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

 

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

Her Excellency Giberet Zahavah bat Sarah & beloved family

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 Ya’aqob ben David

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!

 

 

 

 

We pray for our beloved Hakham His Eminence Rabbi Dr. Yosef ben Haggai. Mi Sheberach…He who blessed our forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Moses and Aaron, David and Solomon, may He bless and heal the sick person HE Rabbi Dr. Yosef ben Haggai, May the Holy One, Blessed is He, be filled with compassion for him to restore his health, to heal him, to strengthen him, and to revivify him. And may He send him speedily a complete recovery from heaven, among the other sick people of Yisrael, a recovery of the body and a recovery of the spirit, swiftly and soon, and we will say amen ve amen!

 

Blessings Before Torah Study

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

May Ha-Shem bestow 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.

 

 

 

Shabbat “Un’ta’atem Kol-Ets” – “And plant all [kinds] of trees”

 

 

Contents of the Torah Seder

 

·Forbidden Fruit – Leviticus 19:23-25

·Prohibition of Foreign Nations Laws and Customs – Leviticus 19:26-31

·Ethical Injunctions – Leviticus 19:32-37

·Penalties for Molech Worship – Leviticus 20:1-5

·Penalty for Communicating with Familiar Spirits – Leviticus 20:6

·Laws Bearing on Sexual Immorality – Leviticus 20:7-21

·Final Exhortation – Leviticus 20:22-27

 

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan

for: Vayiqra (Leviticus) 19:23 – 20:27

 

Rashi	Targum
23. When you come to the Land and you plant any food tree, you shall surely block its fruit [from use]; it shall be blocked from you [from use] for three years, not to be eaten.	23. And when you have come into the land and have planted any tree that may be eaten of you will verily circumcise the fruit of it; three years Will it be to you for rejection, to be destroyed; it Will not be eaten.
24. And in the fourth year, all its fruit shall be holy, a praise to the Lord.	24. And in the fourth year all the fruit of it will be consecrated, (a token of) praise before the LORD delivered for the priest (or to be redeemed from the priest).
25. And in the fifth year, you may eat its fruit; [do this, in order] to increase its produce for you. I am the Lord, your God.	25. But in the fifth year you may eat the fruit of it; for produce will be increased to you from the heavens: I am the LORD your God.
26. You shall not eat over the blood. You shall not act on the basis of omens or lucky hours.	26. You Will not eat the flesh of any sacrifice while the blood remains in the veins. You Will not be observers of auguries, after the Sanhedrin of the speculators.
27. You shall not round off the corner of your head, and you shall not destroy the edge of your beard.	27. You Will not round off the (hair on) the sides of your heads, nor shave the corners of your beards.
28. You shall not make cuts in your flesh for a person [who died]. You shall not etch a tattoo on yourselves. I am the Lord.	28. And a corrupting incision for the soul of the dead you will not make in your flesh, neither set upon yourselves an inscription by the in-cutting of any figured sign: I am the LORD.
29. You shall not defile your daughter by making her a harlot, lest the Land fall into harlotry and the land be filled with immorality.	29. You Will not profane your daughters to give them up to fornication: neither delay to give your daughters unto a husband in their proper ages, lest they go astray by fornication after the people of the land, and the land be filled with whoredom.
30. You shall observe My Sabbaths and revere My Sanctuary. I am the Lord.	30. The days of My Sabbaths You Will keep and go unto My sanctuary with reverence: I am the LORD.
31. You shall not turn to [the sorcery of] Ov or Yid'oni; you shall not seek [these and thereby] defile yourselves through them. I am the Lord, your God.	31. Go not astray after those who inquire of impostors, or bring up the dead, or interrogate the bone of Jeddua: neither be your inquirers with them, to pollute yourselves thereby I am the LORD your God.
32. You shall rise before a venerable person and you shall respect the elderly, and you shall fear your God. I am the Lord.	32. You Will rise up before the aged who instruct in the Law and honor the presence of the wise and fear your God: I am the LORD.
33. When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not taunt him.	33. And if a stranger becomes a sojourner, and settles among you in your land, you will not taunt him with hard words:
34. The stranger who sojourns with you shall be as a native from among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord, your God.	34. but the stranger who sojourns among you Will be (treated) as the native born, and you will love him as yourself: you will not deal with him as if you did hate him; for you were sojourners in the land of Mizraim: I am the LORD your God.
35. You shall not commit a perversion of justice with measures, weights, or liquid measures.	35. You Will not deal falsely in the ordering of judgment; in the admeasurement of summer and winter; in weight and measure, in heaping up, or in sweeping off:
36. You shall have true scales, true weights, a true ephah, and a true hin. I am the Lord, your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt.	36. but balances of truth, weights of truth, measures of truth, and tankards of truth, Will yours be. I am the LORD your God who brought you redeemed from the land of Mizraim:
37. You shall observe all My statutes and all My ordinances and fulfill them. I am the Lord.	37. and you will observe all My statutes, and all the ordinances of My judgments, and do them: I am the LORD.
1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,	1. And the Lord spoke with Mosheh, saying:
2. And to the children of Israel, you shall say: Any man of the children of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn among Israel, who gives any of his offspring to Molech, shall surely be put to death; the people of the land shall pelt him with stones.	2. And with the sons of Israel speak you, to say: A man of the family of the sons of Israel, whether young or old, who will make (an offering) of his offspring unto Molek to be burned in the fire, will be verily put to death: the people of the house of Israel will punish his guilt by the infliction of stones;
3. And I will set My attention upon that man, and I will cut him off from amidst his people, because he gave of his offspring to Molech in order to defile My holy ones and to profane My holy Name.	3. and I will cause a satan, to make prosperity to cease with that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he gave his offspring in strange worship to pollute My sanctuary and to profane My holy Name.
4. But if the people of the land ignore that man when he gives of his offspring to Molech, not putting him to death	4. And if the people of the house of Israel hiding hide their eyes from that man, when he gives his offspring unto strange worship, that they might not kill him,
5. I will set My attention upon that man, and upon his family, and I will cut him off, and all who stray after him to stray after Molech, from amidst their people.	5. then will I appoint a satan, to make a controversy against that man, and against his family who protect (cover) him, to chastise (them) with afflictions; and him will I destroy, and all who follow him to wander after strange worship, from among their people.
6. And the person who turns to Ov or Yid'oni, to stray after them I will set My attention upon that person, and I will cut him off from amidst his people.	6. And the man who turns aside to inquire of the impostors, or to seek to bring up the dead, or to inquire by the bone of Jeddua, to go astray after them, I will appoint a satan to punish that man, and will destroy him by a plague from among his people.
7. You shall sanctify yourselves and be holy, for I am the Lord, your God.	7. But sanctify yourselves, and be holy in your bodies, that your prayers may be received with acceptance: I am the LORD who sanctifies you.
8. And you shall observe My statutes and fulfill them. I am the Lord, Who sanctifies you.	8. And observe My statutes and perform them: I am the LORD who sanctifies you.
9. For any man who curses his father, or his mother shall be put to death; he has cursed his father or his mother; his blood is upon himself.	9. For the young man or the old man who curses his father or his mother by the revealed Name, will be verily put to death by the casting of stones; because he has cursed his father or his mother, he is guilty of death.
10. And a man who commits adultery with [another] man's wife, committing adultery with the wife of his fellow the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.	10. And the man who by adultery defiles the wife of (another) man, or who commits adultery with the wife of his married neighbor, will be verily put to death, by strangulation, with the hard towel in the tender part: and on account of a betrothed person, by the casting of stones: both the adulterer and the adulteress (will die).
11. And a man who lies with his father's wife has uncovered his father's nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon themselves.	11. And a man who lies with his father's wife, whether his own mother or another wife, and who has dishonored the nakedness of his father will be verily put to death: both of them are guilty of death by the casting of stones.
12. And a man who lies with his daughter in law both of them shall surely be put to death; they have committed a depravity; their blood is upon themselves.	12. And if a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them will be put to death; they have wrought confusion, they are guilty of death by the casting of stones.
13. And a man who lies with a male as one would with a woman both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon themselves.	13. And if a man lies with a man as with a woman, they have wrought abomination; both of them will die by the stoning of stones.
14. And a man who takes a woman and her mother it is evil counsel. They shall burn him and them in fire, and there shall be no evil counsel in your midst.	14. And if a man takes a wife and her mother, it is fornication let them be burned with fire with melted lead in their mouth, that fornication may not be among you.
15. And a man who lies with an animal, shall surely be put to death, and you shall kill the animal.	15. And a man who lies with a beast will be surely put to death with the stoning of stones, and the beast will be slain with spikes.
16. And a woman who comes close to any animal so that it will mate with her you shall kill the woman and the animal; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon themselves.	16. And if a woman approaches the side of any beast that it may have to do with her, they will be slain; the woman by the casting of stones, and the beast by the slaughter of spikes, they will die; for they are deserving of death.
17. And a man who takes his sister, whether his father's daughter or his mother's daughter, and he sees her nakedness, and she sees his nakedness it is a disgraceful act, and they shall be cut off before the eyes of the members of their people; he uncovered his sister's nakedness; he shall bear his sin.	17. And if a man lies with his sister, his father's daughter, or the daughter of his mother, and he dishonors her nakedness, it is depravity: for I showed mercy with the first ones, on behalf of the peopling of the world by them, while as yet I had not promulgated the Law in the world: but after the Law has been declared in the world, everyone who commits these things will be destroyed by mortality, and the children of their people will witness their punishment; for he who has dishonored the nakedness of his sister will be guilty of death.
18. And a man who lies with a woman who has a flow, and he uncovers her nakedness he has bared her fountain, and she has uncovered the fountain of her blood. Both of them shall be cut off from the midst of their people.	18. And a man who lies with a woman who is unclean, and dishonors her nakedness, they will both of them be destroyed by a plague from among their people.
19. And you shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother's sister or your father's sister, for he would be baring his close relative; they shall bear their sin.	19. Nor will you dishonor the nakedness of your mother's sister nor your father's sister; for he has dishonored the flesh of his near kin: they will receive the penalty of their guilt in dying.
20. And a man who lies with his aunt he has uncovered his uncle's nakedness; they shall bear their transgression; they shall die childless.	20. And if a man lies with the wife of his father's brother, he has dishonored the nakedness of his father's brother: they will receive their punishment; they will be consumed by mortality; without children will they die.
21. And a man who takes his brother's wife it is a repulsive act; he has uncovered his brother's nakedness; they shall be childless.	21. And if a man takes the wife of his brother during his life, it is an abomination: he has dishonored the nakedness of his brother; without children will they be.
22. And you shall observe all My statutes and all My ordinances, and fulfill them, then the Land, to which I am bringing you to dwell therein, will not vomit you out.	22. But you, the congregation of Israel, will observe all My statutes, and all the ordinances of My judgments, and do them; that the land into which I am to bring you to dwell in it may not cast you out:
23. You shall not follow the practices of the nation that I am sending away from before you, for they committed all these [sins], and I was disgusted with them.	23. and walk not after the laws of the peoples whom I drive away from before you; for they have committed all these abhorrent things, and My Word has abhorred them.
24. So I said to you, you shall possess their land, and I shall give it to you to possess it a land flowing with milk and honey. I am the Lord your God, Who has distinguished you from the peoples.	24. But I have told you to beware of these horrors, that you may inherit their land; and I will give it you to possess it, a land producing milk and honey I am the LORD your God who have separated you from the Gentiles
25. And you shall distinguish between clean animals and unclean ones, and between unclean birds and clean ones; thus, you shall not make yourselves disgusting through [unclean] animals and birds and any [creature] which crawls on the earth, that I have distinguished for you to render unclean.	25. And you will make distinction between the animal, which is fit to be eaten, and that which it is improper to eat; and between the fowl which it is improper to eat, and that which is fit to be eaten. Defile not your souls by (eating of) the animal that is torn by a wild beast, or the bird torn by the falcon, or anything that creeps upon the which I have from you for their uncleanness.
26. And you shall be holy to Me, for I, the Lord, am holy, and I have distinguished you from the peoples, to be Mine.	26. And you will be holy before Me; for holy am I, the LORD, who have chosen you, and separated you from the Gentiles to be worshippers before Me.
27. And a man or a woman who has [the sorcery of] Ov or Yid'oni, shall surely be put to death; they shall pelt them with stones; their blood is upon themselves.	27. And the man or the woman who hath in them (the spirit of) divination or necromancy will die by the casting of stones; for they are guilty of death.

 

Welcome to the World of P’shat Exegesis

 

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

 

The Seven Hermeneutic Laws of R. Hillel are as follows

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reading Assignment:

 

The Torah Anthology, Volume 12, The Divine Service, pp. 51-88

By: Hakham Yitschak Magrisso

Translated by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan

 

Rashi’s Commentary for: ‎ Vayiqra (Leviticus) 19:23 – 20:27

 

23 you shall surely block...[from use] Heb. וַעֲרַלְתֶּם עָרְלָתוֹ, [lit.:] “And you shall block up its blockage,” i.e., [its fruit] shall be blocked and closed up from deriving benefit from it.

 

it shall be blocked for you [from use] for three years From when does one start counting [this three-year period]? From the time of its planting.—[Torath Kohanim 19:60] One might think that if one stores away the fruit [produced in the first three years], after the first three years have elapsed, [the fruit] will become permissible. Therefore, Scripture, says, “it shall be”-the fruit shall remain in its [forbidden] status [forever].-[Torath Kohanim 19:62]

 

24 all its fruit shall be holy Just like the second tithe, concerning which it is [also] written, “And every tithe of the Land...is holy to the Lord” (Lev. 27:30); just as the tithe may not be eaten outside the wall of Jerusalem, except after having been redeemed, so is this.—[see Torath Kohanim 19:66], and this thing is “a praise to the Lord,” for he carries it there [to Jerusalem,] to laud and give praise to Heaven.

 

25 to increase its produce for you This commandment which you will observe, will be “[in order] to increase its produce for you,” because as its reward, I will bless for you the fruits of [your] plantings. Rabbi Akiva used to say, "The Torah stated this to counter man’s evil inclination: so that a person should not say, “For four years I suffer with this tree for nothing!” Scripture therefore says here, “ [in order] to increase its produce for you.”-[Torath Kohanim 19:68]

 

I am the Lord I am the Lord Who promises regarding this and Who is faithful to keep My promise.

 

26 You shall not eat over the blood [This verse is] expounded in many different ways in Sanhedrin (63a) [as follows]: (a) It is a warning that one must not eat from the flesh of holy sacrifices before the dashing of the blood; (b) It is a warning against [anyone] who eats from an ordinary animal before its soul [contained in its blood] has [fully] departed; and in many more [ways this verse is expounded there].

 

You shall not act on the basis of omens like those who interpret [the sounds or actions of] a weasel or birds as omens [for good or bad], - [Torath Kohanim 19:71; Sanh. 66a], or [like those who interpret] bread falling from his mouth or a deer crossing his path [as signs for certain things].- [Sanh. 65b]

 

You shall not act on the basis of...lucky hours [The expression תְעוֹנְנוּ] denotes times (עוֹנוֹת) and hours, that one would say, “Such and such a day is auspicious to begin your work,” or, “Such and such an hour is unlucky to embark [on a journey].”-[Sanh. 65b]

 

27 You shall not round off the corner of your head This refers to someone who [cuts his hair in such a way that he] makes [the hair on] his temples even with that behind his ear and on his forehead [i.e., the front hairline], thereby causing [the hairline] surrounding his head to become a circle, since the main hairline behind the ears is at a much higher level than [the hair on] his temples.- [Mak. 20b]

 

the edge of your beard [meaning:] The end of the beard and its borders. And these are five: two on each cheek at the top [edge of the cheek] near the head, where [the cheek] is broad and has two “corners” [i.e., extremities, one near the temple and the other at the end of the cheek bone towards the center of the face]—and one below, on the chin, at the point where the two cheeks join together. - [Torath Kohanim

 

28 [You shall not make] cuts [in your flesh] for a person [who died] This was the practice of the Amorites: to make cuts in their flesh when a person [related] to them died.

 

etch a tattoo Heb. וּכְתֹבֶת קַעְקַע, an inscription etched (מְחֻקֶּה) and sunken (שָׁקוּע), never to be erased, for one etches it with a needle, and it remains permanently black.

 

etched Heb. קַעְקַע. Similar to the expression [found in the verses], “and hang (וְהוֹקַע) them” [lit., “and sink them”] (Num. 25:4), and, “and we will hang them (וְהוֹקַעְנוּם) ” [lit., “and we will sink them”] (II Sam. 21:6). They would thrust a pole into the ground and hang the [guilty people] on it; in this way, [the ones hanged would appear as if] inserted and thrust into the ground [and thus the word קַעְקַע denoting “etched in and sunken” into the skin]; porpoynt in Old French [according to Greenberg, porpoint according to Gukovitzki].

 

29 You shall not defile your daughter by making her a harlot [This is speaking of] a person who hands over his unmarried daughter to have relations that are not for the purpose of marriage.[Torath Kohanim 19:77; Sanh. 76a]

 

lest the Land fall into harlotry Heb. וְלֹא־תִזְנֶה, for if you do so, the Land itself will cause its fruits to go astray (מְזַנֶּה), producing them elsewhere and not in your Land. And thus the verse says (Jer. 3:2-3), “[and you defiled the Land with your harlotries (בִּזְנוּתַיִךְ)...] Therefore, the rains were withheld.”-[Torath Kohanim 19:77]

 

30 And revere My Sanctuary One may not enter [the Temple Mount] with his [walking] staff, his shoes, with his money belt, or with the dust on his feet.[Yev. 6b] And although I warn you regarding the [holiness of the] Sanctuary, [says God,] nevertheless—"You shall observe My Sabbaths"—the construction of the Sanctuary does not supersede [the laws of the] Sabbath.-[Yev. 6a].

 

31 You shall not turn to [the sorcery of] Ov or Yid’oni. This is a warning against one who practices the sorcery of Ov or Yid’oni. [And what are these forms of sorcery?] One who practices the sorcery of Ov is “Pithom the sorcerer” (see Rashi Deut. 18:11); [he communes with the dead, as it were, by raising the spirit of the dead, which then] speaks from his armpit. [And one who practices the sorcery of] Yid’oni inserts the bone of a creature called Yido’a (see Bartenura, Mishnah Kilayim 8:5) into his mouth, and the bone speaks [from there].-[Torath Kohanim 19:79; Sanh. 65b]

 

you shall not seek to occupy yourselves with these [types of sorcery], for if you do occupy yourselves with them, you will become defiled before Me [says God], and I will deem you abominable.

 

I am the Lord, your God Know Whom you are exchanging for whom [i.e., you would be exchanging “the Lord, your God” for these futile sorceries].-[Torath Kohanim 19: 79]

 

32 You shall rise before a venerable person One might think [that the commandment refers to rising before] an old person, [even though he may be] guilty [of transgression]. Scripture, therefore, says, זָקֵן  the term זָקֵן exclusively refers to one who has acquired wisdom [see Num. 11:16, where the same term refers to great, wise men, and therefore not guilty of transgression].-[Torath Kohanim 19:80; Kid. 32b]

 

and you shall respect the elderly What is meant by “respecting” [the elderly]? One may not sit in his place, speak in his stead [when it is the elder’s turn to speak], or contradict him. [Since one is obligated to rise before the elderly only when the latter enters within one’s four cubits,] one might think that he may close his eyes [when the elder approaches], as if he did not see him [and thus evade the obligation to rise before him]! Therefore Scripture adds here, “and you shall fear your God,” for this matter is privately known to the one who commits it, and no one knows about it except the person himself, and, concerning any matter known only in the heart [of one person,], Scripture says, “and you shall fear your God,” [for God knows man’s thoughts].- [Torath Kohanim 19:80;  Kid. 31b, 32b]

 

33 you shall not taunt him Heb. לֹא תוֹנוּ. [This refers to] tormenting with words [as opposed to torment through other means, e.g., financially (see Rashi Lev. 25: 14)]. [For instance,] do not say to him, "Only yesterday you were an idol worshipper, and now you come to learn Torah, which was given over by the Almighty God Himself!".-[Torath Kohanim 19:82]

 

34 for you were strangers Do not accuse your fellow man with your own defect. -[B.M. 59b]

 

I am the Lord, your God [Here, the word for “your,” אֱלֹהֵיכֶם, is in the plural; thus, regarding the stranger, Scripture reminds you:] I am Your God and his God!

 

35 You shall not commit a perversion of justice If we are dealing [here] with litigation, Scripture has already stated (verse above),"You shall commit no injustice in judgment." So what is the “judgment” that is taught here? It refers to ["just" behavior regarding one’s dealing with] measures, weights or liquid measures: this teaches us that one who measures [out something in business,] is called a “judge,” for if he falsifies the measure, he is considered to be as one who perverts justice. He is [accordingly] called perverse, hated, disgusting, fit for destruction, and an abomination (see Rashi on verse 15 above). [Moreover,] he brings about the five things stated regarding a [corrupt] judge, namely, that he (a) defiles the Land, (b) desecrates the Name of God, (c) drives away the Divine Presence, (d) causes Israel to fall by the sword, and (e) exiles Israel from their Land.-[Torath Kohanim 19:84]

 

with measures This refers to a land measure [i.e., measures of length or area of land].-[Torath Kohanim 19:85; B.M. 61b];

 

weights [This is to be understood] according to its apparent meaning.

 

liquid measures Heb. וּבַמְּשׂוּרָה. This refers to liquid measures.-[see Torath Kohanim 19:85 and B.M. 61b]

 

36 true weights Heb. אַבְנֵי צֶדֶק, lit. stones of righteousness. These are the weights [people use] to weigh against [i.e., as a standard weight on the scales].

 

a true ephah This is a [unit of] dry measure.

 

and a true hin This is a [unit of] liquid measure.

 

Who brought you out on this condition [i.e., to observe these commandments].-[Torath Kohanim 19:87] Another explanation: God says,] In Egypt, I discerned between the drop [of sperm that led to the conception] of a firstborn and the drop [of sperm that did] not [lead to the conception] of a firstborn. [Likewise,] I am the One faithful to exact punishment upon someone who secretly stores his weights in salt [thus altering their weight] in order to defraud people who do not recognize them [as weights that have been tampered with].-[B.M. 61b]

 

Chapter 20

 

2 And to the children of Israel, you shall say [i.e., enumerate the following] punishments for the warnings [that were given in chapter 18.].

 

shall surely be put to death By the court. And if the court is not [physically] powerful [enough to kill him by themselves], “the people of the land” must assist them.-[Torath Kohanim 20:91]

 

the people of the land - עַם הָאָרֶץ. [This may be rendered either: “the people of the earth” or “ the people of the land,” as follows:] The people for whose sake the earth was created, the people who are destined to possess the Land [of Israel], through [the observance of] these commandments.- [Torath Kohanim 20:91]

 

3 And I will set my attention Heb., פָּנַי, i.e., My leisure (פְּנַאי). I will turn aside (פּוֹנֶה) from all My affairs and occupy Myself with him.-[Torath Kohanim 20:92]

 

[that] man But not the [whole] community.-[Torath Kohanim 20:92] [I.e., if the entire community give their offspring over to Molech, they are not punished with excision,] because the entire community are not to be cut off.

 

because he gave of his offspring to Molech [Are not this phrase here, and the phrase in the next verse, “when he gives of his offspring to Molech” superfluous? However,] since Scripture says, “[There shall not be found among you] anyone who passes his son or daughter through fire” (Deut. 18:10), how do we know [that the law applies as well to] his son’s son or his daughter’s son? Scripture, therefore, says, “because he gave of his offspring to Molech.” And how do we know that the law applies even to one’s illegitimate offspring [i.e., one produced from a halachically illegitimate union]? Scripture. therefore says (in the next verse), "when he gives of his offspring to Molech" [to include even his illegitimate offspring].-[Torath Kohanim 20:93; Sanh. 64b]

 

In order to defile My holy ones Heb. מִקְדָּשִׁי. [This is] the congregation of Israel, which is sanctified to Me. [This reference to Israel as מִקְדָּשִׁי, what is sanctified to Me, is] reminiscent of the expression [referring to the holy sacrifices], “he shall not desecrate My holy things (מִקְדָּשַׁי) ” (Lev. 21:23).

 

 

4 But if [the people of the land] ignore [that man] Heb. הַעְלֵם יַעְלִימוּ. [The double expression intimates that] if they ignore one matter [i.e., even one sin], they will eventually ignore many matters, and if the Small Sanhedrin [of twenty- three judges] ignores the matter, eventually the Great Sanhedrin [of seventy-one judges, in Jerusalem,] will ignore the matter.-[Torath Kohanim 20:94]

 

5 and upon his family Rabbi Shimon says: [In] what [way] did the family sin [that they are punished]? However, this teaches you that there is no family in which there is an [unfair] tax collector which may not [be regarded as consisting] entirely of tax collectors, for they all cover up for him.—[Torath Kohanim 20:95; Shev. 39a]

 

and I will cut him off Why is this stated? Because since Scripture says, “[I will set My attention upon that man] and upon his family,” one might think that his entire family is included in [the punishment of] excision. Scripture, therefore, says, "[I will cut] him [off]"—that man is to be excised [from the people of Israel], but the entire family is not included in excision, but with suffering.-[Torath Kohanim 20:96]

 

to stray after Molech [This phrase comes to] include [in this penalty] any other pagan deity that one worshipped in this manner, even though it is not its mode of worship.-[Sanh. 64b]

 

7 You shall sanctify yourselves This [refers to] separation from idolatry.-[Torath Kohanim 20:100]

 

9 he has cursed his father or his mother [This phrase] comes to include [in this prohibition and its penalty], cursing one’s father or mother even] after [their] death.-[Sanh. 85b]

 

his blood is upon himself This refers to [the death penalty by] stoning. And likewise, wherever it is stated, “his blood is upon himself,” or “their blood is upon themselves” (see verse 27 below) [it refers to death by stoning]. And we learn [this principle] from [those who practice the sorcery of] Ov or Yid’oni, for regarding them, Scripture says (verse 27), “they shall pelt them with stones; their blood is upon  themselves.” - [Torath Kohanim 20:103; Sanh. 66a] [According to] the simple meaning of the verse, however, it is like “his blood is upon his [own] head” (Josh. 2:19), i.e., no one is punished for his death but he himself, because he brought it upon himself to be killed.

 

10 And a man [who commits adultery] [The term “man”] comes to exclude a minor [from the death penalty].-[Torath Kohanim 20:105; Sanh. 52b]

 

who commits adultery with [another] man’s wife [The term “man’s wife” comes] to exclude the wife of a minor. [From here,] we learn that a minor cannot hold [the legal status of Jewish] marriage. And for which “man’s wife” have I held you liable ?

 

committing adultery with the wife of his fellow [Thus] excluding the wife of a non-Jew. [From here,] we learn that [the legal status of Jewish] marriage cannot be held by a non-Jew.-[Torath Kohanim 20:105; Sanh. 52b]

 

The adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death Wherever a death penalty is mentioned in the Torah without specification [as to the mode of death, it exclusively refers to strangulation.-[Torath Kohanim 20:106, Sanh. 52b]

 

12 they have committed a depravity Heb. תֶּבֶל, a shameful act. Another meaning: They mingle (בּלל) the seed of the father with the seed of the son.-[see Torath Kohanim 20:108]

 

13 as one would with a woman [I.e.,] if he inserts [his membrum] as an applicator [is inserted] into a tube [of eye shadow].-[B.M. 91a]

 

14 They must burn him and them You cannot say that they should burn his first wife, because he married her permissibly, and she did not become forbidden to him. Rather, [the case of a man marrying] “a woman and her mother” written here, is [one, in which] both were forbidden to him, [namely,] that he married his mother-in-law and then her mother [in which case both women are burned along with him]. There are some of our Rabbis who say: [This case] means that only his mother-in-law [is to be burnt]. [If so,] what is the expression אֶתְהֶן, them ? It means “one of them,” being derived from the Greek term hen, meaning “one.” - [Sanh. 76b]

 

15 And you shall kill the animal If the man sinned, in what way did the animal sin? However, since a failing came [upon a person] through [the animal], therefore, Scripture says: It must be stoned [to death]! How much more so [is this relevant] to a human being, who knows how to distinguish between good and evil, and yet brings evil upon his fellow [by causing him] to commit a transgression. Similar to this matter, it says, “You shall utterly destroy from all the places [where the nations...worshipped-their gods]” (Deut. 12:2). It is surely [possible here to draw] an inference from minor to major: If [in the case of] trees, which do not see and do not hear, when a failing comes [upon a man] through them, the Torah says, Destroy them! Burn them! Annihilate them!— how much more culpable is a human who leads his fellow astray from the path of life to the paths of death! -[Torath Kohanim 20:115]

 

17 it is a disgraceful act The Aramaic term for “disgrace” is חִסוּדָא. - [see Onkelos on Gen. 34:14] Its Midrashic interpretation, however, is: If you [object and] say, “But Cain married his sister!” [the answer is:] the Omnipresent [in permitting this marriage,] performed an act of kindness (חֶסֶד), to build His world through him, as it is said: “the world is built on kindness (חֶסֶד) ” (Ps. 89:3). - [Torath Kohanim 20:116]

 

18 he has bared Heb. הֶעֱרָה, he has uncovered. And likewise, every instance of the term עֶרְָוָה [in Scripture], denotes “uncovering,” and the “vav” is inserted into the word [root ערה] for the noun form. Similarly, [the noun]  זַעֲ וָה, “trembling,” stems from the root [זָע, “tremble,” as in the verse], “and he did not rise, nor did he tremble (זָע) ” (Esther 5:9). Likewise, the noun  אַחֲ וָה, “brotherhood,” stems from the root אָח, “brother.” Now, regarding this  הַעֲרָאָה, “uncovering” [in the context of illicit relations], our Rabbis differed [with respect to what constitutes “uncovering”]. Some say that it is the [mere] contact of the membrum, while others say that it is the insertion of the tip of the membrum.-[Yev. 55b]

 

19 the nakedness of your mother’s sister [or your father’s sister] Scripture repeats the warning [already given in 18:12,13], to tell us that one is warned against [cohabiting with] these [specific relatives], whether it is with one’s father’s or mother’s sister from one father or whether it is their sisters from one mother. However, [concerning] the nakedness of the wife of his father’s brother, he is warned only if she is the wife of his father’s brother from one father.-[Torath Kohanim 20:118]

 

20 who lies with his aunt [...they shall die childless] This verse comes to teach us concerning the punishment of excision stated above, ["anyone who does any of these abominations... shall be cut off" (Lev. 18:29)] that it constitutes the punishment of going childless.

 

childless Heb. עֲרִירִי, as the Targum renders: וְלָד בְּלָא, without child. Similar to this [is the verse], “for I am going childless  (עֲרִירִי)” (Gen. 15:2). If he has children, he will bury them [i.e., they will die during his lifetime]. And if he has no children [when he commits this sin], he will die childless. This is why Scripture varied the expression in these two verses: (a) they shall die without children (our verse), and (b) they shall be childless (next verse)—"they shall die childless" [means that] if he has children at the time of the sin, he will not have any when he dies, because he will bury them in his lifetime; and “they will be childless” [means that] if he has no children at the time of the sin, he will remain all his life as he is now.-[See Torath Kohanim 20:120; Yev. 55a]

 

21 it is a repulsive act Heb. נִדָּה הִוא. This cohabitation is [an act from which one should] separate himself (מְנוּדָה) and is disgusting. Our Rabbis, however, expounded [this verse, as follows] (Yev. 54b): Scripture comes to prohibit uncovering her [nakedness] just like [the prohibition of uncovering the nakedness of] a menstruant woman (נִדָּה), concerning whom “baring” is explicitly stated (verse 18 above),"he has bared (הֶעֱרָה) her fountain." [I.e., one is liable for sexual contact, as is defined in the commentary on verse 18.]

 

23 and so I was disgusted with them Denotes “disgust,” just as [in the verse], “I am disgusted (קַצְתִּי) with my life” (Gen. 27:46), like a man who loathes (קָץ) his food [so God loathed those nations].-[Torath Kohanim 20:125]

 

25 And you shall distinguish between clean animals and unclean ones It is not necessary for Scripture to say [that we must distinguish] between a cow and a donkey, since they are easily distinguishable and identifiable. Rather, [the Torah means that we must distinguish] between [an animal that] is clean because of you [i.e., permissible for you to eat because of your slaughtering], and [one that is] unclean because of you [i.e., forbidden for you to eat because of your slaughtering. [When an animal is slaughtered, both “signs,” i.e., organs, must be severed, namely, the esophagus, (gullet) and the trachea (windpipe), or at least, the majority of each. Thus, our verse here is referring to the following: The distinction] between an animal of which [one organ was severed completely and] the majority of the [other] organ was severed, [thus rendering the animal kosher], and [an animal of which one organ was completely severed] whereas only half the [other] organ was severed [thus rendering that animal nonkosher]. And what is the difference between its majority and half of it [that would mean the difference between kosher and nonkosher]? A hairbreadth [and consequently, Scripture commands us to make a careful distinction].-[Torath Kohanim 20:116]

 

that I have distinguished for you to render unclean [I.e.,] to render] forbidden [to eat, as above].-[Torath Kohanim 20:116]

 

26 And I have distinguished you from the peoples, to be Mine If you are separated from them [through your observance of Torah], you will be Mine, but if not, you will belong to Nebuchadnezzar and his ilk. Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah says: How do we know that a person should not say, “I find pork disgusting,” or “It is impossible for me to wear a mixture [of wool and linen],” but rather, one should say, “I indeed wish to, but what can I do—my Father in heaven has imposed these decrees upon me?” Because Scripture says here, "And I have distinguished you from the peoples, to be Mine"—your very distinction from the other peoples must be for My Name, separating yourself from transgression and accepting upon yourself the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven.-[Torath Kohanim 20:128]

 

 

Ketubim: Tehillim (Psalms) 84:1-13

 

Rashi	Targum
1. For the conductor, on the gittith, of the sons of Korah, a song.	1. For praise, on the lyre that comes from Gath; composed by the sons of Korah; a psalm.
2. How beloved are Your dwelling places, O Lord of Hosts!	2. How beloved are your tents, O LORD Sabaoth!
3. My soul yearns, yea, it pines for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh pray fervently to the living God.	3. My soul craved and even yearned for the court of the LORD; my heart and flesh meditate on the enduring God.
4. Even a bird found a house and a swallow her nest, where she placed her chicks upon Your altars, O Lord of Hosts, my King and my God.	4. Even the dove has found a house, and the turtledove a nest that is suitable for her hatchlings to be sacrificed on Your altars, O LORD Sabaoth, my King and my God.
5. Fortunate are those who stay in Your house; they will continually praise You forever.	5. Happy are the righteous/generous who dwell in Your sanctuary; again, they will praise You forever.
6. Fortunate is the man who has strength in You, in whose heart are the highways.	6. Happy the man who has his strength in Your word; trust is in their hearts.
7. Transgressors in the valley of weeping make it into a fountain; also, with blessings they enwrap [their] Teacher.	7. The wicked who cross over the valleys of Gehenna, weeping He will make their weeping like a fountain; also, those who return to the teaching of his Torah He will cover with blessings.
8. They go from host to host; he will appear to God in Zion.	8. The righteous/generous go from the sanctuary to the academies; their toil in the Torah will be manifest before the LORD, whose presence abides in Zion.
9. O Lord, God of Hosts, hearken to my prayer; bend Your ear, O God of Jacob, forever.	9. David said, "O LORD, God Sabaoth, receive my prayer; hear, O God of Jacob, forever."
10. See our shield, O God, and look at the face of Your anointed.	10. See, O God, the merits of our fathers, and behold the face of Your anointed (Messiah).
11. For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand; I chose to sit on the threshold of the house of My God rather than dwell in tents of wickedness.	11. For it is better to dwell one day in the courtyard of Your sanctuary than a thousand in exile; I have chosen to adhere to the sanctuary of God rather than to live in the tents of wickedness.
12. For a sun and a shield is the Lord God; the Lord will give grace and glory; He will not withhold good from those who go with sincerity.	12. For the LORD God is like a high wall and a strong shield; the LORD will give grace and glory; He will not hide goodness from those who walk in perfection.
13. O Lord of Hosts, fortunate is the man who trusts in You.	13. O LORD Sabaoth, it is well for the son of man who trusts in Your word.

 

Rashi’s Commentary for: Psalms 84:1-13

 

2 How beloved are Your dwelling places How beloved and dear are Your dwelling places!

 

3 yearns Heb. נכספה Desires.

 

pines Heb. כלתה, desires, as (II Sam. 13:39): “And [the soul of] King David longed (ותכל) to go forth to Absalom.”

 

for the courts of the Lord for they have been destroyed, and he says this regarding the exile.

 

my heart and my flesh pray fervently They pray for this.

 

4 Even a bird found a house In its ruins, the birds have nested. According to Midrash Aggadah (Mid. Ps. 84:2), it speaks of [the Temple] when it is built, and the bird is the nation of Israel.

 

5 Fortunate is he who will yet merit to dwell in Your house, and they will yet praise you in its midst.

 

6 who has strength in You Who has made You the strength of his trust.

 

in whose heart are the highways Who thinks in his heart the paving of his ways, to straighten his way.

 

7 Transgressors in the valley of weeping Those who transgress Your law behold, they are in the depth of Gehinnom with weeping and wailing.

 

make it into a fountain with the tears of their eyes.

 

also with blessings they enwrap [their] Teacher They bless and thank His name and say, “He judged us fairly, and His judgment is true.” (Another explanation: Shem Ephraim) And the one who taught us to follow the good way enwraps us with blessings, but we did not obey him.

 

8 They go from host to host Those mentioned above, who dwell in Your house, in whose heart are the highways.

 

from host to host From the study-hall to the synagogue, and their host and army will appear to the Hole One, blessed be He, in Zion.

 

9 hearken to my prayer to build Your house.

 

10 our shield That is the Temple, which protects us.

 

look at the face of David Your anointed, and ponder his acts of kindness and his toil, by which he toiled and wearied himself in its building.

 

11 For a day is better [To live] one [day] in Your courts and die the next [is better than] to live a thousand years someplace else.

 

I chose to sit on the threshold Heb. הסתופף, to sit habitually on the threshold and by the doorpost.

 

rather than dwell in tents of wickedness rather than dwell tranquilly in the tents of the wicked Esau, to cleave to them.

 

12 For a sun and a shield שמש may be interpreted according to its apparent meaning, but Midrash Psalms interprets it as an expression of the points of the wall.

 

 Meditation from the Psalms

Psalms ‎‎84:1-13

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

 

Psalm 84 is the first in a second group of psalms (84, 85, 87 and 88) ascribed to the sons of Korach.^[1] The first group of psalms composed by the sons of Korach were Psalms 42-49.

 

Radak^[2] comments that this psalm was inspired by David’s experiences when he fled from Saul and sought refuge in the land of Philistia.^[3] There, on foreign soil, far removed from the spiritual centers of Israel, David yearned to return to the Holy Ark and to the sacrificial altar. With this psalm, David captured the innermost longing of all the lonely exiles in future generations.

 

The psalmist stresses that many living creatures possess a powerful homing instinct which binds them to a specific location, where they reproduce and shelter their young.

 

Similarly, the nest of Israel can only be in the holy environs of HaShem’s dwelling place. Only there is Israel strong and secure enough to develop its future, as the psalmist proclaims (v.8): They advance from strength to strength and appear before HaShem in Zion.

 

David yearned to be in HaShem’s house. Similarly, many have felt the pull of the kotel, the western wall, as a place to be close to HaShem. Yet, it was not so in the beginning. Adam and Chava were quite content to walk with HaShem in Gan Eden. The ones who stood at Sinai, in the days of Moses, also had no needs and were quite content in HaShem’s presence. This suggests that these three places: Eden, Sinai, and the Mishkan (Temple) - have much in common. Let’s examine some of the things that connect these three places.^[4]

 

Dwelling

 

The essence of the Beit HaMikdash, the Temple, as we shall see, is a dwelling place for HaShem. To understand this dwelling, we must first go to that ideal world where HaShem placed man in perfect fellowship with His Creator. This ideal world was called Gan Eden:^[5]

 

Bereshit (Genesis) 3:8 And they heard the voice of HaShem G-d walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of HaShem G-d amongst the trees of the garden.

 

Here we see HaShem “walking” or dwelling with Adam. Surely, we must say that this was the ideal place for HaShem to dwell with us. The Midrash tells us plainly that this verse indicates that the Shechinah^[6] of HaShem dwelt in Gan Eden:

 

Midrash Rabbah - Numbers XII:6 AND IT CAME TO PASS (WAYYEHI) ON THE DAY, etc. What is the implication of WAYYEHI? R. Joshua said: The Holy One, blessed be He, made a stipulation with Israel while they were yet in Egypt that He would only bring them out from thence on the understanding that they would build a Tabernacle for Him so that He might cause His Presence to dwell among them; as it says, And they shall know that I am the Lord their G-d, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them (Ex.XXIX, 46); on this condition: ‘ That I may dwell among them.’ Now as soon as the Tabernacle was erected and the Shechinah descended and dwelt in their midst (all the conditions were fulfilled. Consequently it says, WAYYEHI (AND IT CAME TO PASS), implying that what He had promised He performed). WAYYEHI: Rab expounded: Something that had never happened from the time the world was created until then took place on that day. From the time when the world was created until that moment the Shechinah had never dwelt in this lower world. It only did this from the moment when the Tabernacle was erected and thenceforward. For this reason it says, WAYYEHI; it was an innovation. R. Simeon b. Yohai said it was something that, having already been in existence, had ceased and now returned to its previous state. You find that from the beginning of the world’s creation the Shechinah had dwelt in this lower world; as it says,  And they heard the voice of the Lord G-d walking in the garden, etc. (Gen.III, 8), but once the Shechinah departed at the time when Adam sinned, it did not descend again until the Tabernacle had been erected. It is for this reason that the expression WAYYEHI is used, signifying that something which had already been in existence, and had ceased for many years, returned to its original state.

 

HaShem wanted a place in this world to house His presence close to His People. Gan Eden would have been that place, had Adam and Chava^[7] not eaten from the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It represents the ideal. Therefore, any connections between Gan Eden and future events where we see the Shechinah will need to be explored in order to understand the ideal.

 

Water - Torah

 

The Mishkan^[8] and the Temple also housed HaShem’s presence. Let’s look at some connections between Gan Eden and the Temple in order to understand their relationship. Let’s start by looking at what the Torah has to say about these two places:

 

Bereshit (Genesis) 2:10 “A river issues forth from Eden to water the garden, and from there it is divided and becomes four heads.”

 

The holy Zohar^[9] says that the “river issues forth from Eden” refers to the spiritual waters of the Torah, which nourish the world, just as water sustains vegetation. Our Sages, in the Talmud,^[10] also declared that any reference to water is also an allusion to Torah.

 

Another allusion to the Torah can be found in the Luchot, the tablets, of Torah that are found in the Aron Kodesh, the Holy Ark, in the Temple. This Torah is also an allusion to the water of Gan Eden. Further, the Torah says that the Word of HaShem will go forth from Zion:

 

Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 2:3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of HaShem, to the house of the G-d of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of HaShem from Jerusalem.

 

The Tablets of the testimony, the Luchot, were kept in the ark in the Holy of Holies. The Luchot were the representation of Torah, which was also represented by the waters which came forth from the Garden.

 

Similarly, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was a living organism, but eating of its fruit brought death. Death is a state where flesh is turned back into dust which is made of minerals just as stone is made of minerals.

 

The tikkun for Adam’s sin (eating un-kosher fruit) is the observance of the Torah’s command to eat only kosher food.

 

Avodah - Service

 

Just as Adam and Chava did not have any work except serving HaShem by tending the Garden. So too the Priests and the Levites do not have a designated portion in Eretz Israel and their only work was teaching Torah and serving HaShem. “HaShem is their inheritance.”:

 

Bamidbar (Numbers) 18:20 And HaShem spake unto Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them: I [am] thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Israel.

 

They do not depend upon standard economic interactions for their income. Their financial well being is gifted to them by HaShem. They spend their days servicing the nation as teachers and priests, effectively doing HaShem’s work; and the people, in turn, support them with specified gifts, as per HaShem’s instructions. They live the ideal life of Adam and Chava in the Gan Eden who should have spent their time exploring HaShem’s intentions and being cared for by HaShem, rather than struggling to make a living “from the sweat of your brows”. The Priests and the Levites are the model humans in HaShem’s model world teaching us by example how to behave. They model what Adam and Chava should have been.

 

Guard and Serve

 

The parallel between Gan Eden, Har Sinai, and both the Temple and the Mishkan^[11] becomes especially apparent in the Midrashim that interpret Adam’s responsibility in Gan Eden of service. This are the same responsibilities we have when it comes to Har Sinai, and the Mishkan in reference to the sacrifices and Torah study.^[12] Compare the duties in Gan Eden:

 

Bereshit (Genesis) 2:15 And HaShem God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to serve it and to guard it.

 

To the duties at Har Sinai:

 

Shemot (Exodus) 3:12 And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this [shall be] a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.

 

Shemot (Exodus) 19:12 And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, guard yourselves, [that ye] go [not] up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death:

 

And the duties in the Mishkan:

 

Bamidbar (Numbers) 8:26 But shall minister with their brethren in the tabernacle of the congregation, to guard the charge, and shall do no service. Thus shalt thou do unto the Levites touching their charge.

 

In Gan Eden, Adam is entrusted with the obligation “to tend it and to keep it” (le-ovda u-le-shomra). These are also the roles of the Priests and the Levites in the Mishkan: “They shall keep (ve-shamru) all the vessels of the Tent of Meeting… to perform (la-avod) the service of the Mishkan”.^[13]

 

Thus we see that we are to guard and serve in Gan Eden, at Har Sinai, at the Mishkan, and at the Temple. The words guard and serve connect these three locations.

 

Walking

 

There is another word which connects Gan Eden and the Mishkan, mithalek - walking, in Gan Eden we see:

 

Bereshit (Genesis) 3:8 And they heard the voice of HaShem God walking (mithalek) in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of HaShem God amongst the trees of the garden.

 

In the following passage, we see the same word, mithalek, used in reference to the Mishkan:

 

Vayikra (Leviticus 26:11-12) And I will set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk (mithalek) among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people.

 

We also see this methalek in reference to Har Sinai:

 

Devarim (Deuteronomy) 23:14 For HaShem thy God walketh (mithalek) in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy: that he see no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee.

 

Again, we see that Methalek connects Gan Eden, Har Sinai, and the Mishkan.

 

Another connection between Gan Eden and the Mishkan is found in:

 

Tehillim (Psalms) 36:9 They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of Your Edens.

 

The Psalmist juxtaposes Gan Eden with Thy House to connect them for us.

 

Just as the world was first created and then Adam was introduced; so too, the Mishkan was first constructed and then the Priests were introduced!

 

The tree of life was a vehicle for the communion between Adam and HaShem. This fruit is Torah. Communion involved the ruach, his breathing. And through his eating of the tree of life. He was left with the ruach, though full partaking of the tree was denied to Adam. Food connects the spiritual to the physical.

 

Since the Shechinah was present in Gan Eden, Har Sinai, in the Mishkan / Temple, it will be necessary to compare the aspects of these three locations to get a better understanding of the Temple as a dwelling for HaShem.

 

Keruvim^[14]

 

After Adam and Chava sinned^[15] and were consequently banished from the Garden, G-d placed Keruvim^[16] to guard the path of return to the Tree of Life.^[17] It may not be coincidental that the Mishkan is the only other context throughout the entire Torah where the concept of Keruvim appears.  We do see the Keruvim on the chariot and in the Prophets, but these are not on earth. Recall how the Mishkan features Keruvim:

 

1)     On the mercy seat as protectors of the ark, which contains the tablets,^[18] and

 

2)  woven into the parochet, the curtain which guards the entrance into the kodesh ha-kodashim, the Holy of Holies.

 

The symbolic function of the Keruvim as guardians of the kodesh kodashim may correspond to the Mishkan’s function as an environment similar to Gan Eden, where man can strive to come closer to G-d:

 

1)     The Keruvim of the mercy seat, protecting the ark, indicate that the ‘Tree of Life’ of Gan Eden has been replaced by the Torah, represented by the tablets inside the ark.^[19]

 

2)     The Keruvim woven into the parochet^[20] remind man that his entry into the Holy of Holies, although desired, remains limited and requires spiritual readiness. [Note that Keruvim are also woven into the innermost covering of the mishkan.^[21]]

 

The keruvim are not mentioned at all before Adam and Chava sin; this might indicate that they represent Adam and Chava themselves. More specifically, they represent Adam and Chava as they were before their sin. The Torah tells that after partaking of the forbidden fruit, “The eyes of both of them were opened and they perceived that they were naked; and they sewed together fig leaves and made themselves loincloths”.^[22] After the sin Adam and Chava lost the purity and innocence with which they were created. This innocence is symbolized by the Keruvim, an unclothed male and female. In the place of this jaded couple… now stood an innocent-looking couple, representing Adam and Chava before the sin, guarding the passage to the tree of life (represented by the tablets inside the ark), the Torah. Just as Adam and Chava were initially created as a single human being,^[23] so are the Keruvim molded from a single block of gold.

 

In this sense, we may view the Mishkan as a tikkun for Adam’s sin in the Garden of Eden.  Should man wish to return to the Tree of Life, he must keep G-d’s covenant, the laws of the Torah, as symbolized by the tablets of the covenant in the ark, protected by the Keruvim.

 

Gan Eden was the very antithesis of the wilderness where Torah was given at Har Sinai. The Temple, however, had some aspects of both places. When we walked in obedience, the Temple was a place of communion with HaShem. It was a place of abundant food, a place where all of our needs were met. When we walked in disobedience the Temple was plowed under and became a howling wilderness. At the end of days, however, Mashiach will restore this Temple (Man) and His Gan Eden:

 

Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 51:3 For HaShem shall comfort Zion; he will comfort all her ruins; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of HaShem; joy and gladness shall be found in there, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.

 

The Wall

 

Gan Eden was surrounded by walls. Adam was responsible for guarding the walls against creepy crawlies. He failed and we all know the outcome of the serpent’s machinations:

 

Bereshit (Genesis) 3:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed Keruvim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way of the tree of life.

 

The Midrash talks of this wall around the garden:

 

Midrash Rabbah - Genesis XXI:2 I went by the field of the slothful man (ish), and by the vineyard of the person (Adam) void of understanding (Prov. XXIV, 30). R. Huna said: Behold, if one buys a field or a vineyard and is designated person (ish) or man, yet is dubbed lazy, what benefit has one [from the title of ‘ man ‘]? ‘I went by the field of the slothful man,’ however, refers to Adam, while, ‘And by the vineyard of the person (Adam) void of understanding ‘ refers to Eve. R. Huna said: Where do we find that Eve is called Adam?-According to the beauty of Adam, to dwell in the house (Isa. XLIV, 13). And lo, it was all grown over with thistles (Prov. XXlV, 31), as it is written, ‘ Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee’ (Gen. III, 18). The face thereof was covered with nettles (Prov. loc. cit.): In the sweat of thy face, etc. (Gen. III, 19). And the stone wall thereof was broken down (Prov. loc. cit.):Therefore the Lord G-d sent him forth from the garden of Eden (Gen. III, 23): having sent him forth He began to bewail him, saying, BEHOLD, THE MAN WAS AS ONE OF US.

 

HaShem asked that Moses create a wall around Mt. Sinai:

 

Shemot (Exodus) 19:12 And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying: Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it; whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death;

 

There was also a wall around the Mishkan:

 

Shemot (Exodus) 26:1 Moreover thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains: of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, with cherubim the work of the skilful workman shalt thou make them.

 

The Beit HaMikdash also had a wall surrounding it:

 

Melachim alef (I Kings) 6:5 And against the wall of the house he built a side-structure round about, against the walls of the house round about, both of the temple and of the sanctuary; and he made side-chambers round about;

 

Today we are to learn Torah and make a fence around Torah, according to the Sages in Pirke Avot 1:1, as quoted in this Midrash:

 

Midrash Rabbah - Numbers X:8 Why did the Torah forbid ANY INFUSION OF GRAPES, seeing that one does not get drunk thereby, and it likewise prohibited the eating of anything that proceeds from the vine, even such things as do not intoxicate? Why so? From this you can infer that it is a man’s duty to keep away from unseemliness, from what resembles unseemliness and even from the semblance of a semblance. From this you can infer that the Torah has put a fence about its ordinances. We have learned elsewhere: Be deliberate in judgment, raise up many disciples, and make a fence round the Torah. How shall a man make a fence round his own affairs in the same way as the Torah has made a fence round hers? Behold, it says,  And thou shalt not approach unto a woman... as long as she is impure by her uncleanness (Lev. XVIII, 19). One might assume that he is allowed to embrace her and kiss her or indulge in idle conversation with her. Scripture therefore explicitly states, ‘Thou shalt not approach.’ It might be assumed that she may sleep with him in her garments on the same bed. Scripture therefore plainly states, ‘Thou shalt not approach.’ It might be assumed that she may wash her face, paint her eyes, and let him take a, cup from her. Scripture therefore plainly states, Of her that is sick with her impurity-niddathah (ib. XV, 33)1; all the time that she is sick she must remain in isolation (niddui).1 From this it has been inferred that the woman who makes herself look repulsive during the period of her impurity has the approval of the Sages, while the woman who adorns herself during the period of her impurity has not the approval of the Sages.

 

The Mishkan / Temple was a symbolic recreation of the pristine world of Chesed that had once existed in Gan Eden and again at the foot of Har Sinai. Clearly HaShem was recreating Gan Eden at Mt. Sinai and in the Mishkan.

 

The following chart equates some of the symbols of Gan Eden with the symbols of Sinai and the symbols of the Beit HaMikdash:

 

 

Eden	Sinai	Mishkan / Temple
Tree of Life (Torah)	Burning bush / Tablet (Torah)	Tablets (Torah)
Separated (Holy) by a wall and with Keruvim	Separated (Holy) by boundary markers[24]	Separated (Holy) by curtains
Ten statements of creation.	Ten words	Tablets w/ten words
600,000 souls in Adam[25]	600,000 souls at Sinai[26]	600,000 letters in Torah[27] (Black fire and white fire)
Keruvim[28] at the Tree of Life	Keruvim in the chariot[29]	Keruvim on the ark and on the curtain.
Wall around the garden	Boundary around the mountain	Curtain around the Mishkan
“Hamin [same Hebrew characters as HaMan] haetz hazeh” (Did you eat from the tree?)	HaMan from heaven (manna)	HaMan in the Holy of Holies. (manna preserved)
Adam and Chava were naked and unashamed.	Israel went into the Mikveh naked.	The Keruvim were naked.

 

The following section is an excerpt from Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai:

 

Everything in Torah is a teaching and a directive both in the service of HaShem and in our private lives. When we correct the breach in the wall of Jerusalem in our own lives, we cause HaShem to rebuild Jerusalem. The word “Jerusalem”, in Hebrew, is a composite of two words: Yirah, which means fear, and Shalem, which means complete. Our personal Jerusalem represents our awe and fear of G-d. Fear of G-d is not only that the fear He can punish us. When we realize that our greatest asset is our bond with G-d, and that the strength of that bond is dependent upon keeping his commandments, we fear damaging that bond.

 

The Wall surrounding Jerusalem represent the steps we take to avoid doing negative acts. When we are afraid of something being damaged, we take steps to protect it. Our love and fear of G-d dictate that we not only carefully keep his commandments, but that we also take steps to prevent mistakes. This is the reason for most Rabbinical ordinances. Similarly, in our private lives, the wall of Jerusalem represents the steps we take to protect our meaningful relationships.

 

Jerusalem also represents the local Jewish community / Esnoga to which we belong. Breaching its walls therefore implies that we have no reverence for G-d or the community and that we do not value the deeps bonds between us and our fellow Jew in our local community. Much of the breaching of the community walls takes place via Lashon Hara (lit. “evil tongue” = gossip) and a lack of nobility in behaviors and manners between its members. As Pirke Avot makes it clear – “where there are no noble manners there can be no Torah, and where there is no Torah there can be no noble manners.”  

 

The prophet Yeshayahu (Isaiah) related, “Zion will be redeemed through justice and her captives through charity”. Justice in this verse refers to the study of Torah.

 

Interestingly, the number seventeen is the equivalent of the word Tov, which means beneficial. This is because underlying the destruction are the seeds for an even greater future. When Mashiach ben David will come, the world will be in a higher and more perfect state than the time of the Temple. May we merit seeing that time now!

 

So important was the Mishkan and the Beit HaMikdash that they were recreated in our Esnogas.^[30] These are part of our psalm that are part of our prayer and halacha. Consider the following:

 

The early pious people would wait an hour before praying.^[31] This is derived from the pasuk:

 

Tehillim (Psalms) 84:5 Fortunate is he who sits in Your house.

 

This pasuk forms a part of our prayers every day. It is a part of the Pesukei d’zimra.

 

Rav Levi bar Chiya said: One who leaves a Esnoga and enters a beit midrash to partake of Torah study will merit greeting the “face of the Divine Presence”,^[32] as the pasuk says:

 

Tehillim (Psalms) 84:8 They will go from strength to strength; it will be seen by HaShem in Zion.

 

The verbal tally between the Torah and the Ashlamata is the word nephesh - נפש, soul. This word is found in:

 

Tehillim (Psalms) 84:2 My soul <05315> longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.

 

David’s examination of our Torah portion reveals a connection between Gan Eden / Sinai / Mishkan and the false connection with idolatry which was described as making cuttings in the flesh for the soul:

 

Vayikra (Leviticus) 19:28 Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead (soul) <05315>, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.

 

This explains his praise for HaShem and repeated longings for His dwelling place. It seems that David’s flight from King Saul provided many significant insights concerning the Torah Portion. He used this experience to expose idolatry and its “cuttings” which are the exact opposite of the rest found in HaShem’s courts.

 

Ashlamatah: Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 65:22 – 66:2, 4-5, 10-11

 

Rashi	Targum
13. ¶ Therefore, so said the Lord God, "Behold, My servants shall eat, but you shall be hungry; behold, My servants shall drink, but you shall thirst; behold, My servants shall rejoice, but you shall be ashamed.	13. ¶ Therefore thus says the LORD God: "Behold, My servants, the righteous/generous, will eat, but you, the wicked, will be hungry; behold, My servants, the righteous/generous, will drink, but you, the wicked, will be thirsty; behold, My servants, the righteous/ generous, will rejoice, but you will be put to shame;
14. Behold, My servants shall sing from joy of heart, but you shall cry out from sorrow of heart, and from a broken spirit you shall wail.	14. behold, My servants, the righteous/generous, will sing from goodness of heart, but you will cry from pain of heart, and will wail from breaking of spirit.
15. And you shall leave your name for an oath for My elect, "And the Lord God shall slay you," but to His servants He shall call another name.	15. You will leave your name to My chosen for an oath, and the LORD God will slay you with the second death; but His servants, the righteous/generous, He will call by a different name.
16. For whoever himself on the earth shall bless himself by the true God, and whoever swears on the earth shall swear by the true God, for the first troubles have been forgotten and they have been hidden from My eyes.	16. He who blesses in the land will bless by the living God, and he who takes an oath in the land will swear by the living God; because the former troubles will be forgotten and hid from before Me.
17. For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the first ones shall not be remembered, neither shall they come into mind.	17. For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things will not be remembered or be brought into mind.
18. But rejoice and exult forever [in] what I create, for behold I create Jerusalem a rejoicing and its people an exultation.	18. But they will be glad in the age of the ages which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem gladness, and her people rejoicing.
19. And I will rejoice with Jerusalem, and I will exult with My people, and a sound of weeping or a sound of crying shall no longer be heard therein.	19. I will be glad in Jerusalem and My people will rejoice in her; the sound of those who weep and the sound of those who cry will not be heard in her.
20. There shall no longer be from there a youth or an old man who will not fill his days, for the youth who is one hundred years old shall die, and the sinner who is one hundred years old shall be cursed.	20. No more will there be a suckling that lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his days, for a youth who sins will be dying a hundred years old, and the sinner a hundred years old will be expelled.
21. And they shall build houses and inhabit them, and they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.	21. They will build houses and inhabit them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat, for like the days of the tree are the days of My people, and My elect shall outlive their handiwork.	22. They will not build, and others inhabit; they will not plant, and others eat; for like the days of the tree of life will the days of My people be, and My chosen will wear out the work of their hands.
23. They shall not toil in vain, neither shall they bear for terror, for they are seed blessed by the Lord, and their offspring shall be with them.	23. They shall not be weary in vain or bring up children for death; for they will be the seed which the LORD blessed, and their sons' sons with them.
24. And it shall be, when they have not yet called, that I will respond; when they are still speaking, that I will hearken.	24. Before they pray before Me, I will accept their prayer, and before they beseech before Me I will do their request.
25. A wolf and a lamb shall graze together, and a lion, like cattle, shall eat straw, and a serpent-dust shall be his food; they shall neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mount," says the Lord. {S}	25. The wolf and the lamb will feed together; the lion will eat straw like an ox; and dust will be the serpent's food. They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, says the LORD."   {S}
1. So says the Lord, "The heavens are My throne, and the earth is My footstool; which is the house that you will build for Me, and which is the place of My rest?	1. Thus says the LORD: "The heavens are the throne of My glory and the earth is a highway before Me; what is the house which you would build before Me, and what is the place of the dwelling of My Shekhinah?
2. And all these My hand made, and all these have become," says the Lord. "But to this one will I look, to one poor and of crushed spirit, who hastens to do My bidding.	2. All these things My might has made, did not all these things come to be, says the LORD? But in this man there is pleasure before Me to regard him, he that is poor and humble in spirit, and trembles at My word.
3. Whoever slaughters an ox has slain a man; he who slaughters a lamb is as though he beheads a dog; he who offers up a meal-offering is [like] swine blood; he who burns frankincense brings a gift of violence; they, too, chose their ways, and their soul desired their abominations.	3. He who slaughters an ox is like him who kills a man; he who sacrifices a lamb, like him who bludgeons a dog: he who presents an offering, [like him who offers] swine’s blood; their offering of gifts is a gift of oppression. They have taken pleasure in their own ways, and their soul takes pleasure in their abominations.
4. I, too, will choose their mockeries, and their fears I will bring to them, since I called and no one answered, I spoke and they did not hearken, and they did what was evil in My eyes, and what I did not wish they chose.  {S}	4. Even I will wish breaking for them, and from what they dreaded they will not be delivered; because, when I sent my prophets, they did not repent, when they prophesied, they did not attend; but they did what is evil before Me and took pleasure in that which I did not wish.  {S}
5. Hearken to the word of the Lord, who quake at His word, "Your brethren who hate you, who cast you out, said, "For the sake of my name, the Lord shall be glorified, "but we will see your joy, and they shall be ashamed.	5. Listen to the word of the LORD, you righteous/ generous who tremble at the words of His pleasure: "Your brethren, your adversaries who despise you for my name's sake say, 'Let the glory of the LORD increase, that we may see your joy'; but it is they who will be put to shame.
6. There is a sound of stirring from the city, a sound from the Temple, the voice of the Lord, recompensing His enemies.	6. A sound of tumult from the city of Jerusalem! A voice from the temple! The voice of the Memra of the LORD, rendering recompense to His enemies.
7. When she has not yet travailed, she has given birth; when the pang has not yet come to her, she has been delivered of a male child.	7. Before distress comes to her, she will be delivered; and before shaking will come upon her, as pains upon a woman in travail, her king will be revealed.
8. Who heard [anything] like this? Who saw [anything] like these? Is a land born in one day? Is a nation born at once, that Zion both experienced birth pangs and bore her children?	8. Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Is it possible that a land will be made in one day? Will its people be created in one moment? For Zion is about to be comforted and to be filled with the people of her exiles.
9. "Will I bring to the birth stool and not cause to give birth?" says the Lord. "Am I not He who causes to give birth, now should I shut the womb?" says your God.   {S}	9. I, God, created the world from creation, says the LORD; I created every man; I scattered them among the Gentiles; I am also about to gather your exiles, says your God.    {S}
10.  Rejoice with Jerusalem and exult in her all those who love her: rejoice with her a rejoicing, all who mourn over her.	10. Rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice with her in joy, all you who were mourning over her,
11. In order that you suck and become sated from the breast of her consolations in order that you drink deeply and delight from her approaching glory.  {S}	11. that you may be indulged and be satisfied with the plunder of her consolations; that you may drink and be drunk with the wine of her glory." {S}

 

Rashi’s Commentary to: Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 65:22 – 66:2, 4-5, 10-11

 

13 My servants The righteous [of Israel]. but you who rebel against Me.

 

15 your name for an oath From your name shall be taken a curse and an oath for generations, “If it does not befall me as it befell So-and-so.”

 

and...shall slay you an eternal death.

 

but to His servants He shall call another name A good name and a mention for a blessing.

 

16 For whoever blesses himself on the earth For My fear shall be over all of them, and the earth shall be full of knowledge, and whoever praises himself or lauds himself on the earth, will bless himself by the true God, he will praise himself that he is a servant of the true God, the God of truth, Who realized and observed this, His promise.

 

for the first troubles have been forgotten Therefore, they shall call Me the true God.

 

17 new heavens The princes above shall be renewed, and the princes of Israel shall be the upper princes and the princes of the heathens (the nations [Parshandatha]) will be lower, and so on the earth. ([K’li Paz reads:] The princes above shall be renewed, to raise up the humble and to humble the high ones, and so on the earth.) And some say that there will actually be new heavens, and that is correct, for Scripture proves it (infra 66:22): “For as the new heavens, etc.”

 

20 a youth Heb. עוּל יָמִים, a youth. Comp. (Lam. 2:11) “young children  (עוֹלֵל).” [Hence,] עוּל יָמִים means young in years.

 

who is one hundred years old shall die He shall be subject to punishments to be liable to death for a capital sin. So it is explained in Gen. Rabbah (26:2).

 

shall be cursed for a sin requiring an anathema.

 

22 like the days of the tree Jonathan renders: the tree of life.

 

25 shall eat straw and will not have to destroy animals.

 

and a serpent Indeed, dust is his food, which is always available for him. And the Midrash Aggadah explains: And a lion, like cattle, shall eat straw. Since we find that Esau will fall into the hands of the sons of Joseph, as it is said (Obadiah 18): “The house of Esau shall become stubble, and the house of Joseph a flame etc.” But [that they should fall] into the hands of the remaining tribes, who were compared to beasts, we do not find. It is, therefore, stated: “And a lion, like cattle, shall eat straw.” Those tribes that were compared to a lion, such as Judah and Dan, like Joseph, who was compared to an ox, shall devour Esau who was compared to straw.

 

1 The heavens are My throne I do not need your Temple.

 

which is the house that is fitting for My Shechinah.

 

2 And all these The heavens and the earth, and for this reason I confined My Shechinah among you when you obeyed Me, for so is My wont, to look at one poor and of crushed spirit, who hastens to do My bidding. But now, I have no desire for you, for whoever slaughters an ox, has smitten its owner and robbed him of it. Therefore, whoever slaughters a lamb seems to Me as one who beheads a dog, and whoever offers up a meal offering is before Me like swine blood, and מַזְכִּיר, he who burns incense. Comp. (Lev. 5:12) “its memorial part  (אַזְכָּרָתָהּ).” Also (ibid. 24:7), “and it shall be for the bread as a memorial (לְאַזְכָּרָה).”

 

3 brings a gift of violence Heb. מְבָרֵךְ, blesses Me with a gift of violence, brings a gift of violence. This is its explanation, and the expression of בְּרָכָה applies to a gift that is for a reception. Comp. (Gen. 33:11) “Please take my gift  (בִּרְכָתִי).” Also (supra 36:16), “Make peace (בְרָכָה) with me and come out to me.”

 

they, too, chose their ways They desire these evil ways, and I, too, will choose and desire their mockeries. Now if you ask the meaning of גַּם, too, so is the style of the Hebrew language to say twice גַּם one next to the other. Comp. (Deut. 32: 25) “Both a young man and a virgin (גַּם בָּחוּר גַּם בְּתוּלָה) ”; (I Kings 3: 26) “neither mine nor yours (גַּם לִי גַּם לָךְ) ”; (Ecc. 9:1) “neither love nor hate אַהֲבָה גַּם שִׂנְאָה) (גַּם ”; (Num. 18:3) “and neither they nor you shall die אַתֶּם) (גַּם הֵם גַּם.” Here, too, both they chose and I will choose.

 

4 their mockeries Heb. בְּתַעֲלוּלֵיהֶם, to mock them, an expression like (ibid. 22: 29) “For you mocked (הִתְעַלַּלְתְּ) me.”

 

and their fears What they fear.

 

since I called Hearken and return to Me.

 

and no one answered saying, “I heard.”

 

5 who quake at His word The righteous/generous who hasten with quaking to draw near to His words.

 

Your brethren...said The transgressors of Israel mentioned above. Another explanation:

 

Your brethren...who cast you out, said Who said to you (Lam. 4:15), “Turn away, unclean one.”

 

who hate you, who cast you out Who say (supra 65:5), “Keep to yourself, do not come near me.” [Because of the confusion, we quote other readings. Some manuscripts, as well as K’li Paz, read:]

 

Your brethren...said The transgressors of Israel mentioned above.

 

who hate you, who cast you out who say (supra 65:5), “Keep to yourself, do not come near me.” Another explanation:

 

Your brethren...said The children of Esau.

 

who cast you out Who said to you (Lam. 4:15), “Turn away, unclean one.”

 

For the sake of my name, the Lord shall be glorified With our greatness, the Holy One, blessed be He, is glorified, for we are closer to Him than you are.

 

but we will see your joy The prophet says, But it is not so as their words, for “we will see your joy, and they shall be ashamed.” Why? For sound a sound of their stirring has come before the Holy One, blessed be He, from what they did in His city, and a sound emanates from His Temple and accuses those who destroyed it, and then the voice of the Lord, recompensing His enemies.

 

7 When she has not yet travailed When Zion has not yet travailed with birth pangs, she has borne her children; that is to say that her children will gather into her midst, which was desolate and bereft of them, and it is as though she bore them now without birth pangs, for all the nations will bring them into her midst.

 

she has been delivered of a male child Heb. וְהִמְלִיטָה. Any emerging of an embedded thing is called הַמְלָטָה. And הַמְלָטָה is esmoucer, or eschamocier in O. F., to allow to escape.

 

8 Is a land born in one day? Can a pain come to a woman in confinement to bear a land full of sons in one day?

 

9 Will I bring to the birth stool and not cause to give birth Will I bring a woman to the birth stool and not open her womb to bring out her fetus? That is to say, Shall I commence a thing and not be able to complete it? Am I not the One Who causes every woman in confinement to give birth, and now will I shut the womb? This is a question.

 11 from the breast Heb. מִשֹּׁד, an expression of breasts (שָׁדַיִם).

 

you drink deeply Heb. תָּמֹצּוּ, sucer in French, to suck.

 

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

 

Verbal Tallies

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

& HH Giberet Dr. Elisheba bat Sarah

 

Vayikra (Leviticus) 19:23 – 20:27

Tehillim (Psalms) 84

Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 65:22 – 66:2, 4-5, 10-11

1 Pet 4:12-19, Lk 13:20-21

 

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Psalm are:

LORD - יהוה, Strong’s number 03068.

Dead / Soul - נפש, Strong’s number 05315.

 

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Ashlamata are:

Come / Bring - בוא, Strong’s number 0935.

Land / Earth - ארץ, Strong’s number 0776.

Plant - נטע, Strong’s number 05193.

Tree - עץ, Strong’s number 06086.

Eaten / Eat - אכל, Strong’s number 0398.

LORD - יהוה, Strong’s number 03068.

 

Vayikra (Leviticus) 19:23 And when ye shall come <0935> (8799) into the land <0776>, and shall have planted <05193> (8804) all manner of trees <06086> for food, then ye shall count the fruit thereof as uncircumcised: three years shall it be as uncircumcised unto you: it shall not be eaten <0398> (8735) of. 24  But in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy to praise the LORD <03068> withal.

Vayikra (Leviticus) 19:28 Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead <05315>, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD <03068>.

 

Yehayahu (Isaiah) 65:22 They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant <05193> (8799), and another eat <0398> (8799): for as the days of a tree <06086> are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.

Yehayahu (Isaiah) 66:1 Thus saith the LORD <03068>, The heaven is my throne, and the earth <0776> is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?

Yehayahu (Isaiah) 66:4 I also will choose their delusions, and will bring <0935> (8686) their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not.

 

Tehillim (Psalms) 84:1 « To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm for the sons of Korah. » How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD <03068> of hosts!

Tehillim (Psalms) 84:2 My soul <05315> longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD <03068>: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.

 

Hebrew

 

 

 

 

Greek:

 

Nazarean Talmud Sidra of Vayikra (Lev.) 19:23 – 20:27

“Un’ta’atem Kol-Ets” “And plant all [kinds] of trees”

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

School of Hakham Shaul Tosefta  Luqas (Lk) Mishnah א:א

School of Hakham Tsefet Peshat 1 Tsefet (1 Pet.) Mishnah א:א

¶ And again he said, “To what will I compare the Kingdom/Governance, sovereignty of God through the Hakhamim and Bate Din as opposed to human kings? It is like leaven that a woman took and mingled in three measures of wheat flour, until the whole batch was leavened.”

¶ Beloved do not let the fiery trial that comes on you to test you take you by surprise. It is not as though you are experiencing something strange. However, rejoice when you experience the same trials that Messiah suffered because it reveals your nobility. If someone insults you because of Messiah’s authority, you are truly blessed. This shows that the Shekinah rests on you,[33] as it is written, And the Shekinah of the Lord will rest upon him, the ruach of Hokhmah (wisdom), Binah (understanding), and the ruach of Da’at (knowledge –ChaBaD) along with the ruach of counsel and might, with the reverential fear of the Lord (Yesha’yahu - Isa. 11:2). Let none of you suffer as a murderer, thief, and criminal or as an informer (false witness).[34] However, if any of you suffer as a talmid[35] (follower) of Messiah, you are not to be ashamed, rather let him feel honored for his authorities’ sake. The time has come for judgment to begin in the house of God. If judgment begins with us, what will the result be for those who disobey the Mesorah (Oral Torah)? Moreover, “If the righteous will be recompensed on the earth, How much more the ungodly and the sinner.” (Pro 11:31). And therefore, let those who suffer according to God’s will place their soul’s in God’s care, the faithful Creator, while you do acts of righteousness/generosity in moral excellence.

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

Commentary to Hakham Tsefet’s School of Peshat

 

Normal Mysticism – The Resting Place of the Shekinah

 

Hakham Tsefet’s refrain, “This shows that the Shekinah rests on you,” takes to task the idea of a “Practical Sanctity” (normal mysticism).”^[36] Today an overwhelming number of people are infatuated with “kabbalah.” Yet, all true kabalists will point out that there can be no kabbalistic understanding without observing the mitzvoth. Herein we see that the apprehension of Peshat/Literal “Practical Sanctity” is as mentally daunting as deep So’odic thoughts. Take for example Keri’at Shema (recital of the Shema). When we stop to realize that G-d has given us, a simple concept to meditate on and recite, we see that even its practical application is as deep as any kabalistic thought. The Sages, of blessed memory have given us simple practices and meditations like the Shema that are as daunting as the mysteries of the Zohar. Have we stopped, on a Peshat level, to think of what our simple prayers accomplish? The Sages of blessed memory knew what they were doing when they constructed these prayers. Through their exercise, we can draw ourselves into the Shekinah. The Hakhamim have argued that even when a single soul sits to study the Torah, the Shekinah leaves its heavenly abode to stand at his side.^[37] The real world that we live in is as mystifying as the kabalistic worlds delineated by the Sages. Keri’at Shema as a Peshat obligation embraces deep responsibilities. Acceptance of the “yoke of the Kingdom”^[38] is a mandate to accept the guidance of the Hakhamim. However, Keri’at Shema is also the acceptance of the mitzvah to study the Torah. The deepest kabalistic mantras have a single goal in mind. Kabalists recite these refrains for the sake of drawing close to G-d. Do not let us forget the aim of the Shema and Torah study. Are we not literally seeking to bring ourselves closer to G-d? Are these not forms of “korban”?^[39] In this respect, the word Shekinah and Korban, bear a single idea of being close to G-d. When we stand in the Esnoga (Synagogue) and pray are we not attempting to draw close to G-d? There are liturgical acts, which are immediate worship, one being self-commitment to Torah study. In the acceptance of G-d’s mitzvoth, we give rise to the (normal) mystical experience of connecting with G-d. Do we really understand the full potential of these literal Peshat practices?

 

How did Yeshua determine that the Keri’at Shema was the quintessential mitzvah?^[40] Almost all Torah Scholars will agree that the first mitzvah is “I am the L-rd your G-d.”^[41] Yeshua and the Torah Scholars of antiquity knew that accepting the yoke of the Kingdom was re-enforcement of G-d’s sovereignty and the exclusion of idolatry. Acceptance of G-d’s sovereignty must precede acceptance of the mitzvoth. This is because the acceptance of G-d’s sovereignty establishes a natural Peshat connection to the mitzvoth. Therefore, Keri’at Shema is a liturgical act that logically accepts G-d’s sovereignty as expressed in the mitzvoth. Furthermore, accepting the mitzvoth is a logical mental process of accepting their coherent unity. We cannot accept a single mitzvah believing that we have committed ourselves to all that the Torah expects. The Shema demonstrates for us that each mitzvah is dependent upon another mitzvah uniting all mitzvoth. We see the beauty of the Shema, noting that it is comprised of more than one Torah passage. The interrelated union of the passages recited in the Shema, shows the permanency of the Torah’s coherent logic. D’varim (Deu) 6: 4-9 announce the unity of G-d. D’varim 11:13-21 logically connect to D’varim 6:4 through the word “Shema” hear or “listen to My mitzvoth.” The word “debarim” (הַדְבָרִים) “words” forms a verbal tally to D’varim 6.4. And are to be literally worn on the head and arm. B’midbar 15:37-41 also makes a verbal connection through the word “mitzvoth.” We are not suggesting that these are the only connections. We simply wish to point out their continuity. All three passages recited in the Keri’at Shema assume G-d’s sovereignty. Upon accepting G-d’s sovereignty, we accept His commandments. The first affirmative mitzvah cited above is the declaration of G-d’s kingship. Therefore, Keri’at Shema is interrelated with the primary declaration of the mitzvoth. We can apply this same logic (hermeneutic) to all of the mitzvoth. The declaration of the principal mitzvah, “I am the L-rd your G-d” is the establishment of G-d’s sovereignty, i.e., Kingship.

 

When we speak of the “logical coherence” of the mitzvoth, we are not speaking of secular logic. By coherent logic, we are referring to the logical hermeneutical process of determining the meaning and purpose of the mitzvoth through PRDS hermeneutics. Therefore, if we think “logic” means “A” plus “B” equals “C” we have missed the point. Furthermore, we have distanced ourselves from Rabbinic logic. Logic in the Biblical mode of thinking is clearly understood to be the application of PRDS hermeneutics.

 

While we need to be careful in defining normal mysticism and So’odic mysticism, we can deduce that there are literal practices, which produce a normal mystical connection with G-d. When Hakham Tsefet referred to the “Shekinah resting on you”, he was not suggesting that this would not be possible in literal terms. However, noting the systematic education purported by Hakham Tsefet we can see the path from normal mysticism to So’odic intuition. A close look at the passage of Yesha’yahu shows that there is a connection between the two experiences. Hakham Tsefet makes use of ChaBaD – Hokhmah, Binah and Da’at, and the ruach (spirit) of counsel and might, i.e., Chesed (council) and might (Geburah). Therefore, we note that the path to So’odic intuition is rooted in practical, “normal mysticism.” Without normal, practical mystical experiences there can be no such thing as So’odic mysticism.

 

Hakham Shaul’s School of Remes

Igeret to Timothy

TS_NC-99 – Shebat 24, 5781 February 6, 2021

Commentary to Hakham Shaul’s School of Remes

Literal Equivalent translation by H. Em. Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham

 

22 So forget youthful desires and pursue righteous/generosity, faithfulness, giving yourself up for others, and Shalom, along with those who call upon the Master from a pure heart.   giving yourself up for others: the literal meaning of "love" Heb. אַהֲבָה —loving; love is to give yourself up for the sake of someone else. It is here associated with righteous generosity.  Shalom: שָׁלוֹם—peace; prosperity, success; welfare, state of health; friendliness; deliverance, right to enter the Olam HaBa. These characteristics are a sign of maturity. pure heart: Clean in the sense that something is lawful, not forbidden practices or food. Thus, the positive statement is to have a heart (mind -Neshamah) that is devoted to the Torah and the Master.

23 Have nothing to do with quarrels and stupid, uneducated controversies; you know that they breed pointless arguments.   quarrel with stupid, uneducated controversies:  here the idea being forwarded is mature actions. Not arguing just for the sake of arguing or arguing with the ill-informed.

24 And as the master’s courtier you must not be argumentative but kind to everyone, a skillful teacher, patient and tolerant,

25 educating his talmidim with kindness. So that God may perhaps grant them with repentance and come to know the truth,   Here Hakham Shaul calls for maturity as noted above. However, we see from this pericope the specific things and skills necessary to achieve and achieve that maturity.

26 and they may escape from the snare of the adversary, after being captured by him to do his will. The snare of the adversary: The snare is one that has been taught or erroneously believed. Thus, the path to freedom is sound teachings from the Torah.

 

Questions for Understanding and Reflection

 

1.      From all the readings for this week, which particular verse or passage caught your attention and fired your heart and imagination?

 

Blessing After Torah Study

 

Barúch Atáh Adonai, Elohénu Meléch HaOlám,

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

Barúch Atáh Adonái, Notén HaToráh. Amen!

 

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

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

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

 

“Now unto Him who is able to preserve you faultless, and spotless,

and to establish you without a blemish,

before His majesty, with joy, [namely,] the only one God, our Deliverer,

by means of Yeshua the Messiah our Master, be praise, and dominion,

and honor, and majesty, both now and in all ages. Amen!”

 

 

Next Shabbat:

 

“HaSheqel Machatsit” - ‎ “Half a Shekel‎”

&

Mevar’chim HaChodesh Adar – Proclamation of the New Moon of Adar

 

                             Friday evening 12^th of February and Saturday 13^th of February (Shabbat)

           

 

For further study see: http://www.betemunah.org/shekalim.html

 

 

 

  

 

Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David

Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham

 

Edited by Adon Ovadyah ben Abraham and Adon Aviner ben Abraham.