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

 

 

Chag HaSukkoth - Feast of Tabernacles

 

5784 Ano Mundi

 

We wish all of our readers a most happy, blessed and joyous time over the holidays of Sukkoth (Tabernacles) together with your loved ones as you welcome daily your most Distinguished guests at your Sukkah, and together with all of our most noble and beloved Jewish brothers and sisters, and their Torah Scholars, amen ve amen!

 

Candle Lighting and Habdalah Times:

 

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

 

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

 

Roll of Honor:

This Commentary comes out weekly and on the festivals thanks to the great generosity of:

 

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 Excellency Adon Luqas Nelson

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

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

His Excellency Adon Brad Gaskill and beloved wife Cynthia Gaskill

His Excellency Adon Shlomoh ben Abraham

His Excellency Adon Ya’aqob ben David

 

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

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

 

 

Tishri 20, 5784

Evening Wednesday October 4 - Evening Thursday October 5, 2023

 

Your Distinguished guest at your Sukkah: Yoseph representing holiness and the spiritual foundation

 

 

Morning Service Sukkoth 4^th Intermediate Day

Morning Service Tabernacles (day six) – Tabernáculos (Sexto Día)

 

Torah:                  BaMidbar (Numbers) ‎29:26-31

Psalms:                Psalms 118:1 - 29 & Koheleth (Ecclesiastes) 6:1 – 7:19

N.C.:                     II Thessalonians 1:1-12 &‎ Revelation 3:7-14

 

Torah Reading:

 

Reader 1 – BaMidbar 29:26-28

Reader 2 – BaMidbar 29:29-31

Reader 3 – BaMidbar 29:32-34

Reader 4 – BaMidbar 29:26-31  

 

Blessings Before Torah Study

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan for: BaMidbar (Numbers) ‎‎‎‎‎29:26-34‎

 

 

 

 

Ketubim: Tehillim (Psalms) 118:1-29

 

 

Koheleth (Ecclesiastes) 6:1 – 7:19

 

1. There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it is great among men:

2. A man to whom God has given riches, and wealth, and honour, so that he lacks nothing for his soul of all that he desires; yet God does not give him the power to eat of it, but a stranger eats it; this is vanity, and it is an evil disease.

3. If a man fathers a hundred, and lives many years, and the days of his years are many, and his soul is not satisfied from the good, and also there is no burial for him; I say, a miscarriage is better than he.

4. For he comes in with vanity, and goes out in darkness; his name will be covered in darkness.

5. Also he has not seen nor known the sun; this one has more rest than that one.

6. Yes, though he lives twice a thousand years, yet he has seen no good. Do not all go to one place?

7. All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the soul is not filled.

8. For what is the advantage to the wise more than the fool? What advantage is to the poor who knows how to walk before the living?

9. Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the soul. This is also vanity and striving after wind.

10. That which has been is named already, and it is known that he is man; and he is not able to contend with Him who is stronger than he.

11. For there are many things that increase vanity, and what is the advantage to man?

12. For who knows what is good for man in this life, the number of the days of his life of vanity? Even he makes them like the shadow. For who can tell a man what will be after him under the sun?

 

1. A good name is better than good ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth.

2. It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting; for it is the end of every man; and the living will lay it to his heart.

3. Vexation is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the face the heart is made good.

4. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of the stupid one is in the house of mirth.

5. It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools.

6. For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the stupid one. And this also is vanity.

7. For oppression makes a wise man mad; and a bribe destroys the heart.

8. Better is the end of a thing than its beginning; the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

9. Do not be hasty in your spirit to be angry; for vexation rests in the bosom of fools.

10. Do not say, Why was it that the former days were better than these? For you do not ask from wisdom concerning this.

11. Wisdom [Torah] is good with an inheritance; yes, a gain to those who see the sun.

12. For Wisdom [Torah] is in a shadow; and silver is in a shadow; but the excellence of knowledge is that Wisdom [Torah] gives life to those who have it.

13. Look at the work of God; for who can make that straight which He has bent?

14. In the good day, be in good spirit, but also see in the evil day, that God has made one along with the other, so that man should not find anything after him.

15. All things I have seen in the days of my vanity; there is a just man who perishes in his righteousness/generosity, and there is a wicked/lawless one who prolongs his life in his evil.

16. Do not be too much righteous, nor make yourself overly wise; why destroy yourself?

17. Do not be very evil, and do not be a fool; why should you not die in your time?

18. It is good that you should take hold of this; yes, also from this do not let your hand rest; for he who fears God will come forth with all of them.

19. Wisdom [Torah] makes the wise stronger than ten rulers who are in the city.

 

Nazarean Jews Privately read:

II Thessalonians 1:1-2 + 1:3-12 &‎

Revelation 3:7-13

 

7. And to the angel of the congregation in Philadelphia, write: These things/words says the Holy One, the True One, the One having the keys of David, who opens and there is none who shuts, and shuts and there is none who opens (Isa. 22:22).

8. “I know your works and behold, I have set an opened door before you, and no one is able to shut, for you have little strength and you have observed My Word (Torah), and have not denied my name/authority.

9. Behold, I give out those of the synagogue of HaSatan saying that they are Jewish, and they are not, but they lie [being themselves Gentiles]. Behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and to know that I loved you [my Jewish people].

10.  Because you kept the Word (Torah) of my patience, I also will keep you out of the hour of trial which is going to come on all the inhabited world in order to prove those dwelling on the earth.

11. Behold, I am coming quickly. Hold fast to what you have that no one take your crown [of Torah].

12. The one overcoming, I will make him a pillar in the Temple of G-d, and he will not go out from it anymore. And I will write the name of my G-d upon him, and the name of the city of my G-d, the new Yerushalayim which comes down out of Heaven from my G-d, and my own new name.

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!”

 

Hoshana Rabba (The Great Hosanna)‎

For further study see:

 

http://www.betemunah.org/hoshana.html

 

Tishri 21, 5784

Evening Thursday October 5 – Evening Friday October 6, 2023

 

Your Distinguished guest at your Sukkah: His Majesty King David Messiah of Israel  representing the establishment of the kingdom (Governance) of Heaven on Earth

Morning Service for Hoshana Rabba (The Great Hosanna)‎

Morning Service Tabernacles (day Seven) – Tabernáculos (Séptimo Día)

 

Torah:                  BaMidbar (Numbers) ‎29:22-34‎

Psalm:                  Tehillim (Psalms) 1:1-6 & 150:1-6 & Koheleth (Ecclesiastes) ‎7:19 – 9:3

N.C.:                     II Thessalonians 2:1-12 + 2:13-17 & Revelation 3:7-13

 

Torah Reading:

 

Reader 1 – BaMidbar 29:22-28

Reader 2 – BaMidbar 29:29-31

Reader 3 – BaMidbar 29:32-34

Reader 4 – BaMidbar 29:22-31   

 

Blessings Before Torah Study

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan for: BaMidbar (Numbers) ‎‎‎29:22-34‎

 

 

 

Ketubim: Tehillim (Psalms) 1:1-6 & 150:1-6

 

 

Nazarean Jews Privately read:

II Thessalonians 2:1-12 + 2:13-17 &

Revelation 3:7-13

 

7. And to the angel of the congregation in Philadelphia, write: These things/words says the Holy One, the True One, the One having the keys of David, who opens and there is none who shuts, and shuts and there is none who opens (Isa. 22:22).

8. “I know your works and behold, I have set an opened door before you, and no one is able to shut, for you have little strength and you have observed My Word (Torah), and have not denied my name/authority.

9. Behold, I give out those of the synagogue of HaSatan saying that they are Jewish, and they are not, but they lie [being themselves Gentiles]. Behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and to know that I loved you [my Jewish people].

10.  Because you kept the Word (Torah) of my patience, I also will keep you out of the hour of trial which is going to come on all the inhabited world in order to prove those dwelling on the earth.

11. Behold, I am coming quickly. Hold fast to what you have that no one take your crown [of Torah].

12. The one overcoming, I will make him a pillar in the Temple of G-d, and he will not go out from it anymore. And I will write the name of my G-d upon him, and the name of the city of my G-d, the new Yerushalayim which comes down out of Heaven from my G-d, and my own new name.

 

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!”

                                                                     

Shiur for Hoshana Rabbah

 

In this study I would like to examine the seventh day of Succoth, which is known as Hoshana Rabbah (הוֹשַׁעְנָא רַבָּא). This festive day falls on Tishri 21. Hoshana Rabbah means: “bring us great salvation, please”.

 

Hoshana Rabbah is the Hebrew name given to the last and greatest day of Hag HaSuccoth, the Feast of Tabernacles. Due to the mechanics of the calendar, Hoshana Rabbah will never fall on Shabbat. In fact, Hoshana Rabbah always falls on the same day of the week as Hag Shavuot of the previous year.

 

Hoshana Rabbah is the sixth Chol HaMoed^[1] of Hag HaSuccoth,^[2] which is the day before Shemini Atzeret. Named for the fact that more hoshanot^[3] are said on this day than all the previous days of the festival.  This day marks the culmination of this incredible part of the year which began with Rosh HaShana (Yom Teruah^[4]).

 

Although Hoshana Rabbah was not accorded any different status by the Torah than the other days of Chol HaMoed, the Jewish people have observed many customs on this day and have invested it with a solemn character. For example, the white parochet, curtain on the ark, in the Esnoga^[5] remains up until after Hoshana Rabbah.

 

On Hoshana Rabbah afternoon we bring our vessels FROM the succah back INTO the house, in preparation for Shemini Atzeret. This may highlight the primary purpose of this Yom Tov, i.e. to move the spiritual message of the succah into our homes for the remainder of the year.

 

The Zohar^[6] describes Hoshana Rabbah as a judgment day akin to Yom HaKippurim (Yom Kippur^[7]), for on Hoshana Rabbah the parchments containing the Yom HaKippurim decrees are made final.^[8] The Mystics state that whereas our fate is sealed on Yom HaKippurim, the writ containing the decision of the Court on High is only rubber-stamped on the seventh day of Succoth which is Hoshana Rabbah, the day on which we make seven circuits around the bimah with the lulav assembly. Hence, until this day, a last-minute appeal to the Supreme Court may carry some weight by virtue of extenuating circumstances. Hoshana Rabbah assumes special importance as a day of prayer and repentance. On Rosh Hashanah all people were judged. The righteous were given a favorable judgment, those found wanting, but not totally evil, were given until Yom HaKippurim to repent. If they failed to do so, the verdict against them was written and sealed, but not yet ‘delivered’. That was not done until Hoshana Rabbah, a day when Jews assemble in prayer, dedication, and supplication. The joy of Succoth reaches its climax not in revelry but in devotion. In mercy, HaShem finds ample reason to tear up the parchments bearing harsher sentences, as it were, and replace them with brighter tidings. The following chart illustrates this relationship:

 

 

In the Midrash, HaShem says to Avraham, “I will give your descendants a special day for forgiveness: Hoshana Rabbah. If they are not forgiven on Rosh HaShana (Yom Teruah) then let them try Yom HaKippurim; if not, then Hoshana Rabbah.”

 

The morning following Hoshana Rabbah is when the judgment that was delivered, begins to be manifest to the world.

 

Rain

 

The Gemara gives us a bit of insight into this day:

 

Rosh HaShana 1 At four periods is the world judged: at Passover, in respect to grain; on Shavuot, in regard to the fruit of trees; on Succoth, in respect to rain, and on New Year’s Day man is judged, but the sentence passed upon him is confirmed on the Day of Atonement, and our Mishna speaks of the opening of judgment only (and not the final verdict).

 

On Succoth the world is judged for rain. In fact, we begin praying for rain the day after Hoshana Rabbah, on Shemini Atzeret.

 

Ta’anith 2a C H A P T E R  I  MISHNA. WHEN DO WE [BEGIN TO] MAKE MENTION OF THE POWER OF RAIN?^[9] R. ELIEZER SAYS: ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE FEAST.^[10] R. JOSHUA SAYS: ON THE LAST DAY OF THE FEAST. R. JOSHUA SAID TO HIM: SEEING THAT RAIN ON THE FEAST IS A SIGN OF [GOD’S] ANGER^[11] WHY MAKE MENTION OF IT? THEREUPON R. ELIEZER SAID TO HIM: I ALSO DID NOT SAY TO PRAY^[12] BUT TO MAKE MENTION [IN THE WORD] ‘HE CAUSETH THE WIND TO BLOW AND THE RAIN TO FALL’^[13] -IN ITS DUE SEASON. HE [R. JOSHUA] REPLIED TO HIM: IF THAT IS SO ONE SHOULD AT ALL TIMES MAKE MENTION OF IT.

 

WE PRAY FOR RAIN ONLY CLOSE TO THE RAINY SEASON. R. JUDAH SAYS: THE LAST TO STEP BEFORE THE ARK^[14] ON THE LAST DAY OF THE FEAST MAKES MENTION, THE FIRST DOES NOT; ON THE FIRST DAY OF PASSOVER THE FIRST MAKES MENTION, THE LAST DOES NOT.

 

Rain during Succoth is a sign of HaShem’s anger.

 

The Aravah (willow)^[15]

“Torah Tziva lanu Moshe

Morasha Kehillat Yaakov.”^[16]

“Moses commanded us the Torah. It is an inheritance for the community of Jacob.”^[17]

 

On Hoshana Rabbah we take the willow^[18] branch, which only grows near water, as a symbol of rejuvenation and re-awakening through rain and redemption.

 

The Four Species of Succoth must be tied together in a bond, what the Talmud in Sukkah^[19] similarly calls an ‘agudah achat.’ The palm frond, the myrtle and the willow are tied together and held in the right hand, with the etrog held in the left and with all four brought together when we make the blessing, as well as whenever we participate in the wavings during Hallel. Everyone is familiar with the classic Midrash that compares the qualities of the Four Species,^[20] to the qualities of four types of Jews. The etrog is blessed with a good smell and good taste, like those Sages blessed with Torah and good deeds. The palm frond is blessed with good taste (dates) but no scent to speak of, like those Sages who have Torah but lack good deeds. The myrtle has an exquisite scent, but provides no fruit, and so too there are many Jews whose good deeds can be detected from a distance (like smell), but alas they fall short in Torah knowledge. And finally we have the willow, no taste and no smell, which is compared to the Jew who has neither Torah nor good deeds to his credit.

 

Y The Etrog (Citron) – is a man who is

learned in Torah (symbolized by  its good

taste) and the good smell is the good deeds

which he performs.

 

Y The Lulab (Palm frond) – a learned

man, but without good deeds.

 

Y The Hadas (myrtle) – a man of good

deeds (as in its good  smell), but not

learned.

 

Y The Aravah (willow) – possessing

neither smell nor taste, is a  man of neither

good deeds nor learning

 

And yet the moral message of the one bundle in the Talmud, and which is codified in the Shulchan Aruch,^[21] is that just as the mitzva of the four species requires four different kinds of vegetation, so too we need all four different kinds of Jews, covering the entire range of people. Whoever thinks that we can ignore those Jews devoid of Torah and good deeds is wrong! Lacking the aravah, the willow branch, makes the entire bundle worthless. We haven’t fulfilled the commandment until we have all ‘four species.’

 

The significance of the willow branch on Hoshana Rabbah is not only that without it the other three species are in serious trouble; the truth is that the entire focus of Hoshana Rabbah is exclusively on the willow branch, and our striking it upon the earth. What is the significance of this strange thud?

 

Kabbalistically, the striking of the aravah against the earth symbolizes the confrontation between the ‘chesed’^[22] symbolized by the aravah, which grows along the river’s edge,^[23] and the earth, which symbolizes ‘din,’ strict justice, exact measures that which places limits on the water flow. Our intent is not merely to act out our prayer for rain, our desire for many willows to be able to grow. The Kabbalistic significance of this rite is our expression of the mastery of the willow over the earth, of HaShem’s loving-kindness over His strict justice ­ because only on the basis of loving-kindness will redemption arrive.  At moments like this, the ‘aravah’ or willow is the witness that can sway HaShem’s gaze. If we want HaShem’s benevolence, His only question is how have we acted toward the ‘aravot’^[24] of His world, how have we treated the Jew who lacks both Torah and good deeds? It’s easy to honor a great sage or a benefactor, but how many of us know how to honor those that no one else honors, the forgotten ‘willows.’ 

 

Even to the Jew with no connection to the Torah, even to this one is the inheritance of the Torah! We inherit the Torah because we are of the congregation of Yaaqov!

 

“Torah Tziva lanu Moshe

Morasha Kehillat Yaaqov.”

“Moses commanded us the Torah. It is an inheritance for the community of Jacob.”

 

In The Alef-bet

 

Five of the twenty-two letters of the Alef-beit have two forms: bent and straight. They are the letters: mem, nun, tzadi, peh, and kof. Their straight form are usually called ‘sofit’, concluding letters, because they are at the end of a word. Since these letters are in a sense restraining forces which force a halt in speaking, they are called ‘strict powers’. These letters are the ‘vessels’, within which are contained that minute portion of HaShem’s infinite being which can be conceived by finite people.^[25]

 

According to Kabbalah, one should take five aravot and hit them five times on the ground, not on a chair or any other piece of furniture or the like. Neither should one hit them on a stone floor. One should hit them softly, since the branches must have their leaves throughout the entire performance. With each hitting one should have in mind one letter of the series of letters, “mem,” “nun,” “sadi,” “peh” and “sadi” (which alludes to HaShem’s attribute of “gevurah,” power). The first hitting corresponds to the “mem,” the second to the “nun,” and so on. The Geonim cite early sources as explaining that the aravah symbolizes the mouth, and we hit it on the floor to express our hope that all words of prosecution spoken against us shall be cast to the ground.

 

No blessing is recited over the beating of the aravah since it was merely a custom.

 

This ritual is extremely important, so much so that the Sages held that it superceeded the laws of Shabbat:

 

Sukkah 43b  He raised an objection against him: The rite of the lulab overrides the Sabbath on the first day,^[26] and that of the willow-branch on the last day.^[27] On one occasion the seventh day of the [ceremonial of the] willow-branch fell on a Sabbath, and they brought saplings of willows on the Sabbath eve and placed them in the courtyard of the Temple. The Boethusians,^[28] having discovered them, took and hid them under some stones.^[29] On the morrow some of the ‘amme ha-aretz^[30] discovered them and removed them from under the stones, and the priests brought them in and fixed them in the sides of the altar. [The reason for hiding the willows was that] the Boethusians do not admit that the beating of the willow-branch^[31] overrides the Sabbath.^[32] Thus^[33] we see clearly that [the performance of the willow ceremonial is] in the taking of it?^[34] — This is a refutation. Then why should it^[35] not override [the Sabbath]?^[36] — Since with us^[37] it does not override [the Sabbath]^[38] it does not override it with them^[39] either.^[40]

 

Sefardic Customs

 

The last night of Succoth is Leil Hoshana Rabbah. The period  which commenced on Rosh Chodesh Elul, of Selihoth and supplications  for forgiveness, reaches its end on this day with a final scaling of our  judgement. On this night the men stay up reading the entire book of  Devarim (Deuteronomy) and, time-permitting, various other prescribed readings^[41], including the “Zohar - book of splendor”.  

 

In Sephardic countries, those mourning a loved one bring grapes and cake to those who are studying. This is served with sweet coffee and cinnamon tea.

 

In most Sephardic communities, there is no difference between the text of the prayers on Hoshana Rabbah and the other days of chol hamoed.

 

The Sephardic custom is not to wear tefillin because the Chol HaMoed retain some of the special characteristics of the full festival days, during which tefillin are not worn.

 

Synagogue Customs

 

Various customs have arisen owing to the day’s status as a time of Divine Judgment.

 

1. Extra lights are lit in the synagogue.
2. It is customary to remain awake and spend the entire night of Hoshana Rabbah reading from the Torah and Tehillim (Psalms). The particular order to be followed is printed in a special volume called Tikkun Leil Hoshana Rabbah.
3. In some congregations, Mishneh Torah, i.e. the entire book of Deuteronomy, is read from a Torah scroll. No blessing is recited over this reading.
4. In some congregations, the entire Book of  Tehillim, the book of Psalms, is recited communally. A gartl^[42] is worn for the reading of the entire Book of Tehillim after midnight on Hoshana Rabbah. This reading is customarily not lengthy.
5. At the completion of each of the [five] books of the Book of Tehillim,^[43] one reads the brief prayer (beginning Yehi Ratzon)^[44] which is read on Hoshana Rabbah, as well as the similar prayer which is read after the moon has risen,^[45] but not the prayer^[46] which is said on Yom Tov.^[47]
6. On [the morning of] Hoshana Rabbah, before Hallel^[48], one removes the two upper rings that are bound around the lulav alone, leaving only the three rings which join it with the hadassim and the aravot.

 

During Each day of Hag HaSuccoth, the Feast of Tabernacles, we circle the bimah with the lulav and etrog while reciting the hashana prayers. On Hoshana Rabbah, the seventh day of Hag HaSuccoth, we circle the bimah seven times. As we mentioned earlier, we also beat the willow branches at the end of the shacharit service.

 

These processions commemorate similar processions around the altar of the Temple in Jerusalem. The processions are known as Hoshanot, because while the procession is made, we recite a prayer with the refrain, “Hoshana!”.^[49] On the seventh day of Succoth, seven circuits are made. For this reason, the seventh day of Succoth is known as Hoshanah Rabbah.^[50]

 

The hoshanot^[51] are performed like those of the other days of Hag HaSuccoth except that many or all of the Torah scrolls are removed from the ark. One tradition is to take out seven Torah scrolls and return one to the ark with each circuit. Another custom is to carry a separate bunch of willows that will be beaten on the floor. A less common practice is the blowing of the shofar at the end of each circuit.

 

In keeping with the penitential undertone of the day, in some synagogues the leader of the service wears a kittel as on Rosh Hashana and Yom HaKippurim. The service itself differs in that the psalms said only on Shabbat and Yom Tov are added by the Ashkenazim to the introductory portion of the service. Also, the melodies of Yom Tov are used for parts of the service.

 

Hoshana Rabbah Events

 

Hoshanah Rabbah - the Great Salvation. The last and greatest  day of the feast.^[52]

 

A burnt offering of seven young bulls, two rams and fourteen male lambs a year old, all without defect.  Bamidbar (Numbers) 29:32

 

Ritual of the water libation is performed. day 7. Sukkah 42b

 

Zerubbabel is strengthened and told that a future temple would be greater than Solomon’s temple.  Haggai 2:1-9

 

Yeshua invites the thirsty to drink living water. Note the “last and greatest day” in Yochanan (John) 7:37.  

 

John 7:1-44 After this, Yeshua went around in Galilee, purposely staying away from Judea because the Jews there were waiting to take his life. But when the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near, Yeshua’s brothers said to him, “You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” For even his own brothers did not believe in him. Therefore Yeshua told them, “The right time for me has not yet come; for you any time is right. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil. You go to the Feast. I am not yet going up to this Feast, because for me the right time has not yet come.” Having said this, he stayed in Galilee. However, after his brothers had left for the Feast, he went also, not publicly, but in secret. Now at the Feast the Jews were watching for him and asking, “Where is that man?” Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, “He is a good man.” Others replied, “No, he deceives the people.” But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the Jews. Not until halfway through the Feast did Yeshua go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. The Jews were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning without having studied?” Yeshua answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me. If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him. Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?” “You are demon-possessed,” the crowd answered. “Who is trying to kill you?” Yeshua said to them, “I did one miracle, and you are all astonished. Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a child on the Sabbath. Now if a child can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing the whole man on the Sabbath? Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment.” At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Mashiach? But we know where this man is from; when the Mashiach comes, no one will know where he is from.” Then Yeshua, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, But I know him because I am from him and he sent me.” At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come. Still, many in the crowd put their faith in him. They said, “When the Mashiach comes, will he do more miraculous signs than this man?” The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him. Yeshua said, “I am with you for only a short time, and then I go to the one who sent me. You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.” The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? What did he mean when he said, ‘You will look for me, but you will not find me,’ and ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?” On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Yeshua stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Yeshua had not yet been glorified. On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.” Others said, “He is the Mashiach.” Still others asked, “How can the Mashiach come from Galilee? Does not the Scripture say that the Mashiach will come from David’s family and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” Thus the people were divided because of Yeshua. Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.

 

Yeshua is the light of the world.  Yochanan (John) 8:12

 

* * *

 

Sukkah 48a MISHNA. THE SUKKAH [MUST BE USED ALL] SEVEN DAYS. HOW IS THIS [TO BE UNDERSTOOD]? WHEN A MAN HAS FINISHED HIS [LAST] MEAL,^[53] HE MAY NOT DISMANTLE HIS SUKKAH.^[54] HE MAY, HOWEVER, REMOVE ITS FURNITURE^[55] FROM THE AFTERNOON ONWARDS IN HONOUR OF THE LAST DAY OF THE FESTIVAL.^[56]

 

* * *

 

Sukkah 55b  R. Eleazar^[57] stated, To what do those seventy bullocks^[58] [that were offered during the seven days of the Festival] correspond? To the seventy nations.^[59] To what does the single bullock [of the Eighth Day] correspond? To the unique nation.^[60] This may be compared to a mortal king who said to his servants, ‘Prepare for me a great banquet’; but on the last day he said to his beloved friend, ‘Prepare for me a simple meal that I may derive benefit from you’.

 

Observations

 

On Hoshana Rabba be make 7 hakafot around the Teba carrying the arba manim – the lulav and etrog. The Sefardi prayers speak of our salvation at this time.

 

The Hallel prayer, on Hoshana Rabba, includes the waving of the lulav. However, on the seventh day of Passover, six months earlier, has only a partial Hallel. When we put these two together we see a picture which suggests that Hoshana Rabba is the culmination of the salvation which began on the seventh day of Passover. The salvation we gained on the seventh day of Passover is incomplete until we experience the atonement and joy of the fall festivals.

 

Hoshana Rabbah 5766 has just begun as I finish my study of Hoshana Rabbah. There is a category 2 hurricane dumping immense amounts of water on southern Florida, and a record breaking tropical storm Alpha dumping rain on Haiti. The Jews in Florida are surely having a difficult time with the mitzva of succah this year as there is already nearly 18 inches of flood waters in parts of Florida.

 

In The Temple

 

Simhat Bet Ha-Sho’eivah

Simchat Bais HaShoeva

 

Simchat Bet Hashoeva is celebrated every night of Succoth. On Hoshana Rabbah, however, the joy of the celebration must be infinitely greater, as emphasized in its very name, “the Great Hoshana.” Likewise, additional prayers are said on this day.

 

The performances and activities were led by the greatest Sages and the most venerable tzadikim. The simcha of Beit Hashoeva - literally the place of drawing water, is described in the Gemara^[61] as being unprecedented and unparalleled, anywhere and anytime. “He who has not seen the Simchat Beit Hashoeva has never in his life seen simcha^[62]!” The Talmud Yerushalmi^[63] goes further to say that that the word shoeva - drawing - refers not only to the water that was drawn, but to the Ruach Hakodesh^[64] that was available to be drawn from that most exquisitely inspiring and spiritually stirring simcha. The Gemara elaborates this in great detail.

 

* * *

 

The following chart illustrates the bimodality of the year as expressed in the festivala and liturgy. The top half illustrates the spring festivals while the bottom half illustrates the fall festivals. You will notice that there is a one-to-one correspondence between the spring festivals and the fall festivals.

Nisan is Like Tishri

 

 

The folowing table illustrates the symmetry of the months:

 

 

* * *

 

Amen ve Amen

Chag Sukkoth Sameach!

Shabbat Shemini Atzeret (Festival of the 8^th Day) Day 1

For further study see:

 

http://www.betemunah.org/shemini.html

 

Tishri 22, 5784

Evening Friday October 6 – Evening Saturday October 7, ‏2023

 

Morning Service Festival of the 8^th Day (Day 1), Day 1 – Fiesta del Octavo Dia – Primer Dia

 

Torah:                  Debarim (Deuteronomy) 14:22 - 16:17‎ & (Bamidbar (Numbers) 29:35 – 30:1

Ashlamatah:       Melachim alef (I Kings) 8:54-66‎

Psalm:                  Tehillim (Psalms) 12: 1 – 9 & Koheleth (Ecclesiastes) ‎1:1 – 12:14

N.C.:                     I Hillel (Luke) 2:21-40 & Revelation 3:14-22

 

Torah Reading:

Reader 1 – Debarim 14:22-29‎

Reader 2 – Debarim 15:1-6

Reader 3 – Debarim 15:7-11

Reader 4 – Debarim 15:12-18

Reader 5 – Debarim 15:19-23

Reader 6 – Debarim 16:1-8

Reader 7 – Debarim 16:9-17

    Maftir – BaMidbar 29:35–30:1

 

Blessings Before Torah Study

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan for: Debarim (Deuteronomy) ‎‎‎14:22 - 16:17‎

 

 

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan for: BaMidbar (Numbers) 29:35–30:1‎‎

 

Midrash Pesiqta deRab Kahana

 

Pisqa Twenty-Eight: 1-5

 

On the eighth day you shall have a solemn assembly. [You shall do no laborious work, but you shall offer a burnt-offering, an offering by fire, a pleasing odor to the Lord...These you shall offer to the Lord at your appointed feasts in addition to your votive-offerings and your freewill-offerings, for your burnt-offerings and for your cereal-offerings and for your drink-offerings and for your-peace offerings] (Numbers 29:35-39).

 

XXVIII:I

 

On the eighth day you shall have a solemn assembly. [You shall do no laborious work, but you shall offer a burnt-offering, an offering by fire, a pleasing odor to the Lord...These you shall offer to the Lord at your appointed feasts in addition to your votive-offerings and your freewill­offerings, for your burnt-offerings and for your cereal-offerings and for your drink-offerings and for your peace-offerings] (Numbers 29:35-9): But you have increased the nation, O Lord, you have increased the nation; [you are glorified; you have enlarged all the borders of the land] (Is. 17 :25): You gave security to the wicked Pharaoh. Did he then call you "Lord"? Was it not with blasphemies and curses that he said, Who is the Lord, that I should listen to his voice (Ex. 5:2)! You gave security to the wicked Sennacherib. Did he then call you "Lord"? Was it not with blasphemies and curses that he said, Who is there among all the gods of the lands... (2 Kgs. 18:35). You gave security to the wicked Nebuchadnezzar. Did he then call you "Lord"? Was it not with blasphemies and curses that he said, And who is God to save you from my power (Dan. 3:15).  ...you have increased the nation; you are glorified: You gave security to David and so he blessed you: David blessed the Lord before all the congregation (1 Chr. 29:10). You gave security to his son, Solomon, and so he blessed you: Blessed is the Lord who has given rest to his people Israel (1 Kgs. 8:56). You gave security to Daniel and so he blessed you: Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God (Dan. 2:20)

 

[But you have increased the nation, O Lord, you have increased the nation; you are glorified;] you have enlarged all the borders of the land (Is. 17:25): Said R. Levi, "You have examined those who are near you and you have examined those who are distant from you. Draw near those who are near you, and send distant those who are distant from you. Draw near those who are near you: The Lord is near those who call upon Him (Ps. 145:18). ...and send distant those who are distant from you: The Lord is distant    from those who do wickedly (Prov. 15:29)."

 

Another interpretation of the verse But you have increased the nation, [O Lord, you have increased the nation; you are glorified; you have enlarged all the borders of the land] (Is. 17:25): In the case of the nations of the world, if you give them a male child, he draws forward his foreskin and grows a lock [that is cut off in the honor of the idol.] When he grows up, he brings him to the temple of his idol and outrages you. But in the case of Israel, if you give one of them a male child, he counts eight days and circumcises him. If he was a firstborn, he redeems him after thirty days. When he grows up, he brings him to synagogues and study houses and blesses you every day: Blessed be the Lord who is to be blessed.

 

Another interpretation of the verse But you have increased the nation, [O Lord, you have increased the nation; you are glorified; you have enlarged all the borders of the land] (Is. 17:25): The nations of the world, if you increase the number of festivals for them, they eat and drink and carouse and go to theaters and circuses and outrage you with their words and deeds. But in the case of Israel, if you give them festival days, they eat, drink, rejoice, go to synagogues and school houses, increase their praying and increase their prayers for additional offerings and other offerings. Therefore it was necessary for Scripture to say, On the eighth day you shall have a solemn assembly. [You shall do no laborious work, but you shall offer a burnt-offering, an offering by fire, a pleasing odor to the Lord...] These you shall offer to the Lord at your appointed feasts in addition to your votive-offerings and your freewill-offerings, for your burnt-offerings and for your cereal-offerings and for your drink-offerings and for your peace-offerings] (Numbers 29:35-39).

 

XXVIII:II

 

The wicked borrows and does not pay back, [but the righteous is generous and gives; for those blessed by the Lord shall possess the land, but those cursed by him shall be cut off] (Ps. 37:21-22):Said R. Isaac, "There are three who are regarded as wicked: one who raises his hand against his fellow, one who borrows and does not pay back, and a contentious person. ...one who raises his hand against his fellow: He said to the wicked man, Why do you hit your fellow? (Ex. 2:13).” Said R. Zeora, "It is not the end of the matter that he actually hit him, but even if one raised his hand to hit him but did not hit him, he is regarded as wicked, as it is said, He said to the wicked person, why do you hit your fellow? (Ex. 2:13). What it says is not why did you hit your fellow, but why do you hit him. He wanted to hit him but up to that point he had not done so." Said R. Samuel bar Tanhum, "I said this before R. Tanhuma and he said, 'Even if he merely looked impudently at the other, he is regarded as wicked, as it is said, A wicked man looks impudently (Prov. 21:29)." “...one who borrows and does not pay back: The wicked borrows and does not pay back. ...and a contentious person: with reference to the party of Korach, Depart, I ask, from the tents of these wicked men (Num. 16:26)."

 

R. Judah, when he would impose an oath on someone, would recite this verse: Depart, I ask, from the tents of these wicked men (Num. 16:26).

 

Another comment on the verse The wicked borrows and cannot pay back, [but the righteous is generous and gives; for those blessed by the Lord shall possess the land, but those cursed by him shall be cut off] (Ps. 37:21-22): These refers to the nations of the world who eat and drink but do not recite a blessing. ...but the righteous is generous and gives: this refers to Israel, who eat and say a blessing.

 

Said R. Simeon b. Laqish, "You find that, when the Holy One, blessed be He, gives to a righteous man what he asks from Him, he goes and shows grace to Him even more. That is in line with this verse: but the righteous is generous and gives. The righteous one of the world is generous and gives."

 

Said R. Levi, "It entered the mind of the Holy One, blessed be He, to assign to Israel a festival day for each month during the summer, in Nisan, Passover, in Iyyar, the minor Passover, in Sivan, Pentecost, but because of the transgressions and bad deeds for which they were responsible, he took festivals from them for the three month period of Tammuz, Ab, and Elul [which are marked by the breach of the wall of Jerusalem on the 17th of Tammuz, the destruction of the Temple on the ninth of Ab, and the month of penitence through Elul. During those months there is no occasion for a festival.] Then Tishri came along and made it up for all three of those months. The New Year makes up for the festival that is lacking in Tammuz, the Great Fast for the festival missing in Ab, and the seven days of The Festival for what is missing in Elul. Said the Holy One, blessed be He, 'The month of Tishri makes up for what is lacking in the other months, will it not compensate also for itself? Give it what is coming to it, and let the month come and task what is coming to it. Therefore it was necessary for Scripture to say, On the eighth day you shall have a solemn assembly. [You shall do no laborious work, but you shall offer a burnt-offering, an offering by fire, a pleasing odor to the Lord...These you shall offer to the Lord at your appointed feasts in addition to your votive-offerings and your freewill-offerings, for your burnt-offerings and for your cereal-offerings and for your drink-offerings and for your peace-offerings] (Numbers 29:35-9)."

 

XXVIII:III

 

In a day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider; [God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him] (Qoh. 7:14): Said R. Abba bar Kahana, "If an occasion for doing a good deed comes your way, do it right away, as it is written, on a day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider; God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him (Qoh. 7:14). And if a bad day comes your way, consider how to repent and to be     saved from it."

 

R. Yudan in the name of R. Eleazar: "Three things annul an evil decree [that is foreseen by astrology], and these are they: prayer, acts of charity, and repentance. And all three of them may be located in a single verse of Scripture: If my people, upon whom my name is called, shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will forgive their sin and heal their land (2 Chr. 7:14). If my people, upon whom my name is called, shall humble themselves and pray refers to prayer. ... and seek my face refers to acts of charity, in line with this verse: In justice I shall behold your face (Ps. 17:15). [Justice is the same word as acts of charity.] ... and turn from their evil ways refers to repentance. Then what is written? I will hear from heaven and forgive their sin.  R. Huna in the name of R. Joseph: "Also changing one's name and the doing of a different sort of deed will have the same effect. We know that changing a name makes a difference from the case of Abraham: And your name will no longer be called Abram but your name will be Abraham (Gen. 17:5). Abram did not produce a son, but Abraham did. And along these same lines, Sarai your wife (Gen. 17:5). Sarai did not produce a son, but Sarah did. We know that the doing of a different sort of deeds makes a difference from the case of the men of Nineveh, as it is said, And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil ways (Jonah 3:10). Some say, "Also changing one's place of domicile, as it is said, And the Lord said to Abram, Get you out of your country, the land of your birth (Gen. 12:1). And then: I shall make you a great nation (Gen. 12:1).” R. Mana said, "Also fasting [has the same effect], as it is said, The Lord answer you in the day of distress [interpreted here to mean the day of fasting] (Ps. 20:20).” Raba bar Hama bar Guria in the name of Rab: "Fasting is as good for a dream as fire for stubble." Said R. Joseph, "That is so if it is done on the same day [as the dream], even if that is the Sabbath [on which it is ordinarily forbidden to fast]."

 

... God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him (Qoh. 7:14): The Holy One, blessed be He, made both the righteous and the wicked. That is in line with this verse of Scripture: And afterward his brother came out, and his hand was holding on to the heel of Esau (Gen. 25:26). R. Phineas, R. Hilqiah in the name of R. Simon: There was scarcely a membrane between them, and yet this one came forth as a righteous, and the other as a wicked person. On what account has the Holy One, blessed be He, made both the righteous and the wicked? So that these should atone for those, in line with this verse: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him (Qoh. 7:14).

 

Another interpretation of the verse In a day of prosperity be joyful, [and in the day of adversity consider; God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him (Qoh. 7:14): Said R. Tanhum bar Hiyya, "On a day on which something good happens for your fellow, be with him in his rejoicing, and on a day on which something bad happens, pay attention...and in the day of adversity consider, meaning, see how you may do a deed of mercy with him to save him from his misfortune.

 

The mother of R. Tanhum bar Hiyya would do things this way. When she (mother) would buy a litra of meat from the market for him, she would purchase two, one for him, the other for the poor. When she would buy a bundle of vegetables from the market, she would buy two, one for him, and one for the poor. Why did the Holy One, blessed be He, create poor and rich? So that one should support the other. This was on the count of this verse God has made the one as well as the other, meaning both the poor and the rich. It is so that the one may attain merit through supporting the other, so that each may provide the other with the occasion for attaining merit, in line with the clause: God has made the one as well as the other.

 

Said R. Aha, "On a day of good fortune for the Torah, be with it in its success, and in the day of adversity consider. When the day comes of which it is written, Sinners will be afraid in Zion (Is. 33:14), be among those who see and not among those who are seen. Be among the spectators and not among the ones who fight the lions. Be among those concerning whom it is written, They shall go forth and look on the carcasses of the men who rebelled against me (Is. 66:24), and not among those of whom it is written, Their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire {be quenched, and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh] (Is. 66:24)."

 

On what account did the Holy One, blessed be He, create both Gehenna and the Garden of Eden? It is so that they may afford assistance to one another. And what is the distance between them? R. Yohanan said, "A wall." R. Hanina said, "A handbreadth." Rabbis say, "Both of them are equivalent."

 

Said R. Levi, "Said the Holy One, blessed be He, to Israel, 'My children, as to those offerings concerning which I wrote you in the Torah, be meticulous about them, for there is no better intercessor for the bringing of rain than offerings. Therefore it was necessary for Scripture to say, On the eighth day you shall have a solemn assembly. {You shall do no laborious work, but you shall offer a burnt-offering, an offering by fire, a pleasing odor to the Lord...These you shall offer to the Lord at your appointed feasts in addition to your votive-offerings and your freewill-offerings, for your burnt-offerings and for your cereal-offerings and for your drink-offerings and for your peace-offerings] (Numbers 29:35-39)."

 

XXVIII:IV

 

Give a portion to seven or even to eight, [for you do not know what evil may happen on earth. If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves on the earth; and if a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie. He who observes the wind who will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap] (Qoh. 11:2-4): R. Eliezer, R. Nehemiah, and R. Joshua: R. Eliezer said, "Give a portion to seven refers to the Sabbath, concerning which it is written, And it came to pass on the seventh day (Ex. 16:27), and or even to eight refers to circumcision. As it is written, And Elijah put his face between his knees (1 Kgs. 18:42). Said Elijah before the Holy One, blessed be He, 'Lord of the ages, if there remained for Israel only these two religious duties alone, their merit would be such as to justify rain.' R. Nehemiah said, "Give a portion to seven refers to the generation of Moses, which practiced circumcision on the seventh day, or even to eight refers to the generation of Joshua, which practiced circumcision on the eighth day. Said the Holy One, blessed be He, to him, 'Moses, your lord, circumcised them on the seventh day, and you circumcise them on the eighth.' At that time said the Lord to Joshua, 'Prepare for your use flint knives [and again circumcise the children of Israel a second time] (Josh. 5:2). "A second time do you circumcise them, a third time you do not circumcise them.” R. Joshua said, said, "Give a portion to seven refers to the seven days of Passover, or even to eight refers to the eight days of The Festival. And when it says, or even, it means to encompass the eighth day of the Solemn Assembly, the New Year, and the Day of Atonement."

 

R. Simon interpreted the verse to speak of the leaders: "Give a portion to seven: On the seventh day the leader of the children of Ephraim (Num. 7:48). ... or even to eight: on the eighth day the leader of the children of Manasseh (Num. 7:54)."

 

R. Azariah in the name of R. Judah bar Simon interpreted the verse to speak of the consecration [of the priests for serving in the tabernacle]: "Give a portion to seven: For seven days he shall consecrate you (Lev. 8:33). or even to eight: And it came to pass on the eighth day that Moses called Aaron (Lev. 9:1)."

 

R. Judah bar. Simon in the name of R. Meir interpreted the verse to speak of the menstrual period: "Give a portion to seven refers to the seven days of the menstrual period. ... or even to eight refers to the eight days between birth and circumcision. Said thc Holy One, blessed be He, if a woman has properly observed the seven days of her menstrual period, I shall give her a male child and you will circumcise him on the eighth day (Lev. 12:3)."

 

R. Levi said, "Give a portion to seven refers to the seven days of The Festival [of Tabernacles], ... or even to eight: On the eighth day you shall have a solemn assembly. [You shall do no laborious work, but you shall offer a burnt offering, an offering by fire, a pleasing odor to the Lord...These you shall offer to the Lord at your appointed feasts in addition to your votive-offerings and your freewill-offerings, for your burnt-offerings and for your cereal-offerings and for your drink-offerings and for your peace­ offerings] (Numbers 29:35-39)."

 

XXVIII:V

 

For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He adorns the humble with salvation. [Let the faithful exult in glory; let them sing for joy on their couches] (Ps. 149:4-5). R. Joshua of Sikhnin in the name of R. Levi: "The Holy One, blessed be He, takes pleasure in the offerings of Israel. ... He adorns the humble with salvation, and salvation refers only to offerings in line with this verse: And the Lord looked upon [thus: accorded salvation to] Abel and his offering (Gen. 4:4)."

 

"For the Lord takes pleasure in his people: The Holy One, blessed be He,    takes pleasure in the offerings of Israel. Therefore Moses admonishes Israel: On the eighth day you shall have a solemn assembly. [You shall do no laborious work, but you shall offer a burnt-offering, an offering by fire, a pleasing odor to the Lord...These you shall offer to the Lord at your appointed feasts in addition to your votive-offerings and your freewill-offerings, for your burnt-offerings and for your cereal-offerings and for your drink-offerings and for your peace offerings] (Numbers 29:35-39)."

 

Ketubim: Tehillim (Psalms) Psalms 12:1-9‎

 

 

Commentary on the Psalms

By Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David

Tehillim (Psalms) 12:1-9

 

Psalms chapter 12 was inspired by a prophetic message foretelling an era when the wicked would succeed in overcoming the poor and the helpless. The threat manifested itself when Saul seemed to be on the verge of subduing David and occurred again on a national scale when the entire House of David was threatened with extinction at the hands of the evil Israelite Queen Athaliah who annihilated the entire ‘royal seed’ [with the exception of the infant Yoash who was hidden^[65]].

 

Rashi^[66] writes: David dedicated this Psalm to Athaliah’s atrocity, which would occur in the eighth generation of His dynasty (beginning with Solomon), praying that a remnant of his family be spared, saying, ‘Save me, HaShem, for the devout are no more’.

 

However, the psalm ends on the confident note that HaShem will surely protect the helpless. The full realization of this wish will come to pass in Messianic times when evil will vanish in the face of the enlightenment gained through Torah study.^[67] Therefore, this psalm was accompanied by the שמינית, the eight-stringed instrument symbolizing that the forces set loose during the seven days of creation will finally be bridled and disciplined.^[68]

 

In this light, we understand why the Vilna Gaon prescribes this psalm as the שיר של יום, ‘The Song of the Day’, for Shemini Atzeret.^[69] This is the special psalm for Shemini Atzeret found in the Orot Sephardic Succoth Machzor.

 

On the seven days of the Succoth Festival, offerings were brought symbolizing the seventy nations who surround Israel. But on the eighth day, Shemini Atzeret, the offering symbolizes only Israel who will remain alone and exalted in Messianic times as God’s chosen people. ^[70]

 

The verbal connection between our Torah portion, Ashlamata, and psalm, all revolve around the word: halak - הלך. In the Torah portion it is Avraham Abinu who is to walk before God and be perfect.^[71] In our psalm it is the wicked that walk. Since our psalm deals with the walk of the wicked, I would like to take an in-depth look at Halacha,^[72] walking, which is the opposite of the walk of the wicked.

 

Tehillim (Psalm) 12:9 The wicked walk on every side, when vileness is exalted among the sons of men.

 

The following section is an excerpted, and edited, portion from “The Handbook of Jewish Thought, Vol. 2”, by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan.     

 

It is HaShem’s will that there exists a certain degree of uniformity in Jewish practices, as well as in the interpretation of the Law. It is thus written, “There shall be one Torah and one law for you”.^[73]

 

Therefore, even when no formal central authority, such as the Sanhedrin, exists, HaShem has provided guidelines to insure the continuance of Judaism as a unified way of life. These guidelines provide the basis for the system of Torah law known as Halacha.^[74]

 

Moreover, it was impossible to include every possible case in the Oral Torah. It would also be impossible for the Sanhedrin to decide in every possible case. Therefore, HaShem gave each qualified Torah scholar the right to decide questions of Torah law. Then, even if laws were forgotten, they could be restored through the halachic process.

 

It is a positive commandment for a duly qualified Torah scholar to render decisions in questions of Torah law when asked. It is thus written, “You shall teach the children of Israel all the decrees which HaShem told them through Moses”…^[75]

 

The unique relationship between HaShem and Israel guarantees that we will always be able to ascertain His will. It is thus written, “You will seek HaShem your Lord, and you will find Him, as long as you search after Him with all your heart and with all your soul”…^[76]

 

HaShem therefore granted the Jewish people as a whole a sort of collective Divine Inspiration so that they would be able to recognize the correct opinion in questions of Torah law. Therefore, when there is any question, it is ultimately decided on the basis of what becomes common practice. Hence, when a decision is accepted as a general custom, it becomes universally binding.

 

Therefore, any practice, decision or code that is universally accepted by the Jewish people is assumed to represent HaShem’s will and is binding as such. Even when a decision is initially disputed, the commonly accepted opinion becomes binding as law.

 

Since the Talmud was accepted by all Israel, it is the final authority in all questions of Torah law. Since such universal acceptance is a manifestation of HaShem’s will, one who opposes the teachings of the Talmud is like one who opposes HaShem and His Torah. All later codes and decisions are binding only insofar as they are derived from the Talmud.

 

Other works, written prior or contemporary to the Babylonian Talmud are likewise very important for the understanding of laws, beliefs and history. However, since they were all known to the compilers of the Talmud, it is assumed that when the Talmud disputes these works, it does so for a reason. Therefore, whenever they disagree with the Talmud, decisions found in the Jerusalem Talmud, Midrash and Tosefta are ignored. There are, however, certain special cases, where, because of long established custom, the opinions of other early works are accepted, even when they disagree with the Talmud.

 

All the opinions found in the Talmud are equally sacred. Still, there is always one binding opinion whenever questions of actual practice are concerned. This is known either from the Talmudic discussions itself, or from later tradition.

 

However, when a dispute involves questions of opinion or history, and has no special consequences any opinion found in the Talmud is equally acceptable. Similarly, no final decision is normally rendered between conflicting Talmudical opinions in the case of laws that are no longer applicable.

 

Halacha teaches us how to behave with our families, relatives, and strangers as well as how to fulfill our religious requirements between ourselves and HaShem. To fulfill our role as a holy people, we imitate HaShem’s actions. Examples are visiting the sick, welcoming guests, giving charity, refraining from creative activity on Shabbat, and promoting peace between husband and wife.^[77] The true reason for following Halacha is because HaShem commanded us to do so.  We observe Halacha to please our Creator and to become spiritually close to Him by doing His will and imitating His actions. Like the word for the whole body of Jewish “laws,” each rule of how to act is called a Halacha.^[78]

 

The Shema is an affirmation of our covenantal relationship and a declaration of faith in one G-d. The obligation to recite the Shema is the beginning of the obligation to pray, yet separate from it. This means that we must also pray in addition to saying the Shema. Saying the Shema is the beginning of Torah study since the two commands are so closely related. A Jew is obligated to say Shema in the morning and at night, as we can see from the above passage.

 

The directives of the Shema, Debarim (Deuteronomy) 6:4ff, intimate two ways for Israel to express its love for HaShem: to do and to hear. Later Hakhamim will refer to these “ways” as “duties of the limbs” and “duties of the heart”, the “duties of the limbs” implying what the Hakhamim came to call halacha. Derived from the causative verb halak (to walk, i.e., to make someone else walk, to lead, to guide), halacha is that component of Torah which provides guidance through definitive rulings or commandments (mitzvot^[79]). It answers the questions ‘what,’ ‘when,’ and ‘how’ in Israel’s call to holiness.

 

The Torah was HaShem’s plan holiness given to Adam^[80] and later to Israel through Moshe, at Mount Sinai, in the presence of all the people of Israel. This plan was written out in the Torah. We worship HaShem by studying this plan and putting it into practice, i.e. one must walk (halak) out the Torah. Righteousness is, by definition, the state created by living according to the Torah, HaShem’s plan. Jewish life was defined by Torah regardless of where one lived.

 

The first place where “walk” is used, with people, is in:

 

Bereshit (Genesis) 13:14-18 And HaShem said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, [then] shall thy seed also be numbered. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee. Then Abram removed [his] tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which [is] in Hebron, and built there an altar unto HaShem.

 

In this first use of the word “walk”, with people, we find that it has the basic idea of performing the will of HaShem. HaShem is having Abram check out his inheritance, his land. Many of HaShem’s commands, such as the Sabbatical year and the Jubilee year, can ONLY be performed in the land. This walk establishes Abram’s continued obedience to the commands of HaShem.

 

 

One of the things we will notice in this study, is that most of the time that we see this word ‘walk’, it will be juxtaposed with the commands of HaShem.

 

Now, let’s see how this same word is used in other scriptures:

 

Bereshit (Genesis) 17:1-14 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, HaShem appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I [am] the Almighty God; walk before me and become perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, As for me, behold, my covenant [is] with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. This [is] my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which [is] not of thy seed. He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.

 

In this use, we see that walking is intimately connected with obedience to HaShem. The implied usage seems to indicate a lifestyle of obedience. There are some Mitzvot where the symbol and the meaning are explicit: Some are called ‘ot’, a sign: - Circumcision - mila - is described as a “Sign of the Covenant”, the meaning of which is contained in the phrase “Walk in front of Me and become perfect”.^[81] To “walk in HaShem’s ways”, which Chazal understand as mandating not just concrete actions but also the cultivation of virtuous character traits.^[82] Judaism requires halakhic observance, but it also asks for more than that, namely, a life of compassion for those who are vulnerable.

 

Torah asks us not just to perform our duties but also to cultivate ourselves. This pervades the whole history of Jewish religious writing. The Musar movement’s focus on character-building; the Rambam’s persistent concern with virtue;^[83] and R. Bachya’s preoccupation with the duties of the heart rather than (merely) those of the limbs.^[84]

 

Working to become a refined and holy person is the entire goal of the Torah. HaShem introduces His covenant with Abram by telling him to “walk yourself before Me and be whole”.^[85] Thus, perfecting one’s ability to relate to HaShem and to other people is the goal of the entire observance, not merely a means to fulfill other mitzvot and doing mitzvot themselves. This goal is to make manifest the Image of the Divine within each of us.

 

Vayikra (Leviticus) 18:1-5 And HaShem spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am HaShem your God. After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances. Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I [am] HaShem your God. Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I [am] HaShem.

 

In this powerful passage, HaShem again indicates that the way to live, is in obedience to His Torah. Our walk, our obedience to the Torah and Chazal determines whether we are choosing death or life.

 

Vayikra (Leviticus) 26:2-12 Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I [am] HaShem. If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them; Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make [you] afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land. And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you. And ye shall eat old store, and bring forth the old because of the new. And I will set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you.

 

In this passage, HaShem indicates that if we are to be His people, and He is to be our God, then we MUST walk in His statutes. There is no other way.

 

Debarim (Deuteronomy) 5:31 - 6:2 But as for thee, stand thou here by me, and I will speak unto thee all the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which thou shalt teach them, that they may do [them] in the land which I give them to possess it. Ye shall observe to do therefore as HaShem your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. Ye shall walk in all the ways which HaShem your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and [that it may be] well with you, and [that] ye may prolong [your] days in the land which ye shall possess. Now these [are] the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which HaShem your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do [them] in the land whither ye go to possess it: That thou mightest fear HaShem thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.

 

In this passage, walking in His ways, means living a Torah observant life. The result of this walk is prolonged life on Earth.

 

Deuteronomy 30:10-20 if you obey the HaShem your God to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this book of the law, if you turn to the HaShem your God with all your heart and soul. “For this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach. “It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it?’ “Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will cross the sea for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it?’ “But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may observe it. “See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; in that I command you today to love the HaShem your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the HaShem your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it. “But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other G-ds and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. You shall not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess it. “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the HaShem your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them. “

 

In this passage, the use of “walk” is used to graphically describe a life of absolute Torah obedience. This lifestyle is called “our life”!

 

Yehoshua (Joshua) 22:1-6 Then Yehoshua (Joshua) called the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, And said unto them, Ye have kept all that Moses the servant of HaShem commanded you, and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you: Ye have not left your brethren these many days unto this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of HaShem your God. And now HaShem your God hath given rest unto your brethren, as he promised them: therefore now return ye, and get you unto your tents, [and] unto the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of HaShem gave you on the other side Jordan. But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of HaShem charged you, to love HaShem your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul. So Yehoshua (Joshua) blessed them, and sent them away: and they went unto their tents.

 

Here again, we have HaShem associating our walk with our obedience to His Torah. Yehoshua (Joshua) seems to be emphasizing how important it is to walk in His ways.

 

Zechariah 8:20-23 “Thus says HaShem of hosts, ‘{It will} yet {be} that peoples will come, even the inhabitants of many cities. ‘And the inhabitants of one will go to another saying, “Let us go at once to entreat the favor of HaShem, and to seek HaShem of hosts; I will also go.” ‘So many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek HaShem of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of HaShem.’ “Thus says HaShem of hosts, ‘In those days ten men from all the nations will grasp the garment of a Jew saying,” Let us go with you, for we have heard that HaShem is with you.

 

In this passage, “go” literally means to “walk”. When we walk with the Jews, it means to live a lifestyle that they live. It means that we have embraced a Torah observant lifestyle, as they have. When we are Torah observant, we will find that HaShem is with us too!

 

In the Nazarean Codicil, we find this same theme regarding our walk:

 

II Luqas (Acts) 21:18-24 And now the following day Paul went in with us to Yaaqob (James), and all the elders were present. And after he had greeted them, he {began} to relate one by one the things which HaShem had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. And when they heard it they {began} glorifying HaShem; and they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all zealous for the Law; and they have been told about you, that you are teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs. “What, then, is {to be done}? They will certainly hear that you have come. “Therefore do this that we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow; take them and purify yourself along with them, and pay their expenses in order that they may shave their heads; and all will know that there is nothing to the things which they have been told about you, but that you yourself also walk orderly, keeping the Law.

 

Here, Paul demonstrates that he walks orderly by keeping the Torah. The Greek word for “walk”, in the above passage, is:

 

4748 stoicheo, stoy-kheh’-o; from a der. of steicho (to range in regular line); to march in (military) rank (keep step), i.e. (fig.) to conform to virtue and piety:-walk (orderly).

 

Romans 6:4-6 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Mashiach was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also [in the likeness] of [his] resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with [him], that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

 

We have already seen the close association between walking and life. The above passage reinforces this idea. Mashiach’s death was for the purpose of eliminating sin. Sin is the word that describes a lifestyle devoid of Torah:

 

1 Yochanan (John) 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

 

Romans 8:1-4 [There is] therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Mashiach Yeshua, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Mashiach Yeshua hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, HaShem sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

 

In this difficult passage, Paul is putting our walk together with life, and this is in opposition to the flesh and sin. Since Paul lived a Torah observant lifestyle, and was well versed in the Torah, it is clear that he is reiterating that we must walk in obedience to the Torah, which is the Spirit of life.

 

2 Yochanan (John) 1:4-6 I was very glad to find {some} of your children walking in truth, just as we have received commandment {to do} from the Father. And now I ask you, lady, not as writing to you a new commandment, but the one which we have had from the beginning, that we love one another. And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it.

 

Here, at the end of the Nazarean Codicil, we still see that we are commanded to walk according to the Torah, which are His commandments.

 

His Eminence, Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai, has also taught me about another Greek word used in the Nazarean Codicil that refers to our walk, to reveal some amazing things. Strong’s defines this word as:

 

3598 hodos, hod-os’; appar. a prim. word; a road; by impl. a progress (the route, act or distance); fig. a mode or means:-journey, (high-) way.

 

As we follow the Hebrew word HALAK, we need to follow it into the Nazarean Codicil. The Greek word used to translate the Hebrew word HALAK is HODOS. HUDOS means HALAKHA, the way of walking. We have some very interesting passages that uses this word:

 

Matityahu 3:3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

 

Matityahu 5:25 {Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.}

 

Matityahu 7:13 {Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide [is] the gate, and broad [is] the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:}

 

Yochanan (John) 14:5-6 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Yeshua saith unto him, {I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.}

 

The Torah was HaShem’s plan for creation given to Israel through Moses at Mount Sinai in the presence of all the people of Israel. This plan was written out in the Five Books of Moses known collectively as the Torah. One worships HaShem by studying this plan and putting it into practice, i.e. one must walk (halak) in the Torah. Righteousness is, by definition, the state created by living according to the Torah, which is HaShem’s plan. Jewish life is / was defined by Torah regardless of where one lived.

 

By now we should understand why the wicked prosper, in this world. Their walk will determine their ultimate end in a place where they will encounter the torment that they have earned. Consider the following pasuk:

 

Hoshea (Hosea) 14:10 Whoso is wise, let him understand these things, whoso is prudent, let him know them. For the ways of HaShem are right, and the just do walk in them; but transgressors do stumble therein.

 

The Vilna Gaon,^[86] quoted in Even Sheleimah,^[87] teaches us the true meaning of the above pasuk.

 

The relationship of Torah to the soul: A comparison to rain for the ground, it causes what was planted there to grow, whether a sam hachaim or a sam hamaves, a poison. Similarly, Torah causes what is in his heart to grow. If what is in his heart is good, his yir’ah will grow; if what is in his heart is a “root sprouting poison weed and wormwood” then the bitterness that is in his head will grow. As it is written, “the righteous will walk in it, and sinners will stumble in it” (Hoshea 14:10, as explained by Chazal), and as it is written, “To those who go to the right side of it, it is a medicine of life; to those who go to its left, it is a deadly poison”).^[88]

 

The day when the wicked reap the consequence of their walk is The Eighth Day, which is alluded to in the opening of our psalm:

 

Tehillim (Psalm) 12:1 For the Leader; on the Sheminith.^[89] A Psalm of David.

 

The eight stringed harp speaks to The Eighth Day, the eighth millennium, when this eight-string harp will be used.

Ashlamatah: ‎ Melachim alef (I Kings) 8:54-66‎‎

 

 

Nazarean Jews Privately read:

I Hillel (Luke) 2:21-40

& Revelation 3:14-22

 

I Hillel (Luke) 2:21-40

 

And after eight days passed it was time for his Brit Milah (circumcision)^[90] and he was named Yeshua, the name that he was called by the messenger (angel) before he was conceived in the womb. And when the day came for her^[91] (Miriam’s) purification according to the Torah of Moshe^[92], and they brought him (Yeshua) up to Yerushalayim to redeem (i.e. pidyon ha-ben) him to the Lord. As it is written, “you will set apart to the Lord all that opens the womb; every firstling that is a male, which you have coming from a beast, will be the Lord's” (Exo. 13:12)^[93]. And they offered the sacrifice required in the Torah of the Lord, as it is written: “^If, however, her means do not suffice for a sheep, she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. The priest will make expiation on her behalf, and she will be clean” (Lev. 12:8).^[94]

 

And behold there was a man (Royal Ish) in Yerushalayim whose name was Rabbi Shim’on ben Hillel;^[95] this man (royal ish) was a Tsaddiq and Shomer Shabbat/Nazar,^[96] anticipating^[97] the Comforter of Yisrael (the Messiah) because the spirit of prophecy rested on him. And the spirit of prophecy revealed to him that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. And he was guided by the spirit of prophecy to come into the Bet HaMikdash; and they (Yosef and Miriam) brought the child Yeshua according to the Oral Torah,^[98] Rabbi Shim’on ben Hillel took him in his arms and blessed God with the appropriate blessing^[99] and then said, Master of the Universe, now you are dismissing your servant from Yerushalayim in shalom (peace) according to Your prophecy:^[100] for my eyes have seen Your shalom (tikun), which You have provided before all peoples, a light of truth for the Gentiles and for the exoneration of your people (Yisrael.) And his father and mother were amazed and marveled at what Rabbi Shim’on ben Hillel said about him. Then Rabbi Shim’on ben Hillel blessed them^[101] and said to his mother Miriam, “this child is appointed for the rise and fall of many in Yisrael, to be a sign of opposition so that the thoughts of many will be brought to light and a sword will pierce your own soul.

 

And there was a prophetess, Channah bat P’nu’el of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in age she live with her husband for seven years after marriage, and then she was widowed to the age of eighty-four. She never failed to attend the Temple worship fasting and praying night and day. And at that moment she came, and began giving thanks to God and spoke about the child to everyone who was looking for the redemption of Yerushalayim. When they finished everything required by the Torah of the Lord they returned to Galil to the city of Branches. The child grew and became strong filled with Hokhmah (wisdom), Binah (understanding), and Da’at (knowledge), and the Chessed (loving-kindness) of God was upon him.

 

Revelation 3:14-22

 

14. And to the angel of the congregation of Laodicea, write: These things says the Amen, the faithful and true Witness/Martyr, even the beginning of the creation of G-d:

15. I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I would that you were cold, or hot.

16. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to vomit you out of my mouth.

17. Because you say, I am rich, and I am made rich (Hosea 12:9), and I have need of nothing, and do not know that you are weak and miserable and poor and blind and naked.

18. I advise you to buy from me gold having been fired by fire, that you may become rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed lest your shame and nakedness should be uncovered. And anoint your eyes with eye-salve, that you may see.

19. As many as I love, I rebuke and I chasten. Be zealous, then, and repent.

20. Behold, I stand at the door and knock: If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will enter and I will dine with him, and he with me.

21. The one overcoming, I will give to him to sit with me in my throne, as I also overcame and sat with My Father on His [appointed] throne [for me].

22. The one who has ears, hear what the spirit [of G-d] says to the [Jewish] congregations.

 

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!”

 

 

Afternoon Service:

Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) 9:4 – 10:8

 

4. For one who is chosen to be among all the living, there is hope. For a living dog is better than a dead lion.

5. For the living know that they will die; but the dead do not know anything; nor do they have any more a reward, for their memory is forgotten.

6. Also their love, their hatred, and their envy has now perished; nor do they any longer have a part forever in all that is done under the sun.

7. Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God now is pleased with your works.

8. Let your garments be white at every time; and let your head lack no ointment.

9. Look on life with the wife whom you love all the days of the life of your vanity, which He gave you under the sun, all the days of your vanity. For that is your share in this life, and in your labour which you as a labourer do under the sun.

10. All that your hand finds to do, do it with [all of] your strength. For there is no work, or planning, or knowledge, or wisdom, in Sheol, there where you go.

11. I returned and saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the mighty; nor even bread to the wise; nor even riches to the men of discernment; nor even favour to knowing men. For time and occurrence happen to them all.

12. For man also does not know his time. As the fish that are taken in the evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the trap, like them are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falls suddenly on them.

13. This wisdom I saw also under the sun, and it is great to me:

14. There was a little city, and few men in it. And a great king came against it, and besieged it, and built huge siege works against it.

15. And there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom saved the city. Yet no man remembered that poor man!

16. And I said, Wisdom is better than strength; but the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.

17. The words of wise men are heard in quiet, more than the cry of one who rules among fools.

18. Wisdom is better than weapons of conflict; but one sinner destroys much good.

 

1. As dead flies cause the perfumer's ointment to stink and ferment; so a little foolishness is heavier than wisdom and than honour.

2. The heart of the wise is toward his right, but the fool's heart toward his left.

3. And also, in the way in which a stupid one walks, his heart fails, and he says to all that he is a fool.

4. If the spirit of the ruler rises up against you, do not leave your place; for composure quiets great offenses.

5. There is an evil I have seen under the sun, sins which come from the face of the ruler:

6. Folly is set in many high positions, and many rich men sit in low situations.

7. I have seen slaves on horses, and rulers walking as slaves on the earth.

8. He who digs a pit may fall into it; and one breaking a wall, a snake may bite him.

 

Amen ve Amen!

 

Chag Shemini Atzeret Sameach!

 

 

Shemini Atzeret (Festival of the 8^th Day)‎ - 2^nd Day

(Simhat Torah)

Tishri 23, 5784 Ano Mundi

Evening Saturday October 7 – Evening Sunday October 8, ‏2023

Evening Service for Shemini Atzeret (8^th Day)‎ - 2^nd Day

Torah: Evening readings Deuteronomy 33:1-26

 

Morning Service for Shemini Atzeret (8^th Day)‎ - 2^nd Day

Morning Service Festival of the 8^th Day, Day 2 – Fiesta del Octavo Dia – Segundo Dia

 

Torah:                  Debarim (Deuteronomy) 15:19 - 16:17‎ & BaMidbar (Numbers) 29:35–30:1‎

Ashlamatah:       Melachim alef (I Kings) 8:54-66

Psalm:                  Tehillim (Psalms) 12:1-9 Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) 1:1 – 12:14

N.C.:                     II Thessalonians 3:1-16 + 3:17-18 & Revelation 3:14-22

 

Torah Reading:

Reader 1 – Debarim 14:22-29‎

Reader 2 – Debarim 15:1-6

Reader 3 – Debarim 15:7-11

Reader 4 – Debarim 15:12-18

Reader 5 – Debarim 15:19-23

Reader 6 – Debarim 16:1-8

Reader 7 – Debarim 16:9-17

    Maftir – BaMidbar 29:35–30:1

 

Blessings Before Torah Study

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan for: Debarim (Deuteronomy) ‎ 15:19 - 16:17‎

(See above as in the previous day)

 

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan for: BaMidbar (Numbers) 29:35–30:1‎

(See above as in the previous day)

 

 

Midrash Pesiqta deRab Kahana

 

Pisqa Twenty-Eight: 6 -10

 

XXVIII:VI

 

R. Yohanan, “The Eighth Day of Solemn Assembly constitutes a festival day unto itself [and not a continuation of The Festival of Tabernacles], requiring a priestly selection by itself [to choose by lottery which priests will conduct the rite and get the priestly portions of the sacrifices], an offering by itself, a blessing by itself, thus: a festival by itself." Said R. Bun, "In the case of all of them it is written, And on the day, but here it is written, On the day. On that basis we know that The Eighth Day of Solemn Assembly constitutes a festival day unto itself [and not a continuation of The Festival of Tabernacles]." ...requiring a priestly selection by itself: For we have learned in the Mishnah: “On the eighth day they reverted ,to draw lots on the festivals” [Mishnah Suk. 5:9].

 

"...an offering by itself: an ox, a ram." ... a blessing by itself: Said R. Ila, "On the basis of that allegation, we learn that [in reciting the blessing over the wine, we must include the blessing,] ... who has kept us in life and sustained us and brought us to this season."

 

XXVIII:VII

 

As to the conduct of the seven days of the Festival, [with respect to dismantling of the tabernacle on the seventh day,] how is the matter carried out? When one has finished eating [the final meal for the seven days of The Festival,] he should not dismantle the tabernacle. But from dusk onward he brings down [from the roof to the house] the dishes [in which he has eaten in the tabernacle, since he will not eat his evening meal, on the Eighth Day of Solemn Assembly, in the tabernacle]. That [postponement of the dismantling of the tabernacle] is on account of the honor owing to the final festival day [of The Festival] [Mishnah Suk. 4:8]. R. Abba bar Kahana, R. Hiyya bar Ashi in the name of Rab: "It is necessary while it is still day [before dark, inaugurating the Eighth Day of Solemn Assembly] to render his tabernacle no longer valid."  Said R. Joshua b. Levi, "It is necessary for a person to recite in his house [and not in the tabernacle] the sanctification [of the wine] for the night of the last festival day." R. Jacob bar Aha in the name of R. Samuel said, "If one has recited the sanction of the wine in one house and changed his mind and decided to eat in another, it is necessary to recite the sanctification a second time." R. Aha, R. Hinena in the name of R. Hoshaiah: "He whose tabernacle is particularly pleasing to him, lo, such a one on the festival night of the last day of the Festival says the sanctification in his house and then goes up to the roof and eats in his tabernacle and he does not have to recite the sanctification a second time." Said R. Abun, "The opinion of Samuel accords with the view of R. Hiyya, and the opinion of R. Joshaiah accords with the position of R. Joshua b. Levi." Said R. Mana, "But there is no real disagreement between them. What Samuel has said applies to a case in which a person had determined in advance to eat in a particular room, and the opinion of R. Joshua b. Levi applies when one has not determined in advance to eat in a particular room."

 

Said R. Joshua b. Levi, "The Eighth Day of Solemn Assembly was appropriate to have been set fifty days after The Festival itself [as Pentecost comes fifty days after Passover]. The matter has been stated as a parable. To what is it comparable? It is to be compared to the case of a king who had married daughters, some of them living nearby, others living at a distance. Those that were living nearby could come and go in one day, while those living at a distance could not come and go in one day. So too in the case of Passover, since the Israelites pass from winter [when it rains] to summer, and the bother of making a trip is not much [for the roads are dry and in good repair], therefore the festival of Pentecost is fifty days after [Passover], since people can make the trip in one day. But in the case of The Festival, since at that season the Israelites are going from summer to winter [when the rainy season starts], on account of which the trip is difficult [and the roads impassable], therefore [the Eighth Day of Solemn Assembly] is not set at a spell of fifty days [from The Festival], since people cannot make the trip in one day. Said the Holy One, blessed be He, 'I and you - we shall rejoice on a single day.' Therefore it was necessary to say: On the eighth day you shall have a solemn assembly. [You shall do no laborious work, but you shall offer a burnt-offering, an offering by fire, a pleasing odor to the Lord...These you shall offer to the Lord at your appointed feasts in addition to your votive-offerings and your freewill-offerings, for your burnt-offerings and for your cereal-offerings and for your drink-offerings and for your peace ­offerings] (Numbers 29:35-39).

 

XXVIII:VIII

 

R. Yudan in the name of R. Isaac, "All the time that the Israelites delay [and observe an extra festival] in their synagogues and study houses, the Holy One, blessed be He, delays [and leaves] his Presence with them. What is the verse of Scripture that indicates it? "May we urge you to stay? Let us prepare a kid for you (Judges 13:15)."

 

R. Haggai in the name of R. Isaac: "So long as the Israelites join together in synagogues and school houses, the Holy One, blessed be He, joins his Presence together with them. What is the verse of Scripture that indicates it? "I have most assuredly joined together with [interpreting in a different way the letters usually translated, hoped in] the Lord and he turned to me (Ps. 40:2)."

 

Said R. Alexandri, "The matter may be compared to the case of a king who had an occasion for rejoicing. During all seven days of banqueting, a noble lady counseled the members of the palace staff, saying to them, 'While the king is taken up with his celebration, ask what you need.’ When they did not grasp [her advice], the lady secured for them an additional day [of celebration]. So throughout the seven days of The Festival, the Torah counsels Israel, saying to them, 'Ask for rain from the Lord.’ You may know that that is the fact, for lo, on the second day [it is stated], and their drink-offerings (Num. 29:19), so too on the sixth, and its drink-offerings (Num. 29:31), and on the seventh, in accord with the rule applying to them (Num. 29:33). [We shall now explain how the Torah counsels Israel to pray for rain on that occasion. The cited words make use of the letters] M, Y, and M, which spell, in Hebrew, water. On that basis we derive proof that the rite of pouring a water libation on the altar [as a prayer for rain] derives from the rules of the Torah and is to be recited on The Festival. But because the Israelites did not look into the matter, the Torah itself secured for them an additional day of celebration: Therefore it was necessary for the Torah to state, On the eighth day you shall have a solemn assembly. [You shall do no laborious work, but you shall offer a burnt-offering, an offering by fire, a pleasing odor to the Lord...These you shall offer to the Lord at your appointed feasts in addition to your votive-offerings and your freewill-offerings, for your burnt-offerings and for your cereal-offerings and for your drink-offerings and for your peace-offerings] (Numbers 29:35-39).

 

XXVIII:IX

 

Said R. Alexandri, 'The matter may be compared to the case of a king to whom an occasion for rejoicing came. All the seven days of the banqueting, the prince was busy with the guests. When the seven days of banqueting were over, said the king to his son, 'My son, I know that on an the days of banqueting, you were busy with the guests. But now you and I may set aside one day for rejoicing on our own. And I shall not make a lot of trouble for you, but prepare one chicken and one litra of meat.’ So for all seven days of the banqueting, the Israelites are busy with their offerings of the nations of the world. For said R. Phineas, 'All those seventy oxen that the Israelites offer on the Festival serve the seventy nations of the world, so that the world will not be turned barren [on account of their sins]. What verse of Scripture indicates it? In return for my love they accuse me, even as I make prayer for them (Ps. 109:4). We rely on prayer. When the seven days of The Festival are completed, the Holy One, blessed be He, says to Israel, 'My children, I know that through the seven days of The Festival you have been taken up with making offerings for the nations of the world. But now I and you - we shall celebrate on our own, together. And I shall not make a lot of trouble for you, but prepare one ox and one ram.' Now when the Israelites heard this, they began to praise the Holy One, blessed be He, saying, This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it (Ps. 118:24)."

 

[With reference to the verse This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it (Ps. 118:24),] Said R. Abyun, "We do not know in what to rejoice, the day or the Holy One, blessed be He [since the Hebrew letters for the words in it may be read also in him]. But Solomon came along and spelled the matter out: We shall rejoice and be glad in You (Song 1:4) [and hence the sense here to is in Him]. "...in You (Song 1:4): in Your Torah." ...in You (Song 1:4): in Your salvation." [Since the word for in You contains the letters B and K], which bear the numerical value of twenty-two], said R. Isaac, "It is in the twenty-two letters of which you made use to write out Your Torah for us, the B stands for two, the K for twenty, [that we rejoice]."

 

XXVIII:X

 

These you will offer to the Lord at your appointed feasts in addition [to your votive-offerings and your freewill-offerings, for your burnt-offerings and for your cereal-offerings and for your drink-offerings and for your peace-offerings] (Numbers 29:35-39): R. Haninah in the name of R. Tanhum bar Yudan: "What is written is not These you have offered, but rather, These you shall offer to the Lord at your appointed feasts [in addition to your votive-offerings and your freewill-offerings, for your burnt-offerings and for your cereal-offerings and for your drink-offerings and for your peace-offerings] (Numbers 29:35-9). The Torah counsels Israel, saying to them, 'Other days [are coming].'"

 

Said R. Berekhiah in the name of R. Abba bar Kahana, "It is written, You shall keep this ordinance in its season (Ex. 13:10). The Torah counsels Israel, saying to them, 'Other days [are coming]."

 

Said R. Judah bar; Simon, "It is written, Look down from your holy habitation, from heaven, [and bless your people Israel and the ground which you have given us as you swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey] (Deut. 26:15). What is written after that passage? This day the Lord your God commands you [to do these statutes and ordinances; you shall therefore be careful to do them with all your heart and with all your soul. You have declared this day concerning the Lord that he is your God and that you will walk in his ways, and keep his statutes and his commandments and his ordinances and will obey his voice; and the Lord has declared this day concerning you that you are a people for his own possession, as he has promised you; and that you are to keep all his commandments, that he will set you high above all nations that he has made, in praise and in fame and in honor, and that you shall be a people holy to the Lord your God, as he has spoken] (Deut. 26:16-19). Now what has one thing got to do with the other? So long as Israel carry out the will of the Holy One, blessed be He, and properly separate the tithes that they owe, so that they can say, I have removed holy things from the house (Deut. 13:13), the Holy One, blessed be He, counsels Israel, saying to them, 'Other days [are coming]' [as at Deut. 26:16-19]. But you who held fast to the Lord your God are all alive this day (Deut. 4:4).

 

Ketubim: Targum Tehillim (Psalms) Psalms 12:1-9‎

 

(See above as in the previous day)

 

 

 

Revelation 3:14-22

Revelation 3:14-22

 

14. And to the angel of the congregation of Laodicea, write: These things says the Amen, the faithful and true Witness/Martyr, even the beginning of the creation of G-d:

15. I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I would that you were cold, or hot.

16. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to vomit you out of my mouth.

17. Because you say, I am rich, and I am made rich (Hosea 12:9), and I have need of nothing, and do not know that you are weak and miserable and poor and blind and naked.

18. I advise you to buy from me gold having been fired by fire, that you may become rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed lest your shame and nakedness should be uncovered. And anoint your eyes with eye-salve, that you may see.

19. As many as I love, I rebuke and I chasten. Be zealous, then, and repent.

20. Behold, I stand at the door and knock: If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will enter and I will dine with him, and he with me.

21. The one overcoming, I will give to him to sit with me in my throne, as I also overcame and sat with My Father on His [appointed] throne [for me].

22. The one who has ears, hear what the spirit [of G-d] says to the [Jewish] congregations.

 

5. As you do not know what is the way of the wind, as the bones in the pregnant woman's womb, even so you do not know the works of God who makes all.

6. Sow your seed in the morning, and do not rest your hand until evening; for you do not know what will be blessed, this or that; or whether they both will be good as one.

7. Also the light is sweet; yes, it is good for the eyes to behold the sun.

8. But if the man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all, and remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. All that may come is vanity.

9. Rejoice, O young man, in your youth. And make your heart glad in the days of your youth, and walk in the ways of your heart, and in the sight of your eyes; but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.

10. So then remove vexation from your heart and put away evil from your flesh. For childhood and prime of life are vanity.

 

1. Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, while the evil days do not come, or the years strike when you will say, I have no pleasure in them;

2. While not yet the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, are darkened, or the clouds return after rain;

3. In the day when those keeping the house will tremble, and the strong men are bowed, and the grinders cease because they are few; and those looking out the windows are darkened;

4. And the doors will be shut in the streets, when the sound of the mill is low, and one rises up at the voice of a bird, and all the daughters of music are silenced;

5. Also they will be afraid of a high place, and terrors in the way; and the almond tree will blossom, and the locust makes himself a burden; and desire breaks, because man goes to his eternal home, and the mourners go about in the street;

6. While the silver cord is not yet loosed, or the golden bowl is crushed, or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern;

7. Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.

8. Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, all is vanity.

9. And more than that, the Preacher was wise; he still taught the people knowledge. Yes, he listened, and looked, and set in order many proverbs.

10. The Preacher sought to find out pleasing words, and words of truth written on uprightness.

11. The words of the wise are as goads; yes, as nails driven by the masters of collections, they are given from one Shepherd.

12. And more than these, my son, be warned: The making of many books has no end, and much study is the weariness of the flesh.

13. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments; for this applies to every man.

14. For God will bring every work into judgment, with all that is hidden, whether it is good, or whether it is evil.

 

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!”

Amen ve Amen!

 

Chag Shemini Atzeret Sameach!

 

Additional readings for (Simhat Torah)

 

Evening

 

Deuteronomy 33:1-26

(1)   Deut. 33:1-7

(2)   Deut. 33:8-12

(3)   Deut. 33:13-17

(4)   Deut. 33:18-21

(5)   Deut. 33:22-26

 

Morning

 

Deuteronomy 33:1 - 34:12

Genesis 1:1-2:3

(1)   Deut. 33:1-7

(2)   Deut. 33:8-12

(3)   Deut. 33:13-17

(4)   Deut. 33:18-21

(5)   Deut. 33:22-26

Chatan Torah:

   Deut.33:27 -34:12

Chatan B’resheet:

  Gen. 1:1-2:3

      (M) Numbers 29:35-30:1

Joshua 1:1-9

 

Shiur for Shemini Atzeret

 

In this study I would like to examine Shemini Atzeret (שמיני עצרת – “Eighth [day of] Assembly”), the Biblical festival that occurs on Tishrei 22, and means Eighth Assembly. This feast comes after the last and greatest day of the feast of Succoth, Hoshana Rabbah. It is “The eighth day”. It marks the beginning of the rainy season in Israel. This feast is separate and distinct from Hag HaSuccoth, the Feast of Tabernacles, yet somehow connected to Hag HaSuccoth.

 

The following is an excerpt from Reflections & Introspections, Elul – Rosh Hashanah – Yom Kippur – Sukkos, TORAH INSIGHTS OF HAGAON HAGADOL Rav Moshe Shapiro.

 

“The Sages state (Yalkut Shimoni chapter 782), “In each month of the summer months, the Holy Blessed One wished to give to Israel a festival. In Nisan He gave to them Passover, in Iyar He gave to them Passover Minor,” which we call Pesach Sheni, “and in Sivan He gave to them Shavuot. In Tammuz, He had in mind to give to them a great festival, but they made the Golden Calf, and it cancelled Tammuz, Av, and Elul. Tishri came, and it recompensed them with Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Succoth. The Holy Blessed One said of it, “Shall it recompense others and not take its own? Give it its day: “On the eighth day, it shall be Atzeret for you” (Bamidbar 29:35).”

 

“The implication is that the great festival of the Seventeenth of Tammuz was to be Rosh Hashanah, but due to what occurred, it became the fast of the Seventeenth of Tammuz. The great festival of the Ninth of Av was to be Yom Kippur, but again, due to what occurred, it became the bitter and evil day of destruction. At the beginning of Elul was to be the Festival of Succoth, and it would conclude the festivals of summer. The festival of Tishri itself was to be what we currently call Shemini Atzeret; this festival belongs to Tishri inherently.”

 

“In fact, Shemini Atzeret, the Atzeres of Succoth was to arrive just as Shavuot, the Atzeret of Passover. There, we count forty-nine days from the day after the first of Passover, and the fiftieth day is Shavuot. Here, we were to count forty-nine days from the day after the first of Succoth, meaning from the second day of Elul. This ends on Hoshana Rabbah, and the fiftieth day is Shemini Atzeret.”

 

“The sages ask this in actuality.[102] Why do we not have the same custom regarding the Atzeret of Succoth as we have regarding the Atzeret of Passover? Why do we not count fifty days from Succoth and then celebrate the Atzeret of Succoth?”

 

“They answer that the Creator did not wish to overburden the Jewish People to come to Jerusalem for the pilgrimage during the rainy season. Fifty days from the current date of Succoth would occur in the middle of the winter, and it is not conducive for travel.”

 

“Clearly, it is befitting for there to be a counting of forty-nine days and then to celebrate the Atzeret of Succoth. Thus, if Succoth were in Elul that is how it would be.”

 

The Torah and Haftarah readings, as well as the prayers and synagogue service, all focus in on The King and His people:

 

 

The second day of Shemini Atzeret is also Simchat Torah. Here are the readings for Simchat Torah:

 

 

In regard to six laws, Shemini Atzeret is considered a festival unto itself, unrelated to Succoth:

 

Sukkah 48a It has been taught in agreement with R. Nahman, The Eighth Day is a Separate festival with regard to P’Z’R’ K’SH’B’[103] i.e., with regard to balloting it is a separate festival,[104] with regard to the benediction of the season it is a separate festival,[105] with regard to the nature of the festival[106] it is a separate festival,[107] with regard to its sacrifice it is a separate festival,[108] with regard to its psalm[109] it is a separate festival, and with regard to its benediction[110] it is a separate festival.

 

There are six halachic ingredients, which separate Shimini Atzeret from Succoth. You would never understand the holiday without knowing them. They come with an acronym of six letters: P’Z’R K’SH’B[111].

 :
(1) Payis - Lottery. The priests in the Holy Temple used to conduct a separate lottery for the services on Shimini Atzeret. It shows that Shimini Atzeret is indeed a separated day from Succoth.

 

(2) Zman - Shimini Atzeret deserves a Shecheyanu blessing on its own indicating, again, that is a separate holiday from Succoth.

 

(3) Regel - A separate Holiday. A mourner, for instance, counts Succoth as seven days, which are deducted from the thirty obligatory mourning days. He also counts Shimini Atzeret as seven deductible days, since it is considered a Holiday on its own. Now we come to the last three items characterizing Shimini Atzeret, which call for close attention (KShV- also means ‘listen to’).

 

(4) Korban - Sacrifice, meaning that Shimini Atzeret has its own sacrifice of one ox. It signifies, according to the Midrash, that HaShem is intimately associated with Israel only, in contrast to Succoth where He considers, so to speak, all the seventy oxen, the seventy nations.

 

(5) Shir - Song. It means that the song, which the Levites sing on Shimini Atzeret, is different from the ones they used to sing on Succoth. But the Rogachov Tzadik z”l said: The ‘song’ here is the Hallel. The Hallel of Shimini Atzeret differs, in its meaning, from the Hallel of Succoth.

 

(6) Bracha - Blessing - meaning specifying the name of the holiday in Mussaf or the blessing over meals (Beit Yosef, the laws of Shimini Atzeret). But other say: “Bracha - Blessing of the King”.[112] 

 

This mysterious festival is not linked to an historical event or an agricultural event, as are all of the other festivals.

 

The Torah indicates that this feast is celebrated on Tishrei 22, eight days after the beginning of Hag HaSuccoth. The following charts details this relationship:

 

In Eretz[113] Israel

 

 

Outside Eretz Israel

 

 

Shemini Atzeret was detailed in:

 

Vayikra (Leviticus) 23:34-44 “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month HaShem‘s Feast of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days. The first day is a sacred assembly; do no regular work. For seven days present offerings made to HaShem by fire, and on the eighth day hold a sacred assembly and present an offering made to HaShem by fire. It is the closing assembly; do no regular work. (“‘These are HaShem‘s appointed feasts, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies for bringing offerings made to HaShem by fire--the burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings required for each day. These offerings are in addition to those for HaShem‘s Sabbaths and in addition to your gifts and whatever you have vowed and all the freewill offerings you give to HaShem.) “‘So beginning with the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the crops of the land, celebrate the festival to HaShem for seven days; the first day is a day of rest, and the eighth day also is a day of rest. On the first day you are to take choice fruit from the trees, and palm fronds, leafy branches and poplars, and rejoice before HaShem your God for seven days. Celebrate this as a festival to HaShem for seven days each year. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come; celebrate it in the seventh month. Live in booths for seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in booths. So your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in booths when I brought them out of Egypt. I am HaShem your God.’” So Moses announced to the Israelites the appointed feasts of HaShem.

 

Shemini Atzeret means “Eighth Assembly” it is the Feast of Conclusion. Strong’s defines “Shemini” “Atzeret” as:

 

8066 shemiyniy, shem-ee-nee’; from 8083; eight:-eight.

6116 `atsarah, ats-aw-raw’; or `Atzereth, ats-eh’-reth; from 6113; an assembly, espc. on a festival or holiday:-(solemn) assembly (meeting).

 

Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks, is connected to Pesach, Passover, by the counting of the omer. Therefore, one of the names for Shavuot is Atzeret, assembly. Just as Pesach, a seven-day festival, has an Atzeret, so too does the only other seven-day festival, Succoth, also have an Atzeret, Shemini Atzeret. (I have illustrated the bi-modality of the calendar in a study titled:  RAINS.)

 

The Gemara, in Succah 48a, calls Atzeret a “holiday unto itself.” In fact, the only connection made between Succoth and Shemini Atzeret in the literature is for the purpose of making up for neglected haggiga offerings[114], which is also true for the day after Pesach too. For this reason, there is no obligation to take lulav and etrog, to sit in the Succah (except outside of Eretz Israel, where due to the uncertainty in the calendar, the two overlap).

 

In the Talmud, Shemini Atzeret is called Atzeret shel Chag, the Atzeret of Succoth, as opposed to Shavuot which is called Atzeret without a qualifier[115]. In fact, the Midrash[116] takes the effort to explain why Shemini Atzeret isn’t fifty days after Succoth, why it differs from Shavuot:

 

Midrash Rabbah - Shir HaShirim (Song of Songs) VII:4 Another explanation: HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THY FOOTSTEPS IN SANDALS (NE ‘ALIM): in two closings (ne’alim).[117] R. Hana b. Hanina said: It is as if two traders went into a town together, and one of them said to the other: ‘ If we both offer our wares together in the town, we will bring down the price. So do you offer yours one week, and I will offer mine the next.’ R. Hananiah the son of R. Ibi said: It is written here, HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THY FOOTSTEPS not in the sandal, but IN SANDALS. There are two closings: the closing of Passover and the closing of Tabernacles. Said the Holy One, blessed be He, to Israel: ‘You close before Me at Tabernacles, and I close before you at Passover. You close your work before Me at Tabernacles,[118] and I open the heavens and cause winds to blow and bring up clouds and make rain fall and cause the sun to shine and make plants grow and ripen produce, and provide each one of you with a table set out with his needs, and each body according to its requirements. And I close [the heavens] before you at Passover,[119] and you go out and reap and thresh and winnow and do all that is required in the field and find it rich in blessing.’ R. Yahoshua (Joshua) b. Levi said: By rights, the Eighth Day of Assembly should have followed Tabernacles after an interval of fifty days, as Pentecost follows Passover. But since at the Eighth Day of Assembly summer passes into autumn, the time is not suitable for travelling. [God was like] a king who had several married daughters, some living near by, while others were a long way away. One day they all came to visit their father the king. Said the king: ‘Those who are living near by are able to travel at any time. But those who live at a distance are not able to travel at any time. So while they are all here with me, let us make one feast for all of them and rejoice with them.’ So with regard to Pentecost, which comes when winter is passing into summer, God says, ‘The season is fit for travelling.’ But the Eighth day of Assembly comes when summer is passing into autumn, and the roads are dusty and hard for walking; hence it is not separated by an interval of fifty days. Said the Holy One, blessed be He: ‘These are not days for travelling; so while they are here, let us make of all of them one festival and rejoice.’ Therefore Moses admonishes Israel, saying to them, On the eighth day ye shall have a solemn assembly (Num. XXIX, 35). Thus we may say, HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THY FOOTSTEPS IN NE’ ALIM.

 

Similarly, Succoth is compared to Pesach, Passover. As we just said, both play the role as the precursor to an Atzeret. The fact that both are on the fifteenth of the month is no coincidence, numerous halachot are built upon that comparison.[120] Further, the mitzva of Succah and the mitzva of Matzah are compared (ibid). Just as matza is obligatory on the first night of Pesach, and for the rest of Pesach it’s only a restricted means of eating (one may eat baked goods only if they have not leavened), so too Succah, one is required to sit in it the first night, the rest of Succoth one must only sit in the Succah when one wants to eat.

 

In fact, the parallelism starts even earlier in the season. Yom Kippur is called by the Torah “Yom HaKippurim“, which is explained homiletically[121]; in the days of the Mashiach it will become a “Yom”, a day, “Ki”, like, “Purim“.

 

Thus, we find the Jewish year divided about two triads: one, Atzeret Yimay Tishuvah which climaxes at Yom Kippur, followed by Succoth and Shemini Atzeret; the other, Purim, Pesach and Shavuot. The first before the winter, the second in the beginning of spring.

 

Succoth is in celebration of divine sustenance. It is Z’man Simchateinu, a time to be happy with our lot. It is before winter, when we gather in the grain that will allow us to survive the upcoming months. It has a universal theme, that of HaShem feeding and sustaining the world.

 

It can only come after Yom Kippur. We have just been judged, “who will live and who will die ... who will be in famine, and who in drought ...” We are confident our prayers were accepted, and thus, we come to the Temple to celebrate our lot.

 

This progression culminates on Shemini Atzeret. It is a continuation of Yom Kippur, as we pray for rain in musaf. Tehillim 27, “Of David”, a prayer for aid in our repentance is added to the end prayer until Shemini Atzeret. It is also a culmination of our celebration of Succoth. We rejoice in the role our role as the upholders of the Torah in insuring the world’s existence. The seventieth musaf cow, the one corresponding to the B’nei Israel, is brought. We end and begin the torah, showing our continuing dedication to our responsibilities in exchange for this aid. We never pause at the completion of the Torah, we must go on, “for they [the words of the Torah] are our lives, and the length of our days.”

 

The sequence from preparation, to celebration, to culmination is also found in the other triad at the other extreme of the year.

 

We are the chosen nation only because we chose HaShem first[122]. After we celebrate the finalization of the acceptance of the Torah, we celebrate HaShem‘s relationship with us. He took us out of Egypt “to be for Him a treasured people and a holy nation.” The entire calendar is based upon the demand that Pesach be in the spring. Celebration of our birth as a nation can only be at the time of regeneration of nature.

 

This culminates with Shavuot. HaShem presents us with the Torah. This is the wedding feast between HaShem and Israel. HaShem only took the Children of Israel out of Egypt only to give them the Torah. Shavuot is the Atzeret of Pesach, without Shavuot, Pesach would lack meaning.

 

Only in this structure of the Jewish year, can we properly observe Shemini Atzeret. It is an Atzeret, a culmination. We end the season dedicated to the sustenance of the world. As opposed to Shavuot, a re-creation of the giving of the Torah, of HaShem and Israel, here we take pains to show that we are rejoicing in the continual nature of Torah and mitzvot. We are celebrating the Torah as a source of sustenance for us and the universe at large. For this reason, we celebrate the continuation of Torah study on the second day of Shemini Atzeret, Simchat Torah. It is only our continual study and observance of the Torah that perpetuates the universe’s existence.

 

What is the ‘Blessing of the King?’[123]

 
Rashi, in his commentary on the Talmud (Succah) explains:

 

“From the Tosefta we may derive that they blessed the King (of Israel), as it is said: ‘Shimini Atzeret has Blessing of its own - since it is written (on King Solomon) - On the eighth day he sent them home and they blessed the King (of Israel)” (Kings 1:8). And Abudarham concurs: “And he reads the Maftir from Kings: ‘When King Solomon finished (building the holy Temple) etc.’. And the reason for the reading from this particular Haftarah is because it is said in it ‘And on the eighth day he sent them away and they blessed the king”.

 

And Abudarham adds:

 

“And the reason for reading the Haftarah his because King Solomon blessed them on the eighth day of the holiday (Shimini Atzeret) as it is said ‘And he blessed the entire congregation of Israel’ (Kings 1:8-14). So from here we derive That the blessing which separates Shimini Atzeret from Succoth is indeed ‘The Blessing of the King of Israel’.

 

Meaning King of flesh and blood. That the reading of both the Haftarah and Vezot Habracha is related to the Blessing of the King. Moshe, who was the first King of Israel. And the Talmud says explicitly: “The last Yom Tov they read Kol Habchor, and they finish with Vezot Haberakhah, and then they read from the Haftarah, ‘And Solomon stood up and said’ etc. (Megilah 31) Hence the reading of the Torah, in Vezot Haberakhah, and the Haftarah (Kings 8:54-66) from Kings are inter-related and has nothing to do with Simchat Torah, the ending of the reading cycle, which is an historically ‘recent’ custom of ‘only’ one thousand years old, from the Geonim’s time. And the ‘Blessing of the Kings’ is responsible for the three readings on Succoth:

 

(1) Reading from Kings “And they gathered around King Solomon“, on the second day of Succoth.

 

(2) Reading: ‘And when Solomon finished praying‘, on the first day of Shimini Atzeret.

 

(3) Reading: ‘And Solomon stood up and said‘, On the second day of Shimini Atzeret.

 

Meaning: The events surrounding the Blessing of the King were so important that we repeat them no less then three times, one on Succoth and twice on Shimini Atzeret! What is in this particular story of King Solomon that is so important? Let us discuss first Kings chapter 8, and Divrei HaYamim (2 Chronicles), chapters 5-7.

 

The Special Hallel of Shemini Atzeret

But there is one more important component in the story of king Solomon and Shemini Atzeret. When the people saw that the gates were open, and the fire came down from heaven to consume, the first time, everything which was placed on he altar, they were filled with an extreme Simcha, joy, and they bowed, and prostrated on the floor of the Holy Temple, and sang, for the first time ever in the Tanach, the Hallel of David “Ki Leolam Chasdo”. Then they stood up, and the music instruments which David had made were playing, and they sang again the Hallel of David “Ki Leolam Chasdo”. This time not prostrating but standing. And here we encounter a new type of the Hallel. It is not said after a miracle of saving from the hands of the enemies, not as a Hallel which accompanies a mitzva, not as a song for the holiday, but as a thanksgiving song. For the general goodness of all the good which HaShem has done to Israel and to David. Moreover, that type of the Hallel was said while prostrated, and then while standing. Hence, the only Hallel which is equal to the Song of the day, where they prostrated themselves on the floor of the holy Temple, was on Shemini Atzeret.

 

So Shemini Atzeret is the “birthday’ of:

 

(1) The Holy Temple

 

(2) The Fire from heaven on the Altar, which burned, without interruption, for four hundreds years.

 

(3) The Kingship of the House of David.

 

(4) The Hallel of David, recited in a standing position and the Hallel of David which is recited in awe, happiness, and gratitude, in a prostrated position on the Temple floor. The Hallel of Shemini Atzeret is the ONLY Hallel which is recited in both a standing and in a prostrated position.

 

(5) The Love of HaShem for His people Israel, One nation united in Jerusalem.

 

(6) The first time we hear about the musical instruments made by David.

 

Significance

 

Although the word Atzeret means “Assembly” it also has the meaning of holding back. And our sages were unable to find any special purpose to the festival of the Eighth day except as expressed in the following parable:

 

HaShem is like a king who invites all his children to a feast to last for just so many days; when the time comes for them to depart, He says to them: “My children, I have a request to make of you. Stay yet another day; I hate to see you go.”

That the sages saw Shemini Atzeret in terms of “sweet sorrow”, is typical of their attitude to all festival days. These were days of joy, not of burden; of pleasure, not only of duty, in which they were guests in the palace of HaShem.

 

Customs

 

The Halakah prohibits labor on this festival. We are permitted to prepare the food that we eat on this festival, on the festival itself. These requirements are the same requirements as we have for all of the other festival Sabbaths.

 

We light the candles and say a blessing to usher in this festival.

 

We also say the Shehekiyanu blessing.

 

Kiddush is recited in the succah over a glass of wine.

 

On Shemini Atzeret we begin to add a sentence to the Amidah to praise HaShem for sending rain. We add: He causes the wind to blow and the rain to fall. This is still just a hint of asking for rain. We won’t get blunt in our request for rain until the seventh of Heshvan.

 

Yiskor, the memorial prayer for the dead, is recited, just as it is on the last day of a festival. This day is, therefore, also considered the last day of Succoth.

 

The festival of Shemini Atzeret does not have special rituals as do the other festivals, except for one: Extraordinary simcha.[124] The mitzva of simcha on this day is ordained by the Torah in the verse “you shall be only joyful”.[125]

 

Commentators note that this verse is not only a precept but also a promise: “if you will fulfill the mitzva of simcha, you are assured that you will be joyful forever.”

 

The following events all took place during Shemini Atzeret:

 

22nd

 Shimini Atzeret The Eighth day, Sabbath, Simchat Torah. Solemn assembly. Vayikra (Leviticus) 23:34, Bamidbar (Numbers) 29:33

 Solomon dismisses the people at the end of the Temple dedication ceremony 1 Melakim (Kings) 8:66

 Yeshua is circumcised. Luqas (Luke) 2:21

 Yeshua begins His ministry. (Yeshua is 30 years old - Luqas (Luke) 3:23). Luqas (Luke) 3:23

 Yeshua is transfigured before Tzefet (Peter), Yochanan (John), and Yaaqov (James). Tzefet (Peter) wants to build 3 succoth. Luqas (Luke) 9:28-36

 

 23rd

 Rebecca’s nurse, Deborah, dies. Book of Jubilees

 Moses waged war on Og. Tanhuma, Hukkat 24

 Solomon sends the people home, with joyful and glad hearts. II Divrei HaYamim (Chronicles) 7:10

 Yeshua rebukes a demon in a boy and heals him. Luqas (Luke) 9:37-45

 Adulteress brought to Yeshua. He says, “let him who is without sin cast the first stone”. Yochanan (John) 7:27 - 8:11

 Yeshua spends the night on the Mount of Olives. Yochanan (John) 7:37-53

 The disciples debate “who will be the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.” Luqas (Luke) 9:44-48

 

Insights on the Month of Tishrei

By Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh

 

A Chassidic Meditation for the High Holidays, the Festival of Succoth, Shemini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah.

 

The first two days of the month of Tishrei are Rosh HaShanah, the New Year, literally “the head of the year.” According to Kabbalah, there are two spiritual levels that are called “head.”

 

The first, higher “head“ is the highest sefirah (Divine emanation), the supernal crown (keter), whose physical image in the Kabbalah is the skull, situated above and encompassing the brain. Spiritually, it corresponds to the power of will. On this first day of Rosh HaShanah, we “crown” G-d, our King, by nullifying our will to His will.

 

The second “head“ is the next sefirah, wisdom (chachmah), or more specifically, the origin of wisdom within the crown itself, which “shoots” its “arrows”—flashes—of insight to the revealed, conscious wisdom of the mind. On the second day of Rosh HaShanah, we continue the service of the previous day, but with the special emphasis of nullifying our “thoughts” to G-d’s “thoughts” (by “remembering” Him, for which reason Rosh HaShanah is called “the Day of Remembrance”, He remembers us and we remember Him).

 

The two levels of “head“—”crown” and “wisdom”—are considered one, for in the secret of HaShem‘s essential Name (the Tetragrammaton), they correspond to the yud (wisdom) and the upper tip of the yud: both levels are united in the first letter (the “head“) of HaShem‘s Name. (This is why, with regard to certain aspects of Jewish law, the two days of Rosh HaShanah are considered one “long” day.)

 

Even though “crown” is the highest sefirah, it possesses an inner dimension, which corresponds to the super-rational pleasure that motivates will. On Yom Kippur, this inner dimension of the “crown” reveals itself in the third sefirah, “understanding” (binah), which corresponds to the second letter of HaShem‘s Name, the first hei. In Kabbalah, binah is associated with the image of the “mother” who “cleanses” her “children” (the emotions, as we will presently explain) from their impurities. On this day, we cleanse our consciousness of all “impurity“ by “returning” to HaShem (“returning,” in general, corresponds to the property of “mother,” as explained in the Zohar), and dedicate our lives to His service and the fulfillment of His purpose in Creation.

 

The seven days of the festival of Succoth correspond to the next seven sefirot, the attributes of the heart: the six emotions of love (chesed), fear (gevurah), mercy (tiferet), trust (netzach), sincerity (hod), devotion (yesod); and the origin of humility (malchut) within one‘s devotion to HaShem. We are taught by the Arizal that, the seven components of the four species we “shake” on Succoth (the three myrtle branches, the two willow branches, the lulav itself and the etrog), correspond to these emotions of the heart. These seven levels—days—are all included in the secret of the third letter of HaShem‘s Name, the vav. In our Divine service, these are days to radiate the light of joy (in the liturgy, Succoth is called “the time of our joy”) into each of the emotions of our hearts.

 

On the eighth day, Shemini Atzeret, we “absorb” (become “pregnant” with) all of the lights that shone throughout the month of Tishrei. This is the secret of our prayers for rain, to permeate and fertilize the earth, on this day. This corresponds to the final sefirah, malchut, which corresponds to the fourth letter of HaShem‘s Name, the final hei. In Kabbalah, malchut is associated with the image of the “bride,” whose marriage to her “groom” is consummated on this day. The service of Shemini Atzeret is to “open” ourselves in full, in humility (malchut), to bring the Divine influx of light and energy into our beings.

 

Simchat Torah (part of the eighth day in Israel; the ninth day in the Diaspora) is the secret of the statement of Sefer Yetzirah, “the end is enwedged in the beginning.”

 

Sefer Yitzirah 3:1 Ten Sefirot out of nothing. Stop your mouth from speaking, stop your heart from thinking, and if your heart runs (to think) return to a place of which it is said “they ran and returned”; and concerning this thing the covenant was made; and they are ten in extent beyond limit. Their end is infused with their beginning, and their beginning with their end like a flame attached to a glowing ember. Know, think [reflect, meditate] and imagine that the Creator is One and there is nothing apart from Him, and before One what do you count?

 

Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:

 

For this reason, we conclude the reading of the Torah and begin it anew on this day. Malchut returns to keter, at its most sublime level of simple, absolute faith (above even the pleasure within will, the inner dimension of keter, as explained above with regard to Yom Kippur). On Simchat Torah, we dance round and round, endlessly, with the Torah scroll. This highest level of keter is mirrored in our focus on the experience of our dancing feet, the lowest level of our bodies. In simple faith, there is no beginning and no end; all is absolutely one.

 

May it be HaShem‘s will that we be privileged to experience all the revelations described above, and may we all be blessed with a good and sweet year, in all things material and spiritual, culminating in the revelation of Mashiach and the true and ultimate redemption for the whole world.

 

Summary Chart

 

 

Amen ve Amen!

 

Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David

Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham

 

Edited by Paqid Ezra ben Abraham.

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