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

 

 

Candle Lighting and Habdalah Times: https://www.chabad.org/calendar/candlelighting.htm

Roll of Honor:

This Commentary comes out weekly and on the festivals thanks to the great generosity of:

 

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 Excellency Adon Luqas Nelson

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

Her Excellency Giberet Sarai bat Sarah & beloved family

His Excellency Adon Barth Lindemann & beloved family

His Excellency Adon John Batchelor & beloved wife

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

 

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.

 

 

 

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 performing 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!

 

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.

 

A Prayer for our Beloved Hakhamim

 

We would like to ask for prayers on behalf of our three Hakhamim, Hakham Dr. Yoseph ben Haggai, Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David, and Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham for their health, as well as for this work, that it may prosper, be of great benefit to all, and we all say, Amen ve Amen!

 

“Shuv El-Erets”- “Return unto the land”

Iyar 29, 5783 - May 19/20, 2023

 

 

Contents of the Torah Seder

 

·        The Flight of Jacob – Genesis 31:3-21

·        Laban’s Pursuit – Genesis 31:22-54

·        Mahanaim (God’s camp) – Genesis 32:1-3

 

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan for: B’resheet (Genesis) ‎‎‎‎‎31:3 – 32:3‎‎‎

 

 

 

 

Welcome to the World of P’shat 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 Remez 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.

 

Reading Assignment:

 

 

Rashi’s Commentary for: ‎ B’resheet (Genesis) ‎31:3 – 32:3‎‎‎

 

3 Return to the land of your forefathers And there I will be with you, but as long as you are still attached to the unclean one, it is impossible to cause My presence to rest upon you.-[from Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer, ch. 36]

 

4 and called Rachel and Leah First Rachel and then Leah, because she (Rachel) was the mainstay of the household, because, on her account, Jacob had joined Laban. Even Leah’s children acknowledged this matter, for Boaz and his tribunal of the tribe of Judah say, “like Rachel and like Leah, both of whom built, etc.” (Ruth 4:11). They place Rachel before Leah.-[from Tanchuma Buber, Vayetze 15]

 

7 ten times ten times Heb. עֲשֶׂרֶתמֽנִים . מֽנִים is not less than ten.

 

ten times Heb. מֽנִים , a term denoting the base number, which is ten. We learn that he (Laban) changed his stipulation a hundred times.

 

10 and behold, the he-goats Although Laban had separated them all, so that the animals would not conceive their likeness, the angels were bringing them from the flock that had been given over into the hands of Laban’s sons to the flock that was in Jacob’s hands.-[from Gen. Rabbah 73:10]

 

and striped Heb. וּבְרֻדִָּים [To be explained] as the Targum renders: וּפְצִיחִין and open, faissie in Old French, striped. A white thread encircles his body all around, and its stripes are open and penetrating from one to the other, but I have no evidence from Scripture.

 

13 I am the God of Beth-el Heb. הָאֵל בֵּית-אֵל , like אֵל בֵּית-אֵל . The “hey” is superfluous, and it is the way of the Scriptures to speak this way, like “For you are coming to the land of (הָאָרֶץ) Canaan” (Num. 34:2).

 

where you anointed This is an expression of grandeur and greatness, just as one is anointed king. So [is the meaning of] “and he poured oil on top of it” (above, 28:18), to be anointed as an altar.-[following Targum Jonathan ben Uzziel]

 

where you pronounced to Me a vow And you must pay it up, for you said, “it shall be the house of God” (Gen. 28:22), that you would offer up sacrifices there.-[from Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer, ch. 35]

 

14 Do we still have Why should we stop you from returning? Do we still hope to inherit anything of our father’s property among the males?

 

15 Are we not considered by him as strangers Even at a time when people usually give a dowry to their daughters, viz. at the time of marriage, he behaved toward us as [one behaves toward] strangers, for he sold us to you (for you served him fourteen years for us, and he gave us to you only) as wages for labor.

 

our money For he kept the wages for your labor.

 

16 But all the wealth Heb. כִּי . This כִּי here means “but.” That is, we have nothing of our father’s, but what the Holy One, blessed be He, separated from our father is ours.

 

separated Heb. הִצִיל , a term meaning that he separated, and so every expression of הַצָלָה in Scripture means separation, that one separates another from harm or from the enemy.

 

17 his sons and his wives He put the males before the females, but Esau put the females before the males, as it is said (below, 36:6): “And Esau took his wives and his sons, etc.”-[from Gen. Rabbah 74:5].

 

18 the purchase of his acquisition What he had purchased from [the sale of] his animals, viz. manservants, maidservants, camels, and donkeys.-[from Gen. Rabbah 74:5]

 

19 to shear his sheep that he had given into the hands of his sons, a journey of three days between him and Jacob.

 

and [meanwhile] Rachel stole her father’s teraphim She intended to separate her father from idolatry.-[from Gen. Rabbah 74:5]

 

22 On the third day For there was a three-day journey between them.

 

23 his kinsmen Heb. אֶחָיו , lit., his brothers, his kinsmen.

 

seven-days’ journey All those three days [during the time] the reporter went to tell Laban, Jacob went on his way. We find that Jacob was six days distant from Laban, and on the seventh day, Laban overtook him. We find that the entire distance that Jacob had traversed in seven days, Laban traversed in one day (as it is said: “and he pursued him seven-days’ journey,” but it does not say: “and he pursued him seven days.”) -[from Gen. Rabbah 74:6]

 

24 either good or evil All the good of the wicked is considered evil to the righteous/generous.-[from Yev. 103]

 

26 like prisoners of war lit., like captives of a sword. Every army that goes to war is called חָרֶב , sword.

 

27 and concealed from me [lit., you stole me, meaning] you concealed from me.

 

29 I have the power There is strength and power in my hand to inflict harm upon you. Also, every אל that refers to the Deity means that He is mighty and has much strength.

 

30 you longed You wished. There are many words in Scripture (Ps. 84: 3): “My soul yearns, yea, yea, it pines”; (Job:14:15) “You desire the work of Your hands.”

 

31 Because I was afraid, etc.-He answered him the first [question] first, that he said to him (verse 26), “and you led away my daughters, etc.”- [from Avoth d’Rabbi Nathan, 37:11-13]

 

32 shall not live And from that curse, Rachel died on the way (Gen. Rabbah 74:4).

 

what is with me of yours.-[from Targum Jonathan]

 

33 Jacob’s tent That is, Rachel’s tent, for Jacob was usually with her, and so Scripture states: (below, 46:19): “The sons of Rachel, Jacob’s wife.” In reference to all of them, however, it does not say, “Jacob’s wife.”-[from Gen. Rabbah 74:9]

 

and entered Rachel’s tent-when he came out of Leah’s tent, he went back into Rachel’s tent before he searched the tent[s] of the handmaids. Why [did he bother to do] all this? Because he was aware that she was one who touches everything.-[from Gen. Rabbah 74:9]

 

34 into the camel saddle Heb. בְּכַר , an expression of pillows (כָּרִים) and cushions וּכְסָתוֹת , as the Targum renders: בַָּעֲבִיטָא דְגַמְלָא , which is a saddle, made like a pillow, and in Eruvin 15b, 16a) we learned: “If they encircled it with pillows (עֲבִיטִין) .” These are the pack-saddles of the camels, bastel in French, pack-saddle.

 

36 that you have pursued Heb. דָלַקְתָּ , you pursued, like (Lam. 4:19): “they chased us (דָּלָקֻנוּ) on the mountains,” and like (I Sam. 17: 53): “from pursuing (מִדְּלוֹק) the Philistines.”-[from Targum Onkelos]

 

37 and let them decide Let them clarify who is right, aprover in Old French, prove, clarify.-[from Targum Jonathan ben Uzziel]

 

38 have not aborted They have not aborted their fetuses, like: (Hos. 9:14): “a miscarrying (מַשְׁכִּיל) womb” (Job 21:10): “his cow bears young and does not abort (תְּשַׁכֵּל) .”

 

the rams of your flocks From here they deduced that even a one-day-old ram is called a ram. Otherwise, what is his boast? He did not eat rams, but he ate lambs. If so, he is a thief.-[from B.K. 65b]

 

39. anything torn By a lion or a wolf.-[from Targum Jonathan ben Uzziel]

 

I would suffer its loss Heb. אֲחַטֶּנָה , an expression similar to (Jud. 20:16): “and not miss (יַחֲטִיא) ”; (I Kings 1:21): “My son Solomon and I will be lacking (חַטָּאִים) .” I would suffer the loss; if it was missing, it was missing to me, for you would demand it from my hand.

 

I would suffer its loss The Targum renders: דַּהֲוַת שַׁגְיָא מִמִנְיָנָא , what was missing (נִפְקֶדֶת) and lacking from the count, like (Num. 31:49): “and no man was missing (נִפְקַד) from us,” which the Targum renders: לָא שְׁגָא.

 

what was stolen by day and what was stolen at night - גְנֻבְתִי יוֹם וּגְנֻבְתִי לַיְלָה , [similar to] גְנוּבַת יוֹם אוֹ גְנוּבַת לַיְלָה , what was stolen by day and what was stolen at night, I paid all.

 

what was stolen Heb. גְּנֻבְתִי Similar to (Lam. 1:1): “great (רַבָָּתִי) among the nations, a princess (שָָׂרָתִי) among the provinces”; (Isa. 1:21): “full (מְלֵאֲתִי) of justice”; (Hos. 10:11): “that loves (אוֹהַבְתִּי) to thresh.”

 

40 the heat consumed me An expression of (Deut. 4:24): “a consuming (אֽכְלָה) fire.”

 

and the frost Heb. וְקֶרַח , like (Ps. 147:17): “He hurls His ice (קַרְחוֹ) .” The Targum renders: גְלִידא , ice, or frost.

 

my sleep Heb. שְׁנָתִי . An expression of שֵׁנָה , sleep.

 

41 and you changed my wages You would change the stipulation between us from speckled to spotted and from ringed to striped.

 

42 and the Fear of Isaac He did not wish to say, “the God of Isaac,” because the Holy One, blessed be He, does not associate His name with the righteous/generous while they are alive. Although He said to him upon his departure from Beer-sheba (above, 28:13): “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac,” since his eyes had become dim and a blind man is like a dead man, Jacob was afraid to say, “the God of,” and said, “and the Fear of.”

 

and He reproved [you] last night Heb. וַיוֹכַח , an expression of reproof, but it is not an expression of clarification.

 

43 Now, what would I do there? How could I entertain the thought of harming them?

 

44 may He be a witness [I.e.] the Holy One, blessed be He [will be a witness].

 

46 to his kinsmen [lit., to his brothers.] They are his sons, who were to him like brothers, drawing near him for trouble or for war (Gen. Rabbah 74:13).

 

47 Yegar Sahadutha The Aramaic translation of Gal-ed.

 

48 Therefore, he called it Gal-ed The pile is a witness.

 

49 And Mizpah, because he said, etc. And Mizpah, which is on Mount Gilead, as it is written (Jud. 11:29): “and he passed over Mizpeh of Gilead.” Now, why was it named Mizpah? Because each one said to the other, “May the Lord look (יִצֶף) between me and you if you transgress the covenant.”

 

when we are hidden And we do not see each other.

 

50 ...my daughters...my daughters Twice. Bilhah and Zilpah were also his daughters from a concubine.-[from Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer, ch. 36]

 

If you afflict my daughters By depriving them of their conjugal rights (Yoma 77).

 

51 which I have cast Heb. יָרִיתִי , similar to (Exod. 15:4): “He cast (יָרָה) into the sea,” like one who shoots an arrow.-[from Gen. Rabbah 74:15]

 

52 that I Heb. אִם . Here אִם is used as an expression of אֲשֶׁר , that, like (above 24:33): “until (אִם) I have spoken my words.”

 

[to [do] harm To do harm you may not pass, but you may pass to do business.-[from Gen. Rabbah 74:15]

 

53 the God of Abraham This is holy. [I.e., it refers to the Deity.]-[from Gen. Rabbah 74:16]

 

and the god of Nahor Profane. [I.e., it refers to pagan deities.]-[from Gen. Rabbah 74:16]

 

the god of their father Profane. [I.e., it refers to pagan deities.]

 

54 And Jacob slaughtered a slaughtering He slaughtered animals for a feast.

 

his friends [Heb. לְאֶחָיו , lit., to his brothers.] To his friends who were with Laban.

 

to eat a meal Heb. לָחֶם . Any kind of foodstuff is called לֶחֶם [not only bread], like (Dan. 5:1): “made a great feast (לֶחֶם) ”; (Jer. 11:19): “Let us destroy his food (בְּלַחְמוֹ) with wood.”

 

Chapter 32

 

2 and angels of God met him Angels of Israel came to greet him to escort him to the land.

 

3 Mahanaim Two camps, [one of the angels] outside the land, who came with him up to here, and [one of the angels] of Israel, who came to greet him.-[from Tanchuma Vayishlach 3]

 

Ketubim: Tehillim (Psalms) ‎‎‎27:1-14

 

 

 

Rashi’s Commentary on Tehillim (Psalms) ‎‎‎‎27:1-14

 

3 in this I trust In what is stated above: “The Lord is the stronghold of my life.”

 

4 and to visit His Temple every morning To appear there every morning. Dunash (Teshuvoth Dunash, p. 53) explained in this manner. Menachem (Machbereth Menachem, p. 47) however associated it with (Lev. 27:33), “He shall not inquire (יבקר) ,” but Dunash interpreted it as an expression of “morning” (בקר) .

 

5 That He will hide me in His tabernacle I am confident that He will hide me in His Temple, and we learned in Seder Olam (ch. 18) that this verse was stated concerning Joash the son of Ahaziah, who was hidden by his sister, Jehosheba, in the attic of the Holy of Holies, as the matter is stated (in II Kings 11:3): “And he was hiding with her in the house of the Lord for six years.”

 

He will lift me up on a rock He stood my feet on a rock.

 

6 sacrifices with joyous song Sacrifices over which a song is recited.

 

8 On Your behalf, my heart says, “Seek My presence.” On Your behalf, as Your agent, my heart says to me, “All of you Israelites, seek My presence.” And I obey it. “Your presence, O Lord, I will seek.” [The word] לך is like (Job 33:6): “Behold I am like your mouth to God (לא־ל) ,” [that is,] in His stead; (ibid. 13:8), “Will you contend for God (לא־ל) ?” [that is,] in His stead. Here, too, “On Your behalf, my heart says,” in Your stead, my heart comes to me to say this.

 

9 do not turn...away Heb. תט , do not bend over, as (above 18:10): “And He bent (ויט) the heavens.”

 

10 For my father and my mother have forsaken me At the time of coitus, they intended their own pleasure. As soon as their pleasure is over, this one turns his face this way and that one turns her face the other way.

 

but the Lord gathers me in The Holy One, blessed be He, guards the droplet and forms the fetus.

 

12 to the desires of my adversaries To the desire of my enemies, to have their desire fulfilled through me. and speakers of evil Heb. ויפח חמס , speakers of evil. Another explanation: An expression of a trap (פח) .

 

13 Had I not believed in seeing, etc. If I had not believed in the Holy One, blessed be He, those false witnesses would have already risen against me and destroyed me. [The word] לולא is punctuated for the homily which our Sages expounded (Ber. 4a): I know that You give reward to the righteous/generous in the world to come, but I do not know whether I have a share with them or not.

 

14 Hope for the Lord and if your prayer is not accepted, reinforce your hope.

 

Meditation from the Psalms

Tehillim (Psalms) ‎‎27:1-14

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

Bereshit (Genesis) 31:3 – 32:3

Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah) 30:10-18, 22

 

With this psalm, Jews all over the world usher in the spirit of the ימים נוראים, 'The Days of Awe.' It is recited at the conclusion of services throughout the month of Elul and during the Ten Days of Repentance. Many continue to recite it throughout the Festival of Succoth.

 

At first glance it would seem that Psalm 51 would be more appropriate for creating a mood of repentance. It is that psalm which records, with unsurpassed eloquence, David's broken-hearted confession of sin and his profound remorse over his guilt.

 

This psalm says nothing of repentance. Nevertheless, it combats sin by teaching how to prevent it at its source.

 

David declares that the mind which is fully engrossed in single-minded dedication to HaShem's service, has no room for sin, and he exhorts us not to be distracted from concentration on this one goal. 'One thing I asked of HaShem, that shall I seek: That I dwell in the house of HaShem'.^[1]

 

As a Torah giant once had this to say about the phenomenal Gaon of Rogatchov: 'I testify that he never so much as had one impure thought in all his life. He is so totally engrossed in his study of Torah and service of God that he has no time to spare for anything else!'^[2]

 

The superscription of this psalm ascribes it’s authorship to David. According to Talmudic tradition, the Book of Psalms was written by King David^[3] and King David devoted most of his life to war. In this chapter of psalms, he requests that HaShem grant him physical and spiritual refuge from his warfare. None of the major commentators speak of the specific events in King David’s life which resulted in the writing of this psalm. From the verbal tally we can see that ‘Father’^[4] or ‘Land’ triggered David with regard to our Torah portion. Yaaqob returned to the land of his father, while David tells HaShem that he was restored when he saw the goodness of HaShem in the land of the living.

 

Chazal remark, with regard to the verse, ‘Seek HaShem when He is at hand’,^[5] that this refers to the days between Rosh HaShana and Yom HaKippurim. It is possible to connect the Isaiah passage just cited to another, said on the verse (uttered by King David in Psalm 27), ‘HaShem is my Light and my Salvation, Whom shall I fear?’^[6] that ‘my Light’ refers to Rosh HaShana and ‘my Salvation’ refers to Yom HaKippurim.

 

Midrash Rabbah - Vayikra (Leviticus) XXI:4 Our Rabbis expounded the text in reference to New Year and the Day of Atonement. He is ’my light’^[7] on New Year, and ’my salvation’^[8] on the Day of Atonement. ’Whom shall I fear?’, since The Lord is my strength and song (Ex. XV, 2). ’When evil-doers came upon me’ alludes to the Princes^[9] of the nations of the world. ’To eat up my flesh,’ for the Princes of the nations of the world come and bring charges against Israel before the Holy One, blessed be He, saying to Him: ' Sovereign of the Universe! These^[10] are idol worshippers and those^[11] are idol-worshippers; these commit sexual immorality and those commit sexual immorality; these are shedders of blood and those are shedders of blood. For what reason do those descend into Gehenna and these do not descend into Gehenna? ' ’Mine adversaries and my foes are mine.’ There are three hundred and sixty-five days in the solar year. The numerical value of haSatan (Satan)^[12] is three hundred and sixty-four.^[13] This alludes to the fact that during all the days of the year Satan brings accusations,^[14] but he does not bring any accusations on the Day of Atonement. So Israel say to the Holy One, blessed be He: ’Though a host’ of Samael,^[15] ’Should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear,’ because Thou hast promised me, WITH THIS^[16] SHALL AARON COME INTO THE HOLY PLACE (XVI, 3)^[17]

 

And this is the connection: On Rosh HaShana, illumination comes to the heart from the great theme that HaShem is King of the Universe… Through that recognition, one comes ‘close’ to HaShem, in a sense, and now is able to seek Him while He is at hand.

 

And now we can also understand what David means by ‘Whom shall I fear?’ For with the recognition of HaShem as Absolute King, there is no longer anyone (except HaShem Himself) to fear. On the contrary, from this recognition, there is also born within the individual great ‘joy’, as it says, ‘The lantern of the righteous shall burn brightly and the lantern of the wicked shall be extinguished’.^[18]

 

For through the revelation of the illumination of the Kingdom of HaShem on Rosh HaShana, that ‘point of truth’ appears in the souls of Israel; and this is the meaning of ‘Your light and your Truth, they will lead me.’ Because by the illumination of this point of Truth that appears on Rosh HaShana, HaShem leads the souls of Israel through the Ten Days of Repentance, so that ‘He is near to those who call upon Him’ until the climax of the Revelation of Salvation on Yom HaKippurim.^[19]

 

The Yamim Noraim (the Awesome Days) are the days of teshuva (returning or repenting). These ten days are also known as "Ten Days of Repentance”. These are the ten days, of repentance, between Yom Teruah (Rosh HaShana – Feast of Trumpets) and Yom HaKippurim (Yom Kippur – Day of Atonement). These are days of introspection, and hopefully, growth and change. These days are also known as bein keseh L'asor, between concealments [Yom Teruah] and the tenth [Yom HaKippurim]. These names serve to remind us that we are suspended between two days of judgement: Yom Teruah, when our verdict is inscribed, and Yom HaKippurim when our judgement is sealed.

 

Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 55:6 Seek HaShem when He is to be found, call out to Him when He is near.

 

Our Sages have commented:

 

Rosh HaShana 18a When can an individual [find God]? — Rabbah b. Abbuha said: These are the ten days between Rosh HaShana and the Day of Atonement.

 

The awesome days have as their goal: arriving at rest on Succoth (Feast of Tabernacles). What distinguishes the Days of Awe from all other festivals is that here, and only here, do HaShem's people kneel. They do not kneel to confess a fault or to pray for forgiveness of sins, acts to which this festival is primarily dedicated. They kneel only in beholding the immediate nearness of HaShem, hence on an occasion which transcends the earthly needs of today. The congregation now rises to the feeling of HaShem's nearness as it sees in memory the Temple service of old, and visualizes especially the moment when the High Priest, on Yom HaKippurim (the Day of the Atonements) this once in all the year, pronounced the ineffable Name of HaShem, and the assembled people fell on their knees.

 

Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 45:22-25 "Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am HaShem, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. They will say of me, 'In HaShem alone are righteousness and strength.'" All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame. But in HaShem all the descendants of Israel will be found righteous and will exult.

 

The Talmud tells us about the significance of these days:

 

Rosh HaShana 16b R. Kruspedai said in the name of R. Johanan: Three books are opened [in heaven] on New Year, one for the thoroughly wicked,^[20] one for the thoroughly righteous, and one for the intermediate. The thoroughly righteous are forthwith inscribed definitively in the book of life; the thoroughly wicked are forthwith inscribed definitively in the book of death;^[21] the doom of the intermediate is suspended from New Year till the Day of Atonement; if they deserve well, they are inscribed in the book of life; if they do not deserve well, they are inscribed in the book of death. Said R. Abin, What text tells us this? — Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.^[22] ‘Let them be blotted out from the book — this refers to the book of the wicked. ‘Of life — this is the book of the righteous. ‘And not be written with the righteous’ — this is the book of the intermediate. R. Nahman b. Isaac derives it from here: And if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written,^[23] ‘Blot me, I pray thee’ — this is the book of the wicked. ‘Out of thy book’ — this is the book of the righteous. ‘Which thou has written’ — this is the book of the intermediate.

 

Those who have not accustomed themselves to practice righteousness have ten days to do teshuva, to repent. It is also the custom to give tzedaka, charity, during this time so that our mitzvot, good deeds, may increase. The Rambam writes:

 

"We must be more careful in regards to tzedaka, more than all other positive commandments. For tzedaka is [the] sign of righteous progeny of Avraham our Forefather... And the "chair of Israel" is established and the true belief is based only on tzedaka. And Israel will be only be redeemed via tzedaka.^[24]

 

During the ten days between Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur, we must separate ourselves from evil, but doing good is also necessary; not because it affects the scale (only Teshuva, repentance, can do that), but because tzedaka is connected with the new redeemed personality. The penitent has left his evil actions behind, and the void in his personality is now filled with good deeds. The Gemara provides us with some insights:

 

Berachoth 12b Raba b. Hinena the elder also said in the name of Rab: Throughout the year one says in the Tefillah (prayer), ‘The holy God’, and ‘King who lovest righteousness and judgment’,^[25] except during the ten days between New Year and the Day of Atonement, when he says, ‘The holy King’ and ‘The King of judgment’. R. Eleazar says: Even during these days, if he said, ‘The holy God’, he has performed his obligation, since it says, But the Lord of Hosts is exalted through justice, and the holy God is sanctified through righteousness:^[26] When is the Lord of Hosts exalted through justice? In these ten days from New Year to the Day of Atonement; and none-the-less it says, ‘the holy God’. What do we decide?^[27] — R. Joseph said: ‘The holy God’ and ‘The King who loves righteousness and judgment’; Rabbah said: ‘The holy King’ and ‘The King of judgment’. The law is as laid down by Rabbah.

 

Rosh HaShana 8b AND FOR JUBILEE YEARS. [is the New Year for] Jubilees on the first of Tishri? Surely [the New Year for] Jubilees is on the tenth of Tishri, as it is written, on the day of atonement shall ye make proclamation with the horn?^[28] — What authority is here followed? R. Ishmael the son of R. Johanan b. Beroka, as it has been taught: And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year.^[29] What is the point of these words? [It is this]. Since it says, On the day of atonement [ye shall make proclamation ], I might think that the year is sanctified only from the Day of Atonement onwards. Therefore it says, And ye shall sanctify the fiftieth year. This teaches that it is sanctified from its inception. On this ground R. Ishmael the son of R. Johanan b. Beroka laid down that from New Year to the Day of Atonement slaves were neither dismissed to their homes nor subjected to their masters, but they ate and drank and made merry, wearing garlands on their heads.^[30] When the Day of Atonement came, the Beth din sounded the horn; slaves were dismissed to their homes and fields returned to their original owners. And the Rabbis [ — what do they make of this verse]? — [They say it teaches that] you are to sanctify years but not months.^[31]

 

Rosh HaShana 18a R. Shmuel (Samuel) b. Inia said in the name of Rab: Whence do we know that the final sentence on a community is never sealed? — Never sealed , [you say]? Is it not written, Thine iniquity is marked before me?^[32] What he should say is, [How do we know that] although it is sealed it can yet be rescinded? Because it says, as the Lord our God is whenever we call upon him.^[33] But it is written, Seek ye the Lord while he may be found?^[34] — This verse speaks of an individual, the other of community. When can an individual [find God]? — Rabbah b. Abbuha said: These are the ten days between New Year and the Day of Atonement.

 

It has been expounded (in the Talmud): The ten days are the ten days of Teshuva during which the judgement of Nabal^[35] was with held by heaven, with the hope that he might do Teshuva:

 

Rosh HaShana 18a And it came to pass after the ten days that the Lord smote Nabal.^[36] How come these ten days here? — Rab Judah said in the name of Rab: They correspond to the ten dishes which Nabal gave to the servants of David.^[37] R. Nahman said in the name of Rabbah b. Abbuha: These are the ten days between New Year and the Day of Atonement.

 

Anytime we see the number of ten we know that it is related to every other ‘ten’ in the scriptures, including these ten days of returning. The following table compares the ten plagues to these ten days:

 

 

Notice that the plagues are in reverse order vis-à-vis the Yamim Noraim. This suggests that the plagues are a tikkun, a correction, for what ails the world during these ten days. The plagues are designed to return the world to its state at creation.

 

During the awesome days we recite Selichot, penitential prayers, before dawn. We are also are especially careful in fulfilling mitzvot. It is fitting for a person to decrease his involvement with worldly occupations and increase his study of Torah during these days. The pious and God-fearing take care of their debts and obligations before Yom HaKippurim. Scrupulous people who are eager to perform mitzvot, make a point of buying an especially beautiful etrog during these days.

 

The wording of Kaddish is changed during these days, in order to accept Divine Sovereignty. The Amidah is also changed to reflect the remembrance for life and His Kingship. We recite Avinu Malkenu during shacharit and mincha. Psalm 27 is recited after Shacharit and Mincha.

 

In the Talmud we have this custom recorded:

 

Shabbat 1a R. Chiya ha-Gadole instructed Rav: If you can eat all year in a state of ritual purity, do so; and if not, then at least eat [in a state of purity] for seven days during the year.

 

These seven days are the days between Yom Teruah and Yom HaKippurim.

 

On Tishrei 3, we celebrate the fast of Gedaliah. This minor fast begins at dawn and ends at dusk. What is the meaning of this fast, and why does it occur during the awesome days?

 

THE STORY OF GEDALIAH^[38]

 

After the destruction of the First Temple 2500 years ago, the majority of the Jewish People were exiled to Babylon. The conqueror, Nebuchadnezzar, eventually eased some of his harsh restrictions and allowed some Jews to remain in the Land of Israel. He even appointed a righteous Jew named Gedaliah to administrate the territory. Gradually, more Jews who'd escaped from the horrors of the war into neighboring countries began to return to their homes in Israel.

 

Gedaliah was realistic about the limitations of Jewish sovereignty. He understood that for their own self-preservation, the Jews in Israel needed to fully cooperate with the nation who'd conquered their Land. But this political subservience was intolerable to some of the Jews. A man named Yishmael ben Netaniah, spurred on by jealousy and foreign influence, arose and ignored the King of Babylon. On the 3rd of Tishrei, Yishmael treacherously killed Gedaliah as well as many other Jews and Babylonians.

 

In the aftermath of Gedaliah's murder, the Jews dreaded reprisal from the King of Babylon. They thought to flee to Egypt to save themselves. But since Egypt was a morally corrupt society, the Jews were in a quandary, weighing the physical threat against the spiritual danger. So they turned to the Prophet Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah), who was secluded in mourning, to ask for advice.

 

For an entire week, Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah) pleaded with HaShem for an answer. Finally, on Yom Kippur, the Jewish People were answered. Yirmiyahu called the Jews and told them to stay in Israel and everything would be alright. HaShem was planning to make the Babylonians act mercifully toward the Jews, and before long, all the exiled Jews would be permitted to return to their own soil. But, Yirmiyahu told them, if the Jews decided to go to Egypt, the sword from which they were running would kill them there.

 

Unfortunately, the prophet's words did not penetrate and the people refused to believe. All the Jews remaining in Israel packed their bags and went down to Egypt. They even kidnapped Yirmiyahu and took him with them! Now the destruction was complete; the Land of Israel was completely barren. You can guess what happened next. A few years later, Babylon conquered Egypt and tens of thousands of Jewish exiles were completely wiped out. The lone survivor of this massacre was Yirmiyahu. His prophecy had become painfully true.

 

The initial event, the murder of Gedaliah, has been likened to the destruction of the Holy Temple, because it cost Jewish lives and brought the end of Jewish settlement in Israel for many years. The prophets therefore declared that the anniversary of the tragedy should be a day of fasting. This day is the third of Tishri, the day immediately after Yom Teruah.

 

The Sabbath between Yom Teruah and Yom HaKippurim is called Shabbat Shuvah, the Sabbath of Return. This name is derived from this Sabbath's special haftarah reading which begins with the words Shuvah Israel, Return O Israel. It is also called Shabbat Shuvah because it falls during the ten days of teshuva, repentance.

 

It is customary to expound on teshuva, and the severity of our sins, during this Sabbath.

 

The Ten Days of Repentance are concluded on the tenth of Tishri, Yom HaKippurim. The Viddui (Confession of Sins) begins with an immersion (mikveh - baptism) of repentance, and is recited ten times on the Day of the Atonements to coincide with the tradition that the High Priest pronounced the name of HaShem ten times when he invoked divine pardon on Yom HaKippurim. Yeshua validated the immersion of repentance in another Yom HaKippurim event:

 

Luqas (Luke) 3:21-23a When all the people were being baptized, Yeshua was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened And the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." Now Yeshua himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry.

 

Yom HaKippurim is the only day that the scriptures call for a fast. Fasting was one of the ways to deny yourself.

 

Vayikra (Leviticus) 16:29 "This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month you must deny yourselves and not do any work--whether native-born or an alien living among you.

 

The "Great" shofar is blown to mark the end of Yom HaKippurim. It is customary to begin your sukkah (booth or tabernacle) right after Yom HaKippurim. The sukkah is a reminder of the temporary endurance of material buildings as opposed to the permanent and abiding strength of our G-d and the heavenly shelter He promises. In another sense, unless HaShem be for us, no dwelling can save us! If HaShem is for us, any dwelling can save us!

 

As we celebrate the Yamim Noraim (Awesome Days), let us begin, and complete, our teshuva.^[39] Lets use these ten days of repentance between Yom Teruah and Yom HaKippurim to draw near to HaShem. Lets have as our goal, to be ready to rest on Succoth (Feast of Booths).

 

Now we can begin to understand why Psalms chapter 27 is designated for The Awesome Days.  

 

 

 

Ashlamatah:     Yirmiyahu (‎‎‎Jeremiah) 30:10-18 + 22‎

 

 

 

Rashi’s Commentary for: ‎  Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah) 30:10-18 + 22‎‎‎

 

5 A sound of quaking we have heard Some interpret this as alluding to the tidings of Babylon, from which those exiled there quaked. But the Midrash Aggadah explains it as an allusion to the war of Gog and Magog.

 

6 whether a male gives birth Whether it is customary for males to give birth, so that labor pains should seize them like a woman in confinement.

 

his loins like מָתְנָיו .

 

7 that day The day of the assassination of Belshazzar and the downfall of Babylon. Another explanation: the day of the downfall of Gog.

 

8 I will break his yoke The yoke of the heathens will be removed from Israel.

 

10 And you, fear not Because of all the evils that you will see befalling Babylon in whose midst you are.

 

and at ease like וְֽשָקֵט .

 

11 but I will chasten you in measure according to the law of the Torah.

 

and I will not completely destroy you an expression of a sweeping destruction.

 

12 Your injury is painful, your wound grievous (Enfers in Old French).

 

13 to be healed cure. No one thinks that you will have salvation.

 

healing a cure, an expression of availing.

 

14 cruel chastisement chastisements of cruelty. The chastisement is cruel.

 

16 Therefore This is an expression denoting an oath.

 

those who plunder you an expression of spoil, and so did Jonathan render it: וִיהוֹן עָדַיִךְ לַעֲדִי .

 

17 healing Heb. ארכה .

 

18 and the palace The Temple.

 

19 and I will increase them I will make them a numerous nation.

 

and they shall not become few in number like יִמְעָטוּ .

 

21 their prince lit., His mighty one.

 

pledged his heart an expression of a pledge (fermaille, aatine in French).

 

to approach Me to war, to stop Me.

 

23 settling storm camping and dwelling an expression of “the land of the sojournings of (מְגוּרֵי) ” (Gen. 37:1), and a similar case is “and a whirling (מִתְחוֹלֵל) storm ” (supra 23:19) stated in the other verse is the same as this for both of them are expressions of camping.

 

on the head[s] of the wicked On the heads of the heathens.

 

Chapter 31

 

1 found favor The generation of the wilderness found favor in My eyes.

 

who had escaped the sword of the Egyptians the Amalekites and the Canaanites.

 

He [therefore] went to give Israel their resting place When He led them to take possession of the land of their rest.

 

2 From long ago In the merit of the Patriarchs.

 

appeared to me I, the prophet, and told me to say to the congregation of Israel, “With everlasting love have I loved you.”

 

3 Yet again will I rebuild you, then you shall be built You had two buildings made by men. Therefore, they were destroyed. Yet again will I rebuild you, I by Myself, a third building, and you shall be built forever.

 

shall you be adorned Heb. תַּעְדִּי .

 

4 and redeem [them] in the fourth year, they shall profane their produce by redeeming it with money.

 

5 the watchers shall call The lookouts at the tops of the lofty towers to announce with a voice heard a distance away. Another explanation: נֽצְרִים is like “He keeps (נֽצֵר) loving-kindness” (Exod. 34:7), an expression of keeping. That is to say: There is a day when they will call those who kept the Torah and say, “Rise...” And so did Jonathan render: There are many days and much goodness that is destined to come to the righteous/generous who kept My Torah from days of old.

 

 

PIRQE ABOT

Pereq Vav, Mishnah 6:4

Hakham Yitschaq (ben Moshe) Magriso

 

This is the way of the Torah. Eat bread with salt, drink, water by the measure, sleep on the ground, live a life of hardship, and toil in the Torah. If you do this, you will be happy in this world, and it will be good for you in the World to Come. Do not seek greatness for yourself, and do not crave honor. Do more than your scholarship [warrants]. Do not covet the table of kings, for your table is greater than their table, and your crown is greater than their crown. Your Employer is also trustworthy to pay you a wage for your work.

 

The master now tells us what a person must do in order to be worthy of the Crown of the Torah (Kether Torah) and to be able to serve God properly. He must be content with the necessities of life, and not seek more, neither food nor clothing. This is the foundation if a person wishes to be worthy of the Torah. He must be content with his lot. He will then have the time to study and meditate on the Torah, without having his mind immersed in worldly affairs and the gaining of wealth so as to satisfy his appetites. He will also avoid dishonesty, and will not think of taking other people's property dishonestly.

 

In general, if a person learns not to eat more than is essential to sustain his health, he will be well prepared to study Torah and serve God. He will make good use of his time, and not waste it on trivial affairs and unimportant pursuits.

 

The master thus said, “Eat bread with salt, and drink measured amounts of water." He must make a habit of eating small quantities, just enough to sustain life and health. Even if a person has only bread, and does not have the money to buy something to eat with it, he should not waste time seeking more. It is better that he eat his bread with a little salt, and spend his time productively.

 

The same is true of drinking. One may not be able to afford wine or other beverages, and may have nothing to drink except water. Even his water supply may not be unlimited, and he may have to measure each cupful.

 

Although a person may have to subsist with a bare minimum, he should ignore his poverty, and devote himself to the Torah. The Torah cannot be attained without sacrifice. It is thus written, “This is the Torah-when a man dies in a tent” (Numbers 19:14). True mastery of the Torah requires that a person be ready to sacrifice even his life for it.

 

The master says that if a person does this he will be happy in this world. Since he can get along with the bare necessities, he will be strong and healthy. And even if he is in a place where he cannot make good meals and must sleep on the ground, it will not bother him at all. He will not feel uncomfortable, and his body does not suffer when he lacks good food and fine clothes.

 

On the other hand, when a person spends his life pursuing his worldly appetites, he will eventually be confronted with the truth that death awaits him, and he will waste away from depression. When he lacks something, he may even resort to dishonesty and theft so as to satisfy his desire for luxuries. Ultimately, however, his desires are never truly fulfilled.

 

The master therefore says that if a person does not live merely to satisfy his appetites and desires, but gets along with whatever he has, he will be happy, even in this world. He will be strong and healthy, and live a contented life. He will also be happy in the World to Come. Since he does not enjoy the fruit of his good deeds in this world, all his reward is left waiting for him in the Future World.

 

The master also taught, “Do not seek status for yourself, do not crave honor more than your learning merits, and do not covet the table of kings." These three items parallel the three things which, according to Rabbi Eleazer HaKafar, “remove a person from the world: jealousy, desire, and fame” (4:28). If a person immerses himself in any of these three things, he destroys himself both in this world and the next.

 

Addressing himself to "jealousy," the master here says, "Do not seek status." A person becomes jealous when he sees that his neighbor has status and advantages such as property and wealth. He thus becomes jealous, since he wishes to be greater than his neighbor. But if a person does not seek status for himself, it is certain that he will not be jealous of his neighbor.

 

Addressing himself to "fame," the master said, "Do not crave fame." When you see that people honor others, do not envy them. If you try to attain honor and fame, you will lose the world. But if you study Torah for the sake of Heaven, honor and fame will come to you automatically. Then you will be able to accept them.

 

 

The master therefore said, "Do not seek status, and do not crave fame." Do not go out and seek status, and do not pursue fame. However, if. you find yourself in a position where status and fame come to you automatically, you need not be embarrassed. This is especially true if the status and fame come as a result of your Torah knowledge.

 

Addressing himself to "desire," the master said, "Do not desire the table of kings." Do not pursue worldly pleasures, wishing that you could eat and drink like a king. If you study Torah, your "table" in the World to Come will be much greater than the table of any mortal king. Their tables only exist temporarily, while yours will be eternal.

 

Even in this world, your table is greater than theirs. You are content with your lot, and are happy and joyful at your table. You eat every bite with joy. But the people who eat at the king's table, are never fully satisfied. No matter how fine their meals, they are always thinking of those who have even greater tables. Everything that they have seems puny in their eyes.

 

Your crown is also greater than theirs, both in this world and in the next. A king's crown is "always dependent on others; if his subjects do not like him, they can impeach him and take his crown away.

 

Moreover, the master teaches that "your Employer can be trusted to pay you a wage for your work." Although you may have status and honor in this world, your reward is reserved for you in the World to Come. When the time comes, God will be sure to pay you a full "wage" for the Torah you studied and taught, as well as for the good deeds that you did in this world!

 

 

 

Verbal Tallies

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

& HH Giberet Dr. Elisheba bat Sarah

 

Beresheet (Genesis) 31:3 – 32:3,

Tehillim (Psalms) 27:1-14

Yermiyahu (Jeremiah) 30:10-18, 22

Jude 4-5, Lk 6:27-42

 

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Psalm are:

LORD - יהוה, Strong’s number is 03068.

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

Land - ארץ, Strong’s number 0776.

Father - אב, Strong’s number 01.

 

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Ashlamata are:

LORD - יהוה, Strong’s number is 03068.

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

Jacob - יעקב, Strong’s number 03290.

Return - שוב, Strong’s number 07725.

Land - ארץ, Strong’s number 0776.

 

Beresheet (Genesis) 31:3 And the LORD <03068> said <0559> (8799) unto Jacob <03290>, Return <07725> (8798) unto the land <0776> of thy fathers <01>, and to thy kindred <04138>; and I will be with thee.

 

Tehillim (Psalm) 27:1  « A Psalm of David <01732>. » The LORD <03068> is my light <0216> and my salvation <03468>; whom shall I fear <03372> (8799)? the LORD <03068> is the strength <04581> of my life <02416>; of whom shall I be afraid <06342> (8799)?

Tehillim (Psalm) 27:8 When thou saidst, Seek <01245> (8761) ye my face <06440>; my heart <03820> said <0559> (8804) unto thee, Thy face <06440>, LORD <03068>, will I seek <01245> (8762).

Tehillim (Psalm) 27:10 When my father <01> and my mother <0517> forsake <05800> (8804) me, then the LORD <03068> will take me up <0622> (8799).

Tehillim (Psalm) 27:13 I had fainted, unless <03884> I had believed <0539> (8689) to see <07200> (8800) the goodness <02898> of the LORD <03068> in the land <0776> of the living <02416>.

 

Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah) 30:10 Therefore fear <03372> (8799) thou not, O my servant <05650> Jacob <03290>, saith <05002> (8803) the LORD <03068>; neither be dismayed <02865> (8735), O Israel <03478>: for, lo, I will save <03467> (8688) thee from afar <07350>, and thy seed <02233> from the land <0776> of their captivity <07628>; and Jacob <03290> shall return <07725> (8804), and shall be in rest <08252> (8804), and be quiet <07599> (8768), and none shall make him afraid <02729> (8688).

Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah) 30:12 For thus saith <0559> (8804) the LORD <03068>, Thy bruise <07667> is incurable <0605> (8803), and thy wound <04347> is grievous <02470> (8737).

 

 

 

Hebrew:

 

 

 

 

Greek:

 

 

 

 

 

Nazarean Talmud

Sidra Of B’resheet (Gen.) 31:3 – 32:3

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

 

School of Hakham Shaul Tosefta (Luke Lk 6:27-42) Mishnah א:א   "But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who mistreat you. If any man strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and if someone takes your coat, do not hold back from giving him your shirt as well. Give to everyone who begs you, and if anyone takes away your things, do not ask for them back. And do for others just as you would have them do for you.”   And if you love those who love you, what kind of loving-kindness is that for you? For even sinners love those who love them! And if you do good to those who do good to you, what kind of loving-kindness is that to you? Even the sinners do the same! And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive back, what kind of loving-kindness is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, so that they may get back an equal amount! But love your enemies, and do good, and lend expecting no interest, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Highest, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.  Be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate!   And do not judge, and you will not be judged negatively. And do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and it will be given to you, a good measure pressed down, shaken, overflowing will they pour out into your bosom. For midda kneged midda (measure for measure), it will be measured out to you in return."   And he gave them an analogy: "Amen v’amen a blind person cannot lead the blind, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit? A Talmid (disciple) is not superior to his Hakham, but everyone, when he is fully trained, will be like his Hakham. And why do you look for the sliver of wood that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the beam of wood that is in your own eye? How are you able to say to your brother, "Brother, allow me to remove the sliver of wood that is in your eye," while you yourself do not see the beam of wood in your own eye? You Painted ones (hypocrites)! First remove the beam of wood from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the sliver that is in your brother's eye!”

School of Hakham Tsefet Peshat (Yehudah 4-5) Mishnah א:א   For certain men[40] have subtly entered[41] in among you secretly[42] who were from antiquity inscribed[43] for this judgment as evil ungodly persons, changing the loving-kindness of our G-d into licentiousness[44] and the only Lord G-d and denying our only Master Yeshua HaMashiach. But I will adjure you, to return to full knowledge (Da’at through the Mesorah – Oral Torah) Once, given to the Jewish Tsadiqim (saints), that the Lord delivered a people out of the land of Mitzrayim (Egypt), and afterwards destroyed those who were unfaithful.

Nazarean Codicil to be read in conjunction with the following Torah Sedarim,

 

 

 

Commentary to Hakham Tsefet’s School of Peshat

 

We have already stated that Yehudah is the amanuensis of Hakham Tsefet. Therefore, our reference to Hakham Tsefet or Yehudah should be understood as a joint effort between these two men in authoring this treatise. Yehudah is an integral part of this process. Therefore, we remind our readers that we may refer to Yehudah as the “author” of this document. However, we intend that Yehudah was the amanuensis of Hakham Tsefet. We also refer to Yehudah as Hakham Yehudah because he was a Hakham serving as a Paqid to the Bench as noted in our previous pericope.

 

• How does changing the Chesed of G-d into licentiousness, relate to those who do not have a part in the Olam HaBa?
• Why does Hakham Yehudah find his heterodox audience not believing that Yeshua is the Messiah?
• How does the pericope of Hakham Yehudah relate to the Festival calendar?
• How does denial of the Mesorah/Oral Torah deem one as heterodox?
• How does the lie of “changing the loving-kindness of our G-d into licentiousness” makes a seedbed for modern religion, which focuses on misconstrued notions of sexuality?

 

For certain men have subtly entered in among you secretly^[45] who were from antiquity inscribed for this judgment as evil ungodly persons!

 

Yehudah’s adjudication is about those who have committed crimes heterodoxly.

 

The charges brought by Yehudah are…

 

1. Changing G-d’s Chesed (loving-kindness) to licentiousness
2. Denial of the Master
3. Denial of the Mesorah/Oral Torah

 

Yehudah does not seem to suggest that there is a call of repentance for these lawbreakers. Therefore, we see no call to Teshuba, Yehuda only mentions “judgment.” As a matter of fact, his analogy leans more towards condemnation without the possibility of repentance. This is described in the terms of his proclaimed adjudication.

 

Pronounced Judgment by analogy…

 

The Lord delivered a people out of the land of Mitzrayim (Egypt), and afterwards destroyed those who were unfaithful

 

These heterodox were delivered to destruction. They came out of Mitzrayim only to be Inscribed for judgment.

 

Herein we find a halakhic principle…

 

The “evil” and “lawlessness” have been placed in the world by Divine decree not necessarily to harm the Tsadiqim, but to keep the Tsadiqim focused on the task before them and not become distracted by things or deeds that lead only to trouble. Evil, pain and Lawlessness are there to keep the Tsadiqim’s concentration on the goal before them and to waste no time in trivial pursuits that make no significant contribution towards this goal. These “certain men” therefore are sent by G-d to the congregations to test their vigilance and whether or not the collegiate ministry of the ten men of the Esnoga are functioning properly or not.

 

Woe to those who do not desire to know or understand the words of the Torah! For in the Torah are written the words of Life. To the heterodox, the words of the Torah seem hollow and useless, since they lack intelligence.

 

The three indictments listed above find special place in the Tractate of Sanhedrin^[46] as mentioned.

 

1. Changing G-d’s Chesed (loving-kindness) to licentiousness

 

b. Succoth 49b R. Eleazar further stated, He who executes charity and justice is regarded as though he had filled all the world with kindness, for it is said, He loves charity and justice, the earth is full of the loving-kindness of the Lord.^[47] But lest you say that whoever wishes to do good succeeds without difficulty, Scripture expressly says, How precious is Your Loving-Kindness, O God etc.^[48] As one might say that this applies also to a man who fears God, Scripture expressly says, But the loving-kindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear Him.^[49]

 

The act of loving-kindness describes the Tsadiqim. These acts are difficult to master at the beginning. However, the more we train the soul to function after that manner, the greater our acts of loving-kindness will be. The heterodox have exploited these blessings in a number of ways. The mindset of sin now and repent latter is not Jewish! The contemptible lie has been the foundation of some religions. However, it is not the Jewish norm nor has it ever been. Teshuba – repentance is based on the genuine desire to return to G-d with the intent not to commit sin again.^[50]

 

The great exchange is Chesed for apostasy. Lest we fail to understand, we note the heterodox are apostate. We cannot accept the notion that once we have experienced the Chesed (loving-kindness/grace) of G-d that we can shed ourselves of the Torah, written Oral or otherwise. This damnable lie permeates the heterodox world. Furthermore, our common share of life in the Olam HaBa means that the whole community is responsible for the actions of that congregation. As such, when we trade the Chesed of G-d for licentiousness we bring destruction to the community.

 

2. Denial of the Master

 

As we have stated…

 

Therefore, we would see how those aspects such as; the denial of Yeshua’s resurrection could also be interpreted as a denial of resurrection and the final Judgment “in toto.”

 

b. San 91a A sectarian [min] said to Gebiha b. Pesisa, Woe to you, you wicked, who maintain that the dead will revive; if even the living die, shall the dead live! He replied, Woe to you, you wicked, who maintain that the dead will not revive: if what was not, [now] lives, surely what has lived, will live again!

 

The denial of the Master is equated with the exchange of the lie of Chesed for licentiousness. We can deduct from the Rambam’s statements of Orthodoxy in אני מאמין (Ani Ma’amin) from his Commentary on the Mishnah (tractate Sanhedrin 10:1), that the belief in Messiah and the Resurrection are integrally related.

 

6. I believe with complete faithful obedience that all the words of the Prophets are true.
7. I believe with complete faithful obedience that the prophecy of Moshe our teacher, peace unto him, was true; and that he was the father of the prophets, both of those who preceded and of those who followed him.
8. I believe with complete faithful obedience that the whole Torah, which we now possess was given to Moshe, our teacher, peace unto him.
9. I believe with complete faithful obedience that this Torah will not be changed, and that there will be no other Torah given by the Creator, blessed be His name.
10. I believe with complete faithful obedience that the Creator, blessed be His name, knows all the deeds and thoughts of human beings, as it is said, "It is He who fashions the hearts of them all, He who perceives all their actions." (Psalms 33:15).
11. I believe with complete faithful obedience that the Creator, blessed be His name, rewards those who observe His commandments, and punishes those who transgress His commandments.
12. I believe with complete faithful obedience in the coming of Mashiach, and although he may tarry, nevertheless, I wait every day for him to come.
13. I believe with complete faithful obedience, that there will be resurrection of the dead at the time when it will be the will of the Creator, blessed be His name and exalted be His remembrance forever and ever.

 

When one looks for this list in the Mishnah or Talmud, if he is remiss, he will be unable to find it. This is because the list does not exist in this exact structure in the Oral Torah. The Rambam states these words in the positive, whereas they exist in the negative in the Mishnah, specifically Sanhedrin 10:1 and following. The discussion of those verses relates to those who have no part in the world to come. The אני מאמין (Ani Ma’amin) speaks of those who have their “common share of life in the Olam HaBa.”

 

These statements of orthodoxy should be studied and memorized by every Nazarean. 

 

3. Denial of the Mesorah/Oral Torah

 

The final adjudication is against those who hold the Mesorah/Oral Torah in contempt.

 

Abot 6:2 Every day a Heavenly voice issues forth from Mount Horeb (Sinai) to proclaiming: "Woe to humankind for their contempt of the Torah" and whoever is not occupied with the Torah is rebuked, as it is said – “As a golden rings in a swine’s snout, so is a beautiful woman who deviates from discretion” (Mishley 11:22) And it is said – And the Tablets are the work of God and the writing is God’s writing engraved upon Tablets” (Shemot 32:16) Read not engraved [charuth] but freedom [cheruth], for there is no one free save one who is occupied with Torah study. And anyone who is occupied with Torah study will become exalted, as it said – “From God’s gift [Mattana] to God’s heritage [Nachaliel] and from God’s heritage [Nachaiel] to the high places [Bamoth]” (B’midbar 21:19).

 

In Yehudah’s mind and in his adjudication, denial of the Mesorah/Oral Torah is tantamount to heterodoxy. Why is the Mesorah/Oral Torah so vehemently opposed by so many supposed scholars? Midrash Rabbah answers this clearly.

 

D’varim – Deut. 32:46 and He said to them: "Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today, which you will command your children to be careful to observe, all the words of this Torah.

 

Midrash Rabbah B’resheet I:14 For it (the Torah/Oral Torah) is no empty word מכם (mi-kem), for you (Deut. 32:47), and if it is empty, it is מכם (mi-kem) from you,^[51] because you are unable to interpret it correctly.

 

The voice of Hakham Yehudah speaks so loudly we may not understand what he is saying. As the brother of the Master and Ya’aqob, Yehudah feels no need to advertise or abuse his position. He humbles himself to Hakham Tsefet as his amanuensis and serves the bench. The wisest Talmid is the Talmid who is willing to sit at the feet of the Hakhamim and drink in their words. Because submission to authority is true order, nomos – Torah, those who refuse it are unable to interpret Torah correctly. Their babel fills empty heads with empty words.  

 

Mattiyahu 8:8-10 The centurion answered and said, "master, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. "For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, “Go,” and he goes; and to another, “Come,” and he comes; and to my servant, “Do this,” and he does it." When Yeshua heard this, he marveled, and said to those who followed, “Amen ve amen, I say to you, I have not found such great faithful obedience, in all Yisrael!”

 

The truth simply stated is that those who will not submit to the Mesorah/Oral Torah as taught by the Hakhamim are that they are given over to the control of the Yester HaRa. They malign the structure of whole the universe and are unable to enter Eden. Their Torah observance is static at best contributing nothing to the reparation of the cosmos. These scoffers fail to understand that they can never diminish Torah’s glory and honor.

 

Because our common share of life in the Olam HaBa is communal rather than individual, certain men have subtly entered in among you secretly. In this fashion, contempt is brought on the whole congregation. The actions of Rachel in the present Torah Seder are reminiscent of Achan as found in the Book of Yehoshua. 

 

Yehoshua (Joshua) 7:1 But the B’ne Yisrael committed a trespass regarding the accursed things, for Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Yehudah, took of the accursed things; so the anger of the Lord burned against the B’ne Yisrael.

 

Note that only Achan trespassed. Yet G-d sees the trespass of Achan as the trespass of the B’ne Yisrael.

 

Communal trespass means communal punishment. Communal salvation means communal accountability!

 

 

 

Remes Commentary Of Hakham Shaul

 

Rosh Chodesh Tishrei

 

When the New Moon (Rosh Chodesh) lands on Shabbat, we have the following readings from the Nazarean Talmud.

 

Colossians 2:16-23 Therefore let no one man who is a Gentile judge you in food or drink (keeping Kashrut), or in respect of a festival, or of a new moon, or of the Sabbaths, but the body of the Messiah (the Jewish people). Which is a shadow (prophecies) of the coming things (Cf. Mordechai 1:14-15). Let no Gentile, judge you unworthy of your prize, by doing his will in voluntary worship of the messengers, (i.e. the sun, moon and astrology) not accepting his view without reason, investigating things he has not seen, being vainly puffed up by the mind of his Yetser HaRa (evil inclination). And not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and bonded together through its ‎joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God. ‎

 

If, then, you died with the Messiah, from the foundations of the world at Har Sinai, why, live as if living by the principles (dogma) of (the) world (Gentile system)? Stating that You may not handle, nor taste, nor touch (unlawful asceticism), all of (these being unlawful) teachings of the Gentiles, bringing corruption and destruction, Which are, certainly considered wisdom in religion developed by the Gentiles and considered humility and self-control of the body, however, they serve as no value in the discipline of the Yetser HaRa (evil inclination) instead they serve to gratification of the Yetser HaRa (evil inclination).

 

The astute will notice the connection immediately. From Colossians we have learned that the phrase “certain men” is a code word for Gentile philosophers or the teachings of Gentile Philosophy of the First Century. These words are also reminiscent of the 13^th chapter of Romans, which we have sited repeatedly. 

 

Salvation is for the Jewish People and of the Jewish people. This is NOT and exclusion of the Gentiles. This is the path that the Gentile MUST take, if he wishes to join the community and have a share in the world to come. The phrase our common share of life in the Olam Haba, should be plain enough for the reader to perfectly understand the implications.  If the Gentile through Torah Observance and faithful obedience joins the Jewish community, he will find himself under the wings of the Shekhinah and a vital part of that community. We have discussed the matters in the Torah Seder #18^[52] where Mordechai is translated as follows…

 

Mk 2:21-22 And no one sews a patch of unmeasured cloth on an older favored garment, because it distracts from the garment’s original beauty, the reused, unmeasured (cloth) must support the older (garment), or distraction (ocular division) occurs (is noticed). And no one puts fresh unfermented wine into aged wineskins, or else the unfermented wine bursts the wineskins (from the fermentation process), and the wine spills, and the wineskins will be ruined. The unfermented wine must be put into reconditioned wineskins.

 

What Nazareans cannot accept is Gentile philosophy as a means of entrance into the Olam HaBa.

 

While Nazarean Judaism cannot accept the licentiousness lifestyle of immorality, Yehudah’s analogy fits allegory perfectly. Infidelity in Jewish texts is not about the physical act of adultery. Infidelity is allegory for disloyalty to G-d. When we look at Yehuda’s adjudication from this perspective, we find the true answer for his rebuke. He further makes it clear that we know that infidelity means to turn away from G-d by saying, “you have full knowledge (Da’at through the Mesorah – Oral Torah) Once, given to the Jewish Tsadiqim (saints).” In other words, the Oral Torah teaches appropriate faithful obedience to G-d. To “changing the loving-kindness of our G-d into licentiousness” is rescindment of the Torah. Because it is the Oral Torah, which teaches us about “our common share of life in the Olam Haba,” to deny its validity is to negate one’s place in the Olam HaBa.

 

The logic from above is readily applicable when we discuss the acceptance of the Master. However, we make these words with caution. Furthermore, they must be fully developed. As the personification of the Torah, the Master demonstrates the path for entrance into the Olam HaBa. However, when we say Torah we again reiterate the fact that the path to the Olam Haba is found in the Torah written AND Oral! Therefore, denial of the Oral Torah is denial of the Master and his Mesorah as a path to the Olam HaBa. If we deny the Master, the Mesorah and Torah what part can we have in the Olam HaBa since all are intricately interwoven. To deny one is to deny the others. To repudiate any one is equivalent to saying that the Olam HaBa does not exist.  Interestingly, many religions have taken away the notion of the Olam HaBa and substituted it with “Heaven.”  “Heaven” as is described by so-called scholars is some ethereal place where one floats on clouds and angels feed them grapes for all eternity.  As such, Judaism knows no such place, nor does such a place exist.

 

In when lecturing on this subject of the Olam HaBa as the ever-coming world we have faced more disdain than can be imagined.

 

Yeshua’s declaration as the “I am the Way, truth and Life”^[53] is so misunderstood that the lie of “changing the loving-kindness of our G-d into licentiousness” becomes the placebo for Sunday morning inoculation. “Changing the loving-kindness of our G-d into licentiousness is clearly a denial of the Master, the Torah, Written and Oral. The ignorance of these preachers is that they build a seedbed for modern religion which focuses on a misuse of sexuality. The wise will understand!

 

Peroration & Halakhic Implications

 

Ya’aqob’s separation from Laban is demonstrative of Yisrael’s departure from the pagan practices of the world. He followed the example of his grandfather Abraham.

 

Therefore, we see that the Jewish people must live separate from the antinomian culture, which surrounds it. In similar fashion, the Gentile who embraces Abraham and claims him as his path to the Olam HaBa must also separate himself from the antinomian culture by embracing the Nomos –Torah and structured faithful obedience mandated by the Torah and Oral Torah.

 

Amen v’amen

 

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?

 

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,

Coming festival of Shavuot

 Sivan 6^th thru the 7^th, 5783

Evening of May 25^th – 27^th, 2023

 

1^st day of Shavuot Sivan 6, 5783

May 25/26, 2023

 

Torah Reading: Shemot (Exodus) 19:1 – 20:26 & Numbers 28:26-31

‎

Reader 1: Shemot (Exodus) 19:1-6

‎Reader 2: Shemot (Exodus) 19:7-13

‎Reader 3: Shemot (Exodus) 19:14-19

‎Reader 4: Shemot (Exodus) 19:20 – 20:14

‎Reader 5: Shemot (Exodus) 20:15-23

Maftir: Numbers 28:26-31‎

Ashlamata: Ezekiel 1:1-28; 3:12

Ruth 1:1 – 3:7

 

Next Shabbat:

2^nd Day of Shavuot – Sivan 7, 5783

May 26/27, 2023

 

Torah Reading: Deuteronomy 14:22 – 16:17 & Numbers 28:26-31

‎

Reader 1: Debarim (Deuteronomy) 14:22:29

‎Reader 2: Debarim (Deuteronomy) 15:1-18

‎Reader 3: Debarim (Deuteronomy) 15:19-23

‎Reader 4: Debarim (Deuteronomy) 16:1-3

‎Reader 5: Debarim (Deuteronomy) 16:4-8

Reader 6: Debarim (Deuteronomy) 16:9-12

Reader 7: Debarim (Deuteronomy) 16:13-17

Maftir: Numbers 28:26-31‎

Ashlamatah: Habakkuk 2:20-3:19‎

Ruth 3:8 – 4:22

 

 

 

 

Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David

Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham

 

 

Edited by Paqid Adon Ezra ben Abraham

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