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

Three and 1/2 year Lectionary Readings	Fourth Year of the Reading Cycle
Tammuz 17, 5772 – July 06/07, 2012	Fourth Year of the Shmita Cycle

Candle Lighting and Habdalah Times:

Conroe & Austin, TX, U.S. Fri. July 06 2012 – Candles at 8:18 PM Sat. July 07 2012 – Habdalah 9:17 PM	Brisbane, Australia Fri. July 06 2012 – Candles at 4:49 PM Sat. July 07 2012 – Habdalah 5:45 PM	Bucharest, Romania Fri. July 06 2012 – Candles at 8:4 PM Sat. July 07 2012 – Habdalah 9:57 PM
Chattanooga, & Cleveland, TN, U.S. Fri. July 06 2012 – Candles at 8:41 PM Sat. July 07 2012 – Habdalah 9:43 PM	Jakarta, Indonesia Fri. July 06 2012 – Candles at 5:33 PM Sat. July 07 2012 – Habdalah 6:25 PM	Manila & Cebu, Philippines Fri. July 06 2012 – Candles at 6:11 PM Sat. July 07 2012 – Habdalah 7:04 PM
Miami, FL, U.S. Fri. July 06 2012 – Candles at 7:58 PM Sat. July 07 2012 – Habdalah 8:54 PM	Olympia, WA, U.S. Fri. July 06 2012 – Candles at 8:50 PM Sat. July 07 2012 – Habdalah 10:08 PM	Murray, KY, & Paris, TN. U.S. Fri. July 06 2012 – Candles at 7:55 PM Sat. July 07 2012 – Habdalah 9:03 PM
Sheboygan & Manitowoc, WI, US Fri. July 06 2012 – Candles at 8:17 PM Sat. July 07 2012 – Habdalah 9:29 PM	Singapore, Singapore Fri. July 06 2012 – Candles at 6:57 PM Sat. July 07 2012 – Habdalah 7:48 PM	St. Louis, MO, U.S. Fri. July 06 2012 – Candles at 8:10 PM Sat. July 07 2012 – Habdalah 9:15 PM

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

Roll of Honor:

This Torah commentary comes to you courtesy of:

His Honor Rosh Paqid Adon Hillel ben David and beloved wife HH Giberet Batsheva bat Sarah

His Honor Paqid Adon Mikha ben Hillel

His Honor Paqid Adon David ben Abraham

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 Ezra ben Abraham and beloved wife HE Giberet Karmela bat Sarah,

His Excellency Dr. Adon Yeshayahu ben Yosef and beloved wife HE Giberet Tricia Foster

His Excellency Adon Yisrael ben Abraham and beloved wife HE Giberet Elisheba bat Sarah

His Excellency Adon Eliyahu ben Abraham and beloved wife HE Giberet Vardit bat Sarah

Her Excellency Giberet Laurie Taylor

His Honor Paqid Dr. Adon Eliyahu ben Abraham and beloved wife HH Giberet Dr. Elisheba bat Sarah

Her Excellency Prof. Dr. Conny Williams & beloved family

Her Excellency Giberet Gloria Sutton & beloved family

His Excellency Adon Albert Carlsson and beloved wife Giberet Lorraine Carlsson

For their regular and sacrificial giving, providing the best oil for the lamps, we pray that G-d’s richest blessings be upon their lives and those of their loved ones, together with all Yisrael 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.

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Sabbath: “VayaVou Sh’nei HaMal’akhim”

“And came the two angels”

Shabbat	Torah Reading:	Weekday Torah Reading:
וַיָּבֹאוּ שְׁנֵי הַמַּלְאָכִים
“VayaVou Sh’nei HaMal’akhim”	Reader 1 – B’resheet 19:1-9	Reader 1 – B’resheet 21:1-3
“And came the two angels”	Reader 2 – B’resheet 19:10-17	Reader 2 – B’resheet 21:4-6
“Y llegaron, los dos ángeles”	Reader 3 – B’resheet 19:18-23	Reader 3 – B’resheet 21:7-9
B’resheet (Gen.) Gen. 19:1 – 20:18	Reader 4 – B’resheet 19:24-30
Ashlamatah: Judges 19:16-24 + 20:27	Reader 5 – B’resheet 19:31-38
	Reader 6 – B’resheet 20:1-9	Reader 1 – B’resheet 21:1-3
Psalms 14:1-7	Reader 7 – B’resheet 20:10-18	Reader 2 – B’resheet 21:4-6
	Maftir – B’resheet 20:15-18	Reader 3 – B’resheet 21:7-9
N.C.: Mark 2:1-12 Luke 5:17-26 & Acts 4:23-31	Judges 19:16-24 + 20:27

Blessing Before Torah Study

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Contents of the Torah Seder

· The Angels, Sodom and Lot – Genesis 19:1-38

· Abimelech – Genesis 20:1-18

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan

for: B’resheet 19:1 – 20:18

Rashi’s Translation	Targum Pseudo Jonathan
1. And the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom, and Lot saw and arose toward them, and he prostrated himself on his face to the ground.	1. Two angels came to Sedom at the evening; and Lot sat in the gate of Sedom. And Lot saw, and rose up to meet them from the gate of the tabernacle. And he bowed his face to the ground, JERUSALEM: And Lot sat in the gate of Sedom, and he saw them, and ran and saluted them, and bowed with his face to the ground.
2. And he said, "Behold now my lords, please turn to your servant's house and stay overnight and wash your feet, and you shall arise early and go on your way." And they said, "No, but we will stay overnight in the street."	2. and said, I beg now, my lords, turn now hither, and enter the house of your servant, and lodge, and wash your feet; and you will arise and proceed on your way. And they said to him, No; for in the street we will lodge. JERUSALEM: And wash your feet, and wash you in the morning, and go to your tents in peace. And they said to him, No; for in the open place of the city we will lodge.
3. And he urged them strongly, and they turned in to him, and came into his house, and he made them a feast, and he baked unleavened cakes, and they ate.	3. And he persuaded them earnestly, and they turned aside to be with him; and they entered his house, and he made a repast for them, and prepared unleavened cakes. And it seemed to him as if they did eat. JERUSALEM: And it appeared as if they ate and drank.
4. When they had not yet retired, and the people of the city, the people of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, the entire populace from every end[of the city].	4. They had not yet lain down, when the wicked men of the city, the men of Sedom, came round upon the house, from the youth to the old man, all the people throughout.
5. And they called to Lot and said to him, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, and let us be intimate with them."	5. And they cried to Lot, and said to him, Where are the men who entered with you tonight? Bring them out to us, and we will lie with them.
6. And Lot came out to them to the entrance, and he shut the door behind him.	6. And Lot went out to them to the gate, and shut the door after him.
7. And he said, "My brethren, please do not do evil.	7. And he said, I pray, my brethren, do not thus wickedly. JERUSALEM: And Lot said to them, Wait here a little, till we have besought mercy before the LORD.
8. Behold now I have two daughters who were not intimate with a man. I will bring them out to you, and do to them as you see fit; only to these men do nothing, because they have come under the shadow of my roof."	8. Behold, now, I have two daughters who have had no dealing with a man; I would now bring even them out to you to do to them as is meet before you, rather than you should do evil to these men, because they have entered in to lodge under the shadow of my roof. JERUSALEM: Who have not known dealing with man.
9. But they said, "Back away." And they said, "This one came to sojourn, and he is judging! Now, we will deal even worse with you than with them." And they pressed hard upon the man Lot, and they drew near to break the door.	9. And they said, Give up this. And they said, Did not this come alone to sojourn among us and, behold, he is making himself a judge, and judging the whole of us? But now we will do worse to you than to them. And they prevailed against the man, against Lot, greatly, and came near, to shatter the door.
10. And the men stretched forth their hands, and they brought Lot to them to the house, and they shut the door.	10. And the Men stretched forth their hands, and brought Lot unto them in the house, and shut the door.
11. And the men who were at the entrance of the house they struck with blindness, both small and great, and they toiled in vain to find the entrance.	11. But the men who were at the gate of the house they struck with a suffusion of the eyes, from the young to the old, and they wearied themselves to find the gate. JERUSALEM: With blindness.
12. And the men said to Lot, "Whom else do you have here? A son-in-law, your sons, and your daughters, and whomever you have in the city, take out of the place.	12. And the Men said to Lot, Have you yet in this city kinsman or brother? Your sons-in-law, your sons and your daughters, take forth from the place;
13. For we are destroying this place, because their cry has become great before the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it."	13. for we are about to destroy this place, for the cry of it before the LORD is great, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it.
14. So Lot went forth and spoke to his sons-in-law, the suitors of his daughters, and he said, "Arise, go forth from this place, for the Lord is destroying the city," but he seemed like a comedian in the eyes of his sons-in-law.	14. And Lot went forth, and spoke with his sons-in-law who had taken his daughters, and said, Arise, come forth from this place; for the LORD destroys the city. But the word was as a wonder, (and he) as a man ranting, in the eyes of his sons-in-law.
15. And as the dawn rose, the angels pressed Lot, saying, "Get up, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you perish because of the iniquity of the city."	15. And at the time that the morning was about to rise, the angels were urgent upon Lot, saying, Up, take your wife and your two daughters who are with you, lest you perish in the condemnation of the inhabitants of the city. JERUSALEM: And it was at the time of the upcoming of the column of the morning.
16. But he tarried, and the men took hold of his hand and his wife's hand, and the hand of his two daughters, out of the Lord's pity for him, and they took him out and placed him outside the city.	16. But he delayed: and the men laid hold on his hand, and on the hand of his wife, and on the hand of his two daughters, for mercy from the LORD was upon them. And they brought them forth, and set them without the city.
17. And it came to pass, when they took them outside, that he said, "Flee for your life, do not look behind you, and do not stand in the entire plain. Flee to the mountain, lest you perish."	17. And it was that as they led them without, one of them returned into Sedom, to destroy it; and one remained with Lot, and said to him, Be merciful to your life; look not behind you, and stand not in all the plain; to the mountain escape, or you perish.
18. And Lot said to them, "Please, do not, 0 Lord.	18. And Lot said to him, I beseech of you endure with me a little hour, until I have prayed for mercy from before the LORD. Be steadfast here a little with us until I have besought mercy before the LORD.
19. Behold now, Your servant has found favor in Your eyes, and You have increased Your kindness, which You have done with me, to sustain my soul. But I cannot flee to the mountain, lest the evil overtake me, and I die.	19. Behold, now, your servant has found mercy before You, and You have multiplied the kindness You have done me in saving my life, and I am not able to escape to the mountain, lest evil overtake me, and I die.
20. Behold now, this city is near to flee there, and it is small. Let me please flee there. Is it not small? And my soul will survive."	20. Behold, now, I pray, this city, it is a near habitation, and convenient (for us) to escape thither; and it is small, and the guilt thereof light. I will flee thither, then. Is it not a little one? and my life will be preserved.
21. And he said to him, "Behold I have favored you also as regards this matter, that I will not overturn the city that you have mentioned.	21. And He said, Behold, I have accepted you in this matter also, that I will not overthrow the city for which you have spoken, to destroy it, that you may escape to it.
22. Hasten, flee there, for I will not be able to do anything until you arrive there." Therefore, he named the city Zoar.	22. Hasten and flee thither: for I cannot do anything till you have entered there. Therefore he called the name of the city Zoar.
23. The sun came out upon the earth, and Lot came to Zoar.	23. The sun had passed the sea, and come forth upon the earth, at the end of three hours, and Lot entered into Zoar.
24. And the Lord caused to rain down upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire, from the Lord, from heaven.	24. And the Word of the LORD had caused showers of favour to descend upon Sedom and Amorah, to the intent that they might work repentance, but they did not: so that they said, Wickedness is not manifest before the LORD. Behold, then, there are now sent down upon them sulphur and fire from before the Word of the LORD from Heaven. JERUSALEM: And the Word of the LORD Himself had made to descend upon the people of Sedom and Amorah showers of favour, that they might work repentance from their wicked works. But when they saw the showers of favour, they said, So, our wicked works are not manifest before Him. He turned (then), and caused to descend upon them bitumen and fire from before the LORD from the heavens.
25. And He turned over these cities and the entire plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and the vegetation of the ground.	25. And He overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and the herbage of the earth.
26. And his wife looked from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.	26. And his wife looked after the angel, to know what would be in the end of her father's house, for she was of the daughters of the Sedomites; and because she sinned by salt (bemilcha) she was manifestly punished; behold, she was made a statue of salt. JERUSALEM: And because the wife of Lot was of the children of the people of Sedom, she looked behind her, to see what would be the end of her father's house: and, behold, she was made to stand a statue of salt, until the time of the resurrection will come, when the dead will arise.
27. And Abraham arose early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord.	27. And Abraham arose in the morning (and went) to the place where he had ministered in prayer before the LORD.
28. And he looked over the face of Sodom and Gomorrah and over the entire face of the land of the plain, and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the earth had risen like the smoke of a furnace.	28. And he looked towards Sedom and Amorah, and all the land of the plain, and saw, and, behold, the smoke of the land went up as the smoke of a furnace.
29. And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and He sent Lot out of the midst of the destruction when He overturned the cities in which Lot had dwelt.	29. And it was when the LORD destroyed the cities of the plain, that He remembered the righteousness/ generosity of Abraham, and sent forth Lot from the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities wherein Lot had dwelt.
30. And Lot went up from Zoar, and he dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters were with him, for he was afraid to dwell in Zoar; so he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.	30. And Lot went up from Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; because he feared to reside in Zoar. And he dwelt in a cavern, he and his two daughters.
31. And the elder said to the younger, "Our father is old, and there is no man on earth to come upon us, as is the custom of all the earth.	31. And the elder said to the younger, Our father is old, and there is no man in the land to come to us after the way of the whole earth: JERUSALEM: And there is not a man in the land who may come with us after the law of all the earth:
32. Come, let us give our father wine to drink, and let us lie with him, and let us bring to life seed from our father."	32. come, let us make our father drink wine, and when he is drunk we will lie with him, and raise up sons from our father.
33. And they gave their father wine to drink on that night, and the elder came and lay with her father, and he did not know of her lying down or of her rising up.	33. And they made their father drink wine that night, and he was drunk. And the elder arose, and lay with her father, nor did he know when she lay down, nor when she arose.
34. And it came to pass on the morrow, that the elder said to the younger, "Behold, last night I lay with my father. Let us give him wine to drink tonight too, and come, lie with him, and let us bring to life seed from our father."	34. And it was the day following, and the elder said to the younger, Behold, now, I lay last evening with our father; let us make him drink wine this night also, that he may be drunk; and you go and lie with him, that we may raise up sons from our father.
35. So they gave their father to drink on that night also, and the younger arose and lay with him, and he did not know of her lying down or of her rising up.	35. And they made their father drink wine that night also, and he was drunk, and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he knew not in her lying down nor in her rising up.
36. And Lot's two daughters conceived from their father.	36. And the two daughters of Lot became with child by their father.
37. And the elder bore a son, and she named him Moab; he is the father of Moab until this day.	37. And the elder brought forth a son, and she called his name Moab, because from her father she had conceived. He is the father of the Moabites unto this day.
38. And the younger, she too bore a son, and she named him Ben-ami; he is the father of the children of Ammon until this day.	38. And the younger also brought forth a son, and she called his name Bar-Ammi, because he was the son of her father. He is the father of the Ammonite people unto this day.
1. And Abraham traveled from there to the land of the south, and he dwelt between Kadesh and between Shur, and he sojourned in Gerar.	1. And Abraham went on from thence to the land of the south, and dwelt between Rekam and Chagra, and had his habitation in Gerar.
2. And Abraham said about Sarah his wife, "She is my sister," and Abimelech the king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.	2. And Abraham said concerning Sarah his wife, She is my sister. And Abimelek, king of Gerar, sent and took Sarah. JERUSALEM: King of Arad.
3. And God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and He said to him, "Behold you are going to die because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a married woman."	3. And a word came from before the LORD unto Abimelek, in a dream of the night, and said to him, Behold, you die, because of the woman whom you have carried away, and she is a man's wife.
4. And Abimelech had not come near to her, and he said, "O Lord, will You kill even a righteous nation?	4. But Abimelek had not come near to defile her; and he said, LORD, will the son of a people who have not sinned, and whom it is right to absolve in the judgment, be killed?
5. Did he not say to me, 'She is my sister'? And she, even she said, 'He is my brother.' With the innocence of my heart and with the purity of my hands have I done this."	5. Did he not tell me, She is my sister? And did not she also say, He is my brother? In the truthfulness of my heart and the innocence of my hands have I done this.
6. And God said to him in a dream, "I too know that you did this with the innocence of your heart, and I too have withheld you from sinning to Me; therefore, I did not let you touch her.	6. And the Word of the LORD said to him in a dream, Before Me also it is manifest that in the truthfulness of your heart you did this, and so I restrained you from sinning before Me; therefore I would not permit you to come near her.
7. And now, return the man's wife, because he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and [you will] live; but if you do not return [her], know that you will surely die, you and all that is yours."	7. And now let the wife of the man return; for he is a prophet; he will pray for you, and you will live: but if you will not let her return, know that dying you will die, you and all who are yours.
8. And Abimelech arose early in the morning, and he summoned all his servants, and he spoke all these words in their ears; and the men were very frightened.	8. And Abimelek arose in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these words before them; and the men feared greatly.
9. And Abimelech summoned Abraham and said to him, "What have you done to us, and what have I sinned against you, that you have brought upon me and upon my kingdom a great sin? Deeds that are not done, you have done to me."	9. And Abimelek called Abraham, and said, What have you done to us? And in what have I sinned against you? For you have brought upon me and upon my kingdom a great sin. You have wrought with me works that are not right.
10. And Abimelech said to Abraham, "What did you see, that you did this thing?"	10. And Abimelek said to Abraham, What have you seen, that you did this thing?
11. And Abraham said, "For I said, 'Surely, there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.	11. And Abraham said, Because I said in my heart, The fear of the LORD is not in this place, and they will kill me for the sake of my wife.
12. And also, indeed, she is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife.	12. But in truth she is my sister, the daughter of my father's brother, but not of the kindred of my mother; and she became my wife.
13. And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father's house, that I said to her: This is your kindness, which you shall do with me: whither we come, say about me, 'He is my brother.'"	13. And it was when they sought to turn me aside to the worship of idols, and I went forth from my father's house, that I said to her, This is the kindness you will do me: in every place to which we come, say concerning me, He is my brother.
14. And Abimelech took flocks and cattle and menservants and maidservants, and he gave [them] to Abraham, and he restored to him his wife Sarah.	14. And Abimelek took sheep, and restored Sarah his wife to him.
15. And Abimelech said, "Here is my land before you; wherever it pleases you, you may dwell."	15. And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before you; and wherever is right in your eyes, dwell.
16. And to Sarah he said, "Behold I have given a thousand pieces of silver to your brother; behold it is to you a covering of the eyes for all who are with you, and with all you shall contend."	16. And to Sarah he said, Behold, I have given a thousand sileen of silver to your brother; behold, they are to you a veil of the eyes, inasmuch as you were hidden from your husband one night, and I would have seen you: for were I to give all that I have it would not suffice (or be proportionate). And the words were debated. And Abraham knew that Abimelek had not come near Sarah his wife. JERUSALEM: And to Sarah he said, Behold, I have given a thousand sileen of silver to your brother; behold, that silver is given to you as a present, because you were hidden from the eyes of Abraham your husband one night: and of all that I have, for on behalf of all I am corrected, behold, were I to give all whatever I have, it would not suffice. Let the words be approved, and may Abraham the Just learn that I have not known you.
17. And Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his handmaids, and they gave birth.	17. And Abraham prayed before the LORD, and the LORD cured Abimelech and his wife and his handmaids and they bore children.
18. For the Lord had shut every womb of Abimelech's household, because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.	18. Because the LORD had indeed locked up completely every opening of the womb in the house of Abimelech, on account of Sarah, Abraham’s wife. JERUSALEM: Closing had closed.

Welcome to the World of P’shat Exegesis

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

The Seven Hermeneutic Laws of R. Hillel are as follows

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reading Assignment:

The Torah Anthology: Yalkut Me’Am Lo’Ez - Vol II: The Patriarchs

By: Rabbi Yaaqov Culi, Translated by: Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan

Published by: Moznaim Publishing Corp. (New York, 1988)

Vol. 2 – “The Patriarchs,” pp. 220-273

Rashi’s Commentary for: B’resheet (Genesis) 19:1 – 20:18

the...angels But elsewhere (18:2) Scripture calls them men! When the Shechinah was with them, it calls them men. Another explanation: In connection with Abraham, whose power was great, and the angels were as frequently with him as men, it calls them men, but in connection with Lot, it calls them angels.-[from Gen. Rabbah 52; Tan. Buber, Vayera 20]

in the evening Now did the angels tarry so long from Hebron to Sodom? But they were angels of mercy, and they were waiting, perhaps Abraham would succeed in his defense for them [the cities].-[from Gen. Rabbah 50: 1]

and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom [The word יֽשֵׁב is written without a “vav” so that it can be read יָשַׁב “he sat,” in the past tense]. On that very day, they had appointed him judge over them.-[from Gen. Rabbah 50:3]

and Lot saw From Abraham’s house he learned to look for wayfarers.-[from Tan. Buber, Vayera 15]

2 Behold now, my lords -”Behold you are now lords to me since you have passed beside me.” Another explanation: “Behold now you must pay heed to these wicked men, that they should not recognize you,” and this is sound advice.

please turn Take a circuitous path to my house, in a roundabout way, that they should not recognize that you are entering there. That is why it says: “turn.” (Gen. Rabbah 50:4).

and stay overnight and wash your feet Now is it customary for people to first stay overnight and afterwards to wash? Moreover, Abraham said to them first, “and wash your feet!” But so did Lot say (i.e., he reasoned), “If, when the people of Sodom come, they will see that they have already washed their feet, they will invent false accusations against me and say, ‘Two or three days have already passed since they came to your house, and you did not let us know!’” Therefore, he said, “It is better that they remain here with the dust on their feet, so that they should appear as though they had just arrived now.” Therefore he said, “Stay overnight” first and afterwards, “wash.”-[from Gen. Rabbah 50:4]

And they said, “No...” But to Abraham they said, “So shall you do...” From here [we learn] that one may refuse an offer by a person of lesser importance, but should not refuse an offer by a great man (Gen. Rabbah 50:4).

but we will stay overnight in the street Heb. כִּי . This כִּי is used to mean “but,” for they said, “We will not turn in to your house, but we will stay overnight in the street of the city.”

3 and they turned in to him They took a circuitous path toward his house.-[from Gen. Rabbah 50:4]

and he baked unleavened cakes It was Passover.

4 When they had not yet retired, the people of the city, the people of Sodom It is interpreted in Gen. Rabbah (50:5) as follows: When they had not yet retired, the people of the city were the topic of conversation of the angels, for they were asking Lot about their character and their deeds, and he told them that most of them were wicked. While they were still speaking about them, “And the people of the city,” etc. The simple meaning of the verse, however, is: “and the people of the city, people of wickedness, surrounded the house.” Because they were wicked, they are called people of Sodom, as Scripture states (above 13:13): “And the people of Sodom were very evil and sinful...”

the entire populace from every end From one end of the city to the other, for not one of them protested, because there was not even one righteous man among them.-[from Gen. Rabbah 50:5]

5 and let us be intimate with them homosexually, as in (verse 8): “who were not intimate with a man.”-[from Gen. Rabbah 55:5]

8 these Heb. הָאֵל , like הָאֵלָה [from Targumim]

because they have come Heb. כִּי עַל כֵּן . Do this favor in my honor because they have come into the shade of my roof [lit. my beam]. The Targum renders: בִּטְלֵל שָׁרִיתִי in the shade of my beam. The Targum of קוֹרָה , beam, is שָׁרוּתָה .

9 But they said, “Back away.” Heb. הָלְאָה גֶשׁ , “Get yourself away over there”; i.e., “Draw near to the sides and distance yourself from us.” And similarly every [instance of] הָלְאָה in Scripture is an expression of distancing, as in (Num. 17:2): “Scatter away (הָלְאָה) ”; (I Sam. 20:22, 37): “Behold the arrows are beyond you (וָהָלְאָה) .” Thus, גָשׁ הָלְאָה , means: “Back away,” in Old French: trete de nos, go away from us. This is a word of rebuke, as if to say. “We don’t care about you,” and similar to it is (Isa. 65:5): “Keep (קְרַב) to yourself; do not come near me”; and so (ibid. 49:20): “Move aside (גְָּשָׁה) so that I may dwell,” meaning, “Draw aside for my sake so that I will dwell beside you.” [The Sodomites were saying as follows]: “You intercede for the wayfarers? How dare you?!” In response to what he said to them about his daughters, they said to him, “Go away,” a mild expression, but in response to what he said in defense of the wayfarers, they said, “This one has come to sojourn.” You are the only stranger among us, for you have come to sojourn here, “and he is judging,” [meaning] and you have become our chastiser!?

the door Heb. הַדֶלֶת . The door, which swings to lock and to open.

11 the entrance That is the space through which they enter and exit.

with blindness Heb. בַָּסַנְוֵרִים , a plague of blindness.-[from Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer, ch. 25]

both small and great -(Gen. Rabbah 50:8) The young ones started to sin first, as it is said (above verse 4): “both young and old”; therefore, the punishment began with them.

12 Whom else do you have here? The simple meaning of the verse is: Whom else do you have in this city besides your wife and your daughters who are at home?-

A son-in-law, your sons, and your daughters If you have a son-in-law or sons and daughters, take them out of this place.

your sons The sons of your married daughters. According to the Midrash Aggadah (Gen. Rabbah 50:5) the interpretation of עֽד is: “Still, after they have committed such a disgraceful deed, do you still have an excuse to defend them?” For the whole night he [Lot] was speaking in their favor. This may be read: עֽד מִי לְךָ פֶּה : Do you still have a mouth? (i.e., Do you still have anything to say to justify them?)

14 his sons-in-law He had two married daughters in the city.

the suitors of his daughters to whom those in the house were betrothed.-[from Gen. Rabbah 50:9]

15 pressed Heb. וַיָאִיצוּ , as the Targum renders: “and they pressed” [meaning] “they rushed him.”

who are here who are ready at hand in the house for you to save them. There is also a midrashic explanation, but this is the proper way to explain the verse.

perish You will be destroyed. [The verse] “until all the generation expires” (Deut. 2:14) is rendered by Targum as, “until the entire generation perished.”

16 But he tarried in order to save his possessions.-[from Gen. Rabbah 50:11]

took hold Heb. וַיַחֲזִיקוּ [in the plural form] (Gen. Rabbah 50:11). One of them was an emissary to save him and his companion was to overturn Sodom; therefore, it is stated: “and he said: Flee...,” and it is not stated, “and they said.”

17 Flee for your life Let it suffice for you to save lives. Do not worry about possessions.-[from Tosefta Sanh. 14:1]

do not look behind you You dealt wickedly together with them, but in Abraham’s merit you are saved. You do not deserve to see their punishment while you are being saved.-[from obscure midrashic source]

in the entire plain the plain of the Jordan.

Flee to the mountain Flee to Abraham, who dwells on the mountain, as it is said (above 12:8): “And he moved from there to the mountain.” And even now, he was dwelling there, as it is said (above 13:3): “until the place where his tent had previously been.” And although it says (ibid. verse 18): “And Abram pitched his tents, etc.,” he had many tents, and they extended until Hebron.

Flee Heb. הִמָלֵט . An expression of slipping away, and so is every [instance of] הַמְלָטָה in Scripture, asmuzer in Old French, to escape, slip away. And so (Isa. 66:7): “She delivered (וְהִמְלִיטָה) a male child,” meaning that the fetus was released from the womb; (Ps. 124:7): “escaped (נִמְלְטָה) like a bird”; (Isa. 46:2): “they could not deliver (מַלֵט) the burden” i.e., to release the burden of the excrement in their orifices.

18 “Please do not, O Lord.” Our Sages said (Shev. 35b) that this name is holy (referring to God), because it is stated in its context (verse 19): “to sustain my soul,” referring to He Who has the power to cause to die and to cause to live. And the Targum [similarly] renders: Please now, my Lord.

Please, do not Do not tell me to flee to the mountain.

Please Heb. נָא , an expression of request.

19 lest the evil overtake me When I was among the people of Sodom, the Holy One, blessed be He, saw my deeds and the deeds of the people of the city, and I appeared righteous and worthy of being saved. But when I shall come alongside a righteous/generous man, I will be considered a wicked man. And so did the woman of Zarephath say to Elijah (I Kings 17:18): “Have you come to me to cause my sins to be remembered?” Before you came to me, the Holy One, blessed be He, would see my deeds and the deeds of my people, and I was a righteous/generous woman among them, but since you have come to me, compared to your deeds, I am wicked.-[from Gen. Rabbah 50:11]

20 this city is near -(Shab. ch. 1, 10b) Its settlement is near [in time], meaning that it was recently settled. Therefore, its measure is not yet full. And how recently was it settled? From the Generation of the Dispersion, when the people commenced to disperse, and they started to settle, each one in his place, and that took place in the year of Peleg’s death. And from then until now, there were 52 years, for Peleg died when Abraham was 48 years old. How so? Peleg lived after he had begotten Reu, 209 years (above 11:19). Subtract from them 32 [years] when Serug was born, and 30 years from [the birth of] Serug until Nahor was born, totaling 62 years. And from [the birth of] Nahor until Terah was born were 29 years, totaling 91 years. And from then until Abraham was born were 70 years, totaling 161 years. Add 48 years to them, and the total is 209 years, and that was the year of the Dispersion. (See above 10:25). When Sodom was destroyed, Abraham was 99 years old. Hence, from the Generation of the Dispersion until now were 52 years. The settlement of Zoar took place after the settlement of Sodom and its companions by one year. That is the meaning of “Let me please (נָא) flee there.” נא has the numerical value of 51.

Is it not small? Are not its iniquities few? Therefore, you can leave it alone.

And my soul will survive therein. This is its midrashic interpretation. But the simple meaning is [as follows]: It is a small city with a small population. You do not have to care if you spare it and my soul survives therein.-[from Targum Onkelos]

21 also as regards this matter Not only will you be saved, but I will save the entire city for your sake.

that I will...overturn Heb. הָפְכִּי , I overturn, as (below 48:5): “until I come (בֽאִי) ”; (above 16:13): “after I have seen (רֽאִי) ”; (Jer. 31: 19): “whenever I speak (דַבְָּרִי) of him.”

22 Hasten, flee there, for I will not be able to do This is the angels’ punishment because they said (verse 13): “For we are destroying,” and they attributed the matter to themselves; therefore they did not move from there until they were compelled to say that the matter was not in their power.-[based on Gen. Rabbah 50:9]

for I will not be able [This expression is] in the singular. From here you learn that one was to overturn [the cities] and one was to save [Lot and his family], because two angels are not sent for one mission.-[from Gen. Rabbah 50:2]

Therefore, he named the city Zoar Because of [the words] “and it is small” (מִצְעָר) .

24 And the Lord caused to rain down Wherever it is written: “And the Lord” it refers to God and His tribunal.-[from Gen. Rabbah 51:2]

caused to rain down upon Sodom At the rise of dawn, as it is stated (verse 15): “And as the dawn rose,” a time when the moon is in the sky with the sun. Since some of them worshipped the sun and some of them the moon, the Holy One, blessed be He, said, “If I punish them by day, the moon worshippers will say, ‘Had it been at night, when the moon rules, we would not have been destroyed.’ And if I punish them at night, the sun worshippers will say, ‘Had it been by day, when the sun rules, we would not have been destroyed.’” Therefore, it is written: “And as the dawn rose”: He punished them at a time when the sun and the moon [both] rule.-[from Gen. Rabbah 60:12]

caused to rain down, etc., brimstone and fire- At first, it was rain, and it became brimstone and fire.-[from Mechilta Beshallach, Massechta d’Shiratha, ch. 5]

from the Lord It is customary for the Scriptural verses to speak in this manner, as in (above 4:23): “wives of Lemech,” and he did not say, “my wives.” And so did David say, (I Kings 1:33): “Take with you the servants of your lord,” and he did not say, “my servants”; and so did Ahasuerus say (Esther 8:8): “in the name of the king,” and he did not say, “in my name.” Here too it states “from the Lord,” and it does not state “from Him.”-[from Sanh. 38b]

from heaven This is what Scripture says (Job 36:31): “For He judges the nations therewith” [i.e., with the heavens]. When He comes to chastise mankind, He brings upon them fire from heaven, as He did to Sodom, and when He comes to let down the manna, [it is also] from heaven [as Scripture states] (Exod. 16:4): “Behold I am raining down to you bread from heaven.”-[from Tan. Buber, Beshallach 20]

25 And He turned over these cities, etc. The four of them were situated on one rock, and He turned them upside down, as it is said (Job 28:9): “He stretched forth His hand upon the flinty rock, etc.” [He turned it over from the root of the mountains.]-[from Gen. Rabbah 51:4]

26 And his wife looked from behind him from behind Lot.-[from Zohar, vol. 1, 108b]

and she became a pillar of salt She sinned with salt, and she was punished with salt. He said to her, “Give a little salt to these guests.” She replied, “Also this evil custom you wish to introduce into this place?”-[from Gen. Rabbah 50:4]

28 smoke Heb. קִיטוֹר a pillar of smoke, torche in Old French, column of fire (or smoke).

furnace An excavation in which stones are burned into lime. This is the meaning of כִּבְשָׁן wherever it appears in Scripture.

29 that God remembered Abraham What does the remembrance of Abraham have to do with Lot? He remembered that Lot knew that Sarah was Abraham’s wife, and that he had heard in Egypt that Abraham said about Sarah, “She is my sister,” yet he did not reveal the matter because he [Lot] had pity on him [Abraham]. Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, had pity on him.-[from Gen. Rabbah 51:6]

30 for he was afraid to dwell in Zoar Because it was near Sodom.-[from Zohar, vol. 1, 109a]

31 Our father is old And if not now, when? Perhaps he will die or will no longer be able to beget children.

and there is no man on earth They thought that the entire world had been destroyed, as in the Generation of the Flood (Gen. Rabbah 51:8).

33 And they gave, etc., to drink Wine was made available to them in the cave to make it possible for two nations to emerge from them.-[from Sifrei Ekev 43]

and lay with her father But in the case of the younger, it says: ”and she lay with him.” Since the younger one was not the initiator of the illicit relations, but rather her sister taught it to her, Scripture covers up for her and does not explicitly tell of her disgrace. But [concerning] the elder, who initiated the illicit relations, Scripture publicizes her explicitly (Tan. Buber, Balak 26). The word וּבְקוּמָה , mentioned in conjunction with the elder, is dotted (i.e., there is a dot over the second “vav”), to denote that when she arose, he did know, but nevertheless, he was not careful not to drink on the second night (Nazir 23a). (Said Rabbi Levi: Whoever is inflamed by the lust for illicit relations, will ultimately be made to eat his own flesh (i.e., to commit incest). -[from Gen. Rabbah 51:9] [This does not appear in all editions of Rashi.]

36 And...conceived Although a woman does not conceive from the first intercourse, these controlled themselves and took out their maiden-hoods and conceived from the first intercourse.- [from Gen. Rabbah 51:9]

37 Moab This one, who was immodest, publicized that he was from her father מֵאָב) (מוֹאָב- , but the younger one named him euphemistically ( בֶן עַמִי the son of my people) and was rewarded in the time of Moses, for it is stated concerning the children of Ammon (Deut. 2:19): “You shall not involve yourself in strife with them” at all, but concerning Moab, He warned them only not to wage war with them, but He permitted them [the Israelites] to cause them pain.-[from Nazir 23b]

Chapter 20

1 Abraham traveled from there When he saw that the cities had been destroyed and that travelers had ceased to pass by, he migrated from there. Another explanation: To distance himself from Lot, who had acquired a bad reputation, because he had been intimate with his daughters.-[from Gen. Rabbah 52:3, 4]

2 And Abraham said Here he did not ask her permission, but [said that she was his sister] forcibly, against her will, because she had already been taken to Pharaoh’s house on account of this.--[from Gen. Rabbah ad loc.]

about Sarah his wife [ אֶל means] “about” Sarah his wife, and similarly (I Sam. 4:21): “concerning (אֶל) the taking of the Ark, and concerning (אֶל) [the death of] her father-in-law.” Both expressions (of אֶל ) have the meaning of עַל : ”concerning.”-[from Targum Onkelos, Targum Jonathan; Ibn Ezra]

4 And Abimelech had not come near to her The angel stopped him, as it is said: ”I did not let you touch her.”-[from Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer, ch. 26]

will You kill even a righteous nation Even if he is righteous, will You kill him? Is that Your way, to destroy the nations for nought? You did so to the Generation of the Flood and to the Generation of the Dispersion. I too will say that You destroyed them for no reason, just as You threaten (lit. say) to kill me.-[from Gen. Rabbah 52:2]

5 even she --This is to include her servants, camel drivers, and donkey drivers.”I asked them all, and they said: He is her brother.”--[from Gen. Rabbah 52:6]

With the innocence of my heart I did not intend to sin.-

and with the purity of my hands I am pure of sin, for I did not touch her.-

6 I know that, etc., with the innocence of your heart It is true that you did not intend at first to sin, but you cannot claim purity of hands [because...]-[from Gen. Rabbah 52:6; Tan. Buber, Vayera 25]

I did not let you It was not due to you that you did not touch her, but I prevented you from sinning, for I did not give you strength, and so (below 31: 7): “and God did not let him (וְלֽא נְתָנוֹ) ”; and so (Jud. 15:1): “but her father did not allow him (וְלֽא נְתָנוֹ) to come.”- [from Gen. Rabbah 52:7]

7 return the man’s wife And do not think that perhaps she will be repugnant to him, and he will not accept her, or that he will hate you and not pray for you. (Abimelech said to Him,”Who will let him know that I did not touch her?” He replied,)

because he is a prophet And he knows that you did not touch her; therefore,”he will pray for you.”-[from Tan. Buber, Vayera 25]

9 Deeds that are not done A plague that was not accustomed to come upon any creature has come upon us because of you: the closing up of all bodily orifices: those of semen, of urine, of excrement, and of the ears and nose.-[based on B.K. 93a; Tan. Buber, Vayera 36]

11 Surely, there is no fear of God A guest who comes to a city-do we ask him about eating and drinking, or do we ask him about his wife-” Is she your wife or is she your sister?”-[from B.K. 93a, Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer ch. 26]

12 my sister, the daughter of my father And the daughter of one’s father is permitted to a Noahide [for marriage], for a gentile has no father (i.e., his lineage is not traced from his father). And in order to justify his words, he answered him in this way. Now if you ask: Was she not the daughter of his brother? [The answer is that]: grandchildren are considered like children (Tosefta. Yev. 8:8, Talmud Bavli, Yev. 62b); therefore, she was (considered as) Terah’s daughter. And so did he say to Lot,”For we are kinsmen” (אֲנָשִׁים אַחִים) [lit. men, brothers], (although, in fact, Lot was his brother Haran’s son). -[from Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer, ch. 36]

but not the daughter of my mother Haran was [born] of a different mother [than Abraham].-

13 And it came to pass, when [God] caused me to wander, etc. Onkelos rendered as he rendered: [And it came to pass, when the peoples went astray after the work of their hands, that God brought me near to His fear from my father’s house.] However, it can also be interpreted in a more appropriate manner, according to its structure [as follows:] When the Holy One, blessed be He, took me out of my father’s house to be a wanderer, roaming from place to place, I knew that I would pass through places where there are wicked people, and [therefore]: ”I said to her: This is your kindness, etc.”-.

When God caused me to wander [The verb הִתְעוּ is] in the plural. But do not wonder at this because in many places, words denoting Godliness and words denoting authority are expressed in the plural, (e.g.), (II Sam. 7:23): “whom God went (הָלְכוּ) (to redeem)”; (Deut. 5: 23): “the living (חַייִם) God”; (Josh. 24:19): “a holy (קְדֽשִים) God.” And all references to Godliness or to authority are in the plural, as for example (below 39:20): “And Joseph’s master (אֲדוֹנֵי) took”; (Deut. 10:17): “the Lord of (אֲדוֹנֵי) lords”; (below 42:33): “the lord of (אֲדוֹנֵי) the land,” and so (Exod. 22:14); “if its master (בְּעָלָיו) is with it”; (ibid 21:29): “and if its master was warned (בִּבְעָלָיו) .” Now if you ask, why is the expression הִתְעוּ used here? [The answer is that] anyone who is exiled from his place and is not settled is תּוֹעֶה , as in (below 21:14): “and she walked and she wandered” (וַתֵּתַע) ; (Ps. 119:176): “I wandered (תָּעִיתִי) like a lost sheep”; (Job 38:41): “they wander (יִתְעוּ) for lack of food,” meaning that they go forth and wander to seek their food.-

say about me [The meaning of לִי is] about me. Similarly (below 26:7): “And the people of the place asked לְאִשְׁתּוֹ meaning “about his wife.” Similarly (Exod. 14:3): “And Pharaoh said לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל meaning”about the Children of Israel”; (Jud. 9:54): “Lest they say of me (לִי) : a woman killed him.”

14 and he gave [them] to Abraham in order to appease him so that he would pray for him.

15 Here is my land before you But Pharaoh said to him (above 12:19): “And now, here is your wife; take [her] and go,” because he was afraid, because the Egyptians were immersed in lewdness.

16 And to Sarah he said Abimelech [said] in her honor in order to appease her, “Behold I have bestowed upon you this honor; I have given money to your brother, about whom you said, He is my brother. Behold this money and this honor are to you a covering of the eyes.”

for all who are with you They will cover their eyes, so that they will not denigrate you, for had I returned you empty-handed, they could say, “After he violated her, he returned her.” Now that I had to spend much money and to appease you, they will know that against my will I returned you, and through a miracle.-

and with all And with all the people in the world.-

you shall contend You shall have the opportunity to contend and to show these evident facts. Wherever the word הוֹכָחָה appears, it refers to the clarification of matters, and in Old French, esprover, to prove, clarify. (That is aprover below 31:37, to clarify, decide, define.) Onkelos translated it in a different manner, and the language of the verse fits in with the Targum in the following manner: “Behold it will be for you a covering of honor on account of my eyes, which gazed upon you and upon all who are with you.” Therefore, he translated it: “And I saw you and all who are with you.” There is a Midrashic interpretation, but I have explained what fits the language of the verse.

17 and they gave birth As the Targum renders: and they were relieved. Their orifices were opened, and they expelled that which needed to be expelled, and that is their birth.

18 every womb Every [bodily] opening.-

because of Sarah Heb. עַל דְבַר lit. by the word of Sarah. Through the words of Sarah.-[from Gen. Rabbah 52:13]

Ramban’s Commentary for: B’resheet (Genesis) 19:1 – 20:18

19:2. BEHOLD NOW, MY LORDS. Rashi comments: "Behold now you are my lords since you have passed by me" The correct interpretation is that it is an expression of pleadings: "My lords, behold now your servant's house; turn aside, I pray you, to me" The word suru (turn aside) is as in the expressions: Turn aside ('surah'), sit down here;[1] Turn in ('surah '), my lord, turn in to me; fear not.[2]

AND YOU WILL RISE UP EARLY, AND GO ON YOUR WAY. The purport of that was to tell them that they should not tarry in the city after the morning for Lot knew the nature of the men of the city and of their wickedness, but he thought, In the morning light they do it.[3] It may be that he saw them as transients who would not tarry in the city, and so he said, And you will rise up early and go on your way if you desire.

3. AND HE URGED THEM GREATLY. His urging them was meritorious on the part of Lot, and he indeed had a sincere desire to welcome wayfarers. They, however, at first refused in order to increase his merit, and therefore they finally listened to him; but originally they did not want to come into his house as he was not a perfectly righteous/generous man. But our Rabbis have said [in order to explain their original refusal]:[4] "One may decline an offer from an inferior person, but not from a superior person."[5] If so, their declining his offer at first was merely an act of ethical conduct.

5. AND WE SHALL KNOW THEM. Their intention was to stop people from coming among them, as our Rabbis have said,[6] for they thought that because of the excellence of their land, which was as the garden of the Eternal,[7] many will come there, and they despised charity. Lot, however, came to them with his riches and wealth [and was given permission to live in Sodom because] he either asked permission of them, or that they accepted him in honor of Abraham.

Now Scripture testifies that this was the intent of the people of Sodom, as it is said, Behold, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: pride, fullness of bread, and careless ease was in her and in her daughters; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.[8] The verse stating, And the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners against the Eternal exceedingly,[9] really means that they continued provoking and rebelling against Him with their ease and the oppression of the poor. It is this thought which Scripture expresses by saying, And they were haughty, and committed abomination before Me; therefore I removed them when I saw it.[10]

In the opinion of our Rabbis,[11] all evil practices[12] were rampant among them. Yet their fate was sealed because of this sin - i.e., they did not strengthen the hand of the poor and needy - since this sin represented their usual behaviour more than any other. Besides, since all peoples act righteously towards their friends and their poor, there was none among all the nations who matched Sodom in cruelty.

Know that the judgment of Sodom was due to the superiority of the Land of Israel since Sodom is part of the inheritance of the Eternal,[13] and it does not suffer men of abominations. And just as it later vomited out a whole nation on account of their abominations,[14] so it now anticipated and saw that this entire people behaved worse than all nations towards Heaven and mankind. It thus laid waste heaven and earth for them, and the land was destroyed forever, never to be restored, since they became haughty on account of the goodness that was bestowed on them. The Holy One, blessed be He, thus made Sodom a token against the rebellious children,[15] that is, against the children of Israel who were destined to inherit it, even as He warned them: The whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and a burning ... like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Eternal overthrew in His anger, and in His wrath.[16] For there have been among nations those who were evil and exceedingly sinful, and yet He did not do to them as He did to Sodom. However it was all on account of the superiority of this land for there is the temple of the Eternal.[17] I plan to explain this in Seder Achrei Moth,[18] if He Who takes life and giveth life will sustain me in life.

8. LET ME, I PRAY YOU, BRING THEM OUT UNTO YOU. From the praise of this man Lot we have come to his disgrace: he made every effort on behalf of his guests in order to save them because they came under the shadow of his roof, but he is ready to appease the men of the city by abandoning his daughters to prostitution! This bespeaks nothing but an evil heart for it shows that the matter of prostitution of women was not repugnant to him, and that in his opinion he would not be doing such great injustice to his daughters. It is for this reason that our Rabbis have said,[19] "It is the custom of the world that a man fights to the death for the honor of his daughters and his wife, to slay or to be slain, but this man hands over his daughters for dishonor. Said the Holy One, blessed be He, to him, 'It is for yourself that you keep them.'[20]

Now Lot was fearful [for the welfare of the angels] as he thought that they were men, but when they smote the men of the city with blindness and they said to him, For we will destroy this place ... and the Eternal has sent us,[21] then he recognized them and believed in doing whatever they commanded him.

Know and understand that the matter of the concubine of Gibeah,[22] even though it resembles this affair, does not attain the degree of evil of the inhabitants of Sodom. Those wicked ones of Gibeah had no intention of stopping people from coming among them. Rather, they were steeped in immorality and desired sexual relations with the wayfarer, and when he brought his concubine out to them, they were satisfied with her.[23] The old man [who had invited the wayfarer to his house] and who said to the men of Gibeah, Behold, here is my daughter, a virgin, and his concubine; I will bring them out now ... and do with them what seems good unto you,[24] knew that they would not want his daughter and that they would not harm her. This was why they refused to listen to him. And when he finally turned his concubine alone outdoors to them, they ceased molesting him. Now the master of the house, as well as the guest, both wanted to save the man through his concubine, as a concubine does not have the status of a man's wife. Besides, she had already played the harlot against him.[25] In that breach, too, not all of the men of the city were involved as they were in Sodom, concerning which it is said, Both young and old, all the people from every quarter,[26] while of Gibeah it is said, Behold, the men of the city, certain base fellows[27] - only some of them, those who were the rulers and strong men of the city, even as the man said in relating the incident, And the masters of Gibeah[28] rose against me.[29] This was why the others did not protest against them. Now the chiefs of all the people, of all the tribes of Israel[30] wanted to erect a great guard in the matter of immorality by slaying them, as it is said, Now therefore deliver up the men, the base fellows that are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death.[31] It is clear that according to the Law of the Torah they were not guilty of the death-penalty as they had done no deed exclusive of the torture of the concubine - harlot. They did not intend her death, nor did she die at their hands for they let her go at the approach of dawn,[32] and she walked from them to her master's house and after that she died,[33] weakened perhaps by her numerous violations, and chilled while lying at the door until it was light, and there she died. But because the men of Gibeah had wanted to do a shameful deed just as the men of Sodom, the tribes saw fit "to make a fence unto the Torah" so that this should never again happen or be contemplated in Israel, even as they said, And that we may put away evil from Israel.[34] This judgment has its origin in the principle which our Rabbis have stated:[35] "The Court may administer stripes and the death penalty which are not authorized by the Torah. However, they may not do this [with the intent of instituting a law which] transgresses the words of the Torah but only for the purpose of erecting a fence around the Torah."[36] The tribe of Benjamin, however, did not consent to this[37] as they were not guilty of the death-penalty for violating the concubine. Perhaps the Benjamites were also provoked by the fact that the tribes did not communicate with them first and reached a consensus without asking for their opinion.

In my opinion, this [failure to consult Benjamin] caused Israel's punishment which resulted in their being routed at first since the war was done not in accordance with the Law. The obligation of making "the fence,[38] lay upon the tribe of Benjamin, and not upon them, as it is the tribe itself that is obligated to judge its constituents.[39]

Thus both parties were deserving of punishment. Benjamin sinned by not bothering to punish the wicked ones or even rebuke them. Israel sinned by making war not in accordance with the Law, and they asked not counsel at the mouth of the Eternal [40] on this matter. Instead they questioned G-d and said, Who will go up for us first to battle against the children of Benjamin?[41] They themselves had decided to do battle in any case. Similarly, they did not inquire concerning the outcome of the battle, "If You will give them into my hand," since they relied on their man-power which was exceedingly great as they were now more than ten times [as numerous as the Benjamites].[42] All they asked was, Who will go up for us first,[43] this being like casting lots among them. Perhaps each tribe was saying, "I will not go up first," or each tribe was saying, "I will be first."[44] And the Holy One, blessed be He, answered in accordance with their question: Judah first,[45] meaning Judah is always first, For He has chosen Judah to be prince.[46] This was why He did not say, "Judah will go up," as in other places,[47] for He did not give them permission. However, He did not stop them, and neither did he tell them, Go not up, neither fight,[48] because of the merited punishment of the Benjamites. Thus did G-d walk with both of them by chance, leaving them to natural circumstances. Accordingly, the Benjamites, who were valiant men and whose cities were well fortified, destroyed the Israelites who had "made flesh their arm of strength."[49] But now the Benjamites compounded their merited punishment. It would have been sufficient for them to drive the Israelites away from Gibeah. Instead, they killed them, seeking to destroy them by a perpetual hatred,[50] and they slew the mighty number of twenty-two thousand of their people.[51] Now when the Israelites suffered such a great defeat they became aware of their error, namely, that they did battle with their brethren without receiving Divine permission and engaged in a battle which was not in accordance with the Law of the Torah. Therefore, on the second day they asked, will I again draw nigh to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother?[52] Now they mentioned the brotherhood among them, asking whether He forbids them to do battle. But now on the second day, G-d permitted them, saying, Go up against him,[53] as it was now permissible for them to avenge the spilled blood of their brethren.[54] However, they did not ask whether they will be victorious because they were still relying upon their superior numbers to bring victory under all circumstances. But since G-d had explained to them only that the battle was permissible to them, and since their first sin had not yet been atoned for, there fell among them also on the second day eighteen thousand.[55] On the third day they decreed a fast, and they fasted and they wept... before the Eternal,[56] and they offered burnt-offerings to atone for their sinful thoughts[57] through which they relied upon the strength of their arm. They also offered peace-offerings,[58] which were Thanksgiving peace-offerings, since they considered themselves as if they had all escaped from the sword of Benjamin. This indeed is the Law of all who are delivered from danger: they are to bring a thanks-offering, just as it is said, And let them offer the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare His works with singing,[59] and it is further written, And now will my head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me; and I will offer in His tabernacle sacrifices with trumpet-sound; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Eternal.[60]

Now the number of dead among the Israelites during the two days was forty thousand, and in the end twenty-five thousand[61] of Benjamin's warriors fell, besides those that were put to the sword from the whole city and all that they found.[62] It is possible that among the men, women and children they totalled fifteen thousand additional casualties, thus making the punishment of the two groups equal.

And how significant are the words of our Rabbis[63] who said that the anger of G-d at that time was due to the idol of Micah![64] "Said the Holy One, blessed be He, 'Concerning My honor, which was violated by those guilty of death and those who raised their hand against the principle of religion, namely, the unity of G-d, you did not protest; but for the honor of a mortal you did protest, to an extent which exceeded the limits of justice! "

Therefore He confounded the counsel of the two groups and made their hearts stubborn, and they remembered not the brotherly covenant.[65] But after the affair they had regrets, just as it is said, And the people came to Beth-el and sat there till evening before G-d, and lifted up their voice, and wept bitterly. And they said: 0 Eternal, G-d of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be today one tribe missing from Israel?[66] For now they realized their mistakes and punishment.

We have thus incidentally explained a concealed matter which is not clear [with a cursory reading of the text], and we have mentioned the cause thereof.

9. AND THEY PRESSED HARD ('VAYIFTZERU') UPON THE MAN, EVEN LOT. I have found this word vayiftzeru only in connection with words of pleading. If so, we will explain its usage here as follows: the men of Sodom begged him [Lot] exceedingly to open the door for them, and when he refused to do so, they approached in order to break it. It may be that he stood in front of the door, not letting them come near him, and they begged him to turn aside as they did not want to harm him. This is the meaning of their saying, Stand back,[67] meaning "stand in another place. "

12. SON-IN-LAW, AND YOUR SONS, AND YOUR DAUGHTERS. Rashi comments: "Whom else of your family have you in the city besides your wife and daughters who are at home with you? If you have additionally a son-in-law, or sons and daughters, take them out from this place." Now if so, they [the angels] spoke in the manner of ordinary people for Lot had no sons, only daughters.

Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explained: "Son-in-law, and your sons sons-in-law who are [as dear to you] as your sons."

It is possible that Lot had grown sons who were married, and he spoke with his sons-in-law first as he thought that his own sons would listen to him [and leave the place]. But as his sons-in-law laughed at him and their conversation continued, dawn appeared, and the angels only permitted him to take those who were at hand. Thus the merit of Lot could have saved his sons and daughters and sons-in-law, not as Abraham had thought that He would make the righteous/generous perish with the wicked.[68] It is clear that the angels were acquainted with the knowledge of the Most High on this matter since the city of Zoar was also saved by his prayer.[69]

It is possible that [the salvation of Lot's family was not on account of his merit but] was in honor of his hospitality for it is the ethical way of messengers to save their host and all that belong to him, just as the messengers of Joshua also saved all the families of their hostess.[70] And in Beresheet Rabba[71] it is said, "Because Lot honored the angel by offering him hospitality, he in turn befriended Lot."[72]

16. AND THE MEN LAID HOLD UPON HIS HAND. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said that the word vayachziku (and they laid hold upon) clearly shows that Lot was afraid and had no strength to flee. The correct interpretation of the word is that it is like the verse, 'Vatechezak' (And) the Egyptians (were urgent) upon the people, to send them out of the land in haste.[73] Here likewise they were pulling them with strength to send them out in haste.

THE ETERNAL HAVING PITY UPON HIM. Not for Lot's merit but only because of G-d's pity and His abundant mercies. It may be that the verse is saying that they seized him to take them out while G-d's pity was still upon him, lest the wrath go forth from G-d[74] and he perish.

17. LOOK NOT BEHIND YOU, NEITHER STAY IN ALL THE PLAIN. The purport of the verse is to state: "Do not stay in all the Plain and do not look behind you after you have been saved." For as long as Lot had not reached the mountain, disaster would not overtake the inhabitants of Sodom. It is for this reason that Lot said, "And I cannot escape to the mountain, lest the evil overtake me[75] when I am in the Plain since you will not extend the time for me more than a little, as you have said, Haste yourself, escape thither."[76]

Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said, "Look not behind you, i.e., 'you and all who belong to you.' And similarly is the verse, You will not eat of it.[77]

But what need is there for this interpretation? The punishment here was not because they would violate the warning of the angel by looking at them. Instead, the angel merely warned them on his own that punishment would overtake them for such a glance, and he warned Lot because of his merit, and all who listened and took warning saved their lives.

Now as to the significance of the prohibition of looking, Rashi said: "You sinned with them but are saved through the merit of Abraham. You are not permitted[78] to see their doom."

There is yet another matter. Looking upon the atmosphere of a plague and all contagious diseases is very harmful, and they may cleave to him. Even the thought of them is harmful. Therefore, the leper is isolated and dwells alone.[79] Similarly, those who have been bitten by mad animals such as a mad dog and other animals besides, when they look into the water or any mirror, they behold in them the likeness of the offender, and as a result of this, they did just as the Rabbis have said in Tractate Y oma,[80] and as the students of nature have mentioned. It was for this reason that Lot's wife turned into a pillar of salt[81] for the plague entered her mind when she saw the brimstone and salt[82] which descended upon them from heaven, and it cleaved to her.

I am inclined to say that when G-d destroyed these cities the destroying angel stood between the earth and heaven,[83] appearing in a flame of fire, as did the destroying angel whom David saw.[84] Therefore, he prohibited them from looking.

In Pirkei d'Rabbi Eliezer[85] there is a similar text: "The angels said to them, 'Do not look behind you since the Divine Presence of the Holy One, blessed be He, has descended to rain brimstone and fire upon Sodom and Gomorrah.' The compassion of Edis, Lot's wife, welled up for her married daughters who were in Sodom,[86] and she looked behind her to see if they were following her. She thereupon saw the back of the Divine Presence, and she became a pillar of salt."

24. AND THE ETERNAL CAUSED TO RAIN UPON SODOM (AND UPON GOMORRAH BRIMSTONE AND FIRE FROM THE ETERNAL OF HEAVEN). Rashi wrote: "Wherever it is said, And the Eternal it means Him and His Celestial Court. From the Eternal. It is not written 'from Him,' [with the pronoun 'Him' replacing the noun 'Eternal' in the second part of the verse, for] this is the Scriptural way of speaking. For example, You wives of Lamech,[87] and he did not say 'my wives.' And David also said, Take you the servants of your lord,[88] and he did not say, 'my servants.' Ahaseurus also said, Write... in the name of the king,[89] and he did not say, 'in my name.' "

Now I wonder about the Rabbi[90] who wrote down conflicting opinions and made them alike for there is a division of opinion on this matter in Beresheet Rabba[91] And there is yet a third opinion: "Aba Chilfi, the son of Rabbi Sirnki, said in the name of Rabbi Yehudah the son of Rabbi Simon: 'And the Eternal caused to rain upon Sodom - this refers to the angel Gabriel. From the Eternal out of heaven - this refers to the Holy One, blessed be He.' Rabbi Eleazar said, 'Wherever it says, And the Eternal, it means Him and His Celestial Court.' Rabbi Yitzchak said, 'We find in the Torah, Prophets, and Writings, that a person mentions his name twice. In the Torah, And Lamech said to his wives,[92] etc.''' Thus there are three conflicting opinions here. Rabbi Yehudah the son of Rabbi Simon ascribes the first Divine Name mentioned in the verse as referring to Gabriel as he was the messenger sent to destroy the city, it being a case of the deputy being referred to by the name of Him Who sent him. And Rabbi Eleazar said that He and His Celestial Court agreed on the judgment, and it was from Him that the brimstone and fire came. And Rabbi Yitzchak said that it is the Scriptural way of speaking.

Now if you will understand what I have written above,[93] you will know the intent of the Sages' expression, "He and His Celestial Court," and then the plain meaning of the verse will be clear to you. In a similar manner is the verse, That they may keep the way of the Eternal... to the end that the Eternal may bring ...[94] He did not say, "that they may keep My way ... to the end that I may bring." Likewise: Because the cry concerning them is great before the face of the Eternal, and the Eternal has sent us.[95] And similarly: And it came to pass, when G-d destroyed ... that G-d remembered.[96]

26. AND HIS WIFE LOOKED BACK FROM BEHIND HIM. From behind Lot, who was following them, acting as the rearguard for all his household, who were hurrying to be saved.

29. AND G-D REMEMBERED ABRAHAM, AND SENT LOT OUT FROM THE CATASTROPHE. The purport of this verse is that Lot had shown kindness towards the righteous/generous one[97] by going with him and roaming here and there, following him wherever he went. This is the intent of the verse, And Lot went with him,[98] meaning that he went at Abraham's command. Therefore he had the merit to be saved on account of Abraham's meritoriousness as it was on account of him that he lived in Sodom, and were it not for Abraham he would have still been in Haran with his family. Now it is inconceivable that some evil should overtake him [Lot] because of Abraham who had left his country at his Creator's command. This was also the reason why Abraham endangered himself by pursuing the kings on account of him.[99]

30. FOR HE FEARED TO DWELL IN ZOAR. Rashi wrote, "Because it was near to Sod om." This is not so.[100] Rather, since it was one of the places upon which destruction had originally been decreed and it was only by Lot's supplication that the angel exempted it because Lot could not make his escape to the mountain on that day,[101] Lot now thought that the angel would no longer extend his request, for he now had sufficient time to make the escape to the mountain.[102] This was why his daughter said, And there is not a man in the earth,[103] for she thought that with her father's departure from Zoar the city was destroyed.

31. AND THE FIRST-BORN SAID. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said, "It is possible that Lot had another wife[104] who died before." But there is no need for this; the first-born is just in contrast to the younger. In fraternal relations the one who is older is called "first-born," and all those younger than he are called "the younger ones."

Thus the first fruits of the year are called bikurim;[105] likewise, the first-born of the poor[106] meaning the most destitute, the poor of the poor. Likewise, With the loss of his first-born will he lay the foundation thereof, and with the loss of his younger will he set up the gates of it.[107] Onkelos also here translated, rabtha.[108]

32. THAT WE MAY KEEP ALIVE SEED FROM OUR FATHER. The intent is perhaps that they said: "Let us do what we can, so that G-d should have mercy, and we will give birth to a boy and a girl from whom the world will be sustained, for the world will be built with kindness,[109] and it is not in vain that G-d has saved us." Now they were modest and did not want to tell their father to marry them, as a Noachide[110] is permitted to take his daughter.[111] It may be that the matter was extremely repulsive in the eyes of the people of those generations and was never done. Our Rabbis,[112] in Agadic expositions, likewise discredit Lot very much.

20:2. AND ABRAHAM SAID OF SARAH HIS WIFE, SHE IS MY SISTER. This was not like what happened in Egypt. There, when they entered the land, it is said that the Egyptians saw that the woman was beautiful, and they praised her to the lords and to Pharaoh,[113] as they were an immoral people but this king was perfect and upright, and his people were likewise good. However Abraham suspected them, and he told everyone that she was his sister.

AND ABIMELECH, KING OF GERAR, SENT AND TOOK SARAH. It is wondrous that Sarah, after being worn with age, was extremely beautiful, fit to be taken by kings. When she was taken to Pharaoh, though she was sixty-five[114] years old, it is possible that she still had her beautiful appearance, but after being worn with age and the manner of women had ceased with her, that is a wonder! Perhaps her youthfulness returned to her when the angel brought her the tidings, as our Rabbis have said.[115]

12. AND YET SHE IS MY SISTER, THE DAUGHTER OF MY F ATHER. I know not the sense of this apology. Even if it were true that she was his sister and his wife, nevertheless when they wanted to take her as a wife and he told them, She is my sister,[116] in order to lead them astray, he already committed a sin towards them by bringing upon them a great sin,[117] and it no longer mattered at all whether the thing was true or false!

Perhaps it was because Abimelech said, What do you saw, that you have done this thing?[118] meaning "What sin or wickedness have you seen in me that caused you to do this out of fear? I have never attempted to take women away from their husbands." Then Abraham answered: "I did not know you, but I thought, perhaps the fear of G-d is not in this place,[119] for in most places in the world there is no fear of G-d. Therefore, from the time I left my country and aimlessly wandered among the nations not knowing to which place we would come, I made this condition with her that she say thus in all places. For the matter is true, and I thought that by doing this, human life would be saved. I did not begin this practice upon entering your country for I did not see that you had committed any sin." And yet she is my sister, the daughter of my father. This expression represents a different argument. Abraham said: "According to my custom, I said so for it is true, and I further thought that in case they will want her they will ask me if she is also my wife. Since your servants took her and they did not ask me any questions, I said, 'The fear of G-d is also not in this place' and I remained quiet."

It is possible that he established this condition with her when they came to Egypt even though he said that he did it when G-d caused me to wander from my father's house.[120] It may be that he again warned her there in Egypt at the time of the event, as I have explained.[121]

Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra's opinion is that all these words were to put off Abimelech.

16. BEHOLD, I HAVE GIVEN YOUR BROTHER A THOUSAND PIECES OF SILVER. The sheep, the cattle and the servants which he gave him were worth a thousand pieces of silver. He thus said to Sarah: "Behold, I have given much money to your brother. Now the money will serve you as a cause for the covering of the eyes of all those who look at your beauty,[122] closing their eyes, and those of their leaders, the seers,[123] to prevent them looking at you and at all that belongs to you, even your man-servants and maidservants. Thus your being taken forcibly to my house was for your benefit as they will fear you and cover their eyes to avoid looking at you, saying: 'The king had to redeem himself for having stretched forth his hand to the prophet's wife.' "

The verse thus tells that Abimelech mollified Abraham with money, and Sarah with words, so that he should not be punished on account of either of them. The verse states in conclusion, venochachath,[124] as Sarah did not accept his apology, for with all this,[125] she yet continued arguing with him, saying that she would not forgive him. The verse thus speaks in her praise. Abraham, however, was appeased, and he prayed for the king. The word venochachath is similar in usage to these verses: And with Israel 'yithvakach' (He has an argument);[126] But my ways 'ochiach' (will I argue) before Him;[127] There the upright 'no chach.' (might reason) with Him.[128]

It is possible that the expression, a thousand pieces of silver to your brother, means thousands of pieces of silver, much wealth, according to the bounty of the king.[129] Similarly, The smallest will become a thousand,[130] [means that the smallest will become] a great people. Similarly: Restore, I pray you, to them even this day, their fields, their vineyards, their olive yards, and their houses, also the hundred pieces of silver, and the corn, the wine, and oil, that you exact of them 293 - [here too the hundred pieces of silver refer to] many hundreds, a great deal of money.

17. 'VA YEILEIDU' (AND THEY BORE CHILDREN). If this is understood literally as referring to his wife, and his maidservants and stating that the Eternal had restrained their wombs, it is astonishing! For it appears that on the first night that Sarah was taken to Abimelech's house, and he had not even approached her,[131] G-d immediately came to him in the dream, and in the morning he rose early and called his servants and also Abraham.[132] When then did they experience this restraining of the womb? Perhaps it so happened that they were in their due time, experiencing the pangs of childbirth, unable to be relieved by giving birth. Perhaps, also, Abraham delayed his prayer for many days. But according to this interpretation, the nature of Abimelech's healing as well as his sickness have not been explained in Scripture.

Now Rashi comments: "Vayeileidu - and they were relieved,[133] their channels were opened, and they brought forth their wastes. This was the leidah (bringing forth) as it referred to them All the wombs means every opening of the body."

But this is not correct. Even if we were to say concerning the word vayeileidu that it means "bringing forth" - as we do indeed find the word leidah used in many contexts, such as: Yea, he conceives mischief 'veyolad' (and brings forth) falsehood;[134] Before the decree 'ledeth' (bring forth);[135] for you know not what a day 'yolad' (may bring forth),[136] meaning what the days will bring forth and originate - but the word rechem (womb) never refers to any other openings. This is not contradicted by the verse, Or, who shut up the sea with doors, when it broke forth, and issued out of the womb,[137] for this is merely a figure of speech,[138] similar to "the belly of the earth."[139]

Now Onkelos' opinion is not like that of the Rabbi[140] for even if he translated, "and they were relieved," yet the word rechem (womb) he renders literally as "the opening for giving birth to a child." However, [the reason why Onkelos translated it, "and they were relieved," and not "and they gave birth," is that] he wanted to include Abimelech also in the word vayeileidu.

In Beresheet Rabba[141] it is said: "For the Eternal had fast closed up ('atzor atzar'),[142] i.e., closed up the mouth, closed up the neck, closed up the eye, closed up the ear, closed up above,[143] and closed up below." Now the Rabbis derived this exposition from the double usage of the expression, atzor atzar, but they did not explain the expression, every womb, as meaning every opening of the body.

The correct interpretation appears to me to be that from the day Sarah was taken to Abirnelech's house, Abimelech was stricken in his limbs and was unable to fulfil his needs. This is [what the verse alludes to when it says], Therefore I did not suffer you to touch her,[144] as "touching" or "approaching" women are euphemisms for sexual intercourse, as in the verse, Draw not near a woman;[145] And I came unto the prophetess.[146] And He restrained the wombs of his wife and his maidservants who were pregnant so they could not give birth. "Restraining it womb" means that the woman could not conceive, even as it says, And the Eternal had closed up her womb.[147] But "restraining the womb" denotes inability to give birth, similar in usage to the verse, He has hedged me about, that I cannot go forth.[148]

Sarah stayed in Abimelech's house many days, and Abimelech did not repent his way as he did not understand his transgression until G-d came to him in a dream and informed him of it. Now Scripture does not explain Abimelech's sickness explicitly but mentions it only by hint in an ethical manner and out of respect for Sarah. After Abraham's prayer, Abimelech and his wife and his maidservants were healed, and the women gave birth.

Ketubim: Psalms 14:1-7

Rashi’s Translation	Targum
1. For the conductor, of David; The fool said in his heart, "There is no God"; they have dealt corruptly; they have committed abominable deeds; no one does good.	1. For praise; in the spirit of prophecy through David. The fool said in his heart, "There is no rule of God on the earth." They corrupted their deeds, they despised goodness and found iniquity. There is none who does good.
2. The Lord in Heaven looked down upon the sons of men to see whether there is a man of understanding, who seeks the Lord.	2. The LORD looked down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there was any wise man seeking instruction from the presence of the LORD.
3. All have turned away; together they have spoiled; no one does good, not even one.	3. All alike have turned backward, they have become lax; there is none who does good, there is not even one.
4. Did not all the workers of iniquity know? Those who devoured My people partook of a feast; they did not call upon the Lord.	4. Do they not know, all doers of falsehood? Those among My people who dine have dined on bread and not blessed the name of the LORD.
5. There they were in great fear, for God is in the generation of a righteous/generous man.	5. There they became afraid because the word of the LORD is in the generation of the righteous/generous.
6. You put to shame the counsel of the poor, for the Lord is his refuge.	6. You will despise the counsel of the poor man, because he has placed his hope in the LORD.
7. O that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion; when the Lord returns the captivity of His people, Jacob shall rejoice, Israel shall be glad.	7. Who will produce from Zion the redemption of Israel? When the LORD brings back the exile of his people, Jacob will rejoice, Israel will be glad.

Rashi’s Commentary on Psalm 14:1-7

1 The fool said in his heart, etc. David recited two psalms in this Book, in one manner [with almost identical wording]: the first one concerning Nebuchadnezzar and the second one (ch. 53) concerning Titus. In this one, he prophesied concerning Nebuchadnezzar, who was destined to enter the Temple and to destroy it, with not one [man] of all his armies protesting against him.

“There is no God” and “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds.”

they have committed abominable deeds Heb. עלילה , deeds.

3 All have turned away, etc. Not one man of his armies protested against him.

they have spoiled Heb. נאלחו , have turned to rot.

4 Did not...know? Did they not know at the end what had befallen them?

Those who devoured My people The seed of Nebuchadnezzar.

partook of a feast Heb. לחם , lit. bread. They made a feast (as in Dan. 5:1) “made a huge feast (לחם) .”

they did not call upon the Lord They neither considered Him nor remembered His wondrous and awesome deeds at their feast, and [they] used His vessels.

5 There they were in great fear For recompense was paid to Belshazzar king of Babylon [causing him] to be in great fear, as it is stated (in Dan. 5:6): “Then the king’s color changed, his thoughts terrified him, the joints of his loins came loose, and his knees knocked against each other.” But our Sages explained this (Sanh. 104b, Mid. Ps. 14:4) as referring to the heathens: Whoever does not rob Israel does not experience a pleasant taste in his food. Those who devoured my people felt as though they ate bread, for they experienced a pleasant taste.

for God is in the generation of a righteous man In the generation of Jeconiah, who were righteous.

6 You put to shame the counsel of the poor You say that the counsel of Israel is shameful, for they trust in the Lord because He is their refuge.

7 O that Then the day will arrive when He will give out of Zion the salvation of Israel in the future; then Jacob shall rejoice; Israel shall be glad.

Meditation from the Psalms

Psalm 14:1-7

By: HH Rosh Paqid Adon Hillel ben Davi

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Psalm are: Seeing / saw / see - ראה, Strong’s number 07200. In our Torah portion, Lot saw the angels of destruction in order to give them shelter. The ‘bad guys’ were blinded so that they could not see. This reflects their spiritual condition. Genesis 19:1. In our psalm, HaShem wanted to see if there were men of understanding (Psalm 14:2). HaShem was looking at the men of Sedom and seeing if there were any righteous/generous men, as we will soon see.

David composed this psalm and dedicated it to the destruction of the first Temple. There is a second psalm (53), also composed by David, which is dedicated to the destruction of the second Temple.[149] This is very interesting because we are reading this on Tammuz 17 (Shivah Asar B’Tammuz). The 17th of Tammuz is a day-fast commemorating the many tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people on this day. This day is celebrated by fasting, special prayers, and the beginning of the Three Weeks (the annual period of mourning over the destruction of the First and Second Temples).

The Talmud explains that we fast because of the five tragedies that befell the nation of Israel on this day:

Ta’anith 26b … ON THE SEVENTEENTH OF TAMMUZ THE TABLES [OF THE LAW] WERE SHATTERED, THE DAILY OFFERING WAS DISCONTINUED, A BREACH WAS MADE IN THE CITY AND APOSTOMOS1 BURNED THE SCROLL OF THE LAW AND PLACED AN IDOL IN THE TEMPLE.

The five tragedies mentioned in the Gemara are:

1. The tablets upon which the Ten Commandments were engraved, were broken by Moshe;

2. The Korban Tamid, the continual daily sacrifice, was discontinued;

3. The wall around the city of Jerusalem was breached;

4. Apostamus burnt the Torah scroll;

5. An idolatrous image was placed in the Bet HaMikdash, the Holy Temple.

In our calendar, there are four fast days which directly relate to the destruction of the Bet HaMikdash and Jerusalem under the Babylonians during the latter half of the sixth century BCE:

Asarah B’Tevet (Tevet 10 - in the winter), when the siege of the city by the Babylonians began;

Shivah Asar B’Tammuz (Tammuz 17), when the walls of the city were breached, several years after the beginning of the siege;

Tisha B’Av (Av 9 - summer), when the Beit haMikdash was destroyed by the Babylonians.

Tzom Gedaliah (Tishri 3 - fall) when the Judean governor was assassinated in an Ammonite-generated plot. This brought about the end of Jewish autonomy under the Babylonians.

As I was looking for the connection to our Torah portion, I noticed some peculiar wording in the Targum. Consider:

Targum to Beresheet (Genesis) 19:1 Two angels came to Sedom at the evening; and Lot sat in the gate of Sedom. And Lot saw, and rose up to meet them from the gate of the tabernacle. And he bowed his face to the ground,

Targum to Beresheet (Genesis) 19:6 And Lot went out to them to the gate, and shut the door after him.

Targum to Beresheet (Genesis) 19:11 But the men who were at the gate of the house they struck with a suffusion of the eyes, from the young to the old, and they waried themselves to find the gate.

Since when does The Tabernacle reside in Sodom? Since when does a man’s house have a gate? This suggests that the Targum is hinting to The Tabernacle, the Temple. And the Temple does have gates. And the Temple was a place that could be described as “well watered”.[150] This suggests that the beginning of the destruction of the Temple occurred on Tammuz 17 and the Targum for our Torah portion hints to this destruction.

In our last parasha we saw Avraham pleading with HaShem to save the righteous/generous in Sedom. We also saw the angels willingly turn into his tent for hospitality. However, when those same angels get to Sedom they turn down Lot’s offer to spend the night in his home. They want to spend the time in the city square to observe whether there are any righteous/generous men. In the end, Lot was persuasive and they went to Lot’s home.

However, ironically, the inhabitants of Sedom succeed in demonstrating to the angels what the culture of the city is like even while they are in Lot’s house. The text specifies that around the house there gathered “[1] the people of the city, [2] the people of Sedom, [3] both young and old, [4] all the people, [5] from every quarter”.[151] These five labels for the inhabitants of Sedom, mentioned consecutively in a single verse, represent a rare phenomenon in Tanakh. The intention of the text seems to be to solve the question of the number of righteous/generous people living in Sedom. All the inhabitants of the city, “from young to old”, clamoring outside to abuse Lot’s guests, provide the answer to Avraham’s question in the previous chapter: “Perhaps there are fifty righteous/generous people in the city?” There aren’t fifty; there aren’t even ten. The number of righteous/generous people in Sedom equals the number of members of Lot’s household who take upon themselves to care for the guests who have arrived in the city, but they are too few to save Sedom.

Now compare the situation in Sedom with the situation described by our psalm:

1 For the Leader. [A Psalm] of David. {N}

The fool has said in his heart: 'There is no God'; {N}

they have dealt corruptly, they have done abominably; there is none that does good.

2 HaShem looked forth from heaven upon the children of men, {N}

to see if there were any man of understanding, that did seek after God.

3 They are all corrupt, they are together become impure; there is none that does good, no, not one.

4 'Will not all the workers of iniquity know it, who eat up My people as they eat bread, and call not upon HaShem?'

We can clearly understand what David was seeing[152] in our Torah portion.

When HaShem sent the Goyim to bring us into captivity, He did so in order to show His love for us.

How can this be?

It is well known, by all parents, that when one punishes their children as a method of correction, it is very hard on the parents. No parent wants to see their children suffer. Punishment is only meted out because of a parent’s love.

In the same way, HaShem’s love for His people was at its greatest when He punished them and sent them into captivity. His punishment was for their benefit. When we recognize HaShem’s love, then we rejoice. Our psalmist echoes this idea when he says:

Tehillim (Psalm) 14:7 Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! When HaShem turns the captivity of His people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.

The people of Sedom were looking to “eat up” (14:4) HaShem’s people. For them, erasure was the only solution. For HaShem’s people’s transgression, he sent them into captivity in order to correct them. This exile began on Tammuz 17, the day we read this Torah portion and this psalm.

Ashlamatah: Shof’tim (Judges) 19:16-24 + 20:27

Rashi	Targum
1. ¶ And it was in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a Levite man dwelling by the edge of the mountain of Ephraim, who took for himself a concubine from Beth- lehem to Judah.	1. And in those days there was no king in Israel; and a Levite man was sojourning in remote parts of the hill country of the house of Ephraim. And he took for himself a woman as concubine from Bethlehem of the house of Judah.
2. And his concubine turned away from him, and went from him to her father's house, to Beth-lehem of Judah. And she was there for a period, (of) four months.	2. And his concubine despised- him and went from him to the house of her father, to Bethlehem of the house of Judah. and she was there for four months.
3. And her husband arose and went after her, to persuade her to return, and his servant was with him, and a team of donkeys. And she brought him into her father's house, and (when) the father of the girl saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.	3. And her husband arose and went after her to speak unto her heart for her return; and his young man was with him, and a pair of asses. And she brought him into the house of her father, and the father of the girl saw him and rejoiced to meet him.
4. And his father-in-law, the girl's father, kept him, and he abode with him for three days. And they ate and drank and lodged there.	4. And his father-in-law, the father of the girl, pressured him; and he stayed with him for three days. And they ate and drank and lodged there.
5. And it was on the fourth day, that they arose early in the morning, and he rose up to depart. And the girl's father said to his son-in-law, "Refresh yourself with a morsel of bread, and afterward you shall depart."	5. And on the fourth day they got up early in the morning, and he arose to go; and the father of the girl said to his son-in-law: "Strengthen your heart with a piece of bread, and afterwards you may go."
6. And they sat down and both of them ate together, and they drank. And the girl's father said to the man, "Accept now and lodge, and let your heart be content."	6. And the two of them together reclined and ate and drank. And the father of the girl said to the man: "Camp now, and lodge, and let your heart be pleased."
7. And the man rose up to depart; but his father-in-law urged him, and he returned and lodged there.	7. And the man arose to go, and his father-in-law pressured him, and he returned and lodged there.
8. And he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart, and the girl's father said, "Refresh yourselves now," and they tarried until the day declined, and they both ate.	8. And he got up early in the morning on the fifth day to go, and the father of the girl said: "Strengthen now your heart." And they were detained until the turn of the day, and the two of them ate.
9. And the man rose up to depart, he, his concubine, and his servant. And his father-in-law, the girl's father, said to him, "Behold, now the day has weakened to set, lodge now, behold it is the resting (part) of the day, lodge here, and your heart will be content, and you will arise early for your way, and go to your dwelling place."	9. And the man arose to go - he and his concubine and his young man. And his father-in-law, the father of the girl, said to him: "Behold now the day has turned to evening. Lodge here now; this day only lodge here, and let your heart be pleased. And you will get up early tomorrow on your way, and you will come to your city."
10. But the man did not want to lodge, and he arose and departed, and came over against Jebus, which was Jerusalem. And with him was a team of saddled donkeys, and his concubine was with him.	10. And the man was not willing to lodge, and he arose and went and came unto opposite Jebus, that is, Jerusalem. And with him was a pair of saddled asses, and his concubine was with him.
11. They were near Jebus as the sun descended very much; and the servant said to his master, "Come now, and let us turn aside to this city of the Jebusites and lodge in it."	11. And they were near Jebus, and the day was sunk very low, and the young man said to his master: "Come now, and let us turn aside to this city of the Jebusite and lodge in it."
12. And his master said to him, "We will not turn aside into (this) city of heathens, (nor to any other cities) that are not of the children of Israel, but we will journey up to Gibeah."	12. And his master said to him: "We will not turn aside to the city of the sons of the Gentiles who are not from the sons of Israel. And we will travel unto Gibeah."
13. And he said to his servant, "Come and let us approach to one of these places; and we will lodge in Gibeah or in Ramoh."	13. And he said to his young man: "Come, and let us draw near in one of the places, and we will lodge in Gibeah or in Ramah."
14. And they passed on and went. And the sun set upon them near Gibeah which belonged to Benjamin.	14. And they passed on and went, and the sun went down on them beside Gibeah which belongs to the tribe of Benjamin.
15. And they turned aside there to come and lodge in Gibeah. And he came and sat in the thoroughfare of the city, but no one brought them home to lodge.	15. And they turned aside to there to enter to lodge in Gibeah, and he came and sat in the square of the city. And there was no man who was taking them into the house to lodge.
16. And behold, an old man came from his work out of the field at evening, and the man was from the mountain of Ephraim, and he resided in Gibeah; but the people of the area were Benjamites.	16. And behold an old man came from his work from the field in the evening, and the man was from the hill country of the house of Ephraim. and he was sojourning in Gibeah; and the men of the place were sons of the tribe of t he house of Benjamin."
17. And he raised his eyes, and saw the wayfaring man in the thoroughfare of the city; and the old man said, "Where are you going and from where do you come?"	17. And he lifted up his eyes and saw the man who was taking up lodging in the square of the city. And the old man said: "Where are you going, and from where are you coming?"
18. And he said to him, "We are passing from Beth-lehem of Judah to the edge of the mountain of Ephraim, from there am I, and I went until Beth- lehem of Judah; and I am going to the House of the Lord, and no one takes me home.	18. And he said to him: "We are passing from Bethlehem of the house of Judah unto the remote parts of the hill country of the house of Ephraim. I am from there. And went unto Bethlehem of the house of Judah, and to the house of the sanctuary of the Lord I am going. And there is no one taking me into their house.
19. And also there is straw and provender for our donkeys, and also bread and wine for myself, for your maidservant, and for the lad who is with your servants; there is no want of anything."	19. And there is both straw and fodder for our asses, and also there is bread and wine for me and for your maidservant and for the young man who is with your servant. Nothing at all is lacking."
20. And the old man said, "Peace be to you, just let all your needs be upon me, but do not lodge in the street."	20. And the old man said: "Peace to you; only everything you lack is up to me; only do not lodge in the square."
21. And he brought him into his house, and gave fodder to the donkeys, and they washed their feet, ate and drank.	21. And he brought him into his house, and he threw down the fodder's for the asses, and they washed their feet, and they ate and drank.
22. As they were enjoying themselves, and behold, the men of the city, men of wickedness, surrounded the house, (and were) beating at the door. And they spoke to the man, the elderly master of the house, saying, "Bring out the man that came into your house, so that we may be intimate with him."	22. They were making their hearts merry, and behold the men of the city, men of the sons of wickedness. surrounded the house beating so as to break the door. And they said to the old man, the master of the house, saying: "Bring forth the man who entered your house, and we will know him."
23. And the man, the master of the house, went out to them and said to them, "No, my brothers, do not do so wickedly now. Since this man has come into my house, do not commit this disgraceful deed.	23. And the man, the master of the house, went forth unto them and said to them: "Please, my brothers, do not do evil now after this man entered my house; do not do this shameful thing.
24. Here is my virgin daughter, and his concubine, I will bring them out now and (you should) afflict them, and do with them as you please, but to this man do not do this disgraceful act."	24. Behold my virgin daughter and his concubine; I will bring them forth. Ravish them and do to them what is good in your eyes. And to this man do not do this shameful deed."
25. But the men did not want to listen to him, and the man grabbed his concubine, and brought her forth to them outside. And they were intimate with her, and abused her the entire night until the morning, and they sent her away when the day began to dawn.	25. And the men were not willing to accept from him, and the man took hold of his concubine and brought her forth unto them outside, and they knew her and ridiculed her all night until morning, and they sent her away at the going up of morning.
26. And the woman came as the morning began. And she fell down at the entrance of the man's house, where her master was, until it was light.	26. And the woman came as morning appeared, and she fell at the gate of the house of the man where her master was until it was light.
27. And her master arose in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way. And behold, the woman, his concubine, was lying after having fallen at the entrance of the house, with her hands on the threshold.	27. And her master arose in the morning, and he opened the doors of the house, and he went forth to go on his way, and behold his concubine woman was lying at the gate of the house, and her hands were resting upon the threshold.
28. And he said to her, "Arise, and let us go," but no one answered. And he took her upon the donkey, and the man rose up and went to his place.	28. And he said to her: "Arise, and let us go." And she was not answering, and he took her upon the ass, and the man arose and went to his place.
29. And he came to his house, and took the knife, and took hold of his concubine and cut her into limbs, into twelve pieces, and he sent her throughout all the borders of Israel.	29. And he came to his house and took a knife and took hold of his concubine, and he dissected her by her pieces into twelve parts, and he sent her in all the territory of the land of Israel.
30. And it came to pass anyone that saw (it), would say, "There has not happened nor has there been seen (anything) like this from the day that the children of Israel came up from the land of Egypt until this day; concern yourself about it, take counsel, and speak." {P}	30. And everyone who saw her said: "There was not, nor was there seen anything like this from the day that the sons of Israel went up from the land of Egypt unto this day. Set your heart upon her, take counsel, and speak." {P}
1. ¶ And all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was assembled as one man, from Dan to Beer-sheba, and the land of Gilead, to the Lord, to Mizpah.	1. ¶ 1. And all the sons of Israel went forth, and the assembly was gathered as one man from Dan and unto Beer-sheba and the land of Gilead before the LORD to Mizpah.
2. And there presented themselves the chiefs of all the people, of all the tribes of Israel, in the assembly of the people of God, (which consisted of) four hundred thousand footmen that drew the sword. {P}	2. And the heads of all the people, of all the tribes of Israel, readied themselves in the assembly of the people of the LORD. 400,000 men on foot drawing the sword. {P}
3. ¶ And the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel had gone up to Mizpah. And the children of Israel said, "Speak, how has this wickedness come about?"	3. ¶ And the sons of Benjamin heard that the sons of Israel had gone up to Mizpah. And the sons of Israel said: "Tell how this wickedness happened."
4. And the Levite man, the husband of the murdered woman answered and said, "I came into Gibeah that belongs to Benjamin, I and my concubine to lodge.	4. And the Levite man, the husband of the woman who was killed answered and said: "I and my concubine entered Gibeah which belongs to the tribe of Benjamin- to lodge there.
5. And the residents of Gibeah arose against me, and surrounded the house upon me at night. Me they intended to kill, and my concubine they afflicted, (following which) she died.	5. And the inhabitants of Gibeah arose against me and surrounded the house by night against me; they planned against' me to kill (me), and they raped my concubine, and she died.
6. So I grabbed my concubine and dissected her and sent her throughout the territory of the inheritance of Israel; for they committed lewdness and disgrace in Israel.	6. And I took hold of my concubine and dissected her and sent her in all the territory" of the inheritance of the land of Israel for they have done the counsel of sinners and what is not right in Israel.
7. Behold, you are all children of Israel, give yourselves a decision and advice here."	7. Behold all you sons of Israel, give to yourselves a word and counsel here.
8. And all the people arose as one man saying, "No man will go to his tent and no man will turn to his house.	8. And all the people arose as one man, saying: "Let no one go to his tent, and let no one turn aside to his house.
9. And now this is the thing which we will do to Gibeah; (we will go up) against it by lot.	9. And now this is the thing that we swill do to Gibeah: We will be mustered against it by lot.
10. And we will take ten men of a hundred, from all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to take provisions for the people, that they may do when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the disgrace that was done in Israel."	10. And we will take ten men for a hundred for all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred for a thousand, and a thousand for ten thousand, to take provisions to the people, to do to bring them to Gibeah of the house of Benjamin according to all the shame that has been done in Israel."
11. And all the men of Israel were gathered concerning the city, as one man in unison. {P}	11. And all the men of Israel were gathered to the city, joined as one man. {P}
12. ¶ And the tribes of Israel sent men throughout all the tribes of Benjamin saying, "What wickedness is this that has come about among you?	12. ¶ And the tribes of Israel sent men in all the tribes of Benjamin, saying: "What is this evil that has happened among you?
13. Therefore now deliver the wicked men that are in Gibeah and we will put them to death, and we will remove (the perpetrators of) evil from Israel." But the children of Benjamin did not want to obey their brothers, the children of Israel.	13. And now bring forth the men, the sons of wickedness who are in Gibeah; and we will kill them and remove the evildoers from Israel." And the sons of Benjamin were not willing to accept the word of their brothers, the sons of Israel.
14. And the children of Benjamin were gathered out of the cities to Gibeah, to go out to battle against the children of Israel.	14. And the sons of Benjamin were gathered from the cities to Gibeah to go forth to wage battle" with the sons of Israel.
15. And the children of Benjamin numbered on that day, out of the cities twenty-six thousand men that drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who numbered seven hundred chosen men.	15. And the sons of Benjamin were mustered on that day from the cities 26,000 men drawing the sword; apart from those inhabiting Gibeah where seven hundred strong men were mustered.
16. Of all these people there were seven hundred chosen men (with a) shriveled right hand. All these could sling a stone at a hair-breadth and not miss. {P}	16. From all this people there were seven hundred strong men, men whose right hand was bound, all these were ones who were shooting the rock in the sling and aiming at a strand of hair, and they were not missing {P}
17. ¶ And the men of Israel numbered, excluding Benjamin, four hundred thousand men that drew the sword, all these were men of war.	17. ¶ And the men of Israel were mustered apart from those of the house of Benjamin 400,000 men drawing the sword; all these were men waging battle.
18. And they arose and went up to Beth-el, and asked of God, whereupon the children of Israel said, "Who shall go up for us first to battle against the children of Benjamin?" And the Lord said, "Judah first."	18. And they arose and went up to Bethel and inquired of the Memra of the LORD. And the sons of Israel said: "Who will go up for us first to wage battle with the sons of Benjamin?" And the LORD said: "Judah first."
19. And the children of Israel rose up in the morning, and they encamped against Gibeah.	19. And the sons of Israel arose in the morning and camped against Gibeah.
20. And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin. And the men of Israel arrayed battle against them at Gibeah.	20. And the men of Israel went forth to wage battle with those of the house of Benjamin and the men of Israel set up battle with them against Gibeah.
21. And the children of Benjamin came out of Gibeah, and they destroyed of the Israelites on that day twenty-two thousand men, (down) to the ground.	21. And the sons of Benjamin went forth from Gibeah and destroyed in Israel on that day 22,000 men, killed, cast on the ground.
22. And the people, the men of Israel, encouraged themselves, and set again in array the battle in the place where they set themselves in array on the first day.	22. And the people, the men of Israel, strengthened themselves and continued to set up battle in the place where they set it up on the first day.
23. And the children of Israel went up, and wept before the Lord until the evening, and they asked of the Lord saying, "Shall I again draw near to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother?" And the Lord said, "Go up against him," {P}	23. And the sons of Israel went up and wept before the LORD until evening, and they inquired of the Memra of the LORD, saying: "Will I continue to draw near to wage battle with the sons of Benjamin my brother?" And the LORD said: "Go up against them." {P}
24. ¶ And the children of Israel approached the children of Benjamin on the second day.	24. ¶ And the sons of Israel drew near unto the sons of Benjamin on the second day.
25. And Benjamin went out towards them from Gibeah on the second day, and destroyed of the children of Israel another eighteen thousand men (down) to the ground; all these were swordsmen.	25. And those of the house of Benjamin went forth to meet them from Gibeah on the second day, and destroyed among the sons of Israel another 18,000 men, killed, cast to the ground, all those drawing the sword.
26. And all the children of Israel went up, and all the people, and they came to Beth-el and wept, and sat there before the Lord, and fasted on that day until the evening. And they offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before the Lord.	26. And all the sons of Israel and all the people went up and came to Bethel and wept and sat there before the LORD and fasted on that day until evening and brought up holocausts and holy offerings before the LORD.
27. And the children of Israel asked of the Lord, for there was the ark of the covenant of God in those days.	27. And the sons of Israel inquired of the Memra of the LORD, and the ark of the covenant of the LORD was there in those days.
28. And Phinehas the son of Elazar the son of Aaron stood before it in those days (while they were) saying, "Shall I again go out to battle with the children of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease?" And the Lord said, "Go up, for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand."	28. And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, was standing before it in those days, saying: "Will I continue to go forth to wage battle with the sons of Benjamin my brother, or will I hold back?" And the LORD said: "Go up, for tomorrow I will give them into your hand."
29. And Israel set liers-in-wait against Gibeah around. {P}	29. And Israel set men in ambush against Gibeah round about. {P}

Rashi’s Commentary for: Shof’tim (Judges) 19:16-24 + 20:27

2 And his concubine turned away from him She turned from his house to the outside. Every expression of זְנוּת implies going out (rendered (נפקת ברא , e.g., departing from her husband to love others.

6 Accept now and lodge Overnight.

9 has weakened I.e., the sun (has weakened) from its might and has declined to set.

it is the resting (part) of the day It is the time that all wayfarers turn to rest indoors.

12 but we will journey up to Gibeah Of Benjamin.

13 and we will lodge Heb. וְלַנּוּ . To be understood as וְלַנְנוּ , since the “dagesh” of the “nun” replaces the appropriate second "nun".

18 and (I am going) to the House of the Lord I am going to Shiloh (which was in Ephraim).

21 and gave fodder to the donkeys And he gave food (יְבוּל) to the donkeys. וַיָּבָל is aprovender in O.F.

22 so that we may be intimate with him (lit., know him) Homosexually.

28 but no one answered Because she was dead.

Chapter 20

2 פִּנוֹת כָּל הָעַם The chiefs of the people.

5 דִמּוּ לַהֲרוֹג They intended to kill. Adesmernt in O.F.

10 that they may do when they come I.e., when they come at this time to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the disgrace, etc.

11 in unison Agreeing to the same plan.

12 throughout all the tribes of Benjamin His ten families were reckoned as ten tribes, so that from Rachel would (also) issue twelve tribes (two coming from Joseph).

16 (with a) shriveled right hand Their right hands were shriveled. They had no use of it, as though it was closed, as in, (Psalms 69:16) “Do not close (תֶּאְטַר) upon me, O well, your mouth.”

All these I.e., these seven hundred men.

at a hair breadth At a thread of a hair breadth. וְלֹא יַחֲטִיא And not miss.

16 Judah first But they did not attempt to ask whether they would be the victor or the vanquished. However, eventually when they did ask, God said, (v. 28) “Go up, for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand.” Then they (i.e., the Urim and Tummim) agreed (הִסְכִּימוּ) and fulfilled their words.

21 and they destroyed They were punished because they were not equally zealous about the incident of the image of Micah which had already occurred.

Verbal Tallies

By: HH Rosh Paqid Adon Hillel ben David

& HH Giberet Dr. Elisheba bat Sarah

Beresheet (Genesis) 19:1-23 + Beresheet (Genesis) 19:24 – 20:18

Tehillim (Psalm) 14

Shoftim (Judges) 19:16-24 + 20:27

Mk 2:1-5, Lk 5:17-20, Acts 4:23-28

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Psalm are:

Came - בוא, Strong’s number 0935.

Evening - ערב, Strong’s number 06153.

Seeing / saw / see - ראה, Strong’s number 07200.

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Psalm are:

Seeing / saw / see - ראה, Strong’s number 07200.

Bereshit (Genesis) 19:1 And there came <0935> (8799) two <08147> angels <04397> to Sodom <05467> at even <06153>; and Lot <03876> sat <03427> (8802) in the gate <08179> of Sodom <05467>: and Lot <03876> seeing <07200> (8799) them rose up <06965> (8799) to meet <07125> (8800) them; and he bowed <07812> (8691) himself with his face <0639> toward the ground <0776>;

Shoftim (Judges) 19:16 And, behold, there came <0935> (8804) an old <02205> man <0376> from his work <04639> out of the field <07704> at even <06153>, which was also <0376> of mount <02022> Ephraim <0669>; and he sojourned <01481> (8804) in Gibeah <01390>: but the men <0582> of the place <04725> were Benjamites <01145>.

Shoftim (Judges) 19:17 And when he had lifted up <05375> (8799) his eyes <05869>, he saw <07200> (8799) a wayfaring <0732> (8802) man <0376> in the street <07339> of the city <05892>: and the old <02205> man <0376> said <0559> (8799), Whither goest <03212> (8799) thou? and whence <0370> comest <0935> (8799) thou?

Tehillim (Psalm) 14:2 The LORD <03068> looked down <08259> (8689) from heaven <08064> upon the children <01121> of men <0120>, to see <07200> (8800) if there <03426> were any that did understand <07919> (8688), and seek <01875> (8802) God <0430>.

Pirqe Abot – MeAm Lo’ez

Pereq Alef

Mishnayot 17 & 18

By:

Rabbi Yitschaq Magriso

1:17 His son, Shimeon, said: All my life I have grown up among the Sages, and I have not found anything better for the body than silence. The main thing is not study, but practice. Whoever speaks excessively brings about sin.

This Shimeon was the son Rabban Gamaliel mentioned in the previous Mishnah. He was the Rabban Shimeon ben Gamaliel who was one of the Ten Martyrs killed by the Romans, mentioned in the Kinoth of Tisha B'Av. Here, he is merely referred to as Shimeon, and not as Rabban Shimeon ben Gamaliel. This is because when he made this statement, he was not yet president (Nasi). His father lived for many years, and only after his father's death did he become president. [Others however, point out that this is the son of Rabban Hillel, and the mentor of our Master King Yeshua the Messiah]

This master teaches us an enlightened doctrine in everyone of his sayings. When he says, "All my life I grew up among Sages," he is teaching us a lesson regarding the trait of humility (anavah). He said, "All my days, even after I became president [of the Sanhedrin] and leader of all Israel, I never acted like an important person. I always comported myself like a minor figure among the great. Although I was the leader, and my colleagues were subservient to me, I always honored them as if they were the leaders, and I was the one who was subservient to them.

This is a very important lesson in leadership. Although a person rises to high position and becomes a leader of Israel, he should still act and behave with much humility, and not assert his authority over the people. He continues, "I have not found anything better for the body than silence." With matters that relate to the body and not the soul, there is nothing better than to keep quiet and say as little as possible. Excessive talk leads one to sin.

However, in speech that relates to the soul, such as Torah study, prayer, and discussions of the commandments, silence is no virtue. In such areas, speech is a virtue.

Rabbi Moshe [Maimonides] says that the sign of a wise man, who is in control of his intellect, is minimal speech. Excessive speech is a sign of mental disturbance. He relates that there was once a Sage who was always very quiet speaking only when absolutely necessary. When asked the reason for this reticence, the sage replied:

Human speech can be divided into four categories.

· The first category is entirely evil and dangerous.

· The second is good on one hand, but bad on the other.

· The third is neither good nor bad.

· And the fourth is entirely good.

The first category, which is all bad, includes malicious speech (Lashon Ha-Ra) against one's fellow man. cursing and insulting others, profanity (nivloth ha-peh) and speaking in the synagogue.

The second category, which is good on one hand and bad on the other, consists of publicly praising a person and speaking of his good deeds. There is some benefit from this, but there can always be enemies of this person among the listeners. When the enemy hears this person being praised, he may be incited to even greater hatred, and evil may ensue.

The third category, which is neither good nor bad, is the idle discussion of current happenings, such as wars and construction of buildings. People stand around and discuss how one king made war on another, and how such a person built such an edifice. While such chatter is not harmful. neither is it beneficial.

The fourth category, which is entirely good, consists of discussions of Torah topics and the observance of commandments, prayer, and discussion how to acquire good traits and avoid bad ones.

The sage concluded, "And since, of the four types of conversations in the world, two are dangerous, and the third is useless, when I hear such conversations I remain silent. I know for certain that no good will come from them. It is only when I hear the fourth type of conversation that I participate. That is why I am usually silent. Of the four categories of human conversation, I avoid three."

Rabbi Moshe [Maimonides] divides speech into five categories:

1. The virtuous (Mitzvah).
2. The forbidden (Niz-har).
3. The loathsome (Nim'as).
4. The desirable (Ahuv).
5. The permissible (Mutar), neither virtuous nor forbidden.

Virtuous speech consists of discussions of Torah, prayer, and commandments.

Forbidden speech consists of lies, malicious gossip (Lashon Ha-Ra), false testimony, profanity, and cursing or insulting one's fellow man. All this is forbidden by the Torah.

The third category, which is the loathsome, includes idle discussion of current happenings, as wars and the political intrigues between kings. God abhors such speech, because instead of wasting time in such idle conversation, one should use the time to study Torah. Our sages called such speech idle conversation (Sichah B’talah). Many Sages were praised by the Talmud merely because all their lives they never engaged in such idle conversation.

The fourth type of speech, which is considered desirable, consists of discussions bordering on good personality traits, how to improve one's ways, and how to avoid bad traits, and the company of the wicked. As a result of such conversation, people are able to avoid bad personality traits and crooked paths, and develop good traits, thus walking in the path of righteousness/generosity. Since such conversation causes a person to be loved by God, it is called "loved" or desirable speech.

The fifth category, which is considered permissible, involves speech necessary for one's personal life, such as his business and livelihood. It is called permissible, since a person is allowed to speak about it when necessary, and it is neither loathsome nor desirable.

It is with regard to this fifth category of speech that our Sages have taught that silence is good. Here, one must be very careful of what he says. With regard to the categories of forbidden and loathsome speech the Sages did not have to tell us that silence is good, since one understands that such speech must be avoided totally.

The admonition also did not apply to the virtuous and desirable categories of speech, since one gains merit for it. But when engaging in these categories of speech, one must also carry out what he says. He should not preach one thing to the public, and do the opposite himself. The master thus adds, "The main thing is not preaching, but practice." When you preach to the public and admonish them, that is not the main thing. You must also practice what you preach. When a person admonishes others and preaches in excess of what he himself does, he is committing a sin and subjecting himself to the usual criticism that he should correct himself before correcting others.

Some commentaries state that when the master says, "I have not found anything as good for the body as silence," he was speaking about answering one who has dishonored or mistreated you. The best advice is to remain silent and not reply.

One of the sages thus gave his son the following general advice: If you cannot bear to hear one word of insult, you will end up hearing many more words of insult. But if you remain silent to the insult, you will also silence the one bent on insulting you. If you wish to avenge an evil act, there is no better vengeance than remaining silent and not replying.

The Talmud speaks of the person who remains silent and does not reply to an insult, not out of fear, but because of respect for God. Such a person considers the insult or dishonor as suffering which will atone for his sins (Kaparath Avonoth). The Talmud states that regarding such a person it is written, "Those who love [God] will be like the sun, when it goes forth in strength" (Judges 5:31).

This Talmudic statement can be understood in terms of the teaching that when they were first created, the moon quarrelled with the sun, and complained to God that "It is not possible for two kings to wear the same crown." The moon claimed that it had sufficient light to illuminate the world, and there was no need for the sun. The result, however, was that God became angry with the moon, and He reduced its size. Since the sun remained silent, God made it even greater than it was originally.

Similarly, God reduces the person who dishonors and mistreats others. But when the other listens to his insults in silence, he is elevated to heights of greatness.

Because of this, the master said, "I have not found anything better for the body than silence." He is saying that even when one is insulted, there is no better response than to remain silent.

As additional proof as to the value of silence, the master continues by saying, "The main thing is not study, but action." When a person studies the Torah, he has merit for his studies only if he lives by them. If he practices what he studies, then the study itself is considered a virtue. But if a person does not practice what he studies, then he would have been better off if he had remained silent.

The reason for this is because a Torah Scholar is judged more harshly if he does wrong than is an ignoramus. Unless one intends to keep what he learns, it is better to remain silent and not study.

The master concludes that it is therefore certainly best to remain silent in mundane matters, since "One who talks excessively brings himself to sin."

Although God had commanded Adam and Eve not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge, he had not forbidden them to touch it. But when asked by the serpent, Eve answered, "God said, 'do not eat from it, and do not touch it, lest you die'" (Genesis 3:3). The serpent then pushed Eve against the tree, making her touch it. He then said to her, "You see! You touched the tree and you did not die! Just as you did not die when you touched the tree, you will not die if you eat its fruit." It was in this manner that he induced her to eat from the Tree of Knowledge, bringing such disaster to the world.

We thus see that excessive speech was the cause of even the first sin. If Eve had not said more than she had to, the serpent would never have been able to bring her to sin.

1:18 Rabban Shimeon ben Gamaliel said: The world is sustained upon three things: upon Law, upon truth, and upon peace. It is thus written, "You must administer truth, justice and peace within your gates" (Zechariah 8:16).

The Rabban Shimeon ben Gamaliel mentioned in this Mishnah was the grandson of the Rabbi Shimeon mentioned in the previous Mishnah (1:17). He was the father of Rabbi Yehudah the Prince mentioned at the beginning of the next chapter.

This master said that the world is sustained upon three things: Law, truth and peace. Actually, this appears to reflect the teaching of Shimeon the Saint at the beginning of this chapter, who said that the world was created for three things: Torah, service, and deeds of kindness (1:2).

Shimeon the Saint, however, was speaking of the initial act of creation. With regard to this, he says that the world was created for the sake of three things: Torah, service, and acts of kindness. Now, at the end of the chapter, Rabban Shimeon ben Gamaliel is saying that after the world was created, it is now sustained by three things: Law, truth, and peace.

All three of these concepts are actually related to justice. The first is Law (Din). This relates to the judge (Dayan), who must judge truly and ferret out falsehood. The second is truth. This depends on the witness, who must not testify falsely. The third is peace. This depends on the litigants themselves. They must accept the verdict graciously, even though one is the winner and the other is the loser. They must reconcile their differences, and make peace as if they were never engaged in a lawsuit.

If not for the Law, civilization would come to an end. Whoever was stronger would prevail (Kol D’Alim G’var) and each person would forcibly take what rightly belonged to others. It is thus taught that every judge who judges according to the true Law (Din Emet La’Amitu) is like a partner with God in creation. The reason for this is because it is God's will to populate the world.

Bent on stealing the belongings of others, the wicked would be the cause of destruction of civilization, and ultimately, of the world itself. This was true of the generation that experienced the Great Flood (Dor Ha-Mabul) in the time of Noah. The final decree (Gezar Din) was sealed against them because of robbery (Gezel). God thus told Noah, "The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is full of crime before them" (Genesis 6:13).

The presence of an honest judge therefore sustains the world. It is he who punishes the thief and returns property to its rightful owner. God's will is thus fulfilled. It was also for this reason that Abraham was called "God's friend," as God said, "the offspring of Abraham, My friend" (Isaiah 41:8). This was because he taught the world the rule of Law. This same principle was one of his main teachings to his children.

The Torah likewise devotes an entire section to Jethro's advice to Moses with regard to Law and justice. Jethro advised Moses to appoint judges over the people, and thus establish the principle that no one may appropriate another's belongings without the case being adjudicated according to Torah Law (Din Torah). God agreed to that advice (Exodus 18:19-26).

Similarly, when Joshua gave his final instructions to the Israelites and made a pact with them, giving them to understand the basic points of Judaism, his last words were to remind them of the importance of Law (Joshua 24:25). He taught them that this is the foundation and root of the entire Torah. After the death of Joshua, the leaders of Israel were referred to as the Judges (Shoftim). Their task was to judge the people and mete out punishment where it was deserved, never allowing anyone to escape justice. As a result of the high state of civilization that this produced, the Israelites were able to survive their enemies.

When Samuel became the leader of Israel, he would travel throughout the land to judge the people. Each year he would go to places where he had never been before to establish justice among the people and remove all crookedness and corruption from among them. It was therefore a fitting act that Samuel anointed David as king over Israel. It is thus written, "David administered justice and charity to all his people, and Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was over the army" (2 Samuei8:15:16). It is also written, "Joab brought the rest of the city to life" (1 Chronicles 11:8). It is taught that through the merit of the justice administered by David, the people were ruled by his second in command (Mishneh), Joab, and were given a new lease for life.

When Solomon succeeded his father David as king, all he asked of God was for “an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil” (1 Kings 3:9). He merely wanted the ability to recognize if there was any Falsehood in a case (Metziuth). This pleased God, since Solomon did not ask for wealth and greatness (1 Kings 3:11). God thus granted his wish, and gave him such great wisdom and renown, that it was never paralleled, and never will there be another individual so learned in Jewish jurisprudence (1 Kings 5:9-14).

The hope of all Israel is the coming of the Messiah (Mashiach). Regarding the Messiah, it is written "He will judge the destitute with righteousness/generosity, and decide with equality for the poor of the land" (Isaiah 11:4). This means that the Messiah will judge with justice, and punish the populace with righteousness/generosity.

Jerusalem will also be rebuilt only through the merit of justice, as it is written, "Zion will be redeemed through justice" (Isaiah 1:27). This is because God loves justice, preferring it to all sacrifices (Korbanot). Moreover, when a case is adjudicated between two litigants, and both the winner and loser accept the verdict with joy, they are considered partners with God in creation.

NAZAREAN TALMUD

Sidra Of B’resheet (Gen.) 19:1-23 + 19:24 – 20:18

“וַיָּבֹאוּ שְׁנֵי הַמַּלְאָכִים” - “VayaVou Sh’nei HaMal’akhim” - “And came the two angels”

By: Paqid Dr. Adon Eliyahu ben Abraham &

Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

SCHOOL OF HAKHAM SHAUL Tosefta (Luke 5:17-26) Mishnah ה:ב	School of Hakham Tsefet Peshat (Mark 2:1-12) Mishnah א:ב
And now it happened on one of the days, while he (Yeshua) was teaching [Oral Torah – the Mesorah], the P’rushim and Torah teachers were sitting (with him), who had come out of every village of the Galil and as far as Yehudah and Yerushalayim. And the power of the Lord was in him (Yeshua), for the healing of them. And behold, [four] men were carrying, a man on a cot, who was paralyzed. And they wanted to bring him in and to lay him before him (Yeshua); but finding no way to bring him in through the multitude, they went up on the housetop, and let him down through the tiles with his cot into the midst, before Yeshua. And seeing their faithful obedience, he announced to him, “Man your sins are forgiven.” And the P’rushim and their Soferim began to reason (drash), saying, “Who is this who speaks evil words?[153] “Who can forgive sins, except the One God?” But knowing (having Da’at)[154] their thoughts, Yeshua answering, said to them, “Why do you [try to do drash on my words] in your hearts (minds)?” “Which is easier, to announce (say), Your sins are forgiven you; or to say, Rise up and walk?” But so that you may know[155] that the Son of Man (Hebrew: Ben Adam – a title given to Jewish prophets) has authority to [announce the] forgiveness of sins on earth, he announced to the paralytic, “I announce to you, Arise, and take up your cot and go to your house.” And immediately[156] he stood up before them and took up that which he had laid on. And he went[157] to his own house, magnifying God. And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear (Awe of God), saying, “We saw wonderful things today.”	א.1 And [when] he returned to K’far Nachum (Capernaum) after a few days^[158], and it was reported^[159] (heard) that he (Yeshua) is in the house^[160] (at home),^[161] And  immediately many were assembled (gathered together), so that there was not any room even in front of the door,[162] and he was speaking (teaching) the Word (i.e. the Oral Torah to them). And they came[163] to him, bringing a paralytic, carried (taken up) by four (men), And not being able to come near to him (Yeshua) because of the multitude [blocking the door], they unearthed[164] the roof[165] where he was, and, having dug through it, they lowered the cot which the paralytic was lying on, And Yeshua having seen their faithful obedience, announced to the paralytic, “Son,[166] your sins have been forgiven[167] [now – at this moment]. א.2 And there were some of the Soferim (Scribes) there sitting,[168] and reasoning[169] in their hearts (minds), “Why does this one thus speak evil words?[170] Who is able to announce the forgiveness of sins except the One God?” And immediately Yeshua, knowing in his spirit [having Da’at]^[171] that they were reasoning in themselves, said to them, “Why these things do you reason in your hearts (minds)? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, Your sins have been forgiven to you? Or to say, Rise, and take up your cot, and walk? And, that you may know that the Son of Man (Hebrew: Ben Adam – a title given to Jewish prophets) has authority[172] on the earth to [announce the] forgiveness of sins – (he said to the paralytic) – I say to you, [In G-d’s name – authority] stand (up), and take up your cot, and return home;” And he stood up immediately, and having taken up the cot, he went[173] forth before everyone, so that all were astonished, and glorified God, saying – “We have never seen anything like this [before].”[174]
School of Hakham Shaul Remes (2 Luqas – Acts 4:23-31) Pereq ד:ג
And being released, they went to their own company and announced what the Kohen Gadol and their Zekanim had said to them. And having heard, they lifted up[175] their voice to God in unity and said, Lord, who made the heavens and earth, the sea and all that is in it; who keeps truth forever (Ps. 146:6)[176]; who by the mouth of Your servant David has said, "The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers plot together, against the Lord and against His anointed," For in this city, against Your holy servant Yeshua, whom You have anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, representing the nations, and [some of] the people of Israel[177], were gathered together in order to do whatever Your hand and Your counsel determined before to be done. And now, Lord, behold their threatening’s, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your Torah (Oral Word), by stretching forth of Your hand for healing, and miracles, and wonders may be done on the authority of Your holy servant Yeshua. And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled was shaken. And they were all filled with the Breath of the Holy Oral Torah (Holy Spirit), and they spoke the Mesorah (Word) of God with boldness.

Nazarean Codicil to be read in conjunction with the following Torah Sedarim,

Gen 19:1-23	14:1-3	Jud 19:16-24 + 20:27	Mk 2:1-5	Lk 5:17-20	Acts 4:23-28
Gen 19:24 – 20:18	14:4-7	Amos 4:7 – 5:4	Mk 2:6-12	Lk 5:21-26	Acts 4:29-31

Commentary to Hakham Tsefet’s School of Peshat

The present double pericope of Mordechai conjoined with the Lucan double pericope presents some halakhic problems as well as some fascinating materials for building an allegorical interpretation of halakhic import. Before we begin we must assert that there is an amazing amount of subliminal continuity with the present Torahs Seder. We have noted some of these connections; however, it would be worthwhile to scrutinize the materials closely for all the possible connections and their implications.

Hakham Tsefet uses the story of the paralytic man to illustrate and dramatize his halakhic materials. Hakham Tsefet demonstrates the perfect use of Aggadic imput for his purposes. Neusner notes…

Halakhic discourse seldom invokes Aggadah to accomplish its purposes. In Rabbinic literature, rarely indeed does a fully articulated halakhic category-formation encompass and utilize a fully articulated aggadic category-formation. To be sure, an aggadic composition may find a place in proximity to a halakhic exposition. But the Halakhah within its own categorical bounds will not then exploit the aggadic discourse for its purpose, e.g., allude to the aggadic fact to make the halakhic point. That is so, even though the rare exceptions to that rule show that the halakhic discourse could have done so. Conversely, when the aggadic category-formation defines the primary discourse, e.g., in a Midrash-compilation, the Halakhah in its cogent category-formations still more rarely occurs in aggadic composites.^[178]

Consequently we see that Hakham Tsefet intertwines just enough of a “story” into his materials to hold the mind while he establishes his halakhic provisions. This pericope might be better served in the cycle which would allow its division into two pericopes. Nevertheless, the materials before us sum the halakhic thoughts he wishes to convey as a single unit.

Let us take note of the structure of the double pericope

· Return to K’far Nachum

· Teaching the Torah - Oral Torah

· Yeshua at home

· Assembly of the many

· The arrival of the paralytic

· The blocked door

· The faithful commitment of the four in seeing their friend healed

· Faithful Obedience

· Assembly of the P’rushim and Soferim

· Demonstration of Da’at

· Announcement of the forgiveness of the paralytic’s sins

· The paralytic stands

· The Paralytic’s return home

· The Awe of God – The Father

At the core of this pericope are two daunting questions.

1. What is sin, or what happens when one sins?

2. What is forgiveness of sin?

The Lucan Tosefta alters the story very little. However, it does have minute points that will assist us in elucidating present materials. We will not be able to comment on more than a small amount of this material because of our restraints of time and space.

The Announcement

At the core of the pericope are “the result of sin” and the question of “forgiveness of sin.” The question of the latter is the real question of Yeshua as Messiah’s ability to, “forgive sin.” This argument is one of the most debated issues in contemporary Christianity. We will see that this is not the issue in the present pericope. Likewise, a history of poor or agendized translations has led the flock in the wrong direction.

Scholars suggest a number of possible interpretative solutions.

1. The Divine Passive

2. Authority to forgive sin

3. The Principle (power) of Divine Agency

In the wisdom of our Hakham, His Eminence Rabbi Dr Yosef ben Haggai we will not try to reinvent the wheel. In other words, this argument has been taken up by others. As a result, we will gloss the issue superficially. Guelich offers the possible variations of the argument.

“Your sins are forgiven” (ἀφίενταί σου αἱ ἁμαρτίαι). If one takes this construction as a divine passive (e.g., Jeremias, Theology, 114; Schweizer, 61; Pesch, 1:156; Grundmann, 76), Jesus declares that God forgives the paralytic his sins (similarly, 3:28; 4:12; Luke 7:47–48; John 20:23). Or if Jesus authoritatively declares that the man’s sins are forgiven, he himself usurps God’s prerogative to forgive sins).^[179]

For the answer to this argument we allow Lane to solve the problem.

“The passive expression was a customary Jewish way of making a pronouncement about G-d’s action while avoiding the Divine Name. Cf. II Samuel 12:13, “David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the LORD.’ And Nathan said to David, ‘The LORD has pardoned your sin.’” When transposed to the passive, in keeping with first century usage, Nathan’s statement becomes: “your sin is pardoned.” Yeshua’s word to the paralytic would be understood as the pronouncement, “G-d forgives you.”[180]

Consequently, the apparent “evil words” of Yeshua are not his “forgiveness of sin.” The question at hand is Yeshua’s authority to announce the “forgiveness of sins as a Divine Agent i.e. Messiah. The English readings of this pericope are difficult and strained. Even the Hebrew translation by Franz Delitzsch is fraught with problems offering little help. At the core of this pericope are two words, which need elucidation. We have tried to make the translation lucid and apropos.

ἀφίημι

ἀφίημι, (aphiemi) typically translates as “forgiveness.” While “forgiveness” is certainly within the realm of a possible way to translate this word, it is not the most fitting translation, given our present context. At the root of this word is the concept of “release.”[181] This being the case we see Hakham Tsefet laying the foundation for release in the Yobel (Jubilee) as it approaches.[182]

As the Divine agent, Messiah does not “forgive sin.” Messiah as a Divine agent announces the forgiveness of sin. The question is how we can possibly derive this conclusion? Simply stated the answer is found in the phrase “Son of Man.” This Hebraism is a title denoting the office of a Prophet. Herein the principle of agency is compounded. Firstly, because this makes Yeshua a prophet (Divine Spokesman). Secondly, because he is Messiah. Accordingly, Messiah the Prophet has full authority to announce the forgiveness of sin. The full ramifications of these thoughts have yet to be comprehended and explored.

Yeshua’s declaration that “at that moment” the “child’s sins were forgiven” demonstrates a healing of his paralysis. This causes us to leave behind the masked materials of the superficial and try to look beyond the letters and words of the text in a more abstract way.

And immediately Yeshua, knowing in his spirit [having Da’at].

ἐπιγνοὺς, ἐπιγινώσκω – epiginosko perceiving is here related to the spiritual quality of Da’at devoted to the ministerial quality of Unity and Virtue. “Epi” gives the full weight of “ginosko” indicating the fullness of Yeshua’s relationship with the upper triad of Hokhmah, Binah and Da’at (ChaBaD). In other words, Yeshua is “full” of Da’at. We tread lightly here understanding the implications of our words. The Divine agency of Messiah/Prophet makes Yeshua able to perceive – intuitively “intimately know,” the contrivances of the arguments in their minds. The solution is truly Peshat. Yeshua’s ability to “perceive” – intuitively “intimately know” is related to his deep association with the quality of virtue as noted above. Therefore, his perception allows him the opportunity to see the consequence of sin. This is what it is like to see through the eyes of a Hakham.

Paralysis

Because Hakham Tsefet is primarily concerned with halakhah, we must believe that some halakhic breach had “paralyzed” the man. Here we must guard ourselves from crossing into Remes hermeneutics for our answer. The aggadic materials naturally lead to deeper interpretations. Nonetheless, grammatical analysis of the Greek παραλυτικός, - paralutikos superficially mean to be lame or paralyzed. Paralutikos is a host of possible diseases as used in the Biblical Greek text. Some scholars suggest that paralutikos is only used of paralysis.[183] In some unexplained way[184] sin has a lasting effect on the soul. We might say that sin blemishes the soul in some unseen, manner. And while we do not believe that sin is the cause of every sickness we must assert that sin brings about some of the most unexplainable manifestations of illness the medical profession has ever had to deal with. Therefore, medicine needs to deal with the whole man, mind[185] body and soul. Consequently, Yeshua deals with “sin” rather than illness in this case. Are we suggesting that the paralytic was a “sinner”? No, by no means! It would be erroneous to believe so. Nevertheless, we must remember that “ALL MEN” sin including our paralytic. The present case may well have been somewhat psychosomatic. Yeshua’s announcement of forgiveness brings cleansing to the mind and soul freeing the paralytic from his “cot.”

Peroration

In summary we note that sin can cause seeming irreparable damage to the mind and soul. However, the medicinal application of teshuba brings forgiveness and reparation to the soul. Therefore, we must take note that sin leaves a blemish on the soul. Teshuba brings forgiveness for sin; however, teshuba does not eradicate the consequence of sin. The question remains as to how to derive a halakhic interpretation from this pericope. Again we resort to Abot 1:1

And as it is said: “Mosheh received the Torah from Sinai and gospelled it down to Yehoshua, and Yehoshua gospelled it down to the Elders, the Elders to the Prophets, and the Prophets gospelled it down to the Men of the Great Assembly. They (the Men of the Great Assembly) emphasized three things; Be deliberate in judgment, make stand many disciples, and make a fence around the Torah” (P. Abot 1:1).

Here we must be careful to avoid Remes hermeneutic. Nevertheless, we note that the present pericope of Mordechai and Luqas tell us that if we are careful to make the halakhic fence we will not feel the effects of sin. We would also suggest the abiding by these fences is the Rabbinic way of protecting talmidim and the Esnoga (Synagogue).from the effects of sin.

Remes Commentary to Hakham Shaul

As noted above in the Peshat commentary, Hakham Tsefet weaves aggadic materials into his Mishnah for dramatization and holding attention. However, the aggadic material leaves itself open to a splendid Remes.

K’far Nachum

Our saga begins in a “City” called “Nahum” or we might say in the “City of Compassion,” repentance (teshuba), consolation and strengthening. Given the fact that the present Shabbat is the 16^th of Tammuz we find this allusion very amazing. Facing the catastrophic events which have plagued the Jewish people for millennia, we note that G-d gives us the solution before we face the problem. We might call this preventative medicine. Furthermore, we see that even as we face the three weeks of “bein hametzarim” – “between the strictures,” G-d is trying to extend “comfort and strength” to us. Likewise, He is telling us that we should and can, face these three weeks with strength and the resolve to repair the breech of the past through compassion and repentance. We realize that the ensuing month is the Month of Av/the Lion which is notorious for the Fast of the 9^th and the destruction of the Temple. The Markan phrase “after a few days”can say to us that after a few days we will experience the compassion, strength and comfort of our G-d. This phrase can also be interpreted as an eschatological term suggestion that we will find comfort at the end of our testings. At the end of this age there will be a great assembly (gathered together), around the “door.” Here our reference to the door can be two-fold. Firstly, we speak of the door as the Torah. We will congregate around the Torah as a door that leads us to the halls of the Eternal. Secondly, we can say that we will congregate around the “door” Messiah who will uncover the deepest mysteries of the Torah and how it was our guide through this telluric world.

Fantastic Four

The paralytic of the present pericope must be overwhelmingly grateful for his four companions who persevered enough to bring him before Yeshua. Grasping his cot by the four kanfot (corners) they enact the chessed we petition G-d for in the Amidah and preparation for the Shema. Consequently, we find a reference to the Amidah here once again. The refrain “Who sustains the living with kindness – chesed, resurrects the dead with great compassion who supports the fallen, heals the sick releases the imprisoned, and fulfills His trusted Word to those who sleep in the dust”[186] from our Shabbat Amidah resonates with this pericope. We might see here an allegorical reference to wearing the tallit with its “four” kanfot. We would further opine that we see the reference to the ingathering of the exiles who have been paralyzed by their environs. As we gather the “four” kanfot we say…

“Hurry and bring upon us blessing and peace, speedily, from the four corners of the entire earth. Break the yoke of the nations from our necks and quickly lead us proudly to our land.”[187]

The pericope is proliferating with suggestive hints. Therefore, we would be remiss if we did not take note of the reference to the “four” levels of hermeneutics PaRDeS. Yeshua’s demonstration of Da’at relates him to the upper realms of the Sefirot and noted above. However, the pericope notes that there is a flow of Divine essential energy from above. Or we should say that the tearing off of the roof is a petition for healing. Or we could further develop the idea of tearing open the roof as an allegory for ridding ourselves of the mental paralysis preconceived notions. The four levels of hermeneutic will not allow a Jewish man to remain mentally paralyzed if he embraces them. We note that the “bed” that the paralytic lies on is only a make-shift cot or stretcher. The point here is that “paralysis” can only be temporary for those schooled in PaRDeS hermeneutics. The Lucan account deepens the allegory.

They went up on the housetop, and let him down through the tiles with his cot into the midst, before Yeshua.

The friends that “GO UP” and then “descend” carries deep mystical connotations. However, we must interject that, like Abram who could not have a child as “Abram” when taken out of doors (UP above the constellations) where he sees that the miracle will happen in his beloved wife and she will conceive, the four men saw no way to Yeshua through normal means. Therefore, they ascended above the house [188]in very much the same way Abram ascended above the constellations. The paralytic’s fate was in the hands of these faithfully obedient tenacious friends. Normally, the paralytic would have been led out somewhere to live out his final hours in the wilderness. We note here that PaRDeS is the soul’s redeemer and salvation. Through PaRDeS the soul is able to ascend above the normal confines of the telluric world. Through this ascension via the vehicle of PaRDeS the soul can grasp aggadic/abstract materials which can set the soul on the correct path. The halakhic implications here are staggering. The Torah is for life. Likewise, the Torah is to be “walked.” Where there is no “walk” there is no life. The soul trapped within an earthen suit must have expression. There are those who would live in an ethereal word of mental bliss divorced from the terrestrial norms. This is NOT G-d’s way nor is it the way of the Jew. While we find great satisfaction in “KNOWING” esoteric truths, KNOWING is not enough. The human soul is the product of the union of Compassion and the neighbouring presence of G-d.[189] Therefore, the human soul needs expression. It cannot remain locked (paralysed) inside conceptual inanimate world. The upper world of aggadic truth teaches us how to think and what to believe per se. It also tells us what we are to teach.

The Principle of the Door

Both the Torah Seder and Nazarean Codicil play heavily on the word “door.” Allegorically we think of the door or gate as an aperture. This aperture is a restrictive point of access. It takes little imagination to understand that a gate or door refers to the access of mind or spirit. As such, these openings must be guarded at all costs. The door that is tightly shut will not allow false ideas enter through normal means. Through the allegory of the present pericope we see that the materials of PaRDeS do not enter the mind through the typical telluric manner. This allegory can be seen from different facets. Firstly, we look at is as a positive. The guarded mind is only open to those things (Truths) which descend from above. Looking at the allegory negatively we see that the mind which will not receive the truths of PaRDeS because of those obstructions which aim at keeping us from the truth.

2 Pe.2:6 And [the] cities of Sodom (Heb. Sedom) and Gomorrah (Heb. Amorah) having reduced to ashes catastrophically, [He, i.e. God] condemned [them], [as an] example[190] (sign) [to those] profane (ungodly) ones. And righteous/generous Lot, [from] oppression by the Lawless (atheistic) in licentious conduct [He, i.e. God] rescued (set free from destruction). But the act of seeing what he saw and hearing what he heard while residing among them day by day tormented his soul.

Lot “sat” at the “gate” to Sedom.

B’resheet 19:1 And the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom, and Lot saw and arose toward them, and he prostrated himself on his face to the ground.

The reference to “sitting” can be two-fold. First it can be a reference to “judging.”[191] It was in the city gates that judgments took place. Secondly, sitting can be a reference to studying Torah. When we look at the context we can determine that Lot was acting as a judge in Sedom.

B’resheet 19:9 And they said: “Stand back.” And they said: “This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs to play the judge; now will we deal worse with thee, than with them.” And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and drew near to break the door. ^JPS

Unfortunately, Lot was not a good judge, this because the judgments of Lot were not based on the Oral Taught to him by Abraham. We might say in a phrase the Lot judged by the standard “while in Rome.” The city of Sedom was given to all sorts of lawless practices and Lot made no reforms.

With regard to “sitting” as study, we look to our pericope of Mordechai and Luqas. Both accounts suggest that there is a possibility that the P’rushim and Torah Teachers are there studying with Yeshua. These P’rushim and Torah Teachers may have been from either school, i.e. Hillel and Shammai. The negativity of the pericope would seem to suggest that they were from the Shammaite School. However, we must note that while there were sharp contrasts to their views, Hillel and Shammai actually studied together. It was among the students that the difficulties of sharp contrast immerged. We see here a possible allusion to the two schools in study together. The Markan conclusion suggests that they were possibly convinced that Yeshua, as a Hakham was correct.

The Easy Way Out – A Paradox

The question lurking behind the seeming masked materials stares us right in the face. Which is easier to announce…?

· Your sins are forgiven?

· Or, Take up your cot and walk?

The paradox is missed by the untrained eye. Both questions need to be understood and addressed before the resolve can be made. The announcement “take up your cot” would imply the ability to heal supernaturally. Here we uses with great trepidation. That which is “supernatural” is supra – natura, above the powers of nature. In contrast the question of announcing the “forgiveness of sin” is interpreted by some to suggest that Yeshua had the power to forgive sin. The derash is solved in the Talmud.[192]

b. Ned 41a R. Alexandri said in the name of R. Hiyya b. Abba: A sick man does not recover from his sickness until all his sins are forgiven him, as it is written, Who forgives all your iniquities; who heals all your diseases.[193] R. Hamnuna said: He [then] returns to the days of his youth, for it is written, His flesh will be fresher than a child's: he will return to the days of his youth.[194]

Therefore, the paradox and drash makes perfect sense when we understand that forgiveness of sins is requisite for any healing to take place.

Here the Nazarean Codicil demonstrates Yeshua agreeance with this Gemara siding with the school of Hillel. However, we can see in this that not only was Yeshua in agreeance with this Gemara, he taught this Gemara to his talmidim.

Ya’akov (Ja) 5:16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous/generous man (a Hakham) can accomplish many things.

Ya’akov the brother of Yeshua notes that sin and sickness are interrelated. The cited verse is simply a paraphrase of the Gemara. Here we are not suggesting that we tell every little “sin” that we have committed. Nonetheless, it is truly praiseworthy to admit that we have shortcomings in areas of our life. Perhaps a bit more contextually this verse refers to the confession of sins we commit against our brother. These “sins” G-d cannot forgive. We are in no way implying that every sneeze, cough of sniffle is the result of “sin.” What we are saying is that sin has “side effects.” These side effects leave marks on the soul, some which teshuba can heal, some which confession can heal and some that need the prayers of a Hakham.

Which is easier to announce? Obviously, it is easier to prophetically announce that one’s sins are forgiven rather than having to say “Rise up and walk” because “your sins have been forgiven.” Therefore, we see Yeshua used plain simple logic in his application of halakhah.

Peroration

The present pericope leaves us with somewhat of a paradox. We see that someone from the narrative of our pericope suggests that Yeshua is speaking “evil words” – Lashon HaRa. We can hardly imagine that the house of Shammai would have believed this to be true unless they were vehemently opposed to Yeshua being Messiah and being a Prophet, which is in the realm of possibility. Another scenario is that there may have been some Tz’dukim (Sadducees) in the audience. This would have easily enraged them and brought about the same words which were the condemning words of the Kohen Gadol. “This man has spoken blasphemy.” Consequently we see that the there was a mixed congregation. This would solve the paradoxical ending of our pericope.

“We have never seen anything like this [before].” “We saw wonderful things today.”

These words are but a positive and negative echo of the book of Judges (our Ashlamatah)…

All who saw it said, "Nothing like this has ever happened or been seen from the day when the sons of Israel came up from the land of Egypt to this day. Consider it, take counsel and speak up!" ^{Jdg 19:30}

Yeshua, HaMashiach, a Prophet (Nabi) and Hakham demonstrates the qualities which we should ever seek to emulate. He knows when to rebuke as we saw last week and he also knows when to demonstrate compassion. The Master utilizes every gift at his disposal. Therefore, as a halakhic statement we suggest that it is the duty of every Nazarean Jew to do his best to develop all his spiritual skills to the best of his ability. These transcendent skills have been placed in our spiritual toolbox for a reason.

Amen v’amen

Questions for Understanding and Reflection

1. From all the readings for this Shabbat which verse or verses impressed your heart and fired your imagination?
2. What questions were asked of Rashi regarding Gen. 19:1?
3. What questions were asked of Rashi regarding Gen. 19:2?
4. What questions were asked of Rashi regarding Gen. 19:11?
5. What questions were asked of Rashi regarding Gen. 19:17?
6. What questions were asked of Rashi regarding Gen. 19:20?
7. What questions were asked of Rashi regarding Gen. 19:26?
8. What questions were asked of Rashi regarding Gen. 19:33?
9. What questions were asked of Rashi regarding Gen. 20:12?
10. What questions were asked of Rashi regarding Gen. 20:15?
11. The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan for Gen. 19:1 states: “Two angels came to Sedom at the evening; and Lot sat in the gate of Sedom. And Lot saw, and rose up to meet them from the gate of the tabernacle. And he bowed his face to the ground." What was Lot doing in the Gate of Sedom and what does it mean " and rose up to meet them from the gate of the tabernacle"? Is there a pearl of wisdom to be derived from the statement: “and Lot sat in the gate of Sedom"?
12. What important lesson in G-dly protocol can we learn from Genesis 19:3? Please explain your answer.
13. What reasons does the Ramban provide as to why Lot’s wife turned into a pillar of salt?
14. Rashi and the Ramban state that "Wherever it is said, ‘And the Eternal’ it means Him and His Celestial Court.” What is intimated by this phrase (G-d and His Celestial Court)?
15. What 5 tragedies have occurred on the 17^th of Tammuz, and why are these so relevant for us today?
16. Allegorically speaking, what is a “paralytic”?
17. Why is it impossible for His Majesty King Yeshua to forgive sins? Please justify your answer.
18. This being so, why then do the Scribes and Pharisees were protesting according to Hakham Tsefet, and Hakham Shaul?
19. Hakham Shaul informs us in the Tosefta of Luke: “the P’rushim and Torah teachers were sitting (with him), who had come out of every village of the Galil and as far as Yehudah and Yerushalayim.” Why wre so many learned men coming to see and hear the Master from all over the Galil and Yehudah and Yerushalayim. Please explain your answer.
20. Taking into consideration all the readings for this Shabbat what is the prophetic statement for this week?

Blessing After Torah Study

Barúch Atáh Adonai, Elohénu Meléch HaOlám,

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

Barúch Atáh Adonái, Notén HaToráh. Amen!

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

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

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

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

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!”

Tammuz 24, 5772

Next Sabbath: “Va Adonai Paqad” &

Shabbat Dibre Yirmeyahu & Shabbat Mevar’chim HaChodesh

“And Ha-Shem Visited” &

“Words of Jeremiah” & Proclamation of the New Moon of Ab

Shabbat	Torah Reading:	Weekday Torah Reading:
וַיהוָה פָּקַד
“VaAdonai Paqad”	Reader 1 – B’resheet 21:1-5	Reader 1 – B’resheet 22:1-3
“And Ha-Shem visited”	Reader 2 – B’resheet 21:6-8	Reader 2 – B’resheet 22:4-6
“Y visitó el SEÑOR”	Reader 3 – B’resheet 21:9-13	Reader 3 – B’resheet 22:1-6
B’resheet (Gen.) 21:1-34	Reader 4 – B’resheet 21:14-16
Ashlamatah: I Sam 2:21-28 + 3:19-20	Reader 5 – B’resheet 2117-21
Special Jer. 1:1 – 2:3 & I Sam. 20:18,42	Reader 6 – B’resheet 21:22-27	Reader 1 – B’resheet 22:1-3
Psalms 15:1-5	Reader 7 – B’resheet 2128-34	Reader 2 – B’resheet 22:4-6
	Maftir – B’resheet 21:32=34	Reader 3 – B’resheet 22:1-6
N.C.: Mark 2:13-17 Luke 5:27-32 & Acts 4:32-37	Jer. 1:1-2:3 & I Sam. 20:18,42

Coming Fast:

Fast of Tammuz

(Sunday July 08, 2012)

For further study and information see:

http://www.betemunah.org/mourning.html & http://www.betemunah.org/tamuz17.html

Shabbat Shalom!

Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

Rosh Paqid Adon Hillel ben David

Paqid Dr. Adon Eliyahu ben Abraham

---

[1] Ruth 4:1.

[2] Judges 4:18.

[3] Micah 2:1. But at night they would not know of them. (Tur).

[4] Baba Metzia 87a.

[5] Hence, to Abraham the angels immediately said, So do, as you have said, (above, 18:5), but with Lot, they at first declined.

[6] Sanhedrin 109 a.

[7] Above, 13:10.

[8] Ezekiel 16:49.

[9] Above, 13:13. This would seem to indicate that they sinned only against G-d but not against their fellow man.

[10] Ezekiel 16:50.

[11] Sanhedrin 109a.

[12] Such as blasphemy, bloodshed, etc. (Ibid.)

[13] II Samuel 20:19.

[14] See Leviticus 18:25.

[15] Numbers 17:25.

[16] Deuteronomy 29:22.

[17] Jeremiah 7:4.

[18] Leviticus 18:24.

[19] Tanchuma Vayeira 12.

[20] See further, Verses 30-36.

[21] Verse 13 here.

[22] Judges, Chapter 19. Ramban digresses here to explain the crime of Gibeah, which bears a certain resemblance to that of Sodom, and consequently explains also the civil war between the tribe of Benjamin and the rest of Israel. Thus Chapters 19 and 20 in the book of judges are here explained by Ramban.

[23] Ibid., Verse 25.

[24] Ibid., Verse 24.

[25] Ibid., Verse 2.

[26] Verse 4 here.

[27] Judges 19:22.

[28] "Masters of Gibeah." This is obviously the way Ramban understood the verse since the Hebrew had "ba 'alei [rather than anshei) Gibeah." The j.P.S. translation, however, renders it: And the men of Gibeah rose against me.

[29] Judges 20:5.

[30] Ibid., Verse 2.

[31] Ibid., Verse 13.

[32] Ibid., 19:25.

[33] Ibid., Verse 26.

[34] Ibid., 20:13.

[35] Yebamoth 90b.

[36] That is, as a temporary measure which the times require, they may act accordingly. See Rashi Sanhedrin 46a, that this is its meaning.

[37] That the men of Gibeah, involved in the affair, should be put to death.

[38] To punish the men of Gibeah as an extraordinary measure.

[39] Deuteronomy 16:18. Sanhedrin 16b: "It is commandatory upon the tribe to judge the people of the tribe."

[40] Joshua 9:14.

[41] Judges 20:18.

[42] The Israelites mustered four hundred thousand (ibid., Verse 17) while the Benjamites numbered twenty-six thousand (ibid., Verse 15).

[43] Judges 20:18.

[44] A similar case occurred when the Israelites stood before the Red Sea. There is a difference of opinion among the Rabbis as to their attitude. According to one authority each tribe said, "I will not go into the sea first [to escape the Egyptians]," while another authority maintains that each tribe was saying, "I will go first."

[45] Judges 20:18.

[46] I Chronicles 28:4.

[47] As in Judges 1:2.

[48] Deuteronomy 1:42.

[49] See Jeremiah 17:5.

[50] Ezekiel 25:15.

[51] Judges 20:21.

[52] Ibid., Verse 23.

[53] Ibid., Verse 23.

[54] Spilled needlessly. All the Benjamites had to do on the first day of battle was to drive the Israelites from Gibeah, as explained above. Instead, they killed twenty-two thousand of them. Hence, on the second day, it became "perrnissible " for the Israelites to attempt to avenge their death.

[55] Judges 20:25.

[56] Ibid., Verse 26.

[57] A Burnt-offering is brought only for sinful thought. (Vayikra Rabbah 7:3).

[58] Ibid., Verse 26.

[59] Psalms 107:22.

[60] Ibid., 27:6.

[61] Judges 20:35.

[62] Ibid., Verse 48.

[63] Sanhedrin 103b.

[64] See Judges, Chapter 17.

[65] Amos 1:9

[66] Judges 21:2-3.

[67] In the beginning of this verse.

[68] Above, 18:25.

[69] This is unlike the opinion of R'dak, who maintains that an angel who carries out a Divine mission also has the right to add or detract somewhat from the charge given to him. His proof is the fact that the angel here granted the sudden request of Lot to save the city of Zoar, (Verses 20-21). Ramban, however, is of the opinion that the angels were acquainted with the knowledge of the Most High and knew that He granted Lot's request; they could thus assure Lot that the city of Zoar would be saved.

[70] Joshua 6:23.

[71] 50:21.

[72] And granted his request to save Zoar.

[73] Exodus 12:33.

[74] See Numbers 17:11.

[75] Verse 19 here.

[76] Verse 22 here.

[77] Above, 2:17. This command, given to Adam, must have included Eve as well, for otherwise she would not have been punished. Similarly, the command given to Lot must have included his wife and all who belonged to him.

[78] "You are not permitted." In our Rashi the text reads, "It is not fitting that. ... "

[79] Leviticus 13:40.

[80] Yoma -84a. See also Ramban, Numbers 21:9.

[81] Verse 26 here.

[82] Brimstone and salt. Here in the chapter, brimstone and fire are mentioned (Verse 24). Salt however is mentioned in Deuteronomy 29 :22, in connection with the overthrow of Sodom.

[83] I Chronicles 21:16.

[84] I Chronicles 21:16.

[85] Chapter 25.

[86] Lot, according to Pirkei d'Rabbi Eliezer, had two married daughters in Sodom in addition to the two betrothed daughters who were yet in his house. See Verse 15.

[87] Above 4:23.

[88] I Kings 1:33.

[89] Further 8:8.

[90] Rashi. See Seder Beresheet.

[91] 51:50

[92] Above 4:23.

[93] 11:2, at the end.

[94] Above, 18:19.

[95] Above, Verse 13.

[96] Further, Verse 29.

[97] Abraham.

[98] Above, 12:4.

[99] Ibid., 14:14.

[100] For since the angel had assured Lot, See, I have accepted you concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow the city [Zoar], (Verse 21), Zoar would no longer be in danger of destruction even though it was near Sodom. (Mizrachi. )

[101] Verse 19 here.

[102] This was why he feared to dwell in Zoar.

[103] Verse 31 here.

[104] Since Scripture mentions that Lot had married daughters (Verse 14), these two mentioned here must surely have been younger ones as it was customary for the older ones to marry before the younger ones. (See further, 29:26.) If so, how does Scripture call one of the single daughters the first-born? It must therefore be, concluded Ibn Ezra, that the ones mentioned above were from another wife who had died. Ramban, however, differs with this suggestion, as explained below in the text.

[105] Bikurim has as its root the word b'chor (the first born). Here also the first fruits are relative to this year's crop.

[106] Isaiah 14:30.

[107] Joshua 6:26.

[108] "The older." And he did not translate, as elsewhere, buchra (the first-born).

[109] Psalms 89:3.

[110] See Seder Beresheet,

[111] Sanhedrin 58 b.

[112] Beresheet Rabba 51:11-12.

[113] Above, 12:14-15

[114] According to the Seder Olam, the famine occurred in Egypt in the year in which Abraham left Haran, and that is when Abraham went there (Chapter 1). Now Scripture states that when he left Haran, Abraham was seventy-five years old (12:4); Sarah who was ten years younger (17:17) was thus sixty-five.

[115] Baba Metzia 87a: "Her skin became smooth, and the wrinkles straightened, and beauty returned to its form."

[116] Verse 2 here.

[117] Verse 9 here.

[118] Verse 10 here.

[119] Verse 11 here.

[120] Verse 13 here.

[121] Above, 12:11.

[122] "Had I given the money to you, people might say it was a harlot's hire. But now that I have given it to your brother, people will say that I had to redeem myself against my will, and this will thus enable you to speak freely in your defense." (Bachya).

[123] See Isaiah 29:10, And your heads, the seers hath He covered.

[124] According to Ramban, as is clear from the text further on, the translation of this word is, "and she continued to protest."

[125] The money he gave to Abraham and the words of apology he offered her.

[126] Micah 6:2.

[127] Job 13:15.

[128] Ibid., 23:7.

[129] Esther 1:7.

[130] Isaiah 60:22.

[131] Verse 4 here.

[132] Verses 8-9 here.

[133] In our Rashi: "Explain it as the Targum does, 'and they were relieved.'''

[134] Psalms 7:15.

[135] Zephaniah 2:2.

[136] Proverbs 27:1.

[137] Job 38:8.

[138] Meaning when the sea broke from the abyss, where it was formed as a child in his mother's womb. (Ramban in his commentary to Job, ibid.).

[139] See Jonah 2:3, the belly a/the netherworld.

[140] Rashi.

[141] 52:14.

[142] Verse 18 here.

[143] "Above below," a reference to urination, the minor function of the body, and defecation, the major function.

[144] Verse 6 here.

[145] Exodus 19:15.

[146] Isaiah 8:3.

[147] I Samuel 1:5.

[148] Lamentations 3:7.

[149] The ArtScroll Tanach Series, Tehillim, A new translation with a commentary anthologized from Talmudic, Midrashic, and rabbinic sources. Commentary by Rabbi Avrohom Chaim Feuer, Translation by Rabbi Avrohom Chaim Feuer in collaboration with Rabbi Nosson Scherman.

[150] Beresheet (Genesis) 13:10

[151] Beresheet (Genesis) 19:4

[152] As we again see our verbal tally connection.

[153] Here our pericope is reminiscent of the previous pericope dealing with the leper. Mk. 1:40-45; Lk. 5:12-16

[154] ἐπιγνοὺς, ἐπιγινώσκω – epiginosko perceiving is here related to the spiritual quality of Da’at devoted to the ministerial quality of Unity and virtue.

[155] That which was “hidden” has now been revealed. The P’rushim are able to know the abilities and ministries of the Son of Man i.e. the Prophet. Therefore we learn from this encounter that the P’rushim (specifically of Shammai) were unable to apprehend prophetic materials.

[156] παραχρῆμα (parachrema) rather than εὐθέως This is the preferential Lucan way of saying εὐθέως

[157] Here the text implies that he became a talmid of Yeshua.

[158] Donahue translates verse 1 “After several days he entered into Capernaum a second time” making his translation connect verbally with B’resheet 19:1 Vayabo’u Sh’ne”” “And [the] two”

[159] Lit. “it was said”

[160] Verbal connection to B’resheet 19:2

[161] The correct meaning, however, is ‘at home’ Moulton, J. H., & Milligan, G. (2004). Vocabulary of the Greek New Testament. Peabohy, MA: Hendrickson Publishers.

[162] Thematic connection B’resheet 19:1 Lot sat at the gate to the city. Note the similarity between the Torah Seder where the men of Sodom surround Lot’s house and the people the Ashlamatah Judges 19:22 connecting with all of the Galil surround the house where Yeshua was staying.

[163] The impersonal plural reads “the come.” Therefore, we have translated so that the wording reads easier in English.

[164] ἐξορύσσω 1 aor. ἐξώρυξα (s. ὀρύσσω; Hdt. et al.; PHal 1, 100 and 109 [III B.C.];LXX, Philo, Joseph.) to extract something out of an area by force. Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature. "Based on Walter Bauer's Griechisch-deutsches Wr̲terbuch zu den Schriften des Neuen Testaments und der frhchristlichen [sic] Literatur, sixth edition, ed. Kurt Aland and Barbara Aland, with Viktor Reichmann and on previous English editions by W.F. Arndt, F.W. Gingrich, and F.W. Danker." (3rd ed.) (351). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

[165] Verbal connection to B’resheet 19:9

[166] Thematic connection to B’resheet 19:2 the word “son” here can be a reference to a “servant” or talmid.

[167] ἀφέωνται, ἀφίημι – aphiemi carries the idea of release rather than atonement.

[168] Here we find a reference to the idea that the Soferim (scribes), possibly from the House of Shammai, were “studying Torah” with Yeshua. The fact that the Soferim are “sitting” should be noticed in contrast to the remainder of the multitude crowded around the door. There is a tendency to always make the encounters with Yeshua negative. This need not always be the case. The P’rushim were not all close-minded hypocrites (painted ones) as many scholars and teachers suggest. Therefore, we might possible note that the P’rushim were sitting in a session which halakhah was being discussed. This “sitting” makes a verbal connection with B’resheet 19:1 Lot sat at the gate to the city, the place where judgment took place. This is intimated in B’resheet 19:9 Lot is accused of “playing “Judge.”

[169] διαλογίζομαι – dialogizomai demonstrates that they were trying to hermeneutically debate or rationalize what Yeshua was saying.

[170] Here our pericope is reminiscent of the previous pericope dealing with the leper. Mk. 1:40-45; Lk. 5:12-16

[171] ἐπιγνοὺς, ἐπιγινώσκω – epiginosko perceiving is here related to the spiritual quality of Da’at devoted to the ministerial quality of Unity and virtue. “epi” gives the full weight of “ginosko” indicating the fullness of Yeshua’s relationship with the triad of Hokhmah, Binah and Da’at.

[172] That you may know that it is legally permitted for the “Son of Man” to announce the forgiveness of sins.

[173] Ibid

[174] Verbal connection to the Ashlamatah.

[175] Verbal connection to the present pericope of Mark and Luke.

[176] Cf. Exo 20:11; Neh 9:6;

[177] We must assert that the reference here to “some of the people of Yisrael” is a reference to the Tz’dukim – Sadducees and their Elders. NOT the whole of the B’ne Yisrael

^[178] Neusner, J., Neusner, J., Avery-Peck, A. J., Green, W. S., & Museum of Jewish Heritage (New York, N. Y. (2000). The encyclopedia of Judaism. "Published in collaboration with the Museum of Jewish Heritage, New York." (4:1593-1594). Brill "With more than 100 lengthy essays, this exceptional work on Judaism covers more than its historical framework. The Encyclopedia of Judaism provides complete and accurate coverage of Judaism--everything from its history, beliefs, and observances, from the beginning to modern times. It is an excellent source written by scholars."--"Outstanding Reference Sources," American Libraries, May 2001.

^[179] Guelich, R. A. (2002). Vol. 34A: Word Biblical Commentary: Mark 1-8:26. Word Biblical Commentary. Dallas: Word, Incorporated. p. 85

[180] Lane, W. L. (1974). The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel According to Mark, . Grand Rapids, Michigan: : W. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. p. 94 footnote 9

[181] Corresponding is the use of the rarer substantive. ἄφεσις, which often has the legal sense of “release” from office, marriage, obligation etc., as also from debt or punishment, though never religiously (Plato Leges, IX, 869d: φόνου; Demosthenes, 24, 45 f.: ὀφλήματος or τῶν ὀφλημάτων; we find it in these senses in inscriptions and Papyrus, e.g., as “pardon” in Papyri Greci e Latini, 392, 6 (3rd cent. b.c.): τοῦ βασιλέως ἐπιγράψαντος τὴν ἄφεσιν. Theological dictionary of the New Testament. 1964-c1976. Vols. 5-9 edited by Gerhard Friedrich. Vol. 10 compiled by Ronald Pitkin. (G. Kittel, G. W. Bromiley & G. Friedrich, Ed.) Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. 1:509

[182] Cf. Mark 6:1ff, Lk. 4:16ff

[183] Plummer, A. (1933). Critical and Exegetical Commentary on The Gospel According to S. Luke (Fifth ed.). New York: T. & T. Clark. p. 152

[184] That is from a Peshat hermeneutic

[185] We have addressed all three aspects of man because the soul must be seen as an interface between mind and the esoteric abstract world.

[186] Toledano, R. E. (2002). The Orot Tefillah Series "Siddur Kol Sasson / the Orot Sephardic Shabbat Siddur". NJ: Orot Inc. pp. 392-3

[187] Ibid p. 376

[188] Here we find an allegorical hint to the Temple. The roof of the HOUSE, which is destroyed is the destruction of a HOUSE made of stone (mental blockage) for a HOUSE made of LIVING STONES, with the Torah written on the tablets of the heart – mind.

[189] “The Union of Tif’eret and the Shekhinah gives birth to the human soul.” Matt, D. C. (1995). The Essential Kabbalah, The Heart of Jewish Mysticism. New York, NY: Harper Collins, Harper One. p. 10 (Intrduction)

[190] The example, set pattern for the judgment of the ungodly is set, established in what was seen in the ancient world.

[191] On that very day, they had appointed him judge over them. (Rashi – 19:1)

[192] We owe the insight into this Talmud to His Eminence Rabbi Dr Yosef ben Haggai.

[193] Ps. CIII, 3

[194] Job XXXIII, 25