Torah Seder Tishri 3

Esnoga Bet Emunah

227 Millset Chase - San Antonio, Texas 78253

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

Three and 1/2 year Lectionary Readings	Third Year of the Reading Cycle
Tishri 3, 5768 – Sept. 14/15, 2007	Seventh Year of the Shmita Cycle

Candle Lighting and Havdalah Times

San Antonio, Texas, U.S. Brisbane, Australia:

Friday, Sept. 14, 2007 – Candles at: 7:32 PM Friday, Sept. 14 2007 – Candles at: 5:22 PM

Saturday, Sept. 15, 2007 – Havdalah 8:25 PM Saturday, Sept. 15, 2007 – Havdalah 6:15 PM

Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Singapore, Singapore

Friday Sept. 14, 2007 – Candles at 7:28 PM Friday, Sept. 14, 2007 – Candles at: 6:46 PM

Saturday, Sept. 15, 2007 – Havdalah 8:22 PM Saturday, Sept. 15, 2007 – Havdalah 7:34 PM

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

Shabbat Shuvah – Sabbath of Returning

For further study see: http://www.betemunah.org/awesome.doc

Shabbat	Torah Reading:	Weekday Torah Reading:
עֲשֵׂה לְךָ, שְׁתֵּי חֲצוֹצְרֹת
“A’aseh L’kha, Sh’tei Chatsots’rot”	Reader 1 – B’midbar 10: 1-10	Reader 1 – B’midbar 11:16-18
“Make for yourself two trumpets”	Reader 2 – B’midbar 10:11-13	Reader 2 – B’midbar 11:18-20
“Hazte dos trompetas”	Reader 3 – B’midbar 10:14-21	Reader 3 – B’midbar 11:20-22
B’midbar (Num.) 10:1 – 11:15	Reader 4 – B’midbar 10:22-28
Ashlamatah: Isaiah 27:13 – 28:8, 16	Reader 5 – B’midbar 10:29-34
* Special Ashlamatah: Hosea 14:2-10; Micah 7:18-20	Reader 6 – B’midbar 10:35 – 11:3	Reader 1 – B’midbar 11:16-18
Psalm 98	Reader 7 – B’midbar 11:4-15	Reader 2 – B’midbar 11:18-20
	Maftir – B’midbar 11:13-15	Reader 3 – B’midbar 11:20-22
N.C.: Matityahu 20:20-34 Matityahu 3:1-12	Hosea 14:2-10; Micah 7:18-20

* This Ashlamatah should be read by the greatest Torah Scholar available to the congregation.

Roll of Honor:

This Torah commentary comes to you courtesy of His Honor Paqid Adon Hillel ben David and most beloved family, and that of Her Excellency Giberet Sarai bat Sarah and beloved family, as well as that of His Excellency Adon Barth Lindemann and beloved family and that of His Excellency Adon John Batchelor and beloved wife, and that of His Excellency Adon Ezra ben Abraham and his beloved wife Giberet Karmela bat Sarah. For their regular and sacrificial giving, providing the best oil for the lamps, we pray that G-d’s richest blessings be upon their lives and those of their loved ones, together with all Yisrael, amen ve amen! Also a great thank you to all who send comments to the list about the contents and commentary of the weekly Seder.

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

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan for:

B’Midbar (Numbers): 10:1 – 11:15

RASHI	TARGUM PSEUDO JONATHAN
1. Adonai spoke to Moshe, saying:	1. And the Lord spoke with Mosheh, saying:
2. Make for yourself two silver trumpets; you will make them, beaten [from one block], and they will be used by you to summon the congregation and to initiate the departure of the camps.	2. Make for you, of yourself, two trumpets of silver of solid material, the work of the artificer will you make them; and let them be yours, with which to convoke the assembly, and for the removing of the camps.
3. When they will blow them, the entire congregation will present itself to you at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.	3. And you will blow upon them, and bring together to you all the congregation at the door of the tabernacle of ordinance.
4. But if they blow one of them, the leaders will present themselves to you, the heads of Israel's thousands.	4. If they blow upon one (only), the princes of the heads of the thousands of Israel will assemble to you.
5. When you blow a teruah; the camps that are camped eastward will travel.	5. But when you blow an alarm, then the camps which are on the east are to go forward;
6.. If you blow a second teruah, then will travel the camps that are camped on the south side. They will blow a teruah for their journeys.	6. and when they blow a second alarm, the camps on the south will go forward; they will blow the alarm for their journeys.
7. But when gathering the congregation, you will blow [a blast], but not a teruah.	7. And at the time of assembling the congregation you will blow, but not an alarm.
8. The sons of Aharon, the kohanim, will sound the trumpets. This will be for you an everlasting statute, for all your descendants.	8. The sons of Aharon, the priests only, will blow with the trumpets, which will be to you, for a perpetual statute for your generations.
9. If war will come into your land against the oppressor who oppresses you and you will blow teruahs with the trumpets and you will be remembered before Adonai, your G-d, and you will be delivered from your enemies.	9. And when you enter upon the order of the line of battle for your country, with oppressors who oppress you, then will you blow the alarm on the trumpets, that the remembrance of you may come up for good before the Lord your God, that you may be delivered from your enemies.
10. On your joyous days and on your festivals and on the beginnings of your months you will blow with the trumpets for your burnt-offerings and for your peace-offerings; and it will be a remembrance for you before your G-d, I am Adonai your G-d.	10. And in the day of your rejoicings, and in your solemnities, and at the beginning of your months, you will blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings and your consecrated victims, and they will be for a good memorial to you before the Lord your God; for Satan will be troubled at the sound of your shofar notes: I am the Lord your God.
11. It was in the second year, in the second month on the twentieth of the month that the Cloud rose up from above the Mishkan of the Testimony.	11. And it was in the second year, the second month, which is the month of Iyar, the twentieth day of the month, that the Cloud of Glory was uplifted from above the Tabernacle of Testimony;
12. B’ne Yisrael traveled along on their journeys, from the Sinai desert, and the Cloud came to rest in the desert of Paran.	12. and the children of Israel went forward upon their journeys from the wilderness of Sinai, and the Cloud of Glory rested in the wilderness of Pharan.
13. This was the first time that they traveled, on the order of Adonai, through Moshe.	13. And they went forth at the first by the mouth of the Word of the Lord through Mosheh.
14. Then traveled the banner of the sons of Yehudah's camp in the forefront according to their divisions; in charge of its divisions [was] Nachshon the son of Aminadav.	14. The standard of the camps of the Bene Yehudah went forward by their hosts, and the Rabba who was appointed over the host of the tribe of the Bene Yehudah was Nachshon bar Amminadab;
15. In charge of the division of the tribe of the sons of Yissachar, [was] Netanel the son of Tzu'ar.	15. the Rabba of the Bene Issakar was Nethanel Dar Zuar;
16. In charge of the division of the tribe of the sons of Zevulun, [was] Eliav the son of Chelon.	16. and the Rabba of the Bene Zebulon, Eliab bar Chelon.
17. [Then] the Mishkan was dismantled and the sons of Gershon traveled, with the sons of Merari, those who carried the Mishkan.	17. And the tabernacle was taken down, and the sons of Gershon and of Merari went forward, carrying the tabernacle.
18. [Then] the banner of Reuven's camp traveled, according to their divisions. In charge of its division [was] Elitzur the son of Shdeiur.	18. The standard of the camps of Reuben went forward by their hosts. The Rabba set over the hosts of the tribe of the Bene Reuben was Elizur bar Shedeur;
19. In charge of the division of the tribe of the sons of Shimon, [was] Shlumiel the son of Tzurishadai.	19. the Rabba of the Bene Shimeon, Shelumiel bar Zurishaddai;
20. In charge of the division of the tribe of the sons of Gad, [was] Elyasaf the son of De'uel.	20. and the Rabba of the Bene Gad, Elyasaph bar Dehuel.
21. [Then] the Kehat family traveled, the carriers of the sacred, and they erected the Mishkan by the time of their arrival.	21. And the family of Kehas went forward, carrying the sanctuary; and they (the men of Gershon) reared up the tabernacle against their coming.
22. [Then] the banner of the sons of Ephraim's camp traveled according to their divisions. In charge of its division, [was] Elishamah the son of Amihud.	22. The standard of the camps of the Bene Ephraim went forward by their hosts: the Rabba set over the host of the tribe of Ephraim was Elishama bar Ammihud;
23. In charge of the division of the tribe of the sons of Menashe, [was] Gamliel the son of Pedahtzur.	23. the Rabba of that of Menasheh, Gamaliel bar Pedazur;
24. In charge of the division of the tribe of the sons of Binyamin, [was] Avidan the son of Gid'oni.	24. and the Rabba of Benjamin, Abidan bar Gideoni.
25. [Then] the banner of the sons of Dan's camp traveled; the gatherer for all the camps, according to their divisions. In charge of its division, [was] Achiezer the son of Amishadai.	25. And the standard of the camps of the Bene Dan went forward, completing all the camps according to their hosts; and the Rabba set over his host was Ahiezer bar Ammishaddai;
26. In charge of the division of the tribe of the sons of Asher, [was] Pagiel the son of Achran.	26. the Rabba of the tribe of Asher, Pagiel bar Achran;
27. In charge of the division of the tribe of the sons of Naftali, [was] Achirah the son of Enan.	27. and the Rabba of the Bene Naphtali, Ahira bar Enan.
28. These are the journeys of B’ne Yisrael according to their divisions; and they journeyed.	28. These are the journeys of the children of Israel by their hosts; the Cloud of Glory was lifted up from above the tabernacle, and they went forward.
29. Moshe said to Chovav the son of Reuel, the Midianite, Moshe's father-in-law: "We are journeying to the place about which Adonai said; 'I will give it to you,' come along with us and we will treat you well, for Adonai spoke of bringing good [fortune] on Israel."	29. And Mosheh said unto Hobab bar Reuel the Midianite, father-in-law of Mosheh, We are journeying from hence to the place of which the Lord has said, I will give it to you: come with us, and we will do you good; for the Lord has spoken to do good unto the sojourner with Israel.
30. He said to him "I will not go, but rather to my land and to my birthplace will I go."	30. But he answered him, I will not go (with you) but to my (own) land and to my kindred will I go.
31. He said to him "please do not forsake us, for, because you know of our encampment in the desert, and you will be our eyes.	31. But he said, Do not now leave us; for when we were encamped in the wilderness, you knew how to judge, and did teach us the method (or business) of judgment, and you are dear to us as the apple of our eyes.
32. It will be, that when you go with us, it will be that the very good which Adonai will bestow on us we will bestow on (share with) you.	32. And it will be that if you will go on with us, with the good that the Lord will benefit us will we benefit you, in the division of the land.
33. They traveled from the mountain of Adonai a journey of three days, and the Ark of the Covenant of Adonai traveled in front of them a journey of three days, to prepare for them a place to settle.	33. And they went forward from the glory of the Shekinah of the Lord had been revealed, going three days; and the Ark of the Lord's covenant went before them. Thirty and six miles it went that day; it preceded the camp of Israel, going three days, to provide for them a place to encamp in.
34. The Cloud of Adonai was above them by day when they traveled from the camp.	34. And the Cloud of the Lord's Shekinah overshadowed them by day in their going out from the encampment.
35. Whenever the Ark departed Moshe would say: "Rise, Adonai, and may your enemies disperse, and those who hate You flee before You."	35. And it was when the ark should go forward, the Cloud gathered itself together and stood still, not going on, until Mosheh, standing in prayer, prayed and supplicated mercy from before the Lord, and thus spoke: Let the Word of the Lord be now revealed in the power of Your anger, that the adversaries of Your people maybe scattered; and let not the banner of those who hate them be uplifted before You. [JERUSALEM. It was when the ark went forward. Mosheh stood, with bands (outstretched) in prayer, and said, Arise now, O Word of the Lord, in the power of Your might, and let the adversaries of Your people be scattered, and make Your enemies flee before You.]
36. When it rested, he would say: "Come to rest, Adonai, among the myriads and thousands of Israel."	36. But when the ark should rest, the Cloud gathered itself together and stood, but did not overspread, until Mosheh, standing in prayer, prayed and besought mercy from before the Lord, thus speaking: Return now, You Word of the Lord, in the goodness of Your mercy, and lead Your people Israel, and let the glory of Your Shekinah dwell among them, and (Your) mercy with the myriads of the house of Jakob, and with the multitudes of the thousands of Israel. [JERUSALEM. But when the ark rested, Mosheh lifted his hands in prayer, and said, O Word of the Lord, turn from the strength of Your anger, and return unto us in the goodness of Your mercy, and bless the myriads and multiply the thousands of the children of Israel.

1. The people were like complainers; [it was] wicked in the ears of Adonai. Adonai heard and His anger flared and the fire of Adonai burned among them and consumed [some] of the outcasts of the camp.	1. But there were wicked/lawless men of the people, who, being discontent, devised and imagined evil before the Lord; and it was heard before the Lord, whose displeasure was moved; and a flaming fire was kindled among them from the Lord, which destroyed some of the wicked in the outskirts of the house of Dan, with whom was a graven image.
2. The people cried out to Moshe, and Moshe prayed to Adonai, and the fire subsided.	2. And the people cried to Mosheh to pray for them; and Mosheh did pray before the Lord, and the fire was extinguished where it was.
3. He called the name of that place Taveirah, for it was there that burned among them the fire of Adonai.	3. And he called the name of that place Enkindlement, because the flaming fire had been enkindled there from before the Lord.
4. The collection [of nationalities] among them began to have strong cravings, and B’ne Yisrael turned and began to weep; and they said "Who will feed us meat?	4. And the strangers who had gathered together among them demanded with demand, and they turned and wept; and the sons of Israel said, Who will give us flesh to eat?
5. We remember the fish which we ate in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, watermelons, leeks, onions and garlic.	5. We remember the fish which we had to eat in Mizraim freely, without (being restricted by prohibitory) precept, the cucumbers and melons, the leeks, onions, and potherbs. [JERUSALEM. We remember the fish that we ate freely in Mizraim, the cucumbers and melons, leeks, onions, and potherbs.]
6. Now our bodies are withered, there is nothing at all, but the manna before our eyes."	6. But now our life is dried up; there is not anything; we see only the manna, as the pauper who looks upon a morsel (bestowed) by the hands. Alas for the people whose food is bread from the heavens!
7. The manna was like coriander seed and it is similar to the appearance of crystal.	7. And so murmured they, because the manna was like coriander-seed, round, when it came down from the heavens, and when it had been sanctified its appearance was as the likeness of Bedilcha.
8. The people [merely] strolled about and they gathered it and they ground it with a millstone or crushed it in mortars and cooked it in pots and made cakes out of it. Its taste was like the taste of cake kneaded with oil.	8. And the wicked/lawless people looked about, and collected, and ground it in the mill. But he who would, bruised it in the mortar, or dressed it in the pot, or made cakes of it; and the taste of it was like the taste of cream covered with oil. [JERUSALEM. And the people were scattered abroad, and collected and ground it in mills, or crushed it in the mortar, or dressed it in the pan, and made cakes of it. And the taste of it was like the taste of pastry with honey.]
9. When the dew would descend on the camp, at night, the manna would descend on it.	9. And when the dew came down on the camp by night, the manna descended upon it.
10. Moshe heard the people weep according to their families, at the door of each one's tent. The Anger of Adonai was greatly aroused and in Moshe's eyes, it was evil.	10. And Mosheh heard the people lamenting with their neighbors, who had gathered every man at the gate of his tent and the displeasure of the Lord was strongly moved, and in the eyes of Mosheh it was evil;
11. Moshe said to Adonai: "Why have you dealt poorly with Your servant, and why have I not found favor in Your eyes that You place the burden of the entire people upon me?	11. and Mosheh said before the Lord, Why have You done ill with Your servant, or I have not found mercy before You, that You should have laid the toil of this people upon me?
12. Have I conceived this entire people? Have I given birth to it that You say to me, carry it in your lap as a nurse carries an infant, to the land which You swore to their forefathers?	12. Have I made or borne all this people as from the womb? Are they my children, that You said to me in Mizraim, Bear the toil of them with your strength, as the instructor of youth bears, until they be carried into the land which You have sworn unto their fathers? [JERUSALEM. Have I made all this people, have I begotten them, that You hast said to me, Carry them in your bosom, as the nurse carries the sucklings, unto the land which you did swear unto their fathers?]
13. From where do I have meat to give to this entire people on account of which they cry to me, saying: "Give us meat and we will eat."	13. Whence am I to find meat to give all these people? For they are cry crying to me, say saying Give us flesh that we may eat.
14. I alone can not carry this entire people, for they are too burdensome for me.	14. I am not able to bear all these people, for it is too weighty for me.
15. If this is the way You treat me, please kill me, if I have found favor in Your eyes; so that I will not see my evil."	15. But if You do this with me, to leave all the labor of them upon me, let me now die with the death in which the just have repose, if I have found mercy before You, that I may not see mine evil. [JERUSALEM. That I may not see the evil of them who are Your people.]

Midrash B’Midbar Rabba to Numbers 10:1 – 11:15

13. MAKE FOR YOURSELF TWO TRUMPETS OF SILVER (X, 1). This bears on what Scripture says, Lift up your heads, O you gates (Ps. XXIV, 7). When Solomon was bringing the ark into the Sanctuary, he said: ’Lift up your heads, O you gates,’ and be you lifted up, you everlasting doors (ib.). For the doors were low, so he said: ‘Be you lifted up, ye everlasting doors’; that the King of glory may come in (ib.). The gates asked: ‘Who is the King of glory?’ (ib. 8), and in that instant the gates threatened to sink down on him and crush his head, and they would have done so, had he not exclaimed: ‘The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle’ (ib.). He then said again, ‘Lift up your heads, O you gates ... the Lord of hosts; He is the King of glory’ (ib. 9 f.). He said to them: ‘Expand, for the King of glory is near you!’ Thereupon they paid Him honor and lifted themselves up and the ark entered. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them: ‘You have shown Me honor. By your life! When I destroy My house no man will have any power over you.’ There is proof that this was so, for all the vessels of the Sanctuary were carried into exile, as it says, And the Lord gave Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God (Dan. I, 2), but the gates of the Temple were hidden away in the place where they had stood; as is proved by the text, Her gates are sunk into the ground (Lam. II, 9). What is the implication of the text, The Lord of hosts; He is the King of glory. Selah ? It signifies that He gives a share of His own glory to those who fear Him. How do you prove this? He is called God, and He called Moses a god; See, I have set you as a god to Pharaoh (Ex. VII, 1). He quickens the dead, and He gave a share of His glory to Elijah so that he also revived the dead; as is proved by the text, And Elijah said: See, your son lives (I Kings XVII, 23). As for the king, the Messiah, He will clothe him in His own robes; for it says, Honor and majesty (God's robes; cf. Ps. CIV, 1) will You lay upon him (Ps. XXI, 6). What is written in Scripture? God is gone up amidst shouting, the Lord amidst the sound of the horn (ib. XLVII, 6). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: ‘I have made you a king!’ as it says, And there was a king in Jeshurun (Deut. XXXIII, 5). ‘As in the case of a king, when he goes forth, the sound of trumpets precedes him, so you also. MAKE FOR YOURSELF TWO TRUMPETS OF SILVER, that when you wish to bring Israel together, these trumpets will be blown and they will assemble, as it says, And when they will blow with them, all the congregation will gather themselves unto you (Num. X, 3). Accordingly it says, MAKE FOR YOURSELF.

14. Another exposition of the text, MAKE FOR YOURSELF TWO TRUMPETS OF SILVER. It bears on what Scripture says: My son, fear you the Lord and the king - VaMelek (Prov. XXIV, 21). What is implied by the expression ‘VaMelek’? It means: Proclaim Him as your king. Another interpretation is that the word ‘VaMelek’ means: Make your good inclination king (hamlek) over your bad inclination which is termed a king; as it says, And there came a great king against it, and besieged it (Eccl. IX, 14). Another exposition of the phrase ‘And the king’. Lest it be supposed that if the king says to you, ‘Worship idols,’ you must obey him, Scripture explicitly states, ‘Fear you the Lord.’ Thus we find that Nebuchadnezzar commanded Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah to worship idols and they refused to obey him. They said to him: ‘We will not serve your gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up’ (Dan. III, 18). Said Nebuchadnezzar to them: ‘Is it true (hazeda) O Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego’ (ib. 14)? By ’hazeda’ he meant: ‘Can it be’? Yesterday you were saying that any one who wished to purchase an idol for himself would go to Jerusalem; as it says, And their graven images from Jerusalem, and from Samaria (Isa. X, 10), and now you come and bring confusion (zedu) upon my own idol-worship! "Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego?" Did not the Holy One, blessed be He, tell you that you must obey the government in whatever it commands you; as it says, I [counsel you]:keep the king's command, and that in regard of the oath of God (Eccl. VIII, 2)? ' They answered him: ‘You are our king as regards taxation and levies on crops, but as regards the worship of idols, O Nebuchadnezzar, you and a dog are the same to us.’ Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, answered, and said to the king: O Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. III, 16)--they only addressed him as, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar’--We have no need to answer you in this matter. If our God, whom we serve, is able to deliver us, He will deliver us (ib. 16 f.). But if not (ib.18)--they said to him: ‘Whether He delivers us or not--Be it known unto you, O king, that we will not serve your gods’ (ib.). Thus we have explained, ‘My son, fear those the Lord and the king.’ And meddle not with them that are given to change--shonim (Prov. loc. cit.). Do not meddle with those who say that there are two (shenayim) deities in the world, for they will ultimately be exterminated from the world; as it says, And it will come to pass, that in all the land, says the Lord, those that verse two deities (shenayim) therein will be cut oft and die; but the third will be left therein (Zech. XIII, 8). What is meant by ’the third’? It refers to Israel: In that day will Israel be the third... in the midst of the earth (Isa. XIX, 24). Thus we have explained the text, ‘My son, fear the Lord, and the king.’ Whosoever fears the Holy One, blessed be He, will ultimately become a king. From whom do you learn this? From Abraham, who, as a reward for having feared God, was made a king; as it says, For now I know that you are a God-fearing man (Gen. XXII, 12). How do you know that he was made a king? Because it says, At the vale of Shaveh--the same is the King's Vale (Gen. XIV, 17). What is the implication of ’Shaveh-the King's Vale’? It signifies that all the people became unanimous (hishwu); they came to a decision and, cutting down cedars, made a throne and placed him thereon as their king. Nor must you suppose that this was the case with Abraham alone. Moses, too, having feared the Holy One, blessed be He, was made a king. In consequence of all this it is written, ‘My son, fear thou the Lord, and the king.’ [Hence it says], MAKE FOR YOURSELF TWO TRUMPETS OF SILVER that they may blow on them for you as for a king.

15. MAKE FOR YOURSELF (LEKA); LEKA implies that they must be made at your own expense. MAKE FOR YOURSELF. This implies: You must make it for yourself but not for any one else. You may use them but no one else may. There is proof that this is so, for Joshua, the disciple of Moses, did not use these but horns. When he came to fight against Jericho, the seven nations assembled in Jericho, as may be inferred from the text, And you went over the Jordan, and came unto Jericho; and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Girgashite, the Hivite and the Jebusite; and I delivered them into your hand (Josh. XXIV, 11). Now were the men of Jericho seven nations? R. Samuel b. Nahmani explained: Jericho was the bulwark of the Land of Israel. If Jericho was taken the whole country would instantly be conquered. Consequently the seven nations assembled therein. What is written in that connection? So the people shouted, and [the priests] blew with the horns (ib. VI, 20). This teaches that even Joshua, his own disciple, did not use them. Nor must you suppose that this applies only to Joshua. It applies even to Moses our Teacher, for while he was himself still alive the trumpets were divinely stored away. R. Isaac proves it as follows: You observe that Moses, when he is about to depart from this world, says, Assemble unto me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers (Deut. XXXI, 28). But where were the trumpets with which to blow and assemble them? We must say that while he was still living they were divinely stored away. This, said R. Joshua of Siknin in the name of R. Levi, confirms the text, Neither has he power in the day of death (Eccl. VIII, 8). Thus we have explained the text, MAKE FOR YOURSELF TWO TRUMPETS OF SILVER. You must make it for you and no one else may use them all your life.

16. MAKE FOR YOURSELF. You may use them, for you are a king, but no one else may use them, except King David; as it says, And the Levites stood with the instruments of David ... and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded (II Chron. XXIX, 26 ff.). Rab said: The trumpets that were used in the Temple were also stored away, David using a harp; as it says, Awake, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp; I will awake the dawn (Ps. LVIII, 9). R. Phinehas the priest, son of Hama, explained: A harp hung over David's bed. When the hour of midnight arrived, a northerly wind blew upon it and it played of its own accord. Thereupon David would rise up with all his disciples. For they used to occupy themselves with the Torah, toiling and driving sleep from their eyes, studying Torah until dawn. This is why David said, ‘Awake, my glory; psaltery and harp, I will awake the dawn.’ In the ordinary way, he meant to say, the dawn rouses men from their sleep, but in my case ‘I will awake the dawn’; I will rouse the dawn from sleep. Another exposition of the expression, ‘Awake (‘urah) my glory.’ What is the signification of the phrase ‘Urah [lit. "empty"] my glory’? It means [that it is of no account] in comparison with the worship of my Creator. For his inclination would tell him: David! Are you not a king? And is it not the practice of kings to sleep until three hours in the day? Yet you are accustomed to rise at midnight! David would answer it: ‘Empty is my glory’: my glory is of no account whatever in the presence of the glory of my Creator! Consequently it says: ‘’urah my glory.’ At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto You (ib. CXIX, 62).

David said: ' It is my duty to rise at midnight and to praise You for the wonders which You have wrought with my ancestress at midnight’; as it is written, And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was startled, and turned himself... and she answered: I am Ruth your handmaid... and he said... Tarry this night (Ruth III, 8 ff.). R. Joshua, son of Levi b. R. Shalom, expounded: She said to him: ‘You wish to send me away with mere promises!' Said he to her: ‘As the Lord lives’ (ib. 13), I will not send you away with mere promises. The oath, ‘As the Lord lives’ teaches that he exorcised his inclination, which incited him by saying to him: 'You are single and she is single. Here is an opportune moment for you to have contact with her.’ Thereupon this righteous man took an oath, saying: "’As the Lord lives" I will not touch this woman to-night!’ Not only Boaz, but all righteous men exorcise their inclination with an oath. Thus you find in the case of David when Saul fell into his hands. What did David say? And David said: As the Lord lives, nay, but the Lord will smite him; or his day will come, etc. (I Sam. XXVI, 10). Why did he swear twice? R. Samuel b. Nahmani answered: His inclination came to him and said: ' Had you fallen into his hand he would not have had mercy upon you and would have killed you. You are permitted by Pentateuchal law to kill him! "If one comes to slay you, slay him first"; for he is a pursuer!’ On this account David hastened and took an oath, twice saying, ’As the Lord lives,’ that he would not kill him. Israel say to the Holy One, blessed be He: ‘Sovereign of the Universe! You know the power of the evil inclination, how strong it is!’ Said the Holy One, blessed be He, to them: ‘Do you dislodge (sakkelu) him a little in this world and I will remove him from you in the future’; as it says, Cast up, cast up the highway, gather out (sakkelu) the stones; lift up (Isa. LXII, 10)1 and as it also says, Cast up, cast up, clear the way, take up the stumbling-block out of the way of my people (ib. LVII, 14). ‘But in the World to Come I will pull it out of you by the roots’; as it says, And I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh (Ezek. XXXVI, 26).

For further information regarding the encampment order and marching order of the 12 Tribes of Israel please see: http://www.betemunah.org/tribes.doc

Ketubim Targum Tehillim (Psalms) 98

JPS Translation	TARGUM
1. A Psalm. O sing unto the LORD a new song; for He has done marvelous things; His right hand, and His holy arm, has wrought salvation for Him.	1. A psalm and prophecy. Sing before the Lord a new hymn, for He has done wonders; His right hand has brought redemption, and the arm of His Holy Presence.
2. The LORD has made known His salvation; His righteousness/generosity has He revealed in the sight of the gentiles.	2. The Lord has made known His redemption; in the sight of the Gentiles he has revealed His righteousness/generosity.
3. He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness toward the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.	3. He has called to mind His goodness and His truth to the house of Israel, and all the ends of the earth have seen the redemption of our God.
4. Shout unto the LORD, all the earth; break forth and sing for joy, yea, sing praises.	4. Give voice in the presence of the Lord, all inhabitants of the earth; rejoice and give praise and make music.
5. Sing praises unto the LORD with the harp; with the harp and the voice of melody.	5. Sing in the presence of the Lord with harps, with harps and the sound of musical instruments.
6. With trumpets and sound of the horn shout before the King, the LORD.	6. With trumpets and the sound of the horn, give voice in the presence of the king, the Lord.
7. Let the sea roar, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein;	7. Let the sea call out, and its fullness; the world and all who dwell upon it.
8. Let the floods clap their hands; let the mountains sing for joy together;	8. Let the rivers smite their palms; as one, let the mountains sing aloud –
9. Before the LORD, for He is come to judge the earth; He will judge the world with righteousness/ generosity, and the peoples with equity.	9. In the presence of the Lord, for He has come to judge the earth; he will judge the world in righteousness/generosity, and the peoples with integrity.

The Midrash on Psalms (Midrash Tehillim): Psalm 98

I. A Psalm. O sing unto the Lord a new song, etc. (Ps. 98:1). Elsewhere, this is what Scripture says: Sing unto the Lord a new song, and His praise from the end of the earth (Isa. 42:10), a song to be sung at the deliverance of Israel.

His right hand, and His holy arm, has wrought deliverance for Him (Ps. 98:1). R. Aha taught: As long as the people of Israel are in exile, the right hand of the Holy One, blessed be He, is held in thrall, if one dare to speak thus. But when Israel is redeemed, mark that it is written His right hand, and His holy arm, has wrought deliverance for Him. And it is also written The Lord has made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the gentiles; and all the ends of the earth will see the deliverance of our God (Isa. 52:10). Hence it is said He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness toward the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the deliverance of our God (Ps. 98:3).

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth ... Sing unto the Lord with the harp; with the harp and the voice of a Psalm. With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the Lord, the King. Let the sea roar, and the fullness thereof (Ps. 98:4-7) - all this rejoicing only at the end of Israel’s exile. These verses prove that no rejoicing can be complete until the children of Israel are redeemed.

II. Let the floods clap their hands (kaf) (Ps. 98:8) at the rejoicing of the children of Israel. R. Nehemiah observed: There are three references in Scripture to the clapping of hands: (1) o clap your hands, all you peoples (Ps. 47:2), hand against hand because of Israel’s rejoicing. Here “hand” is used literally. (2) And all the trees of the field will clap their hands (kaf) (Isa. 55:2). This verse implies that the trees will clap branch against branch, “hand” here clearly referring to branch, as in the verse “The fruit of goodly trees, branches (kap pot) of palm-trees” (Lev. 23:40). (3) Let the floods clap their hands. Let the waters lap against the bank (kef) of the river, lap in rejoicing against the bank of the river. Why? Before the Lord, for He is come to judge the earth (Ps. 98:9).

Ordinary Ashlamatah: Isaiah 27:13 – 28:8, 16

13. And it will come to pass in that day, that a great horn will be blown; and they will come that were lost in the land of Assyria, and they that were dispersed in the land of Egypt; and they will worship the LORD in the holy mountain at Jerusalem. {P}

1. Woe to the crown of pride of the drunkards of Ephraim, and to the fading flower of his glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley of them that are smitten down with wine!

2. Behold, the Lord has a mighty and strong one, as a storm of hail, a tempest of destruction, as a storm of mighty waters overflowing, that casts down to the earth with violence.

3. The crown of pride of the drunkards of Ephraim will be trodden under foot;

4. And the fading flower of his glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, will be as the first-ripe fig before the summer, which when one looks upon it, while it is yet in his hand he eats it up. {S}

5. In that day will the LORD of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the remnant of His people;

6. And for a spirit of judgment to him that sits in judgment, and for strength to them that turn back the battle at the gate. {S}

7. But these also reel through wine, and stagger through strong drink; the priest and the prophet reel through strong drink, they are confused because of wine, they stagger because of strong drink; they reel in vision, they totter in judgment.

8. For all tables are full of filthy vomit, and no place is clean. {P}

9. Whom will one teach knowledge? And whom will one make to understand the message? Them that are weaned from the milk, them that are drawn from the breasts?

10. For it is precept by precept, precept by precept, line by line, line by line; here a little, there a little.

11. For with stammering lips and with a strange tongue will it be spoken to this people;

12. To whom it was said: ‘This is the rest, give rest to the weary; and this is the refreshing;’ yet they would not hear.

13 And so the word of the LORD is unto them precept by precept, precept by precept, line by line, line by line; here a little, there a little; that they may go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken. {P}

14. Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, you scoffers, the ballad-mongers of this people which is in Jerusalem:

15. Because you have said: ‘We have made a covenant with death, and with the nether-world are we at agreement; when the scouring scourge will pass through, it will not come unto us; for we have made lies our refuge, and in falsehood have we hid ourselves;’ {P}

16. Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a costly corner-stone of sure foundation; he that believes/adheres will not make haste.

Special Ashlamatah: Hosea 14:2-10; Micah 7:18-20

2. Return, O Israel, unto the LORD your God; for you have stumbled in your iniquity/lawlessness.

3. Take with you words, and return unto the LORD; say unto Him: ‘Forgive all iniquity/lawlessness, and accept that which is good; so will we render for bullocks the offering of our lips.

4. Asshur will not save us; we will not ride upon horses; neither will we call any more the work of our hands our gods; for in You the fatherless find mercy.’

5. I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely; for Mine anger is turned away from him.

6. I will be as the dew unto Israel; he will blossom as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.

7. His branches will spread, and his beauty will be as the olive-tree, and his fragrance as Lebanon.

8. They that dwell under his shadow will again make corn to grow, and will blossom as the vine; the scent thereof will be as the wine of Lebanon.

9. Ephraim will say: ‘What have I to do any more with idols?’ As for Me, I respond and look on him; I am like a leafy cypress-tree; from Me is your fruit found.

10. Whosoever is wise, let him understand these things, whosoever is prudent, let him know them. For the ways of the LORD are right, and the just/generous do walk in them; but transgressors do stumble therein. {P}

18. Who is a God like unto You, that pardons the iniquity/lawlessness, and passes by the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He retains not His anger for ever, because He delights in mercy.

19. He will again have compassion upon us; He will subdue our iniquities/lawlessness; and You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

20. You will show faithfulness to Jacob, mercy to Abraham, as You have sworn unto our fathers from the days of old. {P}

Midrash of Matityahu (Matthew) 20:20-34

Then came the wife of Zebedeel with her sons bowing down and making a request of him.
He said to her: “What do you wish?” Then she said “That you command these my two sons to sit the one on your right hand and the other on your left in your kingdom.
Replying, Yeshuah said, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to endure the suffering and the death that I am going to endure?” They said, “We are able.”
Then he said to them, “You will drink my cup, but that you should sit at my right hand and at my left are not mine to give, but they are for those for whom they have been ordained and prepared by My Father.
Having heard this, the ten were indignant about the two brothers.
Then, having called them near, Yeshuah said, “Know that the leaders of the Gentiles have dominion over them and their great ones seek to subdue them.
It will not be so among you, because he who wishes to be great among you, will serve you.
Whoever wishes to be first among you will be your servant,
just as Ben Ha’Adam did not come that they might serve him , but that he might serve and give himself as a ransom for the many.”

As they were proceeding out of Y’rikho, a large congregation followed him.
And behold two blind ones sitting beside the way, having heard that Yeshuah was passing by, they cried out saying, “Have mercy on us Ben David.”
The congregation rebuked them that they should be quiet. Yet, they cried out all the more, “Master, Ben David, have mercy on us.”
Standing, Yeshuah raised his voice to them and said, “What do you wish that I should do for you?”
They said to him, “Master, that our eyes may be opened.”
Yeshuah had compassion for them, and touched their eyes and said to them, “Your faith has healed you. Immediately they saw, praised G-d, and followed him. Then all the people praised G-d because of this.

The Rabbi’s Private Prophetic Study

The connection this week between our Torah Seder and the regular Ashlamatah of Isaiah 27:13 – 28:8, 16 comes by way of a verbal similarity. In our Torah Seder, we read: עֲשֵׂה לְךָ, שְׁתֵּי חֲצוֹצְרֹת - A’aseh L’kha Sh’tei Chatsots’rot – “make for yourself two trumpets” and in our ordinary Ashlamatah we read:בְּשׁוֹפָר גָּדוֹל – B’Shofar Gadol – “a great trumpet” (Is. 27:13). Thus, we have a verbal tally by way of synonyms..

In fact, Isaiah 27:13 reads in the Targum:

“And it will come to pass in that time that the great trumpet will be blown, and those who were exiled in the land of Assyria and those who were out of the land of Egypt will come and worship before Ha-Shem in the holy mountain of Jerusalem.”

This of course, has to do with the return of the Jewish Exiles back to the land of Israel, at the coming of Messiah. The Midrash Rabba indicates that Mosheh was asked by G-d to make two silver trumpets for himself to give clear commands to children of Israel as to what was to be done. These of course were a replica of the two great Shofarot in the heavens. Note the similarity of the above verse of Isaiah with the words of Hakham Shaul:

“In a moment, in a glance of an eye, at the last trumpet; for a trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will all be changed.” (1 Cor. 15:52)

The trumpets were not just blown to command Israel as to what to do but also as our Torah Seder explains:

“And the sons of Aaron, the priests, will blow with the trumpets; and they will be to you for a statute for ever throughout your generations. … Also in the day of your gladness, and in your appointed seasons, and in your new moons, you will blow with the trumpets over your burnt-offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace-offerings; and they will be to you for a memorial before your God: I am the LORD your God.” (Numbers 10:8-10)

The trumpet, i.e., the Shofar was to be blown on the New Moons and particularly on the Moed (appointed season = festival) which coincides with the New Moon – i.e. Rosh Ha-Shanah. And so our Psalm for this Shabbat states:

“With trumpets and sound of the horn shout before the King, the LORD.” (Psalm 98:6)

But we are in Shabbat Shuvah – the solemn Sabbath in which we proclaim a complete and genuine return to Ha-Shem, His Torah and His Messiah. So what is the connection between the trumpet or Shofar and returning? The Rambam (Maimonides) writes in Hilchot Teshuva (Laws of Repentance) 3:4 that the commandment to sound the Shofar, although based in the Tanakh, has a reason behind it: to awaken those who have not returned. The Rambam is clearly saying that there is a connection between the Shofar and returning. This follows with the statement of the Talmud that the Shofar reminds us of weeping.

Therefore:

In other words, when we leave G-d, His Torah, and His Messiah we are so to speak exiled from the Kingdom of G-d, we need to return with a complete returning to G-d, His Torah and His Messiah. We need to “come and worship before Ha-Shem” at the holy mountain (government) of our Nazarean Community where Messiah is Sovereign (“Jerusalem”)

But this returning has to be without strings attached. We can’t just return and ask to be seated at the right hand or left hand of the Messiah, we need to accept in our returning the full sovereignty of G-d, most blessed be He! We need to make G-d’s will our will complete and total so that He can make our will His will. The sound of the Shofar is the sound to inspire returning. Proclaiming G-d as King is part of the repentance process. If on Rosh HaShana we truly and sincerely recognize that G-d is our King and that we may not have properly fulfilled our duties as His subjects, we have started down the road of returning. The sound of the Shofar carries with it much significance. Just as it heralds G-d's rule, so too does it inspire returning. It is this latter fact that we must remember while we proclaim the former. If we keep these facts in perspective, we will all have achieved our task for Shabbat Shuba!

May we all achieve a full and complete returning on this season of our returning to accept G-d’s complete sovereignty over our lives and affairs, of our complete returning to the yoke of the commandments and of the government of His Messiah, together with all of our most noble people of Yisrael, wherever they may be, amen ve amen!

LESHANÁ TOBÁ TIKATEBÚ VETECHATEMÚ!

For a good year may you be inscribed and sealed!

¡Para un año bueno sea usted inscrito y sellado!

On the third day of Tishri (and if Shabbat falls immediately after Rosh HaShanah then on the foruth day of Tishri), Jews observe a minor fast known as the Tzom Gedaliah, the fast of Gedaliah. This fast commemorates the assassination of Gedaliah, the last governor of Judea following the destruction of the first temple, in 586 B.C. His death marked the end of Jewish rule and led to the Babylonian exile of the Jewish people. It is one of four fast days relating to the destruction of the temple and known in Scripture as “the fast of the seventh month,” kept on the third of Tishri (comp. 2 Kings 25), the anniversary of the murder of Gedaliah (Jer. 41:1, 2).

	Torah Reading:
Fast of Gedaliah
Ayuno de Guedalíah	Reader 1 – Shemot 32:11-14
	Reader 2 – Shemot 34:1-4
	Reader 3 – Shemot 34:5-11
Shemot (Exodus) 32:11-14 & 34:1-11	Hoshea (Hosea) 14:2–10
Ashlamatah: Hoshea (Hosea) 14:2–10

N.C.: Romans 1:18-32

The Murder of Gedaliah: An Anatomy of Self Destruction

(Jeremiah, Chapters 40-43)

by Prof. Uriel Simon

Department of Talmud

Bar-Ilan University

http://www.biu.ac.il/Spokesman/Tolerance/simon.htm

Four days of fasting and mourning were decreed by the exiles to Babylon in order to retain the destruction of the First Temple in our collective memory. (Zechariah 7:3; 8:19) Three of them commemorate the tragedies brought upon us by the Babylonians -- the onset of the siege, the breach of the wall and the burning of the Temple. The fourth, the Fast of Gedaliah recalls the two-fold calamity which we brought upon ourselves: the loss of the last remnant of Jewish autonomy in Judea and the self-imposed exile to Egypt. Those were the political results. From the religious point of view, expressed verbally by the prophet of destruction Jeremiah, the first three are punishment by G-d for the sins of Judea while the fourth is an entirely new set of sins into which the punishment is built from the start.

In the meeting at the city of Ramah between the Babylonian commander Nebuzadran and the prophet Jeremiah, who was set free from among the bound and chained captives being led out to Babylon, the destroyer of the Temple and of Jerusalem speaks in the conceptual terms of the prophet: "Because you have sinned against the Lord and did not listen to His voice, that is why this has happened to you"(40:3)! Indirectly it is implied that he is the executor of the word of G-d to his prophet, and that he must repay Jeremiah for his prophecies which have been realized. He presents Jeremiah with four options, which are in fact, really three: "To come with him to Babylon and there receive preferential status from the government", to go as a private citizen to any destination he chooses (in the Land of Israel or outside), or to join Gedaliah Ben Ahikam who was chosen by the King of Babylon as Regent over the Remnant of Judea and "to dwell" with him in Mitzpah, (which archaeological findings indicate was not destroyed), "among the people".

The starving Jeremiah received an allowance and a meal from his captor and left him without any word of reply (apparently wishing to escape the bear hug of the conqueror and oppressor of his people who was being kind to him personally) and went to join Gedaliah in Mitzpah. When corruption had become rampant in Jerusalem, the prophet expressed the desire to break off from his people ("Oh, that I were in the wilderness in a lodging for travelers that I might leave my people and go forth from them, for they are all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men!" [9:1]), but during the siege he refrained from deserting his people though he advised others to do so (37:14; 38:2). Now, with the fall of the city and destruction of the land, he casts his lot with that of the Remnant and joins Gedaliah in the work of reconstruction: "and he dwelled with him among the people who remained in the land" (40:6).

There is an obvious affinity between the option chosen by the prophet and the reconstruction plans of Gedaliah, as he presented them to the seven "captains of the troops in the open country (outside Jerusalem) and their men" (40:7). He swore to them that they had no reason to fear serving the Chaldeans (Babylonians) even though they had fought against them previously, and encouraged them to "dwell in the land" like Jeremiah, rather than to seek personal resolutions to their troubles abroad. He promised to defend their rights before the occupation power and encouraged them to insure their economic well-being by gathering the crops left behind by the exiles and occupying deserted homes and lands ("and dwell in the cities you have taken" [40:10]). Their reaction is not given. Instead we are told of the initial success of the reconstruction plan of Gedaliah: "All the Judeans returned from all the places to which they were driven (among others -- from Moab, Ammon and Edom which were not conquered by the Babylonians) and they came to the Land of Judea, to Gedaliah at Mitzpah, and gathered an abundance of wine and summer fruits" (40:12).

In a second meeting between Gedaliah and "all the captains of the troops" except for Ishmael ben Netaniah, Gedaliah learns from them that the missing captain intends to murder him: "Do you know that Baalis, king of Ammon, sent Ishmael ben Netaniah to kill you?" (40:14). But Gedaliah "believed them not", though there was reason to believe that commonality of interest existed between the king of Ammon, who had participated in the rebellion against Babylonia (27:3) and with whom King Zedekiah had apparently hoped to find refuge in his flight to Jericho (39:4-5), and Ishmael ben Netaniah who was of "royal seed" (41:1) and could object to the position of power bestowed upon one who was not of the Davidic Line and criticize the co-operation with the Babylonians. (Gedaliah was of a family of long-standing loyalty to the worship of the G-d of Israel and supporting Jeremiah: His grandfather, Shafan, had been the scribe of King Josiah [Second Kings 22:3], his father Ahikam, was sent by Josiah to the prophetess Hulda [Second Kings 22:12] and had saved the life of Jeremiah [Jeremiah 26:24]).

The second intelligence warning came under cover: one of the most important warrior chieftains, Yochanan ben Kereach requested permission from Gedaliah to quietly assassinate Ishmael in order to avert a serious national disaster: "Why should he kill you and then all the Jews who gathered around you will be scattered and the remnant of Judea will perish?" (40:15). Gedaliah ignored the issue of the justification of committing murder to prevent murder and chose to deny very strongly the verity of the information and the reliability of the informant: "Do not do this thing, for you speak falsely of Ishmael"(40:16). The reader, who does not yet know what is about to happen, asks himself: are the two warnings some part of a conspiracy? Is it reasonable to assume that Yochanan, motivated by jealousy among the officers, would falsely accuse Ishmael? Could the complacency of Gedaliah result from his deep conviction in the correctness of his policies and from his simple belief that it would be inconceivable that a Judean army officer would even consider murdering him and thus mortally wound the attempts at rehabilitation of the "Remnant of Judea"?

Gedaliah disdained even passive security measures, inviting Ishmael and ten of his soldiers to share a meal with him. There, during the meal, the guests rose up against their host and murdered him, declaring their motive as political: "And they killed him because the King of Babylon had put him in charge of the land" (41:2). Ishmael, not content with killing the Jewish leader who had proposed collaboration with the Babylonians, also put to death all those who were in his immediate entourage -- "all the Judeans who were with him" as well as the Chaldean soldiers "who were stationed there" (41:3).

One iniquity brings on another: the assassinations soon led to slaughter. To prevent the news of the murder from becoming known outside Mitzpah, Ishmael massacred the participants in a caravan of eighty men from Schechem, Shiloh and Samaria who were traveling as penitents "their beards shaven, their clothing torn and having cut themselves" (41:5) to the Temple Mount to offer sacrifices and express their deep anguish over the destruction of the Temple (which took place only two months earlier). In order to convince them to enter the city Ishmael went out to them and by cynical manipulation of the power of attraction of the fraternity of mourners he went to them "weeping as he walked" (41:6) inviting them to be the guests of Gedaliah. Perhaps, their acceptance proved to him that they agreed to the polices of Gedaliah. In any case, as soon as they entered the city Ishmael and his men killed seventy of them and with contempt and disrespect threw their bodies into a huge cistern which, three hundred years earlier, had been a part of the northern fortification of the Kingdom of Judea.

This horrible disregard of the value human life is indicated not only by the act of mass murder but also by Ishmael sparing the lives of the remaining ten pilgrims who bought their lives with high priced bribery: "Do not kill us for we have stores hidden in the fields -- wheat, barley, oil and honey. So he stopped and did not kill them along with their fellows" (41:8).

Now, all that Ishmael ben Netaniah was left to do was "to go over to the Ammonites"(thus confirming after the fact the information about the Ammonite conspiracy related in the first warning to Gedaliah), taking with him by force all the survivors of Mitzpah: "and Ishmael carried off all the remnant of the people" (41:10).

Yochanan ben Kareach and the other captains were not in Mitzpah during the two days of massacre. When "all the evil that Ishmael ... had done" (41:11) became known to them, they regrouped their forces and pursued Ishmael and his captives. The latter, upon seeing their rescuers approaching, went gladly over to their side while Ishmael "escaped with eight men from Yochanan and went to the Ammonites" (41:15). The emphasis on the ridiculous smallness of this militant band (which presumably had incurred two losses) seems to be an indication that a very few determined men, devoid of all restraints, can inflict an enormous, grave historic damage. Yochanan ben Kareach did not return to Mitzpah, fearing that a Babylonian reprisal force would not distinguish between friend and foe and punish him for the sins of Ishmael. This is, in fact, the way of all conquering, imperialist armies which instill terror in the local population through collective punishment, tending to see the assassination of their appointed official as an excuse for the cancellation of the few rights granted previously to the conquered. Just as Yochanan feared reprisal from the Babylonians for the death of Gedaliah, so he could expect reward from the Egyptians for the blow dealt by Ishmael to their Babylonian enemy. He therefore turned, with his entire camp -- soldiers and civilians alike -- to go down into Egypt.

Only at this point are we made aware that the prophet Jeremiah was also in the camp of Yochanan, (but we are not told whether he was among those taken captive in Mitzpah, or whether he had been outside the city and joined the warrior chieftains following the murder). In contrast to Gedaliah, who did not consult Jeremiah concerning the intentions of Ishmael, Yochanan and his fellow commanders now turned to Jeremiah, requesting that he pray on their behalf and ask of G-d a clear instruction concerning where to go and what to do. One gets the impression that the destruction and murder had a deep influence upon them since this was the first time that the men of Judea acknowledged the presence of a prophet among them, who could serve as their messenger to G-d. Jeremiah agreed to pray for them in their hour of distress and also to pass on to them the Divine answer, hiding nothing. They, on their part, swore to obey the word of G-d whether or not it would be acceptable to them, "that it may go well with us when we listen to the voice of the Lord our G-d" (42:6).

Ten days Jeremiah waited until the word of G-d came to him, proof positive that he did not answer them on the basis of his own opinion alone. His words indicated that God demanded of them to continue the policies of Jeremiah and Gedaliah. This can be deduced from the emphasized use of the verb to dwell: "if you continue to dwell (Hebrew verb root used twice for emphasis!) in this land I will build you and not destroy I will plant you and not uproot; for I regret the evil I have done to you" (42:10). G-d informed them that the time of retribution was over and a period of Divine Grace was at hand. Clearly referring to the terms of the prophetic dedication of Jeremiah, He told them that from this time forth He would cease "to uproot and pull down, to overthrow and destroy", and would begin "to build and to plant" (1:10). Gedaliah had told these military officers "Do not be afraid to serve the Chaldeans" (40:9) and G-d now broadens the scope of this encouragement to include the expected reprisal by the Chaldeans after the murder: "Do not fear the King of Babylonia...for I am with you to save you and I will dispose him to be merciful to you; he shall show you mercy and return you to your own land" (42:11-12). These last words echo those of Gedaliah "And dwell in the cities you have captured."(40:10), as does the Divine warning "if you turn your faces to come to Egypt and you come to live there..." (42:15) echo the first option rejected by Jeremiah (when it was offered by Nebuzadran): "if it seems good to you to come with me to Babylon, come" (40:4). They are forbidden to escape to Egypt because, with the end of the era of punishment, voluntary exile is sinful, and if rebellion and disobedience continue, so will punishment continue: "As My anger and wrath poured down upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so will My wrath pour down upon you if you go to Egypt..."(42:18).

In stark contrast to their previous commitment to obey the word of G-d, the two most important of the commanders -- Azariah and Yochanan -- "and all the arrogant men" (43:2) refused to keep their promise. They claimed that Jeremiah had presented his own political views (formed under the influence of Baruch ben Neriah) as the word of G-d, and that if they were to listen to him some of them would be executed by the Babylonians and the others would exiled to Babylon: "You speak falsehood! The Lord our G-d did not send you...rather Baruch ben Neriah is inciting you against us to deliver us into the hands of the Chaldeans to be killed or exiled to Babylon"(43:2-3). This grave accusation echoes that of Gedaliah to Yochanan: "You speak falsely of Ishmael!"(40:16). Gedaliah, out of an inflated sense of security, refused to believe the warning of Yochanan (which proved true several days later) and Yochanan and his companions, out of fear and poor judgment, did not believe the word of G-d as related to them by Jeremiah (which proved true several years later with the conquest of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar).

Lack of caution on the part of Gedaliah made his murder possible along with the murders of many others with him. Lack of faith on the part of Yochanan and his companions led to voluntary exile and the wrath of G-d. Though they had seen the prophecies of destruction of Jeremiah proven true, the Remnant of Judea could not accept his present prophecies as the true word of G-d. Their inability to draw proper conclusions from the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple brought a further destruction upon them.

The three central figures in this sad story of self-destruction were: the killer, Ishmael ben Netaniah, his victim, Gedaliah ben Achikam and his successor, Yochanan ben Kereach.

The killer was motivated by a combination of disgraceful opportunism and a zealous loyalty to a specific political doctrine which may have had some legitimacy before the destruction but was totally unrealistic afterwards. His short term way of thinking made it impossible for him to consider either the immediate results of his actions (the reprisal by the military chieftains) or to predict the long-term damage (cessation of the reconstruction process and the return to the Land, the loss of the remainder of Jewish autonomy under Babylonian rule and the increased flow of the remaining Jewish population into exile). The complete lack of moral restraints prevented him from understanding that political assassination, which dramatically shatters the taboo of the sanctity of human life, would result in a terrifying chain reaction of bloodshed.

The victim was warned in advance concerning his murder and the destruction of his efforts in national reconstruction but his moral-political naivety caused his downfall and the murders of those who had chosen to cast their lot with his leadership. Our Sages, displaying extreme moral sensitivity, attach to Gedaliah the blame for the disastrous results of his failure: "Since he should have paid attention to the advice of Yochanan ben Kereach and did not do so, Scripture sees him as havkilled them (the seventy men who were thrown into the cistern)" (Bavli, Niddah, 61a). From here Rava derives the maxim: "Though one must not accept slander -- one must be cautious because of it".

The successor, onto whose shoulders fell the responsibility for the fate of the remnant of the people after the murder of Gedaliah and the rescue of the captives, panicked as a result of the act of terror committed by his rival. He knew enough to ask the word of G-d from Jeremiah but lacked the courage to follow it. His cowardice, lack of judgment and paucity of faith made him an accomplice to self-destruction since he compounded it by voluntary exile.

In our two thousand years of exile we became "merciful sons of merciful fathers", unable to commit murder. With our return to our own land we once again possess the means and our souls have the ability to spill blood. The Fast of Gedaliah is meant to give us the opportunity to stand face to face with the horrors of our past so that we may muster the strength to prevent their repetition in the present.

LESHANÁ TOBÁ TIKATEBÚ VETECHATEMÚ!

For a good year may you be inscribed and sealed!

¡Para un año bueno sea usted inscrito y sellado!