IF THE CLOUDS BE FULL OF RAIN. This is a parable regarding wealth. Money was given to the rich only for them to do good, to help those in need.
[THERE SHALL IT BE.]
Yehu (shall it be) is a plural.
1 The
alef in yehu2 is superfluous. It is like the
alef in
he-halekhu3 (that went) in:
that went with him (Joshua 10:24), and the
alef in
avu4 (would in:
yet they would not hear (Is. 28:12).
[Yehu is a plural] because the basic word [for “it shall be”] in the masculine [singular] is yehi.5 There is no form that is similar to yehu in Scripture.6
The meaning of: in the place where the tree falleth, there shall they be is: “In the place where the fruit of the tree falls,7 be it north or south, there shall the gatherers be.”8 The reference is to the wealthy.9
Others say that the reference is to the tree itself,10 and that [the first] half of our verse corresponds to [the first] half of the previous verse, and the final half of our verse stands in contrast to the final half of the previous verse.11
This commentator says that the
yod in the word
yehu is a third person imperfect prefix. It is related to the word
hu (it)
(Gen. 2:11).
12Yehu is a singular.
13
[According to this interpretation,] the meaning of our verse is: “The tree is watered and worked because it gives fruit. However, when it14 falls down, and the owners know that it will never again bear fruit, they leave it in the place that it fell.”
There is commentator who says that etz (tree) is related to the word etzah (counsel) (2 Sam.16:20).15 Whoever says this has not eaten from the tree of knowledge.
1. According to this interpretation, yehu means “shall they be.” See next note.
2. Yehu is spelled yod, heh, vav, alef. It comes from the root heh, yod, heh. It should have been spelled yod, heh, vav (yehu). Hence its alef is superfluous.
According to Ibn Ezra our verse which should be understood as follows: “In the place where the fruit of the tree falleth, shall they (the gatherers) be.”
3. Halekhu is spelled heh, lamed, kaf, vav, alef. It comes from the root heh, lamed, kaf. Halekhu is normally spelled without an alef.
4. Spelled alef, bet, vav, alef.
5. Hence, yehu cannot be a singular.
6. The word yehu is not found again in Scripture.
7. Tree is short for “fruit of the tree.”
8. Yehu (shall they be) refers to the gatherers of the fruit.
9. The maxim is directed at the wealthy: “Gather the fruit that God gives you and share it with the needy” (Meijler).
10. In other words, where the tree falleth refers to the tree, not to its fruit. According to this interpretation yehu is a singular and does not come from the root heh, yod, heh. On the contrary it is related to the word hu (he or it), spelled heh, vav, alef. Yehu means "it shall be." According to this interpretation, the alef in yehu is not superfluous and the verse reads, “In the place where the tree falleth, there shall it be (yehu).
11. Divide a portion into seven, yea, even into eight (first half of verse 2) and If the clouds be full of rain, they [should] empty themselves upon the earth (first half of verse 3) deal with giving charity.
For thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth;(second half of verse 2); If a tree fall in the south, or in the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there shall it be (second half of verse 3) deal with what is destined to be.
12. Literal translation of hu.
13. Yehu is a singular, meaning “it (the tree) shall be.” According to this interpretation, yehu does not come from the root heh, yod, heh, and its shuruk does not indicate that it is a plural.
14. The tree.
15. This commentator interprets our verse as follows: “If counsel falls on the south, or on the north—that is, if God issues a decree on the inhabitants of the north or south—upon the place that the decree falls, there shall it come to be.”