Esnoga Bet Emunah

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

Three and 1/2 year Lectionary Readings	Fourth Year of the Reading Cycle
Tammuz 16, 5768 – July 18/19, 2008	Seventh Year of the Shmita Cycle

Shabbat: “V’Yad Adonai”

Candle Lighting and Havdalah Times:

Olympia, Washington, U.S. Brisbane, Australia

Friday July 18, 2008 – Candles at 8:42 PM Friday July 18, 2008 – Candles at 4:54 PM

Saturday July 19, 2008 – Havdalah 9:56 PM Saturday July 19, 2008 – Havdalah 5:50 PM

San Antonio, Texas, U.S. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Friday July 18, 2008 – Candles at 8:16 PM Friday July 18, 2008 – Candles at 7:10 PM

Saturday July 19, 2008 – Havdalah 9:13 PM Saturday July 19, 2008 – Havdalah 8:01 PM

Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Singapore, Singapore

Friday July 18, 2008 – Candles at 8:29 PM Friday July 18, 2008 – Candles at 6:58 PM

Saturday July 19, 2008 – Havdalah 9:29 PM Saturday July 19, 2008 – Havdalah 7:49 PM

Cebu, Philippines Jakarta, Indonesia

Friday July 18, 2008 – Candles at 6:11 PM Friday July 18, 2008 – Candles at 5:35 PM

Saturday July 19, 2008 – Havdalah 7:03 PM Saturday July 19, 2008 – Havdalah 6:26 PM

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

Coming Special Days:

Fast of the 17^th of Tammuz - Sunday July the 20^th, 2008

For further study see:

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

Shabbat	Torah Reading:	Weekday Torah Reading:
כִּי הַגּוֹיִם הָאֵלֶּה
“Ki HaGoyim HaEleh”	Reader 1 – D’barim 18:14-22	Reader 1 – D’barim 21:10-14
“For these nations/Gentiles”	Reader 2 – D’barim 19:1-10	Reader 2 – D’barim 21:15-17
“Porque estas naciones/Gentiles”	Reader 3 – D’barim 19:11-14	Reader 3 – D’barim 21:18-23
D’barim (Deut.) 18:14 – 21:9	Reader 4 – D’barim 19:15-21
Ashlamatah: Micah 5:11 – 6:8	Reader 5 – D’barim 20:1-9
Special: 1 Kings 18:46 – 19:21	Reader 6 – D’barim 20:10-20	Reader 1 – D’barim 21:10-14
Psalm: 124 - 128	Reader 7 – D’barim 21:1-4	Reader 2 – D’barim 21:15-17
N.C.: Matityahu 27:11-14	Maftir : D’barim 21:5-9	Reader 3 – D’barim 21:18-23
Pirke Abot: I:10	1 Kings 18:46 – 19:21

Roll of Honor:

This Torah commentary comes to you courtesy of:

His Honor Rosh Paqid Adon Hillel ben David and

beloved wife HH Giberet Batsehva bat Sarah,

His Honor Paqid Adon Mikha ben Hillel

His Honor Paqid Adon David ben Abraham,

Her Excellency Giberet Sarai bat Sarah and

beloved family,

His Excellency Adon Barth Lindemann and

beloved family,

His Excellency Adon John Batchelor and

beloved wife,

His Excellency Adon Ezra ben Abraham and

beloved wife HE Giberet Karmela bat Sarah,

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, amen ve amen!

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

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Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan for: Deuteronomy 18:14 – 21:9

RASHI	TARGUM PSEUDO JONATHAN
14. ¶ Although these nations whom you are inheriting heed augurers and sorcerers, but as to you--- Adonai, your G-d, has not given you their status.	14. For these nations which you are about to dispossess have listened to inspectors of serpents and enchanters. [JERUSALEM. To inspectors of serpents and to users of enchantments have they hearkened.] But you are not to be like them the priests will inquire by Urim and Thummim
15. A prophet from your midst, of your brethren, like me, will Adonai, your G-d, establish for you; heed him.	15. and a Right Prophet will the Lord your God give you; a Prophet from among you of your brethren like unto me, with the Holy Spirit will the Lord your God raise up unto you; to Him will you be obedient.
16. Exactly as you requested from Adonai, your G-d, at Chorev, on the day of assembly, saying, "Let me not continue to hear the voice of Adonai, my G-d, and this great fire let me not see any more as that I will not die."	16. According to all that you begged before the Lord your God in Horeb on the day of the assembling of the tribes to receive the Law, saying, Let us not again bear the Great Voice from before the Lord our God, nor behold again that great fire, lest we die:
17. Adonai said to me, "What they said is excellent.	17. and the Lord said to me, That which they have spoken is right;
18. A prophet will I establish for them from among their brethren like you, and I will place My words in his mouth and he will tell them everything that I command him.	18. I will raise up unto them a Prophet from, among their brethren in whom will be the Holy Spirit, as in you; and I will put My Word of prophecy in his mouth, and he will speak with them whatsoever I command him;
19. Now, the man who does not heed My words that he speaks in My Name; I will demand from him.	19. and the man who will not hearken to the words of My prophecy which will be spoken in My Name, My Word will take vengeance upon him.
20. But the prophet who will malevolently make a statement in My Name, something that I did not instruct him to say, or which he says in the name of foreign gods, that prophet must die.	20. But the false prophet who does wickedly/ lawlessly in speaking a thing in My Name, when I have not commanded him to speak, or who will speak in the name of the gods of the Gentiles,
21. If you should say to yourself, "How can we know [which is] the statement that Adonai did not speak?"	21. that prophet will be slain with the sword. And if you will say in your thoughts, How will we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?
22. Should the prophet speak in Adonai's Name, and the matter does not happen and is not fulfilled, that is the statement that Adonai did not speak. The prophet spoke it malevolently; do not fear him.	22. When a false prophet speaks in the Name of the Lord, and the thing does not come to pass, or be not confirmed, it is a word which the Lord has not spoken; the false prophet spoke it in presumption; fear him not.
1. When Adonai, your G-d, annihilates the nations whose land Adonai, your G-d is giving you; and you inherit them and live in their cities and in their houses;	1. When the Lord your God will have destroyed the nations whose land the Lord your God gives you, and you possess them, and dwell in their cities and houses,
2. Separate three cities for yourself, within your land that Adonai, your G-d, is giving you to inherit.	2. three cities will you set apart within your land which the Lord your God gives you to inherit.
3. Ready the route for yourself and divide the borders of your land into three sections that Adonai, your G-d, will allot you; this will serve for any murderer to flee there.	3. You will prepare a high road, and divide your limit which the Lord your God bestows upon you, that any manslayer may flee there.
4. And this is the matter of the murderer who may flee there to survive: whoever smites his peer without intent, and he had not been his enemy yesterday [or] the day before;	4. And this is the regulation for the manslayer who flees there that he may live: Whoever will have killed his brother without intention, he not having kept enmity against him yesterday, or the day before,
5. And whoever comes with his peer into the woods to chop trees, and as his hand swung the axe downward to cut the wood the iron flew off the wooden handle and encounters his peer and he dies; he is to flee to one of these cities to survive.	5. (as for example) if any one goes with his neighbour into the thicket to cut wood, and he drives his hand with the axe to cut wood, and the iron flies apart from the haft and lights on his neighbour that be die, he may flee to one of those appointed cities, and. save his life. [JERUSALEM. He who may go with his neighbour into the thicket to cut wood, and exerting himself with the axe to cut the wood, the iron separates from the handle, and fall upon his neighbour that he die, he may flee into one of those cities, and live.]
6. Lest the blood-redeemer pursue the murderer when his heart grows heated, and he catches up with him over the length of the road and he smite him dead when he has no death sentence because he had not been his enemy yesterday [or] the day before.	6. Lest the avenger of blood follow after him his heart boiling within him on account of his grief, and apprehend him, if the way be long, and take his life, though he is not guilty of the judgment of death, because he had not enmity against him in time past. [JERUSALEM. Because his heart is boiling and be meets]
7. Therefore am I commanding you the following: three cities will you separate for yourself.	7. Therefore I command you to-day that you set apart for you three cities.
8. And when Adonai, your G-d, expands your boundary, in accordance with His oath to your forefathers, and He give you the entire land that He promised to give to your forefathers,	8. And if the Lord your God enlarge your border, as He has sworn to your fathers, and give you all the land which He has sworn to your fathers to give,
9. When you will be guarding this entire mitzvah to fulfill it, that I am commanding you today, to love Adonai, your G-d, and to go in His ways for all time; then you will add three more cities to these three.	9. then will you keep all this commandment which today I command you to do, that you may love the Lord your God, and walk in the ways which are right before Him all days; and you will add yet three cities to those three;
10. And let innocent blood not be shed within your land that Adonai, your G-d, is giving you as territory, [otherwise] you will bear liability for the blood.	10. that innocent blood may not be shed in your land which the Lord your God gives you to inherit, and the guilt of the judgment of death may not be upon you.
11. If there is a man who hates his neighbour, and will ambush him, arising against him and smiting him dead, and he will flee to one of these cities;	11. But if a man with enmity against his neighbour will lay wait for him in secret, to destroy his life, and he die, then should he flee into one of those cities,
12. The elders of his city will send for and take him from there, and will hand him over to the blood-redeemer, and he will be executed.	12. the Sages of his city will send and take him thence, and give him up into the band of the pursuer for blood, and he will be put to death.
13. Do not view him with compassion. You are to eliminate the [shedding of] innocent blood from Yisrael, and you will have it good.	13. Your eye will not spare him, but you will put away shedders of innocent blood from Israel, that it may be well with you.
14. Do not move back the boundary of your neighbour that the first [settlers] determine in your territory that you will inherit in the land that Adonai, your G-d, is giving you to inherit.	14. You will not remove the boundary mark of your neighbours which the predecessors did set for the limit in your possession of inheritance in the land which the Lord your God gives you to inherit.
15. One witness may not arise against a man about any sin or for any transgression or transgression that he transgresses; by the word of two witnesses or by the word of three witnesses let a matter be established.	15. The testimony of one (witness) will not be valid against a man for any crime (regarding the taking) of life, or guilt concerning money, or any sin with which one may be charged with sinning; but, by the Word of the Lord, (to insure) retribution upon secret crimes, (while) one witness may swear to deny what has been attested against him, the sentence will be confirmed upon the mouth of two witnesses, or of three.
16. If false witnesses arise against a man and bear fallacious testimony against him;	16. When false witnesses stand up against a man to testify wrong things against him,
17. The two men will stand, who are involved in the dispute, before Adonai, before the Kohanim and the judges who are in those days.	17. then the two men between whom lies the subject of contention will stand in the presence of the Lord, before the priests and judges who will be in those days:
18. When the judges will investigate thoroughly and behold, the witness testified falsely, they testified falsely against their brother;	18. and the judges will question the witnesses of their times fairly; and, behold, false testimony is in the mouth of the witnesses; they have borne false witness against their brother.
19. You are to do to [each of] them as he conspired to do to his brother, and eliminate the evil from among you;	19. And so will you do unto them as they had devised to do against their brother, and you will put down the doers of evil from among you.
20. And the remainder will hear and be fearful, and they will not repeat this evil thing among you.	20. And the wicked/lawless who remain will hear and be afraid, and not add to repeat an evil thing like this among you.
21. You are not to have compassion: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.	21. Your eye will not spare; life for life, the value of an eye for an eye, the value of a tooth for a tooth, the value of a hand for a hand, the value of a foot for a foot.
1. When you go to war against your enemy, and you see horse and chariot, people who outnumber you; do not be afraid of them, for Adonai, your G-d, is with you, He Who brought you up from the land of Egypt.	1. When you go forth to battle against your enemies, and see horses and chariots, and peoples proud, overbearing, and stronger than you, fear them not; for all of them are accounted as a single horse and a single chariot before the Lord your God, whose Word will be your Helper; for He brought you free out of the land of Mizraim.
2. Now, as you near the battle the Kohen will approach and speak to the people.	2. And at the time that you draw near to do battle, the priest will approach and speak with the people,
3. He will say to them, "Hear, Yisrael! You are setting out today to battle against your enemies. Do not be faint hearted; or intimidated and do not panic, and do not be crushed before them;	3. and say to them, Hear, Israel, you draw near this day to fight against your adversaries; let not your heart be moved, be not afraid, tremble not, nor be broken down before them:
4. Because Adonai, your G-d, marches with you to do battle for you with your enemies to save you."	4. for the Shekinah of the Lord your God goes before you to fight for you against your enemies, and to save you.
5. The officers will address the people as follows, "Whichever man has built a new house and did not inaugurate it as a dwelling, let him go and return home lest he die in battle and another man will inaugurate it.	5. And the officers will speak with the people, saying: Who is the man who has built a new house, and has not set fast its door-posts to complete it? let him go and return to his house, lest through sin he be slain in the battle, and another man complete it.
6. And whichever man has planted a vineyard and did not redeem it[s fruit,] let him go and return home, lest he die in battle and another man redeem it.	6. Or, what man hath planted a vineyard, and has not redeemed it from the priest [JERUSALEM. And has not redeemed it] to make it common? let him go and return to his house, lest sin be the occasion of his not redeeming it, but he be slain in the battle, and another make it common.
7. And whichever man has betrothed a woman and not married her, let him go and return home, lest he die in battle and another man marry her."	7. And what man has betrothed a wife, but not taken her? Let him go and return to his house, lest sin prevent him from rejoicing with his wife and he be slain in the battle, and another take her.
8. The officers will further address the people and say. "Whoever is afraid or faint hearted, let him go and return home, and let him not destroy the resolve of his brothers like his own resolve."	8. Yet more will the officers speak to the people, and say, Who is the man who is afraid on account of his sin and whose heart is broken? Let him go and return to his house, that his brethren be not implicated in his sins, and their heart be broken like his.
9. When the officers finish addressing the people; they will appoint army commanders at the head of the people.	9. And when the officers will have finished to speak with the people, they will appoint the captains of the host at the head of the people.
10. When you near a city to do battle against it, you are to offer it peace.	10. When you come near to a city to make war against it, then you will send to it certain to invite it to peace;
11. Should it respond, "Peace!" and open for you, then all the people found in it will become your payers of tribute, and your servants.	11. and if they answer you with words of peace, and open their gates to you, all the people whom you find therein will be tributaries, and serve you. [JERUSALEM. And if it answers you with words of peace, and open the gates to you, all the people whom you find.]
12. And if it does not settle for peace with you but engages in war against you, you will lay siege to it.	12. But if they will not make peace, but war, with you, then you will beleaguer it.
13. Adonai, your G-d, will deliver it into your hand, and you will smite all its males by the sword.	13. And when the Lord your God will have delivered it into your hand, then may you smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword.
14. However, the women and the children, and the animals, and everything that will be in the city--- all its booty---are you to plunder for yourself; you will eat the booty of your enemies that Adonai, your G-d, gave you.	14. But the women, children, and cattle, and whatever is in the city, even all the spoil, you will seize, and eat the spoil of your enemies which the Lord your God gives you.
15. So will you do to all the cities, that are very distant from you, that are not among the cities of these nations.	15. Thus will you do to all cities that are remote from you, which are not of the cities of these seven nations;
16. However, from the cities of these peoples that Adonai, your G-d, is giving you as inheritance, you are not to leave any person alive	16. but of the cities of these peoples, which the Lord your God gives you to inherit, you will not spare alive any breathing thing:
17. Rather annihilate are you to annihilate them: the Chittites and the Emorites, the Canaanites and the Perizites, the Chivites and the Yevusites; as Adonai, your G-d, commanded you.	17. for destroying you will destroy them, Hittites, Amorites, Kenaanites, Pherizites, Hivites, and Jebusites, as the Lord your God has commanded you;
18. In order that they do not teach you to do any of their abominations that they did for their gods, and you will sin to Adonai, your G-d.	18. that they may not teach you to do after their abominations with which they have served their idols, and you sin before the Lord your God.
19. If you besiege a city many days to wage war against it, to capture it, do not harm [any of] its trees by chopping it with an ax, because you eat from it you are not to cut it down; For, is the tree in the field a man to join the besieged to escape you?	19. When you beleaguer a city all the seven days to war against it, to subdue it on the Sabbath, you will not destroy the trees thereof by bringing against them (an instrument of) iron; that you may eat its fruit, cut it not down; for a tree on the face of the field is not as a man to be hidden (put out of sight) before you in the siege.
20. Only a tree that you know that it is not a fruit tree may you harm or cut down; and you will build battlements against the city that is waging war against you until it is conquered.	20. But the tree that you know to be a tree not making fruit to eat, that you may destroy and cut down. And you will raise bulwarks against the city which makes war with you, until you have subdued it.
1. If a corpse is found in the land that Adonai, your G-d, is giving you to inherit, fallen in the field, it is not known who smote him.	1. If a mail be found slain upon the ground, unburied, in the land which the Lord your God gives you to inherit, lying down, and not hanged on a tree in the field, nor floating on the face of the water; and it be not known who did kill him:
2. Your elders will go out--- and your judges--- and measure in the direction of the cities around the corpse.	2. then two of the Sages will proceed from the chief court of judgment, and three of your judges, and will measure to the surrounding cities which lie on the four quarters from the (spot where) the dead man (is found);
3. Now, the city nearest the corpse--- the elders of that city are to take a calf-heifer that has not been worked, that has not drawn a yoke.	3. and the city which is nearest to the dead man, being the suspected one, let the chief court of justice take means for absolution (or disculpation). Let the Sages, the elders of that city, take an heifer from the herd, not commixed, an heifer of the year, which has not been wrought with nor has drawn in the yoke:
4. The elders of that city will take down the calf to a stony valley that is not to be tilled and not to be seeded, and they will decapitate the calf in that valley.	4. and the Sages of that city will bring the heifer down into an uncultivated field, where the ground has not been tilled by work, nor sowed; and let them there behead the heifer from behind her with an axe (or knife) in the midst of the field.
5. The Kohanim, descendants of Levi, will approach; because them did Adonai, your G-d, choose to serve Him and to bless in Adonai's Name; and they will decide every dispute and every nega.	5. And the priests the sons of Levi will draw near; for the Lord your God has chosen them to minister to Him, and to bless Israel in His Name, and according to their words to resolve every judgment, and in any plague of leprosy to shut up, and pronounce concerning it;
6. And all the elders of that city, those near the corpse, will wash their hands over the calf beheaded in that valley.	6. and all the elders of the city lying nearest to the dead man will wash their hands over the heifer which has been cut off in the field,
7. They will loudly declare, "Our hands have not spilled this blood and our eyes did not see."	7. and will answer and say: It is manifest before the Lord that this has not come by our hands, nor have we absolved him who shed this blood, nor have our eyes beheld. [JERUSALEM. Nor have our eyes seen who it is who has shed it.]
8. [The Kohanim will say,] "Forgive Your people Yisrael, whom You, Adonai, have redeemed; and do not allow innocent blood [liability] within Your people Yisrael." The blood will thus be atoned for in their behalf.	8. And the priests will say: Let there be expiation for your people Israel, whom You, O Lord, have redeemed, and lay not the guilt of innocent blood upon Your people Israel; but let him who has done the murder be revealed. And they will be expiated concerning the blood; but straightway there will come forth a swarm of worms from the excrement of the heifer, and spread abroad, and move to. the place where the murderer is, and crawl over him: and the magistrates will take him, and judge him.
9. Still, you must eradicate the [liability for] innocent blood from within you, when you do what is upright in Adonai's eyes.	9. So will you, O house of Israel, put away from among you whosoever sheds innocent blood, that you may do what is right before the Lord.

Midrash Rabba for: Deuteronomy 18:14 – 21:9

VIII. WHEN YOU ARE COME UNTO THE LAND (XVII, 14). Halakhah: Is it permissible for a king of Israel who has a suit to have it tried before the Court? Our Sages have taught thus (Sanh. 18a; Hor. 8b): A king may not judge nor may he be judged; he may not give evidence nor may evidence be given against him. Our Rabbis have taught us: Why may not a king be judged? R. Jeremiah said: Because of King David it is written, Let my judgment come forth from Your presence (Ps. XVII, 2). Hence no human being may judge the king, only God. The Rabbis say: God said to Israel: 'I planned that you should be free from kings' [lit. ‘kingships’]. Whence this? As it is said, A wild ass used to the wilderness (Jer. II, 24); ‘just as the wild ass grows up in the wilderness and has no fear of man, so too I planned that you should have no fear of kings (i.e. you should not set a king over you); but you did not desire so, but, That snuffs up the wind in her desire (ib), and "wind" is nothing but kingship.’ Whence this? As it is said, And, behold, the four winds of the heaven broke forth upon the great sea (Dan. VII, 2).’ God said: ‘Should you assert that I do not know that in the end you will forsake Me, already long ago have I forewarned [you] through Moses and said to him: "Seeing that in the end they will ask for a mortal king, let them appoint one of their own as a king, not a foreigner." ' Whence this? From what we have read in the context, AND WILL SAY: I WILL SET A KING OVER ME, etc. (XVII, 14). This bears out what Scripture says, That the godless man reign not, that there be none to ensnare the people (Job XXXIV, 30). R. Johanan and Resh Lakish each has his own explanation of this. R. Johanan said: If you see a godless and wicked/lawless man leader of the generation, it were better for that generation to fly away into the air and not to accept him. And the expression mi-mokeshe ‘am (‘there be none to ensnare the people’) means, surely, to fly, as it is said, Will a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where there is no lure (mokesh) for it (Amos III, 5)? ’ That the godless man reign not’; the Rabbis say: When kings arose over Israel and began to enslave them, God exclaimed: ' Did you not forsake Me and seek kings for yourselves? 'Hence the force of, I WILL SET A KING OVER ME.

IX. This bears out what Scripture says, Put not your trust in princes, etc. (Ps. CXLVI, 3). R. Simon said in the name of R. Joshua b. Levi: Whosoever puts his trust in the Holy One, blessed be He, is privileged to become like unto Him. Whence this? As it is said, Blessed is the man that trusts in the Lord, and whose trust the Lord is (Jer. XVII, 7). But whosoever puts his trust in idols condemns himself to become like unto them. Whence this? As it is written, They that make them will be like unto them (Ps. CXV, 8). The Rabbis say: Whosoever puts his trust in flesh and blood passes away and his patronage also passes away, as it is said, Nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help (ib CXLVI, 3). What follows on this verse? His breath goes forth, he returns to his dust (ib. 4). God said: ‘Although they know that man is nought, yet they forsake My glory and say: "Set a king over us." Why do you ask for a king? By your life, in the end you will learn to your cost what you will have to suffer from your king.’ Whence this? As it is said, All their kings are fallen, there is none among them that calls unto Me (Hos. VII, 7).

X. Another comment on, AND WILL SAY: I WILL SET A KING OVER ME. R. Judah b. Ilai said: When Israel entered the promised land they were commanded three things, namely, to blot out the memory of Amalek, to set a king over them, and to build a Temple unto themselves. They set a king over them, and they blotted out the memory of Amalek, but they did not build a Temple unto themselves, because there were informers amongst them (the presence of informers causes the Shechinah to depart; hence they were not worthy of a Temple for the Shechinah to dwell in). A proof for this is the statement of R. Samuel b. Nahman: The generation of Ahab were idolaters, and yet when they went out to war they were victorious. And why? Because there were no informers amongst them; therefore when they went out to war they were victorious. The proof is this: When Jezebel sought to kill all the prophets of God what did Obadiah do? He hid them in caves, as it is said, How I hid a hundred men of the Lord's prophets by fifty in a cave (I Kings XVIII, 13); and there was not a man to tell Ahab, Thus and thus did Obadiah do. But as for the generation of Saul, all of them were informers. The proof is this. When Saul was pursuing after David, all spoke evil concerning the latter to Saul, as it is said, When Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul... David is come to the house of Ahimelech (Ps. LII, 2); When the Ziphites came and said to Saul: Does not David hide himself with us (ib. LIV, 2). Therefore they fell in battle. Another explanation: R. Muna said: Anyone who speaks slander causes the Shechinah to depart from earth to heaven. A proof for this is what David says, My soul is among lions, I do lie down among them that are aflame; even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword (ib. LVII, 5). What follows immediately on this? Be You exalted, O God, above the heavens, etc. (ib. 6); David said: 'Master of the universe, what has the Shechinah to do on earth? Remove the Shechinah to heaven.’ Another explanation: R. Samuel b. Nahman said: Why is the evil tongue named ‘the threefold tongue’? Because it slays three people, him who speaks evil, him who listens to it, and the victim of the slander. Whence this? [From the case of] Doeg who spoke evil, Saul who listened to it, and of Nob, the city of priests slandered. Another explanation: R. Samuel b. Nahman said: The serpent was asked: ‘Why are you to be found amongst the fences?' He replied: 'Because I broke the fence of the world.’ He was further asked: ‘And why do you crawl about the ground with your tongue slavering on the ground?' He replied: The cause for this is my slandering my Creator.’ And what was the slander? R. Joshua of Siknin said in the name of R. Levi: The first serpent possessed the power of speech like human beings; when Adam and Eve would not eat of that forbidden tree he began to slander his Creator, and he said to them: ‘From this tree the Creator ate and created His world, and He therefore forbade you to eat thereof lest you create another world.’ And what did God do unto him? He severed his feet and cut off his tongue, so that he should no [longer] be able to speak. Another explanation: The serpent was asked: 'What benefit do you derive from biting?' He replied: 'Instead of asking me, ask those who engage in slander,’ as it is said, Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment, neither is there profit for the slanderer (Eccl. X, 11), which means: What benefit does the slanderer derive from his slander? Another explanation: The serpent was asked: 'How is it that though you bite only one limb, yet your poison spreads through all the limbs?’ He replied: ‘Instead of asking me, why not ask the slanderer, who though he be in Rome slays by his slander someone in Syria, and when in Syria, he slays [someone] in Rome.’ See how great is the power of slander, for although Israel had been commanded to build a Temple, it was not built in their days, because it was a generation of slanderers.

XI. Another comment on, I WILL SET A KING OVER ME. The Rabbis say: The Holy One, blessed be He, said: ‘In this world you asked for kings, and kings arose in Israel and caused you to fall by the sword.’ Saul caused them to fall on Mount Gilboa. Whence this? And the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines (I Sam. XXXI, 1). David brought about a plague, as it is said, So the Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel (II Sam. XXIV, 15). Ahab was the cause of the withholding of rain from them [Israel], as it is said, There will not be dew nor rain these years, etc. (I Kings XVII, 1). Zedekiah was the cause of the destruction of the Temple. When Israel saw what befell them on account of their kings they all began to cry out: 'We do not desire a king, we desire our first king,’ [as it is said], For the Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our Lawgiver, the Lord is our King; He will save us (Isa. XXXIII, 22). Whereupon God replied: 'By your life, I will do so.’ Whence this? For it is said, And the Lord will be king over all the earth, etc. (Zech. XIV, 9).

XII. WHEN YOU DRAW NEAR UNTO A CITY (XX, 10). Halakhah: Many regulations were made in the interests of peace. The Sages have taught thus (Git. 59a): The following rules were laid down in the interests of peace. The priest reads [the Law] first, and after him a Levite and after him an Israelite. See how great is the power of peace. R. Johanan said: The sun never faces the concavity of the crescent moon. Why? In the interests of peace, as it is said, Dominion and fear are with Him; He makes peace in His high places (Job XXV, 2). R. Levi said: Not one of the constellations which travel in the firmament can see what is in front of him, but only what is behind him, like a man descending a ladder with his face backwards, in order that every single constellation should exclaim: ‘I am the first.’ Thus, ‘He makes peace in His high places.’ Another explanation: ‘He makes peace in His high places.’; R. Levi said: Michael is made up entirely of snow, and Gabriel of fire, and though they stand near one another yet they do not injure each other (the idea is that it is Michael's function to cool God’s anger, as it were, while Gabriel, on the other hand, seeks to inflame it). Bar Kappara said: If the heavenly beings who are free from envy and hatred and rivalry are in need of peace, how much more are the lower beings, who are subject to hatred, rivalry, and envy, in need of peace. The Rabbis say: The greatness of peace can be gauged from the fact that even when dealing with war upon which one enters with swords and spears, God said: ‘When you go to make war begin with proclaiming peace.’ Whence this? From what we have read in the context, WHEN YOU DRAW NEAR UNTO A CITY TO FIGHT AGAINST IT, THEN PROCLAIM PEACE UNTO IT.

XIII. Another explanation: WHEN YOU DRAW NEAR UNTO A CITY. etc. This bears out what Scripture says, You will also decree a thing, and it will be established unto you, etc. (Job XXII, 28). The Rabbis say: This verse alludes to the time of the [Golden] Calf when God was wroth with Israel [and] He said to Moses, I will smite them with pestilence (ba-deber), and destroy them (Num. XIV, 12).3 What is the meaning of, ’I will smite them with pestilence (deber), and destroy them’? God said to him: 'They think that I need swords and spears with which to destroy them. As I created the world with a word (be-dabar), as it is said, By the word (bi-dbar) of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth (Ps. XXXIII, 6), so Will I do unto them; I will let a word go forth from My mouth and it will slay them. ‘This is the meaning of,’I will smite them with a word, and destroy them.’ Another explanation: What is the force of, ‘And destroy them’? God said to him [Moses]: 'I will cause you to inherit them, and cause others to be descended from you.’ Whence this? For it is said, And I will make of you a great nation (Ex. XXXII, 10; cf. Num. XIV, 12). When Moses heard this he began to pray on their behalf. And what did Moses say at this hour? [He said:] Inasmuch as You Lord are seen face to face (Num. XIV, 14). What is the meaning of, ‘Face to face’? R. Aha said in the name of R. Simeon b. Levi: Moses said: 'Lo, the Attribute of Justice lies on evenly balanced scales; You say, "I will smite them with pestilence," but I say, Pardon, I pray’ (Num. XIV, 19) He [Moses] said further: ‘The matter is evenly balanced; we will see, who will prevail, "You O Lord" or I.’ R. Berekya said: God said to him: 'By your life, you have nullified My [will] and yours prevails.’ Whence this? For it is said, And the Lord said: I have pardoned according to your word (ib. 20). Hence the force of, 'You will also decree a thing, and it will be established unto you.’ Another explanation: ‘You will also decree.’ R. Joshua of Siknin said in the name of R. Levi: God agreed to whatever Moses decided. How? God never commanded Moses to break the Tables. Moses, however, on his account went out and broke them. And whence do we know that God approved of [his action]? For it is written, Which (asher) you did break (Ex. XXXIV, I) - as much as to say: A good thing that you have broken them. God commanded him to make war on Sihon, as it is said, And contend with him in battle (Deut. II, 24), but he did not do so, but [as Scripture has it], And I sent messengers, etc. (ib. 26). God said to him: ‘I have commanded you to make war with him, but instead you began with peace; by your life, I will confirm your decision; every war upon which Israel enter, they will begin with [a declaration of] peace,’ as it is said, WHEN YOU DRAW NEAR UNTO A CITY TO FIGHT AGAINST IT, THEN PROCLAIM PEACE UNTO IT.

XIV. Who fulfilled [the command in] this section? Joshua the son of Nun. R. Samuel b. Nahman said: What did Joshua do? He published an edict in every place he came to conquer wherein was written, Whosoever desires to go, let him go; and whosoever desires to make peace, let him make peace; and whosoever desires to make war, let him make war. What did the Girgashite do? He turned and went away from before them [Israel]. And God gave him another land, as beautiful as his own, namely, Africa: with the Gibeonites (Cf. Josh. IX, 3 ff.) who sought to make peace Joshua made peace; but the thirty-one kings who came to fight with him God caused to fall into his hands. Whence this? As it is said, And they smote them, until they left them none remaining (Josh XI, 8).

XV. Another explanation: THEN PROCLAIM PEACE TO IT. Come and see how great is the power of peace. Come and see: If a man has an enemy he is ever seeking to do him some [injury]. What does he do? He goes and invites a man greater than himself to injure that enemy. But with God it is not so. All the nations of the world provoke Him to anger, yet when they fall asleep their souls go up to Him [for safe keeping]. Whence this? For it is said, In whose hand is the soul of every living thing (Job XII,10). And yet in the morning He restores to every one his soul. Whence this? For it is said, He that gives breath unto the people upon it (Isa. XLII, 5). Another explanation: If a man injures his neighbour he never forgets it; but not so God. Israel were in Egypt and the Egyptians enslaved them with lime and bricks. After all the evil they had done unto Israel, God had pity upon them and decreed, You will not abhor an Egyptian, because you were a stranger in his land (Deut. XXIII, 8), but pursue after peace, as it is said, Seek peace, and pursue it (Ps. XXXIV, 15) Another explanation: What is the meaning of, ’Seek peace, and pursue it’? Once R. Meir was sitting and expounding, etc., that a woman went home, it being Sabbath evening, and found that her [Sabbath] light had gone out. Her husband asked her: ‘Where have you been so late?’ She replied: ‘I have been listening to R. Meir's discourse.’ Now that man, being a scoffer, said to her: ‘You will not enter my house, whatever happens, until you have gone and spat in the face of R. Meir.’ She left the house. Whereupon Elijah, of blessed memory, appeared to R. Meir and said to him: ‘It is because of you that the woman has left her house.’ Elijah, of blessed memory, then acquainted R. Meir of the episode. What did R. Meir do? He went and sat down in the Great Beth-HaMidrash. Now that woman came in to pray, and on seeing her R. Meir pretended to be blinking. He asked [aloud]: ‘Who knows how to cure a sore eye by a charm?' Whereupon the woman replied: 'I have come to cure it by a charm‘; and she spat into his face. Thereupon he said to her: 'Tell your husband: " Lo, I have spat into the face of R. Meir." ' He further said to her: ‘Go, and become reconciled with your husband. See how great is the power of peace.’ Another comment. R. Akiba said: I will prove to you how great is the power of peace. For God has commanded that when a man suspects his wife of adultery the Holy Name written in holiness [upon the scroll] will be blotted out in water in order to bring about peace between the woman suspected of adultery and her husband. Resh Lakish said: Great is peace, for Scripture gave fictitious reasons in order to make peace between Joseph and his brethren. When their father died, they feared lest he would avenge himself on them. And what did they say to him?

Your father did command before he died, saying: So will ye say unto Joseph (Gen. L, 16 f). And yet nowhere do we find that Jacob our father had so commanded. Scripture, however, made use of fictitious reasons in the interests of peace. Another comment: Beloved is peace, for God has given it to Zion, as it is said, Pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Ps. CXXII, 6). Another comment: Beloved is peace, for God has placed it in heaven, as it is said, He makes peace in His high places (Job XXV, 2). Another comment: Beloved is peace, for God has given it both to those that are near and to those that are far off, as it is said, Peace, peace, to him that is far off and to him that is near (Isa. LVII, 19). Another comment: Beloved is peace, for God has not given it to the wicked/lawless, as it is said, There is no peace, says the Lord, concerning the wicked/lawless (ib. XLVIII, 22). Another comment: Beloved is peace, for God gave it to Phinehas as his reward, as it is said, Behold, I give unto him My covenant of peace (Num. XXV, 12). Another comment: Great is peace, for God announces to Jerusalem that they [Israel] will be redeemed only through peace, as it is said, That announces peace, etc. (Isa. LII, 7). Another comment: R. Levi said: Beloved is peace, for all the blessings end with ‘peace’. The recitation of the shema’ ends with 'peace’, viz. 'He spreads the tabernacle of peace’; the tefillah ends with 'peace‘; the priestly benediction ends with 'peace‘, viz. 'And give you peace.’ Another comment: Beloved is peace, for God comforts Jerusalem only with [the promise of] peace. Whence this? For it is said, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river (ib. LXVI, 12). David said: I sought to hear what God had to say concerning Israel, and I heard that He was busying Himself with their peace, as it is said, I will hear what God the Lord will speak; for He will speak peace unto His people, and to His saints, etc. (Ps. LXXXV, 9). R. Simeon b. Halafta sald; See how beloved is peace; when God sought to bless Israel He found no other vessel which could comprehend all the blessings wherewith He would bless them, save peace. How do we know it? For it is said, The Lord will give strength unto His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace (ib. XXIX, II).

Ketubim: Targum Tehillim (Psalms) 124 - 128

JPS TRANSLATION	TARGUM
124:1 A Song of Ascents; of David. 'If it had not been the LORD who was for us', let Israel now say;	124:1 A song that was uttered on the ascents of the abyss, composed by David. Had it not been for the Lord who was our help – let Israel say now –
2. 'If it had not been the LORD who was for us, when men rose up against us,	2. Had it not been for the word of the Lord who was our help, when a son of man rose against us –
3. Then they had swallowed us up alive, when their wrath was kindled against us;	3. Then they would have swallowed us while alive, when their anger grew strong against us.
4. Then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul;	4. Then the waters would have washed us away, sickness would have passed over our soul.
5. Then the proud waters had gone over our soul.'	5. Then the king would have passed over our soul, he who is likened to the malicious waters of the sea.
6. Blessed be the LORD, who has not given us as a prey to their teeth.	6. Blessed is the name of the Lord, who has not handed us over as dead meat to their teeth.
7. Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we are escaped.	7. Our soul is like a bird saved from the traps of the fowlers; the trap broke, and we have been saved.
8. Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.	8. Our help is in the name of the Word of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
125:1 A Song of Ascents. They that trust in the LORD are as mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever.	121:1 A song that was uttered on the ascents of the abyss. The righteous/generous who trust in the Word of the Lord are like Mount Zion; it will not totter, it is inhabited forever.
2. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the LORD is round about His people, from this time forth and for ever.	2. Mountains are round about Jerusalem, and the Word of the Lord is round about His people from this time and forever.
3. For the rod of wickedness/lawlessness will not rest upon the lot of the righteous/generous; that the righteous/generous put not forth their hands unto iniquity/lawlessness.	3. For the sceptre of wickedness/lawlessness will not rest on the lot of the righteous/generous, so that the righteous/generous will not stretch out their hand to deceit.
4. Do good, O LORD, unto the good, and to them that are upright in their hearts.	4. Be good, O Lord, to the good, and to those upright in their heart.
5. But as for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways, the LORD will lead them away with the workers of iniquity/lawlessness. Peace be upon Israel.	5. But those who go astray following their perversity/lawlessness – the Lord will make them go to Gehenna; their portion is with the workers of deceit. Peace be upon Israel!
126:1 A Song of Ascents. When the LORD brought back those that returned to Zion, we were like unto them that dream.	126:1 A song that was uttered on the ascents of the abyss. When the Lord makes the exiles of Zion return, we were like the sick who were healed.
2. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing; then said they among the nations: ‘The LORD has done great things with these.’	2. Then will our mouths be full of laughter, and our tongue with praise; then will they say among the Gentiles, “The Lord has done great good to these.”
3. The LORD has done great things with us; we are rejoiced.	3. The Lord has done great good to us; we are joyful.
4. Turn our captivity, O LORD, as the streams in the dry land.	4. O Lord, make our exiles return, like a land that is made habitable when fountains of water flow during drought.
5. They that sow in tears will reap in joy.	5. Those who sow with tears will harvest with praise.
6. Though he goes on his way weeping that bears the measure of seed, he will come home with joy, bearing his sheaves.	6. He will surely go with weeping; the ox that bears a load of seed will surely come with praise, when he bears his sheaves and grazes on the young growth from the furrow.
127:1 A Song of Ascents; of Solomon. Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it; except the LORD keep the city, the watchman wakes but in vain.	127:1 A song that was uttered on the ascents of the abyss, composed by Solomon. If the Word of the Lord will not build the city, its builders labour in vain; if the Word of the Lord is not guarding the city of Jerusalem, its guard has stayed awake in vain.
2. It is vain for you that you rise early, and sit up late, you that eat the bread of toil; so He gives unto His beloved in sleep.	2. In vain will you trouble yourselves to rise early in the morning to do robbery, who stay up late to do fornication, who eat the bread of the poor for which they laboured honestly and truly; the Lord will give sleep to those who love him. Another Targum: The wicked/lawless say to the righteous/ generous, “It is wrong for you that you rise early and pray in the morning and stay up late in the evening to study the Torah, eating the bread of sorrow.” The righteous/generous reply, “Truly the Lord gives to those who love him a complete reward for hunger.”
3. Lo, children are a heritage of the LORD; the fruit of the womb is a reward.	3. Behold, the legacy of the Lord is proper sons, children of the womb are a reward for good deeds.
4. As arrows in the hand of a mighty man, so are the children of one's youth.	4. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are sons of the youth.
5. Happy is the man that has his quiver full of them; they will not be put to shame, when they speak with their enemies in the gate.	5. It is good for a man that he fill his academy with them; they will not be ashamed, for they will dispute with their enemies in the gate of the place of judgment.
128:1 A Song of Ascents. Happy is every one that fears the LORD, that walks in His ways.	128:1 A song that was uttered on the ascents of the abyss. How happy all who fear the Lord, who walk in his ways.
2. When you eat the labour of your hands, happy will you be, and it will be well with you.	2. [Happy] the work of your hands, for you will eat [it]; happy are you in this age and you will have good in the age to come.
3. Your wife will be as a fruitful vine, in the innermost parts of your house; your children like olive plants, round about your table.	3. Your wife is like a vine that bore fruit on the side of your house; your sons are like olive plants around your table.
4. Behold, surely thus will the man be blessed that fears the LORD.	4. Behold, because of this, blessed is the man who is reverent in the presence of the Lord.
5. The LORD bless you out of Zion; and see you the good of Jerusalem all the days of your life;	5. The Lord will bless you from Zion, and you will see the welfare of Jerusalem all the days of your life.
6. And see your children's children. Peace be upon Israel!	6. And you will see the sons of your sons. Peace be upon Israel.

Midrash Tehillim Psalms 124 - 128

PSALM ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FOUR

I. A song of ascents; of David. "If it had not been the Lord who was for us," Israel would say (Ps. 124:1). Read these words in the light of the verse And Jacob ... lay down IN THAT PLACE to sleep (Gen. 28:11). On the implications of this verse, R. Judah and R. Nehemiah differed. R. Judah said: There, [at long last], he lay down, but during all the fourteen years Jacob had hidden in the house of Eber, not once had he lain down to sleep. R. Nehemiah said: There he lay down [for the last sleep he would have in a long time], for during all the twenty years Jacob was to spend in the house of Laban not once was he to lie down to sleep. And what would Jacob recite? According to R. Joshua ben Levi, Jacob would recite the fifteen songs of ascents in the Book of Psalms. And R. Joshua's proof? It is the verse "If it had not been the Lord who was for us," Israel would say—that ís, the patriarch Israel would say. According to R. Samuel bar Nahmani, Jacob would recite the entire Book of Psalms. And the proof? It is the verse Yet You are holy, O You that are enthroned upon the praises of Israel (Ps. 22:4)—that is, upon the praises of the patriarch Israel.

PSALM ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE

I. They that trust in the Lord will be as Mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abides for ever (Ps. 125:1). R. Johanan taught: From the day that the Temple was destroyed, it was decreed that the houses of righteous/generous men should also be destroyed, as it is said In mine ears said the Lord of hosts: Of a truth many houses of the great and fair will be desolate, without inhabitant (Isa. 5:9). R. Johanan added, however: The Holy One, blessed be He, will restore their houses, as is said A song of ascents. They that trust in the Lord will be as Mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abides forever. That is, as the Holy One, blessed be He, will restore Mount Zion, so the Holy One, blessed be He, will restore the houses of righteous/generous men.

II. For the rod of the wicked/lawless will not rest upon the lot of the righteous/generous (Ps. 125:3). Resh Lakish taught: A man is wedded to the kind of woman he deserves, and thus it is said of a wicked/lawless woman The rod of the wicked/lawless will not rest upon the lot of the righteous/generous.

R. Johanan taught: Since it is said of Rebekah And the damsel was ... a virgin (Gen. 24:16), is it not all too clear that no man had known her (ibid.)? The intention of these words, however, is to prove that no man had even approached her with a wicked/lawless thought, as is proved by the verse The rod of the wicked/lawless will not rest upon the lot of the righteous/generous.

III. For the rod of the wicked/lawless will not rest upon the lot of the righteous/generous (Ps. 125:3). R. Abba bar Kahana taught: The wicked/lawless finds no restful pleasure in the company of the righteous/generous, but only in the company of the wicked/lawless. And the proof? The rod of the wicked/lawless will not rest upon the lot of the righteous/generous.

Another comment: By the rod of the wicked/lawless is meant Potiphar's wife; and by the lot of the righteous/generous is meant the lot of Joseph.

IV. Do good, O Lord, unto the good (Ps. 125:4). The verse means that the good man will come and receive, on behalf of the good, something good from the All-Good. "The good man will come"'—that ís, Moses will come, for it is said "She saw him that he was a goodly child" (Ex. 2:2) ; "the All-Good" is the Holy One, blessed be He, for it is said "The Lord is good to all" (Ps. 145:9); "will receive something good"—that is, the Torah, of which it is said "For I give you good doctrine" (Prov. 4:2) ; "on behalf of the good"—that is, on behalf of the children of Israel, of whom it is said Do good, O Lord, unto the good, and to them that are upright in their hearts.

Because Scripture says, Do good, O Lord, unto the good, it might be supposed that the Lord is good to all [who do good things], and therefore the verse adds good ... to them that are upright in their hearts.

V. But as for those who note a turning aside unto crooked ways, the Lord will lead them away with the workers of iniquity/lawlessness (Ps. 125:5). R. Joshua ben Levi taught: Any man who gossips about a lapse of the disciples of the wise (Hakhamim) will fall into Gehenna, for it is said But as for those who note a turning aside unto crooked ways, the Lord will lead them away with the workers of iniquity/lawlessness.

Peace be upon Israel, the verse concludes, but even when there will be peace upon Israel, nevertheless the Lord will lead them away with the workers of iniquity/lawlessness.

It was taught in the school of R. Ishmael: If you see a disciple of the wise (Hakhamim) commit a sin during the night, do not think ill of him during the day, for he may have repented. You say, "He may have repented?" What you should say is, "He surely repented."

This trust applies to the repentance of the disciple of the wise (Hakhamim) for his bodily sins, but does not apply to sins which concern money until he returns the money to its rightful owner.

PSALM ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SIX

I. When the Lord brought back those that returned to Zion, we were like unto them that dream (Ps. 126:1). R. Johanan said: All the years of his life, Honi, that man renowned for righteousness/ generosity, was troubled about this verse. He said: "Is it possible for a man to lie, sleeping for seventy years?" One day, while Honi was walking along the road, he saw a man planting a carob- tree. Honi asked: "Tell me now—in how many years will the carob-tree bear fruit?" The man replied: "Seventy years." Said Honi: "Are you certain that you will live for seventy years more?" The man replied: "Me, I found carob-trees already planted in the earth. And so, like my fathers who planted carob-trees for me, I plant carob-trees for my children."

Then Honi sat down to eat, and sleep came upon him. As he slept, a hedge grew up around Honi and concealed him from human eyes, and so he slept on for seventy years. When Honi awoke, he saw a man gathering fruit from the carob-tree, and he asked: “Are you the man who planted it?" And when the man replied: "I am the son of his son;" Honi said to himself: "This seems to prove that it is possible to sleep for seventy years." And then when he saw his ass which by this time had borne many mules, Honi said: "Now it is certain that I have been lying asleep for seventy years."

Honi went to his house, and said: "I am Honi the Circle- drawer," but his household did not believe him. He went to the house of study, and heard the Rabbis say: "This tradition is as clear to us as it was in the days of Honi the Circle-drawer," for whenever he had come to the house of study, he had solved for the Rabbis every moot point they had—and he said: "I am Honi." But they did not believe him and did not give him the honour that was due him. Full of despair, he asked for the Lord's mercy, and his soul went to its rest.

Rabba declared: People rightly say, "Either fellowship or death."

II. Honi the Circle-drawer, the son of Honi the Circle-drawer's son, lived about the time of the destruction of the Temple. One day, he went out to a mountain to be with his workmen. While he was sitting there, rain began to come down, and so he went into a cave where he dozed off and fell asleep. He sank into a slumber which lasted the seventy years during which the Temple was destroyed and rebuilt. At the end of the seventy years, when he awoke from his sleep, he saw that the world had changed: Where olive groves had been, vineyards were growing; and where vineyards had been, olive groves were growing. He went towards the city and asked: "What is new in the world?" And they answered: "Know you not what is new in the world?" "No," he said. Then they asked him: "Who are you?" and he said: "I am Honi the Circle-drawer." Whereupon they replied: "We have heard it said that whenever Honi the Circle-drawer came into a city, it shone." When he came into the city, it did shine. And so, thinking of himself, he quoted the verse When the Lord brought back those that returned to Zion, we were like unto them that dream.

III. Then will our mouth be filled with laughter and our tongue with singing (Ps. 126:2). R. Johanan said in the name of R. Simeon ben Yohai: In this world, a man must not fill his mouth with laughter, for it is said THEN will our mouth be filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing. And when is then? When, as the next verse reads, They will say among the Gentiles: "The Lord has done great things with these" (Ps. 126:3).

It was said of R. Simeon ben Lakish that after he heard what R. Johanan said, never again, in all of his life, did he fill his mouth with laughter.

IV. R. Jeremiah, sitting in the presence of R. Ze`era and seeing that R. Ze`era was overly cheerful, said to him: Is it not written For all sorrow there will be reward? (Prov. 14:23). R. Ze`era answered: I wear Tefillin.

Mar, the son of Rabina, made a wedding feast for his son, and he saw that the Rabbis were becoming overly merry. He seized a costly goblet worth four hundred silver coins and broke it before their eyes, and the Rabbis became solemn again. R. Ashi, too, made a wedding-feast for his son, and seeing that the Rabbis were overly merry, he seized a goblet of white crystal and broke it before their eyes, so that the Rabbis became solemn again.

V. Sometimes the word 'az, "then," denotes the future tense, as in the verse Then ['az] will our mouth be filled with laughter.

VI. Turn our captivity, O Lord (Ps. 126:4). R. Isaac taught: A day of heavy rain is as consequential as the ingathering of Israel, as is said Turn our captivity, O Lord, as the streams in the dry land (Ps. 126:4). By 'afikim, "streams," is clearly meant streaming rain, as in the verse And the streams ('afike) of the sea appeared (2 Sam. 22:16).

VII. They that sow in tears, will reap in joy. He that goes forth and weeps, bearing precious seed, will doubtless come again with rejoicing, bearing his sheaves with him (Ps. 126:5-6). R. Judah taught: An ox, as he goes forth to his ploughing, goes weeping; but at his returning, he eats the green shoots in the furrows.

VIII. A different interpretation: They that sow in tears, etc. alludes to Jacob, who, being afraid, wept as he sowed his father's blessings,? saying: "My father peradventure will feel me" (Gen. 27:12). Will reap in joy also alludes to Jacob, to whom it was said "So God give you of the dew of heaven, and of the fat places of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine" (Gen. 27:28). And He that goes and weeps (Ps. 126:6) alludes to Jacob, of whom it was said "And Jacob ... lifted up his voice, and wept" (Gen. 29:11). And Bearing precious seed (Ps. 126:6) alludes to Jacob's bearing the tribes out of Haran. And will doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him alludes to Jacob's bringing back with him sheaves of young men and young women.

PSALM ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SEVEN

I. A song of ascents; of Solomon. Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it (Ps. 127:1). R. Judah the Prince sent R. Hiyya, R. Jose, and R. Ammi to visit cities in the Land of Israel, and to set up in them teachers of Scripture and instructors of Oral Law. They came to one city in which they found no teacher of Scripture and no instructor of Oral Law, and they said to the people: "Fetch us the chief watchmen of the city." The people brought the watchmen of the city to the Rabbis, and the Rabbis said: "Are these the watchmen of the city? In truth, they are the destroyers of the city." And when the people asked the Rabbis: "Who then are the watchmen of the city?" the Rabbis answered: "The watchmen of the city are the teachers of Scripture and instructors of Oral Law." Hence it is written Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman wakes but in vain (Ps. 127:1).

II. It is vain for you that you rise early, and sit up late, you that eat the bread of toil; but He will surely give to those who banish sleep from themselves (Ps. 127:2)—that is, He will surely give life in the world-to-come to scholars' wives who in this world banish sleep [for their husbands' sake].

III. Lo, children are a heritage of the Lord; and the fruit of the womb is His gift (Ps. 127:3). As things go among mortals, a labourer must work for a householder—must plough for him, or sow for him, or weed for him, or hoe for him—and only then does the householder give the labourer a coin or so, and let him go. But unlike the householder is He by whose word the world came into being. For a man need only long for children, and God can give them to him, as is said Lo, children are a heritage of the Lord. A man need only long for wisdom, and God can give it to him, as is said For the Lord gives wisdom (Prov. 2:6). A man need only long for riches, and God can give them to him, as is said Both riches and honour come of You (I Chron. 29:12).

PSALM ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-EIGHT

I. Happy is every one that fears the Lord (Ps. 128:1). R. Hiyya bar Abba said in the name of `Ulla: The man who enjoys the fruit of his labour fares better than he who fears the Lord. For note that of him who fears the Lord it is written Happy is every one that fears the Lord, whereas of the man who enjoys the fruit of his labour, it is written When you eat the labour of your hands, happy will you be, and it will be well with you (Ps. 128:2): Happy will you be in this world; and it will be well with you in the world-to-come. Take note that in connection with the fear of the Lord, the words it will be well with you do not occur.

II. When you eat the labour of your hands (Ps. 128:2). R. Hisda taught: Who is truly a disciple of the wise? He who declares his own meat térefah. R. Hisda also taught: What sort of man is referred to in the verse He that hates gifts will live? (Prov. 15:27). He who declares his own meat térefah.

Mar Zutra taught in the name of R. Hisda: When a disciple of the wise reads Scripture, studies Oral Law, serves Scholars, and declares his own meat térefah, of him it may be said When you eat the labour of your hands, happy will you be, and it will be well with you.

R. Zebid added: And he merits possession of both worlds, for it is said Happy will you be in this world; and it will be well with you in the world-to-come.

Whenever gifts were sent from the house of the Patriarch to R. Eleazar, he would not accept them, and when he was invited to the house of the Patriarch, he would not go, saying: “They do not wish me to live, for it is said He that hates gifts will live (Prov. 15:27).

III. Your wife will be as a fruitful vine (Ps. 128:3). When will your wife be a fruitful vine? When she is modest even in the innermost chambers of your house (ibid.), then will your children be like olive plants (ibid.). Thus you find that Scripture tells of Sarah: And they said unto him: "Where is Sarah your wife?" And he said: "Behold, in the tent." And He said: I will certainly return unto you ... and, behold, Sarah your wife will have a son (Gen. 18:9, 10).

IV. R. Joshua ben Levi quoted the verse Your wife will be as a fruitful vine, in the innermost chambers of your house; your children like olive plants (Ps. 128:3), and said: Like olive plants upon which no grafts can be made will be your children to whom no suspicion of bastardy will attach.

When in a dream a man sees a fruitful vine, his wife will not miscarry, for it is said Your wife will be as a fruitful vine.

When in a dream a man sees a choice vine, he may expect the coming of the Messiah, for it is said Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine (Gen. 49:11).

When in a dream a man sees grapes, white grapes, either ripe or unripe, it will be well with him; black grapes that are ripe, it will be well with him; that are unripe, then he is in need of mercy; if he dreams that he is eating grapes, however, he is certain of his heritage in the world-to-come.

When, in a dream, a man sees olives—small olives—then his business will flourish and grow like the olive tree. This is true only if he sees the fruit of the olive. If he sees olive-trees, he will have many children, for it is said Your children like olive plants. But some say this dream means that he will have a good name, for it is said The Lord called your name, a leafy olive-tree, fair with goodly fruit (Jer. xi:16).

V. The Lord bless you out of Zion (Ps. 128:5): all goodly rewards and all goodly comfort will come out of Zion.

VI. Yea, you will see your children's children, and peace upon Israel (Ps. 128:6). R. Joshua ben Levi taught: When your children have children, there will be peace in Israel, for then there will be no need for Halitsah or for levirate marriage.

R. Samuel bar Nahmani taught: When your children have children, judges in Israel will have peace, since doubtful heirs will not cause litigation.

Ashlamatah: Micah 5:11 – 6:8

11 (10). And I will cut off the cities of your land, and will throw down all your strongholds;

12 (11). And I will cut off witchcrafts out of your hand; and you will have no more soothsayers;

13 (12). And I will cut off your graven images and your pillars out of the midst of you; and you will no more worship the work of your hands.

14 (13). And I will pluck up your Asherim out of the midst of you; and I will destroy your enemies.

15 (14). And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the nations (Gentiles), because they hearkened not. {P}

1. Hear you now what the LORD says: Arise, contend you before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice.

2. Hear, O you mountains, the LORD'S controversy, and you enduring rocks, the foundations of the earth; for the LORD has a controversy with His people, and He will plead with Israel.

3. O My people, what have I done unto you? And wherein have I wearied you? Testify against Me.

4. For I brought you up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.

5. O My people, remember now what Balak king of Moab devised, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him; from Shittim unto Gilgal, that you may know the righteous/generous acts of the LORD.

6. ‘Wherewith will I come before the LORD, and bow myself before God on high? Will I come before Him with burnt-offerings, with calves of a year old?

7. Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Will I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?’

8. It has been told you, O man, what is good, and what the LORD does require of you: only to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. {S}

Special Ashlamatah: 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 your 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 belongs 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 you.’

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 do you do 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 Your covenant, thrown down Your altars, and slain Your 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 do you do 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 Your covenant, thrown down Your altars, and slain Your 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 your way to the wilderness of Damascus; and when you come, you will anoint Hazael to be king over Aram;

16. and Jehu the son of Nimshi will you anoint to be king over Israel; and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah will you anoint to be prophet in your stead.

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

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

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

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

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.

Midrash of Matityahu (Matthew) 27:11 - 14

11. Then Yeshua stood before the Roman ruler [Pilatus], and the Roman ruler questioned him saying, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And Yeshua answered, “You say this.”

12. But when the charges were made against him by the [Sadducee pro-Roman] chief Kohanim (priests) of the Bet HaMiqdash (Temple) and the elders, he made no answer.

13. Then Pilatus said to him, “Do you not hear how much testimony there is against you?”

14. But he did no reply even one word to him, so that the Roman ruler was very much amazed.

Pirke Abot: I:10

“Avtalyon said: Sages! Beware of what you say lest you incur the penalty of exile and be exiled to a place of evil waters and the disciples who follow you will drink and die. Thus will the name of Heaven be desecrated.”

Abarbanel on Pirke Abot

By: Abraham Chill

Sepher Hermon Press, Inc. 1991

ISBN 0-87203-135-7

(pp. 58-61)

In commenting on this Mishnah, Abarbanel raises a very pertinent and logical question. Avtalyon adjures the Hakhamim (scholars) to beware of what they say lest they be sent into exile and drink of contaminated water. Apparently, observes Abarbanel, we are dealing here with scholars in Eretz Israel, and the exile of which they are told to beware is to a foreign country. But, even in exile do not the scholars have to be cautious of what they say?

Furthermore, the threatened penalty of exile is totally irrelevant to the counsel offered by Avtalyon that scholars should be cautious in their statements. How is exile connected with irresponsible speech? According to Abarbanel, if this Mishnah is to be taken as its face value, it should have read: “Hakhamim (Sages)! Beware of what you say; hand on the tradition and explain it precisely, lest the disciples who come after you drink and die. Thus will the name of Heaven be desecrated.”

Abarbanel claims that the Mishnah can bear two interpretations: Firstly, true to his method of intertwining the lessons of one Mishnah with those of an earlier one, Abarbanel relates the dictum of Avtalyon in this Mishnah to that of Shimon ben Shatah which insists that judges should be very careful when cross-examining a witness lest he learns how to answer from the cues of the former. Not only are judges to refrain from loose talk, anyone who is in a position of academic authority and prominence must always be sensitive to the possible effect of his statements. The damage that can result from misunderstandings on the part of the disciples may have its tragic effect even after a long period of time has passed. To augment this thought, Abarbanel cites five instances to illustrate the catastrophic consequences of imprecise instruction. In an earlier Mishnah, Antigonus urged that one should not perform the mitzvoth (commandments) of the Torah in order to receive a reward from God. Mitzvoth are to be followed because that is the decent, honourable and God-inspired thing to do, and no reward should be anticipated. However, Antigonus did not say that there is no reward. Two of his most prominent disciples, Zadok and Boethus, misunderstood their master's teaching and concluded that he meant that there simply was no reward and punishment. To them this was intolerable. Therefore, they proceeded to organize their own heretical sects, Sadducees and Boethuseans. Had their teacher Antigonus been more precise and spoken more clearly, the damage that these two sects caused the Jewish people would have been averted.

Another example: The Talmud (Pesahim 42a) teaches that on the eve of Passover the matzot must be prepared by using only water that was drawn the day before. This is called mayim shelanu — water that has stood over night — from the root linah, to spend the night. The people who heard this halakhic ruling, however, thought that the rabbis were referring to the word lanu, which means “ours.” In other words, they were under the impression that the water required to knead the dough had to be their own — from their own wells. The result was that on that occasion they drew water from their own wells and immediately used it to knead the dough; they did not fulfil the mitzvah of matzah properly since freshly-drawn water tends to ferment the dough. Had the rabbis been more careful, they would have taken precautions and explained the law in detail. Thus they would have prevented an entire community from violating the laws of matzah.

In the light of all this, according to Abarbanel, Avtalyon foresaw that there would come a time when the Jews would be driven into exile, after the destruction of the Second Temple, into countries where the Jews had been corrupted by foreign philosophies. Unless the rabbis who come there will be very precise and explicit in their teachings, the local Jews will understand their teachings wrongly in the light of their own mistaken views and future generations will be told that those views heretical though they may seem to be — were taught by the earlier rabbis who came from Eretz Israel. Eventually, the heresies will become an integral part of Jewish life and this will be the end of the Jewish people – the name of Heaven will be desecrated.

Thus, there are three stages that evolve from irresponsible scholars who are not precise in what they teach. Firstly, the scholars themselves are culpable for not presenting their teaching in a manner which cannot be misunderstood. Secondly, the first set of disciples will be wicked/lawless, i.e., local Jews who have already been corrupted by non- Jewish philosophies (i.e., the evil waters of our Mishnah) and will utilize the inexactitude of their masters' teachings to justify and legitimize their heresies. Thirdly, the disciples of the disciples, who will be totally ignorant of what authentic Judaism is, will accept those heresies as the teaching of the earlier rabbis.

The second approach of Abarbanel to this Mishnah takes an opposite tack to the first. In his first interpretation he advocated that the scholar must use clear, precise and decisive language so as not to be misunderstood. According to the second interpretation, Avtalyon is warning the rabbis not to divulge everything they know about the Torah to their disciples unless they are absolutely certain that the disciples are capable of understanding what is being taught. Not everyone is intellectually prepared to grasp the esoteric depths of the Torah and the teachings of the rabbis. To plumb these intricate depths one must be intellectually mature and advanced. There are times when the master, who is aware of his disciples' intellectual limitations, must reply when asked to elucidate, “You must accept what I teach you without elucidation.” Abarbanel found this line of reasoning in the Talmud (Hagigah 11b). The rationale for this is the fear that if the student does not fully understand parts of the theology and philosophy of the Torah, he will reject the entire structure of Judaism. Therefore, the teacher must carefully evaluate his pupils' capacities before initiating them into the mysteries of Jewish learning. Abarbanel points out the similarity between the words GALUT (exile) and GALAH — to reveal or uncover. In other words, Avtalyon was delivering a warning: If you reveal the secrets of the Torah to unworthy students (the evil waters of the Mishnah), you will cause the spiritual death of the disciples of those students who will be taught heretical doctrines.

Abarbanel reminds us that Moshe revealed only the simple tenets and commandments of the written Torah to the Children of Israel. There is nothing mysterious or incredible in the Torah. The esoterics, however, he handed down to a select group — Aaron and Joshua.

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Miscellaneous Interpretations

Rashbatz (Shimon ben Tzemah Duran - Majorca, Spain; Algiers, Tunisia; 1361 – 1444): The name Avtalyon is made up of two separate words: Αν — a father; Talya (Aramaic) — young. Together they mean “The father of young people.” As a chief justice, one of Avtalyon's functions was to act as the guardian of young and defenceless orphans. Whenever he could use his good offices to protect them, he would do so.

Rabbenu Yonah (Yonah ben Abraham Gerondi – Barcelona, Spain; 1200 – 1236) cites Rabbi Meir Halevy and is in agreement with him. “Be cautious in your words” means that a scholar must leave no room for heretics to misinterpret his words. The heretics will read into the master's words, if there is an opening, anything that will suit them and their concepts. They, in turn, will convey their own assertions on the subject matter to their disciples. Innocently, the latter will accept what they were taught as authentic, causing them to err in their behaviour. This will result in a pre-mature death as a penalty for their evil ways.

Rabbi Moshe Almosnino (Salonika; 1515 – 1580) obliquely inquires what need there is for Avtalyon to warn the Hakhamim (wise men) against saying anything that can be misinterpreted. Actually, this maxim can be deduced from the preachment of Shimon ben Shatah who cautioned the judges to be careful in their choice of words when interrogating a witness. According to Almosnino, Avtalyon meant to stress that all men of scholarship and responsibility should beware of what they say when they talk of theological matters. It is to be noted that Avtalyon did not state, “Do not speak as an heretic or in an offensive manner.” He deliberately said, “Beware of what you say.” Even if you are a righteous/generous theologian and you are lecturing with a righteous/generous approach, do not give the heretics the opportunity to misread your words. It is not too remote to envision a time when the deviant disciples will find themselves teaching away from the Academy and instructing their students along the lines of their own thinking, in your name.

This is almost identical with the thoughts of Rabbenu Yonah. However they part ways when Rabbenu Yonah maintains that the students will be punished with an early death, while Almosnino reasons that their spiritual well-being will be stultified and atrophied — an intellectual death sentence.

Midrash Shemuel (Shemuel ben Yitzhak de Uceda – Safed, Israel ; 1540- ?) gives a lesson in practical Rabbinics. The layman can be, and often is, the severest and most uncompromising critic of the Rabbi (Hakham, in Sephardi usage). If he detects some act on the part of the Hakham that does not ring clear and true he will be up in arms. Avtalyon had this in mind when he said, “Beware of what you say.” That is to say, before a rabbi preaches to the masses let him preach to himself and examine his own conscience and actions. (This, in the context of “Remove the cinder from your own eye before you do so for your neighbour.” — Abraham Chill.). Do not give the layman the opportunity to discredit you. Moreover, the members of the community are apt to follow your example and because of your irresponsible actions they will be punished.

In addition, your disciples who eventually will be leaders in their own right will follow in your footsteps and will have no compunctions not to practice what they preach.

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Other Comments To Pirke Abot I:10

Although one should not seek to join the high society of rulership (government), this does not mean that one should publicly denigrate the [secular] ruling authorities or even be insensitive to their potential reactions.

Precisely because the [secular] rulers are likely to legislate laws which are unfair and even cruel, as they are removed from the grass roots, precisely for this reason is the [Torah] Scholar who is committed to communal concern likely to rebel or protest.

[Torah] Scholars, however, carry on their shoulders a heavy responsibility. They have a community which follows them, the community of people thirsting for knowledge. The [Torah] Scholar must therefore weigh very carefully any remark of protest before making it. If there is a chance the protest will awaken the slumbering authorities to what is just, the protest should be made. But if the protest is likely to be met by a violent reaction, the exile of the scholar from the community to an isolated area removed from the immediate pale, then second thought must be given. It is good to be a hero, but irresponsible to be a hero when other people are likely to suffer. The students of the [Torah] Scholar, dutifully following even to a place of evil waters, a place divorced from communal roots and lacking in spiritual vibrancy, are still in a developmental phase. The disparity between what they are taught and their new environment may create conflict in them, and lead them away from their tradition. Though they will be thought of as students of the [Torah] Scholar, they will go a different way, even possibly profaning the Name of Heaven through their misrepresentation.

This scenario may seem a bit far-fetched, but it is not outside the realm of possibility. The ethics of protest demand that the [Torah] Scholar-protester be concerned with more than getting an opinion expressed to rid the self of guilt. The [Torah] Scholar must weigh with meticulous care the full implications and possible ramifications of the outburst. – Rabbi Reuven P. Bulka

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What say the Nazarean Hakhamim?

Mat 7:1 "Stop judging, so that you will not be judged,

Mat 7:2 for with what judgment you judge, you will be judged, and with what measure you measure, it will be measured to you.

Mat 7:3 But why do you look at the speck, the [one] in your brother's eye, but you do not notice the log, the [one] in your own eye?

Mat 7:4 Or, how will you say to your brother, 'Allow [me], I will take the speck from your eye, and look!, the log [is] in your own eye?'

Mat 7:5 Painted one! First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

Mat 7:6 You will not give the holy [thing] to the dogs, nor will you throw your pearls before the pigs, lest they trample them among their feet, and having turned around, they tear you to pieces.

Jas 3:1 Stop letting [so] many become teachers, my brothers [and sisters], knowing that we will receive greater judgment.

Jas 3:2 For we all frequently stumble [fig., sin] [or, stumble [in] many [ways]]; if anyone does not stumble in word [fig., what he says], this one [is] a perfect [or, mature] man, able to bridle [fig., control] also his whole body.

Jas 3:3 Consider the bits [i.e. mouthpieces of bridles] we put into the mouths of the horses for them to be obeying us-and we guide their whole body!

Jas 3:4 Consider also the ships, being so great and being driven by fierce winds, are guided by a very small rudder, wherever the inclination of the helmsman will be desiring.

Jas 3:5 So also the tongue is a little body part, and [yet it] boasts greatly. Consider how great a forest a little fire sets ablaze!

Jas 3:6 And the tongue [is] a fire, the world of unrighteousness/lawlessness. Thus the tongue is set among our body parts [and is] the [thing] polluting [or, defiling] our whole body and setting on fire the course of our existence-and being set on fire by hell [Gehinom].

Jas 3:7 For every species, both of wild animals and of birds, both of reptiles and sea creatures, is tamed and has been tamed by the human species.

Jas 3:8 But no one among people is able to tame the tongue; [it is] an uncontrollable evil, full of deadly poison.

Jas 3:9 With it we praise the God and Father, and with it we curse the people having been created according to the likeness of God.

Jas 3:10 Out of the same mouth comes forth praise and cursing; my brothers [and sisters], these [things] ought not to be happening in this way.

Jas 3:11 The spring does not pour forth the sweet and the bitter [water] out of the same opening, does it?

Jas 3:12 My brothers [and sisters], a fig-tree is not able to make olives, is it? Or a grapevine figs? In the same way, no spring [is able] to produce salt and sweet water.

Jas 3:13 Who [is] a Hakham (wise man) and knowledgeable among you? Let him show by his good conduct [that] his works [are] in humility of wisdom.

Jas 3:14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, stop boasting and lying against the truth (i.e. the Torah).

Jas 3:15 This is not the wisdom descending from above but [is] earthly, physical [or, unspiritual], [and] demonic.

Jas 3:16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition [are], there is rebellion and every wicked/lawless deed.

Jas 3:17 But the wisdom from above is first indeed pure, then peaceful [or, free from worry], considerate, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial [or, free from prejudice] and sincere.

Jas 3:18 Now the fruit of such righteousness/generosity is sown in peace by the ones making peace.

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Some Questions to Ponder:

1. Do the writings of the Nazarean Codicil contradict or confirm our Mishnah? Explain Your answer.

2. What does Hakham Ya’aqov means when he says “Stop letting [so] many become teachers, my brothers [and sisters], knowing that we will receive greater judgment”? Explain your answer. And, is there any justification for this statement in the Tanakh?

3. Sephardim (as can be seen with Abarbanel and others) do not see each Mishnah in our chapter as unrelated to each other, but rather each one is seen as a further elucidation of the previous Mishnayoth all neatly tied together. What would Sefardi Hakhamim want to emphasise by using this approach? Explain your answer.

4. Why should one avoid as much as possible criticising any legitimate authority? Please explain your answer and provide Scriptural support for your answer.

5. Why at times a Torah Scholar, who is aware of his disciples' intellectual limitations, must reply when asked to elucidate, “You must accept what I teach you without elucidation”? Support your answer with Scriptural support.

6. Teaching Torah to others privately is risky and teaching Torah in public or in a public forum is extremely dangerous. Why? What can one do to minimize risks, and become overly exposed to dangerous consequences? Provide Scriptural support for your answer.

7. In your opinion, who then should become a teacher of Torah and for what reasons? And also what can such a person do to minimize exposure to danger?

The Hakham Recommends A Good Book For Your Personal Library:

The Encyclopedia of the Taryag Mitzvoth: The Ten Commandments

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Lakewood, New Jersey: Taryag Legacy Foundation, 2005

ISBN 1-933296-00-3

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Shalom Shabbat!

Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

Fast of the 17th of Tammuz

Sunday July the 20^th, 2008

Torah Reading:

Reader 1 – Ex. 32:11-14

Reader 2 – Ex. 34:1-4

Reader 3 – Ex. 34:6-11

Ashlamatah: Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 55:6 – 56:8

For further study see:

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

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

May it go well with you over the fast!