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Triennial Cycle (Triennial Torah Cycle) / Septennial Cycle (Septennial Torah Cycle)
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Three- and 1/2-year Lectionary Readings |
First Year of the Triennial Reading Cycle |
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Kislev 02, 5783 / November 25-26, 2022 |
First Year of the Shmita 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
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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.
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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!
Please pray for this work that it may be successful touching many lives, well financed; and that it may be for much blessing to all concerned. Amen ve Amen!
We pray for our beloved Hakham His Eminence Rabbi 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 the sick person HE 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 Honor Giberet Zahavah bat Sarah, the beloved wife of His Eminence Rabbi Dr. Haggai, who is struggling with health issues. Mi Sheberach – He Who blessed our holy and pure Matriarchs, Sarah, Ribkah, Rachel and Leah, bless Her Honor Giberet Zahavah bat Sarah and send her a complete recovery and strengthening of body and soul. Please G-d heal her, please. Please G-d heal her, please. Please G-d heal her, please. Cure her, strengthen her, make her healthy and return her to her original strength, together with all the sick of Yisrael. And may it be so willed, and we will say, Amen ve Amen!
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.
Shabbat: “Vay’hi Kol HaAretz” - “And was the whole earth”
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Shabbat |
Torah Reading: |
Weekday Torah Reading: |
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וַיְהִי כָל-הָאָרֶץ |
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Reader 1 – B’Resheet 11:1-5 |
Reader 1 – B’resheet 12:1-3 |
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Reader 2 – B’Resheet 11:6-9 |
Reader 2 – B’resheet 12:4-6 |
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“Y era toda la tierra” |
Reader 3 – B’Resheet 11:10-13 |
Reader 3 – B’resheet 12:7-9 |
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B’resheet (Genesis) 11:1-32 |
Reader 4 – B’Resheet 11:14-17 |
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Ashlamatah: Zephaniah 3:9-17 + 20 |
Reader 5 – B’Resheet 11:18-21 |
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Reader 6 – B’Resheet 11:22-25 |
Reader 1 – B’resheet 12:1-3 |
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Psalms 9:1-21 |
Reader 7 – B’Resheet 11:26-32 |
Reader 2 – B’resheet 12:4-6 |
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N.C.: Mark 1:21-22; Lk. 4:31-32 |
Maftir: B’Resheet 11:29-32 |
Reader 3 – B’resheet 12:7-9 |
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Zephaniah 3:9-17 + 20 |
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Contents of the Torah Seder
· The Building of the Tower – Genesis 11:1-9
· From Shem to Abraham – Genesis 11:10-32
Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan
for: B’Resheet (Gen.) 11:1-32
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RASHI |
TARGUM PSEUDO JONATHAN |
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1. The whole earth had one language, with conforming words. |
1. And all the earth was (of) one language, and one speech, and one counsel. In the holy language spoke they, that by which the world had been created at the beginning. [JERUSALEM. And all the inhabitants of the earth were (of) one language, and of one speech, and one counsel: for they spoke the holy language by which the world was created at the beginning: |
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2. When they journeyed from the east, they found a valley in the land of Shinar, and they settled there. |
2. And it was while they were journeying from the east that they found a plain in the land of Babel and dwelt there. [JERUSALEM. while their hearts erred afterwards from the Word of Him who spoke, and the world was, at the beginning; and they found a plain in the land of Pontos and dwelt there.] |
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3. They said one to another, “Come, let us mould bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They then had bricks to use as stone, and the clay for mortar. |
3. And they said, a man to his fellow, Come, we will cast bricks, and put them in the furnace. And they had brick for stone, and slime for cement. |
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4. Then they said, “Come, we will build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach the heavens. Thus, we will make ourselves a name, so that we will not be scattered all over the face of the earth.” |
4. And they said, Come, we will build us a city and a tower, and the head of it will come to the summit of the heavens; and we will make us (an image for) worship on the top of it, and put a sword in his hand to act against the array of war, before that we be scattered on the face of the earth. [JERUSALEM. And they said, Come now, and we will build us a city and a tower, and the head of it will reach to the summit of the heavens, and we will make us in it a house of worship at the top, and we will put a sword in his hand, lest there be set against him the array of war before we be scattered upon the face of all the earth.] |
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5. Adonai descended to see the city and the tower that the sons of man built. |
5. And the Lord was revealed to punish them for the work of the city and the tower which the sons of men built. |
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6. Adonai said, "Behold, they are one people, all having one language, and this is their first undertaking. Now will nothing be unattainable for them, [to do] whatever they have a mind to do? |
6. And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and the language of all of them one: and this they have thought to do: and now they will not be restrained from doing whatever they imagine. |
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7. Come, let us descend and jumble their language, that they will not understand one another's language." |
7. And the Lord said to the seventy angels which stand before Him, Come, we will descend and will there commingle their language, that a man will not understand the speech of his neighbour. |
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8. Adonai scattered them from there all over the face of the earth, and they stopped building the city. |
8. And the Word of the Lord was revealed against the city, and with Him seventy angels, having reference to seventy nations, each having its own language, and thence the writing of its own hand: and He dispersed them from thence upon the face of all the earth into seventy languages. And one knew not what his neighbour would say: but one slew the other; and they ceased from building the city. |
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9. Therefore He called its name, Babel, for this was the place where Adonai jumbled the language of all the earth; and from there, Adonai scattered them all over the face of the earth. |
9. Therefore He called the name of it Babel, because there did the Lord commingle the speech of all the inhabitants of the earth, and from thence did the Lord disperse them upon the faces of all the earth. |
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10. These are the histories of Shem. Shem was one hundred years old, and he had Arpachshad two years after the Flood. |
10. These are the generations of Shem. Shem was a son of a hundred years, and he begat Arphakshad, two years after the deluge. |
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11. Shem lived after he had Arpachshad, five hundred years, and he had sons and daughters. |
11. And Shem lived after he had begotten Arphakshad five hundred years, and begat sons and daughters. |
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12. Arpachshad lived thirty-five years and had Shelach. |
12. And Arphakshad lived thirty and five years, and begat Shelach. |
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13. Arpachshad lived, after he had Shelach, four hundred and three years, and he had sons and daughters. |
13. And Arphakshad lived after he had begotten Shelach four hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters. |
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14. Shelach lived thirty years and had Eber. |
14. And Shelach lived thirty years, and begat Eber. |
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15. After he had Eber, Shelach lived four hundred and three years, and he had sons and daughters. |
15. And Shelach lived after he had begotten Eber four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters. |
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16. Eber lived thirty-four years and had Peleg. |
16. And Eber lived thirty-four years, and begat Peleg. |
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17. After he had Peleg, Eber lived four hundred and thirty years, and he had sons and daughters. |
17. And Eber lived after he had begotten Peleg four hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters. |
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18. Peleg lived thirty years and had Re'u. |
18. And Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reu. |
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19. After he had Re'u, Peleg lived two hundred and nine years, and had sons and daughters. |
19. And Peleg lived after he had begotten Reu two hundred and nine years, and begat sons and daughters. |
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20. Re'u lived thirty-two years and had Serug. |
20. And Reu lived thirty-two years, and begat Serug. |
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21. After he had Serug, Re'u lived two hundred and seven years, and had sons and daughters. |
21. And Reu lived after he had begotten Serug two hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters. |
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22. Serug lived thirty years and had Nachor. |
22. And Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nahor. |
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23. After he had Nachor, Serug lived two hundred years, and had sons and daughters. |
23. And Serug lived after he had begotten Nahor two hundred years, and begat sons and daughters. |
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24. Nachor lived twenty-nine years and had Terach. |
24. And Nahor lived twenty-nine years, and begat Terah. |
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25. After he had Terach, Nachor lived one hundred and nineteen years, and had sons and daughters. |
25. And Nahor lived after he had begotten Terah one hundred and sixteen years, and begat sons and daughters. |
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26. Terach lived seventy years and had Abram, Nachor and Haran. |
26. And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram and Nahor and Haran. |
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27. These are the histories of Terach. Terach produced Abram, Nachor, and Haran. Haran produced Lot. |
27. These are the generations of Terah. Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot. |
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28. Haran died during the lifetime of his father Terach, in the land of his birth in Ur Kasdim. |
28. And it was when Nimrod had cast Abram into the furnace of fire because he would not worship his idol, and the fire had no power to burn him, that Haran's heart became doubtful, saying, If Nimrod overcome, I will be on his side: but if Abram overcome, I will be on his side. And when all the people who were there saw that the fire had no power over Abram, they said in their hearts, Is not Haran the brother of Abram full of divinations and charms, and has he not uttered spells over the fire that it should not burn his brother? Immediately (min yad, out of hand) there fell fire from the high heavens and consumed him; and Haran died in the sight of Terah his father, where he was burned in the land of his nativity, in the furnace of fire which the Kasdai had made for Abram his brother. |
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29. Abram and Nachor married. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nachor's wife was Milkah, the daughter of Haran [who was] the father of Milkah and Yiskah. |
29. And Abram and Nahor took to them wives: the name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of the wife of Nahor, Milcha, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcha and the father of Iska who is Sarai. |
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30. Sarai was barren, she had no child. |
30. And Sarai was barren, she had no child. [JERUSALEM. And Sarai was barren, she had no son.] |
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31. Terach took his son, Abram, and Lot, the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai, his daughter-in-law, the wife of his son, Abram. With them he departed from Ur Kasdim, to go to the land of Canaan. [When] they came to Charan [however], they settled there. |
31. And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot bar Haran, the son of his son, and his daughter-in-law Sarai the wife of Abram his son and went forth with them from Ur of the Kasdai, to go to the land of Kenaan. And they came unto Haran and dwelt there. |
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32. The lifetime of Terach was two hundred and five years. Terach died in Charan. |
32. And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years. And Terah died in Haran. |
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Reading Assignment: The Torah Anthology: Yalkut Me’Am Lo’Ez – Vol I By: Rabbi Ya’aqob Culi Published by: Moznaim Publishing Corp. (New York, 1988) Vol. 1 – “Genesis”, pp. 412 - 442 |
Reading Assignment: Ramban: Commentary on the Torah Translated and Annotated by Rabbi Dr. Charles Chavel Published by Shilo Publishing House, Inc. (New York, 1971) pp. 154 - 163 |
Welcome to the World of P’shat Exegesis
In order to understand the finished work of the P’shat mode of interpretation of the Torah, one needs to take into account that the P’shat is intended to produce a catechetical output, whereby a questions is raised, and an answer is 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.
This week we need to concentrate on Rashi’s commentary on Genesis 11:1, 4, 5, 9, 28, 29, and 32.
Chapter 11
1 one language the Holy Tongue.-[from Tan. Buber, Noach 28]
and uniform words Heb. דְבָרִים אֲחָדִים . They came with one scheme and said, “He had no right to select for Himself the upper regions. Let us ascend to the sky and wage war with Him.” Another explanation: [they spoke] against the Sole One of the world. Another explanation of אֲחָדִים דְבָרִים (other editions read: דְבָרִים חַדִים , sharp words): They said, “Once every 1,656 years, the sky totters, as it did in the time of the Flood. Come and let us make supports for it.”-[from Gen. Rabbah 28:6, Tan. Buber Noach 24]
2 when they traveled from the east where they had settled, as is written above (10:30): “And their dwelling place was, etc., the mountain of the east.” And they traveled from there to seek out a place that would accommodate them all, and they found only Shinar.-[from Gen. Rabbah 38:7]
3 And they said to one another One nation to another nation, Mizraim to Cush; and Cush to Put; and Put to Canaan. -[from Gen. Rabbah 38:8]
Come Heb. הָבָה , prepare yourselves. Every הָבָה is an expression of preparation, meaning that they prepare themselves and join for work, or for counsel, or for [bearing] a load. הָבָה , prepare yourselves, aparicler in Old French, to get ready.-[from Zohar, vol. 1, 75a]
bricks Because there are no stones in Babylon, which is a valley.-[from Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer ch. 24]
and fire them thoroughly This is how they make bricks, which are called tivles in Old French (tuilles in modern French): They fire them in a kiln.
for mortar to plaster the wall.
4 lest we be scattered That He should not bring upon us any plague to scatter us from here.-[from Tan. Buber, Noach 28]
5 And the Lord descended to see He did not need to do this, except to teach judges not to condemn a defendant until they see [the case] and understand [it]. [This is] in the Midrash of Rabbi Tanchuma (Buber Noach 18).
the sons of man But the sons of whom else [could they have been]? The sons of donkeys and camels? Rather, [this refers to] the sons of the first man, who was ungrateful and said (above 3:12): “The woman whom You gave [to be] with me.” These, too, were ungrateful in rebelling against the One Who lavished goodness upon them, and saved them from the Flood.-[from Gen. Rabbah 38:9]
6 Lo! [they are] one people All this goodness they have: that they are one people, and that they all have one language, and they have commenced to do this!-[from Seder Eliyahu Rabbah, ch. 31]
they have commenced Heb. הַחִלָם , lit. their beginning, like אָמְרָם , their saying; עֲשׂוֹתָם , their doing; they have commenced to do.
will it not be withheld This is a question. The word יִבָָּצֵר means withholding, as its Aramaic translation (יִתְמְנַע) . And similar to it, (Ps. 76:13): “He will withhold (יִבְצֽר) the spirit of princes.”
7 Come, let us descend He took counsel with His tribunal due to His extraordinary humility.-[from Sanh. 38b]
Come Measure for measure. They said, “Come, let us build,” and He meted corresponding [punishment] out to them by countering with, “Come, let us descend.”-[from Tan. Buber, Noach 25]
and confuse [The word וְנָבְלָה means] וּנְבַלְבֵּל and let us confuse. The “nun” is used for the [prefix for the first person] plural, and the final “hey” is superfluous like the “hey” of נֵרְדָה let us descend.-[from Targum Onkelos]
will not understand This one requests a brick, and that one brings mortar; this [first] one stands and cracks his skull.- [from Gen. Rabbah 38:10]
8 And the Lord scattered them from there in this world. That which they said, “lest we be scattered” (verse 4) was fulfilled upon them. This is what Solomon said, (Prov. 10:24): “The dread of a wicked man-that will befall him.”-[from Tan. Buber, Noach 28]
9 and from there... scattered them This teaches [us] that they have no share in the world to come (Mishnah Sanh. 107b). Now which [sins] were worse, those of the Generation of the Flood or those of the Generation of the Dispersion? The former did not stretch forth their hands against God, whereas the latter did stretch forth their hands against God, to wage war against Him. Nevertheless, the former were drowned, while the latter did not perish from the world. That is because the Generation of the Flood were robbers and there was strife between them, and therefore they were destroyed. But these behaved with love and friendship among themselves, as it is said (verse 1): “one language and uniform words.” Thus, you learn that discord is hateful, and that peace is great.-[from Gen. Rabbah 38:6]
10 Shem was one hundred years old when he begot Arpachshad two years after the Flood.-[from Targum Jonathan]
28 during the lifetime of Terah his father lit. on the face of Terah his father. During his father’s lifetime (Tan. Acharei 7). And the Midrash Aggadah (Gen. Rabbah 38: 13) tells us that he died on account of his father. For Terah complained about Abram his son before Nimrod for crushing his idols; so, he [Nimrod] cast him [Abram] into a fiery furnace, and Haran sat and thought, “If Abram is victorious, I am on his side, and if Nimrod is victorious, I am on his side.” When Abram was saved, they said to Haran, “Whose side are you on?” Haran said to them, “I am on Abram’s side!” They cast him into the fiery furnace, and he was burned. This is the meaning of אוּר כַּשְׂדִים the fire of the Chaldees. Menachem (Machbereth, p. 32), however, explains אוּר as a valley, and so (Isa. 24:15): “in the crevices (בָָּאוּרִים) honor the Lord,” and so, (ibid. 11: 8): “over the hole of ( מְאוּרַת ) an old snake.” Any hole or deep crevice is called אוּר .
29 Iscah This is Sarah [called Iscah] because she would see (סוֹכָה) through Divine inspiration, and because all gazed (סוֹכִין) at her beauty. Alternatively, יִסְכָָּה is an expression denoting princedom, (נְסִיכוֹת) , just as Sarah is an expression of dominion (שְׁרָרָה) . -[from Meg. 14a]
31 and they went forth with them And Terah and Abram went forth with Lot and Sarai.
32 and Terah died in Haran [This happened] after Abram had left Haran and had come to the land of Canaan, and had been there for over sixty years, for it is written (below 12:4): “And Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran,” and Terah was seventy years old when Abram was born, making Terah one hundred and forty-five years old when Abram left Haran. Accordingly, many of his [Terah’s] years were left. Why then did Scripture relate Terah’s death before Abram’s departure? So that the matter should not be publicized to all, whereby they would say: “Abram did not fulfill [the commandment of] honoring his father, for he left him in his old age and went away.” Therefore, Scripture calls him dead, for the wicked, even in their lifetime are called dead, whereas the righteous, even in their death, are called living, as it is said (II Sam. 23:20): “And Benayahu the son of Jehoiada, the son of a living man.”- [from Gen. Rabbah 39:7, Ber. 18b] Note that the keri is בֶּן אִישׁ חַיִל , a valiant man. The Rabbis here expound on the kethib: בֶּן אִישׁ חַי . in Haran The “nun”of חָרָן is inverted, to tell you that until Abram [appeared], the wrath of the Omnipresent was kindled (חֲרוֹן) , [the inverted “nun” symbolizes the change from Divine anger to Divine mercy].- [based on Sifrei, Ha’azinu 311]
Ketubim: Targum Tehillim (Psalms) 9:1-21
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JPS TRANSLATION |
TARGUM |
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1. For the Leader; upon Muthlabben. A Psalm of David. |
For praise, concerning the death of the man who went out between the armies. A hymn of David. another targum: For praise, concerning the sweetness of the sound by a son. A hymn of David. |
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2. I will give thanks unto the LORD with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works. |
2. I will sing praise in the Lord’s presence with all my heart; I will tell all of Your miracles. |
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3. I will be glad and exult in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High: |
3. I will be glad and rejoice in Your Word; I will praise Your name, O Most High. |
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4. When mine enemies are turned back, they stumble and perish at Your presence; |
4. When my enemies turn back, they will stumble and perish before You. |
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5. For You have maintained my right and my cause; You sat upon the throne as the righteous/generous Judge. |
5. Because You have accomplished my vindication and my judgment; You sat down on the throne of the righteous/generous judge. |
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6. You have rebuked the Gentiles, You have destroyed the wicked/Lawless, You have blotted out their name forever and ever. |
6. You rebuked the peoples of the Philistines; You destroyed Goliath the wicked/Lawless; their name you erased forever and ever. |
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7. O you enemy, the waste places are come to an end forever; and the cities which you did uproot, their very memorial is perished. |
7. And when the enemy fell, his forces were obliterated, and their fortresses were laid waste forever, and as for their cities, You destroyed the memory of them forever. |
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8. But the LORD is enthroned forever; He has established His throne for judgment. |
8. But as for the Word of the Lord, his seat is in the highest heaven forever; he has established his throne for judgment. |
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9. And He will judge the world in righteousness/ generosity, He will minister judgment to the peoples with equity. |
9. And he will judge the people of the earth in righteousness/generosity; he will judge the Gentiles in uprightness. |
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10. The LORD also will be a high tower for the oppressed, a high tower in times of trouble; |
10. And the Word of the Lord will be strength to the poor, strength in times of distress. |
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11. And they that know Your name will put their trust in You; for You, LORD, has not forsaken them that seek You. |
11. And those who know Your name (authority) will look at Your hope, because You have not abandoned those who seek You, O Lord. |
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12. Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion; declare among the peoples His doings. |
12. Sing praise before the Lord who made His presence rest in Zion; tell His deeds among the Gentiles. |
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13. For He that avenges blood has remembered them; He has not forgotten the cry of the humble. |
13. For He avenges the innocent blood; He remembers, He does not neglect the complaint of the humble. |
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14. Be gracious unto me, O LORD, behold mine affliction at the hands of them that hate me; You that lift me up from the gates of death; |
14. Pity me, O Lord; see my pain caused by my enemies, You who lift me up from the entrances of death. |
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15. That I may tell of all Your praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion, that I may rejoice in Your salvation (Yeshua). |
15. So that I may tell all Your praises in the entrances of the gates of the assembly of Zion; I will exult in Your redemption. |
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16. The Gentiles are sunk down in the pit that they made; in the net which they hid is their own foot taken. |
16. The peoples have sunk in the pit that they made; in the very net they concealed, their feet are caught. |
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17. The LORD has made Himself known, He has executed judgment, the wicked/Lawless is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah |
17. Manifest before the Lord is the judgement He executed: through the works of His hands, the wicked/Lawless man stumbled, the righteous/generous will rejoice forever. |
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18. The wicked/Lawless will return to the nether world, even all the Gentiles that forget God. |
18. The wicked/Lawless will return to Sheol, all the Gentiles who neglected the fear of the Lord. |
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19. For the needy will not always be forgotten, nor the expectation of the poor perish forever. |
19. For the needy man is not forever neglected; the hope of the humble will not perish forever. |
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20. Arise, O LORD, let not man prevail; let the Gentiles be judged in Your sight. |
20. Arise, O Lord, may the wicked/Lawless son of man not grow strong, may the Gentiles be judged in Your presence. |
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21. Set terror over them, O LORD; let the Gentiles know they are but men. Selah |
21. Put, O Lord, fear on them; let the peoples know that they are a son of man forever. |
Rashi’s Commentary on Psalms
Psalm Nine
1. `almuth labben. I read in the masoret that it [`almút] is a single word, for note that he [the masoret] listed it with “He will lead us `almút evermore” (Ps. 48:15). Early French Jewish exegetes and also Dunash offered their respective interpretations, which are unacceptable to me. I read, however, in Pesikta deRav Kahana that this text refers to Amalek and Edom. [Hence we read in v. 6], “You blast the nations; You destroy the wicked/Lawless; You blot out their name forever.” I think, however, that [the title] FOR THE LEADER. `almüt labben [means that] this poem refers to the eschatological era when Israel's childhood and youth will be renewed [yitlabben] and when their virtue will be revealed and their victory will be brought near, for Esau and his progeny will be wiped out. [The philological basis for this interpretation is as follows]:`almüt [is a synonym of yaldüt `childhood']. [The word] labben is a form of [the infinitive] lelabben `to renew'. However, Menahem [b. Saruq] interpreted `almüt labben as referring to a musical instrument whose name is `almüt. [According to Menahem, therefore, `aim it] is a form of the word [`dlámδt], which is used in this Book [of Psalms in the heading] "on alamoth. A song" (Ps. 46:1).
2b ALL YOUR WONDERS [i.e.], the final redemption, which is reckoned as the equivalent of all [the previous] miracles just as it is stated in the Bible, “It will no longer be said, [`I swear by the LORD who brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt'].”
5a MY RIGHT AND CLAIM. There are in the Bible [numerous examples of] precise synonyms juxtaposed. [Examples include] mispati νedini “MY RIGHT AND MY CLAIM” (here); “In heaven is my witness//and He who can testify for me is on high” (Job. 16:19); “His bones are like tubes of bronze// his limbs like iron rods” (Job. 40:18).
5b YOU PRESIDE ON THE BENCH [i.e.], the chair of judgment.
6a YOU BLAST NATIONS [i.e.], "Amalek, the first of nations" (Num. 24:20).
6b YOU DESTROY THE WICKED/LAWLESS, [i.e.], Esau.1J
6c YOU BLOT OUT THEIR NAME (authority) [in fulfillment of Your promise], “I will utterly blot out” (Ex. 1 7:14).
7a THE ENEMY ARE FINISHED, for SWORDS ARE FOREVER. [i.e.], For SWORDS of hatred ARE FOREVER. Another equally plausible interpretation oft 7 THE ENEMY ARE FINISHED—SWORDS ARE FOREVER [is the following]: That enemy, the SWORDS of whose hatred were FOREVER upon us, and this is the one of whom it is stated in the Bible, “And his fury stormed forever” (Am. 1:1 1); i.e., Esau.
7b YOU HAVE TORN DOWN THEIR CITIES. [This refers to what is stated in the Bible], “Although you, Edom, say, ‘We have been beaten down...’” (Mal. 1:4).
7c THEIR VERY NAMES ARE LOST at that time.
8a BUT THE LORD ABIDES FOREVER. His name will be whole, and his throne will be whole as is suggested by [the expression] HIS THRONE (v. 8b). However, before he [Amalek] will have been blotted out it is written in the Bible, “For the hand [of Amalek] is against the throne of the LΟRD" (Ex. 17:16), [which is to say that the throne is defective and the name [of God] is defective at present.
9 HE JUDGES THE WORLD WITH KINDNESS... GRACIΟUSNESS. Until the arrival of the end of days He will have been accustomed to judge them with mercy, [i.e.], according to the GRACIOUSNESS found in them. [Thus] He examines them at night when they are sleeping [and thus removed] from [engaging in] transgressions.
10a MAY THE LORD BE A HAVEN FOR THE OPPRESSED in the eschatological era when His [judge's] bench will be set up for judgment MAY HE BE A HAVEN for Israel, who are oppressed.
10b FOR TIMES [lé ittόt] IN THE TROUBLE [i.e.], TIMES [ittim] OF TROUBLE.
12 SING A HYMN TO THE LORD, WHO REIGNS [Yosheb] IN ZION. When He will have restored His reign [yésibatο] they will thus sing to Him.
13 HE REMEMBERS THEM [i.e.], the BLOOD, which was spilt in Israel.
14a HAVE MERCY ON ME now in the Exile.
14c YOU WHO LIFT ME UP by means of Your redemption.
16 THE NATIONS SINK. This is the PRAISE, which I will TELL (v. 15α).
17 THE LORD HAS MADE HIMSELF KNOWN. All this [vv. 16-17] is the PRAISE (v. l5a). THE LORD HAS MADE HIMSELF KNOWN to people for He is the Ruler, and He governs, and He exacts vindication from His enemies, for HE WORKS JUDGMENT upon them. THE WICKED/LAWLESS MAN IS SNARED. [I.e.], THE WICKED/LAWLESS MAN has failed. HIGGAION `thought'. We will think [nehgeh] this.
18 לשאולה `TO SHEOL'. R. Nehemiah said, “For any word which is in want of a lamed [indicating direction towards] as a prefix to it there has been provided for it a [locative letter] hai as its suffix.” Examples include misraymáh` to Egypt' (Gen. 12:10, 11, 14; etc.); midbaráh to the wilderness (1 Kgs. 19:15; Isa. 16:1; etc.). They challenged him: “But here it is written, "LET THE WICKED/LAWLESS RETURN לשאולה [which, according to R. Nehemiah's grammatical rule, should mean `to to Sheol', which is redundant]. Rabbi Abba b. Zabdi said, [“The apparent redundancy is Biblical Hebrew's way of indicating the great distance] `to' the lowest level of Sheοl.” Now what is the meaning of `THEY WILL RETURN'? It is that after they will have left Gehinnοm, been judged and found guilty THEY WILL RETURN to the lowest level of Gehinnom.
19a NOT ALWAYS WILL Israel THE NEEDY BE IGNORED without being rewarded for their having been subservient to HIM.
19b NOR THE HOPE OF THE AFFLICTED FOREVER LOST.
20a RISE, O LORD! David prays to God [hammáqόm] that He should arise, i.e., He should hurry to do this [which is attributed to God in vv. 18-19].
20b LET NOT Esau HAVE POWER forever.
20c IN YOUR PRESENCE because of the anger with which they angered You with respect to [the destruction of] Your Temple.
21a FEAR [moreh]. [is related both etymologically and semantically to] marüt `lordship' and [semantically to] `yoke'. Another equally plausible interpretation is [that] mόreh [ís a synonym of] haslákák `casting' [and] a cognate of [the verb yáráh `hurl' in] "He has hurled into the sea" (Εx: 15:4).
21b LET THE GENTILES KNOW that they ARE MEN and not divinity that their might should prevail.
Meditation on the Psalms
Psalms chapter 9:1-21
By: H.Em. Hakham Dr. Hillel ben David
In the previous psalm, David sang of the Divine order manifest in the wonders of creation. G-d purposely made his splendid universal scheme very clear ... to establish strength because of ... tormentors, to silence foe and avenger.[1]
But the enemies of HaShem are not silenced. They demand: ‘If indeed the earth is HaShem’s, why does He not guide the events of history in accordance with a strict pattern of justice, just as He regulates the world of nature?’
Now, David replies forcefully to his own foes and to Israel’s tormentors — Goliath, Avshalom, Nabal, Lavan, Esau, Amalek, and King Laben.
He declares: ‘The key to world history is to remember that the universe was created ‘The Son’ - laBen - לבן,[2] for the son of G-d,[3] Israel, whom G-d is determined to make לבן, pure and innocent [lit. white]. To test the purity of their emunah, their faithfulness, G-d conceals His ways (עלמות) from the righteous. The confusion, havoc, and ruin wrought by the wicked are but a manifestation of עלמות, concealment. But the joyous song of the devout is not muted by affliction or misery, they continue to sing על מות, even beyond death, עלמות, forever.[4]
Psalm nine tells us that David was its author, in the first pasuk. The Psalmist tells us that this psalm was written on the occasion of the death of “the son”. As to the circumstance surrounding the writing of this psalm, there is considerable disagreement between the various commentators. To keep this meditation short, I’ll merely give a synopsis of the major opinions:
According to Rashi, the psalm refers to the future downfall of Edom-Amalek and the redemption of Israel.[5]
According to Radak, it is dedicated to the death of Goliath.
According to Alshich, David wrote this psalm upon the death of his first son from Batsheba.
However, the opinion that resonates with me is the opinion of Hakham Shimshon Raphael Hirsch who ties all of these opinions together. His Eminence tells us that:
“David presents to us here an all-encompassing overview of the entire historical experience of Israel as a whole and of her many heroes as individuals. This is a psalm which is eternal, speaking of past, present, and future. It is dedicated to לבן (laBen), to the son of G-d, Israel, who enjoys an especially close filial relationship with his Father in Heaven. Thus, none of Israel’s enemies will survive. Nabal (laBen spelled backwards), Absalom, king Laben,[6] Goliath, Amalek, Esau – G-d judges them all מות-אל ‘for death’. Israel alone survives all catastrophes being מות-אל ‘immortal, above death’; living in אלמות, in ‘two worlds’, this world and the World to Come. Thus, we maintain אלמות, eternal youth and vigor, because we always act like G-d’s ‘young son’, submitting to His guidance and discipline. This is the secret essence of our immortality. Finally, אלמות means ‘secrecy’ from the word העלם, ‘concealment’. G-d is forever behind the scenes of world history manipulating it so that immortal Israel shall always overcome all odds, however awesome the may be.”[7]
From Hakham Hirsch’s view, we understand that HaShem is asking us to consider[8] and to show the world that we must act like a young son who runs to do his Father’s will just as Avraham got up and went to do the will of HaShem. This is the essence of emunah, of faithful obedience.
Da’ath Soferim tells us that this is the first psalm of this first book, with a tone of joy and optimism.[9] Surely this must have been Avraham’s emotion as he is told, by the Creator of the universe that he is going to be made into a great nation with a great name. That because of him all the nations of the earth were going to be blessed. This promise was all the more encouraging because he was childless, and he really wanted children.
In our psalm, David also prays, in v.12, that the Jewish people will have much esteem in order that they speak to the nations about HaShem and His Torah, because people do not listen to poor, down-trodden people. The Talmud speaks of this blessing:
Sotah 49a R. Elai b. Jebarekya said: Had it not been for the prayer of David, all Israel would have been sellers of rubbish,[10] as it is stated: Grant them esteem, HaShem.[11]
Thus, we understand that as Avraham followed HaShem, so also was he to teach the nations. This task has been handed down to his descendants. However, David realizes that there is still much to do, so he encourages his audience to be busy with this task. Even in our day there is much to do, as we read in the Mishna:
Pirke Avot 2:20 Rabbi Tarfon said, “The day is short, the work is vast, the wage is great, the workers are lazy and the Master is insistent”.
Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai provides further elucidation on Bereshit 12:3: Genesis 12:3 can also be read without violence to its grammar as:
“I will bless those who bless you, and he who curses you, I will curse; and in you, will all the families of the earth graft themselves in.”
Compare this statement with Romans Chapter 11.
But you may say, Hakham, but the text says, “ALL the families of the earth”? Is this not unreal as we see the world today? For example, did the Mumbai terrorists graft themselves in Avraham? And the answer is YES, but at some point, they rejected the Jewish olive tree and separated themselves from it to revert back to the wild olive tree status.
What is interesting in this text is that the verbal construction is reflexive – i.e., humanity has to put an effort to graft themselves in. Surely Yeshua has opened a small door of grace, but still every human being has to make an effort to enter the very narrow gate!
Note that Yeshua has opened the very small door, but the grafting in is to Avraham – the Jewish olive cultivated Tree which comes along with three important possessions:
If one claims to be a follower or Rabbinic Disciple of Yeshua one needs to thoroughly graft oneself into these three essential components of Avraham!
Let’s look into Avraham’s ‘grafting’ and note some of the interesting facets of this great man.[15] The first covenant recorded in the Torah between HaShem and man that is arrived at by a process of negotiation is recorded in Bereshit:
Bereshit (Genesis) 15:18 On that day HaShem made a covenant with Avraham saying, “To your descendants have I given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates river.
This covenant constitutes a legal contract between HaShem and man where each takes on obligations and burdens. This covenant is a major cornerstone upon which the Bne Israel, the Children of Israel, stands. As can be seen from the above text, the subject of the covenant was the grant of the land of Israel to the children of Avraham. In this covenant HaShem promised Avraham two things:
1. HaShem promised him offspring. Avraham accepted this part of the covenant:
Bereshit (Genesis) 15:2 And Abram said, Lord HaShem, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? 3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. 4 And, behold, the word of HaShem came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. 5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. 6 And he believed in HaShem; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
2. HaShem promised Avraham the land of Israel. This promise Avraham raised some doubts for Avraham:
Bereshit (Genesis) 15:7 And he said unto him, I am HaShem that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it. 8 And he said, Lord HaShem, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?
Why did the promise of the land raise doubt in Avraham’s mind? Why did Avraham have more trouble accepting the promise of land than the promise of children?
At the time of the signing of this covenant HaShem told Avraham:
Bereshit (Genesis) 15:13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; 14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
The four-hundred-year exile began when Avraham’s descendent, Yitzchak, was born. A hundred and ninety years later, Avraham’s descendants went into exile in Egypt. They spent two hundred and ten years in Egypt. According to the Gemara, this two hundred- and ten-years exile and oppression were a result of Avraham’s questioning HaShem’s promise of the land of Israel, and his subsequent request for proof:
Nedarim 32a R. Abbahu said in R. Eleazar’s name: Why was our Father Abraham punished and his children doomed to Egyptian servitude for two hundred and ten years? Because he pressed scholars into his service, as it is written, He armed his dedicated servants born in his own house. Samuel said: Because he went too far in testing the attributes [i.e., the promises] of the Lord, as it is written, [And he sand, Lord G-d,] whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it? R. Johanan sand: Because he prevented men from entering beneath the wings of the Shechinah, as it is written, [And the king of Sodom said it to Abraham,] Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.
Why did HaShem have such a significant time period attached to Avraham’s question? A two-hundred-and-ten-year exile for simply asking a question? In answering all these questions, let us begin by trying to understand why it took a covenant with HaShem to allow Avraham to have children.
We are not only seeking an explanation for the workings of HaShem that determined that Avraham and Sarah should be naturally childless. We also have to explain why a couple bearing a child in their middle years[16] takes on the proportions of such an immense miracle. After all, Avraham was willing to enter a fiery furnace[17] out of loyalty to HaShem, so why did the mere belief in the promise of having children earn him so much praise from HaShem? What is so immense here?
The Midrash relates that when HaShem told Avraham to leave Ur, Avraham was nervous that people would criticize him for abandoning his parents just as they were getting old. HaShem told Avraham that he is absolved from the obligation of honoring his parents.
Midrash Rabbah - Genesis 39:7 Now what precedes this passage? And Terah died in Haran (ib. XI, 32), [which is followed by] NOW THE LORD SAID UNTO ABRAM: GET THEE (LEK LEKA). R. Isaac said: From the point of view of chronology a period of sixty-five years is still required.[18] But first you may learn that the wicked, even during their lifetime, are called dead.[19] For Abraham was afraid, saying, ‘ Shall I go out and bring dishonor upon the Divine Name, as people will say, “He left his father in his old age and departed”? ‘Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, reassured him: ‘I exempt thee (leka) from the duty of honoring thy parents, though I exempt no one else from this duty.[20] Moreover, I will record his death before thy departure.’ Hence, ‘And Terah died in Haran’ is stated first, and then, NOW THE LORD SAID UNTO ABRAM, etc.
HaShem added that Avraham was the only person in all of human history who would ever receive such absolution. But why was Avraham absolved?
The Maharal[21] explains in his work Gevurat HaShem[22] that Avraham received this absolution because he was a new beginning. Usually, children inherit their potential, whether physical or spiritual, entirely from their parents. As such, they owe their parents honor and respect as the ultimate source of their beings.
On his own, Avraham climbed to a new pinnacle of spirituality. Avraham did not inherit his spiritual potential from anyone. On his own he climbed to a new pinnacle of spirituality whose potential was innate in all human beings but that no one else had ever actualized since the fall of Adam.
The ability to form the powerful spiritual bond with HaShem which prompted HaShem to finally command Avraham to depart from Ur to go to live in the Holy Land was a heretofore unexploited human resource that Avraham obtained directly from Adam himself, as no human being had ever tapped into it before.
Avraham is described by the Midrash[23] as the very first convert to Judaism:
Tehillim (Psalms) 47:9 The princes of the people are gathered together, even the people of the G-d of Abraham: for the shields of the earth belong unto G-d: he is greatly exalted.
The G-d of Avraham and not the G-d of Yitzchak and Yaaqov? The G-d of Avraham who was the very first convert to Judaism. [He is the noble of spirit among the peoples, as it was only Avraham’s nobility of spirit that brought him to HaShem. He was not raised to be a Jew by his parents. Isaac and Jacob already had Jewish parents.] The ruling that applies to all new converts to Judaism, stated many times in the Talmud is that the convert is like a newborn child.
Yevamoth 48b R. Jose said: One who has become a proselyte is like a child newly born.[24]
In the eyes of Jewish Law, he is no longer related to his previous family. On the other hand, all converts are considered the children of Avraham, their predecessor and the very first convert. But there is a necessary downside to this. The ability to have children is also a potential one inherits from his parents. Indeed, it could be argued that the human genome is the most basic human factor that is transmitted from generation to generation. Each and every human being who is born represents yet another link in the endless chain of DNA that stretches all the way back to the first man. If Avraham is not a continuation of this chain, but represents an entirely new human departure, then it follows that he cannot serve as a connecting link along the existing chain of generations but has to originate a brand new chain of his own. To transform oneself is one thing; to be able to transmit this transformation to all future generations of one’s descendants is quite another. This is the background to the covenant described in Bereshit (Genesis) 15.
Above the Stars
Shabbath 156a Rab too holds that Israel is immune from planetary influence. For Rab Judah said in Rab’s name: How do we know that Israel is immune from planetary influence? Because it is said, and he brought him forth from abroad.[25] Abraham pleaded before the Holy One, blessed be He, ‘Sovereign of the Universe! one born in mine house is mine heir.’ ‘Not so,’ He replied, ‘but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels.’ ‘Sovereign of the Universe!’ cried he, ‘I have looked at my constellation and find that I am not fated to beget child.’ ‘Go forth from [i.e., cease] thy planet [gazing], for Israel is free from planetary influence.
According to Jewish thought, all physical potential is mapped out in the stars, which serve as both reservoir and conduit of the spiritual force required to bring about all physical changes in the world. Avraham was an expert in the science of reading the stars. Thus, he concluded, that his lack of offspring did not result from a mere physical defect which could theoretically be repaired by some sort of operation or its miraculous equivalent, but was due to the fact that the natural universe contained no spiritual energy that could be translated into providing him with offspring. HaShem was informing Avraham that he was correct in this assessment, but it was irrelevant, as He, HaShem, was moving him out of this entire system controlled by the stars.
However, there is a major difficulty in the way of going above nature and drawing energy straight from this ultimate source. HaShem may be perfectly willing to supply the necessary inputs, but the recipient has to be able to reach up all the way to the ultimate source to be able to receive this input. In order to be able to accomplish this, Avraham had to somehow increase his own stature so that he could reach above nature, and such length of reach was not yet programmed into human beings.
Here is where emunah[26] or the power of faithful obedience comes into the picture. Suppose that a person who is naturally potent genuinely believes himself or herself to be sterile. As they inherited the capacity to conceive from their parents, and such capacity is already part of their phenotypes, their lack of belief is unlikely to interfere with their ability to actually bring children into the world. They may find themselves shocked to be pregnant. But the contrary is certainly not so. For someone who did not inherit any such capacity, belief is very much an issue. Avraham, who was not born with a capacity to reproduce and had to acquire it in midlife, could only accomplish such acquisition through the power of emunah, faithful obedience.
Perhaps the most illustrative example of this principle at work is in the story of Nachshon ben Aminadav. In Shemot (Exodus) 14, the Torah relates the story of the splitting of the sea. The pursuing Egyptians found the Jewish people encamped on the shores of the Red Sea and began their attack. Faced by the sea on one side, and the hostile Egyptians on the other, the Jewish people had nowhere to run. Moses assured them that HaShem would save them and then immersed himself in prayer.
Shemot (Exodus) 14:15 The Lord said to Moses: “Moses, Why do you cry out to me? Speak to the Children of Israel and let them journey forth.”
But what else was Moses supposed to do? The sea was raging before them. There was nothing else to do except pray. Explains Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin, the student of the Gaon of Vilna:
“HaShem told Moses that from His part, He had done everything He could possibly do to split the sea. But the miracle could not happen unless the Jewish people believed it could happen. They had to start moving into the sea as though it would get out of their way.”
The Gemara[27] relates that Nachshon ben Aminadav walked straight into the water. First it covered his knees, soon he was immersed in the water up to his neck, and finally it was over his nose, and he began to drown. But Nachshon believed that the water could not drown him, as HaShem had told the children of Israel to start traveling. Following HaShem’s orders could not lead him into danger. Just before he reached the point of drowning this power of emunah finally parted the waters and others who were not on this level of emunah were also able to follow. His faithful obedience was the key! The connection between emunah and Avraham’s children and the need for a covenant with HaShem to bring this about is now clear.
Let us now move on to the land of Israel.
If Avraham had the necessary strength of emunah to reach above nature, connect directly to HaShem, and bring the power of reproduction down to the world, why did this emunah fail him about receiving the land of Israel? Why did he ask for a guarantee on this promise?
We must understand what is so special about this land of Israel that HaShem promised Avraham.
The answer to this question also emerges from these same ideas that we have been exploring. Why did HaShem want Avraham to leave a place where he had a large following and was a major force for good and travel to the land of Canaan? After all isn’t HaShem everywhere?
In the world as HaShem arranged it, the human habitat is always perfectly adjusted to sustain the people it must support. The same spiritual forces that were implanted by HaShem into nature which produce human children also must be able to produce the energy required to sustain them. It would be futile to place human beings into the world without providing them with the necessities of survival. This connection between man and his world is clearly enunciated in the following passage of the Talmud, commenting on the following Torah pasuk.
Bereshit (Genesis) 7:23 And He blotted out all existence that was on the face of the ground -- from man to animals to creeping things and to the bird of the heavens.
Sanhedrin 108a And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, [both man and cattle]. If man sinned, how did the beasts sin? — A Tanna taught on the authority of R. Joshua b. Karha: This may be compared to a man who set up a bridal canopy for his son and prepared a banquet with every variety [of food]. Subsequently his son died, whereupon he arose and broke up the feast, saying, ‘Have I prepared all this for any but my son? Now that he is dead, what need have I of the banquet?’ Thus, the Holy One, blessed be He, said too, ‘Did I create the animals and beasts for aught but man: now that man has sinned, what need have I of the animals and beasts?’
But if this is so, then Avraham’s offspring must face another serious problem. For just as nature contained no spiritual energy that Avraham could draw on to reproduce, it also contained no energy for the habitat to sustain any potential offspring that he might have. The promise of offspring and the promise of the land of Israel are thus intertwined.
Just as Avraham had to surmount nature to access his children, he had to reach above the natural world to provide them with a habitat. This habitat is the land of Israel. To bring this down to earth, Avraham had to leave Ur and travel to Canaan. But to bring it to earth also required emunah. Oddly enough however, the reach for the habitat takes more emunah than the reach for offspring.
To understand this point let us consider the remedy for Avraham’s lack of emunah, the four hundred yearlong exile, a large part of which was the 210 years spent in Egypt in a state of oppression. The final step of the Exodus was the splitting of the sea referred to above about which is written:
Shemot (Exodus) 14:31 And the people revered HaShem, and they had faith in HaShem and in Moses, His servant.
The type of emunah required to calmly walk into the waves of the sea, or to follow HaShem into the barren desert, is the type of faithful obedience that is ready to accept the possibility of existing in the physical world without the aid of any natural inputs. Thus, man can breathe in the absence of air, can relieve his thirst in the absence of water, and can satisfy his hunger in the absence of food if that is the will of HaShem.
It takes great emunah to be able to reach up to heaven and bring the land of Israel down to earth.
It is obviously this type of emunah in HaShem that is required to be able to reach up to heaven and bring the land of Israel down to earth. Avraham was not certain that he could pass this type of emunah down the chain of generations along with his genes. He knew that in the absence of such emunah it was impossible to hold on to the land of Israel. And so, he asked HaShem for a guarantee. Thus, the four-hundred-year exile was not a punishment but a means by which the nation of Israel could acquire the necessary emunah to be able to settle and hold onto the land of Israel.
Emunah relates very little to the idea of blind belief; it relates far more to the work of disciplining the heart and harnessing the hands in loyalty to the head.
Emet, truth, is that which is clear, provable, undeniable, seen, if you like. Emunah, faith, lives in the hidden domain, the domain in which doubt is possible, it can only be heard, never seen.[28] The correct and essential translation of emunah is not “faith” in the sense of belief but “faithfulness”, loyalty, as in – “And his hands were faithful until the sun set”;[29] they were loyal to their task, they remained in position. Obviously one cannot translate this verse using the concept of belief. Absolutely blind belief with no core of certainty, of knowledge, does not make sense. The Torah concept of emunah is loyalty to that which is true, not that which is imagined.
In the natural world there is no room or provision for the children of Avraham. But if they can survive intact for four hundred years and grow into a great nation without their own land or country or army, they will internalize the emunah that their prosperity and survival comes from HaShem Himself, bypassing the conduit of the world of nature. This emunah will also give them a long enough reach to stretch their arm all the way up to heaven and bring down for themselves their country, Israel.
If an exile of four hundred years was sufficient to bequeath the Jewish people such great emunah, how much more potent should an exile of two thousand years have proven to be. One would think that the Jewish people can certainly not be far away from the emunah necessary to bring the final redemption. Yet we are experiencing great difficulties in merely hanging on to a portion of the land of Israel. Why is this so? How can we explain such a total lack of emunah after such a long period of survival against great odds?
The truth is that the power of emunah hidden in the Jewish people is immense. The trouble with emunah is that we only push the switch that turns it on when we are convinced that there is no way to achieve our objectives according to natural law.
If we look at the history of modern Israel, it is clearly divisible into two parts. Before 1967 everything we touched turned to gold. Since then, things haven’t gone so smoothly to put it mildly. This difference in our success in the outer world is entirely matched by the rise and fall of the power of emunah within us.
Before 1967, the power of our emunah was at full strength. Back then, we looked at ourselves as a people who had to survive against great odds through the strength of our faith and determination. The world has regarded us this way as well. Since then, we’ve come to regard ourselves as a local superpower who is able to manage on its own. The world also treats us this way. As our emunah has waned and so has our worldly success. The lessons of history are obvious. We have only to read the book.
Tehillim (Psalms) 9:11 And they that know Thy name will put their trust in Thee; for Thou, HaShem, hast not forsaken them that seek Thee.
Ashlamatah: Zephaniah 3:9-17 + 20
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Rashi’s Translation |
Targum |
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1. ¶ Woe to her who is filthy and polluted-the dove-like city. |
1. Woe to her who rushes on and is delivered, the city which multiplies provocations. |
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2. She did not obey; she did not accept reproof. She did not trust in the Lord. She did not draw near to her God. |
2. She has not listened to the voice of His servants the prophets nor has she received instruction she has not trusted in the Memra of the LORD, nor drawn near to the service of her God. |
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3. Her princes in her midst are roaring lions; her judges, wolves of the evening. They did not leave over the bones for morning. |
3. Her princes in her midst are like roaring lions, her judges are evening wolves; they do not wait for the morning. |
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4. Her prophets are unstable, treacherous people. Her priests have profaned the sanctuary; they have removed the Torah. |
4. The false prophets who are in her midst are evil, deceitful men; her priests desecrate what is holy; they do violence to the Law. |
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5. The Lord is just in her midst; He commits no injustice. Every morning He brings His judgment to light. It does not fail. But the one who commits injustice knows no shame. |
5. The LORD, the righteous/generous One, has promised to make His Shekinah dwelt within her; He cannot act deceitfully. Behold, as the morning light which increases in strength, so His judgement goes out forever and is not held back; but the wicked do not know shame. |
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6. I have cut off nations; their towers have become desolate. I have destroyed their streets so that no one passes by. Their cities have become waste so that there is no man-so that there is no inhabitant. |
6. I have destroyed nations; their fortresses are laid waste; I have left their streets desolate so that there is none that passes by; their cities have been laid waste, without people, without inhabitant. |
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7. I said, "Surely you will fear Me, you will accept reproof, and her dwelling shall not be cut off, all that I ordained upon her." But they arose early and corrupted all their deeds. |
7. I said, "Surely you will fear from before Me, you will accept instruction, and their dwelling will not cease from the land of the house of My Shekinah all the blessings which I promised to them I will bring to them. Then were they quick to make all their works corrupt. |
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8. Therefore, wait for Me, says the Lord, for the day that I will rise up to meet [with you]. For it is My judgment to assemble nations, to gather kingdoms, to pour out My fury upon them; yea, all the kindling of My wrath, for with the fire of My jealousy all the earth shall be consumed. |
8. Therefore wait for My Memra, says the LORD, for the day of My appearing to give judgement; for My decision is to gather nations, to bring kingdoms near, in order to pour out My wrath upon them, even all the force of My anger; for all the wicked of the earth will perish in the fire of my retribution. |
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9. For then I will convert the peoples to a pure language that all of them call in the name of the Lord, to worship Him of one accord. |
9. For then I will bring again upon the nations one chosen language, so that they may all pray in the name of the LORD, that they may serve before Him with one accord. |
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10. From the other side of the rivers of Cush, My supplicants, the community of My scattered ones-they shall bring Me an offering. |
10. From beyond the rivers of India the exiles of My people who were exiled will return in mercy, and they will be bringing them as offerings. |
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11. On that day you shall not be ashamed of all your deeds [with] which you rebelled against Me, for then I will remove from your midst those who rejoice in your pride, and you shall no longer continue to be haughty on My holy mount. |
11. At that time you will not be ashamed of all your evil works with which you have rebelled against My Memra, for then I will banish from your midst the mighty ones inwhom you glory, and you will no longer vaunt yourself in My holy mountain. |
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12. And I will leave over in your midst a humble and poor people, and they shall take shelter in the name of the Lord. |
12. But I will leave in your midst a people lowly and suffering humiliation and they will trust in the name of the LORD. |
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13. The remnant of Israel shall neither commit injustice nor speak lies; neither shall deceitful speech be found in their mouth, for they shall graze and lie down, with no one to cause them to shudder. {P} |
13. The remnant of Israel will not act deceitfully and will not speak lies. Nor will a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth, for they will maintain themselves and will settle down and there will be none to make them afraid. |
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14. Sing, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O Israel! Rejoice and jubilate wholeheartedly, O daughter of Jerusalem! |
14. Give praise, O congregation of Zion, shout for joy, O Israel; rejoice and exult with all (your) heart, O congregation of Jerusalem. |
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15. The Lord has removed your afflictions; He has cast out your enemy. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst-you shall no longer fear evil. {P} |
15. The LORD has banished the deceitful judges from your midst. He has re moved your enemies; the King of Israel, the LORD, has promised to make His Shekinahdwell in your midst; no longer be afraid of evil. |
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16. On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, "Have no fear! O Zion, let your hands not be slack. |
16. At that time it will be said to Jerusalem, "Do not be afraid, O Zion; do not let your hands be slack." |
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17. The Lord your God is in your midst-a Mighty One Who will save. He will rejoice over you with joy. He will be silent in His love. He will jubilate over you with song." |
17. The LORD your God has promised to make His Shekinah dwell in your midst; the mighty deliverer will rejoice over you with joy, He will subdue your sins by his love, He will exult over you with exultation. |
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18. Those who are removed from the appointed season I have destroyed. They were of you-it was a burden of shame upon her. |
18. Those who were delaying among you the times of your festivals I have removed from your midst. Woe to them, for they were taking up their arms against you and were reviling you. |
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19. Behold, I wreak destruction upon all those who afflict you at that time. And I will save the one who limps, and I will gather the stray one, and I will make them a praise and a name throughout all the land where they suffered shame. |
19. Behold, at that time I will make a full end of all those who enslave you, and I will deliver those who are exiled and will bring near those who are scattered and will set them for glory and for renown in all the land where they were in shame. |
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20. At that time I will bring them, and at [that] time I will gather you, for I will make you a name and a praise among all the peoples of the earth when I restore your captivities before your eyes, said the Lord. {P} |
20. At that time I will bring you in, and at that time I will gather you for I will make you for renown and for glory among all the nations of the earth when I bring back your exiles before your eyes, says the LORD. |
Rashi’s Commentary for: Zephaniah 3:9-17, 20
1 Woe to her who is filthy and polluted Until now, Zephaniah was speaking of Ninveh, but now he refers to Jerusalem: Woe to her who is destined to be plundered and sullied like dung. It will be polluted with the filth of its iniquity.
filthy as in (Lev. 1:16) “its crop”; and (Nahum 3:6) “And I will make you like dung.”
the dove like city Like a silly dove, without a heart.
3 wolves of the evening who hasten to devour their prey at night.
They did not leave over the bones for morning They did not leave over even the bones to gnaw in the morning.
4 they removed the Torah They did not teach it to those who inquired of them.
5 The Lord is just He caused His Shechinah to rest in their midst; therefore, He cannot look upon their evil deeds. He is just, and there is no injustice before Him.
He brings His judgment to light He judges a true judgment to its absolute truth.
But the one who commits injustice knows no shame But the unjust judges do not take it to heart, to be ashamed because of the Righteous One Who dwells among them.
6 I have cut off nations I brought retribution upon the nations so that you should see and fear as He concludes, “I said, ‘Surely you will fear Me.’”
7 I said, “Surely you will fear Me... and her dwelling shall not be cut off” Her dwellings shall not be destroyed.
all that I ordained upon her And all the good that I ordained to bring upon her shall not be cut off from her.
8 That I will rise up to meet When I will rise to meet with you.
10 From the other side of the rivers of Cush They will bring Me an offering.
My supplicants those who pray to me.
the community of My scattered ones The gatherings of My scattered ones, whom I scattered.
11 you shall not be ashamed of all your deeds Because you have already suffered, and your iniquity has been expiated.
12 a humble and poor people A humble people that submits to humiliation.
15 your afflictions justice in French.
17 A Mighty One will save He is a Mighty One, Who will save [Israel] from the enemy.
He will be silent in His love He will conceal your transgressions with His love. So did Jonathan render: He will cover your sins with His love.
18 Those who are removed from the appointed season I destroyed those removed from My appointed seasons, those who did not keep the Sabbaths and the festivals.
I have destroyed lit., I gathered in.
they were of you They were of your people.
it was a burden of shame upon her That guilt was a burden of shame to you.
Those who are removed an expression of taking out, as in (Prov. 25:4) “Take away the dross from the silver"; and (II Sam. 20:13) “When he was removed from the highway." The only radical letter is the “gimel."
19 Behold, I wreak destruction Jonathan rendered: Behold I wreak destruction. It may also be interpreted as an expression of crushing, as in (Mal. 3:21): “And you shall crush the wicked.”
throughout all the land where they suffered shame Every place where they were for their shame, there I will make them to be a praise and a name.
Verbal Tallies
By: H.Em. Hakham Dr. Hillel ben David
& HH Giberet Dr. Elisheba bat Sarah
Bereshit (Genesis) 11:1-32
Tehillin (Psalms) 9
Zephaniah 3:9-17, 20
Mk 1:21-22, Lk 4:31-32
The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Psalm are:
Dwelt / Endure / Sat - ישב, Strong’s number 03427.
The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Ashlamata are:
Earth - ארץ, Strong’s number 0776.
One - אחד, Strong’s number 0259.
Language - שפה, Strong’s number 08193.
Beresheet (Genesis) 11:1-2 And the whole earth <0776> was of one <0259> language <08193>, and of one <0259> speech.
2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt <03427> (8799) there.
Tehillim (Psalms) 9:4 For thou hast maintained my right and my cause; thou satest <03427> (8804) in the throne judging right.
Tehillim (Psalms) 9:7 But the LORD shall endure <03427> (8799) for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment.
Tehillim (Psalms) 9:11 Sing praises to the LORD, which dwelleth <03427> (8802) in Zion: declare among the people his doings.
Zephaniah 3:9 For then will I turn to the people a pure language <08193>, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one <0259> consent.
Zephaniah 3:20 At that time will I bring you again, even in the time that I gather you: for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth <0776>, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the LORD <03068>.
Hebrew:
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Hebrew |
English |
Torah Reading Gen. 11:1-32 |
Psalms 9:1-21 |
Ashlamatah Zeph. 3:9-17. 20 |
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dx'a, |
one |
Gen.
11:1 |
Zeph. 3:9 |
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byEao |
enemies |
Ps.
9:3 |
Zeph. 3:15 |
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~yhil{a/ |
God |
Ps. 9:17 |
Zeph. 3:17 |
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rm;a' |
said |
Gen.
11:3 |
Zeph.
3:16 |
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#r,a, |
earth, land, ground |
Gen. 11:1 |
Zeph. 3:20 |
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aAB |
came, come, go |
Gen. 11:31 |
Zeph. 3:20 |
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!Be |
sons, children |
Gen. 11:5 |
Ps. 9:1 |
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tB; |
daughters |
Gen. 11:11 |
Ps. 9:14 |
Zeph.
3:10 |
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lyGI |
rejoice |
Ps. 9:14 |
Zeph. 3:17 |
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hw"hoy> |
LORD |
Gen.
11:5 |
Ps.
9:1 |
Zeph.
3:9 |
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~Ay |
days |
Gen. 11:32 |
Zeph.
3:11 |
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bv;y" |
dwell, dwelt |
Gen.
11:2 |
Ps.
9:4 |
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ble |
heart |
Ps. 9:1 |
Zeph. 3:14 |
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ac'm' |
found, find |
Gen. 11:2 |
Zeph. 3:13 |
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jP'v.mi |
right, judgment |
Ps.
9:4 |
Zeph. 3:15 |
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ry[i |
city, cities, town |
Gen.
11:4 |
Ps. 9:6 |
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hl'yli[] |
deeds |
Ps. 9:11 |
Zeph. 3:11 |
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~[; |
people |
Gen. 11:6 |
Ps. 9:11 |
Zeph.
3:9 |
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ynI[' |
humble |
Ps.
9:12 |
Zeph. 3:12 |
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hf'[' |
make, made, do, did, done |
Gen.
11:4 |
Ps.
9:4 |
Zeph. 3:13 |
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t[e |
time |
Ps. 9:9 |
Zeph. 3:20 |
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#WP |
abroad |
Gen.
11:4 |
Zeph. 3:10 |
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~ynIP' |
face, before |
Gen.
11:4 |
Ps.
9:3 |
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!AYci |
Zion |
Ps.
9:11 |
Zeph.
3:14 |
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ar'q' |
called |
Gen. 11:9 |
Zeph. 3:9 |
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ha'r' |
see, saw, seen |
Gen. 11:5 |
Ps. 9:13 |
Zeph. 3:15 |
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bWv |
turn, return |
Ps.
9:3 |
Zeph. 3:20 |
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~ve |
name |
Gen.
11:4 |
Ps.
9:2 |
Zeph.
3:9 |
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xm;f' |
glad |
Ps. 9:2 |
Zeph. 3:14 |
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|
hp'f' |
language, speech |
Gen.
11:1 |
Zeph. 3:9 |
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hL'hiT. |
praise |
Ps. 9:14 |
Zeph. 3:20 |
Greek:
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Greek |
English |
Torah Gen. 11:1-32 |
Psalms 9:1-21 |
Ashlamatah Zeph. 3:9-17. 20 |
Mark, 1-2 Peter & Jude Mk 1:21-22 |
Luke Lk 4:31-32 |
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πόλις |
city, cities, town |
Gen.
11:4 |
Ps. 9:6 |
Lk. 4:31 |
NAZAREAN TALMUD
By: Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham
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School of Hakham Shaul Tosefta (Luke 5:1-11) Mishnah א:א |
School of Hakham Tsefet Peshat (Mark 1:16-22) Mishnah א:א
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And now it happened that Yeshua was standing at the shore of the Kineret (The Galil) and the congregation was insisting on him to hear the Torah of God (his oral elucidation of the Torah) and he saw two boats sitting at the shore of the sea (the Kineret); the fishermen were out cleaning their nets. So he (Yeshua) got in one of the boats belonging to Shimon (later called Hakham Tsefet), and he (Yeshua) asked him to push off from the shore a little. Then he sat down in the boat and taught the congregation from there.
When he had finished speaking, he said to Shimon, “launch out into the deeper waters and let down your nets for a catch.” Shimon said, “Master we have worked all night and caught nothing. However, at your word, I will let down the nets.” When they had followed his commands they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. And called to their partners in the other boats to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats with so many fish that they were ready to sink.
And when Shimon HaTsefet saw this he fell down to his knees before Yeshua saying, ‘Master, leave us for I am a sinful man.” For he and his partners were overwhelmed by the catch of (so many) fish that they caught, as were Ya’akov and Yochanan the sons of Zabdeyel, who were partners with Shimon. And Yeshua said to Shimon, “do not be afraid;[30] from now on you will be catching[31] people.[32]” When they had landed their boats on shore they departed leaving the work for the hired help and followed him.
And he (Yeshua) went down (from Tzfat) to K’far Nachum (Capernaum), a town on the Galil and was teaching them on Shabbat. And they were astonished at his teaching, because he spoke with the authority of the house of Hillel.
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And walking about the sea of the Galil (Kineret), he (Yeshua) saw Shimon[33] bar Yonah and his brother Adam bar Yonah casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And Yeshua said to them, come follow me and I will make you into fishers of men.[34] And immediately[35] they left their nets and followed after him. And he going a little further he saw Ya’akov ben Zabdeyel and his brother Yochanan, who were in their boats preparing their nets. And immediately, he called them; and they left their father Zabdeyel in the boat with the hired men and followed[36] after him (Yeshua).
And they entered into K’far Nachum (Capernaum), and immediately, when the Sabbaths came, he (Yeshua) went into the Synagogue and taught, and hearing him they were astonished at his teachings, for he taught them with authority of the House of Hillel and not as the local soferim (scribes).
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Commentary to Hakham Tsefet’s School of Peshat
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Gen. 9:18 – 11:32 |
Ps 7:1-18, 8:1-10 |
Zephaniah 3:9-17 + 20 |
Mk 1:16-22 |
1 Luqas 5:1-11, 4:31-32 |
2 Luqas 2:41-3:1-10 |
γαρ αλιεις (gar alieis) – for they were fishermen
γαρ αλιεις (gar alieis) – for they were fishermen. γενεσθαι αλιεις ανθρωπων (genesthai alieis anthrōpōn) – you will become fishermen of men. We cannot accept the traditional interpretation of these words. These words have been translated and interpreted to mean the talmidim would go about searching for “sinners,” which they would bring to Teshuba (repentance) as if every man in Eretz Yisrael was a sinner because he did not know Yeshua as the Messiah. This interpretation does not fit with the idea of the Nazarean Codicil being a Mesorah. Or the talmidim being the agents of the Mesorah. A Mesorah – Oral Presentation of the Torah is not a search for sinners or men of depravity, in the Calvinistic sense of the word. A Mesorah appeals to those who are looking for a true and honest application of the Torah. As the vehicles of the Mesorah, we see the talmidim teaching men to walk by the Mesorah of the Master. The present text of Mordechai bears a hint to these matters. The “right hand” (authority) of Hakham Tsefet raises the cripple man (a man incapable of walking on his own). His elevation is allegory for teaching him to follow the Mesorah of the Master, which the Talmidim readily taught in the Portico of Sh’lomo. The Portico of Sh’lomo is allegory for a covering of Shalom. These ideas are faithful in keeping the concept of transmitting the Mesorah albeit allegorically.
Mishnah of Mordechai: And Yeshua said to them, come follow me and I (will) make you into fishers of men. And immediately they left their nets and followed[37] after him.
Gemarah of Hakham Shaul: 2 Luqas 2:41-3:1-10 And Hakham Tsefet and Yochanan were going up to the Bet HaMikdash at the hour of prayer for the ma’ariv. And a man cripple from birth was being carried in. He was laid daily at the gate called “Beautiful” so that he could ask for alms from those entering the Bet Mikdash…
…“stand up and walk.” And he took him by the right hand and raised him up; and his feet and ankles were made strong immediately. Then he leaped up and stood beginning to walk, and he entered the Bet HaMikdash with them, walking and jumping and praising God.
Morna Hooker tells us that the statement “fishers of men” was not “obvious” to the newly found talmidim.[38] We beg to differ. Noting from the text, the immediacy of departure from the physical business of fishing, the talmidim IMMEDIATELY devote themselves to spiritual occupation of fishing for men. Undoubtedly, the talmidim knew exactly what “fishing for men” implied.
France writes, “But he remains in the north, and for most of the time within Galilee proper;.[39]” We have noted that the place of Yeshua’s development in ministry was most likely Tzfat. This argument is strengthened by the understanding that Yeshua spent the dominate portion of his ministry years near Tzfat and the northern end of the Galil.
France and other scholars tell us that Yeshua spends the dominate portion of his ministry in the north, in the Galil. It would appear, to the logical mind that the Galil would not have been the most opportune place for Messiah to propagate his Mesorah. It might have been better to spend more time in the metropolis of Yerushalayim than the rural regions of northern Yisrael. Obviously, there was a reason why the Galil was chosen as the matrix for the Mesorah. Yehuda HaNasi and the final Sanhedrin resided near the Galil during the redaction of the Mishnah. This is true of the Mesorah of the Master as well as the Mesorah of Rabbinic Judaism. Some might suggest that because it was away from the bustling metropolis it was a better-suited environment for Torah study. It is true that the Galil was better suited for hard labour and unimpeded Torah study. However, we can hardly believe that this would have been the reason for selecting Northern Yisrael.
The answer, as usual is staring at us right in the face as we derive the answer from Corral Hermeneutic.
B’resheet 11:9 Therefore, He named it Babel, for there the Lord confused the language of the entire earth, and from there the Lord scattered them upon the face of the entire earth.
When the two kingdoms of Yisrael split it was the Northern kingdom, which was carried away captive first. We would surmise that it was here that the tikun (healing and repair) must begin. We further note that the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar carried away in the captivity artisans and skilled labor leaving Yisrael to the unskilled and untrained. Yeshua inherited the craft of stonemason from his father Yosef. Likewise, we are told of many other craftsmen in the Galil. Residing in the Northern part of Yisrael, they brought a measure of tikun for the Babylonian exile. It was the northern kingdom, which fell into idolatry before the southern kingdom was also exiled.
Shabbat, something smells fishy to me
Our Peshat Mishnah of Mordechai places special emphasis on Shabbats. This teaches us that to Yeshua and his talmidim Shabbat was special. Many stories are told concerning the special place of Shabbat in northern Yisrael, specifically Tzfat.
Shabbat carries many symbolic gestures and practices. According to some authorities, eating fish on Shabbat is considered a blessing. The eating of fish on Shabbat is interpreted as an allegory of the blessing that the children of Israel would multiply like the stars in the heavens and the sand of the seas.[40] Furthermore, fish on Shabbat is a symbol of the deep unity experienced by husband and wife on Shabbat.
Yesha’yahu (Isa.) 58:13-14 If you turn away your foot because of the sabbath, from pursuing your business on My holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, and the holy of the LORD honourable; and will honour it, not doing your ways, nor pursuing your business, or speaking thereof; Then will you delight yourself in the LORD, and I will make you to ride upon the high places of the earth, and I will feed thee with the heritage of Jacob your father; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken it.
In antiquity there seems to have been a relationship between fish and delight (blessing).
b. Shab 118b in what way does one show his delight in the Sabbath? R. Judah b. R. Samuel bar Shilat in the name of Rab said, “With a beet dish, a large fish, and plenty of garlic.”
Fisherwomen?
b. Sot 11b R. Avira expounded, “It was as a reward to the righteous women who were in that generation that the Israelites were redeemed from Egypt. “When the women would go to draw water, the Holy One, blessed be he, would provide little fishes for their jars, and they would draw half water and half fish and come and heat up two pots, one to warm the water, the other for the fish. These they would bring to their husbands in the fields, and they would wash them and anoint them and feed them [fish] and give them water to drink, and then have sexual relations with them among the sheepfolds. “So it is said, ‘When you lie among the sheepfolds’ (Psa. 68:13). “As a reward for ‘When you lie among the sheepfolds,’ the Israelites enjoyed such merit as to plunder Egypt, as it is said, ‘As the wings of a dove covered with silver and her pinions with yellow gold’ (Psa. 68:13). “When the women conceived, they came to their houses, and, when the time to deliver had come, they would go and give birth in the field under an apple tree, “as it is said, ‘Under the apple tree I brought you forth from your mother’s womb’ (Son. 8: 5). “The Holy One, blessed be he, sent from the highest heaven someone to wash and straighten the babies’ limbs, just as a midwife straightens the baby’s limbs, “as it is said, ‘And as for your birth in the day you were born your navel was not cut, and you were not washed in water to be cleaned’ (Eze. 16: 4). “And he collected for them two cakes, one of oil and the other of honey, as it is said, ‘And he made him suck honey out of the rock, and oil...’ (Deu. 32:13). “But when the Egyptians became aware of them, they would come to kill them. A miracle was done for them, and they were swallowed up into the earth. So the Egyptians brought oxen and ploughed on top of them, as it is said, ‘The plowers plowed upon my back’ (Psa. 129: 3). “When they had gone their way, [the women and babies] broke through and sprouted up like the plants of the field, as it is said, ‘I caused you to multiply as the bud of the field’ (Eze. 16: 7). “When the babies had grown up, they came in herds to their houses, as it is said, ‘And you increased and became great and came with ornaments’ (Eze. 16: 7). “Do not read ‘with ornaments’ but ‘in flocks.’ “When the Holy One, blessed be he, revealed himself at the sea, they [babies, having seen him before] recognized him first of all [among the Israelites], as it is said, ‘This is my God, and I shall praise him’ (Exo. 15: 2).”[41]
The Peshat Mishnah of Mordechai connects Shabbat, Fish, fishermen and Messiah. How can we tie all these connections together with the Torah Seder and the concept of “fishers of men”?
Dead Sea Bass
One of the joys of visiting Eretz Yisrael is to visit the Dead Sea. At almost 1,300 feet below sea level, this is the lowest place on earth. This area was the home of the ascetic group of Qumran. In the tours we have hosted we tell the group that we will spend partial day fishing for Dead Sea bass. We always find some gullible soul who believes we will catch a Dead Sea bass. We have yet to catch any fish from the Dead Sea. At the entrance to the location where tourists can float in the Dead Sea, hangs a lonely fish skeleton reported to be the only fish caught from the Dead Sea. However, the Prophet Yechezkel promises that there will be a day when the Dead Sea will teem with fish.
Ezekiel 47:1-10 And he brought me back unto the door of the house; and behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward, for the forefront of the house looked toward the east; and the waters came down from under, from the right side of the house, on the south of the altar. Then brought he me out by the way of the gate northward and led me round by the way without unto the outer gate, by the way of the gate that looked toward the east; and behold, there trickled forth waters on the right side. When the man went forth eastward with the line in his hand, he measured a thousand cubits, and he caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the ankles. Again, he measured a thousand, and caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the knees. Again, he measured a thousand, and caused me to pass through waters that were to the loins. Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass through; for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed through. And he said unto me: Have you seen this, O son of man?' Then he led me and caused me to return to the bank of the river. Now when I had been brought back, behold, upon the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other. Then said he unto me: 'These waters issue forth toward the eastern region and shall go down into the Arabah; and when they will enter into the (Dead) sea, into the sea of the putrid waters, the waters will be healed. And it will come to pass, that every living creature that swarms, wherever the rivers will come, will live; and there will be a very great multitude of fish; for these waters are come here, that all things be healed and may live wherever the river goes. And it will come to pass, that fishermen will stand by it from En-gedi even unto En-eglaim; there will be a place for the spreading of nets; their fish will be after their kinds, as the fish of the Great Sea, exceeding many.
Therefore, there will be a day when we can catch Dead Sea Bass. This tikun (healing) will take place in the Y’mot HaMashiach. Nevertheless, the talmidim knew something about the spiritual nature of fishing for men as found in the words of Yeshua.
Certainly, Yeshua was speaking in a hint that they grasped.
Peroration
Yermiyahu (Jer) 16:14-16 Therefore, behold, the days come, says the LORD, that it will no more be said: 'As the LORD lives, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt,' but: 'As the LORD lives, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the (Gentile) countries where He had driven them'; and I will bring them back into their land that I gave to their fathers. Behold, I will send for many fishers (for the lost souls of the Babylonian and present Diaspora), says the LORD; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them from every mountain (government), and from every hill, and out of the clefts of the rocks.
The Prophet Yermiyahu (Jeremiah) looked forward to the day when G-d would bring back the exiles of Babylon. Furthermore, his vision looked forward to the day when Yisrael would be brought back from the present exile. Yeshua’s talmidim knew exactly what he was HINTING at. They understood that they would be seeking out those souls, which had been lost in the Babylonian Exile. Fishing for these souls in the waters of Gentile nations where they had been scattered.
The shrewd serpent Hakham Shaul smartly writes the Remes of 2 Luqas.
…“stand up and walk.” And he took him by the right hand and raised him up; and his feet and ankles were made strong immediately. Then he leaped up and stood beginning to walk, and he entered the Bet HaMikdash with them, walking and jumping and praising God.
Scattered among the nations, the souls of the returning exiles need to be taught the Mesorah. The authority invested in the Nazarean talmidim by the Nazarean Hakhamim will strengthen their feet and ankles. This strengthening enables them to “walk” in the Mesorah jumping (ever being elevated) and praising G-d. Tanakh teaches us…
Yeshayahu 49:11-13 I will make all My Mountains a road, And My highways shall be built up. Look! These are coming from afar, These from the north and the west, And these from the land of Sinim. Shout, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth! Break into shouting, O hills! For the Lord has comforted His people, And has taken back His afflicted ones in love.
It was the duty of the Nazarean Talmidim of Yeshua to initialize the search for those lost exiles of Babylon. It is now the duty of Yeshua’s talmidim to search for those exiles among the nations as “fishers of men” teaching them to walk, stand and praise G-d through the teachings of the Mesorah of the Master. It is also the duty of the Nazarean Jews to embrace the souls and teach them The Masters Mesorah restoring their relationship with the Torah.
b. Shab. 118b “May my portion be among those who tell the disciples to take their seats in the house of study and not among those who tell the disciples to rise and leave the house of study.”
Amen v’amen
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 Sabbath: “Lekh L’kha” - “Get up get out”
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Shabbat |
Torah Reading: |
Weekday Torah Reading: |
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לֶךְ-לְךָ |
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Lekh L’kha |
Reader 1 – B’resheet 12:1-5 |
Reader 1 – B’resheet 14:1-3 |
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“Get up get out” |
Reader 2 – B’resheet 12:6-9 |
Reader 2 – B’resheet 14:4-6 |
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“Levántate y vete” |
Reader 3 – B’resheet 12:10-13 |
Reader 3 – B’resheet 14:7-9 |
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B’resheet (Gen.) Gen. 12:1 – 13:18 |
Reader 4 – B’resheet 12:14-20 |
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Ashlamatah: Joshua 24:3-10 + 14 |
Reader 5 – B’resheet 13:1-4 |
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Reader 6 – B’resheet 13:5-12 |
Reader 1 – B’resheet 14:1-3 |
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Tehillim (Psalms) 9:1-21 |
Reader 7 – B’resheet 13:13-18 |
Reader 2 – B’resheet 14:4-6 |
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Maftir – B’resheet 13:16-18 |
Reader 3 – B’resheet 14:7-9 |
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N.C.: Mark 1:23-28 Luke 4:33-37 |
Yehoshua (Joshua) 24:3-10 + 14 |
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Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai
Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David
Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham
Edited by Adon Ovadyah ben Abraham and Adon Aviner ben Abraham
This weekly seder is a team effort, and we wish to thank
HH Giberet Gibora bat Sarah, and Her Excellency Giberet Sarai bat Sarah for their work
Please e-mail any comments, questions, or suggestions to chozenppl@gmail.com