The Fifty-fourth Sedra
9,11-14, 23 Tishri 5787
Deuteronomy 33:1-34:12
Reading for Simchat Torah
The Eternal has advised Moses of the time and place of his death. He has reiterated that Moses shall not enter the Land. In this Final Sedra of the Torah, V’zot Habracha, “And this is the blessing” that Moses, “the man of God,” bestows upon the Children of Israel before his demise. He begins by citing the Source of Blessing, the Eternal, who comes from wherever but with “the fire of law” in “His right hand!” He is “King” close by “the Torah that Moses commanded us” and which remains the “heritage of the Congregation of Jacob.” Moses distributes the Blessing among the tribes of Israel, respectively, in similar fashion to the Blessing that his great great grandfather, our Patriarch Jacob, distributed to his eponymous sons.
Moses then ascends from the Plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, whence the Eternal shows him all of the Land, “but you shall not cross over to it.” At the age of 120 years, Moses dies and is buried. He is then succeeded, as anticipated, by Joshua son of Nun. The Torah “concludes” with its commendation of Moses as the Prophet unequalled in Israel.
—
22 Tishri 5787
SHABBAT AND SHEMINI ATZERET
Link to all Torah and Haftarah Readings and their Midrash
MEGILLAH OF ECCLESIASTES
Link to Ecclesiastes Midrash
THE ENIGMA OF FUTILITY
1:1-18
Words of Ecclesiastes (Koheleth),
son of David,
King in Jerusalem:
Futility!
There is no lasting result
in all of man’s labors under the sun.
One generation replaces another
while the earth is never altered,
as the sun rises, sets, and rises again,
as the wind comes and goes,
southward and northward,
and comes again.
The same may be said of the rivers,
which empty into the sea,
which itself is not filled
and to which the rivers return.
All things are wearying beyond words:
the eye is never satisfied with seeing,
nor the ear with hearing;
what was shall be,
what was done shall be done again;
it is an illusion to think otherwise:
there is nothing new under the sun!
Remembrance of what has preceded—there is not,
nor will those in the future
look back with memory
to that which has not yet occurred.
Here I am, King over Israel in Jerusalem,
seeking to investigate with wisdom
all that occurs under heaven:
it is an enigma
that God has placed before us
to understand!
When I consider all of the acts
that are done under heaven,
to try to make sense of them
would be like herding the wind.
The crooked cannot be made straight
nor can the wanting be found.
And even with my superior achievement in wisdom and knowledge,
surpassing all who ruled before me over Jerusalem,
informed as I am not only of wisdom and knowledge
but of madness and folly as well,
I recognize that this achievement also is futile.
For with an abundance of wisdom
comes a profusion of indignation;
one who adds to knowledge
adds to anxiety.
WHICH IS BETTER: POSSESSIONS OR WISDOM?
2:1-26
But I thought to conduct a test on myself
of partying and pleasure,
those futile, mad pursuits:
I would ply my flesh with wine,
seizing folly
even as my heart would follow after wisdom,
in order for me to see
which is better for the children of man
to practice under heaven
for all the days of their lives.
So I increased my possessions and made for myself
houses and vineyards, gardens and parks,
and planted within them
all kinds of trees bearing fruit,
replete with reservoirs to keep them well-watered.
I acquired servants, who over time produced more servants,
possessions of herds and flocks,
exceeding in number any who were before me in Jerusalem.
I amassed chests full of silver and gold, kingly and stately treasures,
more than any who were before me in Jerusalem—
all the while my wisdom stayed with me.
But as I enjoyed the possessions
that I labored to acquire for myself,
I found all of it to be futile, as insubstantial as wind,
of no lasting value under the sun.
There was good reason for me
to turn to wisdom and madness and folly,
for who else could have done it better than I, the King?
What I found for others to learn, then,
is that wisdom excels folly
in the same measure that light exceeds darkness.
The wise man foresees the outcome of his actions
while the fool walks in darkness.
But given that the same end awaits them both,
why should I value wisdom more?
Herein lies the futility:
neither the wise nor the fool
will be remembered after they die.
So I despise that fact of life—
that whatever is done under the sun
is futile and unstable as wind—
and I resent that my labor
will benefit another after me
who may be wise or may be a fool
but either way will rule over
whatever I have achieved
in my wisdom, knowledge and skill.
That is not only futility;
it is a great evil!
So what does a man have
to show for all of his toil under the sun,
for both his pain during the day
and his grief at night?
There is nothing better for a man
than to eat and drink,
to enjoy the benefit of his labor,
to see it, as I have,
from the hand of God.
He gives it to us to enjoy!
For to the man that is good,
He gives wisdom and knowledge
and the ability to enjoy.
While to the sinner
He gives the drive to amass
only to pass it on
to one who is pleasing to God—
an end that is futile
and the equivalent of wind.
ALL IS DETERMINED
3:1-22
All of the important events of life
occur at the right time of God’s choosing:
Birth
Death
Sowing
Harvesting
Violence
Healing
Destruction
Construction
Weeping
Laughing
Mourning
Dancing
Intercourse
Abstinence
Embracing
Releasing
Seeking
Losing
Keeping
Abandoning
Rending
Mending
Hushing
Voicing
Loving
Hating
War
Peace
Men cannot alter them
anymore than he can find the way
to change the order of the world
that God established
from beginning to end.
I know that it is best for man
to rejoice in his life,
to enjoy the reward of his labor
as a gift of God.
Whatever God does
stands forever,
and nothing can be added to it
or taken from it;
thus should men
stand in awe of Him.
Whatever is
and whatever shall be
already were;
whatever is chosen by man
was sought by God.
Even in courts of justice
evil can be found,
and ultimately God will judge
the righteous and the wicked alike,
as their actions occur
at the time of God’s choosing,
and God created man as a type of beast,
sharing a common fate,
originating in dust and returning thereto.
Who knows that the spirit of man ascends upward
while the spirit of a beast descends down into the earth?
Therefore I realize that there is nothing better for man
than to enjoy what he has acquired,
for that is his allotment,
and who is there
to bring him to see
what will be thereafter?
PREDATION
Strong on the Weak
4:1-3
But then there is the fact of oppression under the sun,
that is to say, the tears of the oppressed,
uncared for,
victims of the power of oppressors.
It makes me envy the dead over the living,
or even more those who have not yet been,
who have never seen the evil
that is done under the sun.
Peers on Each Other
4:4-6
Even the act of labor and competition—
it is a form of envy between peers
and partakes of that futility in the pursuit of wind.
On the other hand,
to sit on your hands and consume your own flesh
is foolish.
Better is the middle ground
of a mellow handful
over two fists full of toil.
Single On Oneself
4:7-12
Here is another example of futility under the sun:
The single without son or brother,
working only for himself without surcease,
never satisfied with enough wealth,
depriving himself for the sake of no one else—
an evil practice.
Two are better than one:
They enjoy more for their labor;
and if one should fall,
the other is there to lift him—
but in that event,
woe to the single!—
not to mention the warmth enjoyed
by two who lie together
in contrast to the single.
Two are better in defense than one,
and three are even more secure!
Kings on Kings
4:13-16
Better fares the poor child but wise
than the old king too foolish to accept advice.
Then,
one born poor may walk
even out of prison a king.
Besides these,
I have observed the acclaim
given by people
to yet another successor.
But then,
those who come still later
show no pleasure with him.
Here we have
many changes of throne
which only reflect futility
and the pursuit of wind!
Fools on God
4:17
When you go the House of God,
watch your step:
Drawing near to learn
is greater than
sacrifice by fools,
who ignore the doing of wrong.
KEEP YOUR WORDS FEW AND TRUE
5:1-6
Keep few your words to God,
for He is in heaven
and you are on the earth;
a multitude of words
reflects a multitude of confusion.
Better not to promise God
a voluntary offering
than to promise and not pay;
so if you do so vow,
fulfill your vow on time
without excuse;
simply fear God!
CORRUPTION IS SYSTEMIC
5:7-8
Be not surprised
to find corruption
in the government:
it is on every level;
and atop the column
of oppression
sits the king,
the source of whose profit
is the land’s cultivation.
THE DUBIOUS BENEFIT OF PROSPERITY
5:9-19
Those who love silver
will never be satisfied with silver;
abundant in wealth,
they cease to appreciate
new earning—
what futility is this!
The greater the prosperity
the more its creditors;
its only use of its gain to its owners
is to behold it.
As for consumption,
it will not help
the prosperous to sleep,
whereas the laborer
will sleep,
however much he consumes.
I have seen
this malignant evil
under the sun:
the accumulation of riches
with evil intent.
Moreover, he may easily lose
what he has accumulated,
left with as little as when he began
and lacking anything
to bequeath his children.
As he came out naked
from the womb of his mother,
thus shall be return
for any labor that he expended
or trouble that he suffered
for his gain.
Nonetheless,
whatever God has given a man
has been intended by God
for his enjoyment,
so let him take his portion
to eat and drink,
and rejoice in his labor,
remembering that
the days of his life are not many.
THE EVIL OF FRUSTRATION
6:1-12
If God has given a man
all of the property and honor
that he could possibly want,
yet, for whatever reason,
no opportunity to enjoy it himself,
what utter futility!
It matters not
how many years
or how many children
have been given him;
I say a stillborn child
is more fortunate than he,
for the stillborn has no experience,
is noted by no name,
he comes and goes in darkness,
never having seen the sun.
Where he ends up
is the same place where
the frustrated man
who lives for thousands of years
ends up.
Yes, a man strives
to satisfy his appetites,
yet his appetite is not fulfilled.
He is better off to enjoy
merely having his appetites!
Whatever has preceded
is known and named,
including the man.
All of the many words that there are
increase vanity without helping the man.
For who knows what is good for a man,
for the duration of his days of vanity,
which he spends like a shadow?
Who can tell a man
what will come after him
under the sun?
LEARN FROM THE WISE
7:1-22
An earned reputation
is more to be valued
than prominent anointment,
as is the day of death
than the day of one’s birth,
for there is more to be gained
about life
from the house of mourning
than from a mere celebration.
There is more to be learned
from anger than from laughter,
from the wise in sorrow
than from the fool in mirth,
from thoughtful rebuke
than from thoughtless praise—
although extortion and bribery
may yet corrupt the wise.
All told,
the end of a thing
is better than its beginning,
patience than anger or arrogance,
bad new times than the good old days.
Wisdom is more affordable
with an inheritance than without,
but the knowledge provided by wisdom
in any case
is a boon to life.
Accept and respect the work of God,
for who can settle what He has convolved:
embrace your good day,
and recognize the evil that comes your way
also as the doing of God,
keeping in mind
that there is no alternative.
Adhere not exclusively
to either righteousness or wickedness,
for there are righteous
who perish in their righteousness
as there are wicked
who thus die before their time.
Rather, fear God
as you hold on to both.
Wisdom prevails for the wise
over a multitude of rulers,
and the limits of your popularity
should be merged
with your criticism of others.
MY OWN “SUCCESS”
7:23-29
All of the aforementioned
have I tried
with respect to wisdom:
it is far from me,
so deep, who can find it?
Only one man among a thousand
have I found.
Yet I search for its understanding of things
and to know wickedness
as the foolishness that it is.
I find more bitter than death
the woman who is a trap
to be avoided with God’s help.
Nonetheless, I have found,
God created the man upright;
it is they who have figured ways around it.
BE PRUDENT BEFORE POWER
8:1-9
The wise man,
knowing the interpretation of a thing,
shows it in his
glowing and resolute visage.
Follow the king’s command,
remembering that he has taken an oath to God.
Take care not to hurry out of his presence,
also not to be involved in some evil plot,
for the king does whatever he wishes
while the subject cannot rule over the wind.
THE LIMIT OF WISDOM
8:10-17
I have seen wicked men buried
and succeeded by their sons,
while other men are distanced from a holy place
and their achievements forgotten in their city—
what futility there is in this!
When people observe
the impunity of wrongdoers,
their hearts are filled
with temptation to sin.
Yet I know that those who fear God
will fare well,
unlike the wicked,
devoid of fear,
whose days
pass away like a shadow.
So when it appears in the world
that righteous and wicked fare alike,
the trouble of righteousness
seeming futile thereby,
I counsel man
to eat, drink and be happy,
as the fitting accompaniment of his labor
for all the days of his life
that God grants him under the sun!
This is my practical response
to the acknowledged dilemma
apparent in the work of God,
which a man,
though he labor day and night,
shall not find the wisdom to explain.
LIFE AS AN ANTIDOTE TO FUTILITY
9:1-10
All that happens to
the righteous and wise
and to those who serve them
is in the hand of God,
whether for good or for bad,
and no one knows what it shall be.
All things come alike to all,
whether to the righteous or to the wicked,
to the pure or impure,
to the one who worships
as to the one who does not worship.
This is the worst thing that happens under the sun,
as men are left thereby to plan evil while alive—
and then they all go to the dead!
Yet there is the security
of being counted among the living:
a living dog is better than a dead lion.
The living know that they will die,
while the dead know nothing
and cannot expect the gratification
that can come to the living,
nor do they exist in remembrance.
Their love, their hatred, their envy,
all have perished;
they have no more portion
of anything that is done under the sun.
So go and eat happily your bread,
drink your wine goodheartedly—
this is what God wants!
Wear white garments,
pour oil upon your head abundantly!
Enjoy life with the woman you love
all the days of your futile life,
for that is your portion in life
and in your labor under the sun.
Whatever you can achieve in life,
achieve!
For there is no achievement or measure
or knowledge or wisdom in She’ol,
where you are going.
THE STRENGTH OF WISDOM
9:11-18
Upon continued reflection
have I observed:
Victory of the race is not to the swift,
war is not won by heroes,
bread is not secured by the wise,
riches are not awarded to the intelligent,
nor acclaim to the knowledgeable.
Time and chance befall all men.
A man knows not his time
like fish who are caught in a net
or birds who are trapped in a snare;
his time befalls him without warning.
Once there was a little city,
the home of a few men,
it was besieged by a mighty king.
One of its inhabitants,
impoverished yet wise,
found a way, through his wisdom,
to rescue the city.
Yet no one paid him heed.
Wisdom proved greater than strength,
but the wisdom of that impoverished one was despised,
his words were disregarded.
The quiet words of the wise
are better heard
than the cry of a ruler among fools.
Wisdom is better than the weapons of war,
yet it takes only one sinner to ruin much good.
DISTINGUISH WISDOM FROM FOLLY
10:1-20
Just as a lethargic fly
can ruin a batch of perfume,
so may a pinch of folly
undermine wisdom and honor.
The heart of a wise man
is at his right hand,
while the heart of a fool
is at his left;
on the road,
unsure of his heart altogether,
the fool is seen
for what he is.
If the ruler’s ire pursues you,
stand your ground,
because presence of mind
calms the greatest of aggressors.
An evil that I have seen under the sun
is the ruler’s committing an error:
a fool is installed in a high place
while the worthy sits below.
I have beheld servants riding upon horses
and princes walking along like servants.
Remember, he who digs a pit
may be inclined to fall into it!
(Cf. Proverbs 26:27; Psalms 7:16; 57:7)
Let the wise man only remember
to prepare the defense that is at hand:
if it be iron, be sure to sharpen it
so that the blade is ready to apply
with the slightest effort!
If the serpent should bite
before it is charmed,
then there is no profit in being a charmer.
Recognize the fool
for his multitude of meaningless words,
for his lack of common sense,
in contrast to the gracious speech
of the wise.
Prefer the kingly qualifications of
maturity, independence, and temperance,
over impressionable youth and indulgence.
Laziness will undermine the house
for failure to maintain it.
Rather, apply the prescriptions of
feasting, drinking and merriment,
as the rewards of diligence.
And whatever you do,
curse not the king within your mind
or the privileged within your bed,
lest the wings of birds carry your words.
FERTILITY AND FUTILITY
11:1-10
Cast your bread upon the waters:
risk your wealth in maritime trade,
for the prospect of its future gain.
Consume a small portion of your gain now,
save as much as possible for the future,
since you do not know what the future holds.
Let the rain and the trees fall where they may;
in other words, expect some rainy days
and unrecoverable losses.
Don’t waste your opportunities by inaction,
worrying about the wind and the rain.
You can no more predict the storm
than you can understand the growth
of a child’s bones in the mother’s womb.
These are the work of God;
they need not stop you
from doing your part:
sow your seed in the morning,
and again in the evening,
knowing not in advance
the success of either or both!
Enjoy the sweet light of the sun
for as many years as you live,
keeping in mind the dark days
of futility that will follow.
Yes, rejoice, young man,
with cheerful heart,
in your youth,
and as you follow
your feelings and your senses,
know that for all this
God will bring you to judgment.
In the meantime,
employ your heart and your flesh
for good,
even as childhood and adulthood
are, in the end, futile.
PREPARE FOR THE END
12:1-14
So remember your Creator
when you are still young,
before your years
rob you of enjoyment,
before your sun is darkened
and the rain is punctuated
only by clouds,
when the supporters of your house
lose their strength,
and your means
of taste and sight,
of breath and sound,
are dulled,
except for your start
at the unexpected
shrill cry,
when the arts and the fruits
which once gave you pleasure
have become impenetrable
and inaccessible,
and that which was your high place
you now fear to ascend.
For the man now proceeds
to his eternal home,
surrounded by mourners
on the way,
knowing that the silver cord
will be severed,
as will its connected vital organs,
and the dust will return to the earth as it was,
the spirit, to God who gave it.
What futility seems all of this,
says the congregant (ha-koheleth).
But besides being wise in and of himself,
Koheleth taught the people
through speaking,
based on research,
and enabled by the metaphors he created.
He chose words which would be embraced,
created writings of integrity,
vehicles of truth.
Words of wisdom are instruments of edification;
so many are they
that they have been collected in books.
But those that are true
emanate from a single Shepherd!
Waste not your time with the others,
but fear God,
observe His commandments—
that alone will occupy all of a man—
and in the end God will be the Judge
of every act,
apparent or not,
both the good and the bad,
in the end
God is the Judge.
FROM TALMUD AND MIDRASH
Megillah of Ecclesiastes
Genesis Rabbah 58:2
Succession of the Righteous
“The sun rises, and the sun sets…”
(Ecclesiastes 1:5)
Said Rabbi Abba bar Kahana: Do we not already know that the sun rises and the sun sets? What does Ecclesiastes teach us with this verse? What he teaches us is that before the Holy One, blessed be He, allows the sun of one righteous person to set, He causes the sun of a righteous successor to rise. On the day that Rabbi Akiba died, our Rabbi (Judah Hanasi) was born, and they cited this verse for him: “The sun rises, and the sun sets.”
Before the Holy One, blessed be He, let the sun of Sarah set, He caused the sun of Rebecca to rise: First we have, “Abraham learns that Milcah too has borne eight sons to Nachor his brother: Utz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel father of Aram, Keshed, Chazo, Pildash, Yidlaf, and Bethuel, who begat Rebecca” (Genesis 22:20-23). Only then we read, at the beginning of the next Sedra Chaye Sarah, “Sarah dies at Kiryat Arba…” (Genesis 23:2).
Song of Songs Rabbah 1:7
Comprehensive Education
“Here I am, King over Israel in Jerusalem,
seeking to investigate with wisdom
all that occurs under heaven:
it is an enigma
that God has placed before us
to understand!”
(Ecclesiastes 1:12-13)
“The greatest of songs,
the Song of Songs,
belonging to Solomon:”
(Song of Songs 1:1)
“The Singing of a Song,” wisdom of Torah that is heard, as reflected in:
“The heart of the wise instructs his mouth,
and upon [al] his lips increases [yoseef] learning.”
(Proverbs 16:23)
His heart is full of wisdom, so one might assume that it is the sole source of his wise words, that his mouth and his lips are passive instruments in the communication of wisdom. But the true role of his mouth and lips is to add to and enrich the wisdom that is in his heart, as Solomon said:
“…and his lips raise up [al], increasing [yoseef] learning!”
(Ibid.)
Through the act of communicating words of Torah that are in his heart, employing his mouth and his lips, as in “the singing of a song,” he adds to the learning of Torah. His mouth and his lips elevate the lesson!
This may be likened to a barrel full of gemstones and pearls which is sealed and hidden in a dark corner so that no one knows the value of its contents. But as soon as someone comes and opens it, everyone suddenly knows of its value. So it was with Solomon: his heart was full of wisdom, but no one knew what was inside him. Until the Holy Spirit settled upon him, whereupon he composed three books: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs. Then everyone knew of his wisdom. “His lips raised up words of Torah, increasing learning,” learning which he added upon words of Torah.
Moreover, learning which he added upon words of Torah elevated him, as he said:
“I applied my heart to seek and scout out wisdom…”
(Ecclesiastes 1:13)
He became a seeker of wisdom. If he found someone knowledgeable of Bible, he would go to him. If he found someone knowledgeable of Mishnah, he would go to him. But not only wisdom of Torah in the strictest sense did he seek, but also:
“…concerning all that was done under the heavens…”
(Ibid.)
Maharzu (Ze’ev Wolf Einhorn, 19th cent. Lithuania): He became learned of all of Torah to the highest degree, just as a scout stands at the head of the people whom he guides ever searching for the best place for them. Solomon searched for the greatest exponents of wisdom.
Ecclesiastes Rabbah 7:13
Genesis Rabbah 14:6
Irrevocable Care and Its Caretakers
“When I consider all of the acts
that are done under heaven,
to try to make sense of them
would be like herding the wind.
The crooked cannot be made straight
nor can the wanting be found.”
(Ecclesiastes 1:14-15)
“Accept and respect the work of God,
for who can settle what He has convolved…”
(Ecclesiastes 7:13)
Ecclesiastes pondered the unfathomable complexity of God’s creation: “Consider the work of God: Who can straighten that which He (God) has made oblique” (Ecclesiastes 7:13)? The same words also can be understood to mean: “Who will later restore that which he (man!) has ruined?”
When the Holy One, blessed be He, created the first man, He took him around and showed him the trees of the Garden of Eden. He said to him: “See My works, how beautiful and praiseworthy they are, and all that I have created, I have created for you. Therefore take care not to destroy My world! For if you ruin it, there will be no one after you who can repair what you have destroyed. ‘Accept and respect the work of God’ (Ecclesiastes 7:13a), for if you ruin it, ‘the crooked cannot be made straight’ (Ecclesiastes 1:15a)!”
This may be likened to an expectant mother who was sent to prison for a crime that she committed. There she gave birth to her child, and as long as she continued to live there, so did her child. Sometime after she died—and the child was still there—the king passed by the entrance of the prison. The child cried out, “My lord king, here was I born and here have I lived, but for what crime I was put here I do not know!” Replied the king, “For the crime of your mother.”
“The Eternal God formed the man,
dust from the earth…”
(Genesis 2:7)
Said Rabbi Levi: “The man” is “The man who was great among the giants…” (Joshua 14:15), Abraham (not Adam!). He was called “great” because, although he was worthy of being created before Adam the first man, the Holy One blessed be He thought that the first man might make a mistake and then there would be no one to repair what he ruined.
Rabbi Abba bar Kahana taught: Abraham was like the center beam of a great hall which strengthens the beams encountered before it and after it. So did the Holy One, blessed be He, create Abraham in the midst of the generations in order to bear the generations before him and after him. Similarly, Rabbi Levi taught, when one seeks a new relationship, one searches for someone more refined, with fewer faults, than the previous partner.
“I shall remove the mountains and drain the swamps,
lead the blind along roads they have not known,
make the twisted straight,
turning their darkness into light.”
(Isaiah 42:16)
Exodus Rabbah 6:1
Divine Words vs. Human Reason
“There was good reason for me
to turn to wisdom and madness and folly,
for who else could have done it better than I, the King?”
(Ecclesiastes 2:12)
“God speaks to Moses
and says to him:
‘I am the Eternal [YKVK]…’”
(Exodus 6:2)
What is the import of the double utterance,
“speaks” and “says?”
This can be understood through interpreting
words of Solomon:
“I turned to apply wisdom—
accompanied by madness and folly—
for what can man do,
coming after the King,
who has already commanded it!”
(Ecclesiastes 2:12)
These words were said about both Solomon and Moses.
About Solomon:
When God gave the Torah to Israel, He spoke, on the one hand, positive and negative commandments for everyone, and said, on the other, special commandments for the king, such as, “He shall not have many (yarbeh) horses…and he shall not have many (yarbeh) wives, lest his heart go astray, and he shall not possess an overabundance of silver or gold” (Deuteronomy 17:16-17). But then Solomon the king evaluated the divine King’s edict in the light of reason. “Why did the Holy One, blessed be He, say, ‘he shall not have many wives?’ Was it not, ‘lest his heart go astray?’ Well, I can hold many wives, yet my heart will not go astray!”
Our Rabbis taught: At that moment, the yod [smallest letter of the Hebrew alphabet] of yarbeh, which distinguished the verses as commandments, viz., “He shall not have many,” appealed, “O Master of the universe, did You not say, ‘Not a single letter of the Torah shall be voided ever?’ Yet Solomon is voiding me. Today he voids one letter, the next day another, until eventually all of the Torah is voided!” The Holy One, blessed be He, responded, “Solomon and a thousand like him may be voided themselves, but I will not allow even the smallest mark of the Torah to be removed!”
“I am weary O God [l’iti El],
and I am consumed [v’uchal]!”
(Proverbs 30:1)
Solomon’s use of reason to exclude “he shall not have many wives lest his heart go astray” from applying to him, reflects his thinking when he wrote, “God is with me [l’iti El], so I can overcome [v’uchal] (the temptations)” (Proverbs 30:1)! But then, “In Solomon’s old age, his wives turned his heart after other gods” (I Kings 11:4). Said Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai: Solomon would have preferred cleaning sewers over having that verse written about him! This is why Solomon ultimately wrote: I turned to apply my own wisdom to words of Torah, and I failed, my own reasoning being madness and folly, for what can man do to understand and explain what the King has already commanded” (cf. Ecclesiastes 2:12)? Moreover, God’s words are vetted by His heavenly counsel, and thus said Solomon: “Every word of God is tested” (Proverbs 30:5), that is, “The matter is determined by the decree of angels” (Daniel 4:14)!
About Moses:
Early on, at the burning bush, the Holy One, blessed be He, announced to Moses that Pharaoh would not initially let the people go: “I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go except by a strong hand, so I will send forth My hand and strike Egypt with all of My wonders…and only then shall they let you go” (Exodus 3:19-20)! But Moses did not hold on to this announcement and instead he began to apply his own wisdom to the divine edict when he was met with the Israelite Officers’ complaint about Pharaoh’s harshness: “O Lord, why have You done evil to this people? Why have You sent me?” (Exodus 5:22) As in the case of Solomon, his resort to reason was “madness and folly, for what can man do to understand and explain what the King has already determined?” (cf. Ecclesiastes 2:12), namely, that He already had disclosed to Moses that He would strengthen Pharaoh’s resolve not to let the people go in order to bring judgment against him for enslaving them (cf. Exodus 4:21)!
Because of this presumption by Moses, divine justice (denoted by the divine appellation of “God”) sought to condemn him, as expressed in the opening words, “God speaks to Moses…” (Exodus 6:2). But because the Holy One, blessed be He, recognized that Moses was speaking up for the suffering of Israel, divine compassion (denoted by the divine appellation of “Eternal”) supersedes justice in the very next phrase, “…and says to him, ‘I am the Eternal’” (ibid.)!
Deuteronomy Rabbah 3:13
“A time to…”
“There is a time to cast stones
and a time to gather stones…”
(Ecclesiastes 3:5)
What is the meaning of “a time to cast stones?” There is a time for the Roman oppressor Hadrian, may his bones be ground, to go up and scatter the stones of the Temple.
And “a time to gather stones?” A time for the Holy One, blessed be He, to rebuild it. Whence do we have it? From the Prophet: “The Eternal God says: I have set a foundation stone in Zion, a beautiful cornerstone set firmly; let the one who is faithful not be hasty. It shall be measured in justice and weighed in righteousness; let hail sweep away the accumulation of deceit and water inundate its nest” (Isaiah 28:16-17). “The Eternal comforts Zion; He comforts all of her ruins; He will turn her wilderness to be like Eden” (Isaiah 51:3).
Another interpretation, by the Rabbis, of “a time to cast stones”: It speaks of Moses, for whom it was time to cast the tablets, as is written, “It came to pass, when he drew near to the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing; Moses became angry and cast the tablets from his hands, shattering them at the foot of the mountain” (Exodus 32:19)!
And “a time to gather stones?” The time arrived for Moses to restore them to Israel, as was said, “Carve out, yourself (Moses), two tablets of stones” (Deuteronomy 10:1)!
Genesis Rabbah 9:2
The Right Time, The Right World
“To every thing there is a season,
and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die…
Men cannot alter them
anymore than he can find the way
to change the order of the world
that God established
from beginning to end.
I know that it is best for man
to rejoice in his life,
to enjoy the reward of his labor
as a gift of God.
Whatever God does
stands forever,
and nothing can be added to it
or taken from it;
thus should men
stand in awe of Him.”
(Ecclesiastes 3:1-11)
“God considered all that He had made,
and behold it was very good.”
(Genesis 1:31)
Rabbi Tanchuma began his teaching with the similar verse from Ecclesiastes, understood literally, “He has made everything just right for its time” (Ecclesiastes 3:11) and applied it here: God considered all that He had made very good for its time; it would not have been fitting for the world to have been created a moment sooner.
Rabbi Abbahu read our verse to include the previous worlds as well as this one, that the Holy One blessed be He created many worlds and destroyed them because they did not please Him. So Rabbi Abbahu understands the verse this way: “God considered all that He had made previously, and behold only this one was very good.”
Leviticus Rabbah 27:5
God prefers the Pursued
“When an ox or a sheep or a goat is born…”
(Leviticus 22:27)
“What is has already been,
and what is yet to be already was;
whatever one seeks [yevakesh] was sought [et-nirdaf] by God!”
(Ecclesiastes 3:15)
Rabbi Huna interpreted in the name of Rabbi Joseph:
“God prefers [yevakesh] the pursued [et-nirdaf]!”
Whether the righteous pursues the righteous or the wicked pursues the righteous or the wicked pursues the wicked or even if the righteous pursues the wicked, in any case God seeks the one pursued!
Rabbi Judah son of Rabbi Simon said in the name of Rabbi Yosi son of Rabbi Nehorai: The Holy One, blessed be He, always seeks to requite the blood of the pursued from the pursuers. Know that this is so:
“The Eternal regarded [vayisha] Abel and his offering with favor.”
(Genesis 4:4)
So Abel was pursued by Cain, and the Holy One, blessed be He, chose Abel over Cain, as we interpret, “The Eternal would prefer [veyosha] Abel…!”
“For it is you I have seen as righteous before Me
in this generation [bador hazeh].”
(Genesis 7:1)
Noah was the victim of his generation, and the Holy One, blessed be He, chose Noah over his generation, as we interpret, “For it is you I have seen as righteous before Me against this generation [bador hazeh]!”
“You are the Eternal God, who chose Abram
and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans [Ur Kasdim]…”
(Nehemiah 9:7)
There Abraham was pursued by Nimrod the Chaldean fire worshipper, and the Holy One, blessed be He, chose Abraham over Nimrod, as we interpret, “You are the Eternal God, who chose Abram and brought him out of the fire of the Chaldeans [ur Kasdim]…” (cf. Genesis Rabbah 38:13)!
“Even though we thought at that time [ra’o ra’eenu]
that the Eternal was [haya] with you
(against Abimelech king of the Philistines)…”
(Genesis 26:28; cf. Genesis 26:6ff.)
Isaac was pursued by the Philistines, and the Holy One, blessed be He, chose Isaac over Abimelech, as we interpret, “We now see plainly [ra’o ra’eenu] that the Eternal has been [haya] with you through the present (against Abimelech king of the Philistines)…!”
“For the Eternal has chosen Jacob for Himself [Lo]…”
(Psalms 135:4)
Jacob was pursued by Esau, and the Holy One, blessed be He, chose Jacob over Esau (cf. Malachi 1:2-3), as we interpret, “For the Eternal has chosen Jacob instead of him [lo]…!”
“He established it [samo] (the musical celebration, cf. Psalms 81:1-5)
as law [edut] for (the nation of) Joseph
when He was revealed over [betzeytO al] the land of Egypt;
in addition, I would hear [eshmah] words [sefat]
that I had never known before [lo yadahtee]!”
(Psalms 81:6)
Joseph was pursued by his brothers, and the Holy One, blessed be He, chose Joseph over his brothers, as we interpret, “He provided it [samo] as evidence [edut] for Joseph when he ruled over [betzeyto al] the land of Egypt: ‘I would understand [eshmah] a language [sefat] that (my brothers thought) I did not know [lo yadahtee] (cf. Genesis 42:21-23)!’”
“He (God) sought to destroy them (Israel, for their worship of the golden calf),
but Moses, His chosen one, stood in the breach before Him
to prevent His rage from destroying.”
(Psalms 106:23; cf. Exodus 32:9ff.)
Moses was pursued by Pharaoh, and the Holy One, blessed be He, chose Moses over Pharaoh, as we interpret, “He (Pharaoh) sought to destroy them, but Moses, His chosen one, stood in the breach before him to prevent his rage from destroying!”
“He chose David His servant.”
(Psalms 78:70)
David was pursued by Saul, and the Holy One, blessed be He, chose David over Saul (cf. I Samuel 18:5-16), as we interpret, “He chose David, his (Saul’s) servant!”
“A man of Benjamin runs from the battle with the Philistines
and arrives in Shiloh on the same day
with torn clothes and earth upon his head.”
(I Samuel 4:12)
Rabbi Levi, Rabbi Simone, and the Rabbis: That man was Saul. When he learned that the Tablets had been captured by the enemy, he ran to the battle and liberated them from Goliath. (Midrash Samuel 11:1) Thus, we interpret, was he chosen for kingship, and for that reason did Saul say to all of the people, “Have you seen the one whom the Eternal has chosen? And all of the people shouted, ‘Long live the King!’” (I Samuel 10:17-24)
“The Eternal did choose [bachar] you to be His treasured people
from among all of the peoples that are on the face of the earth.”
(Deuteronomy 14:2)
Israel was pursued by the nations, and the Holy One, blessed be He, chose Israel over the nations, as we interpret, “The Eternal will certainly choose [bachar] you to be His treasured people from among all of the peoples that are on the face of the earth.”
Rabbi Eliezer son of Rabbi Yosi ben Zimra applied the lesson to offerings. Said the Holy One, blessed be He: An ox is pursued by the lion, a sheep is pursued by the wolf, and a goat is pursued by the leopard; offer Me not from the pursuers but from the pursued; thus, “When an ox or a sheep or a goat is born…!” “God seeks [yevakesh] the pursued [et-nirdaf]!”
Ecclesiastes Rabbah 3:11
Man’s Amazing Evil Impulse
“Even the act of labor and competition—
it is a form of envy between peers
and partakes of that futility in the pursuit of wind.”
(Ecclesiastes 4:4)
“God considered all that He had made,
and behold it was very good;
there was evening then morning, the Sixth Day.”
(Genesis 1:31)
Nehemiah son of Rabbi Samuel bar Nachman said: “Behold it was very good” is associated with the sixth day, which is the day on which Man was created, as if to say, “Behold he was very good!” “Good” obviously refers to the impulse in man that causes him to do good in the world. But why was it necessary to say “very good?” Those words include what we call the evil impulse in man. But how can the evil impulse in man be implied by the words, “very good?” To teach you that were it not for his “evil” impulse, a man would not build a house or marry or produce children! Thus does Solomon say:
“I see that all labor and all skill in work
comes from a man’s envy of his neighbor…
To sit on your hands and consume your own flesh
is foolish.”
(Ecclesiastes 4:4-5)!
Deuteronomy Rabbah 10:4
Both Heaven and Earth
“Give ear, O heavens, and I shall speak;
pay heed, O earth, to the words of my mouth!”
(Deuteronomy 32:1)
When Moses said, “Give ear, O heavens…pay heed, O earth…,” he was asked: Why are you charging both heaven and earth? His answer: I will in the future die, but I do not know to which of these my soul is going, whether to heaven or to earth. Whence?
“Who knows if a man’s spirit rises upwards
or, as a beast’s spirit, goes down to the earth?”
(Ecclesiastes 3:21)
Therefore I charge both of them, just to be sure that wherever my soul rests, it is kept safe!
See the complete Midrash under “Both_Heaven_and_Earth” from Deuteronomy Rabbah 10:4 in Sedra Summary above for Sedra Ha’azeenu.
Genesis Rabbah 89:3,4
The Wicked and Their “Gods”
“A multitude of words
reflects a multitude of confusion.”
(Ecclesiastes 5:1-2)
“Pharaoh has a dream,
in which he is standing by [al] the Nile.”
(Genesis 41:1)
One of the subjects of Pharaoh’s dream, apart from the cows and the ears of grain, was his standing with respect to the Nile. The Nile was regarded in Egypt as divine. Pharaoh also represented himself as divine. So, naturally, he wondered: Who stands over whom: I over my gods, or my gods over me?
Literally:
“Therefore let your words be few,
for a dream reflects a multitude of subjects
just as the voice of a fool comes with a multitude of words.”
(Ecclesiastes 5:1-2)
Ultimately he was told: You over your gods, and that is what is implied: “At the end of two years Pharaoh has a dream, in which he is standing over [al] the Nile!”
Rabbi Yochanan said: The wicked stand over their gods—“Pharaoh has a dream, in which he is standing over the Nile!”
But as for the righteous, their God stands over them, as with Jacob, when he saw the ladder: “Standing over him is the Eternal…” (Genesis 28:13).
Deuteronomy Rabbah 6:10
Evil Speech
“Better not to promise God
a voluntary offering
than to promise and not pay;
so if you do so vow,
fulfill your vow on time
without excuse;
simply fear God!”
(Ecclesiastes 5:4-5)
Literally:
“Allow not your mouth
to cause your flesh to sin [lachatee],
and do not say before the angel
that it was an error;
why should God be angry at your voice
and destroy the work of your hands?”
(Ecclesiastes 5:5)
The Rabbis teach: This verse speaks to those who practice evil speech about another. How so? When the mouth engages in evil speech about another, it makes its entire body guilty, causing it to be afflicted. “To cause your flesh to sin [lachatee]”: “to cause your flesh punishment [lachatee],” that is, the mouth brings sin and its punishment upon the body.
But what is the meaning of the following words, “Do not say before the angel that it was an error?” That you should not think: I can just go and say something bad about another, and no one will know! The Holy One, blessed be He, is saying: Be always aware that I station an angel to stand near you to record everything you say about your fellow, as was said, “Even in your thought, curse not the king, nor curse the rich in your bedrooms…” (Ecclesiastes 10:20), and why? “Because a bird of heaven shall deliver your voice, and a creature of wings shall declare the word” (ibid.)! What is “a creature of wings?” These are the angels, about whom it is written, “Each of them had six wings” (Isaiah 6:2)!
“Why should God be angry at your voice?” The evil speech that went out of your mouth! “And destroy the work of your hands?” And destroy the work of Your hands, that man whom God created but is now afflicted for engaging in evil speech!
So, “be very careful, with respect to the affliction of tsara’at…,” and if you don’t believe me, then consider Miriam who, because she engaged in evil speech about her brother Moses and his Cushite wife (cf. Numbers 12:1), was so afflicted: “Remember what the Eternal your God did to Miriam…!”
Talmud Menachot 110a
For you and not for Me
“Perform your well-being offerings to the Eternal
in a manner that is acceptable on your behalf [lir’tson’chem].”
(Leviticus 19:5)
Mishnah (Menachot 13:11): Regarding a burnt offering of cattle it is said, “A fire offering of pleasing aroma to the Eternal” (Leviticus 1:9); and regarding a burnt offering of birds it is said, “A fire offering of pleasing aroma to the Eternal” (ibid. 13); and regarding a meal offering it is said, “A fire offering of pleasing aroma to the Eternal” (ibid. 2:2). All of this to teach you: Whether one brings much or one brings little, the important thing is that he directs his heart to Heaven.
“The greater the prosperity
the more its creditors;
its only use of its gain to its owners
is to behold it.
As for consumption,
it will not help
the prosperous to sleep,
whereas the laborer
will sleep,
however much he consumes.”
(Ecclesiastes 5:10-11)
Gemara: Rabbi Zera interpreted the verse, “Sweet is the sleep of the worker [oved], whether little or much he eats [yochel]…” (Ecclesiastes 5:11) to support the teaching of the Mishnah: “Sweet is the sleep of one who brings an offering [oved], whether little or much, he benefits [yochel]!” Rav Ada bar Ahavah interpreted the preceding verse, “The more wealth [tovah] a person accumulates, the more are those who consume it, so that the only benefit to the owner is in the seeing of his eyes [eynav]” (ibid. 10) to support the same Mishnah: “The more value of a sacrifice [tovah] the more priests there are to consume it, so that the only benefit to the Owner (the Holy One, blessed be He) is in the seeing of his (the offeror’s) good intentions [eynav].”
Song of Songs Rabbah 6:13
The Sleep of a Torah Scholar
“Sweet is the sleep of one who has labored…” (Ecclesiastes 5:11)—This is the verse that Rabbi Zera chose to eulogize a great scholar, Rabbi Bun son of Rabbi Chiya. Although he labored in Torah for only twenty-eight years, he achieved as much in his studies as a diligent student would in a hundred years!
But Rabbi Yochanan taught: Whoever engages in Torah in this world is not allowed to actually sleep in the world to come. He is transported to the Beth Midrash of Shem and Eber, and of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and of Moses and Aaron, and for how long? As the Prophet Nathan assured King David, “Thus said the Eternal of Hosts: I have been with you wherever you have gone,” and I shall be with you, “until I make for you a name as great as that of the greatest men on earth” (II Samuel 7:8-9)!
Avot of Rabbi Nathan 41:1
The Crown of a Good Name
“An earned reputation
is more to be valued
than prominent anointment.”
(Ecclesiastes 7:1)
Literally:
“A good name [shem] is better [tov] than good oil [shemen tov].”
When Rabbi Shimon taught that there are Three Crowns—
the Crown of Kehunah, the Crown of Kingship, and the Crown of Torah—
he added:
And the Crown of a Good Name accompanies them all.
Commentary Binyan Yehoshua, by Rabbi Joshua Falk Lisser, 18th cent. Posen:
Rabbi Shimon taught that the crown of a good name accompanies them all—in that all of the other three crowns require the crown of a good name.
Consider a Torah scholar who is disliked for the way he treats others: his teachings are likely to be scorned (along with him). But if he has good deeds to his credit and his teaching is therefor appreciated, even if we do not honor him as wearing the crown of Torah, the crown that he does wear, the crown of a good name, is more to be praised than all of the others since all of the others require it.
In the case of Kehunah, there is the baraitha (Talmud Yoma 71b) about the Kohen Gadol in the days of Shemaiah and Avtalyon (fourth pair of the early Sages, cf. Mishnah Avot 1:10): One day, as the Kohen Gadol was leaving the Temple, the public followed after him—until they saw Shemaiah and Avtalyon, whereupon they turned to the Sages and followed after them. Miffed at losing his following to Shemaiah and Avtalyon (descendants of the Assyrian king Sennacherib, cf. Talmud Gittin 58b), the Kohen Gadol took leave of them with the words, “Peace unto the descendants of gentiles!” They responded, “Peace unto the descendants of gentiles who pursue peace like Aaron but not to the son of Aaron who does not!” (Cf. Talmud Bava Metziah 58b: “Do not taunt or oppress a stranger…” (Exodus 22:20), including verbal oppression, meaning that even if someone is the descendant of strangers, it should not be said to him, “Remember what your fathers did!’)
And in the case of Kingship, from the verse, “And a leader among your people you shall not curse” (Exodus 22:27b), the otherwise superfluous phrase, “among your people,” is interpreted to delimit the prohibition of cursing the king to when he is “among your people,” that is, behaving in accordance with the norms of Israel (cf. Talmud Yevamot 22b), of which the crown of a good name is one.
The Sage said, “A good name [shem] is better [tov] than good oil [shemen tov]” (Ecclesiastes 7:1). This refers to the names of Chananiah, Mishael and Azariah, with many good deeds to their credit (cf. Daniel 1:1-3:12), whose names were better than the Annointing Oil of the sons of Aaron, Nadav and Avihu, (cf. Leviticus 8:30), for Nadav and Avihu were consumed by fire (cf. Leviticus 10:1-2), while Chananiah, Mishael and Azariah emerged unscathed from the burning fiery furnace of Nebuchadnezzar (cf. Daniel 3:13-33).
Exodus Rabbah 48:1
A Good Name and the Day of Death
“An earned reputation
is more to be valued
than prominent anointment,
as is the day of death
than the day of one’s birth,
for there is more to be gained
about life
from the house of mourning
than from a mere celebration.”
(Ecclesiastes 7:1-2)
When Moses announces to the Children of Israel that the Eternal has appointed Bezalel to execute the work of the Tabernacle and its components and the priestly garments, his words to the Children of Israel are:
“See, the Eternal has called by name
Bezalel son of Uri son of Hur
of the tribe of Judah.”
(Exodus 35:30)
This relates to what is written:
“A good name is better than good oil,
and the day of death than the day of birth.”
(Ecclesiastes 7:1)
How far does fragrant oil carry a person? From dressing room to banquet hall. A good name? From one end of the earth to the other, as was said: “The name of David became known in all the lands” (I Chronicles 14:17)! Good oil which falls upon the dead only deteriorates, as was said, “Perfumer’s oil is rendered putrid by flies on the dead” (Ecclesiastes 10:1). But a good name which falls upon the dead in no way deteriorates, as was said, “[The prophet Elisha] lies down upon the [dead] boy…and the boy opens his eyes” (II Kings 4:34-35)!
Now, regarding the second half of the verse, “The day of death is better than the day of birth” (Ecclesiastes 7:1b), why would this be true? Because on the day that a person is born, no one knows what will be the quality of his deeds. But when he dies, his deeds are eulogized to the world!
Rabbi Levi told of two sailing ships: one was departing the harbor while the other was entering it. On the departing ship everyone was celebrating, while on the entering ship there was no celebration. A thoughtful observer who was there said: I see things differently! On the ship departing the harbor, everyone should not be celebrating, because they do not know what lies ahead for them, what weather or conditions of the sea. While on the ship entering the harbor, all should be celebrating, because they do know that they went out to sea and returned from it safely! So it is with man: When he is born, the countdown is uncertain, as the year of his death is unknown to us; but when he dies, the count is certain, as the years of his life are known to us! Thus he says: “The day of death is better than the day of birth” (Ecclesiastes 7:1b)!
Getting back to the first half of the verse, “A good name is better than good oil” (Ecclesiastes 7:1a), better were the names of Chananiah, Mishael and Azariah, than the oil which anointed Nadav and Avihu! How was that true? Aaron’s sons Nadav and Avihu, priests anointed with oil, offered fire which the Eternal had not commanded and were burned to death (cf. Leviticus 10:1-2), while Chananiah, Mishael and Azariah, who because they would not bow down to Nebuchadnezzar’s statue of gold, were thrown into the burning fiery furnace, yet emerged unharmed and unsinged (Daniel 1-3)! Thus: “A good name is better than good oil” (Ecclesiastes 7:1)!
So also, the name of Bezalel was better than good oil. How would that be shown? Other than Aaron, the names of his sons the priests are not given with respect to their anointing with oil (Exodus 40:14-15). But: “Moses said to the Children of Israel, ‘See, the Eternal has called by name Bezalel…’” (Exodus 35:30)!
Ecclesiastes Rabbah 7:1-2
Tanchuma Vayakhel 1
Better than Fine Oil
“On the day that Moses finishes setting up the Tabernacle,
he anoints and sanctifies it and its instruments,
and he does the same for the Altar and its instruments.”
(Numbers 7:1)
“This was the Dedication of the Altar [Chanukat Hamizbeach]
after it was anointed.”
(Numbers 7:88b)
“And you shall command the Children of Israel
to bring you pure oil of pressed olives for lighting,
for kindling of lamps regularly.”
(Exodus 27:20)
Talmud Shabbat 21a—When the Hasmoneans triumphed, they found only a single cruse of oil with the seal of the Kohen Gadol, sufficient to burn for only one day. A miracle occurred: The oil burned for eight days…The School of Hillel say that one light is kindled on the first night, the number increasing each night…based on the principle: In matters of holiness we increase and do not decrease.
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“A good name [shem] is better [tov]
than fine oil [shemen tov].”
(Ecclesiastes 7:1)
Fine oil descends—“Like precious oil upon the head flowing down over the beard of Aaron, the Kohen Gadol, descending over his garments” (Psalms 133:2)—but a good name ascends—“I shall make your name ascendant, Abraham” (Genesis 12:2)!
Fine oil lasts for a moment, but a good name is forever—”Let his name be forever, let his name increase as the sun, so that all nations are blessed by it and celebrate it” (Psalms 72:17)!
Fine oil is finite, but a good name is infinite—“A good name: I shall make it eternal, so that it is not cut off” (Isaiah 56:5b)!
Fine oil benefits only the living, while a good name applies both to the living and the dead.
Fine oil can be acquired only by the wealthy, whereas a good name may be earned by both the wealthy and the poor.
The scent of fine oil may be carried from the bed chamber as far as the banquet hall, while one’s good name may be known from one end of the earth to another.
When even the finest oil falls upon a corpse, the oil turns rancid—“A perfumer’s oil becomes putrid from dead flies” (Ecclesiastes 10:1)—but when a good name falls upon the dead, it is not impaired—“Elisha lay down upon the lad and placed his mouth on the lad’s, his eyes upon his eyes, his hands upon his hands, he bent over him, and the flesh of the boy became warm” (II Kings 4:34)!
When fine oil is dropped into water, it is dispersed, but when a good name is thrown into the sea, he is not dispersed—“Whereupon the Eternal commanded the fish so that it spewed Jonah out upon dry land” (Jonah 2:11)!
Fine oil poured upon a fire catches fire, but not so a good name—“When Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego refused to worship the statue of gold that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, set up, he had them thrown into a burning, fiery furnace, but then they emerged, unsinged” (Daniel 3:1-27)! Said Rabbi Judah son of Rabbi Simone: So do we find that bearers of fine oil may enter into a place of life and be burned therein, like Nadav and Avihu, sons of Aaron, who “brought a spurious fire offering before the Eternal and were consumed there” (Leviticus 10:1-2), while bearers of a good name, like Chananiah, Mishael and Azariah (cf. Daniel 1:7), entered a fiery furnace and emerged alive!
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The Rabbis teach that the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: Appoint for Me a Kohen Gadol (High Priest). Moses asked: Master of the Universe, from which tribe should he be chosen? He answered: From the Tribe of Levi. Moses: And how shall I anoint him? He said to him: With the Oil of Anointing. At that moment Moses was filled with joy, thinking: So, my own tribe, Levi, is beloved to the Holy One, blessed be He! But the Holy One, blessed be He, corrected him: It is not your tribe, it is your brother—and that is what the Eternal meant when he commanded, “As for you (Moses), bring near to yourself Aaron your brother…to minister to Me” (Exodus 28:1)! Moreover He made it clear: “You (Moses) shall take the Oil of Anointing and pour it over his head and anoint him” (ibid. 29:7)!
But Aaron’s service will not be valid unless the names of the tribes are engraved upon his heart!—“Aaron shall carry the names of the sons of Israel in the Breastplate of Judgment upon his heart, when he enters the Sanctuary, as a token of remembrance before the Eternal, at all times” (Exodus 28:29, cf. 28:15-21). The Holy One, blessed be He, is saying that the Names of the Tribes are more beloved to Me than the Oil of Anointing with which Kohanim and Kings are anointed!
“A good name [shem] is better [tov]
than fine oil [shemen tov].”
(Ecclesiastes 7:1)
Talmud Rosh Hashanah 25a-25b
One Torah
“All told,
the end of a thing
is better than its beginning,
patience than anger or arrogance,
bad new times than the good old days.”
(Ecclesiastes 7:8,10)
Scripture says that when there is a legal question, “You shall come to the Levitical Kohanim and to the judge who shall be in those days…” (Deuteronomy 17:9). Now can you imagine that a person could go to a judge who would not be in his days? Therefore, the implication of these words is to content yourself with and respect decisions of the judges who are in your days! This is in accordance with the Sage’s advice, “Say not: Why were the former days better than these” (Ecclesiastes 7:10)!
Zohar I:211b-212a
The Prophecy of Jacob and Moses
“Wisdom gives life to those who have it”
(Ecclesiastes 7:12)
Rabbi Yosi imparted: It was only in Egypt that Jacob foresaw through Prophecy and expressed in Blessing that his children would endure many exiles until the End of Days and the Coming of the Messiah. His Prophecy and the Prophecy of Moses were unique among other Prophets. To Moses He said, “A man cannot see Me and live” (Exodus 33:20), while of Jacob it is said, “And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt…” (Genesis 47:28a). This paradox resolves itself through the esoteric definition of “life” and “live,” as captured by the Sage, “Wisdom gives life to those who have it” (Ecclesiastes 7:12), that is, the illuminating wisdom that descends from the Source of illumination, Prophecy, which was Jacob’s “living in the land of Egypt…”.
In order to further understand the uniqueness of the Prophecy of both Moses and Jacob, consider that the other Prophets received theirs from the Lower Realms, somewhat like looking through a constricting aperture, The Unclear Lens. Accordingly they introduced theirs by the Hebrew word Ko (such as Isaiah 7:7: “Ko amar…, Thus declares my Lord God…,” et al) which connotes an approximation or diminished substance. Whereas Moses and Jacob received theirs from the Upper Realms, as through The Clear Lens. But even with this distinction, it must be remembered that Moses was told, “You may see My Back, but My Front [Panai] may not be seen” (Exodus 33:23), thus “You may not see My Face [Panai], for a man cannot see Me and live” (Exodus 33:20). Therefore, when Jacob (like Moses) received his Prophecy from behind as it were, he lived. Hence the verse teaches us that Jacob received Prophecy only in Egypt, as its aspect is from behind.
Rabbi Shimon cited, “I…dwell with the contrite and lowly of spirit to enliven the spirit of the lowly and to enliven the heart of the contrite” (Isaiah 57:15): This refers to Jacob, who “lived in the land of Egypt,” namely from behind, where he received his Prophecies and Blessings. Indeed it was only in Egypt that he possessed the spirit to bless his children, each and every one, as disclosed by, “Jacob recognized that there was grain [shever] in Egypt…” (Genesis 42:1), which we interpret esoterically as, “Jacob recognized that there was brokenness [shever] in Egypt,” and he urged his sons not to hesitate: “Go down to there and get brokenness [shivru] for us from there, that we may live…” (Genesis 42:2)! We recognize from these words that Jacob understood that his Prophecy and Blessings would be granted only from behind and only to those who are contrite and heartbroken!
Talmud Yoma 22b
Midrash Shmuel 18:4
Talmud Megillah 12b-13a
Neither too righteous nor too wicked!
“Samuel delivers to Saul the Eternal’s stern message…:
‘Now you must strike Amalek and utterly destroy
all of its people—men and women, children and infants—
and all of its animals—ox and sheep, camel and ass.’”
(I Samuel 15:1-3)
“Then Saul comes to the city of Amalek,
and he engages in battle [vayarev] at the wadi [banachal].”
(I Samuel 15:5)
Then Saul “engages in battle at the wadi?” These words seem out of place since in the very next verse he releases the Kenites from among the Amalekites “lest I destroy you with them” (ibid. 6)! Instead Rabbi Mani reads: “Then Saul…engages in disputation [vayarev] in the matter of the wadi [banachal], where expiation was commanded for the death of a single soul (cf. Deuteronomy 21:1-9). Thus, when the Holy One, blessed be He, told Saul to strike Amalek, Saul disputed: If for the death of one person expiation is required, then how much moreso for the deaths of all of these people! Moreover, while a human has sinned, how have these animals sinned? And while the adults have sinned, how have the children sinned?
“Adhere not exclusively
to either righteousness or wickedness,
for there are righteous
who perish in their righteousness
as there are wicked
who thus die before their time.
Rather, fear God
as you hold on to both.”
(Ecclesiastes 7:15-18)
A Divine Voice was then heard by Saul, saying, “Be not overly righteous” (cf. Ecclesiastes 7:15-18)!
When Saul suspected Achimelech the Kohen
of conspiring with David against him,
he had Doeg the Edomite slay Achimelech
and the other Kohanim of the city of Nov,
“And he slew the rest of the city of Nov—
man and woman, child and infant—
ox and ass and sheep.”
(I Samuel 22:19)
So, when Saul commanded Doeg to slay all of the Kohanim of Nov, a Divine Voice was then heard by him, saying, “Be not overly wicked” (cf. Ecclesiastes 7:15-18)! Rabbi Shimon ben Levi reflected: Whoever is cruel to the innocent will in the end be lenient in his treatment of the cruel, and whoever is lenient in his treatment of the cruel will in the end fall by the sword (cf. I Samuel 31:4).
“Saul and his people spare Agag, king of Amalek…
Then the word of the Eternal comes to Samuel:
‘I regret that I have made Saul King,
for he has turned away from Me and My words.’”
(I Samuel 15:9-11)
“There was a Judean man in the fortress of Shushan,
and his name was Mordechai,
son of Yair, son of Shimei, son of Keesh,
a Benjaminite.”
(Esther 2:5)
Rabbah bar bar Chana said that Rabbi Joshua ben Levi said: His father was from the tribe of Benjamin, and his mother was from the tribe of Judah.
The Rabbis say that the families are competing with each other for credit: The family of Judah is saying that because our David refrained from killing Shimei (cf. II Samuel 19:24), Mordechai, Shimei’s descendant, could be born; and Benjamin is simply saying that Mordechai descends from me.
According to Rava, the Israelite community is explaining the names as a poor reflection upon both Judah and Benjamin: See what a Judean did to me, as David failed to kill Shimei, thus allowing for his descendant Mordechai, by whom Haman was provoked to plot the destruction of the Jews; and see how a Benjaminite, viz. Saul (cf. I Samuel 9:1ff.), repaid me by refraining from killing Agag, from whom was descended Haman.
Deuteronomy Rabbah 9:3
The Dominance of Death
“No one rules over the wind [ruach] to arrest the wind [ruach],
indeed there is no domination over the day of death,
nor is there agency [mishlachat] in battle,
and no scheme however aggressive
can save the schemer
from his appointed time.”
(Ecclesiastes 8:8)
Rabbi Judah interprets the verse, “No man rules over the wind to arrest the wind”: “No man rules over the Angel (of Death) to stay the Angel (of Death),” since the Psalmist declares, “The Eternal makes winds His Angels“ (Psalms 104:4a)! While Rabbi Nechemiah interprets it: “No man rules over the nations of our exile to remove them from the world,” since Daniel envisioned “four winds of heaven breaking forth upon the sea from which emerged four great beasts” (Daniel 7:2-3), representing “four kings” (ibid. 17) of the world (cf. Ezekiel 37:9)!
Rabbi Eliezer son of Jacob reads the literal verse, “No man rules over the spirit [ruach] to arrest the spirit [ruach]”: “No man rules over his life spirit [ruach]—understood as soul—to remove it from himself, since the Holy One, blessed be He, ensconced it within the entire body and not in any individual part of it, so that when a person suffers anguish he will not be able to end his life by simply cutting off that part of him that contains the spirit [ruach]!
How do we interpret the literal verse, “There is no agency [mishlachat] in battle?” When anyone faces death, he cannot appoint his servant (as his agent) to take his place! Rabbi Shimon ben Chalafta interprets it: “One cannot forge weaponry [mishlachat] to be rescued in the battle with the Angel of Death,” based upon the Chronicler’s account of the fortification of Jerusalem under King Hezekiah, “He made weaponry [shelach] and shields in abundance” (II Chronicles 32:5)!
How do we interpret the literal verse, “There is no domination over the day of death?” No one dominates to say: Wait for me until I finish up my accounts and provide instruction to my household, and then I will come. Another interpretation: The Angel of Death does not defer the appointed time even for a king, even by only one or two days, for on that day there is no respecting of rank before the Angel of Death. This can be shown from the account of David, who was called “king” right up through his old age—“King David was old…” (I Kings 1:1)—but when he approached the day of his death, his kingship is not mentioned: “The days drew near for David to die…” (I Kings 2:1)!
“And no scheme however aggressive can save the schemer from his appointed time”: No one may place an appeal before the judge. Literally, “Wickedness [resha] shall not save the one who employs it.” What would be the literal “wickedness [resha]?” It would be an objection as to the legal validity of the decision, calling for the “tearing up” of the death sentence based upon the incrimination [harsheeyah] of the judge and therefore his replacement by a competent jurist. But even the “wickedness [resha]” of the judge shall not save the defendant from the appointed day of his death! (Maharzu)
Yalkut Shimoni II:169
Death of the Righteous: Endurance and Humility
“The king does whatever he wishes
while the subject cannot rule over the wind.”
(Ecclesiastes 8:4)
“No one rules over the wind [ruach] to arrest the wind [ruach],
indeed there is no domination over the day of death…”
(Ecclesiastes 8:8a)
“The days of David
drew near to die…”
(I Kings 2:1)
But do “the days” die? Said Rabbi Samuel bar Nachmani: When the righteous die, their days are expired, but they (the righteous) live on.
“Let the faithful [chasidim] rejoice in glory;
let them sing for joy upon their couches [mishkevotam],
joyful songs for God in their throats…”
(Psalms 149:5-6a)
Understand the Psalmist’s words as follows:
“The righteous [chasidim] shall rejoice in glory;
they shall sing for joy upon their graves [mishkevotam]…”
Thus does the Psalmist confirm that even in their death, “upon their graves,” they sing “joyful songs in their throats” to the Holy One, blessed be He!
And in the words of the Sage as well:
“One who is connected to all of the living
may feel secure for a time…
but the living know that they shall die…”
(Ecclesiastes 9:4-5a)
Who is linked with the living?
One who has security…
while the (other) living know that they shall die!
Those who have security are the righteous, who may be confident, for even in their death they are called “the living!”
And consider the case of Benaiah, who served both David and Solomon:
“Benaiah son of Yehoyada son of a living man…
a brave soldier, abundant in great deeds…”
(II Samuel 23:20a)
Was only “Benaiah son of Yehoyada son of a living man” while all others were sons of the dead? Of course not; rather, he was the son of a man who, even in his death, was called “living!”
“The days of David
drew near to die…”
(I Kings 2:1)
But why not
“The days of King David?”
In order to uphold:
“No man…has authority
over the day of death!”
(Ecclesiastes 8:8)
Jacob also, when he was about to die,
humbled himself before Joseph:
“If I have found favor in your eyes…
bury me not in Egypt!”
(Genesis 47:29)
Said Rabbi Joshua of Sichnin in the name of Rabbi Levi:
When Moses was about to die,
the trumpets that he made in the wilderness
were hidden by the Holy One, blessed be He,
so that another could not blow them
and cause the people to depart from Moses:
“He charged Joshua son of Nun and said,
‘Be strong and courageous,
for you shall bring the Children of Israel
to the Land which I have promised to them,
and I shall be with you…’
‘Assemble to me all the chiefs of your tribes…
that I may speak these words in their ears…
for I know that after my death
you will surely corrupt yourselves…’”
(Deuteronomy 31:23-29)
Similarly,
when David was about to die,
“He charged Solomon his son,
‘I go the way of all the earth,
so you be strong
and make yourself a man!’”
(I Kings 2:2)
Numbers Rabbah 8:8-9
Righteous Proselyte
“Whatever you can achieve in life, achieve!”
(Ecclesiastes 9:10)
“Fortunate is he who fears the Eternal, who walks in His ways!
When you eat the labor of your hands,
fortunate are you and good shall be yours…”
(Psalms 128:1-2)
This psalm speaks not of the Israelites, not of the Kohanim, not of the Levites, but without specificity of him “who fears the Eternal,” that is to say, the proselyte (ger). He is distinguished under the same word as Israel, as was said, “Fortunate are you, O Israel…” (Deuteronomy 33:29)!
“…who walks in His ways!”
Of what kind of proselyte does the psalm speak? Not of the Cuthean type, who were taught how to fear the Eternal (cf. II Kings 17:28) but, besides worshipping Him, continued to serve their own gods in accordance with the nations from which the king of Assyria moved them to Samaria (cf. ibid. 33), rather of the righteous proselyte (ger tzedek), who both “fears the Eternal” and “walks in His ways!”
“When you eat the labor of your hands,
fortunate are you and good shall be yours:…”
This refers to the proselyte in his lacking the merit of his ancestors, so he depends entirely on his own merits, “the labor of your hands,” to achieve his reward in this world, but not deprived of reward in the world to come, as was taught, “Whatever you can achieve with your own effort, do it, for there is no doing or figuring or knowledge or wisdom in She’ol where you are going” (Ecclesiastes 9:10). In that case, promises the Psalmist, “Fortunate are you” in this world, and “good shall be yours” in the world to come!
Deuteronomy Rabbah 9:2
Unexpected Outcomes
“The race is not to the swift,
nor the battle to the mighty,
nor even bread to the wise,
nor even riches to the understanding,
nor even grace to the skillful…”
(Ecclesiastes 9:11)
Said Rabbi Tanchuma: This truth is reflected in the life of Moses.
How so?
“The race is not to the swift…”
Yesterday he ascended to the firmament like an eagle, then he sought to cross the Jordan and was unable, as was said: “Ascend to the summit of Pisgah and raise your eyes west and north, south and east, and see with your eyes, for you shall not cross this Jordan” (Deuteronomy 3:27)!
“nor the battle to the mighty…”
Yesterday angels trembled before him, but now he says, “I am afraid of the fiery anger that the Eternal has shown to you…” (Deuteronomy 9:19)!
“nor even bread to the wise…”
Yesterday “a wise man went up to the place of angels and brought down the object of strength and confidence” (Proverbs 21:22) from heaven, but now it has been taken from him and given to Joshua son of Nun. (Chidushey HaRadal [David Luria, 19th cent.]: “Bread” is a metaphor for Torah, as in Proverbs 9:1,5, “Wisdom has built her house…come, eat of my bread…”)
“nor even riches to the understanding…”
Yesterday the understanding one said to God with the confidence of a rich man, “Turn from your fierce anger” (Exodus 32:12)! and “Pardon, I demand, the iniquity of this people” (Numbers 14:19)! But now he speaks like one dispossessed, “I entreated the Eternal at that time…” (Deuteronomy 3:23): I beg of You, do me a favor!
“nor even grace to the skillful…”
Yesterday he was skilled in appeasing his Creator, “Arise, O Eternal One, let Your enemies be scattered…” (Numbers 10:35)! and “Repent, O Eternal One, for (allowing harm to) the many thousands of Israel” (Ibid. 36)! (Maharzu: Grace was poured into his lips, God heard him and did what he asked.) But after he supplicated for his own survival all seven days (Maharzu: 1-7 Adar), at the end the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “Behold, your days to die are drawing near…” (Deuteronomy 31:14)!
Leviticus Rabbah 34:1
Ecclesiastes Rabbah 9:25,8
Pay Attention to the Lowly
“Fortunate is he who pays attention to the lowly!
May the Eternal rescue him [yemalleteyhu] on a day of evil.
May the Eternal protect him [yishmereyhu] and keep him alive [veechayeyhu],
so that he shall be considered happy in the Land [v’ushar ba-Aretz]—
and not turn him over to the bidding of his enemies.
May the Eternal sustain him [yis’adenu] on the bed of suffering,
so that whenever he is afflicted,
you will turn over his sickbed!”
(Psalms 41:2-4)
How should he “pay attention to the lowly?”
Abba bar Yirmiah explains this in the name of Rabbi Meir as referring to one who allows the good inclination to rule over the evil inclination:
“There was a little city…and a great king came against it…
and he found in it a wise poor man,
who saved the city through his wisdom,
but no one remembered that poor man.”
(Ecclesiastes 9:14-15).
The “city” is the human being; the “great king” is the evil inclination, called “great” because it is thirteen years greater (older) than the good inclination*, and the good inclination is the wise poor man, called “poor” because the good inclination is not found in all people, and most of those in whom it is found do not listen to it.
The poor man saved the city through his wisdom, as whoever pays attention to the good inclination is delivered on a day of evil (cf. Psalms 41:2)! But no one else remembers. Says the Holy One, blessed be He: You do not remember, but I remember, as the Prophet said, “And the nations shall know that I am the Eternal…I will remove the heart of stone from your body, and I shall give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26)! “The Eternal will protect him [yishmereyhu]…” (Psalms 41:3) from the evil inclination!
How then should he “pay attention to the lowly” (Psalms 41:2)?
Isi explains that he should give a perutah (small coin) to the poor, “…and he will (thereby) keep him alive [veechayeyhu]” (Psalms 41:3)!
How should he “pay attention to the lowly” (Psalms 41:2)?
Rabbi Yochanan explains this as referring to one who buries a meyt mitzvah (one who has died without relatives to bury him), “…so that he keeps him (the deceased) alive [veechayeyhu] (alluding to eternal life in death)…and that he (the deceased) shall be considered content in the ground [v’ushar ba-aretz]” (Psalms 41:3)!
How should he “pay attention to the lowly” (Psalms 41:2)?
The Rabbis explain this as referring to one who distances himself from the powerful (that is, pays attention to “the lowly” to the exclusion of their opposite, the powerful). Mordecai Margulies ed.: One who distances himself from the ruling authorities. Mishnah Avot 2:3: Be cautious of the ruling authority, for they draw one near only for their own purposes: they appear as friends when it is convenient for them but fail to stand by when it is not—“…and not turn him over to the bidding of his enemies” (Psalms 41:3)!
How should he “pay attention to the lowly” (Psalms 41:2)?
Rav Huna explains that he should visit the sick, and he teaches that whoever visits the sick removes from him one-sixtieth of his illness. So they responded to him: If that be true, let sixty visitors come forward to allow him to get up from his sickbed entirely and “you have turned over his sickbed” (Psalms 41:4)! He answered them: Sixty as long as they care for him as he cares for himself, but in any event they would be effective at least to the extent of easing his suffering, while “the Eternal will sustain him [yis’adenu] on the bed of his suffering” (Psalms 41:4)!
How should he “pay attention to the lowly” (Psalms 41:2)?
Rabbi Yonah observed that the psalm begins not with the words, “Fortunate is he who gives to the lowly,” but “Fortunate is he who pays attention to the lowly” (Psalms 41:2), which means: Consider the most compassionate way to help him! When Rabbi Yonah saw a once-wealthy person reduced to penury and too embarrassed to accept a gift, he went to him and said, “I have learned that a large inheritance is coming to you from abroad, so here is a loan which you can repay when you receive your inheritance.” Only later, when the recipient tried to repay it, did Rabbi Yonah disclose that it was a gift.
“Fortunate is he who pays attention to the lowly…”
Rabbi Levi taught in the name of Rabbi Chama son of Rabbi Chaninah: As many times as a psalm or other section of the Bible begins with Ashrey… (which we translate here as “Fortunate…”), only here, in this one psalm, do we find a reward attached to it: “Fortunate is he who pays attention to the lowly; the Eternal will rescue him [yemalleteyhu] on a day of evil” (Psalms 41:2).
*The evil inclination is thirteen years older than the good inclination because the former is created at birth (cf. Genesis 8:21) while the latter begins at the age of thirteen years (bar mitzvah) (cf. Avot of Rabbi Nathan 16:2 below).
Numbers Rabbah 22:7
Why “the race is not to the swift…”
Three gifts were created in the world, such that if one is worthy of any one of them, he inherits all of the world’s enjoyment. If he is worthy of wisdom, he is worthy of all. If he is worthy of might, he is worthy of all. If he is worthy of riches, he is worthy of all. But only when they are the gifts of Heaven and flow from the strength of Torah, whereas might and riches of flesh and blood are as nothing.
This is really what Solomon meant when he said:
“I observe in real life
that the race is not to the swift,
nor the battle to the mighty,
that the bread is not to the wise
nor riches to those of understanding,
nor is favor to the knowledgeable,
but time and chance
would seem to explain them all!”
(Ecclesiastes 9:11)
Tanchuma Mattot 7
Blessed Wealth
“The heart of the wise is to his right,
while the heart of a fool is to his left.”
(Ecclesiastes 10:2)
“The Reubenites and the Gadites,
with major holdings of cattle…
put forward this alternate proposal:
Let us build sheep-folds for our livestock here
and cities for our children.”
(Numbers 32:1,16)
The Sage’s words are instructive here: “The heart of the wise is to his right (expediting what is most important)…”—that was Moses, “…while the heart of a fool is to his left (expediting what is less important)”—that was the Reubenites and the Gadites, who treated the most important as secondary, and the secondary as most important. How so? They valued their property more than their own children’s lives, as they proposed to Moses, “Let us build sheep-folds for our livestock here…”—here first, and only after we have taken care of our livestock then—”…cities for our children!”
Moses responded: No, don’t do it that way! Rather, “Build cities for your children and sheep-folds for your flocks” (Numbers 32:24) in that order: Do the most important first, viz. cities for your children, and only after that, sheepfolds for your flocks! So we see from his response that Moses emulates the Sage’s words, as “the heart of the wise is to his right,” while the Reubenites and the Gadites displayed in their proposal, “the heart of a fool is to his left.”
Moreover:
“Property hastily gained [mevohelet] at the outset
will ultimately prove not to be blessed.”
(Proverbs 20:21)
The Holy One, blessed be He, said of the Reubenites and Gadites: You love your money more than yourselves. By your life, there is no blessing in that, as can be interpreted, “Property loathsomely gained [mevuchelet] at the outset will ultimately prove not to be blessed!”
More directly:
“Do not weary yourself [teega] to become wealthy;
desist from your calculations [mibeenat’cha].”
(Proverbs 23:4)
As we may interpret, “Do not cause harm [tigga] to become wealthy; desist, from your good sense [mibeenat’cha]!”
What then is the right way to become wealthy?
“When you eat [kee tocheyl]
the labor of your (own) hands,
happy are you [ashrecha],
and well shall you be [v’tov lach].”
(Psalms 128:2)
Interpret:
“Whatever you eat [kee tocheyl]
of the labor of your (own) hands,
and you are happy [ashrecha],
that is your weal [v’tov lach]!”
Thus did Ben Zoma infer:
“Who is wealthy?
One who is happy with his lot!”
(Mishnah Avot 4:1)
Tanchuma Chukkat 19
Mishnah Rosh Hashanah 3:8
Who shall punish? What can heal?
“He who digs a pit shall fall into it,
and one who disregards limits
shall be bitten by a serpent.”
(Ecclesiastes 10:8)
“They journey back to the Red Sea…,
but the people grow impatient.
They speak out against God and against Moses:
Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?
There is no food and there is no water,
and we cannot stand the accursed bread!
The Eternal sends venomous serpents against the people:
they bite the people, and many of Israel die.”
(Numbers 21:4-6)
Why did He choose to punish them with serpents?
The serpent was responsible for introducing leshon hara (derogatory speech) into the world, as a means for misleading the first woman and man into eating from the forbidden tree in the Garden of Eden (cf. Genesis 3:1-6). Israel failed to learn from that catastrophe, as they spoke leshon hara to the Holy One, blessed be He, addressing God and Moses simultaneously, “Why have You brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness…?” So let the one who initiated leshon hara be the one who punishes those who speak leshon hara, in accordance with the Sage’s words, “He who digs a pit shall fall into it, and one who disregards limits shall be bitten by a serpent” (Ecclesiastes 10:8)!
Ecclesiastes Rabbah 10:11
Whisperer
“If a snake bites without a whisper,
what value is there to the whisperer?”
(Ecclesiastes 10:11)
Rashi: The “whisperer” is the teacher who educates his community on the laws of Torah so that they do not bite like the snake and hurt others. The Sage here is condemning the teacher/”whisperer” who should be teaching/”whispering” but fails to fulfill his charge.
But Rabbi Abba bar Kahana read the first half of the verse as a rhetorical question: “Would a snake bite without hissing?” No, the serpent never bites unless it hisses first! Likewise, the lion never attacks without growling first, and the government never incites against its subjects without making sounds first.
Another explanation: Just as the snake is twisted, so also the king of Egypt is crooked in his ways and therefore not to be trusted. So the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: Pharaoh is as dishonest as the snake is twisted, so when “Pharaoh speaks to you…, say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and cast it before Pharaoh,’ so that it turns into a snake” (Exodus 7:9), as if to say, “This shall be your fitting punishment!”
Exodus Rabbah 27:7
Jethro casts his bread
“Cast your bread upon the waters,
for after many days you will find it.”
(Ecclesiastes 11:1)
Are people fools,
that they would release their bread upon the waters?
Rather, Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) here is speaking about Jethro, who gave his bread to Moses when his daughters told him about the “Egyptian man” who rescued them from hostile shepherds at the well and watered their flocks (cf. Exodus 2:15-19). Jethro asked, “Where is he? Why did you leave the man?” They sought him out and brought him to their home, and Jethro shared his bread with him. (Exodus 2:20)
Jethro released his bread “upon the waters,” the waters being Moses, whose name means, “I drew him out of the water” (Exodus 2:10), and “after many days” he found Moses and bread, as he was honored by Aaron and the Elders, who “come to eat bread” with him before God (Exodus 18:12).
Song of Songs Rabbah 1:9-10
The Wisdom and Fate of Solomon
“Appearing to Solomon at Gibeon, in a night dream,
God says: Ask what I should grant you.
Solomon answers:
You have shown Your servant David my father
Your great lovingkindness,
and You have granted him a son to sit now upon his throne,
but I am a mere youth, unfamiliar with the ways of the world,
amid Your chosen people too numerous to count.
So grant Your servant the readiness to judge,
to discern the right from the wrong for the sake of Your people.
God was pleased with his answer:
Because you asked not for length of days or riches or victory
but of understanding to apprehend what is just,
I shall grant it to you:
a wise and understanding heart,
more than any who have come before you
or will come after you,
and also because you did not ask for them,
more wealth and glory than that of other kings during your lifetime;
and if you observe my laws in the way that David your father did,
I shall grant you length of days.
Then Solomon awakes from his dream and comes to Jerusalem.
Standing before the Ark of the Covenant of the Eternal,
he offers sacrifices and makes a feast for all of his servants.”
(I Kings 3:5-15)
Rabbi Elazar taught: From this we learn that we make a feast (se’udah) upon completion of the Torah. Matnot Kehunah (Yissachar Ber Berman Ashkenazi, 16th cent., Szczebrzesyn): For as Solomon was granted the gift of wisdom, he completed thereby all of the Torah.
Yefeh Kol (Samuel ben Isaac Ashkenazi Jaffe, 16th cent., Constantinople): Thus we do when we complete the Reading of the Torah as on the festival of Simchat Torah, as well as upon the completion (siyyum) of any tractate (masechta) of Talmud—just as Solomon made a feast for all of his servants when he attained wisdom.
Said Rabbi Yudan: This teaches you that whoever teaches Torah in public has the merit of one embraced by the Holy Spirit. For this is what happened to Solomon. He learned Torah, the Holy Spirit settled upon him, and he composed three books of the Bible: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs.
When you look into it, you will find that all that happened to Solomon happened in threes. For example, he arose in three stages:
First Stage: “Solomon ruled over all of the area on this side of the Euphrates…” (I Kings 5:4)
Second Stage: “Solomon ruled over all of the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines and the border of Egypt…” (I Kings 5:1)
Third Stage: “Solomon sat upon the throne of the Eternal as king…” (I Chronicles 29:23)
But Rabbi Isaac questioned: Is it possible for a person to sit upon the throne of the Eternal…? It means that just as the throne of the Eternal rules from one end of the world to the other, so the throne of Solomon ruled from one end of the world to the other! It also means that just as the throne of the Eternal judges without reliance upon witnesses, so the throne of Solomon judged without reliance upon witnesses. An example of that is the two harlots who came before Solomon and whom he judged without reliance upon witnesses, as was said, “One of them explains that they live together, that they both have delivered children within three days of each other, and that no one else is with them in the house.” (I Kings 3:16-18)
Similarly, Solomon declined in three stages:
First Stage: “The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel” (Proverbs 1:1) only, after he had formerly ruled from one end of the world to the other!
Second Stage: “I am Koheleth, I was king over Israel in Jerusalem” (Ecclesiastes 1:12) only, after he had been king over all of Israel!
Third Stage: “Here is the couch of Solomon surrounded by sixty bodyguards..out of fear at night” (Song of Songs 3:7-8), ruling not even all of Jerusalem but only his house, and in fear!
…
Regarding the three books that he wrote,
there are different views as to when he wrote them
and possibly in what order.
Here is how the discussion goes:
Rabbi Chiyah Rabbah said that Solomon wrote Proverbs first, then Song of Songs, then Ecclesiastes, bringing the following verse as support: “God gave wisdom to Solomon…he composed three thousand Proverbs, one thousand and five Songs” (I Kings 5:9,12), leaving Ecclesiastes last! However, it was reported in an earlier teaching of Rabbi Chiyah Rabbah that Solomon composed all three at the same time. It was also reported in an earlier teaching of Rabbi Chiyah Rabbah that only in Solomon’s old age did the Holy Spirit reside upon him so that he composed the three books (in his old age): Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs.
Rabbi Yonatan taught that he composed the Song of Songs first, then Proverbs, and then Ecclesiastes, arguing on the basis of “the way of the world” (derech eretz): When a man is young, he composes words of poetry; when he is mature, he writes words of instruction; when he is old, he utters words of despair.
Rabbi Yannai, father-in-law of Rabbi Ammi, said: All agree that Ecclesiastes was composed last. Chiddushey HaRashash (Samuel ben Joseph Strashun, 19th cent., Vilna): Rashi (s.v. Shir Hashirim, Talmud Bava Bathra 14b) expresses his own view that Song of Songs was composed last [possibly as per the earlier teaching of Rabbi Chiyah Rabbah], and it is possible to find a correspondence between his view and the teaching of the Midrash regarding the three stages of Solomon’s decline (see above) [also in accordance with the aforementioned earlier teaching of Rabbi Chiyah Rabbah].
SHEMINI ATZERET
FROM THE TORAH
Deuteronomy 14:22-16:17
Measured Patterns of Sharing
TENTH OF PRODUCE AND FIRSTBORN OF LIVESTOCK
14:22-29
Separate a tenth of all of the produce of your grain, wine and oil, from year to year, to consume in the place which the Eternal shall choose as the Habitation of His Name, along with the firstborn of your herd and your flock, in order to learn to fear the Eternal your God always. If that place be too far from you for transport, as a result of the blessing of the Eternal your God, then convert them into money which you shall carry physically to the place and there spend it on whatever you wish—of the herd, of the flock, of wine, of shaychar—for you and your household to enjoy before the Eternal your God.
However, you must not overlook the Levite within your gates, who does not have an inherited portion like you. So, at the end of every three years, leave the entire tenth of your produce in your gates for the consumption and satisfaction of the Levite, as well as for the stranger and the orphan and the widow who are within your gates. For this the Eternal your God will bless you in all that you achieve.
SHEMITTAH AND YOUR NEEDY BRETHREN
15:1-11
At the end of seven years you shall effect a remission (shemittah) of the claim of a creditor upon his fellow or his brother, a remission authorized by the Eternal. You may still demand payment of a foreigner. However, there should be no needy among you, for the Eternal will bless you in the Land which He is giving you as an inheritance to possess, if only you would obey the Eternal your God to keep to observe all of this Mitzvah that I am commanding you this day. You shall cause many nations to give pledges, but you shall not need to give a pledge; you shall rule over many nations, but they shall not rule over you.
Now if there should be, among your brethren in any of the gates of your Land which the Eternal your God is giving to you one in need, do not harden your heart or close your hand from him, but open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need. It would be wrong of you, in addition, to deny him a loan because of the proximity of the seventh year, the year of remission. If you do, he could well cry out against you to the Eternal, and you would be guilty of sin. Rather, even so, should you provide him without hesitation, and the Eternal your God will bless you for this in all that you do. To the extent that the needy will not cease to be in the midst of the Land, I command you to open your hand to your poor and needy brother in your Land.
SEVENTH YEAR OF A HEBREW SLAVE
15:12-18
Your Hebrew slave, male or female, who was sold to you and works for you for six years, you shall set free in the seventh year. Do not send him away emptyhanded, but provide him from your flock, from your threshing-floor, and from your wine-vat. Provide him of the blessings you have received from the Eternal your God. Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Eternal your God redeemed you. Therefore I command you this rule today.
If your Hebrew slave prefers to remain with you, considering his attachment to you and your household and his good treatment, then drive an awl through his ear to the door, and the slave, male or female, becomes your servant for ever. But, otherwise, do not hesitate to free your Hebrew slave, who has provided you with twice the value of what you would have paid a hired servant for six years, and the Eternal your God will bless you in all that you do!
FIRSTBORN LIVESTOCK
15:19-23
Every male firstborn of your herd and of your flock shall you sanctify to the Eternal your God. Do not work your firstborn ox, and do not shear your firstborn sheep. You and your household shall eat it, from year to year, before the Eternal your God, in the place that He shall choose. But do not sacrifice it to the Eternal your God if it has a serious defect such as lameness or blindness; instead eat it in your gates, the unclean and the clean of you alike, as you would eat the gazelle or the deer. But do not eat its blood: pour it out on the ground like water.
PESACH AND MATZOT
16:1-8
Keep the month of Aviv to observe Pesach to the Eternal your God, who brought you out of Egypt in that month at night. For the Pesach you shall sacrifice to the Eternal your God from flock and herd in the place where He shall choose to establish His Name (cf. Exodus 12:21-25). Do not eat with it anything leavened. For seven days you shall eat with it Matzot (Unleavened Bread), bread of affliction, as in anxious haste you departed from the land of Egypt, so that you may remember the day of your departure from the land of Egypt all the days of your life. Let no leaven be seen by you in all of your territory for seven days, and let none of the meat that you sacrifice in the evening remain overnight to the morning of the first day.
You may not sacrifice the Pesach in any of the gates which the Eternal your God gives to you, but only in the place where He shall choose to establish His Name. There shall you sacrifice it, in the evening, at sunset, precisely the time of your departure from Egypt; there shall you cook it and eat it. Then, in the morning, turn around and return to your tents. After you have eaten Matzot for six days, on the seventh day you shall hold a sacred convocation to the Eternal your God and do no work.
SHAVUOT
16:9-12
Count for yourself seven weeks, from when the sickle is first applied to standing grain, and observe a festival of Shavuot (Weeks) to the Eternal your God, your freewill offering in accordance with how the Eternal your God has blessed you. Rejoice before the Eternal your God—you, your son and your daughter, your male and female slave, the Levite who is within your gates, and the stranger, orphan and widow, who are in your midst—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 maintain and observe these laws.
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 wine-vat. Rejoice in your festival—you, your son and your daughter, your male and female slave, the Levite, and the stranger, the orphan and the widow, who are within your gates—and observe the festival for seven days (cf. Numbers 29:35 in Maftir below) before the Eternal your God in the place where He shall choose (cf. Leviticus 23:42), as the Eternal your God shall bless you in all of your produce and in all of the work of your hands, and you shall be indeed happy!
SUMMARY OF THREE APPEARANCES
16:16-17
Three times in the year shall every male appear before the Eternal your God in the place that He shall choose: on the festival of Matzot, on the festival of Shavuot, and on the festival of Sukkot. Let him not appear before the Eternal emptyhanded, but each man in accordance with his gift, in accordance with the blessing that the Eternal your God has bestowed upon you.
MAFTIR FOR SHEMINI ATZERET
Numbers 29:35-30:1
On the Eighth Day, there shall be Atzeret (Assembly of Conclusion) for you; do not perform work of service. You shall offer a burnt offering by fire of a pleasing aroma to the Eternal of one bull, one ram, and seven year-old lambs, without blemish; and their meal offering and their libations, for the bull, for the ram, and for the lambs, shall be in prescribed amounts. There shall be one goat for a sin offering. All of this is besides the regular burnt offering, its meal offering, and its libation.
These, then, shall you make for the Eternal at your appointed times, besides your votive and freewill offerings, be they burnt offerings or meal offerings or libations or peace offerings. Moses teaches the Children of Israel in accordance with what the Eternal commanded Moses.
23 Tishri 5787
SIMCHAT TORAH
FROM THE TORAH
Deuteronomy 33:1-34:12
Genesis 1:1-2:3
The Final Blessings of Moses
MOSES BLESSES THE TRIBES OF ISRAEL
Deuteronomy 33:1-29
And this is the blessing (V’zot Habracha) that Moses, the man of God, bestowed upon the Children of Israel before his death:
Source of Blessing
From Sinai comes the Eternal—
He sheds light upon them from Seir,
He appears from Mount Paran—
founded in vast sanctity
is the fire of law for them
in His right hand!
May the Lover of peoples
fulfill His promises
to all of Your holy ones
and those whom You have chastened.
With the Torah that Moses commanded us,
as the heritage of the Congregation of Jacob,
there is in Jeshurun a King
over the assemblage of leaders
of the tribes of Israel.
Reuben
May Reuben live and not die,
but may his men be few.
Judah
This he says regarding Judah:
Hear, O Eternal, the voice of Judah,
and bring him to his people.
While he struggles against his enemies,
add Your help to his own hands.
Levi
And regarding Levi he says:
Your Tummim and your Urim
rightly belong to your Devoted One,
whom you tried at Massah,
with whom you struggled
over the waters of Merivah,
who showed no favor
to his father or mother or brothers,
or even to his sons.
But they shall preserve Your teaching
and guard Your covenant.
Let them teach Your Torah to Israel
and delight You with incense,
with whole offerings on Your Altar.
Bless his strength, O Eternal:
favor the product of his efforts,
and impair those who go against him.
Benjamin
Regarding Benjamin he says:
Beloved of the Eternal,
may he dwell securely beside Him.
The Eternal shall embrace him
and protect him always.
Joseph
And regarding Joseph he says:
His land is blessed by the Eternal,
bounteous in its dew from heaven,
in its water stored below,
in its seasons’ products of sun and moon,
taken from its ancient hills,
all that fills the country—
may it be the will
of the One who dwelled in the bush
to crown Joseph over his brothers
with the majesty of his firstborn ox.
May the wild ox’s horns be his,
to gore peoples to the ends of the earth,
his in ten thousands of Ephraim,
his in thousands of Manasseh!
Zebulun and Issachar
And regarding Zebulun he says:
Rejoice, O Zebulun, in your voyages,
and Issachar, in your tents!
May they assemble peoples at the Mountain
and offer there sacrifices from the righteous,
as they draw out the sea’s abundance
and the hidden treasures of the sand.
Gad
And regarding Gad he says:
Blessed is the One who enlarges Gad,
crouching like a lion
ready to tear its prey!
It chooses first,
the region where the lawgiver was covered.
It comes at the head of the people,
carrying out with Israel
the judgments of the Eternal.
Dan
And regarding Dan he says:
Dan is a lion’s whelp,
leaping forth from the Bashan.
Naphtali
And regarding Naphtali he says:
Naphtali inherits the most it could want,
the fullest blessing of the Eternal,
the west and the south.
Asher
And regarding Asher he says:
Most blessed of sons is Asher,
may he be pleasing of his brothers
and dip his foot in oil!
May you be secure and at peace
for as long as you live.
Israel
There is none for you, O Jeshurun, like God,
riding majestically through heaven in your aid,
the ancient God your protection;
His everlasting arms support you,
and any who would threaten you
He orders destroyed!
Israel shall dwell secure and alone
in its land of grain and wine,
where the heavens drip dew.
Happy are you, O Israel,
who is like you,
O people whose salvation is in the Eternal,
your Shield and your Sword,
crushing your enemies for your sake
as you ride over their presumptuous shrines!
MOSES DIES IN MOAB
Deuteronomy 34:1-12
Then Moses goes up from the Plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the summit of Pisgah, facing Jericho, and the Eternal shows him all of the Land, from the territory of Gilead as far as Dan, all of Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all of the land of Judah as far as the westernmost Sea, the Negev, and the Plain—the valley of Jericho, city of palm trees—as far as Tsoar. The Eternal says to him: This is the Land which I promised to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob, saying, “To your offspring shall I give it!” I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you shall not cross over to it.
Moses, servant of the Eternal, dies there, in the land of Moab, by the Eternal’s word. He buries him in the valley, in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Pe’or, but to this very day no one knows the place of his burial.
Moses was 120 years old when he died. His vision had not dimmed; his vigor had not abated. The Children of Israel weep for Moses in the plains of Moab for thirty days. Then the days of weeping in mourning for Moses end.
Joshua, son of Nun, was full of the spirit of wisdom, as Moses had placed his hands upon him. The Children of Israel heed him and do as the Eternal commanded Moses.
But there has not since arisen a Prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the Eternal knew face-to-face, with respect to all of the signs and the wonders which the Eternal sent him to perform in the land of Egypt, for Pharaoh and for all of his servants and his land, and also the strong hand and the great awe which Moses displayed in the sight of all Israel.
Chazak! Chazak! Venitchazek!
“One generation goes, and another comes…”
(Ecclesiastes 1:4)
The book is closed, and then is opened…
CREATION
Genesis 1:1-2:3
God began to create heaven and earth from inchoate land, water and darkness, transcended by God’s Spirit.
God calls forth light and considers it good. God separates light from darkness, calling light day and darkness night. There is evening then morning, One Day.
God calls forth an expanse within the water, separating water below the expanse from water above the expanse. God calls the expanse heaven. There is evening then morning, a Second Day.
God calls for the gathering of water from under heaven so that dry land appears. God calls the dry land earth and the water seas, and considers it good. God calls for the sprouting of vegetation, herbs producing seed and trees bearing fruit containing their own seed, and considers it good. There is evening then morning, a Third Day.
God calls forth lights in the expanse of heaven to separate day from night, to serve as signs for seasons, days and years, and to shine upon the earth: two great lights, the greater to rule by day and the lesser to rule by night, and the stars. God considers it good. There is evening then morning, a Fourth Day.
God calls for the water to abound with living creatures and for the birds to fly over the earth across the expanse of heaven. God creates the giants of the sea, all kinds of moving living creatures from the water, and birds of wing, and considers it good. God blesses them to be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and for the birds to multiply on earth. There is evening then morning, a Fifth Day.
God calls for the earth to produce every kind of living creature—cattle, moving things and wild beasts—and God considers it good. God further considers: “Let Us make Man in Our image, after Our likeness” (Genesis 1:26). God creates Man in His image, male and female. God blesses them and says to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and master it, and rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and all the living creatures that move upon the earth. I give you and all living animals of land and sky the vegetation producing seed upon earth and trees bearing fruit producing seed for you to eat” (Genesis 1:27-29). God considers all that He has made very good. There is evening then morning, the Sixth Day.
Heaven and earth and all their array are complete. God is finished on the seventh day from all of the work which He has done. God rests on the Seventh Day and blesses it as the holy day.
Maftir for Simchat Torah
Numbers 29:35-30:1
Same as Shemini Atzeret (see above)
—
FROM THE PROPHETS
Haftarah for Shemini Atzeret
I Kings 8:54-66
When Solomon concludes his prayer and supplication (cf. I Kings 8:2ff., partly the Haftarah for the Second Day of Sukkot), for which he was kneeling with his hands spread out toward heaven, he stands up and blesses all of the congregation of Israel in a loud voice:
Blessed is the Eternal, who has given rest to His people Israel and has not failed in any good thing that He promised through Moses His servant. May the Eternal be with us as He was with our Fathers and not forsake us, but turn our hearts to Him to walk in His ways and keep His commandments, statutes and ordinances, which He commanded them. May these My words remain close to the Eternal our God, day and night, that He may uphold the just cause of His servant and His people every day, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Eternal is God and there is none else. Therefore let your heart be whole with the Eternal our God to walk in His statutes and to keep His commandments, as it is this day.
The King and all the Children of Israel dedicate the House of the Eternal. Solomon sacrifices to the Eternal offerings of well-being: 22,000 of the herd and 120,000 of the flock. The King sanctified the middle of the Court that was before the House of the Eternal in order to sacrifice the burnt offerings, the meal offerings, and the fat of the well-being offerings, because the Copper Altar before the Eternal was too small to contain them.
Solomon observes the Festival (Chag) at that time with a large congregation of Israel from the Entrance of Chamath to the River of Egypt, before the Eternal our God, for seven days, and for another seven days, making fourteen days. On the Eighth (Shemini) Day he releases the people, and they bless the king and go to their tents with heartfelt happiness for all of the good which the Eternal has done for David His servant and for Israel His people.
Haftarah for Simchat Torah
Joshua 1:1-18
After the death of the Eternal’s servant Moses, the Eternal bids Moses’s minister, Joshua son of Nun, to cross over the Jordan with the people “to the Land which I am giving to the Children of Israel” (Joshua 1:2). Wherever your foot treads, He says, I shall give it to you, as I promised Moses: from the Wilderness and the Lebanon as far as the great river Euphrates, all of the Hittite territory, as far as the Great Sea, where the sun sets. No one will deter you for as long as you live: as I was with Moses, so shall I be with you. I will not fail or forsake you.
He continues: Be strong and courageous as you enable this people to possess the Land which I promised their Fathers to give to them. Be strong and very courageous to act in accordance with all of the Torah that Moses My servant has commanded you. Do not deviate from it, either to the right or to the left, so that you may succeed in all that you do. Let this Book of Torah not depart from your mouth, but meditate on it day and night, in order to act in accordance with all that is written in it. Fear not, for the Eternal your God is with you wherever you go.
Then Joshua tells the people’s officers to go through the camp and instruct the people to provision themselves in order to cross the Jordan three days hence and take the Land “which the Eternal your God is giving to you to possess” (Joshua 1:11). He reminds the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, of Moses’s stipulation that their wives, children and livestock could remain in the territory east of the Jordan, which the Eternal is giving to those three tribes, while they assist their valiant brothers of the other tribes by marching, armed, ahead of them, to possess the Land which the Eternal is giving to those tribes (cf. Numbers 32). They affirm to Joshua the stipulation of Moses and pledge to Joshua that they will obey his charge to them, just as they obeyed Moses’s charge to them, and they pray, “May the Eternal your God be with you as He was with Moses” (Joshua 1:17)! In addition, they demand death for anyone who might disobey Joshua’s command, concluding with the words to him, “Be strong and courageous” (Joshua 1:18)!
FROM TALMUD AND MIDRASH
Shemini Atzeret & Simchat Torah
Numbers Rabbah 21:23
Israel’s Plea for Holy Days
“On the Eighth Day, there shall be Atzeret (Assembly of Conclusion) for you;
do not perform work of service.
You shall offer a burnt offering of one bull and one ram…”
(Numbers 29:35-36)
This is what was meant by the Prophet:
“You added to the nation, Eternal One;
You added to the nation by which You were honored;
You pushed away all the boundaries of the Land!”
(Isaiah 26:15)
This was a plea from the Congregation of Israel to the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the Universe, “You added to the (foreign) nation, O Eternal One” (Isaiah 26:15a)! You saw fit to add peace and contentment to the generation of the Flood, but did they offer You even one bull or one ram? And as if that were not enough, not only did they not honor You, but they went on to conspire, “Come, let us build a city…to make a name for ourselves” (Genesis 11:4)!
Similarly with the Sodomites and with Pharaoh, and with the invading Assyrians and the Babylonians, did any one of them offer you even one bull or one ram? As if it were not enough that they did not honor You with offerings, they also committed acts which angered You! So, then, to which nation should You add peace and contentment? To Israel, as the Prophet can be understood to have said, “You (should have) added (peace and contentment) to the nation (of) the Eternal One” (Isaiah 26:15a)! Indeed, “Who is like Your people Israel, a nation unique in the world” (I Chronicles 17:21)!
So it has been incumbent upon You to provide us with holy days to provide You thereupon with offerings—Rosh Chodesh, Pesach, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Hakippurim, and the Festival (cf. Numbers 28:11-29:34)—not one of which have we neglected. So it is further incumbent upon You to add for us another holy day upon which we shall honor You: “You (shall then have) added to the nation by which You were honored (as) You pushed away (the invaders to) all the boundaries of the Land” (Isaiah 26:15bc)!
To this, the Holy One, blessed be He, responded: By your life shall I not withhold holy days from you, but I shall add a holy day in which you may rejoice, as was said, “On the Eighth Day, there shall be Atzeret (Assembly of Conclusion) for you” (Numbers 29:35)!
Numbers Rabbah 21:24
Just You and Me
“On the Eighth Day, there shall be Atzeret (Assembly of Conclusion) for you;
do not perform work of service.
You shall offer a burnt offering of one bull and one ram…”
(Numbers 29:35-36)
This is what is meant by the Psalm:
“In place of my love,
they accuse me,
and I am prayer.”
(Psalms 109:4)
Consider that on the Festival, for seven days, Israel offers You seventy bulls (cf. Numbers 29:12-34) for the seventy nations of the world. But Israel is disappointed: Master of Worlds, here we are offering seventy bulls for seventy nations for seven days for their benefit, good reason for them to love us, yet they hate us, as was said, “In place of my love, they accuse me” (Psalms 109:4a)!
Therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel: Now you can say, “I am prayer” (ibid. 4b), no longer the foreign nations! So bring offerings just for yourselves. “On the Eighth Day, there shall be Atzeret (Assembly of Conclusion) for you; do not perform work of service” (Numbers 29:35). Scale back the number of offerings from the seventy you brought for the seventy nations; instead, “You shall offer a burnt offering of (just) one bull and one ram…” (ibid. 36).
This may be compared to a king who held a feast for seven days, to which he invited everybody and anybody in his realm. When the seven days of feasting were over, the king said to his closest friend: Now that we have fulfilled our obligation to all of the inhabitants of my kingdom, let us sit down together, just you and me, and relax with whatever little we can find, a little meat or some vegetable. In the same way, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, “On the Eighth Day, there shall be Atzeret (Assembly of Conclusion) for you; do not perform work of service” (ibid. 35), but relax with whatever you find, “one bull and one ram” (ibid. 36)!
Rashi on Leviticus 23:36: Atzeret may be compared to a king who invited his son to feast with him for a certain number of days. When the time came for them to part, the king said: My son, I beg you to remain with me for just one more day, as it is hard for me to see you go.
Mishnah Shevi’it 10:1,3-4
Sifre Deuteronomy 113
The Spirit of the Law
“At the end of seven years you shall effect a remission (shemittah)
of the claim of a creditor upon his fellow or his brother (fellow Israelite)…
You may still demand payment of a foreigner,
but that which is yours of your brother (fellow Israelite) your hand shall remit.”
(Deuteronomy 15:1-3)
“If there should be…one in need,
do not harden your heart or close your hand from him,
but open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need.
It would be wrong of you to deny him a loan
because of the proximity of the seventh year, the year of remission.
If you do, he could well cry out against you to the Eternal,
and you would be guilty of sin.”
(Deuteronomy 15:7-9)
The seventh year remits the claim of a creditor, but a prozbul does not remit the claim of a creditor.
When Hillel saw that the people refrained from lending, thereby transgressing what is written in the Torah, “It would be wrong of you to deny him (one in need) a loan because of the proximity of the seventh year, the year of remission…, and if you do…you would be guilty of sin,” he ordained the prozbul for the sake of tikkun olam (providing a “practical remedy” for the aforementioned prevailing transgression).
What is the prozbul? It is a document executed by the creditor to a specific court which states, “Any debt that is due me I hereby transfer to you and may collect it at any time that I want,” and which is signed by the judges or by witnesses.
“You shall effect a remission (shemittah)
of the claim of a creditor upon his fellow Israelite…”
(Deuteronomy 15:2)
“Your hand shall remit
that which is yours of your fellow Israelite.”
(Deuteronomy 15:3)
“Your hand shall remit that which is yours as creditor” (Deuteronomy 15:3) is repeated after the preceding verse, “You shall effect a remission of the claim of a creditor (Deuteronomy 15:2), in order to exclude that which is no longer yours, i.e., that which you have transferred to the court, in which case a “hand” other than yours (the court’s) will collect. This Oral Torah supports the enactment (takkanah) of Hillel. (P’ney Moshe on Talmud Yerushalmi Shevi’it 10:2 and Malbim, HaTorah v’haMitzvah, Sifre 131 on Deuteronomy 15:3)
Menachem Elon in Hamishpat Ha’ivri offers several additional background principles
which support this takkanah
(initial references provided by Yosef Schechter in Lexicon Otzar Hatalmud):
The court has the power to cancel or transfer personal ownership of property. (Talmud Yevamot 89b)
“It is time to act for the Eternal; they have voided Your Torah!” (Psalms 119:126 in Talmud Berachot 54a)
Arise and perform an act that is prohibited by the Torah in order to forfend a violation of the Torah. (Talmud Eruvin 100a)
A temporary measure permitting specific conduct forbidden by the Torah in order to preserve all of the commandments of the Torah, such as violating one sabbath in order to be able to observe many other sabbaths in the future (Talmud Yoma 85b) and Elijah’s sacrifice on Mount Carmel (apart from the Temple in Jerusalem) in order to forestall the idolatrous worship of Baal (I Kings 18:19ff.).
Talmud Kiddushin 17b
The Blessing of Your House
“If your fellow Hebrew, male or female,
is sold to you and works for you for six years,
then in the seventh year you shall set him free…
but do not send him away emptyhanded.
Surely provide him from your flock,
and from your threshing-floor,
and from your wine-vat;
as the Eternal your God has blessed you,
you shall give to him.”
(Deuteronomy 15:12-14)
Our Rabbis taught: From “as the Eternal your God has blessed you,” it could be inferred: If your house was blessed because of him, provide him; but if your house was not blessed because of him, do not provide him. But the emphatic form, “Surely provide,” implies talmudically: provide him in any case! If so, what is the talmudic implication of “as He has blessed you?” Adjust the amount (Rashi: above the minimum) in accordance with the blessing.
But Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah teaches: The verse should be understood as written, i.e., if your house was blessed because of him, provide him; but if your house was not blessed because of him, do not provide him. What then do you do with the talmudic implication of “Surely provide?” “Surely provide” is common language of the Bible and therefore does not bear a talmudic implication.
Talmud Berachot 12b-13a
Remember the Exodus from Egypt
“Do not eat with it (the Pesach)
anything that is leavened;
for seven days you shall eat with it Matzot,
Unleavened Bread, bread of affliction,
as in anxious haste you went out from the land of Egypt,
in order that you may remember
the day of your departure from Egypt,
all the days of your life.”
(Deuteronomy 16:3)
Mishnah: We mention the Exodus from Egypt at night (as part of the Shema, Numbers 15:37-41, containing also the commandment to wear tzitzit; Rashi: Even though tzitzit are not worn at night…, still we recite this passage at night because it includes the Exodus from Egypt at the end, verse 41). Said Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah: Even though I appeared to be as old (and wise) as a man of seventy years, I was not able to derive from the Torah’s words why the Exodus from Egypt should be recited at night, until Ben Zoma derived it from, “In order that you may recall (mention) the day of your departure from Egypt, all the days of your life” (Deuteronomy 16:3). “The days of your life” alone would mean just the days, but “all the days of your life” is meant to include both the days and the nights! But the Sages interpret the verse differently: “The days of your life” alone would mean the days of your life in this (unredeemed) world, but “all the days of your life” is meant to include both the days of your life in this unredeemed world and the days of the Messiah (the time of redemption)!
Gemara: It is taught in a baraitha—Ben Zoma went on to challenge the Sages: Should we actually mention the Exodus from Egypt in the days of the Messiah? For has it not already been said, “Behold the days are coming, says the Eternal, when they will no longer say, ‘As lives the Eternal, who brought up the Children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ but ‘As lives the Eternal, who raised and brought the offspring of the House of Israel from the north land and from all of the lands to which I scattered them…’” (Jeremiah 23:7-8)—redemptive events which occurred long after the Exodus from Egypt and arguably exceeded it in magnitude! They answered him: It does not mean that the Exodus from Egypt shall be removed from its place, but that the oppression by foreign powers shall be the general remembrance, while the Exodus from Egypt shall be a part of it! Similarly, when He says, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel shall be your name” (Genesis 35:10), it does not mean that the name Jacob shall be removed from its place, but that Israel shall be the overarching name, while the name Jacob shall be a part of it.
Note: The Mishnah passage (without the Gemara) is included in our Haggadah of Pesach, recited on the anniversary night of our Exodus from Egypt. But this passage reflects the daily practice of including the third paragraph of the Shema in the evening, even though it commands tzitzit, which are not worn at night, because it mentions the Exodus from Egypt.
Sifre Deuteronomy 342 V’zot Habracha
End with Consolation
“And this is the blessing
which Moses blessed…”
(Deuteronomy 33:1)
Why did the “blessing” come here, at the end,
after Moses had rebuked Israel for their idolatry?
Moses had at first rebuked Israel for their idolatry:
“You have been rebellious against the Eternal,
and at Horeb you provoked the Eternal to anger!”
(Deuteronomy 9:7-8)
“You will be emptied from hunger
and consumed by flame…
outside the sword shall bereave…
both young and old!”
(Deuteronomy 32:24-25)
But later “Moses blessed them” with words of consolation.
This was a lesson from Moses for all of the other Prophets, who should say the hard words of rebuke at first but then come back with words of consolation:
No words of any of the Prophets were as harsh as those of Hosea, who said to them at first, “Do to them, O Eternal, what You must do; give them a bereaving womb and shriveling breasts” (Hosea 9:14)! But then he would come back with words of consolation: “I will heal their treachery and replace My anger with love; I shall be as the dew for Israel, he shall blossom as the lily; His branches shall spread, and those who live in his shade will blossom and thrive” (Hosea 14:5-8)!
Joel, also, he foresaw at first the unprecedented devastation of four successive plagues of locusts, each more destructive than the previous, each consuming whatever its predecessor might have left untouched (cf. Joel 1:2-4). But then he came back with words of consolation: “I will repay you for the years when I sent four successive species of locust—the arbeh, the yelek, the chasil, and the gazam—My great army, against you” (Joel 2:25)!
Likewise, Amos, who rebuked them at first, “Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, sitting atop the mount of Samaria, who oppress the poor and crush the needy, and then say to their lords, ‘Come, let us feast!’ The days are coming, you can be sure, when it is you who will be carried away on hooks, and what is left of you, served in fish pots” (Amos 4:1). But then he came back with words of consolation: “Behold, the days are coming—declares the Eternal—when there will be so much to harvest that the plowman shall overtake the reaper” (Amos 9:13)!
Consider Micah, who at first rebuked the rulers of Israel as “haters of good, lovers of evil” for “robbing and eating the flesh of My people..for breaking their bones and chopping them for pieces in a pot”; “let them cry unto the Lord: He will not answer them, He will hide His Face from them in consideration of the evil of their doings” (Micah 3:1-4)! But then he came back with words of consolation: “Who is a God like You…overlooking transgressions of the remnant of His people, letting go of His anger, showing mercy by casting our iniquities into the depths of the sea, showing Your faithfulness to Jacob, Your mercy to Abraham, as You promised our Fathers from ancient times” (Micah 7:18-20)!
And Jeremiah’s Prophecy foresaw at first “the cessation from the cities of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem rejoicing and celebration, the voice of bridegroom and bride, as the Land would turn to desolation” (Jeremiah 7:34)! But then he came back with words of consolation: “Then shall the virgin rejoice in dancing…” (Jeremiah 31:12). But what is to say that the Prophet did not find cause after that to come back to them with words of rebuke? His last words of Prophecy—“My punishment is final: Babylon shall not rise again…”—are followed by an apparently superfluous postscript, “…thus far the words of Jeremiah” (Jeremiah 51:64), which are Oral Torah (Talmud) clearly indicating that the Prophet did not find cause after consolation to come back to them with words of rebuke!
Tanchuma V’zot Habracha 1
Ending and Beginning
“And this is the blessing that Moses, the man of God,
bestowed upon the Children of Israel before his death…”
(Deuteronomy 33:1)
Let our Rabbi instruct us:
If one leading the service errs in reciting the Tefillah, what should he do?
Our Rabbis teach that another should take his place.
Rabbi Yosi teaches that if he errs within the first three blessings, he should return to the beginning; if within the middle blessings, he should return to the second blessing; if within the last three blessings, he should return to the first of that section.
But if we say that another should take his place, where should that one begin? From the beginning of the blessing in which he erred. And whence did our Rabbis learn this rule? From our Fathers, each of whom began from the place where the previous of our Fathers ended.
How so?
Abraham blessed Isaac: “Abraham gave [vayiteyn] all that was his to Isaac” (Genesis 25:5). And what did he give him? Rabbi Judah and Rabbi Nechemia differed: One said the birthright, in accordance with “Esau sold his birthright to Jacob” (Genesis 25:33), and one said the blessing, in accordance with “May God grant you abundance, mastery and blessing” (Genesis 27:28-29).
When it was the turn of Isaac to bless Jacob, Isaac asked: Where should I begin? and he answered: From the place where my father ended! My father ended at “Abraham gave [vayiteyn] (Genesis 25:5), thus I shall begin from there: “May God give [veyiteyn] you abundance, mastery and blessing” (Genesis 27:28-29)!
Now where did Isaac end? He ended by blessing Jacob when he sent for him: “Isaac sent for Jacob and blessed him” (Genesis 28:1). Therefore, when Jacob prepared to bless the tribes, he began by sending for them: “Jacob sent for his sons and said, ‘Come together that I may tell you what shall befall you in future days’” (Genesis 49:1).
Then how did Jacob end? He ended with the words “And this”: “And this is how their father spoke to them and blessed them…” (Genesis 49:28). So when Moses came to bless Israel, he thought of how Jacob had ended with the words “And this.” So shall I, said Moses, begin with the words “And this”: “And this is the blessing that Moses…bestowed upon the Children of Israel…” (Deuteronomy 33:1)!
Tanchuma V’zot Habracha 1
Pesikta d’Rav Kahana Nispachim 1
The Excellence of Moses
“And this is the blessing that Moses, the man of God,
bestowed upon the Children of Israel before his death…”
(Deuteronomy 33:1)
“Many daughters have done well,
but you surpass all of them!”
(Proverbs 31:29)
The wisdom of Proverbs (above) may be understood to reflect the excellence of the blessing of Moses: The first Father’s descendants (successors) all blessed their generations, “Many descendants have done well…”; but none was so great as the blessing of Moses, “…but you surpass all of them!”
The Fathers first learned to bless their respective generations from the Holy One, blessed be He, who, upon creating the First Man, “created them male and female, and blessed them” (Genesis 5:2)!
Now the world did conduct itself in accordance with that blessing, but only until the generation of the Flood, under whom the blessing was abrogated, wherefore, “The Eternal determined: Let Me blot out man and beast that I have created, from upon the face of the earth, for I regret that I made them” (Genesis 6:7)!
“But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Eternal” (ibid. 8), so when he emerged from the Ark, “God blessed Noah and his children… (Genesis 9:1), and the world went on to conduct itself in accordance with that blessing. But when Noah blessed his own children, there was division in his blessing, as he blessed one and cursed another, “as he said: Blessed be the Eternal, God of Shem” (Genesis 9:26), and he said: Cursed be Canaan” (ibid. 25)!“
Later, when Abraham came into the world, God renewed the blessing: “I shall make of you a great nation…” (Genesis 12:2)! Moreover, with Abraham, the Holy One, blessed be He, saw no reason to diminish His own stature by having to bless His creations Himself. Instead, He determined, let Me bestow the conferring of blessing upon Abraham and his offspring: Whomever they bless I shall endorse, as was said, “Be the agent of blessing: I shall bless those whom you bless” (Genesis 12:2-3)!
But since the agency of blessing was bestowed upon Abraham, why did he not bless Isaac his son? Here was his dilemma: he foresaw that from Isaac would come not only righteous Jacob but also wicked Esau. If I provide blessing for Isaac, he thought, then Esau will be blessed to the detriment of Jacob. He found a provisional solution for himself in recognizing that, before the Holy One, blessed be He, he was an impermanent agent, and that whatever benefits he might arrange for the present would ultimately be subordinated to the will of the Master. Abraham was like a tenant farmer whose landlord gave him a vineyard to maintain. In it was a healthy vine, but the healthy vine was entwined with a vine of poisonous grapes. If he took care of the vineyard, the poisonous grapes would thrive, and if he did not provide that care to the vineyard, the healthy grapes would die. He concluded that, as a mere tenant, the decision was not his, he would defer to the landlord, who knew his vineyard at least as well as the tenant and would therefore be the one to decide whether to provide support for it or not. Thus Abraham did not provide a blessing to Isaac, deferring to the Landlord, the Holy One, blessed be He.
Indeed when Isaac blessed Jacob, there was discord in his act of blessing, as “Esau despised his brother Jacob because of the blessing that his father had given him” (Genesis 27:41)!
Likewise, when Jacob blessed the tribes, there was discord in his reproof of Reuben, whom he called “capricious as water” (Genesis 49:4; cf. Genesis 35:22). Similarly may it be said of Simeon and Levi, whom Jacob called “an armed gang” (Genesis 49: 5)!
But Abraham’s decision not to bless Isaac, for the sake of Jacob and his descendants, and to defer that decision to the “Landlord,” the Holy One, blessed be He, proved prescient. For by the time Jacob blesses the tribes, he has already accumulated a treasury of five blessings:
- When Isaac discovered that he had been tricked into blessing Jacob instead of Esau, he said, “I blessed him and so he must remain blessed” (Genesis 27:33)!
- When Rebecca demanded that Jacob take a wife from her people in Paddan Aram, Isaac sent him off “and he blessed him” (Genesis 28:1)!
- Isaac additionally asked “that God grant you and your offspring the blessing of Abraham” (ibid. 4)!
- When an angel wrestled with him at the ford of the Jabbok, Jacob asked of him his name, “and the angel blessed him there” (Genesis 32:30)!
- When he returned from Paddan Aram, “God appeared to Jacob and blessed him” (Genesis 35:9)!
Now, at the end of his life, as he assembles the twelve tribes of Israel, “And this is what their father spoke to them as he blessed them” (Genesis 49:28)—the word “And” before “this” signified the sixth blessing that Jacob added himself!
So also, when Moses is at the end of his life, as he assembles the twelve tribes of Israel, “And this is the blessing that Moses, the man of God, bestowed upon the Children of Israel before his death…” (Deuteronomy 33:1)—the word “And” before “this” signifies the seventh blessing that Moses added himself. Hence it could be said:
“Many of the first Father’s descendants have done well,
but you, Moses, surpass them all!”
(Proverbs 31:29)
“Moses, the man of God!”
(Deuteronomy 33:1)
“The man” when he was cast into the Nile;
“Of God” when he divided the Sea—
“Moses held out his hand over the Sea…
the waters were split,
and the Children of Israel went into the Sea on dry ground.”
(Exodus 14:21-22)
“The man” as he started up to the Height;
“Of God” when he came down—
“The skin of Moses’s face was radiant,
since he had spoken with Him.”
(Exodus 34:29)
Sifre Deuteronomy 343 V’zot Habracha
The Full Load
“From Sinai comes the Eternal—
He sheds light upon them from Seir,
He appears from Mount Paran,
and He comes from Revivot Kodesh—
in His right hand
is the fire of law for them!”
(Deuteronomy 33:2)
When the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed Himself to give the Torah to Israel, He revealed Himself not only to Israel, but to the other nations as well.
From Sinai He came…with the Torah for them, at first “shedding light upon them from Seir,” the habitation of the Children of Esau (cf. Genesis 32:4). He asked them: Will you accept the Torah? What is written in it? they responded. “Thou shalt not murder,” He said to them. But, Master of the Universe, all that we are comes from our father, and he was a murderer, as his blind father Isaac could affirm, “The hands are the hands of Esau” (Genesis 27:22), and so he blessed him, “By your sword shall you live” (ibid. 40)!
From Sinai He came…with the Torah for them, then “appearing from Mount Paran,” the habitation of the Children of Ishmael (cf. Genesis 21:21). He asked them: Will you accept the Torah? What is written in it? they responded. “Thou shalt not steal,” He said to them. But, Master of the Universe, all that we have comes from our father, and he was a robber, as the Eternal’s angel promised, “He will be a highwayman, with his hand against every man” (Genesis 16:12)!
From Sinai He came…with the Torah for them, “from Revivot Kodesh,” which we may interpret, “from the dominant pair of [meyrevevot] prostitutes [kodesh]” in reference to the Children of Ammon and Moab (cf. Genesis 19:36-38). He asked them: Will you accept the Torah? What is written in it? they responded. “Thou shalt not commit incest,” He said to them. But, Master of the Universe, all that we are originated from the union of our father and his pair of daughters, as was said, “The two daughters of Lot conceived from their father” (Genesis 19:36)!
“All the kings of the earth
shall give thanks to You [yoducha]
when they hear [kee sham’u] the words of Your mouth!”
(Psalms 138:4)
And so He proceeded to every nation on earth, asking them if they would accept the Torah, as we interpret: “All the kings of the earth shall acknowledge to You [yoducha] that they have heard [kee sham’u] the words of Your mouth!” Should we then assume that, having heard those words, they accepted them? The answer comes from the Prophet who condemned Israel for its willful idolatry and then, apparently inexplicably, condemns the other nations “who have not heard [lo sham’u]” (Micah 5:14). His comment is “Oral Torah” (Talmud) teaching us that the other nations “did not accept [lo sham’u]” the words of God when He offered them the Torah!
Not only did they not accept all of the words of the Torah, but even just the Seven Commandments which the Children of Noah accepted on their behalf they proved unable to sustain and eventually cast off. Seeing this, the Holy One, blessed be He, gave them to Israel. This may be compared to one who brings his ass and his dog to the threshing floor. He loads the ass with a large measure of grain because the ass is a sturdy and dependable animal. He does not expect as much from the dog, so he loads his dog with a much smaller quantity of grain. Even so, the dog collapses under the lighter load. So the master transfers about a third of the dog’s load onto the ass. The ass is not stressed, but the dog collapses again. So the master transfers half of the dog’s remaining load onto the ass. The ass is not stressed, but the dog collapses again. So the master has no choice but to transfer whatever is left on his collapsing dog over to his sturdy, reliable ass!
So Israel accepted all of the Torah, including its various interpretations and inferences, including commandments which other nations rejected; plus, those seven commandments which the Children of Noah could not uphold, Israel accepted them as well. Thus, did the Eternal come not only from Sinai—but also from Seir, from Mount Paran, from Revivot Kodesh, and from every other nation of the Children of Noah!
Deuteronomy Rabbah 11:8
Even Moses
The Eternal said to Moses:
“This is the Land which I promised to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob,
saying, “To your offspring shall I give it!”
I have let you see it with your own eyes,
but you shall not cross over to it.
(Deuteronomy 34:4)
“The final word,
everything having been considered:
Fear God and keep His commandments,
as that is the entire duty of Man [kee-zeh kol-ha’adam].”
(Ecclesiastes 12:13)
When the Holy One, blessed be He, announced the time for Moses to depart from this world, Moses responded: Master of the Universe, after all of my rigorous service, You tell me that the time of my departure has arrived?! “Let me not die but live, and I shall declare the works of the Eternal” (Psalms 118:17)! He said to him: But you cannot, for “Upon consideration of everything, fear God and keep His commands, as that applies to every man [kee-zeh kol-ha’adam]” (Ecclesiastes 12:13)!
Deuteronomy Rabbah 11:10
Final Appeals of Moses
“And the man Moses
is very humble…”
(Numbers 12:3)
Moses decreed a fast upon himself and drew a circle around himself from which he would not be removed until the edict of his death might be revoked. What else did Moses do at that moment? He covered himself with sackcloth and rolled in the dust, then he engaged in prayer and supplication before the Holy One, blessed be He, until heaven and earth and the orders of creation were shaken, and they worried lest the Holy One, blessed be He, decide to change the order of His world. But a divine echo was heard to say: The Holy One, blessed be He, has not chosen to change the order of His world; rather, “In His hand is the soul of every living thing and the spirit of every mortal man” (Job 12:10), and who is a “man” but Moses, as was said, “And the man is Moses, very humble…” (Numbers 12:3).
Then Moses took this stand before the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the Universe, You well know my effort and my pain over Israel that they might believe in Your Name and observe your mitzvoth. I comforted myself to think that just as I have seen their suffering so may I see their blessing. Now that their blessing has arrived, to inherit the Land, You say to me, “You may not cross over this Jordan” (Deuteronomy 3:27)! You would thus falsify Your Torah, as is written therein, “You shall pay him his wage (grant him his reward) before the end of the day, for he is poor and his life depends on his receiving his reward; otherwise he would be justified in complaining against you to the Eternal, and you would be deserving of condemnation” (Deuteronomy 24:15)! In this case I appeal for due compensation for the forty years of work in which I labored until they became and remained a holy and faithful people, as the Prophet said, “Judah still rules with God and is faithful with the holy ones” (Hosea 12:1).
As a last resort, with only an hour left for him to live, Moses supplicated the Holy One, blessed be He: If You do not allow me to enter the Land of Israel, let me at least remain in this world, “Let me live and not die” (Psalms 118:17)! Said the Holy One, blessed be He, to Moses: If I do not let you die in this world, how can I then revive your life in the world to come? Not only that, He continued, but you would be falsifying My Torah, as is written therein by your very hand, “I cause death and I grant life; if I have wounded, I may still heal; but none can be rescued from My hand” (Deuteronomy 32:39)!
Yet Moses offered another type of supplication: Master of the Universe, if You do not grant me entrance to the Land of Israel, allow me to live like one of the beasts of the field, who eat grass and drink water, being sustained to live and perceive the world! “Enough already!” He answered. Still Moses pleaded: Master of the Universe, if not, then allow me to remain in this world like one of the birds, who fly to all four corners of the earth, gathering their food every day and night then returning to their nests! “Enough already!” He answered. “Enough already?” “Enough of your speaking!” When Moses realized that no creature could save him from the inevitability of death, at that moment he declared: “The Rock, His work is perfect, all of His ways are just, faithful God, without unrighteousness, true and upright is He” (Deuteronomy 32:4).
Talmud Bava Bathra 15a
Talmud Sotah 13b
The Last Eight Verses
“Moses, servant of the Eternal, dies there,
in the land of Moab, by the Eternal’s word.”
(Deuteronomy 34:5)
It is taught from the time of the Mishnah:
Could Moses, when he was alive, have written, “Moses dies there?” Moses must have written down everything up to but not including this verse and nothing further, then Joshua wrote down the eight remaining verses of the Torah—this being the solution offered by Rabbi Judah, or possibly by Rabbi Nehemiah.
But Rabbi Shimon demurred: Is it conceivable that Moses bequeathed us his Torah incomplete? It is written, “When Moses completes the writing of the words of this Torah upon a scroll fully to its end, he commands the Levites: Take this Scroll of the Torah and place it at the side of the Ark of the Covenant of the Eternal your God to serve as your testimony” (Deuteronomy 31:24-26)! Rather the solution must be: Up to this verse (Deuteronomy 34:5) the Holy One, blessed be He, has dictated and Moses, as His scribe, has written; from this verse to the end the Holy One, blessed be He, dictated and Moses, as His dutiful scribe, wrote down His words, but with tears in his eyes.
—
What did the Holy One, blessed be He, say when Moses died?
Consider the Psalmist’s words: “Who (but the Eternal) will stand up for me against evildoers? Who (but the Eternal) will take a stand for me against workers of iniquity?” (Psalms 94:16) Then Rav interpreted the verse as words of the Eternal Himself (about Moses): “Who will rise on My behalf against evildoers? Who will take a stand on My behalf against workers of iniquity?” (Psalms 94:16)
Consider the Sage’s words: “Who is like the wise man? Who knows the correct interpretation of a word?” (Ecclesiastes 8:1) Then Samuel interpreted the verse (as if referring to Moses): “Who will be like that wise man, knowing the correct interpretation of My word?”
Another Sage wondered: “Where shall wisdom be found? What is the place of understanding?” (Job 28:12) Then Rabbi Yochanan associated his words (about the unidentifed place of wisdom) with the next verse of the Torah, “…and no one knows his burial place to this day” (Deuteronomy 34:6), by interpreting the Sage’s words (as God’s when Moses died): “Then where shall wisdom be found; yes, where is the place of understanding?”
Rav Nachman returned to the first verse, “Moses dies [vayamot] there…by the word of [al-pee] the Eternal” (Deuteronomy 34:5), and interpreted it as the eulogy of a sage (Rashi): “Woe, he has died [vahy meyt] there, Moses…the Great Scribe [al-pee] of Israel!”
Deuteronomy Rabbah 11:7
Return of Lovingkindness
“He buried him…”
(Deuteronomy 34:6)
What was the merit of Moses such that the Holy One, blessed be He, undertook personally his final arrangements? When Moses went down to Egypt as the time of Israel’s redemption had arrived, all of Israel were engaged in pursuit of silver and gold (cf. Exodus 12:35-36). But Moses went about the city, for three days and three nights, strenuously searching for Joseph’s coffin, as was said, “Joseph made the Children of Israel promise: When God will take notice of you, you shall bring my bones up with you” (Genesis 50:25)!
With the help of Segula (another name for Serach, daughter of Asher; cf. Genesis 46:17 and Numbers 26:46), Moses learned that Joseph’s body was to be found in the River, encased in his coffin with 500 talents of silver and gold. For Pharaoh’s magicians and astrologers had advised Pharaoh that since Israel would not depart Egypt without the bones of Joseph, the best way to prevent them from escaping would be to hide Joseph’s bones at the bottom of the River.
Immediately Moses stood at the River’s bank and called out, “Joseph! Joseph! You know how you made a promise to Israel, ‘God will take notice of you!’ Show respect to the God of Israel, and delay not Israel’s redemption. With many good deeds to your credit, seek mercy from your Creator and rise from the depths!” Whereupon the coffin of Joseph began to break apart, and up from the depths it came like a lone reed, which Moses placed upon his shoulders and carried from Egypt, while all of Israel carried the silver and the gold (cf. Exodus 11:2; 12:35-36).
The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: You have said that your deed was a small thing, but, by your life, it was a great act of lovingkindness, and especially so in that you did not spend your time in pursuit of silver and gold. So also shall I show you lovingkindness when the time comes for Me to arrange for you.
Petirat Moshe 3
What is life without wisdom?
“Let me not die but live,
and I shall declare the works of the Eternal!”
(Psalms 118:17)
“He buried him in the valley,
in the land of Moab…”
(Deuteronomy 34:6)
The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: Is it your wish to live and not die? Moses answered: Yes! He said to him: Then hand over to Me the keys of wisdom. Whereupon he did, and his memory was erased. When Israel came to him for judgment, he did not know how to answer, so Joshua sat in judgment. Moses thought: Now Joshua, my junior, will sit in judgment, and I will be left ignorant. My death would be preferable to my life!
So Moses requested death, and the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself, gathered the soul of Moses to heaven and Himself “buried him in the valley…” (Deuteronomy 34:6). He departed upwards to the Garden of Eden, and his spirit was sweet as the aroma of apples:
“Like the apple among trees of the forest,
thus is My beloved…”
(Song of Songs 2:3)!
Eyn Ya’akov Sotah 14a
Ensconced Away
“He buries Moses in the valley,
in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Pe’or,
but to this very day no one knows the place of his burial.”
(Deuteronomy 34:6)
Rabbi Chamah son of Rabbi Chaninah entertained an answer to the following question: Why was the burial place of Moses hidden from the eyes of flesh and blood? Answer: Because the Holy One, blessed be He, knew in advance that the Temple would be destroyed and that Israel would be exiled from their Land.
If people knew the place where Moses was buried, it could be expected that they would come to his grave at the time of crisis, stand there weeping and entreating him, “Oh, Moses our Rabbi, direct your Tefillah on our behalf!” and that he would so act as to cause the decree of destruction to be annulled. Because the righteous are beloved in their death even more than in their life!
Thus you find that when Israel were in the Wilderness and their values lapsed to the point of making the calf, the Holy One, blessed be He, became so angry with them that He said to Moses, “Let go of Me so that I can destroy them” (Deuteronomy 9:14)! How many righteous were in that generation? How many faithful? Besides Moses, Aaron and Joshua, Eldad and Medad and Seventy Elders, and other Sages and Scholars—yet not even for them did He annul the decree—but He did for Moses!
Yerushalmi Berachot 1:5
Solomon’s Clean Hands
“Solomon concludes his prayer and supplication,
for which he was kneeling
with his hands spread out toward heaven…”
(I Kings 8:54)
Rabbi Elazar bar Avina explained why Solomon extended his hands out toward heaven in the course of his prayer and supplication at the Dedication of the Temple which he had built. He was presenting his hands as open and honest hands which had misappropriated nothing from the wealth that his father David had set aside for the building of the Temple. (P’ney Moshe: Moses Margolies, 18th cent. Ukraine)
Numbers Rabbah 22:7
Behind the Stipulation
“Joshua reminds the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh,
of Moses’s stipulation that their wives, children and livestock
could remain in the territory east of the Jordan,
which the Eternal is giving to those three tribes,
while they assist…the other tribes…
to possess the Land (west of the Jordan)
which the Eternal is giving to those tribes.”
(Joshua 1:12-15)
“The Reubenites and the Gadites
had very large holdings of cattle…”
(Numbers 32:1)
Three gifts were created in the world, such that if one is worthy of any one of them, he inherits all of the world’s enjoyment. If he is worthy of wisdom, he is worthy of all. If he is worthy of might, he is worthy of all. If he is worthy of riches, he is worthy of all. But only when they are the gifts of Heaven and flow from the strength of Torah, whereas might and riches of flesh and blood are as nothing.
This is really what Solomon meant when he said:
“I observe in real life
that the race is not to the swift,
nor the battle to the mighty,
that the bread is not to the wise
nor riches to those of understanding,
nor is favor to the knowledgeable,
but time and chance
would seem to explain them all!”
(Ecclesiastes 9:11)
Jeremiah put it this way:
“Thus says the Eternal:
‘Let not the wise be praised for his wisdom,
nor the mighty be praised for his strength;
let not the rich man be praised for his wealth,
rather let the one who would be praised
be praised in this:
That he understands and knows of Me
that I, the Eternal, show lovingkindness
along with justice and righteousness in the earth!”
(Jeremiah 9:22)
These same gifts, when they do not come from the Holy One, blessed be He, are destined to be lost. Thus you find with the Gadites and the Reubenites, who were wealthy and owned much cattle, who loved their money and chose to reside outside of the Land of Israel. Therefore were they exiled first of all of the tribes, as was said, “The God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul, king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tillegath-Pilneser, king of Assyria, and exiled the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh…” (I Chronicles 5:26). What was the reason? They separated themselves from their brothers because of their possessions, as the Torah explains: “The Reubenites and the Gadites had very large holdings of cattle…” (Numbers 32:1)!
Pesikta d’Rav Kahana Nispachim 1
One Simple Thing
Let our Rabbi instruct us:
If one who goes up to read from the Torah,
may he read without first reciting a blessing?
Our Rabbis teach that first he blesses, then he reads.
And Moses, when he was blessed to receive the Torah from the hand of the Holy One, blessed be He, first said a blessing over the Torah, and then he read it.
Rabbi Elazar: What were the words that Moses recited in his blessing over the Torah?
“Blessed are You, O Eternal,
who has chosen this Torah,
has sanctified it,
and has taken pleasure
in those who engage in it.”
He did not say,
“those who labor in it”
or
“those who declaim it,”
but
“those who engage in it,”
that is to say,
those who fulfill the Torah for its own sake!
Consider the Israelite who thinks of himself: I have not learned Torah or Wisdom; how empty am I! To him, says the Holy One, blessed be He: All of Torah and all of Wisdom are one simple thing. The doing of Torah and the doing of Wisdom in awe of Me are words of Torah in the heart.
Thus it has been said:
“The foundation of wisdom is fear of the Eternal,
sound understanding to all who practice it,
worthy of praise for ever.”
(Psalms 111:10)
“Fear of the Eternal—
that is their treasure!”
(Isaiah 33:6)
Such is the blessing that Moses recited over the Torah
that he received from the hand of the Holy One, blessed be He.
SHABBAT SHALOM!
CHAG SAMEACH!
SHANAH TOVAH!
Copyright © 2026 Eric H. Hoffman
