Esnoga Bet Emunah

4544 Highline Dr. SE

Olympia, WA 98501

United States of America

http://www.betemunah.org/

E-Mail: gkilli@aol.com

Esnoga Bet El

102 Broken Arrow Dr.

Paris TN 38242

United States of America

http://torahfocus.com/

E-Mail: waltoakley@charter.net

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

Three and 1/2 year Lectionary Readings	First Year of the Triennial Reading Cycle
Tebet 14, 5776 – Dec, 25-26, 2015	First Year of the Shmita Cycle

Candle Lighting and Habdalah Times:

Amarillo, TX, U.S.

Fri. Dec 25 2015 – Candles at 5:23 PM

Sat. Dec 26 2015 – Habdalah 6:23 PM

Austin & Conroe, TX, U.S.

Fri. Dec 25 2015 – Candles at 5:19 PM

Sat. Dec 26 2015 – Habdalah 6:17 PM

Brisbane, Australia

Fri. Dec 25 2015 – Candles at 6:26 PM

Sat. Dec 26 2015 – Habdalah 7:24 PM

Chattanooga, & Cleveland, TN, U.S.

Fri. Dec 25 2015 – Candles at 5:17 PM

Sat. Dec 26 2015 – Habdalah 6:18 PM

Manila & Cebu, Philippines

Fri. Dec 25 2015 – Candles at 5:16 PM

Sat. Dec 26 2015 – Habdalah 6:09 PM

Miami, FL, U.S.

Fri. Dec 25 2015 – Candles at 5:19 PM

Sat. Dec 26 2015 – Habdalah 6:15 PM

Murray, KY, & Paris, TN. U.S.

Fri. Dec 25 2015 – Candles at 4:25 PM

Sat. Dec 26 2015 – Habdalah 5:26 PM

Olympia, WA, U.S.

Fri. Dec 25 2015 – Candles at 4:09 PM

Sat. Dec 26 2015 – Habdalah 5:20 PM

Port Orange, FL, U.S.

Fri. Dec 25 2015 – Candles at 5:15 PM

Sat. Dec 26 2015 – Habdalah 6:12 PM

San Antonio, TX, U.S.

Fri. Dec 25 2015 – Candles at 5:24 PM

Sat. Dec 26 2015 – Habdalah 6:21 PM

Sheboygan & Manitowoc, WI, US

Fri. Dec 25 2015 – Candles at 4:01 PM

Sat. Dec 26 2015 – Habdalah 5:08 PM

Singapore, Singapore

Fri. Dec 25 2015 – Candles at 6:48 PM

Sat. Dec 26 2015 – Habdalah 7:40 PM

St. Louis, MO, U.S.

Fri. Dec 25 2015 – Candles at 4:28 PM

Sat. Dec 26 2015 – Habdalah 5:30 PM

Tacoma, WA, U.S.

Fri. Dec 25 2015 – Candles at 4:06 PM

Sat. Dec 26 2015 – Habdalah 5:17 PM

For other places see: http://www.chabad.org/calendar/candlelighting.htm

Roll of Honor:

His Eminence Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David and beloved wife HH Giberet Batsheva bat Sarah

His Eminence Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham and beloved wife HH Giberet Dr. Elisheba bat Sarah

His Honor Paqid Adon David ben Abraham

His Honor Paqid Adon Ezra ben Abraham and beloved wife HH Giberet Karmela bat Sarah,

His Honor Paqid Adon Yoel ben Abraham and beloved wife HH Giberet Rivka bat Dorit

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

Her Excellency Giberet Sarai bat Sarah & beloved family

His Excellency Adon Barth Lindemann & beloved family

His Excellency Adon John Batchelor & beloved wife

Her Excellency Giberet Laurie Taylor

Her Excellency Giberet Gloria Sutton & beloved family

His Excellency Adon Gabriel ben Abraham and beloved wife HE Giberet Elisheba bat Sarah

His Excellency Adon Yehoshua ben Abraham and beloved wife HE Giberet Rut bat Sarah

Her Excellency Giberet Prof. Dr. Emunah bat Sarah & beloved family

His Excellency Adon Robert Dick & beloved wife HE Giberet Cobena Dick

Her Excellency Giberet Jacquelyn Bennett

His Excellency Adon Eliseo Peña and beloved wife HE Giberet Eva Peña

His Excellency Adon Gary Smith and beloved wife HE Giberet Brenda Smith

His Excellency Adon Cory and beloved wife HE Giberet Mariam Felty

His Excellency Adon Jarod Barak Barnum and beloved wife HE Giberet Crystal Barnum

For their regular and sacrificial giving, providing the best oil for the lamps, we pray that G-d’s richest blessings be upon their lives and those of their loved ones, together with all Yisrael and her Torah Scholars, amen ve amen!

Also a great thank you and great blessings be upon all who send comments to the list about the contents and commentary of the weekly Torah Seder and allied topics.

If you want to subscribe to our list and ensure that you never loose any of our commentaries, or would like your friends also to receive this commentary, please do send me an E-Mail to benhaggai@GMail.com with your E-Mail or the E-Mail addresses of your friends. Toda Rabba!

This Torah Seder is dedicated to Her Excellency Giberet Sarah the daughter of Her Honour HaRabbanit Giberet BatShevah bat Sarah and His Eminence Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David, praying that HaShem, most blessed be He have mercy for her and effect a complete healing of the body, mind and spirit, that she may be whole and completely restored to good health; together with all the sick of Yisrael, amen ve amen!

Roll of Honor:

His Eminence Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David and beloved wife HH Giberet Batsheva bat Sarah

His Eminence Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham and beloved wife HH Giberet Dr. Elisheba bat Sarah

His Honor Paqid Adon David ben Abraham

His Honor Paqid Adon Ezra ben Abraham and beloved wife HH Giberet Karmela bat Sarah,

His Honor Paqid Adon Yoel ben Abraham and beloved wife HH Giberet Rivka bat Dorit

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

Her Excellency Giberet Sarai bat Sarah & beloved family

His Excellency Adon Barth Lindemann & beloved family

His Excellency Adon John Batchelor & beloved wife

Her Excellency Giberet Laurie Taylor

Her Excellency Giberet Gloria Sutton & beloved family

His Excellency Adon Gabriel ben David and beloved wife HE Giberet Elisheba bat Sarah

His Excellency Adon Yehoshua ben Abraham and beloved wife HE Giberet Rut bat Sarah

Her Excellency Giberet Prof. Dr. Emunah bat Sarah & beloved family

His Excellency Adon Robert Dick & beloved wife HE Giberet Cobena Dick

Her Excellency Giberet Jacquelyn Bennett

His Excellency Adon Eliseo Peña and beloved wife HE Giberet Eva Peña

His Excellency Adon Gary Smith and beloved wife HE Giberet Brenda Smith

His Excellency Adon Cory and beloved wife HE Giberet Mariam Felty

His Excellency Adon Jarod Barak Barnum and beloved wife HE Giberet Crystal Barnum

Also a great thank you and great blessings be upon all who send comments to the list about the contents and commentary of the weekly Torah Seder and allied topics.

Shabbat: “VayaVou Sh’nei HaMal’akhim”

“And came the two angels”

Shabbat	Torah Reading:	Weekday Torah Reading:
וַיָּבֹאוּ שְׁנֵי הַמַּלְאָכִים
“VayaVou Sh’nei HaMal’akhim”	Reader 1 – B’resheet 19:1-9	Reader 1 – B’resheet 21:1-3
“And came the two angels”	Reader 2 – B’resheet 19:10-17	Reader 2 – B’resheet 21:4-6
“Llegaron, pues, los dos ángeles”	Reader 3 – B’resheet 19:18-23	Reader 3 – B’resheet 21:7-9
B’resheet (Gen.) Gen. 19:1 – 20:18	Reader 4 – B’resheet 19:24-30
Ashlamatah: Judges 19:16-24 + 20:27	Reader 5 – B’resheet 19:31-38
	Reader 6 – B’resheet 20:1-9	Reader 1 – B’resheet 21:1-3
Psalms 14:1-7	Reader 7 – B’resheet 20:10-18	Reader 2 – B’resheet 21:4-6
	Maftir – B’resheet 20:15-18	Reader 3 – B’resheet 21:7-9
N.C.: Mark 2:1-12 Luke 5:17-26 & Acts 4:23-31	Judges 19:16-24 + 20:27

Blessings Before Torah Study

Blessed are You, Ha-Shem our G-d, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us through Your commandments, and commanded us to actively study Torah. Amen!

Please Ha-Shem, our G-d, sweeten the words of Your Torah in our mouths and in the mouths of all Your people Israel. May we and our offspring, and our offspring's offspring, and all the offspring of Your people, the House of Israel, may we all, together, know Your Name and study Your Torah for the sake of fulfilling Your delight. Blessed are You, Ha-Shem, Who teaches Torah to His people Israel. Amen!

Blessed are You, Ha-Shem our G-d, King of the universe, Who chose us from all the nations, and gave us the Torah. Blessed are You, Ha-Shem, Giver of the Torah. Amen!

Ha-Shem spoke to Moses, explaining a Commandment. "Speak to Aaron and his sons, and teach them the following Commandment: This is how you should bless the Children of Israel. Say to the Children of Israel:

May Ha-Shem bless you and keep watch over you; - Amen!

May Ha-Shem make His Presence enlighten you, and may He be kind to you; - Amen!

May Ha-Shem bestow favor on you, and grant you peace. – Amen!

This way, the priests will link My Name with the Israelites, and I will bless them."

These are the Laws for which the Torah did not mandate specific amounts: How much growing produce must be left in the corner of the field for the poor; how much of the first fruits must be offered at the Holy Temple; how much one must bring as an offering when one visits the Holy Temple three times a year; how much one must do when performing acts of kindness; and there is no maximum amount of Torah that a person must study.

These are the Laws whose benefits a person can often enjoy even in this world, even though the primary reward is in the Next World: They are: Honoring one's father and mother; doing acts of kindness; early attendance at the place of Torah study -- morning and night; showing hospitality to guests; visiting the sick; providing for the financial needs of a bride; escorting the dead; being very engrossed in prayer; bringing peace between two people, and between husband and wife; but the study of Torah is as great as all of them together. Amen!

Rashi & Targum Pseudo Jonathan

for: B’resheet ‎‎19:1 – 20:18‎

Rashi’s Translation	Targum Pseudo Jonathan
1. And the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom, and Lot saw and arose toward them, and he prostrated himself on his face to the ground.	1. Two angels came to Sedom at the evening; and Lot sat in the gate of Sedom. And Lot saw, and rose up to meet them from the gate of the tabernacle. And he bowed his face to the ground, JERUSALEM: And Lot sat in the gate of Sedom, and he saw them, and ran and saluted them, and bowed with his face to the ground.
2. And he said, "Behold now my lords, please turn to your servant's house and stay overnight and wash your feet, and you shall arise early and go on your way." And they said, "No, but we will stay overnight in the street."	2. and said, I beg now, my lords, turn now hither, and enter the house of your servant, and lodge, and wash your feet; and you will arise and proceed on your way. And they said to him, No; for in the street we will lodge. JERUSALEM: And wash your feet, and wash you in the morning, and go to your tents in peace. And they said to him, No; for in the open place of the city we will lodge.
3. And he urged them strongly, and they turned in to him, and came into his house, and he made them a feast, and he baked unleavened cakes, and they ate.	3. And he persuaded them earnestly, and they turned aside to be with him; and they entered his house, and he made a repast for them, and prepared unleavened cakes. And it seemed to him as if they did eat. JERUSALEM: And it appeared as if they ate and drank.
4. When they had not yet retired, and the people of the city, the people of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, the entire populace from every end[of the city].	4. They had not yet lain down, when the wicked men of the city, the men of Sedom, came round upon the house, from the youth to the old man, all the people throughout.
5. And they called to Lot and said to him, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, and let us be intimate with them."	5. And they cried to Lot, and said to him, Where are the men who entered with you tonight? Bring them out to us, and we will lie with them.
6. And Lot came out to them to the entrance, and he shut the door behind him.	6. And Lot went out to them to the gate, and shut the door after him.
7. And he said, "My brethren, please do not do evil.	7. And he said, I pray, my brethren, do not thus wickedly. JERUSALEM: And Lot said to them, Wait here a little, till we have besought mercy before the LORD.
8. Behold now I have two daughters who were not intimate with a man. I will bring them out to you, and do to them as you see fit; only to these men do nothing, because they have come under the shadow of my roof."	8. Behold, now, I have two daughters who have had no dealing with a man; I would now bring even them out to you to do to them as is meet before you, rather than you should do evil to these men, because they have entered in to lodge under the shadow of my roof. JERUSALEM: Who have not known dealing with man.
9. But they said, "Back away." And they said, "This one came to sojourn, and he is judging! Now, we will deal even worse with you than with them." And they pressed hard upon the man Lot, and they drew near to break the door.	9. And they said, Give up this. And they said, Did not this come alone to sojourn among us and, behold, he is making himself a judge, and judging the whole of us? But now we will do worse to you than to them. And they prevailed against the man, against Lot, greatly, and came near, to shatter the door.
10. And the men stretched forth their hands, and they brought Lot to them to the house, and they shut the door.	10. And the Men stretched forth their hands, and brought Lot unto them in the house, and shut the door.
11. And the men who were at the entrance of the house they struck with blindness, both small and great, and they toiled in vain to find the entrance.	11. But the men who were at the gate of the house they struck with a suffusion of the eyes, from the young to the old, and they wearied themselves to find the gate. JERUSALEM: With blindness.
12. And the men said to Lot, "Whom else do you have here? A son-in-law, your sons, and your daughters, and whomever you have in the city, take out of the place.	12. And the Men said to Lot, Have you yet in this city kinsman or brother? Your sons-in-law, your sons and your daughters, take forth from the place;
13. For we are destroying this place, because their cry has become great before the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it."	13. for we are about to destroy this place, for the cry of it before the LORD is great, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it.
14. So Lot went forth and spoke to his sons-in-law, the suitors of his daughters, and he said, "Arise, go forth from this place, for the Lord is destroying the city," but he seemed like a comedian in the eyes of his sons-in-law.	14. And Lot went forth, and spoke with his sons-in-law who had taken his daughters, and said, Arise, come forth from this place; for the LORD destroys the city. But the word was as a wonder, (and he) as a man ranting, in the eyes of his sons-in-law.
15. And as the dawn rose, the angels pressed Lot, saying, "Get up, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you perish because of the iniquity of the city."	15. And at the time that the morning was about to rise, the angels were urgent upon Lot, saying, Up, take your wife and your two daughters who are with you, lest you perish in the condemnation of the inhabitants of the city. JERUSALEM: And it was at the time of the upcoming of the column of the morning.
16. But he tarried, and the men took hold of his hand and his wife's hand, and the hand of his two daughters, out of the Lord's pity for him, and they took him out and placed him outside the city.	16. But he delayed: and the men laid hold on his hand, and on the hand of his wife, and on the hand of his two daughters, for mercy from the LORD was upon them. And they brought them forth, and set them without the city.
17. And it came to pass, when they took them outside, that he said, "Flee for your life, do not look behind you, and do not stand in the entire plain. Flee to the mountain, lest you perish."	17. And it was that as they led them without, one of them returned into Sedom, to destroy it; and one remained with Lot, and said to him, Be merciful to your life; look not behind you, and stand not in all the plain; to the mountain escape, or you perish.
18. And Lot said to them, "Please, do not, 0 Lord.	18. And Lot said to him, I beseech of you endure with me a little hour, until I have prayed for mercy from before the LORD. Be steadfast here a little with us until I have besought mercy before the LORD.
19. Behold now, Your servant has found favor in Your eyes, and You have increased Your kindness, which You have done with me, to sustain my soul. But I cannot flee to the mountain, lest the evil overtake me, and I die.	19. Behold, now, your servant has found mercy before You, and You have multiplied the kindness You have done me in saving my life, and I am not able to escape to the mountain, lest evil overtake me, and I die.
20. Behold now, this city is near to flee there, and it is small. Let me please flee there. Is it not small? And my soul will survive."	20. Behold, now, I pray, this city, it is a near habitation, and convenient (for us) to escape thither; and it is small, and the guilt thereof light. I will flee thither, then. Is it not a little one? and my life will be preserved.
21. And he said to him, "Behold I have favored you also as regards this matter, that I will not overturn the city that you have mentioned.	21. And He said, Behold, I have accepted you in this matter also, that I will not overthrow the city for which you have spoken, to destroy it, that you may escape to it.
22. Hasten, flee there, for I will not be able to do anything until you arrive there." Therefore, he named the city Zoar.	22. Hasten and flee thither: for I cannot do anything till you have entered there. Therefore he called the name of the city Zoar.
23. The sun came out upon the earth, and Lot came to Zoar.	23. The sun had passed the sea, and come forth upon the earth, at the end of three hours, and Lot entered into Zoar.
24. And the Lord caused to rain down upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire, from the Lord, from heaven.	24. And the Word of the LORD had caused showers of favour to descend upon Sedom and Amorah, to the intent that they might work repentance, but they did not: so that they said, Wickedness is not manifest before the LORD. Behold, then, there are now sent down upon them sulphur and fire from before the Word of the LORD from Heaven. JERUSALEM: And the Word of the LORD Himself had made to descend upon the people of Sedom and Amorah showers of favour, that they might work repentance from their wicked works. But when they saw the showers of favour, they said, So, our wicked works are not manifest before Him. He turned (then), and caused to descend upon them bitumen and fire from before the LORD from the heavens.
25. And He turned over these cities and the entire plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and the vegetation of the ground.	25. And He overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and the herbage of the earth.
26. And his wife looked from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.	26. And his wife looked after the angel, to know what would be in the end of her father's house, for she was of the daughters of the Sedomites; and because she sinned by salt (bemilcha) she was manifestly punished; behold, she was made a statue of salt. JERUSALEM: And because the wife of Lot was of the children of the people of Sedom, she looked behind her, to see what would be the end of her father's house: and, behold, she was made to stand a statue of salt, until the time of the resurrection will come, when the dead will arise.
27. And Abraham arose early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord.	27. And Abraham arose in the morning (and went) to the place where he had ministered in prayer before the LORD.
28. And he looked over the face of Sodom and Gomorrah and over the entire face of the land of the plain, and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the earth had risen like the smoke of a furnace.	28. And he looked towards Sedom and Amorah, and all the land of the plain, and saw, and, behold, the smoke of the land went up as the smoke of a furnace.
29. And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and He sent Lot out of the midst of the destruction when He overturned the cities in which Lot had dwelt.	29. And it was when the LORD destroyed the cities of the plain, that He remembered the righteousness/ generosity of Abraham, and sent forth Lot from the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities wherein Lot had dwelt.
30. And Lot went up from Zoar, and he dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters were with him, for he was afraid to dwell in Zoar; so he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.	30. And Lot went up from Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; because he feared to reside in Zoar. And he dwelt in a cavern, he and his two daughters.
31. And the elder said to the younger, "Our father is old, and there is no man on earth to come upon us, as is the custom of all the earth.	31. And the elder said to the younger, Our father is old, and there is no man in the land to come to us after the way of the whole earth: JERUSALEM: And there is not a man in the land who may come with us after the law of all the earth:
32. Come, let us give our father wine to drink, and let us lie with him, and let us bring to life seed from our father."	32. come, let us make our father drink wine, and when he is drunk we will lie with him, and raise up sons from our father.
33. And they gave their father wine to drink on that night, and the elder came and lay with her father, and he did not know of her lying down or of her rising up.	33. And they made their father drink wine that night, and he was drunk. And the elder arose, and lay with her father, nor did he know when she lay down, nor when she arose.
34. And it came to pass on the morrow, that the elder said to the younger, "Behold, last night I lay with my father. Let us give him wine to drink tonight too, and come, lie with him, and let us bring to life seed from our father."	34. And it was the day following, and the elder said to the younger, Behold, now, I lay last evening with our father; let us make him drink wine this night also, that he may be drunk; and you go and lie with him, that we may raise up sons from our father.
35. So they gave their father to drink on that night also, and the younger arose and lay with him, and he did not know of her lying down or of her rising up.	35. And they made their father drink wine that night also, and he was drunk, and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he knew not in her lying down nor in her rising up.
36. And Lot's two daughters conceived from their father.	36. And the two daughters of Lot became with child by their father.
37. And the elder bore a son, and she named him Moab; he is the father of Moab until this day.	37. And the elder brought forth a son, and she called his name Moab, because from her father she had conceived. He is the father of the Moabites unto this day.
38. And the younger, she too bore a son, and she named him Ben-ami; he is the father of the children of Ammon until this day.	38. And the younger also brought forth a son, and she called his name Bar-Ammi, because he was the son of her father. He is the father of the Ammonite people unto this day.

1. And Abraham traveled from there to the land of the south, and he dwelt between Kadesh and between Shur, and he sojourned in Gerar.	1. And Abraham went on from thence to the land of the south, and dwelt between Rekam and Chagra, and had his habitation in Gerar.
2. And Abraham said about Sarah his wife, "She is my sister," and Abimelech the king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.	2. And Abraham said concerning Sarah his wife, She is my sister. And Abimelek, king of Gerar, sent and took Sarah. JERUSALEM: King of Arad.
3. And God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and He said to him, "Behold you are going to die because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a married woman."	3. And a word came from before the LORD unto Abimelek, in a dream of the night, and said to him, Behold, you die, because of the woman whom you have carried away, and she is a man's wife.
4. And Abimelech had not come near to her, and he said, "O Lord, will You kill even a righteous nation?	4. But Abimelek had not come near to defile her; and he said, LORD, will the son of a people who have not sinned, and whom it is right to absolve in the judgment, be killed?
5. Did he not say to me, 'She is my sister'? And she, even she said, 'He is my brother.' With the innocence of my heart and with the purity of my hands have I done this."	5. Did he not tell me, She is my sister? And did not she also say, He is my brother? In the truthfulness of my heart and the innocence of my hands have I done this.
6. And God said to him in a dream, "I too know that you did this with the innocence of your heart, and I too have withheld you from sinning to Me; therefore, I did not let you touch her.	6. And the Word of the LORD said to him in a dream, Before Me also it is manifest that in the truthfulness of your heart you did this, and so I restrained you from sinning before Me; therefore I would not permit you to come near her.
7. And now, return the man's wife, because he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and [you will] live; but if you do not return [her], know that you will surely die, you and all that is yours."	7. And now let the wife of the man return; for he is a prophet; he will pray for you, and you will live: but if you will not let her return, know that dying you will die, you and all who are yours.
8. And Abimelech arose early in the morning, and he summoned all his servants, and he spoke all these words in their ears; and the men were very frightened.	8. And Abimelek arose in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these words before them; and the men feared greatly.
9. And Abimelech summoned Abraham and said to him, "What have you done to us, and what have I sinned against you, that you have brought upon me and upon my kingdom a great sin? Deeds that are not done, you have done to me."	9. And Abimelek called Abraham, and said, What have you done to us? And in what have I sinned against you? For you have brought upon me and upon my kingdom a great sin. You have wrought with me works that are not right.
10. And Abimelech said to Abraham, "What did you see, that you did this thing?"	10. And Abimelek said to Abraham, What have you seen, that you did this thing?
11. And Abraham said, "For I said, 'Surely, there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.	11. And Abraham said, Because I said in my heart, The fear of the LORD is not in this place, and they will kill me for the sake of my wife.
12. And also, indeed, she is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife.	12. But in truth she is my sister, the daughter of my father's brother, but not of the kindred of my mother; and she became my wife.
13. And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father's house, that I said to her: This is your kindness, which you shall do with me: whither we come, say about me, 'He is my brother.'"	13. And it was when they sought to turn me aside to the worship of idols, and I went forth from my father's house, that I said to her, This is the kindness you will do me: in every place to which we come, say concerning me, He is my brother.
14. And Abimelech took flocks and cattle and menservants and maidservants, and he gave [them] to Abraham, and he restored to him his wife Sarah.	14. And Abimelek took sheep, and restored Sarah his wife to him.
15. And Abimelech said, "Here is my land before you; wherever it pleases you, you may dwell."	15. And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before you; and wherever is right in your eyes, dwell.
16. And to Sarah he said, "Behold I have given a thousand pieces of silver to your brother; behold it is to you a covering of the eyes for all who are with you, and with all you shall contend."	16. And to Sarah he said, Behold, I have given a thousand sileen of silver to your brother; behold, they are to you a veil of the eyes, inasmuch as you were hidden from your husband one night, and I would have seen you: for were I to give all that I have it would not suffice (or be proportionate). And the words were debated. And Abraham knew that Abimelek had not come near Sarah his wife. JERUSALEM: And to Sarah he said, Behold, I have given a thousand sileen of silver to your brother; behold, that silver is given to you as a present, because you were hidden from the eyes of Abraham your husband one night: and of all that I have, for on behalf of all I am corrected, behold, were I to give all whatever I have, it would not suffice. Let the words be approved, and may Abraham the Just learn that I have not known you.
17. And Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his handmaids, and they gave birth.	17. And Abraham prayed before the LORD, and the LORD cured Abimelech and his wife and his handmaids and they bore children.
18. For the Lord had shut every womb of Abimelech's household, because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.	18. Because the LORD had indeed locked up completely every opening of the womb in the house of Abimelech, on account of Sarah, Abraham’s wife. JERUSALEM: Closing had closed.

Welcome to the World of P’shat Exegesis

In order to understand the finished work of the P’shat mode of interpretation of the Torah, one needs to take into account that the P’shat is intended to produce a catechetical output, whereby a question/s is/are raised and an answer/a is/are given using the seven Hermeneutic Laws of R. Hillel and as well as the laws of Hebrew Grammar and Hebrew expression.

The Seven Hermeneutic Laws of R. Hillel are as follows

[cf. http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=472&letter=R]:

1. Ḳal va-ḥomer: "Argumentum a minori ad majus" or "a majori ad minus"; corresponding to the scholastic proof a fortiori.

2. Gezerah shavah: Argument from analogy. Biblical passages containing synonyms or homonyms are subject, however much they differ in other respects, to identical definitions and applications.

3. Binyan ab mi-katub eḥad: Application of a provision found in one passage only to passages which are related to the first in content but do not contain the provision in question.

4. Binyan ab mi-shene ketubim: The same as the preceding, except that the provision is generalized from two Biblical passages.

5. Kelal u-Peraṭ and Peraṭ u-kelal: Definition of the general by the particular, and of the particular by the general.

6. Ka-yoẓe bo mi-maḳom aḥer: Similarity in content to another Scriptural passage.

7. Dabar ha-lamed me-'inyano: Interpretation deduced from the context.

Reading Assignment:

The Torah Anthology: Yalkut Me’Am Lo’Ez - Vol II: The Patriarchs

By: Rabbi Yaaqov Culi, Translated by: Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan

Published by: Moznaim Publishing Corp. (New York, 1988)

Vol. 2 – “The Patriarchs,” pp. 220-273

Rashi’s Commentary for: ‎ B’resheet (Genesis) ‎19:1 – 20:18‎

the...angels But elsewhere (18:2) Scripture calls them men! When the Shechinah was with them, it calls them men. Another explanation: In connection with Abraham, whose power was great, and the angels were as frequently with him as men, it calls them men, but in connection with Lot, it calls them angels.-[from Gen. Rabbah 52; Tan. Buber, Vayera 20]

in the evening Now did the angels tarry so long from Hebron to Sodom? But they were angels of mercy, and they were waiting, perhaps Abraham would succeed in his defense for them [the cities].-[from Gen. Rabbah 50: 1]

and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom [The word יֽשֵׁב is written without a “vav” so that it can be read יָשַׁב “he sat,” in the past tense]. On that very day, they had appointed him judge over them.-[from Gen. Rabbah 50:3]

and Lot saw From Abraham’s house he learned to look for wayfarers.-[from Tan. Buber, Vayera 15]

2 Behold now, my lords -”Behold you are now lords to me since you have passed beside me.” Another explanation: “Behold now you must pay heed to these wicked men, that they should not recognize you,” and this is sound advice.

please turn Take a circuitous path to my house, in a roundabout way, that they should not recognize that you are entering there. That is why it says: “turn.” (Gen. Rabbah 50:4).

and stay overnight and wash your feet Now is it customary for people to first stay overnight and afterwards to wash? Moreover, Abraham said to them first, “and wash your feet!” But so did Lot say (i.e., he reasoned), “If, when the people of Sodom come, they will see that they have already washed their feet, they will invent false accusations against me and say, ‘Two or three days have already passed since they came to your house, and you did not let us know!’” Therefore, he said, “It is better that they remain here with the dust on their feet, so that they should appear as though they had just arrived now.” Therefore he said, “Stay overnight” first and afterwards, “wash.”-[from Gen. Rabbah 50:4]

And they said, “No...” But to Abraham they said, “So shall you do...” From here [we learn] that one may refuse an offer by a person of lesser importance, but should not refuse an offer by a great man(Gen. Rabbah 50:4).

but we will stay overnight in the street Heb. כִּי . This כִּי is used to mean “but,” for they said, “We will not turn in to your house, but we will stay overnight in the street of the city.”

3 and they turned in to him They took a circuitous path toward his house.-[from Gen. Rabbah 50:4]

and he baked unleavened cakes It was Passover.

4 When they had not yet retired, the people of the city, the people of Sodom It is interpreted in Gen. Rabbah (50:5) as follows: When they had not yet retired, the people of the city were the topic of conversation of the angels, for they were asking Lot about their character and their deeds, and he told them that most of them were wicked. While they were still speaking about them, “And the people of the city,” etc. The simple meaning of the verse, however, is: “and the people of the city, people of wickedness, surrounded the house.” Because they were wicked, they are called people of Sodom, as Scripture states (above 13:13): “And the people of Sodom were very evil and sinful...”

the entire populace from every end From one end of the city to the other, for not one of them protested, because there was not even one righteous man among them.-[from Gen. Rabbah 50:5]

5 and let us be intimate with them homosexually, as in (verse 8): “who were not intimate with a man.”-[from Gen. Rabbah 55:5]

8 these Heb. הָאֵל , like הָאֵלָה [from Targumim]

because they have come Heb. כִּי עַל כֵּן . Do this favor in my honor because they have come into the shade of my roof [lit. my beam]. The Targum renders: בִּטְלֵל שָׁרִיתִי in the shade of my beam. The Targum of קוֹרָה, beam, is שָׁרוּתָה .

9 But they said, “Back away.” Heb. הָלְאָה גֶשׁ , “Get yourself away over there”; i.e., “Draw near to the sides and distance yourself from us.” And similarly every [instance of] הָלְאָה in Scripture is an expression of distancing, as in (Num. 17:2): “Scatter away (הָלְאָה) ”; (I Sam. 20:22, 37): “Behold the arrows are beyond you (וָהָלְאָה) .” Thus, גָשׁ הָלְאָה , means: “Back away,” in Old French: trete de nos, go away from us. This is a word of rebuke, as if to say. “We don’t care about you,” and similar to it is (Isa. 65:5): “Keep (קְרַב) to yourself; do not come near me”; and so (ibid. 49:20): “Move aside (גְָּשָׁה) so that I may dwell,” meaning, “Draw aside for my sake so that I will dwell beside you.” [The Sodomites were saying as follows]: “You intercede for the wayfarers? How dare you?!” In response to what he said to them about his daughters, they said to him, “Go away,” a mild expression, but in response to what he said in defense of the wayfarers, they said, “This one has come to sojourn.” You are the only stranger among us, for you have come to sojourn here, “and he is judging,” [meaning] and you have become our chastiser!?

the door Heb. הַדֶלֶת . The door, which swings to lock and to open.

11 the entrance That is the space through which they enter and exit.

with blindness Heb. בַָּסַנְוֵרִים , a plague of blindness.-[from Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer, ch. 25]

both small and great -(Gen. Rabbah 50:8) The young ones started to sin first, as it is said (above verse 4): “both young and old”; therefore, the punishment began with them.

12 Whom else do you have here? The simple meaning of the verse is: Whom else do you have in this city besides your wife and your daughters who are at home?-

A son-in-law, your sons, and your daughters If you have a son-in-law or sons and daughters, take them out of this place.

your sons The sons of your married daughters. According to the Midrash Aggadah (Gen. Rabbah 50:5) the interpretation of עֽד is: “Still, after they have committed such a disgraceful deed, do you still have an excuse to defend them?” For the whole night he [Lot] was speaking in their favor. This may be read: עֽד מִי לְךָ פֶּה : Do you still have a mouth? (i.e., Do you still have anything to say to justify them?)

14 his sons-in-law He had two married daughters in the city.

the suitors of his daughters to whom those in the house were betrothed.-[from Gen. Rabbah 50:9]

15 pressed Heb. וַיָאִיצוּ , as the Targum renders: “and they pressed” [meaning] “they rushed him.”

who are here who are ready at hand in the house for you to save them. There is also a midrashic explanation, but this is the proper way to explain the verse.

perish You will be destroyed. [The verse] “until all the generation expires” (Deut. 2:14) is rendered by Targum as, “until the entire generation perished.”

16 But he tarried in order to save his possessions.-[from Gen. Rabbah 50:11]

took hold Heb. וַיַחֲזִיקוּ [in the plural form] (Gen. Rabbah 50:11). One of them was an emissary to save him and his companion was to overturn Sodom; therefore, it is stated: “and he said: Flee...,” and it is not stated, “and they said.”

17 Flee for your life Let it suffice for you to save lives. Do not worry about possessions.-[from Tosefta Sanh. 14:1]

do not look behind you You dealt wickedly together with them, but in Abraham’s merit you are saved. You do not deserve to see their punishment while you are being saved.-[from obscure midrashic source]

in the entire plain the plain of the Jordan.

Flee to the mountain Flee to Abraham, who dwells on the mountain, as it is said (above 12:8): “And he moved from there to the mountain.” And even now, he was dwelling there, as it is said (above 13:3): “until the place where his tent had previously been.” And although it says (ibid. verse 18): “And Abram pitched his tents, etc.,” he had many tents, and they extended until Hebron.

Flee Heb. הִמָלֵט . An expression of slipping away, and so is every [instance of] הַמְלָטָה in Scripture, asmuzer in Old French, to escape, slip away. And so (Isa. 66:7): “She delivered (וְהִמְלִיטָה) a male child,” meaning that the fetus was released from the womb; (Ps. 124:7): “escaped (נִמְלְטָה) like a bird”; (Isa. 46:2): “they could not deliver (מַלֵט) the burden” i.e., to release the burden of the excrement in their orifices.

18 “Please do not, O Lord.” Our Sages said (Shev. 35b) that this name is holy (referring to God), because it is stated in its context (verse 19): “to sustain my soul,” referring to He Who has the power to cause to die and to cause to live. And the Targum [similarly] renders: Please now, my Lord.

Please, do not Do not tell me to flee to the mountain.

Please Heb. נָא , an expression of request.

19 lest the evil overtake me When I was among the people of Sodom, the Holy One, blessed be He, saw my deeds and the deeds of the people of the city, and I appeared righteous and worthy of being saved. But when I shall come alongside a righteous/generous man, I will be considered a wicked man. And so did the woman of Zarephath say to Elijah (I Kings 17:18): “Have you come to me to cause my sins to be remembered?” Before you came to me, the Holy One, blessed be He, would see my deeds and the deeds of my people, and I was a righteous/generous woman among them, but since you have come to me, compared to your deeds, I am wicked.-[from Gen. Rabbah 50:11]

20 this city is near -(Shab. ch. 1, 10b) Its settlement is near [in time], meaning that it was recently settled. Therefore, its measure is not yet full. And how recently was it settled? From the Generation of the Dispersion, when the people commenced to disperse, and they started to settle, each one in his place, and that took place in the year of Peleg’s death. And from then until now, there were 52 years, for Peleg died when Abraham was 48 years old. How so? Peleg lived after he had begotten Reu, 209 years (above 11:19). Subtract from them 32 [years] when Serug was born, and 30 years from [the birth of] Serug until Nahor was born, totaling 62 years. And from [the birth of] Nahor until Terah was born were 29 years, totaling 91 years. And from then until Abraham was born were 70 years, totaling 161 years. Add 48 years to them, and the total is 209 years, and that was the year of the Dispersion. (See above 10:25). When Sodom was destroyed, Abraham was 99 years old. Hence, from the Generation of the Dispersion until now were 52 years. The settlement of Zoar took place after the settlement of Sodom and its companions by one year. That is the meaning of “Let me please (נָא) flee there.” נא has the numerical value of 51.

Is it not small? Are not its iniquities few? Therefore, you can leave it alone.

And my soul will survive therein. This is its midrashic interpretation. But the simple meaning is [as follows]: It is a small city with a small population. You do not have to care if you spare it and my soul survives therein.-[from Targum Onkelos]

21 also as regards this matter Not only will you be saved, but I will save the entire city for your sake.

that I will...overturn Heb. הָפְכִּי , I overturn, as (below 48:5): “until I come (בֽאִי) ”; (above 16:13): “after I have seen (רֽאִי) ”; (Jer. 31: 19): “whenever I speak (דַבְָּרִי) of him.”

22 Hasten, flee there, for I will not be able to do This is the angels’ punishment because they said (verse 13): “For we are destroying,” and they attributed the matter to themselves; therefore they did not move from there until they were compelled to say that the matter was not in their power.-[based on Gen. Rabbah 50:9]

for I will not be able [This expression is] in the singular. From here you learn that one was to overturn [the cities] and one was to save [Lot and his family], because two angels are not sent for one mission.-[from Gen. Rabbah 50:2]

Therefore, he named the city Zoar Because of [the words] “and it is small” (מִצְעָר) .

24 And the Lord caused to rain down Wherever it is written: “And the Lord” it refers to God and His tribunal.-[from Gen. Rabbah 51:2]

caused to rain down upon Sodom At the rise of dawn, as it is stated (verse 15): “And as the dawn rose,” a time when the moon is in the sky with the sun. Since some of them worshipped the sun and some of them the moon, the Holy One, blessed be He, said, “If I punish them by day, the moon worshippers will say, ‘Had it been at night, when the moon rules, we would not have been destroyed.’ And if I punish them at night, the sun worshippers will say, ‘Had it been by day, when the sun rules, we would not have been destroyed.’” Therefore, it is written: “And as the dawn rose”: He punished them at a time when the sun and the moon [both] rule.-[from Gen. Rabbah 60:12]

caused to rain down, etc., brimstone and fire- At first, it was rain, and it became brimstone and fire.-[from Mechilta Beshallach, Massechta d’Shiratha, ch. 5]

from the Lord It is customary for the Scriptural verses to speak in this manner, as in (above 4:23): “wives of Lemech,” and he did not say, “my wives.” And so did David say, (I Kings 1:33): “Take with you the servants of your lord,” and he did not say, “my servants”; and so did Ahasuerus say (Esther 8:8): “in the name of the king,” and he did not say, “in my name.” Here too it states “from the Lord,” and it does not state “from Him.”-[from Sanh. 38b]

from heaven This is what Scripture says (Job 36:31): “For He judges the nations therewith” [i.e., with the heavens]. When He comes to chastise mankind, He brings upon them fire from heaven, as He did to Sodom, and when He comes to let down the manna, [it is also] from heaven [as Scripture states] (Exod. 16:4): “Behold I am raining down to you bread from heaven.”-[from Tan. Buber, Beshallach 20]

25 And He turned over these cities, etc. The four of them were situated on one rock, and He turned them upside down, as it is said (Job 28:9): “He stretched forth His hand upon the flinty rock, etc.” [He turned it over from the root of the mountains.]-[from Gen. Rabbah 51:4]

26 And his wife looked from behind him from behind Lot.-[from Zohar, vol. 1, 108b]

and she became a pillar of salt She sinned with salt, and she was punished with salt. He said to her, “Give a little salt to these guests.” She replied, “Also this evil custom you wish to introduce into this place?”-[from Gen. Rabbah 50:4]

28 smoke Heb. קִיטוֹר a pillar of smoke, torche in Old French, column of fire (or smoke).

furnace An excavation in which stones are burned into lime. This is the meaning of כִּבְשָׁן wherever it appears in Scripture.

29 that God remembered Abraham What does the remembrance of Abraham have to do with Lot? He remembered that Lot knew that Sarah was Abraham’s wife, and that he had heard in Egypt that Abraham said about Sarah, “She is my sister,” yet he did not reveal the matter because he [Lot] had pity on him [Abraham]. Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, had pity on him.-[from Gen. Rabbah 51:6]

30 for he was afraid to dwell in Zoar Because it was near Sodom.-[from Zohar, vol. 1, 109a]

31 Our father is old And if not now, when? Perhaps he will die or will no longer be able to beget children.

and there is no man on earth They thought that the entire world had been destroyed, as in the Generation of the Flood (Gen. Rabbah 51:8).

33 And they gave, etc., to drink Wine was made available to them in the cave to make it possible for two nations to emerge from them.-[from Sifrei Ekev 43]

and lay with her father But in the case of the younger, it says: ”and she lay with him.” Since the younger one was not the initiator of the illicit relations, but rather her sister taught it to her, Scripture covers up for her and does not explicitly tell of her disgrace. But [concerning] the elder, who initiated the illicit relations, Scripture publicizes her explicitly (Tan. Buber, Balak 26). The word וּבְקוּמָה , mentioned in conjunction with the elder, is dotted (i.e., there is a dot over the second “vav”), to denote that when she arose, he did know, but nevertheless, he was not careful not to drink on the second night (Nazir 23a). (Said Rabbi Levi: Whoever is inflamed by the lust for illicit relations, will ultimately be made to eat his own flesh (i.e., to commit incest). -[from Gen. Rabbah 51:9] [This does not appear in all editions of Rashi.]

36 And...conceived Although a woman does not conceive from the first intercourse, these controlled themselves and took out their maiden-hoods and conceived from the first intercourse.- [from Gen. Rabbah 51:9]

37 Moab This one, who was immodest, publicized that he was from her father מֵאָב) (מוֹאָב- , but the younger one named him euphemistically ( בֶן עַמִי the son of my people) and was rewarded in the time of Moses, for it is stated concerning the children of Ammon (Deut. 2:19): “You shall not involve yourself in strife with them” at all, but concerning Moab, He warned them only not to wage war with them, but He permitted them [the Israelites] to cause them pain.-[from Nazir 23b]

Chapter 20

1 Abraham traveled from there When he saw that the cities had been destroyed and that travelers had ceased to pass by, he migrated from there. Another explanation: To distance himself from Lot, who had acquired a bad reputation, because he had been intimate with his daughters.-[from Gen. Rabbah 52:3, 4]

2 And Abraham said Here he did not ask her permission, but [said that she was his sister] forcibly, against her will, because she had already been taken to Pharaoh’s house on account of this.--[from Gen. Rabbah ad loc.]

about Sarah his wife [ אֶל means] “about” Sarah his wife, and similarly (I Sam. 4:21): “concerning (אֶל) the taking of the Ark, and concerning (אֶל) [the death of] her father-in-law.” Both expressions (of אֶל ) have the meaning of עַל : ”concerning.”-[from Targum Onkelos, Targum Jonathan; Ibn Ezra]

4 And Abimelech had not come near to her The angel stopped him, as it is said: ”I did not let you touch her.”-[from Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer, ch. 26]

will You kill even a righteous nation Even if he is righteous, will You kill him? Is that Your way, to destroy the nations for nought? You did so to the Generation of the Flood and to the Generation of the Dispersion. I too will say that You destroyed them for no reason, just as You threaten (lit. say) to kill me.-[from Gen. Rabbah 52:2]

5 even she --This is to include her servants, camel drivers, and donkey drivers.”I asked them all, and they said: He is her brother.”--[from Gen. Rabbah 52:6]

With the innocence of my heart I did not intend to sin.-

and with the purity of my hands I am pure of sin, for I did not touch her.-

6 I know that, etc., with the innocence of your heart It is true that you did not intend at first to sin, but you cannot claim purity of hands [because...]-[from Gen. Rabbah 52:6; Tan. Buber, Vayera 25]

I did not let you It was not due to you that you did not touch her, but I prevented you from sinning, for I did not give you strength, and so (below 31: 7): “and God did not let him (וְלֽא נְתָנוֹ) ”; and so (Jud. 15:1): “but her father did not allow him (וְלֽא נְתָנוֹ) to come.”- [from Gen. Rabbah 52:7]

7 return the man’s wife And do not think that perhaps she will be repugnant to him, and he will not accept her, or that he will hate you and not pray for you. (Abimelech said to Him,”Who will let him know that I did not touch her?” He replied,)

because he is a prophet And he knows that you did not touch her; therefore,”he will pray for you.”-[from Tan. Buber, Vayera 25]

9 Deeds that are not done A plague that was not accustomed to come upon any creature has come upon us because of you: the closing up of all bodily orifices: those of semen, of urine, of excrement, and of the ears and nose.-[based on B.K. 93a; Tan. Buber, Vayera 36]

11 Surely, there is no fear of God A guest who comes to a city-do we ask him about eating and drinking, or do we ask him about his wife-” Is she your wife or is she your sister?”-[from B.K. 93a, Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer ch. 26]

12 my sister, the daughter of my father And the daughter of one’s father is permitted to a Noahide [for marriage], for a gentile has no father (i.e., his lineage is not traced from his father). And in order to justify his words, he answered him in this way. Now if you ask: Was she not the daughter of his brother? [The answer is that]: grandchildren are considered like children (Tosefta. Yev. 8:8, Talmud Bavli, Yev. 62b); therefore, she was (considered as) Terah’s daughter. And so did he say to Lot,”For we are kinsmen” (אֲנָשִׁים אַחִים) [lit. men, brothers], (although, in fact, Lot was his brother Haran’s son). -[from Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer, ch. 36]

but not the daughter of my mother Haran was [born] of a different mother [than Abraham].-

13 And it came to pass, when [God] caused me to wander, etc. Onkelos rendered as he rendered: [And it came to pass, when the peoples went astray after the work of their hands, that God brought me near to His fear from my father’s house.] However, it can also be interpreted in a more appropriate manner, according to its structure [as follows:] When the Holy One, blessed be He, took me out of my father’s house to be a wanderer, roaming from place to place, I knew that I would pass through places where there are wicked people, and [therefore]: ”I said to her: This is your kindness, etc.”-.

When God caused me to wander [The verb הִתְעוּ is] in the plural. But do not wonder at this because in many places, words denoting Godliness and words denoting authority are expressed in the plural, (e.g.), (II Sam. 7:23): “whom God went (הָלְכוּ) (to redeem)”; (Deut. 5: 23): “the living (חַייִם) God”; (Josh. 24:19): “a holy (קְדֽשִים) God.” And all references to Godliness or to authority are in the plural, as for example (below 39:20): “And Joseph’s master (אֲדוֹנֵי) took”; (Deut. 10:17): “the Lord of (אֲדוֹנֵי) lords”; (below 42:33): “the lord of (אֲדוֹנֵי) the land,” and so (Exod. 22:14); “if its master (בְּעָלָיו) is with it”; (ibid 21:29): “and if its master was warned (בִּבְעָלָיו) .” Now if you ask, why is the expression הִתְעוּ used here? [The answer is that] anyone who is exiled from his place and is not settled is תּוֹעֶה , as in (below 21:14): “and she walked and she wandered” (וַתֵּתַע) ; (Ps. 119:176): “I wandered (תָּעִיתִי) like a lost sheep”; (Job 38:41): “they wander (יִתְעוּ) for lack of food,” meaning that they go forth and wander to seek their food.-

say about me [The meaning of לִי is] about me. Similarly (below 26:7): “And the people of the place asked לְאִשְׁתּוֹ meaning “about his wife.” Similarly (Exod. 14:3): “And Pharaoh said לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל meaning”about the Children of Israel”; (Jud. 9:54): “Lest they say of me (לִי) : a woman killed him.”

14 and he gave [them] to Abraham in order to appease him so that he would pray for him.

15 Here is my land before you But Pharaoh said to him (above 12:19): “And now, here is your wife; take [her] and go,” because he was afraid, because the Egyptians were immersed in lewdness.

16 And to Sarah he said Abimelech [said] in her honor in order to appease her, “Behold I have bestowed upon you this honor; I have given money to your brother, about whom you said, He is my brother. Behold this money and this honor are to you a covering of the eyes.”

for all who are with you They will cover their eyes, so that they will not denigrate you, for had I returned you empty-handed, they could say, “After he violated her, he returned her.” Now that I had to spend much money and to appease you, they will know that against my will I returned you, and through a miracle.-

and with all And with all the people in the world.-

you shall contend You shall have the opportunity to contend and to show these evident facts. Wherever the word הוֹכָחָה appears, it refers to the clarification of matters, and in Old French, esprover, to prove, clarify. (That is aprover below 31:37, to clarify, decide, define.) Onkelos translated it in a different manner, and the language of the verse fits in with the Targum in the following manner: “Behold it will be for you a covering of honor on account of my eyes, which gazed upon you and upon all who are with you.” Therefore, he translated it: “And I saw you and all who are with you.” There is a Midrashic interpretation, but I have explained what fits the language of the verse.

17 and they gave birth As the Targum renders: and they were relieved. Their orifices were opened, and they expelled that which needed to be expelled, and that is their birth.

18 every womb Every [bodily] opening.-

because of Sarah Heb. עַל דְבַר lit. by the word of Sarah. Through the words of Sarah.-[from Gen. Rabbah 52:13]

Ketubim: Psalms ‎14:1-7‎

Rashi’s Translation	Targum
1. For the conductor, of David; The fool said in his heart, "There is no God"; they have dealt corruptly; they have committed abominable deeds; no one does good.	1. For praise; in the spirit of prophecy through David. The fool said in his heart, "There is no rule of God on the earth." They corrupted their deeds, they despised goodness and found iniquity. There is none who does good.
2. The Lord in Heaven looked down upon the sons of men to see whether there is a man of understanding, who seeks the Lord.	2. The LORD looked down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there was any wise man seeking instruction from the presence of the LORD.
3. All have turned away; together they have spoiled; no one does good, not even one.	3. All alike have turned backward, they have become lax; there is none who does good, there is not even one.
4. Did not all the workers of iniquity know? Those who devoured My people partook of a feast; they did not call upon the Lord.	4. Do they not know, all doers of falsehood? Those among My people who dine have dined on bread and not blessed the name of the LORD.
5. There they were in great fear, for God is in the generation of a righteous/generous man.	5. There they became afraid because the word of the LORD is in the generation of the righteous/generous.
6. You put to shame the counsel of the poor, for the Lord is his refuge.	6. You will despise the counsel of the poor man, because he has placed his hope in the LORD.
7. O that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion; when the Lord returns the captivity of His people, Jacob shall rejoice, Israel shall be glad.	7. Who will produce from Zion the redemption of Israel? When the LORD brings back the exile of his people, Jacob will rejoice, Israel will be glad.

Rashi’s Commentary on Psalm ‎14:1-7

1 The fool said in his heart, etc. David recited two psalms in this Book, in one manner [with almost identical wording]: the first one concerning Nebuchadnezzar and the second one (ch. 53) concerning Titus. In this one, he prophesied concerning Nebuchadnezzar, who was destined to enter the Temple and to destroy it, with not one [man] of all his armies protesting against him.

“There is no God” and “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds.”

they have committed abominable deeds Heb. עלילה , deeds.

3 All have turned away, etc. Not one man of his armies protested against him.

they have spoiled Heb. נאלחו , have turned to rot.

4 Did not...know? Did they not know at the end what had befallen them?

Those who devoured My people The seed of Nebuchadnezzar.

partook of a feast Heb. לחם , lit. bread. They made a feast (as in Dan. 5:1) “made a huge feast (לחם) .”

they did not call upon the Lord They neither considered Him nor remembered His wondrous and awesome deeds at their feast, and [they] used His vessels.

5 There they were in great fear For recompense was paid to Belshazzar king of Babylon [causing him] to be in great fear, as it is stated (in Dan. 5:6): “Then the king’s color changed, his thoughts terrified him, the joints of his loins came loose, and his knees knocked against each other.” But our Sages explained this (Sanh. 104b, Mid. Ps. 14:4) as referring to the heathens: Whoever does not rob Israel does not experience a pleasant taste in his food. Those who devoured my people felt as though they ate bread, for they experienced a pleasant taste.

for God is in the generation of a righteous man In the generation of Jeconiah, who were righteous.

6 You put to shame the counsel of the poor You say that the counsel of Israel is shameful, for they trust in the Lord because He is their refuge.

7 O that Then the day will arrive when He will give out of Zion the salvation of Israel in the future; then Jacob shall rejoice; Israel shall be glad.

Meditation from the Psalms

Psalm 14:1-7

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

David composed two songs, Psalms 14 and 53, which deal with the very same topic and are very similar in language (Rashi). This one is dedicated to the destruction of the First Temple at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, and the second psalm deals with the destruction of the Second Temple by Titus. Here David prophesies that Nebuchadnezzar will enter the Sanctuary to defile and destroy it, and not one of his soldiers will attempt to protest or restrain him.

Malbim notes that this psalm is an example of the multi-dimensional aspect of David's compositions. David created this psalm primarily in response to the enemies of his day. In later generations when new enemies and tragedies arose, however, Israel saw that the words of David applied to the problems of their times as well. And so we have a psalm endowed with both personal meaning for David and with national, historical meaning for all Israel. (Malbim interprets the prophetic aspect of this psalm not as a reference to Nebuchadnezzar, but to Sancherib of Assyria and his siege against King Chizkiyahu of Judea).^{^[1]}

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Psalm are: Seeing / saw / see - ראה, Strong’s number 07200. In our Torah portion, Lot saw the angels of destruction in order to give them shelter. The ‘bad guys’ were blinded so that they could not see. This reflects their spiritual condition. Genesis 19:1. In our psalm, HaShem wanted to see if there were men of understanding.^{^[2]} HaShem was looking at the men of Sodom and seeing if there were any righteous men.

Lets look a little closer at the modality of sight.

The Mishkan‘s furnishings or “vessels” are seen as representations of the various organs and faculties of man: The menorah corresponds to the eyes and the sense of sight.

The Bet HaMikdash was called the “eye of the world.” The eye is a physical organ but it receives something that is about as non-physical as you can get; light. The eye is the gateway to a non-physical existence called light. The Bet HaMikdash was called “the eye of the world” because it was the portal for the Light.

Hearing is the modality of this world. Seeing is the modality of the Olam Haba, the next world. In this world there is movement and sound. Hence hearing is the sense modality of this world. In the next world, there is no more movement, there is no more hearing. This is a world of stillness, a world of sight. Why don’t we move in the next world? Because all movement is done to meet a need. In the next world there will be no more needs and hence there will be no more movement.

Hearing requires us to work, as we shall see. It is the mode of this world. Seeing requires no work. That is why seeing is believing. In the Olam Haba, the next world, reality will be instantly apparent. The Olam HaBa is seeing.

When the Talmud cites a proof to decide a dispute between two sages or to resolve a question of law, it often introduces it with the phrase Ta shema, Come, hear or Come, understand (the Hebrew word shema means both hear and understand). In contrast, the common opening phrase in the Zohar is Ta chazi, Come, see. For the difference between these two forms of Torah is akin to the difference between sight on the one hand, and hearing and comprehension on the other.

While sight and hearing are both tools of perception, absorbing stimuli and conveying them to the mind to interpret, there is a major difference in the manner in which they impress their findings upon us. Sight is the most convincing of faculties: once we have seen something with our own eyes, it is virtually impossible for other sensory evidence or rational proofs to refute what we now know. On the other hand, hearing and comprehension are far less vivid impressers of the information they convey. They will convince us of certain truths, but not as unequivocally as do our eyes. What we hear and understand are facts that have been proven to us; what we see is reality.

One who contemplates the body of Torah gains knowledge of the divine reality. But this remains hearsay, second-hand information conveyed via the medium of its mundane subject matter. Only by studying the soul of Torah does one come to see G-dliness, to perceive its reality in the most immediate and unequivocal manner.

Hearing takes place inside of a person. It requires interpretation by the person doing the hearing. This is in contrast to seeing which is external to a person and does not need interpretation, the sight speaks for itself.

Hearing is the modality of this world. In this world we hear even though we are using our eyes. This world is like reading a book. We see one letter at a time and we put these letters together to form the ideas being conveyed by the writer. In this world we see a collage of images that we have to assemble into a complete picture. This world is a collection of broken pieces that must be assembled and internalized in order to be understood. That is why Chazal teach that hearing is the modality of this world, even when we use our eyes, we are still required to assemble the pieces. HaShem is not a proof in front of us until WE assemble the broken images into a clear vision that HaShem is concealed in his world, but the one who assembles the pieces will be able to see Him.

As I was looking for the connection to our Torah portion, I noticed some peculiar wording in the Targum. Consider:

Targum to Bereshit (Genesis) 19:1 Two angels came to Sodom at the evening; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom. And Lot saw, and rose up to meet them from the gate of the tabernacle. And he bowed his face to the ground,

Targum to Bereshit (Genesis) 19:6 And Lot went out to them to the gate, and shut the door after him.

Targum to Bereshit (Genesis) 19:11 But the men who were at the gate of the house they struck with a suffusion of the eyes, from the young to the old, and they wearied themselves to find the gate.

Since when does The Tabernacle reside in Sodom? Since when does a man’s house have a gate? This suggests that the Targum is hinting to The Tabernacle, the Temple. And the Temple does have gates. And the Temple was a place that could be described as “well watered”.^{^[3]}

In our last seder we saw Avraham pleading with HaShem to save the righteous in Sodom. We also saw the angels willingly turn into his tent for hospitality. However, when those same angels get to Sodom they turn down Lot’s offer to spend the night in his home. They want to spend the time in the city square to observe whether there are any righteous men. In the end, Lot was persuasive and they went to Lot’s home.

However, ironically, the inhabitants of Sodom succeed in demonstrating to the angels what the culture of the city is like even while they are in Lot’s house. The text specifies that around the house there gathered “[1] the people of the city, [2] the people of Sodom, [3] both young and old, [4] all the people, [5] from every quarter”.^{^[4]} These five labels for the inhabitants of Sodom, mentioned consecutively in a single verse, represent a rare phenomenon in Tanach. The intention of the text seems to be to solve the question of the number of righteous people living in Sodom. All the inhabitants of the city, “from young to old”, clamoring outside to abuse Lot’s guests, provide the answer to Avraham’s question in the previous chapter: “Perhaps there are fifty righteous people in the city?” There aren’t fifty; there aren’t even ten. The number of righteous people in Sodom equals the number of members of Lot’s household who take upon themselves to care for the guests who have arrived in the city, but they are too few to save Sodom.

Now compare the situation in Sodom with the situation described by our psalm:

1 For the Leader. [A Psalm] of David. {N}

The fool hath said in his heart: 'There is no God'; {N}

they have dealt corruptly, they have done abominably; there is none that doeth good.

2 HaShem looked forth from heaven upon the children of men, {N}

to see if there were any man of understanding, that did seek after God.

3 They are all corrupt, they are together become impure; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

4 'Shall not all the workers of iniquity know it, who eat up My people as they eat bread, and call not upon HaShem?'

We can clearly understand what David was seeing^{^[5]} in our Torah portion. When HaShem sent the Goyim to bring us into captivity, He did so in order to show His love for us. How can this be?

It is well known, by all parents, that when one punishes their children as a method of correction, it is very hard on the parents. No parent wants to see their children suffer. Punishment is only meted out because of a parent’s love.

In the same way, HaShem’s love for His people was at its greatest when He punished them and sent them into captivity. His punishment was for their benefit. When we recognize HaShem’s love, then we rejoice. Our psalmist echoes this idea when he says:

Tehillim (Psalm) 14:7 Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! When HaShem turneth the captivity of His people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.

The people of Sodom were looking to “eat up” (14:4) HaShem’s people. For them, erasure was the only solution. For HaShem’s people’s transgression, he sent them into captivity in order to correct them.

In our last seder HaShem said:

Bereshit (Genesis) 18:21 I will descend now and see. If they have done as the cries that have come to Me, I will destroy them. And if not, I will know.

In our current seder we find that HaShem has seen the wickedness of Sodom and purposed to destroy it. This is reflected in our psalm:

Tehillim(Psalms) 14:3 They are all corrupt, they are together become impure; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

No wonder the psalm concerns itself with the destruction of the first Temple! As David viewed the destruction of the homes of the wicked he could see the destruction of the House of The Holy One. Let’s look deeper into the destruction of the first Temple.

Four hundred and ten years after it was built, in the month of Tammuz, after a long siege during which hunger and epidemics ravaged the city, the walls of Jerusalem were breached. King Zedekiah tried to escape through an eighteen-mile long tunnel, but he was captured in the plains of Jericho by enemy soldiers who, while chasing a deer, saw him emerging. He was brought before Nebuchadnezzar in Riblah. There Zedekiah's sons and many other Jewish personages were slain before his eyes; then his eyes were put out, and he was led in chains to Babylon.

On the seventh day of Av, the chief of Nebuchadnezzar's army, Nebuzaradan, began the destruction of Jerusalem. The walls of the city were torn down, and the royal palace and other structures in the city were set on fire.

Our Sages say that when Nebuzaradan entered the Temple he found the blood of Zechariah seething. He asked the Jews what this phenomenon meant, and they attempted to conceal the scandal, but he threatened to comb their flesh with iron combs. So they told him the truth: "There was a prophet among us who chastised us, and we killed him. For many years now his blood has not rested".

Nebuzaradan said, "I will appease him." He then killed the members of the Great and Small Sanhedrins, then he killed youths and maidens, and then school-children. Altogether, he killed 940,000 people. Still the blood continued to boil, whereupon Nebuzaradan cried: "Zechariah, Zechariah! I have slain the best of them; do you want all of them destroyed?" At last the blood sank into the ground.^{^[6]}

On the ninth day of Av, toward evening, the Holy Temple was set on fire and destroyed. The fire burned for 24 hours.

Ta'anith 29a Our Rabbis have taught: When the First Temple was about to be destroyed bands upon bands of young priests with the keys of the Temple in their hands assembled and mounted the roof of the Temple and exclaimed, ‘Master of the Universe, as we did not have the merit to be faithful treasurers these keys are handed back into Thy keeping’. They then threw the keys up towards heaven. And there emerged the figure of a hand and received the keys from them. Whereupon they jumped and fell into the fire. It is in allusion to them that the prophet Isaiah laments: The burden concerning the Valley of Vision. What aileth thee now, that thou art wholly gone up to the house tops, thou that art full of uproar, a tumultuous city, a joyous town? Thy slain are not slain with the sword, nor dead in battle.^{^[7]} Of the Holy One, blessed be He, also it is said, Kir shouting, and crying at the mount.

Everything of gold and silver that still remained was carried off as loot by the Babylonian soldiers. All the beautiful works of art with which King Solomon had once decorated and ornamented the holy edifice were destroyed or taken away. The holy vessels of the Temple that could be found were brought to Babylon. The high priest Seraiah and many other high officials and priests were executed. In addition to the 940,000 people killed in the aforementioned incident, millions more were killed inside and outside of the city. Many thousands of the people that had escaped the sword were taken prisoner and led into captivity in Babylon, where some of their best had already preceded them. Only the poorest of the residents of Jerusalem were permitted to stay on to plant the vineyards and work in the fields.

Thus ended the empire of David and Solomon; thus the magnificent city and Holy Temple were destroyed. Thus G‑d punished His people for deserting Him and His laws. All this had been predicted in the Torah, and it truly came to pass with all the horror of which Moses had warned.

Jeremiah also promised that the Jewish people would return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple. That would come to pass seventy years later.

Lamentations 5:17-21 For this our heart has become faint, for these things our eyes have grown dim. For Mount Zion, which has become desolate; foxes prowl over it. But You, O G‑d, remain forever; Your throne endures throughout the generations. Why do You forget us forever, forsake us so long? Restore us to You, O G‑d, that we may be restored! Renew our days as of old.

Twice in the history of Israel the Beit ha-Mikdash (the House of God; the Temple) has been destroyed. After an existence of 410 years the first Temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia on the 9th of Av in the year 3338 of the Era of Creation. The second Temple was destroyed by Titus of Rome on the 9th of Av in the year 3828^{^[8]} after standing 420 years.^{^[9]} Why were the Temples destroyed? It is stated in the Talmud:^{^[10]}

“The first Temple was destroyed because of the sins of idolatry, harlotry, and murder. The second, in spite of Torah studied, commandments and deeds of love executed during its existence, fell because of groundless hatred, and this teaches us that groundless hatred is a sin that weighs as heavily as idolatry, harlotry, and murder.”

It is worth noting that significant events in Torah history can be divided into four hundred year periods. Consider:

400 years – Avraham’s descendants (2048)^{^[11]} till the end of the Egyptian exile (2448).^{^[12]}

396 years – The time of the Judges. Yehoshua began in 2488 and Shmuel finished in 2884.^{^[13]}

445 years – the time of the Kings of Israel. Saul began in 2882 and Tzidkiyahu finished in 3327.

410 years – First Temple stood. Commenced in 2928 and destroyed in 3338.^{^[14]}

420 years – Second Temple stood. Commenced in 3408 and destroyed in 3829.

405 years – From the destruction of the second Temple (3829) to the completion of the Talmud (4235).

Recall that Chazal divided history into four major periods:

2000 years of chaos.	0 – 2000 C.E.
2000 years of Torah.	2001 – 4000 C.E.
2000 years of Mashiach.	4001 – 6000 C.E.
1000 years when all will be Shabbat.	6001 – 7000 C.E.

Thus we see that the two thousand years of Torah are dominated by periods of 400 which indicates the maximal change the nation of Israel has in its national mission.

This makes it easy to calculate the approximate time of many events; especially given that Adam dominated the first millennium and Noach dominated the second millennium; with Avraham beginning the third millennium.

Let us strive to be men of understanding, that seek after G-d!^{^[15]}

Ashlamatah: Shof’tim (Judges) 19:16-24 + 20:27‎

Rashi	Targum
1. ¶ And it was in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a Levite man dwelling by the edge of the mountain of Ephraim, who took for himself a concubine from Bethlehem of Judah.	1. ‎And in those days there was no king in Israel; and a Levite man was sojourning in remote parts of the hill country of the house of ‎Ephraim. And he took for himself a woman as concubine from Bethlehem of the house of Judah.
2. And his concubine turned away from him, and went from him to her father's house, to Bethlehem of Judah. And she was there for a period, (of) four months.	2. And his concubine despised- him ‎and went from him to the house of her father, to Bethlehem of the house of Judah. and she was there for four months.
3. And her husband arose and went after her, to persuade her to return, and his servant was with him, and a team of donkeys. And she brought him into her father's house, and (when) the father of the girl saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.	3. And her ‎husband arose and went after her to speak unto her heart for her return; and his young man was with him, and a pair of asses. And she ‎brought him into the house of her father, and the father of the girl saw him and rejoiced to meet him.
4. And his father-in-law, the girl's father, kept him, and he abode with him for three days. And they ate and drank and lodged there.	4. And his father-in-law, the ‎father of the girl, pressured him; and he stayed with him for three days. And they ate and drank and lodged there.
5. And it was on the fourth day, that they arose early in the morning, and he rose up to depart. And the girl's father said to his son-in-law, "Refresh yourself with a morsel of bread, and afterward you shall depart."	5. And on the fourth ‎day they got up early in the morning, and he arose to go; and the father of the girl said to his son-in-law: "Strengthen your heart with ‎a piece of bread, and afterwards you may go."
6. And they sat down and both of them ate together, and they drank. And the girl's father said to the man, "Accept now and lodge, and let your heart be content."	6. And the two of them together reclined and ate and drank. And the father of the girl ‎said to the man: "Camp now, and lodge, and let your heart be pleased."
7. And the man rose up to depart; but his father-in-law urged him, and he returned and lodged there.	7. And the man arose to go, and his father-in-law pressured‎him, and he returned and lodged there.
8. And he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart, and the girl's father said, "Refresh yourselves now," and they tarried until the day declined, and they both ate.	8. And he got up early in the morning on the fifth day to go, and the father of the girl said: ‎‎"Strengthen now your heart." And they were detained until the turn of the day, and the two of them ate.
9. And the man rose up to depart, he, his concubine, and his servant. And his father-in-law, the girl's father, said to him, "Behold, now the day has weakened to set, lodge now, behold it is the resting (part) of the day, lodge here, and your heart will be content, and you will arise early for your way, and go to your dwelling place."	9. And the man ‎ arose to go - he and his concubine and his young man. And his father-in-law, the father of the girl, said to him: "Behold now the day ‎has turned to evening. Lodge here now; this day only lodge here, and let your heart be pleased. And you will get up early tomorrow ‎on your way, and you will come to your city."
10. But the man did not want to lodge, and he arose and departed, and came over against Jebus, which was Jerusalem. And with him was a team of saddled donkeys, and his concubine was with him.	10. And the man was not willing to lodge, and he arose and went and came unto ‎opposite Jebus, that is, Jerusalem. And with him was a pair of saddled asses, and his concubine was with him.
11. They were near Jebus as the sun descended very much; and the servant said to his master, "Come now, and let us turn aside to this city of the Jebusites and lodge in it."	11. And they were near ‎Jebus, and the day was sunk very low, and the young man said to his master: "Come now, and let us turn aside to this city of the Jebusite and lodge in it."
12. And his master said to him, "We will not turn aside into (this) city of heathens, (nor to any other cities) that are not of the children of Israel, but we will journey up to Gibeah."	12. And his master said to him: "We will not turn aside to the city of the sons of the Gentiles who are not from ‎the sons of Israel. And we will travel unto Gibeah."
13. And he said to his servant, "Come and let us approach to one of these places; and we will lodge in Gibeah or in Ramoh."	13. And he said to his young man: "Come, and let us draw near in one of the ‎places, and we will lodge in Gibeah or in Ramah."
14. And they passed on and went. And the sun set upon them near Gibeah which belonged to Benjamin.	14. And they passed on and went, and the sun went down on them beside Gibeah which belongs to the tribe of Benjamin.
15. And they turned aside there to come and lodge in Gibeah. And he came and sat in the thoroughfare of the city, but no one brought them home to lodge.	15. And they turned aside to there to enter to lodge in Gibeah, and he came and sat in the square ‎of the city. And there was no man who was taking them into the house to lodge.
16. And behold, an old man came from his work out of the field at evening, and the man was from the mountain of Ephraim, and he resided in Gibeah; but the people of the area were Benjamites.	16. And behold an old man came from his work from ‎the field in the evening, and the man was from the hill country of the house of Ephraim. and he was sojourning in Gibeah; and the ‎men of the place were sons of the tribe of t he house of Benjamin."
17. And he raised his eyes, and saw the wayfaring man in the thoroughfare of the city; and the old man said, "Where are you going and from where do you come?"	17. And he lifted up his eyes and saw the man who was taking up ‎lodging in the square of the city. And the old man said: "Where are you going, and from where are you coming?"
18. And he said to him, "We are passing from Beth-lehem of Judah to the edge of the mountain of Ephraim, from there am I, and I went until Bethlehem of Judah; and I am going to the House of the Lord, and no one takes me home.	18. And he said to ‎him: "We are passing from Bethlehem of the house of Judah unto the remote parts of the hill country of the house of Ephraim. I am ‎from there. And went unto Bethlehem of the house of Judah, and to the house of the sanctuary of the Lord I am going. And there ‎is no one taking me into their house.
19. And also there is straw and provender for our donkeys, and also bread and wine for myself, for your maidservant, and for the lad who is with your servants; there is no want of anything."	19. And there is both straw and fodder for our asses, and also there is bread and wine for me and ‎for your maidservant and for the young man who is with your servant. Nothing at all is lacking."
20. And the old man said, "Peace be to you, just let all your needs be upon me, but do not lodge in the street."	20. And the old man said: "Peace to ‎you; only everything you lack is up to me; only do not lodge in the square."
21. And he brought him into his house, and gave fodder to the donkeys, and they washed their feet, ate and drank.	21. And he brought him into his house, and he threw down‎the fodder's for the asses, and they washed their feet, and they ate and drank.
22. As they were enjoying themselves, and behold, the men of the city, men of wickedness, surrounded the house, (and were) beating at the door. And they spoke to the man, the elderly master of the house, saying, "Bring out the man that came into your house, so that we may be intimate with him."	22. They were making their hearts merry, and behold the‎men of the city, men of the sons of wickedness. surrounded the house beating so as to break the door. And they said to the old man, ‎the master of the house, saying: "Bring forth the man who entered your house, and we will know him."
23. And the man, the master of the house, went out to them and said to them, "No, my brothers, do not do so wickedly now. Since this man has come into my house, do not commit this disgraceful deed.	23. And the man, the master ‎of the house, went forth unto them and said to them: "Please, my brothers, do not do evil now after this man entered my house; do not ‎do this shameful thing.
24. Here is my virgin daughter, and his concubine, I will bring them out now and (you should) afflict them, and do with them as you please, but to this man do not do this disgraceful act."	24. Behold my virgin daughter and his concubine; I will bring them forth. Ravish them and do to them what ‎is good in your eyes. And to this man do not do this shameful deed."
25. But the men did not want to listen to him, and the man grabbed his concubine, and brought her forth to them outside. And they were intimate with her, and abused her the entire night until the morning, and they sent her away when the day began to dawn.	25. And the men were not willing to accept from him, and the ‎man took hold of his concubine and brought her ‎ forth unto them outside, and they knew her and ridiculed her all night until morning, and they sent her away at the going up of ‎morning.
26. And the woman came as the morning began. And she fell down at the entrance of the man's house, where her master was, until it was light.	26. And the woman came as morning appeared, and she fell at the gate of the house of the man where her master was until ‎it was light.
27. And her master arose in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way. And behold, the woman, his concubine, was lying after having fallen at the entrance of the house, with her hands on the threshold.	27. And her master arose in the morning, and he opened the doors of the house, and he went forth to go on his way, and ‎behold his concubine woman was lying at the gate of the house, and her hands were resting upon the threshold.
28. And he said to her, "Arise, and let us go," but no one answered. And he took her upon the donkey, and the man rose up and went to his place.	28. And he said to her: ‎‎"Arise, and let us go." And she was not answering, and he took her upon the ass, and the man arose and went to his place.
29. And he came to his house, and took the knife, and took hold of his concubine and cut her into limbs, into twelve pieces, and he sent her throughout all the borders of Israel.	29. And he ‎came to his house and took a knife and took hold of his concubine, and he dissected her by her pieces into twelve parts, and he sent her ‎in all the territory of the land of Israel.
30. And it came to pass anyone that saw (it), would say, "There has not happened nor has there been seen (anything) like this from the day that the children of Israel came up from the land of Egypt until this day; concern yourself about it, take counsel, and speak." {P}	30. And everyone who saw her said: "There was not, nor was there seen anything like this from ‎the day that the sons of Israel went up from the land of Egypt unto this day. Set your heart upon her, take counsel, and speak." {P}

1. ¶ And all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was assembled as one man, from Dan to Beer-sheba, and the land of Gilead, to the Lord, to Mizpah.	1. ¶ ‎1. And all the sons of Israel went forth, and the assembly was gathered as one man from Dan and unto Beer-sheba and the land of ‎Gilead before the LORD to Mizpah.
2. And there presented themselves the chiefs of all the people, of all the tribes of Israel, in the assembly of the people of God, (which consisted of) four hundred thousand footmen that drew the sword. {P}	2. And the heads of all the people, of all the tribes of Israel, readied themselves in the assembly ‎of the people of the LORD. 400,000 men on foot drawing the sword. {P}
3. ¶ And the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel had gone up to Mizpah. And the children of Israel said, "Speak, how has this wickedness come about?"	3. ¶ And the sons of Benjamin heard that the sons of Israel had gone ‎up to Mizpah. And the sons of Israel said: "Tell how this wickedness happened."
4. And the Levite man, the husband of the murdered woman answered and said, "I came into Gibeah that belongs to Benjamin, I and my concubine to lodge.	4. And the Levite man, the husband of the woman ‎who was killed answered and said: "I and my concubine entered Gibeah which belongs to the tribe of Benjamin- to lodge there.
5. And the residents of Gibeah arose against me, and surrounded the house upon me at night. Me they intended to kill, and my concubine they afflicted, (following which) she died.	5. And ‎the inhabitants of Gibeah arose against me and surrounded the house by night against me; they planned against' me to kill (me), and ‎they raped my concubine, and she died.
6. So I grabbed my concubine and dissected her and sent her throughout the territory of the inheritance of Israel; for they committed lewdness and disgrace in Israel.	6. And I took hold of my concubine and dissected her and sent her in all the territory" of the ‎inheritance of the land of Israel for they have done the counsel of sinners and what is not right in Israel.
7. Behold, you are all children of Israel, give yourselves a decision and advice here."	7. Behold all you sons of ‎Israel, give to yourselves a word and counsel here.
8. And all the people arose as one man saying, "No man will go to his tent and no man will turn to his house.	8. And all the people arose as one man, saying: "Let no one go to his tent, and let ‎no one turn aside to his house.
9. And now this is the thing which we will do to Gibeah; (we will go up) against it by lot.	9. And now this is the thing that we swill do to Gibeah: We will be mustered against it by lot.
10. And we will take ten men of a hundred, from all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to take provisions for the people, that they may do when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the disgrace that was done in Israel."	10. And ‎we will take ten men for a ‎ hundred for all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred for a thousand, and a thousand for ten thousand, to take provisions to the people, to ‎do to bring them to Gibeah of the house of Benjamin according to all the shame that has been done in Israel."
11. And all the men of Israel were gathered concerning the city, as one man in unison. {P}	11. And all the men ‎of Israel were gathered to the city, joined as one man. {P}
12. ¶ And the tribes of Israel sent men throughout all the tribes of Benjamin saying, "What wickedness is this that has come about among you?	12. ¶ And the tribes of Israel sent men in all the tribes of Benjamin, saying: "What ‎is this evil that has happened among you?
13. Therefore now deliver the wicked men that are in Gibeah and we will put them to death, and we will remove (the perpetrators of) evil from Israel." But the children of Benjamin did not want to obey their brothers, the children of Israel.	13. And now bring forth the men, the sons of wickedness who are in Gibeah; and we will ‎kill them and remove the evildoers from Israel." And the sons of Benjamin were not willing to accept the word of their brothers, ‎the sons of Israel.
14. And the children of Benjamin were gathered out of the cities to Gibeah, to go out to battle against the children of Israel.	14. And the sons of Benjamin were gathered from the cities to Gibeah to go forth to wage battle" with the sons of‎Israel.
15. And the children of Benjamin numbered on that day, out of the cities twenty-six thousand men that drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who numbered seven hundred chosen men.	15. And the sons of Benjamin were mustered on that day from the cities 26,000 men drawing the sword; apart from those ‎inhabiting Gibeah where seven hundred strong men were mustered.
16. Of all these people there were seven hundred chosen men (with a) shriveled right hand. All these could sling a stone at a hair-breadth and not miss. {P}	16. From all this people there were seven hundred strong men, ‎men whose right hand was bound, all these were ones who were shooting the rock in the sling and aiming at a strand of hair, and they ‎were not missing {P}
17. ¶ And the men of Israel numbered, excluding Benjamin, four hundred thousand men that drew the sword, all these were men of war.	17. ¶ And the men of Israel were mustered apart from those of the house of Benjamin 400,000 men drawing the‎sword; all these were men waging battle.
18. And they arose and went up to Beth-el, and asked of God, whereupon the children of Israel said, "Who shall go up for us first to battle against the children of Benjamin?" And the Lord said, "Judah first."	18. And they arose and went up to Bethel and inquired of the Memra of the LORD. And the ‎sons of Israel said: "Who will go up for us first to wage battle with the sons of Benjamin?" And the LORD said: "Judah first."
19. And the children of Israel rose up in the morning, and they encamped against Gibeah.	19. And ‎the sons of Israel arose in the morning and camped against Gibeah.
20. And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin. And the men of Israel arrayed battle against them at Gibeah.	20. And the men of Israel went forth to wage battle with those of ‎the house of Benjamin and the men of Israel set up battle with them against Gibeah.
21. And the children of Benjamin came out of Gibeah, and they destroyed of the Israelites on that day twenty-two thousand men, (down) to the ground.	21. And the sons of Benjamin went forth from ‎Gibeah and destroyed in Israel on that day 22,000 men, killed, cast on the ground.
22. And the people, the men of Israel, encouraged themselves, and set again in array the battle in the place where they set themselves in array on the first day.	22. And the people, the men of Israel, strengthened‎themselves and continued to set up battle in the place where they set it up on the first day.
23. And the children of Israel went up, and wept before the Lord until the evening, and they asked of the Lord saying, "Shall I again draw near to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother?" And the Lord said, "Go up against him," {P}	23. And the sons of Israel went up and wept ‎before the LORD until evening, and they inquired of the Memra of the LORD, saying: ‎"Will I continue to draw near to wage battle with the sons of Benjamin my brother?" And the LORD said: "Go up against them." {P}
24. ¶ And the children of Israel approached the children of Benjamin on the second day.	24. ¶ And the sons of Israel drew near unto the sons of Benjamin on the second day.
25. And Benjamin went out towards them from Gibeah on the second day, and destroyed of the children of Israel another eighteen thousand men (down) to the ground; all these were swordsmen.	25. And those of the house of Benjamin went forth ‎to meet them from Gibeah on the second day, and destroyed among the sons of Israel another 18,000 men, killed, cast to the ground, ‎all those drawing the sword.
26. And all the children of Israel went up, and all the people, and they came to Beth-el and wept, and sat there before the Lord, and fasted on that day until the evening. And they offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before the Lord.	26. And all the sons of Israel and all the people went up and came to Bethel and wept and sat there before ‎the LORD and fasted on that day until evening and brought up holocausts and holy offerings before the LORD.
27. And the children of Israel asked of the Lord, for there was the ark of the covenant of God in those days.	27. And the sons of Israel ‎inquired of the ‎ Memra of the LORD, and the ark of the covenant of the LORD was there in those days.
28. And Phinehas the son of Elazar the son of Aaron stood before it in those days (while they were) saying, "Shall I again go out to battle with the children of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease?" And the Lord said, "Go up, for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand."	28. And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of ‎Aaron, was standing before it in those days, saying: "Will I continue to go forth to wage battle with the sons of Benjamin my ‎brother, or will I hold back?" And the LORD said: "Go up, for tomorrow I will give them into your hand."
29. And Israel set liers-in-wait against Gibeah around. {P}	29. And Israel set men in ‎ambush against Gibeah round about. {P}

Rashi’s Commentary for: Shof’tim (Judges) 19:16-24 + 20:27

2 And his concubine turned away from him She turned from his house to the outside. Every expression of זְנוּת implies going out (rendered (נפקת ברא , e.g., departing from her husband to love others.

6 Accept now and lodge Overnight.

9 has weakened I.e., the sun (has weakened) from its might and has declined to set.

it is the resting (part) of the day It is the time that all wayfarers turn to rest indoors.

12 but we will journey up to Gibeah Of Benjamin.

13 and we will lodge Heb. וְלַנּוּ . To be understood as וְלַנְנוּ , since the “dagesh” of the “nun” replaces the appropriate second "nun".

18 and (I am going) to the House of the Lord I am going to Shiloh (which was in Ephraim).

21 and gave fodder to the donkeys And he gave food (יְבוּל) to the donkeys. וַיָּבָל is aprovender in O.F.

22 so that we may be intimate with him (lit., know him) Homosexually.

28 but no one answered Because she was dead.

Chapter 20

2 פִּנוֹת כָּל הָעַם The chiefs of the people.

5 דִמּוּ לַהֲרוֹג They intended to kill. Adesmernt in O.F.

10 that they may do when they come I.e., when they come at this time to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the disgrace, etc.

11 in unison Agreeing to the same plan.

12 throughout all the tribes of Benjamin His ten families were reckoned as ten tribes, so that from Rachel would (also) issue twelve tribes (two coming from Joseph).

16 (with a) shriveled right hand Their right hands were shriveled. They had no use of it, as though it was closed, as in, (Psalms 69:16) “Do not close (תֶּאְטַר) upon me, O well, your mouth.”

All these I.e., these seven hundred men.

at a hair breadth At a thread of a hair breadth. וְלֹא יַחֲטִיא And not miss.

16 Judah first But they did not attempt to ask whether they would be the victor or the vanquished. However, eventually when they did ask, God said, (v. 28) “Go up, for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand.” Then they (i.e., the Urim and Tummim) agreed (הִסְכִּימוּ) and fulfilled their words.

21 and they destroyed They were punished because they were not equally zealous about the incident of the image of Micah which had already occurred.

Verbal Tallies

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

& HH Giberet Dr. Elisheba bat Sarah

Beresheet (Genesis) 19:1-23 + Beresheet (Genesis) 19:24 – 20:18

Tehillim (Psalm)14

Shoftim (Judges) 19:16-24 + 20:27

Mk 2:1-5, Lk 5:17-20, Acts 4:23-28

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Psalm are:

Seeing / saw / see - ראה, Strong’s number 07200.

The verbal tallies between the Torah and the Ashlamatah are:

Came - בוא, Strong’s number 0935.

Evening - ערב, Strong’s number 06153.

Seeing / saw / see - ראה, Strong’s number 07200.

Beresheet (Genesis) 19:1 And there came <0935> (8799) two <08147> angels <04397> to Sodom <05467> at even <06153>; and Lot <03876> sat <03427> (8802) in the gate <08179> of Sodom <05467>: and Lot <03876> seeing <07200> (8799) them rose up <06965> (8799) to meet <07125> (8800) them; and he bowed <07812> (8691) himself with his face <0639> toward the ground <0776>;

Tehillim (Psalm) 14:2 The LORD <03068> looked down <08259> (8689) from heaven <08064> upon the children <01121> of men <0120>, to see <07200> (8800) if there <03426> were any that did understand <07919> (8688), and seek <01875> (8802) God <0430>.

Shoftim (Judges) 19:16 And, behold, there came <0935> (8804) an old <02205> man <0376> from his work <04639> out of the field <07704> at even <06153>, which was also <0376> of mount <02022> Ephraim <0669>; and he sojourned <01481> (8804) in Gibeah <01390>: but the men <0582> of the place <04725> were Benjamites <01145>.

Shoftim (Judges) 19:17 And when he had lifted up <05375> (8799) his eyes <05869>, he saw <07200> (8799) a wayfaring <0732> (8802) man <0376> in the street <07339> of the city <05892>: and the old <02205> man <0376> said <0559> (8799), Whither goest <03212> (8799) thou? and whence <0370> comest <0935> (8799) thou?

NAZAREAN TALMUD

Sidra Of B’resheet (Gen.) 19:1-23 + 19:24 – 20:18

“וַיָּבֹאוּ שְׁנֵי הַמַּלְאָכִים” - “VayaVou Sh’nei HaMal’akhim” - “And came the two angels”

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

Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

SCHOOL OF HAKHAM SHAUL

Tosefta

(Luke 5:17-26)

Mishnah ה:ב

School of Hakham Tsefet

Peshat

(Mark 2:1-12)

Mishnah א:ב

And now it happened on one of the days, while he (Yeshua) was teaching Oral Torah – the Mesorah, the P’rushim and Torah teachers were sitting (with him), who had come out of every village of the Galil and as far as Yehudah and Yerushalayim. And the power of the Lord was in him (Yeshua), for the healing of them. And behold, [four] men were carrying, a man on a cot, who was paralyzed. And they wanted to bring him in and to lay him before him (Yeshua); but finding no way to bring him in through the multitude, they went up on the housetop, and let him down through the tiles with his cot into the midst, before Yeshua. And seeing their faithful obedience, he announced to him, “Man your sins are forgiven.”

And the P’rushim and their Soferim began to reason (drash), saying, “Who is this who speaks evil words?^{^[16]} “Who can forgive sins, except the One God?” But knowing (having Da’at)^{^[17]} their thoughts, Yeshua answering, said to them, “Why do you try to do drash on my words in your hearts (minds)?” “Which is easier, to announce (say), Your sins are forgiven you; or to say, Rise up and walk?” But so that you may know^{^[18]} that the Son of Man (Hebrew: Ben Adam – a title given to Jewish prophets) has authority to announce the forgiveness of sins on earth, he announced to the paralytic, “I announce to you, Arise, and take up your cot and go to your house.” And immediately^{^[19]} he stood up before them and took up that which he had laid on. And he went^{^[20]} to his own house, magnifying God. And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear (Awe of God), saying, “We saw wonderful things today.”

And when he entered, (came) K’far Nachum (Capernaum) a second time after a few days^{^[21]}, and it was reported^{^[22]} (heard) that he (Yeshua) is in the house^{^[23]} (at home),^{^[24]} And immediately many were assembled (gathered together), so that there was not any room even in front of the door,^{^[25]} and he was speaking (teaching) the Word (i.e. the Oral Torah to them). And they came^{^[26]} to him, bringing a paralytic, carried (taken up) by four (men), And not being able to come near to him (Yeshua) because of the multitude blocking the door, they unearthed^{^[27]} the roof^{^[28]} where he was, and, having dug through it, they lowered the cot which the paralytic was lying on, And Yeshua having seen their faithful obedience, announced to the paralytic, “Son,^{^[29]} your sins have been forgiven^{^[30]} now – at this moment.

And there were some of the Soferim (Scribes) there sitting,^{^[31]} and reasoning^{^[32]} in their hearts (minds), “Why does this one thus speak evil words?^{^[33]} Who is able to announce the forgiveness of sins except the One God?” And immediately Yeshua, knowing in his spirit having Da’at^{^[34]} that they were reasoning in themselves, said to them, “Why these things do you reason in your hearts (minds)? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, Your sins have been forgiven to you? Or to say, Rise, and take up your cot, and walk? And, that you may know that the Son of Man (Hebrew: Ben Adam – a title given to Jewish prophets) has authority^{^[35]} on the earth to announce the forgiveness of sins – (he said to the paralytic) – I say to you, In G-d’s name – authority stand (up), and take up your cot, and return home;” And he stood up immediately, and having taken up the cot, he went^{^[36]} forth before everyone, so that all were astonished, and glorified God, saying – “We have never seen anything like this before.”^{^[37]}

School of Hakham Shaul

Remes

(2 Luqas – Acts 4:23-31)

Pereq ד:ג

And being released, they went to their own company and announced what the Kohen Gadol and their Zekanim had said to them. And having heard, they lifted up^{^[38]} their voice to God in unity and said, Lord, who made the heavens and earth, the sea and all that is in it; who keeps truth forever (Ps. 146:6)^{^[39]}; who by the mouth of Your servant David has said, "The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers plot together, against the Lord and against His anointed," For in this city, against Your holy servant Yeshua, whom You have anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, representing the nations, and some of the people of Israel^{^[40]}, were gathered together in order to do whatever Your hand and Your counsel determined before to be done.

And now, Lord, behold their threatening’s, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your Torah (Oral Word), by stretching forth of Your hand for healing, and miracles, and wonders may be done on the authority of Your holy servant Yeshua. And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled was shaken. And they were all filled with the Breath of the Holy Oral Torah (Holy Spirit), and they spoke the Mesorah (Word) of God with boldness.

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

Gen 19:1-23	14:1-3	Jud 19:16-24 + 20:27	Mk 2:1-5	Lk 5:17-20	Acts 4:23-28
Gen 19:24 – 20:18	14:4-7	Amos 4:7 – 5:4	Mk 2:6-12	Lk 5:21-26	Acts 4:29-31

Commentary to Hakham Tsefet’s School of Peshat

Connecting to the Torah Seder

The Nazarean Codicil stealthily connects to the Torah Seder saying, Yeshua came K’far Nachum a second time. This corresponds to the “two angels (messengers) entering Sodom. Here we find a reference to the idea that the Soferim (scribes), possibly from the House of Shammai, were “studying Torah” with Yeshua. The fact that the Soferim are “sitting” should be noticed in contrast to the remainder of the multitude crowded around the door. There is a tendency to always make the encounters with Yeshua negative. This need not always be the case. The P’rushim were not all close-minded hypocrites (painted ones) as many scholars and teachers suggest. Therefore, we might possibly note that the P’rushim were sitting in a session in which halakhah was being discussed. This “sitting” makes a verbal connection with B’resheet 19:1 Lot sat at the gate to the city, the place where judgment took place. This is intimated in B’resheet 19:9 Lot is accused of “playing “Judge.”

The present double pericope of Mordechai conjoined with the Lucan double pericope presents some halakhic problems as well as some fascinating materials for building an allegorical interpretation of halakhic import. Before we begin we must assert that there is an amazing amount of subliminal continuity with the present Torah’s Seder. We have noted some of these connections; however, it would be worthwhile to scrutinize the materials closely for all the possible connections and their implications.

Hakham Tsefet uses the story of the paralytic man to illustrate and dramatize his halakhic materials. Hakham Tsefet demonstrates the perfect use of Aggadic input for his purposes. Neusner notes…

Halakhic discourse seldom invokes Aggadah to accomplish its purposes. In Rabbinic literature, rarely indeed does a fully articulated halakhic category-formation encompass and utilize a fully articulated aggadic category-formation. To be sure, an aggadic composition may find a place in proximity to a halakhic exposition. But the Halakhah within its own categorical bounds will not then exploit the aggadic discourse for its purpose, e.g., allude to the aggadic fact to make the halakhic point. That is so, even though the rare exceptions to that rule show that the halakhic discourse could have done so. Conversely, when the aggadic category-formation defines the primary discourse, e.g., in a Midrash-compilation, the Halakhah in its cogent category-formations still more rarely occurs in aggadic composites.^{^[41]}

Consequently, we see that Hakham Tsefet intertwines just enough of a “story” into his materials to hold the mind while he establishes his halakhic provisions. This pericope might be better served in the cycle which would allow its division into two pericopes. Nevertheless, the materials before us sum the halakhic thoughts he wishes to convey as a single unit.

Let us take note of the structure of the double pericope

Return to K’far Nachum
Teaching the Torah - Oral Torah
Yeshua at home
Assembly of the many
The arrival of the paralytic
The blocked door
The faithful commitment of the four in seeing their friend healed
Faithful Obedience
Assembly of the P’rushim and Soferim
Demonstration of Da’at
Announcement of the forgiveness of the paralytic’s sins
The paralytic stands
The Paralytic’s return home
The Awe of God – The Father

At the core of this pericope are two daunting questions.

What is sin, or what happens when one sins?
What is forgiveness of sin?

The Lucan Tosefta alters the story very little. However, it does have minute points that will assist us in elucidating present materials. We will not be able to comment on more than a small amount of this material because of our restraints of time and space.

The Announcement

At the core of the pericope are “the result of sin” and the question of “forgiveness of sin.” The question of the latter is the real question of Yeshua as Messiah’s ability to, “forgive sin.” This argument is one of the most debated issues in contemporary Christianity. We will see that this is not the issue in the present pericope. Likewise, a history of poor or agendized translations has led the flock in the wrong direction.

Scholars suggest a number of possible interpretative solutions.

The Divine Passive
Authority to forgive sin
The Principle (power) of Divine Agency

In the wisdom of our Hakham, His Eminence Rabbi Dr Yosef ben Haggai we will not try to reinvent the wheel. In other words, this argument has been taken up by others. As a result, we will gloss the issue superficially. Guelich offers the possible variations of the argument.

“Your sins are forgiven” (ἀφίενταί σου αἱ ἁμαρτίαι). If one takes this construction as a divine passive (e.g., Jeremias, Theology, 114; Schweizer, 61; Pesch, 1:156; Grundmann, 76), Jesus declares that God forgives the paralytic his sins (similarly, 3:28; 4:12; Luke 7:47–48; John 20:23). Or if Jesus authoritatively declares that the man’s sins are forgiven, he himself usurps God’s prerogative to forgive sins).^{^[42]}

For the answer to this argument we allow Lane to solve the problem.

“The passive expression was a customary Jewish way of making a pronouncement about G-d’s action while avoiding the Divine Name. Cf. II Samuel 12:13, “David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the LORD.’ And Nathan said to David, ‘The LORD has pardoned your sin.’” When transposed to the passive, in keeping with first century usage, Nathan’s statement becomes: “your sin is pardoned.” Yeshua’s word to the paralytic would be understood as the pronouncement, “G-d forgives you.”^{^[43]}

Consequently, the apparent “evil words” of Yeshua are not his “forgiveness of sin.” The question at hand is Yeshua’s authority to announce the “forgiveness of sins as a Divine Agent i.e. Messiah. The English readings of this pericope are difficult and strained. Even the Hebrew translation by Franz Delitzsch is fraught with problems offering little help. At the core of this pericope are two words, which need elucidation. We have tried to make the translation lucid and apropos.

ἀφίημι

ἀφίημι, (aphiemi) typically translates as “forgiveness.” While “forgiveness” is certainly within the realm of a possible way to translate this word, it is not the most fitting translation, given our present context. At the root of this word is the concept of “release.”^{^[44]} This being the case we see Hakham Tsefet laying the foundation for release in the Yobel (Jubilee) as it approaches.^{^[45]}

As the Divine agent, Messiah does not “forgive sin.” Messiah as a Divine agent announces the forgiveness of sin. The question is how we can possibly derive this conclusion? Simply stated the answer is found in the phrase “Son of Man.” This Hebraism is a title denoting the office of a Prophet. Herein the principle of agency is compounded. Firstly, because this makes Yeshua a prophet (Divine Spokesman). Secondly, because he is Messiah. Accordingly, Messiah the Prophet has full authority to announce the forgiveness of sin. The full ramifications of these thoughts have yet to be comprehended and explored.

Yeshua’s declaration that “at that moment” the “child’s sins were forgiven” demonstrates a healing of his paralysis. This causes us to leave behind the masked materials of the superficial and try to look beyond the letters and words of the text in a more abstract way.

And immediately Yeshua, knowing in his spirit [having Da’at].

ἐπιγνοὺς, ἐπιγινώσκω – epiginosko perceiving is here related to the spiritual quality of Da’at devoted to the ministerial quality of Unity and Virtue. “Epi” gives the full weight of “ginosko” indicating the fullness of Yeshua’s relationship with the upper triad of Hokhmah, Binah and Da’at (ChaBaD). In other words, Yeshua is “full” of Da’at. We tread lightly here understanding the implications of our words. The Divine agency of Messiah/Prophet makes Yeshua able to perceive – intuitively “intimately know,” the contrivances of the arguments in their minds. The solution is truly Peshat. Yeshua’s ability to “perceive” – intuitively “intimately know” is related to his deep association with the quality of virtue as noted above. Therefore, his perception allows him the opportunity to see the consequence of sin. This is what it is like to see through the eyes of a Hakham.

Paralysis

Because Hakham Tsefet is primarily concerned with halakhah, we must believe that some halakhic breach had “paralyzed” the man. Here we must guard ourselves from crossing into Remes hermeneutics for our answer. The aggadic materials naturally lead to deeper interpretations. Nonetheless, grammatical analysis of the Greek παραλυτικός, - paralutikos superficially mean to be lame or paralyzed. Paralutikos is a host of possible diseases as used in the Biblical Greek text. Some scholars suggest that paralutikos is only used of paralysis.^{^[46]} In some unexplained way^{^[47]} sin has a lasting effect on the soul. We might say that sin blemishes the soul in some unseen, manner. And while we do not believe that sin is the cause of every sickness we must assert that sin brings about some of the most unexplainable manifestations of illness the medical profession has ever had to deal with. Therefore, medicine needs to deal with the whole man, mind^{^[48]} body and soul. Consequently, Yeshua deals with “sin” rather than illness in this case. Are we suggesting that the paralytic was a “sinner”? No, by no means! It would be erroneous to believe so. Nevertheless, we must remember that “ALL MEN” sin including our paralytic. The present case may well have been somewhat psychosomatic. Yeshua’s announcement of forgiveness brings cleansing to the mind and soul freeing the paralytic from his “cot.”

Peroration

In summary we note that sin can cause seeming irreparable damage to the mind and soul. However, the medicinal application of teshuba brings forgiveness and reparation to the soul. Therefore, we must take note that sin leaves a blemish on the soul. Teshuba brings forgiveness for sin; however, teshuba does not eradicate the consequence of sin. The question remains as to how to derive a halakhic interpretation from this pericope. Again we resort to Abot 1:1

And as it is said: “Mosheh received the Torah from Sinai and gospelled it down to Yehoshua, and Yehoshua gospelled it down to the Elders, the Elders to the Prophets, and the Prophets gospelled it down to the Men of the Great Assembly. They (the Men of the Great Assembly) emphasized three things; Be deliberate in judgment, make stand many disciples, and make a fence around the Torah” (P. Abot 1:1).

Here we must be careful to avoid Remes hermeneutic. Nevertheless, we note that the present pericope of Mordechai and Luqas tell us that if we are careful to make the halakhic fence we will not feel the effects of sin. We would also suggest the abiding by these fences is the Rabbinic way of protecting talmidim and the Esnoga (Synagogue).from the effects of sin.

Remes Commentary to Hakham Shaul

As noted above in the Peshat commentary, Hakham Tsefet weaves aggadic materials into his Mishnah for dramatization and holding attention. However, the aggadic material leaves itself open to a splendid Remes.

K’far Nachum

Our saga begins in a “City” called “Nahum” or we might say in the “City of Compassion,” repentance (teshuba), consolation and strengthening. Facing the catastrophic events which have plagued the Jewish people for millennia, we note that G-d gives us the solution before we face the problem. We might call this preventative medicine. Likewise, He is telling us that we should and can, face these problems with strength and the resolve to repair the breech of the past through compassion and repentance. The Markan phrase “after a few days”can say to us that after a few days we will experience the compassion, strength and comfort of our G-d. This phrase can also be interpreted as an eschatological term suggestion that we will find comfort at the end of our testings. At the end of this age there will be a great assembly (gathered together), around the “door.” Here our reference to the door can be two-fold. Firstly, we speak of the door as the Torah. We will congregate around the Torah as a door that leads us to the halls of the Eternal. Secondly, we can say that we will congregate around the “door” Messiah who will uncover the deepest mysteries of the Torah and how it was our guide through this telluric world.

Fantastic Four

The paralytic of the present pericope must be overwhelmingly grateful for his four companions who persevered enough to bring him before Yeshua. Grasping his cot by the four kanfot (corners) they enact the chessed we petition G-d for in the Amidah and preparation for the Shema. Consequently, we find a reference to the Amidah here once again. The refrain “Who sustains the living with kindness – chesed, resurrects the dead with great compassion who supports the fallen, heals the sick releases the imprisoned, and fulfills His trusted Word to those who sleep in the dust”^{^[49]} from our Shabbat Amidah resonates with this pericope. We might see here an allegorical reference to wearing the tallit with its “four” kanfot. We would further opine that we see the reference to the ingathering of the exiles who have been paralyzed by their environs. As we gather the “four” kanfot we say…

“Hurry and bring upon us blessing and peace, speedily, from the four corners of the entire earth. Break the yoke of the nations from our necks and quickly lead us proudly to our land.”^{^[50]}

The pericope is proliferating with suggestive hints. Therefore, we would be remiss if we did not take note of the reference to the “four” levels of hermeneutics PaRDeS. Yeshua’s demonstration of Da’at relates him to the upper realms of the Sefirot and noted above. However, the pericope notes that there is a flow of Divine essential energy from above. Or we should say that the tearing off of the roof is a petition for healing. Or we could further develop the idea of tearing open the roof as an allegory for ridding ourselves of the mental paralysis preconceived notions. The four levels of hermeneutic will not allow a Jewish man to remain mentally paralyzed if he embraces them. We note that the “bed” that the paralytic lies on is only a make-shift cot or stretcher. The point here is that “paralysis” can only be temporary for those schooled in PaRDeS hermeneutics. The Lucan account deepens the allegory.

They went up on the housetop, and let him down through the tiles with his cot into the midst, before Yeshua.

The friends that “GO UP” and then “descend” carries deep mystical connotations. However, we must interject that, like Abram who could not have a child as “Abram” when taken out of doors (UP above the constellations) where he sees that the miracle will happen in his beloved wife and she will conceive, the four men saw no way to Yeshua through normal means. Therefore, they ascended above the house ^{^[51]}in very much the same way Abram ascended above the constellations. The paralytic’s fate was in the hands of these faithfully obedient tenacious friends. Normally, the paralytic would have been led out somewhere to live out his final hours in the wilderness. We note here that PaRDeS is the soul’s redeemer and salvation. Through PaRDeS the soul is able to ascend above the normal confines of the telluric world. Through this ascension via the vehicle of PaRDeS the soul can grasp aggadic/abstract materials which can set the soul on the correct path. The halakhic implications here are staggering. The Torah is for life. Likewise, the Torah is to be “walked.” Where there is no “walk” there is no life. The soul trapped within an earthen suit must have expression. There are those who would live in an ethereal word of mental bliss divorced from the terrestrial norms. This is NOT G-d’s way nor is it the way of the Jew. While we find great satisfaction in “KNOWING” esoteric truths, KNOWING is not enough. The human soul is the product of the union of Compassion and the neighbouring presence of G-d.^{^[52]} Therefore, the human soul needs expression. It cannot remain locked (paralysed) inside conceptual inanimate world. The upper world of aggadic truth teaches us how to think and what to believe per se. It also tells us what we are to teach.

The Principle of the Door

Both the Torah Seder and Nazarean Codicil play heavily on the word “door.” Allegorically we think of the door or gate as an aperture. This aperture is a restrictive point of access. It takes little imagination to understand that a gate or door refers to the access of mind or spirit. As such, these openings must be guarded at all costs. The door that is tightly shut will not allow false ideas enter through normal means. Through the allegory of the present pericope we see that the materials of PaRDeS do not enter the mind through the typical telluric manner. This allegory can be seen from different facets. Firstly, we look at is as a positive. The guarded mind is only open to those things (Truths) which descend from above. Looking at the allegory negatively we see that the mind which will not receive the truths of PaRDeS because of those obstructions which aim at keeping us from the truth.

2 Pe.2:6 And [the] cities of Sodom (Heb. Sedom) and Gomorrah (Heb. Amorah) having reduced to ashes catastrophically, [He, i.e. God] condemned [them], [as an] example^{^[53]} (sign) [to those] profane (ungodly) ones. And righteous/generous Lot, [from] oppression by the Lawless (atheistic) in licentious conduct [He, i.e. God] rescued (set free from destruction). But the act of seeing what he saw and hearing what he heard while residing among them day by day tormented his soul.

Lot “sat” at the “gate” to Sedom.

B’resheet 19:1 And the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom, and Lot saw and arose toward them, and he prostrated himself on his face to the ground.

The reference to “sitting” can be two-fold. First it can be a reference to “judging.”^{^[54]} It was in the city gates that judgments took place. Secondly, sitting can be a reference to studying Torah. When we look at the context we can determine that Lot was acting as a judge in Sedom.

B’resheet 19:9 And they said: “Stand back.” And they said: “This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs to play the judge; now will we deal worse with thee, than with them.” And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and drew near to break the door. ^JPS

Unfortunately, Lot was not a good judge, this because the judgments of Lot were not based on the Oral Taught to him by Abraham. We might say in a phrase the Lot judged by the standard “while in Rome.” The city of Sedom was given to all sorts of lawless practices and Lot made no reforms.

With regard to “sitting” as study, we look to our pericope of Mordechai and Luqas. Both accounts suggest that there is a possibility that the P’rushim and Torah Teachers are there studying with Yeshua. These P’rushim and Torah Teachers may have been from either school, i.e. Hillel and Shammai. The negativity of the pericope would seem to suggest that they were from the Shammaite School. However, we must note that while there were sharp contrasts to their views, Hillel and Shammai actually studied together. It was among the students that the difficulties of sharp contrast immerged. We see here a possible allusion to the two schools in study together. The Markan conclusion suggests that they were possibly convinced that Yeshua, as a Hakham was correct.

The Easy Way Out – A Paradox

The question lurking behind the seeming masked materials stares us right in the face. Which is easier to announce…?

Your sins are forgiven?
Or, Take up your cot and walk?

The paradox is missed by the untrained eye. Both questions need to be understood and addressed before a determination can be made. The announcement “take up your cot” would imply the ability to heal supernaturally. That which is “supernatural” is supra – natura, above the powers of nature. In contrast the question of announcing the “forgiveness of sin” is interpreted by some to suggest that Yeshua had the power to forgive sin. The derash is solved in the Talmud.^{^[55]}

b. Ned 41a R. Alexandri said in the name of R. Hiyya b. Abba: A sick man does not recover from his sickness until all his sins are forgiven him, as it is written, Who forgives all your iniquities; who heals all your diseases.^{^[56]} R. Hamnuna said: He [then] returns to the days of his youth, for it is written, His flesh will be fresher than a child's: he will return to the days of his youth.^{^[57]}

Therefore, the paradox and drash makes perfect sense when we understand that forgiveness of sins is requisite for any healing to take place.

Here the Nazarean Codicil demonstrates Yeshua’s agreeance with this Gemara siding with the school of Hillel. However, we can see in this that not only was Yeshua in agreeance with this Gemara, but that he also taught this Gemara to his talmidim.

Ya’akov (Ja) 5:16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous/generous man (a Hakham) can accomplish many things.

Ya’akov the brother of Yeshua notes that sin and sickness are interrelated. The cited verse is simply a paraphrase of the Gemara. Here we are not suggesting that we tell every little “sin” that we have committed. Nonetheless, it is truly praiseworthy to admit that we have shortcomings in areas of our life. Perhaps a bit more contextually this verse refers to the confession of sins we commit against our brother. These “sins” G-d cannot forgive. We are in no way implying that every sneeze, cough of sniffle is the result of “sin.” What we are saying is that sin has “side effects.” These side effects leave marks on the soul, some which teshuba can heal, some which confession can heal and some that need the prayers of a Hakham.

Which is easier to announce? Obviously, it is easier to prophetically announce that one’s sins are forgiven rather than having to say “Rise up and walk” because “your sins have been forgiven.” Therefore, we see Yeshua used plain simple logic in his application of halakhah.

Peroration

The present pericope leaves us with somewhat of a paradox. We see that someone from the narrative of our pericope suggests that Yeshua is speaking “evil words” – Lashon HaRa. We can hardly imagine that the house of Shammai would have believed this to be true unless they were vehemently opposed to Yeshua being Messiah and being a Prophet, which is in the realm of possibility. Another scenario is that there may have been some Tz’dukim (Sadducees) in the audience. This would have easily enraged them and brought about the same words which were the condemning words of the Kohen Gadol. “This man has spoken blasphemy.” Consequently, we see that the there was a mixed congregation. This would solve the paradoxical ending of our pericope.

“We have never seen anything like this [before].” “We saw wonderful things today.”

These words are but a positive and negative echo of the book of Judges (our Ashlamatah) …

All who saw it said, "Nothing like this has ever happened or been seen from the day when the sons of Israel came up from the land of Egypt to this day. Consider it, take counsel and speak up!" ^{Jdg 19:30}

Yeshua, HaMashiach, a Prophet (Nabi) and Hakham demonstrates the qualities which we should ever seek to emulate. He knows when to rebuke as we saw last week and he also knows when to demonstrate compassion. The Master utilizes every gift at his disposal. Therefore, as a halakhic statement we suggest that it is the duty of every Nazarean Jew to do his best to develop all his spiritual skills to the best of his ability. These transcendent skills have been placed in our spiritual toolbox for a reason.

Amen v’amen

Questions for Understanding and Reflection

From all the readings for this Shabbat which verse or verses impressed your heart and fired your imagination?

2. What question/s (no more than two questions) about the Torah Seder for this Shabbat arose for which Hakham Tsefet’s Mishnah provides an adequate answer/s?

3. Taking into consideration all the readings for this Shabbat what is the prophetic statement for this week?

Blessing After Torah Study

Barúch Atáh Adonai, Elohénu Meléch HaOlám,

Ashér Natán Lánu Torát Emét, V'Chayéi Olám Natá B'Tochénu.

Barúch Atáh Adonái, Notén HaToráh. Amen!

Blessed is Ha-Shem our God, King of the universe,

Who has given us a teaching of truth, implanting within us eternal life.

Blessed is Ha-Shem, Giver of the Torah. Amen!

“Now unto Him who is able to preserve you faultless, and spotless, and to establish you without a blemish,

before His majesty, with joy, [namely,] the only one God, our Deliverer, by means of Yeshua the Messiah our Master, be praise, and dominion, and honor, and majesty, both now and in all ages. Amen!”

Next Sabbath: “VaAdonai Paqad” – “And HaShem visited”

Shabbat	Torah Reading:	Weekday Torah Reading:
וַיהוָה פָּקַד
“VaAdonai Paqad”	Reader 1 – B’resheet 21:1-5	Reader 1 – B’resheet 22:1-3
“And Ha-Shem visited”	Reader 2 – B’resheet 21:6-8	Reader 2 – B’resheet 22:4-6
“Y visitó el SEÑOR”	Reader 3 – B’resheet 21:9-13	Reader 3 – B’resheet 22:1-6
B’resheet (Gen.) 21:1-34	Reader 4 – B’resheet 21:14-16
Ashlamatah: I Sam 2:21-28 + 3:19-20	Reader 5 – B’resheet 2117-21
	Reader 6 – B’resheet 21:22-27	Reader 1 – B’resheet 22:1-3
Psalms 15:1-5	Reader 7 – B’resheet 2128-34	Reader 2 – B’resheet 22:4-6
	Maftir – B’resheet 21:32=34	Reader 3 – B’resheet 22:1-6
N.C.: Mark 2:13-17 Luke 5:27-32 & Acts 4:32-37	I Sam 2:21-28 + 3:19-20

Shabbat Shalom!

Hakham Dr. Yosef ben Haggai

Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David

Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu ben Abraham

[1] This introduction was edited from: The ArtScroll Tanach Series, Tehillim, A new translation with a commentary anthologized from Talmudic, Midrashic, and rabbinic sources. Commentary by Rabbi Avrohom Chaim Feuer, Translation by Rabbi Avrohom Chaim Feuer in collaboration with Rabbi Nosson Scherman.

[5] As we again see our verbal tally connection.

[6] Gittin 57b - Alternatively, according to the Midrash (Kohelet Rabbah 3:16), the blood of the young priests and the members of the Great and Small Sanhedrin poured until it reached the grave of Zechariah. Nebuzaradan cried to Zechariah's blood: "Is your blood better than theirs?" At that point G‑d was filled with compassion. He signaled to the blood and it settled into the ground.

[11] From the birth of Yitzchak. "….the 400 years of exile and affliction began with the birth of Isaac. When Yitzchak was sixty years of age his son Yaaqob was born, and at the age of 130 Yaaqob came to Egypt, that makes 190 years. In Egypt the children of Israel actually spent 210 years, which makes 400 years in all".

[13] If we add in the 40 years of Moshe’s leadership, then we have covered this whole time period from Avraham till the first Temple (436 years).

[14] If we add the 70 years of Babylonian captivity we have a total of 480 years, thus we cover the entire period from Avraham till the completion of the Talmud, a total of 2476 years.

[16] Here our pericope is reminiscent of the previous pericope dealing with the leper. Mk. 1:40-45; Lk. 5:12-16

[17] ἐπιγνοὺς, ἐπιγινώσκω – epiginosko perceiving is here related to the spiritual quality of Da’at devoted to the ministerial quality of Unity and virtue.

[18] That which was “hidden” has now been revealed. The P’rushim are able to know the abilities and ministries of the Son of Man i.e. the Prophet. Therefore, we learn from this encounter that the P’rushim (specifically of Shammai) were unable to apprehend prophetic materials.

[19] παραχρῆμα (parachrema) rather than εὐθέως This is the preferential Lucan way of saying εὐθέως

[20] Here the text implies that he became a talmid of Yeshua.

[21] Donahue translates verse 1 “After several days he entered into Capernaum a second time” making his translation connect verbally with B’resheet 19:1 Vayabo’u Sh’ne”” “And [the] two”

[24] The correct meaning, however, is ‘at home’ Moulton, J. H., & Milligan, G. (2004). Vocabulary of the Greek New Testament. Peabohy, MA: Hendrickson Publishers.

[25] Thematic connection B’resheet 19:1 Lot sat at the gate to the city. Note the similarity between the Torah Seder where the men of Sodom surround Lot’s house and the people the Ashlamatah Judges 19:22 connecting with all of the Galil surround the house where Yeshua was staying.

[26] The impersonal plural reads “the come.” Therefore, we have translated so that the wording reads easier in English.

[27] ἐξορύσσω 1 aor. ἐξώρυξα (s. ὀρύσσω; Hdt. et al.; PHal 1, 100 and 109 [III B.C.];LXX, Philo, Joseph.) to extract something out of an area by force. Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature. "Based on Walter Bauer's Griechisch-deutsches Wr̲terbuch zu den Schriften des Neuen Testaments und der frhchristlichen [sic] Literatur, sixth edition, ed. Kurt Aland and Barbara Aland, with Viktor Reichmann and on previous English editions by W.F. Arndt, F.W. Gingrich, and F.W. Danker." (3rd ed.) (351). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

[29] Thematic connection to B’resheet 19:2 the word “son” here can be a reference to a “servant” or talmid.

[30] ἀφέωνται, ἀφίημι – aphiemi carries the idea of release rather than atonement.

[31] Here we find a reference to the idea that the Soferim (scribes), possibly from the House of Shammai, were “studying Torah” with Yeshua. The fact that the Soferim are “sitting” should be noticed in contrast to the remainder of the multitude crowded around the door. There is a tendency to always make the encounters with Yeshua negative. This need not always be the case. The P’rushim were not all close-minded hypocrites (painted ones) as many scholars and teachers suggest. Therefore, we might possible note that the P’rushim were sitting in a session which halakhah was being discussed. This “sitting” makes a verbal connection with B’resheet 19:1 Lot sat at the gate to the city, the place where judgment took place. This is intimated in B’resheet 19:9 Lot is accused of “playing “Judge.”

[32] διαλογίζομαι – dialogizomai demonstrates that they were trying to hermeneutically debate or rationalize what Yeshua was saying.

[33] Here our pericope is reminiscent of the previous pericope dealing with the leper. Mk. 1:40-45; Lk. 5:12-16

[34] ἐπιγνοὺς, ἐπιγινώσκω – epiginosko perceiving is here related to the spiritual quality of Da’at devoted to the ministerial quality of Unity and virtue. “epi” gives the full weight of “ginosko” indicating the fullness of Yeshua’s relationship with the triad of Hokhmah, Binah and Da’at.

[35] That you may know that it is legally permitted for the “Son of Man” to announce the forgiveness of sins.

[38] Verbal connection to the present pericope of Mark and Luke.

[40] We must assert that the reference here to “some of the people of Yisrael” is a reference to the Tz’dukim – Sadducees and their Elders. NOT the whole of the B’ne Yisrael

^{^[41]} Neusner, J., Neusner, J., Avery-Peck, A. J., Green, W. S., & Museum of Jewish Heritage (New York, N. Y. (2000). The encyclopaedia of Judaism. "Published in collaboration with the Museum of Jewish Heritage, New York." (4:1593-1594). Brill "With more than 100 lengthy essays, this exceptional work on Judaism covers more than its historical framework. The Encyclopaedia of Judaism provides complete and accurate coverage of Judaism--everything from its history, beliefs, and observances, from the beginning to modern times. It is an excellent source written by scholars."--"Outstanding Reference Sources," American Libraries, May 2001.

^{^[42]} Guelich, R. A. (2002). Vol. 34A: Word Biblical Commentary: Mark 1-8:26. Word Biblical Commentary. Dallas: Word, Incorporated. p. 85

[43] Lane, W. L. (1974). The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel According to Mark, . Grand Rapids, Michigan: : W. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. p. 94 footnote 9

[44] Corresponding is the use of the rarer substantive. ἄφεσις, which often has the legal sense of “release” from office, marriage, obligation etc., as also from debt or punishment, though never religiously (Plato Leges, IX, 869d: φόνου; Demosthenes, 24, 45 f.: ὀφλήματος or τῶν ὀφλημάτων; we find it in these senses in inscriptions and Papyrus, e.g., as “pardon” in Papyri Greci e Latini, 392, 6 (3rd cent. b.c.): τοῦ βασιλέως ἐπιγράψαντος τὴν ἄφεσιν. Theological dictionary of the New Testament. 1964-c1976. Vols. 5-9 edited by Gerhard Friedrich. Vol. 10 compiled by Ronald Pitkin. (G. Kittel, G. W. Bromiley & G. Friedrich, Ed.) Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. 1:509

[46] Plummer, A. (1933). Critical and Exegetical Commentary on The Gospel According to S. Luke (Fifth ed.). New York: T. & T. Clark. p. 152

[48] We have addressed all three aspects of man because the soul must be seen as an interface between mind and the esoteric abstract world.

[49] Toledano, R. E. (2002). The Orot Tefillah Series "Siddur Kol Sasson / the Orot Sephardic Shabbat Siddur". NJ: Orot Inc. pp. 392-3

[51] Here we find an allegorical hint to the Temple. The roof of the HOUSE, which is destroyed is the destruction of a HOUSE made of stone (mental blockage) for a HOUSE made of LIVING STONES, with the Torah written on the tablets of the heart – mind.

[52] “The Union of Tif’eret and the Shekhinah gives birth to the human soul.” Matt, D. C. (1995). The Essential Kabbalah, The Heart of Jewish Mysticism. New York, NY: Harper Collins, Harper One. p. 10 (Intrduction)

[53] The example, set pattern for the judgment of the ungodly is set, established in what was seen in the ancient world.

[54] On that very day, they had appointed him judge over them. (Rashi – 19:1)

[55] We owe the insight into this Talmudic passage to His Eminence Rabbi Dr Yosef ben Haggai.