to be food unto the fowls of the heaven ... (Ps. 79:1-2). Hence it is said: The kings of the earth . . . would not have believed that the adversary and the enemy would have entered into the gates of Jerusalem (Lam. 4:12).

III. A Psalm of Asaph. O God, the heathen are come into Your inheritance (Ps. 79:1). But should Asaph have composed a Psalm of praise? Should it not have been a dirge? Likewise, though you read And David went up by the ascent of the Mount of Olives, and wept as he went up (2 Sam. 15:30), yet it is said A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son (Ps. 3:1). Scripture says, however, it is a joy to the righteous/generous to do judgment (Prov. 21:15)—that is, when righteous/generous men are brought to judgment, they compose Psalms to the Holy One, blessed be He. Hence Asaph said: A Psalm of Asaph. O God, the heathen are come into Your inheritance, etc.

A parable of a king with a son who was stubborn and would not obey. What did the king do? When he became filled with wrath, he went into his son’s pavilion and cut and tore and threw about the hangings until they were all ripped to pieces, and then he flung them out. The king said: “Have I not done well? I have torn apart my son’s pavilion—I can make another pavilion more beautiful—but I have not slain my son in my wrath. Had I slain my son, my brother’s son would be mine heir. It is better that my own son be mine heir.” So, too, Asaph said: Did not the Holy One, blessed be He, do well in venting. His wrath upon sticks and stones and not upon His children? As Scripture says, The Lord has accomplished His fury. He has poured out His fierce anger; and He has kindled a fire in Zion. and it has devoured the foundations thereof (Lam. 4:11). Therefore, it is said A Psalm of Asaph …

IV. The heathen are come into Your inheritance; they have defiled Your Holy Temple (Ps. 79:1): Them, You did permit to come in! But did You not say in Your Torah: The common man that draws near will be put to death (Num. 1:51)? And not only the common man; even when the two sons of Aaron, who were holy men, came into the sanctuary to bring offerings, they were consumed by fire. Likewise Uzziah; did he not come into the sanctuary for Your honor? For what was in his hand? Was it not incense to burn before You? And he went forth a leper. Nay, more! The very earth quaked. But the uncircumcised ones—them You did permit to come [unscathed] into the sanctuary!” God replied to Asaph: “The others came into it without permission, therefore I smote them. But these came into it with permission. I even commanded them to do so, as is said For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, says the Lord; and they will come, and they will set every one his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem” (Jer. 1:15). The Holy One, blessed be He, said further to Asaph: “What did the heathen do? They made Jerusalem into heaps. But I will set it up anew, as is said For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, etc.” (Isa. 60:17). Asaph asked God: “Master of the universe, the heaps You will renew, but Your children who were slain, what of them?” The dead bodies of Your servants have they given to be food unto the fowls of heaven, the flesh of Your saints unto the beasts of the earth (Ps. 79:2). But were they saints? Behold, Scripture says of them They were as fed horses in the morning: every one neighed after his neighbor’s wife (Jer. 5:8). Asaph meant, however, that once judgment was executed upon them, they became saints. Thus Scripture says, Then it will be, if the wicked/lawless man deserve to be beaten, that the judge will cause him to lie down, and to be beaten before his face, according to the measure of his wickedness/lawlessness, but goes on directly Lest ... your brother should be dishonored before your eyes (Deut. 25:2-3) — that is, he was called a wicked/lawless man to begin with, but after he was beaten, behold, he is again your brother.

V. Their blood have they shed like water (Ps. 79:3). The heathen shed Israel’s blood as if it were the blood of beasts, of which it is said “You may pour it out upon the earth as water” (Deut. 12:16). And the words round about Jerusalem; and there was none to bury them (ibid.) tell you that the heathen did not permit even the bones to be buried.

When a mortal owes one hundred minas to his friend, and his friend says, “Give me my money,” and he answers, “I have no money,” what is there for his friend to do? He must go along! Not so the Holy One blessed be He. He makes the soul pay. When the soul goes forth, He makes the body pay, as is said He will consume both soul and body (Isa. 10:18). When there is neither soul nor body, He makes the bones pay, as is said At that time, says the Lord, they will bring out the bones of the kings of Judah ... and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves (Jer. 8:1). Nay, to pay even more, for the heathen taunt us, as is said: We are become a taunt to our neighbors, a scorn and derision to them that are round about us (Ps. 79:4). Nay, still more to pay, for the heathen say that they offend not in what they do to us, as is said: All that found them have devoured them; and their adversaries said: “We offend not because they have sinned against the Lord” (Jer. 50:7).

Ashlamatah: Hosea 6:1-11

1 Come and let us return to Ha-Shem. For He has torn, and He will heal us. He has stricken, and He will bind us up.

2 After two days He will bring us to life. In the third day He will raise us up, and we will live before Him.

3 Then we will know, we who follow on to know Ha-Shem. His going forth is established as the dawn. And He will come to us as the rain, as the latter and former rain to the earth.

4 O Ephraim, what will I do to you? O Judah, what will I do to you? For your goodness is like a morning cloud, and it goes away like the early dew.

5 So I have hewn them by the prophets; I have slain them by the Words of My mouth; and your judgments have been as the light that goes forth.

6 For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

7 But, like Adam, they have broken the covenant; they have acted like traitors against Me there.

8 Gilead is a city of those who work iniquity/lawlessness, slippery with blood marks.

9 And as troops of robbers wait for a man, the company of priests murder in the way to Shechem; for they have done wickedness/lawlessness.

10 I have seen a horrible thing in the house of Israel: the fornication of Ephraim is there; Israel is defiled.

11 Also, O Judah, a harvest is appointed to you, when I return the captivity of My people.

Special Ashlamatah: Malachi 3:4-24

4 Then the grain offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to Ha-Shem, as in the days of old, and as in former years.

5 And I will come near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against those swearing to a lie; and against those who extort from the hired laborer's pay; and turning away the widow, and the fatherless, and the alien, and not fearing Me, says Ha-Shem of Hosts.

6 For I, Ha-Shem, change not. Because of this, you sons of Jacob are not destroyed.

7 From the days of your fathers, you have turned aside from My statutes and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you, says Ha-Shem of Hosts. But you say, In what will we return?

8 Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me. But you say, In what have we robbed You? In the tithe and the offering!

9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the nation, all of it.

10 Bring all the tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house. And test Me now with this, says Ha-Shem of Hosts, whether I will not open the windows of the heavens for you and pour out a blessing until there is no sufficiency of room to store it.

11 And I will rebuke the devourer for you, and he will not destroy the fruit of your ground against you; nor will your vine miscarry against you in the field, says Ha-Shem of Hosts.

12 And all Gentiles will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land, says Ha-Shem of Hosts.

13 Your words have been strong against Me, says Ha-Shem. Yet you say, What have we spoken against You?

14 You have said, It is vanity to serve God. And, What profit is it that we have kept His charge, and that we have walked as mourners before Ha-Shem of Hosts?

15 And now we are calling the arrogant blessed. Not only are the doers of wickedness/lawlessness built up, they also test God, and escape.

16 Then those fearing Ha-Shem spoke together, each man to his neighbor. And Ha-Shem gave attention and heard. And a Book of Remembrance was written before Him for those who feared Ha-Shem, and for those esteeming His name.

17 And they will be Mine, says Ha-Shem of Hosts, for the day that I will make up My treasure. And I will pity them as a man has pity on his son who serves him.

18 Then you will again see the difference between the righteous/generous and the wicked/lawless, between him who serves God and him who does not serve Him.

19 For, behold, the day is coming, burning like a fire pot; and all the proud and every doer of wickedness/lawlessness will be chaff. And the coming day will set them ablaze, says Ha-Shem of Hosts, which will not leave root or branches to them.

20 But to you who fear My name, the Sun of Righteousness/Generosity will rise up, and healing will be on his wings. And you will go out and frisk like calves of the stall.

21 And you will tread under the wicked/lawless, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day which I am preparing, says Ha-Shem of Hosts.

22 Remember the Law of My servant Moses which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, the statutes and judgments.

23 Behold, I am sending you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of Ha-Shem.

24 And he (Elijah) will turn the heart of the fathers to the sons, and the heart of the sons to their fathers, that I not come and strike the earth with utter destruction.

Midrash of Matityahu (Matthew) 14: 22-36

22. ¶ Then he compelled his Talmidim to board a Galil-class boat and precede him to the other side while he sent away the congregation.
Having dismissed the congregation, he went up into a mountain privately to pray by himself. At sunset he was there alone.
The Galil-class boat was already in the middle of Yam Kineret, beaten as by a touchstone and tossed by the waves, for the wind was against them.

¶ And in the fourth watch of the night [pre-dawn], he came towards them, walking on the sea.
The Talmidim seeing him walking on the sea, they were terrified saying, It is a ghost! And they screamed out from fear.
Suddenly he spoke to them, saying, Take courage! Its me! Stop being afraid!

¶ Replying to him Shimon HaTsefet (Peter) said, “Master, if it is you, command (enjoin) me to come to you on the water!”
He said, Come on! Having descended from the Galil-class boat Tesfet walked on the water to come toward Yeshuah.
But when he perceived and felt the strong wind, he was frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out saying, Master, deliver me!
Instantly Yeshuah having reached out a hand took hold of him, saying to him, O you of little faithful obedience, why did you doubt?
Having gone up into the Galil-class boat, the wind eased.
And those in the boat paid obeisance to him saying, Truly you are a son of G-d!

¶ And when they had crossed over to the other side, they came overland to the plain of Ginnosar.
Recognizing him, the local men sent forth into all the surrounding countryside and brought to him all those who had evil.
They requested forbearance of him that they mighty just touch the Tzitziot (fringes) of His Tallit (prayer mantle); and as many as touched his Tzitziot were delivered.

The Rabbi’s Private Prophetic Study

This week of Shabbat HaGadol, I have included a snippet of Midrash Sifra to Sefer Vayikra. Midrash Sifra is the most complicate Midrash from all the Midrashim, one that requires a lot of attention to what is being read. It does not make for easy reading to the unlearned. Yet, to those who are adept in understanding Midrashic literature and can plumb its depth with ease, with the exception of Sefer Matityahu, there is no greater Midrashic treatise than the Sifra. In the Sifra, with the exception of Sefer Matityahu, we find the greatest pearls of wisdom of all the Midrashim.

It is purposefully written in a way that it is hard to read and follow, so that the unlearned either be quickly discouraged from gaining greater understanding, or go to a Torah Scholar to learn how to decipher its contents. In fact, all of the Oral Law is impossible to understand without a Torah teacher to open its secrets to his students. So, anyone who buys a Mishnah or a Talmud or Books of Midrash and thinks that all by himself he will be able to master these books of Holy wisdom is totally and completely deceiving and deluding himself.

The Rabbis have learned well from Ha-Shem, most blessed be He, and are masters in hiding great pearls of wisdom and many important prophecies in what appears to be a dry piece of legislation or legal commentary. There is no self-sufficiency in Scripture! G-d designed it from the very beginning to transmit wisdom, that is heavenly wisdom, from master to student, and so on in an unbroken chain of revelation. Therefore it is stated: “For the lips of a priest preserve knowledge, And the Law they do seek from his mouth, for a messenger of Ha-Shem of Hosts he is.” (Malachi 2:7). And this is how G-d works and intended revelation and heavenly wisdom to go forth.

It is not my way, it is not your way, it is not the high way, nor some other way, but G-d’s way, and by adhering to G-d’s way we please Him, and we find shalom for our souls and minds. This is intimated in our portion of the Midrash of Matityahu for this Shabbat in Mt. 14:36 – “They requested forbearance of him that they mighty just touch the Tzitziot (fringes) of His Tallit (prayer mantle); and as many as touched his Tzitziot were delivered.” Anyone who wants to be delivered from error, the surest way to do it is by sitting at the feet of a Torah Master and follow his instruction meticulously.

One of the reasons that I decided to introduce a brief snippet of Midrash Sifra on the first five verses to our Torah Seder is to show how our Sages have left no stone unturned and they have addressed all possibilities and eventualities that G-d’s Laws and revelation addresses. We find at simple glance a very detailed analysis of every possible meaning and of every word of the text of Torah. And what does this has to do with Shabbat HaGadol? You may well ask.

Simple. This Shabbat is called Shabbat HaGadol because of the special Ashlamatah we read on the Sabbath before Passover. In it we read: “Behold, I am sending you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great (Hebrew: HaGadol) and dreadful day of Ha-Shem” (Malachi 3:23). And on this Shabbat it is customary in all Orthodox and Nazarean Synagogues to have the Rabbi plead with the congregation to prepare the home to observe the laws of Kosher for Passover during the coming festival of Unleavened Bread.

So then by showing you a glimpse of the care and respect that our Sages have for Torah (as is the case in Midrash Sifra) analyzing every word and every letter of it, addressing all possibilities known or imagined, answering all possible questions, they have provided for us an example as to how we should treat this festival and how careful and scrupulous we ought to be with respect to the strict laws of Kashrut to be observed during this festival of Pesach, as well as how much attention we need to pay to what comes out of our mouths – Lashon Hara instead of praise of G-d, or insights of His Torah, or a word of encouragement, or an uplifting word.

Perhaps a good things is to go around with a voice activated tape recorder for one or three days, recording all that we say. And then play it back at leisure and reflect if we are indeed free of totally addicted to rudeness and Lashon Hara.

We must not only put all possible traces of leaven out of our homes but we should also put equally sins out of our innermost being, as Hakham Shaul said in a homily on a Shabbat HaGadol nearly two millennia ago:

“Clean out the old leaven [or, yeast], so that you can be a new lump, just as you are unleavened [or, made without yeast], for also Messiah our Passover [or, Paschal Lamb] was sacrificed on our behalf. So then we should be keeping the feast, not with old leaven [or, yeast], nor with leaven of evil and wickedness/lawlessness, but with unleavened [bread] of integrity and truth [Torah].” (1 Cor. 5:7-8)

Not just cleaning sin out of our lives only but also cleaning physical leaven (Chamets) out of our homes. The physical and the spiritual should go in tandem, and not one at the expense of the other. For where there is a divorce of the natural from the spiritual or vice-versa there is lawlessness, and hypocrisy. As we put the physical Chamets out of our homes, let us also put the spiritual Chamets out of our lives and mouths. For as we have been reading on the plague of miraculous leprosy, the root that caused it was Lashon Hara.

Of course, those who consider themselves to be “holier than Thou” and Christians will one day render an account before G-d and our Messiah as to why they were disobedient concerning the precept of the Passover to celebrate it at its proper time, with its detailed requirements, and with His people. Please note that the above text of 1 Cor. 5:7-8 was addressed to a congregation of Gentiles who showed an intention to adhere to the Master and progress in their Torah study and obedience.

Another sin that is paid particular attention in our special Ashlamatah is not separating from our incomes tithes and offerings. This is n appropriate time on the first day of the week before Passover starts to remedy this sin. We surely can cheat others and ourselves, but G-d knows every single thing that is to be known, and will reward or punish those who think that they can do whatsoever they wish with G-d’s Laws, particularly in fiduciary matters. In fact, tithes and offerings are the sure proof of a good conscience towards G-d, and a sign for all to see that one has accepted the sovereignty of G-d upon him/herself.

Therefore on this last Shabbat before Passover, let us put as far as we can the wrongs that G-d has shown to us in this Torah Seder, Psalm, Ashlamatot and Midrash of Matityahu, so that we may enter and be blessed under the protection of this coming and blessed week of Pesach.

May you and your loved ones have a great Shabbat and a happy and very Kosher Passover with family and friends.

If you have not done so already, I most strongly counsel that you print the following Hagadah in booklet form for each of the members of your family and guests at your Passover Table:

http://www.betemunah.org/haggada.doc

You should also print out and study diligently the following 10 documents:

http://www.betemunah.org/feasts.doc

http://www.betemunah.org/passover.doc

http://www.betemunah.org/chronology.doc

http://www.betemunah.org/redemption.doc

http://www.betemunah.org/pcustoms.doc

http://www.betemunah.org/seventh.doc

http://www.betemunah.org/rains.doc

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

http://www.betemunah.org/east.doc

http://www.betemunah.org/omer.doc

If you study diligently these ten documents you will have a fairly good knowledge about the Passover, and its significance both in the Hebrew Bible, the life of the Jewish people, the writings of the Nazarean Codicil (so called New Testament), and the life of the true and genuine disciples of the Master of Nazareth – may he return soon for our sake and for the sake of the entire most noble people of Israel, amen ve amen!

Shalom Shabbat!

Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai