Esnoga Bet Emunah

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

Three and 1/2 year Lectionary Readings	Second Year of the Reading Cycle
Tammuz 28, 5771 – July 29/30, 2011	Second Year of the Shmita Cycle

Candle Lighting and Habdalah Times:

Conroe & Austin, TX, U.S. Fri. July 29. 2011 – Candles at 8:09 PM Sat. July 30. 2011 – Havdalah 9:06 PM	Brisbane, Australia Fri. July 29. 2011 – Candles at 4:59 PM Sat. July 30. 2011 – Havdalah 5:54 PM	Bucharest, Romania Fri. July 29, 2011 – Candles at 8:28 PM Sat. July 30. 2011 – Havdalah 9:35 PM
Chattanooga, & Cleveland, TN, U.S. Fri. July 29. 2011 – Candles at 8:29 PM Sat. July 30. 2011 – Havdalah 9:28 PM	Jakarta, Indonesia Fri. July 29. 2011 – Candles at 5:37 PM Sat. July 30. 2011 – Havdalah 6:27 PM	Manila & Cebu, Philippines Fri. July 29. 2011 – Candles at 6:09 PM Sat. July 30. 2011 – Havdalah 7:00 PM
Miami, FL, U.S. Fri. July 29. 2011 – Candles at 7:51 PM Sat. July 30. 2011 – Havdalah 8:45 PM	Olympia, WA, U.S. Fri. July 29. 2011 – Candles at 8:31 PM Sat. July 30. 2011 – Havdalah 9:42 PM	Murray, KY, & Paris, TN. U.S. Fri. July 29. 2011 – Candles at 7:47 PM Sat. July 30. 2011 – Havdalah 8:48 PM
Sheboygan & Manitowoc, WI, US Fri. July 29. 2011 – Candles at 8:01 PM Sat. July 30. 2011 – Havdalah 9:07 PM	Singapore, Singapore Fri. July 29. 2011 – Candles at 6:58 PM Sat. July 30. 2011 – Havdalah 7:49 PM	St. Louis, MO, U.S. Fri. July 29. 2011 – Candles at 7:57 PM Sat. July 30. 2011 – Havdalah 8:59 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

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.

If you want to subscribe to our list and ensure that you never lose any of our commentaries, or would like your friends also to receive this commentary, please do send me an E-Mail to benhaggai@GMail.com with your E-Mail or the E-Mail addresses of your friends. Toda Rabba!

Third Sabbath of Penitence & Proclamation of the New Moon of Ab

(Monday 1^st of August 2011)

Shabbat “Shim’u”

& Shabbat “Uv’Yom HaBikurim”

Shabbat	Torah Reading:	Weekday Torah Reading:
וּבְיוֹם הַבִּכּוּרִים
“Uv’Yom HaBikurim”	Reader 1 – B’Midbar 28:26-31	Reader 1 – B’Midbar 30:2-4
“And in the day of first-fruits”	Reader 2 – B’Midbar 29:1-6	Reader 2 – B’Midbar 30:5-7
“Además el día de las primicias”	Reader 3 – B’Midbar 29:7-11	Reader 3 – B’Midbar 30:8-10
B’Midbar (Num.) 28:26 – 30:1 B’Midbar (Num.) 28:9-15	Reader 4 – B’Midbar 29:12-16
Ashlamatah: Mal. 3:4,13-18,22-24	Reader 5 – B’Midbar 29:17-25
Special: Jeremiah 2:4-28 + 4:1-2 I Samuel 20:18,42	Reader 6 – B’Midbar 29:26-34	Reader 1 – B’Midbar 30:2-4
Psalm 105:39-45	Reader 7 – B’Midbar 29:35 – 30:1	Reader 2 – B’Midbar 30:5-7
Pirqe Abot V:8	Maftir: B’Midbar 29:38 – 30:1	Reader 3 – B’Midbar 30:8-10
N.C.: Mordechai 13:1-2	- Jeremiah 2:4-28 + 4:1-2 - I Samuel 20:18,42

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: Honouring one's father and mother; doing acts of kindness; early attendance at the place of Torah study -- morning and night; showing hospitality to guests; visiting the sick; providing for the financial needs of a bride; escorting the dead; being very engrossed in prayer; bringing peace between two people, and between husband and wife; but the study of Torah is as great as all of them together. Amen!

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan

for: B’midbar (Numbers) 28:26 – 30:1

Rashi	Targum Pseudo Jonathan
26. On the day of the first fruits, when you offer up a new meal offering to the Lord, on your festival of Weeks; it shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall not perform any mundane work.	26. Likewise on the day of your firstlings, when you offer the gift from the new produce before the LORD in your ingatherings, after the seven weeks are completed, you will have a holy convocation, no servile work will you do;
27. You shall offer up a burnt offering with a spirit of satisfaction to the Lord: two young bulls, one ram, and seven lambs in the first year.	27. but offer a burnt sacrifice to be received with favour before the LORD, two young bullocks, one ram, seven lambs of the year;
28. Their meal offerings [shall be] fine flour mixed with oil; three tenths for each bull and two tenths for the ram.	28. also their mincha of wheaten flour mingled with olive oil, three tenths for each bullock, two tenths for the ram,
29. One tenth for each lamb, for all seven lambs.	29. a tenth to a lamb; so for the seven lambs
30. One young male goat to atone for you.	30. one kid of the goats to make an atonement for you;
31. You shall offer this up besides the continual burnt offering and its meal offering they shall be unblemished for you, as well as their libations.	31. beside the perpetual burnt offering you will make these; they will be unblemished, with their libation of wine.
1. And in the seventh month, on the first day, there shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall not perform any mundane work. It shall be a day of shofar sounding for you.	1. And in the seventh month, the month of Tishri, on the first of the month you will have a holy convocation, you may not do any servile work; it will be to you a day for the sounding of the trumpet, that by the voice of your trumpets you may disturb HaSatan who comes to accuse you.
2. You shall offer up a burnt offering for a spirit of satisfaction to the Lord: one young bull, one ram, and seven lambs in the first year, [all] unblemished.	2. And you will make a burnt sacrifice to be received with favour before the LORD; one young bullock, one ram, lambs of the year seven, unblemished;
3. And their meal offering [shall be] fine flour mixed with oil, three tenths for the bull and two tenths for the ram.	3. and their mincha of wheaten flour mingled with olive oil, three tenths for the bullock, two tenths for the ram,
4. And one tenth for each lamb, for the seven lambs.	4. and one tenth for each of the seven lambs;
5. And one young male goat as a sin offering, to atone for you.	5. and one kid of the goats for a sin offering to make an atonement for you;
6. [This is] besides the burnt offering of the new month and its meal offering, and the continual burnt offering and its meal offering, and their libations as prescribed for them, as a spirit of satisfaction, a fire offering to the Lord.	6. besides the sacrifice for the beginning of the month and its mincha, and the perpetual sacrifice and its mincha; and their libations according to the order of their appointments, an oblation to be received with favour before the LORD.
7. And on the tenth day of this seventh month, there shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall afflict your souls. You shall not perform any work.	7. And on the tenth of the seventh month, the month of Tishri, you will have a holy convocation, and chasten your souls (by abstaining) from food and drink, the bath, friction, sandals, and the marriage bed; and you will do no servile labour,
8. You shall offer up a burnt offering to the Lord, [for] a spirit of satisfaction: one young bull, one ram, and seven lambs in the first year; they shall [all] be unblemished.	8. but offer a sacrifice before the LORD to be received with favour; one young bullock, one ram, lambs of the year seven, unblemished, will you have;
9. And their meal offering [shall be] fine flour mixed with oil, three tenths for the bull and two tenths for the ram.	9. and their mincha of wheat flour mingled with olive oil, three tenths for the bullock, two tenths for one ram,
10. One tenth for each lamb, for the seven lambs.	10. a singIe tenth for a lamb, so for the seven lambs
11. A young male goat for a sin offering, besides the atonement sin offering and the continual burnt offering, its meal offering and their libations.	11. one kid of the goats for a sin offering; beside the sin offering of the expiations, (Lev. xvi.,) and the perpetual sacrifice and their minchas, and the wine of their libations.
12. An on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, there shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall not perform any mundane work, and you shall celebrate a festival to the Lord for seven days.	12. And on the fifth day of the seventh month you will have a holy convocation, no servile work will you do; but will celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles before the LORD seven days,
13. You shall offer up a burnt offering, a fire offering for a spirit of satisfaction to the Lord: thirteen young bulls, two rams, fourteen lambs in the first year; they shall [all] be unblemished.	13. and offer a sacrifice, an oblation to be received with favour before the LORD: thirteen young bullocks proceeding daily and diminishing their number, (in all) seventy for the seventy nations, and offering them by thirteen orders; two rams, which you will offer by two orders; lambs of the year fourteen, unblemished, to be offered by eight orders, offering six of them, by two and two, and two of them one by one, they will be perfect.
14. And their meal offering [shall be] fine flour mixed with oil; three tenths for each bull for the thirteen bulls, two tenths for each ram for the two rams.	14. Their mincha also of wheat flour, with olive oil, three tenths for each bullock of the thirteen, two tenths for each ram,
15. And one tenth for each lamb, for the fourteen lambs.	15. a single tenth for each of the fourteen lambs,
16. And one young male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, its meal offering, and its libation.	16. and one kid of the goats for a sin offering, which will be offered by one order, beside the perpetual sacrifice, the wheat flour for the mincha, and the wine of the libation.
17. And on the second day, twelve young bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs in the first year, [all] unblemished.	17. On the second day of the Feast of Tabernacles you will offer twelve young bullocks, by twelve orders; two rams, by two orders; fourteen lambs of the year unblemished by nine orders, five of them will offer two by two, and four of them one by one.
18. And their meal offerings and their libations, for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number, as prescribed.	18. And their mincha of wheat flour, and the wine of their libation which will be offered with the bullocks, rams, and lambs, by their number according to the order of their appointment;
19. And one young male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, its meal offering, and their libations.	19. and one ram by one order, a sin offering, beside the perpetual sacrifice, and the wheat flour of their minchas, and their libations of wine.
20. And on the third day, eleven bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs in the first year, [all] unblemished.	20. On the third day of the Feast of Tabernacles you will offer twelve bullocks by twelve orders; two rams by two orders, fourteen unblemished lambs of the year, by ten orders; four of them will offer two and two, and six of them one by one;
21. And their meal offerings and their libations, for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number, as prescribed.	21. and their mincha of wheat flour, and their libations of wine, you will offer with the bullocks, rams, and lambs, by the number in their appointed order;
22. And one young male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, its meal offering and its libation.	22. and one kid of the goats for a sin offering by one order; beside the perpetual sacrifice the wheat flour for the mincha, and its libation of wine.
23. And on the fourth day, ten bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs in the first year, [all] unblemished.	23. On the fourth day of the Feast of Tabernacles, ten young bullocks by ten orders; two rams by two orders; fourteen unblemished lambs of the year by twelve orders; three of them shall be offered at two times, and eight of them singly;
24. Their meal offerings and their libations, for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number, as prescribed.	24. their mincha of wheaten flour, and their libations of wine, which you will offer with the the bullocks, rams, and lambs by their number, after their appointed order,
25. And one young male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, its meal offering and its libation.	25. and one kid for a sin offering, by one order; beside the perpetual sacrifice, the wheat flour for the mincha, and its libation of wine.
26. And on the fifth day nine bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs in the first year, [all] unblemished.	26. On the fifth day of the Feast of Tabernacles, nine young bullocks by nine orders; two rams by two orders lambs of the year fourteen, perfect by twelve orders two of them in a pair, twelve singly;
27. And their meal offerings and their libations, for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number, as prescribed.	27. and the wheat flour for their mincha, and the libation wine for the bullocks, the rams, and lambs by their number after the order of their appointment;
28. And one young male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, its meal offering, and its libation.	28. and one kid for a sin offering by one order; beside the perpetual sacrifice and the wheat flour for the mincha, and the wine of its libation.
29. And on the sixth day, eight bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs in the first year, [all] unblemished.	29. On the sixth day of the Feast of Tabernacles, eight young bullocks by eight orders; two rams by two orders; fourteen unblemished lambs of the year by thirteen orders; a pair of them together, and twelve of them singly.
30. And their meal offerings and their libations, for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number, as prescribed.	30. Their mincha of wheat flour, and their libation of wine you will offer with the bullocks, rams, and lambs, by their number in the order appointed;
31. And one young male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, its meal offering, and its libations.	31. and one kid for a sin offering by one order, besides the perpetual sacrifice, the wheat flour for the mincha, the wine of its libation, and a vase of water to be outpoured on the day of the Feast of Tabernacles in grateful acknowledgment (for a good memorial) of the showers of rain.
32. And on the seventh day, seven bulls, two rams and fourteen lambs in the first year, [all] unblemished.	32. On the seventh day of the Feast of Tabernacles you will offer seven bullocks by seven orders; two rams by two orders; fourteen unblemished lambs of the year by fourteen orders: the number of all these lambs ninety-eight, to make atonement against the ninety-eight male dictions.
33. And their meal offerings and their libations, for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number, as prescribed for them.	33. And their mincha of wheat flour and libations of wine you will offer with the bullocks, rains, and lambs, by their number,
34. One young male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, its meal offering, and its libation.	34. according to the order appointed one kid by one order, beside the perpetual sacrifice, the wheat flour for the mincha, and its libation of wine.
35. The eighth day shall be a time of restriction for you; you shall not perform any mundane work.	35. And on the eighth day you will gather together joyfully from your tabernacles, in your houses, a gladsome company, a festal day, and a holy convocation will you have, no servile work will you do
36. You shall offer up a burnt offering, a fire offering for a spirit of satisfaction to the Lord: one bull, one ram, and seven lambs in the first year, [all] unblemished.	36. but offer a sacrifice an oblation to be received with favour before the LORD; light oblations; one bullock before the one God, one ram for the one people, lambs of the year unblemished, seven, for the joy of the seven days.
37. Their meal offerings and their libations, for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number, as prescribed.	37. Their mincha of wheat flour, and their libations of wine which you will offer with the bullocks, rams, and Iambs, by their number, after the order of their appointment;
38. And one young male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, its meal offering and its libation.	38. and one kid for a sin offering, beside the perpetual sacrifice, the flour for its mincha, and the wine for its libation.
39. These you shall offer up for the Lord on your festivals, besides your vows and voluntary offerings, for your burnt offerings, for your meal offerings, for your libations, and for your peace offerings.	39. These you will offer before the LORD in the time of your festivals, beside your vows which you vow at the festival, and which you will bring on the day of the feast, with your free-will oblation for your burnt sacrifice, your mincha, libations, and consecrated victims.
1. Moses spoke to the children of Israel in accordance with all that the Lord had commanded Moses.	1. And Mosheh spoke to the sons of Israel, according to all that the LORD had commanded Mosheh.

Reading Assignment:

The Torah Anthology: Yalkut Me’Am Lo’Ez - Vol 14: Numbers – II – Final Wonderings

By: Rabbi Yitzchaq Magriso

Published by: Moznaim Publishing Corp. (New York, 1983)

Vol. 14 – “Numbers – II – Final Wonderings,” pp. 285-303.

Summary of the Torah Seder - B’Midbar (Num.) 28:26 – 30:1

· Offerings for the Feast of Weeks – Numbers 28:26-31

· New Year and Day of Atonement Offerings – Numbers 29:1-11

· Offerings for the Feast of Tabernacles – Numbers 29:12-38

· Conclusion of offerings – Numbers 29:39 – 30:1

Welcome to the World of P’shat Exegesis

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

The Seven Hermeneutic Laws of R. Hillel are as follows

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rashi Commentary for: B’Midbar (Num.) 28:26 – 30:1

26 On the day of the first fruits The festival of Weeks [Shavuoth] is called the first fruits of the wheat harvest, because of the two loaves, which were the first of the wheat offerings to be brought from the new [crop].-[Men. 84b]

31 they shall be unblemished for you, as well as their libations Even the libations shall be unblemished. Our Rabbis learned from here that wine that has turned moldy is unfit for libations. - [Men. 87a]

Chapter 29

6 [This is] besides the burnt offering of the new month The additional offerings of the beginning of the month, which is on the first day of the new year.

11 besides the atonement sin-offering The goat offered up [i.e., whose blood is sprinkled] in the inner chamber mentioned in [the portion of] Acharei Moth (Lev. 16:9, 15), as that too is a sin-offering.

and the continual burnt offering Besides the regular burnt offering, you shall offer these burnt offerings.

and their libations This refers to the additional offerings which are stated, and to the [phrase] “you shall offer up” [which is not written, but implied]; this denotes a command: Besides the continual burnt offering and its meal-offering, you shall offer up these and their libations. The same applies every time “their libations” is mentioned in connection with all the festivals, except for [when mentioned in connection] with the festival [of 'Succoth’] offerings, for all [the expressions] “and its libation,” "and their libations," “and its libations” in [connection with] them refer to the continual sacrifice. Nor are they expressions denoting commands, since the libations of the additional offerings are written separately for each day.

18 And their meal-offerings and their libations, for the bulls The seventy bulls of the [’Succoth’] festival corresponded to the seventy nations, which progressively decrease in number, symbolizing their [the nations’] destruction [Midrash Aggadah]. At the time of the Temple, they [the sacrifices] shielded them from adversity [Mid. Tehillim 109:4, Rashi on Sukkah 55b; Rashi on Ps. 109:5; Mid. Tadshei ch. 11; Pesikta d’Rav Kahana pp. 193b, 194a; Mid. Song Rabbah 4:2, Mid. Tanchuma Pinchas 16].

and for the lambs corresponding to Israel, who are called ‘a scattered lamb’ (Jer. 50:17). Their number remains constant, and it totals ninety-eight, to counter the ninety-eight curses related in ‘Mishneh Torah’ [the Book of Deuteronomy] (28:15-68) (Mid. Aggadah). On the second day it says, וְנִסְכֵּיהֶם , “and their libations” relating to the two daily continual offerings. The language [of Scripture] varies only for expository purposes, following our Sages, of blessed memory, who said: On the second day, וְנִסְכֵּיהֶם , “and their libations”; on the sixth day, וּנְסָכֶיהָ “and its libations”; on the seventh day כְּמִשְׁפָּטָם “as prescribed for them” [instead of כַּמִּשְׁפָּט , “as prescribed”]. [The additional letters in these three words are] ‘mem’ ’yud’ ‘mem’ which form [the word] מַיִם , ‘water.’ This suggests that the [ceremony of] water libation during the festival [of 'Succoth’] is of Torah origin.-[Sifrei Pinchas 54, Ta’anith 2b]

35 A time of restriction for you - עֲצֶרֶת , restricted from working (Chagigah 18a). Another interpretation: Restrain yourselves from leaving. This teaches that they were required to remain [in Jerusalem] overnight (Sifrei Pinchas 55). This [word עֲצֶרֶת ] is expounded in the Aggadah: (Sukkah 55b) [as follows]: For throughout the days of the festival they brought offerings symbolizing the seventy nations, and when they came to leave, the Omnipresent said to them, “Please make Me a small feast, so that I can have some pleasure from you [alone].”

36 one bull, one ram These correspond to Israel. [God said,] “Remain with Me a little longer.” It expresses [His] affection [for Israel]. It is like children taking leave of their father, who says to them, “It is difficult for me to part with you; stay one more day.” It is analogous to a king who made a banquet, etc. [and on the last day, his closest friend makes a small banquet for the king] as is stated in Tractate Sukkah [55b]. In the Midrash of R. Tanchuma (Pinchas 16) [it says]: The Torah teaches common courtesy. Someone who has a guest, [and wants him to feel at home,] on the first day, he should serve him fattened poultry, on the following day he should serve him fish, on the following day beef, on the following day pulses, and on the following day vegetables, progressively diminishing, as in the case of the festival bulls.

39 These you shall offer up for the Lord on your festivals A matter fixed as an obligation.

besides your vows If you wish to pledge offerings during a festival, it is considered a mitzvah [virtuous deed] for you [to fulfill your vows during the festival] (Sifrei Pinchas 56). Alternatively, vows or voluntary offerings which you have pledged throughout the year should be brought on the festival, lest one find it difficult to return to Jerusalem to offer up his vows, with the result that he will transgress the prohibition of “you shall not delay [in paying your vows and pledges]” (Deut. 23:22).

Chapter 30

1 Moses spoke to the children of Israel [This verse is written] to make a pause; [these are] the words of R. Ishmael. Since up to this point the words of the Omnipresent [were stated], and the [following] chapter dealing with vows begins with the words of Moses, it was necessary to make a break first and say that Moses repeated this chapter [of offerings] to Israel, for if not so, it would imply that he did not tell this to them, but began his address with the chapter discussing vows.-[Sifrei Pinchas 57]

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan

for: B’Midbar (Num.) 28:9-15

RASHI	TARGUM PSEUDO JONATHAN
9. On the Shabbat day [the offering will be] two yearling lambs without blemish, and two tenths [of an ephah] of fine flour as a meal-offering, mixed with [olive] oil, and its libation.	9. but on the day of Shabbat two lambs of the year without blemish, and two‑tenths of flour mixed with olive oil for the mincha and its libation.
10. This is the burnt-offering on its Shabbat, in addition to the constant (daily) burnt-offering and its libation.	10. On the Sabbath you will make a Sabbath burnt sacrifice in addition to the perpetual burnt sacrifice and its libation.
11. At the beginning of your months you will bring a burnt-offering to Adonai, two young bulls, one ram, seven yearling lambs, [all] without blemish.	11. And at the beginning of your months you will offer a burnt sacrifice before the LORD; two young bullocks, without mixture, one ram, lambs of the year seven, unblemished;
12. And three tenths [of an ephah] of fine flour as a meal-offering mixed with the [olive] oil for each bull, two tenths [of an ephah] of fine flour as a meal-offering, mixed with the [olive] oil for the one ram,	12. and three tenths of flour mingled with oil for the mincha for one bullock; two tenths of flour with olive oil for the mincha of the one ram;
13. And one tenth [of an ephah] of fine flour as a meal-offering mixed with the [olive] oil for each lamb. A burnt-offering of pleasing aroma, a fire-offering to Adonai.	13. and one tenth of flour with olive oil for the mincha for each lamb of the burnt offering, an oblation to be received with favour before the LORD.
14. Their libations [will be], one half of a hin for (a) bull, one third of a hin for the ram, and one fourth of a hin for (the) lamb, of wine. This is the burnt-offering of each [Rosh] Chodesh, at its renewal throughout the months of the year.	14. And for their libation to be offered with them, the half of a hin for a bullock, the third of a hin for the ram, and the fourth of a hin for a lamb, of the wine of grapes. This burnt sacrifice will be offered at the beginning of every month in the time of the removal of the beginning of every month in the year;
15. And [You will also bring] one he-goat for a sin offering to Adonai, in addition to the constant (daily) burnt-offering it will be done, and its libation.	15. and one kid of the goats, for a sin offering before the LORD at the disappearing (failure) of the moon, with the perpetual burnt sacrifice will you perform with its libation.
.

Ketubim: Psalm 105:39-45

Rashi	Targum
1. Give thanks to the Lord, call out in His name; make His deeds known among the peoples.	1. Sing praise in the presence of the LORD, call on His name; tell of His deeds among the Gentiles.
2. Sing to Him, play music to Him, speak of all His wonders.	2. Sing praise in His presence, make music in His presence; speak of all His wonders.
3. Boast of His holy name; may the heart of those who seek the Lord rejoice.	3. Sing praise in His holy name; may the heart of those who seek instruction from the presence of the LORD be glad.
4. Search for the Lord and His might; seek His presence constantly.	4. Seek the teaching of the LORD, and His Torah; welcome His face continually.
5. Remember His wonders, which He performed, His miracles and the judgments of His mouth.	5. Call to mind the wonders that he has done; his miracles, and the judgments of his mouth.
6. The seed of Abraham His servant, the children of Jacob, His chosen ones.	6. O seed of Abraham His servant, O sons of Jacob, His chosen ones.
7. He is the Lord our God; throughout all the earth are His judgments.	7. He is the LORD our God; His judgments are extended over all the earth.
8. He remembered His covenant forever, the word He had commanded to the thousandth generation,	8. He remembered His covenant forever; He commanded a word for a thousand generations.
9. Which He had made with Abraham, and His oath to Isaac,	9. That which He made with Abraham, and His covenant with Isaac.
10. And He set it up to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant,	10. And He established it for Jacob as a decree, for Israel as a perpetual covenant.
11. Saying, "To you I shall give the land of Canaan, the portion of your heritage."	11. Saying, "To you I will give the land of Canaan as the lot of your inheritance."
12. When they were few in number, hardly dwelling in it.	12. When you were a people few in number, like little ones, and dwelling in it.
13. And they walked from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people.	13. And they went from people to people, from one kingdom to another people.
14. He let no man oppress them, and He reproved kings on their account.	14. He did not allow anyone to oppress them, and He rebuked kings on their account.
15. "Do not touch My anointed ones, and do not harm My prophets."	15. Do not come near My anointed ones, and do no harm to My prophets.
16. He called a famine upon the land; He broke every staff of bread.	16. And He proclaimed a famine against the land; He broke every support of food.
17. He sent a man before them; Joseph was sold as a slave.	17. He sent a wise man before them; Joseph was sold as a slave.
18. They afflicted his foot with fetters; his soul was placed in irons.	18. They afflicted his feet with chains; a collar of iron went on his soul.
19. Until His word came, the saying of the Lord purified him.	19. Until the time when His word came true; the word of the LORD purified him.
20. A king sent and released him, a ruler of peoples [sent] and loosed his bonds.	20. He sent a king and freed him; a ruler of peoples, and he set him free.
21. He made him the master of his household and the ruler over all his possessions.	21. He made him master of his house, and ruler of all his property.
22. To bind up his princes with his soul, and he made his elders wise.	22. To bind his princes to, as it were, his soul; and he grew wiser than his elders.
23. Israel came to Egypt, and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.	23. And Israel came to Egypt, and Jacob dwelt in the land of Ham.
24. And He made His people very fruitful, and He made it stronger than its adversaries.	24. And He made His people very numerous, and made it stronger than its oppressors.
25. He turned their heart to hate His people, to plot against His servants.	25. Their heart was changed to hate His people, to plot evil things against His servants.
26. He sent Moses His servant, [and] Aaron whom He chose.	26. He sent Moses His servant, Aaron, with whom He was pleased.
27. They placed upon them the words of His signs and His miracles in the land of Ham.	27. They set among them the decrees of His signs, and wonders in the land of Ham.
28. He sent darkness and it darkened, and they did not disobey His word.	28. He sent darkness and darkened them, and they did not rebel against His word.
29. He turned their water into blood, and it killed their fish.	29. He turned their water into blood, and killed all their fish.
30. Their land swarmed with frogs in the rooms of their monarchs.	30. Their land crawled with frogs in the chambers of their kings.
31. He commanded and a mixture of noxious beasts came, lice throughout all their boundary.	31. He spoke, and brought swarms, vermin in all their territory.
32. He made their rains into hail, flaming fire in their land.	32. He gave their rain as hail, blazing fire in their land.
33. And it struck their vines and their fig trees, and it broke the trees of their boundary.	33. And He smote their vines and their figs, and smashed the trees of their territory.
34. He spoke and locusts came, and nibbling locusts without number.	34. He spoke, and brought locusts, and grasshoppers without number.
35. And they consumed all grass in their land, and they consumed the produce of their soil.	35. And they obliterated all the grass in their land, and consumed the fruits of their land.
36. And He smote every firstborn in their land, the first of all their strength.	36. And He smote every firstborn in Egypt, the beginning of all their strength.
37. And He took them out with silver and gold, and there was no pauper among their tribes.	37. And He brought them out with silver and with gold, and they did not quarrel with the Egyptians about the weight.
38. Egypt rejoiced with their departure for their fear had fallen upon them.	38. The Egyptians rejoiced when they left, for fear of them had fallen upon them.
39. He spread out a cloud for shelter, and fire to illuminate the night.	39. He spread out the clouds like a curtain, and fire to give light at night.
40. They asked, and He brought quails, and the bread of heaven sated them.	40. They asked for flesh and He brought quail; and He will satisfy them with the bread of heaven.
41. He opened a rock and water flowed; in the deserts ran rivers.	41. He opened the rock and water flowed; it went into the dry places like a river.
42. For He remembered His holy word with Abraham His servant.	42. For He remembered His holy utterance with Abraham His servant.
43. And He took out His people with joy, His chosen ones with joyful singing.	43. And He brought out his people in joy, His chosen ones with praise.
44. And He gave them lands of nations, and they inherited the toil of kingdoms.	44. And He gave to them the lands of the Gentiles; and they will inherit the labor of the peoples.
45. In order that they keep His statutes and observe His laws. Hallelujah.	45. In order that they might keep His ordinances, and observe His Torah. Hallelujah!

Rashi’s Commentary to Psalm 105:39-45

40 They asked, and He brought quails Israel asked for meat, and the Holy One, blessed be He, brought them quails.

41 in the deserts ran rivers Rivers flowed from the well in an arid land.

42 For He remembered The Holy One, blessed be He, [remembered] His holy word, which was with Abraham His servant, which He promised him (Gen. 15:14, 17): “and afterwards they will go out with many possessions...and a fourth generation will return here.”

Ashlamatah: Malachi 3:4,13-18,22-24

Rashi	Targum
1. Behold I send My angel, and he will clear a way before Me. And suddenly, the Lord Whom you seek will come to His Temple. And behold! The angel of the covenant, whom you desire, is coming, says the Lord of Hosts.	1. "Behold, I am about to send My messenger and he will prepare the way before Me, and suddenly the LORD whom you seek will enter His temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.
2. Now who can abide the day of his coming, and who will stand when he appears, for it is like fire that refines and like fullers' soap.	2. But who may endure the day of his coming and who will stand when he is revealed? For his anger dissolves like fire and (is) like soap which is used for cleansing,
3. And he shall sit refining and purifying silver, and he shall purify the children of Levi. And he shall purge them as gold and as silver, and they shall be offering up an offering to the Lord with righteousness.	3. And he will be revealed to test and to purify as a man who tests and purifies silver; and he shall purify the sons of Levi and shall refine them like gold and silver, and they shall be presenting an offering in righteousness before the Lord.
4. And then the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem shall be pleasant to the Lord, as in the days of old and former years.	4. And the offering of the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will be accepted before the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years.
5. And I will approach you for judgment, and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers and against those who swear falsely; and also against those who withhold the wages of the day laborers, of the widow and fatherless, and those who pervert [the rights of] the stranger, [and those who] fear Me not, says the Lord of Hosts.	5. And I will reveal Myself against you to exercise judgment, and My Memra will be for a swift witness among you, against the sorcerers and adulterers, and against those who swear falsely and those who oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow and the orphan, and who pervert the judgment of the stranger, and have not feared from before Me, says the LORD of hosts.
6. For I, the Lord, have not changed; and you, the sons of Jacob, have not reached the end.	6. For I the LORD have not changed My covenant which is from old, but you, O house of Israel, you think that if a man dies in this world his judgment has ceased.
7. From the days of your fathers you have departed from My laws and have not kept [them]. "Return to Me, and I will return to you," said the Lord of Hosts, but you said, "With what have we to return?"	7. From the days of your fathers you have wandered from My statutes and have not observed (them). Return to My service and I will return by My Memra to do good for you, says the LORD of hosts. And if you say, ‘How will we return?’
8. Will a man rob God? Yet you rob Me, and you say, "With what have we robbed You?"-With tithes and with the terumah-levy.	8. Will a man provoke before a judge? But you are provoking before Me. And if you say, ‘How have we provoked before You?’ - in tithes and offerings.
9. You are cursed with a curse, but you rob Me, the whole nation!	9. You are cursed with a curse, and you are provoking before Me, the whole nation of you.
10. Bring the whole of the tithes into the treasury so that there may be nourishment in My House, and test Me now therewith, says the Lord of Hosts, [to see] if I will not open for you the sluices of heaven and pour down for you blessing until there be no room to suffice for it.	10. Bring the whole tithe to the storehouse and there will be provision for those who serve in My Sanctuary, and make trial now before Me in this, says the LORD of hosts, to see whether I will not open to you the windows of heaven and send down blessing to you, until you say. ‘Enough!’
11. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sake, and he will not destroy the fruits of your land; neither shall your vine cast its fruit before its time in the field, says the Lord of Hosts.	11. And I will rebuke the destroyer for you and it will not destroy the fruit of your ground; nor will the vine in the field fail to bear fruit for you, says the LORD of hosts.
12. And then all the Gentiles shall praise you, for you shall be a desirable land, says the Lord of Hosts. {P}	12. And all the Gentiles will praise you, for you will be dwelling in the land of the house of My Shekinah and will be fulfilling My will in it, says the LORD of hosts.
13. "Still harder did your words strike Me," says the Lord, but you say, "What have we spoken against You?"	13. Your words have been strong before Me, says the LORD. And you say, ‘How have we multiplied words before You?’
14. You have said, "It is futile to serve God, and what profit do we get for keeping His charge and for going about in anxious worry because of the Lord of Hosts? "	14. You have said, He who serves before the LORD is not benefited, and what gain do we earn for ourselves because we have kept the charge of His Memra and because we have walked in lowliness of spirit before the LORD of hosts?
15. And now we praise the bold transgressors. Yea, those who work wickedness are built up. Yea, they tempt God, and they have, nevertheless, escaped.	15. And now we praise the wicked, yes, evil-doers are established, and, moreover, they make trial before the LORD and are delivered.
16. Then the God-fearing men spoke to one another, and the Lord hearkened and heard it. And a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who feared the Lord and for those who valued His name highly.	16. Then those who feared the LORD spoke each with his companion, and the LORD hearkened and it was revealed before Him and was written in the book of records before Him, for those who feared the LORD and for those who thought to honor His name.
17. And they shall be Mine, says the Lord of Hosts, for that day when I make a treasure. And I will have compassion on them as a man has compassion on his son who serves him.	17. And they will be before Me, says the LORD of hosts, on the day when I will make up (My) special possession, and I will have mercy upon them just as a man has mercy upon his son who has served him.
18. And you shall return and discern between the righteous/generous and the wicked, between him who serves God and him who has not served Him. {P}	18. And you will again distinguish between the righteous/generous and the wicked, between those who have served before the LORD and those who have not served before Him.
19. For lo, the sun comes, glowing like a furnace, and all the audacious sinners and all the perpetrators of wickedness will be stubble. And the sun that comes shall burn them up so that it will leave them neither root nor branch, says the Lord of Hosts.	19. For behold, the day has come, burning like an oven, and all the wicked and all the evil-doers will be weak as stubble, and the day that is coming will consume them, says the LORD of hosts, so that it will leave them neither son nor grandson.
20. And the sun of mercy shall rise with healing in its wings for you who fear My Name. Then will you go forth and be fat as fatted calves.	20. But for you who fear My name the sun of righteousness/generosity will arise with healing in his wings, and you will go out and sport like calves from the stall.
21. And you shall crush the wicked, for they will be as ash under the soles of your feet on the day that I will prepare, says the Lord of Hosts.	21. And you will trample upon the wicked, for they will be ashes under the sole of your feet on the day when I act, says the LORD of hosts.
22. Keep in remembrance the teaching of Moses, My servant-the laws and ordinances which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel.	22. Remember the Law of Moses My servant, which I commanded him on Horeb for all Israel, to teach them statutes and ordinances.
23. Lo, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord,	23. Behold, I am sending to you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day which will come from the LORD.
24. that he may turn the heart of the fathers back through the children, and the heart of the children back through their fathers-lest I come and smite the earth with utter destruction. {P}	24. And he will turn the heart of the fathers upon the children and the heart of the children upon their fathers, lest I should reveal Myself and find the whole land in its sins, and utterly wipe it out.”

Special Ashlamatah: Jeremiah 2:4-28 + 4:1-2

Rashi	Targum
4. Hearken to the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel.	4. Listen to the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and every descendant of the house of Israel. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. "
5. So says the Lord: What wrong did your forefathers find in Me, that they distanced themselves from Me, and they went after futility and themselves became futile?	5. Thus says the LORD: “What did your fathers find in My Memra that was false that they removed themselves from the fear of Me, and went astray after the idols and became worthless?
6. And they did not say, "Where is the Lord, Who brought us up from the land of Egypt, Who led us in the desert, in a land of plains and pits, in a land of waste and darkness, in a land where no man had passed and where no man had dwelt.	6. And they did not say: ‘Let us/ear from before the LORD, who brought us up from the land of Egypt, who led us in the wilderness, in a land level and waste, in a land desolate, and of the shadow of death; in the land in which no man passes by, and no man dwells there.
7. And I brought you to a forest land to eat of its produce and its goodness, and you came and contaminated My land, and made My heritage an abomination.	7. And I brought you into the land of Israel which was planted like Carmel, to eat its fruit and its goodness; but you went up and defiled the land of the house of My Shekhinah and you made My inheritance into the worship of idols.
8. The priests did not say, "Where is the Lord?" And those who hold onto the Torah did not know Me and the rulers rebelled against Me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal and followed what does not avail.	8. The priests did not say: ‘Let us fear before the LORD’; nor did the teachers of the Law study to know the fear of Me. But the king rebelled against My Memra, and the prophets of falsehood prophesied in the name of the idols, and went after what would not profit them.
9. Therefore, I will still contend with you, says the Lord, and with your children's children will I contend.	9. Therefore I am going to exact punishment from you, says the LORD, and from the children of your sons whom I am going to punish, if they act according to your deeds.
10. For pass over [to] the isles of the Kittites and see, and send to Kedar and consider diligently, and see whether there was any such thing,	10. For cross over to the coastlands of the Kittim, and see; and send to the province of the Arabs and observe carefully; and see the nations who go into exile from district to district and from province to province transporting their idols and carrying them with them. And in the place where they settle, they spread their tents, and set up their idols and worship them. Where now is a nation and language which has acted like you, O house of Israel?
11. Whether a nation exchanged a god although they are not gods. Yet My nation exchanged their glory for what does not avail.	11. Behold, the Gentiles have not forsaken the service of the idols, and they are idols in which there is no profit. But my people have forsaken My service, for the sake of which I bring glory upon them, and they have gone after what will not profit them.
12. Oh heavens, be astonished about this, and storm, become very desolate, says the Lord.	12. Mourn, O heavens, because of this, because of the land of Israel which is to be wasted, and because of the Sanctuary which is to be made desolate, and because My people have done evil deeds to excess, says the LORD.
13. For My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken Me, the spring of living waters, to dig for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that do not hold water.	13. For My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken My service, for the sake of which I bring goodness upon them like a fountain of water which does not cease; and they have strayed after the idols which are like broken pits for them, which cannot guarantee water.
14. Is Israel a slave? Is he a home- born slave? Why has he become a prey?	14. Was Israel like a slave? Is he the son of a slave? Why is he handed over to plunderers?
15. Young lions roar over him: they have raised their voice, and they have made his land a desolation; his cities were burnt without an inhabitant.	15. Kings will shout against him: they will lift up their voice and make his land a desolation; his cities will be desolate without inhabitant.
16. Also the children of Noph and Tahpanhes will break your crown.	16. Moreover the children of Memphis and Tahpanhes will kill your mighty men and plunder your herds.
17. Is not this caused to you by your forsaking the Lord your God at the time He leads you by the way?	17. Will not this punishment be exacted from you because you have forsaken the worship of the LORD your God, who showed you the way which was right -but you did not walk in it?
18. And now, what have you to do in the way of Egypt to drink the water of the Shihor and what have you to do in the way of Assyria to drink the water of the river?	18. And now what profit was it for you to associate with Pharaoh the king of Egypt to cast your males into the river? And what profit was it for you to make a covenant with the Assyrians (that they should) banish you yonder beyond the Euphrates?
19. Your evil will chastise you, and your backslidings will reprove you, and you shall know and see that your forsaking the Lord your God is evil and bitter, and fear of Me was not upon you, says the Lord God of Hosts.	19. I have brought sufferings upon you. but you have not refrained from your wickedness; and because you have not returned to the Law punishment will be exacted from you. And know and see that I will bring evil and bitterness upon you, O Jerusalem, because you have forsaken the worship of the LORD your God, and have not set My fear before your eyes, says the LORD God of Hosts.
20. For of old I broke your yoke, I tore open your yoke-bands, and you said, "I will not transgress," but on every lofty hill and under every leafy tree, you recline as a harlot.	20. For from of old I have broken the yoke of the Gentiles from your neck. I have severed your chains; and you said; 'We will not again transgress against Your Memra.’ But on every exalted height and under every leafy tree you worship the idols.
21. Yet I planted you a noble vine stock, throughout of right seed; now how have you turned yourself into a degenerate wild vine to Me?	21. And I myself established^28 you before me like the plant of the choice'" vine." All of you were doers of the truthr'" and how then are you changed before me in your corrupted works? You have turned aside from my worship:" you have been like a vine in which there is no profit. 22.
22. For if you wash with natron and use much soap, your iniquity is stained before Me, says the Lord God.	22. Even if you think to be cleansed of your sins, just as they cleanse (things) with natron and make white with soap, behold. like the mark of a blood-stain which is unclean, so are your sins many before Me, says the LORD-God.
23. How do you say, "I have not been defiled; I have not gone after the Baalim"? See your way in the valley, know what you have done, [like] a swift young she- camel, clinging to her ways.	23. How do you say: ‘I am not defiled, I have not walked after the idols of the nations?’ Lift up your eyes upon your ways and see; when you were dwelling in the valley in front of Beth Pe'or, know what you did; you were like a swift young camel who corrupts her ways.
24. A wild donkey accustomed to the desert, that snuffs up the wind in her desire, her tendency like the sea creatures, who can hinder her? All who seek her will not weary; in her month they will find her.	24. Like a wild ass who dwells in the wilderness, walking in the pleasure of her soul, drinking the wind like a wild ass, thus the assembly of Israel has rebelled and strayed from the Law, and does not wish to return. Say to her, O prophet. ‘All those who seek My Law will not be forgotten: in its time they will find it.’
25. Withhold your foot from going barefoot and your throat from thirst; but you said, "I despair. No, for I love strangers, and I will follow them."	25. Restrain your foot from associating with the Gentiles, and your mouth from worshipping the idols. But you said: ‘I have turned away from Your worship. No; because I have loved to associate with the Gentiles, so will I follow the worship of their idols.’
26. As the shame of a thief when he is found out, so have the house of Israel been ashamed; they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets.	26. Like the shame of a man who is considered trustworthy and is found to be a thief, so is the house of Israel ashamed, they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets of falsehood.
27. They say to the wood, “You are my father,” and to the stone, “You bore us,” for they turned to Me their nape and not their face, and at the time of their misfortune they say, "Arise and save us."	27. saying to an image of wood; ‘You are our father’; and saying to something which is made of stone: ‘You created us.’ For they have turned their back on My worship, and have not set the fear of Me before their faces. But when misfortune comes upon them. they renounce their idols. confessing before Me and saying: 'Have mercy on us and redeem us'.
28. Now where are your gods that you have made for yourself; let them get up if they will save you at the time of your misfortune, for as many as your cities were your gods, O Judea.	28. But where are your deities which you made for yourselves? Let them arise, if they can, to redeem you in the time of your misfortune; for the number of your towns is the same as the number of your deities, O men of the house of Judah.
1. If you return, O Israel, says the Lord, to Me, you shall return, and if you remove your detestable things from My Presence, you shall not wander.	1. "If you return, O Israel, to My worship, says the LORD, your repentance will be received before your decree is sealed; and if you remove your abominations from before Me, then you will not be exiled.
2. And you will swear, "As the Lord lives," in truth and in justice and in righteousness/generosity, nations will bless themselves with Him and boast about Him.	2. Andif you swear in My Name, The LORD is He who Exists, in truth, in justice, and in righteousness/ generosity, then will the Gentiles be blessed through Israel and will glorify themselves through Him.”

Special Ashlamatah: I Samuel 20:18,42

Rashi	Targum
18. And Jonathan said to him, Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be expected, for your seat will be empty.	18. And Jonathan said to him, “Tomorrow is the new moon and you will be sought out, for your dining place will be empty.”
42. And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, because we have sworn, the two of us, in the name of Ha-Shem, saying, Ha-Shem will be between you and me, and between my seed and your seed forever. And he rose up and went. And Jonathan went into the city.	42. and Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for the two of us have sworn by the name of the LORD saying, ‘May the Memra of the LORD be a witness between me and you, and between my sons and your sons forever.’” And he rose up and went. And Jonathan went into the city.

Verbal Tallies

By: HH Rosh Paqid Adon Hillel ben David

& HH Giberet Dr. Elisheba bat Sarah

B’Midbar (Numbers) 28:26 – 30:1

B’Midbar (Numbers) 28:9-15

Ashlamatah: Malachi 3:4,13-18,22-24

Special: Yeremiyahu (Jeremiah) 2:4-28 + 4:1-2

I Samuel 20:18,42

Tehillim (Psalms) 105:39-45

Mordechai (Mark) 13:1-2

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Ashlamatah are:

Day(s) - יום, Strong’s mumber 03117.

Meal Offering - מנחה, Strong’s number 04503.

LORD - יהוה, Strong’s number 03068.

Work - עשה, Strong’s number 06213.

First / Son / children - בן, Strong’s number 01121.

Year(s) - שנה, Strong’s number 08141.

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the special Ashlamatah are:

LORD - יהוה, Strong’s number 03068.

Work / committed. - עשה, Strong’s number 06213.

Two - שנים, Strong’s number 08147,

First / Son / children - בן, Strong’s number 01121.

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Psalm are:

Holy - קדש, Strong’s number 06944.

B’Midbar (Numbers) 28:26 Also in the day <03117> of the firstfruits, when ye bring a new meat offering <04503> unto the LORD <03068>, after your weeks be out, ye shall have an holy <06944> convocation; ye shall do <06213> (8799) no servile work:

27  But ye shall offer the burnt offering for a sweet savour unto the LORD <03068>; two <08147> young bullocks, one ram, seven lambs of the first <01121> year <08141>;

Malachi 3:4 Then shall the offering <04503> of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD <03068>, as in the days <03117> of old, and as in former years <08141>.

Malachi 3:15 And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work <06213> (8802) wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.

Malachi 3:17 And they shall be mine, saith the LORD <03068> of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son <01121> that serveth him.

Yeremiyahu (Jeremiah) 2:4 Hear ye the word of the LORD <03068>, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel:

Yeremiyahu (Jeremiah) 2:13 For my people have committed <06213> (8804) two <08147> evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

Yeremiyahu (Jeremiah) 2:9 Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the LORD <03068>, and with your children’s <01121> children <01121> will I plead.

Tehillim (Psalms) 105:42 For he remembered his holy <06944> promise, and Abraham his servant.

Hebrew:

Hebrew	English	Torah Seder Num 28:26 - 30:1	S. Torah Seder Num. 28:9-15	Psalms Psa 105:39-45	S. Ashlamatah Jer 2:4-28+4:1-2	S. Ashlamatah I Sa 20:18,42	Ashlamatah Mal. 3:4,13-18,22-24
אָב	father				Jer 2:5		Mal 4:6
dx'a,	one	Num 28:27	Num 28:11
vyai	one				Jer 2:6		Mal 3:16
~yhil{a/	GOD				Jer 2:11		Mal 3:14
אָמַר	spoke, speak	Num 29:40					Mal 3:13
אֶרֶץ	land, earth			Ps 105:44			Mal 4:6
אֲשֶׁר	which, whom	Num 30:1					Mal 3:18
בּוֹא	brought			Ps 105:40			Mal 4:5
!yIB;	between					1 Sam 20:42	Mal 3:18
בֵּן	young bulls, son	Num 28:27	Num 28:9		Jer 2:9		Mal 3:17
rq'B'	bulls	Num 28:27	Num 28:11
yAG	nations			Ps 105:44	Jer 2:11
~G"	also				Jer 2:16		Mal 3:15
דָּבַר	spoke, spoken	Num 30:1					Mal 3:13
דָּבָר	word	Num 30:1		Ps 105:42	Jer 2:4		Mal 3:13
hy"h'	have,has	Num 28:26			Jer 2:10
הָלַךְ	ran, walk, go			Ps 105:41	Jer 2:5	1 Sam 20:42	Mal 3:14
זָכַר	remembered			Ps 105:42			Mal 4:4
[r'z<	descendents				Jer 2:21	1 Sam 20:42
vd,xo	months		Num 28:11		Jer 2:24	1 Sam 20:18
חֹק	statutes			Ps 105:45			Mal 4:4
hd'Why>	Judah				Jer 2:28		Mal 3:4
יהוה	LORD	Num 28:26	Num 28:11		Jer 2:4	1 Sam 20:42	Mal 3:4
יוֹם	day	Num 28:26	Num 28:9				Mal 3:4
יִשְׂרָאֵל	Israel	Num 29:40			Jer 2:4		Mal 4:4
fb,K,	male lambs	Num 28:27	Num 28:9
yKi	because				Jer 2:22	1 Sam 20:18
כֹּל	whole, all	Num 28:26			Jer 2:4		Mal 4:4
aol	no	Num 28:26			Jer 2:6
hm'	what				Jer 2:5		Mal 3:13
~yIm;	water			Ps 105:41	Jer 2:13
מִנִּי	besides, before	Num 28:31					Mal 3:14
מִנְחָה	grain offering	Num 28:26	Num 28:9				Mal 3:4
מֹשֶׁה	Moses	Num 29:40					Mal 4:4
מִשְׁפָּט	ordinances	Num 29:6			Jer 4:2		Mal 4:4
aybin"	prophets				Jer 2:8		Mal 4:5
rh'n"	river			Ps 105:41	Jer 2:18
x;AxynI	soothing	Num 28:27	Num 28:13
!t;n"	gave, roared loudly			Ps 105:44	Jer 2:15
tl,so	flour	Num 28:28	Num 28:9
db;['	serve				Jer 2:20		Mal 3:14
עֶבֶד	servant			Ps 105:42	Jer 2:14		Mal 4:4
~l'A[	forever				Jer 2:20	1 Sam 20:42	Mal 3:4
z[e	goat	Num 28:30	Num 28:15
l[;	addition, against		Num 28:10				Mal 3:13
!ArF'[i	tenth	Num 28:28	Num 28:9
hT'[;	now				Jer 2:18		Mal 3:15
~ynIP'	before				Jer 2:22		Mal 3:14
rP;	bulls	Num 28:27	Num 28:11
ab'c'	hosts				Jer 2:19		Mal 3:14
צָוָה	command	Num 29:40					Mal 4:4
hY"ci	dry			Ps 105:41	Jer 2:6
קֹדֶשׁ	holy	Num 28:26		Ps 105:42
~Wq	rose				Jer 2:27	1 Sam 20:42
ha'r'	see				Jer 2:10		Mal 3:18
br'q'	present	Num 28:26	Num 28:11
[b;v'	sworn, swear				Jer 4:2	1 Sam 20:42
[b;v,	seven	Num 28:27	Num 28:11
bWv	away, again				Jer 2:24		Mal 3:18
vAlv'	three	Num 28:28	Num 28:12
xl;v'	send				Jer 2:10		Mal 4:5
~ve	name					1 Sam 20:42	Mal 3:16
~yIm;v'	heaven			Ps 105:40	Jer 2:12
!m,v,	oil	Num 28:28	Num 28:9
[m;v'	hear				Jer 2:4		Mal 3:16
שָׁמַר	keep, kept			Ps 105:45			Mal 3:14
שָׁנָה	year	Num 28:27					Mal 3:4
~yIn"v.	two	Num 28:27	Num 28:9		Jer 2:13	1 Sam 20:42
תּוֹרָה	laws			Ps 105:45	Jer 2:8		Mal 4:4
ll;B'	mixed	Num 28:28	Num 28:9
ll;h'	praise			Ps 105:45	Jer 4:2
lyIa;	ram	Num 28:27	Num 28:11
ry"['	city				Jer 2:15	1 Sam 20:42
hl'[o	burnt	Num 28:27	Num 28:10
~[;	people			Ps 105:43	Jer 2:11
hf'['	do, doers, offered	Num 28:26	Num 28:15		Jer 2:13		Mal 3:15
x;yre	aroma	Num 28:27	Num 28:13
ry[if'	male	Num 28:30	Num 28:15

Greek:

Greek	English	Torah Seder Num 28:26-30:1	S. Torah Seder Num. 28:9-15	Psalms Psa 105:39-45	S. Ashlamatah Jer2:4-28 + 4:1-2	S. Ashlamatah I Sa 20:18,42	Ashlamatah Mal. 3:4,13-18,22-24	NC Mk 13:1-2
εἷς	one	Num 28:27	Num 28:11					Mar 13:1
ἔπω	said					1Sa 20:18		Mar 13:2
λέγω	saying	Num 30:1			Jer 2:5	1Sa 20:42		Mar 13:1
μέγας	greater						Mal 4:5	Mar 13:2

Mishnah Pirqe Abot V:8

“Seven kinds of punishment come upon the world for seven kinds of transgression. If some tithe [their produce] and some do not tithe, famine from drought comes: some suffer hunger while some have enough. If they [all] decide not to tithe, famine from turmoil and drought comes; and [if they decide] not to set apart Dough-offering, an all-consuming famine comes. Pestilence comes upon the world because of crimes deserving of the death penalties called for by law that are not brought before the court; and because of [the transgressions of the laws of] the Seventh Year produce. The sword comes upon the world because of delaying justice and perverting justice; and because of them that teach Torah not according to the Halakha. Wild beasts come upon the world because of unnecessary oaths and the profanation of the Name of God. Exile comes upon the world because of idolatry, incest and bloodshed; and because of [neglect of the years of] the release of the land.

Abarbanel on Pirqe Abot

By: Abraham Chill

Sepher Hermon Press, Inc. 1991

ISBN 0-87203-135-7

(pp. 357-367)

Following his usual methodology, Abarbanel begins his commentary on this Mishnah by trying to find a connection between it and the preceding Mishnayot. He claims that the seven kinds of punishment allude to Adam and Eve. Adam's first punishment was that he was denied the divine food he had in the Garden of Eden. He was told, "Cursed be the ground because of you ... " (Genesis 3: 17), which implies drought. "By toil shall you eat of it" (ibid.) implies turmoil and "Until you return to the ground" (ibid. verse 19) implies the all-consuming famine. Adam was also punished for his sin by death, "For dust you are, and to dust you shall return" (ibid.), because before the sin there was a perfect balance between Adam's temperament and intelligence and so he could have lived forever. As an outcome of his sin, his temperament took over from his intelligence and as a result jealousy, lust and the drive for glory became part of the human make-up, leading to wars. When he was created, Adam was told that he would rule over the beasts, but when he sinned the situation was reversed, and he and Cain became afraid of the beasts. And, of course, part of his punishment was that he was exiled from the Garden of Eden. Thus the seven punishments listed in this Mishnah all derive from the sin of Adam, who was the subject of the preceding Mishnayot.

The seven calamities listed in our Mishnah will not befall one person, but rather apply to mankind in general. Just as mankind, with all its differences, developed out of Adam, so too these punishments will fall on mankind, in different places and in different times. Accordingly, the word PURANIYOT in our Mishnah stems from the root פרע (Pore’a) - to pay a debt, i.e., God is demanding payment for man's transgressions.

The first three of these inescapable disasters deal with the same subject: famine. The first kind of famine results from a society which, contrary to Biblical Law, does not join as a unit in the mitzvah of tithing - some tithe and some do not. What some of the community is doing is stealing from the priests, who depend for their sustenance on these tithes. Because some tithe and some do not, God will cause some parts to have rain and others to suffer drought.

Abarbanel supports this interpretation from a passage in the Talmud (Shabbat 32b) where the rabbis, commenting on the Biblical verse, “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, and let there be food in My house [the Temple] ... I will surely open the floodgates of the sky for you and pour down boundless blessing ... " (Malachi 3:10), state that from the positive we can understand the negative. This means that if they do not provide provisions in the storehouse for the tribe of Levi, they will be denied the blessing of rain.

The second type of famine the Mishnah refers to is the consequence of a community reaching a decision to refrain from giving tithes. This will result in hostility, belligerency and new crises all the time. When society is in that frame of mind, it has no interests in activities such as planting and sowing and famine ensues.

The third type of famine is the outcome of not observing the mitzvah of Hallah. This mitzvah is in the same category as Terumah, the gift presented by the Israelite to the kohen. There are calculations of how much one must give of Terumah; Hallah requires a mere sliver of dough to fulfil the mitzvah. If a community cannot see the justification of providing for the priest, even with so small a gift, it deserves an all-consuming famine. Even the water in the lakes and ponds will dry up. This is the interpretation of Rambam and Rabbi Mattityah.

Abarbanel questions the choice of the Mishnah in singling out these seven calamities. Firstly, why do only these seven sins result in seven different calamities? The Torah is replete with transgressions that will eventuate in disaster. Secondly, why did the sage describe three different types of famines when, after all, a famine is a famine? Furthermore, in the penalty of pestilence, the sage, in one breath, lumps “crimes punishable by death” and “fruits of the Seventh Year” together. Are they really of the same order? Finally, Abarbanel finds it difficult to understand the punishment of “exile” due to idolatry, incest and bloodshed and neglect of the year of the release of the land. In its true perspective, these are four different and distinct infractions, yet they have one common denominator: the punishment of exile.

According to Abarbanel, this entire Mishnah is an allusion to Leviticus, chapter 26. That chapter records the blessings God will bestow on the Jews if they keep His Law and the curses which disobedience will bring. The first blessing is “I will grant your rains in their season, so that the earth shall yield its produce and the trees of the field their fruit” (verse 4). Everything will be in its proper order, without turmoil – “Your threshing shall overtake the vintage and your vintage shall overtake the sowing” (verse 5). Furthermore, the people's eating and satiation shall be a blessing – “And you shall eat your fill of bread” (ibid.). Another blessing will be peace, “I will grant peace in your land ... and no sword shall cross your land” (verse 6). Wild beasts will be subdued, “I will give the land respite form vicious beasts" (ibid.). and the nation will be spared untimely deaths and plagues which reduce its numbers, as it is written, “I will look with favour upon you, and make you fertile and multiply you” (verse 9). Moreover, notwithstanding the demographic explosion, there will be enough food for all, “You shall eat the old grain long stored and you shall have to clear out the old to make room for the new” (ibid.). The Jews will defeat their enemies – “You shall give chase to your enemies ...” (verse 7) - and will enjoy sovereignty in their own land, “I will establish My abode in your midst ...” (verses 11-13).

Thus, the blessings listed contain seven categories. While it is true that the curses listed are more general and contain more than seven categories, since they are couched in general terms no exegetical exposition should be made on them. Abarbanel goes on to find seven specific punishments in the curses. He points out that the word RA’AV, famine, is mentioned three times, wild beasts are mentioned once, pestilence is also mentioned once, as are the sword and exile. The author of the Mishnah was aware of this and thus taught that the seven punishments come for seven kinds of sin and he was not referring to mankind as whole, but to the Jewish people.

The first of the punishments mentioned is hunger: “I will break your proud glory. I will make your skies like iron, and your earth like copper” (verse 19). This means that God will destroy the Jews' confidence in the fact they live in a land of milk and honey by stopping the rain so that the earth will not give out its produce. This is the famine caused by drought which the Mishnah lists.

This will be the punishment for the neglect of the tithes. There are three types of tithes:

1. Ma'aser Rishon: the First Tithe - a tenth - which is given to the Levite in each year of the seven-year cycle.

2. Ma'aser Sheni: the Second Tithe - a tenth of the produce of the first, second, fourth and fifth years of the cycle which is brought to Jerusalem and consumed there.

3. Ma'aser Ani: a tenth of the produce of the third and sixth years of the cycle which is to be given to the poor.

The Mishnah can be interpreted as meaning that if some of the tithes - i.e., the First Tithe to the Levites - are given and some - i.e. the Second Tithe and the Poor man's Tithe - are not given, the Jews will be punished with famine because of drought.

The second type of famine can also be read into the verses of the curses. “You will withdraw into your cities ... and you shall be delivered into enemy hands. When I break your staff of bread, ten women shall bake bread in a single oven; they shall dole out your bread by weight, and though you eat, you shall not be satisfied” (verses 25-26). This means that the enemy will come at harvest time and that the Jews will have to take refuge in the cities where they will be besieged. The shortage of food will be caused by the failure to bring in the harvest, as a result of the turmoil of war, and what food there is will not satisfy. All this will be in addition to the shortages caused by the drought. This will happen because all the Jews decided not to give tithes. In line with the interpretation given for the first kind of famine, this can be interpreted as meaning that the Jews refrained from giving even the First Tithe. Since the sustenance of the priests and Levites depends on that tithe, when the Jews decide not to give it, they are, in effect, condemning the priests and Levites to death by starvation - the punishment is, therefore, poetic justice.

The third, most severe, kind of famine is indicated by the verse, “And you shall eat the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your daughters ...” (verse 29). The severe lack of food will drive parents to eat their own children, thus bringing the world to an end. How can one be so insensitive and cruel as not to observe a mitzvah which requires so little time and money such as the mitzvah of Hallah? God is justified in retaliating by bringing down upon them an all-consuming famine.

Hence, the sage of this Mishnah listed three sins in ascending order of severity: refusal to give the Second Tithe and the Poor man's Tithe; refusal to give the First Tithe; and refusal to give Hallah. These will bring in their wake retribution in the form of famine, in ascending order of severity.

We continue to read in the curses: “And I will send the pestilence among you” (verse 25). In the besieged cities plagues will break out and it will not be possible to leave the city and avoid infection because of the siege. Abarbanel explains that the Mishnah means that pestilence will be a result of the failure of society to implement those death penalties mentioned in the Torah which are not under the jurisdiction of the court, and of failure to keep the laws regarding the produce of the seventh year. He reminds us that there are three types of death penalties:

1. Death at the hands of the Heaven. This infers that a person is doomed to die for a certain sin even if he lives a full life. He cannot escape this punishment, and will die an unnatural death.

2. Karet: He or his children will die before their allotted time.

3. One who is liable for the death penalty but cannot be executed because the court can no longer implement capital punishment. In such a case the sinner will be punished at the hands of Heaven with continuing ill health.

All these punishments are included in the general term, DEVER, which derives from a root meaning “destruction.”

Thus we see that there are conditions under which the courts cannot condemn a criminal to death, although he deserves it. When this occurs, as people are guilty of crimes for which the punishment is death at the hands of Heaven or Karet, God brings a pestilence upon the world over which the courts have no jurisdiction. In this light we can understand the midrash “When there is justice done on earth, there is no justice in heaven; when there is no justice on earth there is justice in heaven” (Tanhuma 72:2).

Regarding pestilence as a consequence of violation of the seventh year, Abarbanel calls our attention to the Biblical rule that in that year the farmer must make the agricultural produce of his field freely available to all. This gives the poor people a chance to improve their standard of living. The penalty for those who violate this law is one which will deny the transgressor the pleasure of enjoying his food due to his illness.

Focusing on that section of our Mishnah which preaches that the sword will descend upon those who delay justice, pervert justice and those who teach the Torah not in accordance with Halakha, Abarbanel, here, too, finds the source for this in the verse which states, “And I will bring a sword against you, to wreak vengeance for the covenant” (verse 25).

Innui Ha-Din is the practice of withholding a decision without any concern for the litigants; Ivut Ha-Din implies the deliberate distortion of a law clearly stated in the Torah. In examining this dictum, we must conclude that both these sins, together with that of explaining Torah contrary to the Halakha, have one thing in common: the absence of a fair and just decision on the part of a judge. The covenant referred to in the verse quoted above is Torah, thus the end result of this infraction is the sword. The sword disfigures and dismembers physically; the perverter of Torah justice disfigures and destroys the moral fabric and spiritual standards of society.

On the subject in our Mishnah that the world will be invaded by wild beasts for the sins of swearing oaths unnecessarily and profaning the Name of God, Abarbanel refers us to the text, “And I will loose the wild beasts against you ...” (verse 22). There are four ways in which wild beasts wreak havoc: they kill small children who cannot defend themselves ("they shall bereave you of your children"); they attack the stock ("and wipe out your cattle"); they also attack adults ("They shall decimate you"); and finally, conditions become so unbearable that people stop walking the streets and the highways ("And your roads shall be destroyed"). This will come as a result of false swearing and profaning the Name of God. If man has no awe and fear of God and swears falsely in His name and so profanes His name, the end will be that the beasts of the jungle will not be intimidated by man nor fear to destroy him.

The worst type of disaster that can befall the Jew, according to Abarbanel, is the punishment of exile, "And you I will scatter among the Gentiles" (verse 33). What is the link between exile and the four transgressions listed as causing it in our Mishnah? When Jews are attracted to idolatry it is because they are influenced by ideas which were imported from other countries. If the Jew does not prefer God's Law in his own land, but accepts the worship practiced in other lands, it is time that he be driven into exile into those other lands and lose his independence. Incest, in the eyes of the Torah, is a defilement of the land. If the Jew does not relate to his native land as a holy land, he does not deserve to keep it. Bloodshed - premeditated murder which is common in a country can never be condoned. Thus, the perpetration of these three sins constitute a defilement of the Land of Israel. Abarbanel cites verses to establish this.

The concept of the release of the land on the seventh year of Shemitah naturally deals with the land and agriculture. No respect for the productiveness of the earth will result in exile (verse 34).

According to Abarbanel, the allusions to the chapter of Leviticus explains why the author of the Mishnah chose those seven punishments and why he divided that of famine into three. Abarbanel then turns his attention to the question why the neglect of the Shemitah year should result in exile? If a farmer does not wish to give the soil a rest after six years of production, he will suffer the consequences and due to his neglect will either have a poor crop later or no crop at all. He was the one who brought disaster upon himself. But, asks Abarbanel, is this sufficient cause for him to be driven into exile? This argument is a rebuttal of the thinking of Rambam who believes that the only reason for the Shemitah is to afford the soil a period of rest.

Abarbanel is adamant when he says, “If you have any sensitivity you will not accept Rambam's view. If it was as Rambam contends, why can the earth, at its weakest point, be fertile enough to provide enough produce for three consecutive years - the seventh, the Jubilee and the following year, as it is written, “And should you ask, What are we to eat in the seventh year ... ? I will ordain My blessing in the sixth year so that it shall yield a crop sufficient for three years” (Leviticus 25:20- 21). In addition, why the severe penalty of exile for so minor an infraction?

Abarbanel cites a contemporary scholar, unidentified, who proposed that God's intention in the laws of Shemitah is to alert man that he must avoid being obsessed with materialism to the extent that he will work his fields all seven years of the cycle and even work himself seven consecutive days of the week, ignoring the Sabbath. God's purpose is to teach moderation and discipline.

He concedes that this is a noble approach to understanding the Biblical Law, but argues that this cannot be the true essence of the Shabbat concept relative to man and to the soil. The Laws of God have an intrinsic significance and value of their own. Any benefits derived by man from the Torah, are merely of secondary significance. Furthermore, if the theory of the unidentified commentator is correct, why did the sage of the Mishnaii not include the Shabbat and the Jubilee year together with Shemitah?

After having demolished the thinking of Rambam and others, Abarbanel offers his own view. To him, there is a singular virtue and attraction in the Land of Israel which was chosen by God to be the central venue for all Jewish activities. No other country was privileged to enjoy this distinction. Just like a wheel that has many spokes and is held together by a felly, so is the universe comprised of many lands held together by God's design. But the wheel has a hub which is the core of its function - Eretz Yisrael for the Jews. Accordingly, we can appreciate the words of our sages (Beresheet Rabbah 14:9) that God created Adam by taking some dust from the earth of the promised land because the soil is holy. Again, God instructed Abraham to leave his homeland and emigrate to the land He would show him - Eretz Yisrael (Genesis 12: 1). Only in a land favoured and sanctified by God can a sanctified person like Abraham live. He further augments this theme by reminding us that after the destruction of the First Temple, when the king of Assyria sent whole communities to populate Samaria, a part of Eretz Yisrael. God brought upon them lions which devoured them. Eretz Yisrael is so sacred that pagans have no place in it.

Hence, just as we view the seventh day of the week, the Shabbat, as evidence of God's creative process which terminated at the end of the sixth day, so is it with the Shemitah year which is classified in the same category as the Shabbat. The moment the people cannot accept this sanctity of Eretz Yisrael. they deserve to be driven into exile. This is the message of Shemitah.

Incest and the shedding of innocent blood are also the products of the mentality of a community that does not recognize the sanctity of Eretz Yisrael. Exile becomes inevitable.

Miscellaneous Interpretations

Midrash Shemuel concurs with practically every other commentator that the intention of this Mishnah is to stress that punishment for sin is “measure for measure,” i.e., the punishment is of the same nature as the sin. However, this does not imply that God retaliates in a spirit of revenge against those who violate His law. The purpose for this exchange of penalty for misdeed is to arouse people to sense what can happen if they do not obey God's word. Playing on the word Puraniyot (calamities) which has a similar phonetic sound as Pore'a (to repay a debt), Midrash Shemuel evokes the moral of leading a righteous/generous life to repay God's gift to man. In addition, he takes note of the word “come.” The message is that all the crises that a person experiences are brought on by the person himself. This is the significance of Psalms 23:4, "although I walk through the valley of the shadow of death ... "

Famine through drought.

Midrash Shemuel: This is how God addresses himself to those that do not tithe: "You did not obey My Law to tithe during the spring and summer months when the earth gives forth its fruit. You denied the poor man the opportunity to sustain himself. So will I deny you the rain and snow during the winter months and drought will follow.”

Famine resulting from tumult.

Rashi: Tumult in this instance implies that people will eat and remain hungry thus causing them a great deal of psychological discomfort.

Rashbatz apparently concurs with Rarnbam, since he cites him in exploring the possibility that a famine of confusion is due to wars that the country will be forced to wage against its enemies, thus neglecting to till and sow the land.

Midrash Shemuel: Consternation and panic will strike the country when the people who had their warehouses filled with food to capacity, suddenly find themselves impoverished and hungry because an invading army has confiscated their possessions and provisions. This is the penalty of a society which blatantly refuses to give tithes.

A Famine of Extermination.

Rashbatz: This axiom in our Mishnah is based on the Scriptures “And the heaven that is over your head will be brass, and the earth beneath you iron” (Deuteronomy 28:23). The tragic side of this punishment is the Halakhic principle that one can fulfill the mitzvah of Hallah by removing from the dough a mere sliver. But so rebellious is this society that even this minimal offering to the priest is denied.

Rashi: In the cases of the previous catastrophes of famine there will be some who will survive. When it reaches the point that even the mitzvah of Hallah is violated there is no hope for that generation and extermination will follow.

Pestilence.

Rashbatz: Here, again the premise of measure for measure comes into play. In two ways the Heavenly Court is called upon to pronounce a death sentence. When a court does not decree a death penalty on those who deserve it, God provides that they be dealt with appropriately by a divine act. Secondly, there are certain death penalties such as excision (karet) that were not in the jurisdictional domain of the court to execute. The Heavenly Court takes care of that. Thus pestilence is something that is wrought by Heaven and not by man.

Midrash Shemuel: The penalty of pestilence is analogous to the death penalties that are inflicted by God while the criminal is still healthy. Pestilence also comes upon man when he least anticipates it. With reference to the pestilence resulting from the violation of the laws Shemitah, Midrash Shemuel proposes that just as the death sentence, mentioned above, that God implements, is not a natural death, so when the wealthy deprive the impoverished during the seventh year, He punishes them with pestilence which is not a natural death.

The sword.

Rashbatz: The severe injustice of postponing a decision or distorting a law is best illustrated by reference to the Halakhic ruling that a court may not come to a decision on a death penalty on Shabbat because the problem of postponement would arise. In other words, if the court found someone guilty and condemned him to death on the Shabbat, they could not execute him immediately, as the Law requires, because it is forbidden to take a life on the Sabbath.

Midrash Shemuel: There are three essential requirements for a Law oriented system presided over by judges: the jurists must not distort the Law; the judges must be qualified in the knowledge of Law; and they must not postpone handing down their decisions.

The Mishnah apparently had this in mind when it taught that the sword comes to the world when it insensitively condones the delay of justice. To whom will these mistreated victims turn if there is no immediate justice. Perversion of the Law is a cardinal sin because it can be the result of favouritism and bribery. Lastly the Mishnah condemns a society that will permit an immature, unlearned person to serve as a judge. Without these essential components for a Law-abiding society man is capable of using the sword against his fellow-man.

Wild animals.

Rashbatz stresses that the prohibition to take God's name in vain when taking an oath does not apply only when the oath is false. It also applies if it is true, if the oath is unnecessary, such as, “I swear by God that this slab of stone is a slab of stone.” The concept of Hillul Ha-Shem, according to Rashbatz, applies to one who flagrantly violates this Law.

Midrash Shemuel: The wild animal in the jungle will rarely attack a human being because it recognizes the image of God that distinguishes man from beast. The animal is not afraid of man, but rather of the image of God in him. The moment man denigrates the message of God by cheapening the ineffable Name in an oath, he divests himself of the image of God, reduces himself to the level of an animal, which no longer fears him. This is also true in the case of Hillul Ha-Shem. Man simply loses his stature and becomes vulnerable to the lowest beasts on earth.

Another interpretation: the basic element that distinguishes man from beast is his power of speech. If he is not meticulously careful regarding what he says, such as taking an oath in vain, a person deserves to be trodden and mauled by beasts.

Exile.

Rashbatz: The Mishnah is not teaching us a hypothetical, remote situation. History teaches' us that the First Temple was destroyed because of idolatry and murder. King Manasseh introduced idols into the Temple and destroyed people in cold blood. Incest has always been condemned by every God-fearing person as a moral thorn in the side of society.

Midrash Shemuel, once again, reminds us that this Mishnah has as its theme “measure for measure.” The nation that worships strange gods of other peoples will be driven into exile, where they can worship those gods. The people that countenances immorality will be driven into exile where they will experience their heathen captors violating their women. Shedding innocent blood infers the instances when people were killed and there was no one to bury them. They shall go into exile where they will feel the tension of the sovereign power constantly holding a sword over their head and threatening death at any moment.

Relative to the release of the land in the seventh year, the message is: “You worked the land without giving it a rest. For that you will be led into exile where you will long for a chance to give your land an opportunity to rest.”

What Say the Nazarean Hakhamim?

Rom 8:35 Who will separate us from the love of Messiah? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?

Rom 8:36 Even as it has been written, “Nay, but for You sake are we killed all the day; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter” (Psalm 44:22).

Rom 8:37 But in all these things we more than conquer through Him (i.e. G-d) loving us.

Rom 8:38 For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

Rom 8:39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Yeshua the Messiah, our Master.

Rev 18:1 And after these things I saw another messenger coming down out of Heaven having great authority, and the earth was lighted up from his glory.

Rev 18:2 And he cried in a strong, great voice, saying, Babylon the great has fallen! It has fallen, and it has become a dwelling-place of demons, and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean bird, even having been hated,

Rev 18:3 because of the wine of the anger of her fornication which all the Gentiles have drunk, even the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her; and the merchants of the earth became rich from the power of her luxury.

Rev 18:4 And I heard another voice out of Heaven saying, My people, come out of her, that you may not share in her sins, and that you may not receive of her plagues;

Rev 18:5 because her sins joined together, even up to Heaven, and God remembered her unjust deeds.

Rev 18:6 Give back to her as also she gave back to you, and double to her double, according to her works. In the cup which she mixed, mix to her double.

Rev 18:7 By what things she glorified herself, and luxuriated, by so much give back to her torment and mourning. Because she says in her heart, I sit as a queen, and I am not a widow; and I do not see mourning at all.

Rev 18:8 Because of this, in one day her plagues shall come: death, and mourning, and famine; and she will be consumed with fire, for the Lord God judging her is strong.

Rev 18:9 And the kings of the earth will weep for her, and will wail over her, those having fornicated and having luxuriated with her, when they see the smoke of her burning;

Rev 18:10 standing from afar because of the fear of her torment, saying, Woe! Woe to the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in one hour your judgment came.

N.C.: Mark 13:1-2

CLV[1]	Magiera Peshitta NT[2]	Greek[3]	Delitzsch[4]
1. And at His going out of the sanctuary, one of His disciples is saying to Him, "Teacher! Lo! what manner of stones and what manner of buildings!"	1. And when Jesus went out from the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Teacher, behold, look at those stones and those buildings."	1. Καὶ ἐκπορευομένου αὐτοῦ ἐκ τοῦ ἱεροῦ λέγει αὐτῷ εἷς τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ Διδάσκαλε ἴδε ποταποὶ λίθοι καὶ ποταπαὶ οἰκοδομαί	וַיְהִי בְּצֵאתוֹ מִן־הַמִּקְדָּשׁ וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו אֶחָד מִתַּלְמִידָיו רַבִּי רְאֵה מַה־יָּפוּ הָאֲבָנִים וְהַבִּנְיָנִים הָאֵלֶּה׃
2. And answering, Jesus said to him, "Are you observing these great buildings? Under no circumstances may a stone be left here on a stone, which may not by all means be demolished."	2. But Jesus said to him, "Do you see these great buildings? One stone on another will not be left here that will not be torn down."	2. καὶ ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν αὐτῷ Βλέπεις ταύτας τὰς μεγάλας οἰκοδομάς οὐ μὴ ἀφεθῇ λίθος ἐπὶ λίθῷ, ὃς οὐ μὴ καταλυθῇ	^2וַיַּעַן אֹתוֹ יֵשׁוּעַ וַיֹּאמַר הֲרָאִיתָ אֶת־הַבִּנְיָנִים הַגְּדוֹלִים הָאֵלֶּה לֹא־תִּשָּׁאֵר אֶבֶן עַל־אֶבֶן אֲשֶׁר לֹא תִתְפָּרָק׃

HH Paqid Dr. Adon Eliyahu’s Rendition

1. ¶ And as he (Yeshua) came out of the Temple, one of his talmidim said to him, Rabbi [Hakham], Look! What kind of stones and what kind of buildings!

2. And Yeshua answering him, said Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon a stone; all will be hurled down (and) destroyed.

Hakham’s Commentary

In a course I recently prepared on the subject “The Life and Times of Yeshua the Messiah” I used a chapter of Edersheim, which I reworked in part, and I think it will illustrate this pericope of Mark.

In Jerusalem When Herod Reigned

If the dust of ten centuries could have been wiped from the eyelids of those sleepers, and one of them who thronged Jerusalem in the high day of its glory, during the reign of King Solomon, had returned to its streets, he would scarcely have recognised the once familiar city. Then, as now, a Jewish king reigned, who bore undivided rule over the whole land; then, as now, the city was filled with riches and adorned with palaces and architectural monuments; then, as now, Jerusalem was crowded with strangers from all lands. Solomon and Herod were each the last Jewish king over the Land of Promise;[5] Solomon and Herod, each, built the Temple. But with the son of David began, and with the Idumæan ended, 'the kingdom;' or rather, having fulfilled its mission, it gave place to the spiritual world-kingdom of ‘David's greater son.’

The Temple which Solomon built was the first. In it the Shekhinah dwelt visibly. The Temple which Herod reared was the last. The ruins of its burning, which the torch of the Romans had kindled, were never to be restored.

In other respects, also, the difference was almost equally great. The four 'companion-like' hills on which the city was built,[6] the deep clefts by which it was surrounded, the Mount of Olives rising in the east, were the same as a thousand years ago. There, as of old were the Pool of Siloam and the royal gardens - nay, the very wall that had then surrounded the city. And yet all was so altered as to be scarcely recognisable. The ancient Jebusite fort, the City of David, Mount Zion,[7] was now the priests' quarter, Ophel, and the old royal palace and stables had been thrown into the Temple area - now completely levelled - where they formed the magnificent treble colonnade, known as the Royal Porch. Passing through it, and out by the Western Gate of the Temple, we stand on the immense bridge which spans the ‘Valley of the Cheesemongers,’ or the Tyropœon, and connects the Eastern with the Western hills of the city. It is perhaps here that we can best mark the outstanding features, and note the changes. On the right, as we look northward, are (on the Eastern hill) Ophel, the Priest-quarter, and the Temple - oh, how wondrously beautiful and enlarged, and rising terrace upon terrace, surrounded by massive walls: a palace, a fortress, a Sanctuary of shining marble and glittering gold. And beyond it frowns the old fortress of Baris, rebuilt by Herod, and named after his patron, Antonia. This is the Hill of Zion. Right below us is the cleft of the Tyropœon, and here creeps up northwards the ‘Lower City’ or Acra, in the form of a crescent, widening into an almost square 'suburb.' Across the Tyropœon - westward, rises the 'Upper City.' If the Lower City and suburb form the business-quarter with its markets bazaars, and streets of trades and guilds, the 'Upper City' is that of palaces. Here, at the other end of the great bridge which connects the Temple with the 'Upper City,' is the palace of the Maccabees; beyond it, the Xystos, or vast colonnaded enclosure, where popular assemblies are held; then the Palace of Ananias the High-Priest, and nearest to the Temple, 'the Council Chamber' and public Archives. Behind it, westwards, rise, terrace upon terrace, the stately mansions of the Upper City, till, quite in the north-west corner of the old city, we reach the Palace which Herod had built for himself - almost a city and fortress, flanked by three high towers, and enclosing spacious gardens. Beyond it again, and outside the city walls, both of the first and the second, stretches all north of the city the new suburb of Bezetha. Here on every side are gardens and villas; here passes the great northern road; out there must they have laid hold on Simon the Cyrenian, and here must have led the way to the place of the Crucifixion.

Changes that marked the chequered course of Israel's history had come even over the city walls. The first and oldest - that of David and Solomon - ran round the west side of the Upper City, then crossed south to the Pool of Siloam, and ran up east, round Ophel, till it reached the eastern enclosure of the Temple, whence it passed in a straight line to the point from which it had started, forming the northern boundary of the ancient city. But although this wall still existed, there was now a marked addition to it. When the Maccabee Jonathan finally cleared Jerusalem of the Syrian garrison that lay in Fort Acra,[8] he built a wall right 'through the middle of the city,' so as to shut out the foe.[9] This wall probably ran from the western angle of the Temple southwards, to near the pool of Siloam, following the winding course of the Tyropœon, but on the other side of it, where the declivity of the Upper City merged in the valley. Another monument of the Syrian Wars, of the Maccabees, and of Herod, was the fortress Antonia. Part of it had, probably, been formerly occupied by what was known as Fort Acra, of such unhappy prominence in the wars that preceded and marked the early Maccabean period. It had passed from the Ptolemies to the Syrians, and always formed the central spot round which the fight for the city turned. Judas Maccabee had not been able to take it. Jonathan had laid siege to it, and built the wall, to which reference has just been made, so as to isolate its garrison. It was at last taken by Simon, the brother and successor of Jonathan, and levelled with the ground.[10] Fort Baris, which was constructed by his successor Hyrcanus I.,[11] covered a much wider space. It lay on the north-western angle of the Temple, slightly jutting beyond it in the west, but not covering the whole northern area of the Temple. The rock on which it stood was higher than the Temple,[12] although lower than the hill up which the new suburb Bezetha crept, which, accordingly, was cut off by a deep ditch, for the safety of the fortress. Herod greatly enlarged and strengthened it. Within encircling walls the fort rose to a height of sixty feet, and was flanked by four towers, of which three had a height of seventy, the fourth (S.E.), which jutted into the Temple area, of 105 feet, so as to command the sacred enclosure. A subterranean passage led into the Temple itself,[13] which was also connected with it by colonnades and stairs. Herod had adorned as well as strengthened and enlarged, this fort (now Antonia), and made it a palace, an armed camp, and almost a city.[14]

Hitherto we have only spoken of the first, or old wall, which was fortified by sixty towers. The second wall, which had only fourteen towers, began at some point in the northern wall at the Gate Gennath, whence it ran north, and then east, so as to enclose Acra and the Suburb. It terminated at Fort Antonia. Beyond, and all around this second wall stretched, as already noticed, the new, as yet unenclosed suburb Bezetha, rising towards the north-east. But these changes were as nothing compared with those within the city itself. First and foremost was the great transformation in the Temple itself,[15] which, from a small building, little larger than an ordinary church, in the time of Solomon, had become that great and glorious House which excited the admiration of the foreigner, and kindled the enthusiasm of every son of Israel. At the time of Messiah it had been already forty-six years in building, and workmen were still, and for a long time, engaged on it.[16] But what a heterogeneous crowd thronged its porches and courts! Hellenists; scattered wanderers from the most distant parts of the earth - east, west, north, and south; Galileans, quick of temper and uncouth of Jewish speech; Judæans and Jerusalemites; white-robed Priests and Levites; Temple officials; broad-phylacteried, wide-fringed Pharisees, and courtly, ironical Sadducees; and, in the outer court, curious Gentiles! Some had come to worship; others to pay vows, or bring offerings, or to seek purification; some to meet friends, and discourse on religious subjects in those colonnaded porches, which ran round the Sanctuary; or else to have their questions answered, or their causes heard and decided, by the smaller Sanhedrin of twenty-three, that sat in the entering of the gate or by the Great Sanhedrin. The latter no longer occupied the Hall of Hewn Stones, Gazith, but met in some chamber attached to those 'shops,' or booths, on the Temple Mount, which belonged to the High-Priestly family of Ananias, and where such profitable trade was driven by those who, in their cupidity and covetousness, were worthy successors of the sons of Eli. In the Court of the Gentiles (or in its porches) sat the official money-changers, who for a fixed discount changed all foreign coins into those of the Sanctuary. Here also was that great mart for sacrificial animals, and all that was requisite for offerings. How the simple, earnest country people, who came to pay vows, or bring offerings for purifying, must have wondered, and felt oppressed in that atmosphere of strangely blended religious rigourism and utter worldliness; and how they must have been taxed, imposed upon, and treated with utmost curtness, nay, rudeness, by those who laughed at their boorishness, and despised them as cursed, ignorant country people, little better than heathens, or, for that matter, than brute beasts. Here also there lay about a crowd of noisy beggars, unsightly from disease, and clamorous for help. And close by passed the luxurious scion of the High-Priestly families; also some of the proud, intensely self-conscious Teachers of the Law, respectfully followed by their disciples; and the quick-witted, subtle Scribe. These were men who, on Sabbaths and feast-days, would come out on the Temple-terrace to teach the people, or condescend to answer their questions. Yet others were there who, despite the utterly lowering influence which the frivolities of the prevalent priestly class, must have exercised on the moral and religious feelings of all - perhaps, because of them - turned aside, and looked back with loving gaze to the spiritual promises of the past, and forward with longing expectancy to the near ‘consolation of Israel,’ waiting for it in prayerful fellowship, and with bright, heaven-granted gleams of its dawning light amidst the encircling gloom.

Descending from the Temple into the city, there was more than enlargement, due to the increased population. Altogether, Jerusalem covered, at its greatest, about 300 acres. As of old there were still the same narrow streets in the business quarters; but in close contiguity to bazaars and shops rose stately mansions of wealthy merchants, and palaces of princes.[17] And what a change in the aspect of these streets, in the character of those shops, and, above all, in the appearance of the restless Eastern crowd that surged to and fro! Outside their shops in the streets, or at least in sight of the passers, and within reach of their talk, was the shoemaker hammering his sandals, the tailor plying his needle, the carpenter, or the worker in iron and brass. Those who were less busy, or more enterprising, passed along, wearing some emblem of their trade: the dyer, variously coloured threads; the carpenter, a rule: the writer, a reed behind his ear; the tailor, with a needle prominently stuck in his dress. In the side streets the less attractive occupations of the butcher, the wool-comber, or the flax-spinner were pursued: the elegant workmanship of the goldsmith and jeweller; the various articles de luxe, that adorned the houses of the rich; the work of the designer, the moulder, or the artificer in iron or brass. In these streets and lanes everything might be purchased: the production of Erets Yisrael, or imported from foreign lands - nay, the rarest articles from the remotest parts. Exquisitely shaped, curiously designed and jewelled cups, rings and other workmanship of precious metals; glass, silks, fine linen, woollen stuffs, purple, and costly hangings; essences, ointments, and perfumes, as precious as gold; articles of food and drink from foreign lands - in short, what India, Persia, Arabia, Media Egypt, Italy, Greece, and even the far-off lands of the Gentiles yielded, might be had in these bazaars.

Ancient Jewish writings enable us to identify no fewer than 118 different articles of import from foreign lands, covering more than even modern luxury has devised. Articles of luxury, especially from abroad, fetched indeed enormous prices; and a lady might spend 36 pounds on a cloak;[18] silk would be paid by its weight in gold; purple wool at 3 pounds 5 shillings. the pound, or, if double-dyed, at almost ten times that amount; while the price of the best balsam and nard was most exorbitant. On the other hand, the cost of common living was very low. In the bazaars you might get a complete suit for your slave for eighteen or nineteen shillings,[19] and a tolerable outfit for yourself from 3 pounds to 6 pounds. For the same sum you might purchase an ass,[20] an ox,[21] or a cow,[22] and, for little more, a horse. A calf might be had for less than fifteen shillings, a goat for five or six. Sheep were dearer, and fetched from four to fifteen or sixteen shillings, while a lamb might sometimes be had as low as two pence. No wonder living and labour were so cheap. Corn of all kinds, fruit, wine, and oil, cost very little. Meat was about a penny a pound; a man might get himself a small, of course unfurnished, lodging for about sixpence a week.[23] A day labourer was paid about 7½d. a day, though skilled labour would fetch a good deal more. Indeed, the great Hillel was popularly supposed to have supported his family on less than two pence a day,[24] while property to the amount of about 6 pounds, or trade with 2 pounds. or 3 pounds. of goods, was supposed to exclude a person from charity, or a claim on what was left in the corners of fields and the gleaners.[25]

To these many like details might be added. Sufficient has been said to show the two ends of society: the exceeding dearness of luxuries, and the corresponding cheapness of necessaries. Such extremes would meet especially at Jerusalem. Its population, computed at from 200,000 to 250,000, was enormously swelled by travellers, and by pilgrims during the great festivals.[26] The great Palace was the residence of King and Court, with all their following and luxury; in Antonia lay afterwards the Roman garrison. The Temple called thousands of priests, many of them with their families, to Jerusalem; while the learned Academies were filled with hundreds, though it may have been mostly poor, scholars and students. In Jerusalem must have been many of the large warehouses for the near commercial harbour of Joppa; and thence, as from the industrial centres of busy Galilee, would the pedlar go forth to carry his wares over the land. More especially would the markets of Jerusalem, held, however, in bazaars and streets rather than in squares, be thronged with noisy sellers and bargaining buyers. Thither would Galilee send not only its manufactures, but its provisions: fish (fresh or salted), fruit[27] known for its lusciousness, oil, grape-syrup, and wine.

There were special inspectors for these markets - the Agardemis or Agronimos - who tested weights and measures, and officially stamped them,[28] tried the soundness of food or drink,[29] and occasionally fixed or lowered the market-prices, enforcing their decision,[30] if need were, even with the stick.[31] Not only was there an upper and a lower market in Jerusalem,[32] but we read of at least seven special markets: those for cattle[33] wool, iron-ware,[34] clothes, wood,[35] bread, and fruit and vegetables. The original market-days were Monday and Tuesday, afterwards Friday.[36] The large fairs (Yeridin) were naturally confined to the centres of import and export - the borders of Egypt (Gaza), the ancient Phoenician maritime towns (Tyre and Acco), and the Emporium across the Jordan (Botnah).[37] Besides, every caravansary, or khan (qatlis, atlis, katalusin), was a sort of mart, where goods were unloaded, and especially cattle set out[38] for sale, and purchases made. But in Jerusalem one may suppose the sellers to have been every day in the market; and the magazines, in which greengrocery and all kinds of meat were sold (the Beth haShevaqim),[39] must have been always open. Besides, there were the many shops (Chanuyoth) either fronting the streets, or in courtyards, or else movable wooden booths in the streets. Strangely enough, occasionally Jewish women were employed in selling.[40] Business was also done in the restaurants and wineshops, of which there were many; where you might be served with some dish: fresh or salted fish, fried locusts, a mess of vegetables, a dish of soup, pastry, sweetmeats, or a piece of a fruit-cake, to be washed down with Judæan or Galilean wine, Idumæan vinegar, or foreign beer.

If from these busy scenes we turn to the more aristocratic quarters of the Upper City, we still see the same narrow streets, but tenanted by another class. First, we pass the High-Priest's palace on the slope of the hill, with a lower story under the principal apartments, and a porch in front. Here, on the night of the Betrayal, Peter was ‘beneath in the Palace.’[41] Next, we come to Xystos, and then pause for a moment at the Palace of the Maccabees. It lies higher up the hill, and westward from the Xystos. From its halls you can look into the city, and even into the Temple. We know not which of the Maccabees had built this palace. But it was occupied, not by the actually reigning prince, who always resided in the fortress (Baris, afterwards Antonia), but by some other member of the family. From them it passed into the possession of Herod. There Herod Antipas was when, on that terrible Passover, Pilate sent Yeshua from the old palace of Herod to be examined by the Ruler of Galilee.[42] If these buildings pointed to the difference between the past and present, two structures of Herod's were, perhaps, more eloquent than any words in their accusations of the Idumæan. One of these, at least, would come in sight in passing along the slopes of the Upper City. The Maccabean rule had been preceded by that of corrupt High-Priests, who had prostituted their office to the vilest purposes. One of them, who had changed his Jewish name of Joshua into Jason, had gone so far, in his attempts to Grecianise the people, as to build a Hippodrome and Gymnasium for heathen games. We infer, it stood where the Western hill sloped into the Tyropœon, to the south-west of the Temple.[43] It was probably this which Herod afterwards enlarged and beautified, and turned into a theatre. No expense was spared on the great games held there. The theatre itself was magnificently adorned with gold, silver, precious stones, and trophies of arms and records of the victories of Augustus. But to the Jews this essentially heathen place, over against their Temple, was cause of deep indignation and plots.[44] Besides this theatre, Herod also built an immense amphitheatre, which we must locate somewhere in the north-west, and outside the second city wall.[45]

All this was Jerusalem above ground. But there was an under ground Jerusalem also, which burrowed everywhere under the city - under the Upper City, under the Temple, beyond the city walls. Its extent may be gathered from the circumstance that, after the capture of the city, besides the living who had sought shelter there, no fewer than 2,000 dead bodies were found in those subterranean streets.

Close by the tracks of heathenism in Jerusalem, and in sharp contrast, was what gave to Jerusalem its intensely Jewish character. It was not only the Temple, nor the festive pilgrims to its feasts and services. But there were hundreds of Synagogues,[46] some for different nationalities - such as the Alexandrians, or the Cyrenians; some for, or perhaps founded by, certain trade-guilds. If possible, the Jewish schools were even more numerous than the Synagogues. Then there were the many Rabbinic Academies; and, besides, you might also see in Jerusalem that mysterious sect, the Essenes, of which the members were easily recognized by their white dress. Essenes, Pharisees, stranger Jews of all hues, and of many dresses and languages! One could have imagined himself almost in another world, a sort of enchanted land, in this Jewish metropolis, and metropolis of Judaism. When the silver trumpets of the Priests woke the city to prayer, or the strain of Levite music swept over it, or the smoke of the sacrifices hung like another Shekhinah over the Temple, against the green background of Olivet; or when in every street, court, and housetop rose the booths at the Feast of Tabernacles, and at night the sheen of the Temple illumination threw long fantastic shadows over the city; or when, at the Passover, tens of thousands crowded up the Mount with their Paschal lambs, and hundreds of thousands sat down to the Paschal supper - it would be almost difficult to believe, that heathenism was so near, that the Roman was virtually, and would soon be really, master of the land, or that a Herod occupied the Jewish throne.

Yet there he was; in the pride of his power, and the reckless cruelty of his ever-watchful tyranny. Everywhere was his mark. Temples to the gods and to Cæsar, magnificent, and magnificently adorned, outside Erets Yisrael and in its non-Jewish cities; towns rebuilt or built: Sebaste for the ancient Samaria, the splendid city and harbour of Cæsarea in the west, Antipatris (after his father) in the north, Kypros and Phasaelis (after his mother and brother), and Agrippeion; unconquerable fortresses, such as Essebonitis and Machœrus in Peræa, Alexandreion, Herodeion, Hyrcania, and Masada in Judæa - proclaimed his name and sway. But in Jerusalem it seemed as if he had gathered up all his strength. The theatre and amphitheatre spoke of his Grecianism; Antonia was the representative fortress; for his religion he had built that glorious Temple, and for his residence the noblest of palaces, at the north-western angle of the Upper City, close by where Milo had been in the days of David. It seems almost incredible, that a Herod should have reared the Temple, and yet we can understand his motives. Jewish tradition had it, that a Rabbi (Baba ben Buta) had advised him in this manner to conciliate the people,[47] or else thereby to expiate the slaughter of so many Rabbis.[48] Probably a desire to gain popularity, and superstition, may alike have contributed, as also the wish to gratify his love for splendour and building. At the same time, he may have wished to show himself a better Jew than that rabble of Pharisees and Rabbis, who perpetually would cast it in his teeth, that he was an Idumæan (an Arab) and not a Jew. Certainly, neither labour nor money had been spared on the Temple. A thousand vehicles carried up the stone; 10,000 workmen, under the guidance of 1,000 priests, wrought all the costly material gathered into that house, of which Jewish tradition could say, ‘He that has not seen the temple of Herod, has never known what beauty is.’[49] And yet Israel despised and abhorred the builder! Nor could his apparent work for the God of Israel have deceived the most credulous. In youth he had browbeaten the venerable Sanhedrin, and threatened the city with slaughter and destruction; again and again had he murdered her venerable sages; he had shed like water the blood of her Asmonean princes, and of every one who dared to be free; had stifled every national aspiration in the groans of the torture, and quenched it in the gore of his victims. Not once, nor twice, but six times did he change the High-Priesthood, to bestow it at last on one who bears no good name in Jewish theology, a foreigner in Judæa, an Alexandrian. And yet the power of that Idumæan (Arab) was but of yesterday, and of mushroom growth!

THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF HEROD AND THE TWO WORLDS IN JERUSALEM

It is an intensely painful history, in the course of which Herod made his way to the throne. We look back nearly two and a half centuries to where, with the empire of Alexander, Erets Yisrael fell to his successors. For nearly a century and a half it continued the battle-field of the Egyptian and Syrian kings (the Ptolemies and the Seleucidæ). At last it was a corrupt High-Priesthood - with which virtually the government of the land had all along lain - that betrayed Israel's precious trust. The great-grandson of so noble a figure in Jewish history as Simon the Just (compare Ecclus. 1.) bought from the Syrians the High-Priestly office of his brother, adopted the heathen name Jason, and sought to Grecianise the people. The sacred office fell, if possible, even lower when, through bribery, it was transferred to his brother Menelaus. Then followed the brief period of the terrible persecutions of Antiochus Epiphanes, when Judaism was all but exterminated in Erets Yisrael. The glorious uprising of the Maccabees called forth all the national elements left in Israel, and kindled afresh the smouldering religious feeling. It seemed like a revival of Tanakh times. And when Judas the Maccabee, with a band so inferior in numbers and discipline, defeated the best of the Syrian soldiery, led by its ablest generals, and, on the anniversary of its desecration by heathen rites, set up again the great altar of burnt-offering, it appeared as if a new Theocracy were to be inaugurated. The ceremonial of that feast of the new 'dedication of the Temple,' when each night the number of lights grew larger in the winter's darkness, seemed symbolic of what was before Israel. But the Maccabees were not the Messiah; nor yet the kingdom, which their sword would have restored - that of Heaven, with its blessings and peace.

The period even of promise was more brief than might have been expected. The fervour and purity of the movement ceased almost with its success. It was certainly never the golden age of Israel - not even among those who remained faithful to its God - which those seem to imagine who, forgetful of its history and contests, would trace to it so much that is most precious and spiritual in the Tanakh. It may have been the pressure of circumstances, but it was anything but a pious, or even a 'happy' thought of Judas the Maccabee, to seek the alliance of the Romans. From their entrance on the scene dates the decline of Israel's national cause. For a time, indeed - though after varying fortunes of war - all seemed prosperous. The Maccabees became both High-Priests and Kings. But party strife and worldliness, ambition and corruption, and Grecianism on the throne, soon brought their sequel in the decline of morale and vigour, and led to the decay and decadence of the Maccabean house. It is a story as old as the Tanakh, and as wide as the history of the world. Contention for the throne among the Maccabees led to the interference of the foreigner. When, after capturing Jerusalem, and violating the sanctity of the Temple, although not plundering its treasures, Pompey placed Hyrcanus II, in the possession of the High-Priesthood, the last of the Maccabean rulers was virtually shorn of power. The country was now tributary to Rome, and subject to the Governor of Syria. Even the shadow of political power passed from the feeble hands of Hyrcanus when, shortly afterwards, Gabinius (one of the Roman governors) divided the land into five districts, independent of each other.

But already a person had appeared on the stage of Jewish affairs, who was to give them their last decisive turn. About fifty years before this, the district of Idumæa had been conquered by the Maccabean King Hyrcanus I., and its inhabitants forced to convert to Judaism. By this Idumæa we are not, however, to understand the ancient or Eastern Edom, which was now in the hands of the Nabataeans, but parts of Southern Erets Yisrael which the Edomites (Arabs) had occupied since the Babylonian Exile, and especially a small district on the northern and eastern boundary of Judæa, and below Samaria.[50] After it became Judæan, its administration was entrusted to a governor. In the reign of the last of the Maccabees this office devolved on one Antipater, a man of equal cunning and determination. He successfully interfered in the unhappy dispute for the crown, which was at last decided by the sword of Pompey. Antipater took the part of the utterly weak Hyrcanus in that contest with his energetic brother Aristobulus. He soon became the virtual ruler, and Hyrcanus II. only a puppet in his hands. From the accession of Judas Maccabæus, in 166 b.c., to the year 63 b.c., when Jerusalem was taken by Pompey, only about a century had elapsed. Other twenty-four years, and the last of the Maccabees had given place to the son of Antipater: Herod, surnamed the Great.

The settlement of Pompey did not prove lasting. Aristobulus, the brother and defeated rival of Hyrcanus, was still alive, and his sons were even more energetic than he. The risings attempted by them, the interference of the Parthians on behalf of those who were hostile to Rome, and, lastly, the contentions for supremacy in Rome itself, made this period one of confusion, turmoil, and constant warfare in Erets Yisrael. When Pompey was finally defeated by Cæsar, the prospects of Antipater and Hycanus seemed dark. But they quickly changed sides; and timely help given to Cæsar in Egypt brought to Antipater the title of Procurator of Judæa, while Hycanus was left in the High-Priesthood, and, at least, nominal head of the people. The two sons of Antipater were now made governors: the elder, Phasaelus, of Jerusalem; the younger, Herod, only twenty-five years old, of Galilee. Here he displayed the energy and determination which were his characteristics, in crushing a guerrilla warfare, of which the deeper springs were probably nationalist. The execution of its leader brought Herod a summons to appear before the Great Sanhedrin of Jerusalem, for having arrogated to himself the power of life and death. He came, but arrayed in purple, surrounded by a body-guard, and supported by the express direction of the Roman Governor to Hyrcanus, that he was to be acquitted. Even so he would have fallen a victim to the apprehensions of the Sanhedrin - only too well grounded - had he not been persuaded to withdrawn from the city. He returned at the head of an army, and was with difficulty persuaded by his father to spare Jerusalem. Meantime Cæsar had named him Governor of Cœlesyria.

On the murder of Cæsar, and the possession of Syria by Cassius, Antipater and Herod again changed sides. But they rendered such substantial service as to secure favour, and Herod was continued in the position conferred on him by Cæsar. Antipater was, indeed, poisoned by a rival, but his sons Herod and Phasaelus repressed and extinguished all opposition. When the battle of Philippi placed the Roman world in the hands of Antony and Octavius, the former obtained Asia. Once more the Idumæans (Arabs) knew how to gain the new ruler, and Phasaelus and Herod were named Tetrarchs of Judæa. Afterwards, when Antony was held in the toils of Cleopatra, matters seemed, indeed, to assume a different aspect. The Parthians entered the land, in support of the rival Maccabean prince Antigonus, the son of Aristobulus. By treachery, Phasaelus and Hyrcanus were induced to go to the Parthian camp, and made captives. Phasaelus shortly afterwards destroyed himself in his prison,[51] while Hyrcanus was deprived of his ears, to unfit him for the High-Priestly office. And so Antigonus for a short time succeeded both to the High-Priesthood and royalty in Jerusalem. Meantime Herod, who had in vain warned his brother and Hyrcanus against the Parthian, had been able to make his escape from Jerusalem. His family he left to the defence of his brother Joseph, in the inaccessible fortress of Masada; himself fled into Arabia, and finally made his way to Rome. There he succeeded, not only with Antony, but obtained the consent of Octavius, and was proclaimed by the Senate King of Judæa. A sacrifice on the Capitol, and a banquet by Antony, celebrated the accession of the new successor of David.

But he had yet to conquer his kingdom. At first he made way by the help of the Romans. Such success, however, as he had gained, was more than lost during his brief absence on a visit to Antony. Joseph, the brother of Herod, was defeated and slain, and Galilee, which had been subdued, revolted again. But the aid which the Romans rendered, after Herod's return from Antony, was much more hearty, and his losses were more than retrieved. Soon all Erets Yisrael, with the exception of Jerusalem, was in his hands. While laying siege to it, he went to Samaria, there to wed the beautiful Maccabean princess Mariamme, who had been betrothed to him five years before.[52] That ill-fated Queen, and her elder brother Aristobulus, united in themselves the two rival branches of the Maccabean family. Their father was Alexander, the eldest son of Aristobulus, and brother of that Antigonus whom Herod now besieged in Jerusalem; and their mother, Alexandra, the daughter of Hyrcanus II. The uncle of Mariamme was not long able to hold out against the combined forces of Rome and Herod. The carnage was terrible. When Herod, by rich presents, at length induced the Romans to leave Jerusalem, they took Antigonus with them. By desire of Herod he was executed.

This was the first of the Maccabees who fell victim to his jealousy and cruelty. The history which now follows is one of sickening carnage. The next to experience his vengeance were the principal adherents in Jerusalem of his rival Antigonus. Forty-five of the noblest and richest were executed. His next step was to appoint an obscure Babylonian to the High-Priesthood. This awakened the active hostility of Alexandra, the mother of Mariamme, Herod's wife. The Maccabean princess claimed the High-Priesthood for her son Aristobulus. Her intrigues with Cleopatra - and through her with Antony - and the entreaties of Mariamme, the only being whom Herod loved, though in his own mad way, prevailed. At the age of seventeen Aristobulus was made High-Priest. But Herod, who well knew the hatred and contempt of the Maccabean members of his family, had his mother-in-law watched, a precaution increased after the vain attempt of Alexandra to have herself and her son removed in coffins from Jerusalem, to flee to Cleopatra. Soon the jealousy and suspicions of Herod were raised to murderous madness, by the acclamations which greeted the young Aristobulus at the Feast of Tabernacles. So dangerous a Maccabean rival must be got rid of; and, by secret order of Herod, Aristobulus was drowned while bathing. His mother denounced the murderer, and her influence with Cleopatra, who also hated Herod, led to his being summoned before Antony. Once more bribery, indeed, prevailed; but other troubles awaited Herod.

When obeying the summons of Antony, Herod had committed the government to his uncle Joseph, who was also his brother-in-law, having wedded Salome, the sister of Herod. His mad jealousy had prompted him to direct that, in case of his condemnation, Mariamme was to be killed, that she might not become the wife of another. Unfortunately, Joseph told this to Mariamme, to show how much she was loved. But on the return of Herod, the infamous Salome accused her old husband of impropriety with Mariamme. When it appeared that Joseph had told the Queen of his commission, Herod, regarding it as confirming his sister's charge, ordered him to be executed, without even a hearing. External complications of the gravest kind now supervened. Herod had to cede to Cleopatra the districts of Phoenice and Philistia, and that of Jericho with its rich balsam plantations. Then the dissensions between Antony and Octavius involved him, in the cause of the former, in a war with Arabia, whose king had failed to pay tribute to Cleopatra. Herod was victorious; but he had now to reckon with another master. The battle of Actium[53] decided the fate on Antony, and Herod had to make his peace with Octavius. Happily, he was able to do good service to the new cause, ere presenting himself before Augustus. But, in order to be secure from all possible rivals, he had the aged Hyrcanus II executed, on pretence of intrigues with the Arabs. Herod was successful with Augustus; and when, in the following summer, he furnished him supplies on his march to Egypt, he was rewarded by a substantial addition of territory.

When about to appear before Augustus, Herod had entrusted to one Soemus the charge of Mariamme, with the same fatal directions as formerly to Joseph. Again Mariamme learnt the secret; again the old calumnies were raised - this time not only by Salome, but also by Kypros, Herod's mother; and again Herod imagined he had found corroborative evidence. Soemus was slain without a hearing, and the beautiful Mariamme executed after a mock trail. The most fearful paroxysm of remorse, passion, and longing for his murdered wife now seized the tyrant, and brought him to the brink of the grave. Alexandra, the mother of Mariamme, deemed the moment favourable for her plots - but she was discovered, and executed. Of the Maccabean race there now remained only distant members, the sons of Babas, who had found an asylum with Costobarus, the Governor of Idumæa, who had wedded Salome after the death of her first husband. Tired of him, as she had been of Joseph, Salome denounced her second husband; and Costobarus, as well as the sons of Babas, fell victims to Herod. Thus perished the family of the Maccabees.

The hand of the maddened tyrant was next turned against his own family. Of his ten wives, we mention only those whose children occupy a place in this history. The son of Doris was Antipater; those of the Maccabean Mariamme, Alexander and Aristobulus; another Mariamme, whose father Herod had made High-Priest, bore him a son named Herod (a name which other of the sons shared); Malthake, a Samaritan, was the mother of Archelaus and Herod Antipas; and, lastly, Cleopatra of Jerusalem bore Philip. The sons of the Maccabean princess, as heirs presumptive, were sent to Rome for their education. On this occasion Herod received, as reward for many services, the country east of the Jordan, and was allowed to appoint his still remaining brother, Pheroras, Tetrarch of Peræa. On their return from Rome the young princes were married: Alexander to a daughter of the King of Cappadocia, and Aristobulus to his cousin Bernice, the daughter of Salome. But neither kinship, nor the yet nearer relation in which Aristobulus now stood to her, could extinguish the hatred of Salome towards the dead Maccabean princess or her children. Nor did the young princes, in their pride of descent, disguise their feelings towards the house of their father. At first, Herod gave not heed to the denunciations of his sister. Presently he yielded to vague apprehensions. As a first step, Antipater, the son of Doris, was recalled from exile, and sent to Rome for education. So the breach became open; and Herod took his sons to Italy, to lay formal accusation against them before Augustus. The wise counsels of the Emperor restored peace for a time. But Antipater now returned to Palestine, and joined his calumnies to those of Salome. Once more the King of Cappadocia succeeded in reconciling Herod and his sons. But in the end the intrigues of Salome, Antipater, and of an infamous foreigner who had made his way at Court, prevailed. Alexander and Aristobulus were imprisoned, and an accusation of high treason laid against them before the Emperor. Augustus gave Herod full powers, but advised the convocation of a mixed tribunal of Jews and Romans to try the case. As might have been expected, the two princes were condemned to death, and when some old soldiers ventured to intercede for them, 300 of the supposed adherents of the cause were cut down, and the two princes strangled in prison. This happened in Samaria, where, thirty years before, Herod had wedded their ill-fated mother.

Antipater was now the heir presumptive. But, impatient of the throne, he plotted with Herod's brother, Pheroras, against his father. Again Salome denounced her nephew and her brother. Antipater withdrew to Rome; but when, after the death of Pheraras, Herod obtained indubitable evidence that his son had plotted against his life, he lured Antipater to Palestine, where on his arrival he was cast into prison. All that was needed was the permission of Augustus for his execution. It arrived, and was carried out only five days before the death of Herod himself. So ended a reign almost unparalleled for reckless cruelty and bloodshed, in which the murder of the Innocents in Bethlehem formed but so trifling an episode among the many deeds of blood, as to have seemed not deserving of record on the page of the Jewish historian.

But we can understand the feelings of the people towards such a King. They hated the Idumæan (Arab); they detested his semi-heathen reign; they abhorred his deeds of cruelty; the King had surrounded himself with foreign councillors, and was protected by foreign mercenaries from Thracia, Germany, and Gaul.[54] So long as he lived, no woman's honour was safe, no man's life secure. An army of all-powerful spies pervaded Jerusalem - nay, the King himself was said to stoop to that office.[55] If pique or private enmity led to denunciation, the torture would extract any confession from the most innocent. What his relation to Judaism had been, may easily be inferred. He would be a Jew - even build the Temple, advocate the cause of the Jews in other lands, and, in a certain sense, conform to the Law of Judaism. In building the Temple, he was so anxious to conciliate national prejudice, that the Sanctuary itself was entrusted to the workmanship of priests only. Nor did he ever intrude into the Holy Place, nor interfere with any functions of the priesthood. None of his coins bear devices which could have shocked popular feeling, nor did any of the buildings he erected in Jerusalem exhibit any forbidden emblems. The Sanhedrin did exist during his reign, though it must have been shorn of all real power, and its activity confined to ecclesiastical, or semi-ecclesiastical, causes. Strangest of all, he seems to have had at least the passive support of two of the greatest Rabbis - the Pollio and Sameas of Josephus[56] - supposed to represent those great figures in Jewish tradition, Abtalion and Shemajah.[57] We can but conjecture, that they preferred even his rule to what had preceded; and hoped it might lead to a Roman Protectorate, which would leave Judæa practically independent, or rather under Rabbinic rule.

It was also under the government of Herod, that Hillel and Shammai lived and taught in Jerusalem:[58] the two, whom tradition designates as “the fathers of old.”[59] Both gave their names to ‘schools,’ whose direction was generally different - not unfrequently, it seems, chiefly for the sake of opposition. But it is not correct to describe the former as consistently the more liberal and mild.[60] The teaching of both was supposed to have been declared by the ‘Voice from Heaven’ (the Bath-Qol) as ‘the words of the living God;’ yet the Law was to be henceforth according to the teaching of Hillel. But to us Hillel is so intensely interesting, not merely as the mild and gentle, nor only as the earnest student who came from Babylon to learn in the Academies of Jerusalem; who would support his family on a third of his scanty wages as a day labourer, that he might pay for entrance into the schools; and whose zeal and merits were only discovered when, after a severe night, in which, from poverty, he had been unable to gain admittance into the Academy, his benumbed form was taken down from the window-sill, to which he had crept up not to lose aught of the precious instruction. And for his sake did they gladly break on that Sabbath the sacred rest. Nor do we think of him, as tradition states of him - the descendant of David,[61] possessed of every great quality of body, mind, and heart; nor yet as the second Ezra, whose learning placed him at the head of the Sanhedrin, who laid down the principles afterwards applied and developed by Rabbinic Judaism, and who was the real founder of traditionalism. We think of him, as he whose principles became the foundation for the teaching of Yeshua, or, according to certain writers, were its source. We remember that his son Shimeon ben Hillel[62] who became the teacher and mentor of Yeshua. We think of him also as the grandfather of that Gamaliel, at whose feet Saul of Tarsus sat. And to us he is the representative Jewish reformer, in the spirit of those times, and in the sense of restoring rather than removing; while we think of Yeshua as the Messiah of Israel, in the sense of bringing the Kingdom of God to all men, and opening it to all believers.

And so there were two worlds in Jerusalem, side by side. On the one hand, was Grecianism with its theatre and amphitheatre; foreigners filling the Court, and crowding the city; foreign tendencies and ways, from the foreign King downwards. On the other hand, was the old Jewish world, becoming now set and revitalized in the School of Hillel, and overshadowed by Temple and Synagogue. And each was pursuing its course, by the side of the other. If Herod had everywhere his spies, the Jewish Law provided its two police magistrates in Jerusalem, the only judges who received renumeration.[63] If Herod judged cruelly and despotically, the Sanhedrin weighed most deliberately, the balance always inclining to mercy. If Greek was the language of the court and camp, and indeed must have been understood and spoken by most in the land, the language of the people, spoken also by Messiah and His Apostles, was a dialect of the ancient Hebrew, known as Mishnaic Hebrew. It seems strange, that this could ever have been doubted. A Jewish Messiah who would urge His claim upon Israel in Greek, seems almost a contradiction in terms. We know, that the language of the Temple and the Synagogue was Hebrew, and that the addresses of the Rabbis had to be “targumed” (i.e. translated) into the vernacular Aramæan - and can we believe that, in a Hebrew service, the Messiah could have risen to address the people in Greek, or that He would have argued with the Pharisees and Scribes in that tongue, especially remembering that its study was actually forbidden by the Rabbis?[64]

Indeed, it was a peculiar mixture of two worlds in Jerusalem: not only of the Grecian and the Jewish, but of piety and frivolity also. The devotion of the people and the liberality of the rich were unbounded. Fortunes were lavished on the support of Jewish learning, the promotion of piety, or the advance of the national cause. Thousands of votive offerings, and the costly gifts in the Temple, bore evidence of this. Priestly avarice had artificially raised the price of sacrificial animals, a rich man would bring into the Temple at his own cost the number requisite for the poor. Charity was not only open-handed, but most delicate, and one who had been in good circumstances would actually be enabled to live according to his former station.[65] Then these Jerusalemites - townspeople, as they called themselves - were so polished, so witty, so pleasant. There was a tact in their social intercourse, and a considerateness and delicacy in their public arrangements and provisions, nowhere else to be found. Their very language was different. There was a Jerusalem dialect,[66] quicker, shorter, 'lighter' (Lishna Qalila). And their hospitality, especially at festive seasons, was unlimited. No one considered his house his own, and no stranger or pilgrim but found reception. And how much there was to be seen and heard in those luxuriously furnished houses, and at those sumptuous entertainments! In the women's apartments, friends from the country would see every novelty in dress, adornment, and jewellery, and have the benefit of examining themselves in looking-glasses. To be sure, as being womanish vanity, their use was interdicted to men, except it were to the members of the family of the President of the Sanhedrin, on account of their intercourse with those in authority, just as for the same reason they were allowed to learn Greek.[67] Nor might even women look in the glass on the Sabbath.[68] But that could only apply to those carried in the hand, since one might be tempted, on the holy day, to do such servile work as to pull out a grey hair with the pincers attached to the end of the glass; but not to a glass fixed in the lid of a basket;[69] nor to such as hung on the wall.[70] And then the lady-visitor might get anything in Jerusalem; from a false tooth to an Arabian veil, a Persian shawl, or an Indian dress!

While the women so learned Jerusalem manners in the inner apartments, the men would converse on the news of the day, or on politics. For the Jerusalemites had friends and correspondents in the most distant parts of the world, and letters were carried by special messengers, in a kind of post-bag. Nay, there seem to have been some sort of receiving-offices in towns,[71] and even something resembling our parcel-post.[72] And, strange as it may sound, even a species of newspapers, or broadsheets, appears to have been circulating (Mikhtabhin), not allowed, however, on the Sabbath, unless they treated of public affairs.[73]

I think that the commentary on Pike Abot V:8, and together with our two Ahlamatot for this week, all of them together with the above historical commentary of Edersheim, gives us a good picture of what the words of the Master for this week menat.

Some Questions to Ponder:

1. From all the readings for this Shabbat, which reading touched your heart and fired your imagination?

2. What question/s were asked of Rashi in B’Midbar 28:26?

3. What question/s were asked of Rashi in B’Midbar 29:11?

4. What question/s were asked of Rashi in B’Midbar 29:18?

5. What question/s were asked of Rashi in B’Midbar 29:35?

6. What question/s were asked of Rashi in B’Midbar 29:36?

7. What question/s were asked of Rashi in B’Midbar 29:39?

8. What question/s were asked of Rashi in B’Midbar 30:1?

9. From where were the sacrificial victims brought and why this?

10. Why is the Shofar blown on Rosh Ha-Shanah?

11. What is the significance of the numbers of bulls offered each day on the Festival of Tablernacles is continually reduced by one?

12. How did Rabbi Akiba answer to a pagan qhe he asked: “Why do you celebrate the festivals, when G-d despises your festivals (cf. Isaiah 1:14)? – Nothing has changed much since the times of R. Akiba!

13. Why did G-d allow the destruction of the Second Temple and the exile of the Jewish people on 70 c.e.?

14. In your opinion what is the intent of Hakham Tsefet’s pericope by the hand of his scribe Mordechai (Mark) for this Shabbat?

15. In what way does the Torah, Psalm, Prophetic reading of Malachi, and Mark 12:37b-44 point to the fact that this is the second of three penitential Sabbaths?

16. What part of the Torah Seder fired the heart and imagination of the Psalmist for this week?

17. What part of the Torah Seder fired the heart and the imagination of the prophet this week?

18. What part of the Torah Seder fired the heart and the imagination of the prophet in the Special Ashlamata?

19. What part/s of the Torah Seder, Psalm, and the prophets fired the heart and the imagination of Hakham Tsefet for this week?

20. After taking into consideration all the above texts and our Torah Seder, what would you say is the general prophetic message from the Scriptures for this coming 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!”

Next Sabbath: Shabbat El-Roshei Matot

& Shabbat Chazon

Shabbat	Torah Reading:	Weekday Torah Reading:
אֶל-רָאשֵׁי הַמַּטּוֹת
“El-Roshei Matot”	Reader 1 – B’Midbar 30:2-6	Reader 1 – B’Midbar 31:25-27
“unto the heads of the tribes”	Reader 2 – B’Midbar 30:7-9	Reader 2 – B’Midbar 31:28-31
“á los príncipes de las tribus”	Reader 3 – B’Midbar 30:10-17	Reader 3 – B’Midbar 31:32-35
B’Midbar (Num.) 30:2 – 31:24	Reader 4 – B’Midbar 31:1-6
Ashlam.: Is. 45:23-25+46:3-5, 8-11	Reader 5 – B’Midbar 31:7-12
Special: Isaiah 1:1-27	Reader 6 – B’Midbar 31:13-20	Reader 1 – B’Midbar 31:25-27
Psalm 106:1-5	Reader 7 – B’Midbar 31:21-24	Reader 2 – B’Midbar 31:28-31
Pirqe Abot V:9	Maftir: B’Midbar 31:21-24	Reader 3 – B’Midbar 31:32-35
N.C.: Mordechai 13:3-8	- Isaiah 1:1-27

Coming Fast: Fast of the 9^th of Ab

Tuesday August the 9^th, 2011

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

Shalom Shabbat !

Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

HH Rosh Paqid Adon Hillel ben David

HH Paqid Dr. Adon Eliyahu ben Abraham

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[1] CLV (Concordant Literal Version) as found in Rick Meyers (2009) E-Sword v. 9.5.1 - http://www.e-sword.net/downloads.html

[2] Magiera, J.M. (2009), Aramaic Peshitta New Testament: Vertical Interlinear, Light of the Word Ministry, Vol. III.

[3] Greek New Testament (Stephanus Text) as found in Rick Meyers (2009) E-Sword v. 9.5.1 - http://www.e-sword.net/downloads.html

[4] Delitzsch, http://www.kirjasilta.net/ha-berit/

[5] I do not here reckon the brief reign of King Agrippa.

[6] Ps. 122.

[7] It will be seen that, with the most recent explorers, I locate Mount Zion not on the traditional site, on the western hill of Jerusalem, but on the eastern, south of the Temple area.

[8] 1 Macc. 1:33, and often; but the precise situation of this 'fort' is in dispute.

[9] 1 Macc. 12:36; Jos. Ant. xiii. 5. 11; comp. with it xiv. 16. 2; War vi. 7. 2; 8. 1.

[10] 141 b.c.e.

[11] 135-106 b.c.e.

[12] It is, to say the least, doubtful, whether the numeral 50 cubits (75 feet), which Josephus assigns to this rock (War v. 5. 8), applies to its height.

[13] Ant. xv. 11. 7.

[14] Jos. War v. 5. 8.

[15] I must take leave to refer to the description of Jerusalem, and especially of the Temple, in my book “The Temple and its Services at the Time of Jesus Christ.”

[16] It was only finished in 64 c.e., that is, six years before its destruction.

[17] Such as the Palace of Grapte, and that of Queen Helena of Adiabene.

[18] Baba B. 9:7.

[19] Arakh. 6:5

[20] Baba K. 10:4.

[21] Men. 13:8.

[22] Tos. Sheq. 2.

[23] Tos. Baba Mets. 4.

[24] Yoma 35b.

[25] Peah 8:8, 9.

[26] Although Jerusalem covered only about 300 acres, yet, from the narrowness of Oriental streets, it would hold a very much larger population than any Western city of the same extent. Besides, we must remember that its ecclesiastical boundaries extended beyond the city.

[27] Maaser. 2:3.

[28] Baba B. 89a.

[29] Jer. Ab. Z 44b; Ab. Z. 58a.

[30] Jer. Dem 22c.

[31] Yoma 9a. On the question of officially fixing the market-price, diverging opinions are expressed, Baba B. 89b. It was thought that the market-price should leave to the producer a profit of one-sixth on the cost (Baba B. 90a). In general, the laws on these subjects form a most interesting study.

[32] Sanh. 89a.

[33] Erub. 10:9.

[34] Jos. War v. 8. 1.

[35] Ibid. ii. 19. 4.

[36] Tos. Baba Mets. 3.

[37] That of Botnah was the largest, Jer. Ab. Z. 39d.

[38] Kerith. 3:7; Temur. 3:5.

[39] Makhsh. 6:2.

[40] Kethub. 9:4.

[41] Mark 14:66.

[42] Luke 23:6, 7.

[43] Jos. War ii. 3. 1.

[44] Ant. xv. 8. 1.

[45] Ant. xvii. 10. 2; War ii. 3. 1, 2.

[46] Tradition exaggerates their number as 460 (Jer. Kethub. 35c.) or even 480 (Jer. Meg. 73d). But even the large number (proportionally to the size of the city) mentioned in the text need not surprise us when we remember that ten men were sufficient to form a Synagogue, and how many - what may be called ‘private’ - Synagogues exist at present in every town where there is a large and orthodox Jewish population.

[47] Baba B. 3b.

[48] Bemid. R. 14. 52. The occasion is said to have been, that the Rabbis, in answer to Herod's question, quoted Deut. 17:15. Baba ben Buta himself is said to have escaped the slaughter, indeed, but to have been deprived of his eyes.

[49] Baba B. 4a.

[50] Comp. 1 Macc. 6:31.

[51] By dashing out his brains against the prison walls.

[52] He had previously been married to one Doris, the issue of the marriage being a son, Antipater.

[53] 31 b.c.e.

[54] Jos. Ant. xvii. 8. 3.

[55] Ant. xv. 10. 4.

[56] Ant. xiv. 9. 4; xv. 1. 1, 10. 4.

[57] Aboth 1:10, 11. Even their recorded fundamental principles bear this out. That of Shemajah was: “Love labour, hate lordship, and do not push forward to the authorities.” That of Abtalion was: “You Sages, be careful in your words, lest perchance you incur banishment, and are exiled to a place of bad waters, and the disciples who follow you drink of them and die, and so in the end the name of God be profaned.”

[58] On Hillel and Shammai see the article in Herzog's Real-Encyklop.; that in Hamburger's; Delitzsch, Jesus u. Hillel. and books on Jewish history generally.

[59] Eduyoth 1:4.

[60] A number of points on which the ordinances of Hillel were more severe than those of Shammai are enumerated in Eduyoth 4:1-12; 5:1-4; Ber. 36a, end. Comp. also Ber. R. 1.

[61] Ber. R. 98. This and other corroborative information makes Yeshua and R. Hillel to be relatives, and therefore, it is almost certain that his son Shimeon ben Hillel was Yeshua’s teacher and mentor.

[62] Cf. Luke 2:21-35.

[63] Jer. Kethub. 35c; Kethub. 104b.

[64] Professor Roberts has advocated, with great ingenuity, the view that Christ and His Apostles used the Greek language. See especially his 'Discussions on the Gospels.' The Roman Catholic Church sometimes maintained, that Jesus and His disciples spoke Latin, and in 1822 a work appeared by Black to prove that the N.T. Greek showed a Latin origin. For a full statement of the arguments on this subject we refer the student to Böhl, Forsch. n. e. Volksbibel z. Zeit Jesu, pp. 4-28; to the latter work by the same writer (Aittestam. Citate im N. Test.); to a very interesting article by Professor Delitzsch in the 'Daheim' for 1874 (No. 27); to Buxtorf, sub Gelil; to J. D. Goldberg, 'The Language of Christ'; but especially to F. de Rossi, Della lingua prop. di Cristo (Parma 1772).

[65] Thus Hillel was said to have hired a horse, and even an outrunner, for a decayed rich man.

[66] Bemid. R. 14; ed. Warsh. p. 59 a.

[67] Jer.Shabb. 7d.

[68] Shabb. 149 a.

[69] Kel. xiv. 6.

[70] Tos. Shabb. 13.

[71] Shabb. 19 a.

[72] Rosh ha Sh. 9b.

[73] Tos. Shabb. 18