Esnoga Bet Emunah

4544 Highline Dr. SE

Olympia, WA 98501

United States of America

© 2017

http://www.betemunah.org/

E-Mail: gkilli@aol.com

Menorah 5

Esnoga Bet El

102 Broken Arrow Dr.

Paris TN 38242

United States of America

© 2017

http://torahfocus.com/

E-Mail: waltoakley@charter.net

 

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 09, 5777 – Jan 06/07, 2017

Second Year of the Shmita Cycle

 

 

Candle Lighting and Habdalah Times:

 

Amarillo, TX, U.S.

Fri. Jan 06 2017 – Candles at 5:33 PM

Sat. Jan 07 2017 – Habdalah 6:33 PM

Austin & Conroe, TX, U.S.

Fri. Jan 06 2017 – Candles at 5:28 PM

Sat. Jan 07 2017 – Habdalah 6:25 PM

Brisbane, Australia

Fri. Jan 06 2017 – Candles at 6:30 PM

Sat. Jan 07 2017 – Habdalah 7:27 PM

Chattanooga, & Cleveland, TN, U.S.

Fri. Jan 06 2017 – Candles at 5:27 PM

Sat. Jan 07 2017 – Habdalah 6:27 PM

Manila & Cebu, Philippines

Fri. Jan 06 2017 – Candles at 5:23 PM

Sat. Jan 07 2017 – Habdalah 6:16 PM

Miami, FL, U.S.

Fri. Jan 06 2017 – Candles at 5:27 PM

Sat. Jan 07 2017 – Habdalah 6:23 PM

Murray, KY, & Paris, TN. U.S.

Fri. Jan 06 2017 – Candles at 4:35 PM

Sat. Jan 07 2017 – Habdalah 5:36 PM

Olympia, WA, U.S.

Fri. Jan 06 2017 – Candles at 4:21 PM

Sat. Jan 07 2017 – Habdalah 5:31 PM

Port Orange, FL, U.S.

Fri. Jan 06 2017 – Candles at 5:23 PM

Sat. Jan 07 2017 – Habdalah 6:20 PM

San Antonio, TX, U.S.

Fri. Jan 06 2017 – Candles at 5:33 PM

Sat. Jan 07 2017 – Habdalah 6:30 PM

Sheboygan  & Manitowoc, WI, US

Fri. Jan 06 2017 – Candles at 4:12 PM

Sat. Jan 07 2017 – Habdalah 5:18 PM

Singapore, Singapore

Fri. Jan 06 2017 – Candles at 6:54 PM

Sat. Jan 07 2017 – Habdalah 7:46 PM

St. Louis, MO, U.S.

Fri. Jan 06 2017 – Candles at 4:37 PM

Sat. Jan 07 2017 – Habdalah 5:40 PM

Tacoma, WA, U.S.

Fri. Jan 06 2017 – Candles at 4:18 PM

Sat. Jan 07 2017 – Habdalah 5:29 PM

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

Roll of Honor:

 

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

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

His Honor Paqid Adon David ben Abraham

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

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

Her Excellency Giberet Sarai bat Sarah & beloved family

His Excellency Adon Barth Lindemann & beloved family

His Excellency Adon John Batchelor & beloved wife

Her Excellency Giberet Leah bat Sarah & beloved mother

Her Excellency Giberet Zahavah bat Sarah & beloved family

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

His Excellency Adon Brad Gaskill and beloved wife Cynthia Gaskill

His Excellency Adon Marvin Hyde

His Excellency Adon Scott Allen

 

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

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

 

 

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

 

We pray for the elderly mother of Her Honor Giberet Giborah bat Sarah, Mrs. Pearl Stroppel, who has terminal cancer. Mi Sheberach – He Who blessed our holy and pure Matriarchs, Sarah, Ribkah, Rachel and Leah, bless Her Excellency Giberet Mrs. Pearl Stroppel and send her a complete recovery and strengthening of body and soul. Please G-d heal her, please. Please G-d heal her, please. Please G-d heal her, please. Cure her, strengthen her, make her healthy and return her to her original strength, together with all the sick of Yisrael. And may it be so willed, and we will say, Amen ve Amen! Also, extend great mercy, shalom and healing to H.H. Giberet Gibora bat Sarah at this time of great sorrow for her, and we say, amen ve amen!

 

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

 

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

 

We pray for a merciful healing of Her Excellency Giberet Shanique bat Sarah who is afflicted with Lymphoma cancer. We also pray for her daughter and family. Mi Sheberach – He Who blessed our holy and pure Matriarchs, Sarah, Ribkah, Rachel and Leah, bless Her Excellency Giberet Shanique bat Sarah and send her a complete recovery with her new experimental treatment. Please God heal her, please. Please God heal her, please. Please God heal her, please. Cure her, strengthen her, make her healthy and return her to her original strength, together with all the sick of Yisrael. And may it be so willed, and we will say, Amen ve Amen!

 

 

Shabbat: “Im-Keséf Talvéh” – “If you lend money”

 

Shabbat

Torah Reading:

Weekday Torah Reading:

אִם-כֶּסֶף תַּלְוֶה

 

 

“Im-Kesef Talveh”

Reader 1 – Sh’mot 22:24-30                                                                                                                   

Reader 1 – Sh’mot 25:1-3

“If you lend money”

Reader 2 – Sh’mot 23:1-19

Reader 2 – Sh’mot 25:4-6

“Si prestares dinero”

Reader 3 – Sh’mot 23:20-25

Reader 3 – Sh’mot 25:7-9

Sh’mot (Exodus) 22:24 – 24:18

Reader 4 – Sh’mot 23:26-33

 

Ashlamatah: Ezekiel 18:17-23 +30-32

Reader 5 – Sh’mot 24:1-3

 

 

Reader 6 – Sh’mot 24:4-11

Reader 1 – Sh’mot 25:1-3

Psalms 59:1-18

Reader 7 – Sh’mot 24:12-18

Reader 2 – Sh’mot 25:4-6

 

    Maftir – Sh’mot 24:16-18

Reader 3 – Sh’mot 25:7-9

N.C.: Mk 7:24-37;

Acts 18:12-23

         Ezekiel 18:17-23 +30-32

 

 

Blessings Before Torah Study

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

These are the Laws whose benefits a person can often enjoy even in this world, even though the primary reward is in the Next World: They are: Honoring 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!

 

 

Contents of the Torah Seder

 

·        Loans and Pledges – Exodus 22:24-26

·        Respect Towards G-d and Rulers – Exodus 22:27

·        Offerings and First-Fruits – Exodus 22:28-29

·        Unlawful Meat – Exodus 22:30

·        Truth in Justice – Exodus 23:1-3

·        Love of Enemy – Exodus 23:4-5

·        Impartiality in Justice – Exodus 23:6-9

·        The Sabbatical Year and the Sabbath Day – Exodus 23:10-12

·        Not to Mention the Name of Other gods -  Exodus 23:13

·        The Three Annual Pilgrim Festivals – Exodus 23:14-18

·        Mode of Presentation of First-Fruits & Not to Eat Milk and Meat Together – Exodus 23:19

·        An Exhortation – Exodus 23:20-33

·        Ratification of the Covenant – Exodus 24:1-18

 

 

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan

for: Shemot (Exod.) 22:24 – 24:18

 

RASHI

TARGUM PSEUDO JONATHAN

24. When you lend money to My people, to the poor person [who is] with you, you shall not behave toward him as a lender; you shall not impose interest upon him.

24. ¶ If you lend money to (one of) My people, to (one of) the humble of My people, you will not be to him as an usurer, neither lay it upon him that there will be witnesses against him, or that he give pledges, or equivalents, or usury.

JERUSALEM: If you lend money to My people, to the poor of your people, you will not be to him an oppressive creditor, or lay upon him either equivalents or usury.

25. If you take your neighbor's garment as security, until sunset you shall return it to him,

25. If you take (at all) for a pledge the garment of your neighbor, you will restore it to him before sunset;

26. for it is his only covering; it is his garment for his skin. With what shall he lie? And it shall be [that] if he cries out to Me, I will hear because I am gracious.

26. for it may be his only clothes which alone covers him; (or) it is his only garment in which he rests, which falls upon his skin; and if you take the coverlet of the bed whereon he lies, and he be heard before Me, I will hearken to his prayer; for I am Elohim the Merciful.

27. You shall not curse a judge, neither shall you curse a prince among your people.

27. ¶ Sons of Israel My people, you will not revile your judges, nor curse the rabbis who are appointed rulers among your people.

28. Your fullness offering and your heave offering you shall not delay; the firstborn of your sons you shall give Me.

28. ¶ The firsts of your fruits, and the firsts of your wine-press, you will not delay to bring up in their time to the place of My habitation. The firstlings of your males you will separate before Me.

29. So shall you do with your cattle and with your sheep: seven days it shall be with its mother, on the eighth day you may give it to Me.

29. So will you do with the firstlings of your oxen and sheep; seven days it will be suckled by its mother, and on the eighth day you will separate it before Me.

30. And you shall be holy people to Me, and flesh torn in the field you shall not eat; you shall throw it to the dog[s].

30. ¶ And holy men, tasting unconsecrated things innocently, shall you be before Me; but flesh torn by wild beasts alive you may not eat, but throw it to the dog as his portion.

1. You shall not accept a false report; do not place your hand with a wicked person to be a false witness.

1. 1 ¶ Sons of Israel My people, take not up lying words from a man who accuses his neighbor before you, nor put your hand with the wicked to become a false witness.

2. You shall not follow the majority for evil, and you shall not respond concerning a lawsuit to follow many to pervert [justice].

2. Sons of Israel My people, you will not go after the many to do evil, but to do good; and no one among you will restrain himself from affirming justly concerning his neighbor in the judgment, by saying, Behold, the judgment sides with the many.

JERUSALEM: Sons of Israel My people, you will not go after the multitude to do evil, but to do good; and no one of you will restrain himself from setting forth the just cause of his neighbor in the judgment, nor say in your heart, The judgment sides with the many.

3. Neither shall you glorify a poor man in his lawsuit.

3. And to the poor man who is guilty in his cause, you will not be partial in having compassion upon him; for there must not be respect of persons in judgment.

4. If you come upon your enemy's bull or his stray donkey, you shall surely return it to him.

4. ¶ If you meet the ox of your enemy whom you dislike on account of the wickedness which you only know is in him, or an ass that wanders from the way, you will surely bring it to him.

5. If you see your enemy's donkey lying under its burden would you refrain from helping him? You shall surely help along with him.

5. If you see the ass of your enemy whom you dislike on account of the wickedness which you only know to be in him, lying under his burden, and you would refrain yourself from going near him, you will relinquish at once the dislike of your heart against (your enemy), and release and take care of the ass (or, charge yourself with him).

6. You shall not pervert the judgment of your poor man in his lawsuit.

6. ¶ Sons of Israel My people, you will not warp the judgment of the poor in his cause.

7. Distance yourself from a false matter; and do not kill a truly innocent person or one who has been declared innocent, for I will not vindicate a guilty person.

7. From a false matter keep distant. And when one has gone forth from your house of justice acquitted, and they (afterwards) find out his guilt; or one has been brought out condemned, and they (afterward) find out his innocence,-­you will not put him to death; for I will not hold (the former) innocent, nor the latter guilty.

8. You shall not accept a bribe, for a bribe will blind the clear sighted and corrupt words that are right.

8. And you may not receive a bribe; for a bribe blinds their eyes who have taken it, and casts down the wise from their seats, and pervert the right words which are written in the Law, and confounds the words that are in the mouth of the innocent in the hour of judgment.

9. And you shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the feelings of the stranger, since you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

9. ¶ You will not oppress the stranger; for you know the sigh of a stranger's soul; because you were sojourners in the land of Mizraim.

10. Six years you may sow your land and gather in its produce.

10. ¶ Six years you will sow your land, and gather the produce;

11. But in the seventh [year] you shall release it and abandon it; the poor of your people shall eat [it], and what they leave over, the beasts of the field shall eat. So shall you do to your vineyard [and] to your olive tree[s].

11. but the seventh year you will exempt it from labor, and give up the fruit of it to be eaten by the poor of My people; and what they leave will be eaten by the beasts of the field. And in like manner will you do with your vine and olive grounds.

12. Six days you may do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest, in order that your ox and your donkey shall rest, and your maidservant's son and the stranger shall be refreshed.

12. ¶ Six days do your work, and on the seventh day repose, that your ox and your ass may rest, and that the uncircumcised son of your handmaid, and the stranger, may rest.

13. Concerning all that I have said to you you shall beware, and the name of the gods of others you shall not mention; it shall not be heard through your mouth.

13. And of all the precepts that I have spoken to you, be careful; and the names of the idols of the Gentiles remember not, nor let them be heard upon your lips.

14. Three times you shall slaughter sacrifices to Me during the year.

14. ¶ Three times in the year you will keep festival before Me.

15. You shall observe the festival of unleavened bread; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread as I have commanded you, at the appointed time of the month of springtime, for then you left Egypt, and they shall not appear before Me empty handed.

15. The feast of unleavened bread you will keep. Seven days you will eat unleavened bread, as I have instructed you, in the time of the month of Abib, because in it you came forth from Mizraim; and you will not appear before Me empty handed.

16. And the festival of the harvest, the first fruits of your labors, which you will sow in the field, and the festival of the ingathering at the departure of the year, when you gather in [the products of] your labors from the field.

16. And the feast of the harvest first-fruits of the work you did sow in the field; and the feast of gathering, at the end of the year, when you have gathered in your work from the field.

17. Three times during the year, all your males shall appear before the Master, the Lord.

17. Three times in the year will all your males appear before the LORD the Ruler of the world.

18. You shall not sacrifice the blood of My sacrifice with leaven, and the fat of My festive sacrifice shall not stay overnight until morning.

18. ¶ Sons of Israel My people, while there is leaven in your houses you may not immolate the bloody sacrifice of My Pascha; nor will the fat of the sacrifice of My Pascha remain without the altar until morning, nor of the flesh that you eat in the evening.

19. The choicest of the first fruits of your soil you shall bring to the house of the Lord, your God. You shall not cook a kid in its mother's milk.

19. ¶ The first of the choice fruits of your ground you will bring to the sanctuary of the LORD your God. My people of the house of Israel, you are not permitted to dress or to eat of flesh and milk mingled together, lest I be greatly displeased; and I prepare you the wheat and the straw together for your food.

20. Behold, I am sending an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared.

20. ¶ Behold, I will send an Angel before you, to keep you in the way, and to bring you in to the place of My habitation which I have prepared.

21. Beware of him and obey him; do not rebel against him, for he will not forgive your transgression, for My Name is within him.

21. Be circumspect before Him, and obey His word, and be not rebellious against His words; for He will not forgive your sins, because His word is in My Name.

22. For if you hearken to his voice and do all that I say, I will hate your enemies and oppress your adversaries.

22. ¶ For if you will indeed hearken to His Word, and do all that I speak by Him, I will be the enemy of your enemy, and will trouble them who trouble you.

23. For My angel will go before you, and bring you to the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivvites, and the Jebusites, and I will destroy them.

23. ¶ For My Angel will go before you, and bring you to the Amoraee, and Pherizaee, and Kenaanaee, Hivaee, and Jebusaee; and I will destroy them.

24. You shall not prostrate yourself before their gods, and you shall not worship them, and you shall not follow their practices, but you shall tear them down and you shall utterly shatter their monuments.

24. You will not worship their idols, nor serve them, nor do after their evil works; but you will utterly demolish the house of their worship, and break the statues of their images.

25. And you shall worship the Lord, your God, and He will bless your food and your drink, and I will remove illness from your midst.

25. ¶ And you will do service before the LORD our God and He will bless the provision of your food and your drinks, and remove the bitter plague from among you.

26. There will be no bereaved or barren woman in your land; I will fill the number of your days.

26. None will be abortive or barren in your land; the number of the days of your life I will fulfill from day to day.

27. I will send My fear before you, and I will confuse all the people among whom you shall come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you.

27. My terror will I send before you, and will perturb all the peoples to whom you come, that you may wage battle against them; and I will make all your enemies turn back before you.

28. And I will send the tzir'ah before you, and it will drive out the Hivvites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from before you.

28. And I will send the hornet before you to drive out the Hivaee, and Kenaanaee, and Hitaee, from before you.

29. I will not drive them away from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beasts of the field outnumber you.

29. I will not expel them before you in one year, lest the land become a wilderness, and the beasts of the field multiply upon you, when they come to eat their carcasses, and injure you.

30. I will drive them out from before you little by little, until you have increased and can occupy the land.

30. By little and little I will drive them out before you, until you are increased, and inherit the land.

31. And I will make your boundary from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the river, for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hands, and you shall drive them out from before you.

31. And I will set your boundary from the sea of Suph, to the sea of the Philistaee, and from the desert unto the Pherat; for I will deliver into your hand all the inhabitants of the land, and you will drive them out from before you.

32. You shall not form a covenant for them or for their gods.

32. You will make no covenant with them, nor with their idols.

33. They shall not dwell in your land, lest they cause you to sin against Me, that you will worship their gods, which will be a snare for you.

33. You will not let them dwell in your land, lest they cause you to err, and to sin before Me, when you do worship their idols; for they will be a stumbling-block to you.

1. And to Moses He said, "Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and prostrate yourselves from afar.

1. And Michael, the Prince of Wisdom, said to Mosheh on the seventh day of the month, Come up before the LORD, you and Aharon, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship at a distance.

2. And Moses alone shall approach the Lord but they shall not approach, and the people shall not ascend with him."

2. And Mosheh alone will approach before the LORD; but they will not draw near, nor may the people come up with him.

3. So Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the ordinances, and all the people answered in unison and said, "All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do."

3. ¶ And Mosheh came and set before the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments. And all the people answered with one voice, and said, All that the Lord has spoken we will do.

4.  And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord, and he arose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and twelve monuments for the twelve tribes of Israel.

4.  And Mosheh wrote the words of the Lord, and arose in the morning and built an altar at the lower part of the mountain; and twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.

5. And he sent the youths of the children of Israel, and they offered up burnt offerings, and they slaughtered peace offerings to the Lord, bulls.

5. And he sent the firstborn of the sons of Israel, - for until that hour had the firstborn had the (office of performing) worship, the tabernacle of ordinance not (as yet) being made, nor the priesthood given unto Aharon; and they offered burnt offerings and consecrated oblations of oxen before the LORD.

6. And Moses took half the blood and put it into the basins, and half the blood he cast onto the altar.

6. And Mosheh took half of the blood of the offering, and put it in basins, and half of the blood of the offering he sprinkled upon the altar.

7. And he took the Book of the Covenant and read it within the hearing of the people, and they said, "All that the Lord spoke we will do and we will hear."

7. And he took the Book of the Covenant of the Law and read before the people; and they said, All the words which the LORD has spoken we will perform and obey.

8. And Moses took the blood and sprinkled [it] on the people, and he said, "Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord has formed with you concerning these words."

8. And Mosheh took half of the blood which was in the basins, and sprinkled upon the altar, to expiate the people, and said, Behold, this is the blood of the Covenant which the LORD has made with you upon all these words.

9. And Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel ascended,

9. ¶ And Mosheh and Aharon, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, went up.

10. and they perceived the God of Israel, and beneath His feet was like the forming of a sapphire brick and like the appearance of the heavens for clarity.

10. And Nadab and Abihu lifted up their eyes, and saw the glory of the God of Israel; and under the footstool of His feet which was placed beneath His throne, was like the work of sapphire stone a memorial of the servitude with which the Mizraee had made the children of Israel to serve in clay and bricks, (what time) there were women treading clay with their husbands; the delicate young woman with child was also there, and made abortive by being beaten down with the clay. And thereof did Gabriel, descending, make brick, and, going up to the heavens on high, set it, a footstool under the cathedra of the LORD of the world whose splendor was as the work of a precious stone, and as the power of the beauty of the heavens when they are clear from clouds.

JERUSALEM: The footstool of His feet as the work of pure sapphire stones, and as the aspect of the heavens when they are cleared from clouds.

11. And upon the nobles of the children of Israel He did not lay His hand, and they perceived God, and they ate and drank.

11. But upon Nadab and Abihu, the comely young men, was the stroke not sent in that hour, but it awaited them on the eighth day for a retribution to destroy them; but they saw the glory of the Shekinah of the LORD, and rejoiced that their oblations were received with favor, and so did eat and drink.

12. And the Lord said to Moses, "Come up to Me to the mountain and remain there, and I will give you the stone tablets, the Law and the commandments, which I have written to instruct them."

12. ¶ And the LORD said to Mosheh, Ascend before Me at the mount, and I will there give you the tables of stone on which I have set forth the rest of the words of the Law, and the six hundred and thirteen precepts which I have written for their instruction.

13. So Moses and Joshua, his servant, arose, and Moses ascended to the mount of God.

13. And Mosheh arose and Jehoshua his minister; and Mosheh went up to the mountain on which was revealed the glory of the Shekinah of the LORD.

14. And to the elders he said, "Wait for us here until we return to you, and here Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a case, let him go to them."

14. And to the sages he had said, Expect us here, at the time of our return to you; and, behold, Aharon and Hur are with you; if there be any matter of judgment, bring it to them.

15. And Moses went up to the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain.

15. ¶ And Mosheh went up into the mount, and the Cloud of Glory covered the mount.

16. And the glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days, and He called to Moses on the seventh day from within the cloud.

16. And the glory of the LORD's Shekinah abode upon the mountain of Sinai, and the Cloud of Glory covered it six days. And on the seventh day He called to Mosheh from the midst of the Cloud.

17. And the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire atop the mountain, before the eyes of the children of Israel.

17. And the appearance of the splendor of the glory of the LORD was as burning fire with flashes of devouring fire; and the sons of Israel beheld and were awe-struck.

18. And Moses came within the cloud, and he went up to the mountain, and Moses was upon the mountain forty days and forty nights.

18. And Mosheh entered into the midst of the Cloud, and ascended the mountain; and Mosheh was upon the mountain forty days and forty nights, learning the words of the Law from the mouth of the Holy One, whose Name be praised.

 

Reading Assignment:

 

The Torah Anthology: Yalkut Me’Am Lo’Ez - Vol VII: The Law & Vol. VIII: Acceptance

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

Published by: Moznaim Publishing Corp. (New York, 1979)

Vol. 7 – “The Law,” pp. 249-284 & Vol. 8 – “Acceptance,” pp. 3-207

 

 

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/s is/are given using the seven Hermeneutic Laws of R. Hillel and as well as the laws of Hebrew Grammar and Hebrew expression. 

 

The Seven Hermeneutic Laws of R. Hillel are as follows [cf.

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

Rashi’s Commentary for: Shemot (Exod.) 22:24 – 24:18

 

24 When you lend money to My people Rabbi Ishmael says: Every אִם in the Torah is optional except three, and this is one of them. -[From Mechilta] אִם usually means “if,” which refers to something optional, denoting an incident that may or may not occur. Rashi on Exod. 20:22 explains that in this case, lending money to the needy is obligatory, as in Deut. 15:8. Therefore, in this verse, אִם means “when.”]

 

to My people [If a member of] My people [i.e., an Israelite,] and a gentile [apply for a loan], [the member of] My people takes preference; [if] a poor person and a rich person [apply for a loan], the poor person takes preference; [if] the poor of your city and the poor of another city [apply for a loan], the poor of your city take preference (Mechilta, B.M. 71a), and this is its meaning: “When you lend money,” lend it to “My people” and not to a gentile, and to which of My people? “To the poor person.” And to which poor person? To the one who is “with you.” [I.e., if you have enough money to lend to only one person, lend it to a Jew rather than to a non-Jew. Even if the gentile will pay interest, and you are not allowed to take interest from the Jew, you must lend the money to the Jew (B.M. 71a).] (Another meaning:

 

to My people That you shall not behave toward him [the borrower] in a demeaning manner when you lend to him, for he is [a member of] My people. -[From Tanchuma 15]

 

to the poor person [who is] with you Look at yourself as if you were a poor person.) -[From Tanchuma 15]

 

you shall not behave toward him as a lender You shall not demand it of him forcibly (Tanchuma 9, Exod. Rabbah 31:6). If you know that he does not have [the money to repay you], do not appear to him as if you have lent to him, but as if you have not lent to him; i.e., do not embarrass him. -[From B.M. 75b]

 

interest Heb. נֶשֶׁךְ, lit., biting. Interest, which is like the biting of a snake, which bites by making a small wound in a person’s foot, and he [the person] does not feel [the wound], and suddenly, it spreads and swells up as far as his crown. So it is with interest. He does not feel it, and it is not noticeable until the interest accumulates and it costs him a considerable sum of money. -[From Tanchuma 9, Exod. Rabbah 31:6]

 

25 If you take… as security Heb. חָבֽל תַּחְבּֽל. No expression of חֲבָלָה means security given at the time of the loan, but [that which] is exacted from the debtor when the debt becomes due and he [the debtor] does not pay (B.M. 114). (חָבֽל תַּחְבּֽל the Torah repeats the taking of the security [implying that one may take security] even many times. The Holy One, blessed is He, said: “How much you owe Me! Yet your soul ascends to Me every night, gives an account, is found guilty before Me, and I return it to you. You too, take and return, take and return.”) -(Tanchuma 16.)

 

until sunset you shall return it to him [For] the entire day you shall return it to him until the sun sets, and when the sun sets you may again take it until the next morning arrives. This verse speaks of a garment worn by day, which he does not need at night. -[From Mechilta, B.M. 114b]

 

26 for it is his only covering This is a cloak. -[From Mechilta]

 

his garment This is a shirt. -[From Mechilta]

 

With what shall he lie? [This comes] to include a spread. -[From Mechilta]

 

27 You shall not curse a judge Heb. אֱלֽהִים. This is a warning against cursing God and a warning against cursing a judge. -[From Sanh. 66a]

 

28 Your fullness offering The obligation that is incumbent upon you when your produce becomes fully ripe. This reference is to the first fruits (בִּכּוּרִים). -[From Onkelos, Mechilta, Temurah 4a]

 

and your heave offering Heb. וְדִמְעֲךָ. [This is] the terumah [the first offering from the produce, which is given to the kohen] (Mechilta, Temurah 4a), but I do not know the etymology of דֶּמַע [which is the noun root of דִמְעֲךָ].

 

you shall not delay You shall not alter the sequence of their separation by delaying what should come first and advancing what should come later, namely that one may not advance terumah before bikkurim or tithes before terumah. -[From Mechilta]

 

the firstborn of your sons you shall give Me to redeem him from the kohen with five selas. Now did He not give the command concerning this elsewhere (Num. 18:16) ? But [it is written here] to juxtapose to it “So shall you do with your cattle and with your sheep,” [implying that] just as the firstborn of man is redeemed after thirty days, as it is said: “And his redemption, from a month old you shall redeem [him]” (Num. 18:16), so too with the firstborn of small cattle; one must care for it for thirty days and afterwards give it to the kohen. -[From Bech. 26b]

 

29 seven days it shall be with its mother This is a warning to the kohen, that if he wants to bring his sacrifice early, he may not bring it before eight [days] because it lacks the minimum time requirement.

 

on the eighth day you may give it to Me We may think that is obligatory for that day, [and if so, we would render: On the eighth day you shall give it to Me. That is not so, however, because] it says here, “eighth,” and it says further (Lev. 22:27), “and from the eighth day on it will be accepted.” Just as “the eighth day” mentioned further means to make [it] fit from the eighth day on, so does the eighth day mentioned here mean to make [it] fit from the eighth day on, and this is its meaning: on the eighth day you are permitted to give it to Me. -[From Mechilta]

 

30 And you shall be holy people to Me If you are holy and abstain from the loathsomeness of [eating] carrion and mortally injured animals, you are Mine, but if not, you are not Mine. -[From Mechilta]

 

and flesh torn in the field [If the flesh was torn] in the house the law is the same, but the Scripture speaks of the usual occurrence, [i.e.,] the location where animals are usually torn. Similarly, “For he found her in the field” (Deut. 22:27), [i.e., the law is the same for any place where no one is around to rescue a betrothed woman who is violated; it is assumed that she cried out for help to no avail]. Similarly,” who will be unclean as a result of a nocturnal emission” (Deut. 23:11). The same applies to an emission that occurs during the day [that the person becomes unclean], but the Scripture speaks of the usual occurrence [Mechilta]. [Onkelos renders:] וּבְשַׂר תְּלִישׁ מִן חֵיוָא חַייָא, [i.e., you cannot eat] flesh that was torn off through the tearing of a wolf or a lion from a kosher beast or from a kosher domestic animal while it was alive.

 

you shall throw it to the dog[s] He [the gentile] is also similar to a dog [in this context, namely that the treifah can be given or sold to him], or perhaps a dog is meant literally [that the treifah can be given only to a dog]? Therefore, the Torah states regarding carrion (נְבֵלָה [an animal that died without ritual slaughter]): “or sell [it] to a gentile” (Deut. 14:21). From this, we derive by a kal vachomer that from a treifah we are permitted to gain any type of benefit [except eating, of course]. If so, why does the Torah say “to the dogs”? Because the Holy One, blessed is He, does not withhold the reward of any creature, as it is said: “But to all the children of Israel, not one dog will whet its tongue” (Exod. 11:7). Said the Holy One, blessed is He, “Give it its reward.” -[From Mechilta]

 

Chapter 23

 

1 You shall not accept a false report Heb. א תִשָׂא, as the Targum [Onkelos renders]: You shall not accept a false report. [This is] a prohibition against accepting slander (Mechilta, Pes. 118a, Mak. 23a), and for a judge [it dictates] that he should not hear the plea of one litigant until his opponent arrives (Mechilta, Sanh. 7b).

 

do not place your hand with a wicked person who files a false claim against his neighbor, for whom he had promised to be a false witness.

 

2 You shall not follow the majority for evil There are [halachic] interpretations for this verse given by the Sages of Israel, but the language of the verse does not fit its context according to them. From here they [the Sages] expounded that we may not decide unfavorably [for the defendant] by a majority created by one judge. They interpreted the end of the verse: אַחֲרֵי רַבִּים לְהַטֽת, “after the majority to decide,” [to mean] that if those [judges] voting [that the defendant is] guilty outnumber those voting [that the defendant is] innocent by two, the verdict is to be decided unfavorably according to their [the majority’s] opinion. The text speaks of capital cases [i.e., in regard to the death penalty] (Sanh. 2a). [Note that in monetary cases, the court requires a majority of only one judge in order to convict someone.] The middle of the verse וְלֽא-תַעֲנֶה עַל-רִב, they [the Rabbis] interpreted like וְלֽא-תַעֲנֶה עַל-רַב [and you shall not speak up against a master], meaning that we may not differ with the greatest of the court. Therefore, in capital cases they [the judges] commence [the roll call] from the side, meaning that they first ask the smallest [least esteemed] of them to express his opinion (Sanh. 32a). According to the words of our Sages, this is the interpretation of the verse:

 

You shall not follow the majority for evil to condemn [a person] to death because of one judge, by whom those who declare [the defendant] guilty outnumber those who declare [him] innocent.

 

And you shall not speak up against a master to deviate from his words. Because the “yud” [of רִיב, meaning quarrel] is missing, they interpreted it (רִב) in this manner [i.e., like (רַב)].

 

After the majority to decide [signifies that] there is, however, a majority after whom you do decide [the verdict]. When? If those [judges] who declare [the defendant] guilty outnumber by two those who declare him innocent. And since it says: “You shall not follow the majority for evil,” I deduce that you shall follow them [the majority] for good. From here they [the Rabbis] deduced that in capital cases, we decide through [a majority of] one for an acquittal and through [a majority of] two for a conviction. Onkelos renders [this verse]: Do not refrain from teaching what appears to you concerning a judgment. The Hebrew wording according to the Targum is interpreted as follows: And you shall not respond concerning a quarrel by turning away. If someone asks you something concerning the law, do not answer by turning aside and distancing yourself from the quarrel, but judge it honestly. I, however, say, [differing from the Rabbis and Onkelos] that it [the verse] should be according to its context. This is its interpretation:

 

You shall not follow the majority for evil If you see wicked people perverting justice, do not say, “Since they are many, I will follow them.”

 

and you shall not respond concerning a lawsuit to follow, etc. And if the litigant asks you about that [corrupted] judgment, do not answer him concerning the lawsuit with an answer that follows those many to pervert the judgment from its true ruling But tell the judgment as it is, and let the neck iron hang on the neck of the many. [I.e., let the many bear the punishment for their perversion of justice.]

 

3 Neither shall you glorify You shall not bestow honor upon him [the destitute man] by deciding in his favor in his lawsuit, saying, “He is a poor man; I will decide in his favor and honor him.”

 

5 If you see your enemy’s donkey Heb. כִּי תִרְאֶה. [The word]  כִּיserves as an expression of “perhaps,” which is [one] of the four meanings for which כִּי is used (R.H. 3a). This is its meaning: Will you perhaps see his donkey lying under its burden… ? -

 

would you refrain from helping him? This is the interrogative.

 

You shall surely help along with him Heb. עָזֽב תַּעֲזֽב עִמוֹ. This עֲזִיבָה is an expression of help, and similarly, “restrained or assisted (וְעָזוּב) ” (Deut. 32:36, I Kings 14:10), and similarly, “and they strengthened (וַיַּעַזְבוּ) Jerusalem until the… wall” (Neh. 3:8), [which means] they filled it with earth to strengthen and reinforce the strength of the wall. Similarly, [following Rashi’s rendering that the word כִּי means “perhaps,”] “Will you perhaps כִּי say in your heart, ‘These nations are more numerous than I’” (Deut. 7:17) ? Will you perhaps say so? This is the interrogative. [The verse thus tells you:] “Do not fear them.” Midrashically, our Rabbis interpreted it [the verse] as follows: If you see…, you may refrain; [meaning that] sometimes you may refrain [from helping someone], and sometimes you must help. How so [can this be judged]? An elder who [finds it] beneath his dignity [to unload a donkey]- “You may refrain” (Mechilta d’Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai, Midrash Hagadol). Or if the animal belongs to a gentile and the burden belongs to an Israelite, you may refrain. -[From Mechilta, B.M. 32b]

 

You shall surely help along with him to unload the burden (Mechilta, B.M. 32a). [Onkelos renders מֵעֲזֽב לוֹ] מִלְמִשְׁקַל לֵה, from taking the burden off it.

 

6 your poor man Heb. אֶבְיֽנְךָ, an expression of desiring אוֹבֶה, [meaning] one who is impoverished and desires all good things. -[From Mechilta]

 

7 and do not kill a truly innocent person or one who has been declared innocent How do we know that if one emerges from the court guilty [and is given the death sentence], and one [of the judges] says, “I have a way to prove his innocence,” we must bring him back [to the court and retry him]? Because the Torah states: “and do not kill a truly innocent person.” Although he was not declared innocent—for he was not vindicated by the court—he is, nevertheless, free from the death penalty, because you have reason to acquit him. And how do we know that if one emerges from the court innocent, and one [of the judges] says, “I have a way to prove his guilt,” we do not bring him back to the court [to retry him]? Because the Torah states: “and do not kill… one who is declared innocent.” And this one is innocent because he was vindicated by the court. -[From Mechilta, Sanh. 33b]

 

for I will not vindicate a guilty person It is not incumbent upon you to return him [to court] for I will not vindicate him in My law. If he emerges innocent from your hand [i.e., from the courts], I have many agents to put him to death—with the death penalty he deserves. -[From Mechilta, Sanh. 33b]

 

8 You shall not accept a bribe Even [in order] to judge fairly, and surely [not] to pervert the judgment, for [in fact, taking a bribe] in order to pervert the judgment is already mentioned: “You shall not pervert judgment” (Deut. 16:19). -[From Keth. 105a]

 

for a bribe will blind the clear-sighted Even if one is wise in Torah, and he accepts a bribe, he will eventually become deranged, forget his studies, and lose his eyesight. -[From Keth. 105a, Mechilta]

 

and corrupt Heb. וִיסַלֵף, as the Targum [Onkelos and Jonathan] renders: וּמְקַלְקֵל, [meaning] and spoils.

 

words that are right Heb. דִבְרֵי צַדִּיקִים, words that are just, true judgments, and so is its Aramaic translation: פִּתְגָמִין תְּרִיצִין, [meaning words that are] straight.

 

9 And you shall not oppress a stranger - In many places the Torah warns about the stranger [convert] because he has a strong temptation [to return to his former bad ways]. -[From B.M. 59b]

 

the feelings of the stranger How hard it is for him when people oppress him.

 

10 and gather in its produce Heb. וְאָסַפְתָּ, an expression of bringing into the house, like “And you shall bring it (וַאֲסַפְתּוֹ) into your house” (Deut. 22:2).

 

11 you shall release it from work.

 

and abandon it from eating it after the time of the removal (see Mechilta). Another interpretation:

 

you shall release it from real work, such as plowing and sowing,

 

and abandon it from fertilizing and hoeing.

 

and what they leave over, the beasts of the field shall eat [This is written in order] to liken the food of the poor to the food of the beast. Just as the beast eats without tithing, so do the poor eat without tithing. From here [we derive] that there are no tithes in the seventh year. -[From Mechilta]

 

So shall you do to your vineyard And the beginning of the verse is speaking of a grain field, as is stated above [verse 10]: “You may sow your land.”

 

12 , but on the seventh day you shall rest Even in the seventh year, the weekly Sabbath, commemorating the Creation, shall not be uprooted, [so] that you shall not say that since the entire year is referred to as “Sabbath,” the weekly Sabbath need not be observed in it [the Sabbatical Year]. -[From Mechilta]

 

in order that your ox and your donkey shall rest Give it rest, to permit it to tear up and eat grass from the earth. Or perhaps it [this verse] means that one must confine it indoors? [But] you must say that this [confining them indoors] would not be rest but discomfort. -[From Mechilta]

 

your maidservant’s son The text is speaking of an uncircumcised slave. [From Mechilta]

 

and the stranger This refers to a resident alien. -[From Mechilta]

 

13 Concerning all that I have said to you you shall beware Heb. תִּשָׁמֵרוּ. [This verse comes] to give every positive commandment the stringency of a prohibition [i.e., negative commandment], for every exhortation to beware (שְׁמִירָה) in the Torah is a prohibition, [and it appears] instead of a negative expression.

 

you shall not mention That one should not say to another, “Wait for me beside such-and-such an idol,” or “Meet me on the day [dedicated to] such-and-such an idol” (Mechilta, Sanh. 63b). Another explanation: Concerning all that I have said to you, you shall beware, and the name of the gods of strangers you shall not mention -[this comes] to teach you that idolatry is tantamount to all the commandments [combined], and whoever is careful with it is considered as if he has observed them all. -[see Kid. 40a, Ned. 25a, Shev. 29a, Chul. 5a, Rashi on Num. 15:23, Deut. 12:28, Er. 69b]

 

it shall not be heard from the gentile.

 

through your mouth [Meaning] that you shall not enter a partnership with a gentile, so that he would swear to you by his pagan deity. The result [if he does swear] will be that you will indirectly cause it [the deity] to be mentioned through yourself [i.e., through a claim you made against him]. -[From Sanh. 63b] I.e., the occasion may arise that the gentile partner is required to swear something to his Jewish partner, and he will swear by his deity. [From Sanh. 63b]

 

14 times Heb. רְגָלִים, [synonymous with] פְּעָמִים, times, and similarly, “that you have struck me already three times (רְגָלִים) ” (Num. 22:28).

 

15 the month of springtime Heb. חֽדֶשׁ הָאָבִיב, [the month] in which the grain fills out in its greenness (בְּאִבֶּיהָ). [Alternatively,] אָבִיב is an expression [related to the word for] a father אָב, the firstborn and the earliest [month] to ripen fruits.

 

and they shall not appear before Me empty-handed When you come to appear before Me on the festivals, bring Me burnt offerings. -[From Mechilta, Chag. 7a]

 

16 And the festival of the harvest That is the feast of Shavuoth.

 

the first fruits of your labors which is the time of the bringing of the first fruits for the two breads, which are brought on Shavuoth [and serve to] permit the new grain [to be used] for meal offerings and [also] to bring the first fruits to the Sanctuary, as it is said: “And on the day of the first fruits, etc.” (Num. 28:26).

 

and the festival of the ingathering That is the festival of Succoth.

 

when you gather in [the products of] your labors For during the entire summer, the grain dries out in the fields, and on the festival [of Succoth], they gather it into the house because of the rains [that are about to fall].

 

17 Three times, etc. Since the context deals with the seventh year, it was necessary to say that the three pilgrimage festivals would not be uprooted from their place. -[From Mechilta]

 

all your males Heb. כָּל-זְכוּרְךָ. All the males among you.

 

18 You shall not sacrifice the blood of My sacrifice with leaven You shall not slaughter the Passover sacrifice on the fourteenth of Nissan until you have done away with the leaven. -[From Mechilta, Pes. 63a]

 

and the fat of My festive sacrifice shall not stay overnight off the altar. -[From Mechilta]

 

until morning One may think that even on the altar pyre it would become disqualified. Therefore, the Torah states: “on its pyre on the altar all night” (Lev. 6:2).

 

shall not stay overnight Only at dawn is it considered [as if the fat of the sacrifice had been] staying overnight, as it is said: “until morning,” but all night he may pick it [the fat] up from the floor [and return it] onto the altar. - [From Zev. 87a]

 

19 The choicest of the first fruits of your soil Even in the seventh year, the offering of bikkurim is obligatory. Therefore, it is stated here, too: “the first fruits of your soil.” How are the bikkurim chosen? A person enters his field and sees a fig that has ripened. He winds a blade of grass around it as a sign and sanctifies it. Bikkurim are [brought as an offering] only from the seven species enumerated in Scripture: “A land of wheat and barley, and vines and figs and pomegranates, a land of oil-yielding olives and honey” (Deut. 8:8). -[From Bik. 3:1]

 

You shall not cook a kid Heb. גְּדִי. A calf and a lamb are also included in [the term] גְּדִי, for גְּדִי is only an expression of a tender young animal. [This you know] from what you find in many places in the Torah where גְּדִי is written, and it was necessary to write after it עִזִים [to qualify it as a kid], for example, “I will send you a kid גְּדִי עִזִים ” (Gen. 38:17); “the kid גְּדִי הָעִזִים ” (Gen. 38:20); “two kids גְּדָיֵי עִזִים ” (Gen. 27:9); to teach you that wherever גְּדִי is mentioned unqualified, it also means a calf and a lamb. This [prohibition] is written in three places in the Torah, one for the prohibition of eating [meat with milk], one for the prohibition of deriving any benefit [from meat with milk], and one for the prohibition of cooking [meat with milk]. -[From Chul. 113b, 115b] 

 

20 Behold, I am sending an angel before you Here they were informed that they were destined to sin, and the Shechinah would say to them, “for I will not ascend in your midst” (Exod. 33:3). -[From Exod. Rabbah 32:3]

 

that I have prepared to give to you. This is its simple meaning. Its midrashic interpretation is:

 

that I have prepared My place is already recognizable opposite it. This is one of the verses that state that the heavenly Temple is directly opposite the earthly Temple. [From Midrash Tanchuma 18]

 

21 do not rebel against him Heb. תַּמֵּר, an expression of rebellion הַמְרָאָה, like “Any man who rebels (יַמְרֶה) against your orders” (Josh. 1:18).

 

for he will not forgive your transgression He is not accustomed to that [i.e., forgiving], for he is of the group that do not sin. And moreover, he is a messenger, and he can do only his mission. -[From Midrash Tanchuma 18]

 

for My Name is within him [This clause] is connected to the beginning of the verse: Beware of him because My Name is associated with him. Our Sages, however, said: This is [the angel] Metatron, whose name is like the name of his Master (Sanh. 38b). The numerical value of מֵטַטְרוֹן [314] equals that of שַׁדַּי [314]. -[From Tikunei Zohar 66b]

 

22 and oppress Heb. וְצַרְתִּי, as the Targum [Onkelos] renders: וְאָעֵיק, and I will cause distress.

 

24 but you shall tear them down Those gods.

 

their monuments Heb. מַצֵּבֽתֵיהֶם. Stones they erect (מַצִּיבִין) upon which to prostate themselves before them [idols].

 

26 There will be no bereaved… woman if you comply with My will.

 

bereaved… woman Heb. מְשַׁכֵּלָה. [A woman who] miscarries or buries her children is called מְשַׁכֵּלָה.

 

27 and I will confuse Heb. וְהַמּֽתִי, like הָמַמְתִּי (I will confound), and its Aramaic translation is וֶאֱשַׁגֵּשׁ. Likewise, any word whose verb root has the last letter doubled, when it is converted to speak in the פָעַלְתִּי form [i.e., the first person past tense], in some instances the doubled letter is dropped [i.e., the third letter of the root], and a “dagesh” is placed into the [second] letter, and it is vowelized with a “melupum” [a “cholam”], like וְהַמּֽתִי [in this verse is] from the same root as in “and the wheel of his wagon shall be confused (וְהָמַם) ” (Isa. 28:28); “And I turned about (וְסַבּוֹתִי) ” (Eccl. 2:20), [which is] from the same root as “and go around  (וְסָבַב)” (I Sam. 7:16); “I was poor (דַּלוֹתִי)” (Ps. 116:6), from the same root as “became impoverished (דָלְלוּ)” (Isa. 19:6); “have I engraved you  (חַקֽתִיךְ)” (Isa. 49:16), from the same root as “resolves of (חִקְקֵי) heart” (Jud. 5:15); “whom did I oppress (רַצּֽתִי)” (I Sam. 12:3), from the same root as “When he oppressed רִצַץ, he abandoned the poor” (Job 20:19). The one who translates וְהַמּֽתִי as וְאֶקְטַל, “and I will kill,” is in error, because if this was from the same root as מִיתָה, death, the “hey” of this word would not be vowelized with a “pattach,” and the “mem” would not be punctuated with a “dagesh” and not be vowelized with a “melupum,” rather וְהֵמַתִּי (with a “tzeirei,”) like “and You will kill (וְהֵמַתָּה) this nation” (Num. 14:15), and the “tav” would be punctuated with a “dagesh,” because it would represent two “tav”s, one a root letter (מוּת) and one [“tav”] a suffix, like “I said, (אָמַרְתִּי) ” “I sinned (חָטָאתִי),” “I did (עָשִׂיתִי),” and so, in “and I will give (וְנָתַתִּי),” the “tav” is punctuated with a “dagesh,” because it comes instead of two [“tav”s], because there should have been three “tav”s, two of the root, like “on the day the Lord delivered up (תֵּת) ” (Josh. 10:12), “it is a gift of (מַתַּת) God” (Eccl. 3:13), and the third [“tav”] as a suffix.

 

their backs That they will flee from before you and turn their backs to you.

 

28 the tzir’ah [This was] a kind of flying insect, which would strike them [people] in their eyes, inject venom into them, and they would die (Tanchuma 18). The tzir’ah did not cross the Jordan, and the Hittites and the Canaanites are [those of] the land of Sihon and Og. Therefore, out of all the seven nations [the Torah] did not count [any] but these. As for the Hivvites, although they were on the other side of the Jordan, in tractate Sotah (36a) our Rabbis taught: It stood on the bank of the Jordan and cast venom upon them.

 

29 desolate Empty of human beings, since you are few and there are not enough of you to fill it [the land].

 

and… outnumber you Heb. וְרַבָּה, and will outnumber you. [The word וְרַבָּה is not an adjective, but a verb in the past tense. The “vav” converts it to the future.]

 

30 until you have increased Heb. תִּפְרֶה. You will increase, an expression of fruit, similar to “Be fruitful (פְּרוּ) and multiply” (Gen. 1:28).

 

31 And I will make Heb. וְשַׁתִּי, an expression of הֲשָׁתָה, [meaning] placing. The “tav” is punctuated with a “dagesh” because it represents two “tav”s, since there is no [expression of] placing [or making, שִׁיתָה] without a “tav,” and the second one is [needed] for a suffix.

 

to the river [Meaning] the Euphrates.-[from targumim]

 

and you shall drive them out Heb. וְגֵרַשְׁתָּמוֹ, [the equivalent of] וּתְגָרְשֵׁם, and you shall drive them out.

 

33 that you will worship, etc. Heb. כִּי תַעֲבֽד וְגוֹ' כִּי-יִהְיֶה וְגוֹ'. These [instances of] כִּי are used instead of אֲשֶׁר [i.e.,] that, and so it is in many places. This is [similar to] the usage of אִי, if, which is one of the four expressions for which כִּי is used (Rosh Hashanah 3a). We also find אִם used as an expression of כַּאֲשֶׁר, when, in many places, such as “And when (וְאִם) you offer up an offering of first fruits (Lev. 2:14), which is obligatory [and not optional].

 

Chapter 24

 

1 And to Moses He said, “Come up… ” This section was [actually] said before the Ten Commandments [were given] (Mechilta 19:10). On the fourth of Sivan, “Come up” was said to him [Moses]. [Midrash Lekach Tov, based on Mechilta and Mechilta d’Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai on Exod. 19:10, Shab. 88a] See also Midrash Hagadol on this.

 

2 And Moses alone shall approach to the opaque darkness. -[Midrash Lekach Tov]

 

3 So Moses came and told the people on that day.

 

all the words of the Lord The commandments of separation [of the men from the women] and setting boundaries [around the mountain so that people would not cross].

 

and all the ordinances The seven commandments that the Noachides were commanded [to observe], in addition to [keeping] the Sabbath, honoring one’s father and mother, [the laws of] the red cow, and laws of jurisprudence, which were given to them in Marah. -[Mechilta on Exod. 19:10, Sanh. 56b] [Since this was before the giving of the Torah, there were only these commandments and ordinances.]

 

4 And Moses wrote [the Torah’s text] from “In the beginning” (Gen 1:1), until the giving of the Torah. He [also] wrote the commandments that they were commanded in Marah. [Again, since all this took place before the giving of the Torah, Moses could write only up to that point.]

 

and he arose early in the morning on the fifth of Sivan. -[From Mechilta on Exod. 19:10, Shab. 88a]

 

5 the youths Heb. נַעֲרֵי, the firstborn. -[From targumim, Zev. 115b, Num. Rabbah 4:8]

 

6 And Moses took half the blood Who [first] divided it [exactly in half]? An angel came and divided it. -[From Lev. Rabbah 6:5]

 

in the basins Two basins, one for half the blood of the burnt offering and one for half the blood of the peace offering, [in order] to sprinkle them on the people. From here our Sages learned that our ancestors entered the covenant with circumcision, immersion [in a mikvah], and the sprinkling of the blood [of the sacrifice on the altar], for there is no sprinkling [of blood on a person] without immersion [preceding it]. -[From Yev. 46b, Kreis. 9b]

 

7 the Book of the Covenant from “In the beginning” (Gen 1:1) until the giving of the Torah, and he [also wrote] the commandments that they were commanded in Marah. -[From Mechilta, Exod. 19:10]

 

8 and sprinkled [it] Heb. וַיִזְרֽק, an expression of sprinkling, and the Targum renders: and sprinkled it on the altar to atone for the people.

 

10 and they perceived the God of Israel They gazed and peered and [because of this] were doomed to die, but the Holy One, blessed is He, did not want to disturb the rejoicing of [this moment of the giving of] the Torah. So He waited for Nadab and Abihu [i.e., to kill them,] until the day of the dedication of the Mishkan, and for [destroying] the elders until [the following incident:] “And the people were as if seeking complaints… and a fire of the Lord broke out against them and devoured at the edge (בִּקְצֵה) of the camp” (Num. 11:1). [בִקְצֵה denotes] the officers (בִקְצִינִים) of the camp [i.e., the elders]. - [From Midrash Tanchuma Beha’alothecha 16]

 

like the forming of a sapphire brick that was before Him at the time of the bondage, to remember Israel’s straits [i.e.,] that they were enslaved in the making of bricks. -[From Lev. Rabbah 23:8]

 

and like the appearance of the heavens for clarity Since they were [finally] redeemed, there was light and joy before Him. -[From Lev. Rabbah 23:8]

 

and like the appearance Heb. וּכְעֶצֶם, as the Targum (Onkelos) renders וּכְמֶחֱזֵי: an expression meaning appearance.

 

for clarity Heb. לָטֽהַר, an expression meaning clear and unclouded. -[From Lev. Rabbah 23:8] I.e., during the bondage of the Israelites, the sapphire brick clouded the heavens, but after the Exodus, the heavens became clear and not a cloud was in sight. -[Lev. Rabbah 23:8]

 

11 And upon the nobles They are Nadab and Abihu and the elders. -[From Midrash Tanchuma Beha’alothecha 16]

 

He did not lay His hand This indicates that they deserved that a hand be laid upon them.

 

and they perceived God They gazed at Him with levity, while [they were] eating and drinking. So is the [interpretation of] Midrash Tanchuma (Beha’alothecha 16). Onkelos, however, did not render [this clause] in this manner. אֲצִילֵי means great ones, like [in the phrases:] “and from its nobles (וּמֵאֲצִילֶיהָ) I called you” (Isa. 41: 9); “and He magnified (וַיָּאצֶל) some of the spirit” (Num. 11:25); “six large cubits (אַצִּילָה) ” (Ezek. 41:8).

 

12 And the Lord said to Moses After the giving of the Torah.

 

Come up to Me to the mountain and remain there for forty days.

 

the stone tablets, the Law and the commandments, which I have written to instruct them All 613 mitzvoth are included in the Ten Commandments. In the “Azharoth” that he composed for each commandment [of the Ten], Rabbenu Saadiah [Gaon] explained the mitzvoth dependent upon it [each commandment]. [from Jonathan, Num. Rabbah 13:16]

 

13 So Moses and Joshua, his servant, arose I do not know what business Joshua had here, but I would say that the disciple [Joshua] escorted his mentor [Moses] until the place of the limits of the boundaries of the mountain, for he was not permitted to go past that point. From there Moses alone ascended to the mountain of God. Joshua pitched his tent and waited there for forty days. So we find that when Moses descended, “Joshua heard the voice of the people as they shouted” (Exod. 32:17). We learn [from there] that Joshua was not with them.

 

14 And to the elders he said upon his departure from the camp.

 

Wait for us here Wait here with the rest of the people in the camp [so that you will] be ready to judge each person’s quarrel.

 

Hur He was Miriam’s son, and his father was Caleb the son of Jephunneh, as it is said: “and Caleb took to himself Ephrath, and she bore to him Hur” (I Chron. 2:19). Ephrath was Miriam, as is stated in Sotah (11b).

 

whoever has a case lit., whoever is a master of words, whoever has litigation. -[From targumim]

 

16 and the cloud covered it Our Sages disagree on the matter. Some say that these are the six days from the New Moon [until Shavuoth, the day of the giving of the Torah -(old Rashi)].

 

and the cloud covered it The mountain.

 

and He called to Moses on the seventh day to say the Ten Commandments, and [in fact] Moses and all Israel were standing [and listening to the Ten Commandments], but the text bestowed honor upon Moses [by mentioning only him]. Others say that the cloud covered Moses for six days after the Ten Commandments [were given], and they [these days] were at the beginning of the forty days that Moses ascended to receive the tablets (Yoma 4a). It teaches you that whoever enters the camp of the Shechinah requires six days separation [seclusion from society] (Yoma 3b).

 

18 within the cloud This cloud was a kind of smoke, and the Holy One, blessed is He, made a path (another version A canopy) within it. -[From Yoma 4b]

 

 

Ketubim: Tehillim (Psalms) 59:1-18 & 60:1-14

 

Rashi

Targum

1. For the conductor, al tashcheth; of David a michtam, when Saul sent and they guarded the house to slay him.

1. For praise; concerning the distress when David said, "Do no harm"; composed by David, humble and innocent; when Saul sent and they guarded the house in order to kill him.

2. Save me from my enemies, my God; strengthen me against those who rise up against me.

2. Deliver me from my enemies, O God; from those who rise against me, save me.

3. Save me from workers of iniquity, and rescue me from bloodthirsty men.

3. Deliver me from those who practice deceit, and from murderous men redeem me.

4. For behold, they lurked for my soul; strong men lodge against me, neither [for] my transgression nor [for] my sin, O Lord.

4. For behold, they have lain in wait for my soul, the strong gathering against me; not on account of my iniquity, and not on account of my sin, O LORD.

5. Without iniquity, they run and prepare themselves; awaken towards me and see.

5. Before there are iniquities, they run and prepare battle; be strong towards me, and see!

6. And You, O Lord, God of Hosts, God of Israel, arise to visit upon all the nations; be not gracious to any treacherous workers of iniquity forever.

6. But You, O LORD God Sabaoth, God of Israel, awake to punish all the Gentiles; do not pity any of the deceitful rulers forever.

7. They return in the evening, they howl like a dog and encircle the city.

7. They will return at evening, they will raise a tumult like a dog, and they will encircle the city.

8. Behold, they spew forth with their mouth; [they have] swords in their lips, for who hears?

8. Behold, they will spew forth with their mouth words sharp as swords; with their lips they say, "Let us boast, for who is the one who will hear and punish?"

9. But You, O Lord, will scoff at them; You will mock all the nations.

9. But You, O LORD, will laugh at them; You will mock all the Gentiles.

10. [Because of] his strength, I hope for You, for God is my fortress.

10. O my strength, for You I will keep watch, for God is my deliverance.

11. The God of my kindness will precede me; God will allow me to see in those who watch me.

11. God will precede me with my favor, God will show me vengeance on my oppressors.

12. Do not kill them, lest my people forget; remove them from their possessions with Your power and bring them down, O Lord our Shield.

12. Do not kill them immediately, lest my people forget; exile them from their houses by Your might, and impoverish them from their wealth, our shield, O LORD.

13. The sin of their mouth is the word of their lips, and they will be seized because of their haughtiness, because of the curse and the lies that they tell.

13. Because of the sin of their mouth, and the speech of their lips, let them be caught in their arrogance, for they will speak with oaths and lies.

14. Destroy [them] with wrath so that they will be no longer, and they will know that God rules over Jacob to the ends of the earth forever.

14. Destroy them in anger, destroy them until they are no more, that they may know that God rules in Jacob to the ends of the earth forever.

15. And they will return in the evening, they will howl like dogs, and they will encircle the city.

15. And they will return at evening, they will raise a tumult like a dog, and they will encircle the city.

16. They will roam about to eat if they are not sated, so that they will lodge.

16. They will wander about to take spoil to eat, and they will not rest until they are full and take lodging.

17. And I will sing of Your power, and I will sing praises of Your kindness in the morning, for You were my stronghold and a refuge on a day that I was in straits.

17. But I will praise yYur strength, and I rejoice in Your goodness in the morning, for You have been a deliverer to me, and my trust in the day I am distressed.

18. My strength! To You will I sing for God is my stronghold, O God of my kindness.

18. O my strength, I will give you praise, for God is my deliverance, God is my goodness.

 

 

1. For the conductor, on shushan eduth, a michtam of David, to teach.

1. For praise. Concerning the ancient testimony between Jacob and Laban. A copy made by David, for instruction.

2. When he fought with Aram-Naharaim and with Aram-Zobah, and Joab returned and smote twelve thousand of Edom in the valley of salt.

2. When David had gathered troops and passed by the Heap of Witness and fought with Aram-on-the-Euphrates and Aram Zobah, and afterwards Joab returned and smote the Edomites in the Plain of Salt, and twelve thousand from the army of David and Joab fell.

3. O God, You have forsaken us; You have breached us; You were angry with us. You shall restore us.

3. David said, "O God, You have abandoned us, You have attacked us in fierce anger; return to us in Your glory."

4. You caused the land to quake; You split it; heal its breaches for it has faltered.

4. You shook the land of Israel, You made it quake and You flayed it; heal its wounds, for it has become unsteady.

5. You have shown Your people harshness; You have given us to drink wine of bewilderment.

5. You made Your people see hardship, you made us drink the wine of execration.

6. You have given those who fear You trials with which to be tested, in order to beautify [Your behaviour] forever.

6. You have given those who fear you a sign to be lifted up by, because of the honesty of Abraham forever.

7. In order that Your beloved ones should be rescued, save Your right hand and answer me.

7. Because of the merit of Isaac, those who love You will be delivered; redeem with Your right handbecause of the piety of Jacob, and accept my prayer.

8. God spoke in His Sanctuary; I will exult, I will divide a portion, and I will measure the valley of Succoth.

8. God speaks in His sanctuary: I will be glad, for those of the house of Israel will prevail; I will divide the spoil with the sons of Joseph who dwell in Shechem, and in the plain of Succoth I will measure the measure and divide the booty.

9. Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine, and Ephraim is the strength of my head; Judah is my Lawgiver.

9. My people were of the house of Gilead, and my people were of the house of Manasseh; and the warriors of the house of Ephraim are the strength of my head, and those of the house of Judah are the scribes of my school.

10. Moab is my washbasin; on Edom I will throw my lock; Philistia, join me.

10. I trampled on the Moabites, my feet were dipped in the blood of their warriors as in my washing-basin; on the nape of the neck of the warriors of Edom I set my shoe; shout over the Philistines, O congregation of Israel.

11. Who will bring me to a fortified city?- He Who led me to Edom?

11. Who is he that led me to the ruined city of Tyre? Who is he that guided me to Edom?

12. Is it not You, O God, Who has forsaken us, and [Who] does not go forth, O God, with our hosts?

12. Is it not You, O LORD? You have abandoned us; and You will not go out, O God, with our forces.

13. Give us aid against the adversary, but the salvation of man is futile.

13. Give us help against the oppressor, for in vain is the redemption of a son of man.

14. Through God we shall gather might, and He will trample our adversaries.

14. By the word of the LORD we will exercise might, and He will subdue our oppressors.

 

 

 

Rashi’s Commentary for: Psalms 59:1-18 & 60:1-14

 

1 al tashcheth He called the psalm by this name because he was close to dying and to being destroyed, and he begged for mercy in the matter.

 

and they guarded the house when Michal told them that he was ill (I Sam. 19:14) and she allowed him to flee at night.

 

4 [they] lodge against me to enter my house, to guard me.

 

5 Without iniquity I did not sin against them.

 

and prepare themselves Ready to kill.

 

6 arise to visit upon all the nations And judge these wicked men according to the statutes of the nations. Do not be gracious to them.

 

7 They return in the evening, etc... Behold, they spew forth with their mouth The interpretation of these two verses connects one to the other.

 

They return in the evening What they did by day does not suffice them; in the evening they repeat their evil: guarding me that I do not escape and leave the city Now what did they do by day? Behold, all day they spew forth with their mouth, to spy on me to Saul.

 

8 swords in their lips and they think to themselves, “Who hears?”

 

9 But You, O Lord Who will scoff at all the nations, will mock these wicked men as well.

 

10 [Because of] his strength The strength and might of my enemy, who is stronger than I.

 

I hope for You and I wait [for You] to rescue me from him.

 

11 will precede He will give me His help before the hand of my enemy overwhelms me.

 

will allow me to see in those who watch me what I long to see.

 

12 Do not kill them because this is not recognizable [as] revenge.

 

lest my people forget because all the dead are forgotten. Instead, deprive them of their possessions, so that they are impoverished. That is the revenge that will be long remembered.

 

13 The sin of their mouth is the word of their lips, and the poor who are pursued by them because of the curse and the lies that they tell, are seized through their haughtiness.

 

14 Destroy [them] with wrath Destroy them with Your wrath, O King Who judges, and let them know that You rule over Jacob.

 

15 And they will return in the evening This is attached to the preceding verse. The sin of their mouth they speak by day, and in the evening, they return to ambush those whom they slandered.

 

16 They will roam about to eat as the dogs do all night if they are not sated, so that they can lodge out of satiety, and sleep.

 

17 And I when I escape them, I will sing of Your power in the morning.

 

18 My strength! To You To You, Who are my strength and my stronghold, to You I will sing.

 

Chapter 60

 

1 on shushan eduth, a michtam of David, to teach (Addendum: Michtam is an expression of (Song 5:11), “as finest gold (כתם פז),” a coveted thing. Our Sages, however, expounded this as referring to David, who behaved as a humble (מך) and innocent man, even when he occupied the throne. Another Aggadah explains that his wound (מכתו) was perfect (תמה), i.e., he was born circumcised (Sotah 10b). Michtam of David concerning the testimony of the Sanhedrin, who were compared to a rose (שושן), as it is stated (Song 7:3): “Your navel is like a round basin, etc., fenced in with roses,” when he required that they teach him what to do. When he fought with Aram Naharaim and sent Joab against them, they said to Joab, “Aren’t you of the sons of Jacob? Where is the oath that he swore to Laban, ‘this pile is a witness’” (Gen. 31:52)? And he did not know what to answer. He came to David and said to David, “This is what the Arameans said to me.” They went and asked the Sanhedrin, [who] replied to them, “Did they not transgress the oath first, as it is stated (Num. 23:7): ‘From Aram has Balak king of Moab brought me’? Moreover, Cushan- Rishathaim was an Aramean.”

 

2 and Joab returned and smote of Edom, etc. [of] the eighteen thousand stated in Scripture (II Sam. 8:13, I Chron. 18:12), Abishai slew six thousand the first time, and Joab slew twelve thousand when he returned from battling Aram.

 

When he fought Heb. בהצותו, as (Num. 26:9): “when they quarreled (בהצותם) with the Lord,” that he fought with them because they aided the Ammonites.

 

3 You have forsaken us; You have breached us When Edom fell into his hand, he foresaw with the holy spirit that they are destined to rule over Israel and to levy evil decrees upon Israel. He stood up and begged for mercy on account of the subjugation of the exile. “We suffered many troubles in the time of the Judges from the enemies around us.”

 

You were angry You were angry with us. From now on, restore Your goodwill upon us.

 

4 You caused...to quake our land, with many troops.

 

You split it Heb. פצמתה, You broke it. I saw in Dunash’s writings (p. 68) that it is Arabic, but he did not explain it. In the works of Rabbi Moshe Hadarshan, he explains it as an expression of tearing and cites evidence for that assertion (from Jer. 22:14): “And he cuts out windows,” which Jonathan translates, וּפצים. But I say that וּפצים, as Jonathan translated, is an expression of the construction of a window, as “all the entrances that have door frames (פצימין).”

 

heal its breaches for it has faltered Heb. רפה, an expression of healing. Although it is spelled with a “hey,” many words are used in this manner.

 

for it has faltered An expression of lowliness.

 

5 wine of bewilderment Heb. תרעלה. [Wine] that stops up the heart and envelops it. רַעַל is an expression of envelopment, as (Nahum 2:4): “and the cypresses are enwrapped (הרעלו),” and the language of the Mishnah (Shab. 6:6): “Median women shawled (רעולות).”

 

6 You have given those who fear You trials Trials of many troubles.

 

to be tested With which to be tested whether they would stand [steadfast] in awe of You.

 

in order to beautify forever To beautify Your standards in the world, so that when You give them goodness, the gentiles will not criticize You, but they will beautify Your judgments and say that He justly did good to them because they passed many tests for Him.

 

7 should be rescued Should be saved from harm.

 

save Your right hand which You brought back so that their enemies should overpower them.

 

and answer me For, if You answer me, they will be rescued, because I fight against them [the enemies] for them [Israel].

 

8 God spoke in His Sanctuary that He would gather the exiles and his [David’s] seed would rule over them. Another explanation: God spoke in His Sanctuary [saying] that I would be king over them.

 

I will exult in His salvation. In another explanation, I found: God spoke in His Sanctuary to help me, as it is written (II Sam. 3:18): “For (sic) by the hand of My bondsman David shall I deliver My people Israel.”

 

I will divide a portion I will divide for them a portion of the property of their enemies.

 

and I will measure the valley of Succoth I do not know of what nation this Succoth is, and I do not know where the Succoth is that Israel came to when they traveled from Rameses. In other commentaries I found (this is not in all editions): I will divide Shechem I will restore to them the heritage of their father Jacob. Another explanation:

 

And I will measure the valley of Succoth when I divide it for Israel. Shechem and Succoth were at the edge of the land of Canaan, as we find Jacob’s entry to the land through Succoth and Shechem. Another explanation:

 

and I will measure the valley of Succoth Succoth is an expression of shapes and imaginations, as is written (II Kings 17:30): “Succoth-Benoth.”

 

I will measure I measure their form, as is written (II Sam. 8:2): “two cord-lengths to put to death and one full cord-length to keep alive.”

 

9 Gilead is mine to reign over them.

 

my lawgiver My ministers. מחקקי  is an expression of administration, that he makes the law and sends scrolls and commands, as (Gen. 49:10): “The scepter will not turn away from Judah, nor the lawgiver from between his feet.”

 

10 Moab is my washbasin I will use them as a copper pot prepared for washing therein.

 

my lock Heb. נעלי, my imprisonment.

 

join me Join my kingdom to be subordinate to me, for Gath, and also Gaza, which David vanquished, are of the land of the Philistines.

 

11 Who will bring me to a fortified city then to a fortified city, to conquer the city of Rome; if You will not help me against the fortress of Edom, who will bring me and who will lead me upon them? (Shem Ephraim suggests this emendation: If You will not help me now to conquer Edom, upon which You have now led me.) In other commentaries, I found as follows: upon the fortresses of Edom, upon whom You have led me now.

 

12 and [Who does] not go forth and You do not go forth.

 

14 will trample [as translated.]

 

 

Meditation from the Psalms

Psalms ‎‎59:1-18 & 60:1-14

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

 

This week we have a doubled Torah seder and two chapters of Psalms: 59 and 60.

 

Psalms chapter 59 is the third and last psalm in the Al Tashcheit (do not destroy) series. It is based on the very first incident in which Saul pursued David.[1] The superscription of this psalm attributes authorship to David.

 

As David's star gained ascendancy, Saul's dark and troubled spirit sank to the lowest depths. Once, when David played music before the king in an attempt to soothe his anguish, a spirit of evil descended on Saul. He flung his deadly spear at David's head, barely missing his mark. David fled from the palace.

 

Saul sent soldiers to David's home to watch him that night and to slay him in the morning. David was Saul's son-in-law, for his wife was Saul's daughter Michal. She loved her noble husband more than she did her bitter father, so she helped David to escape through a side window.

 

Michal then placed a lifelike Teraphim[2] in David's bed as a ruse. At first she was able to restrain Saul's men by claiming David was sick, but then Saul dispatched his messengers again, saying: 'Bring him back to me in his bed so that I myself can slay him'. By the time Saul's soldiers discovered the deception, David had disappeared, leaving only the mannequin in his place.

 

David composed this psalm of entreaty and thanksgiving, while on the verge of death,[3] upon his narrow escape from Saul.[4]

 

Psalms chapter 60 presents David's inspired vision of a universal order of nations united in complete harmony. This was his dream. True, Scripture describes David as a mighty warrior endowed with extraordinary martial skills; nevertheless, he was not a belligerent man of war, but an ambassador of peace.

 

The concept of universal peace is a manifestation of monotheism, the belief in one Almighty G-d. Pagan mythology depicts a chaotic heaven torn asunder by jealous, warring 'gods' who are no more than an exaggerated reflection of their human creators. Struggle, conflict, and polarization are basic elements of the idolater’s Weltanschauung.[5]

 

The Jew, who believes in one Creator, believes that all of the diverse elements of this universe are basically united to serve the purposes of the one G-d, Who gives order to the world. Israel is at the center of this world order, and the supreme tribunal of this nation, the Great Sanhedrin, convenes in the Temple, which is the spiritual center of the earth. Each of the seventy members of this august body is symbolic of one of the world's seventy nations and the seventy-first member, the chief justice, represents Israel, the nation which controls the order of all other peoples.[6]

 

David dedicated this psalm of war to the Sanhedrin, because he fought only upon the advice and consent of this high court. He waged war only to establish Israel's mastery over the seventy nations and to establish a harmonious world order of nations dedicated to divine peace.[7]

 

Psalms chapter 60 speaks repeatedly of Edom.[8] Therefore, I would like to look at ‘Edom’ in a bit more detail.

 

The first mention of the word Edom is found in:

 

Bereshit (Genesis) 25:30 And Esau said to Yaaqov, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red [pottage]; for I [am] faint: therefore was his name called Edom.

 

Edom is the name which was given to Esau, the first-born son of Yitzchak, on the day he sold his birthright to Yaaqov for a mess of pottage, the reddish color of which gives it its name, ‘Adom’.

 

The Torah’s first use of the word Edom, sets the word in the context of two brothers mourning the death of Avraham Avinu. One has just returned from a day of raping and murder, the other has spent the day mourning and preparing the traditional mourner’s meal of lentils. Both events center around the color red. Edom is shedding blood whilst Yaaqov is cooking red lentils. This will be an important understanding as we progress in this study.

 

The Torah repeats the association of Edom with Esau in:

 

Bereshit (Genesis) 36:1 Now these [are] the generations of Esau, who [is] Edom.

 

Now we know that when Torah repeats a matter it is to emphasize the connection.  Thus Torah is connecting Esau to Edom.

 

This encounter shows that Esau is more concerned for this world than for the next world:

 

Bereshit (Genesis) 25:32 Esau cried out, “Why do I need the birthright?”

 

Midrash HaGadol 25:32 A Heavenly Voice echoed, “Why do you need the blessing?”

 

Blessings made the difference between living ONLY in this world and also living in the Olam HaBa, the World to Come:

 

Yitzchak avoided using HaShem’s Name in Esau’s blessing since the purpose of Esau’s blessing was to grant him his full reward in this world so that he should be excluded from the blessings of the World to Come.[9] For, that is what Edom is all about, THIS WORLD, even at the cost of eternity. Thus, by extension, Galut Edom, the fourth and final exile of the Jewish people has been meant to endure in advance of Mashiach’s arrival, is one that eternalizes the temporal.

 

The essential task of Mashiach ben Yosef is to act as precursor to Mashiach ben David,[10]  He will prepare the world for the coming of the final redeemer. Different sources attribute to him different functions, some even charging him with tasks traditionally associated with Mashiach ben David (such as the ingathering of the exiles, the rebuilding of the Temple, and so forth).[11]

 

The principal and final function ascribed to Mashiach ben Yosef is of political and military nature. He shall wage war against the forces of evil that oppress Israel. More specifically, he will do battle against Edom, the descendants of Esau.[12] Edom is the comprehensive designation of the enemies of Israel,[13] and it will be crushed through the progeny of Joseph. Thus it was prophesied of old,

 

Obadiah 1:18 The House of Jacob will be a fire and the House of Joseph a flame, and the House of Esau for stubble..

 

The progeny of Esau shall be delivered only into the hands of the progeny of Joseph.[14]

 

Our Sages teach us that the lives of the forefathers foreshadow events in the lives of their descendants. To understand the events of history, relative to Israel, all we need to do is study the lives of the Patriarchs.

 

The Ramban calls Bereshit (Genesis), Sefer Simanim, the book of signs. Bereshit is not just the story of what happened, it also foretells what will happen!

 

The Rambam tells us that the Torah’s purpose in writing about the encounter between Esau and Yaaqov, in Bereshit 32, is to tell us that Esau will never defeat Yaaqov, though he will try with all of his might.

 

Yaaqov’s life-and-death struggle with Esau is to characterize all of subsequent Jewish history. The night (exile) will be long and the battle will be intense.

 

The Zohar comments on the following verse:

 

Bereshit (Genesis) 25:26 “And afterwards his brother came out and his hand was holding on to the heel of Esav; and his name was called Yaakov”.

 

The Zohar[15] states that Esau is compared to the original serpent.[16] The force in this world that represents the Original Serpent, in the Garden of Eden, that tricked Adam and Chava into eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, the personification of that Serpent in this world, is Esau. This gives us a bit of a hint into what Edom really is.

 

The Zohar says that when the verse tells us that Yaaqov’s hand was holding Esau’s heel, the Torah is setting the stage and is telling us how Yaaqov Avinu, in the future, will have to deal with Esau. He is going to have to deal with him by attacking at the heel; he is going to have to deal with him, sometimes, deceitfully and surreptitiously. That is the only way one can deal with that Serpent.

 

Our Sages taught the meaning of this verse:

 

II Shmuel (Samuel) 22:27 “With a pure one, You show Yourself pure; but with a perverse one, You deal crookedly.”

 

They taught that you cannot always be up front and straight forward with a person who is a liar. Even Yaaqov, the man of truth, has a mandate from the Torah, that the way to deal with Esau is by ‘heel,’ which is connoted in Yaaqov’s name.

 

Yaaqov’s meeting with Esau represented the paradigm of how Jews must deal with the non-Jewish world.

 

The Sforno writes: The events which occurred to Yaaqov when he first left his father’s house foreshadow Jewish history during the first exile, while the events which occurred to him after he returned to his father’s house foreshadow Jewish history during the Second Temple and subsequent exile, galut Edom, and the redemption at the end of time”.

 

Since ‘the deeds of the forefathers are a blueprint for the children’, as our Sages have said. Therefore, let us observe how Yaaqov acted towards Edom:

 

Bereshit (Genesis) 32:13-20 And he lodged there that same night; and took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother; Two hundred she goats, and twenty he goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams, Thirty milch camels with their colts, forty kine, and ten bulls, twenty she asses, and ten foals. And he delivered [them] into the hand of his servants, every drove by themselves; and said unto his servants, Pass over before me, and put a space betwixt drove and drove. And he commanded the foremost, saying, When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying, Whose [art] thou? and whither goest thou? and whose [are] these before thee? Then thou shalt say, [They be] thy servant Jacob’s; it [is] a present sent unto my lord Esau: and, behold, also he [is] behind us. And so commanded he the second, and the third, and all that followed the droves, saying, On this manner shall ye speak unto Esau, when ye find him. And say ye moreover, Behold, thy servant Jacob [is] behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept of me.

 

Bereshit (Genesis) 33:1-17 And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids. And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost. And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept. And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said, Who [are] those with thee? And he said, The children which God hath graciously given thy servant. Then the handmaidens came near, they and their children, and they bowed themselves. And Leah also with her children came near, and bowed themselves: and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves. And he said, What [meanest] thou by all this drove which I met? And he said, [These are] to find grace in the sight of my lord. And Esau said, I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself. And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand: for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me. Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. And he urged him, and he took [it]. And he said, Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before thee. And he said unto him, My lord knoweth that the children [are] tender, and the flocks and herds with young [are] with me: and if men should overdrive them one day, all the flock will die. Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant: and I will lead on softly, according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure, until I come unto my lord unto Seir. And Esau said, Let me now leave with thee [some] of the folk that [are] with me. And he said, What needeth it? let me find grace in the sight of my lord. So Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir. And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.

 

Yaakov’s strategy here is a sign that in the times of Mashiach (which this episode portends), the Erev Rav[17] will lead all Israel (a curse that we are experiencing today), the ordinary people will be next in line, and the talmidei-Hakhamim[18] last.

 

According to our Sages, Edom is one of the four great exiles: Babylonian, Persian, Greek, and Edom. The pattern for these four major exiles is found in the account of the four kings versus the five kings.[19]

 

The narrative, in Bereshit 14, describes the battle between the four kings and the five kings. Who were these kings and their subjects? The five kings were kings of cities in the Jordan Valley plains. The four kings were kings of cities in Babylon and Assyria. The armies of the five kings lost to the armies of the four, and subsequently served the strongest of the victors, Chedorlaomer.[20]

 

It is worth noting that the Amalekites are mentioned in the above pasuk[21] long before Amalek was even born! Concerning this anomaly, the Midrash writes:

 

Midrash Rabbah - Genesis XLII:7 AND THEY TURNED BACK, AND CAME TO EN-MISHPAT-THE SAME IS KADESH (XIV, 7). R. Aha said: They came only in order to attack the eyeball of the world; the eye which executed judgment in the world they desire to blind! THE SAME (HI) IS KADESH: R. Aba said: This is written hu (he): it was he [Abraham] that sanctified (kiddash) the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, in the fiery furnace.1 AND THEY SMOTE ALL THE COUNTRY OF THE AMALEKITES. Amalek had not yet arisen, yet you say, AND THEY SMOTE ALL THE COUNTRY OF THE AMALEKITES! But, He declareth the end from the beginning (Isa. XLVI, 10). AND ALSO THE AMORITES, THAT DWELT IN HAZAZON--TAMAR: this means, in En-gedi of the palm-trees.3 AND THERE WENT OUT THE KING OF SODOM... FOUR KINGS AGAINST THE FIVE (XIV, 8 f.). Four kings waged war with five and defeated them.

 

Alternatively, this was not a battle between two alliances of cities. Rather, this was a battle between a coalition of five cities and a confederation of four countries. The four kings joined forces in order to conquer the world. The reason, therefore, that the five kings paid tribute to Chedorlaomer, wasn’t because he was the strongest of the four kings, but rather because the territory of their five cities fell out in his lot of the world.[22]

 

The war was fought over only one thing, money.

 

It was midnight, we are told, when Avraham reached northern Israel and battled the four kings. Avraham’s deliverance came at midnight, as we read in the haggada. The idea of midnight is the that this is a time for prayer to be heard and redemption to be accomplished. Night time also alludes to the galut, the exile.[23]

 

Midrash Rabbah - Genesis XLII:2 R. Abin said: Just as he commenced with four kings, so will he conclude with four kings. [He commences with four kings, viz.]: With Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar (Gen. XIV, 9); so he ends with four kingdoms: the kingdom of Babylon, the kingdom of Media, the kingdom of Greece, and the empire of Edom [i.e. Rome]. R. Phinehas quoted in R. Abin’s name: But they know not the thoughts of the Lord, neither understand they His counsel, for He hath gathered them as the sheaves to the threshing- floor (Micah IV, 12). Thus, why Came all these as allies (Gen. XIV, 3)? In order that they might come and fall by the hands of Abraham; hence it is written, AND IT CAME TO PASS lN THE DAYS OF AMRAPHEL, etc.

 

King’s Name

Peshat Kingdom

Drash Kingdom

Amraphel (aka Nimrod)

‘amar pol’, meaning, “he said ‘fall’”

Shinar - Babylon

Babylon

Arioch

Lion-like Man

Ellasar - Assyria

Media

Chedorlaomer (Elam son of Shem)

A Handful of Sheaves

Elam - Persia

Hidden or distant

Greece

Tidal

Fear or Reverence

Goyim

Gentile nations

Rome

 

“Ma’aseh Avot siman l’banim”

The actions of the father are a sign for the children.

 

The four kings represent a world-view where everything in creation is subsumed under the “forces of nature.” This view holds that there is nothing else in this world, except this world. The number four always denotes a complete set or fullness in this world.

 

Avraham and the five kings were focused on an existence beyond this world. This is the world view represented by the number five. Five in Hebrew is represented by the letter v heh. If you look at the letter v heh, you will see that the letter is composed of the letter s dalet (which stands for four) plus the letter h yud. h Yud is a unique letter. It is the only letter which doesn’t touch the line on which you write. It is no more than the smallest dot floating above the line, representing intangible, spiritual existence. The written letter v heh, then, is a pictogram of this world focused and revolving around that which is above this world, the s dalet (the “four” of this world) with the h yud of spirituality at its axis. Avraham fought on behalf of the five kings against the four kings. Avraham was the first person to look at this world and see an existence beyond. If there was a creation, there had to be a Creator. After Avram fought the war against the four kings, HaShem added a letter to his name. Not surprisingly, that letter was the letter v heh. For Avraham stood for all that the v heh represents, that this world revolves around a Higher Existence.

 

The number five thus represents the perfection of the natural order (the number four), with the addition of one: HaShem Himself.

 

Bereshit chapter 14 contains the Torah account of a cosmic battle which will reverberate till we hear the footsteps of the Mashiach. This was the cataclysmic battle of ascendancy of the great forces of the world. The battle of the four kings against the five kings leads to victory for the four kings. These four kings, in turn, are defeated by Avraham and his trusty servant, Eliezer. The Torah is foreshadowing Jewish, and world, history. There will be four kingdoms that will rule the world. These four will ultimately be conquered by Avraham’s descendants.

 

In the end of days this battle will occur again. As in the beginning, so it will be in the end. The kings of the world will fight against each other and the redeemer of the Children of Israel will defeat the victors. The captives will be set free and a tithe will be paid to the King of Righteousness.

 

In this next pasuk we see one of the keys to understand Edom:

 

Bereshit (Genesis) 25:26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac [was] threescore years old when she bare them.

 

The final exile is called ‘Galut Edom,’ the ‘Exile of Edom’. The exile of Edom, who descended from Esau, coincides with the last 2,000 years of history referred to by the Talmud as, the ‘Footsteps of Mashiach!’

 

Sanhedrin 97a [Wherewith thine enemies have reproached, O Lord,’ wherewith they have reproached the footsteps of thine anointed.] it has been taught, R. Judah said: in the generation when the son of David comes, the house of assembly will be for harlots, Galilee in ruins, Gablan[24] lie desolate, the border inhabitants wander about from city to city, receiving no hospitality, the wisdom of scribes in disfavour, God-fearing men despised, people be dog-faced, and truth entirely lacking, as it is written, Yea, truth faileth, and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey. What is meant by ‘yea, truth faileth [ne’edereth ]’? — The Scholars of the School of Rab said: This teaches that it will split up into separate groups and depart. What is the meaning of ‘and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey [mishtollel ]’? — The School of R. Shila said: He who departs from evil will be dubbed a fool by his fellow-men.

 

Thus we see that the Mashiach will come at the end of the galut Edom.

 

The present exile is seen as an extension of the Roman exile (Edom is Rome), since culturally and legally, Western civilization shares the values and worldview of ancient Rome. A subset of this exile is that of Ishmael, the Arabs, who are seen as an antithesis of Roman civilization and values, and who will rule over the Jewish people for a time concurrently with the exile of Rome.

 

The exile of Ishmael and the exile of Edom are represented by the legs in the vision interpreted by Daniel:

 

Daniel 2:31-34 Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness [was] excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof [was] terrible. This image’s head [was] of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet [that were] of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.

 

In this vision, our Sages see Babylonia as corresponding to the head, as it is written:

 

Daniel 2:38 “… You are the head of gold.”

 

Some of our Sages see Media and Persia corresponding to the two arms, Greece corresponds to the body, and Edom and Ishmael correspond to the two legs. This is why the latter two exiles are long. These two exiles run concurrently. Thus we are simultaneously in the exile of Edom and the exile of Ishmael.

 

My Teacher, Hakham Yosef ben Haggai, and many other Sages see Edom as having two legs:

 

“In Daniel we see Esav as being identified as the “(two) legs of iron, his (two) feet made part of iron and part of clay” of the great image the King saw. These are the two divisions of the Esav empire today known as “the West” with a “Western leg” headed by the U.S. and the U.K. and the “Eastern leg” headed by Russia and Greece. These are also known as the Christian nations – the Western leg largely under the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern leg largely under the Russian and Greek Orthodox churches. Messiah further tells us that these two groups of peoples are like blind men with many sincere souls found amongst them. The task of Yehuda embodied by Mashiach ben Yosef is to heal the blindness of all sincere souls found in the midst of the nations symbolized by these two legs and feet. Interestingly, the peoples of the Western nations which the Sages of the Talmud identify as drinking from the breasts of Rome before the Empire and the Catholic Church split in two (the embodiment of Esav in Rabbinic literature), have largely provided the bulk of converts to Judaism something which Islam forbade under the penalty of death. The Hakhamim identify the Muslim nation (i.e. all nations that follow Islam), with various notable exceptions, as being the descendants of Ishmael since they have partaken by converting to Islam, largely of his (Ismael’s) religion, culture and heritage.”

 

According to Jewish tradition we are presently in the Diaspora of Edom, the last of the four Diasporas, the one immediately preceding the arrival of the Mashiach. The Torah tells us that Esau is synonymous with Edom. And these are the descendants of Esau, he is Edom. (Bereshit 38:1) This Diaspora is also known as the Roman Diaspora. It began with the destruction of the second Temple by the Romans, and the cultural and spiritual basis of the Western world, the broader venue of this entire Diaspora was the Holy Roman Empire. The destruction of the second Temple is also coincident with the birth and rise of Christianity, the cornerstone of Western morality and ethics.

 

Jewish tradition gives us the following formula:

 

Esau=Edom=Rome=Christianity.

 

The name “Edom” is also used by the Sages of the Talmud for the Roman empire, and they applied to Rome every passage of the Bible referring to Edom or to Esau. In Leviticus Rabbah 23 Rome, under the name of “Edom,” is compared to a boar:

 

Midrash Rabbah - Leviticus XIII:5 R. Phinehas and R. Hilkiah, in the name of R. Simeon, said: Out of all the prophets, only two, namely Asaph and Moses, named it [i.e. the fourth beast]. Asaph said: The boar (hazir) out of the wood doth ravage it (Ps. LXXX, 14), Moses said: AND THE SWINE (HAZIR) BECAUSE IT PARTETH THE HOOF, AND IS CLOVEN FOOTED, BUT CHEWETH NOT THE CUD, HE IS UNCLEAN TO YOU (XI, 7). Why is it [i.e. Edom or Rome] compared to a ‘hazir’ [swine or boar]?-To tell you this: Just as the swine when reclining puts forth its hooves as if to say: See that I am clean, so too does the empire of Edom [Rome] boast as it commits violence and robbery, under the guise of establishing a judicial tribunal. This may be compared to a governor who put to death the thieves, adulterers, and sorcerers. He leaned over to a counselor and said: ‘I myself did these three things in one night.’

 

The Romans destroying the Holy Temple, and then the wars of Christianity against Judaism – imposing their religion ‘by the sword’,[25] are all manifestations of Esau’s gevurah approach in his battles with the world.

 

Additionally, Seir is also seen as a synonym for Edom:

 

Bereshit (Genesis) 32:3 And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom.

 

Galut (exile), although appearing to us to be a negative phenomenon, actually carries the potential for the highest good. And now that we are in the last days of the final exile, we approach an era of unprecedented spirituality and goodness, for although the first and second Temples were eventually destroyed, the third Temple is to stand forever, and our coming redemption will have no exile to follow. This was David’s goal as he prepared for everlasting peace as he wrote in our psalms.

 

 

Ashlamatah: Ezekiel 18:17-23 +30-32

 

Rashi

Targum

14. And behold, if he beget a son, who sees all the sins of his father which he has done, and sees and does not do likewise;

14. And behold, he has begotten a son who saw all the sins which his father had committed; who saw, but did not imitate them,

15. He did not eat on the mountains and did not lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, did not defile his fellow man's wife,

15. He has not worshipped idols on the mountains, and has not lifted up his eyes to the idolatrous worship of the house of Israel: who has not defiled his neighbor’s wife:

16. Wronged no man; did not retain any pledge, and committed no robbery; his bread he gave to the hungry and the naked he covered with clothes;

16. Who has not oppressed anyone: who has not taken a pledge: who has not committed robbery: who has given of his bread to the hungry: and who has covered the naked with his own clothes:

17. From the poor he kept not his hand back, interest and increase he did not take; My ordinances he kept, in My laws did he walk-he shall not die for the sins of his father, he shall surely live.

17. Who has not withheld his hand from the poor; who has taken no interest or usury; he has obeyed My Law; he has walked in My statutes; he will not die for the sins of his father; he will surely live.

18. [But] his father, because he illegally suppressed, committed robbery against his brother and did what is not good among his people, behold, he shall die for his iniquity.

18. His father, because he practiced oppression, robbed one of his brothers, and who did not do what was proper in the midst of his people, behold, he has died for his sin.

19. Yet you say, "Why does the son not bear with the sin of the father?" But the son has practiced justice and righteousness, he has kept all My laws and he carries them out; he shall surely live.

19. And you say, ‘Why is not the son punished for the sins of the father?’ But the son has done what is truly just and meritorious, he has kept all My statutes and performed them; he will surely live.

20. The soul that sins, it shall die; a son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, and a father shall not bear the iniquity of the son; the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself. {S}

20. The persons who sins, he will die. The son will not be punished for the sins of the father, and the father will not be punished for the sins of the son; the merit of the righteous/generous will be fulfilled in him, and the of the wicked will be upon him.

21. And if the wicked man repent of all his sins that he has committed and keeps all My laws and executes justice and righteousness, he shall surely live, he shall not die.

21. But the wicked, if he repents of all the sins he has committed , and keeps all My statutes and does what is truly just and righteous/charitable, he will surely live, he will not die.

22. All his transgressions that he has committed shall not be remembered regarding him: through his righteousness that he has done he shall live.

22. None of the sins which he had committed will be remembered against him. For the righteousness/ generosity which he has done he will survive.

23. Do I desire the death of the wicked? says the Lord God. Is it not rather in his repenting of his ways that he may live? {S}

23. Do I desire at all the death of the wicked? Says the LORD GOD. Is it not rather that when he turns from his way, he will survive?

24. And when the righteous repents of his righteousness and does wrong and does like all the abominations that the wicked man did, shall he live? All his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered; in his treachery that he has perpetrated and in his sin that he has sinned, in them shall he die.

24. And when the righteous/generous turns away from his righteousness/generosity and deals falsely, committing all the abominable things which the wicked practices, will he survive? All the righteousness/ generosity which he had done will not be remembered; for the falsehood which he has practiced and for the sins which he committed, he will die.

25. Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not right!' Hear now, O house of Israel: Is it My way that is not right? Is it not rather your ways that are not right?

25. Yet you have said, ‘The good ways of the LORD have not been declared to us.’ Now, listen, O house of Israel. Have not My good ways been declared to you? Is it not your ways, surely yours which are not right?

26. When a righteous man repents of his righteousness and does wrong and dies on that account; for the wrong that he has done he should die. {S}

26. When the righteous/generous man turns away from his righteousness/generosity and deals falsely and dies because of them, he will die for the falsehood which he has committed.

27. And when a wicked man repents of his wickedness that he has done, and does justice and righteousness, he will keep his soul alive.

27. And when the wicked man turns away from the sins which he has committed amd does that which is truly just and righteous/generous, he will save his life.

28. He will see and repent of all his transgressions that he has committed-he shall surely live; he shall not die.

28. He has seen and repented for all the sins which he had committed, he will surely live, he will not die.

29. And yet the house of Israel say, 'The way of the Lord is not right!' Is it My ways that are not right, O house of Israel? Is it not rather your ways that are not right?

29. Yet the house of Israel has said, The good ways of the LORD have not been declared to us. Have not My good ways ben declared to you, O house of Israel?Is it not rather that your ways, yours are not right?

30. Therefore, every man according to his ways I will judge you, O house of Israel, says the Lord God: repent and cause others to repent of all your transgressions, and it will not be a stumbling block of iniquity for you.

30. Therefore, from each according to his ways will I exact punishment from you, o house of Israel, says the LORD GOD. Return to My worship, and remove idol worship from you, that it should not be a sinful stumbling block for you.

31. Cast away from yourselves all your transgressions whereby you have transgressed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit, and why should you die, O house of Israel!

31. Put far from you all your sins by which you have sinned and make for yourselves a faithful heart and a faithful spirit. Why should you die, O House of Israel?

32. For I do not desire the death of him who dies, says the Lord God: so turn away and live!" {P}

32. For I have no desire in the death of anyone who deserves to die, says the LORD GOD, Return [and cause others to return] to My worship. And you will survive!

 

 

 

Rashi’s Commentary on Ezekiel 18:17-23 +30-32

 

17 From the poor he kept his hand back from harming him.

 

24 All his righteous deeds, etc., shall not be remembered Our Sages qualified this as referring to one who regrets them.

 

29 is not right Heb. YITAKEN, like afetes in Old French; just, correct, right.

 

30 repent and cause others to repent Heb. SHUVU V’HASHIVU, you repent and you cause others to repent (tourner, retourner in French), turn [others], return.

 

 

Correlations

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

& H.H. Giberet Dr. Elisheba bat Sarah

 

Shemot (Exodus) 22:24 – 23:19

Yehezechel (Ezekiel) 18:17-23 +30-32

Tehillim (Psalms) 59 & 60

Mk 7:24-37, Acts 18:12-23

 

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Psalm are:

Kill / Slay - הרג, Strong’s number 02026.

Sword - חרב, Strong’s number 02719.

People - עם, Strong’s number 05971.

 

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Ashlamata are:

Sword - חרב, Strong’s number 02719.

Children / Son - בן, Stong’s number 01121.

People - עם, Strong’s number 05971.

Poor - עני, Strong’s number 06041.

Usury - נשך, Strong’s number 05392.

 

Shemot (Exodus) 22:24 And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill <02026> (8804) you with the sword <02719>; and your wives shall be widows, and your children <01121> fatherless.

25 ¶  If thou lend money to any of my people <05971> that is poor <06041> by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury <05392>.

 

Tehillim (Psalms) 59:7 Behold, they belch out with their mouth: swords <02719> are in their lips: for who, say they, doth hear?

Tehillim (Psalms) 59:11 Slay <02026> (8799) them not, lest my people <05971> forget: scatter them by thy power; and bring them down, O Lord our shield.

 

Yehezechel (Ezekiel) 18:17 That hath taken off his hand from the poor <06041>, that hath not received usury <05392> nor increase, hath executed my judgments, hath walked in my statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live.

Yehezechel (Ezekiel) 18:18 As for his father, because he cruelly oppressed, spoiled his brother by violence, and did that which is not good among his people <05971>, lo, even he shall die in his iniquity.

Yehezechel (Ezekiel) 18:19 Yet say ye, Why? doth not the son <01121> bear the iniquity of the father? When the son <01121> hath done that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live.

Yehezechel (Ezekiel) 18:21 And all his fugitives with all his bands shall fall by the sword <02719>, and they that remain shall be scattered toward all winds: and ye shall know that I the LORD have spoken it.

 

 

Hebrew:

 

Hebrew

English

Torah Reading

Ex. 22:24 – 24:18

Psalms

59:1-18

Ashlamatah

Eze18:17-23 +30-32

yn"doa]

God

Ps. 59:11

Ezek. 18:23
Ezek. 18:30
Ezek. 18:32

by"a'

enemy's

Exod. 23:4
Exod. 23:22
Exod. 23:27

Ps. 59:1

vyai

men

Exod. 22:31

Ps. 59:2

Ezek. 18:30

lk;a'

eat, ate

Exod. 22:31
Exod. 23:11
Exod. 23:15
Exod. 24:11
Exod. 24:17

Ps. 59:15

~yhil{a/

God

Exod. 22:28
Exod. 23:13
Exod. 23:19
Exod. 23:24
Exod. 23:25
Exod. 23:32
Exod. 23:33
Exod. 24:10
Exod. 24:11
Exod. 24:13

Ps. 59:1
Ps. 59:5
Ps. 59:9
Ps. 59:10
Ps. 59:13
Ps. 59:17
Ps. 60:1
Ps. 60:6
Ps. 60:10
Ps. 60:12

~ai

if

Exod. 22:25
Exod. 22:26
Exod. 23:22

Ps. 59:15

rm;a'

said

Exod. 23:13
Exod. 24:1
Exod. 24:3
Exod. 24:7
Exod. 24:8
Exod. 24:12
Exod. 24:14

Ezek. 18:19

#r,a,

land, earth,

ground,

country

Exod. 23:9
Exod. 23:10
Exod. 23:26
Exod. 23:29
Exod. 23:30
Exod. 23:31
Exod. 23:33

Ps. 59:13
Ps. 60:2

 vae

fire

Exod. 24:17

aAB

come,

go,

sets

Exod. 22:26
Exod. 23:19
Exod. 23:20
Exod. 23:23
Exod. 23:27
Exod. 24:3
Exod. 24:18

 tyIB;

house

Exod. 23:19

Ezek. 18:30
Ezek. 18:31

rq,Bo

morning

Exod. 23:18
Exod. 24:4

Ps. 59:16

rGE

stranger, alien

Exod. 23:9
Exod. 23:12

rb;D'

say, speak

Exod. 23:22
Exod. 24:3
Exod. 24:7

Ps. 60:6

rb'D'

charge, word

Exod. 23:7
Exod. 23:8
Exod. 24:3
Exod. 24:4
Exod. 24:8
Exod. 24:14

Ps. 59:12

~D'

blood

Exod. 23:18
Exod. 24:6
Exod. 24:8

Ps. 59:2

%r,D,

way, conduct

Exod. 23:20

Ezek. 18:23
Ezek. 18:30

hy"h'

become,

act,

follow,

remain

Exod. 22:24
Exod. 22:25
Exod. 22:27
Exod. 23:2
Exod. 23:29
Exod. 24:12

Ps. 59:16

Ezek. 18:30

%l;h'

go, walk

Exod. 23:23

Ezek. 18:17

hNEhi

behold

Exod. 23:20
Exod. 24:8
Exod. 24:14

Ps. 59:3
Ps. 59:7

Ezek. 18:18

gr'h'

kill, slay

Exod. 22:24
Exod. 23:7

Ps. 59:11

rk;z"

mention, remember

Exod. 23:13

Ezek. 18:22

aj'x'

sin

Exod. 23:33

Ezek. 18:20

br,x,

sword

Exod. 22:24

Ps. 59:7

dy"

hand

Exod. 23:1
Exod. 23:31
Exod. 24:11

Ezek. 18:17

 [d'y"

know

Exod. 23:9

Ps. 59:13

hwhy

LORD

Exod. 23:17
Exod. 23:19
Exod. 23:25
Exod. 24:1
Exod. 24:2
Exod. 24:3
Exod. 24:4
Exod. 24:5
Exod. 24:7
Exod. 24:8
Exod. 24:12
Exod. 24:16
Exod. 24:17

Ps. 59:3
Ps. 59:5
Ps. 59:8

Ezek. 18:23
Ezek. 18:30
Ezek. 18:32

 ~Ay

day

Exod. 22:30
Exod. 23:12
Exod. 23:15
Exod. 23:26
Exod. 24:16
Exod. 24:18

Ps. 59:16

ac'y"

came, at the end,

go forth

Exod. 23:15
Exod. 23:16

Ps. 60:10

bv;y"

inhabitants,

live, wait, sit

Exod. 23:31
Exod. 23:33
Exod. 24:14

laer'f.yI

Israel

Exod. 24:1
Exod. 24:4
Exod. 24:5
Exod. 24:9
Exod. 24:10
Exod. 24:11
Exod. 24:17

Ps. 59:5

Ezek. 18:30
Ezek. 18:31

 !WK

prepared, set

Exod. 23:20

Ps. 59:4

 yKi

that, for, when

Exod. 22:27
Exod. 23:4
Exod. 23:5
Exod. 23:21
Exod. 23:33

Ezek. 18:18
Ezek. 18:21

lKo

everything,

all, whole

Exod. 23:13
Exod. 23:17
Exod. 23:22
Exod. 23:27
Exod. 24:3
Exod. 24:4
Exod. 24:7
Exod. 24:8

Ps. 59:5
Ps. 59:8

Ezek. 18:19
Ezek. 18:21
Ezek. 18:22
Ezek. 18:30
Ezek. 18:31

bl,K,

dog

Exod. 22:31

Ps. 59:6
Ps. 59:14

!Ke

same, thus,

so

Exod. 22:30
Exod. 23:11

Ezek. 18:30

aol

nor, neither, no

Exod. 22:28
Exod. 23:2
Exod. 23:3
Exod. 23:13
Exod. 23:15
Exod. 23:18
Exod. 23:24
Exod. 23:26
Exod. 23:32
Exod. 24:2

Ps. 59:3

Ezek. 18:20
Ezek. 18:23
Ezek. 18:32

xq;l'

take, taken

Exod. 23:8
Exod. 24:6
Exod. 24:7
Exod. 24:8

Ezek. 18:17

hm'

what, how

Exod. 22:27

Ezek. 18:31

ymi

whoever, who

Exod. 24:14

Ps. 59:7
Ps. 60:9

%a'l.m;

angel

Exod. 23:20
Exod. 23:23

!mi

before,

on account,

against

Exod. 23:21
Exod. 23:28
Exod. 23:29
Exod. 23:30
Exod. 23:31

Ps. 59:12
Ps. 60:4
Ps. 60:11

jP'v.mi

justice,

ordinances,

judgment

Exod. 23:6
Exod. 24:3

Ezek. 18:17
Ezek. 18:19
Ezek. 18:21

vp,n<

feelings,

life, person

Exod. 23:9

Ps. 59:3

Ezek. 18:20

 af'n"

bear, not pardon,

punishment,

iniquity

Exod. 23:1
Exod. 23:21

Ezek. 18:19
Ezek. 18:20

%v,n<

interest

Exod. 22:25

Ezek. 18:17

!t;n"

give, given,

make, deliver

Exod. 22:29
Exod. 22:30
Exod. 23:27
Exod. 23:31
Exod. 24:12

Ps. 60:4

rp;s'

recounted, utter

Exod. 24:3

Ps. 59:12

!A['

guilt, iniquity

Ps. 59:4

Ezek. 18:17
Ezek. 18:18
Ezek. 18:19
Ezek. 18:20
Ezek. 18:30

l[;

too, shall,

against, over

Exod. 22:25
Exod. 23:29
Exod. 24:8

Ps. 59:3
Ps. 60:8

ynI['

poor

Exod. 22:25

Ezek. 18:17

qv;['

practiced,

oppressed

Ezek. 18:18

hP,

mouth

Exod. 23:13

Ps. 59:7
Ps. 59:12

!P,

because, or, so

Exod. 23:33

Ps. 59:11

~ynIP'

before, face

Exod. 23:15
Exod. 23:17
Exod. 23:20
Exod. 23:21
Exod. 23:23
Exod. 23:27
Exod. 23:28

Ps. 60:4

[v;P,

transgressions

Exod. 23:21

Ps. 59:3

Ezek. 18:22
Ezek. 18:30
Ezek. 18:31

qyDIc;

righteous

Exod. 23:7
Exod. 23:8

Ezek. 18:20

hq'd'c.

righteousness

Ezek. 18:19
Ezek. 18:20
Ezek. 18:21
Ezek. 18:22

vd,qo

holy

Exod. 22:31

Ps. 60:6

~Wq

arose, rise

Exod. 24:13

Ps. 59:1

ha'r'

see, saw

Exod. 23:5
Exod. 23:15
Exod. 23:17
Exod. 24:10

Ps. 59:4
Ps. 59:10
Ps. 60:3

vaor

top, head

Exod. 24:17

Ps. 60:7

[v'r'

wicked, guilty

Exod. 23:1
Exod. 23:7

Ezek. 18:20
Ezek. 18:21
Ezek. 18:23

aw>v'

FALSE

Exod. 23:1

Ps. 60:11

bWv

return, turn

Exod. 22:26
Exod. 23:4
Exod. 24:14

Ps. 59:6
Ps. 59:14
Ps. 60:1

Ezek. 18:17
Ezek. 18:21
Ezek. 18:23
Ezek. 18:30
Ezek. 18:32

xl;v'

send, sent

Exod. 23:20
Exod. 23:27
Exod. 23:28
Exod. 24:5
Exod. 24:11

%l;v'

throw

Exod. 22:31

Ps. 60:8

Ezek. 18:31

[m;v'

hear, heard

Exod. 22:27
Exod. 23:13
Exod. 23:21
Exod. 23:22
Exod. 24:7

Ps. 59:7

rm;v'

guard,

observe,

watch,

kept

Exod. 23:13
Exod. 23:15
Exod. 23:20
Exod. 23:21

Ps. 59:9

Ezek. 18:19
Ezek. 18:21

hn"v'

years

Exod. 23:10
Exod. 23:14
Exod. 23:16
Exod. 23:17
Exod. 23:29

%w<T'

midst,

among

Exod. 24:16
Exod. 24:18

Ezek. 18:18

taJ'x;

sin

Ps. 59:3
Ps. 59:12

Ezek. 18:21

~[;

people

Exod. 22:25
Exod. 22:28
Exod. 23:11
Exod. 23:27
Exod. 24:2
Exod. 24:3
Exod. 24:7
Exod. 24:8

Ps. 59:11
Ps. 60:3

hn"['

testify,

answered

Exod. 23:2
Exod. 24:3

Ps. 60:5

Ps. 60:5

do, did,

done,

make, made

Exod. 22:30
Exod. 23:11
Exod. 23:12
Exod. 23:22
Exod. 23:24
Exod. 24:3
Exod. 24:7

Ps. 60:12

Ezek. 18:17
Ezek. 18:18
Ezek. 18:19
Ezek. 18:21
Ezek. 18:22
Ezek. 18:31

 

 

Greek:

 

GREEK

ENGLISH

Torah Reading

Ex. 22:24 – 24:18

Psalms

59:1-18

Ashlamatah

Eze18:17-23 +30-32

Peshat

Mishnah of Mark,

1-2 Peter, & Jude

Mk 7:24-37

Remes/Gemara of

Acts/Romans

and James

Acts 18:12-23

ἀδελφός

brother

Exo 22:25 

Acts 18:18

ἀκοή

hearing, ears

Exo 23:1
Exo 23:22

Mk. 7:35

ἀκούω

hearken, hear

Exo 23:13
Exo 23:22
Exo 24:3
Exo 24:7

Mk. 7:25
Mk. 7:37

ἀναβαίνω

ascended, went up

Exo 24:1
Exo 24:9
Exo 24:12
Exo 24:13
Exo 24:15
Exo 24:18

Acts 18:22

ἄνθρωπος

man

Ps. 60:11

Acts 18:13

ἀποκρίνομαι

answer

Exo 24:3

Mk. 7:28

ἀποκτείνω

kill,slay

Exod. 22:24
Exod. 23:7

Ps. 59:11

αὐτοῦ

here, there

Exo 24:14

Acts 18:19

βούλομαι

do not want, am unwilling

Eze 18:32

Acts 18:15

γῆ

land, earth, ground

Exod. 23:9
Exod. 23:10
Exod. 23:26
Exod. 23:29
Exod. 23:30
Exod. 23:31
Exod. 23:33

Ps. 59:13
Ps. 60:2

γινώσκω

knew, know

Psa 56:9
Psa 59:13

Mk. 7:24

δίδωμι

give, given

Exod. 22:29
Exod. 22:30
Exod. 23:27
Exod. 23:31
Exod. 24:12

Ps. 60:4

δώδεκα

twelve

Exo 24:4

Psa 60:0

εἴδω

know, saw, seeing, see

Exo 23:5
Exo 23:9
Exo 24:10

Psa 59:4

εἰσέρχομαι

entered

Exo 24:3
Exo 24:18

Mk. 7:24

Acts 18:19

ἔμπροσθεν

before, in front

Acts 18:17

ἐξέρχομαι

come forth, 

came forth

Exo 23:15

Mk. 7:29
Mk. 7:30
Mk. 7:31

Acts 18:23

ἑορτή

holiday

Exo 23:15
Exo 23:16
Exo 23:18  

Act 18:21

ἔπω

speak, say, said

Exo 24:1
Exo 24:7
Exo 24:8
Exo 24:12
Exo 24:14

Mar 7:27
Mar 7:29
Mar 7:36

Act 18:14
Act 18:21

ἔρχομαι

came, come

Mk. 7:25
Mk. 7:31

Act 19:1
Act 19:4
Act 19:6 

ἡμέρα

day

Exod. 22:30
Exod. 23:12
Exod. 23:15
Exod. 23:26
Exod. 24:16
Exod. 24:18

Ps. 59:16

Acts 18:18

θάλασσα

sea

Exo 23:31

Mk. 7:31

θέλω  /  ἐθέλω

want

Eze 18:23

Mk. 7:24

Acts 18:21

ἰδού

behold

Exod. 23:20
Exod. 24:8
Exod. 24:14

Ps. 59:3
Ps. 59:7

κατά

according to, on account of

Exo 23:15
Exo 23:24
Exo 23:30

Eze 18:30

Act 18:14
Act 18:15

καταβαίνω

went down

Exo 24:16

Act 18:22

κεφαλή

head

Psa 60:7

Acts 18:22

κύριος

LORD

Exod. 23:17
Exod. 23:19
Exod. 23:25
Exod. 24:1
Exod. 24:2
Exod. 24:3
Exod. 24:4
Exod. 24:5
Exod. 24:7
Exod. 24:8
Exod. 24:12
Exod. 24:16
Exod. 24:17

Ps. 59:3
Ps. 59:5
Ps. 59:8

Ezek. 18:23
Ezek. 18:30
Ezek. 18:32

Mk. 7:28

λαλέω

speak, say

Exod. 23:22
Exod. 24:3
Exod. 24:7

Ps. 60:6

Mk. 7:35
Mk. 7:37

λέγω

say, said

Exod. 23:13
Exod. 24:1
Exod. 24:3
Exod. 24:7
Exod. 24:8
Exod. 24:12
Exod. 24:14

Ezek. 18:19

Mk. 7:27
Mk. 7:28
Mk. 7:29
Mk. 7:34
Mk. 7:36
Mk. 7:37

Acts 18:13
Acts 18:14
Acts 18:21

λόγος

words, answer

Exod. 23:7
Exod. 23:8
Exod. 24:3
Exod. 24:4
Exod. 24:8
Exod. 24:14

Ps. 59:12

Mk. 7:29

Acts 18:14
Acts 18:15

νόμος

law

Exo 24:12

Psa 59:11

Acts 18:13
Acts 18:15

ὁδός

journey, way

Exo 23:20

Eze 18:23
Eze 18:30 

οἶκος

house

Exod. 23:19

Ezek. 18:30
Ezek. 18:31

Mk. 7:30

ὄνομα

name

Exo 23:13
Exo 23:21

Acts 18:15

ὁράω

sees, appears,  saw

Exo 23:15
Exo 23:17
Exo 24:11

Acts 18:15

ὅριον

boundaries, region

Exo 23:18
Exo 23:31

Mk. 7:24
Mk. 7:31

ὅς  /  ἥ  /  ὅ

who, which

Exod. 23:13
Exod. 23:16
Exod. 23:20
Exod. 23:27
Exod. 23:30
Exod. 24:3
Exod. 24:8
Exod. 24:12
Exod. 24:14

Ezek. 18:18
Ezek. 18:21
Ezek. 18:22
Ezek. 18:31

Mk. 7:25

οὐρανός

heaven

Exo 24:10 

Mk. 7:34

πᾶς

all, every, entire, whole,

Exod. 23:13
Exod. 23:17
Exod. 23:22
Exod. 23:27
Exod. 24:3
Exod. 24:4
Exod. 24:7
Exod. 24:8

Ps. 59:5
Ps. 59:8

Ezek. 18:19
Ezek. 18:21
Ezek. 18:22
Ezek. 18:30
Ezek. 18:31

Mk. 7:37

Acts 18:17
Acts 18:23

ποιέω

did, done,

do, make,

made

Exod. 22:30
Exod. 23:11
Exod. 23:12
Exod. 23:22
Exod. 23:24
Exod. 24:3
Exod. 24:7

Ps. 60:12

Ezek. 18:17
Ezek. 18:18
Ezek. 18:19
Ezek. 18:21
Ezek. 18:22
Ezek. 18:31

Mk. 7:37

Acts 18:23

πονηρός

evil, vicious

Eze 18:23

Acts 18:14

πρό

before, face

Exo 22:26
Exo 23:20 

ῥῆμα

thing, words

Exo 23:7
Exo 23:8
Exo 24:3
Exo 24:4

στόμα

mouth

Exod. 23:13

Ps. 59:7
Ps. 59:12

Acts 18:14

συναγωγή

gathering,

synagogue

Exo 23:16

Acts 18:19

συνάντησις

meet

Psa 59:4

ὕδωρ  /  ὕδατος

water

Exo 23:25

υἱός

sons,

children,

child

Exod. 22:24
Exod. 22:29
Exod. 23:12
Exod. 24:5
Exod. 24:11
Exod. 24:17
Ezek. 18:19
Ezek. 18:20

Eze 18:20

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nazarean Talmud

Sidrot of Shmot (Ex.) 22:24 – 24:18

“” “”

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

H. Em. Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

 

Hakham Tsefet’s School of Peshat

Mordechai (Mk) 7:24-30

Mishnah א:א

 

And from there he arose and went to the region of Tyre. And when he entered into a house, he wanted no one to know, and yet he was not able to escape notice. But immediately a woman whose young daughter was possessed by a shade[26] (unclean she heard about him, she came and showed him the proper respect. Now the woman was a Greek Syrophoenician,[27] when by nationality, and she was asking him to expel the shade (demon) from her daughter. And he said to her, “Let the children (B’ne Yisrael) be satisfied first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs (Gentiles)!” But she answered and said to him, “master, even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs.” And he said to her, “Because of this statement, go![28] The shade (demon) has gone out of your daughter.” And when she went to her home, she found the child lying on the bed and the shade (demon) had departed.

 

Hakham Tsefet’s School of Peshat

Mordechai (Mk) 7:31-37

Mishnah א:א

 

And again, he went away from the region of Tyre and came through Sidon to the Galil, within the region of the Decapolis. And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had difficulty speaking, and they were imploring him that he would heal (place his hand on) him. And he took him away from the congregation by himself and put his fingers into his ears, and after expectoration,[29] he touched his tongue. And looking up to the heavens, he sighed and said to him, “Hippatach!” (that is, “Be opened!”). And his ears were opened and his difficulty in speaking was removed and he began to speak normally. And he told him them that they should say nothing, but even though he told them not to tell anyone, they proclaimed it even more instead. And they were amazed beyond all measure, saying, “He has brought forth nothing but good! He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak!”

 

Hakham Shaul’s School of Remes

II Luqas (Acts) 18:12-17

Mishnah א:א

 

But, when Gallio[30] was proconsul of Achaia,[31] some of the Shammaite Jews made a united attack and revolted against Hakham Shaul and brought him to the place of judgment,[32] saying, “This fellow persuades humanity to worship[33] God contrary to the (our interpretation of the) law.” And just as Hakham Shaul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Shammaite Jews, “If it were a matter of wrongdoing or wicked crimes, O Jews, there would be reason why I should bear with you. But if it is a question of words and names and your own interpretation of the law, look[34] to it yourselves; for I do not want to be a judge of such matters.” And he dismissed them from the place of judgment. Then all the Hellenists[35] took Sosthenes, the ruler of the Synagogue, and beat him in front of the place of judgment. But, Gallio would not pay attention to these things.

 

Hakham Shaul’s School of Remes

II Luqas (Acts) 18:18 - 23

Mishnah א:א

 

So Hakham Shaul, after remaining in Achaia for a considerable time (three and one-half years), said goodbye to the brethren and sailed away to Syria, and he took Priscilla and Aquila with him. He dedicated himself to gathering the souls of the exiles[36] at Cenchrea (Corinth), because he had taken a vow. So they arrived at Ephesus, and those he left behind there, but he himself entered into the Synagogue and discussed the Mesorah of the Master with the Jewish brethren. And when they asked him to stay for a longer time, he declined, saying farewell and telling them, “I will return to you again if it is God’s will,” and he set sail from Ephesus. And when he arrived at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the congregation (at Yerushalayim), and went down to Antioch. And after spending some time (three and one-half years) there, he departed, traveling through one place after another in the Galatian region and Phrygia, making all his talmidim to stand.

 

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

 

Ex 21:28-22:23

Ps. 57:7-12

Ezek 34:20-27, 30-31

Mk 7:24-30

Acts 18:12-23

 

Commentary to Hakham Tsefet’s School of Peshat

 

Crumbs and Dogs

 

The life of the Jewish people is paradoxical, as we have stated before. Here we have the antithesis of “that which enters” rendering a person unclean, followed by the in the daughter of the Syrophoenician woman who has a daughter possessed with an “unclean spirit.” Therefore, we must understand the previous pericope to be a riddle rather than an absolute literal statement. The contaminating spirit is “within” the young girl rendering her unclean. Therefore, the previous pericope must be a riddle rather than an absolute literal statement.

 

The use of πνεῦμα ἀκάθαρτον (unclean spirit) in this case is amazing. The amazement is that Yeshua is dealing with an “unclean spirit,” which inhabits and controls the daughter of the Greek, Syrophoenician woman, who by the Shammaite School is unclean already. Therefore, it would be pointless to “cast out” an “unclean spirit” of an “unclean” girl. Yeshua as the representative of the School of Hillel shows us that they do not accept the Shammaite view that Gentiles are “unclean” by nature.[37] Furthermore, we are not given the details of where Yeshua is staying. While we must be very certain that he is in a Jewish home, we make note that he has travelled to regions that are heavily populated by Gentiles. That the Greek, Syrophoenician woman is a Gentile is deduced by the phrase Yeshua presents to the Grecian woman, “Let the children (B’ne Yisrael) be satisfied first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs (Gentiles)!”

 

Not only Yeshua is addressing a Gentile, but he speaks to a “woman.” Yeshua most certainly made room for all who would accept the Torah. We might relate the “crumbs from the children’s table” with the Seven Laws of Noach. Whilst the Seven Laws of Noah are given to Noah at first to be obeyed by all humanity, these laws received new vigour and force by the revelation at Sinai and were further amplified by the Master himself as we will see. It is certain that the Greek, Syrophoenician woman was a Gentile and that she is aware that Yeshua is a Jewish Rabbi. Her appeal also shows her awareness of Jewish halakhah.

 

The Deaf and Spittle

 

It is amazing that the healing of the deaf man is in close contiguity to the Greek, Syrophoenician woman with the daughter possessed with an “unclean shade” (demon). The great question, which any self-respecting Jew should ask is: Is it halakhically acceptable to use “spittle” as a healing contrivance? We will also have in the future a case where expectoration is involved. How is it that Yeshua can use “spittle” as a means for healing when bodily fluids are often the cause of ritual impurity? We should remember the recent case of the woman with the haemorrhage of blood. Her touch rendered the master “unclean.” Before jumping to conclusions, we must slow down and read the text carefully. The deaf man had a hard time speaking because he could not hear. Next Yeshua puts his fingers in the man’s ears. This solved the hearing problem. Then, Yeshua expectorates on the ground, not on fingers. Afterward, he touched the tongue. Again, the problem of speaking is now solved.

 

However, for those who might insist that Yeshua placed saliva on the man’s tongue we are able to solve this dilemma.

 

We have discussed the priesthood of the firstborn ad nauseam. However, we are again brought to the subject by the materials before us. We find that the only exception for “spittle” as a healing contrivance is in the firstborn.

 

b. B.B. 126b A certain [Person once] came before R. Hanina [and] said to him, ‘I am certain that this [man] is firstborn.’ He said to him, ‘How do you know [this]?’ — [The other] replied to him, ‘Because when [people] came to his father,[38] he used to say to them,: Go to my son Shikhath, Who is firstborn and his spittle heals’. — Might he not have been the firstborn of his mother [only]? — There is a tradition that the spittle of the firstborn of a father is healing, but that of the firstborn of a mother is not healing.

 

Of course, this Talmudic passage is a great obstacle for those scholars who must deify Yeshua. Nevertheless, the words speak for themselves.

 

 

 


Commentary to Hakham Shaul’s School of Remes

 

I thought by now you would be a Rabbi

 

Heb. 5:12 For by this time you should be Rabbis, you still need to be taught fundamental principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food.

 

The amazing Hakham Shaul has chosen his words wisely. While we most certainly believe, these words originated in Hebrew, Hakham Shaul had a positive command of Greek. Here, he chooses the word Gallio as a means of getting his point across. Hakham Shaul is amid a number of Shammaite (legalistic Jews) and they have yet to realize that the legalistic approach to the Torah is of no value. Gallio’s name means “One who lives on milk.” The words of Hakham Shaul to the Bereans fit well here. It is interesting to note that Gallio wants no part of judging Jewish legal matters. Herein his counsel is wise. However, he is half-right and all wrong! This means that he makes his judgment and then turns his head to the injustices that are committed right before his eyes.

 

The city “Achaia” is a place of “trouble.” Hakham Shaul wants us to know that we should pay close attention to “names and words.” These words have meanings that he wants us to understand. Gallio has no authority (name) among the Jewish people. In other words, the Remes hint is that the courts of the Gentiles are NOT a place for Jewish brethren. Gentile courts of law are subservient to Jewish Hakhamim. Here, the order is reversed and Hakham Shaul is being judged rather than serving at the Bench of Judgment. Furthermore, the Shammaite Jews do not accept his authority or the authority of the House of Hillel. They blatantly flaunt their injustices by beating Sosthenes publically. How does Hakham Shaul build a Remes from Hakham Tsefet’s Peshat? It is all in the name Sosthenes, which means “the saviour of his nation.” The Shammaite Jews bring Sosthenes into the presence of a Gentile court and beat him publically. Here, the Shammaite Jews should be conducting themselves as Royal Anashim. Yet, they behave themselves like a mob of despotic thugs. Hakham Shaul takes the Peshat of Hakham Tsefet and presents a practical halakhah that we must implement as Nazarean Jews. Namely, the Gentile courts are NOT a place for Jewish Brethren to solve their differences.

 

Our citing of Hakham Shaul’s letter to the Bereans is also thought provoking. The Shammaite Jews cannot see what is happening prophetically. The previous pericope shows that the Jewish brethren are being forced further and further into diaspora. This is by Divine design. The Shammaite School is being consumed as the Jewish Brethren are forced deeper into the nations to gather souls. Why should the Shammaite Jews present so much trouble for the House of Hillel and Hakham Shaul? It is “Because it was hidden from them so that they did not perceive it.” What is hidden from their view? The Jewish people are Sosthenes, the savior’s of their nations. Perhaps we should say that they are the saviors of the foreign nations in which they sojourn.

 

Isaiah 53:10-12.

Targum Jonathan to the Prophets

 

It is the will of the Lord to purify and to acquit, as innocent, the remnant of His people. It is his aim to cleanse their souls from sin, so that they see the Kingdom of their Messiah, have many sons and daughters, enjoy long and healthy lives and observe the Torah of the Lord. The vital element that Messiah chooses for his people is to prosper according to His will. He shall save them from the servitude of the nations; they shall see the punishment of their enemies and be sated with the spoil of kings. By his wisdom, he shall vindicate the meritorious, in order to bring them to subservience. By doing so, he will cause many to be subservient to the Torah, and they shall seek forgiveness for their sins. Then, he will apportion unto them the spoil of great nations, and he shall divide, as spoils, the wealth of mighty cities. He will do this because he was ready to suffer martyrdom so that the rebellious he might turn to the Torah. And he shall seek pardon for the sins of many and for his sake the rebellious shall be forgiven.[39]

 

Isaiah 54:3.

Pəsiqtâ də-Raḇ Kahănâ, Piska 20, 7

 

A story, R. Eleazar ben Azariah and R. Eleazar the Modiite sat engaged with the meaning of the verse At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord (Jer. 3:17). R. Eleazar ben Azariah asked R. Eleazar the Modiite: Can Jerusalem hold as many people [as will crowd into it when it becomes His throne]? R. Eleazar replied: The Holy One will say to Jerusalem: Extend thyself, enlarge thyself, receive thy hosts—Enlarge the place of thy tent, etc. (Isa. 54:2). R. Johanan said: Jerusalem is destined to grow to the gates of Damascus. And what is the proof? The verse, “The burden of the word of the Lord. In the land of Hadrak and in Damascus shall be His resting place” (Zech. 9:1). As to the meaning of Hadrak, R. Judah and R. Nehemiah differ. According to R. Judah, the term Hadrak refers to the King Messiah, who will be rough (had) with the nations and gentle (rak) with Israel. According to R. Nehemiah, Hadrak is actually the name of a place. For R. Jose, son of a woman from Damascus said: I am from Damascus and I swear that a certain place there is called Hadrak. R. Judah then asked R. Nehemiah: If you take Hadrak to be merely the name of a place, how do you construe the verse’s conclusion, namely, and in Damascus shall be His resting place (ibid)? R. Nehemiah replied: As a fig tree is narrow at the base but spreads out at the top, so is Jerusalem destined to keep spreading out, and the banished will come and find rest therein to fulfill the pledge in the words and in Damascus shall be His resting place (ibid.). Here resting place refers to Jerusalem, as in the verse in which God said of Zion: This is My resting place for ever; here will I dwell; for I have desired it (Ps. 132:14). Then R. Judah asked: If Jerusalem is to extend to Damascus, how do you construe The city shall be built on her own mound (Jer. 30:18)? R. Nehemiah replied: Jerusalem will not be moved from its original place: from each of its sides it will keep spreading out, however, and the banished will come and find rest therein, thus fulfilling the words For thou shalt spread abroad on the right hand and on the left (Isa. 54:3), phrases which refer to Jerusalem’s length, [south and north].[40]

 

 

The theme of making talmidim stand continues in our Remes portion of the Nazarean Talmud. We have two specific temporal statements where the idea behind the Greek text shows that he stayed “long enough” to strengthen the congregation. Therefore, we understand that the temporal nuances refer to the length of a triennial Torah cycle.

 

The Path to becoming a Hakham

 

We spend a great deal of time driving the talmidim towards the goal of becoming a Hakham. The passage to the Bereans cited in last week’s commentary needs revision. last week our translation read as follows:

 

Bereans (Heb.) 5:12 For by this time you should be Rabbis, you still need to be taught fundamental principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food.

 

Last week after spending some time laboring over the text we realized that the translation needed to be revised to read:

 

Bereans (Heb.) 5:12 You are obligated[41] to become Rabbis/Hakhamim, after all this time you still need to be taught fundamental principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food.

 

This translation better fits the thought of Hakham Shaul when he penned these words to the Bereans. We will not belabor the point already discussed.

 

Hakham Shaul notices the idea of being the greatest and again speaks of a “considerable time.” The Greek word ἱκανός – hikanos means enough time, harmonizing with the Berean passage above. The first temporal clause “considerable time” is filled with Hebraic nuances. The root of the ideas here is sitting or being settled or having become a man of trade i.e. a Hakham.[42] Hakham Shaul notices the first being the last and the last being first as we will see.

 

The Mishnah tells us clearly the traits that one must develop to become a Hakham.

 

m. Aboth 5:7 There are seven traits to an unformed golem/boor,[43] and seven to a Hakham (man of wisdom).

 

1.      A Hakham (man of wisdom) never speaks before someone greater in wisdom.

2.      And he never interrupts his fellow (chaber).

3.      And he is not hasty to answer.

4.      He asks a relevant question according to the subject matter and answers properly.

5.      And he addresses each matter in its proper sequence, first, then second (first thing first and the last thing last).

6.      And concerning something he has not heard, he says, “I have not heard the answer.”

7.      And he concedes the truth.

 

And the opposite of these traits apply to a golem/boor.

 

The Hakham - A Hakham does not speak before someone greater than he in wisdom.

 

The Rambam lays out the character of the Hakham in the Mishneh Torah, Sefer Madda “De’ot” (Laws of personality development).

 

Just as the wise man is recognized through his wisdom and his temperaments and in these, he stands apart from the rest of the people, so, too, he should be recognized through his actions - in his eating, drinking, intimate relations, in relieving himself, in his speech, manner of walking and dress, in the management of his finances, and in his business dealings. All of these actions should be exceptionally becoming and befitting.[44]

 

A Torah Sage's clothing should be attractive and clean. It is forbidden that [a] blood or fat [stain] or the like be found on his garment. A Torah Sage is to take great pains to have clean clothes. [45]

 

These character traits are the perquisites for becoming a Hakham. The initial point stresses the conversation of a Hakham. The conversation of a Hakham is befitting men of nobility, Royal Anashim. Hakham Shaul took with him Priscilla and Aquila? Why does Hakham Shaul take two tallit makers with him on his journeys?   We can offer a conjecture that Priscilla and Aquila were more than “tallit makers.” They may well have been in charge of his wardrobe. We cannot imagine Hakham Shaul traipsing all over the globe in tattered rags. He represented Judaism and the Master’s royal Davidic line. Should we be any different as the talmidim of the Master and keepers of his royal palace?  The royal robes of the Kohen HaGadol mentioned in our Torah Seder have captured the mind of a noble Hakham causing him to demonstrate his nobility as a Jewish Hakham and Sh’l'ach (apostle - emissary) “plenipotentiary agent” of the Master.

 

What is Hokhmah?

 

Hokhmah is not a development. Hokhmah is what is received (Heb. kibal) from ones Master. A man’s conversation mirrors his inner refinement. Is there any question about where Covey got his materials The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People from?

 

The Hebrew word Hokhmah is equated with “life.” This is because they both have the same numeric value. Therefore, Hokhmah (wisdom) is life. We can clearly see that these seven characteristics are the traits of the above-mentioned Paqidim who beginning with Malchut (kingdom) must develop themselves to the place of becoming a Hakham.

 

Showing respect to a Hakham is the mark of a talmid that is on his way to wisdom.

 

 

Interrupting a Chaber

 

He waits until his fellow has finished before commenting. He never interrupts his chaber. G-d forbid, that he would interrupt his Hakham. He contemplates his answer before engaging the faculty of speech. When we apply the hermeneutic Ḳal wa-ḥomer, how much the more we can understand that if we cannot interrupt the speech of a chaber how much the more a Hakham.

 

·        Therefore, they said: Whoever disputes the authority of his Hakham is considered as if he revolts against the Divine Presence, as implied [by Numbers 26:9]: "...who led a revolt against God."

 

·        Whoever engages in controversy with his teacher is considered as if he engaged in controversy with the Divine Presence, as implied [by Numbers 20:13]: "...where the Jews contested with God and where He was sanctified."

 

·        Whoever complains against his teacher is considered as if he complains against the Divine Presence, as implied [by Exodus 16:8]: "Your complaints are not against us, but against God."

 

·        Whoever thinks disparagingly of his teacher is considered as if he thought disparagingly of the Divine Presence, as implied [by Numbers 21:5]: "And the people spoke out against God and Moses."[46]

 

And he is not hasty to answer

 

He, deliberates before giving an answer or raising an objection.

 

He asks a relevant question according to the subject matter and answers properly

 

He asks lucid well thought out questions.

 

And he addresses each matter in its proper sequence, first, then second

 

His mind is logical and well ordered.

 

And concerning something he has not heard, he says, “I have not heard the answer.”

 

He NEVER says that he heard something from his Master trying to impress others with an idea that he himself fabricated. Furthermore, this quality plays on the silence of a talmid before his Hakham. He receives (kibal) the secret (So’od) of his Hakham by listening to his words. The Hakham carefully forms his words to bring light into the darkened vessel. The light is not only enlightenment but Hokhmah as well.

 

Time and space does not allow us to comment on all the facets of this Mishnah. However, we note that we have brought this mishnah into the Remes for the sake of seeing that Hakham Shaul has understood what it means to be the least (last) and the first i.e. a Hakham who is a noble slave (Paqid) of the Master.

 

The works of the Ramban Hilchot De’ot and Talmud Torah are advisable reading for all the talmidim of a Hakham.

 

 

Questions for Reflection

 

  1. From all the readings for this Shabbat which statement touched your heart and fired your imagination?
  2. In your opinion, and taking into consideration all the above readings for this Shabbat, what is the prophetic message (the idea that encapsulates all the Scripture passages read) 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: “V’Yiq’chú Li T’rumáh” – “that they take for Me an offering”

 

Shabbat

Torah Reading:

Weekday Torah Reading:

וְיִקְחוּ-לִי תְּרוּמָה

 

 

“V’Yiq’chú Li T’rumáh”

Reader 1 – Sh’mot 25:1-9

Reader 1 – Sh’mot 26:1-3

“that they take for Me an offering”

Reader 2 – Sh’mot 25:10-16

Reader 2 – Sh’mot 26:4-6

“que tomen una ofrenda para Mí”

Reader 3 – Sh’mot 25:17-22

Reader 3 – Sh’mot 26:7-9

Sh’mot (Exodus) 25:1-40

Reader 4 – Sh’mot 25:23-30

 

Ashlamatah: Haggai 2:8-15 +21-23

Reader 5 – Sh’mot 25:31-33

 

 

Reader 6 – Sh’mot 25:34-36

Reader 1 – Sh’mot 26:1-3

Psalms 61:1-9

Reader 7 – Sh’mot 25:37-40

Reader 2 – Sh’mot 26:4-6

    Maftir – Sh’mot 25:37-40

Reader 3 – Sh’mot 26:7-9

N.C.: Mk 8:1-4;

Acts 18:24-28

          Haggai 2:8-15 +21-23

 

 

 

 

Fast of the 10th of Tebet

Sunday, 08 January 2017 at dawn till sunset

For further Information see: http://www.betemunah.org/tevet10.html

 

“He who mourns for Jerusalem will be privileged to see its rebuilding.”

 

Morning Service for the Fast of 10th of Tebet

 

Torah Reading: Shemot (Exodus) 32:11-14; 34:1-10

 

Reader 1 – Shemot 32:11-14

Reader 2 – Shemot 34:1-4

Reader 3 – Shemot 34:5-10

 

The Ashlamatah is taken from Isaiah 55:6 – 56:8

 

 

 

Note:

 

There will be no class on Sunday Morning, as everyone will be involved with the morning service for the fast of the 10th of Tebet.

 

There will also be no class on Monday Evening for Derekh Tebunot – The Ways of Reason. We will be recommencing classes next Monday G-d willing.


[1] Recorded in Shmuel alef (I Samuel) 19.

[2] Teraphim:  Why are they called teraphim? Because they were works of toref ("filth"), works of uncleanness. And how were they constructed? They would take a firstborn male child, kill him, and sprinkle him with salt and spices. Then they would write a demon's name upon a gold tablet and place it beneath the child's tongue while performing certain magical rites. After this, they inserted the corpse into a recess in the wall and lighted candles before it. They would then bow down before it, and it would speak to them in a whisper. [Midrash Tanhuma-Yelammedenu (Parashat Va-Yetze, 12), Samuel A. Berman] - Zechariah 10:2 For the teraphim have spoken vanity…

[3] Hence ‘Al Tashcheit – do not destroy me’ - Rashi

[4] Alshich observes that God inspired Saul to handle this affair in a most inef­ficient manner, thus affording David an opportunity to escape. Saul should have given immediate orders for his men to break into David's home and slay him. By waiting outside all night, Saul's men not only allowed David to escape but also enabled him to gain a substantial head start in his flight.

[5] The German word Weltanschauung literally means "world view"; it combines "Welt" ("world") with "Anschauung" ("view"), which ultimately derives from the Middle High German verb schouwen("to look at" or "to see"). When we first adopted it from German in the mid-19th century, "weltanschauung" referred to a philosophical view or apprehension of the universe, and this sense is still the most widely used. It can also describe a more general ideology or philosophy of life.

[6] Ramban, Numbers 11:16

[7] This introduction was excerpted and edited from: 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.

[8] In v.2, v.10, and v.11.

[9] Midrash Pliah

[10] These two paragraphs are from an article by R’ Immanuel Schochet (d. 2013).

[11] See Pirkei Heichalot Rabaty, ch. 39; Sefer Zerubavel; Midrash Agadat Mashiach (most of which is quoted in Lekach Tov, Balak, on Numbers 24:17ff.); and cf. Rashi on Sukah 52b, s.v. charashim. See also Ramban, Commentary on Song 8:13.

[12] Note that the final battle of Mashiach ben Yosef is said to be against Armilus, ruler of Edom. See the Messianic Midrashim Zerubavel; Agadath Mashiach; Vayosha etc. (Specific references are offered in R. Margolius, Malachei Elyon, part II, s.v. Armilas; and see also the sources cited below, notes 18-19.)

[13] Edom is the perpetual enemy of Israel (see Sifre, Beha'alotecha, par. 69, cited by Rashi on Genesis 33:4; and see also Megillah 6a) and its final foe: the present galut is referred to as the galut of Edom (see Bereshit Rabba 44:17; Vayikra Rabba 13:5; and parallel passages) and Edom will be defeated ultimately by Mashiach (Obadiah; Yoma 10a; Midrash Tehillim 6:2; and cf. Tanchuma, Bo:4).

Interestingly enough, according to Pirkei deR. Eliezer ch. 28 (in non-censored versions), the Ishmaelites (Arabs) will be the final kingdom to be defeated by Mashiach. Other sources state "Edom and Ishmael" (see Torah Shelemah on Genesis 15:12, note 130). Note, however, Pirkei deR. Eliezer, ch. 44 (and cf. Midrash Tehillim 2:6 and 83:3) that Edom and Ishmael have become intermingled. See also Mayanei Hayeshu'ah, Mayan 11:8.

[14] Baba Batra 123b. Targum Yehonatan on Genesis 30:23. Tanchuma, ed. Buber, Vayetze:15; and Bereshit Rabba 73:7; and the parallel passages cited there. See Bereshit Rabba 99:2, that Edom shall fall by the meshu'ach milchamah (the one anointed for battle; see below, note 10 for this term) who will be descended from Joseph.

Mashiach ben Yosef’s battle against Edom is analogous to, and the culmination of, Israel's first battle against Edom (Amalek) after the exodus from Egypt (Exodus 17:5ff.). In that first battle, the Jewish army was led by Joshua - who is also of the tribe of Ephraim, and (according to some) this Mashiach's ancestor (see above note 2); see Ramban on Exodus 17:9, and R. Bachya on Exodus 18:1. Cf. also R. Bachya on Exodus 1:5, drawing an analogy between the role of Joseph in Egypt and the role of the Mashiach descended from him in the ultimate redemption.

[15] Soncino Zohar, Bereshit, Section 1, Page 166b

[16] Nachash kadmoni

[17] The mixed multitude who came out of Egypt, with the Jews, in the Exodus.

[18] Talmid Chacham (Hebrew: תלמיד חכם, "wise student”; pl. Talmidei Chachamim; in Talmudic Hebrew Talmidh Ḥakham and Talmidhe Ḥakhamin ) is an honorific title given to one well versed in Jewish law, in effect, a Torah scholar.

[19] This account is found in Bereshit (Genesis) chapter 14.

[20] Abarbanel

[21] Bereshit (Genesis) 14:7.

[22] Malbim

[23] Maharal

[24] The upper Jordan River in the Golan.

[25] We have a very appropriate verbal tally with our Torah seder in ‘sword’: Sword - חרב, Strong’s number 02719.

[26] Note here that she has an “unclean spirit.”

[27] The use of πνεῦμα ἀκάθαρτον (unclean spirit) in this case is amazing.

[28] Yeshua acts graciously as G-d acts in our Torah Seder. This statement shows us that as agents of G-d we must conduct ourselves in G-d’s stead. Cf. Sh’mot 22:26 (Hebrew published Bible

[29] Who expectorated, the deaf man or the Master? In the Greek text, there is no way to discern who expectorated.  Therefore, it could be any of the two.

[30] “One who lives on milk”

[31] “Trouble”

[32] βῆμα – bema

[33] Hakham Shaul’s choice of Greek words here shows that the view of WORSHIP – Service to G-d is a direct confrontation to Shammaite theology and the strict legalism of their teachings.

[34] Here the vocabulary implies understanding, knowing or perceiving the intent is to handle these matters yourself or among yourselves.

[35] NU-Text reads [they all].

[36] Lit. cut his hair (head). It may be that Shaul may have taken a Nazarite vow in this pericope. This may or may not be the “vow” that he took when he was arrested in Yerushalayim. We have translated here that he dedicated himself to searching out the lost souls of the exiles among the Gentiles. This aligns itself with the understanding that he was sent to the “Gentiles” and Hakham Tsefet was sent to the Jewish brethren to teach the Master’s Mesorah. Cf. Gal 2:7.

[37] Cf. II Luqas (Acts) 10:28

[38] Complaining of certain pains or eruptions on their bodies.

[39] Huckel, T. (1998). The Rabbinic Messiah (Is 53:10). Philadelphia: Hananeel House.

[40]Huckel, T. (1998). The Rabbinic Messiah (Is 54:5). Philadelphia: Hananeel House.

[41] ὀφείλοντες  - ὀφείλω  “to be under obligation,”

[42] One must carefully follow the wording and subtle nuances of the Greek text in these matters.

[43] Heb. golem, boor undeveloped uncultured and in some places an embryo. Here the concept is a man who has not cultivated or developed his mind.

[44] Touger, Rabbi Eliyahu. Rambam Mishneh Torah: Hilchot Deot Hilchot Talmud Torah. Moznaim Publishing, n.d. p.82

[45] Ibid 102

[46] Ibid 228 – 230