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

Three and 1/2 year Lectionary Readings	Second Year of the Triennial Reading Cycle
Tebet 23, 5773 – Jan 04/Jan 05, 2013	Fifth Year of the Shmita Cycle

Candle Lighting and Habdalah Times:

Conroe & Austin, TX, U.S. Fri. Dec 28 2012 – Candles at 5:26 PM Sat. Dec 29 2012 – Habdalah 6:23 PM	Brisbane, Australia Fri. Dec 28 2012 – Candles at 6:29 PM Sat. Dec 29 2012 – Habdalah 7:27 PM	Chattanooga, & Cleveland, TN, U.S. Fri. Dec 28 2012 – Candles at 5:24 PM Sat. Dec 29 2012 – Habdalah 6:24 PM
Jakarta, Indonesia Fri. Dec 28 2012 – Candles at 5:54 PM Sat. Dec 29 2012 – Habdalah 6:46 PM	Manila & Cebu, Philippines Fri. Dec 28 2012 – Candles at 5:10 PM Sat. Dec 29 2012 – Habdalah 6:14 PM	Miami, FL, U.S. Fri. Dec 28 2012 – Candles at 5:25 PM Sat. Dec 29 2012 – Habdalah 6:21 PM
Olympia, WA, U.S. Fri. Dec 28 2012 – Candles at 4:18 PM Sat. Dec 29 2012 – Habdalah 5:28 PM	Murray, KY, & Paris, TN. U.S. Fri. Dec 28 2012 – Candles at 4:32 PM Sat. Dec 29 2012 – Habdalah 5:34 PM	San Antonio, TX, U.S. Fri. Dec 28 2012 – Candles at 5:31 PM Sat. Dec 29 2012 – Habdalah 6:28 PM
Sheboygan & Manitowoc, WI, US Fri. Dec 28 2012 – Candles at 4:03 PM Sat. Dec 29 2012 – Habdalah 5:16 PM	Singapore, Singapore Fri. Dec 28 2012 – Candles at 6:53 PM Sat. Dec 29 2012 – Habdalah 7:45 PM	St. Louis, MO, U.S. Fri. Dec 28 2012 – Candles at 4:34 PM Sat. Dec 29 2012 – Habdalah 5:3\7PM

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

Roll of Honor:

This Torah commentary comes to you courtesy of:

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

His Honor Paqid Adon Mikha ben Hillel

His Honor Paqid Adon David ben Abraham

Her Excellency Giberet Sarai bat Sarah & beloved family

His Excellency Adon Barth Lindemann & beloved family

His Excellency Adon John Batchelor & beloved wife

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

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

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

Her Excellency Giberet Laurie Taylor

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

Her Excellency Prof. Dr. Conny Williams & beloved family

Her Excellency Giberet Gloria Sutton & beloved family

His Excellency Adon Albert Carlsson and beloved wife Giberet Lorraine Carlsson

His Excellency Adon John Hope & beloved family

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

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

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

We wish to sincerely thank His Honour Paqid Adon David ben Abraham (Chris Cheong), His Excellency Adon Barth Lindemann, His Excellency Adon Bruce Fitzgerald, His Excellency Adon Jamie Perkins, Their Excellencies Adon John and Michele Hope, and Her Excellency Giberet Laurie for their most kind contributions towards the needs of computer and scanner for the work of Ha-Shem, most blessed be He. To all of them we pray that G-d remembers their kindnesses and supply in all overabundance all of their needs, amen ve amen!

Shabbat:

“V’Et Yehudah Shalakh” - “And Yehudah he sent”

&

Sabbath of the Proclamation of the New Moon for the Month of Shebat

(Next Shabbat/Sabbath)

Shabbat	Torah Reading:	Weekday Torah Reading:
וְאֶת-יְהוּדָה שָׁלַח
“V’Et Yehudah Shalakh”	Reader 1 – B’resheet 46:28-34	Reader 1 – B’resheet 47:29-31
“And Yehudah he sent”	Reader 2 – B’resheet 47:1-4	Reader 2 – B’resheet 48:1-3
“Y Jacob envió a Judá”	Reader 3 – B’resheet 47:5-7	Reader 3 – B’resheet 48:3-6
B’resheet (Gen) 46:28 – 47:28 BeMidbar (Num) 28:9-15	Reader 4 – B’resheet 47:8-10
Ashlamatah: Zech 10:6-12 + 11:4-11 I Sam. 20:18,42	Reader 5 – B’resheet 47:11-13
	Reader 6 – B’resheet 47:14-19	Reader 1 – B’resheet 47:29-31
Psalm 38:1-23	Reader 7 – B’resheet 47:20-28	Reader 2 – B’resheet 48:1-3
N.C.: Mk. 4:21-25; Lk. 11:35-36, 8:16-18; Acts 10:34-43	Maftir – BeMidbar 28:9-15	Reader 3 – B’resheet 48:3-6
	Zech 10:6-12 + 11:4-11 I Sam. 20:18,42

Blessings Before Torah Study

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan

for: B’resheet (Genesis) 46:28 – 47:28

Rashi	Targum Pseudo Jonathan
28. He sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph, to direct him to Goshen, and they came to the land of Goshen.	28. And he sent Jehuda before him to Joseph to indicate the way before him, to subdue the pillars of the earth, and to provide him a house of dwelling in Goshen. And they came to the land of Goshen. JERUSALEM: To prepare him a place of habitation in Goshen.
29. And Joseph harnessed his chariot, and he went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and he appeared to him, and he fell on his neck, and he wept on his neck for a long time.	29. And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father in Goshen; and his father, before he recognised him, worshipped him, and thus became liable to be shortened (or cut off) in his years. And he wondered, and beheld him, and fell upon his neck, and wept still upon his neck, because he had worshipped him.
30. And Israel said to Joseph, "I will die this time, since I have seen your face, that you are still alive."	30. And Israel said to Joseph, If at this time I die, I am Comforted: for with the death that the righteous/ generous die will I die, after seeing your face, because you are yet alive.
31. Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's household, "I will go up and tell Pharaoh, and I will say to him, 'My brothers and my father's household who were in the land of Canaan have come to me.	31. And Joseph said to his brethren and his father's house, I will go up and tell Pharaoh, and say to him, My brethren and my father's house from the land of Kenaan have come to me.
32. The men are shepherds, for they were [always] owners of livestock, and their flocks and their cattle and all they have they have brought.'	32. The men are pastors of sheep; for they are [royal] men, the masters of flocks; and their sheep and oxen and all which they have, they have brought.
33. And if it comes to pass that Pharaoh calls you and asks, 'What is your occupation?'	33. And it must be, when Pharaoh calls you, and says, Tell me, what is your work?
34. You shall say, 'Your servants have been owners of livestock from our youth until now, both we and our ancestors,' so that you may dwell in the land of Goshen, because all shepherds are abhorrent to the Egyptians."	34. you must say, Your servants have been masters of flocks from our youth until now: that you may dwell in the land of Goshen; because the Mizraee reject all shepherds.
1. Joseph came and told Pharaoh, and he said, "My father and my brothers and their flocks and their cattle and all that is theirs, have come from the land of Canaan, and behold, they are in the land of Goshen."	1. And Joseph came and informed Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brethren, with their sheep all oxen and all that they have, are come from the land of Kenaan, and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen.
2. And from among his brothers he took five men, and he presented them before Pharaoh.	2. And from the extreme of his brethren he took five men, Zebulon, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher, and presented them before Pharaoh.
3. And Pharaoh said to his brothers, "What is your occupation?" And they said to Pharaoh, "Your servants are shepherds, both we and our forefathers."	3. And Pharaoh said to Joseph's brethren, What is your work?
4. And they said to Pharaoh, "We have come to sojourn in the land, for your servants' flocks have no pasture, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen."	4. And they said to Pharaoh, Your servants are pastors of sheep, both we and our fathers. And they said to Pharaoh, To dwell in the land are we come, because there is no place of pasture for your servants' sheep, for the famine has prevailed in the land of Kenaan; let your servants therefore now dwell in the land of Goshen.
5. And Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, "Your father and your brothers have come to you.	5. And Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, Your father and your brethren have come to you.
6. The land of Egypt is [open] before you; in the best of the land settle your father and your brothers. Let them dwell in the land of Goshen, and if you know that there are capable men among them, make them livestock officers over what is mine."	6. The land of Mizraim is before you. In the fairest part of the land make your father and your brethren to dwell: let them dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know any among them men of ability, appoint them masters over my flocks.
7. So Joseph brought his father Jacob and stood him before Pharaoh, and Jacob greeted Pharaoh.	7. And Joseph brought Ya’aqob his father, and presented him before Pharaoh. And Ya’aqob blessed Pharaoh, and said, May it please the Almighty that the waters of the Nile may be replenished, and may the famine pass away from the world in your days!
8. And Pharaoh said to Jacob, "How many are the days of the years of your life?"	8. And Pharaoh said to Ya’aqob, How many are the days of the years of your life?
9. And Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The days of the years of my sojournings are one hundred thirty years. The days of the years of my life have been few and miserable, and they have not reached the days of the years of the lives of my forefathers in the days of their sojournings."	9. And Ya’aqob answered Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years. Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life; for in my youth I fled before Esau my brother, and sojourned in a land not my own; and now in the time of my old age have I come down to sojourn here. And my days have not reached the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.
10. So Jacob blessed Pharaoh and left Pharaoh's presence.	10. And Ya’aqob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.
11. Joseph settled his father and his brothers, and he gave them property in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had mandated.	11. And Joseph brought his father and brethren to dwell, and gave them a possession in the land of Mizraim, in a goodly part of the country, in the country of Pilusin, as Pharaoh had commanded. JERUSALEM: Pelusim
12. And Joseph sustained his father and his brothers and his father's entire household [with] bread according to the young children.	12. And Joseph sustained his father and his brethren and all his father's house with bread, according to the need of their families.
13. Now there was no food in the entire land, for the famine had grown exceedingly severe, and the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan were exhausted because of the famine.	13. But there was no bread (grown) in all the land, because the famine prevailed greatly, and the inhabitants of the land of Mizraim failed, and the dwellers in the land of Kenaan, in presence of the famine.
14. And Joseph collected all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan with the grain that they were buying, and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house.	14. And Joseph collected all the money which was found in the land of Mizraim, and in the land of Kenaan, for the grains which he sold to them; and Joseph brought the money into the treasure--house of Pharaoh.
15. Now the money was depleted from the land of Egypt and from the land of Canaan, and all the Egyptians came to Joseph, saying, "Give us food; why should we die in your presence, since the money has been used up?"	15. And the money was finished from the land of Mizraim, and from the land of Kenaan; and the Mizraee came to Joseph, saying, Give us bread; why should we die before you? For all our money is finished. JERUSALEM: And has failed.
16. And Joseph said, "Give [me] your livestock, and I will give you [food in return] for your livestock, if the money has been used up."	16. And Joseph said, Give your flocks, and for your flocks I will give you provisions, if the money be consumed.
17. So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them food [in return] for the horses and for the livestock in flocks and in cattle and in donkeys, and he provided them with food [in return] for all their livestock in that year.	17. And they brought their cattle to Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread for their horses, and for the flocks of sheep, the oxen, and the asses; and he sustained them with bread for all their flocks for that year
18. That year ended, and they came to him in the second year, and they said to him, "We will not hide from my lord, for insofar as the money and the property in animals have been forfeited to my lord, nothing remains before my lord, except our bodies and our farmland.	18. And that year being ended, all the Mizraee came to him, in the second year, and said to him, We will not hide it from my lord, that the money is finished and my lord has the flocks of cattle: there is nothing left us before my lord except our bodies, and our land.
19. Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our farmland? Buy us and our farmland for food, so that we and our farmland will be slaves to Pharaoh, and give [us] seed, so that we live and not die, and the soil will not lie fallow."	19. Why should we die and your eye seeing (it), both we and our land also? Buy us, and our land, for bread, and we and our land will be servants of Pharaoh, and give the seed of corn, that we may live and not die, and the land be not desolated.
20. So Joseph bought all the farmland of the Egyptians for Pharaoh, for the Egyptians sold, each one his field, for the famine had become too strong for them, and the land became Pharaoh's.	20. And Joseph bought all the land of Mizraim for Pharaoh; for the Mizraee sold every man his portion, because the famine prevailed over them, and the land became the property of Pharaoh.
21. And he transferred the populace to the cities, from [one] end of the boundary of Egypt to its [other] end.	21. And the people of a province he removed to a city, and the people of the city he removed to a province, for the sake of the brethren of Joseph, that they might not be called wanderers: therefore he made them migrate from one end of Mizraim to the other. JERUSALEM: And the people who were dwelling in the province he removed into the city; and the people who dwelt in the city he removed into the province, that they might not deride the sons of Ya’aqob, and call them Galilean (wandering) guests.
22. Only the farmland of the priests he did not buy, for the priests had an allotment from Pharaoh, and they ate their allotment that Pharaoh had given them; therefore, they did not sell their farmland.	22. Only the land of the priests he bought not because they had considered him innocent at the time when his master was seeking to put him to death, and they had delivered him from the judgment of death: and besides he had said that a portion should be given them from Pharaoh. So they ate the portion which Pharaoh gave them, and sold not their land.
23. Joseph said to the people, "Behold, I have bought you and your farmland today for Pharaoh. Behold, you have seed, so sow the soil.	23. And Joseph said to the people, Behold, I have this day bought you and your land for Pharaoh: behold, (I give) you seed corn to sow the land;
24. And it shall be concerning the crops, that you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh, and the [remaining] four parts shall be yours: for seed for [your] field[s], for your food, for those in your houses, and for your young children to eat."	24. and at the time of the ingathering of your produce you will give the fifth part to Pharaoh, and four parts will be yours, for the seeding of your land, and for food and for provision for your houses and little ones.
25. They replied, "You have saved our lives! Let us find favor in my lord's eyes, and we will be slaves to Pharaoh."	25. And they said, You have preserved us: let us find favour in the eyes of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's servants.
26. So Joseph made it a statute to this day concerning the farmland of Egypt for the one fifth. Only the farmland of the priests alone did not become Pharaoh's.	26. And Joseph established it a law unto this day over the land of Mizraim to take to Pharaoh a fifth part of the produce, except only the land of the priests which was not Pharoh's.
27. And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt in the land of Goshen, and they acquired property in it, and they were prolific and multiplied greatly.	27. And Israel dwelt in the land of Mizraim, and they built there schools and houses in the land of Goshen, and inherited therein fields and vineyards; and they increased and multiplied greatly.
28. And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt for seventeen years, and Jacob's days, the years of his life, were a hundred and forty seven years.	28. And Ya’aqob lived in the land of Mizraim seventeen years. And the sum of the days of Ya’aqob, of the days of his life, was a hundred and forty and seven years.

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan for: B’midbar (Numbers) 28:9-15

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

Summary of the Torah Seder – B’resheet (Genesis) 46:28 – 47:28

· Ya’aqob’s family in Egypt – Gen. 46:28-34

· Joseph reports to Pharaoh – Gen. 47:1-6

· Joseph Introduces His Father to Pharaoh – Gen. 47:7-10

· Joseph Supports His Family – Gen. 47:11-12

· Taxation Principle – Gen. 47:13-28.

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.

Reading Assignment:

The Torah Anthology: Yalkut Me’Am Lo’Ez - Vol IIIb: Joseph in Egypt

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

Published by: Moznaim Publishing Corp. (New York, 1990)

Vol. 3b – “Joseph in Egypt,” pp. 474-490

Rashi’s Commentary for: B’resheet (Gen.) 46:28 – 47:28

28 to direct him Heb. לְהוֹרֽת לְפָנָיו, as the Targum renders (לְפַנָאָה קֳדָמוֹהִי), to clear a place for him and to show him how to settle in it.

him [Lit., ahead of him.] Before he would arrive there. The Aggadic interpretation of [לְהוֹרֽת] is [that there should be teaching]: to establish for him a house of study, from which teaching would emanate. [From Tanchuma Vayigash 11]

Note From The Hakham: The Hebrew Text here has: וְאֶת-יְהוּדָה שָׁלַח (Lit. “And he sent Yehudah with Et”) – This “V’Et” implies a feminine “something” in connection with Yehudah, and thus alluding to the “Bet Midrash” (a feminine word in Hebrew) that Yehudah was commanded to establish by his father Ya’aqob, and further corroborating the explanation of Rashi and Midrash Tanchuma. (See also Acts 10:36 for a similar construction.)

Further the verse reads: “And he sent Judah before him unto Joseph, to show the way before him unto Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen.” The etymology of the proper noun “Goshen” means “cultivated,” or “pouring forth.”[1] Both “cultivation” and “pouring forth” are also figuratively speaking activities connected with a Bet Midrash. This is intimated to us in Hos. 4:6 – “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge [of the Torah]; because you have rejected knowledge [of the Torah], I will also reject you, that you will be no priest to Me; seeing you have forgotten the Law of your God, I also will forget your children.”

HaRav Zekharyah Tobi and translated by HaRav Meir Orlian further elucidates this name, stating:[2]

Parshat Vayigash tells of the descent of Yaakov and the tribes to Egypt and the designation of their dwelling place, "the land of Goshen," as it says: "Yosef said to his brothers ... when Pharaoh summons you ... Then you are to say, 'Your servants have been cattlemen' ... so that you may be able to settle on the land of Goshen." So it was, "Israel settled in the land of Egypt in the land of Goshen; they acquired property in it and they were fruitful and multiplied greatly." (ch. 46-47)

What was special about that place called "the land of Goshen," and why was it called by this name?

The simple understanding is that this place was far from the Egyptian population, to be separate from the Egyptians and not to be influenced by Egyptian culture. Therefore, Yosef sought to settle his brothers there. The Kli Yakar writes: "The purpose of all of this was to distance them from Pharaoh, so that they would settle in the land of Goshen." This has a practical lesson for our days also, that we should seek to live in a place that is not subject to non-Jewish influence.

However, the Midrash (Pirkei D'Rabbi Eliezer ch. 26) has an additional, deeper understanding:

R. Tarfon says: That night [that Pharaoh took Sara] was Pesach eve, and G-d brought upon Pharaoh and his house great plagues, to foreshadow that he is destined to smite the Egyptians with great plagues. R. Yehoshua b. Korcha says: Due to Pharaoh's great love, he wrote to her [Sara] all of his assets, whether silver or gold, whether slaves or real estate, and he wrote to her the land of Goshen as an estate, therefore Yisrael settled in the land of Goshen, because it belonged to Sara, our matriarch.

What emerges from the Midrash is that Israel settled in the Land of Goshen because this place belonged to Sara. What does this mean? The word "Goshen" means, 'went forward,' as in Vayigash, like the word "gesh hala," meaning establishing a relationship. Pharaoh gave Sara the land of Goshen as an estate, because he wanted to form a relationship with her though giving this to her, as the Midrash says: "On account of his love to her he wrote to her all of his assets." However, Sara did not succumb to Pharaoh's persuasion and remained faithful to Avraham Avinu. "The land of Goshen" became a symbol of distance from non-Jews. Sara planted in Am Yisrael the strength to guard themselves from mixing with the non-Jews, and this strength was in the place called the Land of Goshen. Therefore, Israel settled in the land of Goshen, because this place was a symbol of distancing from the nations and refusal to come close to them.

If we pay attention, our parsha is called Vayigash, based on the verse, "Vayigash elav Yehuda." The word Vayigash and the word 'Goshen" are from the same root, 'gash,' which means relationship, as it says, 'vayigash vayishak lo." Despite this, there this an opposite meaning. The Midrash interprets "Vayigash elav Yehuda" to mean 'coming forth to battle. (Yalkut Shimoni 247) This is the meaning of gesher (bridge), that it is between two sides, and each one observes his uniqueness. This is a relationship that does not join.

This is exactly the land of Goshen - a land that Am Yisrael connected with because it is the estate of Sara. However, this place has the quality of separation from the nations, as Sara kept her uniqueness and kept separate from Pharaoh. Therefore, this land, on the one hand, is the place of exile, and it has a connection to the subjugating land. On the other hand, it indicates a connection that does not negate the uniqueness of the sides, a connection that each party is separate to himself. Thus, the Divine Hashgacha ensured that Bnei Yisrael would sit in the land of Egypt in the place that is their estate so that they would not be subject to the Egyptian rules, as a ruler does not have control over place that is not in his jurisdiction.

This a lesson for all generations, as the Rambam writes: (Hil. Deot 6:1):

The nature of man is to be drawn in his thoughts and actions after his companions and friends, to act like the people of his nation. Therefore, a person has to join the righteous and to sit always in their presence so that he will learn from their actions. This is what Shlomo Hamelech said: "One who walks with the wise, will grow wise, but the companion of fools will be broken." (Mishlei 13:20) It further says, "Praiseworthy is the man who walked not in the counsel of the wicked ... But his desire is in the Torah of Hashem, andd in his Torah he meditates day and night."

29 And Joseph harnessed his chariot He personally harnessed the horses to the chariot to hasten to honor his father. [From Mechilta, Beshallach section 1]

and he appeared to him Joseph presented himself to his father.

and he wept on his neck for a long time Heb. עוֹד וַיֵבְךְ, an expression of profuse weeping, and likewise, “For He will not place additional [guilt] on a man” (Job 34:23), an expression of profusion. He (God) does not place upon him additional accusations over [and above] his sins. Here too he wept greatly and continuously, more than was usual. Jacob, however, neither fell on Joseph’s neck nor kissed him. Our Sages said that he was reciting the Shema. [From Derech Eretz Zuta 1:10, ed. Hager, p. 62; quoted in Bereishith Zuta ; Yichusei Tannaim va’Amoraim, p. 180, Teshuvoth Hageonim, ch. 45]

30 I will die this time Its simple meaning is as the Targum renders. [If I should die this time, I would be consoled.] Its midrashic interpretation is, however: I thought that I would die two deaths, in this world and in the next world, because the Shechinah had left me, and I thought that the Holy One, blessed be He, would hold me responsible for your death. Now that you are still alive, I will die but once. [From Tanchuma Vayigash 9]

31 and I will say to him, ‘My brothers, etc.’—and I will further say to him, ‘The men are shepherds, etc.’

34 so that you may dwell in the land of Goshen which you need, for it is a land of pasture, and when you tell him that you are not skilled at any other work, he will send you away from him and settle you there.

are abhorrent to the Egyptians Because they (the sheep) are their gods.

Chapter 47

2 And from among his brothers From the most inferior of them in regards to physical strength, [i.e., those] who did not appear strong, for if he [Pharaoh] recognized them as being strong, he would make them his warriors. They are the following: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, and Benjamin, those whose names Moses did not double when he blessed them (Deut. 33), but the names of the strong ones he doubled, [as follows:] “And this is for Judah…Hear, O Lord, the voice of Judah” (Deut. 33:7). “And regarding Gad he said, ‘Blessed be He Who granted space to Gad’ ” (ibid. 20). “And regarding Naphtali he said, ‘Naphtali’s wishes shall be well satisfied’ ” (ibid. 23). “And regarding Dan, he said, ‘Dan is a young lion’ ” (ibid. 22). And so on for Zebulun (ibid. 18), and for Asher (ibid. 24). This is a quotation from Genesis Rabbah (95:4), which is the Aggadah of Eretz Israel. In our Babylonian Talmud, however, we find that those whose names Moses doubled were the weak ones, and it was they whom he brought before Pharaoh. As for Judah (the sixth one), whose name was doubled, however, it was not doubled because of weakness, but there is a[nother] reason for it, as is stated in Baba Kamma (92a). In the Baraitha of Sifrei, in “Vezoth Haberachah” (354) we learn as in our Talmud. [I.e., the Sifrei identifies the five brothers as does the Talmud, namely that the five brothers were Gad, Naphtali, Dan, Zebulun, and Asher.]

6 capable men Skillful in their occupation of pasturing sheep.

over what is mine Over my flocks.

7 and Jacob greeted Heb. וַיְבָרֶךְ. This is a greeting, as is customary for all who occasionally present themselves before monarchs, saluder in Old French. [From Tanchuma Nasso 26]

9 the years of my sojournings The days of my being a stranger. All my days, I have been a stranger in the land.

and they have not reached in goodness.

10 So Jacob blessed According to the custom of all those who leave the presence of princes, that they bless them and take their leave. Now what blessing did he bless him? That the Nile should rise at his approach, because Egypt does not drink rain water, but the Nile rises and waters it, and since Jacob’s blessing, Pharaoh would come to the Nile, and it would rise to greet him and water the land. [From Tanchuma, Nasso 26]

11 Rameses That is [part] of the land of Goshen.

12 [with] bread according to the young children According to what was required for all the members of their household.

13 Now there was no food in the entire land It (Scripture) returns to the earlier topic, to the beginning of the famine years. [From Gen. Rabbah 89:9]

were exhausted An expression of exhaustion, as the Targum renders ואשתלהי, and similar to this is “Like one who wearies himself shooting firebrands” (Prov. 26:18).

14 with the grain that they were buying they gave him the money.

15 has been used up Heb. אָפֵס, as the Targum renders: שְׁלִים, [meaning] is ended.-[Rashi]

17 and he provided them Heb. וַיְנַהֲלֵם, similar to וַיְנַהֲגֵם, and he guided them, and similar to this is “She has no guide (מְנַהֵל)” (Isa. 51:18),”He leads me (יְנַהֲלֵנִי) beside still waters” (Ps. 23:2).

18 in the second year The second of the famine years.

for insofar as the money and the property in animals have been forfeited, etc.-Heb. כִּי אִם. For insofar as the money and the property have been forfeited and everything has come into my lord’s possession.

except our bodies Heb. בִּלְתִּי, like אִם א גְוִיָתֵנוּ, if not our bodies.

19 and give [us] seed- [with which] to sow the soil. Although Joseph said, “and [for] another five years there will be neither plowing nor harvest” (Gen. 45:6), as soon as Jacob came to Egypt, blessing came with his arrival, and they started to sow, and the famine ended. So we learned in the Tosefta of Sotah (10:1-3).

will not lie fallow Heb. א תֵּשָׁם, will not be desolate, [and Onkelos renders:] לָא תְבוּר, an expression denoting a fallow field (שָׂדֶה בוּר), which is not plowed.

20 and the land became Pharaoh’s-I.e., it was acquired by him.

21 And he transferred the populace Joseph [transferred them] from city to city so that they would remember that they have no more share in the land, and he settled those of one city in another (Targum Onkelos). Scripture did not have to write this except to let you know Joseph’s praise, that he intended to remove the stigma from his brothers, so that they (the Egyptians) would not call them exiles. [From Gen. Rabbah 89:9, Chul. 60b]

from [one] end of the boundary of Egypt, etc. So he did with all the cities in the kingdom of Egypt, from one end of its boundary to the other end of its boundary.

22 the priests Heb. הַכּֽהֲנִים, the priests. Every instance of כּֽהֵןmeans a minister to deities, except those that are an expression of high rank, like “the governor (כּֽהֵן) of Midian” (Exod. 2:16), “the governor (כּֽהֵן) of On” (Gen. 41:45). [From targumim]

the priests had an allotment An allotment of so much bread per day.

23 Behold Heb. הֵא, equivalent to הִנֵה, as in: “behold (הֵא) I have laid your way on [your] head” (Ezek. 16:43). [From targumim]

24 for seed for [your] field[s] Every year.

for those in your houses For food for the man-servants and maidservants who are in your houses.

your young children Heb. טַפְּכֶם, young children.

25 Let us find favor-that you should do this for us, as you have said.

and we will be slaves to Pharaoh to pay him this tribute every year as a statute that will not be repealed.

27 And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt Where? In the land of Goshen, which is [part] of the land of Egypt.

and they acquired property in it Heb. וַיֵאָחֲזוּ בָהּ, [which is] an expression of אֲחֻזָה, holding.

28 And Jacob lived Why is this section [completely] closed? Because, as soon as our father Jacob passed away, the eyes and the heart of Israel were “closed,” (i.e., it became “dark” for them) because of the misery of the slavery, for they (the Egyptians) commenced to subjugate them. Another explanation: That he (Jacob) attempted to reveal the End [of the exile] to his sons, but it was “closed off” (concealed) from him. [This appears] in Gen. Rabbah (91:1).

Welcome to the World of Remes Exegesis

Thirteen rules compiled by Rabbi Ishmael b. Elisha for the elucidation of the Torah and for making halakic deductions from it. They are, strictly speaking, mere amplifications of the seven Rules of Hillel, and are collected in the Baraita of R. Ishmael, forming the introduction to the Sifra and reading a follows:

1. Ḳal wa-ḥomer: Identical with the first rule of Hillel.
2. Gezerah shawah: Identical with the second rule of Hillel.
3. Binyan ab: Rules deduced from a single passage of Scripture and rules deduced from two passages. This rule is a combination of the third and fourth rules of Hillel.
4. Kelal u-Peraṭ: The general and the particular.
5. u-Peraṭ u-kelal: The particular and the general.
6. Kelal u-Peraṭ u-kelal: The general, the particular, and the general.
7. The general which requires elucidation by the particular, and the particular which requires elucidation by the general.
8. The particular implied in the general and excepted from it for pedagogic purposes elucidates the general as well as the particular.
9. The particular implied in the general and excepted from it on account of the special regulation which corresponds in concept to the general, is thus isolated to decrease rather than to increase the rigidity of its application.
10. The particular implied in the general and excepted from it on account of some other special regulation which does not correspond in concept to the general, is thus isolated either to decrease or to increase the rigidity of its application.
11. The particular implied in the general and excepted from it on account of a new and reversed decision can be referred to the general only in case the passage under consideration makes an explicit reference to it.
12. Deduction from the context.
13. When two Biblical passages contradict each other the contradiction in question must be solved by reference to a third passage.

Rules seven to eleven are formed by a subdivision of the fifth rule of Hillel; rule twelve corresponds to the seventh rule of Hillel, but is amplified in certain particulars; rule thirteen does not occur in Hillel, while, on the other hand, the sixth rule of Hillel is omitted by Ishmael. With regard to the rules and their application in general. These rules are found also on the morning prayers of any Jewish Orthodox Siddur.

Ketubim: Targum Tehillim (Psalms) 38:1-23

Rashi	Targum on the Psalms
1. A song of David, to make remembrance.	1. A psalm of David. A handful of incense, a good memorial for Israel.
2. O Lord, do not reprove me with Your anger, nor chastise me with Your wrath.	2. O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your anger, and do not punish me in Your wrath.
3. For Your arrows have been shot into me, and Your hand has come down upon me.	3. For Your arrows have descended on me, and the blow of Your hand rests upon me.
4. There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your fury; there is no peace in my bones because of my sin.	4. There is no healing in my body because of Your anger, no health in my limbs because of my sin.
5. For my iniquities passed over my head; as a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.	5. For my sins have mounted past my head; like a heavy burden, they were too heavy for me.
6. My boils are putrid; they fester because of my folly.	6. My wounds stank, they decayed, because of my foolishness.
7. I am very much stunned and bowed; all day I go around in gloom.	7. I am bent over, I am greatly bowed down; all the day I have gone about in gloom.
8. For my loins are full of self- effacement; there is no soundness in my flesh.	8. For my loins are filled with burning, and there is no healing in my body.
9. I passed out and was very crushed; I moaned from the turmoil in my heart.	9. I have become faint and I have been humbled greatly; I moaned because of the groaning of my heart.
10. O Lord, all my desire is before You, and my sigh is not hidden from You.	10. O LORD, before you is all my desire; and my sighing is not hid from you.
11. My heart is engulfed; my strength has left me, and the light of my eyes- they too are not with me.	11. My heart has become hot; my strength has left me, and the light of my eyes even they are not with me.
12. My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my affliction, and those close to me stood afar.	12. My friends and companions stood away from the sight of my plague; and my relatives stand far off.
13. And those who seek my life lay traps, and those who seek my harm speak treachery, and all day long they think of deceits.	13. And those who seek my life have made traps; and those who seek my ruin have uttered lies, and they murmur deceit all the day.
14. But I am as a deaf person, I do not hear, and like a mute, who does not open his mouth.	14. But I am like a deaf man, I will not hear, like a mute who does not open his mouth.
15. And I was as a man who does not understand and in whose mouth are no arguments.	15. And I have become like a man who has never heard, and there is no rebuke in his mouth.
16. Because I hoped for You, O Lord; You shall answer, O Lord, my God.	16. For in Your presence, O LORD, have I prayed; You will accept my prayer], O LORD my God.
17. For I said, "Lest they rejoice over me; when my foot faltered, they magnified themselves over me."	17. For I said, "Lest they rejoice over me." When my foot stumbled, they vaunted themselves over me.
18. For I am ready for disaster, and my pain is always before me.	18. For I am prepared for disaster, and my pain is before me always.
19. For I relate my iniquity; I worry about my sin.	19. For my sin I will relate, I will be troubled by my sin.
20. But my enemies are in the vigor of life, and those who hate me for false reasons have become great.	20. But my enemies, alive, have grown strong; those who hate me through deceit are numerous.
21. And they repay evil for good; they hate me for my pursuit of goodness.	21. And those who repay evil for good oppose me, because I have pursued good.
22. Do not forsake me, O Lord, my God; do not distance Yourself from me.	22. Do not forsake me, O LORD; my God, do not be far from me.
23. Hasten to my aid, O Lord, my salvation.	23. Hasten to my aid, O LORD, my redemption.

Meditation from the Psalms

Psalms 37:21-40

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

The superscription of this Psalm ascribes authorship to David. This series of four psalms concluding with Psalm 41 (the final psalm of the first book) deals with one theme; the illness with which David was afflicted as a result of his sins. Rather than viewing his sickness as a purely negative experience, David sought to learn from it and share with posterity the lessons and insights which he gained from suffering.[3]

Contrast David’s expressions of the pain and suffering he has endured because of his sin, in our psalm, with Ya’aqob’s expression of his suffering, in our parasha.

Beresheet (Genesis) 47:9 And Jacob said unto Pharaoh: 'The days of the years of my sojournings are a hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojournings.'

Tehillim (Psalms) 38:7 I am bent and bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day.

We can clearly see that David’s life is modelled after the life of Ya’aqob. He is using our parasha to comment on his own suffering.

According to many commentators, this psalm also contains a deeper message, as it expresses the feelings of the entire nation of Israel which suffers from the ravages of the long, dark exile. It concludes with a hopeful plea for swift redemption.[4] This is a fitting psalm for our Torah portion where the Bne Israel are beginning their first exile.[5] Though the exile begins in pleasantness, it does not end that way.

Our Sages teach that The Bne Israel[6] were sent, four times, into exile because of their sins. These were not petty issues, but premeditated wickedness. Thus we can understand that exile was/is the tikkun, the correction, for premeditated wickedness. However, HaShem has big plans for His world. He is going to have the Jews do double duty. In addition to being fixed up for their sin, they will also be role models for the Gentiles. To understand this, we need to understand that Gentiles, not proselytes, are given to Israel as an inheritance:

Tehillim (Psalm) 2:7-9 I will declare the decree: HaShem has said unto me, you are my son; this day have I begotten you. 8 Ask of me, and I will give you the heathen[7] for your inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession. 9 You will break them with a rod of iron; you will dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

It seems that when we are sent into exile, we provide an example that causes the Gentiles to either become proselytes, or to be condemned. Further, when we went into exile, we did not go alone. When we went into Egypt, the prototype for all exiles, we did not go alone. Notice Who went with us.

Beresheet (Genesis) 46:3-4 And he said, I am G-d, the G-d of your father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of you a great nation: 4 I will go down with you into Egypt; and I will also surely bring you up: and Joseph will put his hand upon your eyes.

Thus we see that G-d[8] accompanied us into exile. We did not go alone! However, this is not the only unusual thing about our exiles. In all of human history, exiles of a nation out of their country have been very rare. It’s a highly unusual phenomenon to take a whole nation and exile them from their country. Multiple exiles are unheard of, since, after the first one, the distinctive people disappear as they become assimilated among the other peoples. As a matter of fact, in human history, multiple exiles and dispersions are unique only to the Jewish people.

Not only is the concept of multiple exiles and dispersion, of the Jews, unique in history, the very survival of the Jews is a singular event. No other nation has ever survived without a homeland. Yet, from the destruction of the second Temple in seventy CE until the rebirth of the modern State of Israel in the twentieth century, the Jewish people survived in the Diaspora without a state. The Talmud offers the following explanation for the phenomenon of galut:[9]

Pesachim 87b R. Eleazar said: Even when the Holy One, blessed be He, is angry, He remembers compassion, for it is said, for I will no more have compassion upon the house of Israel.[10] R. Jose son of R. Hanina said [i.e., deduced] it from this: that I would in any wise pardon them. R. Eleazar also said: The Holy One, blessed be He, did not exile Israel among the nations save in order that proselytes might join them, for it is said: And I will sow her unto Me in the land;[11] surely a man sows a seah in order to harvest many kor!

The Children of Israel were exiled amongst the nations only so that converts might be added to them![12]

The Maharsha, Rabbi Shmuel HaLevi Eidels, explained[13] that had HaShem merely wished to punish the Jews, He did not have to exile them from their homeland; the fact that He did exile His nation shows that He intended for another outcome, namely, the addition of proselytes into the Jewish body.

To build on this idea, we need to look at the word Adam. Adam is a legal term, according to Our Sages, that applies to Israel.

Baba Metzia 114b R. Simeon b. Yohai said: The graves of Gentiles do not defile, for it is written, And you my flock, the flock of my pastures, are men (Adam);[14] only you are designated ‘men (Adam)’.[15]

Thus we see that only Israel is called Adam.

Adam = Israel

So the question is: Who is Israel? Our Sages answer this question in the Talmud Yerushalmi: “Adam includes Proselytes”.[16] Israel is not clearly defined because Israel is in constant movement and change because proselytes are constantly being added. From this we understand that Israel is sent into exile in order to make proselytes. These proselytes (converts) become a part of Israel! In exile we become complete by making proselytes. Yet, we must still ask: How did proselytes correct the premeditated wickedness that caused us to be sent into exile? To answer this question we still need a bit more background.

The Gemara teaches us that exile makes an atonement:

Berachoth 56a For a Master has said: Exile makes atonement for iniquity.

Taanit 16a We have exiled ourselves [from the House of God] may our exile atone for us.

Sanhedrin 37b R. Johanan said: Exile atones for everything, for it is written, Thus saith the Lord, write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days, for no man of his seed shall prosper sitting upon the throne of David and ruling any more in Judah.[17] Whereas after he [the king] was exiled, it is written, And the sons of Jeconiah, — the same is Assir — Shealtiel his son etc.[18]

To help us see the effects of our exiles on the Gentiles, a few examples should suffice.

Ruth was a proselyte. Ruth, as we saw in a previous study, was a picture of the Children Israel as they stood at Mt. Sinai to receive the Torah. At Sinai we Jews were all proselytes accepting Torah for the very first time. Further, Ruth’s chesed, her kindness, had such a profound effect on the Jewish people that she became the grandmother of King David! Now lest we forget, Ruth became a convert only because Elimelech took his family into exile in Moab. Thus because of this minor exile, we made one very, very significant proselyte who became a significant part of the Messianic line. This proselyte’s life was so important that Shmuel the Prophet wrote a book about her.

Yitro, Moshe’s father-in-law who, as a proselyte, had a tremendous positive impact on the Torah’s Judicial system[19] and Judaism as a whole, while the Children of Israel were in exile. His advice to Moshe became the standard for the rest of Jewish history! Yitro became a proselyte because Moshe went into exile from Egypt to Midian.

Rahab was a prostitute and innkeeper, who was visited by the most important dignitaries and leaders of her generation[20] yet after being exposed to the greatness of two Torah giants, Caleb and Phineas, who were on a reconnaissance mission to Canaan[21] she converted and married Joshua.[22] Counted among her descendants are priests and prophets including Chuldah the Prophetess, Yirmeyahu, Baruch, Neryah, Sharya, Chilkiyah, and Chanamel.[23]

Onkelos, a proselyte, wrote a Targum on the Torah that sheds significant light on the meaning of the Torah. Jews throughout the ages have learned from his Targum.

Rabbi Akiva was a famous Jewish rabbi of the second century, during the beginning of the Edomite exile. He was a great authority in the matter of Jewish tradition, and one of the most central and essential contributors to the Oral Torah, mainly the Mishna and the Midrash Halacha. He laid the foundations of the mishnaic dispute, by which pairs or larger groups of Sages dispute points of Halacha or Biblical interpretation.

When Edom sent Israel into exile, Mashiach ben Yosef commanded His Talmidim to teach the Gentiles and to make them into Talmidim:

Matityahu (Matthew) 28:18 And Yeshua came and spoke unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go therefore, and talmudize all the Gentiles …

Hebrew is very precise because it is the language of creation. In Hebrew, “Exile” is called “Golah”. But this word contains the solution to exile with a hint to the redemption. By inserting the letter alef (א), the word “Golah” (גולה), “Exile” becomes “Geula” (גאולה), “redemption”. This implies that the Jewish people’s service involves bringing HaShem, The Alef, into the exile, and thus, transforming the exile into redemption. Not only are the Jewish people redeemed, but as the Talmud teaches,[24] so also are the Gentiles who become proselytes, or converts. Thus dispersion is for the purpose of gathering. And so it has been throughout Jewish history; every time we were sent into exile, HaShem sent great proselytes to help effect the needed tikkun for our sins.

Egypt – The Prototype

There is a Midrashic[25] view that maintains that the impurity of Egypt is the source of all further exiles and is too profound to be listed as one of the four. The Egyptian exile lasted two hundred and ten years,[26] from the time Ya’aqob Avinu and his sixty-nine family members crossed the borders of Egypt.

The Egyptian exile is, for us, the paradigm of all Exiles. When HaShem freed us from Egyptian bondage, He used four terms of redemption. He said,

• “I will take you out (v’hotzeiti) of the land of Egypt,
• And I will save you (v’hitzalti) from serving them.
• And I will redeem you (v’gaalti) from slavery to freedom,
• And I will take you (v’lakachti) to Me as a nation”.

I will take you out of the land of Egypt	And I will save you from serving them	And I will redeem you from slavery to freedom	And I will take you to Me as a nation
Bavel - Babylon	Madai - Media / Persia	Yavan - Greece	Edom - Rome

“v’hotzeiti” hints at Galut Bavel, for so the Prophet writes in Yeshayahu “Go out from Bavel ... , flee from the Kasdim”;[27]

“v’hitzalti” hints at Galut Paras and Madai, since that is where they were saved from physical annihilation;

“v’gaalti” hints at Galut Yavan, because that is where their spiritual existence was threatened; whilst –

“v’lakachti eschem li le’Am” hints at Galut Edom, where HaShem will take us as His nation once and for all, when the time comes.

The Four Cups

The Talmud Yerushalmi[28] says that the four cups of wine at the seder parallel four phrases of redemption. The Yerushalmi goes on to say that the four cups represent our freedom from the four nations who oppressed us: Bavel, Madai, Yavan, and Edom. The early experiences of the Jewish people are considered to foreshadow our later experiences in history. For us, history truly repeats itself. And so our Egyptian experience is a forerunner of all the later times we would be oppressed by the nations of the world.

During the seder we take four cups of wine, which correspond with these four expressions of redemption. This prototypical exile confirms the words of Our Sages when they taught that the purpose of exile is to make converts:

Shemot (Exodus) 12:37 And the children of Israel journeyed from Ramses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children. 38  And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle.

Thus we see that the Erev Rav, the mixed multitude, also came out with the Children of Israel. These Gentiles had attached themselves to Israel and would receive a portion of the Promised Land.

Egypt is viewed as the prototype of all the future exiles and therefore remains in a class of its own. It was the Egyptian paradigm that enabled the sages to view Israel’s exile in such broad perspective. Just as they compared the first redeemer (Moses) to the final redeemer (Messiah of the house of David), and the first redemption to the final redemption, so they considered the first Galut to be the model for all future exiles. HaShem’s promise to Ya’aqob Avinu was thus interpreted by the Rabbis as applying to every Galut experience:

Beresheet (Genesis) 46:3-4 Fear not to go down into Egypt, for I will ... go down with you into Egypt and surely bring you up again.

The Rabbis understand this literally to mean that HaShem Himself, as it were, accompanies His people into exile. A new concept was thus born, known as Shekhinta be-Galuta, “the Divine Presence [is] in exile”,[29] which would later become potent in the Kabbalah.

This exile is puzzling. Seventy righteous, holy, and undefiled Jewish souls went down to Egypt and 600,000 souls emerged mired in forty-nine levels of defilement! What purpose did this exile serve? The goal of the exile was to scour the Jewish people and prepare them for their mission as the chosen people.  This is what HaShem meant when He told Avraham: “Know for sure” that if you want your descendants to be the chosen people they must endure four hundred years of purification in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed, not because they sinned, but in order to be cleansed and prepared for the mission that awaits them.

In the same way that exile carried additional meaning – to gather Gentile converts, our psalm also contains additional meaning within the text itself. When HaShem wishes to convey additional information in His Torah, He uses what Our Sages call a kri and ktiv. Our psalm contains a kri[30] v’ktiv[31] in verse 21.

Tehillim (Psalms) 38:21 They also that repay evil for good are adversaries unto me, because of my pursuit of good.

This dual meaning word is read one way and written a different way. In effect, the reader sees one meaning and speaks a different meaning. There are a number of words in the Tanakh[32] which are read differently from the way that they are spelled in the text. These words are called, in Aramaic, “kri - קרי” in their reading version and “ktiv - כתיב” in their written version. This phenomenon occurs roughly thirteen hundred times in the Tanakh.

Tehillim (Psalms) 38:21

kri - קרי	ktiv - כתיב
רדפי	רדופי
My pursuit	My exclusive pursuit [this is to emphasize that I am alone, in my single-minded quest for goodness, it is pursued by me alone.]

The kri - קרי is the way the verse is chanted, or read. The kri is usually denoted by enclosing the Hebrew word in brackets [][33], as you can see in the following graphic:

The kri can also be depicted, as in the Masoretic[34] text of the Biblia Hebraica,[35] by putting the kri in margin, as we can see in the following graphic:

Meam Loez[36] represents the kri within parenthesis, as in the following example:

Finally, one of the more common methods of depicting the kri is with a small circle over the word, which directs your attention to a word in the margin, as we can see from the Artscroll Rashi[37] volume:

The ktiv - כתיב is the way it is written in the Torah scroll. The ktiv transcends conception and comprehension. That is, a particular word in its written form has no comprehensible “garment”, though as read aloud it does have such a “garment”, i.e., it is readily comprehensible.

"kri-and-ktiv", is a word, in the Tanakh, that is pronounced (kri) one way, but written (ktiv) in the scroll a different way. These two ways of reading the word also imply different shades of meaning. These dual word forms are Masoretic vehicles for passing down additional teachings, unavailable without the additional word form.

In general, a kri is the logical meaning of the word, given its context. The meaning of the ktiv however, is often beyond logic,[38] and may even seem to be out of context, yet it reveals unexpected mystical implications. When we encounter a kri-and-a-ktiv we are invited into contemplation: how can we embrace this conflict in meaning?

The ktiv represents the realm of Divine self-concealment; the kri represents the realm of Divine self-revelation. In the future, when the Name of HaShem will be read as it is written, these two realms will unite.

On Sinai, Moses received three things: the Torah Shebichtav (Written Law) and the Torah Shebaal Peh (Oral Law). The kri and ktiv cases were all handed down to Moses as part of the Oral Law, which is why it is stated so, specifically, in the Talmud, one part of the Oral Law. These were deliberate parts of the Tanakh, not mistakes by the scribes or copyists. These parts were given by HaShem. It is as the Rashba[39] say, “the Kri/Ktiv is halacha l'Moshe mi'Sinai”. If this is true, how can it be that we have kri and ktiv in the Prophets?

Malbim in his introduction to Jeremiah boldly claims that the ktiv represents the simple meaning - the P’shat - and the kri represents the exegetical meaning - the drash. Malbim follows through with this in his commentary and demonstrates this difference between P’shat and drash.

Hakham David Yosef, in his work "Halacha Berurah", writes that the reader should look at the written word as he reads, even in cases of a "Kri" and "Ktiv" where the pronunciation does not correspond to the spelling. Even though one does not read the word as it is written, he should nevertheless look at the written word in the Torah scroll as he reads the "Kri." He draws proof to this ruling from the reading of HaShem's Name, which is written "H-V-H-Y" yet pronounced "Ado-nai." Halacha requires the reader to look at the written Name as He recites "Ado-nai," even though he does not pronounce the word as it is written. Similarly, in all cases where there is a discrepancy between the pronunciation and spelling, the reader must look at the word as he reads it, even though he does not read according to the spelling.

Throughout the Tanakh we find instances of kri and ktiv. However, outside of the Torah we also find: ktiv v’lo kri (ktiv without kri) and kri v’lo ktiv (kri without ktiv). The latter two phenomena only exist in the Neviim (Prophets) and Ketuvim (Writings), not the Torah.[40] Both types can be found in Megillat Ruth.

Most English translations follow the kri in their translation. This means that the idea of “sola scriptura[41]” is completely ignored in most Christian Bibles. While they profess to use this standard, in reality they follow Jewish oral law to obtain their translation, while completely ignoring what was written.

In our psalm, the kri contains ‘My pursuit’. If we follow the Malbim in his understanding, then this represents the drash, the meaning as applied to the king and his kingdom. The king, as representing his kingdom, is pursuing the good. It is not an exclusive, personal pursuit, rather it is the kingdom’s pursuit because it is the kings pursuit. The principle concern of the kri is: How do we go about establishing HaShem's Kingdom on earth? And the psalmist answer is for each subject to follow their king and “pursue that which is Tov, that which is beneficial”.

In the same way, our Torah portion has Yosef, the king, coaching his family on how to “pursue the good” when they get to Egypt, for the first exile, and face Paro. In this case, the king’s answer is for his family to continue herding sheep. After all, the Tanach is replete with examples that prove that a king must first be able to guide sheep before he can guide people. Avraham, Yitzchak, Ya’aqob, Moshe, and David were all shepherds first and then mighty kings.

Curiously, this date (Tebet 23) was set for all time, as a time for exile. As Ya'aqob’s family began their exile in Egypt, so also did other exiles begin on this date. Here are some of them:

• 23 Tevet 5256 – 1496 - Expulsion of the Jews from Portugal, 5257 [1496]. This was 4 years after being expelled from Spain.

• 23 Tevet 5471 - January 14, 1711 - Alexander I forcibly moved the Jews of Mogilev and Vitebsk to other cities.

• 23 Tevet 5701 - January 22, 1941 - Three thousand Jews were deported from Piaseczno, to the Warsaw Ghetto.

Ashlamatah: Zech 10:6-12 + 11:4-11

Rashi	JPS
3. ¶ My wrath is kindled against the shepherds, and I will visit upon the goats, for the Lord of Hosts has remembered His flock, the house of Judah, and He has made it as His majestic horse in battle.	3. ¶ My anger is roused against the shepherds, And I will punish the he-goats. For the LORD of Hosts has taken thought In behalf of His flock, the House of Judah; He will make them like majestic chargers in battle.
4. Out of them shall come the cornerstone; out of them, the stake; out of them, the bow of war. Out of them shall come every oppressor together.	4. From them shall come cornerstones, From them tent pegs, From them bows of combat, And every captain shall also arise from them.
5. And they shall be like mighty men, treading the mire of the streets in battle. And they shall wage war, for the Lord is with them. And they shall shame the riders of horses.	5. And together they shall be like warriors in battle, Tramping in the dirt of the streets; They shall fight, for the LORD shall be with them, And they shall put horsemen to shame.
6. And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and the house of Joseph I will save. And I will cause them to settle, for I have bestowed mercy upon them. And they shall be as though I had not forsaken them, for I am the Lord their God, and I will answer them.	6. I will give victory to the House of Judah, And triumph to the House of Joseph. I will restore them, for I have pardoned them, And they shall be as though I had never disowned them; For I the LORD am their God, And I will answer their prayers.
7. And Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as if [with] wine. And their children shall see and rejoice; their heart shall be joyful with the Lord.	7. Ephraim shall be like a warrior, And they shall exult as with wine; Their children shall see it and rejoice, They shall exult in the LORD.
8. I will whistle to them, and I will gather them, for I have redeemed them. And they shall multiply as they multiplied.	8. I will whistle to them and gather them, For I will redeem them; They shall increase and continue increasing.
9. And I will sow them among the peoples, and in the distant places they shall remember Me. And they shall live with their children and return.	9. For though I sowed them among the nations, In the distant places they shall remember Me, They shall escape with their children and shall return.
10. And I will return them from the land of Egypt, and from Assyria I will gather them. And to the land of Gilead and Lebanon I will bring them, and it shall not suffice for them.	10. I will bring them back from the land of Egypt And gather them from Assyria; And I will bring them to the lands of Gilead and Lebanon, And even they shall not suffice for them.
11. And trouble shall pass through the sea, and He shall strike the waves of the sea and dry all the depths of the river. And the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the rod of Egypt shall turn away.	11. A hemmed-in force shall pass over the sea And shall stir up waves in the sea; And all the deeps of the Nile shall dry up. Down shall come the pride of Assyria, And the sceptre of Egypt shall pass away.
12. And I will strengthen them by the Lord, and by His Name they shall walk, says the Lord. {P}	12. But I will make them mighty through the LORD, And they shall march proudly in His name -- declares the LORD. {P}
1. ¶ Open your doors, O Lebanon, and let the fire consume your cedars.	1. ¶ Throw open your gates, O Lebanon, And let fire consume your cedars!
2. Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen, for the mighty ones have been spoiled. Wail, O oaks of the Bashan, for the fortified forest has gone down.	2. Howl, cypresses, for cedars have fallen! How the mighty are ravaged! Howl, you oaks of Bashan, For the stately forest is laid low!
3. Hearken [to] the wailing of the shepherds, for their glory has been spoiled. Hearken [to] the roar of the young lions, for the pride of the Jordan has been spoiled. {P}	3. Hark, the wailing of the shepherds, For their rich pastures are ravaged; Hark, the roaring of the great beasts, For the jungle of the Jordan is ravaged. {P}
4. ¶ So said the Lord, my God: Tend the flock of slaughter,	4. ¶ Thus said my God the LORD: Tend the sheep meant for slaughter,
5. whose buyers shall slay them and not be guilty; and whose sellers shall say, "Blessed be the Lord, for I have become wealthy"; and whose shepherds shall not have pity on them.	5. whose buyers will slaughter them with impunity, whose seller will say, "Praised be the LORD! I'll get rich," and whose shepherd will not pity them.
6. For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of the land, says the Lord. And behold! I will deliver the men, each one into his neighbor's hand and into his king's hand. And they shall crush the land, and I will not save [them] from their hand[s].	6. For I will pity the inhabitants of the land no more -- declares the LORD -- but I will place every man at the mercy of every other man and at the mercy of his king; they shall break the country to bits, and I will not rescue it from their hands.
7. And I tended the flock of slaughter; indeed, the poor of the flock. And I took for Myself two staffs; one I called Pleasantness, and one I called Destroyers; and I tended the flock.	7. So I tended the sheep meant for slaughter, for those poor men of the sheep. I got two staffs, one of which I named Favour and the other Unity, and I proceeded to tend the sheep.
8. I cut off the three shepherds in one month, I could not tolerate them; moreover, they were too much for Me.	8. But I lost the three shepherds in one month; then my patience with them was at an end, and they in turn were disgusted with me.
9. And I said, "I will not tend you. That which dies-let it die; and that which is cut off-let it be cut off. And the survivors shall eat, each one her neighbor's flesh.	9. So I declared, "I am not going to tend you; let the one that is to die, die and the one that is to get lost get lost; and let the rest devour each other's flesh!"
10. And I took My [first] staff, [called] Pleasantness and I cut it off to nullify My covenant that I [had] formed with all the peoples.	10. Taking my staff Favour, I cleft it in two, so as to annul the covenant I had made with all the peoples;
11. And it was nullified on that day. And the poor of the flock that kept My word knew this, that it was the word of the Lord. {S}	11. and when it was annulled that day, the same poor men of the sheep who watched me realized that it was a message from the LORD. {S}
12. And I said to them: "If it pleases you, give [Me] My hire, and if not, forbear." And they weighed out My hire: thirty pieces of silver.	12. Then I said to them, "If you are satisfied, pay me my wages; if not, don't." So they weighed out my wages, thirty shekels of silver --
13. And the Lord said to me: Cast it to the keeper of the treasury, to the stronghold of glory-of which I stripped them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and I cast it into the house of the Lord, to the keeper of the treasury.	13. the noble sum that I was worth in their estimation. The LORD said to me, "Deposit it in the treasury." And I took the thirty shekels and deposited it in the treasury in the House of the LORD.
14. And I cut off my second staff, the Destroyers, to nullify the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. {P}	14. Then I cleft in two my second staff, Unity, in order to annul the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. {P}

Rashi’s Commentary for: Zech 10:6-12 + 11:4-11

3 My wrath is kindled against the shepherds Against the kings of Greece.

upon the goats Against their princes, and so did Jonathan render it: My wrath was against the kings and upon the rulers I visit. The Greeks were likened to goats in (Dan. 8:21), “And the rough he-goat is the king of Greece.” Whoever wishes to explain the matter [otherwise] (not as referring to the kings of Greece) will say that הָעַתּוּדִים is an expression of princes, as in (Isa. 14:9), “It aroused the giants for you, all the chiefs of the earth.”

as His majestic horse in battle As the horse whose majesty is recognized in battle.

4 Out of them shall come the cornerstone Out of them shall come their kings; out of them shall come their princes, and out of them shall come those who wage their wars.

5 And they shall be like mighty men, treading the mire of the streets in battle This verse is inverted. It should be understood: And they shall be in battle, walking and treading people as mighty men tread the mire of the streets.

treading as in (Ps. 60:14), “And He shall tread down our enemies,” and (Jer. 12: 10) “They have trampled My field.”

and they shall shame the riders of horses The house of Judah shall shame the riders of horses who come to wage war with them.

6 And I will strengthen the house of Judah in the war against the Greeks.

and the house of Joseph I will save in the place where they were exiled - in Halah and in Habor in the days of Sennacherib.

And I will cause them to settle Like וְהוֹשַּׁבְתִּים, an expression of settling.

And they shall be as though I had not forsaken them As though I had never forsaken them.

8 I will whistle to them in the manner of those who whistle as a sign and a signal for those straying on their way to him.

and I will gather them at the time of the end in the future.

for I have redeemed them When I will redeem them.

And they shall multiply in exile as they multiplied in Egypt.

9 And I will sow them first among the peoples, as a person sows a seah to bring in many korim.

And they shall live with their children אֶת-בְנֵיהֶם

10 and the Lebanon This is the Temple.

and it shall not suffice for them Heb. וְא יִמָּצֵא לָהֶם

11 And trouble shall pass through the sea And the trouble shall pass through Tyre, which is situated in the midst of the sea, it is the head of Edom.

and He shall strike The Holy One, blessed be He, Who is the One Who strikes.

the waves of the sea to sink Tyre.

all the depths of the river That is, Egypt.

Chapter 11

1 Open your doors, O Lebanon Jonathan renders: O peoples, open your gates.

2 Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen [The cedar,] which is bigger than the cypress, [has fallen]. Howl, O rulers, for the kings of the nations have fallen.

Wail, O oaks of the Bashan Kesnes or chesnes in Old French, chenes in Modern French.

for... has gone down For it has been broken. Similar to [this expression] is (Isa. 32:19), “And He shall hail down the breaking of the forest."

the fortified forest The fortified forest, the strong walled cities.

3 the shepherds The kings.

for their glory אַדַּרְתָּם

the roar of the young lions The princes shall weep.

for the pride of the Jordan has been spoiled The pride of the Jordan, which is the place of the young lions and the old lions. Our Sages (Yoma 39b) explained “Open your doors, O Lebanon,” as the prophet prophesying about the destruction of the Second Temple; that forty years prior to the destruction, the doors of the Temple proper would open by themselves. Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai rebuked them. He said, "Temple, how long will you terrify yourself? I know that you will eventually be destroyed. Zechariah the son of Iddo has already prophesied concerning you: 'Open your doors, O Lebanon, etc.’"

4 Tend the flock of slaughter Prepare shepherds for them; i.e., prophesy concerning their leaders who are destined to lead them from now on.

the flock of slaughter Israel, whose shepherds slew them and devoured them.

5 and not be guilty The kings of the nations among whom I will exile them; this one sells them, and the buyer slays them, without feeling (lit., “and he does not put to his heart”) that there should be guilt in the matter. The seller boasts.

Blessed be the Lord Who delivered them into my hand, and behold! I am wealthy.

for I have become wealthy And behold! I am wealthy.

7 And I tended the flock of slaughter All these are the words of the Holy One, blessed be He, to the prophet: And I tended them in the early days.

indeed, the poor of the flock Indeed, they were the poor of the flock when I began to tend them.

and I took for Myself two staffs At the end of a period of time, I divided them into two kingdoms because of their iniquity.

one I called Pleasantness Jeroboam promised to lead them gently.

and one I called Destoyers Rehoboam told [his kingdom] that he would flog them with scorpions (I Kings 12:11). [Zechariah] calls their rulers staffs because it is customary to lead flocks with staffs.

8 I cut off the three shepherds in one month They corrupted their ways until I rejected them, and I slew all three shepherds in one month. Jehu slew the entire house of Ahab, and the house of Ahaziah the king of Judah, and his brothers, and all the seed of the kingdom of David; and Athaliah slew the rest, save Joash, who hid (II Kings 10, 11).

I could not tolerate them “My soul was short with them” I rejected them. And every expression of shortness of soul denotes a distressful or disgusting matter, that a person’s thoughts cannot tolerate. His heart and his reigns are too short to contain it, as Elihu said (Job 32: 18), “The spirit of my innards constrains me.”

moreover, they were too much for Me Their memory was too big for My innards, and it filled My spirit and constrained My reins. The word בָּחֲלָה was explained by our Sages in tractate Niddah (47a) as an expression of largeness. The Sages depicted the development of a woman with a metaphor: פַּגָּה, unripe figs; בּֽחַל, larger figs, and צֶמֶל, completely ripe figs. She is compared to unripe figs when she is still a child; she is compared to larger figs in the days of her youth, when she is already bigger. They brought this verse as proof of their words.

9 And I said, “I will not tend you...” I said in those days, “I will cast them from before Me,” and they shall be free and subject to spoil.

10 And I took My [first] staff, [called] Pleasantness I broke the power of the kings of Israel in the days of Jehoahaz the son of Jehu - to the extent that the king of Aram destroyed them and made them like dust to trample (II Kings 13:7) - and in the days of Hoshea the son of Elah, when I delivered them into the hands of Sennacherib and he exiled them (ibid. 17:6).

to nullify My covenant that I [had] formed with all the peoples To show them that because they betrayed Me, I nullified My covenant that I formed with all the peoples concerning them, that the [peoples] not harm them. For, on that condition I gave them the Torah, that if they keep it, they will be free from the kingdoms; that no nation or tongue shall rule over them. And do not be surprised if Scripture speaks of their salvation from the hands of the enemy as forming a covenant with the enemy, for we find a similar verse (Hosea 2:20): “And I will make a covenant for them on that day with the beasts of the field, etc."

11 knew this The righteous among them who kept My statute understood.

that it was the word of the Lord This decree the Holy One, blessed be He, already spoke to us through Moses (Deut. 28:36): “The Lord shall drive you and your king.”

12 And I said to the remaining kings of Judah.

“If it pleases you, give [Me] My hire...” Fulfill My commandments, and that will be My payment for all the good that I have given you; as they give hire to a shepherd, I will return and tend you.

and if not, forbear And I, too, will not do good for you. We find that the Holy One, blessed be He, said similarly to Ezekiel (3:27): “He that hears, let him hear, and he that forbears, let him forbear.”

And they weighed out My hire, thirty pieces of silver Jonathan paraphrases: And they performed My will with a few men. There were a few good men among them, such as the craftsmen and the sentries, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah, and Ezekiel. But I do not know how to explain the expression here of thirty pieces of silver exactly, except that כֶּסֶף is an expression of desire. Our Sages, too, explained it this way in Chullin (92a). They brought proof from (Prov. 7: 20), “The bundle of the desirable ones He took in His hand.” The thirty they explained in the following manner: There are forty-five righteous men in every generation. They brought proof from (Hosea 3:2), “a חֽמֶר of barley and a לֶתֶךְof barley” - fifteen righteous in Babylon and thirty in Eretz Israel. It is said: “And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and I cast them into the house of the Lord in Eretz Israel.” The number thirty is explained by the Midrash Aggadah (Cf. Gen. Rabbah 49:3, Pesikta d’Rav Kahana 88a), that our father Abraham was promised that no generation would have fewer than thirty righteous in men, the number of (Gen. 15:8): "So shall your seed be.” The word יִהְיֶה has the numerical value of thirty.

13 And the Lord said to me: Cast it to the keeper of the treasury like הָאוֹצֵר, the keeper of the treasury. Said the Holy One, blessed be He, to the prophet: Write, and leave over these and their righteousness to be preserved for the end of the seventy years of the Babylonian exile. The Temple shall be built by them. Now what is the treasury? [Cf. below]

the stronghold of glory My Temple, the stronghold of My glory.

of which I stripped them of which I stripped them so that they should no longer have glory. The expression יָקַרְתִּי means the removal of glory; the “mem” in מֵעֲלֵיהֶם proves it. It is like (Ps. 52:7), “and He shall uproot you from the land of the living”; and like (Isa. 10:33), “lops off the branches." My explanation is similar to Jonathan’s translation. I have seen many variant versions of the explanation of this prophecy, but I cannot reconcile those with the text.

14 And I cut off My second staff I exiled Zedekiah. the destroyers The wicked of his generation, for he was righteous, but his generation was wicked.

to nullify the brotherhood that the Judahites and the Benjamites were joined in brotherhood, and that they adhered to the abominations of the kings of Israel.

Special Ashlamatah: I Samuel 20:18,42

Rashi	Targum
18. And Jonathan said to him, "Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be remembered, for your seat will be vacant.	18. And Jonathan said to him: “Tomorrow is the (new) moon, and you will be sought out, for your dining place will be empty.”
42. And Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace! (And bear in mind) that we have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord, saying, 'May the Lord be between me and you, and between my descendants and your descendants forever.'" And he arose and went away; and Jonathan came to the city.	42. And Jonathan said to David: “Go in peace, for the two of us have sworn by the name of the LORD saying, ‘May the Memra of the LORD be a witness between me and you, and between my sons and your sons forever.’” And he arose and went, and Jonathan entered the city.

Verbal Tallies

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

& HH Giberet Dr. Elisheba bat Sarah

Beresheet (Genesis) 46:28 – 47:28

Zechariah 10:6-12 + 11:4-11

Tehillim (Psalms) 38

Mk 4:21-25, Lk 11:33-36, Lk 8:16-18, Acts 10:34-43

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Ashlamata are:

Judah - יהודה, Strong’s number is 03063.

Joseph - יוסף, Strong’s number is 03130.

Came / Bring - בוא, Strong’s number 0935.

Land - ארץ, Strong’s number 0776.

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Psalm are:

Before / Face / Because - פנים, Strong’s number 06440.

Beresheet (Genesis) 46:28 And he sent Judah <03063> before him <06440> unto Joseph <03130>, to direct his face <06440> unto Goshen; and they came <0935> (8799) into the land <0776> of Goshen.

Zechariah 10:6 And I will strengthen the house of Judah <03063>, and I will save the house of Joseph <03130>, and I will bring them again to place them; for I have mercy upon them: and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am the LORD their God, and will hear them.

Zechariah 10:10 I will bring them again also out of the land <0776> of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria; and I will bring <0935> (8686) them into the land <0776> of Gilead and Lebanon; and place shall not be found for them.

Tehillim (Psalms) 38:3 There is no soundness in my flesh because <06440> of thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because <06440> of my sin.

Hebrew:

Hebrew	English	Torah Seder Gen 46:28 – 47:28	Psalms Psa 38:1-22	Ashlamatah Zech. 10:6-12 + 11:4-11
!yIa;	there, no	Gen 47:4 Gen 47:13	Ps 38:3 Ps 38:7 Ps 38:10 Ps 38:14
vyai	men, man	Gen 46:32 Gen 46:34 Gen 47:2 Gen 47:6 Gen 47:20	Ps 38:14	Zech 11:6
lk;a'	lived off, food, eat	Gen 47:22 Gen 47:24		Zech 11:9
~yhil{a/	GOD		Ps 38:15 Ps 38:21	Zech 10:6 Zech 11:4
rm;a'	said	Gen 46:30 Gen 46:31 Gen 46:33 Gen 46:34 Gen 47:1 Gen 47:3 Gen 47:4 Gen 47:5 Gen 47:8 Gen 47:9 Gen 47:15 Gen 47:16 Gen 47:18 Gen 47:23 Gen 47:25	Ps 38:16	Zech 11:4 Zech 11:5 Zech 11:9
#r,a,	Land earth ground	Gen 46:28 Gen 46:31 Gen 46:34 Gen 47:1 Gen 47:4 Gen 47:6 Gen 47:11 Gen 47:13 Gen 47:14 Gen 47:15 Gen 47:20 Gen 47:27 Gen 47:28		Zech 10:10 Zech 11:6
rv,a]	who, which	Gen 46:31 Gen 47:14 Gen 47:22	Ps 38:14	Zech 11:5 Zech 11:10
aAB	came, come,	Gen 46:28 Gen 46:31 Gen 46:32 Gen 47:1 Gen 47:4 Gen 47:5 Gen 47:7 Gen 47:14 Gen 47:15 Gen 47:17 Gen 47:18		Zech 10:10
tyIB;	house, household	Gen 46:31 Gen 47:12 Gen 47:14 Gen 47:24		Zech 10:6
%r;B'	blessed	Gen 47:7 Gen 47:10		Zech 11:5
rf'B'	flesh		Ps 38:3 Ps 38:7	Zech 11:9
~G:	both, even, also	Gen 46:34 Gen 47:3 Gen 47:19	Ps 38:10	Zech 11:8
%l;h'	go, walk		Ps 38:6	Zech 10:12
hNEhi	behold	Gen 47:1		Zech 11:6
rk;z"	memorial, remember		Ps 38:1	Zech 10:9
[r;z"	sow, scatter	Gen 47:23		Zech 10:9
dy"	hand, power, four-fifths	Gen 47:24	Ps 38:2	Zech 11:6
[d;y"	know	Gen 47:6		Zech 11:11
hd'Why>	Judah	Gen 46:28		Zech 10:6
hwhy	LORD		Ps 38:1 Ps 38:15 Ps 38:21	Zech 10:6 Zech 10:7 Zech 10:12 Zech 11:4 Zech 11:5 Zech 11:6 Zech 11:11
~Ay	days	Gen 47:9 Gen 47:23 Gen 47:26 Gen 47:28	Ps 38:6 Ps 38:12	Zech 11:11
@seAy	Joseph	Gen 46:28 Gen 46:29 Gen 46:30 Gen 46:31 Gen 47:1 Gen 47:5 Gen 47:7 Gen 47:11 Gen 47:12 Gen 47:14 Gen 47:15 Gen 47:16 Gen 47:17 Gen 47:20 Gen 47:23 Gen 47:26		Zech 10:6
bv;y"	live , settled, inhabitants	Gen 46:34 Gen 47:4 Gen 47:6 Gen 47:11 Gen 47:27		Zech 11:6
dbeK'	severe, heavy	Gen 47:4 Gen 47:13	Ps 38:4
dx;K'	hide, annihilated	Gen 47:18		Zech 11:8 Zech 11:9
yKi	when	Gen 46:33 Gen 47:13 Gen 47:20		Zech 10:6
lKo	all, every	Gen 46:32 Gen 46:34 Gen 47:1 Gen 47:12 Gen 47:13 Gen 47:14 Gen 47:15 Gen 47:17 Gen 47:20	Ps 38:6 Ps 38:9	Zech 10:11 Zech 11:10
!heKo	priests	Gen 47:22		Zech 11:7 Zech 11:11
aol	no, nor	Gen 47:9 Gen 47:18		Zech 10:10 Zech 11:5 Zech 11:6
ble	heart		Ps 38:8 Ps 38:10	Zech 10:7
xq;l'	took	Gen 47:2		Zech 11:7 Zech 11:10
daom.	very, greatly, badly	Gen 47:13 Gen 47:27	Ps 38:6 Ps 38:8
tWm	die	Gen 46:30 Gen 47:15 Gen 47:19		Zech 11:9
rk;m'	sold, sell	Gen 47:20 Gen 47:22		Zech 11:5
!mi	because	Gen 47:13	Ps 38:3 Ps 38:4 Ps 38:5 Ps 38:8 Ps 38:11 Ps 38:18
ac'm'	found, find, fall	Gen 47:14 Gen 47:25		Zech 10:10 Zech 11:6
~yIr;c.mi	Egyptians	Gen 46:34 Gen 47:6 Gen 47:11 Gen 47:13 Gen 47:14 Gen 47:15 Gen 47:20 Gen 47:21 Gen 47:26 Gen 47:27 Gen 47:28		Zech 10:10 Zech 10:11
dg:n"	tell, told, confess	Gen 46:31 Gen 47:1	Ps 38:18
dg<n<	presence, before, aloof	Gen 47:15	Ps 38:9 Ps 38:11 Ps 38:17
vp,n<	life, soul		Ps 38:12	Zech 11:8
dA[	long time, still, longer	Gen 46:29 Gen 46:30		Zech 11:6
!yI[;	eyes	Gen 47:19 Gen 47:25	Ps 38:10
l[;	therefore	Gen 47:22 Gen 47:26	Ps 38:16
dm;['	presented, stand	Gen 47:7	Ps 38:11
hP,	according, mouth	Gen 47:12	Ps 38:13 Ps 38:14
~ynIP'	before, face	Gen 46:28 Gen 46:30 Gen 47:2 Gen 47:6 Gen 47:7 Gen 47:10 Gen 47:13	Ps 38:3 Ps 38:5
!aoc	flocks	Gen 46:32 Gen 47:1 Gen 47:4 Gen 47:17		Zech 11:4 Zech 11:7 Zech 11:11
hn"q'	buy, bought	Gen 47:19 Gen 47:20 Gen 47:22 Gen 47:23		Zech 11:5
ar'q'	call	Gen 46:33		Zech 11:7
ha'r'	appeared, see, seen	Gen 46:29 Gen 46:30		Zech 10:7
[;re	friend		Ps 38:11	Zech 11:6
ra;v'	left	Gen 47:18		Zech 11:9
xm;f'	rejoice, be glad		Ps 38:16	Zech 10:7
yx;	alive	Gen 46:30	Ps 38:19
hy"x'	live	Gen 47:19 Gen 47:25 Gen 47:28		Zech 10:9
rb;['	removed, gone over, passed	Gen 47:21	Ps 38:4	Zech 10:11
~[;	people	Gen 47:21 Gen 47:23		Zech 10:9 Zech 11:10
hn"['	answer		Ps 38:15	Zech 10:6
hb'r'	became numerous	Gen 47:27		Zech 10:8
h['r'	shepherds	Gen 46:32 Gen 46:34 Gen 47:3		Zech 11:4 Zech 11:5 Zech 11:7 Zech 11:8 Zech 11:9

Greek

Greek	English	Torah Seder Gen 46:28 – 47:28	Psalms Ps 38:1-23	Ashlamatah Zech. 10:6-12 + 11:4-11	Peshat Mk/Jude/Pet Mk 4:21-5	Tosefta Luke Lk 11:33-36 Lk 8:16-18	Remes 2 Acts/Romans Acts 10:34-43
ἀγαπάω	love			Zec 10:6
αἴρω	taken				Mar 4:25	Luk 8:18
ἀκούω	hear, heard		Psa 38:13 Psa 38:14		Mar 4:23 Mar 4:24	Luk 8:18
ἁμαρτία	sins		Psa 38:3 Psa 38:18				Act 10:43
ἀνοίγω	open, opening		Psa 38:13				Act 10:34
ἀπόκρυφος	concealed				Mar 4:22	Luk 8:17
ἀποστέλλω	sent	Gen 46:28					Act 10:36
αὐξάνω	grow, grew	Gen 47:27
βλέπω	see, heed				Mar 4:24	Luk 8:16 Luk 8:18 Luk 11:33
γινώσκω	know			Zec 11:11		Luk 8:17
διά	on account of	Gen 47:22		Zec 11:6			Act 10:36 Act 10:43
δίδωμι	give, given, appointed	Gen 46:25 Gen 47:11 Gen 47:15 Gen 47:16 Gen 47:17 Gen 47:19 Gen 47:22 Gen 47:24			Mar 4:25	Luk 8:18	Act 10:40
διέρχομαι	through			Zec 10:11			Act 10:38
δικαιοσύνη	righteousness		Psa 38:20				Act 10:35
δύο	two			Zec 11:7
εἰρήνη	peace		Psa 38:3				Act 10:36
εἷς	one			Zec 10:10 Zec 11:7 Zec 11:8
ἔπω	said, speak, say, spoken	Gen 46:30 Gen 46:31 Gen 46:33 Gen 46:34 Gen 47:1 Gen 47:3 Gen 47:4 Gen 47:5 Gen 47:8 Gen 47:9 Gen 47:15 Gen 47:16 Gen 47:18 Gen 47:23 Gen 47:25	Ps 38:16	Zech 11:4 Zech 11:5 Zech 11:9			Act 10:34
ἔρχομαι	come, came	Gen 47:1 Gen 47:15 Gen 47:18			Mar 4:21 Mar 4:22	Luk 8:17
ἐσθίω	eat, ate	Gen 47:22
ἕτερος	other, another			Zec 11:7
ζάω	live, living	Gen 46:30 Gen 47:19	Psa 38:19				Act 10:42
ἡμέρα	day	Gen 47:9 Gen 47:23 Gen 47:26 Gen 47:28	Ps 38:6 Ps 38:12	Zech 11:11			Act 10:40
θεός	GOD
κλίνη	beds				Mar 4:21	Luk 8:16
κρυπτός	hidden				Mar 4:22	Luk 8:17 Luk 11:33
κύριος	LORD, master	Gen 47:18 Gen 47:25	Psa 38:1 Psa 38:9 Psa 38:15 Psa 38:21 Psa 38:22	Zec 10:7 Zec 10:12 Zec 11:4 Zec 11:5 Zec 11:6 Zec 11:11			Act 10:36
λαμβάνω	received	Gen 47:23		Zec 11:7 Zec 11:10			Act 10:43
λαός	people	Gen 47:21		Zec 11:9 Zec 11:10			Act 10:41 Act 10:42
λέγω	speaking, saying	Gen 47:1 Gen 47:5 Gen 47:15		Zec 10:12 Zec 11:4 Zec 11:5 Zec 11:6	Mar 4:21 Mar 4:24
λόγος	matter, word			Zec 11:11			Act 10:36
λυχνία	lamp stand				Mar 4:21	Luk 8:16 Luk 11:33
λύχνος	lamp				Mar 4:21	Luk 8:16 Luk 11:33
μεριμνάω	anxious		Psa 38:18
μέρος	part	Gen 47:24				Luk 11:36
μισέω	detested		Psa 38:19
μόδιος	bushel				Mar 4:21	Luk 11:33
ὅλος	entire, all		Psa 38:6 Psa 38:12			Luk 11:34 Luk 11:36	Act 10:37
ὄνομα	name			Zec 10:12			Act 10:43
πᾶς	all, entire	Gen 46:32 Gen 46:34 Gen 47:1 Gen 47:12 Gen 47:13 Gen 47:14 Gen 47:15 Gen 47:17 Gen 47:20	Ps 38:6 Ps 38:9	Zech 10:11 Zech 11:10			Act 10:35 Act 10:36 Act 10:38 Act 10:39 Act 10:41 Act 10:43
πατήρ	father	Gen 46:29 Gen 46:31 Gen 46:34 Gen 47:1 Gen 47:3 Gen 47:5 Gen 47:6 Gen 47:7 Gen 47:9 Gen 47:11 Gen 47:12
πολύς	more, many	Gen 46:29		Zec 10:8
πονηρός	severe, evil	Gen 47:9				Luk 11:34
προστίθημι	add				Mar 4:24
σπείρω	sowing	Gen 47:19 Gen 47:23		Zec 10:9
στόμα	mouth		Psa 38:13 Psa 38:14				Act 10:34
συνάγω	gathered, together	Gen 47:14
σῶμα	person, body	Gen 47:12 Gen 47:18				Luk 11:34 Luk 11:36
τίθημι	set, put, place, establish it	Gen 47:26			Mar 4:21	Luk 8:16 Luk 11:33
ὑπό	under				Mar 4:21	Luk 11:33	Act 10:38 Act 10:41 Act 10:42
φανερός	apparent				Mar 4:22	Luk 8:17
φῶς	light		Psa 38:10			Luk 8:16 Luk 11:35
ψυχή	soul		Ps 38:12	Zech 11:8

NAZAREAN TALMUD

Sidra Of B’resheet (Gen.) 46:28 – 47:28

“V’Et Yehudah Shalakh” “And Yehudah he sent”

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

H.Em. Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

School of Hakham Shaul Tosefta (Luqas Lk 11:33-36, 8:16-18) Mishnah א:א		School of Hakham Tsefet Peshat (Mark 4:21-25)
“No one after lighting a lamp, puts it in a secret place, nor does he place it under a bushel (measuring basket), but places it on a Menorah (lampstand), that those who come in may see the light. The light of the body is the eye: therefore, when your eye is whole, your entire body also is full of light; but when it is vain,[42] your body is also full of darkness. Therefore, pay careful attention to remain full of light (Torah) so that there is no darkness in you! If therefore your whole body is full of light, not having any darkness (vanity), it will be completely full of light (Torah), as it is when the lamp with its light gives light to you.” “And no one, after lighting a lamp, covers it with a clay jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a Menorah (lampstand), so that those who come in can see the light. For nothing is secret that will not become evident and nothing hidden that will not be known (to the insiders and ones “Given” the Oral Torah) and come to light. Therefore consider how and listen, for whoever has, to him more will be given even more, and whoever does not have, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away from him.”	And he (Yeshua) said to them, “Is a lamp[43] coming[44] in to be put under a bushel (measuring basket),[45] or under a bed? Is it not to serve[46] on a Menorah (lampstand)? For there is nothing hidden, which will not be exposed; nothing is kept secret, that does not come to light.[47] If any man have ears to hear,[48] let him hear.[49] And he said unto them, Take care what you hear: with what measure you use, it will be measured to you:[50] and to you that hear more will be given.[51] For to the one that has, to him will be given: and he that does not have, even what he has will be taken away.
School of Hakham Shaul Remes (2 Luqas -Acts 10:34-43) Pereq א:א
Then Hakham Tsefet opened his mouth, and said, I perceive[52] the truth that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that fears Him (God), and works righteousness/generosity,[53] is accepted by Him. The Mesorah,[54] which God sent[55] unto the B’ne Yisrael, proclaiming shalom by Yeshua HaMashiach: the master of us all. That Mesorah, I say, you know,[56] which was published throughout all Y’hudah (Judaea), and chiefly[57] in the Galil (Galilee), after the immersion which Yochanan (John) proclaimed; How God consecrated[58] Yeshua HaMashiach HaNotsri from the (city of) Branches^[59] with the Oral Torah/Spirit of Prophecy[60] and with miracle working power:[61] who went about doing good works, and healing all that were oppressed by the shedim (demons); for God’s Shekinah (presence) was with him. And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in Eretz Yisrael, and in Yerushalayim; whom they put to death and hung on a tree: Him God raised up the third day, to be plainly seen; Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before (as sacred ambassadors[62] under God, even to us, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded[63] us to proclaim to the Gentiles, and to testify that it is he which was appointed (Heb. Paqad) under God to be the judge of the living and dead. All the prophets bore witness of him[64], that the authority invested in him whosoever is faithfully obedient to his (Mesorah) will receive pardon for his sins.

Nazarean Codicil to be read in conjunction with the following Torah Seder:

Gen 46:28 – 47:28

Psa. 38

Zech. 10:6-12 + 11:4-11

Mk 4:21-25

Lk 11:33-36 Lk 8:16-18

Acts 10:34-43

Commentary to Hakham Tsefet’s School of Peshat

An analogy of Light

In the previous pericope, we had a lesson in hermeneutics. The present pericope continues with the result of hermeneutic application. The analogy of light here is associated with a “measure.” The underlying thought is “midda kneged midda” – measure for measure. However, as Gould[65] points out the measure is associated with the one’s personal awareness of “truth” per se. Taylor shows the explanation of these words to be “to the man who has, more will be given, while he who lacks will lose the light he has.”[66]

If a man accustoms himself to small measures of truth (Torah/Oral Torah), he only receives small measures.^[67]

In other words, the man who devotes only a little time to Torah studies only receives little information from it. However, we must also bear in mind that the pericope is one of five similes with the intent of revealing the “Governance of G-d.” Therefore, the awareness of the deep mystical thoughts (So’od), which even though they are hidden, are nothing more than exposés of the Governance of G-d. Furthermore, the awareness (revelation) of the Governance of G-d is only “brought to light” through acceptance and application as we will see from our Remes. The present simile is a part of five descriptions, which are suited for revealing the intimate workings of the Governance of G-d.

Why are there five similes, why not four, or six, or even seven?

1 Tsefet (Pe.) 5:6 Be humbled under the mighty hand[68] of G-d so that he will elevate you in the appropriate season.

Hakham Tsefet through his amanuensis Mordechai builds on the “Kingdom/Governance of G-d in five similes. The passage cited from 1 Tsefet is directly associated with the revealing of the Kingdom/Governance of G-d. Those who are willing to be humbled under the authority of G-d’s governance of the Bate Din and Hakhamim are destined for elevation and greater awareness of the mysteries of that authority. The depth of context is unfathomable. The Governance of G-d and the deep awareness of its mysteries are for the sake of building an authentic Theocratic Society. Only with this infrastructure for society can we return to Eden, the Garden of Delight/Pleasure.

The seminal work of the “Rambam” called the Mishneh Torah is also referred to as “Séfer Yad Ha-Chazaqáh” – “The Mighty hand.” This work is referred to as The Mishneh Torah. The Mishneh Torah itself is comprised of fourteen sections, arranged thematically, which encompass the range of Jewish law, from torts to ritual worship. In later years, the work was called “Yad Ha-Chazaqáh “The Mighty Fourteen” (in Hebrew, a wordplay on the expression “the mighty hand; (“The Mighty Hand”) which alludes to the fourteen books that make up the code of Jewish Law. The Hebrew letters yod and dalet, the letters of the Hebrew word “yad,” represent the number fourteen (14 = 1 +4 = 5. I.e. the hand (14) has 5 fingers). The title is also a play on Deuteronomy 34:12, which contains the author's first name: “And for all the great might (lit. “mighty hand”) and awesome power that Moshe displayed before all Yisrael.” This verse is particularly an apt reference, as the book of Deuteronomy itself is sometimes called “Mishneh Torah.”

An interesting point regarding this simile is raised by Marcus[69] when he states:

“The beginning of the present passage, however, asserts forcefully that this mysterious hiddeness of G-d’s dominion will not go on forever; if covert action is G-d’s modus operandi in the present, He will soon manifest His power openly.”

What Marcus misses here though is that “secret of the Governance of G-d (G-d’s Kingdom/ Dominion)” comes first via the medium of the Oral Torah, and except for the Jewish people (insiders), most of the Oral Torah, particularly those in the So’od (mystic level of hermeneutics) have remained in total obscurity and/or rejection by the majority of Gentiles (outsiders). Therefore, this “soon manifestation” that Marcus speaks about will perhaps become more of a progressive reality from today until the coming of Messiah. And surely, the Jewish Nazarean Orthodoxy having been heavily nuanced with Jewish mysticism by its very nature,[70] is as stated in a previous pericope of Mordechai. “To you it is given to know the So’od[71] of the kingdom (Governance) of G-d (through the Hakhamim and Bate Din as opposed to human kings). But, to those outside, all these things are given in comparative analogies. And he said “as it is written,” “And He (God) said, Go, and tell this people, You hear indeed, but do not understand; and seeing you see, but do not know. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and do teshuba (repentance), and be healed.”[72] (Yeshayahu 6:9-10).

As we have stated the phrase “to you it is given” is a clear reference of the Mesorah “Moshe qibal Torah” and it being “handed down,” The awareness of the light is only “given,” i.e., handed down and received “qibal” by the insiders. Therefore, the principle of measure is at the core of our pericope, meaning that the measure to which one applies himself it will be revealed.

m. Abot 2:4 Hillel says,

(1) “Do not walk out on (abandon) the community.

(2) “And do not have confidence in yourself until the day you die.

(3) “And do not judge your fellow until you are in his place.

(4) “And do not say anything which cannot be heard, for in the end it will be heard.

(5) “And do not say, ‘When I have time, I will study,” for you may never have time.”^[73]

m. Abot 2:5 He [Hillel] would say,

(1) “A crude person will never be sin-fearing (G-d fearing i.e. G-d fearer),

(2) nor will an Am HaAretz[74] (common) ever be pious,

(3) nor will a bashful person learn,

(4) nor will a short-tempered person teach,[75]

(5) nor will anyone too busy in business get wise.[76]

“In a place in which there are no] men of royalty, try to act like a [Royal] man.”^[77]

The mystery Kingdom/Governance of G-d remains obscured because of the antinomian prejudices. When the Oral Torah is abandoned for “grace,” we have “lawlessness.” This abandonment of Torah is self-destructive. Unfortunately, the Gentile failure to accept the Torah has caused blindness in their understanding of the Kingdom. What fails logic is the notion that there can be a lawless society. If everything is “grace” as is purported, how can we survive? “Grace” has been the licence for anarchy. However, as western society feed on Christian “Grace” it has fallen into the trap or the vortex that it has created. In this vein of thought, we can understand Hakham Tsefet’s words, he who has little, that will also be taken from him. The Kingdom/Governance of G-d remains a mystery to the antinomian mind, G-d’s rule is based upon the Torah as Governance for all of society. When a society is stripped of Torah, collapse is inevitable. If such a society really worked, we would not need traffic laws or societal legal infrastructure. However, because society cannot exist without Torah/Nomos we MUST learn to accept and apply the Torah to the exigencies of everyday life.

If the elemental and chief mitzvah is “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage;” how can we say that we do not want to follow the rules of a society, which places G-d first? Man must come to terms with his creation by G-d and His purpose in doing so.

G-d’s purpose in creation was the bestowal of His goodness upon His creatures. G-d alone is the personification of true perfection. He is free of all deficiency. Nothing can compare to G-d. Not anything labeled “perfect” is “perfect” on the same level as God. Since G-d desired to bestow good upon His creatures partial good would not be acceptable. However, G-d has made it possible for humanity to experience a level of this perfection. Those who have learned to put their trust in G-d will experience, upon implementation, as much perfection as possible by a creature of G-d. G-d’s creation of each creature was so that each creature might experience as much of G-ds good as humanly possible. Through cleaving to G-d, each creature has the ability to progress to the highest degree of perfection possible. Because both flawlessness and deficiency exist in our world, God has established a means for His creatures to avoid the deficiency and acquire perfection. By clinging to the elements of perfection, we are able to attain a level of perfection that emulates G-d’s perfection. Through the acquisition of excellence, we are able to resemble our Creator.[78]

Therefore, the social order of the Oral Torah has one basic pursuit. We know that it ultimately revolves around one basic principle, namely the assembling of a Perfected Community fit to exist in an eternal state of intimacy with God.

When the Highest Wisdom (G-d) considered everything needed to rectify the human race and make it into the Perfected Community discussed earlier, it saw that this goal would be furthered if some people could benefit others and help them attain a place in the Community. [79]

Consequently, we deduce that the Oral Torah that G-d daily breathed to Adam and Chava was for the sake of creating the Perfected Community. Herein the temporal world gives way to the Eternal “Ever Coming World” through the personification of the Mesorah.

Peroration

Unfortunately, our restraints of time and space minimize the amount of commentary we can produce. The hiddeness, light and measures are all important pieces of the puzzle, which elucidate thoughts presented in the Torah Seder. The astute will understand how to make these connections and draw from the wellspring of information we have not been able to present.

By way of analogy, the light of the present pericope is the Oral Torah as Yeshua and his Talmidim teach it. The Kingdom’s secret will always remain a secret because those who throw off rule and Torah will never understand why we have societal laws and standards. Therefore, their “measure” is not a positive contribution. Its negative contribution causes the denial of those pleasures. These people draw on society rather than contribute to it. Nazarean Judaism is anchored in righteousness/generosity, and making a positive investment in community and society.

Commentary to Hakham Shaul’s School of Remes

The Light of the Kingdom

We open our Remes commentary with some initial Peshat remarks worthy of mentioning from the Nazarean Gemara. Key points in our material, which we understood to be halakhic in nature, are…

1. Gentile relationship to G-d

2. Gentile relationship to the Mesorah

3. Jewish relationship to the Gentiles

4. Messiah as a Prototype for Jews and Gentiles alike

5. Messiah, Judge of the living and the dead

Following the list above, we note that the Gentile’s relationship is based not on his connection to Yeshua the Messiah but to his good works or his works of righteousness/generosity.

Secondly, we note that the relationship that Cornelius had with the Oral Torah was “knowing” or intimate understanding of the Oral Torah.

Thirdly, we note that the Jewish people are “Sacred Ambassadors” to the Gentiles. And, that their proclamation is that of the Mesorah.

Fourthly, Messiah is the prototype for Jew and Gentile alike.

· Yeshua was filled with the Oral Torah and the Spirit of Prophecy

· Yeshua was filled with and exemplified “good works”

· Yeshua’s fulfillment of the Torah and Oral Torah caused the Shekinah to surround him

Finally, we understand that the Oral Torah constitutes the halakhic norm by which Jew and Gentile will be judged by. And that Yeshua, King Messiah will be our Judge.

Chosen as sacred ambassadors and Divine agents

Having pointed to those Halakhic aspects of our Gemara to Marqos, we now turn our attention to the allegorical aspects of the text.

As we have seen Y’hudah is “sent” to the land of Mitzrayim as a sacred ambassador. His mission was that of establishing a Bet Midrash for the Jewish people in Diaspora. This mission, as we have stated is elemental for Jewish survival. Without a Bet Midrash, there is no such thing as the Jewish people. The echo of the Torah Seder found in the present 2 Luqan (Tosefta) pericope is well worth exploring. We can find manifold allegorical agents and sacred ambassadors in this pericope. Firstly, we see the agent of Hakham Tsefet as he “Opens his mouth.” He is the Sacred Ambassador of the Mesorah to the Gentiles. The present Pericope tells us some very important things concerning Gentiles and the Mesorah/Oral Torah. Chief is that the Gentiles are to “Know” the Mesorah. Hakham Tsefet, speaking to Cornelius says, “you Know.” This indicates that Cornelius was already intimately aware of the 613 mitzvot and the “Mishneh Torah” per se. Had Cornelius been ignorant of the Oral Torah Hakham Tsefet would have used different vocabulary. Therefore, the hermeneutic application of language teaches us that Cornelius was perfectly aware of the Mesorah. We cannot say that this was the case for every Gentile, nor can we say that this was true for every Gentile in Eretz Yisrael. However, the use of λαός – laos should be translated as עם – am or גּוי – goy in the present case. This language can be confusing if we fail to follow the direct applicable hermeneutic. During the first century the Ger HaSha’ar, proselyte of the Gate was nearly as observant as the Am HaAretz – “the people of Land” i.e. the uneducated Jews. Therefore, Hakham Tsefet is suggesting that the “people” λαός – laos (the Ger HaSha’ar, proselyte of the Gate and Am HaAretz – “the people of Land”) need to receive the Oral Torah. As a “Sacred Agent” Hakham Tsefet mimics the Sacred Ambassador Y’hudah who went before Ya’aqob into Diaspora. Hakham Tsefet is the Chief Ambassador to the Gentiles. However, we can clearly see that he was reaching out not only to the Gentiles. And, again we make reference to the “mixed multitude”[80] that went out of Egypt. Hakham Tsefet was reaching out to all the souls in need of repair.

The 2 Luqan (Acts) pericope is amazingly connected with D’varim 10:17-19

^“For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe. He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing. Therefore love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.”

The allegorical picture presented here is not hard to see. We see Yosef as the Goel (Redeemer) for the entire world. Allegorically this Goel is Hakham Tsefet. His work of Tikun carries the Mesorah, healing balm of the soul to the entire world. The message of the Mesorah was never intended to be strictly confined to any one region. The world having entered into a state of separation is now in the process of return. Historically we have seen the thesis and antithesis we are now in the state of synthesis and healing. Every soul has limitless potential for generating the required tikun. Hakham Tsefet’s message to Cornelius is an opening of the doors that had been shut for many years.

In our present generation, we have seen many of the same scenarios played out right before our eyes. The Shammaite view of Noahide ideology retards the process of tikun by holding the Gentile at bay. If the redemptive process requires our taking the Mesorah to the Gentiles of our age, we need to expedite our work.

If, as we have stated the Oral Torah that G-d daily breathed to Adam and Chava was for the sake of creating the Perfected Community. We must take to task the message of the Mesorah and then use it as a tool for liberating and restoring people to their rightful place and destiny. The temporal world gives way to the Eternal “Ever Coming World” through the personification of the Mesorah.

The core of the Torah Seder is the mission of Y’hudah as he is making a Bet Midrash among the Gentiles, Therefore, we must logically deduce the following three things:

1. The Jewish people must have a Bet Midrash among the Gentiles while in exile. The Bet Midrash is for the sake of preservation and propagation of the Mesorah.

2. Secondly, we deduce from logic that if we build a Bet Midrash among the Gentiles we will inevitably have Gentiles joining those Bate Midrash

3. Thirdly, we will be preserved and in turn complete the redemptive process

By applying Remes – allegorical logic to the present text we can determine that both Y’hudah and Hakham Tsefet represent the Jewish people.

The Mesorah, which God sent unto the B’ne Yisrael

We must from logic draw another truth from the cited text of 2 Luqas. G-d gave the Mesorah to the Jewish people. To them were given the “Oracles of G-d.”[81] This logical deduction gives way to yet another logical truth. This truth has two facets.

Firstly, the Jewish people must accept their role as Kings and Priests who are to “Oralize” the Torah to the Gentiles

Secondly, the Gentiles and Am HaAretz – "the people of Land" i.e. the uneducated Jews must accept the authority of the Jewish Bate Din.

Hakham Tsefet craftily engineered the words of Mark’s present pericope to be read with the present 2 Luqan text as these pieces of materials wrap around the Torah amazing things come to light (pun intended). Cornelius has accepted the authority of the Bet Din with his family and colleagues. Therefore, he merits authority in the Kingdom/Governance of G-d. To those who refuse to subjugate themselves to the authority of the Bet Din, the “freedom” they thought they had will be taken away. Here we must understand that they believe that they are free because they are “no longer under the Law (Torah).” Unfortunately, they are not free. Therefore, the so-called freedom that they think they have will be taken away from them. In this way, “midda kneged midda” is fully applicable to the Governance of G-d. This system is by Divine design.

I perceive the truth that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that fears Him (God), and works righteousness/generosity, is accepted by Him.

These words are so powerful we can hardly imagine their truth. In an era where everyone is heralding freedom from Torah[82] these words escape the cognitive psyche. Yet, the power of these words are recorded and paraded before our eyes as a warning and a halakhic principle for “acceptance with G-d.” Here again we will apply sevarah – logic to determine the negative result of not working righteous/generosity in saying if anyone does not fear G-d and do not perform acts of righteous/generosity he will NOT be accepted by G-d. This point is secured and strengthened in eth argument that Yeshua himself was filled with works of righteousness/generosity.

Peroration

Midda kneged midda applies to every aspect of life, from Torah education to acts of righteousness/generosity. Hakham Tsefet demonstrates the result of works of righteousness/generosity as a means for drawing the Shekinah. The Hebrew word Shekinah means “neighbouring presence.” Therefore, we determine that works of righteousness/ generosity draw the Shekinah close to us.

Implicit Halakhah

Positive Mitzvot 1-15, 32, 94[83]

Questions for Understanding and Reflection

1. How were the readings for last Shabbat fulfilled for you during last week?
2. From all the readings for this Shabbat which verse or verses impressed your heart and fired your imagination?

3. What questions were asked of Rashi regarding Gen. 46:28?

4. What questions were asked of Rashi regarding Gen. 46:29?

5. What questions were asked of Rashi regarding Gen. 46:34?

6. What questions were asked of Rashi regarding Gen. 47:9?

7. What questions were asked of Rashi regarding Gen. 47:10?

8. What questions were asked of Rashi regarding Gen. 47:19?

9. What questions were asked of Rashi regarding Gen. 47:21?

10. What questions were asked of Rashi regarding Gen. 47:28?

11. Please provide a Peshat, Remes, and Drash interpretation of Ps. 38:7.

12. Please provide a Peshat, Remes, and Drash interpretation of Ps. 38:21.

13. What physical reality of Jewish homes and the Sabbath lights during the first century is alluded to in the texts of Mark 4:21-23 and Luke 11:33-36?

14. What is the meaning and implications of Zechariah 10:9 and how is this all prefigured in our Torah Seder?

15. What is the allegorical meaning in Zechariah 11:12 of the phrase “And they weighed out My hire, thirty pieces of silver”?

16. Why does the mystery of the Kingdom/Governance of G-d remains obscured to many Gentiles and assimilated Jews today?

17. What is the basic pursuit of the Oral Torah concerning civil society? Please explain your answer.

18. It is said that “Without a Bet Midrash, there is no such thing as the Jewish people.” Please explain this statement, and describe the implications of this assertion for us Nazarean Jews.

19. Why is it that believing and fearing G-d is not enough to be accepted by G-d, most blessed be He? Please explain your answer.

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

Blessing After Torah Study

Barúch Atáh Adonai, Elohénu Meléch HaOlám,

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

Barúch Atáh Adonái, Notén HaToráh. Amen!

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

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

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

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

before His majesty, with joy, [namely,] the only one God, our Deliverer, by means of Yeshua the Messiah our Master, be praise, and dominion, and honor, and majesty, both now and in all ages. Amen!”

Next Shabbat:

“Yif’qod Adonai” - “Let Appoint Ha-Shem”

Sabbath of the New Moon for the Month of Shebat

Shabbat	Torah Reading:	Weekday Torah Reading:
יִפְקֹד יְהוָה
“Yif’qod Adonai”	Reader 1 – B’Midbar 27:15-17	Reader 1 – B’resheet 47:29-31
“Let Appoint Ha-Shem”	Reader 2 – B’Midbar 27:18-20	Reader 2 – B’resheet 48:1-3
“Ponga el SEÑOR”	Reader 3 – B’Midbar 27:21-23	Reader 3 – B’resheet 48:3-6
B’Midbar (Num.) 27:15 – 28:26	Reader 4 – B’Midbar 28:1-9
Ashlamatah: Is 66:1-24	Reader 5 – B’Midbar 28:10-14
	Reader 6 – B’Midbar 28:15-18	Reader 1 – B’resheet 47:29-31
Proverbs 7:1-27	Reader 7 – B’Midbar 28:19-25	Reader 2 – B’resheet 48:1-3
	Maftir – B’Midbar 28:23-25	Reader 3 – B’resheet 48:3-6
N.C.: Col. 2:16-23	Isaiah 66:1-24

Shalom Shabbat!

Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David

Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham

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[1] Cf. Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_of_Goshen

[2] http://www.kby.org.il/hebrew/torat-yavneh/view.asp?id=3633

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

[4] Ibid. 3

[5] It is also worth noting that we are reading this Torah portion and Psalm shortly after the Fast of Tebet 10 when the Babylonian exile began.

[6] The Children of Israel

[7] Goyim (גוים) – Gentiles.

[8] G-d = Elohim = HaShem when He is exercising the attribute of justice.

[9] Galut - גלות, refers to the exile of the Jewish people.

[10] Hoshea 1:6 ‘Compassion’ is thus mentioned even in connection with retribution.

[11] Hoshea 2:25.

[12] Ohr Hachayim, beginning of Ki Satze.

[13] Chiddushei Aggadah to Pesachim 87

[14] Ezekiel 34:31

[15] Cf. Num. 19:14: This is the law, when a man dieth in a tent; all that come into the tent, and all that is in the tent, shall be unclean seven days. (This command applies ONLY to Israel!)

[16] Yerushalmi, Shekalim 1:4

[17] Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 22:30.

[18] I Divre Hayamim (Chronicles) 3:17. Notwithstanding the curse that he should be childless and not prosper, after being exiled he was forgiven.

[19] Shemot 18:14-27

[20] Zevachim 115a

[21] See Joshua Chapter 2

[22] Megillah 14b-15a

[23] Ibid.22

[24] Pesachim 87b

[25] Midrash Rabbah - Numbers VII:10

[26] Nedarim 32a, Midrash Rabbah - Genesis LVII:4, Midrash Rabbah - Exodus XVIII:11, Midrash Rabbah - Numbers XIII:20.

[27] Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 48:20

[28] Pesachim 10:1

[29] Megillah 29a

[30] AKA ‘qere’.

[31] AKA ktib.

[32] Tanakh is a Hebrew acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah ("Teaching", also known as the Five Books of Moses), Neviim (Prophets) and Ketuvim (Writings)—hence TaNaKh.

[33] As in the Stone edition of the Tanakh, by Mesorah publications.

[34] The Masoretic Text is the authoritative Hebrew text which is regarded almost universally as the official version of the Tanakh. It defines not just the books of the Jewish canon, but also the precise letter-text of the biblical books in Judaism, as well as their vocalization and accentuation known as the Masorah.

[35] Biblia Hebraica Leningradensia, edited by Aron Dotan, from Hendrickson Publishers.

[36] The Book of Ruth, MeAm Loez, by Rabbi Shmuel Yerushalmi, translated by E. van Handel, edited by Dr. Zvi Faier.

[37] The Torah: With Rashi’s commentary translated, annotated, and elucidated, by Rabbi Yisrael Isser Zvi Herczeg. From Mesorah Publications.

[38] Igeret Hakodesh, Chapter 19

[39] Shlomo ben Aderet (Hebrew: שלמה בן אדרת) (or Solomon son of Aderet) (1235 — 1310) was a Medieval rabbi, halachist, and Talmudist. He is widely known as the Rashba (Hebrew: רשב״א), the Hebrew acronym of his title and name: Rabbi Shlomo ben Aderet.

[40] Radak

[41] A Latin phrase meaning “scripture only”.

[42] Greek πονηρός translates to Hebrew רַע empty. Therefore, the body that is not filled with light is “empty.”

[43] Lamp not candle. Just as the “seed” which was sown (also a direct verbal tally to Zech 10:9) in the previous simile, we have the light as the Torah, Oral and Written. Marcus, J. (2000). Mark 1 - 8, A new translation with commentary (The Anchor Bible Series ed.). New Haven: Doubleday (Yale University). p. 318

[44] The light coming in is in the active not passive state. Therefore, we see a continuous coming of light in the present pericope.

[45] We must define the “purposed “basket” as a means of measuring. The measuring basked was set as a standard for determining whom much a person would be trading for. In other words, the basket is set as a standard for measuring. While it may be understood as a mere “basket” the context from the latter part of the pericope shows that measuring amounts is and important aspect of this analogy/simile.

[46] cf. Str. 5087 1C

[47] Here the language of Hakham Tsefet is multifaceted. He speaks of the exposure of negative works and the mysteries of G-d as well. The mysteries (secrets) never remain “hidden.” G-d loves nothing more than to reveal his secrets to His Prophets, i.e. the Hakhamim.

Gould accurately notes, The ultimate end of the hiding is manifesting. This is a case of the argumentum a minori. Even what is hidden is hidden only for the purpose of ultimate manifestation, and how much more is this true of anything that is in its nature light, instead of dark. κρυπτόν is emphatic. The progress of all knowledge is the manifestation of this principle. The earth is full of secrets, hidden treasures and forces, but they have been hidden away, only in order that man may bring them forth out of their hiding, and enrich his life with them. οὐδὲ ἐγένετο ἀπόκρυφον—nor did it become hidden away. This differs from the former by the difference between ἐγένετο and ἐστί. It points to the act of hiding, as that does to the state. Both are for the same purpose. God has secrets, mysteries, but they are not permanent secrets, only held in reserve for future revelation. Gould, E. P. (1922). A critical and exegetical commentary on the Gospel according to St. Mark. New York: C. Scribner's sons. p. 78

[48] This is the famous citation from the Talmud.

[49] The thought here is clearly, meditate on what you have heard. This is an allusion to the deeper meaning of the text. Therefore, the allegorical or Remes accompaniment to the pericope.

[50] The idea hear is midda kneged midda with regard to the “measure” of understanding a person applies to the Torah. With what “measure” of application and study one applies it will be returned midda kneged midda. Please note the context of “hearing” referring to the Hebrew word Shema – Hear, Obey etc.

[51] cf. m. Sot. 1.7, t. Sot 3.1 (midda kneged midda – measure for measure)

[52] The phrase “I perceive” refers to the Prophetic revelation received in the previous pericope. This vocabulary corresponds with the Peshat materials above.

[53] cf. Mt 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father, which is in the heavens. Please note that this passage from Matityahu is the Midrashic parallel to the Marqan and Luqan pericope cited above.

[54] We have translated the Greek λόγος – logos as Mesorah due to contextual constraints. While λόγος – logos is clearly a “word” we understand that here the “word” indicates the message of the Master as a whole. The word of the Master is the Mesorah, i.e. Oral Torah.

[55] Verbal connection to B’resheet 46:28. Here we find a subtle reference to the Bet Midrash, which Rashi cites (See Rashi and Hakham’s note 46:28 above) from the Midrash Tanchuma. Ya’aqob sends Y’hudah ahead of the family to establish a Bet Midrash establishing the precedent for all the Jewish people throughout history. The Bet Midrash is the soul of the Jewish people because from it we receive the Torah. The 2 Luqan passages follows the same precedent in that G-d “sent” the Mesorah through the Master so that it would be the elemental structure for Jewish education as the Jewish people were “dispersed” into the Diaspora. If we pay special attention to the verbal connections here in 2 Luqas we will not that there is very similar language including the “sent” ones and that the Mesorah came “First” to Y’hudah. In our Torah Seder Y’hudah is dispatched into “Diaspora” (Mitzrayin/Egypt) to sow seed of the Oral Torah. In the Torah Seder we see Y’hudah dispatched to seed the “Word” (Oral Torah). In 2 Luqas we see G-d sending (dispatching) the Word/Oral Torah through Yeshua and Hakham Tsefet as he goes into Diaspora.

[56] We must bear in mind that Hakham Tsefet is speaking to the Gentiles who he says “you KNOW!” How did the Gentiles know the Mesorah and that it related specifically to Messiah?

[57] ἄρχω – archomai synonymous with ראשׁית – re'shiyth From the same as H7218 (rosh); the first, in place, time, order or rank (specifically a firstfruit): - beginning, chief (-est), first (-fruits, part, time), principal thing.

[58] Generally speaking, χρίω – chrio means “anointed,” however the appropriate translation is as we have translated “consecrated.” This is because Yeshua was never formally “anointed” as a Kohanic Priest or a King. Therefore, these titles are honorary. This does not in any way diminish the role or office of the Master. His consecration to office as Messiah is as important as that of any Prophet, Priest or King.

[59] There is a great deal of controversy concerning the title “Nazareth” as the place where Yeshua “grew up” or resided during his early years. Nazareth is not mentioned in any Jewish literature i.e. Mishnah, Talmud, Midrash or Josephus. The etymology of the word seems to be related to the idea that Messiah would be from the stock or “branch” of David. Further research shows that נָצַר also means to guard or watch. Therefore, it is suggested that the “City of Branches” or the “City of “Guardians” or “City of Watchmen” is Tzfat. Consequently, this would make Tzfat the actual place of Yeshua’s early residence. This interpretation seems to be more in line with the thought of Yeshua being from the “branch” of Jessie (Davidic stock). Given the Remes interpretation of the present materials we would suggest that Yeshua was the “guardian, watchman of the “soul,” “Oral Torah,” “Wisdom” – Hokhmah and Tzfat was the “secret garden” or “garden of secrets” (So’od).

[60] Messiah Must be a Prophet “like Moshe” (De. 18:15-19)

[61] Verbal connection to Zech 10:6.

While we see the miracle working power, this is Not a proof that Yeshua was Messiah. We have no need of wonders or miracles as a proof for Messiah. As the Rambam has written, cf. Rambam, M. M. (1998). Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Yesodei HaTorah (Vol. 1:4). (R. E. Touger, Trans.) Moznaim Publishing Corp. p. 294ff

[62] προκεχειροτονημένοις from προχειροτονέω – procheirotoneo is not found in the LXX. Philo use this word on two occasions. Firstly, as noted here “sacred ambassadors” and secondly the pointing of the finger or hand. (See Yad Ha-Chazaqáh below)

[63] Verbal connection to B’resheet 47:3ff

To command is based on the idea of Mesoraizing if we can use such a word. The idea of commanding is bound up in the idea of spreading the Mesorah.

[64] b. San 98b

[65] Our rendition of Gould’s words. Gould, E. P. (1922). A critical and exegetical commentary on the Gospel according to St. Mark. New York: C. Scribner's sons. p. 78

[66] Taylor, V. (1955). The Gospel According to Mark. New York St Martin's Press: MacMillian & Co LTD. p. 262

^[67] Our rendition of Gould’s words. Gould, E. P. (1922). A critical and exegetical commentary on the Gospel according to St. Mark. New York: C. Scribner's sons. p. 78

[68] Yad Ha-Chazaqáh – the “Mighty hand of G-d referring to the Oral Torah.

[69] Marcus, J. (2000). Mark 1 - 8, A new translation with commentary (The Anchor Bible Series ed.). New Haven: Doubleday (Yale University). p. 318

[70] cf. Mark 4:11-12

[71] The “comparative analogies,” παραβολή - paraboli containing μυστήριον – musterion, (Hebrew סוֹד) means G-d’s rule through the Bate Din, which are “Given” specifically to his talmidim.

[72] Cf. Yermiyahu (Jer.) 5:21, and Yechezqel (Eze.)12:2 also Dan 2:18-19, 35-41 LXX, 1 Cor. 2:1-7

^[73] Neusner, J. (1988). The Mishnah : A new translation New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. p. 675

[74] Am HaAretz An Israelite who is not trusted properly to tithe his produce or to observe the rules of Levitical cleanness. The opposite of a Chaber

[75] Now we will come in defense of Hakham Tsefet. If we accept this truth, we can understand that Hakham Tsefet was not a “short-tempered” person.

[76] cf. Tebeth 16, 5773 These are those being sown into the thorn bushes, those hearing the Oral Torah, And the cares of this age, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts about other things entering in, they choke the Oral Torah, and it becomes unfruitful.^[76]

^[77]Neusner, J. (1988). The Mishnah : A new translation (676). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

[78] Luzzatto, M. C. (1999). The Way of God (Pocket Edition ed.). (e. b. Areyeh Kaplan, Trans.) New York, New York: Feldheim Publishers. p. 36

[79] Ibid. 99

[80] Shemot 12:38

[81] cf. Acts 7:38; Rom 3.2; & Heb. 5:12

[82] This applies not only to Gentile Christians; it applies to many so-called Messianic congregations and Noahides as well.

[83] We are following the Mitzvot as outlined in Rambam, M. (1967). The Commandments (Vol. 1). (C. B. Chavel, Ed.) The Soncino Press.