Esnoga Bet Emunah - 227 Millset Chase# - San Antonio, Texas 78253

Targum Pseudo Jonathan for:

B’ resheet (Genesis) 19:1-38

XIX. Two angels came to Sedom at the evening; and Lot sat in the gate of Sedom. And Lot saw, and rose up to meet them from the gate of the tabernacle. And he bowed his face to the ground, and said, I beg now, my lords, turn now hither, and enter the house of your servant, and lodge, and wash your feet; and you will arise and proceed on your way. And they said to him, No; for in the street we will lodge. [JERUSALEM. And Lot sat in the gate of Sedom, and he saw them, and ran and saluted them, and bowed with his face to the ground……2. And wash your feet, and wash you in the morning, and go to your tents in peace. And they said to him, No; for in the open place of the city we will lodge.] And he persuaded them earnestly, and they turned aside to be with him; and they entered his house, and he made a repast for the, and prepared unleavened cakes. And it seemed to him as if they did eat. [JERUSALEM. And it appeared as if they ate and drank.]

They had not yet lain down, when the wicked men of the city, the men of Sedom, came round upon the house, from the youth to the old man, all the people throughout. And they cried to Lot, and said to him, Where are the men who entered with thee to-night? Bring them out to us, and we will lie with them. And Lot went out to them to the gate, and shut the door after him. And he said, I pray, my breathren, do not thus wickedly. Behold, now, I have two daughters who have had no dealing with a man; I would now bring even them out to you to do to them as is meet before you, rather than you should do evil to these men, because they have entered in to lodge under the shadow of my roof. [JERUSALEM. 7. And Lot said to them, Wait here a little, till we have besought mercy before the Lord. 8. Who have not known dealing with man.]

And they said, Give up this. And they said, Did not this come alone to sojourn among us? and, behold, he is making himself a judge, and judging the whole of us. But now we will do worse to thee than to them. And they prevailed against the man, against Lot, greatly, and came near, to shatter the door. And the Men stretched forth their hands, and brought Lot unto them in the house, and shut the door. But the men who were at the gate of the house they struck with a suffusion of the eyes, from the young to the old, and they waried themselves to find the gate. [JERUSALEM. With blindness.] And the Men said to Lot, Hast thou yet in this city kinsman or brother? Thy sons-in-law, thy sons and thy daughters, take forth from the place; for the cry of it before the Lord is great, and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it. And Lot went forth, and spake with his sons-in-law who had taken his daughters, and said, Arise, come forth from this place; for the Lord destroyeth the city. But the word was as a wonder, (and he) as a man ranting, in the eyes of his sons-in-law. And at the time that the morning was about to uprise, the angels were urgent upon Lot, saying, Up, take thy wife and thy two daughters who are with you, lest you perish in the condemnation of the inhabitants of the city. But he delayed: and the men laid hold on his hand, and on the hand of his wife, and on the hand of his two daughters, for mercy from the Lord was upon them. And they brought them forth, and set them without the city. And it was that as they led them without, one of them returned into Sedom, to destroy it; and one remained with Lot, and said to him, Be merciful to your life; look not behind you, and stand not in all the plain; to the mountain escape, or you perish. And Lot said to him, I beseech of thee endure with me a little hour, until I have prayed for mercy from before the Lord. [JERUSALEM. 15. And it was at the time of the upcoming of the column of the morning……18. Be steadfast here a little with us until I have besought mercy before the Lord.] Behold, now, thy servant hath found mercy before Thee, and Thou hast multiplied the kindness Thou hast done me in saving my life, and I am not able to escape to the mountain, lest evil overtake me, and I die. Behold, now, I pray, this city, it is a near habitation, and convenient (for us) to escape thither; and it is small, and the guilt thereof light. I will flee thither, then. Is it not a little one? and my life shall be preserved. And He said, Behold, I have accepted thee in this matter also, that I will not overthrow the city for which thou hast spoken, to destroy it, that thou mayest escape to it. Hasten and flee thither: for I cannot do any thing till thou have entered there. Therefore he called the name of the city Zoar.

The sun had passed the sea, and come forth upon the earth, at the end of three hours, and Lot entered into Zoar.

And the Word of the Lord had caused showers of favour to descend upon Sedom and Amorah, to the intent that they might work repentance, but they did it not: so that they said, Wickedness is not manifest before the Lord. Behold, then, there are now sent down upon them sulphur and fire from before the Word of the Lord from Heaven. [JERUSALEM. 24. And the Word of the Lord Himself had made to descend upon the people of Sedom and Amorah showers of favour, that they might work repentance from their wicked works. But when they saw the showers of favour, they said, So, our wicked works are not manifest before Him. He turned (then), and caused to descend upon them bitumen and fire from before the Lord from the heavens.] And He overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and the herbage of the earth.

And his wife looked after the angel, to know what would be in the end of her father's house, for she was of the daughters of the Sedomaee; and because she sinned by salt (bemilcha) she was manifestly punished; behold, she was made a statue of salt. [JERUSALEM. And because the wife of Lot was of the children of the people of Sedom, she looked behind her, to see what would be the end of her father's house: and, behold, she was made to stand a statue of salt, until the time of the resurrection shall come, when the dead shall arise.]

And Abraham arose in the morning (and went) to the place where he had ministered in prayer before the Lord. And he looked towards Sedom and Amorah, and all the land of the plain, and saw, and, behold, the smoke of the land went up as the smoke of a furnace.

And it was when the Lord destroyed the cities of the plain, that He remembered the righteousness of Abraham, and sent forth Lot from the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities wherein Lot had dwelt.

And Lot went up from Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; because he feared to reside in Zoar. And he dwelt in a cavern, he and his two daughters. And the elder said to the less, Our father is old, and there is no man in the land to come to us after the way of the whole earth: [JERUSALEM. And there is not a man in the land who may come with us after the law of all the earth:] come, let us make our father drink wine, and when he is drunken we will lie with him, and raise up sons from our father. And they made their father drink wine that night, and he was drunk. And the elder arose, and lay with her father, nor did he know when she lay down, nor when she arose. And it was the day following, and the elder said to the less, Behold, now, I lay my evening with the father; let us make him drink wine this night also, that he may be drunk; and go thou and lie with him, that we may raise up sons from our father. And they made their father drink wine that night also, and he was drunk, and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he knew not in her lying down nor in her rising up. And the two daughters of Lot became with child by their father. And the elder brought forth a son, and she called his name Moab, because from her father she had conceived. He is the father of the Moabaee unto this day. And the younger also brought forth a son, and she called his name Bar-Ammi, because he was the son of her father. He is the father of the Ammonite people unto this day.

Ashlamatah:

Amos 4:7 – 5:4

7 And I also have withholden the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest; and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city; one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not withered.

8 So two or three cities wandered unto one city to drink water, and were not satisfied; yet have ye not returned unto Me, saith the LORD.

9 I have smitten you with blasting and mildew; the multitude of your gardens and your vineyards and your fig-trees and your olive- trees hath the palmer-worm devoured; yet have ye not returned unto Me, saith the LORD.

10 I have sent among you the pestilence in the way of Egypt; your young men have I slain with the sword, and have carried away your horses; and I have made the stench of your camp to come up even into your nostrils; yet have ye not returned unto Me, saith the LORD.

11 I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a brand plucked out of the burning; yet have ye not returned unto Me, saith the LORD.

12 Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel; because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.

13 For, lo, He that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth; the LORD, the God of hosts, is His name.

1 ¶ Hear ye this word which I take up for a lamentation over you, O house of Israel:

2 The virgin of Israel is fallen, she shall no more rise; she is cast down upon her land, there is none to raise her up.

3 For thus saith the Lord GOD: The city that went forth a thousand shall have a hundred left, and that which went forth a hundred shall have ten left, of the house of Israel.

4 ¶ For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel: Seek ye Me, and live;

Special Ashlamatah for Shabbat “V’Yad Adonai”:

1 Kings 18:46 – 19:21

46 And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

1 ¶ And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.

2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying: ‘So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to-morrow about this time.’

3 And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.

4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom-tree; and he requested for himself that he might die; and said: ‘It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.’

5 And he lay down and slept under a broom-tree; and, behold, an angel touched him, and said unto him: ‘Arise and eat.’

6 And he looked, and, behold, there was at his head a cake baked on the hot stones, and a cruse of water. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again.

7 And the angel of the LORD came again the second time, and touched him, and said: ‘Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee.’

8 And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meal forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.

9 ¶ And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said unto him: ‘What doest thou here, Elijah?’

10 And he said: ‘I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Thy covenant, thrown down Thine altars, and slain Thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.’

11 And He said: ‘Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD.’ And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake;

12 and after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.

13 And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entrance of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said: ‘What doest thou here, Elijah?’

14 And he said: ‘I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Thy covenant, thrown down Thine altars, and slain Thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.’

15 And the LORD said unto him: ‘Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus; and when thou comest, thou shalt anoint Hazael to be king over Aram;

16 and Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel; and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room.

17 And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay; and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay.

18 Yet will I leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.’

19 ¶ So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing, with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth; and Elijah passed over unto him, and cast his mantle upon him.

20 And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said: ‘Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee.’ And he said unto him: ‘Go back; for what have I done to thee?’

21 And he returned from following him, and took the yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave unto the people, and they did eat. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him.

Targum

Psalm 14

1. For praise; in the spirit of prophecy through David. The fool said in his heart, “There is no rule of God on the earth.” They corrupted their deeds, they despised goodness and found iniquity. There is none who does good.

2. The Lord looked down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there was any wise man seeking instruction from the presence of the Lord.

3. All alike have turned backward, they have become lax; there is none who does good, there is not even one.

4. Do they not know, all doers of falsehood? Those among my people who dine have dined on bread [and] not blessed the name of the Lord.

5. There they became afraid because the word of the Lord is in the generation of the righteous.

6. You will despise the counsel of the poor man, because he has placed his hope in the Lord.

7. Who will produce from Zion the redemption of Israel? When the Lord brings back the exile of his people, Jacob will rejoice, Israel will be glad.

Pirqe Abot

“All Israel have a share in the World to Come, as it is stated: And your people are all righteous; they shall inherit the land forever; they are the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, in which to glorify Me” (Isaiah 60:21).

Pirqe Abot I:16-17

MISHNA 16. Shimon his son was wont to say: "All the days of my life have been passed among the sages, and I have never found anything better for a man (lit. “for the body”) than silence; and the discussion of the law is not of such import as is the practice thereof. He who talks much, cannot avoid sin (Proverbs 10:19)."

QUESTION: Why does the Mishnah list him as "Shimon his son" and not "Rabban Shimon," as it does in the following Mishnah? And why did he first state that "All my days I grew up among the Sages"?

ANSWER: Rabban Shimon's intent is to emphasize the importance of humility. Usually the son of a leader, through his father, has the opportunity to meet often with important dignitaries. Being the son of a leader, he becomes friendly with them and they admire him. In this Mishnah Rabban Shimon is saying, "though I was the son of the Prince of the generation, Rabbi Gamliel, and all the Rabbis knew me and I knew them, I never used this to my benefit, but always conducted myself humbly and did not speak in the presence of other great men."

The fundamental purpose of this Mishnah is to teach humility. Rabbi Shimon, even upon ascending the highest rank of leadership, never ceased growing. He considered all the people around him are Hakhamim - wise. Regardless of the extent of their intelligence, each possesses a certain spark of wisdom which is worthy to be learned and studied. Consequently, he said all my days, my entire lifetime, "gadalti" - I constantly grew and became bigger, thanks to my being "bein HaHakhamim" - among the wise, i.e. benefiting some wisdom from everyone.

QUESTION: The word "leguf" - "for the body" - is superfluous. It could have just said, "I found nothing better than silence"?

ANSWER: Silence is not always a virtue. One should speak words of Torah as much as is physically possible, and one should engage as much as possible in prayer and reciting Psalms. It is not enough to just read the words with one's eyes; they should be verbalized. The Talmud (Eruvin 54a) says that Shmuel told Rabbi Yehudah, "Open your mouth and read the Scripture." He told him to study aloud when learning so that the learning would remain with him, as it says, "These [the words of Torah] are life to those who find them. Do not read this as it is written, lemotza'ehem - to those who find them - rather read it as if it were written lemotzi'ehem bepeh - to those who express them [the words of Torah] with their mouths."

However, when Rabbi Shimon says that the best thing for the a guf - physical body - is silence, he means that a person's requests for sustenance and all physical needs should not be merely for the material and physical benefit of the body. He is saying, "Pray for a strong and healthy body so that you be able to study Torah and perform the commandments without any interference or ailments."

QUESTION: Why for this statement is the author listed as "Shimon his son [of Rabban Gamliel]" and not as "Rabbi Shimon"?

ANSWER: Shimon was the son of Rabban Gamliel. In this Mishnah, he is giving credit for what he is to his father. He is saying that he owes his present stature to being his father's [Rabban Gamliel] son. From the way his father reared him he learned an important lesson in father-son relationships, which he is now conveying. It is not sufficient to merely instruct your child about Torah and the mitzvoth (commandments). You must first show your own commitment, and then you can endeavor to convince him. You cannot just say to your child, "Go to the synagogue or take a book and learn." You must be a living example for the child to emulate. Thus, Rabbi Shimon is saying, "My father raised me not with lectures, but by serving as a living example. He did not satisfy himself by just preaching and telling me what is right, but by doing it himself. Seeing him do it, I developed a desire to emulate him.

It is said, that once a non-observant father sent his child to a Hebrew school. As the child's Bar-Mitzvah was approaching, he took his son to a Jewish book store and asked the salesman for a Bar-Mitzvah set. The salesman opened the box and the boy saw a pair of tefillin and a tallit in it. Having no knowledge of these strange items, he asked his father with a puzzled expression on his face, "What are these?" The father told him, "My son, this is what every Jew must have after he becomes Bar-Mitzvah." The young boy looked up to his father inquisitively and asked, "So father, when are you becoming Bar-Mitzvah?"

"And whoever engages in excessive talk brings on sin." Worse than sinning oneself is to cause others to sin. Rabbi Shimon's statement "Not study, but practice is the essential thing" is directed to rabbis and teachers. He is telling them that the way to impress congregants and students is not through lengthy lectures, but showing a live example.

He continues that the rabbi or teacher who is a "marbeh debarim" - "a big talker" - but does not practice what he preaches, will "meibi chet" - "cause sin" - because the congregation and students who observe his hypocrisy will not even follow him when he says the right thing, but do whatever they desire. They will make the popular argument that they do not want to be hypocrites and therefore they do not practice the mitzvoth (commandments) at all.

MISHNA 17. He also said: "Three things support the world--law, truth, and peace--as it is written [Zechariah, 8:16]: 'Truth and the judgment of peace, judge in your gates.'"

QUESTION: How does this reconcile with what Shimon HaTzaddik said, "The world stands on three things: Torah, avodah, and gemilat chassadim' " (1:2)?

ANSWER: Shimon HaTzaddik is discussing why Ha-Shem created the world. Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel is referring to the way the world Ha-Shem created can endure and successfully flourish and develop. Without these three qualities, there would be self-destruction of the world and society.

There is a Midrash pliah - wondrous Midrash - that says that when Moshe saw in the Torah the words "tadeshe ha'aretz desha" - "Let the earth sprout vegetation" (Beresheet/Genesis 1:12) - he saw the destruction of the Bet Hamikdash (the Temple) and cried. What is the connection between this pasuk (verse) and the destruction of the Bet Hamikdash?

According to Jerusalem Talmud (Pe'ah 2:4), Moshe studied the entire Torah, including anything that will be expounded later by the sages throughout the generations. When he came to Pirke Avot, he realized an obvious contradiction: two sages offer different lists of things which maintain the worlds existence. They can be reconciled, however, by noting that Shimon HaTzaddik is referring to the time when the Bet Hamikdash existed and Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel is giving three other qualities, which in the time of destruction will replace the pillar of avodah - sacrifice (see Midrash Shemuel).

The acronym for the three things that he mentions, "din" (justice), "shalom" (peace), and "emet" (truth), is the word "desha". Therefore, when he reflected back on the pasuk (verse) "tadeshe ha'aretz desha," he cried because he saw that there would be a destruction and "desha" - "Din (justice), Shalom (peace), and Emet (truth)" would be the thing through which the earth will remain in existence.

Midrash of Matityahu

(Matthew) 3:1-3

1 ¶ In those days Yochanan HaMatbil (the Immerser) came calling out in the arid-hill-country of Judea,

2 and saying, “Chizru BiT’shuvah” (return to the answer), for the Kingdom of the Heavens has drawn near!

3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: The voice of one crying out in the arid-hill-country, Prepare the way of Adonai, make straight in the Aravah a road for our Elohim.”

4 ¶ And Yochanan HaMatbil himself was clothed in camel’s hair (the Tallit (Mantle) of Eliyahu – Elijah), with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was carobs and carob honey.

Commentary

The Midrash Tanchuma Yelammedenu starts commenting on our Torah Seder for this week as follows:

“May it please our master to teach us the number of death penalties the Bet Din (the court of 71 members) was empowered to impose? Our masters taught us as follows: Four death penalties were imposed by the Bet Din: stoning, burning, decapitation, and strangulation. Which one is the most severe? The rabbis held that death by stoning was the most severe, since it was the punishment inflicted upon blasphemers and idolaters. R. Simeon the son of Yochai maintained that death by fire was the severest punishment because it was inflicted upon the daughter of a priest who was guilty of unchastity. Proof of the seriousness of unchastity is that it was punishable by death through fire. R. Joshua the son of Levi declared in the name of Bar Kappara that the Holy One, blessed be He, forgives everything but licentiousness. R. Judah the son of Nehemiah stated: the Holy One, blessed be He, rained fire and brimstone upon the inhabitants of Sodom, and burned them to death, because they committed acts of sexual immorality, as it is said: And the Lord caused to rain down upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah, brimstone and fire (Genesis 19:24).

After they sinned, the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded His angels: “Go destroy it.” Then they fulfilled their mission, as it is said: And the two angels came to Sodom. Scripture states elsewhere in allusion to this verse: He sent forth upon them the fierceness of His anger, wrath and indignation and trouble (Psalm 78:49). What is meant by the fierceness of His anger? R. Simeon the son of Yochai said: Five plagues resulted from His anger, as it is said: How much more when I send My four judgments against Jerusalem, the sword and the famine and the wild beast and the pestilence (Ezekiel 14:21). What is the fifth plague? The drought. How do we know this? R. Simeon the son of Yochai explained: It is written: The anger of the Lord be kindles against you, and He shut up the heavens, so that there shall be no rain (Deuteronomy 11:17).

The word “Wroth” (Hebrew: Avera) indicates that He was filled with wrath against them, just as a pregnant woman “UVARA” (is filled out). The word “Anger” (Hebrew: Zaam) implies that the Holy One, blessed be He, cursed them (from ZAAM = curse), as it is said: How shall I curse them whom the Lord has not cursed? (Numbers 23:8).

However, even when the Holy One, blessed be He, is angry, He remains merciful. He remembered Lot and He rescued him because of the merit of Abraham, as it is said: And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the Plain, that God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow (Genesis 19:29). In the Mishnah it was said that one should save the Sefer Torah case as well as the Sefer Torah, and the Tefillin case as well as the Tefillin. It teaches us: Happy are the righteous and those who cling to them. Scripture states: And God remembered Noah and every living thing and all the cattle (Genesis 8:1), all because of the merit of Noah. Similarly, God remembered Abraham and sent out Lot (Genesis 19:29). Woe to the wicked and to those who cling to them, as it is said: And He blotted out every living substance which was upon the face of the ground, both man and cattle (Genesis 7:23). Furthermore, it states: I will blot out man whom I have created (Genesis 6:7). The angels of destruction came as the emissaries of the Holy One, blessed be He, in order to destroy Sodom.”

King David the Messiah studied our Seder and in the spirit of prophecy taught concerning the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah – “The fool has said in his heart: ‘There is no G-d’ (i.e. ‘There is no rule of G-d on the earth’); they have dealt corruptly, they have done abominably; there is none that does good” (Psalm 14:1). However, the Mikraot Gedolot commentary has Rashi stating that King David the Messiah, prophesies in this Psalm concerning Nebuchadnezzar, who was destined to enter the Temple and destroy it, with not one man of all his armies protesting against him. Redak joins Rashi in this interpretation and adds: “There is no G-d” – and “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds” (Isaiah 14:14) thinking that there was no G-d and no Judge in the world to try him for his deeds.

Both interpretations are correct, the first one is a Midrash to our Seder, and the second one connects this Midrash to the fast of Tammuz, next Sunday commemorating according to the Talmud (Ta’anit 26b):

“On the seventeenth of Tammuz the tables of the law were shattered, the daily offering was discontinued, a breach was made in the (walls of the) city (of Jerusalem), and Apostomos burned the scroll of the Law and placed an idol in the Temple.”

This double interpretation of this first verse of our Psalm not only places this Psalm in order with the Sedarim of the Torah of the three-and-a-half-year cycle but also at the correct time in the Jewish calendar.

We may then ask: Who is the Psalmist referring when he says “there is none that does good, no, not one” (Psalm 14:3)? Since the Psalmist is commenting on our Torah Seder, we must answer that this is referring to the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah. And if we take Rashi’s interpretation then he is speaking of the Gentiles that destroyed the Temple (i.e. Babylon and Rome).

In Romans 3:9-12 Hakham Shaul seems to say that this verse of Psalm 14:3 is applicable in reality to all humanity irrespective of whether Jew or Gentile, and therefore all humanity is in need of constant Teshuvah (returning) and “calling upon the name of Adonai.” Whilst this is perfectly true, we must say that Hakham Shaul is treating Psalm 14:3 in a metaphorical manner, yet the literal interpretation of the verse is alluding clearly to the Gentiles bent in the destruction of Israel.

The Psalmist clearly states why “there is none that does good, no, not one” (Psalm 14:3), for he goes on in v.4 to state: “Have all the workers of lawlessness not known, devouring up My people as one eats bread? They have not called upon Adonai.” In other words people who do not accept the Laws of G-d upon their lives and do its commandments are prone to “devour the Jewish people as one eats bread.” Antinomianism (that is those who say they do not want to be under the Law of G-d) is the root cause of anti-Semitism. The Psalmist says that this because these people “have not called upon the name of Adonai” – that is, they have not attended Synagogue services as commanded of every Gentile fearing G-d in 2 Lukas (Acts) 15. Thus, according to the Psalmist there is a progression as follows:

Rejection of G-d’s Laws

↓

Not going to Synagogue services regularly

↓

Not fearing G-d.

Or we could invert the progression making even more sense as follows:

Not fearing G-d

↓

Not going to Synagogue services regularly

↓

Rejection of G-d’s Laws

This pattern of disobedience is equally applicable to all Jews and all Gentiles. And the person who falls into any of these three steps or categories is a person prone by his/her disobedient nature to become an anti-Semite and try to devour the Jewish people in any way they can.

This also explains why we have lost our Holy Temple, and why the Messiah still tarries. It is very apropos for the three-week national period of semi-mourning that we will start as from the fast of Tammuz this coming Sunday.

As we read in the portion of Matityahu this week “In those days Yochanan HaMatbil (the Immerser) came calling out in the arid-hill-country of Judea, and saying, “Chizru BiT’shuvah” (return to the answer), for the Kingdom of the Heavens has drawn near!” Let us take heed of this most solemn call on this three week period: “Chizru BiT’shuvah” (return to the answer). And we know that there is no answer better qualified to give full meaning to a person’s life than Torah!

Shalom Shabbat!

Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

Shabbat:	Torah Reading:	Weekday Torah Reading:
ויבאו שני
“Vayabou Sh’ne”	Reader 1 – B’resheet 18:1-5	Reader 1 – B’resheet 20:1-7
“And came two”	Reader 2 – B’resheet 18:6-10	Reader 2 – B’resheet 20:8-13
“Y llegaron dos”	Reader 3 – B’resheet 18:11-16	Reader 3 – B’resheet 20:14-18
B’ resheet (Genesis) 19:1-38	Reader 4 – B’resheet 18:17-22
Amos 4:7 – 5:4	Reader 5 – B’resheet 18:23-28
Special: 1 Kings 18:46 – 19:21	Reader 6 – B’resheet 18:29-32	Reader 1 – B’resheet 21:1-8
Psalm 14	Reader 7 – B’resheet 18:33-38	Reader 2 – B’resheet 21:9-13
Pirke Abot I:16-17	Maftir – B’resheet 18:36-38	Reader 3 – B’resheet 21:14-21
N.C.: Matityahu 3:1-3	1 Kings 18:46 – 19:21