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FROM THE TORAH

Exodus 30:11-34:35

On Mount Sinai, Moses has been receiving instructions from the Eternal for the central sacred institutions of Israel.  These include components of the Sanctuary including the Priesthood and its official garments.  In last week’s Sedra Tetzaveh, one of the considerations was Atonement made through the sacred foods of Aaron and his sons as well as for the Altars.  In some distinction from corporate Atonement, this week’s Sedra opens on the note of personal Atonement although within the context of communal needs.  It then continues the description of components of the Sanctuary with instructions regarding their execution, subject to Sabbath observance, and presents ultimately the dramatic and profound experience of the Tablets of the Covenant amid the human penchant of idolatry.

Denouement on Mount Sinai

ATONEMENT FOR PERSONS
30:11-16

The Eternal instructs Moses:  As you count (Kee Tisa) each head of the Children of Israel, every one of them shall tender a kofer (expiation) for himself to the Eternal as part of their being counted, and no harm will result for counting them.  Each person, twenty years and older, who is recorded, shall offer the terumah (sacred contribution) of the Eternal.  The kofer shall be a half-shekel, by the sacred weight, a shekel being the equivalent of 20 gerahs, a half-shekel terumah to the Eternal.  The amount of the terumah shall be the same for rich and for poor.  The money shall be used for the service of the Tent of Meeting, and it shall prompt the Eternal to provide expiation for your persons.

LAVER
30:17-21

The Eternal instructs Moses: You shall make a brass Laver (Kiyor) and base for Aaron and his sons, and you shall place it between the Tent of Meeting and the Altar and put water in it.   Aaron and his sons shall use it to wash their hands and feet when they enter the Tent of Meeting, so that they do not die.   When they approach the Altar to perform their service of making a fire offering smoke to the Eternal, they must wash their hands and feet, so that they do not die.  This is an everlasting statute for Aaron and for his offspring throughout their generations.

ANOINTING OIL
30:22-33

You take the choicest of spices, by units of the sacred shekel: 500 of flowing myrrh, 250 of sweet cinnamon, 250 of calamus, 500 of cassia—and a hin of olive oil.  Make it Holy Anointing Oil (Shemen Mishchat Kodesh), an ointment mixture, the product of a compounder.  Use it to anoint the Tent of Meeting, the Ark of the Testimony, the Table and all of its implements, the Menorah and its implements, the Incense Altar, the Burnt Offering Altar and all of its implements, and the Laver and its base.  You shall sanctify them so that they become most holy: whatever touches them shall become holy.  You shall also anoint Aaron and his sons, and you shall sanctify them to be My priests.

Tell the Children of Israel that this is My Holy Anointing Oil throughout your generations.  It may not be poured upon the flesh of any other person, nor shall you compound anything like it.  It is holy, and it shall be holy to you.  Whoever should compound anything like it or should put it upon others than Aaron and his sons shall be cut off from his people.

INCENSE
30:34-38

The Eternal says to Moses: You take spices—stacte, onycha, galbanum—and pure frankincense, in equal parts, and make it Incense (Ketoret), a mixture, the product of a compounder, salted, pure, it is holy.  Beat some of it finely and put some of it before the Testimony in the Tent of Meeting [Moed], where I shall meet [ivaed] with you; it shall be most holy for you.  You shall not make Incense for yourselves using the same proportions; it shall be holy for you to the Eternal.  One who makes a compound like it to create a scent shall be cut off from his people.

EXECUTION
31:1-11

“See, I have identified by name Bezalel…” (Exodus 31:2)—the Eternal informs Moses of His appointment of Bezalel son of Uri son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and as his associate, Oholiav ben Achisamach, of the tribe of Dan, to execute all that the Eternal has commanded Moses: the Tent of Meeting, the Ark for the Testimony and the Propitiatory upon it, all of the implements of the Tent, the Table and its implements, the pure Menorah and all of its implements, the Incense Altar, the Burnt Offering Altar and its implements, the Laver and its base, the plaited garments, the holy garments for Aaron the Kohen (Priest) and the garments of his sons to serve as Priests, the Anointing Oil, and the Incense of spices for the Sanctuary.  With respect to Bezalel, “I (the Eternal) am filling him with the Divine Spirit, with wisdom and understanding and knowledge, and with all aspects of workmanship, to devise plans for doing work in gold, silver and copper, for the cutting of stones to be set in place, and for the carving of wood to be done with all manner of workmanship” (Exodus 31:3-5). The Eternal declares that He has placed wisdom in the heart of the wise-hearted to accomplish all that He has commanded Moses.

THE SABBATH
31:12-17

The Eternal tells Moses to explain to the Children of Israel: However (Ach), you must observe my Sabbaths, for the Sabbath is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations to know that I, the Eternal, sanctify you.  For six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of Solemn Rest (Shabbat Shabbaton), holy to the Eternal and for you.  Those who profane it shall be put to death; the life of anyone who does work on it shall be cut off from its people.

“The Children of Israel shall preserve the Sabbath to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as an Eternal Covenant (Brit Olam).  It is a Sign (Ot) between Me and the Children of Israel for ever that in six days the Eternal made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He ceased from work and rested” (Exodus 31:16-17).

THE FIRST SET OF TABLETS
31:18-32:29

“When He finishes speaking with him, He gives to Moses on Mount Sinai the Two Tablets of Testimony, tablets of stone, inscribed by the finger of God” (Exodus 31:18; cf. Exodus 24:12).  Meanwhile, the people is under the impression that Moses has delayed coming down from the mountain.  Not knowing what has happened to him, they assemble against Aaron and demand that Aaron make for them “a god to lead them” (Exodus 32:1).  Aaron responds, “Tear off the golden rings that are in the ears of your wives, your sons and your daughters, and bring them to me” (Exodus 32:2)! The people comply, and Aaron uses a graving tool to fashion from the material a molten calf, about which they say, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt” (Exodus 32:4)!  Aaron thereupon builds an altar before it, declaring for the morrow “a festival to the Eternal” (Exodus 32:5).  Promptly the next morning the people offer up burnt offerings and present sacrifices of well-being (cf. Exodus 24:1-11).  They sit down to eat and to drink, and they rise up to celebrate.

The Eternal speaks to Moses on the Mount: “’Go, descend!  For your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, has corrupted’ (Exodus 32:7). They have veered recklessly from the path that I commanded them.  They have made a molten calf, bowed down to it, sacrificed to it, and heralded it as the god who brought Israel up from the land of Egypt.  I have seen that this is a stiff-necked people: My anger prompts Me to destroy them and make you instead into a great nation.”  But Moses entreats the Eternal his God to reconsider, in view of the strength and the power that He displayed in bringing His people out of Egypt: “Why should the Egyptians say that the Eternal so acted out of bad intent, only to destroy them from off the face of the earth?  Remember Abraham, Isaac and Israel, Your servants—Moses continues—to make their offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and to give them all of this Land that You promised them for ever.”  “Then the Eternal repents of the harm which He had vowed to inflict upon His people” (Exodus 32:14).

Moses turns and descends from the Mountain—in his hand the Two Tablets of Testimony, the Tablets themselves the work of God and the Writing graven upon them from both sides the writing of God.  Both Moses and Joshua hear the shouting of the people below.  Joshua relates it to Moses as the sound of war in the camp.  But Moses says, “The sound I hear is neither the sound of victory nor the sound of defeat; it is the sound of singing” (Exodus 32:18)! Indeed, as he approaches the camp, he sees the calf and the dancing, and, his anger blazing, Moses casts the Tablets from his hands and shatters them at the foot of the Mountain.  He then takes the calf which they had made and consigns it to the fire, grinding it into fine ash, which he strews upon the water and makes the Children of Israel drink.

Moses questions Aaron: “What did the people do to you to make you bring upon it such an immense sin?”  Aaron responds: “Be not angry, my master, for you already know that this people is inclined to evil.”  Aaron recounts to him the events that led up to the calf and adds: “I threw the gold into the fire, ‘and this calf came out’” (Exodus 32:24)!  But Moses judges that Aaron enabled the people to earn the derision of their enemies, so, standing at the gate of the camp, he announces, “Whoever is for the Eternal, let him follow me” (Exodus 32:26)!  All of the sons of Levi answer his call and wield their swords from gate to gate throughout the camp, against family and friends, striking down some 3,000 men.  Moses calls upon them to be consecrated to the Eternal for the sacrifice of sons and brothers that they have made and that the Eternal “would bestow upon you this day a blessing” (Exodus 32:29)!

MOSES RETURNS TO THE ETERNAL
32:30-33:6

On the morrow Moses announces to the people that, notwithstanding their monumental transgression, he will go up to the Eternal and seek to obtain atonement on their behalf.  Moses returns to the Eternal and acknowledges their sin of “making for themselves a god of gold” (Exodus 32:31).  He continues: “And now if you would forgive their sin, and if not, then erase me from Your book that You have written” (Exodus 32:32)!  His words fail to complete the presumption that the Eternal could forgive such a sin—“And now if You would forgive their sin…,” the thought being broken, the conditional sentence incomplete as no apodosis follows—but he asserts his own demand that if the Eternal does not spare the people, then He should erase him, Moses, too, “from Your book that You have written” (ibid.).  To this the Eternal responds that only the one who has sinned against Him will be removed from His book: Moses should continue to lead the people to the stated destination, which He promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give to their offspring, “but now My angel shall go before you” (Exodus 32:34) (presumably instead of the Eternal in their midst; cf. Exodus 33:3 below).  The time will yet come when He visits their sin upon them and strikes down the people “for making the calf which Aaron enabled” (Exodus 32:35).  In the meantime, the Eternal promises to expel the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, and to deliver the people “to a land flowing with milk and honey,” but “I shall not go up in your midst, for you are a stiff-necked people, lest I destroy you on the way” (Exodus 33:3).

When the people hear these tidings, they go into mourning and refrain from wearing their jewelry.  In the meantime, the Eternal tells Moses to instruct the Children of Israel to remove whatever ornaments they have on them “that I may know what I shall do to you” (Exodus 33:5)!  They remove their personal ornaments, in accordance with the prescription of the Eternal, from Mount Horeb onwards.

THE TENT OF MEETING OUTSIDE OF THE CAMP
33:7-11

Moses would pitch a certain tent far outside of the camp, and he called it a “tent of meeting” (cf. Exodus 27-31).  Whoever sought the Eternal would have to go out to the tent of meeting outside of the camp.  When Moses himself would go out to the tent, everyone would stand at the entrance of his own tent and watch Moses until he arrived at the tent of meeting.  There a pillar of cloud would descend at its entrance, and the Eternal would speak with Moses.  When the people saw the cloud, everyone would bow at the entrance of his tent.  The Eternal spoke with Moses face to face, as one person would speak with another.  When Moses returned to the camp, his young minister Joshua son of Nun would not depart from the tent.

MOSES’S REASSURANCE
33:12-16

As the Eternal had told Moses, “I shall not go up in your midst” (Exodus 33:3), “but now My angel shall go before you” (Exodus 32:34), Moses asks (cf. Exodus 33:7-11), in effect: Then whom will You send with me to bring up this people (Exodus 33:12a; cf. Exodus 33:2)?  Moses acknowledges that the Eternal has confirmed revelation of His Name to him (Exodus 33:12b; cf. Exodus 6:2ff.) and that he has found favor in His sight (Exodus 33:12c), but he implores the Eternal: “Make known to me Your plan so that I may continue to know you and thereby continue to find favor in Your sight” (Exodus 33:13a)!

Then Moses adds a rejoinder to earlier words of the Eternal.  When the Eternal disclosed to Moses the sin of the golden calf, He said to him, “Go, descend, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, has corrupted” (Exodus 32:7).  Now Moses concludes his request for divine clarification by insisting, notwithstanding, “And see that this nation is Your people” (Exodus 33:13b)!

Thereupon the Eternal reassures Moses on both points, “My Face shall go, and I grant it to you” (Exodus 33:14).  Moses responds that only if Your Face shall go, should He bring them up from their current place (Exodus 33:15).  Moreover, it would be known thereby that both “I and Your people” have found favor in Your sight, for “when You go with us,” we—”I and Your people”—are thereby distinguished “from every other people that is upon the face of the earth” (Exodus 33:16)!

THE SECOND SET OF TABLETS
33:17-34:35

Continued Colloquy
33:17-23

The Eternal again assures Moses that He will grant him his wish and that he retains divine favor and acquaintance (Exodus 33:17).  Moses responds, “Show me Your Grave Presence (Kavod)” (Exodus 33:18).  “I can show you My Goodness, I can declare to you My Name (referred to herein as ‘the Eternal’), and I can demonstrate My Favor by compassion, but no living person can see ‘My Face’” (Exodus 33:19-20).  The Eternal explains: “You can take your place ‘with Me’ in the cleft of a rock, and as ‘My Grave Presence passes by…I shall put My hand over you…then, when I remove My hand, you shall see My Back, but My Face shall not be seen’” (Exodus 33:21-23).

Moses Ascends
34:1-4

The Eternal tells Moses to “carve two tablets of stone like the first ones, and I shall write upon the tablets the words which were on the first tablets that you shattered” (Exodus 34:1).  “Then, in the morning, you shall go up to Mount Sinai and be present to Me there upon the top of the Mountain.  Let no one else come up with you, not even be seen in all the Mountain, and let no flock or herd be pastured at the foot of the Mountain.”  So does Moses, taking up with him the two tablets of stone in his hand.

The Eternal Descends
34:5-7

The Eternal descends in the cloud and stands with him there, proclaiming the Name of the Eternal.  The Eternal passes over his face and declares, “The Eternal, the Eternal, God compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth, preserving lovingkindness for the thousandth, forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin, but without acquitting, visiting the iniquity of fathers upon children and upon children’s children to the third generation and to the fourth generation” (Exodus 34:6-7; cf. Exodus 33:18-23).

Moses Requests Divine Presence
34:8-9

Moses quickly bows down to the ground and prays, “If indeed I have found favor in Your sight, O Lord, let the Lord go in our midst,” then offering the very reason of the Eternal’s previous demurral (cf. Exodus 33:3) as cause to grant his request for reconsideration: “For it is a stiff-necked people,” and therefore he asks directly, “Forgive our iniquity and our sin, and accept us as an inheritance” (Exodus 34:9)!

The Eternal Outlines His Covenant
34:10-26

He says: “I hereby establish a Covenant.  I shall perform before the people, in whose midst you are, awesome wonders that have not been created before.  Observe well what I command you this day!”  (Exodus 34:10-11a)  —

1. Do not make a molten god. I am expelling from before you the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Do not worship another, for the Eternal is a jealous God.  Take care not to make a covenant with the Land’s inhabitants that you may encounter, but break down their altars, shatter their pillars, and cut down their idols, lest they become a snare in your midst and you make a covenant with them and sacrifice to their gods and accept their invitation to eat of their sacrifices, or you marry your sons to their daughters and your sons are drawn to their wives’ gods.  (Exodus 34:11b-17)
2. Observe the Festival of Pesach. For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, for the Festival of the Month of Aviv, as in that month you went out from Egypt. (Exodus 34:18)
3. All that opens the womb is Mine. Sanctify the firstborn males of ox and sheep. Redeem with a lamb the firstborn of an ass, otherwise break its neck.  Redeem every firstborn of your sons.  Let them not appear before Me empty-handed.  (Exodus 34:19-20)
4. Six days shall you work. On the seventh day shall you rest. You shall rest in ploughing and in harvest.  (Exodus 34:21)
5. Observe for yourself the Festival of Weeks, first fruit of the wheat harvest. (Exodus 34:22a)
6. Observe the Festival of Ingathering, at the completion of the year. (Exodus 34:22b)
7. Three times in the year shall all of your males appear before the Lord, the Eternal, the God of Israel. For I will drive out nations from before you and expand your territory, so that no one will covet your property when you go up to appear before the Eternal your God. (Exodus 34:23-24)
8. You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice when leavened bread is there, and the sacrifice of the Festival of Pesach shall not remain overnight until morning. (Exodus 34:25)
9. The prime quality of the first fruits of your Land shall you bring to the House of the Eternal your God. (Exodus 34:26a)
10. Do not boil a kid in the milk of its mother. (Exodus 34:26b)

Words Are Written
34:27-35

The Eternal instructs Moses to write these words, as they constitute the Covenant that He is making with Moses and Israel.  Moses remains there with the Eternal for forty days and forty nights.  He has nothing to eat or drink.  He writes upon the Tablets the Words of the Covenant (Divrey Habrit), “The Ten Commandments (cf. Exodus 34:11-26)” (Aseret Hadevarim) (Exodus 34:28; cf. Exodus 34:1).

When Moses descends from Mount Sinai, with the Two Tablets of Testimony in his hand, he is unaware that the skin of his face is casting beams “from His speaking with him” (Exodus 34:29).  But Aaron and the Children of Israel see and at first fear drawing close to him, until he confers with Aaron and all the leaders of the community.

Afterwards all the Children of Israel draw near, and Moses imparts to them all that the Eternal has told him on Mount Sinai.  When Moses finishes speaking with them, he places a veil over his face, which he would remove henceforth only when speaking with the Eternal.

FROM THE PROPHETS

Haftarah for Shabbat Kee Tisa
I Kings 18:1-39

Ahab had a lengthy reign as King of Israel.
He married Jezebel, daughter of King Ethbaal of Sidon,
and thereupon built a temple to Baal in Samaria.
The Prophet Elijah has confronted Ahab for his idolatry
and demonstrated the dominance of the Eternal
by selectively withholding rain from the Land.

The famine was severe in Samaria.  After many days, the word of the Eternal comes to Elijah, in the third year: Appear before Ahab and I shall provide rain.  So Elijah sets out to appear before Ahab.

Obadiah was over the household of Ahab.  But he feared the Eternal.  When Jezebel destroyed the Prophets of the Eternal, Obadiah hid 100 of them, 50 in a cave, and sustained them with food and water.  Now Ahab is calling Obadiah to help him go through the land to all the springs and brooks and collect whatever grass could be found to sustain the horses and mules amid the famine.

When Obadiah meets Elijah on the road, he falls upon his face and says, “Is it you, my lord, Elijah?” Elijah replies, “It is I. Go, say to your lord: Elijah is coming!”  Obadiah replies, “What sin have I committed that you should thus hand me over to Ahab to kill me?  Ahab has sought you everywhere with no success.  If I should now lose your protection because the Eternal carries you off to I-know-not-where and I deliver your message to Ahab, he will kill me; and remember: I, your servant, have feared the Eternal from my youth!  Has it not been told you how, when Jezebel killed the Prophets of the Eternal, I saved 100 of them?”

But Elijah convinces Obadiah not to worry that he will lose Elijah’s protection: “As the Eternal of Hosts, before whom I stand, lives, I will appear before Ahab yet today!”  When Obadiah delivers Elijah’s message to Ahab, Ahab goes to meet Elijah: “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?” says Ahab to Elijah, to which the Prophet responds, “Not I have troubled Israel but you and your father’s House (cf. I Kings 16:23ff.), when you forsook the Commandments of the Eternal and went after the gods of Baal.  Now summon all of Israel to Mount Carmel and the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of the Asherah, who eat at the table of Jezebel.”  Ahab summons and gathers them to Mount Carmel.

Elijah says to the people: “How long will you jump back and forth between two opinions?  If the Eternal is God, follow after Him!  And if Baal, then go after him!”  But the people answer not a word.  Then Elijah says: “I only am left as a Prophet of the Eternal while the prophets of Baal number 450.  Let me and them each cut up a bull for sacrifice, lay it upon the wood, but not kindle any fire.  You call by the name of your god, and I shall call by the Name of the Eternal, and let the one who answers with fire be God.”  All of the people answer in support of Elijah’s test.

Elijah bids the prophets of Baal to choose their bull and to go first since they are the larger number.  They cry out by the name of Baal all that morning, “O Baal, answer us!” but there is no voice and there is no answer.  They dance upon the altar without result, and Elijah taunts them: “Raise your voices, perhaps your god doesn’t hear you; maybe he is busy or out for a walk, maybe he is sleeping and needs to be awakened!”  They cry out in a loud voice and cut themselves, as was their custom, with swords and spears, until blood gushes out upon them.  They prophesy until the time of the evening offering, but there is no voice, no answer, no attention whatever to their calls.

Elijah then draws the people near to him.  First, he repairs the altar of the Eternal that was thrown down.  Then, he takes twelve stones for the twelve tribes of the sons of Jacob, who was named Israel, and he makes of them an altar in the Name of the Eternal.  He makes a trench about the altar with the capacity of two seahs of seed and arranges wood and puts pieces of the bull upon  the wood.  Then he has four jars of water poured upon the burnt offering and upon the wood.  He has the same amount of water poured another two times, until the water is flowing around the altar and the trench is full of water.

At the time of the afternoon offering, Elijah draws near and says: “O Eternal One, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that You are the God of Israel, and that I am Your servant and by Your word I have done these things.  Answer me, O Eternal, answer me!  Then this people  will know that You, the Eternal, are God, and that You have turned their heart around!”  The fire of the Eternal comes down and consumes everything—the offering, the wood, the stones, the earth—and even licks up the water that is in the trench.  Seeing all of this, the people fall upon their faces, and they declare: “The Eternal is God! The Eternal is God!”

FROM TALMUD AND MIDRASH

Sedra Kee Tisa

Exodus Rabbah 40:1
God prepared; so should we!

“See, I have identified by name Bezalel…
and I have endowed him with the spirit of God,
by wisdom,
and by understanding,
and by knowledge,
and by every manner of craft…”
(Exodus 31:2-3)—
So did Rabbi Tanchuma bar Abba open his discourse
with the words:
“He saw it,
He went over it,
He prepared it,
and He delved into it.”
(Job 28:27)

He saw it and went over it at Sinai,
He prepared it in the Tent of Meeting,
and He delved into it at the Plains of Moab
in the Book of Deuteronomy.

The Rabbis said that one should learn a lesson from these words regarding any public discourse that one presents.  He should not think: I know this material so well that I can just start speaking without special preparation.

“Then He said to man:
But truly, fear of the Lord is wisdom,
and avoiding evil is understanding!”
(Job 28:28)

Rabbi Acha said:  One should take a lesson from God!  Before He declared Torah to Israel, He reviewed it four times.  Only then did “He say it to man…” (Job 28:28a)!

The Rabbis related:  Rabbi Yochanan ben Torta once approached Rabbi Akiba, asking him to read from the Torah.  “But I haven’t reviewed the portion!” he responded.  For this the Sages praised him.  Rabbi Hoshaya added: Even if one knows the material but lacks fear of sin (Job 28:28b: “fear of the Lord”+“avoiding evil”), he has no “wisdom” or “understanding” of it.

“He shall be the stability of your times,
a store of salvation, wisdom and knowledge;
fear of the Eternal is His treasure.”
(Isaiah 33:6)

Any carpenter who does not have his tools is not a carpenter.  How so?  The fear of sin is a padlock that secures the Torah, as we interpret, “Fear of the Eternal assures His treasure!”

Exodus Rabbah 41:5
Moses received the Tablets before or after Israel sinned?

“He gives to Moses
when He finishes speaking
with him on Mount Sinai,
the Two Tablets of Testimony…”
(Exodus 31:18)

The Rabbis say:  If Israel had committed the sin (of the golden calf) before the tablets were given to Moses, the Holy One, blessed be He, would not have given Moses the Tablets.

But Rabbi Levi said: The Holy One, blessed be He, gave Moses the Tablets after Israel committed the sin, as is written, “He gives to Moses when He finishes speaking with him…” (that is, at the completion of the forty days (cf. Exodus 24:18), during which time Israel had committed idolatry)!

Exodus Rabbah 41:1
The Generosity and Forbearance of God

“When He finishes speaking with him,
He gives to Moses on Mount Sinai
the Two Tablets of Testimony…”
(Exodus 31:18)

This inspired Rabbi Tanchuma bar Abba
to open his discourse with the words:
“Yours, O Lord is the right,
and ours is the shame…”
(Daniel 9:7)

At the Giving of the Tablets

Said Rabbi Samuel bar Nachman:  It was good of our fathers to accept the Torah and to say, “All that the Eternal has spoken we will do and we will hearken” (Exodus 24:7), but was it good of them to say, “This is your god, O Israel” (referring to the golden calf) (Exodus 32:4)?  At that very time Moses was coming down from the Heights and Joshua said to him, “There is the sound of war in the camp” (Exodus 32:17)!  Moses replied, “That sound is not the sound of victory” (Exodus 32:18) as “When Moses raised his hand and Israel prevailed” (against Amalek) (Exodus 17:11), “nor is it the sound of defeat” (Exodus 32:18) as “when Joshua was weakened (by Amalek)” (Exodus 17:13).  “What is ‘the sound of singing that I hear’ (Exodus 32:18)?  It is not the sound of victory or defeat, but the sound of blasphemy and reviling is what I hear!”

The Men of the Great Assembly went on to explain these words: “Even though they made for themselves a molten calf, and they said, ‘This is your god, who brought you up from Egypt’” (Nehemiah 9:18), was all lost?!  What is the meaning of, “They made great expressions of contempt” (ibid.)?  The expressions of blasphemy and reviling that went on there, after which there should not have been any more manna!  Yet, “You did not withhold your manna from their mouth” (ibid. 20)!  Indeed: “Yours, O Lord is the right, and ours is the shame…” (Daniel 9:7)!

Said Rabbi Judah son of Rabbi Shalom:  If this were not enough, not only did the Holy One, blessed be He, continue to provide them with manna after they had blasphemed and reviled Him, but then they took some of the manna and offered it in worship of idols, as was said, “The food that I gave you…and fed to you, you gave to them for a pleasing aroma” (Ezekiel 16:19), yet the manna comes down for yet another day!  Indeed: “Yours, O Lord is the right, and ours is the shame…” (Daniel 9:7)!

Said Rabbi Levi:  Israel stands below, carving out an idol to incense their Maker, as is written, Aaron “takes (the gold from the people) and uses a sculpting tool to fashion it into a molten calf” (Exodus 32:4), while the Holy One, blessed be He, sits above, carving Tablets for them, in order to provide them with life, as was said, “When He finishes speaking with him, He gives to Moses on Mount Sinai the Two Tablets of Testimony….”  Indeed: “Yours, O Lord is the right…” (Daniel 9:7)!

At the Redemption of the Sea

“I shall bring them back from the land of Egypt
and gather them from Assyria…
so many shall it be
that it shall cross [v’avar] the Sea packed together [tsarah]…”
(Zechariah 10:10-11a)

Rabbi Eliezer interpreted the Prophet’s words to apply to the original crossing of the Red Sea under Moses: “And a rival [tsarah] crossed [v’avar] the Sea with Israel!”*  Rabbi Judah relies upon this midrash to support the opening of Rabbi Tanchuma bar Abba: Israel was carrying a tsarah, a “rival” to God, viz. an idol, even as God was redeeming them at the Sea, yet the Sea was divided before them!  Indeed: “Yours, O Lord is the right, and ours is the shame…” (Daniel 9:7)!

*The peshat (contextual meaning) in Zechariah 10:11a is that the redeemed of Judah and Israel will be so great in number that they will be tsarah, “pressed together,” in crossing over the sea on their return to the Land.  For Rabbi Eliezer the derash (interpretive meaning) is based on the fact that tsarah can also mean “rival wife,” as in I Samuel 1:6.  (Rabbi Eliezer identifies the “rival” of God at the (Red) Sea anachronistically as the idol of Micah, cf. Judges 17:4 ff.)  ̶  Mechilta of Rabbi Ishmael Pischa 14 (Lauterbach p. 114)

In Tithes and Terumah

Rabbi Nechemia taught:  Even when we consider our compliance with Your Law, our deeds which we consider righteous, we cannot help but feel ashamed.  For example, it is general practice that tenant farmers receive land, seed and stock from their lords and divide the produce with them in equal shares.  But the Holy One, blessed be He, may His Name be praised and His Remembrance be held high, is different.  The world and all that is in it is His, as we say, “The Eternal’s is the earth and all that is in it” (Psalms 24:1): the earth is His, the produce is His—He brings down the rains and brings up the dews to make them grow—He protects them!  He does everything, yet the Holy One, blessed be He, said to them: I require of you only one-tenth for tithing, only one-fiftieth for terumah.  Indeed: “Yours, O Lord is the right, and ours is the shame…” (Daniel 9:7)!

Talmud Yoma 85a-85b
Rashi s.v. Exodus 31:13
Shabbat Peshat and Derash

The Eternal informs Moses of His appointment of Bezalel son of Uri son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and as his associate, Oholiav ben Achisamach, of the tribe of Dan, to execute all that the Eternal has commanded Moses—“the Tent of Meeting, the Ark for the Testimony and the Propitiatory upon it, all of the implements of the Tent, the Table and its implements, the pure Menorah and all of its implements, the Incense Altar, the Burnt Offering Altar and its implements, the Laver and its base, the plaited garments, the holy garments for Aaron the Kohen (Priest) and the garments of his sons to serve as Priests, the Anointing Oil, and the Incense of spices for the Sanctuary—all of the work [melachah]…

“Then the Eternal says to Moses:
And you explain to the Children of Israel:
However (Ach), you must observe My Sabbaths…
the life of anyone who does work [melachah] on it
shall be cut off from its people…”

(Exodus 31:1-17)

Rashi— “And you [attah (singular)]”: Even though I have ordered you (Moses) to command them concerning the work of the Tabernacle [melechet ha-Mishkan] (cf. Exodus 25:1-31:11), you (Moses) should not allow the work [melachah] to override the Sabbath.  “However (Ach), you must observe [tishmoru (plural)] my Sabbaths”: Although you (Children of Israel) will be engaged diligently in the work [melachah], the Sabbath may not be preempted by it.  The word ach (“however…”) is one of the limiting particles that the Torah uses to imply an exception to a general rule, here an exception, viz. the Sabbath, to the general rule, viz. the work of the Tabernacle [melechet ha-Mishkan].

Compare Rashi’s explanation of Ach (“However…) here, as limiting the general rule of the work of the Tabernacle, with Rabbi Yosi son of Rabbi Judah’s argument in the Talmud:

“You must observe My Sabbaths…,”
apparently implying all of them without exception,
but the preceding particle “However (Ach)…“
is a talmud (oral teaching),
which implies an exception:
when danger to life suspends the Sabbath laws.

Rabbi Yosi son of Rabbi Judah argues that “However (Ach)…” in this verse implies an exception not to the work of the Tabernacle, which is the contextual general rule of the verse’s place in the Torah, but to the observance of the Sabbath, which is the general rule that the verse introduces out of context from its place in the Torah!  (Moreover the Sabbath was introduced already in the Ten Commandments, cf. Exodus 20:8-11.)  In short, Rashi’s explanation as Bible commentator fits the context of the verse and its disjunctive particle—which the Rabbis labeled peshat, while the argument of Rabbi Yosi son of Rabbi Judah in the Talmud ignores the context and infers an internal limitation on the verse’s subject, Sabbath observance itself, as if to say that “ach” meant “only” so that the talmud of the verse would be: “Only when life is not endangered must you observe My Sabbaths…!”  Applying literal meanings of isolated particles out of context is what the Rabbis labeled as derash.  Rabbi Yosi son of Rabbi Judah, among his colleagues, is contributing a derash that would answer the question: Whence in Scripture may we derive the principle (presumably already held) that danger to life justifies the suspension of Sabbath rules?

Now consider Rashi’s explanation of his purpose in commenting on the Bible (s.v. Genesis 3:8)—“Adam and his wife hear the voice of the Eternal God walking in the garden”:  Our Rabbis have already compiled interpretive books of midrash (derash), but my purpose is to explicate the peshat of Scripture, so the meaning of this verse is simply that they heard the voice of the Holy One, blessed be He, who was walking in the garden!

Exodus Rabbah 42:1
How Moses sought mercy for Israel

“The Eternal speaks to Moses:
‘Go, descend!
For your people,
whom you brought up
from the land of Egypt,
has corrupted.’”
(Exodus 32:7)

Rabbi Yochanan taught:  At that moment Moses saw that the ministering angels were prepared to destroy Israel, in accordance with the divine harsh words.  Moses thought: If I abandon Israel and just descend, they will have no hope of survival, so let me not move from here until I have sought mercy for them.  Immediately he began to offer arguments in their defense.

To the Holy One, blessed be He, he said, “Do You remember, when You offered the Torah to the children of Esau and they refused it, that Israel accepted it?”  Said the Holy One, blessed be He, “But they have reversed that act: ‘They have veered recklessly from the path that I commanded them’” (Exodus 32:8)!

Said Moses: “Do You remember, when I went to Egypt on Your behalf and announced to them Your Name, they believed and bowed down to Your Name” (Exodus 4:31)?  Said the Holy One, blessed be He: “They have undone their bowing down, as was said, ‘They have made a molten calf and bowed down to it’” (Exodus 32:18)!

Said Moses: “Do You remember their young men whom I sent to offer sacrifices before You” (Exodus 24:5)?  Said the Holy One, blessed be He: “They have regressed on the sacrificing, as was said, ‘They have made a molten calf…and they have sacrificed to it’” (Exodus 32:8)!

Said Moses: “Then please remember what You said to them at Sinai, ‘I, the Eternal, am your God’” (Exodus 20:2)!  Said the Holy One, blessed be He: “They have contradicted that one, too, as was said, ‘They said: This (the golden calf) is your god’” (Exodus 32:8)!

Withal Moses prevented the punishment, but how so?  Rabbi Tanchuma bar Abba considered relevant here these verses: “One who promises much but falsely is like vapors and winds that produce no rain, but by patience over anger may the ruler be persuaded, and a soft tongue may break the bone” (Proverbs 25:14-15).

Exodus Rabbah 41:7
Tablets of Freedom

“Moses turns and descends from the Mountain—
in his hand the Two Tablets of Testimony,
written on both sides,
the Tablets themselves the work of God
and the Writing the writing of God
graven [charut] upon the Tablets.”
(Exodus 32:15-16)

The last phrase, “graven [charut] upon the Tablets,” is redundant, so Rabbi Judah proposed vocalizing the word for “graven” [charut] as “freedom” [cherut], meaning “freedom from exile” (Maharzu: Exile is the punishment for less than a strict observance of the laws of the Torah in letter and in spirit and without internecine strife.)  Rabbi Nechemiah understood the reading of “freedom” [cherut] to mean “freedom from the angel of death.”  Our Rabbis understood it to mean “freedom from suffering.”

Said Rabbi Elazar son of Rabbi Yosi the Galilean: If the angel of death (upon learning this) should come before the Holy One, blessed be He, with the complaint—Did You create me in Your world for nothing?—then He would answer: I made you the angel of death for every nation of the world, except for this one, for which I have granted “freedom” [cherut], and thus it is “graven [charut] upon the Tablets” (Exodus 32:16)!

“When the people saw
that Moses was delayed
in coming down from the Mountain,
the people assembled against Aaron…
and said, ‘Make for us gods…
for this man Moses,
who brought us up from the land of Egypt,
we do not know what has become of him!”
(Exodus 32:1)

What prompted the people to respond to the delay
by assembling against Aaron?

“Before ascending to the Mountain of God,
Moses said to the Elders:
I am leaving Aaron and Hur in charge;
whoever has a complaint should turn to them!”|
(Exodus 24:13b-14)

The Rabbis explain: In anticipation of Moses’s return from the Mountain, the people anxiously searched the heavens for sight of him.  Satan encouraged their illusion by pointing with his finger and saying, “This is the man that was Moses,” leading them to believe that they were seeing his corpse suspended between heaven and earth.

When the people first assembled against Moses, Hur arose and exclaimed: You are harming yourselves; do you not recall all of the many miracles the Holy One, blessed be He, performed for you?!  Whereupon they overpowered him and took his life.  Then, “the people assembled against Aaron” (Exodus 32:1), and they said to him: Just as we have done to Hur, so shall we do to you!

“When Aaron saw [vayar] (the gold?),
he built [vayiven] an altar [mizbeach] before it [lefanav]
and declared the morrow a festival.”
(Exodus 32:5)

More likely we may interpret:

Aaron was afraid [vayeera]:
he understood [vayaven] from the slaughtered [mizavuach]
before him [lefanav]
(that he needed a tactic to deflect the people’s fear and anger),
so he declared the morrow a festival,

for which he promised to build an altar, hoping that Moses would return before he completed it.  But when he built it, Moses still had not returned.  “So they arose early the next day and sat down to eat and drink and celebrate” (Exodus 32:6) idolatrous worship.

(See Sedra Summary for Tetzaveh: “From Talmud and Midrash”
for other motives of Aaron.)

Ultimately, in response to the plea of Moses (Exodus 32:11-13), “the Eternal remitted the punishment He had first sworn to bring against His people” (ibid. 14).  Said the Holy One, blessed be He, to Moses:  In this world it is because of their evil impulse that they engage in idolatry, but in the future to come I shall remove from them that evil impulse and replace it with a heart of flesh, as the Prophet says:

“I shall take you from among the nations…
and bring you to your own Land…
and I shall purify you from all of your idols.
I shall give you a new heart,
and a new spirit will I place inside you;
I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh
and give you a heart of flesh.”
(Ezekiel 36:24-26)

Exodus Rabbah 45:2-3
Sifre Zuta Beha’alot’cha 9:1
Sifre Zuta Korach 18:4
Yalkut Shimoni 737: Beha’alot’cha 11:24
Talmud Berachot 63b
The Other Tent of Meeting

“The Eternal has declared [he’emir] you today
to be His treasured people!”
(Deuteronomy 26:18)

“The Eternal tells Moses to instruct the Children of Israel
to remove whatever ornaments they have on them
‘that I may know what I shall do to you!’”
(Exodus 33:5)

“Moses would take and pitch a certain tent [ha-ohel] far outside of the camp,
and he called it a ‘tent of meeting’…”
(Exodus 33:7a)

When the people hear God’s tidings of doom for their worship of the calf, “they go into mourning and refrain from wearing their jewelry” (Exodus 33:4)—now that the Children of Israel have refrained from wearing their jewelry, what other “ornaments” (ibid. 5) would the Eternal be demanding that they remove?  These were their ornamentation [imra] as the people adorned by the Torah of the Holy One, blessed be He, as would be explained later: “The Eternal adorned [he’emir] you on that day to be His treasured people” (Deuteronomy 26:18)!  But now, when Moses sees that the people has disregarded and thereby lost this infinitely valuable gift through their making of the golden calf (on which they expended their worldly gold!), he angrily “took The Tent [Ha-Ohel] (which had been inside the camp) and pitched it far outside of the camp, and he called it The (relocated!) Tent of Meeting…” (Exodus 33:7a).

Rabbi Judah son of Rabbi taught:  See how the Holy One, blessed be He, lent His Presence to Moses, as He departed from the higher beings and went over to Moses instead!  For example, the ministering angels were set to sing a hymn of praise to Him, but He was not available, as He was outside of the camp with Moses.  Likewise, the sun and the moon and the stars came to bow before Him and seek His permission to go out and illumine the world, permission which was required for them to so go out, as was said, “The host of heaven bow down to You” (Nehemiah 9:6).  But not finding Him, they asked the Chayot (cf. Ezekiel 1), “Where is the Throne of God’s Presence?”  The Chayot answered them, “Go to Moses!”  And how do we know this to be true?  It was said, “Whoever sought the Eternal would go out to the Tent of Meeting which was outside of the camp” (Exodus 33:7b): “Sought the Eternal” is written, not “sought Moses!”

“When Moses himself would go out to the Tent,
everyone would stand at the entrance of his own tent
and watch Moses until he arrived at the Tent of Meeting.
A pillar of cloud would descend at its entrance,
and the Eternal would speak with Moses.
When the people saw the cloud,
everyone would bow at the entrance of his own tent.
The Eternal spoke with Moses face [panim] to face [panim],
as one person would speak with his friend!”
(Exodus 33:8-11a)

What is meant by “face [panim] to face [panim]
as one person would speak with his friend?”
After all, the Eternal tells Moses:
“You cannot see My Face” (Exodus 33:20)!

We find that “face” [panim] has a variety of meanings:

“I will set My angry face [panim] against
one who sacrifices his child…”
(Leviticus 20:5)

“I shall block My forbearing face [panim] from
those who worship the idols
of foreigners in your Land…”
(Deuteronomy 31:17)

The Eternal and Moses agreed to treat each other as friends who wished to de-escalate each other’s anger whenever it might occur: “face [panim] to face [panim]” understood as “forbearing aspect [panim] applied to angry aspect [panim].”  Thus, when God’s Face [Panim] was of an angry aspect [panim] towards the Children of Israel because of the calf, Moses sought to apply a forbearing aspect  [panim] when he said to God, “Now, if only you would forgive their sin…” (Exodus 32:32)!  Then, when Moses’s face [panim] was of an angry aspect [panim] because the Children of Israel had rejected their adornment as God’s treasured people for idolatry and he angrily removed the Tent of Meeting from the camp, the Holy One, blessed be He, showed him His forbearing aspect [panim] and said, “Reconsider, let go of your anger, and re-enter the camp!”

“So Moses returns to the camp…”
(Exodus 33:11b)

But:

“…his young minister Joshua son of Nun
would not depart from the tent!”
(Exodus 33:11c)

“The Eternal spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai
in The Tent of Meeting…”
(Numbers 1:1)

“The Eternal spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai…: Let the Children of Israel offer the Pesach at its set time…” (Numbers 9:1ff.)—Just as the heading of the Book of Numbers says “in the Wilderness of Sinai in The Tent of Meeting” (Numbers 1:1), so does “in the Wilderness of Sinai” (Numbers 9:1) here imply “in the Tent of Meeting!”  Indeed from The Tent of Meeting were said all of the commandments!  From The Tent of Meeting it was said to anoint the Tabernacle (Numbers 7:1); from The Tent of Meeting it was said to burn the Red Heifer (Numbers 19:5); from The Tent of Meeting it was said to carry The Tent of Meeting (Numbers 2:17); from The Tent of Meeting were said all of the laws of purity and impurity (Numbers 19:11ff.).

“The Levites shall be attached to Aaron and his sons
to keep the charge of (1) The Tent of Meeting,
for all of (2) the Service of the Tent…”
(Numbers 18:4)

While one might understand (2) literally as amplifying (1), Rabbi Shimon understood (2) as The Tent of Service and therefore concluded that there were two Tents: (2) The Tent of Service and (1)  The Tent of Utterances.

“Moses gathered the Seventy Elders
and had them stand
around The Tent.”
(Numbers 11:24)

He had them stand around The Tent of Utterances, which was outside of the camp (cf. Numbers 11:26-27).  They had made two tents: a Tent for Service and a Tent for Utterances.  The dimensions of this outer Tent were equivalent to those of the inner Tent.  The Levites would serve in each of them in rotation.  So was it said:

“Aaron and his sons shall keep My charge…”
(Leviticus 22:9)

“The Levites shall keep the charge
of The Tent of Meeting,
for all of the Service of the Tent…”
(Numbers 18:4)

Two Tents did they make!

At Kerem beYavneh Rabbi Judah praised the study of Torah, based upon Moses’s relocation of The Tent to outside of the camp: The Ark of the Eternal was removed thereby no greater a distance than the extent of the camp, and the Torah calls whoever went out that far to the Tent of Meeting, “one who seeks the Eternal” (Exodus 33:7).  How much more, then, can we call scholars who travel from city to city, from country to country, in order to learn Torah, “those who seek the Eternal!”

Exodus Rabbah 46:1
Why Moses shattered the Tablets

1

When the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses, “Go, descend, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, has corrupted” (Exodus 32:7), Moses was holding on to the Tablets and could not believe that Israel had sinned.  He said: “If I do not see it, I do not believe it, as was said, ‘As he drew near to the camp and saw the calf…’” (Exodus 32:19): he did not shatter the Tablets until he saw it with his own eyes.  Granted that human beings may testify unreliably to facts that they have not seen, but is it possible that Moses would not believe the Holy One, blessed be He, when He said, “For your people has corrupted” (Exodus 32:7)?  Here Moses is teaching an important principle to Israel: Even if a person should hear a thing from a trusted individual, it is forbidden to accept his testimony and act upon it if he himself has not been an eyewitness.

2

When Moses later reviews the events, he recounts, “I saw that you sinned against the Eternal your God” (Deuteronomy 9:16).  Yet neither Moses nor Joshua was an eyewitness to the people’s worship of the calf, only that they were singing and dancing.  But as they approached the camp, Moses saw that the writing flew off from the Tablets; therefore Moses shattered them, as was said, “I saw (in the flying off of the writing) that their sin was to the Eternal your God” (Deuteronomy 9:16)!  This may be likened to a man who marries a woman and writes her a ketubah, which he deposits with a trustee.  Some time later, a bad report is heard about her.  What does the trustee do?  He tears up the ketubah, thinking: Better she should be judged as an unmarried woman than as an adulterous wife.  Thus thought Moses: If I do not shatter the Tablets, Israel has no defense, as was said therein, “One who sacrifices to any but the Eternal shall be completely destroyed” (Exodus 22:19; cf. Exodus 20:3-6).  So he shattered them and told the Eternal: They knew not what was written in them!

3

“I saw that you sinned to the Eternal your God” (Deuteronomy 9:16):  Moses saw that Israel had no defense, so what could he do?  He bound himself with them and shattered the Tablets, saying to the Holy One, blessed be He: They sinned by worshipping the calf, and I sinned by breaking the Tablets; if You pardon them, pardon me along with them!  These his words, “Pardon me along with them,” were left out of his plea in Scripture: “And now, if You pardon their sin . . . , and if not, erase me from Your book which You have written!” (Exodus 32:32) and were intended as an incentive for God to pardon Israel.

Tanchuma Kee Tisa 26,30
More reasons why Moses shattered the Tablets

“An ox [shor] knows its owner [koneyhu],
and an ass, the trough of its master,
but Israel does not know,
My people does not understand!”
(Isaiah 1:3)

When Israel made the calf, the Holy One, blessed be He, chose His words to Moses: “Go down, for your people has corrupted” (Exodus 32:7)!  Moses responded: “They are Your people and Your possession” (cf. Exodus 33:13b; Deuteronomy 9:26)!  The Holy One, blessed be He, demonstrated that “a beast [shor] knows its maker [koneyhu]” (Isaiah 1:3a) by asking the calf, “Does a beast [shor] know its maker [koneyhu]?” (Isaiah 1:3a), that is, “Who made you?”  The calf answered, “An ass” (ibid.), by which it meant the “mixed multitude” that went out from Egypt along with Israel (cf. Exodus 12:38), about which the Prophet said, “Their genital is the flesh of asses” (Ezekiel 23:20).  The Holy One, blessed be He: “That is why I said to you, ‘Go down, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, has corrupted in making the calf’ (Exodus 32:7): My people did not even know about it, as the Prophet said, ‘But Israel does not know, My people does not comprehend’” (Isaiah 1:3b)!

Then Moses seized upon His words—“My people did not even know about it”—in defense of Israel: “My Lord, God, do not destroy Your people whom You redeemed in Your greatness” (Deuteronomy 9:26)!  He then stood up and destroyed the Tablets!  Thus placated, the Holy One, blessed be He, allowed Moses, “Carve two tablets of stone like (to replace) the first ones…” (Exodus 34:1).

Other opinions:

Rabbi Ishmael thought that Moses drew a kal vachomer inference:  If Pesach, which constitutes only one mitzvah out of the entire Torah, is not permitted to idolators, as is written, “No foreigner shall eat of it” (Exodus 12:43), then it follows that the entire Torah is surely not permitted to idolators!  Therefore he shattered them.

Rabbi Akiba taught:  The Holy One, blessed be He, told him to break them.

The Rabbis explained it as follows:  For as long as the Writing was upon the Tablets, Moses did not feel their weight.  They carried themselves.  But when Israel made the calf and Moses descended from the Mountain, approached the camp, and saw the calf which they had made, the Writing flew off of the Tablets whereupon they became too heavy for him to hold, so he threw them down and they shattered!  Alternatively, notwithstanding their newly-felt weight, Moses in his anger over the people’s idolatry (and in his great strength!) thrust them from his hands.

Exodus Rabbah 47:2
Who wrote the words of the second set of tablets?

“The Eternal says to Moses:
‘Write yourself these words,
for in accordance with these words
do I make a Covenant
with you and with Israel.’”
(Exodus 34:27)

Said the Holy One, blessed be He, to Moses: “The first set of tablets—I wrote, as is written, ‘written by the finger of God’” (Deuteronomy 9:10).  But the second set, you write: “Write yourself these words” (Exodus 34:27). Then why did Moses later recount, “The Eternal said to me…‘and I shall write upon the tablets the words which were upon the first tablets which you broke’” (Deuteronomy 10:2)? This may be compared to a king who married a woman and wrote her a marriage contract himself.  After some time she proved unworthy and he drove her from his house.  Her representative came to the king and secured her pardon by the king.  The king said to her representative: I am reconciled to her, but you should write a new marriage contract and hopefully I will add my hand to it.  Here, too, the Holy One, blessed be He, was saying to Moses: You write yourself these words, and hopefully I shall add My hand to it!

Exodus Rabbah 44:1
Israel uprooted and rooted

Rabbi Tanchuma bar Abba
opened with this verse:
“Tear out a vine from Egypt;
expel nations and plant it.”
(Psalms 80:9)

Why is the vine a metaphor for Israel?

When the vintner wants to improve his vine, what does he do?  He uproots it from its place and replants it in another place, where it thrives and improves.  Similarly, when the Holy One, blessed be He, came to make Israel known to the world, what did He do?  He uprooted them from Egypt and brought them to the Wilderness.  There they began to improve, and they began receiving the Torah and saying, “All that the Eternal has spoken, we shall do and we shall hearken” (Exodus 24:7)! as was said, “You made a name for yourself among the nations in your beauty…” (Ezekiel 16:14).

Finally you may interpret it as follows:  Just as the vine is alive and depends upon dead trees, so are Israel living and enduring and depending upon the dead, who are the Patriarchs.  Thus you find: Elijah offered several prayers on Mount Carmel that fire should come down—for which he was not answered—but then:

“’O Eternal One, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel,
today let it be known that You are the God of Israel…!
Answer me, O Eternal, answer me…!’
Then fire of the Eternal comes down and consumes everything…”
(I Kings 18:36-38)

It was not because he said, “Answer me, O Eternal, answer me” (I Kings 18:37), all of which is redundant, that fire came down, but because he mentioned the dead and said, “O Eternal One, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel” (Ibid. 36)!  So also did Moses plead with God for Israel:

“Remember Abraham, Isaac and Israel, Your servants…”
(Exodus 32:13)

When Israel committed that act (of worshipping the golden calf), Moses stood up and defended their virtue for forty days and forty nights (cf. Exodus 32:11-12,30-32; 33:12-13; 34:28) and was not answered.  But when he mentioned the dead, as was said, “Remember Abraham, Isaac and Israel” (Exodus 32:13), what is written?  “Then the Eternal repented of the harm…” (ibid. 14).  He was answered immediately!  So it is: Just as that vine is alive and depends upon dead trees, so are Israel living and depending upon the Patriarchs when they are dead.  That is the import of: “Remember Abraham, Isaac and Israel” (ibid. 13)!

Genesis Rabbah 82:5
Talmud Yevamot 90b
How could Elijah sacrifice at an Altar outside of the Temple?

“The Eternal charges Moses to warn Aaron, his sons,
and all the Children of Israel,
against slaughtering an ox, a sheep, or a goat,
either inside or outside of the camp,
without bringing it to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting
as an offering to the Eternal before His Tabernacle…”
(Leviticus 17:1-4)

“Any sanctities that you may have and your votive offerings
you must take up and bring to the place that the Eternal shall choose.
You shall make your burnt offerings, the meat and the blood,
upon the Altar of the Eternal your God.”
(Deuteronomy 12:26-27)

“Elijah says to Ahab: Now summon all of Israel to Mount Carmel…
“Elijah takes twelve stones for the twelve tribes
of the sons of Jacob, who was named Israel,
and he makes of them an altar in the Name of the Eternal…
“At the time of the afternoon offering, Elijah draws near and says:
‘O Eternal One, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel,
today let it be known that You are the God of Israel,
and that I am Your servant and by Your word I have done these things…’”
(I Kings 18:19,31-32,36)

“God appears to Jacob again on his arrival from Paddan Aram
and blesses him with these words:

‘You, whose name is Jacob,
shall no longer be called Jacob;
rather Israel shall be your name.’

Thus He names him Israel,
and God says further:

‘I am El Shaddai (“God Almighty”).
Be fruitful and increase!
A nation and more
shall descend from you…’”

(Genesis 35:9-11)

Jacob had already been renamed Israel by the man at Peniel (cf. Genesis 32:29).  Therefore this second (redundant) naming is suggestive (remez) (Maharzu):

Rabbi Yudan and Rabbi Ayvu and Rabbi Ashyan ben Naggari in the name of Rabbi Yochanan cited, “A nation and more shall descend from you…,” but literally: “’A nation [goy] and a company of nations [uk’hal goyim] shall be from you…’”: What does “a nation [goy]” add to “a company of nations [uk’hal goyim]?”  Rather, interpret as, “A nation [goy] like a company of nations [kek’hal goyim],” meaning that in the future Jacob’s descendants will be a nation [goy] that acts like all of the other (foreign) nations [kek’hal goyim], i.e., a goyishe nation!  How so?  Just as the other, foreign nations sacrifice wherever they please when this is forbidden to Israel (as long as the Temple is standing), so shall your descendants.

Rabbi Chaninah brings evidence to support this from: “Elijah takes twelve stones for the twelve tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Eternal came, saying,’Your name shall be Israel’ (cf. Genesis 35:10b), and he makes of them an altar in the Name of the Eternal” (I Kings 18:31-32a).  So, from the time that Jacob was given the name of Israel (this second time), it could be said of him that in the future his descendants, children of the twelve tribes, will constitute a nation [goy] that acts like all of the other (foreign) nations [kek’hal goyim], sacrificing outside of the Temple!

But Rabbi Yonatan brings additional evidence from: “Of Zebulun, said Moses, rejoice…as the tribes will assemble at his mountain (presumably Mount Carmel), and there they will offer sacrifices of righteousness” (Deuteronomy 33:18-19a), meaning that, notwithstanding the irregularity of the sacrifice, God will accept their offering, thereby justifying Elijah:

“The Eternal your God shall raise up a Prophet from your midst, from among your brethren, like me (Moses). To him shall you listen!” (Deuternomy 18:15):  It seems obvious that a Prophet like Moses with those qualifications whom the Eternal raises up should be listened to.  What is the implication, then, of the extra insistence, “To him shall you listen?”  Even if he says to you: Transgress one of the commandments that are in the Torah, such as the prohibition of sacrificing outside of the Temple, as did the Prophet Elijah on Mount Carmel.  Moreover, Elijah was acting to save Israel from idolatry!

SHABBAT SHALOM!

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Purim Readings

THE MEGILLAH OF ESTHER

ROYAL BANQUETS
1:1-9

Now it came to pass in the days of Ahashuerus, who reigned over 127 provinces from India to Ethiopia, whose throne was in the fortress of Shushan, that in the third year of his reign he invited his officers and servants, the forces of Persia and Media, his nobles and administrators, to a banquet.  For 180 days he showed off his riches and his greatness.  Then the king made a banquet in the palace garden over seven days for all of the people in Shushan, of all estates.  There were displayed white and blue hangings, cords of purple, rods of silver, and couches of gold upon pavements of marble.  Royal wine was offered in abundance, without limit.  Vashti the queen also provided a banquet in the king’s palace for the women.

AHASHUERUS V. VASHTI
1:10-22

On the seventh day, the king, merrily affected by his wine, ordered seven of his eunuchs to fetch Queen Vashti to appear before him with the royal crown on her head.  He would show everyone her beauty!  When the queen sent back the eunuchs with her refusal to appear, the king was incensed.  He consulted with his seven closest Persian and Median advisors as to what should be done to Queen Vashti, under the law, for her failure to obey the king’s command as delivered by the eunuchs.

One of his advisors, Memuchan, opined before the king and the other advisors, that Queen Vashti has sinned not only against the king but against all of the other men in his provinces.  For when all of their wives learn of the queen’s refusal to obey the king, they will feel free to despise their own husbands as well!  So, if it please the king, let a royal edict be recorded in the laws of Persia and Media that Vashti shall indeed no more come before the king and that another, better than she, be made queen in her place, and that all wives throughout his vast realm be ordered to show respect to their husbands!

The king and his ministers approved the recommendation of Memuchan.  So was it ordered by writ, throughout all of the king’s provinces, in all of the peoples’ languages, that every man should rule his own roost, and be privileged to do so in his own language.

REPLACEMENT OF THE QUEEN
2:1-20

In the course of time, as the wrath of King Ahashuerus was assuaged, he did not forget what Vashti had done and the decree upon her.  The king’s servants recommended to the king that he appoint officers throughout his provinces to gather every beautiful virgin to Shushan.  There Hege, the king’s eunuch in charge of women, would provide them with cosmetics, and the king would choose the one whom he prefers to replace Queen Vashti.  So did the king.

Now there lived in Shushan a Jewish man by the name of Mordechai son of Yair.  He was the grandson of Shimei and the great-grandson of Kish, a Benjaminite, who was exiled from Jerusalem with Jeconiah, king of Judah, by the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar.  Mordechai had adopted Hadassah, known as Esther, as his daughter, when her father, Mordechai’s uncle, and her mother died.  Esther was gathered together with the other beautiful young women to Shushan.  There she was favored by Hege, who expedited her maquillage and provided her with an entourage of seven maidens in the best location within the women’s hermitage.

It was the practice for every one of the women who visited the king to stay first in the house of the women for twelve months.  For the first six months they were subjected to the oil of myrrh, and for the remaining six months to sweet-smelling spices and other cosmetic applications.  When it was a woman’s turn to visit the king, she could receive anything else that she might request.  Then, in the evening, she would go to the king’s house, and in the morning she would return to a different house of women under the supervision of the king’s eunuch Sha’ashgaz, custodian of the concubines, and she would not return to the king unless he explicitly called her back.

Throughout, Esther concealed her background, mentioning neither her people nor her family.  Mordechai had so instructed her.  For his part Mordechai located himself every day before the court of the house of women to learn how Esther was faring.  When it was the turn of Esther daughter of Avichayil to appear before the king, she requested nothing more than what Hege, keeper of the women, provided.  Indeed she found favor in the eyes of all who beheld her.  It was in the tenth month, the month of Teveth, in the seventh year of the reign of Ahashuerus, that Esther was taken to his palace.

The king loved Esther above all the other women and crowned her queen in place of Vashti.  He made a great feast in her honor for all of his officers and servants, and he celebrated the occasion with a release to his provinces and with gifts.  There was a second gathering of virgins, and Esther continued to obey Mordechai’s stricture against disclosing her family or her people.  Mordechai had stationed himself in the king’s gate.

MORDECHAI AND ESTHER SAVE THE KING
2:21-23

When the eunuchs Bigthan and Teresh, two sentries, turned certain of their grievances into a plot to harm the king, Mordechai was informed and told Esther, now queen.  Esther promptly informed the king in Mordechai’s name.  There was an investigation, and when the accusation was found to be true, the two plotters were impaled.  The entire incident was recorded in the royal book of chronicles.

HAMAN SEEKS TO DESTROY THE JEWS
3:1-15

After these events King Ahashuerus promoted Haman son of Hamdatha the Agagite to a chair above all of his other officers.  All of the king’s servants in the king’s court bowed and prostrated themselves before Haman in accordance with the king’s command, but Mordechai did not.  Every day, servants questioned Mordechai for his violation of the king’s command, but Mordechai paid them no heed.  The servants reported Mordechai’s disobedience to Haman, and, also, seeing it for himself, Haman was filled with anger.  But instead of punishing Mordechai alone, Haman determined to destroy all of the Jews in the kingdom of Ahashuerus, as he had learned that they were Mordechai’s people.

So, beginning with the first month, which is the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahashuerus, Haman cast a lot for each day of every month, until the twelfth month, the month of Adar.  Then he said to King Ahashuerus:  There is a people scattered yet distinct within the provinces of your kingdom, whose laws are different from those of other peoples and who do not follow the laws of the king, so it is not wise for the king to tolerate them.  If it please the king, let their destruction be decreed and I shall have delivered to the royal treasury 10,000 talents of silver.  The king removed the ring from his hand and gave it to Haman son of Hamdatha, the Agagite (cf. I Samuel 15:8), persecutor of the Jews.  Said the king to Haman: “The silver is yours, and the people, to do with as you wish!”

The kings’ scribes were called upon on the thirteenth day of the first month to issue an edict which Haman would authorize to all of the king’s satraps and governors in all of his provinces and to the princes of every people in its own language.  It was written in the name of King Ahashuerus and sealed with his ring.  The letters were delivered rapidly by hand, ordering the despoliation and destruction of all of the Jews, young and old, including women and children, on a single day, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar.  Moreover, copies of the decree were displayed for all to see, in order for them to be ready for the day.  Thus, as the decree went forth from Shushan, the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Shushan was in turmoil.

MORDECHAI PERSUADES ESTHER TO INTERVENE
4:1-17

In response, Mordechai tore his garments, put on sackcloth and ashes, and cried loudly and bitterly in the midst of the city.  He approached the king’s gate but did not enter it because he was wearing sackcloth.  In every province where the king’s word and command reached, there was much mourning among the Jews, fasting, weeping, lamenting, and many wore sackcloth and ashes.  When Esther was told all of this, the queen was deeply distressed.  She sent normal clothes to Mordechai to replace his sackcloth, but he would not accept them.  She enlisted Hatach, a eunuch the king had assigned to serve her, to visit Mordechai in order to learn what was going on and why.  Hatach met Mordechai at the plaza before the king’s gate.  Mordechai told Hatach what had happened between Haman and him (cf. Esther 3:5-7) and how much money Haman had paid into the royal treasury to destroy the Jews (ibid. 9).  He also gave Hatach a copy of the decree that was released in Shushan (ibid. 15) to show to Esther so that she might go to the king and entreat him on behalf of her people.

But when Hatach brought Mordechai’s plea to Esther, Esther sent this message back with Hatach to Mordechai: “All of the king’s court know that death is the penalty for any man or woman who enters the king’s inner court without being called, unless the king holds out the golden scepter to him, and I have not been called to the king for thirty days!”  Mordechai responded, “Do not imagine that a Jew in the palace, anymore than Jews elsewhere, will be spared.  Yet, if you keep silent at this time, relief and rescue will come to the Jews from another quarter, only you and your father’s house will be lost.  Who knows?  Maybe it is for a time like this that you have acceded to royalty!”

So Esther sent word to Mordechai: “Have all of the Jews who dwell in Shushan fast for me, not to eat or to drink, for three days, night and day.  I and my maidens shall fast as well, and thus will I go to the king, without legal permission, and if I perish, I perish.”  Mordechai proceeded to follow Esther’s order to him.

ESTHER INVITES THE KING AND HAMAN
5:1-12

On the third day, Esther, adorned as queen, stood in the king’s inner court.  When the king saw Queen Esther standing there, he showed his favor by extending to her the golden scepter that was in his hand.  She drew near and touched the top of the scepter.  Said the king to her, “What do you wish, Queen Esther, what is your request?  Even to half of the kingdom, it shall be granted to you!”  Esther responded, “If it seems good to the king, let the king and Haman come this day to the feast that I have prepared for him.”  The king ordered Haman to comply quickly with the word of Esther, and they both came to the feast that Esther prepared.

There, in the midst of wine, the king repeated to Esther, “What do you wish, Queen Esther, what is your request?  Even to half of the kingdom, it shall be granted!”  Esther answered the king and said: “My wish, my request, if I have found favor in the eyes of the king, if it seems good to the king to grant my wish and my request—let the king and Haman come to the feast that I shall prepare for them, and tomorrow I shall act in accordance with the word of the king!”

As Haman emerged, he could not be happier—until he saw Mordechai in the king’s gate neither rising nor moving for him, whereupon Haman was filled with anger because of Mordechai.  But he held it in and went home, where he gathered his entourage and Zeresh his wife.  To them he recounted his great wealth, the multitude of his progeny, and how the king had promoted him and raised him above all of the other officers and servants of the king.  “And Esther the queen,” he boasted, “invited no one to accompany the king to the feast that she prepared but me!  And tomorrow also I have been invited with the king” (Esther 5:12)!

HAMAN BUILDS A GALLOWS FOR MORDECHAI
5:13-14

Yet none of this pleases me,” brooded Haman, “as long as I see Mordechai the Jew sitting in the king’s gate!”

“No problem!” said his company:  Have a gallows built, 50 cubits high, and in the morning arrange with the king to have Mordechai hanged thereon.  Then go happily with the king to the feast!  Their suggestion pleased Haman, and he had the gallows built.

HAMAN’S PLOT IS THWARTED
6:1-14

That night the king could not sleep, so he had the book of chronicles brought and read before him.  In it there was the report that Mordechai had exposed the king’s eunuchs Bigthana and Teresh, two of the sentries, for their plot to harm King Ahashuerus (cf. Esther 2:22).  “How has Mordechai been honored?” asked the king.  “Nothing has been done for him,” answered his servants.

Now Haman had entered the outer court of the king’s residence to speak with the king about hanging Mordechai on the gallows that he had prepared for that purpose.  The king inquired as to who was in the court, and his servants told him that Haman was there.  The king bid him enter, and when he did, the king asked him, “What should be done for the man whom the king wishes to honor?”  The king was thinking of Mordechai, but Haman imagined, “Whom but me could the king wish to honor?”  So he answered the king, “Let the king’s raiment and the king’s horse be delivered to one of the king’s noble princes, and let him attire therewith the man whom the king wishes to honor and place the honoree upon a royal steed.  Let the king’s prince then lead the honored man through the city plaza and proclaim before him, ‘Thus shall be done for the man whom the king wishes to honor!’”  So the king said to Haman, “Well have you spoken, now do those very things for Mordechai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate; fail not to perform any detail of what you have recommended!”  So did Haman: He clothed Mordechai with the king’s raiment and put him upon the king’s horse and led him around the city plaza, proclaiming before him, “Thus shall be done for the man whom the king wishes to honor!”

When it was over, Mordechai returned to the king’s gate, but Haman retreated in great alarm to his own home, humiliated and mournful.  There he recounted to Zeresh his wife and to all of his supporters what had befallen him.  They warned Haman that if Mordechai was of Jewish seed, Haman’s current fall before him was the harbinger of his ultimate defeat.  They had not finished speaking with him before the king’s eunuchs arrived to rush Haman off to the feast that Esther had prepared.

HAMAN’S MALICE IS TURNED AGAINST HIMSELF
7:1-10

So the king and Haman come to drink with Queen Esther.  Again the king asks, “What do you wish, Queen Esther, what is your request?  Even to half of the kingdom, it shall be granted!”  Queen Esther responded, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it seems good to the king, let my life be given me, as my wish, and my people, as my request!  For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed!  If we had been sold only into bondage, then I would have remained silent, as the adversary is not worth any trouble that might come to the king.”

King Ahashuerus faced Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who has presumed to do such a thing?”  “A vexatious harasser, a malignant foe,” the queen pointed: “This wicked Haman!!”  Haman recoiled in fear before the king and queen.  The king arose to vent his anger in the palace garden, while Haman stood up to plead for his life before Queen Esther.  Then, as the king came in from the garden, Haman, in his pleading, was bent down upon Esther’s couch, and the king burst out, “Will he even force the queen before me in the palace?!”  No sooner had the words emerged from the king’s mouth than Haman’s face was covered in mourning.

Then Harbonah, one of the king’s eunuchs, let the king know that Haman had caused a gallows, fifty cubits high, to be built in his house for the purpose of hanging Mordechai, who had saved the king’s life by revealing the plot of Bigthan and Teresh (cf. Esther 2:21-23; 6:1-3).  “Well, then,” said the king, “hang Haman thereon!”  So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordechai, and the king’s wrath was assuaged.

THE KING RECOGNIZES THE AUTHORITY OF ESTHER AND MORDECHAI
8:1-17

King Ahashuerus gave to Queen Esther the house of Haman, persecutor of the Jews, and, by her word, Mordechai appeared before the king.  The king presented Mordechai with the ring that the king had taken from Haman.  Esther also set Mordechai over the house of Haman.

Then Esther fell at the king’s feet and entreated him to rescind the evil which Haman the Agagite had set in motion against the Jews.  As the king held out the golden scepter, Esther arose and stood before the king.  She requested a reversal of the orders which Haman son of Hamdatha the Agagite had issued for the destruction of the Jews in all of the provinces of the king.  “For how can I endure seeing the evil that will befall my people, my kin?”

King Ahashuerus reminded Queen Esther and Mordechai the Jew that the king had given Esther the house of Haman and caused Haman to be hanged for his aggression against the Jews.  Therefore they should issue orders to protect the Jews as they see fit, seal them with the king’s ring, and know thereby that the orders cannot be reversed.  Accordingly, the king’s scribes were called at that time, on the twenty-third day of the third month, the month of Sivan, to record all that Mordechai ordered with respect to the Jews, to be distributed among the officers of all of the king’s 127 provinces from India to Ethiopia in their respective languages, including that of the Jews.

The scribes wrote letters in the name of King Ahashuerus, sealed them with the king’s seal, and dispatched them with runners on royal steeds.  The king granted the Jews of every city permission to assemble and defend their lives and the lives of their children and women against the forces that were prepared to despoil and destroy them.  Their defense would take place on the same single day throughout all of the provinces of King Ahashuerus: on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar (cf. Esther 3:13).  Thus was issued the king’s decree in maximum haste from the fortress of Shushan.

Mordechai left the king’s presence clothed in royal apparel of blue and white, a great golden crown, a robe of linen and purple, “and the city of Shushan cheered” (Esther 8:15).  “For the Jews there was light and gladness, joy and honor” (Esther 8:16)!  In every place where the Jews resided and the king’s decree reached there was feast and festival, and many were those of the peoples of the land who joined with the Jews in appreciation of what they had feared.

DAYS OF DEFEAT TURNED INTO VICTORY
9:1-19

The day on which the enemies of the Jews hoped to rule over them, the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, was overturned to the day on which the Jews ruled over their enemies!  In their cities throughout the provinces of King Ahashuerus, the Jews assembled to attack those who sought their harm.  No one stood against the Jews, out of fear of them, and the king’s officers, satraps and governors, helped the Jews, out of fear of Mordechai.  For Mordechai was powerful in the royal court, and his reputation was growing.

The Jews struck their enemies with the sword and otherwise did with them as they pleased.  In the fortress of Shushan they killed 500 men.  They killed the ten sons of Haman son of Hamdatha, persecutor of the Jews—Parshandatha, Dalfone, Aspatha, Poratha, Adalya, Aridatha, Parmashtha, Arisai, Aridai, Vaizatha—but they did not touch their spoil.

When the king learned of the death toll in the fortress of Shushan, he shuddered before Esther to think of the toll in his other provinces: “Whatever you wish, Queen Esther, it shall be yours!  Whatever else you request, it shall be done!”  Esther asked only that the Jews of Shushan be allowed to act the next day also as was decreed for them on the present day and that the ten sons of Haman be impaled.

Thus was it ordered by the king: the ten sons of Haman were impaled, and the Jews of Shushan acted in concert again on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar to kill 300 men, without touching their spoil.  Thus the Jews who were in Shushan assembled on the thirteenth day and on the fourteenth day to defend themselves and rested on the fifteenth day, making it a day of feasting and celebration.

The other Jews, located throughout the provinces of the king, also gathered together and relieved themselves of their enemies, by killing 75,000 of their abominators on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, without touching their spoil, so that they could rest from their defense on the next day, the fourteenth day of Adar, and make it a day of feasting and celebration.  Therefore the Jews dwelling in provincial towns mark the fourteenth day of Adar with festivity and feasting, as a holiday, with the sending of portions one to another.

PURIM DAYS OF FESTIVITY AND FEASTING, ALSO FASTING AND MOURNING
9:20-32

Mordechai confirmed in written communications to all the Jews in all of the provinces of King Ahashuerus, both near and far, to observe the fourteenth day of Adar and the fifteenth day of Adar, every year, as days on which the Jews were relieved of their enemies, and the month that was turned for them from sorrow into joy and from mourning into a holiday, and to make them days of feasting and rejoicing and of sending portions one to another and gifts to the poor.

The Jews had already begun to observe these days thusly and continued their practice in accordance with the orders of Mordechai.  They called these days Purim, plural of “pur,” which means “lot,” as Haman had cast a lot for each day of every month, until the twelfth month, the month of Adar, ultimately determining that the Jews would be destroyed by Haman’s allies on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar (cf. Esther 3:7,12)!  The Jews took upon themselves, their offspring, and all who might join with them, the obligation to observe these days accordingly in all times and places, in every generation, family, province, and city, so that the days of Purim should never be forgotten or neglected among the Jews.

There followed a second letter, written by Queen Esther daughter of Avichayil and Mordechai the Jew, to all of the Jews throughout the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Ahashuerus, containing words of peace and truth.  This letter confirmed the observance of the days of Purim, as Mordechai and Esther had established them, for themselves and for their offspring, and also made mention of the fasting (cf. Esther 4:15-17) and the mournful cries (cf. Esther 4:1).

MORDECHAI SECOND TO THE KING AND SEEKING GOOD FOR HIS PEOPLE
10:1-3

King Ahashuerus imposed a service of labor upon all of the land and upon the islands far out.  This, his power, and the rise of Mordechai, whom the king promoted, are to be found recorded in the book of chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia.  Indeed Mordechai the Jew was second only to King Ahashuerus.  He was great among the Jews, appreciated widely among his brethren, seeking good for his people, and showing care to all of his offspring.

 FROM THE TORAH

Purim

Exodus 17:8-16

Amalek attacks Israel

ISRAEL RESPONDS TO AMALEK’S ATTACK
17:8-10

At Rephidim, Amalek attacks Israel.  Moses appoints Joshua to assemble a contingent of men who will go out and fight against Amalek.  “On the morrow,” says Moses, “I will stand at the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.”  Joshua carries out the instructions of Moses to fight against Amalek.  In the meantime, Moses, Aaron and Hur, go up to the top of the hill.

MOSES’S RAISED HANDS ALLOW ISRAEL TO PREVAIL
17:11-13

It then occurs that when Moses raises his hand, Israel prevails, but when Moses lowers his hand, Amalek prevails.  Eventually the hands of Moses become tired.  So they set up a stone on which he can sit while Aaron and Hur hold up his hands, one on each side.  Thus his hands remain steady until the setting of the sun, allowing Joshua to defeat Amalek and his people by the sword.

ERASING THE MEMORY OF AMALEK
17:14-16

The Eternal instructs Moses to record this account in writing and to recite in the hearing of Joshua that “I will surely erase the memory of Amalek from under heaven” (Exodus 17:14)!  Moses builds an altar and names it Adonai-Nissi (“The Eternal is My Banner”), explaining it as a memorial upon the throne of the Eternal, war for the Eternal against Amalek in every generation.

FROM TALMUD AND MIDRASH

Purim

Esther Rabbah 3:13-14
Nakedness

“On the seventh day, the king, merrily affected by his wine,
ordered seven of his eunuchs to fetch Queen Vashti
to appear before him with the royal crown on her head.
He would show everyone her beauty!”
(Esther 1:10-11)

Said Rabbi Ayvu: Israel’s atonement is found in the fact that when Israel eats, drinks and is merry, they then bless, praise and extol the Holy One, blessed be He, while the other nations, upon eating and drinking, engage in obscenity.  So here, one man argued, “Median women are the most beautiful!” while another countered, “No, Persian women are the most beautiful!”  Whereupon the foolish king said to them, “My vessel is neither Median nor Persian but Chaldean: Would you like to see it?”  “Yes,” they replied, “but only if she is naked.”  “As you wish,” he confirmed, “Naked!”

Rabbi Pinchas and Rabbi Chama bar Guria said in the name of Rav: She asked if she could come with scanty covering like a harlot, but they would not agree to it. “As you wish,” he confirmed, “Naked!”

She agreed that she would come but without the crown.  They objected, “Then she would be taken for a maidservant.”  Then, she suggested, let a real maidservant come in wearing royal apparel, and they will see how much more beautiful I am without royal apparel than she!  Said Rabbi Huna: They refused on the grounds that commoners may not dress like royalty.

“When the queen sent back the eunuchs
with her refusal to appear,
the king was incensed.”
(Esther 1:12)

Her response contained words that were intended to gently pierce the king’s heart.  First she said, “If they see my beauty, they will set about to use me for their pleasure and eliminate you!  On the other hand, if they find me unattractive, you will be shamed because of me.”  But no amount of hinting or directness seemed to make an impression on him.

Then she became even more piercing.  “When you were a stable boy in my father’s house (see next paragraph), you were in the habit of consorting with harlots; now that you have entered into royalty, you have not abandoned your crude ways!”  But still, no amount of hinting or directness seemed to make an impression on him.

“Even defendants on trial in my father’s house were not subjected to judgment while naked!”  Her words were consistent with the verse, “Then Nebuchadnezzar became angry…and ordered Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego to be thrown into the fiery furnace bound in their cloaks, tunics, robes, and other garments…” (Daniel 3:19-21).

Rabbi Shimon bar Abba said in the name of Rabbi Yochanan: The Holy One, blessed be He, judges the wicked in Gehinnom only naked—and what is the proof?  “Such are the wicked…You set them in slippery places, You hurl them down into destruction…as awakening from a dream, O Lord, when You are stirred up, You despise their (naked) image” (Psalms 73:12-20)!

Said Rabbi Nathan: The Egyptians also were judged naked when they went down into the Sea—and what is the proof?  The verse, “With the blast of Your nostrils, waters were heaped up [ne’ermu mayim]…” (Exodus 15:8) can be read, “With the blast of Your nostrils, they were made naked [ne’ermu] from the Sea [miyam]…!”

Talmud Megillah 13a-13b
Mordechai and Esther

“Mordechai was exiled from Jerusalem…”
(Esther 2:6)

Rava taught that Mordechai was a voluntary exile from Jerusalem.  Rashi: Because the verse does not say that he was one of the exiles who were exiled from Jerusalem, the implication is that he was a voluntary exile like the Prophet Jeremiah.

“He raised Hadassah, that is, Esther,
the daughter of his uncle,
because she had neither father nor mother…”
(Esther 2:7a)

Rabbi Meir taught that her name was actually Esther but that she was called Hadassah to allude to the myrtles that the Prophet Zechariah saw as metaphors for the righteous who were swept up in the Exile, which the Prophet envisioned as the Divine Presence (cf. Zechariah 1:7ff.).

Rabbi Judah taught that her name was actually Hadassah but that she was called Esther, which means a secret, as she was discreet about her origins, as was said: “She did not disclose her nativity or her people, as Mordechai had instructed her” (Esther 2:20a).

“…and when her father died
and her mother,
Mordechai took her to him
as a daughter [bat].”
[Esther 2:7b]

Since the verse first tells us that “she had neither father nor mother,” why does it go on to say, “her father died and her mother?”  Rav Acha explained: When her mother became pregnant, her father died; then, when her mother delivered her, her mother died.  Whereupon, “Mordechai took her to him as a daughter [bat],” but a Tannaitic teaching in the name of Rabbi Meir reads not “as a daughter [bat]” but “as a wife [bayit, ‘house’],” analogously to the poor man’s lamb in the account of Nathan the Prophet (cf. II Samuel 12:1ff.): The lamb “lay in the bosom” of the poor man who acquired her and raised her, hence she was not “as a daughter” to him but “as a wife” to him (Rashi: Nathan was metaphorizing Uriah and his wife Bathsheba).  Here also, she was as a wife to Mordechai!

“Esther was viewed with favor
in the eyes of all who saw her.”
(Esther 2:15b)

Rabbi Elazar took these words to mean that each person would regard her as being of his own particular nation.

After the king set the royal crown upon her head,
“Esther would still follow the teaching of Mordechai
as she did when she was being raised by him.”
(Esther 2:20b)

Rabbah bar Limah said: This means that when she was finished in the lap of Ahashuerus, she would remove herself to the mikveh, bathe, and then sit in the lap of Mordechai.

Mishnah Avot
“In the name of Mordechai”

4:1

Ben Zoma:
Who is rich?
One who is happy with his portion, which is an inference from:
“Happy are you when you enjoy the labor of your own hands,
and good shall it be for you!”
(Psalms 128:2)

5:10

The one who says,
“What is mine is mine, and what is yours is yours,”
is of an average caliber.

6:4

This is the way of Torah:
Eat a piece of bread with salt,
drink a measure of water,
sit upon the ground,
endure the pains of life,
and labor in Torah.
If you do these, then:
“Happy are you…” (Psalms 128:2b) in this world,
“…and good shall it be for you” (Psalms 128:2c) in the world to come!

Do not seek greatness for yourself, and do not covet honor,
but do more than your study.

Desire not the table of kings,
for your table is greater than their table
and your crown is greater than their crown,
and your Employer can be relied upon
to reward you for your work.

6:5-6

Among the (counter-covetous) ways Torah may be acquired:
Knowing one’s place,
Being happy with one’s portion,
Not attributing credit to oneself,
Loving the other,
Accepting criticism,
Choosing the honest path,
Declining honor,
Discounting one’s own scholarship,
Hesitating to issue a ruling,
Sharing the burden of another,
Judging another with the presumption of merit,
Supporting another in seeing the truth,
Finding a peaceful way to resolve disputes,
Learning with a settled frame of mind,
Both attacking and defending propositions,
Contributing to the arguments of others,
Learning in order to teach what is learned,
Learning in order to practice what is learned,
Posing questions to your teacher which lead to his deeper learning,
Deepening understanding of your teacher’s words, and
Crediting a teaching to the one who taught it.

Indeed you have learned:
Whoever says a word in the name of its sayer brings redemption to the world,
as was said when Mordechai learned of the plot of Bigthan and Teresh against King Ahashuerus,
“He told Queen Esther, and Queen Esther told the king
in the name of Mordechai.”
(Esther 2:22)

Esther Rabbah 7:13
Sefer Ha-Aggadah 118-119
Faithful Children

“If it please the king, let their destruction be decreed…
all of the Jews, young and old,
including women and children,
on a single day,
on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month,
the month of Adar.”
(Esther 3:9,13)

When these orders were sealed and a copy delivered into the hand of Haman, his delight was evident to all of his entourage.  It happened just then that they saw Mordechai walking before them.  But then Mordechai began running.  He was not running away from them; rather he was running towards three children who had just emerged from their school.  Haman and his entourage caught up with them out of curiosity: Now that their destruction was decreed, what words would be exchanged between Mordechai and these doomed children?

When Mordechai reached them, he asked one child first to share the verse that he had learned that day in the House of Study: “Fear not the sudden terror—or the disaster that follows from the wicked” (Proverbs 3:25)!  The next child recited the last verse he learned that day: “Hatch a plot, and it shall be foiled; make a plan, and it shall not stand—because God is with us (Isaiah 8:10)!  Finally the third child spoke his verse: “To old age I am He; and when you turn gray, I will carry you; I made you, and I will carry you; I will bear you and deliver” (Isaiah 46:4)!  (See below for the significance of the children’s verses.)

Upon hearing the children’s studied verses, Mordechai could not contain his joy.  Haman asked him to explain the joyfulness that he exuded from his conversations with the schoolchildren.  Mordechai replied: It is due to the good tidings that they have delivered to me, namely that I should not be terrified of the evil plan that you have devised against us.  Haman immediately adjusted his plan: The first of you that I shall attack will be these children!

“’Esther the queen,’ boasted Haman,
‘invited no one to accompany the king to the feast that she prepared but me!
And tomorrow also I have been invited with the king!
Yet none of this pleases me
as long as I see Mordechai the Jew sitting in the king’s gate.’
‘No problem!’ said his company:
‘Have a gallows built, 50 cubits high,
and in the morning arrange with the king
to have Mordechai hanged thereon.
Then go happily with the king to the feast!’
Their suggestion pleased Haman, and he had the gallows built.”
(Esther 5:12-14)

After he had the gallows built, Haman headed back for Mordechai, whom he found sitting in the House of Study with all of the children.  Their bodies were covered with dust and sackcloth as they studied Torah with loud weeping.  Haman counted their number and determined it to be 22,000.  He placed chains around their necks, leg irons about their feet, and stationed guards over them, declaring: Tomorrow I shall slaughter these children first, and afterwards I shall hang Mordechai!

Their grief-stricken mothers brought them bread and water, imploring: Eat and drink, O children, before you die tomorrow, so that at least you do not die hungry!  Whereupon all of the children placed their hands upon their scrolls and took an oath: By the life of our Rabbi Mordechai, we shall not eat, and we shall not drink, but in our fast shall we die, exhausted.  Then each child rolled up his scroll and returned it to his teacher, explaining: We thought that, by the merit of learning Torah, we would have length of days, but now that it is evident that we have not achieved that merit, take back your scroll from our hands!  They all burst into tears, inside the House of Study, as their mothers burst into tears outside, until their cry reached On High and the Holy One, blessed be He, heard the sound of their weeping.

It was the hour when the Holy One, blessed be He, moved from His Throne of Justice to preside upon His Throne of Mercy, and He said, “What is this great sound that I hear, like the bleating of kids or lambs (cf. Exodus 32:17)?”  “O Master of the Universe,” said Moshe Rabbeinu, “it is not the sound of kids or lambs that You hear (cf. ibid. 18) but the voices of the youngest of Your people, submerged in grief and fasting today for three days and three nights, and tomorrow facing slaughter like kids or lambs!”  Whereupon the mercies of the Holy One, blessed be He, were aroused, and He shattered the seals on the orders of King Ahashuerus (cf. ibid. 19b) and tore them into pieces (cf. ibid. 20), delivering a calamity upon him that very night (cf. ibid. 26ff.)!

(In his Siddur Otzar Ha-Tefillot, Rabbi Aryeh Leib Gordon, 19^th-20^th cent. Lithuania and Jerusalem, cites the advice found in Sefer Zichron Zion by Nathan Joseph Goldberger, 19^th cent. Jerusalem, to recite these three verses following Aleynu (at the conclusion of the Daily Morning Service) for their value as a “wondrous treasure” to provide relief from many “evil edicts.”  In his Iyyun Tefillah commentary, Rabbi Gordon explains that our Midrash is the source for this practice, appreciating the confidence before Haman’s threats that Mordechai drew from them.  In his Etz Yosef commentary, Rabbi Chanoch Zundel ben Yosef, 19^th cent. Poland, interprets them as divine reassurance for Israel as it suffers the Exile: “For God is with us,” that is to say, God serves as our inner security in the face of our foes, “and all of you are as nothing, and there is nothing comparable to Him”; not only “to old age” but even “when you turn gray (advanced old age!) will I, God, carry you, Israel” as a “metaphor for the duration of the Exile!”  “I am He…I will carry you”: “Even though He suffers along with Israel, notwithstanding, as it is I who made them, it is incumbent upon Me to carry them!”  Rabbi Chanoch repeats that this is by way of metaphor.  Does he mean that these verses complement the argument of Aleynu, that just as His creating all and distinguishing us obligates our praise of Him, so do they obligate His amelioration of our Exile?)

Esther Rabbah 8:5
What did Mordechai tell Esther?

“Mordechai told Hatach, Esther’s attendant,
all that had come upon him (karahu)…”
(Esther 4:7)

Why did Mordechai focus upon himself,
since the threat of Haman was upon all of the Jews?

Mordechai said to Hatach: Go and tell Esther that the descendant of Karahu has “come upon you!”  He was alluding to the remembrance in the Torah:

“Remember what Amalek did to you…
how he came upon you (kar’cha) on the way…”
(Deuteronomy 25:17-18a)

For a fuller explanation of Haman’s baleful genealogy, see Esther Rabbah Proem 7, Prophecy of Samuel, above in the Talmud and Midrash section which follows the Maftir and Haftarah Readings for Shabbat Zachor.

Another Interpretation:

Mordechai said to Hatach: Go and tell Esther that all that had come upon him [karahu] in the dream is coming true.  It was his dream, which he had shared with her in her youth:

In the second year of King Ahashuerus a great upheaval came over the earth, terrifying all of its inhabitants, and two great sea monsters thundered at each other in preparation for war, as all the nations of the earth tried to escape the tumult.  Among them was one small nation which the other nations sought to destroy and remove from any remembrance.  Those were dark days for the entire world.  The sea monsters fought each other with such aggravated cruelty that nothing appeared to separate them.  The besieged tiny nation cried out to the Eternal.

Then Mordechai saw a small stream flowing between the two sea monsters which grew in strength and ultimately separated the monsters from combat with each other.  The stream became a powerful river, overflowing its banks, in the manner of the Great Sea, flowing out to all parts of the earth.  He saw then the sun shining over all the earth, so that all of the world was bathed in light.  The small nation was exalted, the lofty were brought low, and there was peace and truth in all the earth.

Mordechai guarded his dream ever since he dreamt it.  But when Haman vexed him, he sent word to Esther through the messenger: This is the dream that I related to you when you were a child; now arise and beg mercy of the Holy One, blessed be He, go before the king and supplicate on behalf of your people and on behalf of your kindred!

Esther Rabbah 8:7
Esther humbles herself before the Eternal

Then Esther sent word to Mordechai: “Have all of the Jews who dwell in Shushan fast for me, not to eat or to drink, for three days, night and day.  I and my maidens shall fast as well, and thus will I go to the king, without legal permission, and if I perish, I perish.”  (Esther 4:16)

At that time Esther was very frightened because of the evil that had broken out against Israel, so she put aside her royal garments and adornments in favor of sackcloth.  She loosened her hair and covered it with dust and ashes and afflicted herself with a fast.  She fell upon her face before the Eternal and prayed: “O Eternal, God of Israel, who has ruled from earliest time and created the world, send help, I pray, to Your maidservant, an impoverished orphan without father or mother, forced to beg from house to house, as I now beg Your mercy from every window in the house of Ahashuerus.  Now, O Eternal, grant success to this Your impoverished maidservant and rescue the flock that You shepherd from the foes who have risen up against us, for no power can prevent You from saving, whether with much or with little.  You, O Father of orphans, stand by the right hand of this orphan who trusts in Your lovingkindness, and grant me mercy before this man whom I fear, and humble him before me as You humble the proud!”

Esther Rabbah 9:1
God supports Esther before the angry king

On the third day, Esther, adorned as queen, stood in the king’s inner court.  When the king saw Queen Esther standing there, he showed his favor by extending to her the golden scepter that was in his hand.  She drew near and touched the top of the scepter.  Said the king to her, “What do you wish, Queen Esther, what is your request?  Even to half of the kingdom, it shall be granted to you!”  (Esther 8:1-3)

On the third day Esther put on her most beautiful garments and adornments.  She took with her two of her handmaidens, placing her right hand upon one of them and leaning upon her in the royal manner.  The other handmaiden followed behind her mistress supporting her jewels so that the gold would not touch the floor upon which she walked.  Esther’s face was cheerful, concealing the anxiety that was in her heart.

As she entered the inner court facing the king and standing before him, the king was sitting upon his royal throne, dressed in gold and jewels.  When he looked up and saw Esther standing directly before him, he became very angry because she had violated his law by appearing before him without being summoned.  Esther looked up and saw his face, his eyes burning like fire from the abundance of anger that was in his heart!  The queen recognized the king’s fury.  She could not breathe!  So upset was she that she put her head upon the maiden who was supporting her right hand.

But God saw and had compassion for His people.  He attended to the pain of the orphan who trusted in Him.  He placed her favor before the king: He added beauty upon her beauty, He made her even more attractive to him than she was before!  Overcome, the king stepped down from his throne and ran to Esther, embracing her and kissing her.  He threw his arms around her and said to her, “Why are you afraid?  The decree against the Jews falls not upon you, as you are my beloved wife!  Why did you not speak out to me when I saw you?”  Esther answered him, “My lord, the king, when I saw you, I was overcome by the dignity of your honor.”

Esther Rabbah 10:12
Mordechai, King of the Jews

Mordechai left the king’s presence clothed in royal apparel of blue and white, a great golden crown, a robe of linen and purple, and the city of Shushan cheered.  (Esther 8:15)

No one stood against the Jews, out of fear of them, and the king’s officers, satraps and governors, helped the Jews, as fear of Mordechai had fallen upon them.  For Mordechai was powerful in the royal court, and his reputation was growing.  (Esther 9:3-4)

Indeed Mordechai the Jew was second only to King Ahashuerus.  He was great among the Jews, appreciated widely among his brethren, seeking good for his people, and showing care to all of his offspring.  (Esther 10:3)

Rabbi Pinchas says:  Mordechai became King of the Jews.  Just as a king wears purple, so Mordechai wore “a robe of linen and purple.”  Just as a king wears a crown around his head, so Mordechai wore “a great golden crown.”  Just as fear of the king is over all of the land, “fear of Mordechai had fallen upon them.”

Just as the king’s coinage circulates throughout the land, so did the coinage of Mordechai.  What was his coinage?   Mordechai was on one side, and Esther was on the other.  Why?  Because he was a good man, a caring man, seeking peace, as was said, “He was great among the Jews, appreciated widely among his brethren, seeking good for his people, and showing care to all of his offspring” (Esther 10:3).  This is what the Psalmist meant when he said, “Observe the upright, recognize the honest, as there is a future for the man of peace” (Psalms 37:37)!

Genesis Rabbah 39:11:  What was the coinage of Mordechai?  Sackcloth and ashes on one side, and a crown of gold upon the other!

Yalkut Shimoni Psalms 896
The Staff

“The Eternal will extend your mighty staff from Zion;
be dominant in the midst of your enemies!”
(Psalms 110:2)

Which staff?

It was the staff of Jacob,
as was said:
“For with my staff I have crossed over this Jordan…”
(Genesis 32:11)

It was the staff that Judah left with Tamar,
as was said:
“And she said…and your staff which is in your hand…”
(Genesis 38:18)

It was the staff of Aaron that turned into a serpent,
as was said:
“Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh and before his servants…”
(Exodus 7:10)

It was the staff that was in the hand of Moses
when Joshua and his men fought with Amalek,
as was said:
“…And the staff of God will be in my hand.”
(Exodus 17:9)

—

HAPPY PURIM!

Copyright © 2025 Eric H. Hoffman