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

 

 

Candle Lighting and Habdalah Times: https://www.chabad.org/calendar/candlelighting.htm

 

Roll of Honor:

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His Eminence Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David and beloved wife HH Giberet Batsheva bat Sarah

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His Excellency Adon Ya’aqob ben David

 

For their regular and sacrificial giving, providing the best oil for the lamps, we pray that GOD’s richest blessings be upon their lives and those of their loved ones, together with all Yisrael and her Torah Scholars, amen ve amen!

 

Also, a great thank you and great blessings be upon all who send comments to the list about the contents and commentary of the weekly Torah Seder and allied topics.

 

Blessings Before Torah Study

 

Blessed are You, Ha-Shem our GOD, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us through Your commandments, and commanded us to actively study Torah. Amen!

 

Please Ha-Shem, our GOD, sweeten the words of Your Torah in our mouths and in the mouths of all Your people Israel. May we and our offspring, and our offspring's offspring, and all the offspring of Your people, the House of Israel, may we all, together, know Your Name and study Your Torah for the sake of fulfilling Your delight. Blessed are You, Ha-Shem, Who teaches Torah to His people Israel. Amen!

 

Blessed are You, Ha-Shem our GOD, King of the universe, Who chose us from all the nations, and gave us the Torah. Blessed are You, Ha-Shem, Giver of the Torah. Amen!

 

Ha-Shem spoke to Moses, explaining a Commandment. "Speak to Aaron and his sons and teach them the following Commandment: This is how you should bless the Children of Israel. Say to the Children of Israel:

 

May Ha-Shem bless you and keep watch over you; - Amen!

May Ha-Shem make His Presence enlighten you, and may He be kind to you; - Amen!

May Ha-Shem bestow 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!

 

 

A Prayer for Israel

 

Our Father in Heaven, Rock, and Redeemer of Israel, bless the State of Israel, the first manifestation of the approach of our redemption. Shield it with Your lovingkindness, envelop it in Your peace, and bestow Your light and truth upon its leaders, ministers, and advisors, and grace them with Your good counsel. Strengthen the hands of those who defend our holy land, grant them deliverance, and adorn them in a mantle of victory. Ordain peace in the land and grant its inhabitants eternal happiness.

 

Lead them, swiftly and upright, to Your city Zion and to Jerusalem, the abode of Your Name, as is written in the Torah of Your servant Moses: “Even if your outcasts are at the ends of the world, from there the Lord your God will gather you, from there He will fetch you. And the Lord your God will bring you to the land that your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it, and He will make you more prosperous and more numerous than your fathers.” Draw our hearts together to revere and venerate Your name and to observe all the precepts of Your Torah, and send us quickly the Messiah son of David, agent of Your vindication, to redeem those who await Your deliverance.

 

“Shabbat HaGadol”

 

 

Contents of the Torah Seder

 

·        The Oil for the Lamp – Exodus 27:20-21

·        The Vestments of the Priests – Exodus 28:1-5

·        The Ephod – Exodus 28:6-12

·        The Breastplate – Exodus 28:13-30

·        The Robe – Exodus 28:31- 35

·        The Plate, Miter, and Other Priestly Garments – Exodus 28:36-43

 

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan for: Shemot (Exodus) 27:20 – 28:43

 

 

Reading Assignment

 

 

 

 

  

 

Welcome to the World of Pshat Exegesis

 

In order to understand the finished work of the Pshat mode of interpretation of the Torah, one needs to take into account that the Pshat 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.

 

 

Welcome to the World of Remes Exegesis

 

Thirteen rules compiled by Rabbi Ishmael b. Elisha for the elucidation of the Torah and for making halakic deductions from it. They are, strictly speaking, mere amplifications of the seven Rules of Hillel, and are collected in the Baraita of R. Ishmael, forming the introduction to the Sifra and reading as follows:

 

1. Ḳal wa-ḥomer: Identical with the first rule of Hillel.

2. Gezerah shawah: Identical with the second rule of Hillel.

3. Binyan ab: Rules deduced from a single passage of Scripture and rules deduced from two passages. This rule is a combination of the third and fourth rules of Hillel.

4. Kelal u-Peraṭ: The general and the particular.

5. u-Peraṭ u-kelal: The particular and the general.

6. Kelal u-Peraṭ u-kelal: The general, the particular, and the general.

7. The general which requires elucidation by the particular, and the particular which requires elucidation by the general.

8. The particular implied in the general and excepted from it for pedagogic purposes elucidates the general as well as the particular.

9. The particular implied in the general and excepted from it on account of the special regulation which corresponds in concept to the general, is thus isolated to decrease rather than to increase the rigidity of its application.

10. The particular implied in the general and excepted from it on account of some other special regulation which does not correspond in concept to the general, is thus isolated either to decrease or to increase the rigidity of its application.

11. The particular implied in the general and excepted from it on account of a new and reversed decision can be referred to the general only in case the passage under consideration makes an explicit reference to it.

12. Deduction from the context.

13. When two Biblical passages contradict each other the contradiction in question must be solved by reference to a third passage.

 

Rules seven to eleven are formed by a subdivision of the fifth rule of Hillel; rule twelve corresponds to the seventh rule of Hillel, but is amplified in certain particulars; rule thirteen does not occur in Hillel, while, on the other hand, the sixth rule of Hillel is omitted by Ishmael. With regard to the rules and their application in general. These rules are found also on the morning prayers of any Jewish Orthodox Siddur.

Rashi’s Commentary for: Shemot (Exodus) 27:20 – 28:43

 

20 pure Without sediment, as we learned in Men. (86a): “He allows it to ripen at the top of the olive tree, etc.”

 

crushed He must crush the olives in a mortar, but he may not grind them in a mill, so that they will not contain sediment. After he has extracted the first drop [of oil], he places them [the olives] into a mill and grinds them. The [resulting] second oil is unfit for the menorah but is fit for meal offerings, as it is said: “crushed for lighting,” but not crushed for meal offerings. -[from Men. 86a]

 

to kindle the lamps continually Heb. לְהַעֲלֽת, lit., to cause to rise. [The kohen] shall light it until the flame rises by itself. -[from Shab. 21a]

 

continually Heb. תָּמִיד. [Since it burns] every night, it is called תָּמִיד, as you say: “a continual burnt offering” (עֽלַת תָּמִיד)” (Exod. 29:42, Num. 28:6), [which is called “continual”] although it is [offered up] only from day to day. Similarly, concerning the flat pan meal offering [of the Kohen Gadol, the word] תָּמִיד is mentioned although it is [offered up] only half in the morning and [the other] half in the evening. [The word] תָּמִיד mentioned concerning the showbread (Exod. 25:30), however, [literally] means from Sabbath to Sabbath [i.e., continually].

 

21 from evening to morning Give it its measure so that it will burn from evening to morning. And the Sages estimated [that this is] a half of a log [between 6 and 10.6 fl. oz.] for the long nights of Teveth, and similarly for all the nights. If any of it remains, it does not matter. [from Men. 89a]

 

Chapter 28

 

1 And you bring near to yourself your brother Aaron, and his sons with him After you complete the work of the Mishkan.

 

3 to sanctify him, [so] that he serve Me [as a kohen] Heb. לְקַדְּשׁוֹ לְכַהֲנוֹ-לִי, to sanctify him, to initiate him into the kehunah through these garment [so] that he would be a kohen to Me. The expression of kehunah means service, serjanterie [or serventrie] in Old French.

 

4 a choshen An ornament opposite the heart.

 

an ephod I did not hear (that it was a garment) [i.e., I have no tradition concerning the ephod], and I did not find the explanation of its pattern in the Baraitha [Melecheth HaMishkan]. My heart tells me that he [the Kohen Gadol] was girded with it [the ephod] from behind, its width being like the width of an [average] man’s back, similar to a kind of apron called porzent [or pourceint], [a kind of] belt, [like an] apron [back to front] that princesses wear when they ride horseback. So, it was made from below [i.e., for the lower part of the body], as it is said: “and David was girded with a linen ephod” (II Sam. 6:14). [Thus] we learn that the ephod was a belt. It is impossible, however, to say that it was only a belt, because it is said: “and he put the ephod on him,” and afterwards, “and he girded him with the band of the ephod (בְּחֵשֶׁב הָאֵפוֹד) ” (Lev. 8:7), which Onkelos renders: בְּהֶמְיַן אֵפוֹדָא.  [Thus] we learn that the חֵשֶׁב was the band and the ephod was a separate decoration. It is also impossible to say that because of the two shoulder straps in it, it is called ephod, for it is said: “the two shoulder straps of the ephod” (verse 27). [Thus] we learn that the ephod was a separate entity, the shoulder straps were a separate entity, and the band was a separate entity. Therefore, I say that because of the apron below it is called ephod because he decorates and adorns himself with it, as it is said: “and he decorated him with it” (Lev. 8:7); the חֵשֶׁב is the band above it, to which the shoulder straps were attached. Moreover, my heart tells me that there is evidence that it is a kind of garment, for Jonathan rendered “and David was girded with a linen ephod” (II Sam. 6:14) as כַּרְדּוּט דְּבוּץ and he renders likewise מְעִילִים as כַּרְדּוּטִין, in the narrative of Tamar, Absalom’s sister, “for in this manner the king’s virgin daughters dressed, in robes (מְעִילִים) ” (II Sam. 13:18). a robe Heb. מְעִיל. It is a kind of tunic, as is the כְּתֽנֶת, only that the כְּתֽנֶת is [worn] next to his flesh and the מְעִיל is [what is] called the outside robe.

 

of checker work Heb. תַּשְׁבֵּץ. Made of boxes (מִשְׁבְּצוֹת) for beauty. The boxes are similar to holes made in gold jewelry as a setting for precious stones and pearls, as it is said regarding the ephod stones: “enclosed in gold settings (מִשְׁבְּצוֹת) ” (verse 11), and in Old French it is called cha(s)tons, settings. [I.e., the boxes of the checker work on the tunic are like settings for precious gems.]

 

a cap Heb. מִצְנֶפֶת, a type of dome-shaped hat, called cofia in Old French, because elsewhere (verse 40) [the Torah] calls them מִגְבָּעוֹת, and the Targum [Onkelos] renders: כּוֹבָעִין.

 

and a sash This is the belt on the tunic, and the ephod is the belt on the robe, as we find in the order they were put on: “and put upon him the tunic, girded him with the sash, clothed him with the robe, put upon him the ephod” (Lev. 8:7).

 

holy garments From the offering sanctified for My name they shall make it.

 

5 They shall take Those wise-hearted people, who are to make the garments, shall receive from the donors the gold and the blue wool from which to make the garments.

 

and they shall make the ephod If I would try to explain the making of the ephod and the choshen according to the order of the verses, their explanation would be fragmentary, and the reader would err in combining them. Therefore, I am writing [first] how they were made, as it was [i.e., in its entirety], so that the reader will be able to run through it [quickly]. Afterwards, I will explain it [how they were made] according to the sequence of the verses. The ephod was designed like a sort of apron worn by women who ride horseback [see Rashi on verse 4], and he [the Kohen Gadol] would gird [himself with] it from behind, opposite his heart, below his elbows, its width equaling the width of a man’s back and more, and it [the ephod] would reach his ankles. The belt was attached to the top of it across its width, [it was] the work of a weaver, and it extended on both sides in order to wrap [the Kohen Gadol] and gird [him] with it. The shoulder straps were attached to the belt—one to the right and one to the left from behind the Kohen [Gadol], at the two ends of the width of the apron. When he held them [i.e., the shoulder straps] upright, they stood [i.e., lay flat] on his two shoulders. They were like two straps made from the same material as the ephod [and they were] long enough to place them upright alongside his neck on either side. They were folded in front of him slightly below his shoulders. The shoham stones were set in them—one on the right shoulder strap and one on the left shoulder strap. The settings were placed at their ends in front of his shoulders, and the two golden chains were inserted into the two rings of the choshen at the two ends of its upper width—one on the right and one on the left. The two ends of the [right] chains were inserted into the settings on the right, and similarly the two ends of the left chains were inserted into the settings on the left shoulder strap. Thus, the choshen was suspended on the settings of the ephod in front of him [the Kohen Gadol] over his heart. There were two more rings on the two ends of the choshen, on the bottom of it. Opposite them [there were] two rings on the two shoulder straps from below, at its bottom end, which was attached to the belt. The rings of the choshen [were] opposite the rings of the ephod, lying on each other. He would fasten them [the rings] with a blue cord, inserted through the rings of the ephod and the choshen, attached to the band of the ephod, so that the bottom of the choshen would be attached to the band of the ephod, and it would not swing back and forth.

 

of gold, blue, purple, and crimson wool, and twisted fine linen These five kinds [of substances] were twisted into each thread. They [the workers] flattened the gold into a sort of thin plate and cut cords out of them [the plates] and spun them, one thread of gold with six threads of blue wool, and one thread of gold with six threads of purple wool, and similarly with the crimson wool, and similarly with the linen, for the threads of all the kinds were doubled sixfold, and one thread of gold was [twisted] with each one [kind of thread]. Afterwards, he would twist them all together. Thus, their threads were doubled into twenty-eight strands. This is explained in tractate Yoma (72a), and it is derived from the following verse (Exod. 39:3): “They flattened out the sheets of gold and he cut cords [out of them], to work (the gold cords) into the blue wool, into the purple wool, etc.” We learn that a thread of gold was twisted with every kind [of thread].

 

the work of a master weaver Heb. חוֹשֵׁב מַעֲשֵׂה. I have already explained (Exod. 26:1) that this is the weaving of two “walls,” [and] that the figures of its two sides are unlike one another.

 

7 two connected shoulder straps, etc. כְתֵפֽת, shoulder straps. The apron was below [these shoulder straps]. The band of the ephod, which is the belt, was attached to it [the shoulder strap] from above, similar to the style of women’s aprons. On the Kohen’s back [these] two pieces were attached to the band, like two wide straps, one opposite each shoulder. He [the Kohen Gadol] would draw them [the straps] upright on his two shoulders until they folded over in front of him against his breast. Through their [the straps] attachment to the rings of the choshen, they were held in front of him against his heart, so that they would not fall, as explained in this section. They were upright against his shoulders, and two shoham stones were attached to them, one to each.

 

at both its ends [I.e.,] to the width of the ephod. For its width was only against the Kohen’s back, and its height extended opposite his elbows, which are called coudes in French, as it is said: “they shall not gird themselves in a place that sweats” (Ezek. 44:18). [I.e.,] they should not gird themselves in a place of perspiration, [namely] neither above their elbows nor below their waists, but opposite their elbows. -[from Zev. 18b]

 

and it shall be entirely connected the ephod with those two shoulder straps of the ephod. He shall connect them [by sewing them] with a needle below [the shoulder straps] to the band, and he shall not weave them [together] with it but weave them separately and then connect them.

 

8 And its decorative band The belt, by which it [the ephod] decorates and enhances the kohen [’s appearance] and adorns him.

 

which is above it Above, [i.e.,] at the edge of the apron was the belt.

 

of the same work Just as the weaving of the apron was the work of a master weaver and of five kinds, so was the weaving of the band the work of a master weaver and of five kinds [of material].

 

[emanating] from it It shall be woven with it, and he shall not weave it separately and attach it.[Whereas the shoulder straps and the ephod were to be woven separately and then attached, the belt and the ephod were to be woven together from the start.]

 

10 according to their births According to the order in which they were born [i.e.,]: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, on the one; and on the second one, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, Benjamin spelled full, [בִּנְיָמִין], for so it is written in the place of his birth (Gen. 35:18) [totaling] twenty-five letters on each one [stone].

 

11 [Similar to] the work of an engraver of gems Heb. אֶבֶן מַעֲשֵׂה חָרַשׁ. The work of a craftsman of precious stones. This [word] חָרַשׁ is connected to the following word. Therefore, it is vowelized with a “pattach” at the end, and likewise, “The carpenter (חָרַשׁ עֵצִים) stretched out a line” (Isa. 44:13). [This is like] חָרָשׁ שֶׁל עֵצִים. Likewise, “The iron smith (חָרַשׁ בַּרְזֶל)” (Isa. 44:12). All these are connected and are [therefore] vowelized with “pattach”s.

 

[similar to] the engravings of a seal Heb. פִּתּוּחֵי חֽתָם, as the Targum [Onkelos] renders: כְּתַב מְפָרָשׁ כִּגְלָף דְּעִיזְקָא [a clear script like the engraving of a signet]. The letters are engraved inwardly, as they engrave the seals of signets, which are [used] to seal letters, [in] a clear and explanatory script.

 

with the names Heb. עַל-שְׁמֽת, בִּשְׁמוֹת.

 

enclosed in…settings The stones shall be enclosed in gold settings, that he would make the “seat” of the stone in gold, like a sort of hole according to the measurement of the stone, and sink it [the stone] into the setting. Thus, the setting would encircle the stone, and the settings would be attached to the shoulder straps of the ephod.

 

12 as a remembrance So that the Holy One, blessed is He, will see the [progenitors of the] tribes written before Him, and He will remember their righteousness.

 

13 You shall make settings The minimum of settings is two. In this chapter, [the Torah] explains only part of what they [the settings] were needed for. In the chapter of the choshen, their explanation is completed for you.

 

14 chains Heb. שַׁרְשְׁרֽת, [chains, equivalent to the Mishnaic], שַׁלְשְׁלָאוֹת.

 

attached to the edges Heb. מִגְבָּלֽת. At the end of the edge (גְּבוּל) of the choshen, you shall make them.

 

after the manner of cables In the style of braiding strands, not made with holes and links like those produced for cisterns, but like those made for censers, which are called enzenseyrs [in Old French].

 

and you will place the… chains of cables, made in the style of cables, on these two settings. This is not the place [i.e., the section] of the command for the making of the chains, nor the command for fastening them. The word תַּעֲשֶׂה stated here is not an imperative expression, and [the word] וְנָתַתָּה stated here is [also] not an imperative expression, rather [they are only] in the future tense. [This is so] because in the chapter of the choshen He commands them again concerning making them [the chains] and fastening them. It was written here only to let you know part of the need for the settings, which He commanded [you] to make with the ephod. He wrote this [here] for you, to inform you that you will need these settings so that when you make chains at the edge of the choshen, you will place them on these settings.

 

15 a choshen of judgment which atones for the perversion of justice (Zev. 88b). Another interpretation: [The choshen is referred to as] judgment because it clarifies its words [see Rashi on verse 30], and its promise comes true, dere(s)nement in Old French, [meaning] a clear statement. For [the word] מִשְׁפָּט has three usages: 1) the words of the pleas of the litigants, 2) the verdict, and 3) the punishment of the judgment, whether the punishment of death, the punishment of lashes, or the punishment of monetary payment. But this one [use of the word מִֽשְפָט] serves as an expression of the clarification of words, [meaning] that it explains and clarifies its words.

 

like the work of the ephod The work of a master weaver and of five kinds [of material].

 

16 its length one span and its width one span [It was] doubled, and [it was] suspended before him [the Kohen Gadol] against his heart, as it is said: “so that they will be over Aaron’s heart” (verse 30), suspended on the shoulder straps of the ephod, which come from behind him [the Kohen Gadol] over his shoulders and are folded over, descending somewhat in front of him. The choshen was suspended on them [the shoulder straps] by the chains and the rings, as is explained in the [section discussing the] matter [below, verses 22-29].

 

17 And you shall fill into it Since the stones fill the holes of the settings, which are prepared for them, [the Torah] calls them by an expression of filling.

 

20 set in gold The rows shall be [set in gold] in their fillings, encircled by settings of gold in the depth. According to the measure of the fullness of the thickness of the stone shall be the depth of the settings, no less and no more.

 

21 everyone according to his name According to the order of their [the progenitors of the tribes] births shall be the order of the stones, odem for Reuben, pitdah for Simeon, and similarly for all of them.

 

22 for the choshen Heb. עַל-הַחשֶׁן, for the choshen, to fasten them with its rings, as is explained below in the [section devoted to this] topic [below, verses 23-28].

 

chains Heb. שַׁרְשֽׁת, a word related to [the word for] the roots  (שָׁרְשֵׁי)of a tree, which are held to the tree, so it is held and inserted into the earth. These [chains] would also hold the choshen, for with them it [the choshen] would be suspended on the ephod. They are the two chains mentioned above (verse 14) in the [section devoted to the] topic of the settings. Menachem ben Saruk interpreted שַׁרְשְׁרֽת (verse 14) as well as an expression of roots (שָׁרָשִׁים). He said that the [second] “reish” (ר) is superfluous like the “mem” (מ) in שִׁלְשׁוֹם, [meaning] the day before yesterday (Exod. 5:8, 21:32, 36) [the word being derived from שָׁלשׁ, three], and the “mem” in רֵיקָם, empty (Gen. 31:42) [usually רֵיק, without the mem, is used] (Machbereth Menachem, p. 182). I do not agree with his statement, however, but [I hold that], שַׁרְשֶׁרֶת in Hebrew [of the Torah] is like שַׁלְשֶׁלֶת in the language of the Mishnah (Kelim 14:3).

 

at the edges Heb.  גַּבְלֻת This is מִגְבָּלֽת mentioned above (verse 14), [signifying] that you shall insert them into the rings that will be on the edge (גְּבוּל) of the choshen. Every [instance of] גְּבוּל is an expression denoting an end, as(s)omayl in Old French, end, limit.

 

of cable work Plaited.

 

23 for the choshen Heb. עַל-הַחשֶׁן. For the choshen, in order to affix them onto it. It is, however, impossible to say that they [the two golden rings] shall be made on it [the choshen] from the outset, for if so, what is [the meaning of] what [the text] repeats and says, “and you shall place the two rings”? Are they not already placed on it? At the beginning of the verse, Scripture should have written, “And you shall make on the ends of the choshen two golden rings.” Also, regarding the chains, you must interpret [the text] in this manner.

 

on the two ends of the choshen On the two corners opposite the neck, on the right and on the left, which are opposite the shoulder straps of the ephod.

 

24 and you shall place the two golden cables They are the chains for the edges, mentioned above (verse 22). [The Torah] did not delineate [there] where they were to be affixed on the choshen. Now it explains to you that they should be inserted into the rings. You should know that they are indeed [referring to] the first ones, for in the parsha of אֵלֶה פְּקוּדֵי [i.e., in Exod. 39:15-19, where the Torah relates how the choshen was made], they were not doubled.

 

25 And the two ends of the two cables, i.e., the two ends of each one.

 

you shall place upon the two settings They are the ones mentioned above, between the section dealing with the choshen and the section dealing with the ephod (verses 13 and 14), but [the Torah] did not explain their necessity or their place. Now it [the Torah] explains that he should insert into them the ends of the chains which are inserted into the rings of the choshen on the right and on the left beside the neck. The two ends of the right chain he inserts into the right setting, and similarly with the left one, the two ends of the left chain.

 

and [these] you shall place the settings.

 

upon the shoulder straps of the ephod One [setting] on this one [shoulder strap] and one on that one. Thus the shoulder straps of the ephod hold up the choshen so that it does not fall, and it is suspended on them. Yet the bottom edge of the choshen moves in and out and knocks on his [the Kohen Gadol’s] stomach and is not fastened to him well. Therefore, two more rings were needed for its lower part, as [the Torah] proceeds to explain.

 

on its front part [The front part] of the ephod, [meaning] that he should not place the settings on the side of the shoulder straps that is toward the robe, but instead [he should place the settings] on the upper side, which is toward the outside. That is called “on the front part” of the ephod, because the side that is not seen is not called the front [lit., the face].

 

26 on the two ends of the choshen [I.e.,] they are its two bottom corners, to its right and to its left.

 

on its edge that is toward the inner side of the ephod Here you have two signs [for the placement of the rings]: One, that he should put them on the two ends of its [the choshen’s] bottom, which is opposite the ephod, since its top is not opposite the ephod, for it is near the neck; whereas the ephod he placed on his waist. [The Torah] gives another sign, namely that he should not attach them on the choshen’s outer side, but on the inner side, as it is said: “inner.” This side is towards the side of the ephod, since the band of the ephod girds the Kohen [Gadol], and the apron is folded in front of the Kohen [Gadol] on his waist and on part of his stomach from either side until it is against the ends of the choshen, and its ends lie on it [the ephod].

 

27 on the two shoulder straps of the ephod, from below For the settings were placed on the upper ends of shoulder straps of the ephod, which were on his shoulders opposite his throat and were folded and descended in front of him. [Concerning] the rings, however, He commanded that they be placed on the second end [of the shoulder straps], which is attached to the ephod, and that is what [is meant when] it is said: “adjacent to its seam,” [i.e.,] near the place where they are attached to the ephod, slightly above the belt. The seam was adjacent to the belt, and these [rings] were placed slightly above where the shoulder straps begin to rise. That is [what is meant] when it is said: “above the band of the ephod.” They [these rings] were [placed] opposite the end of the choshen, and he inserted a blue cord in these rings and in the rings of the choshen. He fastened them with this cord to the right and to the left, so that the bottom of the choshen would not swing out in front and then come back and knock on his stomach, and thus it was well placed on the robe.

 

toward its front On the outer side.

 

28 And they shall fasten Heb. וְיִרְכְּסוּ, a word of joining. Similarly, “from bands of (מֵרֻכְסֵי) men” (Ps. 31:21), [meaning] bands of wicked men joined together. Similarly, “and the close mountains (וְהָרְכָסִים), a valley” (Isa. 40:4). [הַרְכָסִים refers to] mountains that are close to one another, so that it is impossible to descend into the valley except with great difficulty. Because of their proximity, the valley is steep and deep. These [mountains] will become a straight valley, where it will be easy to walk.

 

so that it may be upon the band of the ephod So that the choshen would be fastened to the band of the ephod.

 

will not move Heb. וְלֽא-יִזַּח. יִזַּח is a word [meaning] severance. It is an Arabic expression, as is asserted by Dunash ben Labrat (Teshuvoth Dunash, p. 60, 61).

 

30 the Urim and the Tummim This [refers to the] inscription of the explicit Name, which he [Moshe] would place within the folds of the choshen, through which it would light up its words (מֵאִיר) and perfect (מְתַּמֵם) its words. [I.e., the Urim and Tummim explain their words, and their predictions never fail (on Yoma 73b).] In the Second Temple there was the choshen, because it was impossible for the Kohen Gadol to be missing [any of the original] garments, but that Name was not inside it. Because of that Name, it was called “judgment,” as it is said: “and he shall inquire for him through the judgment of the Urim” (Num. 27:21).

 

the judgment of the children of Israel [I.e., the solution of] the matter about which they [the Israelites] are judging and debating, whether or not to do something. According to the aggadic midrash (Lev. Rabbah 10:6) that the choshen atoned for the perverters of justice—it was called “judgment” because of [its] forgiveness for the [sins of] judgment.

 

31 the robe of the ephod upon which the ephod is placed as a belt.

 

completely of blue wool Heb. כְּלִיל תְּכֵלֶת. All of it [the robe] was blue, without any other kind [of color or material] combined with it.

 

32 Its opening at the top Heb. פִי רֽאשׁוֹ The opening of the robe at its top; that is the opening of the collar.

 

shall be turned inward Heb. בְּתוֹכוֹ, folded inward. As the Targum [Onkelos] renders: לְגַוִּהּ כָּפִיל, folded inward, so that its fold should be a border for it. It was woven, not [sewn] with a needle.

 

like the opening of a coat of armor We learn [here] that their coats of armor had the opening folded inward [i.e., like a coat of mail].

 

it shall not be torn [I.e.,] in order that it would not be torn, and the one who tears it transgresses a negative commandment, for this is [counted] in the number of the negative commandments in the Torah. Likewise, “and the choshen will not move” (verse 28), and likewise, “they shall not be removed from it” (Exod. 25:15), mentioned regarding the poles of the ark. -[from Yoma 72a]

 

33 pomegranates They were round and hollow, like a sort of pomegranate, shaped like hens’ eggs.

 

and golden bells Heb. וּפַּעֲמֽנֵי זָהָב. [Golden] bells with the clappers inside them.

 

in their midst all around [I.e.,] between them all around. [Meaning] between two pomegranates, one bell was attached and suspended on the bottom hem of the robe.

 

34 A golden bell and a pomegranate A golden bell and a pomegranate beside it.

 

35 so that he will not die From the negative you deduce the positive. If he has them [the garments], he will not be liable to death, but if he enters [when he is] lacking one of these garments, he is liable to death by the hands of Heaven. -[from Tanchuma Buber, Acharei 7]

 

36 a showplate It was like a sort of golden plate, two fingerbreadths wide, encircling the forehead from ear to ear. -[from Shab. 63b]

 

37 upon a cord of blue wool But elsewhere, it says: “And they placed upon it a cord of blue wool” (Exod. 39:31). Moreover, here it is written: “and it shall go over the cap,” whereas below it says: “It shall be upon Aaron’s forehead.” (verse 38). [A clue to the solution is] in [tractate] Shechitath Kodashim (Zev. 19a) [where] we learn: “His hair was visible between the showplate and the cap, where he would place the tefillin.” [Thus] we learn that the cap was above, on the crown of the head, and it was not deep [enough] for the entire head up to the forehead to fit into it. The showplate was below [the cap], and the cords were in holes and hanging on it at its two ends and in its center. [Thus, there were] six [cords] in these three places: [one] cord on top, one from outside, and one from inside opposite it. He tied the three ends from behind the nape of his neck. Thus, the combination of the length of the plate and the cords of its ends encircled the crown. The middle cord, which was on his head, was tied with the ends of the two [other cords], and it passed along the surface of the width of the head from above. Thus, it is was like a sort of hat. Concerning the middle cord, it says: “and it shall go over the cap.” He would place the showplate on his head like a sort of hat over the cap, and the middle cord would hold it so that it would not fall, and the plate was suspended opposite his forehead. [Thus,] all the verses are explained: the cord was on the showplate, the showplate on the cord, and the cord was on the cap from above.

 

38 and Aaron shall bear Heb. וְנָשָׂא [This is] an expression of forgiveness. Nevertheless, it does not move from its apparent [literal] meaning. Aaron shall indeed bear the burden of iniquity; thereby, it [the iniquity] is removed from the holy things.

 

the iniquity of the holy things to appease [God] for the blood and the fat [of the sacrifices] that were offered up in [a state of] uncleanness, as we learned: Which iniquity does he bear? If [it is] the iniquity of פִּגּוּל, it was already said: “it will not be accepted” (Lev. 19:7). [I.e., if the one who performed the sacrificial service intended to partake of the flesh outside the area designated for this sacrifice, the sacrifice is rendered פִּגּוּל, meaning an abominable thing. It consequently may not be eaten or offered up. The showplate on the Kohen Gadol’s forehead does not make the פִּגּוּל acceptable.] If [it is] the iniquity of נוֹתָר, [i.e.,] leftover sacrificial flesh, it was already said: “it will not be credited” (Lev. 7:18). [I.e., if the one who performed the sacrificial service intended to partake of the flesh after the time allotted for eating the flesh of this sacrifice, it is disqualified, and the showplate does not render it acceptable. Likewise,] we cannot say that it will atone for the iniquity of the kohen who offered up the sacrifice while unclean, for it says [here]: “the iniquity of the holy things,” not the iniquity of those who offer them up. Consequently, it does not appease except to render the sacrifice acceptable. -[from Men. 25a]

 

It shall be upon his forehead constantly It is impossible to say that it should always be on his forehead, for it was not on him except at the time of the service. But [it means that] it will always make them [the sacrifices] favorable Even when it is not on his forehead, namely if the Kohen Gadol was not ministering at that time. Now, according to the one who says that [only] when it was on his forehead it appeased [and made the sacrifices acceptable], and otherwise, it did not appease, “upon his forehead constantly” is interpreted to mean that he must touch it [the showplate] while it is upon his forehead, so that he would not take his mind off it. -[from Yoma 7b]

 

39 You shall make…of checker work Make them [the tunics] of boxes, and all of them [shall be made] of linen.

 

40 For Aaron’s sons you shall make tunics These four garments and no more: a tunic, a sash, the hats, which are [the same as] the cap, and the pants written below (verse 42) for all of them.

 

41 With these you shall clothe Aaron [I.e., with] those [garments] stated in connection with Aaron: a choshen, an ephod, a robe, a checker work tunic, a cap, a sash, a showplate, and pants mentioned further on in connection with them all.

 

and his sons along with him [with] those [garments] mentioned in connection with them.

 

and you shall anoint them [i.e.,] Aaron and his sons, with the anointing oil.

 

and invest them with full authority Heb. וּמִלֵאתָ אֶת-יָדָם, [lit., and you shall fill their hands.] Every [mention of] “filling of the hands” is an expression of initiation. When he [a person] begins something [such as a position] that he will be in possession of from that day on [it is referred to as “filling” a position]. In Old French, when they appoint a person to be in charge of something, the ruler puts in his hand a leather glove, called guanto [gant in modern French], and thereby he grants him authority over the matter. They call this transmission revestir, invest, transmit [this glove], and this is the [expression] “filling of the hands.”

 

42 And make for them For Aaron and for his sons.

 

linen pants Thus [we have] eight garments for the Kohen Gadol and four for the ordinary kohen.

 

43 They shall be worn by Aaron All these garments [shall be] worn by Aaron, [i.e.,] those that are appropriate for him.

 

and by his sons those mentioned in connection with them.

 

when they enter the Tent of Meeting To the Temple [proper], and so to the Mishkan.

 

and die - while lacking [the proper] garments is liable to death [by the hands of Heaven]. -[from Tanchuma, Acharei Moth 6]

 

a perpetual statute for him Wherever it says חֻקַת עוֽלָם, “a perpetual statute,” it means a decree that is [in effect] immediately and for [future] generations [as well]. [This statute is] to make invalid [the sacrifice if any requirement is missing]. -[See Men. 19a.]

 

 Ketubim: Tehillim (Psalms) 64:1-11

 

 

Rashi’s Commentary on Tehillim (Psalms) ‎‎‎‎64:1-11

 

2 Hear, O God, my voice in my prayer The authors of Aggadoth Tehllim (Mid. Ps.) interpreted this psalm as referring to Daniel, who was cast into the lions’ den. The language of the psalm fits the Aggadah very well. David foresaw with the holy spirit all that would happen to him [Daniel], and prayed for him, because Daniel was his descendant. As was said to Hezekiah (Isa. 39:7): “And they shall take [some] of your sons, etc., whom you shall beget, and they shall be officers in the palace of the king of Babylon.” These are Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.

 

from fear of the enemy These are the satraps, who plotted against him, as it is stated (Dan. 6:5): “Then the viziers and the satraps sought to find a pretext against Daniel.”

 

3 from the gathering of workers of iniquity For they gather seeking against him a pretext of death, as it is written (Dan. 6:7): “...assembled about the king, etc.”

 

4 who aimed...their arrow That is their slander.

 

5 To shoot at the innocent in secret places They will shoot him with their arrows.

 

6 they tell to hide snares They speak cunningly to the king secret words, for even the king did not know why they were doing this. But they intended to hide snares to entrap Daniel, for they said to Darius, “All the viziers of the kingdom, etc., have conferred to establish the king’s law, etc.” [stating] that no one should offer up prayer to any god except you until thirty days [have passed].

 

7 They seek pretexts Heb. עולות. They seek pretexts (עלילות), as it is stated (Dan. 6:5): “sought to find a pretext against Daniel.”

 

they hid Heb. טמנו. They hid their thoughts in their heart and did not reveal the search for a pretext, which was searched out through them, and the midst of their thoughts and the depth of their heart.

 

hidden within man Each man of them. Each one concealed his thought.

 

8 And God cast them down He cast them into the lions’ den, as it is written (Dan. 6:25): “And the king commanded, and they brought these men who had slandered Daniel, and they cast them into the lions’ den, etc.”

 

9 That which they hoped would make him stumble, their tongue brought upon them The stumbling they planned to inflict on him, their tongue turned over upon them.

 

will shake their heads Heb. יתנודדו, will shake their head; all who see them should nod their head and laugh about them.

 

11 The righteous will rejoice This is Daniel.

 

and all upright of heart will boast They will boast about the uprightness of their heart, and they will praise themselves because they are confident that the Holy One, blessed be He, will help them.

                                               

Meditation from the Psalms

Tehillim (Psalms) ‎‎64:1:11

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

 

The preceding chapter of Psalms described David in exile. Although physically isolated from G-d, spiritually David remained completely absorbed in the service of the Almighty. This total concentration rendered David oblivious to all sinister threats.

 

This and the preceding psalm are based on the episode of the spear and jar that David had taken from Saul.^[1] In the end, however, he had also been forced to flee from the wilderness of Judah;^[2] as the scripture says, “I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul; there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines”.^[3] Hence, in the previous psalm, he spoke of the anguish he felt at having been driven out of the land of Israel and at being away from the site which G-d had chosen for the Temple.^[4] Then he prayed that Saul grow weary of hunting him.^[5]

 

The present chapter of psalms continues the thought expressed in the final verse of the preceding psalm. There he said, “The king will rejoice in G-d,” and here he says, “The righteous will be glad in the Lord and will take refuge in Him”.^[6]

 

Centuries later, in the exile of Babylon, Daniel, a descendant of the royal line of David, duplicated the selfless dedication of his illustrious ancestor. Midrash Shocher Tov^[7] and Rashi^[8] explain that this psalm is based on the events narrated in the sixth chapter of the Book of Daniel.^[9]

 

Immediately upon his ascension to the Babylonian throne, Darius the Mede appointed 120 satraps to govern the vast empire. The satraps were responsible to three ministers, of whom Daniel was the most capable and distinguished. Jealous of Daniel's prominence, the satraps and viziers^[10] plotted his downfall.

 

They convinced Darius to issue a decree prohibiting his subjects from addressing petitions to G-d or man for the first thirty days of the new king's reign. All requests would be addressed exclusively to Darius during this period, in order to enhance his authority and prestige at the very outset of his rule. The satraps decreed that anyone disobeying their edict would be cast into the lion's pit.

 

Everyone obeyed the decree save Daniel who continued to pray to G-d three times daily. No threat, not even the specter of the lion's pit, could divert Daniel from the service of G-d. Like David, Daniel thirsted only for G-d. Daniel's well-deserved reward and his miraculous salvation will be the focus of this psalm.^[11]

 

I was struck by the use of “voice - kol” and tongue in:

 

Tehillim (Psalms) 64:2 Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint; preserve my life from the terror of the enemy.

 

Why Does David want HaShem to hear his voice? Why does he not say to hear his words? After all, voice is just sound, where words are snippets of sound that have clearly differentiated meanings. Words contain meaning whereas voice is only sounds.

 

Now note, that David’s voice is to be contrasted with “evil-doers” who are using their tongue as a weapon and conversing with each other. In effect, it is their words which are being heard and their words which are killing people just like weapons of steel.

 

Tehillim (Psalms) 64:4 Who have whet their tongue like a sword, and have aimed their arrow, a poisoned word;

 

Tehillim (Psalms) 64:6 They encourage one another in an evil matter; they converse of laying snares secretly; they ask, who would see them.

 

Tehillim (Psalms) 64:9 So they make their own tongue a stumbling unto themselves; all that see them shake the head.

 

Thus, we understand that this chapter of Psalms is relating to two different ways of communicating. There must exist a difference between the sound produced by the tongue and the sound produced from the voice.

 

In the Body

 

In the physical structure of the body, there is a manifestation of the idea of connection which is inherent in the power of speech. It is no accident that the voice is produced in the neck. Voice, Kol, is the root of speech, the power of connecting worlds; the neck is that part of the human form which connects head and body, the higher and lower domains. The body always reflects its spiritual roots.^[12]

              

This parallel goes further. If we look more closely, we note that the voice is produced in the throat, which is at the front of the neck. The deeper tradition states that the front of a structure represents its positive power; the back represents its lower, or fallen, aspect. The front of the body in general represents positivity, the face is a feature of the front, not the back. Human relationship is possible when people face each other and difficult when they turn their backs. The back is blind, impersonal, and it is the location of offensive excretion. These things are all exquisitely specific features of the human pattern.^[13]

              

Now we note that the front of the neck contains the organ of voice production; the back of the neck is silent. In fact, the deeper wisdom states that the front of the neck, or throat, is identified with Moshe Rabbenu, after all, Moshe is the voice of Torah; HaShem speaks through Moshe’s throat. “The Divine Presence speaks from Moshe’s throat.” The same sources state that Moshe’s arch-enemy, Pharaoh, is represented by the back of the neck, he is the one who strives for the opposite of that which Moshe Rabbenu wishes to achieve; Pharaoh’s goal is to keep the Divine voice out of the world, to silence the voice of the spiritual.^[14] Moshe Rabbenu’s task is to achieve connection, the ultimate connection of spiritual and physical worlds; Pharaoh’s work is to separate those worlds. Archenemies indeed. And the letters of the word Pharaoh”, when reversed, spell “ha’oref”, the back of the neck!^[15]

 

Just as a voice travels up the throat and out the lips, so also does a ladder reach up to the heights and bring what is low, high. With this description, it is worth noting that the numerical value of the word “sulam - סולם” (ladder) is the same as that of the word “kol - קול”, meaning voice or sound. Hence, in the Kabbalah, the pasuk:

 

Bereshit (Genesis) 27:22 And Yaaqob went near unto Yitzchak his father; and he felt him, and said: ‘The voice (HaKol - הקול) is the voice (Kol - קול) of Yaaqob, but the hands are the hands of Esau’.

 

This means that the voice or sound of Jacob is the ladder of Jacob.^[16] The means of ascent, the ladder, is a progression of sounds, which lead up to, and are absorbed into, the total unity of Chakmah - חכמה.^[17] The ladder connects the lower to the higher, just as the voice connects^[18] the lower and higher worlds.

 

It is clear that the voice, whether the tone, the tenor, or the volume, communicates what is in the lower body, specifically what is in the heart.^[19] The voice contains the soul of the person, that part which is unspoken and ethereal. Note well how the emotions, the soul, are carried in the kol, in the following excerpt from a shiur by Rabbi Mordechai Weiss:

 

Plato^[20] and other philosophers questioned and indeed attacked the written word as inadequate. They hypothesized that when one reads something from a written text they might misinterpret the meaning and intent of the author. Conversely, when giving over a thought verbally, one has the ability to create a dialogue with the presenter and elucidate those areas of concerns and questions.

 

Throughout the Torah and the prophets there are references to this special kol that was transmitted, and each time it appears, one can feel the sensitivities and anguish, the majesty and omnipotence that is represented by this word.

 

A few examples; When Almighty G-d first appeared to Adam after he ate from the Tree of Knowledge, Adam, with terrible fright and trepidation, said to G-d, “I heard your kol in the garden, and I was frightened, for I am naked and so I hid”.^[21] In the voice of Adam one can feel the terror and the panic of the kol of Almighty G-d.

 

When Cain killed Abel, G-d said the kol of the blood of your brother are calling out to me from the earth”.^[22] One can only imagine this sound, a sound of foreboding and sadness, of Abel’s wailing.

 

When Yitzchak bestowed his blessings on Jacob and not on Esau, he uttered the words “the kol is the kol of Yaakov but the hands are those of Esau”.^[23] Jacob’s kol was soothing and sensitive, caring and compassionate; not so the harsh kol of Esau his brother.

 

Finally, after the Jewish people received the Ten Commandments, the Torah states, “And the entire nation saw the kolot.^[24] They felt through this sound the majesty and power and the omnipotence of Almighty G-d.

 

The mention of kol is referenced in dozens of places in the Torah, and each time it appears, one is filled with wonder and amazement in its powerful and profound implication and meaning. One thing is for sure; this kol is a key element that sustained the Jewish people throughout the ages and has enabled us to survive the travails of our history and glorify in the triumphs of our victories.

 

One is reminded of the “Kol demama dakah” – the still voice of our prayers ascending to heaven on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and the words of King David:^[25] “There is no speech or words that their kol goes unheard.”

 

G-d endowed us with the unwritten Torah, because he knew that this kol, our kol, was vitally important for our survival. Our Rabbis emphasize that when one is studying Torah it is not sufficient to read only with one’s eyes; there must also be a kol, the same kol that was heard repeatedly in our history, the same kol that parents have sung for generations to their children in time of pain and times of promise.

 

Every day we must sensitize ourselves to continue to say and hear this kol and commit ourselves to G-d’s calling, that this same kol that has strengthened us during our centuries of dispersion will continue to support our people in hastening the coming of our Messiah in our days.

 

Kol is the essential voice or sound that the listener hears (rather than the specific words that the caller may be utilizing). One example of Kol is someone calling my name. I don’t know what the specific message (dibur) is going to be, but when I’m called, I honor the caller by responding. In responding I am reacting to the caller as a person, not to the words being spoken. Kol is primal. In utilizing kol I am making all of myself available to the other person. Another example of kol might be a certain kind of whisper. The whisper itself can express a depth of relationship more profoundly than the words chosen for articulation. The shofar is a kol, it is all sound and no words.

 

Kol is unfettered by the specifics of the message. It is a degree of expression that requires no words because it is the projection of the essence of the caller. The message is the person, pure G-dliness without filtering or manipulation. Dibur^[26] (we will explore this in a bit) conveys the thoughts of the person’s mind, but kol projects the very person himself.

 

Vayikra (lit. And He called) means the caller is utilizing kol and projecting all of his selfhood, his most essential and G-dly part, onto the listener. As a result, the kol itself creates a communion between the caller and the listener.

 

(As an aside, the above idea is part of Moshe’s life. Moses was the greatest prophet who ever lived. No prophet who lived or will live could comprehend G-d more than Moses.^[27] To understand this, lets briefly look at:

 

Shemot (Exodus) 6:28 – 7:2 28 And it came to pass on the day when HaShem spoke (Dibur) unto Moses in the land of Egypt, 29 that HaShem spoke (Dibur) unto Moses, saying: ‘I am HaShem; speak thou unto Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I speak unto thee.’ 30 And Moses said before HaShem: ‘Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh hearken unto me?’ 1 And HaShem said unto Moses: ‘See, I have set thee in God’s stead to Pharaoh; and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet. 2 Thou shalt speak all that I command thee; and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land.

 

Notice, in the above pasuk, that Moshe is commanded twice to speak unto Paro. The first time he protests, because he has uncircumcised lips. The second time he goes without complaint.

 

So, what made Moshe change his mind?

 

Our Sages indicate that between the first and the second command, HaShem told Moshe that Aharon would be his prophet; despite the fact that Torah law forbids one prophet from saying the message given to another prophet! HaShem, then, tells Moshe that Aharon will not speak the message HaShem gives to Moshe, but rather, Moshe will BECOME THE MESSAGE that Aharon will speak out!!! That is the meaning of the words, ‘See, I have set thee in G-d’s stead to Pharaoh; and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet’.

 

Now we know why Maimonides made Principle number 7 a unique principle: Moshe’s prophecy was qualitatively different from all other prophets because he became the message that Aharon, his prophet, spoke out into the world, so much for this aside.^[28])

 

The essence of korbanot is direct communication with HaShem on a primal level, unfettered and unmanipulated; with korbanot we give all of ourselves to HaShem. For this reason, the Sefer which contains the mitzvot of korbanot, signifying the relationship between HaShem and Klal Israel at its most essential, kol, aspect, is appropriately named Vayikra, “And He called”.

 

The most primal kol is that of the shofar. Shofrot (shofar-blowing) indicates, along the lines we have been discussing, reaching for the heart, reaching for the root of the soul and the personality. The essence of the shofar is that it has a voice, a kol – קול, but no words, no dibur - דיבור. The mystics explain that the voice is the root of speech and contains far more than the individual finite words. Words may convey information, but the voice conveys the person. This is why prophecy is referred to as “voice”, not words. When HaShem tells Avraham to listen to Sarah’s prophetic advice the verse says “Shema b’kola - Listen to her voice”, not “Listen to her words”.

 

Beresheet (Genesis 21:12) Whatever Sarah tells you, listen to her voice.

 

The word voice seems extraneous here. The verse could also have read, “Whatever Sarah tells you, heed her”. Why is the word “voice” added? The Torah commentator Rashi^[29] states that the word voice refers to prophecy and that this verse, “teaches us that Avraham was secondary to Sarah in prophecy”.

 

In his commentary on this verse, Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch suggested that G-d was really telling Abraham, “Don’t only listen to her words, her demands; listen to your wife’s anguish, her fear, the tone of pleading the voice of the woman you have been married to for so many years”. In other words, the emotion in our voice is as important as the words which emerge from our mouths.

 

G-d in effect tells Abraham to trust the “voice” of his wife. This trust provides a tikkun for the mistrust left by Adam and Eve.

 

HaShem tells the prophet “Kra b’garon, al tachsoch - Cry out in your throat, do not hold back”;^[30] prophecy is not from the mouth, the origin of words, but from the throat, the origin of raw sound, which is why the Prophet compares the voice to a shofar. The blessing we pronounce on hearing the shofar is “lishmo’a kol shofar”, to “hear the voice of the shofar”. The shofar is raw sound, a raw cry, and that is why it has the power to open the neshama, the soul. All the words in the world cannot convey the emotion of a scream of a child in the night. The shofar is that scream.

 

The Zohar distinguishes between kol (voice), which we just looked at, and dibur (speech). Kol is the cry behind the speech, dibur is the expression of that impulse through words. Keep this in mind as we begin examining speech.

 

Speech

 

In the Torah, there is no conception of intellect or imagination separate from physical speech,^[31] even reflective thought is called “speaking to one’s heart”. The Midrash and the targumim, from the earliest texts on, understand the power of language or speech to be a major part of what distinguishes humanity from other species.^[32] In a similar vein, Targum Onkelos^[33] translates “nefesh chayah” in Genesis 2:7 as, “And He blew in his nostrils life’s breath and it became in Adam the spirit (i.e., power) of speaking”.^[34]

 

Speech is the world of connection.^[35] Understood simply, speech connects the speaker^[36] and the listener. A relationship can develop, can flourish, because deep communication is possible by means of speech. In Torah, “speaking” is sometimes used as a euphemism for intimacy (“They saw her speaking with one…”) This is not a usage borrowed from a distance; the parallel is intrinsic.

              

At a deeper level, speech represents the connection between higher and lower worlds. Speech is the mechanism by which an abstract idea which exists only in the higher dimension of thought can be brought down into the material world: when I speak, I transform ideas into the physical medium of sound, which is tangible enough for you to hear with the physical tools of hearing. Of course, you immediately transform my words back into their abstract state of ideas in your own mind. We have used the physical medium of speech to transmit non-physical ideas; we have connected the abstract with the material. We have brought the higher world into the lower world.

 

Prophecy is a higher form of speech. When a prophet speaks, a direct connection is formed between higher and lower worlds. Human speech reveals the thoughts and intentions of the speaker (based on the chakmah, the wisdom from HaShem), while prophecy reveals the thoughts and intentions of the Divine.

              

Divine speech is ultimately potent in its creativity. The expression used for speech is, “fruit of the lips”. The prophet states that HaShem’s word always bears fruit, “For as the rain… descends from the Heavens and shall not return there until it has caused the land to flourish and it has given birth and caused to sprout, and given seed to the sower… So shall be My word…”

 

Speech is also the act of taking something which lives in potential, i.e. thoughts, and bringing them down into the world and making them tangible; they are brought into the world of action. Speech is the connection between the higher and lower worlds.

 

One of the first obstacles to understanding the fourth book of the Chumash,^[37] Bamidbar,^[38] is thinking of it as a book. Bamidbar literally means “in the desert”.^[39] But, the root of midbar, desert, is “MiDibur - מדיבור”^[40] which means literally means “from speech”, but used with the prefix bet, means a “place of speech or speaking”,^[41] a place where thought is translated into action. Dibur is speaking to someone with articulate, verbal communication.

 

When the Jewish People left Egypt, they went straight into the desert. There’s something special about the desert. It’s very difficult to give directions there. “Turn left at the third cactus” will not get you very far. In Hebrew, the word for desert is “midbar”, which is from the root mi’dibur, “from speech”. The desert is the place that is removed from speech. Since the desert is the maximum place of non-speech, of non-direction, it is the ideal place to rebuild the power of speech from the ground up.

 

And that’s what the Jewish People were to do in the desert. When the Jewish People left Egypt, they had to rebuild this power of speech that had been in exile with them. The Zohar^[42] says that the Divine Word (dibur) went into exile during the period of Egyptian slavery and was not totally liberated until the Giving of the Torah when G-d spoke directly to every Jew.

 

To help us rebuild the power of speech, after the exile, HaShem gave us the mitzvot of the Pesach seder.

 

The fifth stage of the seder is called maggid (storytelling) and it is one of two Torah-level mitzvot that are fulfilled by the evening’s ritual. (The second is eating matzah.) And maggid is further distinguished as one of the two mitzvot (out of 613) that are fulfilled by reciting a story. (The second being the tithe of bikkurim). The maggid portion of the Haggada actually combines both of these “speaking” mitzvot. It begins with several short passages that are directed toward the children who might not stay awake for the whole seder. And then it segues into a Torah portion that was to be spoken aloud when we offered our first fruits to the kohanim (Temple priests).^[43] The maggid is a brief narrative of our exile in Egypt, our redemption, and the source of our obligation to fulfill the mitzvah of bikkurim. In the Passover haggada, every word of this script is unpacked and elaborated.^[44] This is true dibur, true speech.

 

The whole point of the telling is to take dibur us, and speech, out of exile and use us in HaShem’s service.

 

The Zohar tells us that one of the first reforms inaugurated by the newly emergent conscience was to institute freedom of speech. Actually, it was more organic than that. As soon as the balance of power inverted, the gates of inspiration opened, and speech emerged from exile.

 

The ultimate liberation of dibur, called Oral Torah, is when a person speaks personal truth with such authenticity that it also conveys precisely what Hashem sought to reveal through them.  The Talmud declares: “HaShem’s seal is truth”^[45] meaning that “Where you find truth, [you find HaShem, and] there you find Torah”.^[46] Now let’s return to that time just after dibur, and us slaves, were freed. Let’s see the desert experience and the effects it had on dibur, speech.

 

If we look back over the Book of Bamidbar, the book of “In the desert”, we will notice all of the events dealt with speech. Let me say that again:  Every event is Sefer Bamidbar deals with speech, for the most part it deals with the misuse of speech. Consider the following examples:

 

Chapter 1: The first census where the eleven tribes were counted (the Levites were NOT counted, which is a story unto itself). It is well known that a “teller” counts money and one who retells a story is said to “recount” it. Thus, we understand that counting is another way of telling a story.

Chapter 2: The camping order. We all understand that there is non-verbal speech that has no sound. The order of the tribes in the desert was one such speech. Note that each tribe had a place and each tribe had its own banner. The story of chapter one continued with a precise count for each of the eleven tribes.

Chapter 3 & 4: HaShem’s speech and plans regarding the tribe of Levi and their service. The Levites count is now included as part of their speech. As part of this census, money is used to give a silent speech about the redemption of the remainder of the firstborn Levites.

Chapter 5: Speaks of leprosy, the misuse of speech for lashon HaRa, evil speech. This pasuk also contains the speech of a sinner when he confesses his sin, and the testimony of the woman suspected of adultery (sota).

Chapter 6:  Speaks of the nazirite vow, another form of speech. This pasuk also details the Aaronic blessing given to the Bne Israel, another form of speech.

Chapter 7: Speaks of the dedication of the offerings of the tribes. These non-verbal speeches each spoke to the uniqueness of their tribe (despite the fact that they were all the same). This pasuk concludes with HaShem speaking with Moshe.

Chapter 8: Details the lighting of the menorah, the purification of the Levites, with their offerings. This chapter contains HaShem’s speech in the form of instructions.

Chapter 9: Continues HaShem’s speech regards Pesach observance. This pasuk also details the marching instruction speech that HaShem gave to Moshe. These detailed instructions also told their own story.

Chapter 10: Finds the Bne Israel making two silver trumpets to be used to instruct the Bne Israel on marching and camping. Unlike a plain blast, or a crying blast, these blasts were instructive and carried a specific message. This pasuk also details the marching order, another non-verbal speech that was spoken with all of the bodies of every man, woman, and child.

Chapter 11:  Murmuring, speaking evil. HaShem’s fire devoured the evil-speakers. This pasuk also speaks of the lust for meat and its murmuring. This murmuring was complaining about manna. This pasuk also speaks of the 70 elders becoming prophets.

Chapter 12: Miriam speaking negatively about Moshe because of the Cushite. Miriam is afflicted with Tzaraat, leprosy.

Chapter 13: The spies speaking against the Land of Israel.

Chapter 14: The people all crying and maligning the land. The people are all murmuring.

Chapter 15: Offerings and atonement. Man collecting firewood on the Sabbath is stoned. This pasuk also contains the command of tzitzith.

Chapter 16 & 17: The rebellion of Korach (a rebellion about who should lead the Jewish People; who should be its “speaker”).

Chapter 18: Aharon and his sons get the priesthood. This soliloquy is by HaShem.

Chapter 19:  The red heifer. She, too, has a non-verbal message.

Chapter 20: Murmuring over the lack of water because Miriam’s well has disappeared. Edom denied passage. Moshe striking the rock instead of speaking to it. Aharon dies and the people wail for him for 30 days.

Chapter 21:  The Bne Israel make a vow to destroy their enemy. The people murmured against HaShem regarding the manna. They also complained that there was no water. HaShem will send fiery serpents with a pole serpent for the cure. Sihon and Og are defeated.

Chapter 22, 23, & 24: Bilaam and Balak to curse the Jewish people. Here we see a donkey’s speech, a Gentile prophet’s speech, and the evil speech of Balak.

Chapter 25:  False worship of Peor. Phineas kills Zimri and Cosbi.

Chapter 26:  A second census. Thus, we understand that counting is another way of telling a story. Nadab and Abihu die after offering strange fire.

Chapter 27: The daughters of Tzelofchad want land. Women always have a greater love for the land.^[47] Yehoshua is anointed as the future leader of the Bne Israel.

Chapter 28 & 29:  Offerings made by fire, and festivals.

Chapter 30:  Vows. Here we see the proper and the improper use of vows.

Chapter 31:  Midianites are avenged. All the men and married women are killed. Spoil is divided, part for HaShem (Levites).

Chapter 32: Reuben and Gad want the land east of the Jordan. There is a back and forth between them and Moshe. Reuben and Gad put animals before the children, in priority. Moshe rearranges the order to put the children first.

Chapter 33:  The story of the journey. From Egypt to the Promised land and all the stops in-between.

Chapter 34:  HaShem defines the borders of the land.

Chapter 35: The cities of refuge.

Chapter 36: Moshe allots the daughters of Tzelofchad their inheritance in the land.

 

Even if we might otherwise have missed the centrality of this notion, the book’s ‘orality’ is brought to our attention right from the start: “These are the words that Moshe spoke.” The text clues us into the fact that, as opposed to the other four books, Bamidbar, to its very core, is an oral work.

 

The fourth of the five layers upon which the world is built, is the layer of speech. The fourth part of any structure is where all of the action is taking place. Consider the Chumash, the five books of the Torah.

 

Beresheet – something from nothing. – Ratzon (desire). This is the point of origin. This is a male process. This sefer represents the maximal male process.

 

Shemot – machshavah, a thought with no form. by which the soul is revealed inwardly. It will be revealed externally in Bamidbar as “speech” (dibur) and “deed”. A flash of inspiration.

 

Vayikra – Hirhur – imagination. The thoughts become explicit. The plan becomes complete. The Mishna teaches that Hirhur (thought) is k'dibur (like speech). If not, there would be no reason to have Hirhur! Hirhur is not like Dibur. If it were, he should say the words!^[48]

 

Bamidbar – dibur also means a place of speaking, a thought translated into action – Speech - Any translation of plan into action. This is where the potential is turned into the actual. The whole book speaks to speech and the misuse of speech, every incident. And where do we go after the rebuilding, the tikkun, of the power of speech? To the “Book of Devarim”, literally, “The Book of Words”.

 

Devarim – The words that were spoken. Maser – action – kol and dibur (voice and speech). All of this sefer’s duplicated commands are the commands needed in eretz Israel.

 

The recipient, this sefer, gives back what she has received from the male (Beresheet). Debarim represents the maximal female level. That is why the words are repeated, or doubled, which is the job of a woman (to double herself, i.e. childbirth). This is the root of the oral law.

 

Hopefully, we have a greater appreciation of the difference between kol (voice) and dibur (speech). Both of these things pull on our hearts and move us. David looked into our Torah seder and was inspired by the wise hearted and used this as a springboard to speak of the future in Daniel’s day and to teach us about the works of our mouth.

 

Ashlamatah: Hosea (Hoshea)14:7 – Yoel (Joel) 1:5+2:14

 

 

Rashi’s Commentary on Hosea (Hoshea) 14:7 & Yoel (Joel) 1:5+2:14

 

2 Return, O Israel You, who are in the land of Judah, lest what happens to Samaria happens to you. Therefore, the topics are juxtaposed. This can be compared to a king against whom a province rebelled. The king sent a general and commanded him to destroy it. That general was expert and deliberate. He said to them, “Take for yourselves days (sic); otherwise, I will do to you as I have done to such-and-such a province and to its allies, and to such-and-such a prefecture and to its allies.” Therefore, it says, “Samaria shall be accounted guilty,” and then Scripture says: “Return, O Israel.” As is found in Sifrei in the section commencing. (Num. 25:1), “And Israel abode in Shittim.”

 

to the Lord your God One taught in the name of Rabbi Meir: Return, O Israel, while He is still יהוה, with the Divine Attribute of Mercy; otherwise, He is אֶהֶיךָ with the Divine Attribute of Justice, before the defense becomes the prosecution. [from Pesikta d’Rav Kahana, p. 164a]

 

for you have stumbled in your iniquity Obstacles have come to you because of your iniquity.

 

3 You shall forgive all iniquity Heb. כָּל-תִּשָׂא עָוֹן. Forgive all our iniquities.

 

and teach [us the] good [way] Heb. וְקַח-טוֹב. And teach us the good way. Another explanation: The few good deeds in our hands take in Your hand and judge us accordingly. And so, does David say (Psalms 17:2): “Let my sentence come forth from before You, may Your eyes behold the right.” Another explanation: And accept good and accept confession from us, as it is said (Psalms 92:2): “It is good to confess to the Lord.”

 

and let us render [for] bulls that we should have sacrificed before you, let us render them with the placation of the words of our lips.

 

4 Assyria shall not save us Say this also before Him, “We no longer seek the aid of man, neither from Assyria nor from Egypt.”

 

we will not ride on horses This is the aid from Egypt, who would send them horses, as they said to Isaiah (30:16), “No, but on horses will we flee... And on swift steeds will we ride.”

 

nor will we say any longer to the work of our hands that they are our gods.

 

for in You alone shall our hope be, You Who grant mercy to the orphans.

 

5 I will remedy their backsliding Said the prophet: So has the Holy Spirit said to me. After they say this before Me, I will remedy their backsliding, and I will love them with My charitable spirit. Although they do not deserve the love, I will love them charitably since My wrath has turned away from them.

 

6 and it shall strike I.e. the dew shall strike its roots and cause them to prosper.

 

like the Lebanon like the roots of the trees of the Lebanon, which are large.

 

7 Its branches shall go forth Sons and daughters shall increase.

 

and it shall be Their beauty shall be like the beauty of the menorah of the Temple, and their fragrance like the fragrance of the incense.

 

like the Lebanon Like the Temple.

 

8 Those who dwelt in its shade shall return Those who already dwelt in the shade of the Lebanon, to which He compared Israel and the Temple, and now were exiled there from, shall return to it.

 

its fragrance shall be like the wine of Lebanon Jonathan renders: Like the remembrance of the blasts of the trumpets over the old wine poured for libations in the Temple. For they would blow the trumpets over the libations when the Levites would recite the song.

 

9 Ephraim will say, “What more do I need to follow the images?” And they will turn away from idolatry.

 

I will answer him I will answer him from his trouble.

 

and I will look upon him I will look upon his affliction.

 

I am like a leafy cypress tree I will bend down for him to hold his hand on Me as the leafy cypress which is bent down to the ground, which a man holds by its branches; i.e., I will be accessible to him.

 

from Me your fruit is found Am I not He? For all your good emanates from Me.

 

10 Who is wise and will understand these Who among you is wise and will ponder to put his heart to all these and return to Me?

 

and the rebellious shall stumble on them i.e., because of them, because they did not walk in them. Jonathan renders in this manner.

 

Rashi Yoel (Joel)

Chapter 1

 

1 to Joel son of Pethuel -The son of Samuel the prophet who persuaded God with his prayer (פִתָּה לְאֵל). Some say that this prophecy was said in those seven years in which Elisha said: “For the Lord has decreed a famine etc.” and they took place during the days of Jehoram son of Ahab.

 

2 Did this come about -I.e., what is mentioned below.

 

4 What the shearing locust left over - Gazam, arbeh, yelek, hasil are species of locusts and he prophesied concerning them that they would come in those days and destroy all the fruit of the trees and the herbs of the field.

 

5 the strong wine - Heb. עָסִיס, good wine.

 

6 For a nation has ascended upon my land -He named these locusts as a host of nations.

 

and its molars are like those of a young lion -These are the thick teeth with which he chews.

 

7 into a disappointment -Heb. לִקְצָפָה, into a disappointment.

 

he has peeled it and cast it off -He has peeled off the bark of the tree and cast it off until the branches of the vine have become white.

 

8 Lament Heb. אֱלִי. Lamentations (קִינָה) is translated into Aramic as אִ ילְיָא.

 

9 have been cut off Heb. הָכְרַת, like נִכְרַת. The “hey” vowelized with a short “kamatz” takes the place of a “nun.” Comp. (Job 5:23), “And the beast of the field made peace (הָשְׁלְמָה) with you.”

 

11 Be ashamed Heb. הֽבִישוּ plowmen Heb. אִכָּרִים. Those who guide the plowshare.

 

for wheat and for barley -This refers back to the plowmen, and concerning the vine dressers, he says...

 

12 The vines have dried up, and the fig trees have been cut off Heb. הוֹבִישָׁה, it was cut off, its produce terminated.

 

has dried up Heb. הֽבִיש, like  יָבֵש

 

14 Proclaim a fast Heb. קַדְּשׁוּ, designate a fast

 

an assembly Heb. עֲצָרָה, a gathering.

 

15 Woe Heb. אֲהָהּ. An expression of sighing and wailing.

 

and like plunder Heb. וּכְשֽׁד. Like the plunder of brigands.

 

it will come -from the Omnipresent.

 

16 from before our eyes -I.e., we see it.

 

17 have gathered mold Heb. עָבְשׁוּ, have gathered rust and mold. in French moisir, to become moldy.

 

casks of wine Heb. פְרֻדּדוֹת. Jonathan renders: casks of wine.

 

under their bungs Heb. מֶגְרְפֽתֵיהֶם. Jonathan renders: מְגוּפָתֵיהוֹן, the cover of the cask.

 

the storehouses are laid desolate -I.e. the storehouses of wine and oil.

 

garners are demolished -Granaries of wheat.

 

18 herds of cattle are perplexed -They are confounded. They are closed in and astray in the forests and in the wilderness.

 

are laid waste Heb. נֶאְשָׁמוּ. have become spoiled through their guilt.

 

19 the dwellings of the wilderness Heb. נְאוֹת, an expression of a dwelling (נָוֶה).

 

20 Also the beasts of the field -I.e., the hind of the field.

 

cry out Heb. תַּעֲרֽג, will cry out, as Dunash (Teshuvoth Dunash, p. 18) interpreted it: ערג is the cry of the hinds. נהם is the roar of the lions; געה is the lowing of the calves; צהל is the whinnying of the horses; צִפצוּף is the chirping of the birds, and נבח is the barking of the dogs.

 

Chapter 2

 

1 Sound a shophar -to announce to them that they should repent before the evil befalls them.

 

the day of the Lord -which we mentioned above.

 

2 like the dawn, spread over the mountains -The increasing locusts and the shearing locusts are spread over the mountains as the dawn is spread over the entire world.

 

the like of which has never been -that all these species should come one after the other, but the species of arbeh alone did not equal that of Egypt, concerning which it is stated: (Exodus 10:14) “And after it there shall not be so.”

 

3 Fire consumes before it -They destroy everything as though a fire consumes before them and a flame blazes after them.

 

like the Garden of Eden -was the land before it came, and, after it goes, it leaves the land like a desert wasteland.

 

4 Like the appearance of horses is its appearance -I.e., in their running.

 

5 like the sound of a flame -A flame, consuming stubble, makes noise.

 

arrayed for battle Heb. עֱרוּךְ. Since it is in the construct state, it is vowelized with a “hataf segol.”

 

6 gather blackness Heb. קִ בְּצוּ פָּארוּר. Blackness like a pot, Cf. (Num. 11:8) “And they cooked in a pot (בַּפָּרוּר).” The “aleph” is superfluous, and it is not read.

 

7 and they do not make... crooked Heb. וְעַבְּטוּן. This has no comparison, but its interpretation according to its context is: they do not make crooked.

 

8 and upon the swords Heb. וּבְעַד הַשֶּׁלַח, (verse 9) “through the windows (בְּעַד הַחַ לוֹנִים).” Upon the weapons they fall and camp.

 

they do not receive monetary gain Heb. א יִבְצָעוּ. They do not receive monetary gain. And Jonathan interpreted it (הַשֶּׁלַח) as an expression of an errand. Because of the errand of the Holy One, blessed be He, they cast themselves down, and they do not receive monetary gain.

 

9 In the city they clatter Heb. יָשֽׁקּוּ. This is an expression of making a din. Cf. (Isa. 33:4) “like the roaring (כְּמַשַּׁק) of the cisterns”; (Prov. 28: 15) “A growling (שּׁוֹקֵק) bear”; (Zeph. 2:9) “the clattering of (מִמְשַׁק) the thorns.” Jonathan, however, renders it as an expression of arms (נֶשֶק). They are armed.

 

10 the heavens tremble -Because of the retribution coming upon Israel, they quake and tremble.

 

withdraw their shining - Take in their light.

 

11 And the Lord gave forth (upon them) His voice -by the statement of His prophets prior to His sending this host of His.

 

for His camp is great -I.e, the camp He will send against you if you do not improve.

 

13 and not your garments -for I do not pay heed to the rending of your garments. Another explanation: Rend your hearts and you will not need to rend your garments because of mourning.

 

and He repents of the evil -I.e., He turns to another thought.

 

14 Whoever knows -that he is guilty of iniquity.

 

shall return and repent, and it shall leave -I.e., the hasil and the gazam will leave a blessing after it; through the repentance, a blessing will come in the produce.

 

from her approaching glory Heb. מִזִּיז. From the great glory that is moving and coming nearer to her. זִיז means esmoviment in O.F., movement.

 

Special Ashlamatah: Malachi 3:4-24

 

 

Rashi’s Commentary for: Malachi 3:4-24

 

6 For I, the Lord, have not changed Although I keep back My anger for a long time, My mind has not changed from the way it was originally, to love evil and to hate good.

 

and you, the sons of Jacob Although you die in your evil, and I have not requited the wicked in their lifetime

 

you have not reached the end You are not finished from before Me, for I have left over the souls to be requited in Gehinnom. And so did Jonathan render. And you of the House of Jacob, who think that whoever dies in this world, his verdict has already ended, that is to say, you think that My verdict has been nullified, that he will no longer be punished. Our Sages (Sotah 9a), however, explained it: א שָׁנִיתִי - I did not strike a nation and repeat a blow to it; but as for you, I have kept you up after much punishment, and My arrows are ended, but you are not ended.

 

8 Will a man rob Our Sages explained this as an expression of robbery, and it is an Aramaism.

 

With tithes and with the terumah levy The tithes and the terumah - levy that you steal from the priests and the Levites is tantamount to robbing Me.

 

9 You are cursed with a curse because of this iniquity, for which I send a curse into the work of your hands; but nevertheless, you rob Me.

 

10 so that there may be nourishment in My House There shall be food accessible for My servants.

 

11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sake The finishing locusts and the shearing locusts, which devour the grain of your field and your vines.

 

12 a desirable land A land that I desire.

 

14 “It is futile to serve God” We worship Him for nothing, for we will receive no reward.

 

in anxious worry with low spirits.

 

15 And now we praise the bold transgressors, etc. We worshipped Him and kept His charge, but now we see that the wicked are prospering - to the extent that we praise them for the wicked deeds.

 

Yea, they tempt God, saying, “Let us see what He will be able to do to us.”

 

and they have, nevertheless, escaped harm, and they have not stumbled.

 

16 Then the God-fearing men spoke, etc. I retort upon your words then, when the wicked commit evil and the good go about in anxious worry because of Me. The God-fearing men spoke to one another not to adopt their evil deeds; and, as for Me, their words are not forgotten to Me. And although I do not hasten to visit retribution, I have hearkened and heard, and I have commanded that a book of remembrance be written for them. Their words shall be preserved for Me.

 

17 for that day when I make a treasure that I have stored and put away, with which to pay My reward. There I will show you what the difference is between a righteous man and a wicked man.

 

a treasure a treasure; estouj, estui in Old French.

 

19 For lo, the sun comes This instance of יוֹם is an expression of sun, for so did the Sages state that there will be no Gehinnom in the future, but the Holy One, blessed be He, will take the sun out of its case; the wicked will be punished thereby and the righteous will be healed thereby. That is the meaning of what is stated (verse 20): “And the sun of mercy shall rise for you who fear My Name, etc.”

 

neither root nor branch Neither son nor grandson

 

20 and be fat an expression of fat, as in (Jer. 50: 11), “as you become fat, like a threshing heifer.”

 

as fatted calves [the calves] that enter the team to be fattened; kopla, cople in Old French: animals tied together.

 

21 And you shall crush and you shall press. This is an expression of pressing, similar to (Ezek. 23:8) “they pressed their virgin breasts.”

 

24 that he may turn the heart of the fathers back to the Holy One, blessed be He.

 

through the children lit., on. He will say to the children affectionately and appeasingly, “Go and speak to your fathers to adopt the ways of the Omnipresent.” So we explain, “and the heart of the children through their fathers.” This I heard in the name of Rabbi Menahem, but our Sages expounded upon it in tractate Eduyoth (8:7), that he will come to make peace in the world. 

 

 

Correlations

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

& H.H. Giberet Dr. Elisheba bat Sarah

 

 Shemot (Exodus) 27:20 – 28:43

Tehillim (Psalms) 64

Hoshea (Hosea) 14:7 – Yoel (Joel) 1:5 +2:14

Mk 8:13, Lk 11:31-32

 

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Psalm are:

LORD - יהוה, Strong’s number 03068.

Heart - לב, Strong’s number 03820.

 

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Ashlamata are:

Children / Son - בן, Strong’s number 01121.

LORD - יהוה, Strong’s number 03068.

Generation - דור, Strong’s number 01755.

 

Shemot (Exodus) 27:20 And thou shalt command the children <01121> of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always.

21  In the tabernacle of the congregation without the vail, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons <01121> shall order it from evening to morning before the LORD <03068>: it shall be a statute for ever unto their generations <01755> on the behalf of the children of Israel.

1 ¶  And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons.

2  And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty.

3  And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise hearted <03820>, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office.

 

Tehillim (Psalms) 64:6  They search out iniquities; they accomplish a diligent search: both the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart <03820>, is deep.

Tehillim (Psalms) 64:10 The righteous shall be glad in the LORD <03068>, and shall trust in him; and all the upright in heart shall glory.

 

Hoshea (Hosea) 14:9 Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the LORD <03068> are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein.

Yoel (Joel)  1:1 The word of the LORD <03068> that came to Joel the son <01121> of Pethuel.

Yoel (Joel)  1:3 Tell ye your children <01121> of it, and let your children <01121> tell their children <01121>, and their children <01121> another generation <01755>.

 

Hebrew:

 

 

Greek:

 

GREEK	ENGLISH	Torah Reading Ex. 27:20 – 28:43	Psalms 64:1-10	Ashlamatah Hos 14:7 – Yoel 1:5 + 2:14	Peshat Mishnah of Mark, Mk 8:13	Tosefta of Luke Lk 11:31-32
ἀκούω	hear			Joel 1:2		Lk. 11:31
γενεά	generation	Exod. 27:21		Joel 1:3		Lk. 11:31 Lk. 11:32
γῆ	earth, ground			Joel 1:2		Lk. 11:31
κρίσις	judgments	Exo 28:15 Exo 28:29 Exo 28:30				Lk. 11:31 Lk. 11:32
μετανοέω	change his mind			Joel 2:14		Lk. 11:32
πλοῖον	ship				Mar 8:13
σοφία	wisdom	Exo 28:3				Lk. 11:31

 

Nazarean Talmud

Sidra Of Shemot (Exodus) 27:20 - 28:43

“V’Atá Tetsavé” “And you give orders”

By: H. Em. Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham

 

Hakham Shaul’s School of Tosefta Luqas Lk 11:31- 32 Mishnah א:א

Hakham Tsefet’s School of Peshat Mordechai (Mk) 8:13 Mishnah א:א

The queen of the south will rise at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Sholomo (Solomon), and behold, something greater than Sholomo (Solomon) is here! The people of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Yonah, and behold, something greater than Yonah is here!”

And leaving them, again entering the boat, he went away to the other side of the sea of the Galil.

 

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

 

 

 

Commentary to Hakham Tsefet’s School of Peshat

 

And leaving them, again entering the boat, he went away to the other side of the sea of the Galil.

 

The construction of the Mishkan, a stationary/mobile dwelling place for the Shekinah of G-d. In the wilderness, the Mishkan was a mobile place for the Divine Presence. The subsequent Temples in Yerushalayim were established for the sake of a stationary place for the B’ne Yisrael to access the Divine Presence. This blessing was however, thwarted by the Tz’dukim (Sadducees) who were not in the business of allowing G-d’s Divine Presence be ministered to His people. Their propheteering, made the “House of G-d” a business rather than a place of worship for “all peoples.” Thus, the Divine Presence was not experienced in the Temple during the first century. This was a sure sign of the coming diaspora. All the Rabbis knew that the Temple would soon be destroyed and that the medium of communication with G-d would come through Prayer and Torah Study. Yeshua was an agent of the Divine Presence showing the people of the Galil how to access the Divine Presence through Torah Study and Prayer.

 

The abyss created by the Tz’dukim was spanned through an understanding that the Torah is an open door to the Divine. Regardless of our place in the Diaspora, Torah Study will draw the Divine Presence and we will bask in Eden just as Adam and Chava did.

 

The “Ner Tamid” of the present resides in the Esnoga before the Aaron where we access the Torah. This “eternal light” teaches us that the way to G-d is through His Word, Dabar and Memra.

 

With the destruction of the Temple in 70 C.E. the Shekinah is said to have departed Yet we in Torah study can bring the Divine Presence wherever we study Torah.^[49] This we have the idea of a Mishkan again. When the Temple stood and was in operation the primary place for a connection to G-d was in Yerushalayim (Jerusalem). With the destruction of the Temple the Divine Presence rests upon the Yeshivot (Houses of Torah Study) and those who love to study Torah.

 

Some Questions to Ponder:

 

1. From all the readings for this week, which particular verse or passage caught your attention and fired your heart and imagination?
2. In your opinion, and taking into consideration all of the above readings for this Sabbath, what is the prophetic message (the idea that encapsulates all the Scripture passages read) 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,

Shabbat Pesach – First Passover Sabbath is coming soon.

 

Note: With the beginning of the month of Nisan, and with the reading of Shabbat “HaGadol”, at this time we make our last request for our collection for the work of HaShem, most blessed be He. The entire collection will be devoted to finance this work and resources needed, before we sit at our tables to celebrate Pesach. Your donations are much appreciated and should be sent via PayPal to: ravybh@bigpond.com . Many thanks for your generosity!

  

Coming Festivals:

 

Ta'anit B'khorim (Fast of the First Borns) – Daylight fast

Nisan 14 (Monday 22, of April, 2024)

 

All firstborns should fast all day in remembrance of the plague of the death of the firstborns in Egypt. Also, we should remember and meditate on the implications of what it means that we are a priesthood of the firstborn.

 

Finish eating Chametz:

Monday April 22 – 12:00 PM

 

Burn Hametz

Monday April 22 – 12:45 PM

 

Shabbat Pesach First Intermediate Day

 

Nisan 14 (Monday Evening April 22, 2024) – First Seder at night fall

Family Passover

 

Nisan 15 (Tuesday Evening April 23, 2024) – Second Seder at night fall

Community Passover

 

Pesach - Passover

 

Sephardic U Passover food guide: https://sephardicu.com/holidays/passover/the-2024-approved-passover-food-list/

 

Sephardic U Passover Guide, includes cleaning guide: https://sephardicu.com/resources/the-sephardic-passover-guide/

 

 Monday Evening the 22^nd of April through Tuesday Evening the 30^th of April 2024.

For further information see:

http://www.betemunah.org/chametz.html & http://www.betemunah.org/passover.html

http://www.betemunah.org/chronology.html & http://www.betemunah.org/redemption.html

http://www.betemunah.org/haggada.html & http://www.betemunah.org/pcustoms.html

& http://www.betemunah.org/seventh.html

P.S.

We suggest that all of our Talmidim, associated fellowships and Congregations print out enough copies of our Passover Haggada http://www.betemunah.org/haggada.docx. This way we will all be Ha-Shem willing, on the same page.

 

Pesach - Shabbat of the Intermediate Days

Nisan 19 (Shabbat Morning April 26 / 27^th, 2024)

 

Morning Service

 

Torah Reading: Shemot (Exodus) 33:12 - 34:1-26‎

 

Reader 1:  Shemot (Exodus) 33:12-14

Reader 2:  Shemot (Exodus) 33:15-18‎

Reader 3:  Shemot (Exodus) 33:19-23

Maftir: Bamidbar (Numbers) 28:18-25‎

Tehillim (Psalms) 135

Ashlamatah: Ezekiel 37:1-14

 

 

 

 

 

Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David

Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham

 

Edited by His Honor Paqid Adon Ezra ben Abraham.

A special thank you to HH Giberet Giborah bat Sarah for her diligence in proof-reading every week.