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

 

 

Candle Lighting and Habdalah Times see: Please go to the below webpage and type your city, state/province, and country to find candle lighting and Habdalah times for the place of your dwelling.

 

 http://www.chabad.org/calendar/candlelighting.htm

 

 

  Happy & Kosher

Pesach 5780 Part II

              

Roll of Honor:

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

His Eminence Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham and beloved wife HH Giberet Dr. Elisheba bat Sarah

His Honor Paqid Adon David ben Abraham

His Honor Paqid Adon Ezra ben Abraham and beloved wife HH Giberet Karmela bat Sarah,

His Honor Paqid Adon Yoel ben Abraham and beloved wife HH Giberet Rivka bat Dorit

His Honor Paqid Adon Tsuriel ben Abraham and beloved wife HH Giberet Gibora bat Sarah

Her Excellency Giberet Sarai bat Sarah & beloved family

His Excellency Adon Barth Lindemann & beloved family

His Excellency Adon John Batchelor & beloved wife

Her Excellency Giberet Leah bat Sarah & beloved mother

His Excellency Adon Yehoshua ben Abraham and beloved wife HE Giberet Rut bat Sarah

His Excellency Adon Michael ben Yosef and beloved wife HE Giberet Sheba bat Sarah

Her Excellency Giberet Prof. Dr. Emunah bat Sarah & beloved family

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

Her Excellency Giberet Jacquelyn Bennett

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

His Excellency Adon Ovadya ben Abraham and beloved wife HE Giberet Mirit bat Sarah

His Excellency Adon Shlomoh ben Abraham

His Excellency Adon Brad Gaskill and beloved wife Cynthia Gaskill

 

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!

 

 

For Further Studies on the Seven Days of Unleavened Bread 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

 

 

 

 “Third Intermediate Day of Pesach”

(Sunday Evening April 12, 2020)

(Fourth Day of the Counting of the Omer)

 

Evening: Counting of the Omer Day 4

 

Then read the following:

 

 

Ephesians 1:7-10 In him (Messiah) we have redemption^[1] because of his life^[2], the forgiveness of sins (by understanding of the Mesorah), according to the riches of his chessed (loving-kindness towards his fellow Jews), by which he caused to us (the Jewish people) to be more prominent in all Hokhmah (wisdom) and Binah (understanding and Da’at – knowledge);^[3] having revealed to us the So’od (mystery) of his mission, according to his ordained purpose which God Himself determined beforehand,^[4] for he (Messiah) was filled with the presence, power, agency^[5] of God for the administration of Divine appointments^[6], to unify all things into Messiah, both the things in the Heavens, and the things on earth.

 

Monday Morning April 13, 2020

Morning Service

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

 

‎Reader 1: Shemot 34:1-10

Reader 2: Shemot 34:11-17‎

Reader 3: Shemot 34:18-26

Maftir: B’Midbar (Numbers) 28:18-25‎

Ashlamatah: Shir HaShirim (Song of Songs) 5:1 – 6:13

 

Blessing Before Torah Study

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

May Ha-Shem bestow favor on you, and grant you peace. – Amen!

 

This way, the priests will link My Name with the Israelites, and I will bless them."

These are the Laws for which the Torah did not mandate specific amounts: How much growing produce must be left in the corner of the field for the poor; how much of the first fruits must be offered at the Holy Temple; how much one must bring as an offering when one visits the Holy Temple three times a year; how much one must do when doing acts of kindness; and there is no maximum amount of Torah that a person must study.

 

These are the Laws whose benefits a person can often enjoy even in this world, even though the primary reward is in the Next World: They are: Honoring one's father and mother; doing acts of kindness; early attendance at the place of Torah study -- morning and night; showing hospitality to guests; visiting the sick; providing for the financial needs of a bride; escorting the dead; being very engrossed in prayer; bringing peace between two people, and between husband and wife; but the study of Torah is as great as all of them together. Amen!

 

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan

for: Shemot (Exodus) 34:1-26

 

Rashi	Targum Pseudo-Jonathan
1. And the Lord said to Moses: "Hew for yourself two stone tablets like the first ones. And I will inscribe upon the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.	1. And the LORD said to Mosheh, Hew yourself two tables of stone, as the former, and write upon the tables the words that were upon the former tables which you did break;
2. Be prepared for the morning, and in the morning you shall ascend Mount Sinai and stand before Me there on the top of the mountain.	2. and be ready in the morning; and at morning ascend Mount Sinai and stand there before Me on the summit of the mountain.
3. No one shall ascend with you, neither shall anyone be seen anywhere on the mountain, neither shall the sheep and the cattle graze facing that mountain."	3. No man will ascend with you, nor any man be seen on all the mountain, nor sheep, nor oxen grazing on the side of the mount.
4. So he [Moses] hewed two stone tablets like the first ones, and Moses arose early in the morning and ascended Mount Sinai as the Lord had commanded him, and he took two stone tablets in his hand.	4. And he hewed two tables of stone like the former: and Mosheh arose in the morning and ascended Mount Sinai, as the LORD had instructed him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone.
5. And the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and He called out in the name of the Lord.	5. And the LORD revealed Himself in the cloud of the glory of His Shekinah, and Mosheh stood with Him there; and Mosheh called on the Name of the Word of the LORD.
6. And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed: v u v h, v u v h, God, Who is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in loving kindness and truth,	6. And the LORD made His Shekinah to pass by before his face, and proclaimed, The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and nigh in mercies, abounding to exercise compassion and truth;
7. preserving loving kindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and rebellion and sin; yet He does not completely clear [of sin] He visits the iniquity of parents on children and children's children, to the third and fourth generations."	7. keeping mercy and bounty for thousands of generations, absolving and remitting guilt, passing by rebellions, and covering sins; pardoning them who convert unto the Law, but holding not guiltless in the great day of judgment those who will not convert; visiting the sins of fathers upon rebellious children upon the third and upon the fourth generation.
8. And Moses hastened, bowed his head to the ground and prostrated himself,	8. And Mosheh made haste and bowed himself upon the earth and worshipped.
9. and said: "If I have now found favor in Your eyes, O Lord, let the Lord go now in our midst [even] if they are a stiff necked people, and You shall forgive our iniquity and our sin and thus secure us as Your possession."	9. And he said, If now I have found mercy before the LORD let the Shekinah of the Glory of the Lord go among us; for it is a people of hard neck; but pardon You our guilt and our sin, and give us the inheritance of the land which You did covenant unto our fathers, and change us not to become an alien people.
10. And He said: "Behold! I will form a covenant; in the presence of all your people, I will make distinctions such as have not been created upon all the earth and among all the nations, and all the people in whose midst you are shall see the work of the Lord how awe inspiring it is that which I will perform with you.	10. And He said, Behold, I make a covenant that I will not change this people to become an alien people; nevertheless from you will proceed a multitude of the righteous/generous; and with all your people will I do wondrous things in the time when they go into captivity by the rivers of Babel: for I will bring them up from thence, and make them dwell from within the river Sambation; and like wonders will not be created among all the inhabitants of the earth, nor among any nation. And all the people among whom you will dwell will see in that day the work of the LORD; for terrible is the thing that I will do with you.
11. Keep carefully what I am commanding you today: Lo! I will drive out from before you the Amorites and the Canaanites, the Hittites and the Perizzites, the Hivvites and the Jebusites.	11. Observe that which I command you this day: behold, I drive out from before you the Amoraee, and Kenaanaee, and Hittaee, and Pherizaee, and Hivaee, and Jebusaee.
12. Beware lest you form a covenant with the inhabitant[s] of the land into which you are coming, lest it become a snare in your midst.	12. Take heed to yourself, lest you strike covenants with the inhabitants of that land into which you are to enter; that it may not be a stumbling-block unto you.
13. But you shall demolish their altars, shatter their monuments, and cut down their sacred trees.	13. But you will rather destroy their high places, and break their statues, and cut down their groves;
14. For you shall not prostrate yourself before another god, because the Lord, Whose Name is "Jealous One," is a jealous God.	14. for it is not lawful for you to worship other gods; for the LORD is zealous and avenger; His Name is God, the Zealous and the Avenger.
15. Lest you form a covenant with the inhabitant[s] of the land, and they [the gentiles] go astray after their gods, and they offer sacrifices to their gods, and they invite you, and you eat of their slaughtering,	15. Lest you strike covenant with the dwellers in the land, and they draw you astray after their idols, and they sacrifice to their idols, and invite you, and you eat of the sacrifices of their idols
16. and you take of their daughters for your sons; then their daughters will go astray after their gods and lead your sons astray after their gods.	16. and you take of their daughters for your sons, and when their daughters wander after their idols they make your sons also go astray after their idols.
17. You shall not make molten gods for yourself.	17. Molten gods you will not make to yourselves.
18. The Festival of Unleavened Cakes you shall keep; seven days you shall eat unleavened cakes which I have commanded you, at the appointed meeting time of the month of spring, for in the month of spring you went out of Egypt.	18. You will observe the feast of the unleavened bread. Seven days you will eat unleavened (bread), as I have commanded you, in the time of the month of Abib; for in the month of Abib you came out free from Mizraim.
19. All that opens the womb is Mine, and all your livestock [that] bears a male, [by] the emergence of ox or lamb.	19. Whatever opens the womb is Mine; and of all cattle you are to consecrate the males, of oxen, and of sheep.
20. And a firstborn donkey you shall redeem with a lamb; if you do not redeem it, you shall decapitate it; every firstborn of your sons you shall redeem, and they shall not appear before Me empty handed.	20. But the firstling of an ass you may redeem with a lamb; but if you redeem him not, you will cut him off with the blade. And each firstborn of your sons you must redeem; and they will not appear before Me empty.
21. Six days you may work, and on the seventh day you shall rest; in plowing and in harvest you shall rest.	21. Six days will you work, and in the seventh day have rest; in ploughing time and in harvest you will rest.
22. And you shall make for yourself a Festival of Weeks, the first of the wheat harvest, and the festival of the ingathering, at the turn of the year.	22. The feast of weeks also will you make to yourselves in the time of the firsts of the wheat harvest; and the feast of ingathering at the conclusion of the ear.
23. Three times during the year shall all your male[s] appear directly before the Master, the Lord, the God of Israel.	23. Three times in the year will all your males appear before the Master of the world, the LORD God of Israel.
24. When I drive out nations from before you and I widen your border, no one will covet your land when you go up, to appear before the Lord, your God, three times each year.	24. For I will drive out the nations from before you, and enlarge your borders; and no man will covet your land at the time of your going up to appear before the LORD your God three times in the year.
25. You shall not slaughter [or sprinkle] the blood of My sacrifice with leaven, and the offering of the Passover feast shall not remain overnight until the morning.	25. You will not sacrifice the victim of My Passover before you have done away with leaven; nor suffer the fat of the paschal sacrifice to remain about the altar till the morning.
26. The choicest of the first of your soil you shall bring to the house of the Lord, your God. You shall not cook a kid in its mother's milk."	26. The best of the first-fruits of your land you will bring to the sanctuary of the LORD your God. You are not allowed to boil or to eat flesh and milk mixed together, lest My displeasure be kindled against you, and the fruit of your trees, with the grapes in their branches and their leaves, be laid waste together.

 

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan

for: B’Midbar (Num.) 28:18-25‎

 

Rashi	Targum Pseudo Jonathan
18. On the first day is a holy convocation; you shall not perform any mundane work.	18. On the first day of the festival a holy convocation; no servile work will you do;
19. You shall offer up a fire offering, a burnt offering to the Lord: two young bulls, one ram, and seven lambs in the first year they shall be unblemished for you.	19. but offer an oblation of a burnt sacrifice before the LORD, two young bullocks, one ram, and seven lambs of the year, unblemished, will you have.
20. Their meal offerings [shall be] fine flour mixed with oil; three tenths for each bull and two tenths for the ram you shall offer up.	20. And their minchas of wheat flour, mingled with olive oil, three tenths for each bullock, two tenths for the ram,
21. And you shall offer up one tenth for each lamb, for all seven lambs.	21. and for a single lamb a tenth, so for the seven;
22. And one young male goat for a sin offering to atone for you.	22. and one kid of the goats, to make an atonement for you:
23. You shall offer these up besides the morning burnt offering which is offered as a continual burnt offering.	23. beside the burnt sacrifice of the morning, the perpetual burnt sacrifice, you will make these offerings.
24. Like these, you shall offer up daily for seven days, food of the fire offering, a spirit of satisfaction to the Lord; you shall offer up this in addition to the continual burnt offering and its libation.	24. According to these oblations of the first day you will do daily through the seven days of the festival. It is the bread of the oblation which is received with favor before the LORD; it will be made beside the perpetual burnt offering, with its libation.
25. The seventh day shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall not perform any mundane work.	25. And on the seventh day you shall have a holy convocation; no servile work shall you do.

 

Welcome to the World of P’shat Exegesis

 

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

 

The Seven Hermeneutic Laws of R. Hillel are as follows

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Rashi’s Commentary for: ‎ Shemot (Exodus) ‎34:1-26‎

 

1 Hew for yourself Heb. פְּסָל לְךָ. He [God] showed him [Moses] a sapphire mine from within his tent, and He said to him, “The [sapphire] chips shall be yours,” and from there Moses became very wealthy. -[from Tanchuma 29, Lev. Rabbah 32:2]

 

Hew for yourself You broke the first ones. You hew others for yourself. This can be compared to a king who went abroad and left his betrothed with the maidservants. Because of the immoral behavior of the maidservants, she acquired a bad reputation. Her bridesman [the person appointed to defend the bride should any problems arise] arose and tore up her marriage contract. He said, “If the king decides to kill her, I will say to him, ‘She is not yet your wife.’” The king investigated and discovered that only the maidservants were guilty of immoral behavior. He [therefore] became appeased to her. So her bridesman said to him, “Write her another marriage contract because the first one was torn up.” The king replied to him, “You tore it up. You buy yourself another [sheet of] paper, and I will write to her with my [personal] hand [writing].” Likewise, the king represents the Holy One, blessed is He. The maidservants represent the mixed multitude. The bridesman is Moses, and the betrothed of the Holy One, blessed is He, is Israel. That is why it says: “Hew for yourself.” -[from Tanchuma 30] 2 prepared Heb. נָכוֹן, ready.

 

3 No one shall ascend with you Since the first ones [i.e., tablets] were accompanied by loud noises, sounds, and with a multitude, the evil eye affected them. [Our conclusion is that] there is nothing better than modesty. - [from Tanchuma 30]

 

5 and He called out in the name of the Lord We render: וּקְרָא בִשְׁמָא דַיְיָ, and he called out in the name of the Lord. [from Onkelos] 6 י-ה-ו-ה תי-ה-ו-ה This is the attribute of Divine compassion, both before a person sins and after he sins and repents. -[from R.H. 11b]

 

God Heb. אֵל. This too is an attribute of compassion [for God], and so he [the Psalmist] says: “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” (Ps. 22:2). One cannot say to the Divine attribute of justice, “Why have You forsaken me?” I found this in the Mechilta (Exod. 15:2).

 

slow to anger He puts off His anger and does not hasten to exact retribution, [hoping that] perhaps he [the sinner] will repent.

 

and abundant in loving-kindness for those who need loving-kindness because they lack sufficient merits. -[from R.H. 17a]

 

and truth to pay a good reward to those who do His will.

 

7 preserving loving-kindness that a person does before Him.

 

for thousands For two thousand generations.

 

[iniquity and rebellion] Iniquities (עֲוֽנוֹת) are intentional sins. פְּשָׁעִים are sins committed out of rebellion, which a person commits [in order] to anger [God]. -[from Yoma 36b]

 

yet He does not completely clear [of sin] Heb. וְנַקֵּה א יְנַקֶּה. According to its simple interpretation, it means that He does not completely overlook the iniquity but exacts retribution for it little by little. Our Rabbis, however, interpreted [this expression to mean]: He clears those who repent, but does not clear those who do not repent (from Yoma 86a, targumim).

 

He visits the iniquity of parents on the children when they hold onto the deeds of their parents in their hands [i.e., emulate their ways], for He already explained this in another verse, [that it means only] “of those who hate Me” (Exod. 20:5). -[from Ber. 7a]

 

and fourth generations Heb. וְעַל רִבֵּעִים, the fourth generation. Thus, the [i.e., God’s] attribute of goodness exceeds the attribute of retribution by a ratio of one to five hundred. Concerning the attribute of goodness, He says: “preserving loving-kindness for thousands.” -[from Tosefta, Sotah 4:1]

 

8 And Moses hastened When Moses saw the Shekhinah passing [in front of him] and he heard the voice calling, he immediately prostrated himself.

 

9 let the Lord go now in our midst As You promised us, since You forgive iniquity. [Which means:] and if they are a stiff-necked people, and they rebelled against You, and You have said concerning this, “Lest I destroy you on the way” (Exod. 33:3), You [still] will forgive our iniquity, etc. There are [other instances where] כִּי [is used] instead of אִם if.

 

and thus secure us as Your possession And You shall give us to Yourself as a special possession. (Other editions read: and You shall give us a special possession.) That is the [same] request of: “Then I and Your people will be distinguished” (Exod. 33:16), [meaning] that the Shekhinah should not rest upon the pagan nations.

 

10 [I will] form a covenant Concerning this.

 

in the presence of all your people, I will make distinctions Heb. אֶעֱשִֶׂה נִפְלָאֽת, an expression related to וְנִפְלִינוּ, “and [we] shall be distinguished” (Exod. 33:16), [meaning] that you shall be separated from all the pagan nations, that My Shekhinah shall not rest upon them [these other nations].

 

11 the Amorites… Six nations are [enumerated] here [not the proverbial seven], because the Girgashites [i.e., the seventh nation] got up and emigrated because of them [the Israelites]. -[from Lev. Rabbah 17:6, Yerushalmi Shevi’ith 6:1.]

 

13 their sacred trees This is a tree they worship.

 

14 Whose Name is “Jealous One” He is zealous to mete out retribution, and He is not indulgent. That is [the meaning of] every expression of jealousy (קִנְאָה) [when used in connection with God]. [It] means that He is steadfast in His superiority [over other deities] and exacts retribution upon those who forsake Him.

 

15 and you eat of their slaughtering You [may] think that there is no punishment for eating it, but [when you eat it] I consider it for you as if you endorsed its worship, for through this [eating of the sacrifice] you will come to take from their daughters for your sons.

 

18 the month of spring The month of early ripening, when the grain first ripens.

 

19 All that opens the womb is Mine Among humans.

 

and all your livestock [that] bears a male… Heb. תִּזָּכָר. And all your livestock that bears a [firstborn] male by the emergence of an ox or lamb [from the womb], meaning that a male will open its womb [i.e., its firstborn is a male].

 

emergence Heb. פֶּטֶר, a word that means opening. Similarly, “The beginning of strife is like letting out (פּוֹטֵר) water” (Prov. 17:14). The “tav” of תִּזָּכָר is an expression of the feminine, referring to the [animal] that gives birth.

 

20 And a firstborn donkey But not [the firstborn of] other unclean animals. -[from Bech. 5b]

 

you shall redeem with a lamb [The owner] gives a lamb to the kohen, and it [becomes] the ordinary [unconsecrated] property of the kohen, and the firstborn donkey may be put to work by its owner. -[from Bech. 9b]

 

you shall decapitate it He decapitates it with a cleaver. [The rationale is:] He caused the kohen to lose his money [by neglecting to give him the redemption lamb]. Therefore, he must lose his own money [by decapitating his donkey]. - [from Bech. 10b, Mechilta on Exod. 13:13]

 

every firstborn of your sons you shall redeem His redemption is established as five selas, as it is said: “And his redemption you shall perform from the age of one month [by the evaluation of five shekels, etc.]” (Num. 18:16).

 

and they shall not appear before Me empty-handed According to the simple meaning of the verse, this is a separate matter [from the rest of this verse] and is unrelated to the firstborn, because there is no obligation to appear [in the Temple] in the commandment dealing with the firstborn. Instead this is another warning, [meaning] and when you ascend [to the Temple] on the festivals, you shall not appear before Me empty-handed, [but] it is incumbent upon you to bring burnt offerings (Chag. 7a) whenever appearing before God. According to the way it is interpreted by a Baraitha, this is a superfluous verse [for this was already stated in Exod. 23:15], and it is free [i.e., has no additional reason for being here other than] to be used for a גְּזֵרָה שָׁוָה, [i.e.,] an instance of similar wording, to teach [us] about the provisions given a Hebrew slave [when he is freed]—that it is five selas from each kind [i.e., of sheep, grain, and wine], as much as the redemption of a firstborn. [This is elaborated upon] in tractate Kiddushin (17a).

 

21 in plowing and in harvest you shall rest [If this refers to the Sabbath,] why are plowing and harvest mentioned [in particular, and not other kinds of work]? Some of our Rabbis say that this [verse prohibits] plowing before the seventh year [i.e., the sixth year] which enters the seventh year [i.e., plowing that benefits crops that grow in the seventh year], and the harvest of the seventh year that grows after the seventh year [i.e., crops that have at least one third of their growth during the seventh year must be treated with the sanctity of the seventh year]. This is to teach you that we must add from the unholy [the year preceding the seventh year] to the holy [the seventh year]. Accordingly, this is its meaning: “Six days you may work, and on the seventh day you shall rest”—and [concerning] the work of the six days, which I have permitted you, there is a year in which plowing and harvest are prohibited. The plowing and harvest of the seventh year need not be stated, because it already says: “Your field you shall not sow…” (Lev. 25:4). [Consequently, we deduce that this verse means the plowing before the seventh year and the harvest after the seventh year.] Others [of the Rabbis] say that [the verse] speaks only about the [weekly] Sabbath, and the plowing and harvest mentioned in its context are to inform you that just as [the prohibited] plowing is optional [plowing], so is harvest [referred to here] optional [harvesting]. The harvest of the omer [however] is excluded [from this prohibition] because it is mandatory, and [consequently] it supersedes the Sabbath. -[from R.H. 9a]

 

22 the first of the wheat harvest [This is the festival] on which you bring the two breads made from the wheat [as in Lev. 23:17].

 

the first For it is the first meal offering brought to Temple from the new wheat crop, because the meal offering of the omer on Passover is brought from the barley. -[from Men. 84a]

 

and the festival of the ingathering Heb. וְחַג הָאָָסִיף, [which occurs] at the time you gather your grain from the field into the house. This gathering (אֲסִיפָה) is a term denoting bringing into the house, like “you shall take it (וַאֲסַפְתּוֹ) into your house” (Deut. 22:2).

 

at the turn of the year which is at the return of the year, at the beginning of the coming year. [I.e., it is in the month of Tishri, which is the first month of the year, counting from Creation.]

 

at the turn of Heb. תְּקוּפַת, a term denoting going around and encompassing (הַקָּפָה) [i.e., going in a circle].

 

23 all your male[s] Heb. כָּל זְכוּרְךָ, all the males among you. [This is repeated elsewhere as are] many commandments in the Torah, [which] are stated and repeated, many of them three or four times, in order to cause liability and mete out punishment according to the number of the negative commandments they contain and the number of positive commandments they contain.

 

24 I drive out Heb. אוֹרִישׁ as the Targum renders: אֲתָרֵךְ, I will drive out, and so is “begin to drive out (רָשׁ) ” (Deut. 2: 31), and so is “and he drove out (וַיוֹרֶשׁ) the Amorites” (Num. 21:32), an expression of driving out.

 

and I widen your border And [this way] you will be far from the Temple, and [so] you cannot constantly appear before Me. Therefore, I am setting these three pilgrimage festivals for you.

 

25 You shall not slaughter… You shall not slaughter the Passover sacrifice as long as leaven still exists. This is a [specific] warning to the slaughterer, to the one who sprinkles the blood, or to one of the members of the group [bringing this sacrifice]. -[from Pes. 63b]

 

shall not remain overnight until the morning As the Targum [Onkelos] paraphrases: [it shall not remain overnight until the morning away from the altar]. Remaining overnight on top of the altar has no effect [i.e., does not disqualify the sacrifice] (Mechilta, Exodus 23:18), and [the prohibition of] staying overnight is only completed at the break of dawn (Zev. 87a).

 

and the offering of the Passover feast [This refers to] its sacrificial parts. From here you learn [to apply this rule to all instances of] burning the fats or the limbs [of sacrifices, namely that it may not be performed after the break of dawn if the sacrificial parts stayed off the altar all night until the break of dawn].

 

26 The choicest of the first of your soil [This refers to the fruits] of the seven species delineated as the praise of your land, “A land of wheat and barley, vines, [figs, and pomegranates, a land of oil- producing olives,] and honey” (Deut. 8:8). That is the honey of dates. -[from Bikkurim 3:1]

 

You shall not cook a kid This is the warning against [cooking] meat and milk [together]. This commandment is written in the Torah three times (Exod. 23:19, Deut. 14:21), one for eating, one for deriving benefit, and one for the prohibition of cooking. -[from Chul. 115b] a kid Heb. גְּדִי. Any young offspring is meant, even a calf or a lamb. Since [the Torah] had to specify in many places גְּדִי עִזִּים [when a young goat is meant], you learn that [mention of] גְּדִי unqualified means all sucklings. -[from Chul. 113b]

 

in its mother’s milk This excludes fowl, which has no milk, which is not prohibited by the Torah but by the decree of the Scribes [the Sages]. -[from Chul. 113a]

 

Nazarean Codicil:

1 Corinthians 10:16 – 11:34

& Revelation 2:1-7

 

Revelation 2:1-7

Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham’s & Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai’s Rendition

 

¹And to the angel of the congregation in Ephesus, write, 'So says he who holds the seven stars in his hand, he who walks among the Menorot (seven branched candlesticks) of gold.

² I know your works and your labor and your endurance and that you are not able to bear evil [ones]. And you have tested those who say about themselves that they are to be Sh’liachim (apostles) and are not and you have found them [to be] liars.

3 And you have endurance and you bear a burden because of my name (or, authority) and you have not become weary.

4 But I have [something] against you, because you have left your first love.^[7]

5 Remember from where you came and do the former works, but if not, I will come to you and I will remove your Menora (candelabra – i.e. the seven ministers of the congregation), unless you repent.

6 But this you have, that you hate the works of the Nicolaitans (i.e. Oppressors of the Laity), that I also hate.'

7 He who has ears should hear what the Spirit says to the congregations. And to him who overcomes, I will allow [him] to eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of PaRDeS (paradise) of Ha-Shem."

 

Blessing After Torah Study

 

Barúch Atáh Adonai, Elohénu Meléch HaOlám,

Ashér Natán Lánu Torát Emét, V'Chayéi Olám Natá B'Tochénu.

Barúch Atáh Adonái, Notén HaToráh. Amen!

Blessed is Ha-Shem our God, King of the universe,

Who has given us a teaching of truth, implanting within us eternal life.

Blessed is Ha-Shem, Giver of the Torah. Amen!

“Now unto Him who is able to preserve you faultless, and spotless, and to establish you without a blemish,

before His majesty, with joy, [namely,] the only one God, our Deliverer, by means of Yeshua the Messiah our Master, be praise, and dominion, and honor, and majesty, both now and in all ages. Amen!”

 

 

“Fourth Intermediate Day of Pesach”

(Monday Evening April 13, 2020)

 

Evening: Counting of the Omer Day 5

 

Then read the following:

 

 

Ephesians 1:11-14 God chose us (the Jewish people) to be his own people in union with Messiah,^[8] for His own purpose, based on what He had decided before the beginning,^[9] therefore let us^[10] who were the first to hope^[11] for Messiah praise God’s glory.^[12] Being in union with him (Messiah) in hearing the Torah of Truth,^[13] the Redemption of the Mesorah that you Gentiles must trust in, cling to and rely on, which brings the promised seal of the Nefesh Yehudi^[14] that is the promised pledge^[15] of our (Jewish) portion in anticipation of its full redemption. Let us praise His (God’s) glory.

 

“Fourth Intermediate Day of Pesach”

(Tuesday Morning April 14, 2020)

Morning Service

 

Torah Reading: B’Midbar (Numbers) 9:1-14

 

Reader 1: B’midbar (Numbers) 9:1-5

Reader 2: B’Midbar (Numbers) 9:6-8

Reader 3: B’Midbar (Numbers) 9:9-14

Maftir: B’midbar (Numbers) 28:18-25

Ashlamatah: Shir HaShirim (Song of Songs) 7:1 – 8:14

Nazarean Codicil: 1 Corinthians 12:1 – 13:13 & Revelation 2:1-7

 

 

Blessings Before Torah Study

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

May Ha-Shem bestow favor on you, and grant you peace. – Amen!

 

This way, the priests will link My Name with the Israelites, and I will bless them."

 

These are the Laws for which the Torah did not mandate specific amounts: How much growing produce must be left in the corner of the field for the poor; how much of the first fruits must be offered at the Holy Temple; how much one must bring as an offering when one visits the Holy Temple three times a year; how much one must do when doing acts of kindness; and there is no maximum amount of Torah that a person must study.

 

These are the Laws whose benefits a person can often enjoy even in this world, even though the primary reward is in the Next World: They are: Honouring 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!

 

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan

for: B’Midbar (Numbers) 9:1-14

 

Rashi	Targum Pseudo-Jonathan
1. The Lord spoke to Moses in the Sinai Desert, in the second year of their exodus from the land of Egypt, in the first month, saying:	1. And the LORD spoke with Mosheh in the wilderness of Sinai, in the second year from the time of their going forth from the land of Mizraim, in the first month, saying:
2. The children of Israel shall make the Passover sacrifice in its appointed time.	2. Let the children of Israel perform the sacrifice of the Pascha between the suns at its time.
3. On the afternoon of the fourteenth of this month, you shall make it in its appointed time; in accordance with all its statutes and all its ordinances you shall make it.	3. On the fourteenth day of this mouth, between the suns, they shall perform it in its time; according to all its rites and all its statutes shall they do it.
4. Moses spoke to the children of Israel [instructing them] to make the Passover sacrifice.	4. And Mosheh spoke with the children of Israel to perform the sacrifice of the Pascha.
5. So they made the Passover sacrifice in the first month, on the afternoon fourteenth day of the month in the Sinai Desert; according to all that the Lord had commanded Moses, so did the children of Israel do.	5. They performed the Pascha, therefore, on the fourteenth day of the month, between the suns in the wilderness of Sinai; after all that the LORD had commanded Mosheh, so did the children of Israel.
6. There were men who were ritually unclean [because of contact with] a dead person, and therefore could not make the Passover sacrifice on that day. So they approached Moses and Aaron on that day.	6. But certain men, who were unclean, having been defiled by the body of a man who had died near them suddenly; as the commandment (of the Pascha) came upon them, could not perform it on that day, which was the seventh of their uncleanness. And they came before Mosheh and Aharon on that day;
7. Those men said to him, "We are ritually unclean [because of contact] with a dead person; [but] why should we be excluded so as not to bring the offering of the Lord in its appointed time, with all the children of Israel?	7. and these men said to him, We are unclean, on account of a man who died with us: therefore we are hindered from killing the Pascha, and shedding the blood of the LORD's oblation upon the altar at its time, that we may eat its flesh, being clean, among the children of Israel.
8. Moses said to them, "Wait, and I will hear what the Lord instructs concerning you."	8. This is one of four matters of judgment brought before Mosheh the prophet, which he decided according to the Word of the Holy One: in some of which Mosheh was deliberate, because they were judgments about life; but in the others Mosheh was prompt, they being (only) judgments concerning money: but in those (the former) Mosheh said, I have not heard; that he might teach the princes of the Sanhedrin who should arise after him to be deliberate in judgements regarding life, but prompt in judgments about money; and not to be ashamed to ask counsel in things too hard for them, inasmuch as Mosheh himself, the Rabbi of Israel, had need to say, I have not yet heard. Therefore, said Mosheh to them, Wait until I have heard what will be commanded from before the LORD concerning your case.
9. The Lord spoke to Moses saying:	9. And the LORD spoke with Mosheh, saying:
10. Speak to the children of Israel saying, Any person who becomes unclean from [contact with] the dead, or is on a distant journey, whether among you or in future generations, he shall make a Passover sacrifice for the Lord.	10. Speak with the sons of Israel, saying: A man, whether young or old, when unclean by defilement from the dead, or an issue, or the leprosy, or who is hindered in the way of the world by the accidents of the night, or who will be at a distance from the threshold of his house: if such things happen to you, or to your generations, then may he defer to perform the Pascha before the LORD.
11. In the second month, on the fourteenth day, in the afternoon, they shall make it; they shall eat it with leavened cakes and bitter herbs.	11. But in the second month, which is the month of Ijar, on the fourteenth day of the month, between the suns they shall perform it; with unleavened bread and with bitters they shall eat it.
12. They shall not leave over anything from it until the next morning, and they shall not break any of its bones. They shall make it in accordance with all the statutes connected with the Passover sacrifice.	12. They will not leave of it till the morning, and a bone in it will not be broken; according to every instruction in the decree of the Pascha in Nisan, they will perform it. In the Pascha of Nisan (such persons) may eat unleavened bread, but not perform the oblation of the Pascha on account of their defilement; but in the Pascha of Ijar being purified they shall offer it.
13. But the man who was ritually clean and was not on a journey, yet refrained from making the Passover sacrifice, his soul shall be cut off from his people, for he did not bring the offering of the Lord in its appointed time; that person shall bear his sin.	13. But the man who, being clean and undefiled by the way of the world, and not at a distance from the threshold of his home, neglects to perform the oblation of the Pascha of Nisan, that man will be cut off from his people, because he has not offered the LORD's oblation in its season; that man will bear his sin.
14. If a proselyte dwells with you, and he makes a Passover sacrifice to the Lord, according to the statutes of the Passover sacrifice and its ordinances he shall make it. One statute shall apply to you, to the proselyte and to the native-born citizen.	14. And if the stranger who is sojourning with you will perform the Pascha before the LORD, he will do it after the proper manner of the Paschal decree, according to its form so will he do it. You will have one statute, both for the sojourner and for the native of the land.

 

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan

for: B’Midbar (Num.) 28:18-25‎

 

Rashi	Targum Pseudo Jonathan
18. On the first day is a holy convocation; you shall not perform any mundane work.	18. On the first day of the festival a holy convocation; no servile work will you do;
19. You shall offer up a fire offering, a burnt offering to the Lord: two young bulls, one ram, and seven lambs in the first year they shall be unblemished for you.	19. but offer an oblation of a burnt sacrifice before the LORD, two young bullocks, one ram, and seven lambs of the year, unblemished, will you have.
20. Their meal offerings [shall be] fine flour mixed with oil; three tenths for each bull and two tenths for the ram you shall offer up.	20. And their minchas of wheat flour, mingled with olive oil, three tenths for each bullock, two tenths for the ram,
21. And you shall offer up one tenth for each lamb, for all seven lambs.	21. and for a single lamb a tenth, so for the seven;
22. And one young male goat for a sin offering to atone for you.	22. and one kid of the goats, to make an atonement for you:
23. You shall offer these up besides the morning burnt offering which is offered as a continual burnt offering.	23. beside the burnt sacrifice of the morning, the perpetual burnt sacrifice, you will make these offerings.
24. Like these, you shall offer up daily for seven days, food of the fire offering, a spirit of satisfaction to the Lord; you shall offer up this in addition to the continual burnt offering and its libation.	24. According to these oblations of the first day you will do daily through the seven days of the festival. It is the bread of the oblation which is received with favor before the LORD; it will be made beside the perpetual burnt offering, with its libation.
25. The seventh day shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall not perform any mundane work.	25. And on the seventh day you shall have a holy convocation; no servile work shall you do.

 

Welcome to the World of P’shat Exegesis

 

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

 

The Seven Hermeneutic Laws of R. Hillel are as follows

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Rashi’s Commentary for: ‎B’Midbar (Numbers) 9:1-14

 

1 In the first month The portion at the beginning of the Book [of Numbers] was not said until Iyar. [From this], you learn that there is no chronological order in the Torah. But why did Scripture not begin with this [chapter]? For it is a disgrace to Israel that throughout the forty years the children of Israel were in the desert, they brought only this Passover sacrifice alone.-[Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:18]

 

2 in its appointed time Even [if it were to fall] on Sabbath; “in its appointed time” [also implies,] even [if the majority of the people were] in a state of ritual uncleanness.-[Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:14, 15]

 

3 in accordance with all its statutes These are the commandments directly relating to its body—an unblemished male lamb in its first year.-[Pes. 95a]

 

and all its ordinances These are the commandments that relate to its body from elsewhere, such as the seven days for [eating] unleavened bread and for disposing of leaven. (Another version: The commandments relating to its body—an unblemished male lamb in its first year; those which relate to its body from elsewhere—[it must be] roasted over fire, its head with its legs and its innards. And those which have no relation to its body—unleavened bread and disposing of leaven.-[Rashi on Pes. 95a]

 

4 Moses spoke What does this teach us? Has not Scripture already said, “And Moses told... of the Lord’s appointed [holy days].” (Lev. 23:44) ? However, when he heard the portion dealing with the festivals at Sinai, he related it to them, and then he exhorted them again when the time came to perform them.-[Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:17]

 

6 approached Moses and Aaron While the two were sitting in the study hall, they came and asked them. It is [however] inconceivable that they approached them one after the other [in this order], for if Moses did not know, how should Aaron know?-[Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:20]

 

7 Why should we be excluded He [Moses] told them, “Sacrifices cannot be offered in a state of ritual uncleanness.” They replied, “Let ritually clean kohanim sprinkle the blood for us, and let ritually clean people eat the flesh.” He said to them, “Wait, and I will hear... ” like a disciple who is confident of hearing from his teacher’s mouth. Fortunate is the mortal who is so confident, for whenever he wished, he could speak with the Shechinah. This portion should really have been said through Moses, like the rest of the Torah, but these people merited that it be said through them, for merit is brought about through the meritorious. -[Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:22]

 

10 On a distant journey Heb. רְחֹקָה. There is a dot over the word, to teach us that he does not really have to be far away, but even if he was merely outside the threshold of the Temple courtyard throughout the time allowed for the slaughtering [of the Passover sacrifice] (Pes. 93, Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:24). On the second Passover, one may keep both leavened bread and unleavened food in the home, and there is no festival. The consumption of leaven is not forbidden except while he eats it [the sacrifice].-[Pes. 95a]

 

14 If a proselyte dwells with you, and he makes a Passover sacrifice I might think that anyone who converts should immediately make a Passover sacrifice. Therefore, Scripture teaches us, “One statute [shall apply to you, to the proselyte and to the native-born citizen].” And this is its meaning: If a proselyte dwells with you, and he comes (Reggio ed. - and the time comes) to make a Passover sacrifice with his friends, “according to the statutes of the Passover sacrifice and its ordinances he shall make it.” -[Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:30]

 

Nazarean Codicil:

I Corinthians ‎12:1 – 13:13

& Revelation 2:1-7

 

Revelation 2:1-7

Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham’s Rendition

 

¹And to the angel of the congregation in Ephesus, write, 'So says he who holds the seven stars in his hand, he who walks among the Menorot (seven branched candlesticks) of gold.

² I know your works and your labor and your endurance and that you are not able to bear evil [ones]. And you have tested those who say about themselves that they are to be Sh’liachim (apostles) and are not and you have found them [to be] liars.

3 And you have endurance and you bear a burden because of my name (or, authority) and you have not become weary.

4 But I have [something] against you, because you have left your first love.^[16]

5 Remember from where you came and do the former works, but if not, I will come to you and I will remove your Menora (candelabra – i.e. the seven ministers of the congregation), unless you repent.

6 But this you have, that you hate the works of the Nicolaitans (i.e. Oppressors of the Laity), that I also hate.'

7 He who has ears should hear what the Spirit says to the congregations. And to him who overcomes, I will allow [him] to eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of PaRDeS (paradise) of Ha-Shem."

 

Blessing After Torah Study

 

Barúch Atáh Adonai, Elohénu Meléch HaOlám,

Ashér Natán Lánu Torát Emét, V'Chayéi Olám Natá B'Tochénu.

Barúch Atáh Adonái, Notén HaToráh. Amen!

Blessed is Ha-Shem our God, King of the universe,

Who has given us a teaching of truth, implanting within us eternal life.

Blessed is Ha-Shem, Giver of the Torah. Amen!

“Now unto Him who is able to preserve you faultless, and spotless, and to establish you without a blemish,

before His majesty, with joy, [namely,] the only one God, our Deliverer, by means of Yeshua the Messiah our Master, be praise, and dominion, and honor, and majesty, both now and in all ages. Amen!”

 

“Seventh Day of Pesach”

No Work Allowed

(Tuesday Evening April 14, 2020)

 

Evening: Counting of the Omer Day 6

 

Then read the following:

 

 

Ephesians 1:15-17 Therefore, when I heard of your faithful obedience in union with the Master Yeshua (HaMashiach) and your love (care/charity) for the Tsadiqim (saints) I have not stopped^[17] giving thanks and mentioning you in my prayers, (asking) that the God of our master Yeshua HaMashiach, the Father of dignity^[18] grant you the power to comprehend through the Oral Torah,^[19] and His agents Chochmah, Binah and Da’at.

 

“Seventh Day of Pesach”

(No Work allowed)

(Wednesday Morning April 15, 2020)

Morning Service

 

Torah Reading: Shemot (Exodus) 13:17 – 15:26

 

Reader 1: Shemot 13:17-22

Reader 2: Shemot 14:1-8

Reader 3: Shemot 14:9-14

Reader 4: Shemot 14:15-26

Reader 5: Shemot 14:26 – 15:26

Maftir: B’Midbar (Numbers) 28:18-25

Ahlamatah: II Samuel 22:1-51

Nazarean Codicil: I Corinthians 14:1 – 15:34 & Revelation 2:1-7

 

Blessings Before Torah Study

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

May Ha-Shem bestow favor on you, and grant you peace. – Amen!

 

This way, the priests will link My Name with the Israelites, and I will bless them."

 

These are the Laws for which the Torah did not mandate specific amounts: How much growing produce must be left in the corner of the field for the poor; how much of the first fruits must be offered at the Holy Temple; how much one must bring as an offering when one visits the Holy Temple three times a year; how much one must do when doing acts of kindness; and there is no maximum amount of Torah that a person must study.

 

These are the Laws whose benefits a person can often enjoy even in this world, even though the primary reward is in the Next World: They are: Honouring one's father and mother; doing acts of kindness; early attendance at the place of Torah study -- morning and night; showing hospitality to guests; visiting the sick; providing for the financial needs of a bride; escorting the dead; being very engrossed in prayer; bringing peace between two people, and between husband and wife; but the study of Torah is as great as all of them together. Amen!

 

Contents of the Torah Seder

 

·        The Passage of the Red Sea – Exodus 13:17 – 14:31

·        The Song at the Red Sea – Exodus 15:1-21

·        The Journey to Sinai – Exodus 15:22-26

 

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan

for: Shemot (Exod.) 13:17 – 15:26

 

Rashi	Targum
17. It came to pass when Pharaoh let the people go, that God did not lead them [by] way of the land of the Philistines for it was near, because God said, Lest the people reconsider when they see war and return to Egypt	17. AND it was when Pharoh had released the people, that the LORD did not conduct them by the way of the land of the P’lishtim though that was the near one; for the LORD said, Lest the people be affrighted in seeing their brethren who were killed in war, two hundred thousand men of strength of the tribe of Ephraim, who took shields, and lances, and weapons of war, and went down to Gath to carry off the flocks of the P’lishtim; and because they transgressed against the statute of the Word of the LORD, and went forth from Mizraim three years before the (appointed) end of their servitude, they were delivered into the hand of the P’lishtim, who slew them. These are the dry bones which the Word of the LORD restored to life by the ministry (hand) of Yechezekel the prophet, in the valley of Dura; but which, if they (now) saw them, they would be afraid, and return into Mizraim.
18. So God led the people around [by] way of the desert [to] the Red Sea, and the children of Israel were armed when they went up out of Egypt.	18. But the LORD led the people round by the way of the desert of the sea of Suph; and every one of the sons of Israel, with five children, went up from the land of Mizraim.
19. Moses took Joseph’s bones with him, for he [Joseph] had adjured the sons of Israel, saying, God will surely remember you, and you shall bring up my bones from here with you	19. And Mosheh carried up the ark in which were the bones of Joseph, from out of the Nilos, and took them with him; because, adjuring, he adjured the sons of Israel, saving, The LORD will surely remember you, and you will carry up my bones with you.
20. They traveled from Succoth, and they encamped in Etham, at the edge of the desert.	20. And they journeyed from Succoth, the place where they had been covered with the clouds of glory, and sojourned in Ethan, which is on the side of the desert.
21. And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to cause it to lead them on the way and at night in a pillar of fire to give them light, [they thus could] travel day and night.	21. And the glory of the Shekinah of the LORD went before them by day in the column of the Cloud to lead them in the way, and at night the column of the Cloud removed behind them to darken on their pursuers behind them; but to be a column of fire to enlighten them before, that they might go forward by day and by night.
22. He did not move away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire at night [from] before the people.	22. The column of the Cloud departed not by day, nor the column of fire by night, in leading on before the people.
1. The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,	1. And the Lord spoke to Mosheh, saying,
2. Speak to the children of Israel, and let them turn back and encamp in front of Pi hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea; in front of Baal Zephon, you shall encamp opposite it, by the sea.	2. Speak to the sons of Israel, that they return back, and encamp before the Mouths of Hiratha, as they lie, created after the manner (likeness) of the children of men, male and female, and their eyes open to them: it is the place of Tanes, which is between Migdol and the sea, before the idol Zephon (Typhon), that is left of all the idols of Mizraim. For the Mizraee will say, More excellent is Baal Zephon than all idols, because it is left, and not smitten; and therefore will they come to worship it, and will find that you are encamped nigh unto it, on the border of the sea.
3. And Pharaoh will say about the children of Israel, They are trapped in the land. The desert has closed in upon them.	3. And Pharoh said to Dathan and Abiram, sons of Israel, who had remained in Mizraim, The people of the house of Israel are bewildered in the land: the idol Zephon has shut them in close upon the desert.
4, And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, and I will be glorified through Pharaoh and through his entire force, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord And they did so.	4, And I will strengthen the design of Pharoh's heart to pursue after them, and I will be glorified upon Pharoh and upon his hosts, and the Mizraee will know that I am the LORD. And they did so.
5. It was reported to Pharaoh that the people had fled; and Pharaoh and his servants had a change of heart toward the people, and they said, What is this that we have done, that we have released Israel from serving us?	5. And the officers who went with Israel announced that the people had fled. And the heart of Pharoh and his servants was turned unto evil against the people; and they said, What is this that we have done? for we have released Israel from serving us.
6. So he [Pharaoh] harnessed his chariot, and took his people with him.	6. And he himself prepared his chariot, and his people led he with him by soft words.
7. He took six hundred select chariots and all the chariots of Egypt, with officers over them all.	7. And he took six hundred choice chariots, and all the chariots of the Mizraee his servants, who were afraid of the Word of the LORD, lest they should be killed with pestilence, if not with hail: and a third mule, for drawing and following swiftly, he added to each chariot.
8. And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and he chased after the children of Israel, and the children of Israel were marching out triumphantly.	8. And the LORD hardened the design of the heart of Pharoh king of Mizraim, and he pursued after the sons of Israel. But the sons of Israel, going out with a high hand, were stronger than the Mizraee.
9. The Egyptians chased after them and overtook them encamped by the sea every horse of Pharaoh’s chariots, his horsemen, and his force beside Pi hahiroth, in front of Ba’al Zephon.	9. And the Mizraee followed after them, and came upon them as they were encamped by the sea, gathering of pearls and goodly stones, which the river Pishon had carried from the garden of Eden into the Gihon, and the Gihon had carried into the sea of Suph, and the sea of Suph had cast upon its bank. But all the chariot horses of Pharoh, and his horsemen, and his hosts (were coming) towards the Mouths of Hiratha, which are before the idol Zephon.
10. Pharaoh drew near, and the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold! the Egyptians were advancing after them. They were very frightened, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord.	10. And Pharoh saw the idol Zephon (still) preserved, and offered oblations before it. And the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, beheld, the Mizraee were pursuing them; and they were sorely afraid, and the children of Israel prayed before the LORD.
11. They said to Moses, Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us to die in the desert? What is this that you have done to us to take us out of Egypt?	11. But the wicked generation said to Mosheh, Because there were no places of burial for us in Mizraim, have you led us forth to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, in bringing us out of Mizraim?
12. Isn’t this the thing [about] which we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, Leave us alone, and we will serve the Egyptians, because we would rather serve the Egyptians than die in the desert	12. Was as not this the word that we spoke to you in Mizraim, Let the LORD manifest Himself over us and judge, saying, Desist from us, and we will serve the Mizraee? for it is better for us to serve the Mizraee than to perish in the desert.
13. Moses said to the people, Don t be afraid! Stand firm and see the Lord s salvation that He will wreak for you today, for the way you have seen the Egyptians is [only] today, [but] you shall no longer continue to see them for eternity.	13. Four parties were made (among) the sons of Israel on the shore of the Weedy Sea: one said, Let us go down into the sea; another said, Let us return unto Mizraim; another said Let us set against them the line of battle; and another said Let us raise a cry against them, and confound them. Unto the company which said, Let us go down to the sea, spoke Mosheh, Fear not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which will be wrought for you today. To the company which said, Let us return into Mizraim Mosheh said, You will not return; for, though you see the Mizraee today, you will see them no more forever.
14. The Lord will fight for you, but you shall remain silent	14. To the company who said, Let us set against them the line of battle, said Mosheh, Contend not; for the victory will be wrought among you from the presence of the LORD. And to the company who said. Let us raise a cry against them, Mosheh said, Be silent; and give the glory, and praise, and exaltation to your God.
15. The Lord said to Moses, Why do you cry out to Me? Speak to the children of Israel and let them travel.	15. And the LORD said to Mosheh, Why do you stand praying before Me? Behold, the prayers of My people have come before your own: speak to the sons of Israel, that they go forward;
16. And you raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and split it, and the children of Israel shall come in the midst of the sea on dry land.	16. and you, lift up your rod, and stretch forth your hand with it over the sea, and divide it: and the sons of Israel will go through the midst of ,the sea upon the ground.
17. And I, behold! I shall harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they will come after you, and I will be glorified through Pharaoh, and through all his force, through his chariots, and through his horsemen.	17. For, behold, I will harden the design of the heart of the Mizraee, and they will go in after them; and I will be glorified upon Pharoh and upon all his hosts, upon his chariots and his horsemen;
18. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I will be glorified through Pharaoh, through his chariots, and through his horsemen	18. that the Mizraee may know that I am the LORD, when I am glorified upon Pharoh, upon his chariots and horsemen.
19. Then the angel of God, who had been going in front of the Israelite camp, moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved away from in front of them and stood behind them.	19. And the Angel of the LORD who led the way before the hosts of Israel went and came behind them; and the column of the Cloud went from before and stood behind them: because the Mizraee threw darts and stones at the Israelites, but the Cloud intercepted them
20. And he came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel, and there were the cloud and the darkness, and it illuminated the night, and one did not draw near the other all night long.	20. and it came between the host of Israel and the host of the Mizraee; a cloud, one half of which was light and one half darkness. On the one side it darkened upon the Mizraee, and on the other side it shined upon Israel all night; and one host did not attack the other all the night.
21. And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord led the sea with the strong east wind all night, and He made the sea into dry land and the waters split.	21. And Mosheh stretched out his hand over the sea, with the great and glorious rod which was created at the beginning, and on which were engraved and set forth the Great and Glorious Name, and the ten signs which had smitten the Mizraee, and the three fathers of the world, and the six mothers, and the twelve tribes of Ya’aqob: and straightway the LORD brought a vehement east wind upon the sea all night, and made the sea dry; and divided the waters into twelve divisions according to the twelve tribes of Jacob.
22. Then the children of Israel came into the midst of the sea on dry land, and the waters were to them as a wall from their right and from their left.	22. And the children of Israel went through the midst of the sea upon the ground, and the waters were congealed like a wall, three hundred miles on their right hand and on their left.
23. The Egyptians pursued and came after them all Pharaoh s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen, into the midst of the sea.	23. And the Mizraee followed and went in after them, all the horses of Pharoh, and his chariots and horsemen, into the midst of the sea.
24. It came about in the morning watch that the Lord looked down over the Egyptian camp through a pillar of fire and cloud, and He threw the Egyptian camp into confusion.	24. And it was that in the morning watch, at the time that the powers on high come to offer praise, the LORD looked forth with anger upon the hosts of the Mizraee from the column of fire, to hurl upon them flakes of fire and hail, and from the column of cloud, and confounded the host of the Mizraee
25. And He removed the wheels of their chariots, and He led them with heaviness, and the Egyptians said, Let me run away from the Israelites because the Lord is fighting for them against the Egyptians	25. and He broke (or, made rough) the wheels of Pharoh's carriages, so that they drove them with hardship, and that they went on and left them behind. And the Mizraee said one to another, Let us flee from the people of the house of Israel; for this is the Word of the LORD who fought for them in Mizraim.
26. Thereupon, the Lord said to Moses, Stretch out your hand over the sea, and let the water return upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen	26. And the Lord said to Mosheh, Stretch forth your hand over the sea, that the waters may return upon the Mizraee, upon their chariots and upon their horsemen.
27. So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and toward morning the sea returned to its strength, as the Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the Lord stirred the Egyptians into the sea.	27. And Mosheh stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned at the time of the morning unto its strength; and the Mizraee fled from before its waves. And the LORD strengthened the Mizraee in the midst of the sea, that they should not (soon) die in the midst of it, that they might receive the punishment which had been sent to them.
28. And the waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen, the entire force of Pharaoh coming after them into the sea; not even one of them survived.	28. And the waves of the sea returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen and all the host of Pharoh who had gone in after them, into the sea, not one among them was left.
29. But the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea, and the water was to them like a wall from their right and from their left.	29. But the sons of Israel walked on the ground in the midst of the sea, and the waters to them were as walls on their right hand and on their left.
30. On that day the Lord saved Israel from the hand[s] of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dying on the seashore.	30. That day the LORD redeemed and saved Israel from the hand of the Mizraee; and Israel saw the Mizraee, dead and not dead, cast upon the shore of the sea.
31. And Israel saw the great hand, which the Lord had used upon the Egyptians, and the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in Moses, His servant.	31. And Israel saw the power of the mighty hand by which the LORD had wrought the miracles in Mizraim; and the people feared before the LORD, and believed in the Name of the Word of the LORD, and in the prophecies of Mosheh His servant.
1. Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and they spoke, saying, I will sing to the Lord, for very exalted is He; a horse and its rider He cast into the sea.	1. Behold: then sang, Mosheh and the sons of Israel this song of praise before the LORD and saying they said: Thanksgiving and praise we bring before the LORD Most High, who is glorified above the glorious, and exalted above the exalted; who punishes by His Word whomsoever glorifies himself before Him. Therefore when Pharoh the wicked bare himself proudly before the LORD, and, being uplifted in his heart, followed after the people of the sons of Israel, their horses and their chariots He threw and buried in the sea of Suph.
2. The Eternal’s strength and His vengeance were my salvation; this is my God, and I will make Him a habitation, the God of my father, and I will ascribe to Him exaltation.	2. The LORD is Mighty, and greatly to be feared over all the world. He spoke in His Word, and became to me a God of salvation. From their mothers' breasts even the children have given signs with their fingers to their fathers, and said This is our God, who nourished us with honey from the rock, and with oil from the stone of clay, at the time when our mothers went forth upon the face of the field to give us birth, and leave us there; and He sent an angel who washed us and enwrapped us; and now will we praise Him: He is the God of our fathers, and we will exalt Him.
3. The Lord is a Master of war; the Lord is His Name.	3. The sons of Israel said, The LORD is a man making war for us: from generation to generation He makes known His power unto the people of the house of Israel. The LORD is His Name; according to His Name, so is His power; His Name will be blessed for ever and ever.
4. Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He cast into the sea, and the elite of his officers sank in the Red Sea.	4. The chariots of Pharoh and his hosts He has cast into the sea; the goodliest of his young men has He thrown and drowned in the sea of Suph.
5. The depths covered them; they descended into the depths like a stone.	5. The deep covered them over, they went down and are buried in the depths of the sea, and are as silent as a stone.
6. Your right hand, O Lord, is most powerful; Your right hand, O Lord, crushes the foe.	6. Your right hand, O LORD, how glorious is it in power? Your right hand, O LORD, has cut off the adversaries of Your people who rose against them to do them hurt.
7. And with Your great pride You tear down those who rise up against You; You send forth Your burning wrath; it devours them like straw.	7. And in the plenitude and greatness of Your majesty You have destroyed the walls of the enemies of Your people. You will pour upon them Your fierce anger, You will consume them as the burning fire prevails over the stubble.
8. And with the breath of Your nostrils the waters were heaped up; the running water stood erect like a wall; the depths congealed in the heart of the sea.	8. For by the Word from before You the waters became heaps; they stood, as if bound like skins that confine flowing water, and the depths were congealed in the flood of the great sea.
9. [Because] the enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will share the booty; my desire will be filled from them; I will draw my sword, my hand will impoverish them.	9. Pharoh the wicked, the hater and adversary, did say, I will follow after the people of the sons of Israel, and will lay waste their camp on the bank of the sea: I will set war in array against them, and kill them, small and great, despoil them of much spoil, bring them back into great captivity, and divide their substance among my people who make war: and when my soul is satisfied with the blood of their slain, I will sheathe my sword, having, destroyed them with my right hand.
10. You blew with Your wind, the sea covered them; they sank like lead in the powerful waters.	10. You did blow with the wind from before You, O LORD, and the waves of the sea covered them; they went down, and sank as lead in the proud waters.
11. Who is like You among the powerful, O Lord? Who is like You, powerful in the holy place? Too awesome for praises, performing wonders!	11. Who is like You among the exalted gods, O LORD, who is like You, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders and manifestations for Your people, the house of Israel?
12. You inclined Your right hand; the earth swallowed them up.	12. The sea spoke to the earth, Receive your children: but the earth spoke to the sea, Receive your murderers. And the sea was not willing to overwhelm them, and the earth was not willing to swallow them up. The earth was afraid to receive them, lest they should be required from her in the day of the great judgment in the world to come, even as the blood of Habel will be required of her: whereupon You, O LORD, did stretch forth Your right hand in swearing to the earth that in the world to come they should not be required of her. And the earth opened her mouth and consumed them.
13. With Your loving kindness You led the people You redeemed; You led [them] with Your might to Your holy abode.	13. You have led in Your mercy the people whom You have redeemed, and given them the heritage of the mountain of Your sanctuary, the place of the dwelling of Your holy Shekinah.
14. People heard, they trembled; a shudder seized the inhabitants of Philistia.	14. The Gentiles will hear and be afraid; terror will lay hold upon them, even upon all the pillars of the inhabitants of the Palestinian land.
15. Then the chieftains of Edom were startled; [as for] the powerful men of Moab, trembling seized them; all the inhabitants of Canaan melted.	15. Behold, then will the princes of the Edomites be confounded, the strong ones of Moab will be seized with fear, their heart within them will melt away, even all the pillars of the inhabitants of the land of Kanaan.
16. May dread and fright fall upon them; with the arm of Your greatness may they become as still as a stone, until Your people cross over, O Lord, until this nation that You have acquired crosses over.	16. Through the power of Your mighty arm, let the terrors of death fall upon them, let them be silent as a stone, till the time when Your people, O LORD, will have passed the streams of Arnona, till the time when Your people whom You did ransom will have crossed the dividing current of Jabeka.
17. You shall bring them and plant them on the mount of Your heritage, directed toward Your habitation, which You made, O Lord; the sanctuary, O Lord, [which] Your hands founded.	17. You will bring them in, and plant them on the mountain of Your sanctuary, the place which You have provided before the throne of Your glory, the house of Your holy Shekinah, which You, O LORD, has prepared, Your sanctuary that with both hands You have established.
18. The Lord will reign to all eternity	18. When the people of the house of Israel beheld the signs and manifestations which the Holy One, whose Name be praised, had done at the sea of Suph, and the power of His hand, the children of the captives answering said one to the other, Come, and let us set the crown of majesty on the head of our Redeemer, who makes to pass over, and passes not; who changes, and is not changed; whose is the crown of the kingdom; the King of kings in this world; whose, too, is the kingdom in the world to come, forever and ever.
19. When Pharaoh’s horses came with his chariots and his horsemen into the sea, and the Lord brought the waters of the sea back upon them, and the children of Israel walked on dry land in the midst of the sea,	19. For Pharoh's horses with his chariots and horsemen went into the sea, and the Lord made the waters of the sea to return upon them; but the sons of Israel walked upon the land in the midst of the sea, and there did spring up sweet fountains and trees yielding food and verdure and ripe fruits, (even) on the ground of the sea.
20. Miriam, the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women came out after her with timbrels and with dances.	20. And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aharon, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women came out after her, dancing with tambourines and playing on instruments.
21. And Miriam called out to them, Sing to the Lord, for very exalted is He; a horse and its rider He cast into the sea	21. And Miriam sang to them, Let us give thanks and praise before the LORD, for might and supremacy are His; above the proud He is glorified, and above the lofty He is exalted. When the wicked, Pharoh in his pride followed after the people of the sons of Israel, his horses and his chariots did He cast and drown in the sea of Suph.
22. Moses led Israel away from the Red Sea, and they went out into the desert of Shur; they walked for three days in the desert but did not find water.	22. And Mosheh made Israel go forward from the sea of Suph, and they went forth into the wilderness of Chalutsa. And they journeyed three days in the desert, empty of instruction, and found no water.
23. They came to Marah, but they could not drink water from Marah because it was bitter; therefore, it was named Marah.	23. And they came to Marah, but could not drink the waters of Marah because they were bitter; therefore he called the name of it Marah.
24. The people complained against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?	24. And the people murmured against Mosheh, saying, What will we drink?
25. So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord instructed him concerning a piece of wood, which he cast into the water, and the water became sweet. There He gave them a statute and an ordinance, and there He tested them.	25. And he prayed before the LORD, and the LORD showed him the bitter tree of Ardiphne; and he wrote upon it the great and glorious Name, and cast it into the midst of the waters, and the waters were rendered sweet. And there did the Word of the LORD appoint to him the ordinance of the Sabbath, and the statute of honouring father and mother, the judgments concerning wounds and bruises., and the punishments wherewith offenders are punished; and there he tried (them) with the tenth trial,
26. And He said, If you hearken to the voice of the Lord, your God, and you do what is proper in His eyes, and you listen closely to His commandments and observe all His statutes, all the sicknesses that I have visited upon Egypt I will not visit upon you, for I, the Lord, heal you.	26. and said, If you will truly hearken to the Word of the LORD your God, and do that which is right before Him, and will listen to His precepts and keep all His statutes, all those evil things that I laid upon the Mizraee I will not lay upon you: but if you will transgress against the Word of the Law, upon you will they be sent. If you repent, I will remove them from you; for I am the LORD your Healer.

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan

for: B’Midbar (Num.) 28:16-25‎

 

Rashi	Targum Pseudo Jonathan
16. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, [you shall offer up] a Passover offering to the Lord.	16. And in the month of Nisan, on the fourteenth day of the month, is the sacrifice of the Pascha before the LORD.
17. On the fifteenth day of this month, a festival [begins]; you shall eat unleavened bread for seven days.	17. On the fifteenth day of this month is a festival; seven days will unleavened be eaten.
18. On the first day is a holy convocation; you shall not perform any mundane work.	18. On the first day of the festival a holy convocation; no servile work will you do;
19. You shall offer up a fire offering, a burnt offering to the Lord: two young bulls, one ram, and seven lambs in the first year they shall be unblemished for you.	19. but offer an oblation of a burnt sacrifice before the LORD, two young bullocks, one ram, and seven lambs of the year, unblemished, will you have.
20. Their meal offerings [shall be] fine flour mixed with oil; three tenths for each bull and two tenths for the ram you shall offer up.	20. And their minchas of wheat flour, mingled with olive oil, three tenths for each bullock, two tenths for the ram,
21. And you shall offer up one tenth for each lamb, for all seven lambs.	21. and for a single lamb a tenth, so for the seven;
22. And one young male goat for a sin offering to atone for you.	22. and one kid of the goats, to make an atonement for you:
23. You shall offer these up besides the morning burnt offering which is offered as a continual burnt offering.	23. beside the burnt sacrifice of the morning, the perpetual burnt sacrifice, you will make these offerings.
24. Like these, you shall offer up daily for seven days, food of the fire offering, a spirit of satisfaction to the Lord; you shall offer up this in addition to the continual burnt offering and its libation.	24. According to these oblations of the first day you will do daily through the seven days of the festival. It is the bread of the oblation which is received with favor before the LORD; it will be made beside the perpetual burnt offering, with its libation.
25. The seventh day shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall not perform any mundane work.	25. And on the seventh day you shall have a holy convocation; no servile work shall you do.

 

Welcome to the World of P’shat Exegesis

 

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

 

The Seven Hermeneutic Laws of R. Hillel are as follows

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Rashi’s Commentary for: ‎ Shemot (Exodus) 13:17 – 15:26

 

17 It came to pass when Pharaoh let...that God did not lead them Heb. וְלֽא-נָחָם, and did not lead them, similar to “Go, lead (נְחֵה) the people” (Exod. 32:34) [and] “When you walk, it shall lead (תִּנְחֶה) you” (Prov. 6:22).

 

for it was near-and it was easy to return by that road to Egypt. There are also many aggadic midrashim [regarding this].

 

when they see war For instance, the war of “And the Amalekites and the Canaanites descended, etc.” (Num. 14:45). If they had gone on a direct route, they would have returned. Now, if when He led them around in a circuitous route, they said, “Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt” (Num. 14:4), how much more [would they have planned to do this] if He had led them on a direct route? [According to the sequence of the verse, the headings appear to be transposed. See Mizrachi, Gur Aryeh, and Minchath Yehudah for a correct solution of this problem.]

 

Lest...reconsider They will have [second] thoughts about [the fact] that they left Egypt and they will think about returning.

 

18 led...around He led them around from a direct route to a circuitous route.

 

the Red Sea Heb. סוּף יַם-, like לְיַם-סוּף, to the Red Sea. סוּף means a marsh where reeds grow, similar to “and put [it] into the marsh (בַּסוּף)” (Exod. 2:3); “reeds and rushes (וַסוּף) shall be cut off” (Isa. 19:6). armed Heb. חֲמֻשִׁים .וַחֲמֻשִׁים [in this context] can only mean “armed.” (Since He led them around in the desert [circuitously], He caused them to go up armed, for if He had led them around through civilization, they would not have [had to] provide for themselves with everything that they needed, but only [part,] like a person who travels from place to place and intends to purchase there whatever he will need. But if he travels a long distance into a desert, he must prepare all his necessities for himself. This verse was written only to clarify the matter, so you should not wonder where they got weapons in the war with Amalek and in the wars with Sihon and Og and Midian, for the Israelites smote them with the point of the sword.) [In an old Rashi]) And similarly [Scripture] says: “and you shall cross over armed (חֲמֻשִׁים)” (Josh. 1:14). And so too Onkelos rendered מְזָרְזִין just as he rendered: “and he armed (וְזָרֵיז) his trained men” (Gen. 14:14). Another interpretation: חֲמֻשִׁיםmeans “divided by five,” [meaning] that one out of five (חֲמִֽשִִִֵָה) [Israelites] went out, and four fifths [lit., parts of the people] died during the three days of darkness [see Rashi on Exod. 10:22].-[from Mechilta, Tanchuma, Beshallach 1]

 

19 for he had adjured-Heb. הַֽשְבֵּעַ הִֽשְבִּיעַ. [The double expression indicates that] he [Joseph] had made them [his brothers] swear that they would make their children swear (Mechilta). Now why did he not make his sons swear to carry him to the land of Canaan immediately [when he died], as Jacob had made [him] swear? Joseph said, “I was a ruler in Egypt, and I had the ability to do [this]. As for my sons-the Egyptians will not let them do [it].” Therefore, he made them swear that when they would be redeemed and would leave there [Egypt], they would carry him [out].-[from Mechilta]

 

and you shall bring up my bones from here with you-He made his brothers swear in this manner. We learn [from this] that the bones of all [the progenitors of] the tribes they brought up [out of Egypt] with them as it is said “with you”-[from Mechilta]

 

20 They traveled from Succoth on the second day, for on the first day they came from Rameses to Succoth.

 

21 to cause it to lead them on the way Heb. לַנְחֽתָם. [The “lammed” is] vowelized with a “pattach,” which is equivalent to לְהַנְחֽתָם, like “to show you (לַראֽתְכֶם) on the way on which you shall go” (Deut. 1:33), which is like לְהַרְאֽתְכֶם. Here also, [it means] to cause to lead you (לְהַנְחֽתָם) through a messenger. Now who was that messenger? [It was] the pillar of cloud, and the Holy One, blessed be He, in His glory, led it before them. In any case, it was the pillar of cloud that He prepared so that they could be led by it, for they would travel by the pillar of cloud, and the pillar of cloud was not [meant] to provide light but to direct them [on] the way.

 

22 He did not move away [I.e.,] the Holy One, blessed be He, [did not move away] the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire at night. [This verse] tells that the pillar of cloud transmitted [its light to] the pillar of fire, and the pillar of fire transmitted [its light to] the pillar of cloud, for while one had not yet set, the other one would rise.-[from Shab. 23b]

 

Chapter 14

 

2 and let them turn back to their rear. They approached nearer to Egypt during the entire third day in order to mislead Pharaoh, so that he would say, “They are astray on the road,” as it is said: “And Pharaoh will say about the children of Israel...” (Exod. 14:3).

 

and encamp in front of Pi- hahiroth That is Pithom [one of the cities built by the Israelites, Exod 1:11], but now it was called Pi-hahiroth, since there they [the Israelites] became free men (בְּנֵי חוֹרִין). They [the Hiroth] are two high upright rocks, and [because there is] the valley between them [this] is called the mouth (פִּי) of the rocks.-[from Mechilta]

 

in front of Ba’al Zephon [Only] this was left from all the Egyptian deities in order to mislead them [the Egyptians], so they would say that their deity is powerful. Concerning this [tactic] Job explained: “He misleads nations and destroys them” (Job 12: 23).-[from Mechilta]

 

3 And Pharaoh will say when he hears that they [the Israelites] are turning back.

 

about the children of Israel Heb. יִשְׂרָאֵל לִבְנֵי, concerning the children of Israel. And so [the “lammed” is understood similarly in the phrase] "The Lord will fight for you (לָכֶם) (verse 14), on your behalf; [and similarly,] “say about me (לִי)” (Gen. 20:13), [which signifies] concerning me.

 

They are trapped Heb. נְבֻכִים, locked in and sunk, and in French serrer, [meaning] press, tighten, or squeeze, like “in the deep (הַבָּכָא) valley” (Ps. 84:7); [and like] “the depths of (מִבְּכִי) the rivers” (Job 28:11); [and likewise] “the locks of (נִבְכֵי) the sea” (Job 38:16). [In his commentary on this verse, Rashi follows Menachem (Machbereth Menachem, p. 45). Rashi on Psalms and Job 28:11, however, interprets those verses as expressions of weeping, from the root בכה. See Judaica Press commentary digest on Job 28:11.]

 

They are trapped They are locked in the desert, for they do not know how to get out of it and where to go.

 

4 and I will be glorified through Pharaoh-When the Holy One blessed be He wreaks vengeance upon the wicked, His name becomes magnified and glorified. So it [Scripture] says: “And I will judge against him, etc.” and afterwards [the prophet says], “And I will magnify and sanctify Myself and I will be known, etc.” (Ezek 38:22, 23) And [Scripture similarly] says: “There he broke the arrows of the bow,” [which refers to Sennacherib’s defeat,] and afterwards [i.e., the result of that], “God is known in Judah” (Ps. 76:2,4) And [Scripture similarly] says: “The Lord is known for the judgement that He performed” (Ps. 9:17).-[from Mechilta]

 

through Pharaoh and through his entire force He [Pharaoh] initiated the sinful behavior, and [thus] the retribution started with him.-[from Mechilta]

 

And they did so [This is stated] to tell their praise, that they obeyed Moses and did not say, “How will we draw near to our enemies [by returning in the direction of Egypt]? We have to escape.” Instead they said, “All we have are the words of [Moses] the son of Amram.” [I.e., we have no other plan to follow, only the words of the son of Amram.]-[from Mechilta]

 

5 It was reported to Pharaoh He [Pharaoh] sent officers with them, and as soon as the three days they [the Israelites] had set to go [into the desert] and return had elapsed, and they [the officers] saw that they were not returning to Egypt, they came and informed Pharaoh on the fourth day. On the fifth and the sixth [days after the Israelites’ departure], they pursued them. On the night preceding the seventh, they went down into the sea. In the morning [of the seventh day], they [the Israelites] recited the Song [of the Sea (Exod. 15:1-18)]. Therefore, we read [in the Torah] the Song on the seventh day, that is the seventh day of Passover.

 

had a change He [Pharaoh] had a change of heart from how he had felt [previously], for he had said to them [the Israelites], “Get up and get out from among my people” (Exod. 12:31). His servants [also] had a change of heart, for previously they had said to him, “How long will this one be a stumbling block to us?” (Exod. 10:7). Now they had a change of heart to pursue them [the Israelites] on account of the money that they had lent them.-[based on Mechilta]

 

from serving us Heb. מֵעָבְדֵנוּ, from serving us.

 

6 So he [Pharaoh] harnessed his chariot He [did so] personally.-[from Mechilta]

 

and took his people with him He attracted them with [his] words, "We suffered, they took our money, and [then] we let them go! Come with me, and I will not behave with you as do other kings. With other kings, it is customary that their servants precede them in battle, but I will precede you," as [indeed] it is said: “Pharaoh drew near” (Exod. 14:10). [This means that Pharaoh] himself drew near and hastened before his armies. "It is customary for other kings to take plunder at the beginning, as much as he [the king] chooses. [But] I will share equally with you," as it is said: “I will share the booty” (Exod. 15:9).

 

7 select Heb. בָּחוּר, chosen. [This is] a singular expression, [meaning that] every single chariot in this number was [a] chosen [chariot].

 

and all the chariots of Egypt And with them, all the rest of the chariots. Now where did all these animals come from? If you say [that they belonged] to the Egyptians, it says already: “and all the livestock of the Egyptians died” (Exod. 9:6). And if [you say that they belonged] to the Israelites, does it not say: “also our cattle will go with us” (Exod. 10:26). Whose were they [from if that was the case]? They [belonged] to those who feared the word of the Lord [i.e., to those who drove their servants and their livestock into the houses as in Exod. 9:20]. From here Rabbi Simeon would say, "[Even] the best of the Egyptians --[you must] kill; [even] the best of the serpents-[you must] crush its head."-[from Mechilta]

 

with officers over them all Heb. וְשָׁלִשִׁם, officers over the legions, as the Targum [Onkelos] renders.

 

8 And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh Because he vacillated about whether to pursue [the Israelites] or not. [So] He hardened his heart to pursue [them].-[from Mechilta]

 

and the children of Israel were marching out triumphantly Heb. בְּיָד רָמָה, lit., with a high hand. With lofty and openly displayed might.

 

10 Pharaoh drew near Heb. וּפַרְעֽה הִקְרִיב, lit., and Pharaoh brought near. It [the verse] should have said: קָרַב. What is the meaning of הִקְרִיב? He [Pharaoh] drew himself near and strove to go before them [his army], as he had stipulated with them.-

 

the Egyptians were advancing after them Heb. נֽסֵעַ [in the singular]. With one accord, like one man. Alternatively, [in the singular it means that] and behold, Egypt was advancing after them, [denoting that] they [the Israelites] saw the heavenly prince of Egypt advancing from heaven to aid the Egyptians. [From] Tanchuma.

 

cried out They seized the art of their ancestors [i.e., they prayed]. Concerning Abraham, it [Scripture] says: “to the place where he had stood before the Lord” (Gen. 19:27). 2 Concerning Isaac, [it is stated] “to pray in the field” (Gen. 24:63). Concerning Jacob, “And he entreated the Omnipresent” (Gen. 28:11). (See Judaica Press comm. digest on that verse.)-[from Mechilta; Tanchuma Beshallach 9]

 

11 Is it because there are no graves Heb. הֲמִבְּלִי אֵין קְבָרִים. Is it because of the want? Namely that there are no graves in Egypt in which to be buried, that you have taken us out of there? Si por falyanze de non fosses in Old French [i.e., Is it for lack, that there are no graves?].

 

12 Isn’t this the thing [about] which we spoke to you in Egypt When had they said [this]? "And they said to them, “May the Lord look upon you and judge’ ” (Exod. 5:21). [from Mechilta]

 

than die Heb. מִמֻּתֵנוּ, than we should die. If it [מִמֻּתֵנוּ] were vowelized with a “melupum” (i.e., a “cholam,” [מִמּוֹתֵנוּ] as it is known that the grammarians called a “cholam” a “melupum.” See Rashi below on Exod. 19:24), it would be explained as: “than our death.” Now that it is vowelized with a “shuruk” [מִמֻּתֵנוּ], it is explained as “than we should die.” Likewise [in the verse], “If only we had died (מּוּתֵנוּ)” (Exod. 16:3), [means] that we would die. [Similarly,] “If only I had died (מּוּתֵי) instead of you” (II Sam. 19:1), referring to Absalom [means, I should have died]; [And מּוּתִי is similar to (קוּמִי) in the verse:] “for the day that I will rise up (קוּמִי)” (Zeph. 3:8); [and also similar to (ֽשוּבִי) in the verse] “until I return (ֽשוּבִי) in peace” (II Chron. 18:26), [which mean respectively] that I rise up, that I return.

 

13 for the way you have seen the Egyptians, etc. The way you have seen them—that is only today. It is [only] today that you have seen them, but you shall no longer continue [to see them].

 

14 The Lord will fight for you Heb. לָכֶם, for you, and similarly [the “lammed” in the verse], “because the Lord is fighting for them (לָהֶם)” (verse 25), and similarly [in the verse] “Will you contend for God (לָאֵל) ?” (Job 13:8). And similarly, "and Who spoke about me (לִי) (Gen. 24:7), and similarly, “Will you contend for the Baal (לַבַּעַל)?” (Jud. 6:31).

 

15 Why do you cry out to Me [This verse] teaches us that Moses was standing and praying. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “This is no time to pray at length, when Israel is in distress.” Another explanation [of God’s question (Why do you cry out to me?) implies]: “The matter depends on Me and not on you,” as it is said further [in Scripture]: “Concerning My children and the work of My hands do you command Me?” (Isa. 45:11).-[from Mechilta, Exod. Rabbah 21: 8]

 

Speak to the children of Israel and let them travel They have nothing to do but to travel, for the sea will not stand in their way. The merit of their forefathers and their own [merit], and the faith they had in Me when they came out [of Egypt] are sufficient to split the sea for them.-[from Mechilta, Exod. Rabbah 21:8]

 

19 and went behind them to separate between the Egyptians’ camp and the Israelites’ camp and to catch the arrows and the catapult stones of the Egyptians. Everywhere it says: “the angel of the Lord (ה'),” but here [it says]: “the angel of God (אֱלֽהִים).” Everywhere [in Scripture] אֱלֽהִים denotes [God’s attribute of] judgment. This teaches that at that moment, the Israelites were being judged whether to be saved or to perish with the Egyptians.

 

and the pillar of cloud moved away When it became dark, and the pillar of cloud delivered the camp to the pillar of fire, the cloud did not go away as it would customarily go away completely in the evening, but it moved away and went behind them [the Israelites] to make it dark for the Egyptians.

 

20 And he came between the camp of Egypt This can be compared to a person walking along the road with his son walking in front of him. [When] bandits came to capture him [the son], he [the father] took him from in front of him and placed him behind him. A wolf came behind him; so he put him [his son] in front of him. [When] bandits came in front of him and wolves behind him, he put him [his son] on his arms and fought them off. Similarly [the prophet depicts the angel protecting Israel when they drew near to the Red Sea], “But I sent to train Ephraim, he took them on his arms” (Hos. 11:3).-[from Mechilta]

 

and there were the cloud and the darkness for the Egyptians.

 

and it illuminated [I.e.,] the pillar of fire [illuminated] the night for the Israelites, and it went before them as it usually went all night long, and the thick darkness [from the cloud] was toward the Egyptians.

 

and one did not draw near the other [I.e., one] camp to [the other] camp.- [from Mechilta, Jonathan]

 

21 with the strong east wind [I.e.,] with the east wind, which is the strongest of the winds. That is the wind with which the Holy One, blessed be He, visits retribution upon the wicked, as it is said [in the following verses]: “With an east wind I will scatter them” (Jer. 18:17); “an east wind shall come, a wind of the Lord” (Hos. 13:15); “the east wind broke you in the heart of the seas” (Ezek. 27:26); “He spoke with His harsh wind on the day of the east wind” (Isa. 27:8).-[from Mechilta]

 

and the waters split All the water in the world.-[from Mechilta Exod. Rabbah 21:6]

 

23 all Pharaoh’s horses Heb. כּֽל סוּס פַּרְעֽה, lit., in the singular. Now was there only one horse? This informs us that they [the horses] are all considered by the Omnipresent as one horse.-[from Mechilta Shirah 2]

 

24 It came about in the morning watch Heb. בְּאַֽשְמֽרֶת. The three parts of the night are called, אַשְׁמוּרוּת, watches (Ber. 3b), and the one [watch] before morning is called אַשְׁמֽרֶת הַבּֽקֶר, the morning watch. I say that because the night is divided into the watches of the songs of the ministering angels, one group after another into three parts, it is called אַשְׁמֽרֶת, watch. This is what Onkelos [means when he] renders מַטְּרַת.

 

looked down Heb. וַיַּשְׁקֵף, looked, that is to say that He turned toward them to destroy them, and the Targum [Onkelos] renders: וְאִסְתְּכֵי. This too is an expression of looking, like “to the field of seers” (Num. 23:14), [which Onkelos renders:] לַחֲקַל סָכוּתָא

 

through a of fire and cloud The pillar of cloud descends and makes it [the earth] like mud, and the pillar of fire boils it [the earth], and the hoofs of their horses slip.-[from Mechilta]

 

and He threw the Egyptian camp into confusion Heb. וַיָּהָם, an expression of confusion, estordison in Old French. He confused them; He took away their intelligence. We learned in the chapters of Rabbi Eliezer the son of Rabbi Yose the Galilean [not found in our edition] [that] wherever it says מְהוּמָה [confusion], it means a tumultuous noise. And the “father” of them all, [the best example of the use of מְהוּמָה, is [in the verse:] “and the Lord thundered with a loud noise, etc., on the Philistines and threw them into confusion (וַיְהוּמֵּם)” (I Sam. 7:10).

 

25 And He removed the wheels of their chariots With the fire the wheels were burned, and the chariots dragged, and those sitting in them were moved to and fro, and their limbs were wrenched apart.-[from an unknown source, similar to Mechilta]

 

and He led them with heaviness In a manner that was heavy and difficult for them. [This punishment was] in the measure that they [the Egyptians had] measured [to the Israelites], namely “and he made his heart heavy, he and his servants” (Exod. 9:34). Here too, “He led them with heaviness.”-[from an unknown source, similar to Mechilta]

 

is fighting for them against the Egyptians Heb. בְּמִצְרָיִם, [is like] against the Egyptians. Alternatively: בְּמִצְרָיִם[means] in the land of Egypt, for just as these [Egyptians] were being smitten in the sea, so were those remaining in Egypt being smitten.-[from Mechilta]

 

26 and let the water return [I.e., the water] that is standing upright like a wall [will] return to its place and cover up the Egyptians.

 

27 toward morning Heb. לִפְנוֹת בּֽקֶר, at the time the morning approaches [lit., turns (פּוֹנֶה) to come].

 

to its strength Heb. לְאֵיתָנוֹ. To its original strength.-[from Mechilta]

 

were fleeing toward it Because they were confused and crazed and running toward the water.

 

and the Lord stirred Heb. וַיְנַעֵר. As a person stirs (מְנַעֵר) a pot [of food] and turns what is on the top to the bottom and what is on the bottom to the top, so were they [the Egyptians] bobbing up and down and being smashed in the sea, and the Holy One, blessed be He, kept them alive to bear their tortures.-[from Mechilta] stirred Heb. וַיְנַעֵר. [Onkelos renders it] וְֽשַנִּיק, which means stirring in the Aramaic language, and there are many [examples of this word] in aggadic midrashim.

 

28 and covered the chariots...the entire force of Pharaoh Heb. לְכֽל חֵיל פַּרְעֽה So is the custom of Scriptural verses to write a superfluous “lammed,” such as in “all (לְכָל) its utensils you shall make copper” (Exod. 27:3); and similarly, “all (לְכֽל) the utensils of the Tabernacle for all its services” (Exod. 27:19); [and in the phrase] “their stakes and their ropes, along with all (לְכָל) their utensils” (Num. 4:32), and it [the “lammed”] is [used] merely to enhance the language.

 

30 and Israel saw the Egyptians dying on the seashore For the sea spewed them out on its shore, so that the Israelites would not say, "Just as we are coming up on this side [of the sea], so are they coming up on another side, far from us, and they will pursue us."-[from Mechilta and Pes. 118b]

 

31 the great hand The great mighty deed that the hand of the Holy One, blessed be He, had performed. Many meanings fit the term יָד, and they are all expressions derived from an actual hand, and he who interprets it must adjust the wording according to the context.

 

Chapter 15

 

1 Then...sang Heb. אָז יָשִׁיר. [The future tense presents a problem. Therefore, Rashi explains:] Then, when he [Moses] saw the miracle, it occurred to him to recite a song, and similarly, “Then Joshua spoke (אָז יְדַבֵּר יְהשֻׁעַ)” (Josh. 10:12); and similarly, “and the house [which] he would make (יַעֲשֶׂה) for Pharaoh’s daughter” (I Kings 7:8), [which means] he decided to make it for her. Here too, יָשִׁיר [in the future tense means that] his heart dictated to him that he should sing, and so he did, “and they spoke, saying, I will sing to the Lord.’ ” Likewise, with [the above reference to] Joshua, when he saw the miracle [of the defeat of the Amorite kings (Josh. 10:11)], his heart dictated to him that he speak [praises to God], and so he did, “and he said in the sight of Israel” (Josh. 10:12). Likewise, the song of the well, with which [Scripture] commences: “Then Israel sang (אָז יָשִׁיר)” (Num. 21:17), it explains after it, “Ascend, O well!, sing to it.” [I.e., in these three instances, the “yud” of the future tense denotes the thought, and after each one, Scripture continues that the thought was brought to fruition.] “Then did Solomon build (אָז יִבְנֶה) a high place” (I Kings 11:7); the Sages of Israel explain that he sought to build [it] but did not build [it] (Sanh. 91b). We [thus] learn that the “yud” may serve to indicate a thought. This is to explain its simple meaning, but the midrashic interpretation is [as follows]: Our Rabbis of blessed memory stated: From here is an allusion from the Torah to the resurrection of the dead (Sanh. 91b, Mechilta), and so it is [i.e., the future tense is used] with them all, except that of Solomon, which they explained as [implying] “he sought to build but did not build.” One cannot say and explain this form like other words written in the future, but which mean [that they occurred] immediately, such as “So would Job do (וָעֲשֶׂה)” (Job 1:5); “by the command of the Lord would they encamp (יַחֲנוּ)” (Num. 9:23); “And sometimes the cloud would be (יִהְיֶה)” (Num. 9:21), because that is [an example of] something that occurs continually, and either the future or the past is appropriate for it, but that which occurred only once [i.e., the song that was sung], cannot be explained in this manner.-

 

for very exalted is He Heb. גָאֽה גָאָה, [to be interpreted] according to the Targum [He was exalted over the exalted, and the exaltation is His]. Another explanation: [The] doubling [of the verb] comes to say that He did something impossible for a flesh and blood [person] to do. When he fights with his fellow and overwhelms him, he throws him off the horse, but here, “a horse and its rider He cast into the sea,” [i.e., with the rider still on the horse]. Anything that cannot be done by anyone else is described as exaltation (גֵּאוּת), like “for He has performed an exalted act (גֵּאוּת)” (Isa. 12:5). Similarly, [throughout] the entire song you will find the repetitive pattern, such as: “My strength and my praise are the Eternal, and He was my salvation” (verse 2); “The Lord is a Master of war; the Lord is His Name,” (verse 3); and so on, all of them (in an old Rashi). Another explanation: גָאֽה גָאָה means for He is exalted beyond all songs, [i.e.,] for however I will praise Him, He still has more [praise]. [This is] unlike the manner of a human king, who is praised for something he does not possess.-[from Mechilta]

 

a horse and its rider Both bound to one another, and the water lifted them up high and brought them down into the depths, and [still] they did not separate.-[from Mechilta]

 

He cast Heb. רָמָה, [meaning] He cast, and similarly, “and they were cast (וּרְמִיו) into the burning, fiery furnace” (Dan. 3:21). The aggadic midrash, however, [states as follows]: One verse (verse 1) says: רָמָה בַיָם, [derived from רוּם, meaning “to cast up,”] and one verse (verse 4) says: יָרָה בַיָם [meaning “to cast down”]. [This] teaches us that they [the horse and rider] went up and [then] descended into the deep, [i.e., they were thrown up and down]. [The meaning of יָרָה is here] similar to: “who laid (יָרָה) its cornerstone” (Job 38:6), [which signifies laying the stone] from above, downward.-[from Mechilta, Tanchuma, Beshallach 13]

 

2 The Eternal’s strength and His vengeance were my salvation Heb. עָזִי וְזִמְרָת יָ-ה. Onkelos renders: My strength and my praise, [thus interpreting] עָזִי like עֻזִי [my strength] with a “shuruk,” and וְזִמְרָת like וְזִמְרָתִי [my song]. But I wonder about the language of the text, for there is nothing like it [the word עָזִי] in Scripture with its vowelization except in three places [i.e., here and in Isa. 12:2 and Ps. 118:14], where it is next to וְזִמְרָת, but [in] all other places,it is vowelized with a “shuruk" [now called a "kubutz"], [e.g., in the phrase] "O Lord, Who are my power (עֻזִי) and my strength” (Jer. 16:19); “[Because of] his strength (עֻזוֹ), I hope for You” (Ps. 59:10). Likewise, any word [noun] consisting of two letters, vowelized with a “melupum,” [i.e., a "cholam,"] when it is lengthened by [the addition of] a third letter, and the second letter is not punctuated with a “sheva” the first [letter] is vowelized with a “shuruk,” e.g., עֽז strength, becomes עֻזִי, my strength, spittle (Job 30:10), רֽק becomes רֽקִי, my spittle (Job 7:19). allotment (Gen. 47:22), חֽק becomes חֽקִי, my allotment (Prov. 30:8). עֽל, yoke (Deut. 28:48), becomes עֻלוֹ, his yoke, “shall be removed...his yoke עֻלוֹ” (Isa. 10:27). כּֽל, all (Gen. 21:12), becomes כֻּלוֹ, all of it, “with officers over them all כֻּלוֹ” (Exod. 14:7). But these three [examples of the phrase], עָזִי וְזִמְרָת, [namely] the one [written] here, the one [written in] Isaiah (12:2), and the one [written in] Psalms (118:14) [all examples of the word ]עָזִי are vowelized with a short “kamatz.” Moreover, not one of them [i.e., of these examples] is written וְזִמְרָתִי but וְזִמְרָת, and next to each of them it says וַיְהִי-לִי לִיֽשוּעָה, were my salvation. Therefore, in order to reconcile the language of the text, I say that עָזִי is not like עֻזִי, nor is וְזִמְרָת like וְזִמְרָתִי, but עָזִי is a noun [and the final “yud” is only stylistic], like [the final “yud” in these examples:] “You Who dwell (הַישְׁבִי) in heaven” (Ps. 123:1); “who dwell (שֽׁכְנִי) in the clefts of the rock” (Obad. 1:3); “Who dwells (שֽׁכְנִי) in the thorn bush” (Deut. 33:16). And this is the praise [that Moses and the Israelites sing to God]: The strength and the vengeance of the Eternal--that was my salvation. [In brief, the “yud” at the end of the word is a stylistic suffix, which has no bearing on the meaning.] And the word וְזִמְרָת is connected to the word denoting the Divine Name, like “to the aid of (לְעֶזְרַת) the Lord” (Jud. 5:23); [and like the word בְּעֶבְרַת in] “By the wrath of (בְּעֶבְרַת) the Lord” (Isa. 9:18); [and the word דִבְרַת in:] “concerning the matter of (דִבְרַת)” (Eccl. 3:18). [In brief, the ַת or, ָת denotes the construct state of a feminine noun.] The expression וְזִמְרָת is an expression related to “and your vineyard you shall not prune (א תִזְמֽר)” (Lev. 25:4); “the downfall of (זְמִיר) the tyrants” (Isa. 25:5), an expression denoting mowing down and cutting off. [Thus the phrase means:] The strength and the vengeance of our God was our salvation. Now [since this is the meaning of the phrase,] do not be puzzled about the expression וַיְהִי, [i.e.,] that it does not say הָיָה [without a “vav” since this is the verb following עָזִי וְזִמְרָת and does not begin a clause as the conversive “vav” usually does], for there are verses worded this way, and this is an example: “[against] the walls of the house around [both] the temple and the sanctuary, he made (וַיַּעַשׂ) chambers around [it]” (I Kings 6:5). It should have said עָשָׂה, “chambers around [it]” [instead of וַיַּעַשׂ]. Similarly, in (II) Chron. (10:17): “But the children of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah-Rehoboam reigned (וַיִמְלֽךְ) over them.” It should have said: “Rehoboam (מָלַךְ) over them.” [Similarly,] “Because the Lord was unable...He slaughtered them (וַיִשְׁחָטֵם) in the desert” (Num. 14:16). It should have said: שְׁחָטָם. [Similarly,] “But the men whom Moses sent...died (וַיָמוּתוּ)” (Num 14:36, 37). It should have said: מֵתוּ. [Similarly,] “But he who did not pay attention to the word of the Lord left (וַיַעֲזֽב)” (Exod. 9:21). It should have said: עָזַב.

 

this is my God He revealed Himself in His glory to them [the Israelites], and they pointed at Him with their finger [as denoted by זֶה, this]. By the sea, [even] a maidservant perceived what prophets did not perceive.-[from Mechilta]

 

and I will make Him a habitation Heb. וְאַנְוֵה. Onkelos rendered it as an expression of habitation (נָוֶה) [as in the following phrases]: “a tranquil dwelling (נָוֶה)” (Isa. 33: 20); “a sheepfold (נְוֵה)” (Isa. 65:10). Another explanation: וְאַנְוֵהוּ is an expression of beauty (נוּ). [Thus the phrase means] I will tell of His beauty and His praise to those who enter the world, such as: [When Israel is asked:] "How is your beloved more than another beloved...? [Israel will say] My beloved is white and ruddy..." and the entire section [of Song of Songs] (Song of Songs 5:9, 10).-[from Mechilta]

 

the God of my father is this One, and I will exalt Him.

 

the God of my father I am not the beginning of the sanctity [i.e., I am not the first to recognize His sanctity], but the sanctity has been established and has remained with me, and His Divinity has been upon me since the days of my forefathers.-[from Mechilta]

 

3 The Lord is a Master of war Heb. אִישׁ מִלְחָמָה, lit., a man of war, [which is inappropriate in reference to the Deity. Therefore,] Rashi renders: Master of war, like “Naomi’s husband (אִישׁ נָעֳמִי)” (Ruth 1:3) and so, every [instance in the Torah of] אִישׁ, husband, and אִישֵׁךְ, your husband, is rendered: בַּעַל, master. Similarly, “You shall be strong and become a man (לְאִישׁ)” (I Kings 2:2), [meaning] a strong man.-

 

the Lord is His Name His wars are not [waged] with weapons, but He wages battle with His Name, as David said [to Goliath before fighting him], “[You come to me with spear and javelin] and I come to you with the Name of the Lord of Hosts” (I Sam. 17:45). Another explanation: The Lord י-ה-ו-ה, denoting the Divine Standard of Clemency,] is His Name--Even when He wages war and takes vengeance upon His enemies, He sticks to His behavior of having mercy on His creatures and nourishing all those who enter the world, unlike the behavior of earthly kings. When he [an earthly king] is engaged in war, he turns away from all his [other] affairs and does not have the ability to do both this [i.e., wage war] and that [other things].-[from Mechilta]

 

4 He cast into the sea Heb. יָרָה בַיָם. [Onkelos renders:] שְׁדִי .שְׁדִי בְיַמָּא is an expression of casting down (יָרָה), as [Scripture] says: “or shall surely be cast down (יָרֽה יִיָָּרֶה)” (Exod. 19:13), which Onkelos renders: אִשְׁתְּדָאָה יִשְׁתְּדִי. The “tav” serves in these [forms] in the hithpa’el form.

 

and the elite of Heb. וּמִבְחַר, a noun, like מֶרְכָּב, riding gear (Lev. 15:9); מִשְׁכָּב, bed (Lev. 15:23); מִקְרָא קֽדֶשׁ, holy convocation (Exod. 12:16, Lev. 23:3).

 

sank Heb. טֻבְּעוּ. The term טְבִיעָה [for sinking] is used [in the Tanach] only [when referring] to a place where there is mud, like “I have sunk (טָבַעְתִּי) in muddy depths” (Ps. 69:3); “and Jeremiah sank (וַיִּטְבַּע) into the mud” (Jer. 38:6). This informs [us] that the sea became mud, to recompense them [the Egyptians] according to their behavior, [namely] that they enslaved the Israelites with [work that entailed] clay and bricks.-[from Mechilta]

 

5 covered them Heb. יְכַסְיֻמוּ, like יְכַסוּם. The “yud” in the middle of it is superfluous. This is, however, a common biblical style [to add an additional “yud”], like “and your cattle and your flocks will increase (יִרְבְּיֻן)” (Deut. 8:13); “They will be sated (יִרְוְיֻן) from the fat of Your house” (Ps. 36:9). The first “yud,” which denotes the future tense, is to be explained as follows: They sank in the Red Sea, so that the water would return and cover them up. There is no word in Scripture similar to יְכַסְיֻמוּ in its vowelization. It would usually be vowelized יְכַסְיֻמוּ with a “melupum.” [Here too it is obvious that Rashi means a “cholam,” as I explained above (Exod. 14:12).]

 

like a stone Elsewhere (verse 10), it says, “they sank like lead.” Still elsewhere (verse 7), it says, “it devoured them like straw.” [The solution is that] the [most] wicked were [treated] like straw, constantly tossed, rising and falling; the average ones like stone; and the best like lead-[i.e.,] they sank immediately [and thus were spared suffering].-[from Mechilta]

 

6 Your right hand...Your right hand twice. When the Israelites perform the will of the Omnipresent, [even] the left hand becomes a right hand.-[Rashi from Mechilta]

 

Your right hand, O Lord, is most powerful to save Israel, and Your second right hand crushes the foe. It seems to me, however, that that very right hand [also] crushes the foe, unlike a human being, who cannot perform two kinds of work with the same hand. The simple meaning of the verse is: Your right hand, which is strengthened with might--what is its work? Your right hand, O Lord, crushes the foe. There are many verses resembling it [i.e., where parts of the verse are repeated]: “For behold Your enemies, O Lord, for behold Your enemies will perish” (Ps. 92:10); “How long will the wicked, O Lord, how long will the wicked rejoice?” (Ps. 94:3); “The rivers have raised, O Lord, the rivers have raised their voice” (Ps. 93:3); “Not for us, O Lord, not for us” (Ps. 115:1); “I will answer, says the Lord; I will answer the heavens” (Hos. 2:23); “I to the Lord, I shall sing” (Jud. 5:3); “Had it not been for the Lord, etc. Had it not been for the Lord Who was with us when men rose up against us” (Ps. 124:1, 2); “Praise! Praise! Deborah. Praise! Praise! Utter a song” (Jud. 5:12); “A foot shall trample it, the feet of a poor man” (Isa. 26:6); “And He gave their land as an inheritance, an inheritance to Israel His people” (Ps. 135:12).

 

is most powerful Heb. נֶאְדָּרִיThe “yud” is superfluous, like “populous (רַבָּתִי עָם)...princess (שָׂרָתִי) among the provinces” (Lam. 1:1); “what was stolen by day” (גְּנֻבְתִי) (Gen. 31: 39).

 

crushes the foe Heb. תִּרְעַץ, [which means] it constantly crushes and breaks the foe. Similar to this, “And they crushed (וַיִרְעֲצוּ) and broke the children of Israel,” in Jud. (10:8). (Another explanation: Your right hand, which is strengthened with might-it breaks and strikes the foe.)

 

7 And with Your great pride -(If the hand alone crushes the foe, then when it is raised with its great pride, it will [definitely] tear down those who rise up against Him. And if with His great pride alone His foes are torn down, how much more so, when He sends upon them His burning wrath, will it consume them.)

 

You tear down You always tear down those who rise up against You. And who are those who rise up against Him? These are the ones who rise up against Israel, and so does he [the Psalmist] say, “For behold, Your enemies stir.” And what is that stirring? “Against Your people they plot cunningly” (Ps. 83:3, 4). For this reason, he calls them the enemies of the Omnipresent.-[from Mechilta]

 

8 And with the breath of Your nostrils Breath which comes out of the two nostrils of the nose. Scripture speaks anthropomorphically about the Shechinah, on the model of a mortal king, in order to enable the ears of the people to hear it [to understand God’s anger] as it usually occurs [in humans], so that they should be able to understand the matter. [Namely that] when a person becomes angry, wind comes out of his nostrils. Likewise, “Smoke went up from His nostrils” (Ps. 18:9), and similarly, “and from the wind of His nostrils they will be destroyed” (Job 4:9). And this is what it [Scripture] says: “For the sake of My Name, I defer My anger” (Isa. 48:9) [lit., I lengthen the breath of My nose]. [This means that] when his [a person’s] anger subsides, his breath becomes longer, and when he becomes angry, his breath becomes shorter; [the verse continues:] “and for My praise I restrain My wrath (אֶחֱטָם) for you” (Isa. 48:9). [I.e.,] I put a ring (חֲטָם) into My nostrils in front of the anger and the wind, [so] that they should not come out. “For you” means “for your sake.” [The word] אֶחֱטָם is like [the expression in the Mishnah:] “a dromedary with a nose ring” (בַּחֲטָם) in tractate Shabbath (51b). This is how it appears to me. And concerning every [expression of] אַף and חָרוֹן in the Bible [which are expressions of anger] I say this: [The expression] חָרָה אַף, anger was kindled, is like [the word חָרָה in:] “and my bones dried out (חָרָה) from the heat” (Job 30:30); חָרָה is an expression of fire and burning, for the nostrils heat up and burn at the time of anger. חָרוֹן (burning) is from the root חרה (to burn) just as רָצוֹן (will) is from the root רצה (to desire). And likewise, חֵמָה is an expression of heat (חֲמִימוּת). Therefore, it [Scripture] says: “and his anger (וַחֲמָתוֹ) burnt within him” (Esther 1:12), and when the anger subsides, we say, “His mind has cooled off (נִתְקָרְרָה דַעְתּוֹ).”

 

the waters were heaped up --Heb. נֶעֶרְמוּ. Onkelos rendered [this word] as an expression of cunning (עַרְמִימוּת). According to the clarity of Scripture, however, it is an expression related to “a stack (עֲרֵמַת) of wheat” (Song of Songs 7:3), and [the phrase that follows:] “the running water stood erect like a wall” proves this.

 

the waters were heaped up From the heat of the wind that came out of Your nose, the water dried up, and it became like piles and heaps of grain stacks, which are tall.

 

like a wall Heb. כְמוֹ-נֵד, as the Targum [Onkelos] renders: כְּשׁוּר, like a wall.-

 

wall Heb. נֵד, an expression of heaping and gathering, like “a heap (נֵד) of harvest on a day of sickness” (Isa. 17:11); “He gathers (כּֽנֵס) as a mound כַּנֵד” (Ps. 33:7). It does not say, “He brings in as a flask כַּנּֽאד,” but כַּנַּד. Now if כַּנַּד were the same as כַּנּֽאד, and כּֽנֵס were an expression of bringing in, it should have said, “He brings in as into a flask (מַכְנִיס כִּבְנֽאד)the waters of the sea.” Rather, כּֽנֵס is an expression of gathering and heaping, and so, “shall stand in one heap (נֵד)”; “stood in one heap (נֵד).” (Josh. 3:13, 16); and the expression of rising and standing does not apply to flasks, but to walls and heaps. Moreover, we do not find נּֽאד, meaning a flask, vowelized [with any vowel] but with a “melupum,” (meaning a “cholam,”) like [in the phrases:] “place my tears into Your flask (בְּנּֽאדֶךָ)” (Ps. 56: 9); “the flask of נּֽאד milk” (Jud. 4:19).

 

congealed Heb. קָפְאוּ, like “and curdle me (תַּקְפִּיאֵנִי) like cheese” (Job 10:10). [I.e.,] that they [the depths] hardened and became like stones, and the water hurled the Egyptians against the stone with [all its] might and fought with them [the Egyptians] with all kinds of harshness.

 

in the heart of the sea Heb. בְּלֶב יָם, in the strongest part of the sea. It is customary for the Scriptures to speak in this manner, [for instance:] “until the heart of (לֵב) the heavens” (Deut. 4:11); in the heart of (בְּלֵב) the terebinth" (II Sam. 18:14). [The heart in these examples is] an expression denoting the root and the strength of anything.-

 

9 [Because] the enemy said --to his people, when he enticed them with [his] words, "I will pursue, and I will overtake them, and I will share the plunder with my officers and my servants."

 

will be filled from them Heb. תִּמְלָאֵמוֹ, equivalent to תִּמְלָא מֵהֶם, will be filled from them.

 

my desire --Heb. נַפְשִׁי, lit., my soul, my spirit, and my will. Do not be surprised at [one] word speaking for two [words]; i.e., תִּמְלָאֵמוֹ, instead of תִּמְלָא מֵהֶם, because there are many such words [in Tanach like this], e.g., “you have given me (נְתַתָּנִי) dry land” (Jud. 1:15), [which is] like נָתַתָּ לִי “and they could not speak with him (דַּבְּרוּ) peacefully” (Gen. 37:4), [which is] like דַּבֵּר עִמוֹ “my children have left me (יְצָאוּנִי) ” (Jer. 10:20), [which is] like יָצְאוּ מִמֶנִי “I will tell him (אַגִּידֶנּוּ) ” (Job 31:37), [which is] like אַגִיד לוֹ. Here too, תִּמְלָאֵמוֹ is equivalent to תִִִּמְלָאֵמוֹ נַפְשִׁי מֵהֶם.

 

I will draw my sword Heb. אָרִיק חַרְבִּי, lit., I will empty my sword. I will draw, and because one empties the sheath by drawing it [the sword], and it remains empty, an expression of emptying is appropriate, like “And it came to pass that they were emptying (מְרִיקִים) their sacks” (Gen. 42:35); “and they shall empty (יָרִיקוּ) his vessels” (Jer. 48:12). Do not say that the expression of emptiness [in these examples] does not apply to what comes out [of its container] but [instead applies] to the sheath, the sack, or the vessel from which it came out, but not to the sword or the wine, and [thus] to force an interpretation of אָרִיק חַרְבִּי like the language of “and he armed (וַיָרֶק) his trained men” (Gen. 14:14), [claiming that its] meaning [is] "I will arm myself with my sword.” [To this I answer that] we find the expression [of emptying] also applied to that which comes out, e.g., “oil poured forth (תּוּרַק) ” (Song of Songs 1:3); “and he has not been poured (הוּרַק) from one vessel to another vessel” (Jer. 48:11). It is not written: “the vessel was not emptied (הוּרַק)” but “the wine was not poured (הוּרַק) from one vessel to another vessel.” Similarly, “and they will draw (וְהֵרִיקוּ) their swords on the beauty of your wisdom” (Ezek. 28:7), referring to Hiram [the king of Tyre]- [following Onkelos, Jonathan].

 

my hand will impoverish them Heb. תּוֹרִישֵׁמוֹ, an expression of poverty (רֵישׁוּת) and destitution, like “The Lord impoverishes (מוֹרִישׁ) and makes rich” (I Sam. 2:7).

 

10 You blew Heb. נָשַׁפְתָּ, an expression of blowing, and likewise: “and also He blew (נָשַׁף) on them” (Isa. 40:24).

 

they sank Heb. צָלֲלוּ, [which means] they sank; they went down to the depths, an expression of מְצוּלָה, deep.

 

like lead-Heb. כַּעוֹפֶרֶת, plomb in French, lead.

 

11 among the powerful Heb. בָּאֵלִם, among the strong, like “and the powerful (אֵילֵי) of the land he took away” (Ezek. 17:13); “my strength אֱיָלוּתִי, hasten to my assistance” (Ps. 22:20).

 

Too awesome for praises [You are] too awesome for [one] to recite Your praises, lest they fall short, as it is written: “Silence is praise to You” (Ps. 65:2).

 

12 You inclined Your right hand When the Holy One, blessed be He, inclines His hand, the wicked perish and fall, because all are placed in His hand, and they fall when He inclines it. Similarly, it [Scripture] says: “and the Lord shall turn His hand, and the helper shall stumble, and the helped one shall fall” (Isa. 31:3). This can be compared to glass vessels placed in a person’s hand. If he inclines his hand a little, they fall and break.-[based on Mechilta]

 

the earth swallowed them up From here [we deduce] that they merited to be buried as a reward for saying, “The Lord is the righteous One” (Exod. 9:27).-[from Mechilta]

 

13 You led Heb. נֵהַלְתָּ, an expression of leading. Onkelos, however, rendered [it as] an expression of carrying and bearing, but he was not exact in explaining it in accordance with the Hebrew. [I.e., he explained the sense of the verse, but he did not translate the word literally.]

 

14 they trembled Heb. יִרְגָזוּן, [which means] they tremble.

 

the inhabitants of Philistia [They trembled] since they slew the children of Ephraim, who hastened the end [of their exile] and went out [of Egypt] forcibly, as is delineated in (I) Chronicles (7:21). And the people of [the town of] Gath slew them [the children of Ephraim].-[from Mechilta]

 

15 the chieftains of Edom...the powerful men of Moab Now they had nothing to fear at all, because they [the Israelites] were not advancing upon them. Rather, [they trembled] because of grief, that they were grieving and suffering because of the glory of Israel.

 

melted Heb. נָמֽגוּ, [as in the phrase] “with raindrops You dissolve it (תְּמֽגְגֶנָּה)” (Ps. 65:11). They [the inhabitants of Canaan] said, “They are coming upon us to annihilate us and possess our land.”-[from Mechilta]

 

16 May dread...fall upon them Heb. אֵימָתָה, upon the distant ones.-[from Mechilta]

 

and fright Heb. וָפַחַד. Upon the nearby ones, as the matter that is stated: “For we have heard how the Lord dried up [the water of the Red Sea for you, etc.]” (Josh. 2:10).[from Mechilta]

 

until...cross over, until...crosses over As the Targum [Onkelos] renders.

 

You have acquired Heb. קָנִיתָ. [I.e., whom] You loved more than other nations, similar to an article purchased for a high price, which is dear to the person [who purchased it].

 

17 You shall bring them Moses prophesied that he would not enter the land [of Israel]. Therefore, it does not say: “You shall bring us.” (It appears that it should read “that they would not enter the land, etc.” Indeed, this is the way it is stated in Baba Bathra 119b and in Mechilta: The sons will enter but not the fathers. Although the decree of the spies had not yet been pronounced, he [Moses] prophesied, not knowing what he was prophesying.-[Maharshal])

 

directed toward Your habitation The Temple below is directly opposite the Temple above, which You made.-[from Mechilta]

 

the sanctuary Heb. מִקְּדָשׁ. The cantillation sign over it is a “zakef gadol,” to separate it from the word ה' following it. [The verse thus means:] the sanctuary which Your hands founded, O Lord. The Temple is beloved, since, whereas the world was created with “one hand,” as it is said: “Even My hand laid the foundation of the earth” (Isa. 48:13), the sanctuary [will be built] with “two hands.” When will it be built with "two hands"? At the time when “the Lord will reign to all eternity” [verse 18]. In the future, when the entire ruling power is His.-[from Mechilta and Keth. 5a]

 

18 to all eternity Heb. לְעֽלָם וָעֶד. [This is] an expression of eternity, and the “vav” in it is part of the root. Therefore, it is punctuated with a “pattach.” But in “and I am He Who knows, and [I am] a witness וָעֵד” (Jer. 29:23), in which the “vav” is a prefix, it is punctuated with a “kamatz.”

 

19 When Pharaoh’s horses came Heb. כִּי בָא When they came.

 

20 Miriam, the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took When did she prophesy? When she was [known only as] “Aaron’s sister,” before Moses was born, she said, “My mother is destined to bear a son” [who will save Israel], as is found in Sotah 12b, 13a). Another explanation: [It is written] Aaron’s sister since he [Aaron] risked his life for her when she was afflicted with zara’ath; [thus] she is called by his name (Mechilta).

 

a timbrel Heb. הַתּֽף, a type of musical intrument.

 

with timbrels and with dances The righteous women of that generation were [so] certain that the Holy One, blessed be He, would perform miracles for them, they took timbrels out of Egypt.-[from Mechilta]

 

21 And Miriam called out to them Moses said the Song to the men, and they answered after him, and Miriam said the song to the women [and they too repeated it].-[from Mechilta]

 

22 Moses led Israel away lit., made Israel journey. He led them away against their will, for the Egyptians had adorned their steeds with ornaments of gold, silver, and precious stones, and the Israelites were finding them in the sea. The plunder at the sea was greater than the plunder in Egypt, as it is said: “We will make you rows of gold with studs of silver” (Song of Songs 1:11). Therefore, he had to lead them against their will.-[from Tanchuma Buber, Beshallach 16, Mechilta, Exod. 12:35, Song Rabbah 1:11]

 

23 They came to Marah Heb. מָרָתָה, like לְמָרָָה. The “hey” at the end מָרָתָה is instead of a “lammed” [prefix] at the beginning [of the word], and the “thav” is instead of the “hey” [that is part] of the root in the word מָרָָה. But when a suffix is added, when it is attached to a “hey” that replaces a “lammed,” the “hey” of the root is transformed into a “thav.” Similarly, every “hey” that is part of the root of the word is transformed into a “thav” when a suffix is added, like “I have no wrath (חֵמָה) ” (Isa. 27:4), [becomes] “and his wrath (וַחֲמָתוֹ) burnt within him” (Esther 1:12). Note that the “hey” of the root is transformed into a “thav” when it is placed next to the added “vav.” Likewise,"bond servants and handmaids (וְאָמָה)“ (Lev. 25:44), [becomes] and "Here is my handmaid (אֲמָתִי) Bilhah” (Gen. 30:3); “a living (חַיָה) soul” (Gen. 2:7), [becomes] “and his living spirit (חַיָתוֹ) causes him to abhor food” (Job 33:20); “between Ramah (הָרָמָה)” (Jud. 4:5), [becomes] “And his return was to Ramah (הָרָמָתָה)” (I Sam. 7: 17).

 

24 complained Heb. וַיִנוּ. This is in the niph’al conjugation. [In this case, the niph’al denotes the reflexive, as we see further in Rashi.] Likewise, in the Targum [Onkelos], it is also a niph’al expression: וְאִתְרַעֲמוּ. The nature of the term denoting complaint תְּלוּנָה [is that it] reverts to the person [complaining], מִתְלוֹנֵן [complains] or מִתְרוֹעֵם [storms], but one does not say לוֹנֵן or רוֹעֵם [Hebrew]. The Frenchman also says, “Decomplenst sey.” He reverts the statement to himself when he says, “Sey.”

 

25 There He gave them In Marah, He gave them some sections of the Torah so that they would busy themselves with them, namely [they were given the laws governing] the Sabbath, the red cow, and laws of jurisprudence.-[from Mechilta and Sanh. 56b]

 

and there He tested them [He tested] the people and saw how stiff-necked they were, that they did not consult Moses with respectful language, “Entreat [God to have] mercy upon us that we should have water to drink,” but they complained.-[from Mechilta]

 

26 If you hearken This is the acceptance [of the law] that they should accept upon themselves.

 

and you do --This means the performance [of the commandments].

 

and you listen closely [This means that] you [should] incline your ears to be meticulous in [fulfilling] them.

 

all His statutes Things that are only the decree of the King, without any [apparent] rationale, and with which the evil inclination finds fault, [saying,] “What is [the sense of] the prohibition of these [things]? Why were they prohibited?” For example, [the prohibitions of] wearing shatnes [a mixture of wool and linen] and eating pork, and [the ritual of] the red cow and their like.-[based on Yoma 67b]

 

I will not visit upon you And if I do bring [sickness upon you], it is as if it has not been brought, “for I, the Lord, heal you.” This is its midrashic interpretation (see Sanh. 101a, Mechilta). According to its simple meaning, [we explain:] “for I, the Lord, am your Physician” and [I] teach you the Torah and the mitzvoth in order that you be saved from them [illnesses], like this physician who says to a person, “Do not eat things that will cause you to relapse into the grip of illness.” This [warning] refers to listening closely to the commandments, and so [Scripture] says: “It shall be healing for your navel” (Prov. 3:8).-[from Mechilta]

 

Midrash PESIQTA deRAB KAHANA

Pisqa Seven

 

And it came to pass at midnight [that the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the handmaiden behind the millstones, and all the firstborn of the cattle. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians, and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where one was not dead. And he summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, "Rise up, go forth from among my people, both you and the people of Israel, and go, serve the LORD as you have said. Take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone; and bless me also!] (Ex. 12:29-32).

 

VII:I

 

‎R. Tanhum of Jaffa in the name of R. Nunayya of Caesarea opened discourse by citing the following verse: "But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task (Ps, 73:16). Said David, 'No one can reckon the exact moment of midnight except for the Holy One, blessed be He, but, as for me, But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task. For no creature can reckon the exact moment except for Him, for it is said: And it came to pass at midnight {that the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the handmaiden behind the millstones, and all the firstborn of the cattle. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians, and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where one was not dead. And he summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, "Rise up, go forth from among my people, both you and the people of Israel, and go, serve the Lord as you have said. Take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone; and bless me also!]” (Ex. 12:29-32).

 

VII:II ‎

 

‎R. Aha opened discourse by citing this verse: I am the LORD, the LORD is My name; I will not give My glory to another ‎god, nor My praise to any idol (Is. 42:8). ‎I am the LORD, the LORD is my name: said R. Aha, "Said the Holy One, blessed be He, 'I am the LORD, the LORD is ‎My name. ‎That is the name that was given to Me by the first Man. ‎That is My name, concerning which I made a stipulation with Myself. That is the name concerning which I stipulated between the angels and Myself.

 ‎

‎... I will not give My glory to another god, nor My praise to any idol (Is. 42:8): ‎R. Menahema said in the name of R. Abin, "This refers to the shades."

 

R. Nehemiah in the name of R. Mina said, "No creature except for the Holy One, blessed be He, can distinguish ‎between the drop of sperm that produces a firstborn and one that does not But as for me, But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task. ‎For no creature can reckon the exact moment except for Him, for it is said: And it came to pass at midnight ‎‎[that the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt." ‎ ‎

 

VII:III ‎

‎

I make My servants' prophecies come true and give effect to My messengers' designs. I say of Jerusalem, "She will ‎be inhabited once more," and of the cities of Judah, "They will be rebuilt, all their ruins I will restore" (Is. 44:26): R. Berekhiah in the name of R. Levi: "If someone can make My servants' prophecies come true and give effect ‎to my messengers' designs, do we not know that He will say of Jerusalem, She will be inhabited once more, ‎and of the cities of Judah, They will be rebuilt, all their ruins I will restore? ‎But the point is this: an angel appeared to Jacob, our father, and said to him, What is your name? And he said, ‎Jacob. And he said, Your name will not longer be Jacob, but Israel (Gen. 32:28-29). ‎Then the Holy One, blessed be He, appeared to our father, Jacob, so as to confirm the decree of that angel: ‎And God said to him, Your name is Jacob (Gen. 35:9, 10).As to Jerusalem, since all of the prophets prophesied that Jerusalem would be rebuilt, how much the more so ‎‎[will God confirm what his prophets have said]!"

 ‎

‎Another interpretation of the verse: “I make My servants' prophecies come true and give effect to My messengers' ‎designs. I say of Jerusalem, "She will be inhabited once more," and of the cities of Judah, "They will be rebuilt, all their ‎ruins I will restore.”” (Is. 44:26): ‎I make ‎My servants' prophecies come true refers to Moses: Not so is My servant Moses (Num. 12:7). And give effect to My messengers' designs refers to Moses: He sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt ‎‎(Num. 20:16). ‎Said the Holy One, blessed be He, to Moses, Go, say to Israel, I will pass through the land of Egypt on that ‎night (Ex. 12:12). Moses went and told Israel: Thus said the LORD, At midnight I will go forth through Egypt (Ex. 11:4). ‎‎[Noting that Moses had specified the exact time,] said the Holy One, blessed be He, “I have already made a ‎promise to Moses, saying to him, Not so is My servant, Moses. In My entire household he is faithful (Num. 12:7). ‎Will My servant, Moses, tum out to be a bluffer?” But what has Moses said? At midnight I will go forth through Egypt. ‎So I will do it at midnight: and it came to pass at midnight [that the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of ‎Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the ‎dungeon, and all the firstborn of the cattle.}" ‎

 

VII:IV ‎

‎

At midnight I rise to give You thanks for the justice of Your decrees. I keep company with all who fear You, with all ‎who follow Your precepts. The earth is full of Your never-failing love; O LORD, teach me Your statutes (Ps. 119:62-64): ‎R. Phineas in the name of R. Eleazar bar Menahem: "What would David do? He would take a psaltery and a harp and put them at his pillow and get up at midnight and play on them. And the Sages of Israel would hear the sound and say, 'Now if King David is occupied with Torah-study, how ‎much the more so should we!' It came about that all of Israel would occupy themselves in the study of Torah."

 ‎

‎Said R. Levi, "There was a window by the bed of David, open to the north, and the harp was suspended at it, and as ‎the north went blew at midnight, it would rush through the harp, and the harp would give forth sound on its own, in line ‎with this verse: When the instrument played (2 Kgs. 3:5). ‎What it says is not, 'when David played ... ,' but, When the instrument played. ‎This indicates that the harp would give forth sound on its own. And the Sages of Israel would hear the sound and say, 'Now if King David is occupied with Torah-study, how ‎much the more so should we!' ‎It came about that all of Israel would occupy themselves in the study of Torah." ‎

 

[… and it came to pass at midnight that the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of ‎Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the cattle:] ‎That is in line with what David said: [My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast. I will sing and raise a psalm;] ‎awake, my glory, awake, lute and harp, I will awake at dawn of day (Ps. 57:7-8). I will awake my glory before the glory of my creator, my glory is nothing before the glory of my creator. I will awake at dawn of day: I will awake the dawn, and the dawn will not wake me up.   But his impulse to do evil roused him and said to him, "David, ordinarily dawn wakes up kings, but you say, I ‎will awake at dawn of day! Kings usually sleep to the third hour, but you say, At midnight I rise to give you ‎thanks for the justice of Your decrees.” ‎

‎

What is the meaning of the justice of Your decrees? ‎[Thanks are due for] the decree of judgment that You carried out against the wicked Pharaoh, and the justice ‎that You did with our elder, Sarah. That is in line with this verse: And the LORD afflicted Pharaoh with great plagues (Gen. 12: 17). ‎

 

Another interpretation of the justice of Your decrees: ‎‎[David said,] "[Thanks are due for] the decree of judgment that You carried out against the nations of the world ‎‎[Ammon and Moab], and the justice that You did with our ancestor and our ancestress [reference here is to ‎Boaz and Ruth]. For if he [Boaz] had [Braude and Kapstein, p. 143:] slipped into her as she lay at his feet, whence would I ‎have had my origin? Instead You set a blessing into his heart, so he said, Blessed are You of the LORD, my daughter (Ruth 3:10).

 ‎

‎Another interpretation of the justice of Your decrees: ‎‎[Thanks are due for] the decree of judgment that You carried out against the Egyptians in Egypt. And for the righteousness/generosity that You carried out with our forefathers in Egypt. For they had to their credit only two religious duties on account of which they should be redeemed, the blood ‎of the Passover-offering and the blood of circumcision. That is in line with this verse: And I passed over you and I saw you wallowing in your bloods, and I said to you, ‎In your bloods, live (Ezek 16:6). In your bloods: the blood of the Passover-offering and the blood of ‎circumcision.

 

VII:V ‎

‎

Said R. Simeon b. Yohai, "Moses did not know how to calculate split seconds, let alone minutes or hours, of the ‎night. But the Holy One, blessed be He, knows how to calculate split seconds, let alone minutes and hours, can stay within ‎the rule even by a hair's breadth." [Mandelbaum, p. 125, n. to 1. 13:] Therefore it is written, ... and it came to pass at midnight [that the LORD ‎smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn ‎of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the cattle.} ‎

 

Who divided the night? R. Benjamin bar Japheth in the name of R. Yohanan: "The night divided itself up on its own." ‎Rabbis say, "Its creator divided it."

 

Here you read: And it came to pass at midnight (Ex. 12:29) and elsewhere: And He divided the night for them (Gen. 14:15). Said R. Tanhuma, "[God said,] 'Your father went forth with me at midnight, so I will go forth with his children at ‎midnight.'” Rabbis say, "Said the Holy One, blessed be He, 'Your father went forth with me last night to midnight, so I will go forth ‎with his children from midnight to the morning.'" ‎

 

‎Said R. Yohanan, "The angelic prince who protects the Egyptians will fall only by day. What verse of Scripture so indicates? Daylight will fail in Tahpanhes, when I break the yoke of Egypt there; ‎‎[then her boasted might will be subdued; a cloud will cover her, and her daughters will go into captivity. ‎Thus I will execute judgment on Egypt, and they will know that I am the LORD] (Ezek. 30:18-19)." ‎And Scripture further states, On that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt speaking the language ‎‎[of Canaan and swearing allegiance to the LORD of Hosts, and one of them will be called the City of the Sun] ‎‎(Is. 19:18)." ‎What are these five cities? R. Hilkiah in the name of R. Simon says, "No, which is Alexandria, Noph, which is Memphis, Tehaphnehes, ‎which is Hophnias, the city of ‎the sherds, which is [Braude and Kapstein, p. 145:] Ostracena, and the city of the sun, which is Heliopolis.

 

Said Rabban Yohanan b. Zakkai, "We have found that both night and day are called day, for it is written, And there was evening, and there was morning, one day ‎‎(Gen. 1:5)." ‎R. Joshua bar Nehemiah derived the same proposition from this verse: ‎‎"Also the night will not be too dark for you, and the night will glow like the day, darkness like light (Ps. 139:12). ‎‎"[God says,] 'That is darkness which is light for Me, and night so far as mortals are concerned. '" ‎That yields the conclusion that on that very day the firstborn of the Egyptians died. ‎How did it work out? They were smitten with a death-dealing blow in the evening, then writhed all night, and in the morning died. What verse of Scripture indicates it? "We have all died" is not what it says, but rather, We are all dying, that is to say, breathing our last. ‎That is in line with this verse: On the day on which I smote every firstborn (Num. 3:13), and, further, On the day on which I sanctified to me every firstborn (Num. ‎‎8:17). ‎On this basis you must conclude that on the day on which the firstborn of the Egyptians died, I sanctified to Me every firstborn [of Israel]. ‎

 

VII:VI ‎

 

‎... the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt (Ex. 12:29): ‎When the verse refers to a firstborn, it adds, all the firstborn, encompassing the firstborn of a man and the firstborn of a woman, the firstborn of a male and the ‎firstborn of a female. ‎How so? If a man had sexual relations with ten women and then they produced ten sons, it would tum out that all of them were firstborn of women. If ten men had sexual relations with one woman and she produced ten sons, all of them would turn out to be the firstborn of males. But take note of a case in which there was a household in which was no firstborn either for a male or for a female? How then can I apply to that house the verse: ‎‎for there was not a house where one was not dead? ‎Said R. Abba bar Aha, ''Then the one in charge of the household would die. That is in line with this verse: Shimri the one in charge, for though he was not firstborn, ‎nonetheless his father put him in charge (1 Chr. 26:10)." ‎

 

It was taught on Tannaite authority in the name of R. Nathan, "On the day on which a firstborn of one of them died, he would make an icon of him in the house. ‎On that day [on which the firstborn was killed,] it too was smashed up, shattered, and scattered. ‎It was as hard for the parent as if on that very day he had buried the firstborn himself. Said R. Yudan, "Since the Egyptians would bury their dead in their houses, the dogs would come in through the burial niches [better: sewer pipes] and pull ‎out the bones of the firstborn among the dead and play with them. It was as hard for the parent as if on that very day he had buried the firstborn himself."

 

VII:VII

 

‎.. from the firstborn of Pharaoh [who sat on his throne even to the firstborn of the maidservant who is behind the mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle] (Ex. 12:29): ‎On the basis of that statement [read as from the firstborn, Pharaoh] it follows that Pharaoh himself was a firstborn. ‎

 

All of the firstborn came to their fathers, saying to them, “Since Moses has said, And every firstborn will die (Ex. 11:5), all the things that he has said against ‎this people have come upon them. But now go and let these Hebrews go from among you, and if you do not do so, lo, this people is going to die." They said, "Each one of us has ten sons. Let one of them die, and let what these Hebrews say not come to pass." They said, "The sole remedy for the matter is [or us to go to Pharaoh, for he is a firstborn. He may have mercy on his own life and let these Hebrews go ‎away from among us." ‎They went to Pharaoh, saying to him, "Since Moses has said, And every firstborn will die (Ex. 11:5), all the things that he has said against this people have ‎come upon them. But now go and let these Hebrews go from among you, and if you do not do so, lo, this people is going to die." ‎       He said, "Go and beat the humps of these people. I have said, 'It is my life or the lives of these Hebrews!' And you say this!" The firstborn went and killed sixty myriads of their fathers. That is in line with this verse: To the one who smote Egypt through their firstborn (Ps. 136: 1 0). ‎What is written is not, "To the one who smote the Egyptians in Egypt," but, To the one who smote the Egyptians through their firstborn. [for] the firstborn ‎killed their fathers, in the number of sixty myriads.

 

‎R. Abun in the name of R. Judah b. Pazzi said, "Batyah, the daughter of Pharaoh, was a firstborn. On account of what merit was she saved? It was through ‎the prayer of Moses. ‎For it is written: She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night (Prov. 31: 18). ‎The reference to night calls to mind the verse: It is a watch night for the LORD (Ex. 12:42)." ‎

 

VII:VIII ‎

 

‎[..from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne] even to the firstborn of the maidservant who is behind the mill, [and all the firstborn of the cattle] (Ex. ‎‎11:5): ‎R. Huna and R. Aha in the name of R. Eleazar son of R. Yose the Galileans, "Even the handmaiden who were latched to the millstones would say, 'We take ‎pleasure in our subjugation, so long as the Israelites also are subjugated." Said R. Judah b. Pazzi, "There is a traditional narrative that this was with reference to Seah, daughter of Asher, for when she came down to Egypt, they ‎had latched her to the millstones." ‎

 

VII:IX ‎

‎

... and all the firstborn of the cattle: ‎If man had sinned, what sin had beasts done? It was because the Egyptians bow down to the ram. ‎It was so that the Egyptian would not have occasion to say, "Our god [the ram] has brought this punishment on us. Our god is strong, for it has stood ‎up for itself. Our god is strong, because the punishment did not touch it."

 ‎

VII:X ‎

 

‎R. Huna and R. Joshua bar Abin, son-in-law of R. Levi, in the name of R. Levi: "The Merciful God does not touch lives first of all [but exacts vengeance on ‎property]. From whom do you learn that fact? From Job: A messenger came to Job and said, The oxen were plowing and the asses feeding beside them (Job 1:14). What is the meaning of, and the asses feeding beside them? ‎Said R. Hama, "A model of the order of the world to come was made for him, in line with this verse: Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when ‎the one who ploughs will overtake the one who reaps (Amos 9:13). [Mendelbaum: That is, corn will ripen within moments after the seed is planted, so ‎that browing animals will follow in the tracks of the plowing animals.]" ‎

 

Said R. Abba bar Kahana, "[With reference to the verse, The Sabeans made a raid and took the oxen and the asses away, yes, they smote the servants with ‎the edge of the sword (Job 1: 15),] they went out of Kefar Kerinos and went through the whole of Ublin, and when they came to Migdal Sebayya, they ‎died." ‎Said R. Hama, “[In the verse, And I alone have escaped (Job 1: 15),] the word alone bears the sense of solely, that is, he alone escaped [only with his life], ‎but was himself broken and beaten." Said R. Yudan, "And I alone have escaped to tell you (Job 1:15) means that 'the sole purpose for which I escaped was to tell you,' at which point he died. ‎That is in line with this verse: While he was still speaking, there came another and said, The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and ‎the servants and consumed them; and I alone have escaped to tell you. While he was speaking there came another and said, The Chaldaeans formed three ‎companies and made a raid upon the camels and took them and slew the servants with the edge of the sword and I alone have escaped to tell you. (Job ‎‎1:14-17).When Job heard this news, he forthwith began to collect a troop to make war against them [but then he changed his mind, as will now be explained]. That ‎is in line with this verse: Because I stood in great fear of the multitude, and the contempt of families terrified me, so that I kept silence and did not go out ‎of doors (Job 31:34)." ‎

 

Said Job [in gathering his troops], "This nation is the most contemptible of all nations: Behold the land of the Chaldaeans - the people that was a no-people ‎‎(Is. 23:13). Would that it had never come into existence. Does that people think that it can frighten me?” But when people told him, "The fire of God fell from heaven, he said, "If it is from Heaven, what can I do." ‎Forthwith: ... so that I kept silence and did not go out of doors. ‎And then: And he took a potsherd with which to scrape himself and sat among the ashes (Job 2:8). ‎

 

‎[The same proposition derives from the case] also of Mahlon and Chilion. First their horses, camels, and asses died, and then he died, ‎as it is said: And Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died (Ruth 1:3), then the two sons: Mahlon and Chilion died, both of them (Ruth 1:5). [Delete: And then she died.]

‎

‎So too is the rule applying to skin-ailments which affect man. ‎First of all, it begins on his house, and, if the man repents, the affected stone has only to be removed: They will dismantle the stones (Lev. 14:40). If the ‎man does not repent, then the whole house has to be dismantled: ‎And he will dismantle the house (Lev. 14:45). And then it ‎ affects his clothing. If he repents, the clothing has to be ripped: And he will tear the affected patch out of the garment or the hide or from the warp or from the woof ‎‎(Lev. 13:56). If he does not repent, then the clothing has to be burned: And he will burn the clothing (Lev. 13:52). Then it affects his body. If he repents, it goes ‎away, and he departs, and if not, it comes back on him: And he will sit solitary, his dwelling will be outside of the camp (Lev. 13:46) [Tosefta. Neg. 6:4]

. ‎

‎So too is the rule as to the events in Egypt: First the measure of justice affected their property: He smote their vines and their fig trees (Ps. 105:33).       Then: He gave over their cattle to the hail and their flocks to fiery bolts of lightning (Ps, 78:48). ‎Then at the end: He smote all the firstborn of Egypt (Ps, 78:51). ‎

 

VII:XI ‎

 

‎R. Levi bar Zechariah in the name of R. Berekhiah: "It was with the arts of royal siege-warfare that God came against them. First of all, [a besieging army] shuts up their water supply, then he brings against them thunders of war, then he shoots arrows, then he brings troops, ‎then he storms them, then he pours burning oil, then he throws great stones against them, then he brings against them scaling troops, then he captures ‎them, then he takes out their greatest figure and kills him. ‎[So too is the order of God's siege of Egypt:] first he shut up their water supply: He turned their rivers into blood (Ps, 78:44). ‎Then he brought against them thunders of war: This refers to the frogs.” (Said R. Yose bar Hanina, "The croaking was worse for them than the frogs themselves." "Then he shot arrows: This refers to the lice. Then he brought troops: This refers to the swarms of wild beasts. Then he starved them out: A very heavy murrain (Ex. 9:3). ‎Then he poured burning oil: This refers to the boils. Then he threw great stones against them: This refers to the hail. Then he brought against them scaling troops: This refers to the locusts. Then he captured them: this refers to the darkness. Then he took out their greatest figure and killed him: This refers to the killing of the firstborn." ‎

 

R. Levi, son-in-law of R. Zechariah, in the name of R. Berekhiah said, "As at the news concerning Egypt, so they shall be startled at the fall of the adversary (Is. 23:5)." ‎Said R. Eliezer, "Whenever the name of Tyre is written in Scripture, if it is written out [with all of the letters], then it refers to the province of Tyre. Where ‎it is written without all of its letters (and so appears identical to the word for enemy). the reference of Scripture is to Rome. [So the sense of the verse is ‎that Rome will receive its appropriate reward.]" ‎

 

‎[Resuming the discussion begun at VII:XI with the information just now given:] R. Levi in the name of R. Hama bar Hanina: "He who exacted vengeance from ‎the former [oppressor] will exact vengeance from the latter. Just as, in Egypt, it was with blood, so with Edom it will be the same: I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars ‎of smoke (Job 3:3). ‎Just as, in Egypt, it was with frogs, so with Edom it will be the same: ‎The sound of an uproar from the city, an uproar because of the palace, an uproar of the Lord who renders recompense to his enemies (Is. 66:6). ‎Just as, in Egypt, it was with lice, so with Edom it will be the same: ‎The streams of Bosrah will be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch (Is. 34:9). Smite the dust of the ‎earth that it may become lice (Ex. 8:12). ‎ Just as, in Egypt, it was with swarms of wild beasts, so with Edom it will be the same: The pelican and the bittern will possess it (Is. 34:11). Just as, in Egypt, it was with pestilence, so with Edom it will be the same: I will plead against Gog with pestilence and with blood (Ez. 38:22). ‎Just as, in Egypt, it was with boils, so with Edom it will be the same: ‎This will be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the peoples that have warred against Jerusalem: their flesh will consume away while they stand upon their ‎feet (Zech. 14:12). ‎Just as, in Egypt, it was with great stones, so with Edom it will be the same: I will cause to rain upon Gog ... an overflowing shower and great hailstones ‎‎(Ez. 38:22). ‎Just as, in Egypt, it was with locusts, so with Edorn it will be the same: ‎And you, son of man, thus says the LORD God: Speak to birds of every sort ... the flesh of the mighty will you eat ... blood will you drink ... you will eat fat until you ‎are full and drink blood until you are drunk (Ez. 39:17-19). ‎Just as, in Egypt, it was with darkness, so with Edom it will be the same: He will stretch over Edom the line of chaos and the plummet of emptiness (Is. ‎‎34:11). ‎Just as, in Egypt, he took out their greatest figure and killed him, so with Edom it will be the same: A great slaughter in the land of Edom, among them ‎to come down will be the wild oxen (Is. 34:6-7). ‎Said R. Meir, "[The letters of the word for wild (reemim) may be read as Rome, thus,] 'Among them to come down shall be Rome." ‎  ‎

 

VII:XII ‎

‎

For behold darkness will cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and His glory will be seen upon you. [And nations ‎will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising] (Is. 60:2-3): ‎

 

R. Levi bar Zechariah in the name of R. Berekhiah: "Darkness and thick darkness affected Egypt for three days. What verse of Scripture indicates it? And ‎there was darkness, thick darkness (Ex. 10:22). ‎But emptiness and void have never yet affected this world. ‎But where [and when] will they come to pass? They will envelope the great city of Rome: He will stretch over it the line of chaos and the plummet of emptiness (Is. 34:11)." ‎Rabbis say, "As to the nations of the world, who never accepted the Torah which was given in darkness, concerning them Scripture says, For behold ‎darkness will cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples .... But as to Israel, which accepted it in darkness, concerning them Scripture says, ... but the LORD will arise upon you, and His glory will be seen upon you." ‎

 

Ashlamatah: II Samuel 22:1-51

 

Rashi	Targum
1. And David spoke to the Lord the words of this song, on the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul;	1. And David gave praise in prophecy before the LORD the words of this praise on account of all the days that the LORD saved Israel from the hand of all their enemies and also for David from the sword of Saul.
2. And he said, "The Lord is my rock and my fortress, and a rescuer to me.	2. And he said: "The LORD is my strength and my security and the one saving me,
3. God is my rock, under whom I take cover; My shield, and the horn of my salvation, my support, and my refuge; [He is] my savior Who saves me from violence.	3. my God, who takes delight in me; He has drawn me near to fear of Him; my strength from before whom strength is given to me and redemption to grow strong against my enemies; my security on account of whose Memra I trust in time of distress, shielding me from my enemies. And he said: "For the land ~ my horn in His redemption; my support that His Memra supported me when I was fleeing from before those pursuing me; my redemption from my enemies; and also from the hand of all robbers He saved me.
4. With praise, I call to the Lord, for from my enemies I shall be saved.	4. David said in praise: "I am praying before the LORD who in all times saves me from my enemies.
5. For the pains of death have encompassed me; streams of scoundrels would affright me.	5. For distress surrounded me like a woman who sits upon the birth-stool, and she does not have strength to give birth, and she is in danger of dying. A company of sinners terrified me.
6. Bands of [those that shall inherit] the nether world have surrounded me; the snares of death confronted me.	6. An army of evil men surrounded me; those who were girt with weapons of killing came before me.
7. When I am in distress, I call upon the Lord, yes I call upon my God: and out of His abode He hears my voice, and my cry enters His ears.	7. David said: "When I was in distress, I was praying before the LORD and before my God I was entreating and from His temple He was receiving my prayers, and my petitions were made before Him.
8. Then the earth shook and quaked, the [very] foundations of heaven did tremble; and they were shaken when he was angered.	8. The earth was stirred up and shaken; the foundations of the heavens trembled and bent down, for His anger was strong
9. Smoke went up in His nostrils, and fire out of His mouth did devour; coals flamed forth from Him.	9. The haughtiness of Pharaoh went up like smoke before Him. Then He sent His anger like a burning fire which was from before Him; His wrath was destroying like coals of burning fire from His Memra
10. And He bent the heavens and He came down; and thick darkness was under His feet.	10. He bent the heavens, and his glory was revealed= and a cloud covered the way hefore him..
11. And He rode upon a cherub and did fly; He was seen upon the wings of the wind.	11. He was revealed in His might upon the swift cherubim and He drove with strength upon the wings of the wind.
12. And He fixed darkness about Him as booths; gathering of waters, thick clouds of the skies.	12. He made His Shekinah reside in thick darkness; a glorious cloud (was) all round about Him, bringing down mighty waters from the mass of light clouds in the height of the world.
13. From the brightness before Him flamed forth coals of fire.	13. From the visage of His splendor the heavens of heavens were shining forth, His wrath like coals of burning fire from His Memra.
14. The Lord thundered from heaven; and the Most High gave forth His voice.	14. The LORD thundered from the heavens, and the Most High lifted up His Memra.
15. And He sent out arrows and He scattered them, lightning and He discomfited them.	15. And He sent forth His smiting like arrows and scattered them, lightnings and confused them.
16. And the depths of the sea appeared; the foundations of the world were laid bare, by the rebuke of the Lord and the blast of the breath of His nostrils.	16. And the depths of the sea were seen, the foundations of the world were revealed in the wrath from before the LORD, from the Memra of the strength of His anger.
17. He sent from on high [and] He took me; He drew me out of many waters.	17. He sent His prophets, a strong king who was sitting in the strength of the height; He took me, He rescued me from many nations.
18. He delivered me from my mighty enemy; from them that hated me; for they were too powerful for me.	18. He rescued me from those hating me, for some of my enemies overpowered me, for they were prevailing against me.
19. They confronted me on the day of my calamity; but the Lord was a support to me.	19. They were coming before me on the day of my exile» and the Memra of the Lord= was a support for me.
20. And He brought me forth into a wide place; He delivered me because He took delight in me.	20. He brought me forth to the open place; He rescued me, for He took delight in me.
21. The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands He recompensed me.	21. David said: "The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness/generosity; according to the purity of my hands He returned to me.
22. For I have kept the ways of the Lord and have not wickedly departed from [the commandments of] my God.	22. For I have kept ways that are good before the LORD and I have not walked in evil before my God.
23. For all His ordinances were before me; and [as for] His statutes, I did not depart from it.	23. For alI His judgments are revealed for me to do them, and His statutes l have not turned aside from them.
24. And I was single-hearted toward Him, and I kept myself from my iniquity.	24. And I was blameless in fear of Him, and I was keeping my soul from sins.
25. And the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness; according to my cleanness before His eyes.	25. And the LORD returned to me according to my righteousness/generosity, according to my purity before His Memra.
26. With a kind one, You show Yourself kind. With an upright mighty man, You show Yourself upright.	26. Abraham who was found pious before You; therefore You did much kindness with his seed. Isaac who was blameless in fear of You; therefore You made perfect the word of Your good pleasure with him.
27. With a pure one, You show Yourself pure; But with a perverse one, You deal crookedly.	27. Jacob who was walking in purity before You - You chose his sons from all the nations, You set apart his seed from every blemish. Pharaoh and the Egyptians who plotted plots against Your people - You mixed them up like their plans.
28. And the humble people You do deliver; But Your eyes are upon the haughty [in order] to humble them.	28. And the people, the house of Israel, who are called in this world a poor people, You will save; and by Your Memra You will humble the strong who are showing their might against them.
29. For You are my lamp, O' Lord; And the Lord does light my darkness.	29. For you are its LORD; the light of Israel (is) the LORD. And the LORD brings me forth from the darkness to light and shows me the world that is to come for the just ones.
30. For by You I run upon a troop; By my God I scale a wall.	30. For by Your Memra I will have large armies; by the Memra of my God I will conquer all strong cities
31. [He is] the God Whose way is perfect; The word of the Lord is tried; He is a shield unto all them that trust in him.	31. God whose way is straight - the Law of the LORD is proved; He is strong for all who entrust themselves to His Memra
32. For who is God, save the Lord? And who is a rock, save our God?	32. Therefore on account of the sign and the redemption that You work for Your anointed one and for the remnant of Your people who are left, all the nations, peoples, and language groups will give thanks and say: ‘There is no God except the LORD, for there is none apart from You.’ And Your people will say: ‘There is no one who is strong except our God.’
33. God is He who has fortified me with strength; and He looseth perfectly my path.	33. The God who helps me with might and makes my way blameless.
34. He makes my feet like hinds; And sets me upon my high places.	34. He makes my feet light like the hind, and upon my stronghold He establishes me.
35. He trains my hand for war, so that mine arms do bend a brass bow.	35. He instructs my hand to do battle and strengthens my arms like the bow of bronze.
36. And You have given me the shield of Your salvation; And You have increased Your modesty for me.	36. And You have given to me strength; You have rescued me; and You have made me great by Your Memraw
37. You have enlarged my step[s] beneath me; And my ankles have not slipped.	37. You have made a great space for my step before me and my knees did not shake.
38. I have pursued my enemies and have destroyed them; Never turning back until they were consumed.	38. I pursued those hating me, and I destroyed them; and I did not turn back until I destroyed them completely.
39. And I have consumed them, and I have crushed them that they cannot rise; Yes, they are fallen under my feet.	39. And I destroyed them and destroyed them completely, and they were not able to arise= and they fell killed beneath the soles of my feet
40. For You have girded me with strength for the battle; You have subdued under me those that rose up against me.	40. And you helped me with might to do battle; you shattered the nations who were arising to do harm to me beneath me.
41. And of my enemies You have given me the back of their necks; them that hate me, that I may cut them off.	41. And You shattered those hating me before me; my enemies were turning their backs and I destroyed them.
42. They looked about, but there was no one to save them; [Even] to the Lord, but He answered them not.	42. They were seeking a helper, and there was no deliverer for them; and they were praying before the LORD, and their prayer was not being accepted.
43. Then I ground them as the dust of the earth, as the mud of the streets I did tread upon them, I did stamp them down.	43. And I trampled them like the dust of the earth, like the dirt of the streets I stepped on them; I trampled them down.
44. And You have allowed me to escape from the contenders amongst my people; You shall keep me as head of nations; a people whom I have not known serve me.	44. And You rescued me from the strife of the people. You appointed me head for the nations; a people that I did not know were serving me.
45. Strangers lie to me; as soon as their ears hear, they obey me.	45. Sons of the nations submitted themselves to me; as soon as the ear heard, they were listening to me.
46. The strangers will wilt, and become lame from their bondage.	46. Sons of the nations perished, and came trembling from their fortresses.
47. The Lord lives, and blessed be my Rock; And exalted be the God, [who is] my rock of salvation.	47. Therefore on account of the sign and the salvation that You have done for Your people, they confessed and said: “May the LORD live and blessed is the Strong One before whom strength is given to us and salvation and exalted be God, the strength of our salvation,”
48. The God who takes vengeance for me; And brings down peoples under me.	48. the God who was making vengeance for me and shattering the nations who arose to do harm to me beneath me,
49. And that brings me forth from my enemies; And above those that rise against me, You have lifted me; from the violent man You deliver me.	49. and saved me from those hating me, and against those who arose to do harm to me You made me more powerful; from Gog and the army of the captured nations - who were with him You rescued me.
50. Therefore I will give thanks to You, O' Lord, among the nations, and to your name I will sing praises.	50. Therefore I will give thanks before You, LORD, among the Gentiles; and to your name I will speak praises.
51. He gives great salvation to His king, and He performs kindness to His anointed; to David and to his seed, forevermore.	51. He works much salvation with His king and does goodness to His anointed one (Messiah), to David and to his seed, forever.

 

Nazarean Codicil:

I Corinthians 14:1 – 15:34 & Revelation 2:1-7

 

Revelation 2:1-7

Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham’s Rendition

 

¹And to the angel of the congregation in Ephesus, write, 'So says he who holds the seven stars in his hand, he who walks among the Menorot (seven branched candlesticks) of gold.

² I know your works and your labor and your endurance and that you are not able to bear evil [ones]. And you have tested those who say about themselves that they are to be Sh’liachim (apostles) and are not and you have found them [to be] liars.

3 And you have endurance and you bear a burden because of my name (or, authority) and you have not become weary.

4 But I have [something] against you, because you have left your first love.^[20]

5 Remember from where you came and do the former works, but if not, I will come to you and I will remove your Menora (candelabra – i.e. the seven ministers of the congregation), unless you repent.

6 But this you have, that you hate the works of the Nicolaitans (i.e. Oppressors of the Laity), that I also hate.'

7 He who has ears should hear what the Spirit says to the congregations. And to him who overcomes, I will allow [him] to eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of PaRDeS (paradise) of Ha-Shem."

 

Blessing After Torah Study

 

Barúch Atáh Adonai, Elohénu Meléch HaOlám,

Ashér Natán Lánu Torát Emét, V'Chayéi Olám Natá B'Tochénu.

Barúch Atáh Adonái, Notén HaToráh. Amen!

Blessed is Ha-Shem our God, King of the universe,

Who has given us a teaching of truth, implanting within us eternal life.

Blessed is Ha-Shem, Giver of the Torah. Amen!

“Now unto Him who is able to preserve you faultless, and spotless, and to establish you without a blemish,

before His majesty, with joy, [namely,] the only one God, our Deliverer, by means of Yeshua the Messiah our Master, be praise, and dominion, and honor, and majesty, both now and in all ages. Amen!”

 

 

Eighth Day of Pesach”

(No Work allowed)

(Wednesday Evening April 15, 2020)

 

Evening: Counting of the Omer Day 7

 

Then read the following:

 

 

Ephesians 1:18-23 The eyes of your understanding^[21] (Binah)^[22] being enlightened^[23], that you may see (have direct knowledge) what is the confidence^[24] of his (Messiah) mission, and what is the wealth of splendor of his inheritance^[25] in union^[26] with the Tsadiqim (saints). And what is the excellent magnitude of His (God’s) power working in us, the faithfully obedient who operate according to His majestic strength and cosmic power. This power He (God) worked in Messiah by raising him from the dead, and He seated him at His right hand in the heavenlies, far above all principalities (Hokhmah) and authorities (Binah) and power (Da’at) and dominion (G’dolah),^[27] and every authority^[28] being named, not only in this present age, but also in the World ever Coming. And He (God) has subjected all things under his (Messiah’s) authority^[29] and gave him to be head over all things to the Esnoga (Synagogue), which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything (with the presence, power, agency and riches of God).

 

“Eighth Day of Pesach”

(No Work allowed)

(Thursday Morning April 16, 2020)

Morning Service & Yizkor

 

 

Blessings Before Torah Study

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

May Ha-Shem bestow favor on you, and grant you peace. – Amen!

 

This way, the priests will link My Name with the Israelites, and I will bless them."

 

These are the Laws for which the Torah did not mandate specific amounts: How much growing produce must be left in the corner of the field for the poor; how much of the first fruits must be offered at the Holy Temple; how much one must bring as an offering when one visits the Holy Temple three times a year; how much one must do when doing acts of kindness; and there is no maximum amount of Torah that a person must study.

 

These are the Laws whose benefits a person can often enjoy even in this world, even though the primary reward is in the Next World: They are: Honouring 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!

 

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan

for: D’barim (Deut.) ‎14:22 – 16:17‎‎

 

Rashi	Targum Pseudo Jonathan
22. You shall tithe all the seed crop that the field gives forth, year by year.	22. Be mindful to tithe your fruitage of whatsoever comes forth, and which you gather in from the field year by year; not giving the fruit of one year for the fruit of another.
23. And you shall eat before the Lord, your God, in the place He chooses to establish His Name therein, the tithes of your grain, your wine, and your oil, and the firstborn of your cattle and of your sheep, so that you may learn to fear the Lord, your God, all the days.	23. And the second tithe you will eat before the LORD your God in the place which He will choose to make His Shekinah to dwell there; the tenths of your corn, your vines, and your oil, and likewise the firstlings of your oxen and sheep, that you may learn to fear the LORD your God all the days.
24. And if the way be too long for you, that you are unable to carry it, for the place which the Lord, your God, will choose to establish His Name therein, is too far from you, for the Lord, your God, will bless you	24. And if the way be too great for you to be able to carry the tenth, because the place which the LORD your God will choose for His Shekinah to dwell there is too distant from you, when the LORD your God will have blessed you,
25. Then you shall turn it into money, and bind up the money in your hand, and you shall go to the place the Lord, your God, will choose.	25. then you may make exchange for it into silver, and bind the sum in your hand, and proceed to the place which the LORD your God will choose,
26. And you shall turn that money into whatever your soul desires; cattle, sheep, new wine or old wine, or whatever your soul desires, and you shall eat there before the Lord, your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household.	26. and give the silver for any thing that your soul pleases, of oxen, sheep, wine new or old, or whatever your soul desires; and you will eat there before the LORD your God and rejoice, you and the men of your house.
27. And [as for] the Levite who is in your cities you shall not forsake him, for he has neither portion nor inheritance with you.	27. And the Levite who is in your cities forsake not, for he has not a portion or a heritage with you.
28. At the end of three years, you shall take out all the tithe of your crop in that year and place it in your cities.	28. At the end of three years you will bring forth all the tenths of your produce for that year, and lay them up in your cities.
29. And the Levite because he has no portion or inheritance with you and the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow, who are in your cities, will come and eat and be satisfied; so that the Lord, your God, will bless you in all the work of your hand that you will do.	29. And the Levite, because he has no part or heritage with you, and the stranger, the orphan, and the widow who are in your cities, will come and eat and be satisfied; that the LORD your God may bless you in all the works of your hands that you do.
1. At the end of seven years you will make a release. 2	1. At the end of seven years you will make a Release.
2. And this is the manner of the release; to release the hand of every creditor from what he lent his friend; he shall not exact from his friend or his brother, because time of the release for the Lord has arrived.	2. And this is the indication of the custom of the Release: Every man who is master of a loan, who lends to his neighbor, will give remission. He will not have power to coerce his neighbor in demanding his loan, nor of his brother, a son of Israel; because the Bet Din has published the Release before the LORD.
3. From the foreigner you may exact; but what is yours with your brother, your hand shall release.	3. From a son of the Gentiles you may exact, but the lawful right (dina) which is yours with your brother you will release with your hand.
4. However, there will be no needy among you, for the Lord will surely bless you in the land the Lord, your God, is giving you for an inheritance to possess.	4. If you will only be diligent in the precepts of the law, there will be no poor among you; for, blessing, the LORD will bless you in the land which the LORD your God will give you for a possession to inherit;
5. However, if you hearken to the voice of the Lord, your God, to be careful to do all this commandment, which I am commanding you today.	5. if, obeying, you will only obey the Word of the LORD your God, to observe and do all these commandments which I command you this day.
6. For the Lord, your God, has blessed you, as He spoke to you, and you will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow; and you will rule over many nations, but they will not rule over you.	6. For the LORD your God blesses you, as He said to you (that) you will take from many nations, but they will not take from you; and you will have power over many nations, but they will not have power over you.
7. If there will be among you a needy person, from one of your brothers in one of your cities, in your land the Lord, your God, is giving you, you shall not harden your heart, and you shall not close your hand from your needy brother.	7. But if you be not diligent in the precepts of the Law, and there be among you a poor man in one of your cities of the land which the LORD your God gives you, you will not harden your heart, nor hold back your hand from your poor brother;
8. Rather, you shall open your hand to him, and you shall lend him sufficient for his needs, which he is lacking.	8. but you will open your hand to him, and lend to him according to the measure of his lack through which he is in need.
9. Beware, lest there be in your heart an unfaithful thought, saying, "The seventh year, the year of release has approached," and you will begrudge your needy brother and not give him, and he will cry out to the Lord against you, and it will be a sin to you.	9. Beware lest there be a word in your proud heart, saying: The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand, and your eye become evil toward your poor brother, so as to be not willing to give to him, and he cry against you to the LORD, and there be guilt upon you.
10. You shall surely give him, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him; for because of this thing the Lord, your God, will bless you in all your work and in all your endeavors.	10. Giving you will give to him, nor will your heart be evil when you give to him; for on account of this matter the LORD your God will bless you in all your works that you put your hands unto.
11. For there will never cease to be needy within the land. Therefore, I command you, saying, you will surely open your hand to your brother, to your poor one, and to your needy one in your land.	11. But forasmuch as the house of Israel will not rest in the commandments of the Law, the poor will not cease in the land: therefore I command you, saying: You will verily open your hands toward your neighbors, to the afflicted around you, and to the poor of your country.
12. If your brother, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you, he shall serve you for six years, and in the seventh year you shall send him forth free from you.	12. If your brother, a son of Israel, or if a daughter of Israel, be sold to you, he will serve you six years; and when the seventh comes, you will send him from you free.
13. And when you send him forth free from you, you shall not send him forth empty- handed.	13. And when you let him go away from you at liberty, you will not send him away empty.
14. You shall surely provide him from your flock, from your threshing floor, and from your vat, you shall give him from what the Lord, your God, has blessed you	14. Comforting you will comfort him out of your flocks, your floors, and your wine presses; as the LORD has blessed you, you will give to him.
15. And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord, your God, redeemed you; therefore, I am commanding you this thing today.	15. And be mindful that you were servants in the land of Mizraim, and that the LORD your God set you free; therefore I command you today that you do this thing.
16. And it will be, if he says to you, "I will not leave you," because he loves you and your household, for it is good for him with you,	16. But if he say to you, I will not go out from you, because I love you and the men of your house, and because it has been good for him to be with you,
17. Then you shall take an awl and put it through his ear and into the door, and he shall be a servant to you forever; and also to your maidservant you shall do likewise.	17. then you will take an awl, and bore (or apply) it through his ear, and that to the door of the house of judgment (Bet Din), and he will be your serving servant until the Jubilee. And for your handmaid also you will write a certificate of release, and give it to her.
18. You shall not be troubled when you send him free from you, for twice as much as a hired servant, he has served you six years, and the Lord, your God, will bless you in all that you shall do.	18. It must not be a hardship in your eyes when you send him away from you; for double the hire of an hireling has he been of service to you six years; and on his account the LORD your God has blessed you in all that you have done.
19. Every firstborn male that is born of your cattle or of your flock you shall sanctify to the Lord, your God. You shall neither work with the firstborn of your ox, nor shear the firstborn of your flock.	19. Every firstling male that comes of your herd and flock you will consecrate before the LORD your God. You will not work with the firstlings of your herd, nor shear the firstlings of your flocks;
20. You shall eat it before the Lord, your God, year by year, in the place the Lord chooses-you and your household.	20. you will eat thereof before the LORD your God from year to year, in the place which the LORD will choose, you and the men of your houses.
21. And if there be any blemish in it, whether it be lame, or blind, or any ill blemish, you shall not sacrifice it to the Lord, your God.	21. But if there be any spot in it, if it be lame or blind, or have any blemish, you shall not sacrifice it before the Lord your God:
22. You shall eat it within your cities, the unclean and the clean together, as the deer, and as the gazelle.	22. you may eat it in your cities; he who is unclean, (so) that he may not approach to holy things, and he who being clean may approach the holy, may alike (eat), as the flesh of the antelope or hart.
23. However, you shall not eat its blood; you shall pour it on the ground, as water.	23. Only you will not eat the blood; you will pour it out upon the ground like water.
1. Keep the month of spring, and make the Passover offering to the Lord, your God, for in the month of spring, the Lord, your God, brought you out of Egypt at night.	1. Be mindful to keep the times of the festivals, with the intercalations of the year, and to observe the rotation thereof: in the month of Abib to perform the Pascha before the LORD your God, because in the month of Abib the LORD your God brought you out of Mizraim; you will eat it therefore by night.
2. You shall slaughter the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, your God, [of the] flock, and [the Festival sacrifices of the] cattle, in the place which the Lord will choose to establish His Name therein.	2. But you will sacrifice the Pascha before the LORD your God between the suns; and the sheep and the bullocks on the morrow, on that same day to rejoice in the feast at the place which the LORD will choose to make His Shekinah to dwell there.
3. You shall not eat leaven with it; for seven days you shall eat with it matzoth, the bread of affliction, for in haste you went out of the land of Egypt, so that you shall remember the day when you went out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life.	3. You will not eat leavened bread with the Pascha; seven days you will eat unleavened bread unto His Name, the unleavened bread of humiliation; for with haste you went forth from the land of Mizraim; that you may remember the day of your outgoing from the land of Mizraim all the days of your life.
4. And no leaven shall be seen with you within all your border for seven days; neither shall any of the flesh you slaughter on the preceding day in the afternoon, remain all night until the morning.	4. Take heed that in the beginning of the Pascha there be no leaven seen among you within all your borders for seven days; and that none of the flesh which you sacrifice in the evening of the first day remain till the morning.
5. You shall not sacrifice the Passover offering within any of your cities, which the Lord, your God, is giving you.	5. It will not be allowed you to eat the Pascha in (any) one of your cities which the LORD your God gives to you;
6. Except at the place which the Lord, your God, will choose to establish His Name-there you shall slaughter the Passover offering in the afternoon, as the sun sets, at the appointed time that you went out of Egypt.	6. but in the place which the LORD your God will choose to make His Shekinah to dwell, there will you sacrifice the Pascha; and in the evening at the going down of the sun you may eat it until the middle of the night, the time when you began to go out of Mizraim.
7. And you shall roast [it] and eat [it] in the place which the Lord, your God, will choose, and you shall turn away in the morning and go to your dwellings.	7. And you will dress and eat it in the place which the LORD your God will choose, and in the early morn (if need be) you may return from the feast, and go to your cities.
8. For six days you shall eat matzoth, and on the seventh day there shall be a halt to the Lord, your God. You shall not do any work [on it].	8. On the first day you will offer the omer, and eat unleavened cakes of the old corn; but in the six remaining days you may begin to eat unleavened cakes of the new corn, and on the seventh day you will assemble with thanksgiving before the LORD your God; no work will you perform.
9. You shall count seven weeks for yourself; from[the time] the sickle is first put to the standing crop, you shall begin to count seven weeks.	9. Seven weeks number to you; from the time when you begin to put the sickle to the harvest of the field after the reaping of the omer you will begin to number the seven weeks.
10. And you shall perform the Festival of Weeks to the Lord, your God, the donation you can afford to give, according to how the Lord, your God, shall bless you.	10. And you will keep with joy the Festival of Weeks before the LORD your God, after the measure of the freewill offerings of your hands, according as the LORD your God will have blessed you.
11. And you shall rejoice before the Lord, your God, -you, and your son, and your daughter, and your manservant, and your maidservant, and the Levite who is within your cities, and the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow, who are among you, in the place which the Lord, your God, will choose to establish His Name therein.	11. And you will rejoice with the joy of the feast before the LORD your God, you and your sons, your daughters, your servants and handmaids, the Levites who are in your cities, and the stranger, the orphan, and the widow who are among you, at the place which the LORD your God will choose where to make His Shekinah to dwell.
12. And you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and you shall keep and perform these statutes.	12. Remember that you were servants in Mizraim; so will you observe and perform these statutes.
13. You shall make yourself the Festival of Sukkoth for seven days, when you gather in [the produce] from your threshing floor and your vat.	13. The Feast of Tabernacles you will make to you seven days, when you will have completed to gather in the corn from your threshing floors, and the wine from your presses.
14. And you shall rejoice in your Festival-you, and your son, and your daughter, and your manservant, and your maidservant, and the Levite, and the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow, who are within your cities.	14. And you will rejoice in the joy of your feasts with the clarinet and flute, you and your sons and daughters, your handmaids, the Levite, the stranger, the orphan, and the widow, who are in your cities.
15. Seven days you shall celebrate the Festival to the Lord, your God, in the place which the Lord shall choose, because the Lord, your God, will bless you in all your produce, and in all the work of your hands, and you will only be happy.	15. Seven days you will keep the feast before the LORD your God in the place which the LORD will choose, because the LORD your God will have blessed you in all your provision, and in all the work of your hands, and so willll you be joyful in prosperity.
16. Three times in the year, every one of your males shall appear before the Lord, your God, in the place He will choose: on the Festival of Matzoth and on the Festival of Weeks, and on the Festival of Sukkoth, and he shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed.	16. Three times in the year will all your males appear before the LORD your God in the place that He will choose; at the Feast of the Unleavened, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles; nor must you appear before the LORD your God empty of any of the requirements;
17. [Every] man [shall bring] as much as he can afford, according to the blessing of the Lord, your God, which He has given you.	17. every one after the measure of the gifts of his hands, according to the blessing which the LORD your God hath bestowed upon you.

 

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan

for: B’Midbar (Num.) 28:18-25‎

 

Rashi	Targum Pseudo Jonathan
18. On the first day is a holy convocation; you shall not perform any mundane work.	18. On the first day of the festival a holy convocation; no servile work will you do;
19. You shall offer up a fire offering, a burnt offering to the Lord: two young bulls, one ram, and seven lambs in the first year they shall be unblemished for you.	19. but offer an oblation of a burnt sacrifice before the LORD, two young bullocks, one ram, and seven lambs of the year, unblemished, will you have.
20. Their meal offerings [shall be] fine flour mixed with oil; three tenths for each bull and two tenths for the ram you shall offer up.	20. And their minchas of wheat flour, mingled with olive oil, three tenths for each bullock, two tenths for the ram,
21. And you shall offer up one tenth for each lamb, for all seven lambs.	21. and for a single lamb a tenth, so for the seven;
22. And one young male goat for a sin offering to atone for you.	22. and one kid of the goats, to make an atonement for you:
23. You shall offer these up besides the morning burnt offering which is offered as a continual burnt offering.	23. beside the burnt sacrifice of the morning, the perpetual burnt sacrifice, you will make these offerings.
24. Like these, you shall offer up daily for seven days, food of the fire offering, a spirit of satisfaction to the Lord; you shall offer up this in addition to the continual burnt offering and its libation.	24. According to these oblations of the first day you will do daily through the seven days of the festival. It is the bread of the oblation which is received with favor before the LORD; it will be made beside the perpetual burnt offering, with its libation.
25. The seventh day shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall not perform any mundane work.	25. And on the seventh day you shall have a holy convocation; no servile work shall you do.

 

Welcome to the World of P’shat Exegesis

 

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

 

The Seven Hermeneutic Laws of R. Hillel are as follows

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Rashi’s Commentary for: ‎ D’barim (Deut.) ‎14:22 – 16:17‎‎

 

‎‎22 You shall tithe [all the seed crop] What has one matter to do with the other [i.e., the prohibition of cooking a kid, and tithing]? The Holy One, blessed is He, said to Israel: Do not cause Me to destroy the [developing] kernels (גְּדָיִים) of grain, while they are yet in their “mother’s womb” [i.e., in the husks], for if you do not tithe your produce properly, when it is near ripening I will bring forth an easterly wind, which will blast them, as it is said, “and blast before becoming standing grain” (II Kings 19:26) (Tanchuma). [And just as cooking the kid in its mother’s milk and the tithes are juxtaposed,] so is the topic of the first fruits (בִּכּוּרִים) [juxtaposed to cooking the kid in its mother’s milk (see Exod. 23:19, 34:26), to teach us that, if you do not bring your first fruits to the Temple as commanded, your fruit produce will whither].

 

[You shall tithe...] year by year From here, we derive [the ruling] that one may not give tithes from the new [crop] for the old [i.e., from this year’s crop for last year’s].-[Sifrei]

 

23 And you shall eat [before the Lord your God, in the place He chooses... the tithes of your grain...]- This refers to ma’aser sheini, “the second tithe,” for we have already learned to give ma’aser rishon, “the first tithe,” to the Levites, as it is said, “[Speak to the Levites...] when you take from the children of Israel [the tithe]... ” (Num. 18:26), and it gives them permission to eat it anywhere [not only in Jerusalem], as it is said, “and you may eat it in any place” (Num. 18:31). Thus you must conclude that this one [which may be eaten by its owners and must be eaten in Jerusalem,] is another tithe [namely, the second tithe].

 

24 For [the Lord your God] will bless you so that your produce will be too much to carry.

 

26 [And you will turn that money] into whatever your soul desires This is a כְּלָל , a general statement [not limited to anything in particular. Whereas the next expression,]

 

cattle, or sheep, new wine or old wine [represents a] פְּרָט , a “specification” [that is, it details particular things, limiting the matter to those things. After this, the verse continues,]

 

or whatever your soul desires [The verse] again reverts to a כְּלָל , a “general statement.” [Now we have learned that when a verse expresses a כְּלָל , a פְּרָט , and then a כְּלָל again, as in this case, we apply the characteristics of the פְּרָט to the whole matter. That is,] just as the items listed in the פְּרָט 1) are products of things themselves produced by the earth [e.g., wine comes from grapes], and 2) are fitting to be food for man, [so must the money replacing them be used to purchase such products].-[Eruvin 27a]

 

27 And [as for] the Levite... - you shall not forsake him By not giving him the first tithe.

 

for he has neither portion nor inheritance with you This excludes gleanings (Lev. 19:9), forgotten sheaves (Deut. 24:19), the end of the field (Lev. 19:9), [all of which are left for the poor,] and ownerless things, for the Levite does have a portion in these things, just as you do, and [consequently,] they are not subject to tithing.

 

28 At the end of three years [you shall take out all the tithe of your crop in that year] This comes to teach us that if one kept his tithes from the first and the second year of the shemitah [cycle], he has to remove them from his house in the third [year].

 

29 And the Levite... will come And take the first tithe.

 

and the stranger, and the orphan... [will come] And take the second tithe, which this year [the third in the seven year cycle], belongs to the poor, and you [yourself] may not eat it in Jerusalem, in the manner you were required to eat the second tithe in the [first] two years [of this cycle].

 

will come and eat and be satisfied Give them enough to satisfy them. From here [our Rabbis] said: One must not give the poor from the threshing floor less [than half a kav of wheat, or a kav of barley] (Sifrei). And you go up to Jerusalem with the [second] tithe of the first and the second years which you have delayed [to bring], and you shall confess: “I have removed the sanctified things from the house” (see Deut. 26:13), as is stated in [the section beginning with] “When you have finished tithing...” (Deut. 26:12).

 

Chapter 15

 

1 At the end of seven years [you shall make a release] One might think that this means seven years [starting from the transaction] of each loan. Scripture, therefore, states, “The seventh year [i.e., the year of release] has approached...” (verse 9). But if you say [that] “seven years” [means] for each loan, after each individual loan, how has it approached? [No loan was yet transacted.] Consequently, you learn [that Scripture means] seven years according to the counting of the Shemitha [cycle].-[Sifrei]

 

2 to release the hand of every creditor Heb. כָּל־בַּעַל מַשֵּׁה יָדוֹ שָׁמוֹט , [lit. to release every master the loan of his hand, which makes no sense. Therefore, Rashi interprets the verse to mean] to release the hand of every creditor [from reclaiming the loan].

 

3 From the foreigner you may exact This is a positive command (See Ramban.). -[Sifrei]

 

4 However, there will be no needy among you But further on it says, “For there will never cease to be needy [within the land]” (verse 11). [These two verses seem to contradict each other. However, the explanation is:] When you perform the will of the Omnipresent, there will be needy among others but not among you. If, however, you do not perform the will of the Omnipresent, there will be needy among you. -[Sifrei] needy Heb. אֶבְיוֹן , [denoting someone who is] poorer than an עָ נִי . The term אֶבְיוֹן means “to yearn for” (תָּאֵב) , i.e., one who yearns for everything [because he has nothing].-[Vayikra Rabbah 34:6, see B.M. 111b]

 

5 However, if you hearken [to the voice of the Lord, your God] then “there will be no needy among you” (verse 4).

 

you hearken Heb. שָׁמֽעַ תִּשְׁמַע . [The repetition of the verb form suggests:] If one listens a little, he will be granted the opportunity to listen much [i.e., he will be taught much Torah as a reward].-[Sifrei]

 

6 [For the Lord, your God, has blessed you,] as He has spoken to you And where did He speak about this? “Blessed are you in the city...” (Deut. 28:3). -[Sifrei]

 

and you will lend Heb. וְהַעֲבַטְתָּ . Whenever an expression denoting lending refers to a lender [of money], it adopts the hiph’il [causative] form. For example, וְהִלְוִיתָ , or וְהַעֲבַטְתָּ , you will lend. However, if it would have said וְעָבַטְתָּ ,[in the kal, simple conjugation,] it would be referring to the borrower, like וְלָוִיתָ , you will borrow.

 

and you will lend to [many] nations One might think that you will borrow from this one and lend that one. Therefore, Scripture states, “but you will not borrow.”

 

and you will rule over many nations One might think that [at the same time] other nations will rule over you. Therefore, Scripture states, “but they will not rule over you.”-[Sifrei]

 

7 If there will be among you a needy person The most needy person has priority. -[Sifrei]

 

from one of your brothers Your brother on your father’s side has priority over your brother on your mother’s side.-[Sifrei]

 

[in one of] your cities The poor of your city have priority over the poor of another city. -[Sifrei]

 

you shall not harden [your heart] Some people suffer [as they deliberate] whether they should give [to the needy] or they should not give; therefore it says: “you shall not harden [your heart].” Some people stretch out their hand [to give], but then close it; therefore it says: “nor close your hand.”-[Sifrei]

 

[nor close your hand] from your needy brother If you do not give him, you will ultimately become a “brother of the needy” [i.e., becoming needy yourself].-[Sifrei]

 

8 [Rather] you shall open [your hand] Even many times.

 

[Rather] you shall open [your hand] Heb. כִּי־פָתֽחַ תִּפְתַּח . Here, the word כִּי has the meaning of “rather” [whereas in verse 7 it means “if,” and in verse 10, “because”].

 

and you shall lend If he does not want [your money] as a [charitable] gift, give it to him as a loan.- [Sifrei ; Keth. 67b]

 

[lend him] sufficient for his needs However, you are not commanded to make him wealthy.-[Sifrei]

 

[sufficient for his needs,] what he is lacking Even a horse to ride on and a servant to run before him [if he is accustomed to this type of lifestyle]. -[Sifrei ; Keth. 67b]

 

he [is lacking] Heb. יֶחְסַר לוֹ , lit. what is lacking for him. This refers to a wife [i.e., you should help him marry a wife]. Similarly, it is stated: “I shall make for him (לוֹ) a helpmate opposite him” (Gen. 2:18). -[Keth. 66b]

 

9 and he will cry out [to the Lord] against you One might think this is a requirement [namely, that this poor man is obliged to "cry out... against you"]. Therefore, Scripture says, “[On his day you shall give him his payment...] so that he will not cry against you [to the Lord]” (Deut. 24:15). -[Sifrei 15:138]

 

and it will be a sin to you in any case, even if he does not cry [against you]. If so, why does it say, “and he will cry out... against you?” [It means that God says:] I hasten to punish in response to the one who cries out more than to the one who does not cry out.-[Sifrei]

 

10 You shall surely give him Even a hundred times.-[Sifrei]

 

him [meaning] between him and you [i.e., privately]. -[Sifrei]

 

for because of this thing Heb. דּבָר , lit. word. Even if you said [i.e., gave him your “word”] that you would give, you will receive a reward for the saying along with the reward for the deed.- [Sifrei]

 

11 Therefore Heb. עַל־כֵּן , here meaning מִפְּנֵי כֵן , [i.e.,] “because of this,” or “therefore.”

 

saying I offer you advice for your own good.-[Sifrei]

 

[You shall surely open your hand] to your brother, to your poor one To which brother? To your poor one.

 

to your poor one Heb. לַעֲנִיֶּךָ , [spelled] with one “yud,” [singular form,] means one poor person, but עֲנִיֶּיךָ with two "yud"s [the second “yud” denoting the plural form,] means two poor people. [Here, since it is written with one “yud,” meaning one poor person, thus modifying אָחִיךָ , your brother, which is in the singular]. See Yosef Hallel, Leket Bahir, Chavel.

 

12 If [your brother...] is sold to you By others [but not one who sells himself because of poverty]. Scripture is speaking here of one whom the court sold [for a theft that he had committed]. But has it not already been stated, “If you buy a Hebrew servant” (Exod. 21:2) and there, too, Scripture is referring to one whom the court sold (Mechilta)? Nevertheless, [it is repeated here] because of two points which are new here: The first is that it is written [here] “or a Hebrew woman,” that she, too, [like a manservant,] goes free at the end of six [years]. This does not mean a woman whom the court has sold, for a woman is not sold [by the court] on account of a theft, since it is stated [that the thief will be sold] “for his theft” (Exod. 22:2), not for her theft. Thus, [we are referring here to] a minor whom her father sold [as a handmaid], and it teaches you here that if six years terminate before she shows signs [of puberty], she goes free (Exod. 21:7-11). The second new point here is: “You shall surely provide him.”

 

14 You shall surely provide him Heb. הַעֲנֵיק תַּעֲנִיק . [The root ענק ] denotes an ornament worn high [on the upper portion of the body] within view of the eye. [Thus, this verse means that you should give him] something through which it will be recognized that you have benefited him. Others explain [the word הַעֲנֵיק ] as an expression of loading on his neck [meaning that you should load him with gifts].

 

[You shall surely provide him] from your flock, from your threshing floor, and from your vat One might think that I must [give him] only these things [listed in the verse here]. Therefore, Scripture states, “from what the Lord, your God, has blessed you,” meaning, from everything with which your Creator has blessed you. Then why are these mentioned? Just as these particular things are within the realm of blessing, so too, you should provide him only with what falls within the realm of blessing. This [therefore] excludes mules, [which are sterile, and are thus not considered within the realm of blessing] (Kid. 17a). In tractate Kiddushin (17a)our Rabbis derived by means of a gezerah shavah how much one must give the servant of each kind.

 

15 And you shall remember that you were a slave [in the land of Egypt] And I loaded you up [with booty], and then did so a second time, from the spoil of Egypt and from the spoil at the Sea [of Reeds]; so too should you load him up, and then do so a second time.-[Sifrei]

 

17 [And he shall be] a servant [to you] forever Heb. לְעוֹלָם . One might think that [ לְעוֹלָם , “forever”] is to be interpreted literally. Therefore, Scripture states: “[And you shall sanctify the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It will be a Jubilee for you;] and you shall return, every man to his property, and you shall return, every man to his family” (Lev. 25:10). Consequently, you learn that the term לְעוֹלָם here can mean only the period until the Jubilee. [This period is also called לְעוֹלָם .]-[Mechilta 21:6] and also to your maidservant you will do likewise to provide her. One might think that Scripture includes her concerning the piercing [of the ear] as well. Therefore, it states, “And if the manservant (הַָעֶבֶד) will clearly say, [I love my master...then... his master shall bore his ear with an awl]” (Exod. 21:5-6); [i.e.,] a manservant (עֶבֶד) must have his ear pierced, but not a maidservant.-[Sifrei]

 

18 for twice as much as much as a hired servant From here our Rabbis said: A Hebrew slave serves both by day and by night, and that is double the amount of labor of a man hired only for day work. And what is his service during the night? That his master gives him a Canaanite maidservant [as a wife], and the [resultant] children [belong] to the master.-[Sifrei, Kid. 15a]

 

19 Every firstborn male... you shall sanctify [to the Lord] But elsewhere (Lev. 27:26) it says, “[But the firstborn which will be a firstborn for the Lord of the livestock,] no man shall sanctify it.” How is this [reconciled]? [The verse in Leviticus means that] one may not sanctify [the firstborn] to be another sacrifice [but only as a firstborn sacrifice]. And our verse here teaches us that it is a duty to proclaim [over the firstborn animal], “You are hereby sanctified as a firstborn.” Another explanation: It is impossible to say “sanctify [this firstborn animal],” because [Scripture] already says, “no man must shall sanctify it” (Lev. 27:26). And yet it is impossible to say that we shall not sanctify it, for [here] it already says, “you shall sanctify.” So how [can these two verses be reconciled]? [The answer is that we are dealing with an indirect sanctification, namely:] One may sanctify the value of the privilege [i.e., the owner of the firstborn animal has the privilege of choosing to which kohen he will give it. This privilege has a market value, namely how much an Israelite will pay so that the owner of the firstborn will give it to his grandson who is a kohen. The verse, therefore, means:] one may dedicate the value of this privilege according to its benefit and give it to the Temple [treasury].-[Ar. 29a]

 

You shall neither work with the firstborn of your ox, nor shear [the firstborn of your flock] The Rabbis derived that also the the converse [i.e., shearing your ox and working the flock] is prohibited. Scripture is merely speaking [here] of the usual manner [in which these animals are used].-[Bech. 25a]

 

20 You shall eat it before the Lord, your God [Scripture] is addressing the kohen, for we have already found [a statement to the effect] that it [the firstborn] is part of the dues given to kohanim, whether the animal is unblemished or whether it is blemished. For it is stated, “and their flesh [i.e., of the firstborn animals] shall be yours [i.e., the kohen 's]” (Num. 18:18). - [Bech. 28a] [In both cases, the kohen is entitled to eat the entire animal. The difference between the blemished and the unblemished animals is that the blemished animal is slaughtered outside the Temple, and its flesh may be eaten anywhere by anyone invited by the kohen. The unblemished animal, however, must be slaughtered in the Temple courtyard, its blood dashed on the altar, and its fat burned on the altar. The flesh must be eaten by the kohen and his household within the time allotted for eating it.]

 

[You shall eat it before the Lord...] year by year From here we derive the law that one should not delay it [i.e., from sacrificing it] beyond its first year (Bech. 28a). [If so, however,] one might think that it becomes unfit [as a sacrifice] when the first year has elapsed. [Therefore, the Torah tells us that] it [the firstborn animal] has already been compared to ma’aser [sheini], as it is said, “And you shall eat before the Lord, your God... the tithes of your grain, your wine, and your oil, and the firstborn of your cattle and of your sheep” (Deut. 14:23). Just as ma’aser sheini does not become unfit [when it is left over] from one year to the next, neither does the firstborn animal become unfit. However, [this verse means] that the proper way to fulfill this commandment [of the firstborn animal] is during its first year.

 

year by year If one slaughtered it at the end of its first year [on the last day], he may eat it on that day and one day of the next year. This teaches [us] that it [a firstborn animal] may be eaten for two days and one [intervening] night.-[Bech. 27b]

 

21 [And if there be any] blemish [in it] [This is] a כְּלָל , a general statement [not limiting itself to anything in particular].

 

lame, or blind [This is] a פְּרָט , particular things, [limiting the matter to these things].

 

any ill blemish [Once again the verse] reverts to כְּלָל , a general statement. [Now we have learned that when a verse expresses a כְּלָל , then a פְּרָט , and then a כְּלָל again, just as in this case, we apply the characteristics of the פְּרָט to the whole matter.] Just as the blemishes detailed [lame or blind] are externally visible blemishes that do not heal, so too, any externally visible blemish that does not heal [renders a firstborn animal unfit for sacrifice and may be eaten as ordinary flesh].-[Bech. 37a]

 

23 However, you shall not eat its blood [Although eating the blood of any animal is prohibited, this prohibition is mentioned here] so that you should not say: "Since this [blemished firstborn animal] is entirely permitted [to be eaten now after its blemish, even though] it started out from a forbidden status, since it was sanctified, [and now it is permitted] for it is slaughtered outside [the Temple] without having to be redeemed, and [it may be] eaten. I might [therefore] think that its blood is permitted as well!" Therefore, Scripture states, "However, you shall not eat its blood."

 

Chapter 16

 

1 Keep the month of spring Heb. אָבִיב . Before it [Nissan] arrives, watch that it should be fit for the אָבִיב , ripening [capable of producing ripe ears of barley by the sixteenth of the month], to offer up in it the omer meal offering. And if not, proclaim it a leap year [thereby enabling you to wait another month, until the barley ripens].-[San. 11b]

 

[for in the month of spring the Lord, your God, brought you] out of Egypt at night But did they not go out by day, as it is said, “on the morrow of the Passover the children of Israel went out...” (Num. 33:3)? However, since during the night Pharaoh gave them permission to leave, as it is said, “So he called for Moses and Aaron at night [and said, ‘Rise up, go out from among my people...]’ ” (Exod. 12:31), [therefore, here it says “at night”].-[Ber. 9a]

 

2 You shall slaughter the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, your God, [of the] flock As it is said, “You may take [it] either from the sheep or from the goats” (Exod. 12:5).

 

and...cattle These are slaughtered as the chagigah [Festival offering]. If a large group was formed for the Passover offering, they bring a Festival offering along with it, so that the Passover sacrifice will be eaten [after a sufficient meal, and therefore] after the required satiation. [Everyone had to designate himself to a particular company of people, which was then relevant to one particular Passover offering (Pes. 69a- 70b).] Our Rabbis also derived many other things from this verse.-[Sifrei ; Pes. 70a]

 

3 the bread of affliction [I.e.,] bread that brings to mind the affliction they suffered in Egypt.-[Sifrei]

 

for in haste you went out of the land of Egypt And the dough [that you had prepared for eating] did not have time to become leavened, so this [matzah] will be for you as a reminder. And the haste [here] is not on your part, but on the part of the Egyptians, for so it says, “So the Egyptians took hold of the people [to hasten to send them out of the land]” (Exod. 12:33). -[Sifrei ; Ber. 9a]

 

so that you shall remember By eating the Passover sacrifice and the matzah, the day you went out [of the land of Egypt].

 

4 neither shall any of the flesh you slaughter on the preceding day in the afternoon, remain all night until the morning This is an admonition regarding leaving over the flesh of the Passover sacrifice, offered up by future generations, because [so far this prohibition] had been mentioned only with regard to the Passover sacrifice offered in Egypt (see Exod. 12:10). And יוֹם רִאשׁוֹן stated here is the fourteenth of Nissan [the preceding day, and not the fifteenth, which is the first day of Passover], just as it says: “but on the preceding day (בַּיוֹם הָרִאשׁוֹן) you shall clear away leaven from your houses” (Exod. 12:15). Now since Scripture digressed from the subject of the Passover sacrifice and began to speak of the rules pertaining to the seven days [of the Festival]-such as, “seven days you shall eat with it matzoth ” (verse 3); “And no leaven shall be seen with you within all your border for seven days” (verse 4)—it was necessary to specify to which slaughtering [Scripture] is admonishing. For had it written only “neither shall any of the flesh you slaughter in the afternoon, remain all night until the morning” [without saying “the preceding day”], I might have thought that the peace offerings slaughtered during all the seven days are also subject to [the prohibition of] “And you shall not leave any of it until the morning,” (Exod. 12:10), and may be eaten only for [one] day and a night. Therefore, it is written: “on the preceding day in the evening,” [thereby clarifying that the verse is referring to the Passover sacrifice]. Another explanation: Scripture is referring to the Festival offering brought on the fourteenth of Nissan [and not to the specific Passover sacrifice], and it teaches with reference to it that it may be eaten for two days [and the intervening night]. Now the רִאשׁוֹן mentioned here [according to this explanation], is the first day of the Festival [i.e., the fifteenth of Nissan, rather than the preceding day]. And this is the meaning of the verse: The flesh of the Festival offering, which you slaughtered in the afternoon, shall not remain overnight after the first day of the Festival until the morning of the second day [the sixteenth of Nissan], but rather, it is to be eaten on the fourteenth and the fifteenth [and the intervening night]. And thus it is taught in tractate Pes. (71b).

 

6 there you shall slaughter the Passover offering] in the afternoon, 2) as the sun sets, at the appointed time that you went out of Egypt [In this verse,] three separate times are specified: 1)"in the afternoon," [i.e.,] from the sixth [seasonal] hour [not clock-hours, but rather the twelve equal divisions of the time between dawn and dusk, each one known as a שָׁעָה זְמַנִּית , a “seasonal hour”]. From this time onward [afternoon], you shall slaughter it (זְבָחֵהוּ) “as the sun sets,” you shall eat it (תּֽאכְלֵהוּ) ; and 3)"at the appointed time that you went out [of Egypt]," you must burn it (שוֹרְפֵהוּ) . I.e., [at the beginning of the morning of the first day of Passover, whatever is left over from the Passover sacrifice] becomes נוֹתָר , left over, and must be burned [on the next day].-[Sifrei ; see Ber. 9a]

 

7 And you shall roast [it] Heb. וּבִשַּׁלְתָּ . [Here] this term means “roasted in fire” (צְלִי אֵשׁ) (see Exod. 12:9), for roasting is also included in the general term of בִּשּׁוּל , “cooking.”

 

and you shall turn away in the morning [and go to your dwellings] [i.e.,] the morning of the second day [of Passover]. This teaches that [the pilgrim] is required to remain [in Jerusalem] the night when the Festival terminates.-[Sifrei ; Pes. 95b; Chag. 17a-b]

 

8 For six days you shall eat matzoth But elsewhere it says, “For seven days [you shall eat matzoth]!” (Exod. 12:15). [The solution is:] For seven days you shall eat matzoth from the old [produce] and six days [i.e., the last six days, after the omer has been offered] you may eat matzoth prepared from the new [crop]. Another explanation: It teaches that the eating of matzoh on the seventh day of Passover is not obligatory, and from here you learn [that the same law applies] to the other six days [of the Festival], For the seventh day was included in a general statement [in the verse “For seven days you shall eat matzoth,” but in the verse: “Six days you shall eat matzoth ”] it has been taken out of this general [statement], to teach us that eating matzoh [on the seventh day] is not obligatory, but optional. [Now we have aready learned that if something is singled out of a general statement, we apply the relevant principle not only to itself but to every thing included in the general category. Thus the seventh day] is excluded here not to teach regarding itself, rather to teach regarding the entire generalization [i.e., the entire seven days of the Festival]. Just as on the seventh day the eating of matzah is optional, so too, on all the other days, the eating of matzah is optional. The only exception is the first night [of Passover], which Scripture has explicitly established as obligatory, as it is said, “in the evening, you shall eat matzoth ” (Exod. 12:18). -[Mechilta on Exod 12:18; Pes. 120a]

 

[and on the seventh day there shall be] a halt to the Lord your God - עֲצֶרֶת . Keep yourself back from work. Another explanation: [ עֲצֶרֶת means] a gathering for eating and drinking, as the expression, “Let us detain (נַעַצְרָה) you” (Judg. 13:15).

 

9 from [the time] the sickle is first put to the standing crop, [you shall begin to count seven weeks] [I.e.,] from the time the omer is harvested [on the sixteenth of Nissan], which is the beginning of the harvest.-[see Lev. 23:10, Sifrei ; Men. 71a]

 

10 the donation you can afford to give [I.e.,] sufficient generous donation from you; according to the blessing [that God bestows upon you], bring peace offerings of happiness [these are extra peace offerings in addition to the Festival offerings] and invite guests to eat [with you].

 

11 the Levite... the stranger, the orphan, and the widow [God says:] These are My four, corresponding to your four, [namely,] “Your son, and your daughter, and your manservant, and your maidservant.” If you shall gladden Mine, I will gladden yours.-[Midrash Aggadah, Midrash Hagadol. Compare Tanchuma 18, Pesikta d’Rav Kahana p.100a. Note that in incunabula editions, this comment of Rashi is connected to the preceding one: and invite guests to eat [with you]: the Levite... the stranger, the orphan, and the widow. [God says:] These are My four...]

 

12 And you shall remember that you were a slave [in Egypt] On this condition did I redeem you [from Egypt], that you keep and perform these statutes.

 

13 You shall make yourself the Festival of Sukkoth...] when you gather in [the produce]- [i.e.,] at the time of the ingathering, when you bring the summer fruits into the house. Another explanation: “when you gather in [the produce] from your threshing floor and your vat” וּמִיִּקְבֶךָ) (בְּאָסְפּ;ְךָ מִגָּרְנְךָ teaches that we should cover the sukkah [only] with the waste products that come from the threshing floor and the vat [i.e., with things that have grown from the ground, have become detached, and are not susceptible to ritual uncleanness. Since they are not foods and are not vessels, they are not susceptible to spiritual uncleanness. - R.H. 13a; Suk. 12a]

 

15 and you will only be happy According to its simple meaning, this is not an expression denoting a command, but rather an expression of an assurance [i.e., I promise you that you will be happy]. But according to its oral interpretation, [our Rabbis] learned from this to include the night before the last day of the Festival for the obligation of rejoicing.-[see Suk. 48a; Sifrei]

 

16 and he shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed But bring burnt-offerings of appearance (עוֹלוֹת רְאִיָּה) [which are obligatory when appearing before the Lord in Jerusalem on the Festivals] and Festival peace-offerings. -[Chag. 8b]

 

17 [Every] man [shall bring] as much as he can afford One who has many eaters [i.e., a large family] and many possessions should bring many burnt-offerings and many peace- offerings.-[Sifrei ; Chag. 8b]

 

Ashlamatah: Isaiah 10:32 – 12:6‎‎

 

RASHI	TARGUM
24. ¶ Therefore, so said the Lord God of Hosts, "Fear not, my people who dwell in Zion, Assyria; with a rod may he smite you, and his staff may he bear over you in the way of Egypt."	24. ¶ Therefore thus says the LORD God of hosts: “O My people who dwell in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrian when he strikes you with his ruler's staff and throws his mastery against you as in the manner of Egypt.
25. For [in] yet a very little [while] the fury shall be over, and My wrath, because of their blasphemy.	25. For in a very little while the curses will come to an end for you that are of the house of Jacob, and My anger will be upon the peoples who ‎commit the abomination of their destruction."
26. And the Lord of Hosts shall stir up a scourge against him, like the smiting of Midian at the Rock of Oreb, and His staff on the sea, and He shall carry him off after the manner of Egypt.	26. And the LORD of hosts will bring upon him a stroke, as when he struck Midian at the ‎cleft of Oreb; and his stroke will pass from you as the mastery of Pharaoh passed from you at the sea, for prodigies are done for you as ‎in the manner of Egypt.
27. And it shall come to pass on that day, that his burden shall be removed from upon your shoulder, and his yoke from upon your neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of oil.	27. And it will come to pass in that time that his stroke will pass from you, and his yoke from your neck, and the ‎Gentiles will be shattered before the Messiah.
28. He came upon Aiath; he passed through Migron; at Michmas he deposits his luggage.	28. He has come to Aiath; he has passed through Migron, at Michmash he will appoint the ‎masters of his armies;
29. They crossed the ford; at Geba they lodged; Ramah quaked; Gib'ath Saul fled.	29. they cut through, cross over the Jordan, at Geba they lodge themselves; the inhabitants of Ramah are ‎shattered, the men of Gibeah of Saul have fled.
30. Raise your voice, Bath-gallim; hearken, Laishah, Aniah Anathoth.	30. Lift up your voice, O men of the daughter of Gallim! Hearken, O you who dwell in ‎Laish, who reside in poor Anathoth!
31. Madmenah wandered; the inhabitants of Gebim gathered.	31. The men ofMadmenah are shattered, the inhabitants of Gebim go into exile.
32. Still today, [he intends] to stand in Nob; he waves his hand toward the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem. {P}	32. While the ‎day was still young and he had much time to enter, behold Sennacherib the king o.l Assyria came and stood at Nob, the city of the priests, ‎opposite the wall ofJerusalem, He answered and said to his forces, "Is not this Jerusalem, against which I stirred up all my armies? ‎Behold it is fainter than all the fortresses of the peoples which I have suppressed with the strength of my hands." He stood over it ‎shaking his head, waving back and forth with his hand against the mount of the sanctuary which is in Zion, and against the courts which ‎are in Jerusalem. {P}
33. ¶ Behold the Master, the Lord of Hosts lops off the branches with a saw, and those of lofty height are hewn down, and the tall one shall be humbled.	33. ¶ Behold, the master ofthe world, the LORD of hosts casts slaughter among his armies as grapes trodden in the ‎press; and the great in stature will be hewn down and the strong will be humbled.
34. And the thickets of the forests shall be cut off with iron, and the Lebanon shall fall through a mighty one. {S}	34. And he will slay the mighty men of his armies who ‎make themselves mighty with iron, and his warriors will be cast on the land of Israel.‎ {S}
1. And a shoot shall spring forth from the stem of Jesse, and a twig shall sprout from his roots.	1. And a king will come forth from the sons of Jesse, and the Messiah will be exalted from the sons of his sons.
2. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, a spirit of wisdom and understanding, a spirit of counsel and heroism, a spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord.	2. And a spirit before the ‎LORD will rest upon him (Messiah), a spirit of wisdom and understanding, a spirit of counsel and might, a spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
3. And he shall be animated by the fear of the Lord, and neither with the sight of his eyes shall he judge, nor with the hearing of his ears shall he chastise.	3. And the LORD will bring him (Messiah) near to his fear. And he (Messiah) will not judge by the sight of his eyes, and he will not reprove by the hearing ‎of his ears;
4. And he shall judge the poor justly, and he shall chastise with equity the humble of the earth, and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth and with the breath of his lips he shall put the wicked to death.	4. but in truth he (Messiah) will judge the poor, and reprove with faithfulness for the needy of the people; and he (Messiah) will strike the sinners ‎of the land with the command of his mouth, and with the speaking of his lips the wicked will die.
5. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faith the girdle of his loins.	5. And the righteous/generous will be all around ‎him (Messiah), and the faithful will be brought near him (Messiah).
6. And a wolf shall live with a lamb, and a leopard shall lie with a kid; and a calf and a lion cub and a fatling [shall lie] together, and a small child shall lead them.	6. In the days of the Messiah of Israel will peace increase in the land, and the wolf ‎will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the kid, and the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little suckling ‎child will lead them.
7. And a cow and a bear shall graze together, their children shall lie; and a lion, like cattle, shall eat straw.	7. The cow and the bear will feed; their young will lie down together; and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8. And an infant shall play over the hole of an old snake and over the eyeball of an adder, a weaned child shall stretch forth his hand.	8. ‎And the suckling child will play over the hole of an asp, and the weaned child will put his hands on the adder's eyeballs.
9. They shall neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mount, for the land shall be full of knowledge of the Lord as water covers the sea bed. {S}	9. They will not ‎hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the fear of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. {S}
10. And it shall come to pass on that day, that the root of Jesse, which stands as a banner for peoples, to him shall the nations inquire, and his peace shall be [with] honor. {P}	10. And it will come to pass in that time that to the son of the son of Jesse who is about to stand as an ensign to the peoples, to him will kingdoms ‎be obedient, and his resting place will be glorious. {P}
11. ¶ And it shall come to pass that on that day, the Lord shall continue to apply His hand a second time to acquire the rest of His people, that will remain from Assyria and from Egypt and from Pathros and from Cush and from Elam and from Sumeria and from Hamath and from the islands of the sea.	11. ¶ And it will come to pass in that time that the LORD will extend his might yet a second ‎time to deliver the remnant of his people which is left, from Assyria, and from Egypt and from Pathros, and from India, and from Elam, and ‎from Babylon, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
12. And He shall raise a banner to the nations, and He shall gather the lost of Israel, and the scattered ones of Judah He shall gather from the four corners of the earth.	12. And he will raise an ensign for the peoples, and will assemble the ‎outcasts of Israel, and bring near the exile of Judah from the four winds of the earth.
13. And the envy of Ephraim shall cease, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, nor shall Judah vex Ephraim.	13. And jealousy will pass from those of the house ‎of Ephraim, and ‎those who distress from the of the house of Judah will be destroyed. Those of the house of Ephraim will not be jealous of those of the house of Judah, and those of the house of Judah will not distress those of the house of Ephraim.
14. And they shall fly of one accord against the Philistines in the west, together they shall plunder the children of the East; upon Edom and Moab shall they stretch forth their hand, and the children of Ammon shall obey them.	14. And they will ally themselves, shoulder to shoulder, to strike the Philistines who are in the west, together they will plunder the sons of the east. They will put forth their hand against Edom and Moab, and the sons of Ammon will be obedient to them.
15. And the Lord shall dry up the tongue of the Egyptian Sea, and He shall lift His hand over the river with the strength of His wind, and He shall beat it into seven streams, and He shall lead [the exiles] with shoes.	15. And the LORD will dry up the tongue of the sea of Egypt, and will/lift up the stroke of His might against the Euphrates by his prophets' command, and strike it into seven streams, and they will walk in it with sandals.
16. And there shall be a highway for the remnant of His people who remain from Assyria, as there was for Israel on the day they went up from the land of Egypt.	16. And there will be a highway for the remnant of His people which is left from the Assyrian, as there was for Israel in the day they came up from the land of Egypt.
1. And you shall say on that day, "I will thank You, O Lord, for You were wroth with me; may Your wrath turn away and may You comfort me.	1. And you will say at that time: "I will give thanks before you, O LORD, since I sinned before You Your anger was upon me; now Your anger ‎will turnfrom me, and you will have compassion on me.
2. Here is the God of my salvation, I shall trust and not fear; for the strength and praise of the Eternal the Lord was my salvation."	2. Behold, in the Memra o/the God of my salvation I trust, and will not be ‎shaken; for the awesome one, the LORD, is my strength and my song; He has spoken by His Memra, and He has become for me a saviour."
3. And you shall draw water with joy from the fountains of the salvation.	3. And you will accept a renewed teaching with joy from the chosen ones of righteousness/generosity.
4. And you shall say on that day, "Thank the Lord, call in His Name, publicize His deeds among the peoples; keep it in remembrance, for His Name is exalted.	4. And you will say at that time: "Give thanks ‎before the LORD, pray in His name, make known His deeds among the peoples, proclaim that His name is strong.
5. Sing to the Lord for He has performed mighty deeds; this is known throughout the land.	5. Sing praises before the ‎LORD, for He does prodigies; this is disclosed in all the earth.
6. Shout and praise, O dwellers of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel. {S}	6. Shout, and sing, O congregation of Zion, for the Great One has promised ‎to rest His Shekhinah in your midst, the Holy One of Israel."‎ {S}

 

Note:

 

As you read the following Midrash, please remember that they are composed in the Drash style, and therefore their content is metaphorical – i.e., a parable that is teaching something about the government/governance of Heaven. It is up to you to read each paragraph and discern what the parable is and what it teaches about the kingdom of G-d here on earth. After that, look at the whole Pisqa and see how the parts join to form a whole new parable which you need to identify and interpret. Remember we are at the Parable/metaphorical level, and we should not interpret these statements literally – it says what it means, otherwise we miss the whole point that the author/s had in mind as well as their objectives.

 

 

Midrash PESIQTA deRAB KAHANA

Pisqa Ten

 

‎[Year by year] you will set aside a tithe [of all the produce of your seed, of everything that grows on the land. You will eat it in the presence ‎of the LORD your God in the place which he will choose as a dwelling for his name - the tithe of your corn and new wine and oil, and the ‎firstborn of your cattle and sheep, so that for all time you may learn to fear the LORD your God] ‎(Deut. 14:22). ‎

 

X:I ‎

‎

The miser is in a hurry to grow rich, never dreaming that want will overtake him (Prov. 28:22): ‎R. Haninah interpreted the verse to speak of Ephron. [The reference is to the following verse: "No, my lord, hear me, I give you the field, and I give you ‎the cave that is in it; in the presence of the sons of my people I give it to you; bury your dead. Then Abraham bowed down before the people of the land. ‎And he said to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, 'But if you will, hear me; I will give the price of the field; accept it from me, that I may bury ‎my dead there.' Ephron answered Abraham, 'My lord, listen to me; a piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver, what is that between you and me? ‎Bury your dead.' Abraham agreed with Ephron; and Abraham weighed out for Ephron the silver which he had named in the hearing of the Hittites, four ‎hundred shekels of silver, according to the weights current among the merchants" (Gen. 23:11-16)]: ‎Said R. Haninah, "All references to shekels in the Torah speak of selas, in the Prophetic books speak of litras, and in the Writings, speak of a centenarium ‎‎." ‎Said R. Judah b. R. Pazzi, "Except for the shekels paid out to Ephron, which were centenarii, as it is written, I will give the price of the field; accept it from ‎me (Gen. 23:9) ‎ Because he was jealous of the wealth of Abraham, Scripture removed a vav, in line with the following verse: 'My lord, listen to me; a piece of land worth ‎four hundred shekels of silver, what is that between you and me? If you want to pay me four hundred centenarii of silver out of the mere horse manure of your household, you can pay me [since that means nothing to a rich ‎man like you].' Because he was jealous of the wealth of Abraham, Scripture removed a yay, in line with the following verse: Abraham agreed with Ephron; and Abraham ‎weighed out for Ephron... The second reference to Ephron is written without the O [i.e., the vav]." ‎

‎

R. Ammi interpreted the verse [The miser is in a hurry to grow rich, never dreaming that want will overtake him (Prov. 28:22)] to speak of a ‎ borrower who was too much of a miser to rent two oxen [at one and the same time], but would borrow one and rent one. But he did not realize that want will overtake him. For it is written, If the master is not with him, he will surely pay [damages for any loss done to the borrowed oxen. So in saving money by borrowing, ‎he placed himself at risk.]" ‎

 

R. Isaac interpreted the verse [The miser is in a hurry to grow rich, never dreaming that want will overtake him (Prov. 28:22)] to speak of one who lent money ‎to Israelites at usurious terms, who was too much of a miser to lend money not on usury. In lending money at usurious terms, he did not realize that want will overtake him. For it is written, He who augments his wealth by interest and increase gathers it for him who is kind to the poor (Prov. 28:8). ‎ Now who is the one who is kind to the poor? It is the wicked Esau. But is it not the case that the wicked Esau oppresses the poor, as in the case of the bureaucrats who go out into the villages and plunder sharecroppers ‎and then go into the city and announce, 'Bring together the poor for we want to carry out a religious duty with them.' The saying refers to such as these: ‘She screws for apples and hands them out to the poor.''' ‎

 

R. Levi interpreted the cited verse [The miser is in a hurry to grow rich, never dreaming that want will overtake him (Prov. 28:22)] to speak of those who do not ‎set aside the required tithes as is proper. For R. Levi said, "There is the case of one who would set aside his required tithes as was proper. Now the man had one field, which produced a thousand measures of grain. He would separate from it a hundred measures for tithe. From the field he ‎would derive his livelihood all his days, and from it he would nourish himself all his life. When he was dying, he called his son and said to him, 'My son, ‎pay attention to this field. Such and so has it produced, such and so I would separate from the crop for tithe, and from that field I derived my livelihood ‎all my days, and from it I nourished myself all my days.' In the first year [following the father's death], the son sowed the field and it produced a thousand measures of grain, from which the son set aside a ‎hundred measures for tithe. In the second year the son became niggardly and deducted ten measures, and the field produced a hundred measures less, ‎and so he deducted ten and it produced a hundred less, until the field yielded only the amount that had originally been set aside as tithe. When the man's relatives realized it, [as a sign of rejoicing] they put on white garments and cloaked themselves in white and assembled at his house. He ‎said to them, 'Why have you come to rejoice over that man who has been afflicted?' They said to him, 'God forbid! We have come only to rejoice with you. In the past you were the householder, and the Holy One, blessed be He, was the priest [collecting the tithes as his share of the crop]. Now you have been turned into ‎the priest, and the Holy One, blessed be He, has become the householder [keeping back the larger share of the crop, nine ‎tenths of the former yield, for himself]. [So we are rejoicing at your rise in caste status!], ‎       Said R. Levi, "After he had deducted [the priests' share] year by year, yearly the field reduced its yield.”             Therefore Moses admonished Israel, saying to them, [Year by year] you will set aside a tithe [of all the produce of your seed, of everything that grows ‎on the land. You will eat it in the presence of the LORD your God in the place which He will choose as a dwelling for His name - the tithe of your corn and ‎new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your cattle and sheep, so that for all time you may learn to fear the LORD your God] (Deut. 14:22). ‎

 

X:II ‎

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Trust in the LORD and do good, so you will dwell in the land and enjoy faithfulness (Ps. 37:3): ‎R. Haggai in the name of R. Isaac transposed the elements of this verse, as follows: Do good and trust in the LOD. The matter may be compared to the case of a market inspector, who went forth to inspect the weights and measures. Someone saw him and began to avoid him. ‎He said to him, 'Why are you avoiding me? Inspect your measures and do not fear.' That is in line with the verse, Do good and trust in the LORD." ‎

 

... so you will dwell in the land: [Mandelbaum:] Make [the land] suitable as a dwelling, by sowing and planting it. ‎ ‎... and enjoy faithfulness: enjoy the faithfulness of the patriarchs: ‎My eyes are on the faithful of the land (Ps. 101:6). ‎

R. Joshua of Sikhnin in the name of R. Levi: "It is on account of the merit of two matters that the Israelites are purified before the Omnipresent. It is on account of the merit attained by keeping the Sabbath. and it is on account of the merit attained by setting aside the required tithes. ‎How on the basis of Scripture do we know that it is on account of the merit of keeping the Sabbath? ‎ If you turn back your foot from the sabbath, from doing your business on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, an the holy day of the ‎LORD honorable (Is. 58: 13). What is written immediately following? Then you will take delight in the LORD and I will make you ride upon the heights of the earth ‎‎(Is. 58:14).' ‎How on the basis of Scripture do we know that it is on account of the merit attained by setting aside the required tithes? ‎"And you will rejoice in all the good which the LORD your God has given to you and to your house, you and the Levite and the sojourner who is among you (Deut. ‎‎26:11). What is written immediately following? When you have finished paying all the tithe of your produce in the third year, which is the year of tithing ... ‎‎(Deut. 26: 14)." ‎Therefore Moses admonishes Israel, saying to them, [Year by year] you will set aside a tithe [of all the produce of your seed, of everything that grows on the ‎land. You will eat it in the presence of the LORD your God in the place which He will choose as a dwelling for his name - the tithe of your corn and new wine and ‎oil, and the firstborn of your cattle and sheep, so that for all time you may learn to fear the LORD your God] (Deut. 14:22). ‎

 

X:III ‎

           

Honor the Lord with your substance [and with the first fruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine] ‎‎(Prov. 3:9-10): For if you are good-looking, do not chase skirts, so that people should not say, "Mr. So-and-so is good-looking and does not restrain himself." This is in line with ‎the verse: Honor the LORD with your substance, [Mandelbaum: reading the letters of the word for substance as though the indicated the word for charm]. ‎

 

Another matter: Honor the Lord with your substance [and with the first fruits of all your produce then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting ‎with wine] (Prov. 3:9-10): ‎For if you have a lovely voice, recite the Shema and go before the ark [to sing the prayers for the congregation]. This is in line with the verse: Honor the LORD with your substance, [reading the letters of the word for substance as though the indicated the word for charm]. ‎

 

R. Hiyya bar Addah, son of the sister of Bar Qappara, had a nice voice. Bar Qappara would say to him, "Now, my son, recite the Shema and go before the ark.” This is in line with the verse: Honor the LORD with your substance, meaning, honor the LORD with that with which he has favored you."

 

Another matter: Honor the ‎Lord with your substance, [and with the first fruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine (Prov. ‎‎3:9-10): Do [what you should] by your own will and intention, before you have to do things not in accord with your own will and intention [when you have become senile] [Mandelbaum, p. 165]. ‎

 

[Illustrating the foregoing:] there is the case of one who would collect his wine and oil, without appropriately setting aside the tithes that he owed. ‎What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He put into the man a wandering spirit, and he took his staff and began to break the jugs. His household ‎member rebuked him. What did he do to him? He took the staff and broke his skull. ‎He said to the dependent, "Instead of helping me, you rebuke me." He said to him, "Then give me a staff, and I'll break jugs too." ‎ He gave him a staff, and he went around breaking jugs, one by one, while the other broke them two by two. ‎ What made this happen? It was because [he collected his wine and oil,] without appropriately setting aside the tithes that he owed. ‎

 

For R. Levi said, "There was the case of one who would appropriately set aside the tithes that he owed. ‎He had a field, and the Holy One gave him the thought of turning half of it into a sown field, leaving the other half as an area for reservoirs of water. In a year of want, people set the price, announcing, "A seah of wheat is going for a sela, a seah of water is going for three selas." He went and announced, "Who wants a seah of water?" And it yielded for him the same return as three seahs of wheat. ‎Now what caused this [good fortune] for him? It was because he who would appropriately set aside the tithes that he owed. ‎Therefore Moses admonishes Israel, saying to them, [Year by year] you will set aside a tithe [of all the produce of your seed, of everything that ‎grows on the land. You will eat it in the presence of the LORD your God in the place which he will choose as a dwelling for His name - the tithe of your corn and new ‎wine and oil, and the firstborn of your cattle and sheep, so that for all time you may learn to fear the LORD your God] (Deut. 14:22). ‎

 

X:IV ‎

‎

She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household are clothed in scarlet (Prov, 31:21): ‎Hezekiah said, "The judgment meted out to the wicked is to spend twelve months in Gehenna. For six months it is in the heat, and for six months in the ‎cold. In the beginning the Holy One, blessed be He, puts an itch on them, and brings them into the hot part of Gehenna. [Getting relief from the itch through ‎the heat,] they say, That is the Gehenna of the Holy One, blessed be He.' So then he brings them into the cold, and they say, ‘This is the cold of the Holy One, blessed be He.' ‎To begin with they say 'Ah,' but in the end, 'Oh.' And that is what David says: He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, [and set my feet upon a rock making my steps secure] (Ps. 40:2). ‎What is the meaning of the words, miry bog? It is from a place in which [using the letters that occur in the cited words] people say, 'Ah, Oh.' And where do they finish out [the torment to] their souls? Judah b. Rabbi says, "In snow." That is in line with this verse of Scripture: When the Almighty scattered kings there, snow fell on Zalmon (Ps. 68:14). The snow is their place of darkness [a play on the word, see Mandelbaum, ad loc.]. But can one suppose that that is how it is for Israel? Scripture says, She is not afraid of snow for her household, [for all her household are clothed in scarlet] (Prov, 31:21). ‎.. for all her household are clothed in scarlet (Prov. 31:21): that is in the rite of circumcision, including the rite of the cutting off of the ‎foreskin, the rite of wearing show-fringes on the garments, and the rite of wearing phylacteries."

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‎[If your brother, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you, he will serve you six years, and in the seventh year you will let him go free from you. And ‎when you let him go free from you, you will not let him go empty-handed;] you will furnish him liberally [out of your flock, out of your threshing floor, and out of ‎your wine press, as the LORD your God has blessed you, you will give to him] (Deut. 14:12-14). You will give to him freely [and your heart will not be grudging when you give to him] (Deut. 14:10). You will open wide your hand.[to your brother, to the needy and to the poor in the land] (Deut. 14:11). Tithing, you will tithe (Deut. 14:22). ‎Therefore Moses admonishes Israel, saying to them, [Year by year] you will set aside a tithe [of all the produce of your seed, of everything that grows ‎on the land. You will eat it in the presence of the LORD your God in the place which He will choose as a dwelling for His name - the tithe of your corn and ‎new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your cattle and sheep, so that for all time you may learn to fear the LORD your God] (Deut. 14:22). ‎

 

X:V ‎

 

‎The earth lies polluted under its inhabitants, [for they have transgressed the Torahs, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant] (Is. 24:5): ‎Said R. Isaac, "If you imagine polluting it, it will pollute you. It will give you the spectacle of standing grain, but it will not then show you grain in sheaves. ‎It will show you grain in sheaves, but it will not show you a threshing floor. It will show you the threshing floor, but it will not show you a pile of ‎winnowed grain. Why so? Because for they have transgressed the Torahs. ‎That is, two Torahs, the Torah in writing, and the Torah in memory. ... violated the statutes: they have violated the statute governing the requirement to set aside tithes. ‎... broken the everlasting covenant: they have violated the covenant made by the patriarchs." ‎Therefore Moses admonishes Israel, saying to them, [Year by year] you will set aside a tithe [of all the produce of your seed, of everything that grows ‎on the land. You will eat it in the presence of the LORD your God in the place which He will choose as a dwelling for His name - the tithe of your corn and ‎new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your cattle and sheep, so that for all time you may learn to fear the LORD your God] (Deut. 14:22). ‎

 

X:VI ‎

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My son, keep your father's commandment, and do not forsake your mother's teaching (Prov, 6:20): ‎Said R. Hunah, "The original patriarchs set aside both the priestly ration ["heave-offering"] and tithes. Abraham set aside the principal priestly ration ["great heave-offering"]: I have raised my hands to God, the LORD (Gen. 14:22). The word raising up refers only to the priestly ration ["heave-offering"] as it is said, And you will raise up ‎from it the priestly ration that belongs to the LORD (Num. 18:26). Isaac set aside second tithe: And Isaac sowed in that land and found in that same year a hundredfold (Gen. 26:12)." ‎‎[Explaining how the cited verse proves the matter,] said R. Abbah bar Kahana, "Is it not the case that a blessing falls not on a crop that is measured or ‎weighed or countered? Why then did he measure the yield at all? It was so as to tithe the crop. That is in line with the statement of Scripture: And the LORD blessed him (Gen. 26:12)." Jacob set aside first tithe, in line with this verse of Scripture: And of everything that You will give me, tithing, I will tithe it to You (Gen. 28:22). A Samaritan asked R. Meir, saying to him, "Do you not maintain that Jacob was a truthteller?" He said to him, "Indeed so, for it is written, You give truthfulness to Jacob (Micah 7:20)." ‎He said to him, "And did he not say this: And of all that You give me I will give the tenth to You?" ‎He said to him, "[Yes.] He separated the tribe of Levi as one of the ten." He said to him, "Then should he not have separated a tenth of the other two tribes?" ‎He said to him, "You maintain that they were twelve tribes, but I say that they were fourteen, as it is said, Ephraim and Manasseh even as Reuben and Simeon shall ‎be Mine (Gen. 48:5)." ‎He said to him, "All the more so. You support my case. You add more flour, so I'll add more water." ‎He said to him, "Do you not concede that there were four matriarchs?" He said to him, "Yes." ‎He said to him, "Deduct the four firstborn of each of the patriarchs from the fourteen, for the firstborn is not tithed. Why? Because he is already holy, and what is already consecrated cannot serve to exempt what is consecrated [and that leaves ten, hence Levi was enough]." He said to him, "Happy is your nation on account of what is within it." [My son, keep your father's commandment.] and do not forsake your mother's teaching (Prov. ‎‎6:20): ‎‎[Reading the consonants for mother with vowels that yield the word nation, we interpret.] [do not forsake] your nation's teaching.

That is in line with what David says: My desire is to do Your will, O God, and Your Torah is in my intestines [in the great assembly I have proclaimed what is right] ‎‎(Ps. 40:8-9). ‎Said R. Aha bar Ulla, "Is there such a thing as a Torah in the intestines? Is it not written, I will write it on their heart (Jer. 31 :32)? ‎But this is the sense of what David said, 'May a curse come upon me if anything will descend into my intestines before I have tithed it!' That is in line with this verse of Scripture [indicating the authorities responsible for tithing]: Asmoth son of Diel was in charge of the king's ‎stores; Jonathan son of Uzziah was in charge of the stores in the country, in the cities, in the villages,nd in the fore tresses (I Chr. 27:25)." ‎Therefore Moses admonishes Israel, saying to them, [Year by year] you will set aside a tithe [of all the produce of your seed, of everything that grows on the ‎land. You will eat it in the presence of the LORD your God in the place which He will choose as a dwelling for His name - the tithe of your corn and new wine and ‎oil, and the firstborn of your cattle and sheep, so that for all time you may learn to fear the LORD your God] (Deut. 14:22).

 

X:VII ‎

 

If my land has cried out against me, and its furrows have wept together; [if I have eaten its yield without payment, and caused the death of its owners, let thorns ‎grow instead of wheat, and foul weeds instead of barley] (Job 31:38-40). ‎          They said to Job, "Do you have any right to the land more than three cubits [of burial ground] when you die, that you say, If my land has cried out against ‎me? Is it then yours?" ‎R. Hiyyah the Elder said, "The matter may be compared to the case of someone who was selling a cloak in the market. Someone came by and saw it and ‎said, 'It's mine.' ‎He said to him, 'Put it on. If it fits, it's yours, and if not, it's not yours.' ‎So said the Holy One, blessed be He, to Job, 'Am I not He concerning whom it is written, "Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?" (Jer. 23:24) And yet ‎you say, "If my land has cried out against me, and its furrows have wept together; if I have eaten its yield without payment, and caused the death of its ‎owners, let thorns grow instead of wheat, and foul weeds instead of barley:" Is it then yours? [Is it your property"]" ‎And R. Simeon b. Halputa said, "The matter may be compared to the case of someone who was selling a slave-girl in the market. Someone came by and ‎saw her and said, 'She's mine.' ‎He said, to him, 'Rebuke her. If she pays attention to you, she's yours, and if not, she's not yours.' ‎ So said the Holy One, blessed be He, to Job, 'Am I not He concerning whom it is written, ",.. who looks at the land and it trembles, touches the mountains ‎and they smoke" (Ps. 104:33). And yet you say, "If my land has cried out against me, and its furrows have wept together; if I have eaten its yield without ‎payment, and caused the death of its owners, let thorns grow instead of wheat, and foul weeds instead of barley" Is it then yours? [Is it your property"]" ‎At that moment said Job before the Holy One, blessed be He, "LORD of the ages, I have not made that statement before you. But this is the language in which ‎I made that statement: 'If my land has cried out against me, [and its furrows have wept together; if I have eaten its yield without payment, and caused the ‎death of its owners, let thorns grow instead of wheat, and foul weeds instead of barley].' ‎[May I be cursed] if I have not appropriately removed the tithes owing from it. .. and its furrows have wept together: [May I be cursed] if I have planted it with mixed seeds. ‎.. if I have eaten its yield without payment: this refers to second tithe, as it is written, And you will hand over money and bind up the coins ‎[and take the coins, instead of the produce set aside as second tithe, for use in Jerusalem] (Deut. 14:25). ‎... and caused the death of its owners: this refers to the tithe set aside for the poor. ‎And if I have not done so, then let thorns grow instead of wheat, and foul weeds instead of barley. Here end the words of Job." ‎‎[Reverting to the verse let thorns grow instead of wheat, and foul weeds instead of barley,] R. Hoshaiah taught, "The Torah has here taught you appropriate procedure. ‎A field which produces thorns is good for sowing wheat, one that produces foul weeds is good for growing barley. ‎ What verse of Scripture indicates it? let thorns grow instead of wheat, and foul weeds instead of barley." ‎‎[ .. .Here end the words of Job:] ‎From this point forward [in the book of Job] he goes on and prophesies a number of times, and yet you say, Here end the words of Job? ‎But this is what Job said, "If I have not done [what I have said I did,] then let it be the case that Here end the words [of Job]. ‎ And let me not have an opening to say before you, I have removed what is holy from the household (Deut, 26:13). Therefore Mosies admonishes Israel, saying to them, [Year by year] you will set aside a tithe [of all the produce of your seed, of everything that grows on the land. ‎You will eat it in the presence of the LORD your God in the place which He will choose as a dwelling for His name - the tithe of your corn and new wine and oil, and ‎the firstborn of your cattle and sheep, so that for all time you may learn to fear the LORD your God] (Deut. 14:22). ‎

 

X:VIII ‎

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To You, O Lord, belongs righteousness/generosity, but to us confusion of face, as at this day [to the men of Judah to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to all Israel, those ‎that are near and those that are far away, in all the lands to which You have driven them, because of the treachery which they have committed against You] (Daniel ‎‎9:7): Said R. Judah bar Ilai, "An idol passed through the sea with the Israelites. What verse of Scripture indicates it? They will pass through the sea of distress [and the waves of the sea will be smitten, and all the depths of the Nile ‎dried up] (Zech. 10:11). ‎ The word for distress refers only to an idol, for it is written, The molten thing was a distress in the gathering [of waters as in a heap] (Is. 28:20).”

 

Said R. Yudan, "It is written, And the house of Joseph, they too, went up to Beth EI, and the LORD was with them (Judges 1:22). They were going to serve an idol, and yet you say, And the LORD was with them! [Now with reference to the verse, To You, O LORD, belongs righteousness/generosity, but to us confusion of face], can there be a greater act of 'righteousness/generosity' than that? ‎One has therefore to say that To You, O LORD, belongs righteousness/generosity, but to us confusion of face."

 

Said R. Judah bar Simon, "It is written, Thus they carried off the things Micah had made and the priest he had acquired and attacked Laish, whose people were quiet ‎and carefree (Judges 18:27). ‎.. .the things Micah had made refers to an idol. ‎ the priest he had acquired refers to a priest who served idolatry. ‎and attacked Laish that is Paneas [Mendelbaum]. ‎ Whose people were quiet and carefree: they were contented ‎worshipping an idol, which brought them success. ‎And yet you say, ... were quiet and carefree? Can there be a greater act of 'righteousness/generosity' than that? ‎One has therefore to say that To You, O LORD, belongs righteousness/generosity, but to us confusion of face." ‎

 

Said R. Samuel bar Nahman , "You find that on the day on which Haman attacked Israel, on that day the Israelites worshipped idols. And not only so, but they took [an offering] from him and offered it up to their idol. That is in line with this verse: You took the food I had given you, the flour, the oil, and the honey, with which I had fed you, and set it before them as an offering ‎of soothing odor and so it was (Ez. 16:19)." What is the meaning of the word, and so it was? ‎Said R. Judah, "It is in line with the expression, 'And so it was for the morrow.' ‎ [Reverting to Samuel's statement,] "And nonetheless you did not hold back your mana from them! Can there be a greater act of 'righteousness/generosity than that? One has therefore to say that To You, O LORD, belongs righteousness/generosity, but to us confusion of face." ‎

 

Said R. Eleazar, "When Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah came up out of the fiery furnace, they proclaimed this verse [To You, O LORD, belongs righteousness/generosity, but to us confusion of face, as at this day to the men of Judah to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to all Israel, those that are near and those that are ‎far away, in all the lands to which You have driven them, because of the treachery which they have committed against You (Daniel 9:7)]. ‎You find that when Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah came up out of the fiery furnace, all the kinds of the nations of the world gathered against them. This is ‎in line with this verse: The satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king's ministers gathered together, seeing that these men, that the fire had no power over ‎their bodies (Dan. 3:27). ‎And all the nations of the world said to them, 'You knew that your God had power to do all these miracles for you, and yet you caused Him to destroy His house ‎and to send His children into exile. And all the nations of the world spit in their faces until they had made them a block of spit. And Hananiah, Mishal, and Azariah raised their faces upward and said, To You, O LORD, belongs righteousness/generosity, but to us confusion of face, as at ‎this day to the men of Judah to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to all Israel. those that are near and those that are far away. in all the lands to which You have driven ‎them. because of the treachery which they have committed against You (Daniel 9:7)." ‎‎

Said R. Joshua bar Nehemiah, "To You. O LORD. belongs righteousness/generosity refers to the acceptance of God's judgment [stated by the three]: ‎For we have angered you so much, but you have been patient with us .”

 

It was taught on Tannaite authority in the name of R. Nehemiah, "Under ordinary conditions if someone has a field. he gives it out for sharecropping ‎on terms of half. or a third. or a fourth of the crop. But the Holy One, blessed be He, is not that way. The Holy One, who brings the winds and produces clouds and brings down rain and makes dew fructify ‎the field and nurtures the seeds and fattens the produce has asked us to separate only one out of ten portions of the crop. Therefore Moses admonishes Israel, saying to them, [Year by year] you will set aside a tithe [of all the produce of your seed. of everything that grows ‎on the land. You will eat it in the presence of the LORD your God in the place which He will choose as a dwelling for His name - the tithe of your corn and ‎new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your cattle and sheep, so that for all time you may learn to fear the LORD your God] (Deut. 14:22). ‎

 

X:IX ‎

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What is written just prior to this matter [that is, before the base-verse, [Year by year] you will set aside a tithe [of all the produce of your seed. of everything ‎that grows on the land. You will eat it in the presence of the LORD your God in the place which He will choose as a dwelling for His name - the tithe of your corn and ‎new wine and oil. and the firstborn of your cattle and sheep. so that for all time you may learn to fear the LORD your God] (Dcut. 14:22)]? ‎You will not eat anything that dies of itself; you may give it to the alien who is within your towns, that he may eat it. or you may sell it to a foreigner; for ‎you are a people holy to the LORD your God. You will not boil a kid in its mother's milk (Deut. 14:21): ‎R. Azariah and R. Jonathan b. Haggai and R. Isaac bar Merion in the name of R. Yose bar Haninah said, "[The juxtaposition of the two topics indicates ‎that] one who eats his produce prior to their being properly tithed is like one who eats meat that has died of itself or that has been torn. What scriptural evidence supports that statement? You will not eat anything that dies of itself.” R. Abba bar Huna in the name of Rab: "He who eats his produce prior to their being properly tithed as to the removal of the tithe that is owing to the poor ‎is liable to the death penalty." ‎

 

‎Said R. Isaac, "In three passages in scripture it is written, You will not boil a kid in its mother's milk. ‎One statement serves to state the rule on its own, the second states the rule for purposes of Torah-study, and the third states it for the purposes of joining ‎it to the issue of tithing. ‎As to the original statement, what is written in that context? You will bring the choicest first fruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God. You will ‎not boil a kid in its mother's milk (Ex. 23: 19). And thereafter: And now I send an angel before you to guard you on your way and to bring you to the place ‎I have prepared (Ex. 23:20). ‎ As to the matter of Torah-study: You will bring the choicest first fruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God. You will not boil a kid in its mother's ‎milk (Ex. 34:26). Thereafter: The LORD said to Moses, Write these words down, because the covenant I make with you and with Israel is in these words (Ex. ‎‎34:27). ‎Said the Holy One, blessed be He, to him, 'Moses, when the sandal is on your foot, crush the thorn’ [so Mandelbaum]. [A further version has it that the ‎angels wanted to receive the Torah for themselves. God told them that they were not fit to receive the Torah, because they ate milk and meat when they ‎visited Abraham. Therefore the verse about not seething the kid in its mother's milk is juxtaposed to the verse about writing down the words of the Torah ‎‎(Mandelbaum, ad loc.)]. After writing down the verse, You will not boil a kid in its mother's milk (Ex. 34:26), write the verse, The Lord said to Moses, Write these words down, ‎because the covenant I make with you and with Israel is in these words (Ex. 34:27). ‎As to the matter of tithing, [Year by year] you will set aside a tithe of all the produce of your seed, of everything that grows on the land. You will eat ‎it in the presence of the LORD your God in the place which He will choose as a dwelling for His name - the tithe of your corn and new wine and oil, and the ‎firstborn of your cattle and sheep, so that for all time you may learn to fear the LORD your God] (Deut. 14:22)], and then it is written, You will not eat ‎anything that dies of itself; you may give it to the alien who is within your towns, that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner; for you are a people ‎holy to the LORD your God. You will not boil a kid in its mother's milk (Deut. 14:21): ‎ Said the Holy One, blessed be He, 'Do not cause Me to make the kernels ripen while they are still in their pods [Hebrew: their mother's wombs]. For if ‎you do not properly produce your tithes, I will send a certain east wind, which will blight them.’ That is in line with this verse: The grain will thus be blasted before it is ripe (2 Kgs. 19:26)." ‎

 

X:X ‎

‎

[Year by year] you will set aside a tithe [of all the produce of your seed, of everything that grows on the land. You will eat it in the presence of the LORD ‎your God in the place which He will choose as a dwelling for His name - the tithe of your corn and new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your cattle and sheep, so ‎that for all time you may learn to fear the LORD your God] (Deut. 14:22): [the duplication of the verb, yielding tithing, you will tithe] allows for the play on ‎words utilizing the same letters, for one instance, tithing, you will tithe - so that you will not lose out. .. tithing, you will tithe - so that you will get rich. ‎Said the Holy One, blessed be He, "Give a tithe of what is mine, and I will enrich what is yours."

 ‎

‎[Year by year you will set aside a tithe] of all [the produce of your seed, of everything that grows on the land. You will eat it in the presence of the LORD ‎your God in the place which He will choose as a dwelling for His name - the tithe of your corn and new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your cattle and sheep, so ‎that for all time you may learn to fear the LORD your God] (Deut, 14:22): ‎ Said R. Abba bar Kahana, "Scripture thereby gives an indication that people in trade and in commerce overseas should set aside a tenth of their gain ‎for those who labor in the Torah." ‎.

 

[Year by year you will set aside a tithe of all] the produce of your seed, of everything that grows on the land. [You will eat it in the presence of the LORD ‎your God in the place which He will choose as a dwelling for His name - the tithe of your corn and new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your cattle and sheep, so ‎that for all time you may learn to fear the LORD your God] (Deut. 14:22): ‎If [by tithing] you attain merit, in the end you will go forth to sow seed in your field, and if not, the one who goes forth into the field will make war ‎on you. And who is that? It is the wicked Esau, concerning whom it is written, A hunter, a man of the field (Gen. 25:27). ‎

‎

Another interpretation of the clause, [Year by year you will set aside a tithe of all] the produce of your seed, of everything that grows on the land. [You ‎will eat it in the presence of the LORD your God in the place which He will choose as a dwelling for His name - the tithe of your corn and new wine and oil, and ‎the firstborn of your cattle and sheep, so that for all time you may learn to fear the LORD your God] (Deut, 14:22): ‎If [by tithing] you attain merit, in the end you will go forth to your field and see that the world needs rain and pray and be answered. But if not, in the ‎end the (enemies of) Israel will go forth to bury their children in the field.

 ‎

[Year by year [you will set aside a tithe of all] the produce of your seed, of everything that grows on the land. [You will eat it in the presence of the LORD ‎your God in the place which He will choose as a dwelling for His name - the tithe of your corn and new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your cattle and sheep, so ‎that for all time you may learn to fear the LORD your God] (Deut. 14:22): ‎People may not set aside tithe from the produce of one year to cover that of another year," the words of R. Aqiba. [Year by year [you will set aside a tithe of all] the produce of your seed, of everything that grows on the land. [You will eat it in the presence of the LORD ‎your God in the place which He will choose as a dwelling for His name - the tithe of your corn and new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your cattle and sheep, so ‎that for all time you may learn to fear the LORD your God] (Deut. 14:22).If [by tithing] you attain merit, it is your grain, and if not, [the grain not having been tithed,] it is My grain.    That is in line with this verse: And I will take My grain in its due season (Hos. 2:11). ‎[Year by year [you will set aside a tithe of all] the produce of your seed, of everything that grows on the land. [You will eat it in the presence of the LORD ‎your God in the place which He will choose as a dwelling for His name - the tithe of your corn and new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your cattle and sheep, so ‎that for all time you may learn to fear the LORD your God] (Deut. 14:22). If [by tithing] you attain merit, it is your new wine, and if not, it is Mine.           That is in line with this verse: And My new wine in its due time (Hos. 2:11). ‎

 

Said R. Simeon b. Laqish, "Said the Holy One, blessed be He, 'I have instructed you to separate your tithes from the choicest of the harvest. How so? If a ‎son of a Levite comes to you, if you have given him from the choicest of the crop, so I have what to give you out of the choicest: May the LORD open to you his good treasury (Deut. 28:12). But if you have given to him out of the dessicated portions of the crop or from the inferior part, so 1 have what to give you out of the dessicated or ‎inferior parts of the crop: The LORD will send the rain of your land as power and dust (Deut. 28:24). \

 

‎[At the end of every third year you will bring out all the tithe of your produce for that year and leave it in your settlements] so that the Levites, who have no ‎holding or patrimony among you, and the aliens, [orphans, and widows in your settlements] may come [and eat their fill. If you do this, the LORD your God ‎will bless you in everything to which you set your hand] (Deut. 14:28-29): ‎Said R. Luliani of Rome in the name of R. Judah bar Simon, "Said the Holy One, blessed be He, 'As for you, you are responsible for four categories of ‎dependents of your household, and as for Me, 1 am responsible for four such categories. You are responsible for four categories of household ‎dependents, your son, your daughter, your slave-boy, and your slave-girl, and I am responsible for four categories, the Levites, the stranger, the orphan, ‎and the widow, and all of them are included in a single verse of Scripture. ‎That verse is as follows: You will rejoice in your festival [of Tabernacles], you, your son, your daughter, your slave-boy and your slave-girl, the Levite, the ‎stranger, the orphan, and the widow who are in your midst (Deut. 16:14).' ‎Said the Holy One, blessed be He, 'I have instructed you to give joy to Mine and to yours on the festival days that 1 have assigned to you. If you do so, I ‎for my part will give joy to both yours as well as Mine. To both these and those I will give joy in the chosen house: These I will bring to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer; their ‎burnt-offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on My ‎altar, for My house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples (Isaiah 56:7).

 

Nazarean Codicil:

I Corinthians 15:35 – 16:24‎

& Revelation 2:1-7

 

Revelation 2:1-7

Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham’s Rendition

 

¹And to the angel of the congregation in Ephesus, write, 'So says he who holds the seven stars in his hand, he who walks among the Menorot (seven branched candlesticks) of gold.

² I know your works and your labor and your endurance and that you are not able to bear evil [ones]. And you have tested those who say about themselves that they are to be Sh’liachim (apostles) and are not and you have found them [to be] liars.

3 And you have endurance and you bear a burden because of my name (or, authority) and you have not become weary.

4 But I have [something] against you, because you have left your first love.^[30]

5 Remember from where you came and do the former works, but if not, I will come to you and I will remove your Menora (candelabra – i.e. the seven ministers of the congregation), unless you repent.

6 But this you have, that you hate the works of the Nicolaitans (i.e. Oppressors of the Laity), that I also hate.'

7 He who has ears should hear what the Spirit says to the congregations. And to him who overcomes, I will allow [him] to eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of PaRDeS (paradise) of Ha-Shem."

 

 

Blessing After Torah Study

 

Barúch Atáh Adonai, Elohénu Meléch HaOlám,

Ashér Natán Lánu Torát Emét, V'Chayéi Olám Natá B'Tochénu.

Barúch Atáh Adonái, Notén HaToráh. Amen!

Blessed is Ha-Shem our God, King of the universe,

Who has given us a teaching of truth, implanting within us eternal life.

Blessed is Ha-Shem, Giver of the Torah. Amen!

“Now unto Him who is able to preserve you faultless, and spotless, and to establish you without a blemish,

before His majesty, with joy, [namely,] the only one God, our Deliverer, by means of Yeshua the Messiah our Master, be praise, and dominion, and honor, and majesty, both now and in all ages. Amen!”

 

We wish all of our students and readers, a very happy and Kosher Pesach Sameach!

 

Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David

Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham

Paqid Adon Tsuriel ben Abraham

Paqid Adon Ezrah ben Abraham

Paqid Adon David ben Abraham

 

 

 

 

Happy & Kosher Pesach 5780

 

 

Edited by Adon Aviner ben Abraham

Contact me at chozenppl@gmail.com

Blog: www.chozenppl.com