[Please scroll down for Sedra Shemini]
Seventh and Eighth Yom Tov Days of Pesach
FROM THE TORAH
SEVENTH YOM TOV DAY OF PESACH
Exodus 13:17-15:26
THE INITIAL EXODUS
By way of the wilderness at the Red Sea to Etham
13:17-22
When Pharaoh lets the people go, God does not lead them by the more direct route through the land of the Philistines, lest they retreat to Egypt in the face of war. Instead, He leads the people around by way of the wilderness at the Red Sea. Nonetheless the Children of Israel go up from Egypt organized for battle. Moses takes the bones of Joseph with him to fulfill the promise that Joseph had obtained from the Children of Israel before his death (cf. Genesis 50:25). They set out from Sukkot and encamp at Etham at the edge of the Wilderness. Constantly the Eternal shows them the way during the day with a pillar of cloud and lights the way for them at night with a pillar of fire, allowing them to travel both day and night without interruption.
PHARAOH PURSUES ISRAEL
To encampment near the Red Sea
14:1-14
But the Eternal tells Moses to instruct the Children of Israel to turn back and encamp facing Pi-hachirot and Baal-tsephon between Migdol and the Sea, so that Pharaoh imagines the Children of Israel to have lost their way in the wilderness. Then the Eternal would empower Pharaoh’s will to pursue them: “Thus will I gain glory through Pharaoh and through all of his army so that Egypt will know that I am the Eternal” (Exodus 14:4)! The Children of Israel act accordingly.
But when the king of Egypt is told that the people has fled, Pharaoh and his servants already regret having released Israel from serving them. Pharaoh harnesses his chariot and takes all the chariots of Egypt, all commanded by officers, and among them 600 elite chariots. His will empowered by the Eternal, Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and the Egyptians pursue the Children of Israel even as they depart determinedly. They are overtaken at their encampment near the Sea, near Pi-hachirot facing Baal-tsephon, by all of Pharaoh’s chariot horses, horsemen and army.
Frightened at Pharaoh’s approach, “the Children of Israel cry out to the Eternal” (Exodus 14:10). They blame Moses for risking their lives in the wilderness: “Were there no graves in Egypt so that you had to take us out to die in the wilderness” (Exodus 14:11-12)?! Did we not tell you at the time that we preferred Egyptian bondage to death in the wilderness! Moses entreats the people not to fear but to remain confident and witness “salvation by the Eternal which He will perform for you on this day” (Exodus 14:13)! Today will be the last day that you will see the Egyptians forever: the Eternal will fight on your behalf, and you, be quietly confident!
MOSES DIVIDES THE SEA
Crossing through the Red Sea
14:15-29
The Eternal says to Moses: “Why do you cry out to Me? Tell the Children of Israel to proceed with their journey, and you, lift your staff and extend your hand over the Sea, and divide it, so that the Children of Israel can march into the Sea on dry ground” (Exodus 14:15-16)! I, for My part, will embolden the Egyptians to go after them. Thereby shall I gain glory through Pharaoh, his army, his chariots, and his horsemen, and Egypt will know that I am the Eternal!
God’s angel who was going before the Israelite camp now moves behind them, as does the pillar of cloud, coming between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel. The cloud together with the darkness casts a spell upon the night, so that one camp does not approach the other camp all that night. Moses extends his hand over the Sea, and the Eternal drives back the Sea with a strong east wind all that night, He turns the Sea into dry ground, and the waters are divided.
“The Children of Israel march into the Sea on dry ground with the waters as a wall for them on their right and on their left” (Exodus 14:22). The Egyptians follow them into the Sea with all of Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots and his horsemen. By the morning, looking down from a pillar of fire and cloud, the Eternal wreaks havoc upon the Egyptian camp. He starts by locking the chariots’ wheels. As the Egyptians find it difficult to drive their chariots, they realize that the Eternal is fighting against them on Israel’s behalf. Now the Egyptians attempt to flee from Israel!
Then the Eternal directs Moses once again to extend his hand over the Sea, the result being that the waters return upon Egypt and upon its chariots and horsemen. By morning the Sea returns to its full strength. Although the Egyptians seek to escape it, the Eternal hurls them into the midst of the Sea. The returning waters cover all of them, all of Pharaoh’s army that marched after them into the Sea. Not one of them remains, while the Children of Israel have walked through the Sea on dry ground between the walls of water on their right and on their left.
SONG OF THE SEA
On the other side of the Red Sea
14:30-15:21
As the Eternal on that day saves Israel from the hand of Egypt and Israel sees the Egyptians lying dead upon the shore of the Sea, Israel perceives the great power which the Eternal has wielded against Egypt. They fear the Eternal, and they believe in the Eternal and in Moses His servant.
Moses and Israel sing this song to the Eternal:
Let me sing to the Eternal, exceedingly triumphant;
horse and rider has He cast into the Sea!
The Eternal, my Strength and my Song, has become my Salvation;
this is my God, whom I enshrine, the God of my father, whom I exalt.
The Eternal is a Man of War:
Pharaoh’s chariots and army has He thrown into the Red Sea.
Your right hand, O Eternal, majestic in power;
Your right hand, O Eternal, shatters the enemy.
With Your nostrils’ blast waters are piled up, rivers stand still like a heap;
The enemy thinks: I shall pursue and overtake, I shall distribute the spoil!
But You blow with Your breath, the Sea covers them;
they sink like lead in the mighty waters.
Who is like You among the mighty, O Eternal!
Who is like You, majestic in holiness,
praiseworthily awesome, working wonders!
You stretch out Your right hand, earth swallows them;
You lead Your redeemed people
in lovingkindness and strength
to Your holy abode.
Peoples have heard, they tremble;
terror grips the inhabitants of Philistia.
Then the chiefs of Edom are dismayed,
trembling seizes the heads of Moab;
all the inhabitants of Canaan melt away.
Terror and dread fall upon them;
before Your immense power they become dumb as stone,
until the people You have redeemed crosses over.
You will bring them and establish them
in Your own mountain;
You have created a foundation for Your dwelling, O Eternal,
the Sanctuary which Your hands have established, O Lord.
The Eternal will reign for ever and ever!
Then Miriam the prophetess, sister of Aaron, takes the timbrel,
and all of the women go out after her, themselves dancing with timbrels.
Miriam sings for them:
Let me sing to the Eternal, exceedingly triumphant;
horse and rider has He cast into the sea…
SEARCH FOR SWEET WATER
Through the wilderness of Shur to Marah, then encamping at Elim
15:22-27
Moses directs Israel’s march away from the Red Sea to the wilderness of Shur. They go for three days in the wilderness without finding water. When they arrive at Marah, which means “bitter,” they are unable to drink its water because of its bitterness. The people complain against Moses: “What shall we drink” (Exodus 15:24)? Moses cries out to the Eternal, who teaches him about a certain kind of wood, which he throws into the water. The water becomes sweet.
This is a place of statute and ordinance.
This is a place of trial.
(Exodus 15:25b)
The teaching continues:
If you obey the Eternal your God and do what is right by Him, heeding His commandments and His statutes, then I will not impose upon you any of the malady that I have imposed upon Egypt, I, the Eternal, your Healer.
Maftir for the Seventh and Eighth Yom Tov Days of Pesach
Numbers 28:19-25
Bring a fire offering, a burnt offering, for the Eternal: two bulls of the herd, one ram, and seven year-old lambs without blemish, and their meal offering of fine flour mixed with oil, three-tenths of a measure for the bull and two-tenths of a measure for the ram and one-tenth of a measure for each of the seven lambs. Bring also one goat as a sin offering to seek atonement for you. Bring these on each of the seven days: food, a fire offering of pleasant aroma for the Eternal in addition to the regular burnt offering which is brought every morning and its libation. The Seventh Day shall be a holy convocation for you: do not perform work of service.
EIGHTH YOM TOV DAY OF PESACH
Deuteronomy 15:19-16:17
FIRSTBORN MALE
15:19-23
Sanctify to the Eternal your God every firstborn male of your herd and of your flock. Eat it each year, you and your household, in the place that the Eternal shall choose. Do not work your firstborn ox, and do not shear your firstborn sheep. However, if the firstborn animal has a serious defect, if it is lame or blind, do not sacrifice it to the Eternal your God. Instead, you, whether impure or pure, shall eat it within your gates, as is the case with the gazelle and with the deer. But you may not eat its blood: pour it upon the ground like water.
PESACH AND MATZOT
16:1-8
Observe the month of Aviv and perform the Pesach to the Eternal your God in the evening at the setting of the sun, because the Eternal your God brought you out from Egypt at night at that time in the month of Aviv. You shall sacrifice the Pesach to the Eternal your God from the flock or from the herd (cf. Exodus 12:5), not in any of your settlements but in the place where the Eternal shall choose to establish His Name. There you shall cook it and eat it. Do not eat with it anything leavened. Let none of the meat of your sacrifice remain overnight until the morning of the First Day. In the morning you shall head back to your tents.
From then for seven days you shall eat Matzot (“Unleavened Bread”), bread of affliction, as you left the land of Egypt in anxious haste—in order that you may remember the day of your leaving the land of Egypt all the days of your life. Let no leaven be seen in all of your territory for seven days. After eating Matzot for six days, on the Seventh Day there shall be an observance of Conclusion for the Eternal your God: do no work.
SHAVUOT
16:9-12
From when the sickle is applied to the standing grain, count seven weeks and hold a Festival of Shavuot (“Weeks”) to the Eternal your God of the fullest generosity that you can afford of the blessing provided you by the Eternal your God. Rejoice before the Eternal your God—you and your son and your daughter, your male and female slave, the Levite within your gates, and the stranger, the orphan and the widow who are among you—at the place where the Eternal your God shall choose to establish His Name. Remember that you were a slave in Egypt, so shall you preserve and observe these statutes.
SUKKOT
16:13-15
Observe for yourself the Festival of Sukkot (“Booths”), for seven days, when you gather in the produce of your threshing floor and your wine vat. Rejoice in your Festival—you and your son and your daughter, your male and female slave, the Levite, the stranger, the orphan and the widow, who are within your gates. Celebrate a Festival to the Eternal your God for seven days at the place that the Eternal shall choose, for the Eternal your God shall bless you in the fullness of your harvest and in all the work of your hands; you shall only enjoy!
SUMMARY OF FESTIVALS
16:16-17
Three times in the year shall each of your males appear before the Eternal your God in the place which He shall choose: on the Festival of Matzot (“Unleavened Bread”), on the Festival of Shavuot (“Weeks”), and on the Festival of Sukkot (“Booths”). He shall not appear empty-handed but each with his own gift according to the blessing that the Eternal your God has given you.
Maftir for the Seventh and Eighth Yom Tov Days of Pesach
Numbers 28:19-25
[See Maftir for Seventh Yom Tov Day of Pesach.]
FROM THE PROPHETS
Haftarah for the Seventh Yom Tov Day of Pesach
II Samuel 22:1-51
David Poeticizes His Salvation
David offered the words of this song to the Eternal
in the day that He rescued him
from the hand of all of his enemies
and from the hand of Saul:
The Eternal is my Rock and my Fortress:
I take refuge in Him,
He saves me from violence.
Praised is the Eternal,
who has saved me from my enemies!
The breakers of death
have surrounded me;
in my distress I call to my God, the Eternal;
my cry reaches Him in His Temple.
His fiery response
shakes the earth
and causes the foundations of heaven
to tremble!
Consuming flames shooting forth from Him,
He emerges from heaven,
thick cloud under His feet,
He rides upon a cherub,
He flies upon the wings of the wind,
He makes darkness into booths around Him,
waters gathering,
clouds fill the sky,
brilliance before Him.
The Eternal thunders from heaven,
sends forth and scatters
His arrows of lightning!
The foundations of the world are revealed
by the breath, the wind, of His nostrils.
From on high He sends for me
and rescues me
from my strong enemy.
The Eternal rewards me
in accordance with my righteousness,
for I have kept His ways
and not wickedly
abandoned my God.
Kind are You to the pious,
and true to the upright hero.
You are a Savior to an afflicted people
and a Humbler of the arrogant.
You are my Lamp, O Eternal,
lightening my darkness.
Upon You do I depend
for the battle,
by my God do I scale the wall.
He is a Shield to all
who seek refuge in Him.
The God who is my strong Fortress
quickens my feet like the deers’
and trains my hands for battle.
I pursue my enemies,
they fall under my feet,
and You save me from
my people’s own disputes,
preserving me as chief of nations,
served by a people
whom I did not even know.
You bring me out from my enemies,
lifting me above
those who rise against me.
Therefore I give thanks to You,
O Eternal One,
among the nations.
A Tower of Salvations for His king,
showing lovingkindness
to His anointed one,
to David and to his offspring
for ever.
Haftarah for the Eighth Yom Tov Day of Pesach
Isaiah 10:32-12:6
The Marvelous Stock of Jesse
The Lord, the Eternal of Hosts,
shall cause the Assyrian to halt at Nob,
shaking his hand at the mount
of the daughter of Zion,
at the hill of Jerusalem.
The high ones shall be cut down,
and Lebanon shall fall by the Mighty One.
But a shoot shall grow out
of the stock of Jesse,
and the spirit of the Eternal
shall rest upon him:
a spirit of wisdom and understanding,
a spirit of counsel and courage,
a spirit of knowledge
and fear of the Eternal.
He shall not judge
by the seeing of his eyes
or the hearing of his ears,
but he shall judge the poor
by righteousness
and shall strike the wicked
with the rod of his mouth.
The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
and a little child shall lead them.
They shall not hurt nor destroy
in all My holy mountain,
for the earth shall be full
of the knowledge of the Eternal
as the waters cover the sea.
Nations shall seek the descendant of Jesse,
standing as a banner of peoples.
Again the Lord will apply His hand
to acquire the remnant of His people,
those who remain from
Assyria and Egypt,
from Pathros, Cush and Elam,
from Shinar, Hamath, and the islands of the sea.
He will assemble the dispersed of Israel
and gather the scattered of Judah
from the four corners of the earth!
Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah,
and Judah will not harass Ephraim.
But they shall fly down
upon the Philistines to the west
and together despoil the children of the east;
Edom and Moab shall feel the power of their hand,
and Ammon shall receive their direction.
The Eternal shall destroy the Sea of Egypt
and turn the River into seven streams,
which can be walked across
on dry ground.
There shall be a highway
for the remnant of His people
from Assyria,
as there was for Israel
on the day that it came up
out of the land of Egypt.
On that day:
I thank You, O Eternal One,
for though You were angry with me,
Your wrath is turned away
and You bring me comfort.
Behold God is my Salvation,
I trust and fear not;
He is my Strength and Song—
as He has saved me—
and you may joyfully draw water
from the wells of that salvation!
On that day:
Give thanks to the Eternal,
proclaim His Name;
make known His deeds
among the peoples!
Sing of the Eternal,
that He has performed greatly,
as is known in all the earth!
Cry out and shout,
O resident of Zion,
for great in the midst of you
is the Holy One of Israel.
FROM TALMUD AND MIDRASH
Exodus Rabbah 20:1
Pharaoh Compared to a Stubborn Swineherd
“So it was (Vayehi)
when Pharaoh let the people go…”
(Exodus 13:17)
“As snow in the summer
or rain at harvest,
so is honor not fitting
for a brute!”
(Proverbs 26:1)
This refers to Pharaoh, who may be compared to a herder of swine who stole one of his master’s ewes and concealed it among his own swine. When his master demanded the return of his ewe, the swineherd denied that it was in his possession. Thereupon the master discovered where the swineherd watered his animals, and he had the water source stopped up. Again the master demanded that the swineherd return his ewe, and again the swineherd denied that it was in his possession. Thereupon the master discovered where the swineherd sheltered his animals, and he had the swine pens destroyed. Yet again when the master demanded that the swineherd return the master’s ewe, the swineherd denied that it was in his possession. Thereupon the master discovered where he pastured his animals, and he had all vegetation burned away. Even still, when the master demanded return of his ewe, the swineherd denied that it was in his possession.
Then the master discovered where the swineherd’s son attended school, and he had the boy seized. This time, when the master demanded that the swineherd return the stolen ewe, the swineherd complied: “Here is your ewe!” When the ewe was returned, the master then had the swineherd himself seized and held along with his son. The swineherd protested: “Now that you have your ewe back and there is nothing of yours any longer in my possession, why have you seized me? What can you claim from me any longer?”
The master replied, “I demand from you all that the ewe you seized produced while in your possession: the young she produced and the wool that you sheared from her.” The swineherd was indignant. “I should have kept the ewe,” he complained, “and stood my ground, thereby showing that the master was only out to destroy me!”
So Aaron struck the Nile, and it was turned into blood, and the Egyptians could find no water to drink. When God demanded, “Let My people go,” Pharaoh would not heed. Knowing where the animals were pastured, He brought down hail to destroy the trees and fire to burn it all up, as was said, “The Eternal sent thunder and hail, and fire went along to the ground” (Exodus 9:23). He sent locusts to devour all vegetation and what remained of the trees. He brought all of those plagues upon Pharaoh, yet Pharaoh refused to let the people go.
Then He took Pharaoh’s son, as was said, “The Eternal struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who was sitting upon his throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of cattle” (Exodus 12:29). Pharaoh told Moses and Aaron, “Arise, get out from the midst of my people, you and the Children of Israel” (Exodus 12:31)! But then he regretted releasing them and pursued after them (cf. Exodus 14:1-9). God seized him and imposed upon him the same fate that He imposed upon his son: “He overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea” (Psalms 136:15)! So the passage begins, “Vayehi” (Exodus 13:17), implying Pharoah’s woeful regret, “Vaye! Vaye! Hoyi! beshalach Par’oh…much regret when Pharaoh let the people go!”: “I should have kept the people,” he lamented, “and stood my ground, thereby implying that the one who sought to free them was only out to destroy me!”
Pesikta d’Rav Kahana 11:7
Israel at the Red Sea in Egypt’s Eyes
“So it was (Vayehi)
when Pharaoh let the people go…”
(Exodus 13:17)
When Pharaoh let the Children of Israel go out from Egypt, the Egyptians cried, “Vay” (cf. Exodus 13:17; 14:5)! This means: “Woe! Alas!” (comparable to “Oy!”). Said Rabbi Yosi: It may be likened to one who inherits an uncultivated but fertile field. The lazy heir sells it for a price much lower than what it is worth. The buyer digs and finds in it a spring, from which he develops gardens and orchards. When the lazy seller sees this, he feels like choking and says, “Vay! What have I lost!” Thus, when the Children of Israel were encamped on the shores of the Sea, they seemed like the array of a royal army. This made the Egyptians feel like choking, and they bemoaned their loss: “Vay! Whom did we let go from our land!”
Exodus Rabbah 21:4
The Eternal Hears the Prayer of the Lowly
When the king of Egypt is told that the people has fled, Pharaoh and his forces pursue Israel as far as the Red Sea. Frightened at Pharaoh’s approach, “The Children of Israel cry out to the Eternal” (Exodus 14:10). Soon thereafter, the Eternal asks Moses, “Why do you (singular) cry out to Me? Tell the Children of Israel to proceed with their journey…” (Exodus 14:15-16). The Children of Israel are the ones who cried out, not just Moses, yet the Eternal asks Moses alone why he cried out!
Here is how Rabbi Judah bar Shalom explains the apparent contradiction, in the name of Rabbi Elazar: When a poor man brings his petition to a human master, the human master pays him no heed, whereas if a rich man brings a petition, the human master accepts it immediately. Not so the Holy One, blessed be He: All are equal before Him—women, slaves, the lowly, the wealthy.
This is reflected in Scripture’s treatment of Moses and the lowly one, respectively. With respect to Moses, the Psalmist subtitles Psalm 90, “A prayer of Moses, the man of God,” and with respect to the lowly, Psalm 102, “A prayer of the lowly, when he is faint and pours forth his plea before the Eternal.” The one is prayer, and the other is prayer, in order to teach you that all are equal in prayer before the Omnipresent.
So here is what happened: When Israel went forth from Egypt, Pharaoh pursued them, “and the Children of Israel cry out to the Eternal” (Exodus 14:10). Then Moses also begins to pray, and the Holy One, blessed be He, says to him: “Why do you (Moses) cry out to Me?” (Exodus 14:15)—My children have already prayed to Me, and I have heeded their prayer—”Tell the Children of Israel to proceed with their journey…” (Exodus 14:15-16)!
Exodus Rabbah 21:10
The Children of Israel Lacked Nothing
“The Children of Israel march into the Sea on dry ground
with the waters as a wall for them on their right and on their left.”
(Exodus 14:22)
If “into the Sea,” then why “on dry ground?” If “on dry ground, then why “into the Sea?” From this paradox we learn that the Sea was not divided for them until they came into it up to their noses. After that it became dry ground for them!
Rabbi Nehorai taught: An Israelite woman was crossing into the Sea, holding her crying child. She reaches out and secures a piece of fruit for him from the midst of the Sea and gives it to him, as was said, “He led them through the deeps as through the wilderness” (Psalms 106:9). Just as in the wilderness they lacked nothing, so also in the deeps they lacked nothing. This is what Moses said to them: “The Eternal, your God, has been with you through the wilderness for these past forty years: you have not lacked a thing” (Deuteronomy 2:7). If they lacked anything, they had only to mention the thing and it was created before them.
“They tried God in their heart
when they demanded food for themselves.”
(Psalms 78:18)
Rabbi Shimon taught: They did not even need to mention the thing, but if they just had a thought of the thing, it was made for them, as was said, “They tested God in their mind when they requested food for themselves” (Psalms 78:18).
Another interpretation of “You have not lacked a thing” (Deuteronomy 2:7): You have lacked nothing of the material world, not things, nor words to request them, nor thoughts to hold the words, but one thing that you did lack is a word of repentance. Hence “through the wilderness for these past forty years” (Psalms 106:9)! In the meantime, “Take words with you, and return to the Eternal” (Hosea 14:3)!
Talmud Sanhedrin 39b
The Wicked are the Work of God’s Hands
“Give thanks to the Eternal for He is good,
for His mercy is without limit!”
(Psalm 118:1)
“King Jehoshaphat installed singers to the Eternal…
as they went out to battle,
with the words:
‘Give thanks to the Eternal
for His mercy is without limit!’”
(II Chronicles 20:21)
Rabbi Yonatan asked: Why did the singers of King Jehoshaphat omit the words, “for He is good?” Because they interpreted those words of the psalm to mean, “Give thanks to the Eternal as it is good,” and the Holy One, blessed be He, does not rejoice in the fall of the wicked (to Him, it, the fall even of the wicked is not good), “for His mercy is without limit!”
Thus, according to Rabbi Samuel bar Nachman, Rabbi Yonatan interpreted the words describing the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel at the Red Sea, “One approached [karav] not to the other” (Exodus 14:20), in reference to the Prophet’s description of the seraphim, “One called [karah] to the other, ‘Holy, holy, holy…’” (Isaiah 6:3): The ministering angels at the Red Sea wanted to sing, one to the other, a song of praise to the Holy One, blessed be He (like the seraphim observed by Isaiah), but He disabused them, “The work of my hands is drowning in the Sea, and you would sing a song of praise?!”
Said Rabbi Yonatan: When Judah defeated the children of Amon, Moab and Mount Seir, they sang only the words, “Give thanks to the Eternal, for His mercy is without limit” (II Chronicles 20:21)! Why did they not sing, “Give thanks to the Eternal as it is good?” They omitted the words, “as it is good,” because the Holy One does not rejoice in the downfall of the wicked; to Him it is not good, “for His mercy is without limit!”
But:
“As the Eternal rejoices over you to do you good,
so will the Eternal rejoice [yasees] over you to destroy you…”
(Deuteronomy 28:63)
Said Rabbi Yosi bar Chanina: He does not rejoice over the fall of the wicked, but He lets others rejoice, as can be learned from the blessings and the curses that would come upon Israel: “As the Eternal rejoices over you to do you good, so will the Eternal cause rejoicing [yasees] over you in the event of your destruction…” (Deuteronomy 28:63).
Midrash Psalms 106:1
God’s Constant and Unnoticed Protection
“Give thanks to the Maker of wondrous deeds, He alone…
Give thanks to the Divider of the Red Sea…!”
(Psalms 136:4,13)
God’s daily wonders for us are compared to the splitting of the Red Sea!
Said Rabbi Elazar ben Pedat: Many times a day our bodies may be in danger of mortal attack, perhaps by a snake or some other predator of nature, whereupon another force of nature, another of God’s wonders, defends us against them. We do not sense the danger, we do not sense the defense. Who does? “Maker of wondrous deeds, He alone” (Psalms 136:4)!
Pesikta d’Rav Kahana 11:13
The Ark of Joseph and the Ark of the Eternal God
“Joseph made the Children of Israel promise:
‘When God shall take notice of you,
then you must bring up my bones from this place!’
When Joseph died, he was placed in an ark in Egypt.”
(Genesis 50:25-26)
“When Pharaoh let the people go…
Moses took the bones of Joseph with him
to fulfill the promise that Joseph had obtained
from the Children of Israel before his death…”
(Exodus 13:17,19)
This is to the special credit of Moses, for while the rest of Israel were busy plundering Egypt (cf. Exodus 12:35-36), Moses was engaged in searching for the bones of Joseph.
Who told Moses where Joseph was buried? Some say it was Serach daughter of Asher (cf. Genesis 46:17; Genesis Rabbah 94:9 et al), still alive at that time, who told Moses that Joseph was buried in the Nile. Moses went and stood by the Nile, crying: “O Joseph, O Joseph, the time has come when the Holy One, blessed be He, is redeeming His children. The Shechinah is waiting for you, Israel are waiting for you, the Divine Clouds are waiting for you. So now it is time for you to announce yourself! And if not, then we are released from the promise that you received from our fathers!” Thereupon the ark of Joseph floated up to the surface!
Others relate that Moses took a shard, etched the Divine Name upon it, and threw it into the water, whereupon the ark of Joseph floated up to the surface!
In any case there were two “dogs” nearby. But in actuality these “dogs” were produced by sorcerers. They started to bark at Moses. Moses took the opportunity to cry out: “O people, come and see! These cannot be real dogs, for real dogs would not be barking.” Rabbi Yudan explained: Because these “dogs” were, in effect, whetting their tongues, whereas Moses had warned Pharaoh that the Eternal would strike the first-born sons of Egypt at midnight, “but against the Children of Israel not even a dog will whet its tongue” (Exodus 11:7)!
So now two arks would accompany Israel in the wilderness. When the nations of the world asked, “What is the purpose of these two arks?” the Israelites said to them: One of the arks contains the body of Joseph, and the other is the Ark of the Eternal God! The nations of the world then taunt Israel: What is the Ark of the Eternal God doing alongside the ark of a corpse?! Israel’s answer: The body that is lying in this ark fulfilled all that is written in that Ark!
Yalkut Shimoni 164
“Tower of Salvations” and “Increaser of Salvations”
“Tower of salvations (Migdol yeshuot) for His king,
showing lovingkindness
to His anointed one,
to David and to his offspring
for ever.”
(II Samuel 22:51)
Rabbi Yudan explained:
“Tower of salvations…” for when the nation has its anointed king as a great protective tower, as was said, “A Tower of strength is the Name of the Eternal, to which the righteous runs and is safe” (Proverbs 18:10).
But another verse says:
“Increaser of salvations (Magdil yeshuot) for His king…”
(Psalms 18:51)
“Increaser of salvations…” because the salvation of a nation does not come all at once; it grows and increases over time.
Talmud Niddah 31a
Miracles Not Recognized
“I thank You, O Eternal One:
for though You were angry with me,
Your wrath is turned away
and You comfort me.”
(Isaiah 12:1)
Rav Yosef taught: This verse alludes to competing traders, each of whom began on a venture which required ocean travel. One was injured on his way to the ship so that he could not reach the port in time, while the other successfully boarded. The injured trader cursed and reviled God for his ill fortune. A while later he learned that the same ship was subsequently wrecked and that his competitor lost his life. The injured survivor then uttered thanks and praises to God for the injury that saved his life.
But what should we think?
“Give thanks to the One
who performs great miracles Himself…”
(Psalms 136:4)
Said Rabbi Eliezer: We should think of it in accordance with the reading of the verse as, “Give thanks to the One who performs great miracles to Himself…” (Psalms 136:4), so that one who ultimately benefits may not recognize it as a miracle or understand it (cf. Midrash Psalms 106:1 supra).
Targum Yonatan: I give thanks to You, O Eternal One, for since I sinned against You, Your anger was upon me, and were it not for Your mercy, I would not enjoy Your forbearance.
CHAG SAMEACH!
SHEMINI
FROM THE TORAH
Leviticus 9:1-11:47
At the conclusion of the previous Sedra Tsav, Moses presided over the offerings of ordination for Aaron and his sons. He sprinkled some of the Anointing Oil and some of the blood from the Altar upon Aaron and his vestments and upon his sons and their vestments, thereby sanctifying all of them. Aaron and his sons were instructed to remain at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting for seven days, day and night, the complete period of their ordination. During those seven days of dedication they would repeat what was done on the first day, to seek atonement for themselves. In this Sedra Shemini, upon conclusion of the seven days of dedication, on the “eighth” (shemini) day, the regular service for everyone—Aaron, his sons, and the Children of Israel—begins, but with a fatal error. The implied distinction between permitted and forbidden follows in the dietary rules of permitted and forbidden animals.
Commencement of Service
AARON PERFORMS THE OFFERINGS
9:1-24
Now, on the Eighth (Shemini) Day (the first day following the week of ordination), Moses addresses Aaron, his sons, and the Elders of Israel. He instructs Aaron to offer before the Eternal a calf of the herd for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering, both without blemish. He further prompts Aaron to instruct the Children of Israel to sacrifice before the Eternal a male goat for a sin offering, a calf and a lamb both a year old and without blemish for a burnt offering, and an ox and a ram for a well-being offering, along with a meal offering mixed with oil, “for today the Eternal will appear to you” (Leviticus 9:4)!
Thus everyone brings what they were commanded to take to the front of the Tent of Meeting, all the congregation coming forward and standing before the Eternal. As Moses directs, Aaron approaches the Altar and slaughters his calf of sin offering. Aaron receives the blood from his sons, dips his finger in it and puts it upon the horns of the Altar, pouring out the rest of it at the base of the Altar. He makes the fat, the kidneys and the appendage on the liver, smoke upon the Altar, as the Eternal commanded Moses. The meat and the skin he burned with fire outside of the camp.
Then he slaughters the burnt offering. Aaron’s sons present him with the blood, which he dashes around the Altar. They present the burnt offering to him cut up into pieces, along with the head, and he makes them smoke upon the Altar. He washes the entrails and the legs and causes them to smoke upon the Altar along with the burnt offering.
As for the people’s offering, Aaron slaughters the goat of the people’s sin offering and presents it as a sin offering as with the first sin offering. He then treats the burnt offering in accordance with its rule. Of the meal offering he causes a handful of it to smoke upon the Altar, in addition to the burnt offering of the morning (cf. Exodus 29:38-40,42). He slaughters the ox and the ram for the people’s well-being offering sacrifice, and his sons present him with the blood, which he dashes around the Altar. They put the fat parts from the ox and from the ram—the tail, the covering, the kidneys, and the appendage of the liver—upon the breasts and cause the fat to smoke upon the Altar. Aaron lifts the breasts and the right thigh as a wave offering before the Eternal as Moses commanded.
Now, with his hands uplifted towards the people, Aaron blesses them. He steps down from performing the offerings and comes with Moses to the Tent of Meeting. When they emerge, they bless the people, and the Dense Presence of the Eternal is seen by all of the people. A fire goes out from before the Eternal and consumes the burnt offering and the fat parts upon the Altar. All of the people see, they exult, then they fall upon their faces.
NADAB AND ABIHU OFFER SPURIOUS FIRE
10:1-20
Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu, each taking his fire pan, put fire in them and place Incense upon it, and offer before the Eternal spurious fire, which He had not commanded them. From before the Eternal a fire goes out and consumes them: they die before the Eternal. Moses says to Aaron: This is what the Eternal meant when He said:
Through those who are near to Me
I shall be sanctified,
and before all of the people
I shall be glorified.
Aaron is silent. In the meantime, Moses orders Mishael and Elzaphan, sons of Uzziel uncle of Aaron, to remove their cousins from before the Sanctuary to a place outside of the camp. They carry them out by their Tunics. To Aaron and to his sons Elazar and Ithamar, Moses says: Do not uncover your hair and do not rend your garments, lest you die and He become wroth with all of the community, even though your kinsmen, the rest of the House of Israel, may mourn the burning that the Eternal has caused. Do not leave the entrance of the Tent of Meeting lest you die since the Anointing Oil of the Eternal is upon you. So they act: in accordance with the word of Moses.
The Eternal imparts the following instruction to Aaron: When you come to the Tent of Meeting, do not drink wine or any other intoxicant—you and your sons—lest you die. This is an everlasting statute throughout your generations, and it is intended to distinguish between what is holy and what is profane, between the impure and the pure, and to instruct the Children of Israel in all of the laws which the Eternal has communicated to them through Moses.
To Aaron, and to Elazar and Ithamar his surviving sons, Moses says: Take the meal offering that remains from the fire offerings of the Eternal and eat it unleavened beside the Altar, for it is most holy. You should eat it in a sacred place because it is the due of you and your sons from the fire offerings of the Eternal, for thus have I been commanded.
But you may eat the breast of waving and the thigh of terumah (gift offering), when presented with the fire offerings of the fat parts which are waved before the Eternal—you, your sons and your daughters—in any pure place because it is the due given you from the sacrifices of the well-being offerings of the Children of Israel. This is an everlasting statute for you and your sons, as the Eternal has commanded.
Then Moses inquires concerning the goat of the sin offering (cf. Leviticus 6:17-23) and discovers that it had been burned (cf. Leviticus 9:7-11,15). Angrily, he turns to Elazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s surviving sons, and asks them why they had not eaten the sin offering in a sacred place (as would usually be the case). After all, it is most holy, “and He gave it to you to remove the guilt of the community, to seek atonement for them before the Eternal” (Leviticus 10:17)! Even if its blood had not been brought into the Sanctuary, Moses insists, they should have eaten it in the Sanctuary, as he says he commanded (ibid. 18). (He did so command with regard to the meal offering; cf. Leviticus 10:12-13.)
Aaron responds to Moses: Today they brought their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Eternal (cf. Leviticus 9:15-16), then such terrible things happen to me! Had I then eaten a sin offering, would the Eternal have approved? When Moses hears his words, he realizes that Aaron is right.
Permitted and Forbidden Animals
ANIMAL FOODS PERMITTED AND FORBIDDEN
TO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL
11:1-47
The Eternal presents Moses and Aaron with rules and items to distinguish between animals permitted and forbidden for food, labeled “clean” and “unclean,” respectively, both as to the animals themselves and to the persons or objects with which they have contact. This instruction is to be communicated to the Children of Israel.
Permitted Land Animals
Permitted land animals are only those that have true hoofs which are cloven and that bring up cud. However, if such an animal has already died, one who touches its carcass shall become unclean until the evening. Anyone who eats of its carcass or carries its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening.
Forbidden Land Animals
Land animals which bring up cud but do not have true hoofs, like the camel or the rock-badger or the hare, are not permitted; they are unclean for you. The swine, which has true hoofs which are cloven but does not bring up cud, is also forbidden; it is unclean for you. You may not eat of their flesh, and whoever touches their flesh shall be unclean. You shall not touch their carcass, and whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening. Whoever carries their carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening.
Among those land animals that walk on all fours, animals that walk on their paws are unclean for you. Whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening. Whoever carries their carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening.
Any animal that swarms upon the earth is an abomination: it shall not be eaten. Do not eat that which crawls upon its belly or that which walks on four or more legs, for they are an abomination. Do not make yourselves abominable by any swarming thing, and do not pollute yourselves by them so that you become unclean through them. For I, the Eternal, am your God. Sanctify yourselves and be holy, as I am holy, and do not pollute yourselves through any swarming thing that creeps upon the earth. For I am the Eternal, who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall be holy as I am holy.
Among those land animals that swarm on the earth, there are eight named animals that are unclean for you, among them the mole, the mouse and various reptiles. Whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening. Any object which receives upon it their carcass shall be unclean. If the object is a wooden utensil or a garment of skin or cloth—anything that is used for work—when immersed in water, it is unclean until the evening, when it becomes clean. Any drinkable liquid that was inside the object becomes unclean. If it falls into an earthen vessel, anything else that is inside it becomes unclean, and you must break the vessel itself. If it falls upon an oven or stove, it becomes unclean and must be smashed. If it falls upon food that had come into contact with water, the food shall be unclean. However, a spring or a cistern shall remain clean, but whoever touches the carcass that fell into it becomes unclean. Seed that is intended for sowing remains clean, but if water was put upon the seed before contact with any part of the carcass, then the seed is unclean for you.
Permitted and Forbidden Water Animals
Of water animals, whether in seas or in streams, only those are permitted that have both fins and scales. This applies to swarming things and to other living creatures in the water. If they do not possess both fins and scales, they shall be an abomination for you: you shall not eat of their flesh, and their carcass shall be an abomination to you.
Forbidden Birds
Of birds, there are twenty named items to be treated as abominations, not to be eaten, such as the eagle, the vulture, the raven, the ostrich, and the bat. Some of the items, like falcons and hawks, are abominations in all of their varieties.
Permitted and Forbidden Winged Swarming Things
Of winged swarming things, the following are permitted that walk on all fours but have jointed legs above their feet, in order to leap with them upon the ground: all varieties of locusts, crickets and grasshoppers. All other winged swarming things that walk on all fours are an abomination for you.
Summary
Such is the instruction regarding the animals and the birds and every living creature that moves in the water and that swarms upon the earth, with the purpose of distinguishing between the unclean and the clean, between the creature that may be eaten and the creature which is not to be eaten.
FROM THE PROPHETS
Haftarah for Shabbat Shemini
II Samuel 6:1-7:17
David’s Struggle to House the Ark
DAVID BRINGS UP THE ARK OF GOD
6:1-5
David again assembles a total of thirty thousand young men in Israel, and he sets out with them to bring up from Ba’aley Yehudah the Ark of God, over which is called the Name of the Eternal of Hosts dwelling at the Cherubim. They place the Ark of God upon a new wagon, bringing it up from the house of Avinadav in the hill, as Uzza and Achio, sons of Avinadav, guide the new wagon. David and the rest of the House of Israel play before the Eternal on various wooden, string and percussion instruments.
THE ETERNAL STRIKES DOWN UZZA
6:6-11
When they come to the threshing floor of Nachon, Uzza holds on to the Ark of God as the oxen pull away. For that the Eternal is incensed at Uzza and strikes him dead there by the Ark of God. David is angry over the Eternal’s burst of anger against Uzza and names that place Burst Against Uzza to this day. David fears the Eternal that day, saying “How shall the Ark of the Eternal come to me?!” He was not willing to bring it to him in the City of David, so he removes it to the house of Oved Edom the Gittite for three months. The Eternal blesses Oved Edom and all of his household.
DAVID INSTALLS THE ARK IN THE CITY OF DAVID
6:12-15,17-19
When David hears of the Eternal’s blessing by reason of the Ark of God, he goes to bring up the Ark with festivity to the City of David. The bearers of the Ark take six steps, then he sacrifices a bull and a fatling. David dances around with all of his strength before the Eternal, girded with a linen ephod. David and all of the House of Israel bring up the Ark of the Eternal with shouting and the sound of the shofar. The Ark is installed in the place within the tent that David prepared for it. He offers burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Eternal. Then he blesses the people in the name of the Eternal of Hosts and hands out loaves and cakes to everyone of Israel, who then depart to their homes.
MICHAL GREETS DAVID WITH CONTEMPT
6:16,20-23
Michal daughter of Saul, looks out at the festivity in the City of David. The sight of King David whirling about before the Eternal fills her with contempt for him. When David returns home to bless his own household, Michal confronts him: “How has the king of Israel been honored today, exposed as he was to the gaze of his servants’ handmaidens, as a worthless vaunter!” David said to Michal: “I shall indeed celebrate before the Eternal, who has chosen me above your father and all of his house, to appoint me ruler over His people Israel! And I may act even more lowly than this, lowly in my very own eyes, and get honor with those handmaidens whom you deride!” Michal daughter of Saul had no child until the day of her death.
DAVID COUNSELS WITH NATHAN
7:1-3
When the time arrives that the king is dwelling in his house and the Eternal has secured him from his enemies, David observes to Nathan the prophet: “See, I am dwelling in a house of cedar, but the Ark of God dwells within curtains!” Nathan’s response to David is that he should proceed with what he intends “as the Eternal is with you.”
THE WORD OF THE ETERNAL
7:4-7
That very night the word of the Eternal comes to Nathan, that he should say to “My servant David” these words from the Eternal:
“Will you build Me a house in which to dwell?
“Even though I have not dwelled in a house
from the day that I brought the Children of Israel up out of Egypt,
and instead have gone along in a tent or in a tabernacle,
during all of this time have I spoken one word to any of the tribes of Israel
whom I have charged to care for My people, asking,
‘Why have you not built for Me a house of cedar?’”
THE ETERNAL’S PROMISE FOR DAVID AND ISRAEL
7:8-11a
And Nathan should say further:
“Thus says the Eternal of Hosts:
I took you from your shepherd’s abode
to be the ruler of My people Israel,
and I have been with you wherever you have gone
and have cut off your enemies from before you.
I shall make for you a great name,
as great as there is in the earth.
And I shall establish a place for My people Israel
to dwell securely, without worry
that they will suffer more unrighteous hurt
as before, since the time of the judges.
THE HOUSE SHALL BE BUILT, AND THE THRONE SHALL ENDURE
7:11b-17
“The Eternal promises
that He will make for you a house.
It will be through your offspring,
after your days are fulfilled
and you lie with your fathers.
“He who comes from your loins,
whose kingdom I establish,
shall build a house for My Name;
his throne shall I establish for ever!
I shall be for him a father,
and he shall be for me a son.
While I shall rebuke him for his sins
in the same way that other men are punished,
my love for him shall not depart,
as it did from Saul before you.
Your house and your kingdom
shall endure after you,
and your throne shall be established for ever.”
These words in accordance with this vision
were spoken by Nathan to David.
FROM TALMUD AND MIDRASH
Sifra Shemini Parshata I:7-8
Aaron’s Inhibitions
As Moses directs, Aaron approaches the Altar:
”Moses says to Aaron,
‘Approach the Altar and perform your sin offering and your burnt offering;
and seek atonement for yourself and for the people…
as the Eternal has instructed you.”
(Leviticus 9:7)
Moses speaks to Aaron with expectation as an equal
in accordance with the Psalmist’s words:
“Moses and Aaron were among His Priests…—
they call to the Eternal, and He answers them…in a pillar of cloud…
and they kept His laws…”
(Psalms 99:6-7)
Then why did Moses need to encourage Aaron his equal to fulfill his obligation?
This can be explained by likening it to a king of flesh and blood, newly married, whose bride is too embarrassed to be intimate with him. So her sister speaks with her: Did you not marry the king with full expectation that you would be intimate with him? As his wife you must divest yourself of your inhibitions with respect to him: he is your king, but he is also your husband. It is your obligation!
In similar wise did Moses speak with Aaron: Aaron my brother, consider the purpose of your being chosen as Kohen Gadol (High Priest), expressly in order to minister before the Holy One, blessed be He. Divest yourself of your inhibitions with respect to Him and perform the Divine Service!
We can understand how the king’s bride was too bashful to be intimate with him,
but what was the reason for Aaron’s inhibitions?
Throughout the seven days of ordination, it was Moses who acted as Kohen. Now, on the Eighth Day, Aaron was required to take over the role that had previously been associated uniquely with Moses. (Rabad) So Moses spoke to him: My brother, you have nothing to fear, be bold and approach the Altar to perform the offerings for yourself and for the people!
There are those who say that when Aaron looked at the Altar with its horns (cf. Exodus 38:1-2), he saw in his mind a horned ox which caused him to remember the altar that he built for the molten calf that the people worshipped before Moses returned from Mount Sinai (cf. Exodus 32:4-5). Therefore he feared the Altar itself. So Moses spoke to him: My brother, you have nothing to fear, be bold and approach the Altar to perform the offerings for yourself and for the people!
Leviticus Rabbah 11:1
Nadab and Abihu Compared to Adam and Eve
“On the Eighth Day (following the seven days of ordination)…
Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu…offer before the Eternal
spurious fire, which He had not commanded them.
From before the Eternal a fire goes out
and consumes them: they die before the Eternal.”
(Leviticus 9:1-10:2)
Rabbi Ahava bar Kahana explained this event by reference to the following:
“Wisdom has built her house,
she has hewn out her seven pillars;
she has prepared her meat
and mixed her wine;
she has set her table.
She has dispatched her maidens
and declares upon the heights of the city:
Whoever is foolish—let him turn [yasur] here;
lacking of heart—she speaks to him…”
(Proverbs 9:1-4)
As “wisdom” is the means by which “the Eternal founded the earth” (Proverbs 3:19), Rabbi Jeremiah bar Ilai identified “wisdom” in Proverbs 9:1-4 with the Holy One, blessed be He, and understood those words to refer to the creation of the world. The “seven pillars” are the six days of creation (cf. Exodus 31:17) followed by the Sabbath day (cf. Genesis 2:3). “Meat” and “wine” allude to the bringing forth of land animals (cf. Genesis 1:24) and the gathering of waters (cf. Genesis 1:9), respectively. “Set her table” is the proper completion of the table’s presentation with provision of fruits (cf. Genesis 1:11). “Dispatched her maidens” is the creation of Adam and Eve, and “the heights of the city” reflects their flirtation with divinity as reflected in the serpent’s presumption, “You will be like God” (cf. Genesis 3:5).
After all of the first seven days’ consecration, on the eighth day, as it were, Adam and Eve abandoned the will of God: “Whoever is foolish—he shall turn [yasur] here” (Proverbs 9:4): the foolish turn away from the will of the Holy One, blessed be He, and follow instead the will of the serpent! But ultimately, it is the Holy One, blessed be He, who speaks to Adam of his end, “lacking of heart” (ibid.), meaning that he will die, “for dust you are and to dust shall you return” (Genesis 3:19).
Leviticus Rabbah 12:1
How We Know that Wine was the Cause of Death
Directly after the incident of Nadab and Abihu,
who “offered before the Eternal spurious fire” (Leviticus 10:1),
the Eternal imparts the following instruction to Aaron:
“When you come to the Tent of Meeting,
do not drink wine or any other intoxicant
—you and your sons—lest you die…” (Leviticus 10:8-9)
This is what is meant by:
“Look not upon the wine
when it is red,
colorfully tempting in the cup,
going down easily.
For in the end
it bites like a serpent,
and stings like
a venomous snake;
your eyes shall see spurious sights…!”
(Proverbs 23:31-33a)
Just as a venomous snake makes the difference between life and death, so the wine made a fatal difference between Aaron and his sons, as Rabbi Simeon teaches: Aaron’s sons died only because they entered the Tent of Meeting under the influence of wine.
Rabbi Pinchas in the name of Rabbi Levi taught: This can be compared to a king who had a trusted attendant. When the king discovered him to be indiscreet in his personal behavior, he had him beheaded without explanation and appointed another in his place. No one was told why the king had the original attendant beheaded, but because the king warned the new attendant not to be indiscreet in his personal behavior, we infer that such was the reason why the king killed the first attendant. Similarly: “From before the Eternal a fire goes out and consumes them: they die before the Eternal” (Leviticus 10:2), and we do not know why they died! But because He then commands Aaron, “Do not drink wine or any other intoxicant…” (Leviticus 10:9), we infer that they died only because of the wine. That is why the verse displays a preference for Aaron and singles him out for the commandment of “Do not drink wine or any other intoxicant…” (Leviticus 10:9).
Leviticus Rabbah 12:2
Moses Consoles Aaron
“A fire came out from before the Eternal
and consumed them (Nadab and Abihu)…
Moses said to Aaron:
That is what the Eternal meant when He said,
‘Through those who are near to Me
I shall be sanctified,
and before all of the people
I shall be glorified,’
and Aaron remained silent.”
(Leviticus 10:2-3)
After the incident of Nadab and Abihu,
the Eternal singles out Aaron for instruction:
“The Eternal imparts the following instruction to Aaron:
When you come to the Tent of Meeting,
do not drink wine or any other intoxicant…”
(Leviticus 10:8-9)
In order to understand this,
Rabbi Isaac opened his discourse
with the Prophet’s words:
“Your words being offered,
I devour them;
Your word is for me
happiness and heartfelt joy,
as Your Name is upon me,
Eternal One, God of Hosts!”
(Jeremiah 15:16)
Rabbi Ishmael bar Nachman explained:
The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses on Mount Sinai, “There (at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting) I shall meet with the Children of Israel, and it shall be sanctified through My Kavod (“Intense Presence” or “Glory”) (Exodus 29:42-43). Moses began to understand these words only later, when he witnessed one of the phenomena on the Eighth Day:
“Moses and Aaron enter the Tent of Meeting. When they emerge, they bless the people, and the Kavod of the Eternal is seen by all of the people. A fire goes out from before the Eternal and consumes the burnt offering and the fat parts upon the Altar. All of the people see, they exult, then they fall upon their faces.” (Leviticus 9:23-24)
Whereupon Moses says to Aaron: Aaron, my brother, from Mount Sinai it was said to me (referring interpretively to Exodus 29:42-43, quoted above), “In the future I (the Eternal) shall meet with Israel at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, and there will be a sanctification before them of this House, and through a great man (cf. Exodus 29:43: “through My glory”) I shall sanctify it.” I thought that He meant that this House would be sanctified through His glory, that is to say, either through you or through me.
But when Aaron’s sons draw near to present their offering and are also consumed by a fire from the Eternal, Moses says to Aaron: Now it is apparent that your two sons are more preferred than either of us, as they have died for the Sanctification of His Name. “That is what He meant when He said, ‘Through those who are near to Me (who offer themselves to Me) I shall be sanctified, and before all of the people I shall be glorified’” (Leviticus 10:3), as “through My glory” (Exodus 29:43), through these great men, Nadab and Abihu!
Upon hearing this, Aaron knows that his sons are distinguished of Heaven. He remains silent and receives good reward for his silence, the reward of being singled out by the commandment:
“The Eternal imparts the following instruction to Aaron:
When you come to the Tent of Meeting,
do not drink wine or any other intoxicant…”
(Leviticus 10:8-9)
Aaron now recognizes what the Prophet later expressed:
“Your word is for me
happiness and heartfelt joy,
as Your Name is upon me,
Eternal One, God of hosts!”
(Jeremiah 15:16)
Leviticus Rabbah 13:2
He Sees and Discerns
“He shall stand [amad] and shake [vayimoded] the earth,
see [ra’ah] and make nations tremble [vayatter]…”
(Habakkuk 3:6)
Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai:
He stood [amad] and measured [vayimoded] the earth,
saw [ra’ah] and released [vayatter] nations!
How did He stand and measure the earth?
The Holy One, blessed be He, took the measure of all of the nations and found none worthy to receive the Torah but Israel.
The Holy One, blessed be He, took the measure of all generations and found none worthy to receive Torah but the generation of the Wilderness.
The Holy One, blessed be He, took the measure of all of the mountains and found none worthy to host His Presence but Mount Moriah.
The Holy One, blessed be He, took the measure of all of the cities and found none worthy for the building of the Temple but Jerusalem.
The Holy One, blessed be He, took the measure of all of the mountains and found none worthy to have the Torah given upon it but Sinai.
The Holy One, blessed be He, took the measure of all of the lands and found no land suitable for Israel but the Land of Israel.
How did He see and release nations?
It may be compared to one who went out to his threshing floor, taking with him a dog and an ass. He loaded the ass with 5 measures of grain and the dog with 2. The ass had no problem, but the dog was panting. So he transferred a measure from the dog to the ass. The ass had no problem, but the dog was still panting. When he transferred the remaining measure from the dog to the ass, the dog still panted. “However much you do or do not carry,” said he to the dog, “you pant!”
Thus it was when the gentile nations accepted upon themselves the Seven Commandments of Noah. When they were unable to bear even those seven, they threw them off upon Israel. So did He see and release the nations.
Rabbi Tanchum bar Chanilai compared this to a physician who was treating two patients. He ordered one of them not to be given certain foods. But for the other patient he permitted the eating of any food that the patient wanted. What made the difference? The patient that he restricted was expected to live, and certain foods needed to be avoided in order to protect his health and prolong his life. But for the other patient, who was not expected to survive, there was no reason to restrict him, as his diet would make no difference.
Thus, He saw and released nations: For the nations of the world, who are not destined for the world to come, “Every moving thing that lives may be food for you; as the green herb I allow you everything” (Genesis 9:3). But for Israel, whose destiny is life in the world to come:
“These only are the living things that you may eat
from among all of the animals that are on the earth…!”
(Leviticus 11:2)
Leviticus Rabbah 13:3
Talmud Chullin 42a
“Mateer Asurim”
“Every saying of God is refined…”
(Proverbs 30:5a)
Rav Ami explained:
Every teaching of God is a purification:
The commandments are given by God for the express purpose of refining His creations!
How?
“…He is a Shield to those who take refuge [choseem] in Him.”
(Proverbs 30:5b)
Interpret:
He will be a Shield to those who show restraint [choseem] through Him!
Rav Ami has provided the first midrash:
God’s commanding word is a refining restraint,
which will earn the observer His protection.
Rabbi Abba bar Kahana:
“Hearken to Me, you who pursue righteousness…
for Torah shall come out [teytsey] from Me…”
(Isaiah 51:1,4)
Interpret:
“A law (torah) shall be excepted [teytsey] by Me”:
An innovation of Torah shall come forth from Me!
Rabbi Abba bar Kahana has provided the second midrash:
Be faithful and patient with the restrictions of Torah,
for God will change some of them by exception.
Rabbi Berechia in the name of Rabbi Isaac:
A festive dessert will the Holy One, blessed be He, serve to His righteous servants in time to come. Whoever has refrained from eating forbidden meat in this world will be privileged to eat it in the world to come. Such is implied by the Eternal, “The fat of a dead or wounded animal may be used for any other work” (Leviticus 7:24), when He repeated, “and definitely do not eat it!” (ibid.), that is to say, not in this world in order that you may eat of it in the world to come! That is why Moses admonishes Israel, “This is the living thing which you may eat from among all of the animals that are upon the earth” (Leviticus 11:2)! According to Rabbi Chiyah, “This” teaches that Moses would hold up an animal—or a fish (ibid. 9) or a bird (ibid. 13)—to show Israel in each case what is clean and what is unclean of this world!
“Happy is the one
whose help is the God of Jacob…
the Eternal releases [mateer] the captives [asurim]…”
(Psalms 146:5,7)
The Eternal ultimately permits [mateer] the forbidden [asurim]!
Leviticus Rabbah 13:5
Rome Compared to the Swine
“Land animals which bring up cud but do not have cleft hoofs…are not permitted…
inversely, the swine, which does have a cleft hoof and cleaves the hoof,
but does not bring up cud, is also forbidden…”
(Leviticus 11:4-8)
Said Rabbi Samuel bar Nachman: All of the Prophets foresaw the aggression of foreign powers. This is intimated already in the Garden of Eden, as explained by Rabbi Tanchuma—and some say by Rabbi Menachama in the name of Rabbi Joshua ben Levi: “A river goes out from Eden to water the Garden…” (Genesis 2:10)—In the future, the Holy One, blessed be He, will fill a cup of reprisal against the nations of the world! “…And from there it divides into four principals” (ibid.)—namely, Babylonia, Medea, Greece, and Edom (Rome)!
••
Rabbi Pinchas and Rabbi Chilkiah in the name of Rabbi Simone: But of all the Prophets, only two actually disclosed Edom (Rome): Asaph and Moses. Asaph said, “The swine out of the forest tears Israel to pieces” (Psalms 80:14), and Moses proscribed, “the swine” (Leviticus 11:7)!
Why then is Rome portrayed as a swine? “The swine, which does have a cleft hoof and cleaves the hoof” (ibid.): the redundant phrase, “and cleaves the hoof,” suggests “and hoofs the hoof,” that is to say, it tries to call attention to its cloven hoof even though “it does not bring up the cud and is therefore unclean” (ibid.). Just as the swine lies down and extends its hooves as if to say, “See, I am clean!” so did that wicked kingdom project itself as the fount of law and justice while it bolstered its arrogance through violence and pillage. This was typified by the Roman magistrate in Caesaria who executed thieves, rapists and sorcerers, and boasted to one of his advisors, “I do all three myself in a single night!”
Talmud Berachot 63b
Hospitality
“The Eternal blessed the house of Oved Edom
and all that he had because of the Ark of God…”
(II Samuel 6:12)
Rabbi Eliezer the son of Rabbi Yosi the Galilean opened his discourse on the subject of hospitality with this verse. By the inference of kal vachomer it follows from a blessing because of the Ark, which does not eat or drink and requires only cleaning the ground around it, that comparable blessing will be bestowed upon one who shows hospitality to a Torah scholar whom he boards and whose needs he supplies!
Numbers Rabbah 4:20
King David’s Humility
“Do not glorify yourself before a king
or stand in the place of the great.”
(Proverbs 25:6)
If one should act lowly before a king of flesh and blood, how much the moreso before the Divine King! Thus we have learned: “Be strong as a leopard, light as an eagle, swift as a deer, and brave as a lion, to do the will of your Father who is in heaven” (Mishnah Avot 5:20 as taught by Yehudah ben Tema), meaning that there is no place for pride before the Omnipresent. Such was taught by Eliahu: “Whoever shows much honor to Heaven, both the honor of Heaven and his own honor are increased; and whoever shows little honor to Heaven and much honor to himself, the honor of Heaven stands, but his own honor is diminished. (Tanna d’vey Eliahu Rabbah 14:5)
Thus you find with David king of Israel who displayed no pride before the Omnipresent when he brought up the Ark from the house of Avinadav to bring it to Jerusalem. David might have been expected to proceed before the Ark in the usual restrained manner of a king, dressed in his royal robes, but no, “David was clothed in a robe of white linen…” (I Chronicles 15:27). He humbled himself before the Holy One, blessed be He, like a common person in order to increase the honor shown to the Omnipresent: ”David dances around with all of his strength before the Eternal, girded with a linen ephod” (II Samuel 6:14).
From Michal’s reproach (ibid. 20) we know that all of the women in Jerusalem gazed at David from the windows and from the rooftops, and they saw him dancing and playing, yet it did not bother him.
When David returns home to bless his household, Michal confronts him (ibid. 20ff.). She reproaches him for exposing himself “to the gaze of his servants’ handmaidens, as a worthless vaunter” and would not let him enter his own house. “Look at the difference between you and my father’s house,” she says. “All of my father’s house were modest and holy…not a heel nor a toe of theirs was ever exposed, but you stand and expose yourself like a cheap exhibitionist!”
David responds: “Do you think I was dancing before a king of flesh and blood? Was it not before the King of the kings of kings that I was tripping, who chose me over your father and all of his house! If your father were more righteous than I, would God have chosen me and disqualified your father’s house? Your father’s house sought honor for themselves and neglected the honor of Heaven; I, on the other hand, set aside my own honor and seek instead the honor of Heaven!”
Then David rebukes Michal for how she characterized the women of Israel, whom she called “the handmaidens of your servants”: “They are not amahot (‘handmaidens’) as you call them, but imahot, ‘mothers!’ ‘May I be honored’ (ibid. 22) in the world to come along with those mothers whom you deride!”
“A song of ascents, of David:
O Eternal,
I am not proud in my heart,
nor exalted in my eyes;
I have not proceeded in grandeur
or in ways too wondrous for me.
My spirit is tempered;
like a child weaned from its mother,
my spirit is weaned from me.
So may the hope of Israel
be towards the Eternal
from now and for ever.”
(Psalms 131)
Talmud Ketubot 17a
The Honor Due a King
“Do not glorify yourself before a king…”
(Proverbs 25:6)
Our Rabbis taught: We change the route of a funeral in favor of the bride. (Rashi: When a bride goes out of her father’s house to the location of her chuppah at the same time that those carrying a person to be buried come out, and there are many in attendance of both processions and do not want to mix together, we change the route of the funeral in favor of the route of the bride.) But we change the route of both of them in favor of a king of Israel!
However, they taught concerning Agrippa the king that he changed his route in favor of a bride, and the Sages praised him. If they praised him, that means he did the right thing, and this appears to go against the Rabbis’ own teaching, that we change the route of a bride in favor of a king of Israel (see above)!
But didn’t Rav Ashi teach: Even for one who says that when a nasi (chief rabbi) foregoes his own honor, his honor is foregone—when a king (presumably higher than a nasi) foregoes his own honor, his honor is not foregone, as the verse, “Set over, you shall set over you a king…” (Deuteronomy 17:15) implies through the double verb, “set over…set over,” that you must hold the king in high respect and therefore his honor is not foregone. If the king’s honor cannot be foregone even by himself, and we have the Rabbis’ teaching that the bride should change her route in favor of a king, why did the Sages praise Agrippa for changing his route in favor of a bride? In that case the bride and Agrippa came to a fork in the road, and (Rashi) it was not clear that the king had actually changed his route in her favor, rather it seemed at first as if he needed to take her route.
——
Considerations for Building the Temple
Talmud Sanhedrin 20b
“When the time arrives that the king is dwelling in his house
and the Eternal has secured him from his enemies,
David observes to Nathan the Prophet,
‘See, I am dwelling in a house of cedar,
but the Ark of God dwells within curtains!’”
(II Samuel 7:1-2)
Rabbi Yosi taught in a baraitha that three commandments were given to Israel when they entered into the Land:
(1) To establish for themselves a king;
(2) To destroy all the descendants of Amalek; and
(3) To build for themselves the Temple.
How did David learn from the Torah that the time for building the Temple had arrived?
“As a hand upon the throne of the Eternal, a war for the Eternal against Amalek…” (Exodus 17:16)—from this I know that the establishment of the throne (king) precedes the war against Amalek!
“When He has given you rest from all of your surrounding enemies and you dwell in safety, then shall you bring all that I command you to the place where the Eternal your God shall choose to make a habitation for His Name…” (Deuteronomy 12:10b-11)—from this I know that the war against your enemies (Amalek) precedes the building of the place (Temple)!
And so, “When the time arrived that the king (1) is dwelling in his house and the Eternal has secured him from his (2) enemies, David observes to Nathan the prophet: ‘See, I am dwelling in a house of cedar, but the Ark of God dwells within (3) curtains’” (II Samuel 7:2)!
Yalkut Shimoni 145
“David said to Solomon his son:
It was my intention to build a House
for the Name of the Eternal my God,
but the word of the Eternal came to me, saying:
“’Much blood have you shed,
and great wars have you waged;
you shall not build a House for My Name
because you have poured much blood
on the ground before Me.
“‘Look to the son who will be born to you:
he shall be a man of peace,
I shall give him rest from all of his surrounding enemies;
“peace” shall be his name, Shlomo,
and peace and quietness
shall I grant to Israel in his days.’”
(I Chronicles 22:7-9)
When David first heard these words, he lamented: “I have been disqualified from building the Temple!”
Rabbi Judah son of Rabbi Ilai taught that the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: David, fear not, I assure you that “before Me” (I Chronicles 22:8) the blood that “you have poured on the ground…” (ibid.) is like the blood of the deer or the hart, of which I have said, “You may pour it on the ground like water” (Deuteronomy 12:16)!
Alternatively, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to David: Fear not, I assure you that before Me the blood that “you have poured…before Me” (I Chronicles 22:8) is like the blood of offerings, of which I have said, “He shall slaughter the bull before the Eternal, and the sons of Aaron shall bring the blood near and throw the blood around the Altar…” (Leviticus 1:5)!
David replied: If that is the case—that my pouring of blood on the ground before You is as acceptable before You as the pouring of blood on the ground like water when permitted animals are prepared for food or as the pouring of blood on the ground before You of sacred offerings at the Altar—then why should I not build the Temple?!
The Holy One, blessed be He, gave him the following answer: If I allow you to build the Temple, the Temple that you, David, build will endure and never be destroyed. But I know that in the future your people will sin, and when they do, I would prefer to pour out My wrath upon the Temple, destroying it but sparing the people themselves. Thus shall these words be understood: “He has bent His bow like the enemy, He stands with His right hand like the adversary, He destroys every thing that is pleasing to the eye; against the Tent of the daughter of Zion He pours out His wrath like fire” (Lamentations 2:4)! But if I allow you to build the Temple, I would not be able to destroy it, in which case I would have to pour out My wrath upon the people, and thus would these words be understood: “He destroys all who are pleasing to the eye; in the Tent of the daughter of Zion He pours out His wrath like fire” (Ibid.)!
Finally, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: Because you have refrained from building it, even though Solomon your son will build it, I do inscribe it in your name.
“A Psalm, a Song at the Dedication of the House, to David:
I extol You, O Eternal One, for raising me up,
for not letting my enemies rejoice over me…
What profit is there in my blood…
shall the dust acknowledge You
and declare Your truth?
You turn my lament into celebration!”
(Psalms 30:1-2,10,12)
–—
Yalkut Shimoni 143
The Eternal Anticipates David’s Zeal
“Nathan advises the king
to proceed with his plan
to build a Temple
for the Ark of God!”
(II Samuel 7:1-3)
Then:
“That very night the word of the Eternal comes to Nathan,
that he should say to My servant David
these words from the Eternal:
Will you build Me a House in which to dwell?
…
“The Eternal promises
that He will make for you a House.
But it will be through your offspring,
after your days are fulfilled
and you lie with your fathers.”
(Ibid. 4-5,11b-13)
Rav taught: Better advice was given to him that night.
Rav Chanina explained that the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Nathan the Prophet: Nathan, this man whom I have sent you to be with, works quickly. Before he hires workers, go and say to him, “You shall not build for me a Temple,” so that he does not have a complaint against Me!
Rabbi Simone explained that the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Nathan the Prophet: Nathan, this man whom I have sent you to be with, is wont to vow. Before he takes a vow, go and say to him, “You shall not build for me a Temple,” so that he is not shamed for an impulsive vow before the Sanhedrin!
“A song of ascents:
Remember, O Eternal, for David
all of his disappointment,
how he swore to the Eternal,
vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob:
I will not enter my own house
or sleep in my bed,
grant repose to my eyes
or slumber to my eyelids,
until I find a place for the Eternal,
a habitation for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
(Psalms 132:1-5)
SHABBAT SHALOM!
Sedra Summary 