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

Three and 1/2 year Lectionary Readings	Third Year of the Triennial Reading Cycle
Tishri 3, 5785 – October 4/5, 2024	Third Year of the Shmita Cycle

Candle Lighting and Habdalah Times: https://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 Tzuriel 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

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 Ovadya ben Abraham and beloved wife HE Giberet Mirit bat Sarah

His Excellency Adon Brad Gaskill and beloved wife Cynthia Gaskill

His Excellency Adon Shlomoh ben Abraham

His Excellency Adon Ya’aqob ben David

His Excellency Adon Bill Haynes and beloved wife HE Giberet Diane Haynes

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 lose any of our commentaries, or would like your friends also to receive this commentary, please do send me an E-Mail to gkilli@aol.com with your E-Mail or the E-Mail addresses of your friends. Toda Rabba!

We pray for our beloved Hakham His Eminence Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai. Mi Sheberach…He who blessed our forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Moses and Aaron, David and Solomon, may He bless and heal His Eminence Rabbi Dr. Yosef ben Haggai, May the Holy One, Blessed is He, be filled with compassion for him to restore his health, to heal him, to strengthen him, and to revivify him. And may He send him speedily a complete recovery from heaven, among the other sick people of Yisrael, a recovery of the body and a recovery of the spirit, swiftly and soon, and we will say amen ve amen!

We pray for her Excellency Giberet Miriam bat Sarah, Mi Shebeirach; He Who blessed our holy and pure Matriarchs, Sarah, Ribkah, Rachel and Leah, may he bless and heal Giberet Miriam bat Sarah and may He send her a complete recovery to her 248 organs and her 365 sinews. Please heal her, please heal her, please heal her and strengthen her and return her to her original strength. May He send her a complete recovery of her body and her soul from the heavens among the other sick of Yisrael, and we will say Amen ve amen!

At this time of returning/repentance, we pray that in G-d’s mercy, a remembrance come before Him, most blessed be He, and remember the regular and sacrificial giving of the above Honorable Ladies and Gentlemen, providing the best oil for the lamps, and pray that they and their loved ones may be inscribed and sealed in the Book of Life for G-d’s richest blessings, and for a good year full of ample blessings, good health, and copious prosperity, together with all Yisrael, amen ve amen!

A Prayer for Israel

Our Father in Heaven, Rock, and Redeemer of Israel, bless the State of Israel, the first manifestation of the approach of our redemption. Shield it with Your lovingkindness, envelop it in Your peace, and bestow Your light and truth upon its leaders, ministers, and advisors, and grace them with Your good counsel. Strengthen the hands of those who defend our holy land, grant them deliverance, and adorn them in a mantle of victory. Ordain peace in the land and grant its inhabitants eternal happiness.

Lead them, swiftly and upright, to Your city Zion and to Jerusalem, the abode of Your Name, as is written in the Torah of Your servant Moses: “Even if your outcasts are at the ends of the world, from there the Lord your God will gather you, from there He will fetch you. And the Lord your God will bring you to the land that your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it, and He will make you more prosperous and more numerous than your fathers.” Draw our hearts together to revere and venerate Your name and to observe all the precepts of Your Torah, and send us quickly the Messiah son of David, agent of Your vindication, to redeem those who await Your deliverance.

Reading Assignment

The Torah Anthology: Yalkut Me’Am Lo’Ez By: Rabbi Yitzchok Magriso, Translated by: Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan Published by: Moznaim Publishing Corp. (New York, 1989) Leviticus – I-Vol. 11– “The Divine Service” pp. 312-320

Ramban: Leviticus Commentary on the Torah Translated and Annotated by Rabbi Dr. Charles Chavel Published by Shilo Publishing House, Inc. (New York, 1974) pp. 199-206

Welcome to the World of Pshat Exegesis

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

The Seven Hermeneutic Laws of R. Hillel are as follows

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Welcome to the World of Remes Exegesis

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

1. Ḳal wa-ḥomer: Identical with the first rule of Hillel.

2. Gezerah shawah: Identical with the second rule of Hillel.

3. Binyan ab: Rules deduced from a single passage of Scripture and rules deduced from two passages. This rule is a combination of the third and fourth rules of Hillel.

4. Kelal u-Peraṭ: The general and the particular.

5. u-Peraṭ u-kelal: The particular and the general.

6. Kelal u-Peraṭ u-kelal: The general, the particular, and the general.

7. The general which requires elucidation by the particular, and the particular which requires elucidation by the general.

8. The particular implied in the general and excepted from it for pedagogic purposes elucidates the general as well as the particular.

9. The particular implied in the general and excepted from it on account of the special regulation which corresponds in concept to the general, is thus isolated to decrease rather than to increase the rigidity of its application.

10. The particular implied in the general and excepted from it on account of some other special regulation which does not correspond in concept to the general, is thus isolated either to decrease or to increase the rigidity of its application.

11. The particular implied in the general and excepted from it on account of a new and reversed decision can be referred to the general only in case the passage under consideration makes an explicit reference to it.

12. Deduction from the context.

13. When two Biblical passages contradict each other the contradiction in question must be solved by reference to a third passage.

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

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!

Shabbat: “V’Natati Nega’a” – “And I put a plague of leprosy”

&

Shabbat Shuva (Sabbath of Return)

Shabbat	Torah Reading:	Weekday Torah Reading:
וְנָתַתִּי נֶגַע		Saturday Afternoon
“V’Natati Nega’a”	Reader 1 – Vayikra 14:33-35	Reader 1 – Vayikra 16:1-3
“And I put an infection (of miraculous leprosy)”	Reader 2 – Vayikra 14:36-38	Reader 2 – Vayikra 16:4-6
“y ponga Yo una infección (de lepra milagrosa)”	Reader 3 – Vayikra 14:39-42	Reader 3 – Vayikra 16:7-9
Vayikra (Leviticus) 14:33-57	Reader 4 – Vayikra 14:43-45
Ashlamata: Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 5:8-16 + 6:3	Reader 5 – Vayikra 14:46-48	Monday & Thursday Mornings
Special Ashlamatot: Hoshea (Hosea) 14:2-10 & Micah 7:18-20	Reader 6 – Vayikra 14:49-51	Reader 1 – Vayikra 16:1-3
Tehillim (Psalms) 79:5-13	Reader 7 – Vayikra 14:52-57	Reader 2 – Vayikra 16:4-6
	Maftir – Vayikra 14:54-57	Reader 3 – Vayikra 16:7-9
N.C.: 1 Pet 2:18-20; Lk 11:5-13	Micah 7:18-20

Contents of the Torah Seder

· Miraculous Leprosy in a House – Leviticus 14:33-53

· Summary of the Contents of this Section – Leviticus 14:54-57

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan for: Vayikra (Leviticus) 14:33-57

Rashi	Targum Pseudo Jonathan
33. And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,	33. And the Lord spoke with Mosheh and with Aharon, saying,
34. When you come to the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as a possession, and I place a lesion of tzara'ath upon a house in the land of your possession,	34. When you have entered upon the land of Kenaan which I will give you for a possession, and a man who has built a house by rapine finds that I have put the plague of leprosy in the house of the land of your inheritance;
35. and the one to whom the house belongs comes and tells the kohen, saying, "Something like a lesion has appeared to me in the house,"	35. and he who owns the house will come to the priest, saying, there is a plague, as it appears to me, in the house:
36. the kohen shall order that they clear out the house, before the kohen comes to look at the lesion, so that everything in the house should not become unclean. After this, the kohen shall come to look at the house.	36. then the priest will direct that they make the house empty before the priest comes to inspect the house, that all that is in the house may not be (condemned as) unclean; and after that the priest will go in to inspect the house.
37. And he shall look at the lesion. Now, [if] the lesion in the walls of the house consists of dark green or dark red sunken looking stains, appearing as if deeper than the wall,	37. And the priest will look, and behold, if the plague be like (the color of) two beans crushed with stones, and goes lower than the four walls, green or red, and its appearance be deeper than the walls;
38. then the kohen shall go out of the house to the entrance of the house, and he shall quarantine the house for seven days.	38. the priest will go out from the house to the door of the house and shut up the house seven days.
39. Then the kohen shall return on the seventh day and look [at the house]. Now, [if] the lesion has spread in the walls of the house,	39. And the priest, returning on the seventh day, will look, and behold, if the breadth of the plague has increased in the wall of the house,
40. the kohen shall order that they remove the stones upon which the lesion is [found], and they shall cast them away outside the city, to an unclean place.	40. then the priest will direct that they break out the stones which have the plague in them and throw them without the city into an unclean place.
41. And he shall scrape out the house from the inside, all around, and they shall pour out the [mortar] dust from what they scraped, outside the city, into an unclean place.	41. And they will scrape the inside of the house round about and throw the dust which they have scraped off without the city into an unclean place.
42. And they shall take other stones and bring them instead of those stones. And he shall take other [mortar] dust, and plaster the house.	42. And they will take other stones, and insert them in the place of the (former) stones, and let other mortar be taken, and the house be replastered.
43. And if the lesion returns and erupts in the house, after he had removed the stones, and after the house had been scraped around and after it had been plastered,	43. But if the plague return and increase in the house, after the stones have been broken out, and after the house has been scraped, and after that it has been replastered,
44. then the kohen shall come and look [at it]. Now, [if] the lesion in the house has spread, it is malignant tzara'ath in the house; it is unclean.	44. then the priest will come and look, and behold, (if) the breadth of the plague has increased in the house, it is a plain leprosy in the house, it is unclean.
45. He shall demolish the house, its stones, its wood, and all the [mortar] dust of the house, and he shall take [them] outside the city, to an unclean place.	45. Then will they destroy that house, and its stones, and its timber, and all the plaster of the house, and lie will remove it without the city to an unclean place.
46. And anyone entering the house during all the days of its quarantine shall become unclean until the evening.	46. And whoever goes into the house in the days that it is shut up, will be unclean until evening.
47. And whoever lies down in the house, shall immerse his garments, and whoever eats in the house, shall immerse his garments.	47. And whoever sleeps in the house will wash his clothes, and whoever eats in the house will wash his clothes.
48. But if the kohen comes and comes again and looks [at the lesion], and behold, the lesion did not spread in the house, after the house has been plastered, the kohen shall pronounce the house clean, because the lesion has healed.	48. But if, having gone in, the priest looks, and behold the breadth of the plague has not increased in the house, after the house hath been plastered, then the priest will make the house to be clean, for the plague has healed.
49. To [ritually] cleanse the house, he shall take two birds, a cedar stick, a strip of crimson [wool], and hyssop.	49. And he will take, for the purification plague of the house, two turtle doves and cedar-wood and scarlet and hyssop;
50. He shall slaughter one bird into an earthenware vessel, over spring water.	50. and the slayer will kill one turtle dove in a vessel of earthenware with spring water;
51. And he shall take the cedar stick, the hyssop, the strip of crimson [wool], and the live bird, and he shall dip them into the blood of slaughtered bird and into the spring water and sprinkle towards the house seven times.	51. and he will take the cedar-wood and the hyssop and the scarlet and the living bird and dip them in the blood of the bird that had been killed and in the spring water, and sprinkle the house seven times.
52. And he shall [thus] cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, the spring water, the live bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop and the strip of crimson [wool].	52. And he will purify the house with the blood, with the living bird, and with the cedar-wood, and with the hyssop, and with the scarlet.
53. He shall then send away the live bird outside the city, onto the [open] field. He shall thus effect atonement for the house, and it will be clean.	53. And the living bird he will send forth out of the town upon the face of the field, and will atone for the house, and it will be clean. But if it is to be that the house will be again struck with leprosy, the bird on that day will return, and may be fit for food. But the bird that was killed will the priest bury in the presence of the owner of the house.
54. [All] this is the law for every lesion of tzara'ath, and for a nethek,	54. This is the decree of instruction in the law for every plague of leprosy and scorbutus,
55. And for tzara'ath of garments and houses,	55. and for leprosy in apparel, or in a house;
56. And for a se'eith and for a sapachath and for a bahereth;	56. and for tumors, scars, and inflamed blotches.
57. To render decisions regarding the day of uncleanness and the day of cleanness. This is the law of tzara'ath.	57. That the priest may teach the people to discern between the day of darkness in which they may not be able to see the plague, and the day of light; and between a man who is unclean and a man who is clean. This will be the decree of instruction for the leprosy.

Rashi’s Commentary for: Vayikra (Leviticus) 14:33-57

34 and I place a lesion of tzara’ath Heb. וְנָתַתִּי , lit. and I will give. This is [good] news for them that lesions of tzara’ath will come upon them, (Torath Kohanim 14:75), because the Amorites had hidden away treasures of gold inside the walls of their houses during the entire forty years that the Israelites were in the desert, and through the lesion, he will demolish the house (see verses 43-45) and find them. -[Vayikra Rabbah 17:6]

35 Something like a lesion has appeared to me in the house Even a Torah scholar, who knows that it is definitely a lesion [of tzara’ath], shall not make his statement using a decisive expression, saying, “A lesion has appeared to me,” but, “Something like a lesion has appeared to me” [out of respect for the kohen, who is to make the decision].-[Nega’im 12:5]

36 before the kohen comes... since as long as the kohen has not yet become involved with the house [in question], the law of uncleanness does not yet apply to it.

so that everything in the house should not become unclean For if they do not clear it out, and the kohen comes and sees the lesion, the house will have to be quarantined and everything inside it will become unclean. Now, for what objects did the Torah have consideration? If it was upon vessels that require immersion [in a mikvah to cleanse them], then [instead of having them removed,] let him immerse them, and they will become clean. And if it was upon food and drink, then [instead of removing them, let them become unclean] and he can eat and drink them during his period of uncleanness. Hence, the Torah has consideration only for earthenware vessels, which cannot be cleansed by [immersion in] a mikvah [and would thus undergo permanent damage if they became unclean].-[Nega’im 12:5]

37 sunken-looking stains Heb., שְׁקַעֲרוּרֽת , sunken (שׁוֹקְעוֹת) in their appearance (בְּמַרְאֵיהֶן) . - [Torath Kohanim 14:89]

40 they remove the stones Heb. וְחִלְּצוּ , as the Targum [Onkelos] renders: וְיִשְׁלְפוּן , “they shall remove them from there,” similar to, “[Then his brother’s wife shall...] remove (וְחָלְצָה) his shoe” (Deut. 25:9), an expression of removal.

to an unclean place [I.e.,] a place where clean things are not used. This verse teaches us that these [unclean] stones contaminate their place as long as they are there. - [Torath Kohanim 4:96]

41 scraped out Heb. יַקְצִעַ , rogner in French, or rodoniyer in Old French, to clip, to trim. This term occurs many times in the language of the Mishnah, [for example, Kelim 27:4, 5, B.K. 66b, Chul. 123b]. [Note that the spelling in Mikraoth Gedoloth is different. I have not found such a spelling in any dictionary. Greenberg, however, writes that Tobler and Lommatszch, Altfranzösisches Wörterbuch gives fifteen spellings for this word.]

inside Heb., מִבַּיִת , inside.

all around Heb. סָבִיב , around the lesion. In Midrash Torath Kohanim, it is thus expounded, namely, that he shall scrape out the plaster surrounding the afflicted stones.

they scraped Heb. הִקְצוּ , an expression denoting an edge (קָצֶה) . [I.e.,] that they scrape off (קִצְּעוּ) around the edges (קְצוֹת) of the lesion.

43 had been scraped הִקְצוֹת , an expression of having been done, [i. e., the passive], and so is "it had been plastered (הִטּוֹחַ) ". However, [in] “he had removed (חִלֵּץ) the stones,” the expression refers to the person who had removed them, and this is [an example of] the intensive verb form [called pi’el, which has a dagesh in the middle letter of the root form], like [the verbs] כִּפֵּר [with a dagesh in the פּ ] and דִּבֵּר [with a dagesh in the בּ ].

And if...the lesion returns One might think that if it returned on that same day, it would be deemed unclean. Scripture, therefore, states (verse 39), “Then the kohen shall return (וְשָׁב הַכּֽהֵן) ,” [the same term as in our verse, namely,], “and if... [the lesion] returns (וְאִם יָשׁוּב) .” Just as the return (שִׁיבָה) of the kohen mentioned there, is at the end of a week, so is the return [of the lesion] mentioned here, at the end of a week. - [Torath Kohanim 14:105]

44 Then the kohen shall come and look [at it]. Now, [if] the lesion...has spread [From here,] one might think that a recurrent lesion [in a house] can be deemed unclean only if it spreads. However, the term צָרַעַת מַמְאֶרֶת , “malignant tzara’ath,” is mentioned in reference to houses, and צָרַעַת מַמְאֶרֶת is mentioned in reference to garments (see verse 13: 52). [Through the exposition of a גְזֵרָה שָׁוָה we derive that] just as over there [in the case of garments,] a recurrent lesion is deemed unclean even if it had not spread, here too, [in the case of houses,] a recurrent lesion is deemed unclean even if it has not spread. If so, what does Scripture teach us here when it says, "Now, [if] the lesion... has spread..."? [in answer to this question, Rashi explains that the verses here should not be understood in the order in which they are written. Rather, they should be read in a different order, because] this is not the place for this verse. [I.e., the first section of this verse, namely, “Then the kohen shall come and look [at it]. Now [if] the lesion in the house has spread,” is to be understood by inserting it elsewhere within these verses, as follows]: “He shall demolish the house...” (verse 45), should be [understood as if] written after “And if... the lesion returns...” (verse 43), [skipping over the first section of verse 44], and then [reinserting this first section of our verse] “Then the kohen shall come and look... the lesion in the house has spread.” Thus, [when our verse says that the kohen looks at the lesion, the phrase, “[if] the lesion...has spread”] comes to teach [us] only about a lesion which remains the same during the first week [of quarantine], but when he came at the end of the second week [of quarantine], he found that it had spread. For in the earlier verses, Scripture does not explicitly tell us about a case where the lesion had remained with the same appearance after the first week [of quarantine]. Here, though, Scripture teaches you with this mention of spreading, that it is referring only to a lesion that has remained the same for the first week but spread during the second [week]. So what shall he do to it? I may think that he should demolish it, as is written immediately following it, “He shall demolish the house....” (verse 45). Scripture, therefore, says (verse 39), “the kohen shall return,” and [here], “the kohen shall come.” Just as in the case of “returning” [i.e., when the kohen returned after one week and the lesion had spread], he must remove [the unclean stones], scrape, and plaster, and give it another week [of quarantine], likewise, in the case of “coming” [i.e., where the lesion has remained the same for the first week, but spread during the second week], he must remove [the unclean stones], scrape, and plaster and then give it a week [of quarantine]. And, if it recurs again, he must demolish [the house]. If it does not recur, [however,] it is clean. Now, how do we know that if it remained the same during this and this, [i.e., during the first and second weeks], he must [also] remove [the unclean stones], scrape, plaster, and give it a [third] week [of quarantine]? Therefore, Scripture [here] says, “the kohen shall come (וּבָא) ,” and [in verse 48, it says], “if the kohen comes and comes [again] (בּֽא יָבֽא) ” What is Scripture referring to? If [you suggest that it means a lesion] that spread during the first week [of quarantine], this has already been mentioned [in verse 43]; if [you suggest that verse 48 is referring to a lesion] that spread during the second [week], this has already been mentioned [in our verse]; so [one must conclude that verse 48], “if the kohen comes and comes [again],” [is referring to the case that] he comes (בּֽא) at the end of the first week [of quarantine] and comes [again] (יָבֽא) at the end of the second week [of quarantine], and looks, and [as is continued in verse 48], “behold, the lesion did not spread” [i.e., it has remained the same throughout]. What shall he do to it? One might think that he should dismiss [the case] and depart, as it is written here (48) “the kohen shall pronounce the house clean.” Scripture, however, continues there, “because the lesion has healed.” [God says:] I deemed clean only what was healed. What shall be done with it [if the lesion has remained the same during the first and second weeks, and has not yet healed]? “Coming” is stated above [in verse 44, “the kohen shall come”], and “coming” is stated here [in verse 48, “if the kohen comes...and comes [again]”]; just as in the case above (verse 44), he must remove [the unclean stones], scrape, plaster, and give it a week [of quarantine], a law which we learned through the link made between the terms “returning” and “coming,” likewise, in the case below, [in the question of a lesion that has remained the same through the two weeks, the owner shall remove the unclean stones, scrape, plaster, and observe a week of quarantine]. The above is taught in Torath Kohanim (14: 105). The conclusion of this matter is: Demolition [of an afflicted house] is required only when the lesion recurs after the removal [of the unclean stones], scraping, and plastering. The recurring lesion does not require spreading [to necessitate demolition]. Hence, the sequence of the verses is as follows: (Verse 43), “And if [after he had removed the stones, and after the house had been scraped around and after it had been plastered, the lesion] returns”; then (verse 44, second section),"it is malignant tzara’ath...it is unclean"]; then (verse 45), “He shall demolish the house...,” and (verse 46), “Anyone entering the house [...shall become unclean],” and (verse 47), “[And one who lies down...] and one who eats in the house [shall immerse...]”; [at this juncture, just before verse 48, the second section of our verse (44) is now inserted in the sequence, namely,] "Then the kohen shall come and look...the lesion in the house has spread"—[and, as above, now we know that] Scripture here is referring to a case where the lesion remained the same during the first week [of quarantine], so a second week of quarantine is applied, and at the end of this second week of its quarantine, he comes and sees that it has spread. What should he do with it? The owner must remove [the unclean stones], scrape, plaster, and give it another [i.e., a third] week [of quarantine]. Now, if the lesion recurs, he must demolish, but if it does not recur, [the house is deemed clean, and] birds are required [along with the whole cleansing procedure, because lesions are never quarantined for more than three weeks. [See Rashi on verse 48 below, which is understood in light of this Rashi.]

46 during all the days of its quarantine However, not [someone entering the house] during the days that he scrapes off the lesion [during which time the house does not defile those who enter it, until the quarantine period begins]. But [if this is so,] one might think, if a lesion is pronounced definitely unclean [and the house is slated for demolition], that if the owner [disregards the order to demolish the house, but instead, removes the unclean stones and] scrapes off its lesion, that this case is also excluded [i.e., this house shall also not defile those entering it]. Scripture, therefore, says: “during all the days” [in which the seemingly superfluous word “all” comes to include this case, that since this house is unclean and must be demolished, it will always defile those who enter it].-[Torath Kohanim 14:110].

[And anyone entering the house...] shall become unclean until the evening [Since no mention of immersing garments is made here, Scripture] teaches us that [the one who enters] the house does not defile [his] garments. One might think that even if he remained in the house for the time of אֲכִילַת פְּרָס כְּדֵּי -the length of time it takes someone to eat an average meal [i.e., half a loaf—that his garments would also remain undefiled]. Scripture, therefore, says: "(verse 47) “one who eats in the house shall immerse his garments.” We know only if one eats [that his garments become unclean]. How do we know that if someone lies down [in the house, his garments become unclean]? Therefore, Scripture says (verse 47),"And whoever lies down in the house, [shall immerse his garments]." I know only [that this law applies to] someone who either eats or lies down. How do we know that [this law applies also to] someone who did not eat or lie down [in the house]? Therefore, Scripture (verse 47),"shall immerse... shall immerse." [The repetition of this expression] includes [the case where the person merely stayed in the house, that his garments become unclean]. If so, why are eating and lying down mentioned? To give a measurement [of time] that it takes to eat half a loaf for one who lies down [i.e., only if someone lies down in the house for that period do his garments become unclean].-[Torath Kohanim 14:111]

48 [The following Rashi is more clearly understood after learning Rashi on verse 44.]

But if the kohen comes [...] and comes [again] At the end of the second week [of quarantine],

and looks [at the lesion], and behold, the lesion did not spread This verse comes to teach [us] about a lesion that has remained the same throughout [both] the first and second weeks [of quarantine]. And what should be done to it]? One might think that it should be pronounced clean, as is apparent from the plain meaning of this verse, which continues: “the kohen shall pronounce the house clean.” Scripture, however, concludes the verse with, “because the lesion has healed.” [God says:] I deem clean only [the lesion] that has healed. And “healed” means only a house which has been scraped and plastered, and the lesion did not recur. But this [house, in which the lesion has neither disappeared nor spread], requires removal [of the unclean stones], scraping, plastering, and a third week [of quarantine]. Thus, the following is how our verse is to be understood: "But if the kohen comes [...] and comes [again] at the end of the second [week of quarantine] and beholds, the lesion did not spread, he must plaster it, and there is no plastering without removing [the unclean stones] and scraping. [Then] after the house has been plastered, the kohen shall [pronounce] the house clean if the lesion did not recur at the end of the week [of quarantine], because the lesion has healed." But if it recurs, Scripture has already explained regarding a [house with a] recurring lesion, that it requires demolition.

57 To render decisions regarding the day of uncleanness [I.e., to determine] which day renders it clean and which day renders it unclean.

Ketubim: Tehillim (Psalms) 79:5-13

Rashi	Targum
5. How long, O Lord? Will You be wroth forever? Will Your jealousy burn like fire?	5. How long, O LORD, will You be fierce forever? How long will Your zeal burn like fire?
6. Pour out Your wrath upon the nations that do not know You and upon the kingdoms that did not call out in Your name.	6. Pour out Your wrath on the Gentiles who have not known You, and on the kingdoms, who have not prayed in Your name.
7. For they devoured Jacob and made his dwelling desolate.	7. For they have destroyed the house of Jacob and made desolate his sanctuary.
8. Do not remember for us the early iniquities; may Your mercies quickly come before us for we have become very poor.	8. Do not remember against us trespasses which were from the beginning; in haste, may Your favors go before us, for we have become very destitute.
9. Help us, O God of our salvation, on account of the glory of Your name, and save us and atone for our sins for Your name's sake.	9. Help us, O God our redemption, because of Your glorious name; and redeem us, and atone for our sins, for the sake of Your name.
10. Why should the nations say, "Where is their God?" Let it be known among the nations before our eyes the revenge of the spilt blood of Your servants.	10. Why should the Gentiles say, "Where is their God?" Let the punishment for the blood of Your servants that has been spilled be revealed in our sight among the Gentiles.
11. May the cry of the prisoner come before You; according to the greatness of Your arm, set free the children of the mother who died.	11. Let the groan of the prisoners come before You like the great strength of Your arm; release the children who have been handed over to death.
12. And return to our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom, their reproach with which they reproached You, O Lord.	12. And give back to our neighbors a seven-fold requital for the punishment of their oaths, and the aspersions they cast on You, O LORD.
13. But we, Your people and the flock of Your pasture, shall thank You forever; to all generations we shall recite Your praise.	13. But we are Your people, and the sheep of Your pasture; we will give thanks in Your presence forever; for all generations we will recite Your praise.

Rashi’s Commentary for: Tehillim (Psalms) 79:5-13

5 How long Heb. עד מה [lit. until what.] Until when?

Your jealousy Your wrath, that You are jealous to wreak vengeance, an expression of (Exod. 20: 5): “a jealous (קנא) God,” emportement or enprenemant in Old French, zealous anger.

11 set free Heb. הותר, release the prisoners from their prison, as (below 105: 20): “A king sent and released him (ויתירהו)”; (146:7), “sets loose (מתיר) the bound.”

the children of the mother who died The children of her who was killed because of You; enmorinede in Old French, doomed to die. There is an example in the Sages’ language: “It is better that Jews eat the flesh of slaughtered dying beasts rather than eat the flesh of the carcasses of dying animals.” That means the flesh of a dying animal that was slaughtered, in tractate Kiddushin (21b

Meditation from the Psalms

Tehillim (Psalms) 79:5-13

By: Hakham Dr. Hillel ben David

Vayikra (Leviticus) 14:33-57

Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 5:8-16 + 6:3

1 Pet 2:18-20, Lk 11:5-13

I am going to repeat the introduction from the first part of our chapter of Psalms.

The superscription of this psalm ascribes authorship to Assaf, son of Qorach. Assaf composed many psalms, whose relationship to his personal life is not readily apparent. In this case however, Midrash Shocher Tov^[1] explains that Assaf's approach to this subject can be understood by means of a parable:

A beggar's daughter once went to fill her earthenware jug at a well. Much to her dismay, the rope snapped and her jug fell deep into the well. The poor girl was crushed by the loss of her only vessel, for she knew that no one would make an effort to retrieve such an inexpensive utensil Suddenly, however, the king's daughter arrived to draw some well water in her golden pitcher. Accidently, this precious pitcher also tumbled into the well. Upon observing this, the beggar's daughter burst into a joyous dance, saying 'The person who descends into the pit to retrieve the princess' precious pitcher will be able to retrieve my jug as well!'

Midrash Shocher Tov explains that Assaf had been distressed when his father, Qorach, was swallowed into the bowels of the earth.^[2] He lost all hope for his father's return, until he received a prophetic vision that the gates of the Temple would also be swallowed by the earth, while the rest of the Sanctuary was destroyed. The vision concluded with these very same gates being raised it to their former glory. Then Assaf became ecstatic. He composed this psalm, saying, 'He who shall descend to the bowels of the earth to retrieve the Temple's gates will also raise my father, Qorach'.^[3]

This famous chapter of Psalms discusses the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash (Temple) and the hope for Divine retribution. Sephardim recite this chapter on Tammuz17.

Was the act of the Churban Beit HaMikdash (the Destruction of the Temple) a totally negative event or really a hidden positive one? Tehillim Chapter 79 holds the answer. This chapter deals with the gruesome details of the Temple's Destruction, and yet it begins with the words, "A song to Assaf". The Talmud in Kiddushin 31b asks if it would have been more appropriate to start with the words, "A lament to Asaf". Why should the Psalm dealing with the terrible and catastrophic events of the Churban start with the word, "Mizmor", which means a song?

The answer is that at the time of the Temple's Destruction the Jewish Nation had sunk to such a low spiritual level that it was in danger of total extinction! How did we survive? Instead of pouring His wrath upon us, G-d expended it by destroying the wood and stone of His very own Temple! G-d make Himself homeless in order to guarantee our eternal survival. So, what appears as destruction is in fact a hidden act of compassion, designed to insure the survival and the eventual full recovery of G-d's Holy Nation.

Our section of the Psalms turns from the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash, to our prayer for retribution and acknowledgement that we are the one who praise HaShem. The Mishkan was the collateral for the Bne Israel. Despite the somber tone of the mizmor, the underlying point, of this chapter of Psalms, is that the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash actually saved the Jewish people from annihilation.

The Gemara in Kiddushin (31b) records that Avimi once served a cup of water to his father, R. Avahu. Finding his father sleeping, Avimi stood there waiting from him to awaken. In the meantime, he was inspired to interpret the Psalm (79), "A song to Assaf: the nations have entered Your inheritance, they have turned Jerusalem into ruins!" Rashi explains that Avimi found the usage of the word, "mizmor", a song, difficult. When speaking of the destruction of Jerusalem, the word, "kina", a dirge, would have been more appropriate! He answered similarly to the aforementioned teaching that the song refers to the fact that HaShem took out his wrath on wood and stones and preserved the Jewish people.

Why did Avimi expound on this particular verse at this precise time? Rav Pincus^[4] explained that standing over his father, refusing to just place the cup on the table, Avimi realized how much love existed between father and son. He used this as a tool to understand the relationship between our Father in Heaven and Bne Israel. Because of this great love, Avimi realized that clearly the destruction of the Mikdash was not an act of Divine punishment intending to banish the Jewish people forever. A father always loves his child. The destruction must be interpreted as a necessary separation to preserve, rather than destroy, the Jewish people.

The destruction of the Temple demonstrates HaShem’s love for His people. Sometimes HaShem finds it necessary, in His merciful ways, to punish the Bne Israel. Even this, however, is also for their ultimate good. Hardships melt away a person’s sins.^[5] Unbelievable! The Temple lay in ruins and Jerusalem destroyed but we must thank G-d. It could have been worse; the Jewish people could have been wiped out forever.

The Cherubim, in The Temple, were childlike creatures with wings. They were male and female and they embraced each other when the Bne Israel were close to HaShem in our walk. The faced each other perfectly. When we, as a nation, were far from HaShem, the Cherubim were not embracing and had their backs to each other. They mirrored our relationship to HaShem.

Yoma 54a Kattina said: Whenever Israel came up to the Festival, the curtain would be removed for them and the Cherubim were shown to them, whose bodies were intertwisted with one another, and they would be thus addressed: Look! You are beloved before God as the love between man and woman.

When the Babylonians destroyed the Temple, they dragged the embracing cherubim through the streets to show what the Jews worshipped. This embarrassed the Jews who were violating this love. Why were they embracing at the time of our greatest apostasy? The answer is that this was the love of HaShem when He had to punish us in order that we should return to Him. Surely this was the time when He was showing us His greatest love!

From this understanding, Rashi quotes:

Eicha (Lamentations) 4:11 HaShem hath accomplished His fury, He hath poured out His fierce anger; and He hath kindled a fire in Zion, which hath devoured the foundations thereof.

Notice that the Prophet uses the name of HaShem to speak of ‘fury’. Since this is the name that HaShem uses when He is exercising the attribute of loving-kindness, we can understand that He is showing us His love in the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash – His house!

Never forget that the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash represents a time when HaShem was showing His love to His people. We are the lively stones! It is the Bne Israel that HaShem wants to dwell with!

1 Tsefet (Peter) 2:1-10 Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord [is] gracious. To whom coming, [as unto] a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, [and] precious, Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Yeshua HaMashiach. Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe [he is] precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, [even to them] which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed. But ye [are] a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past [were] not a people, but [are] now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

Mystically, we should understand the destruction of the Temple as the destruction of the body of Mashiach, composed of all Israel.^[6] When we (Israel) bring disunity to the body of Mashiach it is manifested in the destruction of the Temple which represents Mashiach’s body, as Yochanan proclaims:

Yochanan (John 2:18-22) Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? Yeshua answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body. When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Yeshua had said.

The Talmud Yerushalmi^[7] writes that every generation in which the Temple, which was destroyed on Tisha B’Ab, is not rebuilt, should consider itself as if the Temple was destroyed in its days. We mourn the loss of the Temple, those lively stones which are fit as a dwelling place for HaShem, on the 9th of Ab. However, do we yearn for the Temple to the extent that we have a drive to improve so that we should merit it being rebuilt? Do we feel the spiritual void that exists and therefore strive to perfect our character, to deal with our fellow man properly in business and social relationships, to adhere to HaShem’s mitzvot and study His Torah with faith and devotion? If we do not attempt to better ourselves, we show, as the generations of the destruction did, a lack of love for HaShem’s Temple, His Beit HaMikdash, His lively stones. We would be just as responsible for the destruction of the Temple as the generation in which it was destroyed.^[8]

“Out of the mouth of the Most High”, proclaims the prophet Jeremiah, in the midst of his lament over the destruction of the Holy Temple and the exile of Israel, “do not emerge both evil and good”.^[9] This is a basic tenet of the Jewish faith: G-d is the essence of good, and since everything in existence derives solely from Him, evil has no true existence.^[10] There is only “revealed good” and “hidden good”. What we experience as “evil” is, in truth, hidden good—good that we, because of the limits of our perception, are incapable of perceiving as such.

The Talmud cites two stories that illustrate this point. The first involves Rabbi Akiva:^[11]

Rabbi Akiva taught: A person should always say: “Everything that G-d does, He does for the good.” Rabbi Akiva was once traveling, when he arrived in a certain town. He asked for lodgings and was refused. Said he: “Everything that G-d does, He does for the good”,^[12] and went to spend the night in a field.

He had with him a rooster, a donkey and a lamp. A wind came and extinguished the lamp, a cat came and ate the rooster, a lion came and ate the donkey. Said he: “Everything that G-d does, He does for good.” That night, an army came and took the entire town captive. Said Rabbi Akiva to his disciples: “Did I not tell you that everything that G-d does, He does for good?”^[13] (If the lamp had been lit, the army would have seen me; if the donkey would have brayed or the rooster would have called, the army would have come and captured me.^[14])

The other story is about Nachum Ish Gam Zu:

Why was he called Nachum Ish Gam Zu (“Nachum This Too”)?^[15] Because whatever happened to him, he would say: “This, too, is for the good.” Once the Jews wanted to send a gift to the [Roman] Emperor. “Who will go?” they asked. “Let Nachum go, for he is well acquainted with miracles.” They sent along with him a chest full of precious stones and pearls. On the way, he stayed at an inn. During the night, the innkeepers took the contents of the chest and filled it with earth. In the morning, when Nachum saw [what happened], he said: “This, too, is for good.”

When he arrived there, he gave the chest to the king. When the king saw that it was filled with earth, he wanted to kill all [the Jews] and said: “The Jews are mocking me!” Said Nachum: “This, too, is for good.”

Elijah the Prophet appeared disguised as one of the king’s ministers and said: “Perhaps this is the dust of their father Abraham, who would throw dust that turned into spears and straw that turned into arrows?”^[16] There was a country which [the Roman armies] could not conquer; they tried [the earth brought by Nachum] and succeeded in conquering it. So, they took Nachum into the Emperor’s treasury, filled his chest with precious stones and pearls, and sent him off with great honor.^[17]

OK, so the destruction of the Temple that Assaf deals with in our chapter of Psalms is a merciful act. Why then, did so many tragedies befall us on the same date? (The bad report of the spies, the destruction of both the first and the second Temples, the slaughter at Betar, Esau’s confrontation with Yaaqob, the expulsion from England, the expulsion from Spain, and World War 1.)

The Talmud reveals to us the answer to this question:

Ta’anit 29a “Reward is saved for a day of merit, and destruction is saved for a day of guilt”

According to the Mishna. Because our forefathers committed such a terrible sin on the ninth of Ab in the days of Moshe, the day became one reserved for destruction. Every year, when that day comes around, the original sin of our forefathers is brought back to light. Since we have not yet fully corrected their misdeeds, HaShem may not extend to us His usual lovingkindness on that day, leaving us vulnerable to impending adversity. The ninth of Ab has thus become a “weak link” in the chain of Jewish history.

The Sages of the Talmud, in Sanhedrin 90a, tell us that whenever HaShem punishes someone it is always done in such a way that the punishment corresponds to the sin that was committed (Middah kneged Middah, “Measure for measure”). One classic example of this is the punishment of the Egyptians who enslaved the Bnai Israel. The Egyptians persecuted the Israelites through water, by drowning Jewish babies in the Nile river^[18], and their ultimate punishment was that they themselves were drowned in the Red Sea.^[19]

As we have pointed out, the catastrophic events of the ninth of Ab were all precipitated by the original sin of Moshe’s generation. Here, too, it can be shown that the specific events that transpired on these days were all clearly wrought with the theme of “Middah Keneged Middah”, measure for measure.

Let us first consider what the Tisha B’Ab sin of our ancestors was. The Jews sent spies to scout out the Land of Israel prior to entering in. The spies brought a bad report, and the people believed the bad report. Instead of trusting in HaShem and His appointed leaders, the people rallied rebelliously behind the sinful spies.

Bamidbar (Numbers) 14:1 “The people wept all through that night”.

This sin, the Mishna tells us, took place on Tisha B’Ab. “That night that the people wept was Tisha B’Ab eve. HaShem said to them, `You wept on this day for no good reason; I will establish this day as a day of weeping for all generations’”^[20]. The tragedies that befell the Jews throughout the generations were apparently further punishments for the original sinful act committed by the generation of the Exodus.

The Torah tells us that the punishment meted out immediately to those who allied themselves with the spies was that they would have to wander about in the desert for forty years:

Bamidbar (Numbers) 14:34 “one year for each day” of the spies’ excursion.

The Torah makes it clear that the punishment of forty years in the desert was “measure for measure”, forty for forty. Can we say the same of the latter-day punishments, the four tragedies listed in the Mishna in Ta’anit? A closer examination reveals that in fact we may.

The sin of the Bnai Yisrael was that they rejected the Land of Israel. They were willing to pass up possession of the Promised Land, not even trying to conquer it, although HaShem had already told them of its unique virtues.

The fall of the Temples that took place centuries later was more than just a loss of the opportunity to perform the sacrificial rite ordained by the Torah. It was the event that, symbolically and actually, spelled the end of organized Jewish settlement in Israel. The destruction of the Temple and the concept of exile are always considered to be two sides of the same coin by our Sages^[21]. The Torah itself seems to make this connection in:

Vayikra (Leviticus) 26:31-2 “I will destroy your Temple... and will scatter you among the nations.”

It is clear that the punishment of the destruction of the Temple, which is tantamount to exile of the population, has a very close correlation with the original sin of Tisha B’Ab. Because the Bne Israel expressed on Tisha B’Ab an unwillingness to accept the gift of the Land of Israel, they eventually lost the Land of Israel on that same date.

Betar was the central stronghold of the Bar Kochba rebellion against Rome^[22]. Some sixty years after the destruction of the second Temple the Jews, led by the charismatic and courageous Bar Kochba, tried to throw off the Roman yoke from their necks. They even succeeded to some degree in establishing an autonomous Jewish state in Israel for several years (132-135 CE). When the Bar Kochba uprising was finally put down by the Romans with the fall of Betar, it effectively represented the end of any Jewish hope to sovereignty in the land of Israel for the foreseeable future. This too, then, is clearly an appropriate punishment for the original sin of the spies and their rejection of the Land of Israel.

The events of Tisha B’Ab can be interpreted along the same lines. The final razing of Jerusalem was designed to quash any hopes among the Jews for a restoration of their sovereignty, or even of their ability to dwell, in the city. The resulting exile has gone on for more than two thousand years. This exile is meant to cause us to return to HaShem, to see His chastisements as a measure of His love for us.

Apart from the mitzva to pray every day, there is a special commandment to pray in times of national calamity. According to the Rambam in the beginning of Hilchot Taaniyot, the verse:^[23]

Bamidbar (Numbers) 10:9 “And if war should come upon your land, the enemy who troubles you, you shall blow on the trumpets“

Is not a commandment simply to blow the trumpets, but rather includes prayer and petition. Even the Ramban, who rules (in opposition to the Rambam) that daily prayer is only a Rabbinic commandment, admits at least partially that there is a Torah commandment to pray in times of calamity. He declares, “And if perhaps they interpret prayer as a biblically-derived principle... then this is a mitzva for times of calamity...”^[24].

The foundation for the obligation to cry out to HaShem in times of calamity is the obligation of teshuva. And so, the Rambam continues, “And this is part of teshuva...” There is a special obligation of teshuva in times of calamity, as it is written:

Devarim (Deuteronomy) 4:30 “When you are in distress and all these things befall you... you shall return to HaShem your God”

The Rambam explains, “At a time when calamity strikes and they cry out and they blow on the trumpets, all will know that calamity has come upon them because of their evil deeds... and this is what will cause the calamity to be lifted from upon them. But if they do not cry out and do not blow [trumpets] but rather say, ‘This has happened to us since this is the way of the world, and this calamity is coincidental,’ this is the way of gross insensitivity, and will cause them to hold fast to their evil deeds, and other calamities will be added. This is what the Torah means when it says, ‘And if you walk crookedly (in Hebrew: “keri,” from the root of the word meaning “coincidence”) with Me then I will likewise walk crookedly with you’ - in other words, I shall bring calamity upon you in order that you return. If you maintain that your calamities are coincidental then I will increase those ‘coincidental’ calamities.”

The biblical obligation of prayer and teshuva, repentance, at a time of calamity is extended by Chazal to obligate fasting: “And the Hakhamim instructed that there should be fasting for every calamity, which comes upon the community, until Divine mercy is achieved”^[25]. And what stands at the center of these obligations is the Divine Providence, which watches over Knesset Yisrael and entreats them, calling: “Shuvu banim shovavim, Return, O backsliding children!” Obviously, the very obligation to pray and fast at a time of calamity is based on the assumption that by means of sincere and genuine teshuva the calamity will be removed.

As opposed to “calamity” (tzara) an “evil decree” (gezera) cannot be removed. It expresses not Divine Providence but rather the distancing of the Divine Presence and HaShem “hiding His face,” as it were. “Hakham Elazar said: Since the day on which the Temple was destroyed, there is a wall of iron that stands between Israel and their Father in Heaven”.^[26] The reaction to an evil decree is not prayer but rather mourning and surrender to HaShem’s inscrutable will. “And Hakham Elazar said: Since the day on which the Temple was destroyed, the gates of prayer are locked”^[27].

The seventeenth of Tammuz, despite the five tragic events, which took place on this day, is defined as a day of calamity. It is true that on this date the first set of tablets were shattered, but following prayer on the part of Moshe Rabbeinu and teshuva on the part of the nation, we merited to receive a second set of tablets. Likewise, on this date the walls of Jerusalem were indeed breached, the enemies stood ready to enter, and, therefore, it was a time of calamity for the Jewish nation. But it was only on Tisha B’Ab that a tragic decree was issued: “On Tisha B’Ab it was decreed upon our forefathers that they would not enter the land,” and despite Moshe’s entreaties, the attempts to mitigate the sharpness of the decree reached its tragic conclusion at Chorma.^[28]

On the other fasts there is a special obligation of prayer and entreaties. The Selichot and Torah portions read on these fasts, focus on Moshe Rabbenu’s prayer following the sin of the golden calf, the declaration of the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy. On the other hand, on Tisha B’Ab, the day established for weeping for all generations, we sit on the floor, read Eicha, Lamentations, and recite lamentations, and the Torah reading and haftara on this day speak of the destruction. This distinction between Tisha B’Ab and the other fasts was already formulated by Rabbenu David^[29]: “On Tisha B’Ab there is no ‘Neilah’ prayer, nor are twenty-four blessings recited, because [this day] is set aside not for prayer but rather for mourning.”^[30] Likewise, on Tisha B’Ab the “titkabel” clause is not included in the recitation of Kaddish^[31], and the Sheliach tzibbur, the prayer leader, does not recite “Aneinu” in his repetition of the Amida of Shacharit^[32]. Rav Soloveitchik, zt”l, explained that only on the other fasts does one fulfill the special obligation of prayer at a time of calamity, as explained above. But on Tisha B’Ab, “Even though I cry out and call for help, He has blocked my prayer”^[33]. Thus, even though Tisha B’Ab has the status of a fast day, it is still entirely different in its nature and purpose from any other public fast.

In terms of the other prohibitions of the day, Tisha B’Ab is again different from the other fasts. On one hand, there are prohibitions, which are similar to those of Yom HaKippurim^[34]. On the other hand, these prohibitions reflect the mourning of Tisha B’Ab, rather than the positive obligations of prayer and teshuva. The Gemara^[35] states, “The Hakhamim taught, all the laws pertaining to mourning apply on Tisha B’Ab as well; a person is forbidden to eat and drink^[36], to anoint his body, to wear leather shoes and to engage in sexual intercourse...”^[37]

In light of the above, let us return to the sugya in Rosh Hashana: “Tisha B’Ab is different since on this day many sorrows befell us.” According to the fundamental distinction which we have drawn between a calamity and a decree, we can explain that what we are referring to here is not a quantitative addition of calamities on Tisha B’Ab over and above those of any other fast. We are dealing not with a calamity but rather with a decree. Therefore, we do not fast within the framework of the obligations of prayer and teshuva in order that the calamity will pass, but rather as part of our expression of sorrow and mourning over the bitter decree.

If we are able to express our sorrow and mourning in teshuva, then, and only then, can we pray that HaShem would turn away His wrath and:

Tehillim (Psalms) 79:6 Pour out Thy wrath upon the nations that know Thee not, and upon the kingdoms that call not upon Thy name.

Ashlamata: Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 5:8-16 + 6:3

Rashi	Targum
8. ¶ Woe to those who join a house to a house; a field to a field they draw near; until there is no place, and you will be settled alone in the midst of the land.	8. Woe to those who join house to house, adding the field of oppression to their fields, saying: Until we possess every place – and thinking they will dwell alone in the midst of the land.
9. In my ears [spoke] the Lord of Hosts, "Truly, great houses shall become desolate, yea, large ones and good ones, without inhabitants.	9. The prophet said, This was decreed before the LORD of Hosts when I was hearing with my ears: “Surely many houses will be desolate, large and beautiful houses, without inhabitant.
10. For ten acres of vineyard will produce one bath, and the seed of a homer shall produce an ephah. {S}	10. For because of the sin that they did not give the tithes, a place of ten lots of vineyard will yield one bath, and a place of a cor of seed will yield three Seahs.”
11. Woe to those who rise early in the morning; they pursue strong wine. They sit until late in the evening; wine inflames them.	11. Woe to those who arise early in the morning to drink, running after old wine, tarrying to depart, spending the evening on their couches, the wine of oppression inflaming them!
12. And there are harp and lute, tambourine and flute, and wine at their drinking feasts; and the work of the Lord they do not regard, and the deed of His hands they have not seen.	12. And their feasts are by means of lyre and harp, lute and flute and wine; but they do not regard the Law of the LORD, or see the work of His might.
13. Therefore, My people shall go into exile because of lack of knowledge, and its esteemed ones shall die of hunger, and its multitude shall be parched from thirst.	13. Therefore My people go into exile because they did not know the Law and their honoured men die of hunger and their multitudes of scarcity, of drought.
14. Therefore, the nether-world has expanded itself and opened its mouth without measure, and her splendor and her populace and multitudes, shall descend and those who rejoice therein.	14. Therefore Sheol has enlarged its appetite and opened its mouth beyond measure, and their honoured men and their multitudes go down, their throng and he who is strong among them.
15. And man shall be humbled, and man shall be brought low, and the eyes of the haughty shall be brought low.	15. And a man is humbled and men’s strength is faint and the eyes of the haughty are humbled.
16. And the Lord of Hosts will be exalted in judgment, and the Holy God shall be hallowed with equity.	16. But the LORD is strong in judgment and God, the Holy One, is holy in virtue.
17. And lambs shall graze at their wont, and sojourners shall eat the ruins of the fat ones. {S}	17. Then will the righteous/generous be nurtured and increase as was said concerning them, and the righteous/generous will possess the possessions of the wicked/Lawless.
18. Woe to those who draw the iniquity with ropes of nothingness, and like cart ropes is the sin.	18. Woe to those who begin to sin a little, drawing sins with the cords of vanity, continuing and increasing until sins are strong as cart ropes.
19. Those who say, "Let Him hurry; let Him hasten His deed, so that we may see; and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel approach and come." {P}	19. who say, “When will He make haste, will He reveal His wonders that we may see? And let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near, and let it come, that we may know it.”
1. ¶ In the year of the death of King Uzziah, I saw the Lord sitting on a high and exalted throne, and His lower extremity filled the Temple.	1. In the year that King Uzziah was struck with it, the prophet said, I saw the glory of the LORD resting upon a throne, high and lifted up in the heavens of the height; and the Temple was filled by the brilliance of His glory.
2. Seraphim stood above for Him, six wings, six wings to each one; with two he would cover his face, and with two he would cover his feet, and with two he would fly.	2. Holy attendants were in the height before Him; each had six wings: with two He covered His face, that He might not see, and with two He covered His body, that He might not be seen, and with two He ministered.
3. And one called to the other and said, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory."	3. And one was crying to another saying, “Holy in the heavens of the height, His sanctuary, Holy upon the earth, the work of His might, Holy in eternity is the LORD of Hosts; the whole earth is filled with the brilliance of His glory.
4. And the doorposts quaked from the voice of him who called, and the House became filled with smoke.	4. And the posts of the Temple thresholds quacked from the sound of the speech and the Sanctuary was filled with the dense cloud.
5. And I said, "Woe is me for I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and amidst a people of unclean lips I dwell, for the King, the Lord of Hosts have my eyes seen.	5. And I said, “Woe is me! For I have sinned; for I am a man liable to chastisement, and I dwell in the midst of people that are defiled with sins; for my eyes have seen the glory of the Shekhinah of the eternal king, the LORD of Hosts!
6. And one of the seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a glowing coal; with tongs he had taken it from upon the altar.	6. Then there was given to me one of the attendants and in his mouth there was a speech which he took before Him whose Shekhinah is upon the throne of glory in the heavens of the height, above the altar.
7. And he caused it to touch my mouth, and he said, "Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity shall be removed, and your sin shall be atoned for."	7. And he arranged [it in] my mouth and said: “Behold, I have placed the words of My Prophecy in your mouth, and your sins will be taken away and your guilt atoned for.”
8. And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" And I said, "Here I am; send me."	8. And I heard the voice of the Memra of the LORD which said: “Whom will I send to prophesy, and who will go to teach?” Then I said, “Here I am, send me.”
9. And He said, "Go and say to this people, 'Indeed you hear, but you do not understand; indeed you see, but you do not know.'	9. And He said, “Go and speak to this  people who hear indeed, but do not understand, and see indeed, but do not perceive.
10. This people's heart is becoming fat, and his ears are becoming heavy, and his eyes are becoming sealed, lest he see with his eyes, and hear with his ears, and his heart understand, and he repent and be healed."	10. Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and repent and it is forgiven them.”
11. And I said, "Until when, O Lord?" And He said, "Until cities be desolate without inhabitant and houses without people, and the ground lies waste and desolate.	11. Then I said, “How long, O LORD?” And He said, “Until the cities are devastated, without inhabitant, and the houses without men, and the land lies desolate and devastated,
12. And the Lord removes the people far away, and the deserted places be many in the midst of the land.	12. and the LORD removes the sons of men and devastation increases in the midst of the land.
13. And when there is yet a tenth of it, it will again be purged, like the terebinth and like the oak, which in the fall have but a trunk, the holy seed is its trunk." {P}	13. And one in ten they will be left in it and they will again be for scorching like the terebinth of the oak, which when their leaves drop off appear dried up, and even then they are green enough to retain from them the seed. So the exiles of Israel will be gathered and they will return to their land.” For the holy seed is their stump.

Rashi’s Commentary for: Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 5:8-16 + 6:3

8 Woe to those who join a house to a house Twenty-two instances of אַשְׁרֵי, fortunate, were said in the Book of Psalms concerning those who fulfill [the tenets of] the Torah, and Isaiah said twenty-two times, “ הוֹי,” woe, concerning the wicked.

Woe An expression of a cry of a sigh concerning the impending retribution.

those who join a house to a house They draw their houses one to the other, thereby taking the land of the weak poor man between the two houses, and so

a field to a field they draw near until there is no place No place for the poor man to live.

and you will be settled alone in the midst of the land You think that neither the Holy One, blessed be He, nor the poor, have a share in the land. His share of the tithes you are stealing, and the poor, [you are robbing] of their land, so that you alone will occupy it.

9 In my ears [spoke] the Lord of Hosts Said the prophet, Both my ears heard when the decree was decreed upon them by the Lord, and with an oath, “Truly, because of this thing, great houses will become desolate, yea, large ones and good ones, without inhabitants.”

10 For ten acres of vineyard And, because of the famine, the inhabitants of the house will be exiled, leaving no one dwelling in them. This, too, will be for your payment in kind for bringing one field near to the other field, for you have stolen the share of the Omnipresent in the tithe of the land.

ten acres of vineyard arpent in French, and I say that the amount of land requiring the work of one day with a yoke of oxen is called צֶמֶד, a yoke.

will produce one bath One measure of wine. A bath is three se’ah.

and the seed of a homer A place where a kur, which is thirty se’ah of grain, is usually produced, will produce an ephahthree se’ah.

11 They sit until late in the evening to drink wine at night.

wine inflames them It burns in them.

12 harp and lute A lute has more strings than a harp. [Perhaps Rashi explains נֵבֶל  as a lyre, which may have more strings than a harp.] Now why is it called נֵבֶל? Because it disgraces (מְנַבֵּל) all kinds of musical instruments. In Midrash Tehillim (81:3).

tamborine That was made of skin.

a flute A flute of reed, chalemel in O.F.

and the work of the Lord they do not regard And in the Torah of the Lord they did not look [from Jonathan].

and the deed of His hands they have not seen They pretended that they did not see His mighty deeds. Another explanation is: They did not praise Him in the morning by reciting, “He Who forms light,” nor in the evening, by reciting, “He Who brings on the evenings.”

13 because of lack of knowledge because their heart was without knowledge.

and its esteemed ones shall die of hunger Heb. וכבודו מתי רעב  [lit. and its honor dead ones of hunger.] [Some editions add:] Payment in kind, corresponding to the satiety.

shall be parched from thirst Thirst corresponds to their elaborate drinking feasts.

shall be parched  Aramaic for thirst.

14 Therefore, the nether-world has expanded Retribution corresponding to deed; they expanded themselves to swallow much food and drink, and they opened their mouth to swallow, so will the nether world expand itself to swallow.

and opened Heb. פָּעֲרָה.

without measure Without end; and why [did the grave open] without measure? Because these people had no measure or limit to their enjoyments.

shall descend There the splendor of Jerusalem.

And those who rejoice therein Heb. בה ועלז. [I.e., those who rejoiced in Jerusalem, or in all the Land of Israel, with the plenty they had there, will fall into Sheol, i.e., they will die.]

15 And man shall be humbled… and the strong of men shall be weakened. [after Jonathan]. According to the Midrashic interpretation (Sotah 48a), this is the Holy One, blessed be He. They caused Him to appear as a man who is stunned. [The expression originates in Jeremiah 14:9]. And so Scripture states (Deut. 32:18): “The Rock that begot you, you have weakened (תֶּשִׁי),” [interpreting the word as originating from תָּשׁ, weak,] and Scripture states [further] (Ecclesiastes 10:18): “Through slothfulness, the One Who frames His upper chambers will become impoverished.”

16 And the Lord of Hosts shall be exalted through judgment When He executes judgment upon them, His Name shall be exalted in the world.

through judgment Jostise [justice] in O.F.

and the holy God shall be hallowed among the righteous remaining of you.

6:3 And one called to the other They would take permission from one another so that one would not commence before [his fellows] and be guilty of [a sin punishable by] burning, unless they all commenced simultaneously. This is what was established in [the blessing commencing:] “… Who formed light”, “the declaration of holiness, they all respond as one…” This is a Midrash Aggadah of the account of the Merkavah. And so did Jonathan render this.

Holy, holy, holy Three times, as the Targum renders.

Commentary on the Ashlamata of Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 5:8-16 +6:3

By: H.Ex. Adon Shlomoh Ben Abraham

Our Parsha begins with an indictment under six counts. They each begin with the exclamation. Woe! In verse 8. the first two are grouped together and followed by a description of the inevitable punishment and the threaten retribution that will come because of Israel sin and the last four we're not going to deal with. The first woe, we see the absorption of the small holdings of the poor peasants by the wealthy neighbors, and the divine punishment comes. The wealthy were dispossessing their neighbors of their land. And because there was no room for the poor person between two wealthy landowners, the poor were being squeezed out.

My ears, says the Lord of hosts. I've heard the cry. And many houses shall be desolate. The trespassers are not going to be allowed to enjoy their ill-gotten gains.  The prophet goes on to tell us that a piece of ground that is big enough to be plowed in a day by a pair of oxen. Which would normally give about 8 gallons of wine will have such a poor yield. It’s not going to be worth the amount of Labor because your return is so low. Because of their sin, the land will produce only a very small fraction of what had been planted. So, we could say in today's terms the seed costs more than the harvest. The second woe, in verse 11, says woe to them that rise early in the morning they follow strong drink into the late night. They seemed to be chasing sensual pleasure. They do not regard “the deeds or the work of Hashem”, Radak said this refers to the stars and constellations, the wisdom of those movements and seasons which leads man to apprehend the glory of God. Rashi says the same, they did not praise Him in the morning by reciting, Yotzer Ohr before the morning Shema “He Who forms light,” nor in the evening, by reciting, Ma’ariv Aravim before the evening Shema. “He Who brings on the evenings.” Putting all this together, it would seem the people have become so involved in chasing materials goods and physical pleasure, they have forgotten who bestows blessing on them. According to Rashi, they have ceased to recognize God even to the point of forgoing to say their prayers both morning and evening. I saw a sign one day that said, “seven days without prayer makes one Weak.” Spiritually speaking they starve themselves right into exile. Such persons have no desire to know and understand God’s word or his great acts in history. These people totally ignored God in their life’s.  Isaiah later gives the cure for this sickness:  51.1-2 - Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the Lord: look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug. Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you; for he was but one when I called him, that I might bless him and multiply him.

Verse 13 is an interesting verse. My people have gone into captivity, “have gone” in the Hebrew is the prophetic perfect. In other words, the event, though in the future is depicted as having already happened.   We are then told the reason because of the lack of knowledge. There honorable men have vanished or became famished.  The Collapse of Torah knowledge among the people was the main cause of their exile and degradation, As they go into exile they go without Torah knowledge.  When we look back at v. 12, not only did they pursue strong drink and wine, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because thou hast rejected knowledge … thou hast forgotten the law of thy God;”

The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.”^[38]

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. ^[39]

This implies that in the future these exiles will have to reacquire Torah knowledge. The prophets tell us in several places that the returning exiles and those of the nations will return to Mt. Zion to be taught Torah.^[40] The honored man becomes a man of hunger, literally and the multitude will be thirsty. Therefore, because of your preceding sins and actions.  The grave (Sheol), the netherworld is going to open up and enlarge herself. She is going to open her mouth without measure. Man will be bowed down and humbled. The Lord of Host is exalted through justice and God the Holy One will be sanctified through righteousness.

Then the Prophet speaks of splendor and majestic holiness that surrounds the throne of God. And he says Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, and the whole earth is full of his glory. We're told this threefold repetition, indicates holiness, of the angelic world and the highest of heavens, above the celestial spheres and holy is he upon the earth, and holy forever and ever, according to the Targum Jonathan.^[41]

The following Ashlamatot (Hoshea & Micah) must be recited by the greatest Torah scholar available to the congregation.

Special Ashlamata: Hoshea (Hosea) 14:2-10

2. ¶ Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled in your iniquity.	2. ¶ Return, O Israel, to the fear of the LORD your God, for you have fallen because of your sin.
3. Take words with yourselves and return to the Lord. Say, "You shall forgive all iniquity and teach us [the] good [way], and let us render [for] bulls [the offering of] our lips.	3. Bring' with you words of confession' and return to the worship of the LORD. Say before Him, "It is near before You to forgive iniquities: then we will be accepted as good. Let the words of our lips be accepted before You with favour like bullocks on Your altar!”
4. Assyria shall not save us; we will not ride on horses, nor will we say any longer, our gods, to the work of our hands, for in You, by Whom the orphan is granted mercy."	4. The kings of Assyria will not save us. We will not put our trust in horsemen, and no more will we say "Our god" to the works of our hands. For it was from before You that mercy was shown to our forefathers when they were like orphans in Egypt.
5. I will remedy their backsliding; I will love them freely, for My wrath has turned away from them.	5. I will accept them in their repentance, I will forgive their sins, I will have compassion on them when they freely repent, for My anger has turned away from them.
6. I will be like dew to Israel, they shall blossom like a rose, and it shall strike its roots like the Lebanon.	6. My Memra will be like dew to Israel; they will bloom like the lily, and they will dwell in their fortified land like the tree of Lebanon which puts forth its branches.
7. Its branches shall go forth, and its beauty shall be like the olive tree, and its fragrance like the Lebanon.	7. Sons and daughters will multiply, and their light will be like the light of the holy candelabrum and their fragrance like the fragrance of incense.
8. Those who dwelt in its shade shall return; they shall revive [like] corn and blossom like the vine; its fragrance shall be like the wine of Lebanon.	8. They will be gathered from among their exiles, they will dwell in the shade of their anointed One. The dead will be resurrected, and goodness will increase in the land. The mention of their goodness will go in and not cease, like the memorial of the blast of the trumpets made over the matured wine when it was poured out in the Sanctuary.
9. Ephraim; What more do I need the images? I will answer him, and I will look upon him: I am like a leafy cypress tree; from Me your fruit is found.	9. The house of Israel will say. "Why should we worship idols anymore?" I. by My Memra, will hear the prayer of ‘Israel and have compassion on them, I. by My Memra, will make them like a beautiful cypress tree, because forgiveness for their waywardness is found before Me.
10. Who is wise and will understand these, discerning and will know them; for the ways of the Lord are straight, and the righteous shall walk in them, and the rebellious shall stumble on them. {P}	10. Who is wise "and will consider these things? Who is prudent and will take note of them? For the ways of the LORD are right; and the righteous/generous who walk in them will live in everlasting life through them, but the wicked will be delivered to Gehinnam" because they have not walked in them.{P}

Rashi’s Commentary for: Hoshea (Hosea) 14:2-10

Return, O Israel You, who are in the land of Judah, lest what happens to Samaria happens to you. Therefore, the topics are juxtaposed. This can be compared to a king against whom a province rebelled. The king sent a general and commanded him to destroy it. That general was expert and deliberate. He said to them, “Take for yourselves days (sic); otherwise, I will do to you as I have done to such-and-such a province and to its allies, and to such-and-such a prefecture and to its allies.” Therefore it says, “Samaria shall be accounted guilty,” and then Scripture says: “Return, O Israel.” As is found in Sifrei in the section commencing. (Num. 25:1), “And Israel abode in Shittim.”

to the Lord your God One taught in the name of Rabbi Meir: Return, O Israel, while He is still יהוה , with the Divine Attribute of Mercy; otherwise, He is אֶלֹהֶיךָ  with the Divine Attribute of Justice, before the defense becomes the prosecution. [from Pesikta d’Rav Kahana, p. 164a]

for you have stumbled in your iniquity Obstacles have come to you because of your iniquity.

3 You shall forgive all iniquity Heb. עָוֹן כָּל-תִּשָׂא . Forgive all our iniquities.

and teach [us the] good [way] Heb. וְקַח-טוֹב . And teach us the good way. Another explanation: The few good deeds in our hands take in Your hand and judge us accordingly. And so does David say (Psalms 17:2): “Let my sentence come forth from before You, may Your eyes behold the right.” Another explanation: And accept good And accept confession from us, as it is said (Psalms 92:2): “It is good to confess to the Lord.”

and let us render [for] bulls that we should have sacrificed before you, let us render them with the placation of the words of our lips.

4 Assyria shall not save us Say this also before Him, “We no longer seek the aid of man, neither from Assyria nor from Egypt.”

we will not ride on horses This is the aid from Egypt, who would send them horses, as they said to Isaiah (30:16), “No, but on horses will we flee... And on swift steeds will we ride.”

nor will we say any longer to the work of our hands that they are our gods.

for in You alone shall our hope be, You Who grant mercy to the orphans.

5 I will remedy their backsliding Said the prophet: So has the Holy Spirit said to me. After they say this before Me, I will remedy their backsliding, and I will love them with My charitable spirit. Although they do not deserve the love, I will love them charitably since My wrath has turned away from them.

6 and it shall strike I. e. the dew shall strike its roots and cause them to prosper.

like the Lebanon like the roots of the trees of the Lebanon, which are large.

7 Its branches shall go forth Sons and daughters shall increase.

and it shall be Their beauty shall be like the beauty of the menorah of the Temple, and their fragrance like the fragrance of the incense.

like the Lebanon Like the Temple.

8 Those who dwelt in its shade shall return Those who already dwelt in the shade of the Lebanon, to which He compared Israel and the Temple, and now were exiled there from, shall return to it.

its fragrance shall be like the wine of Lebanon Jonathan renders: Like the remembrance of the blasts of the trumpets over the old wine poured for libations in the Temple. For they would blow the trumpets over the libations when the Levites would recite the song.

9 Ephraim will say, “What more do I need to follow the images?” And they will turn away from idolatry.

I will answer him I will answer him from his trouble.

and I will look upon him I will look upon his affliction.

I am like a leafy cypress tree I will bend down for him to hold his hand on Me as the leafy cypress which is bent down to the ground, which a man holds by its branches; i.e., I will be accessible to him.

from Me your fruit is found Am I not He? For all your good emanates from Me.

10 Who is wise and will understand these Who among you is wise and will ponder to put his heart to all these and return to Me?

and the rebellious shall stumble on them i.e., because of them, because they did not walk in them. Jonathan renders in this manner.

Commentary on the Ashlamatah of Hosea 14:2-10

By: H.Ex. Adon Shlomoh Ben Abraham

We begin this reading. On Sabbath Shuva. The first Sabbath of the Jewish year between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. In the first two verses Hosea has called for Israel to return. Your guilt has made you stumble.  It occurs four times in this concluding chapter (vv. 1, 2, 4, 7) which is a picture of what will happen at Israel’s return—both as to requirements and results.^[42] Hosea speaks rough to the people, and this equals a statement from Rabbi Mir. It says return O Israel while God is still a merciful God. Or in a merciful mood. For if you delay, He will act upon His attribute of strict justice as Elohim.  Where are we to return too? Hosea 6:1-3 “Come, let us return to the Lord (Hashem); for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him. Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord; his going out is sure as the dawn.^[43]

Hosea has some harsh words of prophecy to give to Israel.  But in this call for them to return to God, but he's teaching that the simple cleansing pathway of repentance and confessing your sin in prayer is all it takes. If we return from our sin, then God will respond back to us. Great is Teshuvah(repentance), for thereby even willful sins are transformed into unwitting transgressions, because iniquity is willful. Yet the verse calls it stumbling. The power of teshuva is that which reaches the very throne of glory. As it says, return unto the Lord your God,^[44] and he will return to you. Ezekiel 33:19 when the wicked turns from his wickedness and does what is just and right, he shall live by this. Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ O house of Israel, I will judge each of you according to his ways.”

Since today we have no Temple and clearly, the offerings were not enough to please God, what are we to do?  This same question has been asked in the past.  “For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” (Psalms 51:16-17)

Hashems reply back to the people, and it is the same for us today.

Hosea 6:6 For I desire steadfast love, and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God, rather than burnt offerings.

In its most perfect sense repentance consists of four elements. 1.) Changing one way. 2.) Sincere regret, 3.) confession to God 4.) and resolve not to repeat the sin. All of these are included in the Prophet's warning. Return Israel to the Lord (Hashem) your God (Elohim), as one where you have truly regretted your sin. Take along words with three, return to God, say to him we will no longer make gods out of the work of our hands. Hosea 14:1-2^[45]  Of these four elements, the last three are necessary to rectify the spiritual damage done to man's main faculties, which is thought, speech, and action. True remorse and regret rectify one's thoughts. Confession is for the speech and resolve that comes through action itself.^[46]  Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan said, the first prerequisite for repentance, however, is changing one's ways and abandoning the practice of sin. Repenting while still immersed in sin is like trying to cleanse oneself while still holding on to filth.^[47].  So, as the prophet Isaiah said in 55:7. Let the wicked man forsake his ways.  Ezkiel 33:11 and Isaiah 1:16 express the idea of a man casting away his transgressions and here is listed the ten expressions of repentance. Again, in Ezk.18:31, Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? What is motivating us and our intentions for repentance? That would be the fear of God and the shame for having sinned before Him. When a person changes his ways, he's forgiven. As God has told his prophets Ezekiel and Jonah, let every man turn from his evil way. I will forgive their sin, and they will not die.^[48]

The greatest fallacy of the religious world that we live in is that people think they can live however they choose, and then ask for forgiveness and it is your get out of jail free card, however their lives and actions never change. But as we have learned, the first step of repentance is just that of abandoning sin. Being truly remorseful and then confessing that sin. Although the first steps of repentance consist of abandoning sin, remorse and confession a higher form of repentance, the rabbis teach, is when we do good deeds.^[49]. It's one thing to say something. It's another thing when you take that idea and thought, and you move it into the world of reality through good deeds and correct actions. The psalmist counsels us to depart from evil, do good, seek peace, and pursue it. Psalms, 34:15. And the central part of this higher repentance is prayer, deeds of kindness to others, and the study of Torah. Proverbs 16:6 teaches us that by deeds of kindness and truth, then sin is forgiven. I heard a gentleman say one time, “there was never a time in my life that I did not know God”. And I thought that's kind of interesting.  Even when you were a little baby. Even when you were going through your terrible twos. But you know the follow up statement. He said, that through his, Prayer and study of Torah. He begins to see how it changes him and begins to revolutionize every area of his life.

Sin place stumbling blocks in the path of right living. When you come with true repentance and regret and confession, God says, I will heal their disloyalty, and I will love them freely. As soon as the children of Israel repent, God will show them unrestrained love and his anger will depart, for my anger has been turned from them.v.5 His branches will spread out, his beauty will be like an olive tree and his fragrance will be like Lebanon. They will live in the shade and blossom like a vine.  When we return to God, he can surely bless us.

In v.8, most translation read as if the speaker is the one asking a question, what have I to do with idols? But in reality, it is Ephraim that is making the statement and acknowledging they are turning away from idols. the Targum reads: ‘some from the house of Israel said.’ So here we have Israel’s affirmation of their fidelity to God and the abandonment of their idols. Today, we see this very thing happening as many are being to return to the God of Israel and the Torah. What have I to do anymore with idols, I'm done! Ephraim has begun to wake up and to understand that all his trust and faith in idols, doesn't bring him any blessings, just disaster.  But as a person begins to wake up from their idols they begin to move from a lying or sitting position to a standing position.  Our Rabbis teach to “make disciples stand” and that is done just as Hosea is teaching by returning and having knowledge of God and growing in his wisdom.  Now, everyone’s ready to stand in his faith and serve God.  Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them; for the ways of the Lord are right, and the upright walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them.v.10

The Torah is as a double-edged sword. We have been presented with two choices, choose life or choose death. But for those who follow the path in faith and choose life, Great!  In Sincerity and truth, they will march forward toward eternity.

Special Ashlamata:   Micah 7:18-20

18. Who is a God like You, Who forgives iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not maintain His anger forever, for He desires loving-kindness.	18. There is none besides You; you are the God forgiving iniquities and passing over the transgressions of the remnant of His inheritance, who does not extend His anger forever, because He delights in doing good.
19. He shall return and grant us compassion; He shall hide our iniquities, and You shall cast into the depths of the sea all their sins.	19. His Memra will again have mercy on us, He will tread upon our transgressions in His love and He will cast all the sins of Israel into the depths of the sea.
20. You shall give the truth of Jacob, the loving-kindness of Abraham, which You swore to our forefathers from days of yore. {P}	20. You will show (Your) faithfulness to Jacob to his sons, as you swore to him in Bethel, Your kindness to Abraham to his seed after him, as You swore to him between the pieces; You will remember for us the binding of Isaac who was bound upon the altar before You. You will perform kind deeds with us as You swore to our fathers in days of old. {P}

Rashi’s Commentary for: Micah 7:18-20

20 You shall give the truth of Jacob - Jonathan paraphrases: You shall give the truth of Jacob to his sons, as You swore to him in Bethel; the loving-kindness of Abraham to his seed after him, as you swore to him ‘between the parts.’ You shall remember for us the binding of Isaac, etc. Give us the truth that You promised Jacob. Cause to come true Your word that You promised Jacob (Gen. 28:15): “For I will not forsake you.”

the loving-kindness of Abraham The reward for the loving-kindness of Abraham, [out of] which he commanded his sons to keep the way of the Lord: to perform righteousness and justice. Therefore, it does not say, “And the loving-kindness,” but “the loving-kindness.” The truth - that you will make come true the promise to Jacob - that will be the payment of the reward for Abraham’s loving-kindness. which you swore -at the binding of Isaac, (Gen 22:16) “I swore by Myself, says the Lord, that because you did this thing, etc.”

Commentary on the Ashlamatah of Micah 7:18-20

By: H.Ex. Adon Shlomoh Ben Abraham

The Prophet Micah concludes his book by reminding himself and his readers about the goodness and uniqueness of their God (cf. Ex. 34:6–7a). Micah’s final words of praise show that he had great faith in God’s eventual out-working of His plans for His covenant people.^[50]  The rhetorical question in v.18, Who is a God like You? (cf. Ex. 15:11; Pss. 35:10) is most likely a wordplay on Micah’s name which means, “Who is like the LORD?” The obvious answer is that no one is like the LORD. The Hebrew for “compassion” in v.19 suggests a tender, maternal love such as a mother would have for her child. The word for “tread underfoot” can also be rendered “subdue.” Sin is pictured as an enemy that God will conquer and liberates us from. “God overcomes sin and sets his people free.” And just as the Lord hurled Pharaoh’s chariots and his army into the sea and they sank to the depths like a stone (Exod 15:4–5), so he will hurl all “our” sins into the depths of the sea”. This, of course, speaks of the complete forgiveness of sin and the removal of its guilt forever. Jer 50:20

The Hebrew words for “true” (ʾĕmet) and “mercy” (ḥesed) are sometimes rendered “truth” or “faithfulness” and “grace” respectively,  The terms in parallel in v. 20 (‘loyalty’ [ʾĕmet] and ‘love’ [ḥesed]), with the following reference to God’s oath, must be understood specifically as the loyalty and fidelity to be displayed to God’s  covenant partner.^[51] The opening part of the verse uses typical Hebrew parallelism (“faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love to Abraham”).  Moses said in Exodus 33:19. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will be merciful. To whom I will be merciful. Accordingly, God may eliminate or bring punishment completely or even grant a person completely undeserved reward. God thus proclaimed the 13 attributes of His mercy to Israel. God (1) Merciful (2). Gracious (3). Slow to hang your (5). With Tremendous love (6). Trusted Servant (7) safeguarded deeds of love (8), for thousands of generations (9), Forgiving sin (10), Rebellion (11), and errors (12) and cleansing (13) ^[52]  Iben Ezra, Targum, Rashi and Ramban, all agree on these. Midrash Tehilliam 93.8. Where the number of attributes is discussed.

As a result of Israel accepting God's Torah at Sinai. Israel merited a special relationship with God. Israel was destined to receive God's reward in the ultimate future.^[53]  In order to be worthy of this privilege, Israel was judged more harshly in this world for their sins. God thus tells us through his prophet. Only you have I known of all the families of the earth. Therefore, I will keep account of all your sins. Amos 3:2 The Gentile nations, on the other hand, play a secondary role in God's ultimate plan. And therefore, they're punished in this world only for gross immorality.^[54]

As mentioned earlier God's 13 attributes of mercy are derived the passage in Exodus.  Here is another list of the 13 from our passage here. 7:18-20.   The attributes of mercy pertain primarily to Israel as the prophets declared, who is a God like you, (1) who pardons sin (2). An overlooked rebellion (3) Of the remnant of his heritage, (4) he does not retain his anger forever (5) For he desires mercy. (6) He will again have mercy on us. (7) He will subdue our sins. (8) Cast all our errors in the depths of the sea. (9)  And you will show the truth to Jacob. (10) love to Abraham (11) as sworn to our father’s (12) from the days of old. (13) And these come directly from our passage.

 God often decrees large scale suffering on the nations to warn Israel to repent. He does tell the prophets I have cut off nations their corners are desolate. I have said surely you will fear me, Israel. You will accept corrections. Zep 3:6-7^[55]  Even today, the world is judged collectively according to the deeds of the majority, of humanity. And each nation’s community is judged as a whole.  Large scale disasters are often signs that God has deemed certain areas worthy of complete destruction. When God sends the large-scale judgment to the world then even innocent children are not spared. In such cases, one's own personal merit may be great enough to save himself, but it cannot save his children. As we're told when God says, I might send the pestilence to the land, and pour out my fury upon it, in blood to cut off from man and beast. Though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, they shall save neither son nor daughter. They shall only save their own Souls by their righteousness. Ezekiel 14:19-20.  Micah appeals to the God of mercy and forgiveness. These verses are part of the prophetic reading on Sabbath Shuva the service of repentance and they are also read after the book of Jonah on the Day of Atonement. As we're told in verse 20. You (God) will show faithfulness to Jacob and unswerving loyalty to Abraham as you have sworn through our ancestors from the days of old. Since ^[56]

It has been said that the passage closest to the one in Micah, located in the Nazarene codicil would most likely be Rom.11:33-36   Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!      “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. ^[57]

It is said Micah out lived the other members of the quartet of prophets of his time – Hosea, Amos and Isaiah. He found himself left without companions in a degenerate age when everyone was scheming against everyone else. No one was to be trusted and all the merchants robbed you at the scales with unjust weights. Thus, the Book of Micah, despite its threats of punishment in the earlier chapters, ends on a note of joy and confidence that the nation will eventually enjoy a restored relationship with the Lord^[58]

Verbal Tallies

By: Hakham Dr. Hillel ben David & H.H. Giberet Dr. Elisheba bat Sarah

Vayikra (Leviticus) 14:33-57

Tehillim (Psalms) 79:5-13

Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 5:8-16 + 6:3

1 Pet 2:18-20, Lk 11:5-13

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Psalm are:

LORD - יהוה, Strong’s number 03068.

Saying / Said - אמר, Strong’s number 0559.

Come - באו, Strong’s number 0935.

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Ashlamata are:

LORD - יהוה, Strong’s number 03068.

Saying / Said - אמר, Strong’s number 0559.

Land / Earth - ארץ, Strong’s number 0776.

House - בית, Strong’s number 01004.

Vayikra (Leviticus) 14:33 And the LORD <03068> spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying <0559> (8800), 34  When ye come <0935> (8799) into the land <0776> of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I put the plague of leprosy in a house <01004> of the land <0776> of your possession;

Tehillim (Psalms) 79:5 How long, LORD <03068>? wilt thou be angry for ever? shall thy jealousy burn like fire?

Tehillim (Psalms) 79:10 Wherefore should the heathen say <0559> (8799), Where is their God? let him be known among the heathen in our sight by the revenging of the blood of thy servants which is shed.

Tehillim (Psalms) 79:11 Let the sighing of the prisoner come <0935> (8799) before thee; according to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to die;

Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 5:8 Woe unto them that join house <01004> to house <01004>, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth <0776>!

Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 6:3 And one cried unto another, and said <0559> (8804), Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD <03068> of hosts: the whole earth <0776> is full of his glory.

Hebrew:

Hebrew	English	Torah Reading Lev. 14:33-57	Psalms 79:5-13	Ashlamata Is 5:8-16 + 6:3
dx'a,	one	Lev. 14:50		Isa. 5:10
lk;a'	eats	Lev. 14:47	Ps. 79:7
rm;a'	saying	Lev. 14:33 Lev. 14:35	Ps. 79:10	Isa. 6:3
#r,a,	land, earth	Lev. 14:34		Isa. 5:8 Isa. 6:3
aAB	come, came, go, went	Lev. 14:34 Lev. 14:35 Lev. 14:36 Lev. 14:42 Lev. 14:44 Lev. 14:46 Lev. 14:48	Ps. 79:11
tyIB;	house	Lev. 14:34 Lev. 14:35 Lev. 14:36 Lev. 14:37 Lev. 14:38 Lev. 14:39 Lev. 14:41 Lev. 14:42 Lev. 14:43 Lev. 14:44 Lev. 14:45 Lev. 14:46 Lev. 14:47 Lev. 14:48 Lev. 14:49 Lev. 14:51 Lev. 14:52 Lev. 14:53 Lev. 14:55		Isa. 5:8 Isa. 5:9
~D'	blood	Lev. 14:51 Lev. 14:52	Ps. 79:10
hw"hoy>	LORD	Lev. 14:33	Ps. 79:5	Isa. 5:9 Isa. 5:12 Isa. 5:16 Isa. 6:3
dAbK'	glory		Ps. 79:9	Isa. 5:13 Isa. 6:3
rp;K'	atonement	Lev. 14:53	Ps. 79:9
~Aqm'	place	Lev. 14:40 Lev. 14:41 Lev. 14:45		Isa. 5:8
!yI[;	sight, eyes		Ps. 79:10	Isa. 5:15
~[;	people		Ps. 79:13	Isa. 5:13
~ynIP'	in the open, before	Lev. 14:53	Ps. 79:11
ar'q'	call		Ps. 79:6	Isa. 6:3
ha'r'	seems, see, examine, look	Lev. 14:35 Lev. 14:36 Lev. 14:37 Lev. 14:39 Lev. 14:44 Lev. 14:48		Isa. 5:12
hd,f'	field	Lev. 14:53		Isa. 5:8
bWv	come again, return	Lev. 14:39 Lev. 14:43	Ps. 79:12
%p;v'	pour	Lev. 14:41	Ps. 79:6 Ps. 79:10

Greek:

GREEK	ENGLISH	Torah Reading Lev. 14:33-57	Psalms 79:5-13	Ashlamata Is 5:8-16 + 6:3	Peshat Mishnah of Mark, 1-2 Peter, & Jude 1 Pet 2:18-20	Tosefta of Luke Lk 11:5-13
ἀγαθός	good				1 Pet. 2:18	Lk. 11:13
ἅγιον	holy			Isa 5:16  Isa 6:3		Luk 11:13
ἄνθρωπος	man			Isa 5:7  Isa 5:15
γίνομαι	become	Lev 14:36		Isa 5:9  Isa 5:13
γινώσκω	know, perceive		Ps 79:6 Ps 79:10
δίδωμι	gives	Lev 14:34				Lk. 11:7 Lk. 11:8 Lk. 11:9 Lk. 11:13
δόξα	glory		Ps. 79:9	Isa. 5:13 Isa. 6:3
δοξάζω	glorified			Isa 5:16
ἐγείρω	arise			Isa 5:11		Lk. 11:8
εἴδω	sees, perceives	Lev. 14:35 Lev. 14:36 Lev. 14:37 Lev. 14:39 Lev. 14:44 Lev. 14:48		Isa. 5:12		Lk. 11:13
ἔπω	said, say		Ps 79:10			Lk. 11:5 Lk. 11:7
θεός	God		Ps 79:9 Ps 79:10  Ps 79:13	Isa 5:16	1 Pet. 2:19 1 Pet. 2:20
θύρα	door	Lev 14:38				Lk. 11:7
λαμβάνω	take, took	Lev 14:42 Lev 14:49 Lev 14:51				Lk. 11:10
λέγω	saying	Lev. 14:33 Lev. 14:35		Isa. 6:3		Lk. 11:8 Lk. 11:9
λίθος	stones	Lev 14:40 Lev 14:42 Lev 14:43 Lev 14:45				Lk. 11:11
ὀργή	anger		Psa 79:6
οὐρανός	heavens					Lk. 11:13
παραγίνομαι	coming	Lev 14:48				Lk. 11:6
τρεῖς  /  τρία	three			Isa 5:10		Lk. 11:5
υἱός	sons		Psa 79:11			Lk. 11:11

Nazarean Talmud

Sidra of Vayikra (Leviticus) 14:33-57

“V’Natati Nega’a” – “And I put an infection (of miraculous leprosy)”

By: H. Em Hakham Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham & H. Em. Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

School of Hakham Shaul Tosefta Mishnah א:א

School of Hakham Tsefet Peshat Mishnah א:א

And he said to them, “Who of you will have a friend, and will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, because a friend of mine has come to me on a journey, and I do not have anything to set before him.’ And that one will answer from inside and say, ‘Do not disturb me! The door has already been shut and my children are with me in bed! I am not able to get up to give you anything.’ I tell you, even if he does not give him anything after he gets up because he is his friend, at any rate because of his impudence he will get up and give him whatever he needs. And I tell you, ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. But what father from among you, if his son will ask for a fish, instead of a fish will give him a snake? Or also, if he will ask for an egg, will give him a scorpion? Therefore if, although you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father from heaven give the Ruach HaQodesh to those who ask him?”

Servants should submit to their masters in fear not only to the fair and reasonable but also when they oppose you.^[59] This is for the sake of chesed, if on the account of G-d one patiently endures sorrow, suffering and injustice. For what honor is there if you sin and endure punishment; but if you suffer for doing well and endure, this is loving-kindness in the presence (sight) of God.

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

Lev 14:33-57

Ps 79:5-13

Isa. 5:8-16 + 6:3

1 Pet 2:18-20

Lk 11:5-13

Commentary to Hakham Tsefet’s School of Peshat

Honour Due to the Torah

But he said, “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the Torah of God and follow (Shomer – Guard) it!” “Though he had done no violence and deceit (vainglory) was not in his mouth” (Isa. 53:9).

The Master’s words in both the writings of Hakham Tsefet and Hakham Shaul’s Tosefta penned through his amanuensis Hillel/Luke, relate to us a powerful lesson from a Peshat perspective. The Master is not willing to accept the honour of the Torah. The Torah is to be lived out so that all who see your righteous/generous life will seek to give praise to those who observe (shomer – guarding) it with great care and devotion. The Master defers the honour that others want be bestow on him to those who keep the Torah with due diligence.

Hakham Tsefet then continues here with the reason for the statement he made earlier. But, the heart of this pericope is contained in this very pericope, which calls us to imitate the Master. We are to endeavour to replicate the Master’s righteous/generous life, Torah study, obedience and teachings in our own very lives. He/she who is not endeavouring to do this during his/her course of life has failed in his/her calling as a human being (אנושׁ – Enosh). This is perfectly summed up in the words: “leaving behind an example for us.”

Hakham Tsefet, the master of Peshat shows us in the writings of 1-2 Tsefet and Y’hudah just how complex a pericope of Peshat can actually be. Here Hakham Tsefet shows that the Master is not willing to concede for the sake of personal edification when the honour of the Torah is at stake. When the pericope of Hakham Tsefet is joined with the Tosefta of Hakham Shaul we see that it is better to be silent than to take honour away from the Torah. The crime described here concerns the honour due to the one G-d, and the duty of service given to His people, the B’ne Yisrael. The issue of honour, for that reason, concerns the role of the B’ne Yisrael in the world, and their Torah observance. Consequently, the honor of the B’ne Yisrael is bound up to their relation to G-d, the honour of the people is also at stake here. Yeshua and Hakham Tsefet understand that the role of the B’ne Yisrael is inseparable from the Torah. If the Torah is dishonored, G-d is dishonored. And, by extension the B’ne Yisrael are castigated by the whole world.

The role of the B’ne Yisrael is not only Torah observance. Their role is obedience to the Torah for the sake of redeeming the cosmos, nations. Consequently, violation of the Torah brings reproach on G-d, the Torah and the B’ne Yisrael. This reproach is a destructive force in the cosmos. Therefore, rather than heal and uplift the cosmos the negative approach to the Torah is destructive. Hakham Tsefet’s previous discussion was that of “guarding” against the negativity of Gentile Yetser HaRa. His point in the present pericope, in conjunction with the Luqan Tosefta shows that the Jewish soul who rebels against the Torah is tantamount to being a Gentile. The P’rushim (Pharisees) had distain for the Am HaAretz – "the people of Land" i.e. the uneducated Jews, because they had chosen a path other than Torah observance. They, the P’rushim realized the vital need for Torah observance in their day. Likewise, they could see the coming destruction of the Bet HaMikdash with relative ease. While the P’rushim are usually castigated by unwitting scholars who fail to appreciate the foresight they possessed, they were pre-occupied with talmud Torah. Schiffman^[60] notes that the P’rushim were instrumental in collecting the writings of the Hakhamim (Sages) before them. They lacked the formalization of a Yeshiva, however Hillel brought a reformation that formalized what had been handed down to him. The ideological thesis of the P’rushim was to live in the present and prepare for the future, unlike the Tz’dukim who lived only for the “moment.” The initiation of the Tannaim envisioned the “Kingdom” (governance) of G-d [through Hakhamim and Bate Din] as one world under “One G-d” This was the result of the preparatory work of the P’rushim. The P’rushim may not have envisioned the tikun of the cosmos as did Hakham Tsefet and Hakham Shaul but they were very instrumental in its initiation. The honour of G-d throughout the cosmos was a means of initiating the Y’mot HaMashiach. However, as we have noted in the past this world is actively present in the “here and now.”

While we have briefly stated the honour due the Torah, we note that honour due to Torah is subordinate to the honour due to G-d. However, honour due to G-d is closely related to the observance of the Torah. Failure to keep/guard the Torah is tantamount to apostasy. The principal mitzvah of “believing in G-d” affirms the grandeur of honour that we must have in relation to G-d. Yet, the record of that mitzvah is found in the Torah. The manifold complexity of the Torah and how it records the taryag mitzvoth, can never fully be appreciated. The Torah is inextricably bound to G-d and G-d is equally bound to the Torah as a revelation of His will for humanity. The Torah finds no approval for idols, effigies or any other images that might be “worshiped” in G-d’s place. What we must see here is the Torah as a living entity that protects the honour of G-d. The Torah’s portrayal of those who refuse to honour G-d appropriately equates with polytheism, atheism and blasphemy. The Torah honor’s G-d with such reverence that it makes this the core of all its teachings and mitzvoth. Yeshua as a living personification of the Torah like the Sages before him upholds the honour of G-d in doing so. If the Master shows us that, we cannot assume the honour of the Torah how much the more will we be prohibited to take honour due to G-d?

PaRDeS

While the Torah honors G-d openly, it conceals deeper aspects of G-d in its hermeneutic robes. The Torah conceals G-d in its words yielding revelation only to those who hold the correct hermeneutic keys. Those willing to exercise their mental faculties will reap rewards the indolent soul will never experience. Looking at the Temple cult, Priestly robes and bloody sacrifices conceal G-d in a column of smoke that ascends from the altar. Yet, it was a column of fire reassuring the B’ne Yisrael of G-d’s presence as they marched through the desert. If we can say that we see the sun by the light of the sun, and we see the stars by their light we must realize that we can only see G-d by being in connection and communion with Him. G-d gave us the ability to use hermeneutic tools that would unlock the deeper dimensions of His persona and character.

Today the world has adopted fast food industry slogans demanding what they want without having to wait. Those who want to learn about G-d have adopted this same mindset. However, the lecturer must provide visions of G-d for us in neatly packaged sermons making us feel good about ourselves in a pre-specified time limit. After all, there is football, soap operas that we cannot miss. PaRDeS is hard work. Nevertheless, the reward is always worth the effort. Imagine the mental exercise of Abraham Abinu. His mental inquiries brought him to the conclusion that there can only be one G-d. His mental genius determined the power of the Shema before it was ever penned. The value of the mind is inestimable. Yet we would waste it on everything but G-d.

The Luqan Tosefta makes it very clear that we cannot take the honor due to G-d. However, one would ask, how many other things take the place of G-d in our lives.

The grandeur of G-d permeates the natural world. We see this with our eyes, believing that we have seen, and know all that there is to know. However, when we learn to apply mental exercise to hermeneutics, aspects of the Divine are revealed that would defy what we know of as a natural world. Hermeneutics is a key that unlocks the world of the Divine giving us small manageable pictures of G-d. However, our point is that none of this is available for those who…

• Will not spend the time laboring in the Torah
• Take G-d’s honour
• Take the Torah’s honour
• Will not cleave to G-d, through His Hakhamim

Some Questions to Ponder:

1. From all the readings for this week, which particular verse or passage caught your attention and fired your heart and imagination?
2. In your opinion, and taking into consideration all of the above readings for this Sabbath, 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: Yom Kippur

Morning (Shacharit) Service

(Saturday Morning October 12, 2024)

Yom Kippur Festival Shabbat	Torah Reading:	Weekday Torah Reading:
אַחֲרֵי מוֹת, שְׁנֵי בְּנֵי אַהֲרֹן		Saturday Afternoon
“Acharé Mot, Sh’né B’né Aharón”	Reader 1 – Vayikra 16:1-6	Reader 1 – Exodus 33:12-16
“After the death of the two sons of Aaron”	Reader 2 – Vayikra 16:7-11	Reader 2 – Exodus 33:17-19
“después que murieron los dos hijos de Aarón”	Reader 3 – Vayikra 16:12-17	Reader 3 – Exodus 33:20-23
Vayikra (Leviticus) 16:1-34 Bamidbar (Numbers) 29:7-11	Reader 4 – Vayikra 16:18-24
Ashlamata: Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 57:14 - 58:14	Reader 5 – Vayikra 16:25-30	Monday & Thursday Mornings
	Reader 6 – Vayikra 16:31-34	Reader 1 – Exodus 33:12-16
Tehillim (Psalms) 69		Reader 2 – Exodus 33:17-19
	Maftir: Bamidbar 29:7-11	Reader 3 – Exodus 33:20-23
N.C.: I Lukas (Luke) 4:16-28	Numbers 29:7-11

Coming Fast: Fast of Gedaliah

Tishri 4, 5785

Sunday Morning – Evening, October 6, 2024

Morning Service

Torah Reading: Exodus 32:11-14; 34:1-11

Reader 1 - Shemot (Exodus) 32:11-14

Reader 2 - Shemot (Exodus) 34:1-5

Reader 3 - Shemot (Exodus) 34:6-11

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

For further information see: http://www.betemunah.org/gedaliah.html

Coming Festival: Yom HaKippurim – October (evening of) 11-12, 2024

See: https://www.betemunah.org/awesome.html

https://www.betemunah.org/kippur.html

https://www.betemunah.org/atonemen.html

https://www.betemunah.org/kohen.html

The days in between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur (10 days after Rosh HaSahanah) are also known as Yamim HaNoraim - “The Days of Awe” and also known as the “Ten Days of Repentance,” these are the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. In Hebrew, they are called Aseret Yemei Teshuvah, and offer another chance for spiritual renewal.

On the third day of Tishri (if the 3^rd day is Shabbat the day following), Jews observe a minor fast known as the Tzom Gedaliah, the fast of Gedaliah. This 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).

Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

Hakham Dr. Hillel ben David

Hakham Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham

Edited by HH Paqid Ezra ben Abraham.

A special thank you to HH Giberet Giborah bat Sarah for her diligence in proof-reading every week.

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[1] Midrash Tehillim (Midrash to Psalms) - From the 12th century it was called also Shocher Tov (see Midrash Tehillim, ed. S. Buber, Introduction, pp. 35 et seq.)

[2] See Bamidbar (Numbers) 16:31-33

[3] These opening remarks are 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.

[4] Rabbi Shimshon David Pincus (1944 – April 2001) was an Israeli Haredi Rabbi of American origin, who served in Ofaqim.

[5] Berachot 5a

[6] Ephesians 4:11-16

[7] In the tractate of Yoma.

[8] Rabbi Yehudah Prero

[9] Eicha (Lamentations) 3:38

[10] G‑d is good. He is not the source of evil.

[11] Rabbi Akiba lived in the next generation after Rabbi Nahum. 

[12] We say good, but we understand this good to be ‘beneficial’. Many things seem, on the surface, not to be good, but we can often see them as beneficial. Of course, unpleasant things sometimes do happen, but that does not mean that they are bad. For example, medicine may be quite unpleasant to swallow; but who would say that medicine is bad because it is unpleasant?

[13] Berachot 60b

[14] Rashi, ibid.

[15] Gam zu (‘this too”) is a play on the word Gimzu, the name of Nachum’s hometown in the foothills of Judah.

[16] When he fought against the Four Kings—see Midrash Rabbah, Bereshit 43:4.

[17] Taanit 21a

[18] Exodus 1:22

[19] ibid. Chap. 14, see Rashi Exodus 18:11

[20] Ta’anit 29a

[21] See for example Berachot 3a, Chagigah 5b

[22] Eicha Rabbati 2

[23] This ending section was composed by Rav Yair Kahn.

[24] Ramban’s glosses to Sefer HaMitzvot, positive mitzvah no. 5

[25] Rambam, ibid

[26] Berachot 32b

[27] ibid.

[28] Bamidbar (Numbers) 14:45

[29] Pesachim 54b

[30] The source for this is to be found in the Yerushalmi, Rosh HaShana 3:4.

[31] OC 559:4; see the commentary of the Vilna Gaon

[32] Taz, OC 557:2; see commentary of Dagul Me-revava

[33] Eicha 3:8; see Berachot 32b

[34] See Pesachim 54b, “There is no difference between Tisha B’Ab and Yom Kippur except...”

[35] Ta’anit 30a

[36] these are not forbidden to a regular mourner; see Rashi and the Rif, as well as Rav Soloveitchik’s essay in “Shiurim Le-zekher Abba Mari” regarding public fasts

[37] Rav Soloveitchik deals at length with the similarity to mourning customs.

^[38]ESV (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Is 1:3.

^[39] ESV (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ho 4:6.

[40]  Deut.4:29-30; Isa.2:2-4; 56:6-8; Psa.1:1-3; Zech.8:20-23

[41] Me’am Lo’ez Torah anthology, pg.42 and Soncino Books of the Bible, pg. 25

^[42] David A. Hubbard, Hosea: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 24, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1989), 237.

^[43] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ho 6:1–3.

[44] Yomah 86b.

[45]  Emunoth Ve. Deyoth 5.5  

[46] Taanith 16a, Tosefta, Taanith 1:8

[47] Handbook of Jewish Thought, Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, Pg. 209

[48] Ezk.33:11, Jonah 3:8

[49] Zohar 3:123a,  reshith Chokmah, Shaar Teshuvah 1:48, Gen.4:7 108 B 2

^[50] John A. Martin, “Micah,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 1491.

^[51] Kenneth L. Barker, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, vol. 20, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999), 135–136.

[52] Exodus 34. 67.

[53] Shemoth Rabbah 30. 10

[54] Radak witness to this on Jonah 1.2 and Amos 3.2.

[55] Yevamoth 63a., Rashi on Exodsus 7:3.

[56] Soncino Books of the Bible. Page 188 to 187.

 ⁸ ESV (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ro 11:33–36.

^[58] David J. Clark and Norm Mundhenk, A Translator’s Handbook on the Book of Micah, UBS Handbook Series (London; New York: United Bible Societies, 1982), 264.

[59] Koehler, L., Baumgartner, W., Richardson, M., & Stamm, J. J. (1999, c1994-1996). The Hebrew and Aramaic lexicon of the Old Testament. Volumes 1-4 combined in one electronic edition. Leiden; New York: E.J. Brill. p. 253 the general translation suggests that the servant should be subject to masters who are “crooked.” This is not an accurate way to translate the word σκολιοις as in the present context. While there were certainly, “crooked masters” the context shows that there is often tension between the slave (bondservant) and the master. The master has accepted the bondservant for the sake of re-education who is indebted because of robbery.

[60] Schiffman, Lawrence H. From Text to Tradition: a History of Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism. Hoboken, N.J: Ktav Pub. House, 1991. p. 177ff