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

 

 

Candle Lighting and Habdalah Times:

 

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

 

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

 

Roll of Honor:

 

His Eminence Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David and beloved wife HH Giberet Batsheva bat Sarah

His Eminence Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham and beloved wife HH Giberet Dr. Elisheba bat Sarah

His Honor Paqid Adon David ben Abraham

His Honor Paqid Adon Ezra ben Abraham and beloved wife HH Giberet Karmela bat Sarah,

His Honor Paqid Adon Tsuriel ben Abraham and beloved wife HH Giberet Gibora bat Sarah

Her Excellency Giberet Sarai bat Sarah & beloved family

His Excellency Adon Barth Lindemann & beloved family

His Excellency Adon John Batchelor & beloved wife

Her Excellency Giberet Leah bat Sarah & beloved mother

Her Excellency Giberet Zahavah bat Sarah & beloved family

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

His Excellency Adon Yehoshua ben Abraham and beloved wife HE Giberet Rut bat Sarah

His Excellency Adon Michael ben Yosef and beloved wife HE Giberet Sheba bat Sarah

Her Excellency Giberet Prof. Dr. Emunah bat Sarah & beloved family

His Excellency Adon Robert Dick & beloved wife HE Giberet Cobena Dick

His Excellency Adon Eliezer ben Abraham and beloved wife HE Giberet Chava bat Sarah

His Excellency Adon Aviner ben Abraham and beloved wife HE Giberet Chagit bat Sarah

His Excellency Adon Ovadya ben Abraham and beloved wife HE Giberet Mirit bat Sarah

His Excellency Adon Brad Gaskill and beloved wife Cynthia Gaskill

His Excellency Adon Marvin Hyde

His Excellency Adon Scott Allen

Her Excellency Giberet Eliana bat Sarah and beloved husband HE Adon James Miller

 

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

Also, a great thank you and great blessings be upon all who send comments to the list about the contents and commentary of the weekly Torah Seder and allied topics. If you want to subscribe to our list and ensure that you never loose any of our commentaries, or would like your friends also to receive this commentary, please do send me an E-Mail to benhaggai@GMail.com with your E-Mail or the E-Mail addresses of your friends. Toda Rabba!

 

We pray for His Eminence Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham who has very serious problems with diabetes lows and other complications. Mi Sheberarach - He who blessed our forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Moses and Aaron, David and Solomon, may He bless and heal His Eminence or Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham, May the Holy One, Blessed is He, be filled with compassion for him to restore his health, to heal him, to strengthen him, and to revivify him. And may He send them speedily a complete recovery from heaven, among the other sick people of Yisrael, a full and complete recovery of the body and a full and complete recovery of the spirit and mind, swiftly and soon, and we say amen ve amen!

 

We pray for His Excellency Adon Jonah Lindemann (age 18), and His Excellency Adon Bart Lindemann. Jr. (age 20). [the sons of His Excellency Adon Barth Lindemann] who have recently been diagnosed with Asperger’s disease (a “spectrum disorder”). Their father asks that we pray that he can find for his two young sons the appropriate and good professional assistance that they urgently need. Mi Sheberach – He who blessed our forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Moses and Aaron, David and Solomon, may He bless and heal Their Excellencies Adon Adon Bart Lindemann Jr. & Adon Jonah Lindemann, May the Holy One, Blessed is He, be filled with compassion for them to restore their health, to heal them, to strengthen them, and to revivify them. And may He send them speedily a complete recovery from heaven, among the other sick people of Yisrael, a recovery of the body and a recovery of the spirit and mind, swiftly and soon, and we say amen ve amen!

 

We pray also for H.E. Giberet Rachel bat Batsheva who is afflicted with un-systemic mastocytosis. Mi Sheberach – He Who blessed our holy and pure Matriarchs, Sarah, Ribkah, Rachel and Leah, bless Her Excellency Giberet Rachel bat Batsheva and send her a complete recovery and strengthening of body and soul. Please G-d heal her, please. Please G-d heal her, please. Please G-d heal her, please. Cure her, strengthen her, make her healthy and return her to her original strength, together with all the sick of Yisrael. And may it be so willed, and we will say, Amen ve Amen!

 

We pray also for H.E. Giberet Leah bat Sarah who is in a dangerous financial situation. May the Bore HaOlam, the Master of the universe who sees all things, and who is in control of all things have mercy on Her Excellency’s finances and grant her salvation from a complex situation, and may she be granted from heaven to prosper most copiously on all things, together with all Yisrael, amen ve amen!

 

Blessings Before Torah Study

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Shabbat: “Isha Khi Tazria’” – “[When] a woman conceives seed”

&

First Sabbath of Three Sabbaths of Penitence

 

 

 

Contents of the Torah Seder

 

·        Purification After Childbirth – Leviticus 12:1-8

·        Early Symptoms of Miraculous Leprosy – Leviticus 13:1-8

·        Diagnosing Miraculous Leprosy – Leviticus 13:9-17

·        Special Symptoms of Miraculous Leprosy – Leviticus 13:18-28

 

 

Reading Assignment:

 

The Torah Anthology: Yalkut Me’Am Lo’Ez - Vol. XI: The Divine Service

By: Rabbi Yaaqov Culi & Rabbi Yitschaq Magriso, Translated by: Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan

Published by: Moznaim Publishing Corp. (New York, 1989)

Vol. 11 – “The Divine Service,” pp. 275-292

 

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan

for: Vayiqra (Leviticus) 12:1 – 13:28

 

 

Welcome to the World of P’shat Exegesis

 

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

 

The Seven Hermeneutic Laws of R. Hillel are as follows

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Rashi’s Commentary for: Vayiqra (Leviticus) 12:1 – 13:28

 

2 If a woman conceives Rabbi Simlai said: "Just as in the Creation, man was created after all domestic animals, wild beasts, and birds, so too, the law [concerning the cleanness] of man is stated after the law [concerning the cleanness] of domestic animals, wild beasts, and birds."-[Vayikra Rabbah 14:1]

 

If [a woman] conceives Heb. כִּי תַזְרִיעַ. [These words are stated] to include the case of [a woman] who gave birth to a dissolved [fetus, i.e., the fetus had matured, but had subsequently] dissolved [in the womb], resulting in a semen- like mass (זֶרַע akin to תַזְרִיע), its mother has the impurity of birth.-[Niddah 27b]

 

as [in] the days of her menstrual flow According to the order of all the uncleanness mentioned in regard to the menstruating woman (נִדָּה), she becomes unclean on account of giving birth. [This is true] even if the womb opens without [any issue of] blood.

 

flow Heb. דְּוֹתָהּ This expression denotes a substance that flows from her body. Another explanation: It denotes illness (מַדְוֶה) and sickness, for there is not a woman who sees [menstrual] blood without feeling ill, [since] her head and limbs become heavy upon her.

 

4 she shall remain The word תֵּשֵׁב means only staying [or remaining], like, “And you dwelled (וַתֵּשְׁבוּ) in Kadesh” (Deut. 1:46), “and he dwelt (וַיֵּשֶׁב) in the plain of Mamre” (Gen. 13:18).

 

in the blood of purity [I.e., during this interim period,] although she may see blood [issued from her], she is ritually clean.-[Torath Kohanim 12:15]

 

in the blood of purity Heb. טָהֳרָה. [This could be mistakenly understood as “in the blood of her purity.” However,] this is not an aspirate “hey,” [as is evidenced by the absence of a dot in the final letter ה]. Therefore, it is an [unqualified] noun, like the word טֹהַר [meaning “purity”].

 

the days of her purification Heb. טָהֳרָהּ. [Here,] this is an aspirate “hey,” meaning “the days of her purification.”

 

she shall not touch [anything holy] [Although the verse says “shall not touch,” this is] a warning against one eating [anything holy] as is taught in Tractate Yev. (75a).

 

[she shall not touch] anything holy This comes to include terumah [being prohibited to this woman, before she is ritually clean (Torath Kohanim 12:16). This woman is considered a טְבוּל יוֹם, i.e., someone who has immerses in a mikvah, but must still wait for that day to elapse in order to become completely clean. Now, how is she considered a טְבוּל יוֹם ? We are talking here about a thirty-three day period. However, she does fall under this category] because she is considered a יוֹם אָרֹךְ טְבוּלַת [i.e., she must wait a “prolonged day,” insofar as] she immerses after seven [days], but the sunset that she must wait for [in order to become pure is not the sunset of the day of her immersion, but rather, it] is the sunset of the fortieth day [from birth], since it is [only] on the following day that she may bring the atonement [sacrifice] of her purification. [Thus, the whole period is to be considered one prolonged day, in the context of the law regarding her eating anything holy.] 

 

7 And he shall offer it up Heb. וְהִקְרִיבוֹ. This [singular object comes] to teach you that only one [of these sacrifices, if it has not yet been brought], holds her back from eating anything holy. And which one is it? It is the sin-offering, for it says, “a sin-offering. And [the kohen] shall effect atonement for her, and thus, she will be purified” (verse 8). The one through which her atonement is effected [namely, the sin-offering], is the same one upon which her purification is dependent.-[Torath Kohanim 12:27]

 

and she will thus become clean From here, [we can conclude] that until here [namely, the offering up of her sacrifices, she is called unclean [and may not eat sacrificial flesh or enter the Sanctuary]. -[Yeb. 74b].

 

8 One as a burnt-offering and one as a sin-offering Scripture places [the burnt-offering] before [the sin-offering] only insofar as how they must be read [in the Torah. This is due to the higher esteem of the burnt-offering, because it is burned in its entirety (Maskil LeDavid).] But the sacrificing of the sin-offering precedes [that of]the burnt-offering. Thus we learned in Zevachim, in the chapter entitled כָּל-הַתָּדִיר (90a).

 

Chapter 13

 

2 se’eith, a sappachath, [or a bahereth] The [terms se’eith and bahereth ] are the names of two [major] lesions [and the term sappachath refers to categories related to these two major lesions], and one [major lesion, namely, bahereth] is whiter than the other [se’eith].-[Shev. 6b]

 

bahereth Heb. בַּהֶרֶת, spot, taye in Old French. This is similar to the verse, “it is [like] bright [clouds]  (בָּהִיר)in the skies” (Job 37:21) [i.e., like the spots created by bright clouds in the blue sky].

 

[he shall be brought] to Aaron [the kohen, or to one of his sons] It is a Scriptural decree that the uncleanness of lesions and their cleanness do not come about except by the pronouncement of a  kohen.-[Torath Kohanim 13:43] 

 

3 [if] hair in the lesion has turned white Heb. וְשֵׂעָר. At first [the hair] was black, and then it turned white in the lesion. The minimum [quantity referred to by the term] שֵׂעָר, hair, is two, [as opposed to שַׂעֲרָה, a hair, as in Jud. 20:16. Thus, there shall be a minimum of two hairs that turn white in the lesion for this law to apply].-[Torath Kohanim13:4547]

 

[and the appearance of the lesion] is deeper than the skin of his flesh Anything with a white appearance seems deeper [in contrast to a darker object next to it], just as sunlight appears deeper than a shadow.-[Shev. 6b]

 

he shall pronounce him unclean He shall say to him: “You are unclean,” for white hair is a sign of uncleanness by Scriptural decree.

 

4 [But if it is a white bahereth...] and its appearance is not deeper I do not know its meaning [since a white bahereth should always appear deeper than the skin, as above, yet here the verse describes a case where it does not].

 

quarantine He shall have him confined to one house, and the person shall not be seen [by the kohen] until the end of the week. [Only] then will his signs indicate about him [whether he is clean or unclean].

 

5 in its appearance In its original appearance and size.

 

[The kohen] shall quarantine him... a second time But if it [the lesion] spread in the first week, he is definitely unclean. -[See Nega’im 3:3] 

 

6 has become dimmer [I.e.,] it became dimmer in its appearance. Hence, if it remained the same in its appearance or spread, he is unclean.

 

mispachath The name of a clean lesion.

 

He shall immerse his garments and become clean Since he was required to be quarantined, he is considered unclean and requires immersion. 

 

8 The kohen shall pronounce him unclean And as soon as [the kohen] has pronounced him unclean, he is then “definitely” [unclean, and when he is healed, he] requires the bird offerings, shaving, and the sacrifice, specified in the section commencing: “This shall be the law of the metzora ” (תּוֹרַת הַמְצֹרָע) זֹאת תִּהֶיה.-[see Lev., Chapter 14; Meg. 8b]

 

It is tzara’ath I.e., this mispachath [is tzara’ath].

 

tzara’ath Heb. צָרַעַת. [The term] צָרַעַת is feminine [which is why the verse says צָרַעַת הִוא, using the feminine word for “it”]. [The term] נֶגַע, lesion, however, is masculine [thus in verse 3, for instance, it says צָרַעַת הוּא, using the masculine word for “it,” referring to the נֶגַע rather than to the tzara’ath]. 

 

10 healthy flesh Heb. מִחְיַת, sa(y)nement in Old French, a healing. [It means that] part of the white in the se’eith lesion reverts to appear like [healthy] flesh. This is also a sign of uncleanness. [Hence, a sign of uncleanness is] either white hair without a מִחְיַָה, or a מִחְיַָה, an area of normal flesh, even without white hair. And even though מִחְיַָה is mentioned only in connection with the se’eith, nevertheless, in all [major] manifestations [of the lesion of tzara’ath] and their related categories, it is a sign of uncleanness.-[Torath Kohanim 13:69]. 

 

11 it is an old tzara’ath It is an old lesion which is under the area of normal skin. This wound appears healthy on the surface, but it is full of fluid underneath, so that one should not say, “Since healthy skin has appeared over [the lesion], I shall pronounce it clean!

 

12 from his head [I.e., from the head] of the person [down] to his feet.

 

wherever the eyes of the kohen can see it [This phrase] comes to exclude a kohen whose eyesight has dimmed. [I.e., a kohen with one blind eye or with impaired vision in both eyes may not pronounce the status of lesions.]-[Torath Kohanim 13:83] 

 

14 But on the day that live flesh appears in it If healthy flesh grows on it, [Scripture] has already explained that healthy flesh is a sign of uncleanness. [Therefore, what is this verse telling us here?] However, a case where the lesion was located on one of twenty-four tips of the limbs is not deemed unclean on account of healthy flesh because the lesion cannot be seen all at one glance [once an area of healthy flesh appears within the lesion], since these [limb tips] slope down on either side. [Therefore it is not deemed unclean.] If, however, such a tip of a limb altered [in its form], allowing its slanted facet to appear through fat—for example, when the tip of a limb became fat and broadened, and the healthy flesh (מִחְיַָה) became visible within [the lesion, thereby allowing the lesion to become visible all at one glance], Scripture teaches us [here] that it becomes unclean.-[Torath Kohanim 13:86]

 

But on the day [that live flesh] appears [The verse could have simply said, “But when live flesh appears.”] What does Scripture teach us [by saying,] “on the day”]? It [comes] to teach that there is a day on which you [the kohen] look [i.e., examine the suspected lesion], and there is a day on which you do not look [i.e., when he may not examine it]. From here [our Rabbis] say that a bridegroom is exempt [from having a lesion examined] throughout all the seven days of the wedding feast, for himself, his garments, and his house. Similarly, during a Festival [people] are exempt [from having a lesion examined] throughout all the days of the Festival. -[Torath Kohanim 13:87].

 

15 it is tzara’ath meaning, that flesh. Flesh (בָּשָׂר) is grammatically masculine. [Hence, the wording: צָרַעַת הוּא, rather than צָרַעַת הִיא, as in verse 8.] 

 

18 an inflammation Heb. שְׁחִין. [This term] denotes heat, that the flesh became heated by the injury caused it by a blow, not by fire.-[Chul. 8a]

 

and it heals The inflammation healed, and in its place, another lesion appeared. [Not that the flesh healed, because, were that the case, there would be no lesion.

 

19 A reddish-white bahereth [meaning] that the lesion is not solid white, but streaked and blended of two colors, white and red.

 

20 its appearance is lower than the skin But its substance is not lower. Rather, because of its whiteness, the lesion [only] appears lower and deeper [than the skin], just as sunlight appears deeper than a shadow. -[Torath Kohanim 13:50].

 

22 It is a lesion Heb. נֶגַע הִוא. [Here, the pronoun is feminine. Since נֶגַע is masculine, however, it requires the masculine pronoun הוּא. But our verse here uses the feminine הִיא because the word “it” is referring to] this se’eith or this bahereth [both of which are feminine]. 

 

23 in its place Heb. תַּחְתֶּיה, [lit., “under it,” here meaning:] In its place.

 

it is the scar tissue of the inflamation Heb. צָרֶבֶת הַשְּׁחִין, as the Targum [Onkelos] renders it: רוֹשַׁם שִׁיחֲנָא, a residual impression of the inflammation, identifiable on the flesh [i.e., a scar]. Every expression of צָרֶבֶת [in Scripture] denotes the contraction of skin that has become shriveled because of heat. Similarly, the verse, “And all faces [from the south to the north] will be shriveled by it” (Ezek. 21:3), retrire in Old French, to contract.

 

it is scar tissue Heb. צָרֶבֶת, retriyemant in Old French, shriveling

 

24 the healed area of the burn Saynement [in Old French]. When the burn healed, the area changed to become a blended bahereth [of white and red], or pure white one. The signs of a burn (מִכְוָה) and the signs of an inflammation (שְׁחִין) are the same. [If so,] why does Scripture separate them [into two sections]? To teach us that they do not become combined with each other, [i.e., while a griss, the area of a bean, is the minimum surface area of a lesion for it to be deemed unclean,] if a lesion the size of half a griss emerges in an inflammation, and [another] the size of half a griss in a burn, they are not judged as [though] a full griss [of lesion has emerged].-[Chul. 8a]. 

 

Ketubim: Tehillim (Psalms) 78:41-55

 

Rashi	Targum
41. They returned and tried God, and they sought a sign from the Holy One of Israel.	41. And they turned and tempted God, and brought regret to the Holy One of Israel.
42. They did not remember His hand, the day that He redeemed them from distress.	42. They did not remember His miracle, and the day that He redeemed them from the oppressor.
43. Who placed His signs in Egypt and His wonders in the field of Zoan.	43. Who set out His signs in Egypt, and His wonders in the field of Tanis.
44. He turned their canals into blood, and their flowing waters they could not drink.	44. And He turned their canals to blood, and they could not drink from their streams.
45. He incited against them a mixture of wild beasts, which devoured them, and frogs, which mutilated them.	45. He will incite against them a mass of wild animals, and exterminate them; likewise frogs, and He will slaughter them.
46. He gave their produce to the finishing locusts and their toil to the increasing locusts.	46. And He gave and handed over their grain to the grasshopper, and their toil to the locust.
47. He killed their vines with hail and their sycamore trees with locusts.	47. And He stripped their vines with hail, and their sycamores with locusts.
48. He gave over their animals to the hail and their cattle to the fiery bolts.	48. And He handed over their cattle to the hail, and their flocks to sparks of fire.
49. He dispatched against them the kindling of His anger-wrath, fury, and trouble, a delegation of evil messengers.	49. He will incite against them two hundred and fifty plagues in the harshness of His anger, in wrath, and in hostility, and in woe; which are sent in due time by evil messengers.
50. He leveled a path for His anger; He did not withhold their soul from death, and He delivered their body to pestilence.	50. He will travel on the path of His harshness, not keeping their soul from death, and handing over their cattle to the plague.
51. He smote every firstborn in Egypt, the first fruit of their strength in the tents of Ham.	51. And He slew all the firstborn in Egypt, the beginning of their sorrow in the tents of Ham.
52. Then He caused His people to journey like sheep, and He led them as a flock in the desert.	52. And He led his people like a flock, and guided them like a sheep flock in the wilderness.
53. He led them securely and they were not afraid, and the sea covered their enemies.	53. And He settled them securely, and they did not fear; and the sea covered their enemies.
54. He brought them to the border of His sanctuary, this mountain that His right hand had acquired.	54. And He brought them into the territory of the site of the Temple, the same mountain that His right hand created.
55. He drove out nations from before them, and allotted them an inheritance by line, and He caused the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents.	55. And He drove out the Gentiles before them, and settled them in the lot of His inheritance, and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.

 

Rashi’s Commentary for: Psalms 78:41-55

 

41 they sought a sign Heb. התוו, an expression of a sign, as (Ezek. 9:4): “and set a mark (והתוית תו).” “A mark” is an expression of a wonder and a trial. They asked him for a sign and and a mark (Exodus 17:7): “Is the LORD in our midst or not?”

 

45 which mutilated them They would pull off their testicles. 

 

47 with locusts Heb. בחנמל, the name of the locust. According to the Midrash (Mid. Ps. 78:13) [it is composed of the following words]: בָּא חָן מָל, it comes, encamps, and cuts. It cut off the greens of the tree and the grass and ate it.

 

48 He gave over their animals to hail When the hail began to fall, the Egyptian drove his sheep (his animals) into the house, and the hail came before him like a wall. The Egyptian slaughtered it [the animal] and put it on his shoulder, to take it to his house to eat it, but the birds came and took it from him. That is [the meaning of] “and their cattle to the birds (לרשפים),” as (Job. 5:7): “but flying creatures (בני רשף) fly upward.” This is its midrashic interpretation (Mid. Ps. 78: 14), but according to its simple meaning, רשפים are bolts of fire, as it is written (Exod. 9:24): “and fire flaming within the hail.”

 

50 He leveled a path for His anger Although the plagues were dispatched in anger, they performed only their orders; what they were commanded to kill, they killed, but nothing else. They went in their paths. In other commentaries I found as follows:

 

He leveled a path for His anger When He smote every firstborn in Egypt, He showed the way for [the angel] who was destroying with anger to enter the houses of the Egyptians, but not the houses of the children of Israel.

 

...and... their body Heb. וחיתם, their body. 

 

55 He drove out...from before them the seven nations.

 

in their tents of the nations. 

 

Meditation from the Psalms

Psalms ‎‎78:41-55

By: H.Em. Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David

 

This is the third week that we are examining Psalms chapter 78. I want to reiterate the opening from last week as we look at the third part of Psalms chapter 78.

 

The superscription of this psalm ascribes authorship to Assaf. The Talmud says that any psalm that begins with the word “Maskil”, which comes from the word that means enlightenment, was made public and explained to the entire people by a skilled interpreter and orator.^[1] This, of course, meant the message was seminal to the survival of the Jewish people and Torah tradition.

 

In this composition, the psalmist surveys the history of Israel from the bondage in Egypt until the reign of King David. The events of this period, spanning more than 400 years, do not seem to follow any apparent order. However, the discerning student of Jewish history quickly discovers that the varied events of these four centuries all stem from a single source: HaShem’s desire that His holy Torah should be the supreme authority over Israel. HaShem humbled the Jews as slaves in Egypt so that they would be prepared to accept the exclusive sovereignty of the Torah at Sinai. HaShem then settled them as an independent nation in the Holy Land, so that He might appoint a monarch who would rule the Jewish people in the name of the Torah. The monarch whom G-d chose was David. David’s son Solomon built the Bet HaMikdash, the sacred Temple in which HaShem’s Torah was enshrined and venerated as the supreme law.

 

But the authority of David did not go unchallenged. From the earliest times, the powerful tribe of Ephraim, the heir of royal line of Joseph, demanded dominion. They were proud that Yehoshua ben Nun, the conqueror of the land, was from the tribe of Ephraim and that the Tabernacle had been situated in Shiloh, in the territory of Ephraim, for 369 years.^[2]

 

Even when the spiritual and political capital of Israel transferred to Jerusalem, Ephraim did not forget its former glory. Yeravam ben Nevat of Ephraim arose to challenge Solomon. He eventually caused the ten tribes to secede from Judean rule; these tribes were known collectively as Ephraim.

 

Malbim and Hirsch explain that this psalm is a firm proclamation that HaShem recognizes none but David and his seed as the true Torah rulers of all Israel: Moreover, He abhorred the tent of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim; But chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which He loved.^[3]

 

Our psalm portion begins with this enigmatic pasuk:

 

Tehillim (Psalms) 78:40 How oft did they rebel against Him in the wilderness, and grieve Him in the desert! 41 And still again they tried G-d, and set bounds to the Holy One of Israel.

 

How did the Jews rebel against Him? The Mishna^[4] states, ‘With ten trials did our forefathers try the Holy One, Blessed be He, in the wilderness, as it is stated:

 

 Bamidbar (Numbers) 14:22 They have put me to the test ten times now, and have not hearkened to my voice.

 

The Talmud^[5] recounts these ten trials.

 

First, before crossing the Sea of Reeds, the Jews said to Moses:

 

Shemot (Exodus) 14:11 Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you took us to die in the wilderness?

 

Second, when they emerged from the Sea, they became contentious and said, ‘Just as we are coming out safe on this side, so are the Egyptians emerging from the other side.’ In order to calm them, G-d caused the Sea to spew forth the corpses of the drowned Egyptians.^[6]

 

Third, at Marah, they refused to drink the bitter water and murmured against Moses.^[7]

 

Fourth, at Rephidim there was no water and the people quarreled with Moses.^[8]

 

Fifth, although G-d warned the people that they were not to go out to search for manna on Sabbath, some people defied the warning and went out to gather some; they found none.^[9]

 

Sixth, earlier, Moses had commanded them to leave no manna from one morning to the next; yet some did save some manna, and it bred worms.^[10]

 

Seventh, the nation later complained about a lack of food and mourned for the ‘luxuries’ and ‘fleshpots’ which they had left behind in Egypt.^[11]

 

Eighth, they complained again about the Manna and demanded meat.^[12]

 

Ninth, they made the golden calf.^[13]

 

Tenth, in the wilderness of Paran, they dispatched spies, in defiance of the promises of HaShem.^[14]

 

A Caution!

The spiritual level of the generation of the wilderness was at such an exalted level that they were called “The Generation of Knowledge”.^[15] Rabbi Akiva Tatz admonished us:  “The Talmud puts things into correct perspective: when the generation of the desert asked for water and were called failures for doing so, a careful reading shows that they had walked for three days in the Sinai desert without water and uttered not a word in protest or request. Only when three days without water presented the prospect of imminent death for them and their children did they ask when water would appear – and found themselves branded as failures in the area of faith. Why do you ask? Do you not know that G-d will provide as He has provided for you thus far? Where is your trust? At their level, facing death should have constituted a minor ordeal; the criticism that follows their failure shows that. But a small-minded and superficial view reads that passage as an account of a people who constantly moaned and complained, were never satisfied and always ungrateful, ready to fail every challenge at the merest provocation. In fact, that generation sinned ten times in forty years; not a slight achievement. And when it is clear that those sins were perpetrated at the highest level by a people capable of reaching into the rarefied realm of a face-to-face meeting with G-d, it becomes apparent that criticism must be measured by a different rule.”^[16]

 

It was the tenth of these incidents which forms the focus of our psalm’s portion. Ibn Ezra and Radak clearly see this portion as speaking to this sin, the believing of the ten spies report. Therefore, I would like to elaborate a bit on what exactly happened as a result of this sin. Let’s begin by looking at a Midrash:

 

Midrash Rabbah - Numbers XVI:23 The oath was: Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land.^[17] A man who was twenty years old died whether he was of the same mind as the spies or not.^[18] One who was under twenty and had not produced two pubic hairs also died whether he was of the same mind as they or not. If he had produced two pubic hairs and was under twenty, then if he was of the same mind as they he did not enter the land. Nevertheless, no one died under sixty years of age.^[19]

 

According to the Midrash, the first Tisha B’Ab^[20] calamity happened in the desert, when the spies returned from “touring”^[21] the land and convinced the people that they would not be able to defeat the Canaanites. Due to the sin of the spies,^[22] G-d decreed that they were to wander in the wilderness for forty years. During this time, “He ended their days as a breath, and their years in terror”.^[23] As the years of each one came to an end, he died at once; as He said to them, “You will bear your iniquities forty years”.^[24] That is to say, those who were twenty years of age or older kept dying every year until they all perished.^[25]

 

When the people all refused to “go up” to the land and were about ready to stone Moshe, G-d^[26] appeared and swore that all of that generation would fall in the desert and that, according to their word, they would not be allowed to go up. This happened on Tisha B’Ab.

Now, nobody died a natural death in the wilderness, i.e. from disease or old age, because, under the care of the Shechinah,^[27] nothing wore out, not their clothes and not their bodies. So, all that generation that eventually died would die a kind of painless but unnatural death. The Midrash explains how this happened:

 

Midrash Rabbah - Lamentations Prologue XXXIII R. Levi said: On every eve of the ninth of Ab Moses used to send a herald throughout the camp and announce, ‘Go out to dig graves’; and they used to go out and dig graves in which they slept. On the morrow, he sent out a herald to announce, ‘Arise and separate the dead from the living.’ They would then stand up and find themselves in round figures 15,000 short of 600,000.^[28]

 

The Gemara also speaks of the effects of this sin:

 

Taanit 30b Rabbah b. Bar Hanah said in the name of R. Johanan: It is the day on which the generation of the wilderness ceased to die out. For a Master said: So long as the generation of the wilderness continued to die out there was no divine communication to Moses, as it is said, So it came to pass, when all the men of war were consumed and dead . . . that the Lord spake unto me. [Only then] came the divine communication ‘unto me’.

 

Rabbi bar Chana in the name of Rabbi Yochanan, said that the adult Jews who departed from Egypt had a decree placed on them that they were to die before their children entered the land of Israel. The nation knew that the deaths related to this decree occurred annually on the 9th of Ab. All those who had been twenty or over at the time of the sin of the spies were condemned to die during the forty-year sojourn in the desert. The men died at the age of sixty.^[29]

 

Although G-d, in His mercy, took the lives only of the sixty-year old’s, there was no guarantee that such would be the case every year. Thus, everyone felt fear that he might remain in his grave on the coming Tisha B’Ab and this year might be his last on earth.^[30]

 

On the 9th of Ab, when the Children of Israel sent spies to search the land, the tribes of Joseph and Judah were united: When the spies returned only Joshua and Caleb, from the tribes of Joseph and Judah respectively, remained steadfast in their desire to enter Israel. They serve as the prototypes for the Mashiach ben Yosef, and the Mashiach ben David (Judah), who usher in the Messianic Era.^[31]

 

The Midrash relates that throughout their years in the wilderness, on the eve of the ninth of Ab, a herald would announce, ‘Everyone go out and dig a grave’. Every Israelite dug himself a grave and slept in it that night. The next morning, the herald would cry out, ‘Let the living separate themselves from the dead!’ The survivors left their graves in peace, while the dead [those who had reached sixty years of age] were buried in the graves where they slept. Worms crawled from their navels up to their mouths and they died in the same ignominious fashion as did the spies.^[32]

 

Each year, every man in the age group destined to die would dig a grave for himself and lie down in it on the eve on the 9th of Ab. 15,000 men were destined to die each year on Tisha B’Ab. All those who remained alive come the close of the 9th of Ab would get up, and repeat the same actions the next year. In the fortieth year, everyone arose. Seeing that no one had died, they thought that they might have erred in their calculation of the date, so they returned to their graves every night until the night of the 15^th (Tu B’Ab). On the 15th,^[33] they saw the full moon which indicated that their calculations were correct, and still no one had died. The decree was over, and there was cause for celebration. This meant that HaShem had spared the last 15,000 men. This was truly a day for rejoicing!

 

Furthermore, the Gemara tells us that as long as those destined to die were still alive, the Divine Communication between HaShem and Moshe was on a lower and less personal level, to the extent that the Gemara considers it “no Divine Communication”. Once the 15th of Ab passed and it was confirmed that the decree was no longer, HaShem resumed speaking to Moshe as he had before the enactment of the decree.^[34] As this communication was for the benefit of Israel, the day it returned was a day of rejoicing and celebration. Our celebration of Tu B’Ab is centered around such events, according to the Gemara.^[35]

 

Our psalm portion goes on to detail why HaShem did not have mercy on the Jews in the wilderness. It seems that they were all fired up and repentant on Tisha B’Ab, yet this was just a ‘flash in the pan’ rather than complete teshuva, which results in a changed man. Our psalm sums up that generation with these painful words:

 

Tehillim (Psalms) 78:32 For all this they sinned still, and believed not in His wondrous works.

 

Assaf might as well been summing up all of history with these words, not just the generation in the wilderness. We know that HaShem is always behind the scenes, orchestrating events that will bring the people to an acknowledgment that they must live their lives according to His will. After Mount Sinai, under the tutelage of Moses, the people were capable of refining their very essence and elevating themselves to the lofty goal of shining HaShem’s light into the entire world. To an extent, they did this, but not enough. They fell short on other occasions, as recorded in the Torah, and in the end, it was decreed upon them to die in the Wilderness, only their children entering the Land. Here, although they already attained belief in G-d, they were still not clear that the miracles that were happening before their eyes were explicitly for their benefit. Moses and Aaron were also accused of not believing,^[36] but as with everything, each person is held accountable according to his spiritual level and capabilities. And in relation to the people in general, they, too, possessed awesome capabilities, and the miracles they were witnessing should have catapulted them to the even greater levels expected of them, yet this did not happen.^[37]

 

The sin of the spies and the resulting deaths, on Tisha B’Ab, are commemorated by fasting on the fast of the fifth month. However, this will not go on forever, as the Prophet tells us:

 

Zechariah 8:19 Thus says HaShem of Hosts: “The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall become times of joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts to the house of Judah; therefore love truth and peace.

 

Rav Tzadok HaKohen from Lublin taught that the 9th of Ab will indeed become a holiday, a seven-day festival. (This is analogous to the seven day shiva period where we sit in mourning for those who died on Tisha B’Ab – and we rise at the end of Tu B’Ab^[38]) The first day (9th of Ab) will commemorate the coming of the Messiah. Then there will be Chol HaMoed (intermediate festival days), and on the seventh day (Tu B’Ab^[39]) the Temple will be rebuilt.

 

If Tisha B’Ab (the ninth day of Ab) will be the first day of this future holiday, then Tu B’Ab (the fifteenth day of Ab) will be the seventh day of that holiday. Therefore, just as Succoth and Pesach^[40] have a second day of Yom Tov (added sanctity including a prohibition against labor, unlike the intermediary days (Chol HaMoed) of Yom Tov), so too, Tu B’Ab will be the seventh day of the Yom Tov of Tisha B’Ab with all the days in between being Chol HaMoed. The following table details this relationship:

 

 

 

 

The day when Jews come out of their graves (as did the survivors of that Tisha B’Ab) will mark the spiritual rebirth of the entire nation, symbolized by the building of the Temple. This will be the ultimate resurrection of the dead. Once again, the people will climb out from their graves, as the world reaches its perfection and completion. On that day, the joy in the streets will be echoed in the vineyards surrounding Jerusalem and will reverberate throughout the entire world. In the meantime, let us not repeat the sin of the wilderness generation.

 

We are reading this portion on the first Shabbat after Tu B’Shebat. Our Torah portion speaks about the cleansing procedure for leprosy. How is leprosy connected to Tu B’Shebat? In Vayikra 13:45, we find how one who is afflicted with tzaraat (commonly translated as leprosy) is treated. The verse says “And the leper, upon whom the affliction is, his clothes should be torn, his head should be unkempt, and he should be veiled down until his upper lip, and the words ‘Impure, impure’ he should cry”.

What is the point of the leper crying out the words “Impure, impure?” Rashi explains that the leper is alerting all those near him that he is impure, so they can stay away from him and not become impure themselves. The Gemara, in Shabbat 67a, presents an additional reason for the announcement of “Impure, impure” by the leper. When people hear the leper’s cry, the Gemara tells us, they will understand that he is in pain. Once the masses hear that the leper is in pain and suffering from his affliction, they will pray for his cure. By announcing to the public that he is impure, the leper is putting out a call for prayer, one which he knows his brothers and sisters will answer. These prayers, the leper hopes, will result in the speedy end of his affliction.

 

The Gemara in Shabbat explains that the behavior we see with the leper explains a practice that the Gemara discusses as well. The Gemara, when discussing cures for ailments, writes that “a tree that loses its fruits before they ripen should be dyed with a red paint.” What is the point of dying the tree with red paint? How does the red paint prevent the tree from losing its fruits before they ripen? The point of painting the tree red, the Gemara explains, is the same as the leper calling out that he is impure. When people will pass by and see a red tree, they will know that they are seeing a tree that is not producing fruits properly and is not thriving. As soon as they become aware of this situation, they will pray that the tree should be cured of whatever affliction is causing it to lose its fruit.

 

This Gemara teaches us how we are to value our trees. The Gemara does not it is praiseworthy to pray for the welfare of trees. It does not say that praying for the health of trees is a preferred practice. It says that the red paint is there so that people will see the tree and will pray for the tree. It presumes that people will most definitely pray for the tree the same way people will pray for one of their brethren who is a leper. The health of our trees is vital, and the Gemara lets us know how vital: we take active measures to assure that people will be aware of the predicament of the tree and pray for it!

 

In the bimodal Torah readings, Tu B’Shebat lines up with Tu B’Ab,^[41] the day of rejoicing after these forty years of death on Tisha B’Ab. According to the Talmud,^[42] the Jewish people used to read through the Torah in three and a half years, even as we are doing now. They read it through twice in a seven year Shmita, or Sabbatical cycle.

 

Tu B’Shebat is the masculine festival that is paired with the feminine festival of Tu B’Ab. When divided this way, we can see that Ab is paired with Shebat. And the middle of each month is also a special time on the calendar, as well as being a full moon.

 

The Midrash^[43] says: “Said the Holy One to Israel, ‘My children, all that I have created I created in paired units (zugot).^[44] Heaven and earth are a paired unit. The sun and the moon are a paired unit. Adam and Chava (Eve) are a paired unit. This world and the incoming world are a paired unit...’”. Likewise, the Talmud states, in Baba Bathra 74b, “All that the Holy One created in His world He created male and female, even the Leviathan...”. Thus, we expect that the months will also be paired:

 

 

Forty is a special value throughout Torah but here it has an additional significance. The Talmud teaches that forty days before physical conception takes place it is “announced in heaven” the basic characteristics of the soul that is about to come into the world. What the gender of the soul will be is also determined forty days before:

 

Sotah 2a Rab Judah has said in the name of Rab: Forty days before the creation of a child, a Bath Kol issues forth and proclaims, The daughter of A is for B; the house of C is for D; the field of E is for F!

 

Thus, forty days before the female side of the world comes into existence (the process is always recurring as it states “He renews the creation everyday”) the erect, expanding energy of the masculine tree is releasing its sap and the seed essence of the tree begins rising. Forty days before the male side of the world comes into existence the containing, curved energy of the feminine dance is generating its circle. Tu B’Shebat and Tu B’Ab are the vortex of the cosmic yesod of the world. Forty days before the birth of the world, the divine hormones are released into time to orchestrate HaShem’s calendar.

 

Tu B’Shebat is mystically parallel to Tu B’Ab, the fifteenth day of the Summer month of Ab. Tu B’Ab is forty days before the twenty-fifth of Elul, the date of the beginning of the creation of the world (which is five days prior to Rosh HaShanah). The Gemara, at the end of tractate Taanit, suggests that Tu B’Ab represents the ‘subconscious’ glimmer of love that led to the act of creation. The Baalei HaTosefot, in tractate Rosh HaShanah 27b, say that on Rosh HaShanah, the ‘thought’ of creating humanity entered the Creator’s consciousness. The actual Creation of humanity took place six months later, on the first of the month of Nisan.

 

Tu B’Shebat is forty days before the twenty-fifth of Adar. According to the Baalei HaTosefot, the twenty-fifth of Adar would be the first day of creation of the world, as it is five days before the first of Nisan. Tu B’Shebat would thus be the first glimmer of love before the act of creation. According to Jewish law, it is the day that new sap begins to stir and flow within the fruit trees of the land of Israel. It is the first glimmer of the new fruits that will blossom in Nisan. It is the first glimmer of the chesed that will nourish us in the coming year.

 

The first Mishna of Rosh HaShana states that Tu B’Shebat is the Rosh HaShana for trees with regard to orlah^[45] (that which is cut off – think ‘circumcision’). The new year of Tu B’Shebat significantly affects the status of the trees’ fruit. The Torah does not permit fruits from a tree during its first three years of growth. Tu B’Shebat will terminate the third year as it ushers in the fourth, the year the fruits may be eaten. (The produce of the fourth year must be redeemed by transferring the holiness onto a coin before it is eaten.) This takes effect even though three full years (thirty-six months) have not elapsed. Once the tree has lived past three Tu B’Shebats, the tree is considered to be starting its forth year.

 

It is not sufficient to plant the tree one day before Tu B’Shebat to qualify for the tree’s transformation to it’s second year with the coming of Tu B’Shebat. Rather the tree must be planted by the end of the 15th of Ab, Tu B’Ab, to first utilize the Rosh HaShana of Tishrei and only later utilize the new year of Tu B’Shebat. This is, because during its first few months this young sapling is not yet considered a “tree”. By planting forty-four days before Rosh HaShana (Tishrei) the young sapling enters its second year as a sapling at Rosh HaShana (Tishrei). Only as a “tree” is it affected by Tu B’Shebat. which allows the tree to enter a new year as soon as Tu B’Shebat commences. By the third Tu B’Shebat the tree’s produce which subsequently begins to form, is no longer orlah, and by the fourth it is no longer the fruit that must be redeemed. This is the significance of Tu B’Shebat. This is the energy found in this time of the year.

 

Ashlamatah: Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 9:5-6 + 11:1-9

 

Rashi	Targum
1. The people who walked in darkness, have seen a great light; those who dwell in the land of the shadow of death, light shone upon them.	1. For none that comes to distress them will be wearied. As in the former time the people of the land of Zebulun and the people of the land of Naphtali have gone into exile, and a strong king will exile what remains of them, because they did not remember the prodigy of the sea, the wonders of Jordan, the war of the Gentile fortresses.
2. You have aggrandized this nation; you have magnified the joy for them; they have rejoiced over You like the joy of harvest, as they rejoice when they divide spoils.	2. The people, the house of Israel, who walked in Egypt as in darkness have come out to see a great light; those who dwelt in a land of the shadows of death, on them light shined.
3. For, the yoke of his burden and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of the one who oppressed him have You broken, as on the day of Midian.	3. You have increased the people, the house of Israel, You have increased their joy; they rejoice before You as with the joy of war victors, as men who rejoice when they divide the spoil.
4. For every victory shout sounds with clamor, and garments wallow in blood, but this shall be burnt, consumed by fire.	4. For You have removed the yoke of his mastery and the rule of his tribulation, the ruler who was subjugating him is broken as on the day of Midian.
5. For a child has been born to us, a son given to us, and the authority is upon his shoulder, and the wondrous adviser, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, called his name, "the prince of peace."	5. For all their dealing is with wickedness; they are defiled with sins, even as a garment kneaded in blood whose stain marks are not cleansed from it, just as there is no use for it except to be burned in the fire. Therefore the Gentiles who are strong as the fire will come upon them and kill them.
6. To him who increases the authority, and for peace without end, on David's throne and on his kingdom, to establish it and to support it with justice and with righteousness; from now and to eternity, the zeal of the Lord of Hosts shall accomplish this.  {P}	6. The prophet said to the house of David, For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and he will accept the law upon himself to keep it, and his name will be called before the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, existing forever, "The messiah in whose days peace will increase upon us."  {P}
1. And a shoot shall spring forth from the stem of Jesse, and a twig shall sprout from his roots.	1. And a king will come forth from the sons of Jesse, and the Messiah will be exalted from the sons of his sons.
2. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, a spirit of wisdom and understanding, a spirit of counsel and heroism, a spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord.	2. And a spirit before the LORD will rest upon him (the Messiah), a spirit of wisdom and understanding, a spirit of counsel and might, a spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
3. And he shall be animated by the fear of the Lord, and neither with the sight of his eyes shall he judge, nor with the hearing of his ears shall he chastise.	3. And the LORD will bring him (the Messiah) near to His fear. And he will not judge by the sight of his eyes, and he will not reprove by the hearing of his ears;
4. And he shall judge the poor justly, and he shall chastise with equity the humble of the earth, and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth and with the breath of his lips he shall put the wicked to death.	4. but in truth he (the Messiah) will judge the poor, and reprove with faithfulness for the needy of the people; and he will strike the sinners of the land with the command of his mouth, and with the speaking of his lips the wicked will die.
5. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faith the girdle of his loins.	5. And the righteous/generous will be all around him (the Messiah), and the faithful will be brought near him.
6. And a wolf shall live with a lamb, and a leopard shall lie with a kid; and a calf and a lion cub and a fatling [shall lie] together, and a small child shall lead them.	6. In the days of the Messiah of Israel will peace increase in the land. and the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the kid, and the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little suckling child will lead them.
7. And a cow and a bear shall graze together, their children shall lie; and a lion, like cattle, shall eat straw.	7. The cow and the bear will feed; their young will lie down together; and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8. And an infant shall play over the hole of an old snake and over the eyeball of an adder, a weaned child shall stretch forth his hand.	8. And the suckling child will play over the hole of an asp, and the weaned child will put his hands on the adder's eyeballs.
9. They shall neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mount, for the land shall be full of knowledge of the Lord as water covers the sea bed. {S}	9. They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the fear of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. {S}
10. And it shall come to pass on that day, that the root of Jesse, which stands as a banner for peoples, to him shall the nations inquire, and his peace shall be [with] honor. {P}	10. And it will come to pass in that time that to the son of the son of Jesse who is about to stand as an ensign to the peoples, to him will kingdoms be obedient, and his resting place will be glorious. {P}

 

Rashi’s Commentary to: Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 9:5-6 + 11:1-9

 

1 The people who walked in darkness The inhabitants of Jerusalem, who were darkened by their concern [of falling into the hands] of Sennacherib. Comp. with what Hezekiah said (infra 7:3), “This day is a day of distress, debate, and blasphemy.” 

 

have seen a great light with Sennacherib’s downfall. 

 

2 You have aggrandized this nation They have become aggrandized to all who hear of them, when the nations heard the miracles that were performed for them.

 

You have magnified the joy for them Heb. לוֹ, [lit. for him.] And not for his enemies. It is written לֹא, [spelled ‘lammed aleph,’ meaning ‘not,’] since Hezekiah’s joy was incomplete, because, at that time it was said to him (infra 39: 6), everything in your palace...will be carried off to Babylonia.”

 

like the joy of harvest Jonathan renders: like the joy of the victors of a battle, which is similar to the harvest; those who slay men cut throats. Scripture deviated from being explicit [lit. changed its language] to expound that the miracle took place on the night of the harvest of the omer.

 

as they rejoice when they divide spoils of Egypt in Moses’ time, for here, too, they divided the spoils of Cush and Egypt and the coveted treasures of all the nations, for, when he returned from Tirhakah, king of Cush, he came to Jerusalem with all the treasures of Cush and Egypt, as it is stated (infra 45:14): “The toil of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush and the Sebaites...” And all this Hezekiah and his people plundered.

 

3 For the yoke of his burden The yoke which was a burden to Hezekiah, and that he bent his shoulder for this heavy burden to pay harsh tribute, and the rod with which he had oppressed Hezekiah.

 

have You broken You broke them together in one night.

 

like the day of Midian in Gideon’s time, for they, too, fell together in one night, and on the night of the harvest of the Omer, as it is said (Judges 7:13): “And behold, a roasted cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian.” 

 

For, every victory shout sounds with clamor Heb. כִּי כָל־סְאוֹן סֹאֵן בְרַעַשׁ. Some (Machbereth Menachem, p. 125, who claims that the root is סא interpret this as an expression of a ‘seah’ and a measure, as our Rabbis expounded it (Sotah 8b, Tosefta 3:1, Mid. Psalms 91:2, [where the Rabbis interpret this passage to mean that a person is rewarded with the same measure he metes out to others]), but, according to the simple interpretation of the language of the Scriptures, it is impossible to explain it as an expression [of a ‘seah,’] since the ‘vav’ and the ‘nun’ are not radicals but like שָׁאוֹן from שׁוֹאֶה, and הָמוֹן from הוֹמֶה, and חָרוֹן from חָרָה, this root will not assume a verb form with a ‘nun’ to say סוֹאֵן, but סוֹאֶה, just as from הָמוֹן, we say הוֹמֶה, and from שָׁאוֹן, שׁוֹאֶה, but one does not say: שׁוֹאֵן, הוֹמֵן, חוֹרֵן. I [therefore,] say that its interpretation is according to the context, and that it is hapax legomenon in Scripture. Its interpretation is an expression of a shout of victory in battle. [We, therefore, explain the words: כָל־סְאוֹן סֹאֵן בְרַעַשׁ כִּי as follows:] The sound of [var. every] victory of any victor in war, is with clamor; it is the galloping of horses and the striking of shields against each other. And the garments of those killed in battle wallowing in blood. But in this victory there is no clamor, and there is no blood.

 

but this shall be burnt He shall be burnt, consumed by fire.

 

5 For a child has been born to us Although Ahaz is wicked, his son who was born to him many years ago [nine years prior to his assuming the throne] to be our king in his stead, shall be a righteous man, and the authority of the Holy One, blessed be He, and His yoke shall be on his shoulder, for he shall engage in the Torah and observe the commandments, and he shall bend his shoulder to bear the burden of the Holy One, blessed be He.

 

and...called his name The Holy One, blessed be He, Who gives wondrous counsel, is a mighty God and an everlasting Father, called Hezekiah’s name, “the prince of peace,” since peace and truth will be in his days. 

 

6 To him who increased the authority To whom will He call this name? To the king who increases the authority of the Holy One, blessed be He, upon himself, to fear Him.

 

authority an expression of government. [This is to refute those who disagree with us [the Christians]. But it is possible to say that “Prince of Peace,” too, is one of the names of the Holy One, blessed be He, and this calling of a name is not actually a name but an expression of (var. for the purpose of) greatness and authority. Comp. (Ruth 4:11) “And be famous (וּקְרָא שֵׁם) in Bethlehem. Also (II Sam. 7:9, I Chron. 17:8): “And I shall make for you a name.” Here too, Scripture means, “And He gave him a name and authority.”]

 

and for peace which is given to him, there will be no end, for he had peace on all his sides, and this “end” is not an expression of an end to eternity, but there will be no boundaries. On the throne of the kingdom of David shall this peace be justice and righteousness that Hezekiah performed.

 

and for peace Heb. וּלְשָׁלוֹם. This ‘vav’ is to rectify the word, thus: He [Hezekiah] increased the authority upon his shoulder, and what reward will He [God] pay him? Behold, his peace shall have no end or any limit.

 

from now and to eternity The eternity of Hezekiah, viz. all his days. And so we find that Hannah said concerning Samuel (I Sam. 1:22): “and abide there forever.” And, in order to refute those who disagree [i.e., the Christians, who claim that this (Prince of Peace) is their deity], we can refute them [by asking], What is the meaning of: “from now”? Is it not so that the “deity” did not come until after five hundred years and more?

 

the zeal of the Lord of Hosts Who was zealous for Zion concerning what Aram and Pekah planned about it.

 

shall accomplish this but Ahaz does not deserve it, moreover, the merit of the Patriarchs has terminated. Addendum: And our Rabbis said: The Holy One, blessed be He, wished to make Hezekiah the Messiah and Sennacherib, Gog and Magog. Said the ministering angels before the Holy One, blessed be He, Should the one who stripped the doors of the Temple and sent them to the king of Assyria, be made Messiah? Immediately, Scripture closed it up.

 

Chapter 11

 

1 And a shoot shall spring forth from the stem of Jesse And if you say, ‘Here are consolations for Hezekiah and his people, that they shall not fall into his hands. Now what will be with the exile that was exiled to Halah and Habor, is their hope lost?’ It is not lost! Eventually, the King Messiah shall come and redeem them.

 

a shoot [This is symbolic of] the royal scepter.

 

and a twig an expression of a sapling.

 

and a twig shall sprout from its roots and the entire section, and at the end (v. 11), “And it shall come to pass, that on that day, the Lord shall apply His hand again...[from Assyria]...Hence, [it is obvious] that this prophecy was said to console those exiled to Assyria.

 

3 And he shall be animated by the fear of the Lord He shall be filled with the fear of the Lord. [ed enos mera il luy in O.F., and He shall be enlivened.]

 

and neither with the sight of his eyes shall he judge For, with the wisdom of the Holy One, blessed be He, which is within him, will he know and understand who is innocent and who is guilty.

 

4 with equity This is an expression of mildness and tenderness.

 

and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth As the Targum states: And he shall smite the sinful of the earth.

 

and with the breath of his lips Jonathan [renders:] And with the speech of his lips.

 

5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins Jonathan [renders:] And the righteous shall surround him; i.e., they will cleave to him like a girdle (robe).

 

6 and a fatling a fattened ox [following Jonathan]. 

 

8 shall play Heb. וְשִׁעֲשַׁע, shall play.

 

over the hole of an old snake over a hole in the ground in which the snake makes its nest [krot in O.F.], a cave.

 

an old snake פֶּתֶן. A snake, when it ages, becomes deaf and is called פֶּתֶן. From then on, it cannot be charmed; as it is said (Psalms 58:6): “Who will not hearken to the voice of charmers.”

 

and over the eyeball of a venomous snake Jonathan renders: the eyeballs of venomous snakes [מְאוּרַת from אוֹר, light]. Menahem (Machbereth Menachem p. 32) interpreted it as an expression of a hole, namely holes in the ground. Comp. (Gen. 11:28) “The valley of the Chaldees (אוּר) ”; (infra 24:15) “In the valleys (בָּאוּרִים) honor the Lord.”

 

a weaned child a child weaned from his mother’s breasts.

 

shall stretch forth his hand Heb. הָדָה. Jonathan renders: shall stretch forth his hands (sic). Comp. (Ezekiel 7:7) “The joyful call (הֵד) of the mountains, also (infra 16:9) “The cry (הֵידָד),” which is an expression of raising the voice. This, too, is an expression of raising, and the final [letter] ‘heh’ appears in it as a radical which sometimes falls out, like  עָשָׂה(made), בָּנָה (built), קָנָה (acquired). 

 

9 knowledge of the Lord [lit.] to know the Lord. 

 

10 as a banner for peoples that peoples should raise a banner to gather to him. 

 

Special Ashlamatah for the First Sabbath of Penitence  Jeremiah 1:1 – 2:3

 

Rashi	Targum
1. ¶ The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin.	1. ¶ The words of the prophecy of Jeremiah the son of Hilqiah, one of the leaders of the course of the priests, of the temple officers who were in Jerusalem: the man who received his inheritance in Anathoth in the land of the tribe of Benjamin,
2. To whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.	2. with whom was the word of prophecy from before the LORD in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, the king of the tribe of the house of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.
3. And he was in the days of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the end of eleven years of Zedekiah son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month.  {P}	3. And it continued in the days of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of the tribe of the house of Judah, until the eleventh year of his brother Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, the king of the tribe of the house of Judah, was completed; until Nebu­chadnezzar the king of Babylon came and besieged Jerusalem for three years and took the people who were in it into exile, in the fifth month.
4. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:	4. And the word of prophecy from before the LORD was with me, saying:
5. When I had not yet formed you in the womb, I knew you, and when you had not yet emerged from the womb, I had appointed you; a prophet to the nations I made you.	5. "Before I created you from the womb I established you, and before you came into the world I appointed you; I designated you as a prophet who should make the nations drink a cup of cursing,”
6. And I said, "Alas, O Lord God! Behold, I know not to speak for I am a youth. {S}	6. But I said: “Receive my petition, O LORD God. See, I do not know how to prophesy. because I am a youth;and from my beginning I have been prophesying trouble and exile about this people.” {S}
7. And the Lord said to me; Say not, "I am a youth," for wherever I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak.	7. And the LORD said to me: “Do not say, ‘I am a youth’; for you will go to every place I send you, and all that I command you, you will prophesy.
8. Fear them not, for I am with you to save you, says the Lord.	8. Do not be afraid from before them, for My Memra will be at your assistance to deliver you, says the LORD.”
9. And the Lord stretched out His hand and reached my mouth, and the Lord said to me; Behold, I have placed My words in your mouth.	9. And the LORD sent the words of his prophecy. and set them in order in my mouth; and the LORD said to me; “Behold. I have put the words of My prophecy in your mouth.
10. Behold, I have appointed you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to uproot and to crush, and to destroy and to demolish, to build and to plant. {P}	10. See that I have appointed you today over the nations and over the kingdoms - to uproot and to tear down, and to destroy and to break up; and over the house of Israel - to build and to establish.” {P}
11. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: What do you see, Jeremiah? And I said, "I see a rod of an almond tree."	11. ¶ And the word of prophecy from before the LORD was with me, saying: “What do you see, Jeremiah?” And I said: “I see a king hastening to do evil.”
12.  And the Lord said to me; You have seen well, for I hasten My word to accomplish it.  {S}	12. Then the LORD said to me: “You have seen well; for I am hastening concerning My Word, to do it.” {S}
13. And the word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying: What do you see? And I said, "I see a bubbling pot, whose foam is toward the north."	13. And the word of prophecy from before the LORD was with me a second time, saying: “What do you see?” And 1 said: “I see a king who seethes like a cauldron. and the arrangement of his troops who are advancing and coming from the direc­tion of the north.”
14. And the Lord said to me; From the north the misfortune will break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.	14. And the LORD said to me: “From the north evil will begin to come upon all the inhabitants of the land.
15. For, behold I am summoning all the families of the kingdoms of the north, says the Lord, and they will come and place, each one his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem and against all its walls around and against all the cities of Judah.	15. For behold, I am summoning all the descendants of the kingdom of the north, says the LORD; and they will come and each set up his throne in front of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all her walls round about, and against all the cities of the house of Judah.
16. And I will utter My judgments against them concerning all their evil, that they left Me and offered up burnt-offerings to other gods and they prostrated themselves to the work of their hands.	16. And I will utter the punishment army judgment on them concerning all their wickedness; for they have forsaken my worship and have offered up incense to the idols of the nations and have become enslaved to the works of their hands.
17. And you shall gird your loins and arise and speak to them all that I command you; be not dismayed by them, lest I break you before them.	17. But you, strengthen your loins and stand up and prophesy to them all that I command you: do not hold back from reproving them, lest I should break you before them.
18. And I, behold I have made you today into a fortified city and into an iron pillar, and into copper walls against the entire land, against the kings of Judah, against its princes, against its priests, and against the people of the land.	18. And behold, I have made you today as strong as a fortified city, and like a pillar of iron, and like a bronze wall, so that you may give a cup of cursing to drink to all the inhabitants of the land. to the kings of the house of Judah, to her princes, to her priests, and to the people of the land.
19.  And they shall fight against you but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you says the Lord, to save you. {P}	19. And they will dispute and fight before you so as to destroy the words of your prophecy; but they will not prevail over you, because My Memra will be at your assistance to deliver you, says the LORD." {P}
1. ¶ And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:	1. ¶ And a word of prophecy from before the LORD was with me, saying:
2. Go and call out in the ears of Jerusalem, saying: so said the Lord: I remember to you the loving-kindness of your youth, the love of your nuptials, your following Me in the desert, in a land not sown.	2. “Go, and prophesy before the people who are in Jerusalem, saying: Thus says the LORD. I remember in your favor the good things of the days of old, the love of your fathers who believed in My Memra and followed My two messengers. Moses and Aaron, in the wilderness for forty years without provisions in a land not sown.
3. Israel is holy to the Lord, the first of His grain; all who eat him shall be guilty, evil shall befall them, says the Lord.  {P}	3. The house of Israel are holy before the LORD - in respect of those who plunder them - like fruits of heave-offering of harvest of which whoever eats is guilty of death; and like firstlings of harvest, the sheaf of the heave-offering, of which everyone who eats, before the priests the sons of Aaron offer it as a sacrifice upon the altar is guilty. {P}

 

Rashi’s Commentary on Yirm’yahu (Jeremiah) 1:1 – 2:3‎

 

Chapter 1

 

1 The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah Let the son of the corrupt woman, whose deeds are proper Jeremiah was descended from Rahab the harlotand let him reprove the son of the righteous woman whose deeds are corrupt these are Israel who corrupted their deeds who are descended from legitimate seed.

 

2 To whom the word of the Lord came Upon whom the Shechinah commenced to rest at that time.

 

3 And he was in the days of Jehoiakim And he was a prophet all the remaining days of Josiah, the days of his son Jehoiakim, and the days of his son Zedekiah, until the end of the eleventh yearthat is the yearuntil the exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month.

 

5 When I had not yet formed you in the womb, etc. Since the days of the first man. The Holy One, blessed be He, showed Adam each generation and its prophets.

 

I...formed you Heb. אצרך, an expression of צורה, a form.

 

I knew you connois toi in O.F. Comp. (Exodus 6:3), “I was not known (נודעתּי) to them.”

 

I appointed you I appointed you for this.

 

a prophet to the nations To Israel, who behave like the nations. In this manner it is expounded in Sifrei on the verse: “A prophet from your midst, etc.” (Deut. 18:15), will set up for you and not for those who deny the Torah. How then do I fulfill “A prophet to the nations I made you”? To the children of Israel who deport themselves with the customs of the nations. It can further be interpreted: “A prophet for the nations,” like “About the nations,” to give them to drink the cup of poison, to prophesy retribution upon them, as it is said: “Take this cup of the wine of wrath from My hand, you shall give all the nations to drink of it” (infra 25:15). Another explanation of “When you had not yet emerged from the womb I appointed you” is: Concerning you I said to Moses: “I will set up a prophet...like you” (Deut. 18:18). This one reproved them, and this one reproved them. This one prophesied for forty years and this one prophesied for forty years.

 

6 Alas This is an expression of wailing (konpljjnt in 0.F.).

 

for I am a youth I am not worthy to reprove them. Moses reproved them shortly before his death, when he was already esteemed in their eyes through the many miracles that he had performed for them. He had taken them out of Egypt, split the Reed Sea for them, brought down the manna, caused the quails to fly, given them the Torah, brought up the well. I come to reprove them at the beginning of my mission.

 

7 wherever I send you to the heathens.

 

and whatever I command you to Israel, you shall speak.

 

9 And the Lord stretched forth His hand Every sending mentioned concerning a hand is an expression of stretching forth. Another explanation is like the Targum: And the Lord sent the words of His prophecy.

 

10 I have appointed you I have appointed you over the heathens.

 

to uproot and to crush (depayser in French, to uproot) and over Israel to build and to plant if they heed. So did Jonathan paraphrase it.

 

11 a rod of an almond tree (amendleer in O.F.) Jonathan, however, renders: A King who hastens to do evil.

 

12 You have seen well This almond tree hastens to blossom before all other trees. I, too, hasten to perform My word. And the Midrash Aggadah (Ecc. Rabbah 12:8) explains: An almond tree takes twenty-one days from its blossoming until it is completely ripe, as the number of days between the seventeenth of Tammuz, when the city was broken into, until the ninth of Ab, when the Temple was burnt.

 

13 a bubbling pot [lit. blown up,] seething (boillant in French).

 

whose foam [lit. and its face,] its seething (et ses ondes in O.F.) [and its waves].

 

14 From the north the misfortune will break forth Babylon is on the north of Eretz Israel.

 

16 And I will utter My judgments against them I will debate with them, with Judah and Jerusalem.

 

17 And you shall gird your loins This is an expression of quickening like a man of valor.

 

18 against the Kings of Judah lit. to the Kings of Judah.

 

19 And they shall fight against you They shall quarrel and fight against you to refute the words of your prophecy.

 

Chapter 2

 

2 I remember to you Were you to return to Me, I would desire to have mercy on you for I remember the loving kindness of your youth and the love of the nuptials of your wedding canopy, when I brought you into the wedding canopy, and this (כלולתיך) is an expression of bringing in. Your nuptials (Noces in O.F.). Now what was the loving kindness of your youth? Your following My messengers, Moses and Aaron, from an inhabited land to the desert without provisions for the way since you believed in Me.

 

3 Israel is holy like terumah.

 

the first of His grain Like the first of the harvest before the Omer, which it is forbidden to eat, and whoever eats it is liable, so will all those who eat him be guilty. So did Jonathan render it. 

 

Verbal Tallies

By: H. Em. Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David

& H.H. Giberet Dr. Elisheba bat Sarah

 

Vayikra (Leviticus) 12:1 – 13:28

Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 9:5-6 + 11:1-9

Tehillim (Psalms) 78:41-55

1 Pet 2:9-10, Lk 10:21-24, Acts 28:17-32

 

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Psalm are:

Israel - ישראל, Strong’s number 03478.

Day - יום, Strong’s number 03117.

 

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Ashlamata are:

LORD - יהוה, Strong’s number 03068.

Childen / Son - בן, Strong’s number 01121.

Born - ילד, Strong’s number 03205.

 

Vayikra (Leviticus) 12:1-2 And the LORD <03068> spake unto Moses, saying, 2  Speak unto the children <01121> of Israel <03478>, saying, If a woman have conceived seed, and born <03205> (8804) a man child: then she shall be unclean seven days <03117>; according to the days <03117> of the separation for her infirmity shall she be unclean.

 

Tehillim (Psalms) 78:41 Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel <03478>.

Tehillim (Psalms) 78:42 They remembered not his hand, nor the day <03117> when he delivered them from the enemy.

 

Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 9:6 For unto us a child is born <03205> (8795), unto us a son <01121> is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 11:2 And the spirit of the LORD <03068> shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;

 

Hebrew:

 

 

 

Greek:

 

GREEK	ENGLISH	Torah Reading Lev 11:1-47	Psalms 78:22-40	Ashlamatah Is. 40:16-26	Peshat Mishnah of Mark, 1-2 Peter, & Jude 1 Pet 2:4-8	Tosefta of Luke Lk 10:13-16	Remes/Gemara of Acts/Romans and James Acts 28:7-16
ἅγιον	holy	Lev. 11:44 Lev. 11:45		Isa. 40:25	1Pe 2:5
ἀκούω	hear			Isa 40:21		Lk. 10:16	Acts 28:15
ἄν	ever	Lev 11:M:Y32 Lev 11:33  Lev 11:34  Lev 11:35				Lk. 10:13
ἀνάγω	takes up, leading	Lev 11:3 Lev 11:4 Lev 11:5 Lev 11:6 Lev 11:7 Lev 11:45					Acts 28:10 Acts 28:11
ἄνθρωπος	man, men		Psa 78:25		1 Pet. 2:4
ἀποστέλλω	sent		Psa 78:25			Lk. 10:16
ἄρχομαι	rule, began			Isa 40:23
γῆ	land, earth, ground	Lev. 11:2 Lev. 11:21 Lev. 11:29 Lev. 11:41 Lev. 11:42 Lev. 11:44 Lev. 11:45 Lev. 11:46	Psa 78:40	Isa. 40:21 Isa. 40:22 Isa. 40:23 Isa. 40:24
γίνομαι	became, had been done				1 Pet. 2:7	Lk. 10:13	Acts 28:8 Acts 28:9
δύναμις	power, mighty works		Psa 78:26			Lk. 10:13
εἴδω	behold			Isa 40:26			Acts 28:15
ἐκλεκτός	chosen ones		Psa 78:31		1 Pet. 2:4 1 Pet. 2:6
ζάω	living	Lev 11:10			1 Pet. 2:4 1 Pet. 2:5
ἡμέρα	day		Psa 78:33				Acts 28:7 Acts 28:12 Acts 28:13 Acts 28:14
θεός	God	Lev. 11:44 Lev. 11:45	Ps. 78:22 Ps. 78:31 Ps. 78:35		1 Pet. 2:4 1 Pet. 2:5		Acts 28:15
νότος	south		Psa 78:26				Acts 28:13
ὄνομα	name			Isa 40:26			Acts 28:7
οὐκοῦν	no way	Lev 11:43			1Pe 2:6
οὐρανός	heavens		Ps. 78:23 Ps. 78:24 Ps. 78:26	Isa. 40:22		Lk. 10:15
πιστεύω	trust, believes		Psa 78:22 Psa 78:32		1 Pet. 2:6 1 Pet. 2:7
πλήν	except	Lev 11:4 Lev 11:36				Lk. 10:14
ποιέω	make, made, did, do	Lev. 11:32		Isa. 40:23
προσέρχομαι	forward				1 Pet. 2:4		Acts 28:9
σάκκος	sackcloth	Lev 11:32				Lk. 10:13
τιμή	honored				1 Pet. 2:7		Acts 28:10
ὑψόω	exalted			Isa 40:25		Lk. 10:15
χείρ	hand	Lev 11:27					Acts 28:8

 

 

PIRQE ABOT

Pereq Vav

Mishnah 6:11

Hakham Yitschaq (ben Moshe) Magriso

 

 

 

 

All that God created in His world, He created only for His glory. It is thus written [that God said], "All is called in My name; for My glory I have created it, formed it, and also made it" (Isaiah 43:7). It is also written, "God will reign forever and ever" (Exodus 15:8).

 

When a jewel is purchased with much money, it is extremely precious to its owner. Therefore, since the Torah specifically states that God "purchased" the five things mentioned above, it is an indication that these things are very dear to Him. It is for this reason that He calls these things His possessions" or "purchases.”

 

It is thus written that the Torah said, "God purchased me at the beginning of His way, before His works from eternity" (Proverbs 8:22). The Torah is telling how it was created two thousand years before the universe, and how it is a purchase and possession (kinyan) of God. This verse thus indicates that the Torah is one of God's special posses­sions.

 

The second of God's special possessions is heaven and earth. It is written that God said, "The heavens are My throne, and the earth is My footstool. What kind of house can you build for Me? What shall be My resting place?" (Isaiah 66:1). Actually, this verse makes no mention of heaven and earth being God's possession. However, it does note that God made the heavens His Throne of Glory, and this indicates that they are very precious to Him. Similarly, since the earth is His footstool. it is obviously also very highly esteemed.

 

Besides this, in another verse, there is a clear indication that heaven and earth are called God's possessions. It is written, "How great are Your works, 0 God, You made them all with wisdom; the world is fil­led with Your possessions" (Psalms 104:24). If the earth is esteemed as God's "possession," then the heavens must be all the more precious to Him.

 

The third special possession was Abraham. It is thus written, "[Malkhitzedek] blessed [Abram] and said, 'Blessed be Abram to God most high, who possesses heaven and earth'" (Genesis 14:19). Abraham was blessed to the highest God, and he gained possession of heaven and earth through his good deeds. Heaven and earth were created through Abraham's merit (zekhuth). Since heaven and earth were God's special possessions, we must say that the status of Abraham, for whose sake they were created, was no less. Since Abraham was the cause of the creation of heaven and earth, he is cer­tainly more highly esteemed than they. Obviously, then, Abraham is also one of God's special possessions.

 

The fourth special possession of God is Israel. It is thus written, "Until Your people pass over, 0 God; until the people that you made, Your possession pass over" (Exodus 15:16). The verse clearly speaks of Israel as one of God's possessions. This is true even when they are not good. It is thus written (that God said), "The holy ones are in the ground, the mighty ones in whom is all My delight" (Psalms 16:3). Even when the Israelites are not good, God holds them in esteem because of the saints who are buried in the earth. The reference is to the Patriarchs (avoth olam).

 

The fifth of God's special possessions is the Holy Temple (Beth HaMikdash). It is thus written, "Your hands, 0 lord, have set up a sanctuary (mikdash)" (Exodus 15:18). This verse indicates that the Holy Temple was made by God with His two "hands." Obviously, then, it is more precious to God than heaven and earth, since the latter were made with only one "hand." God thus said, "My hand has founded the earth, and My right hand has spread out the heavens" (Isaiah 48:13). Thus, heaven and earth were each created by one "hand" of God. However, as we have seen earlier, they are both called God's possessions. Therefore, the Holy Temple, which was made with both of God's "hands" is obviously also esteemed as one of His possessions.

 

These are the five things which are called God's possessions, because they have a special status in His esteem.

 

Now, after the master has discussed these five things, he speaks about the rest of creation. He says that verything was created by God for no other reason than for His glory. God thus said, "All is called by My name; for My glory I have created it, formed it and also made it" (Isaiah 43:7). God said that He created everything for His glory, so that all things should serve Him.

One might argue that this is only true of the heavenly realm, where the angels, seraphim and ophanim are ready to serve God, hallowing His name and praising Him constantly, as we describe in the Yotzer prayer [before the morning Sh'ma. However, here in the world below, most people commit many sins. Instead of serving God, they are constantly angering Him through their evil deeds. How is this part of God's plan?

 

To this the master replies by quoting the verse, "God will reign forever and ever" (Exodus 15:18). In the ultimate future God will eradicate the evil Other Side (Sitra Uchra) from the world, and then God will be One and His name One. All the nations in the world will know that God is real, and that there is no other god than He. It is in order to realize this goal that the world was created.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NAZAREAN TALMUD

Sidra Of Vayiqra (Lev.) 12:1 – 13:28

“Ishah Khi Tazria’a” “[When] a woman conceives seed”

By: H. Em. Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham &

Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

 

Hakham Shaul’s School of Tosefta Mishnah א	Hakham Tsefet’s School of Peshat Mishnah א
¶And turning to the talmidim, he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see the things which you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see the things which you see, and did not see them, and to hear the things which you hear, and did not hear[46] them.”	¶ But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light; who once were not a nation but are now God’s Nation, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy
School of Hakham Shaul Remes (2 Luqas [Acts].) Pereq א
And now it happened that after three days, he called together those who were the most prominent of the Jews. And when they had assembled, he said to them, “Men and brethren, although I had done nothing against our people or the Mesorah of our fathers, from Yerushalayim I was delivered as a prisoner into the hands of the Romans, who, when they had examined me, were wanting to release me, because there was no basis for an accusation worthy of death with me. But because the Sadducees objected, I was forced to appeal to Caesar (not as if I had any charge to bring against my own people). Therefore for this reason I have requested to see you and to speak with you, for because of the hope of Israel I am wearing this chain!”[47] And they said to him, “We have received no letters about you from Judea, nor has any of the brothers come and reported or spoken anything evil about you. But we would like to hear from you what you think, for concerning this sect it is known to us that it is spoken against everywhere.”

 

 

 

 

Commentary to Hakham Tsefet’s School of Peshat

 

Before we can understand Hakham Tsefet’s pericope we must ask ourselves the following questions.

 

1. But you are a chosen generation,

 

What does the phrase “chosen Generation” imply/mean

2. a royal priesthood,

 

Who is a Royal Priesthood?

 

3. a holy nation,

 

Who is a Holy Nation?

 

4. His own special people

 

Who are His (G-d’s) Special People?

 

5. that you may proclaim the praises of Him

 

What occupation is given to His special people?

 

6. who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light;

 

What does this statement mean?

 

7. who once were not a people but are now God’s Nation,

 

who were a not a Nation of G-d?

 

8. who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy

 

What does it mean to obtain “chesed” G-d’s loving kindness?

 

From these questions, we write a short paragraph as an answer to what this statement as a pericope, paragraphically commenting on the present Torah Seder means.

 

From the “Six Basic Elements of Peshat and Remes Discourse of the Nazarean Codicil” identify their relationship in 1 Tsefet (Pe) 2:9-10 as translated above.

 

1. Identify the context in which this Peshat was crafted;

 

2. Identify the parties or stake-holders of this Peshat debate;

 

3. Controversy of a Mitzvah or Mitzvoth in question;

 

4. Contestation against the Hillelite interpretation of the mitzvah or mitzvoth in question;

 

5. Riposte of the Master or Hakham;

 

6. Verdict concluded by the Master or Hakham (Halakha).

 

 

 

 

Commentary to Hakham Shaul’s School of Remes

 

What are we to learn from the narrative of a Jewish Hakham, bound in chains and dragged to Rome?

 

The opening question is its own invitation to launch into the allegory. Therefore, having sufficient time to learn the difference from Peshat and Allegory we will dispense with the introductory comments and go directly to the allegory of our present Narrative.

 

The narrative begins with “Prominent Jewish men” i.e. Royal Anashim. These men “assemble” with Hakham Shaul. However, the language being allegory posits a deeper meaning from our narrative. The Royal Anashim have come to join in the single enterprise of finalizing the Talmudizing the Gentiles.^[48] But it is necessary to know when this “assembling” takes place. “After Three Days,” the Jewish Royal Anashim join Hakham Shaul to make an inquisition concerning the “Sect” of the Nazareans. The allegorical phrase “three days” refers to the beginning of the Y’mot HaMashiach. Here we find the seminal spark of Hakham Tsefet built upon by Hakham Shaul. After three days, Messiah would raise from the grave. However, the “three days” are not “days.” Hakham Tsefet told us that we should be counting by “thousands.” After three thousand years (two days and entering the third) Messiah (the Jewish people) will rise again never to die again.^[49]

 

The Jewish Hakhamim have been bound by Rome and unable to tell the tale of the true Messiah. They have been bound in the chains of Roman propaganda. The Romans “Priests” (the Tz’dukim) have fostered lies concerning the “Sect of the Nazareans,” the “Hope of Yisrael.” Bound by Roman chains, the Hakhamim and Royal Anashim have been unable to be true Maggidim to the world at large. This is because the world at large is under the bondage of Rome as well.^[50] The Peshat narrative tells us that the “elements” will dissolve with great “heat.” The Greek word used for “dissolve” is λύω – luo. On a simpler note, this word means to “loose.” It is contrasted to Hakham Shaul’s “chains” ἅλυσις – halysis. As noted in the footnote above ἅλυσις – halysis, chain, carries the connotation of not (α) being loose λύω – luo. Some lexicons are non-definitive and fail to make this connection. In other words, Hakham Shaul and the Jewish Hakhamim are not “loose” λύω – luo. However, after two days their “chains” (ἅλυσις – halysis) will be dissolved (λύω – luo). Their teachings will foster the “New Heavens and New Earth.^[51] The wise will understand.

 

Yesha’Yahu (Isaiah) 63:1 Who is this who comes from Edom (Rome), from the city of Bozrah, with his clothing stained red (with blood)? Who is this in Royal Robes, marching in his great strength? "It is I, the LORD, announcing your salvation! It is I, the LORD, who has the power to save!"

 

The Nazarean Codicil is exact in its predictions. The allegorical mind can build and understand exactly what is being said when they learn to read between the lines. Pilatus cohort took a Jewish Messiah (King of the Jews) dressed in Roman robes, crowned as a pagan deity, worshiped falsely as a god, then they stripped him of his Roman garb and crucified like a common criminal.^[52] Not only did Pilatus refuse to acknowledge Yeshua as the Messiah, his cohort of nearly 600 men incessantly mocked Yeshua by placing a robe of purple and crown made of thorns on him. Then to show their disdain for the Jewish Messianic concept they spat and struck him repeatedly with a reed as it is written, “I gave my back to the smitters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting. (Isa 50:6).” The refusal of Rome to accept and acknowledge Yeshua as the Messiah is not relegated to a few Roman soldiers from Pilatus’ militia. Rome has refused to accept Yeshua as the Messiah, establishing a pseudo-messiah. Replacement theology has relegated Messiah to a mockery of his true character and mission. The difficulty being, Christianity (Rome) has yet to accept a Jewish Messiah! The “Jesus” some believed in was a blond-haired hippie type effeminate rebel, who was in rebellion against the “establishment,” which at that time they thought was the Jewish religion. Much to their surprise Yeshua turned out to be a pro – Torah Rabbi of the first century promoting Rabbinic halakhah. Only after embracing the Jewish interpretation of Messiah can one say, “I accepted Yeshua as the Messiah!”

 

There is no such thing as a Gentile Messiah!

 

Amen v’amen

 

Some Questions to Ponder:

 

1. From all the readings for this Shabbat which verse or verses impressed your heart and fired your imagination?

 

2. From all the Tanakh: Torah Seder (Lev. 12:1 – 13:28), Psalms (78: 41-55), Prophets (Is. 9:5-6 + 11:1-9) readings for this week, which particular verse or passage taught you about the role of Messiah as described in the Nazarean Codicil readings for this week?

 

3. From the Nazarean Codicil readings for this week, which particular verse taught you about the role of Mosheh Rabbenu as described in the Tanakh readings for this week?

 

4. Taking into consideration all the readings for this Shabbat what is the prophetic statement for this week?

 

Blessing After Torah Study

 

Barúch Atáh Adonai, Elohénu Meléch HaOlám,

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

Barúch Atáh Adonái, Notén HaToráh. Amen!

 

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

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

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

 

“Now unto Him who is able to preserve you faultless, and spotless,

and to establish you without a blemish,

before His majesty, with joy, [namely,] the only one God, our Deliverer,

by means of Yeshua the Messiah our Master, be praise, and dominion,

and honor, and majesty, both now and in all ages. Amen!”

 

Next Shabbat:

Shabbat: “B’Rosh” – “On the Head”

&

Second Sabbath of Three Sabbaths of Penitence &

Mevar’chim HaChodesh Ab – Proclamation of the New Moon/Month of Ab

(Sunday Evening 23^rd of July – Monday Evening 24^th of July)

 

 

   

Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David

Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham