[26] (Numb. 15:1–2:)
NOW THE LORD SPOKE <UNTO MOSES, SAYING>: SPEAK UNTO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL AND SAY UNTO THEM: WHEN YOU COME UNTO THE LAND OF YOUR HABITATIONS. Let our master instruct us: How many things is a father obligated to do for a son?
1 [Thus have our masters taught:] A father is obligated to do five things for a son: to circumcise him, to teach him Torah, to redeem him according to the redemption of the first-born, to teach him commandments, and to take a wife for him.
2 The father is the Holy One. Just as a <human> father is obligated to his son, so does the Holy One do for Israel. The <human> father is obligated to circumcise his son. Similarly the Holy One circumcised Israel at the hands of Joshua (according to Josh. 5:2):
AND AGAIN CIRCUMCISE [
THE CHILDREN OF]
ISRAEL A SECOND TIME. The father is obligated to redeem his son. Similarly the Holy One did so for Israel. He redeemed them, as stated (in I Chron. 17:21): {
AND}
WHO IS LIKE YOUR PEOPLE ISRAEL, A UNIQUE NATION ON EARTH, [
WHOM GOD WENT TO REDEEM AS A PEOPLE FOR HIMSELF]. <The father is obligated> to teach him Torah, {The Holy One taught Torah to Israel.} as stated (in Deut. 11:19):
AND YOU SHALL TEACH THEM TO YOUR CHILDREN BY TALKING ABOUT THEM. [And the Holy One taught Torah to Israel, as stated] (in Is. 48:17):
I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD, TEACHING YOU FOR YOUR OWN GOOD. <The father is obligated> to teach him commandments. The Holy One taught the commandments to Israel (in Lev. 27:34):
THESE ARE THE COMMANDMENTS WHICH THE LORD COMMANDED <MOSES>. <Regarding marriage,> the Holy One said to Israel (in Gen. 1:28):
BE FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLY. Moreover, just as the father wills his property to his son, and <as> his son also is obligated to offer him a gift
3; so also did the Holy One say to Israel (in Numb. 15:2–3):
WHEN YOU COME UNTO THE LAND OF YOUR HABITATIONS [….]
YOU SHALL MAKE4 {
A WHOLE BURNT OFFERING} [
A BURNT OFFERING]
TO THE LORD […,]
<TO MAKE> A PLEASING ODOR <TO THE LORD>….
5
[27] R. Tanhuma bar Abba opened <his discourse> in the name of R. Hanina the father of R. Aha bar Hanina <as follows>:
6 This parashah concerns libations. Thus it is stated (in Numb. 15:6–7):
OR FOR A RAM YOU SHALL MAKE A MEAL OFFERING […;]
AND FOR THE OBLATION <YOU SHALL OFFER> a {
HALF} [
THIRD]
OF A HIN OF WINE. From here on, in regard to the hallah (according to vss 19–20):
AND IT SHALL BE THAT, WHEN YOU EAT FROM THE BREAD OF THE LAND, <YOU SHALL SET ASIDE AN OFFERING FOR THE LORD>. OF THE FIRST OF YOUR DOUGH YOU SHALL SET ASIDE A LOAF (
hallah)
AS AN OFFERING…. Thus
hallah <is mentioned> last, and libations first. For this reason R. Hanina opened (with Eccl. 9:7):
GO, EAT YOUR BREAD WITH GLADNESS, <AND DRINK YOUR WINE WITH A JOYFUL HEART>.
7 In reference to what does the verse speak? With reference to Abraham, when the Holy One said to him (in Gen. 22:2):
PLEASE TAKE YOUR SON. Abraham rose early, took him promptly, led him on, and brought him up to Mount Moriah. [The Holy One said to him (in Gen. 22:12):
DO NOT RAISE YOUR HAND AGAINST THE LAD.] Abraham said to the Holy One: Sovereign of the World, did you tell me (in vs. 2):
PLEASE TAKE, for no reason? He said to him: No! Rather <it was> to make you known in the world. Thus it is stated (in Gen. 18:19):
FOR I HAVE MADE HIM KNOWN,
8 SO THAT HE MAY CHARGE <HIS CHILDREN AND HIS HOUSEHOLD AFTER HIM TO KEEP THE WAY OF THE LORD>…. R. Simeon ben Johay said: The Holy One said to him: By your life, I ascribe <your obedience> to you <as proof> that, if I had told you to take your own life, you would not have refrained <from doing so> for the sake of my name and would have obeyed <the command> to kill for the sake of my name. Where is it shown? R. Simeon ben Johay said: The Holy One said to him (in Gen. 22:16):
AND YOU HAVE NOT WITHHELD YOUR SON, YOUR ONLY ONE. See,
<YOUR SON> has already specified Isaac. <So> what is the meaning of
YOUR ONLY ONE? Simply Abraham's life. Thus the soul is called
ONLY ONE, where it is stated (in Ps. 22:21 [20]):
DELIVER MY LIFE FROM THE SWORD, MY ONLY ONE FROM THE POWER OF THE DOG. Abraham said to the Holy One: Is it possible for me to go from here with no sacrifice? The Holy One said to Abraham: Here is your sacrifice. <It has been> prepared for you from the six days of creation. (According to Gen. 22:13):
THEN ABRAHAM LIFTED HIS EYES TO LOOK, AND THERE WAS A RAM…. SO HE OFFERED IT UP AS A BURNT OFFERING IN PLACE OF HIS SON. At that time Abraham said to the Holy One: Sovereign of the World: I am not moving from here until you swear to me that you will never test me again; for if, heaven forbid, I had not obeyed you, I should have destroyed whatever I had accomplished during my lifetime. R. Hanan said: The Holy One said to him: By your life, so it shall be; for if you had not obeyed me, you would have possessed nothing. At that time the Holy One swore to him that he would never test him again. Thus it is stated (in Gen. 22:16):
AND HE SAID: I BY MYSELF HAVE SWORN, SAYS THE LORD. The Holy One said to him: By your life severe afflictions and other trials had been designated to come upon you, but now they shall not come. These were the same afflictions which came upon Job.
9 They had been designated to come upon Abraham, for the following has been joined to the parashah (in Gen. 22:20–21):
AND IT CAME TO PASS AFTER THESE THINGS, THAT IT WAS TOLD TO ABRAHAM: <BEHOLD MILCAH, SHE ALSO HAS BORNE SONS TO YOUR BROTHER NAHOR:> UZ HIS FIRST-BORN…. And this is Job, according to what is stated (in Job 1:1):
THERE WAS A MAN IN THE LAND BELONGING TO UZ.
10 [
HIS (i.e.,
Uz's)
NAME WAS JOB. The Holy One said to Abraham (in Eccl. 9:7):
GO, EAT YOUR BREAD WITH GLADNESS, <AND DRINK YOUR WINE WITH A JOYFUL HEART, > FOR GOD HAS ALREADY APPROVED YOUR WORKS.
[28] (Numb. 15:37–38:)
THEN THE LORD SPOKE UNTO MOSES, SAYING: SPEAK UNTO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL AND TELL THEM TO MAKE TASSELS FOR THEMSELVES. This text is related (to Ps. 97:11):
LIGHT IS SOWN FOR THE RIGHTEOUS, AND GLADNESS FOR THOSE WITH AN UPRIGHT HEART.
11 It also says (in Is. 42:21):
THE LORD WAS DELIGHTED BECAUSE OF HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, TO MAGNIFY AND GLORIFY TORAH. The Holy One sowed the Torah and the commandments for Israel, in order to bequeath them life in the world to come. He did not put a thing in the world concerning which he did not give Israel a commandment. Did <an Israelite> go out to plow? <There is>
(Deut. 22:10):
YOU SHALL NOT PLOW WITH AN OX AND AN ASS TOGETHER. To sow? <There is>
(Deut. 22:9):
YOU SHALL NOT SOW YOUR VINEYARD WITH TWO KINDS OF SEED. To reap? <There is>
(Deut. 24:19):
WHEN YOU REAP YOUR HARVEST IN YOUR FIELD <AND HAVE FORGOTTEN A SHEAF IN THE FIELD, YOU SHALL NOT RETURN TO TAKE IT;> [….] Did <an Israelite> knead? <There is> (Numb. 15:20):
OF THE FIRST OF YOUR DOUGH YOU SHALL SET ASIDE A LOAF (
hallah)
AS AN OFFERING. Did <an Israelite> butcher? <There is>
(Deut. 18:3):
THAT ONE SHALL GIVE THE PRIEST THE SHOULDER, THE TWO CHEEKS, AND THE STOMACH. With respect to a bird's nest, the driving away of the mother bird, <there is Deut. 22:6–7>. Concerning animals and fowl, <there is>
(Lev. 17:13):
HE SHALL POUR OUT ITS BLOOD AND COVER IT WITH DUST. Did he plant?
(Lev. 19:23:) <MOREOVER, WHEN YOU COME INTO THE LAND> [
AND PLANT ANY TREE FOR FOOD,]
YOU SHALL COUNT <ITS FRUIT> AS FORBIDDEN <….> Did he bury the dead?
(Deut. 14:1:) YOU SHALL NOT CUT YOURSELVES. Did one shave hair?
(Lev. 19:27:) YOU SHALL NOT ROUND OFF THE SIDEBURNS ON YOUR HEAD. Did he build a house?
(Deut. 22:8:) <WHEN YOU BUILD A NEW HOUSE,> YOU SHALL MAKE A PARAPET <FOR YOUR ROOF>. (Also Deut. 6:9:)
AND YOU SHALL WRITE THEM UPON THE DOORPOSTS (
mezuzot)
OF YOUR HOUSE <AND ON YOUR GATES. Did he wrap himself in a cloak (
tallit)? (Numb. 15:38:)
THAT THEY MAKE TASSELS FOR THEMSELVES.
[29] [(Numb. 15:38:)
THAT THEY MAKE <TASSELS> FOR THEMSELVES.] When you make them, they shall not be from <something already> made. Thus one must not extract threads
12 from the cloak <itself> and make <tassels> from them. Rather <it is> a command to get <fresh> white and blue threads to make them.
13 When <did this rule apply>? When there was <a real> blue, but now we only have white, because the blue has been hidden. (Ibid., cont.:)
ON THE CORNERS OF <THEIR GARMENTS>: Not in the middle, but on the corner. (Ibid., cont.:)
A TWISTED THREAD (
petil). Thus it is necessary to twist (
petol) them. R. Meir said: Why does blue differ from all <other> kinds of colors? Because blue resembles [the sea, the sea resembles] the firmament, and the firmament resembles the throne of glory. Thus it is stated (in Exod. 24:10):
AND THEY SAW THE GOD OF ISRAEL, AND UNDER HIS FEET THERE WAS SOMETHING LIKE BRICKWORK OF SAPPHIRE, LIKE THE HEAVENS THEMSELVES FOR BRIGHTNESS.
[30] (Numb. 15:39:)
SO IT SHALL BE A TASSEL FOR YOU THAT YOU MAY SEE IT <AND REMEMBER ALL THE COMMANDMENTS OF THE LORD….> Thus it should be visible. And what is its size? Bet Shammay says four fingers, while Bet Hillel says three.
14 (Ibid.:)
THAT YOU MAY SEE IT. <There is> exception for a garment <worn> at night.
15 Are you saying: For a garment <worn> at night? Or is <the exception> only for a garment of a blind person? Hence, it says again (in vs. 40):
SO THAT YOU MAY REMEMBER <AND PERFORM ALL MY COMMANDMENTS….> Hence, it ordains seeing, and it ordains remembering: remembering for the one who does not see and seeing for the one who does see. (vs. 39:)
THAT YOU MAY SEE IT.
IT (here) is masculine and not feminine.
16 When Israel looks at that <feminine> tassel of blue, it will seem to them as though the Divine Presence is dwelling among them.
17 (Vss. 39–40:)
THAT YOU MAY SEE…. SO THAT YOU MAY REMEMBER. The seeing leads to remembering <the commandments>, and remembering leads to performing <them>. Thus it is stated (in vs. 40):
SO THAT YOU MAY REMEMBER AND PERFORM <ALL MY COMMANDMENTS…. > Why?
(Deut. 32:47):
BECAUSE IT IS NOT A TRIFLING THING FOR YOU.
[31] (Numb. 15:39:) AND YOU SHALL NOT GO ABOUT FOLLOWING YOUR OWN HEART [AND YOUR OWN EYES THROUGH WHICH YOU LUST (rt.: ZNH)]. The heart and the eyes are procurers for the body, in that they prostitute (rt.: ZNH) the body.18 [(vs. 40:) SO THAT YOU MAY REMEMBER AND PERFORM ALL MY COMMANDMENTS: <The situation> is comparable to a certain person who was thrown into the midst of the water. The helmsman19 extended a rope to him. He said to him: Grab this rope with your hand, and do not let go of it; for if you do let go of it, you will lose your life. So also did the Holy One say to Israel. As long as you adhere to the commandments, <the following holds true> (in Deut. 4:4): BUT YOU WHO CLUNG TO THE LORD YOUR GOD ARE ALL ALIVE TODAY. And so it says (in Prov. 4:13): HOLD ONTO DISCIPLINE; DO NOT SLACK OFF. KEEP IT FOR, IT IS YOUR LIFE.
(Numb. 15:40, cont.:) AND THAT YOU MAY BE HOLY. When you perform the commandments, you are made holy, and fear of you <comes> over the nations. <If> you withdraw from the Torah, you become profaned. The Holy One said to Israel: In this world because of the evil drive, you withdraw from the commandments; in the age to come I am rooting it out of you. Thus it is stated (in Ezek. 36:26–27): THEN I WILL REMOVE THE HEART OF STONE FROM YOUR FLESH AND GIVE YOU A HEART OF FLESH, AND I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT WITHIN YOU. THEN I WILL MAKE YOU WALK IN MY STATUTES; AND YOU WILL OBSERVE MY ORDINANCES BY PERFORMING THEM.
The End of Parashah Shelah
Appendix to Shelach
[1] (Numb. 14:11:)
20 THEN THE LORD SAID UNTO MOSES: HOW LONG WILL THIS PEOPLE SCORN ME, AND HOW LONG WILL THEY HAVE NO FAITH IN ME …? This text is related (to Prov. 1:25, 30):
BUT YOU HAVE SPURNED ALL MY PLAN AND WOULD NOT ACCEPT MY REBUKE [….]
THEY HAVE DESPISED ALL MY REBUKE. What is the implication of
BUT YOU HAVE SPURNED ALL MY PLAN? Simply that all the good which I planned for you, you have spoiled and spurned.
21 Thus it is stated (in Prov. 1:25):
BUT YOU HAVE SPURNED (rt.:
PR')
ALL MY PLAN? At the beginning I said to Moses (in Exod. 3:8):
I HAVE COME DOWN TO DELIVER THEM OUT OF THE HAND OF THE EGYPTIANS AND TO BRING THEM UP <OUT OF THAT LAND UNTO A GOOD AND SPACIOUS LAND>…. But you did not act in the way <I intended>. Instead you came to the sea and immediately spoiled my plan, as stated (in Ps. 106:7):
THEY REBELLED AT THE SEA, AT THE REED SEA. When you came to Mount Sinai, I descended and spoke with you. I brought down on your behalf thousands upon thousands and myriads upon myriads of angels, and I passed on two angels to each and every person in Israel. R. Johanan said: One to gird him with his weapons
22 and one to put a crown on his head.
23 R. Huna of Sepphoris said: He bound their weapons to them, while R. Simoy said: He clothed them in purple, as stated (in Ezek. 16:10):
I CLOTHED YOU WITH EMBROIDERED GARMENTS. R. Simeon b. Johay says: He clothed them with an instrument of weaponry with the Ineffable Name written upon it. Moreover, as long as it was in their hand, nothing evil had power against them, neither the angel of death nor anything else.
24 But when they sinned, Moses had said to them (in Exod. 33:5):
NOW THEN, REMOVE YOUR ORNAMENTS (i.e., your weapons)
FROM YOURSELVES, THAT I MAY KNOW WHAT TO DO TO YOU. At that time (according to vs. 4):
WHEN THE PEOPLE HEARD THIS BAD NEWS, THEY WENT INTO MOURNING, <AND NO ONE PUT HIS ORNAMENTS ON HIMSELF>. And what is written (in vs. 6)?
SO [
THE CHILDREN OF]
ISRAEL STRIPPED THEMSELVES OF ORNAMENTS…. What had the Holy One done (at the giving of Torah)?
25 He had brought the angel of death and said to him: All the world is under your authority, except this people whom I have chosen for myself. R. Eleazar the Son of R. Jose the Galilean said: The angel of death said to the Holy One: Have I been created in the world for nothing?
26 The Holy One said to him: I created you so that you would destroy <all> the peoples of the world except this people, over whom you have no authority to take a single one of them. Look at the plan which the Holy One had devised concerning them for them to live and endure! Thus it is stated (in Deut. 4:4):
BUT YOU WHO CLUNG TO THE LORD YOUR GOD ARE ALL ALIVE TODAY. So also it says (in Exod. 32:16):
AND THE WRITING WAS THE WRITING OF GOD INSCRIBED (
harut)
ON THE TABLETS. What is the meaning of
harut? R. Judah says:
FREEDOM (
herut) from the empires; but R. Nehemiah says:
FREEDOM (
herut) from the angel of death; and our masters say:
FREEDOM from afflictions. Look at the plan which the Holy One had devised for them! Then they immediately spoiled this plan after <only> forty days. It is therefore stated (in Prov. 1:25):
BUT YOU HAVE SPURNED ALL MY PLAN.
[2] [Another interpretation (of Numb. 14:11): HOW LONG WILL THIS PEOPLE SCORN ME?: The Holy One said to them: I had said that you would not sin. Instead you would live and endure like me, just as I live and endure forever and forevermore. (According to Ps. 82:6:) I SAID: YOU ARE GODS; EVEN ALL OF YOU ARE CHILDREN OF THE MOST HIGH. <You are> like the ministering angels who never taste death. Yet after this greatness you wanted to die (according to vs. 7): INDEED YOU SHALL DIE LIKE A HUMAN (Adam), <i.e.,> like the first Adam, to whom I decreed one commandment which he was to do, that he might live and endure forever, as stated (in Gen. 3:22): BEHOLD, THE HUMAN (adam) HAS BECOME LIKE ONE OF US. Similarly also (in Gen. 1:27): AND GOD CREATED THE HUMAN (adam) IN HIS OWN IMAGE, so that he would live and endure like himself. Yet he corrupted his works and nullified his decree, for he ate of the tree. Then I said to him (in Gen. 3:19): FOR DUST YOU ARE AND UNTO DUST YOU SHALL RETURN. So also in your case (in Ps. 82:6), I SAID: YOU ARE GODS, but you corrupted your works as <did> Adam. Surely you shall die like Adam! And who made this happen to them? <You, for> (according to Prov. 1:25) BUT YOU HAVE SPURNED ALL MY PLAN. (According to vs. 30:) THEY HAVE DESPISED ALL MY REBUKE. It is therefore stated (in Numb. 14:11): HOW LONG WILL THIS PEOPLE SCORN ME …?
[3] [(Numb. 14:11:) HOW LONG WILL THIS PEOPLE SCORN ME?: This text is related (to Is. 5:4): WHAT ELSE IS THERE TO DO FOR MY VINEYARD THAT I HAVE NOT DONE FOR IT? WHEN I HOPED FOR IT TO PRODUCE GRAPES, WHY DID IT PRODUCE SOUR GRAPES?27 The Holy One said: <Consider> what good things I have created within my world! Did I not make them for you? Yet with the very good that I made for you, you provoked me. I brought you out of Egypt. Then when I came to the sea, I made it as if it were full of clay.28 Thus it is stated (in Hab. 3:15): YOU TROD THE SEA WITH YOUR HORSES, THE MORTAR OF MANY WATERS. They walked in it and talked to each other. A certain Reubenite said: Where are we? Do you not know that he has brought us away from clay and bricks and returned us to clay? Thus it is stated (in Exod. 1:14): AND THEY MADE THEIR LIVES BITTER WITH HARD LABOR AT MORTAR AND BRICKS. So similarly (in Hab. 3:15): YOU TROD THE SEA WITH YOUR HORSES, THE MORTAR OF MANY WATERS. The Holy One said to them: Yet with the good that I brought upon you, you provoked me. When they came to the desert, I brought the manna down to you for forty years.29 Moreover, none of them had to ease nature for those forty years. Rather when they ate the manna, it <simply> became flesh for them, as stated (in Ps. 78:25, 27) EACH ONE ATE THE BREAD OF THE MIGHTY (rt.: 'BR); [….AND HE RAINED DOWN MEAT UPON THEM LIKE DUST….] When <the manna> became body members (rt.: 'BR) and flesh,30 they provoked him with it. Seeing for themselves that they did not have to go out <to ease nature> like <other> humans, they began saying to each other: Do you not know that we have had twenty days, even thirty [days], without easing nature? What is this? When a person does not ease nature for four or five days, does he not die or burst open? Now as for us, (according to Numb. 21:5), OUR SOUL LOATHES THIS MISERABLE FOOD. Why was it said to be MISERABLE (rt.: QLL)? Because it was light (rt.: QLL) within their bowels.
The Holy One said: In whatever <way> I did well for them, in <that way> they provoked me. It is so stated (in Is. 5:4):
WHAT ELSE IS THERE TO DO FOR MY VINEYARD THAT I HAVE NOT DONE FOR <IT?>…. The spies went and looked at the land. Now you find that wherever Israel goes they are recognized. It is so stated (in Is. 61:9):
ALL WHO SEE THEM SHALL RECOGNIZE THEM…. However (in the case of the spies), the Holy One said: If they see them they will kill them. So what shall I do? In the case of each and every province into which the spies entered, the head of a province was afflicted with plague, or its king [was smitten with plague], in order that they would be occupied with bringing out their dead and not pay attention to the spies.
31 Thus they would not kill them. When they entered and looked at the land, they explored it <and found> that it was beautiful. Look at how well I treated them! Yet by this <very land> they provoked me. When they came to Moses and to Israel, What did they say (in Numb. 13:32)?
THE LAND THROUGH WHICH WE PASSED, IN ORDER TO EXPLORE IT, IS A LAND THAT EATS UP ITS INHABITANTS…. The Holy One began to cry out (in Is. 5:4):
WHAT ELSE IS THERE TO DO FOR MY VINEYARD THAT I HAVE NOT DONE FOR IT?….
[4] [(Numb. 14:11:) HOW LONG WILL THIS PEOPLE SCORN ME?: The Holy One said: I thought and hoped that you would become like the ancestors, of whom it is written (in Hos. 9:10): I FOUND ISRAEL LIKE GRAPES IN THE DESERT; I SAW YOUR ANCESTORS AS THE FIRST FRUIT ON A FIG TREE IN ITS FIRST SEASON. I did not think that you would become like <the inhabitants of> Sodom, who were burned with fire. Thus it is stated (in Deut. 32:32): FOR THEIR VINE IS FROM THE VINE OF SODOM, EVEN FROM THE FIELDS OF GOMORRAH. [THEIR GRAPES ARE GRAPES OF POISON….] (Is. 5:4:) WHEN I HOPED FOR IT TO PRODUCE GRAPES, WHY DID IT PRODUCE SOUR GRAPES? <You have become> like <the inhabitants of> Sodom, who were burned with fire. It is therefore stated (in Numb. 14:11): HOW LONG WILL THIS PEOPLE SCORN ME?
[5] [(Numb. 14:11:) HOW LONG WILL THIS PEOPLE SCORN ME?] Moses said to the Holy One: So what do you want? He said to him (in vs. 12): I WILL SMITE THEM WITH PESTILENCE AND DISPLACE THEM. THEN I WILL MAKE YOU INTO A NATION THAT IS GREATER AND MORE NUMEROUS THAN THEY. Moses said to him (in vss. 13–14, 16): WHEN THE EGYPTIANS HEAR <WHAT HAPPENED>, FOR YOU DID BRING THIS PEOPLE UP THROUGH YOUR POWER FROM THEIR MIDST, THEY WILL SAY UNTO THE INHABITANTS OF <THIS> LAND…. BECAUSE THE LORD WAS NOT ABLE TO BRING THIS PEOPLE <INTO THE LAND>…. So would not the nations of the world say: The gods of Canaan are stronger than the gods of Egypt?32 Why? The gods of Egypt are of irrigated land, but those of Canaan are of <land> watered by rain (i.e., of Ba'al). (Numb. 14:14, 16:) THEY WILL SAY UNTO THE INHABITANTS OF THIS LAND….. BECAUSE THE LORD WAS NOT ABLE TO BRING <THIS PEOPLE INTO THE LAND>…. (Numb. 14:16:) BECAUSE HE WAS NOT ABLE (yekholet), <i.e.,> because he did not have the means to supply enough food, he brought them out to have them die in the desert. Now the word, yekholet can only refer to food, since it is stated (in I Kings 5:25 [11]): AND SOLOMON GAVE HIRAM TWENTY THOUSAND MEASURES OF WHEAT AS FOOD (makkolet) FOR HIS HOUSEHOLD.
[6] Another interpretation: Lest the nations of the world say: He behaves like a brute with you. That is to say: When the generation of the flood came, he destroyed them with water, as stated (in Gen. 7:6):
WHEN THE FLOODWATERS CAME UPON THE EARTH. And similarly, when the generation of the dispersion came, he destroyed them. And similarly, when the Egyptians came, he drowned them in water. And also in the case of these whom he has called (in Exod. 4:22)
ISRAEL, MY FIRST-BORN SON, here he is destroying (
mekhalleh) them! <He is> like that Lilith (
keLilit). When she does not find anything else, she turns on children. So (in Numb. 14:16):
BECAUSE THE LORD WAS NOT ABLE TO BRING THIS PEOPLE INTO THE LAND WHICH HE HAS SWORN <TO GIVE> THEM, HE HAS SLAUGHTERED THEM IN THE DESERT. Moses said: Sovereign of the World, (according to vs. 14)
THAT YOU, O LORD, ARE SEEN FACE TO FACE (literally:
EYE TO EYE). What is the meaning of
THAT <YOU> … ARE SEEN EYE TO EYE ('
YN B'
YN)?
33 R. Simeon ben Laqish said: See, the scales are balanced (rt.: '
YN). You say (in Numb. 14:12):
I WILL SMITE THEM WITH PESTILENCE AND DISPLACE THEM; but I am saying (in vs. 19):
PLEASE PARDON. We shall see whose <utterance> will stand. The Holy One said to him: By your life, Moses, yours shall stand, while mine is null <and void>. Thus it is stated (in Numb. 14:20):
THEN THE LORD SAID: I HAVE PARDONED THEM AS YOU ASKED. But nevertheless, the decree of the Holy One which he had uttered to Moses (in Numb. 14:12):
THEN I WILL MAKE YOU INTO A NATION THAT IS GREATER AND MORE NUMEROUS THAN THEY, <that decree> was not repealed. He raised up from him sixty myriads, and in the world to come the Holy One shall gather them. Thus it is stated (in Is. 49:12):
LOOK!
THESE ARE COMING FROM AFAR. AND LOOK!
THESE ARE FROM THE NORTH AND FROM THE SEA (i.e.,
FROM THE WEST),
AND THESE FROM THE LAND OF SINIM. Moreover, the exiles shall come with them, also the tribes who are located beyond <the River> Sambatyon
34 and beyond the darkness.
35 They shall be gathered and come to Jerusalem. It is concerning them that Isaiah has said (in Is. 49:9):
SAYING TO THE PRISONERS: GO FORTH, <i.e.,> to those who are located beyond the Sambatyon. (Ibid., cont.:)
TO THOSE WHO ARE IN DARKNESS: SHOW YOURSELVES.
36 These are those who are located beyond the cloud of darkness. (Ibid., cont.:)
THEY SHALL PASTURE ALONG THE ROADS, AND {
UPON} [
IN ALL]
THE HEIGHTS SHALL BE THEIR PASTURE. These are those who are located in Daphne near Antioch.
37 At that time they shall be redeemed and come to Zion with gladness. Isaiah has said (in Is. 51:11):
SO LET THOSE RANSOMED BY THE LORD RETURN AND COME TO ZION WITH EXALTATION, WITH JOY EVERLASTING UPON THEIR HEADS. LET THEM ATTAIN JOY AND GLADNESS; MAY SORROW AND SIGHING FLEE.
[7] (Numb. 14:27:)
HOW LONG SHALL THIS EVIL CONGREGATION BE MURMURING AGAINST ME?
<I HAVE HEARD THE MURMURINGS OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL>….. Let our master instruct us: When a baby has a stone in his hand on the Sabbath, is it permissible to pick him up on the Sabbath?
38 Thus have our masters taught (in Shab. 21:1):
A PERSON MAY PICK UP ONE'S CHILD, EVEN WITH A STONE IN HIS HAND, OR A BASKET (of fruit),
EVEN WITH A STONE INSIDE IT. You have learned from the generation of the wilderness that the Holy One, as it were, carried them up in the wilderness.
(Deut. 1:31:) AND IN THE WILDERNESS, WHERE YOU SAW HOW THE LORD YOUR GOD CARRIED YOU AS {
THE PERSON} [
ONE]
CARRIES HIS CHILD. Yet there was an object of idolatry in their hand.
39 Thus it is stated (in Neh. 9:18):
EVEN THOUGH THEY HAD MADE THEMSELVES A MOLTEN CALF…. And so you find that, when they crossed in the sea, Micah's image (of Jud. 17:3–4) crossed with them, as stated (in Zech. 10:11):
AND A RIVAL WIFE40 SHALL CROSS IN THE SEA.
41 Still with all this, the Holy One did not forsake them. He said to Moses: I have done a lot of good things with them; yet they are provoking me a lot. I parted the sea for them; they provoked me, as stated (in Pss. 106:7):
THEY REBELLED AT THE SEA, [
AT THE]
REED [
SEA]. I led them in the desert, but they provoked me there. And so it says (in Numb. 14:22):
THEY HAVE TRIED ME THESE TEN TIMES AND NOT HEARKENED TO MY VOICE. Here also I told you to send them to explore the land, but they provoked me and brought a bad name upon it (i.e., upon the land). I am not able to endure. How long shall I endure them? Where is it shown? From what they read on the matter (in Numb. 14:27):
HOW LONG SHALL THIS EVIL CONGREGATION <BE MURMURING AGAINST ME>?
[8] [Another interpretation (of Numb. 14:27): HOW LONG ('ad matay) …?] This text is related (to Zech. 7:13): AND IT CAME TO PASS THAT, AS {I} [HE CALLED, AND THEY DID NOT HEED; SO LET THEM CALL, AND I WILL NOT HEED, SAYS THE LORD OF HOSTS. <It will be> measure for measure, said the Holy One. Because I have spoken four times, so you are going to say something similar four times. Four times did I say: <HOW LONG?>
(Numb. 14:11): HOW LONG ('ad-'anah) WILL <THIS PEOPLE> SCORN ME?
(Ibid., cont.:) AND HOW LONG ('ad-'anah) WILL THEY HAVE NO FAITH IN ME?
(Numb. 14:27) HOW LONG ('ad matay) SHALL THIS EVIL CONGREGATION <BE MURMURING AGAINST ME>?
So also shall I deliver them into the hand of four empires, where they are going to cry out four times and say: <HOW LONG?>
(Ps. 13:2–3[1–2]:) HOW LONG ('ad-'anah), O LORD? WILL YOU FORGET ME FOREVER? concerns Babylon.
(Ibid., cont.): HOW LONG ('ad-'anah) WILL YOU HIDE YOUR FACE FROM ME? concerns Media.
(Ibid., cont.): HOW LONG ('ad-'anah) SHALL I TAKE COUNSEL IN MY SOUL <WITH GRIEF IN MY HEART ALL DAY>? concerns Greece.
(Ibid., cont.): HOW LONG ('ad-'anah) WILL MY ENEMY BE EXALTED OVER ME? concerns Edom (i.e., Rome).
is> to fulfill what was said (in Zech. 7:13): AND IT CAME TO PASS THAT, AS {I} [HE] CALLED, AND THEY DID NOT HEED; SO LET THEM CALL, AND I WILL NOT HEED,…. It is therefore stated (in Numb. 14:27): HOW LONG SHALL THIS EVIL CONGREGATION <BE MURMURING AGAINST ME>?.
[9] Another interpretation (of Numb. 14:27): HOW LONG SHALL THIS EVIL CONGREGATION <BE MURMURING AGAINST ME>? This text is related (to Mal. 1:11): FOR FROM THE RISING OF THE SUN [EVEN] TO WHERE IT SETS MY NAME SHALL BE GREAT AMONG THE GENTILES. The Holy One said: The nations of the world honor me; but as for you, how many miracles have I performed for you?.42 Still you provoke me. Do you want to know <the facts>? Eglon, king of Moab, was uncircumcised. Then Ehud ben Gera entered where he was; and as soon as he mentioned my name to him, he showed me honor and rose from his seat, as stated (in Jud. 3:20): NOW WHEN EHUD CAME UNTO HIM, HE WAS SITTING BY HIMSELF IN HIS COOL UPPER ROOM. THEN EHUD SAID: I HAVE A WORD FROM GOD FOR YOU; SO HE AROSE FROM HIS SEAT. <This was> to fulfill what was said (in Mal. 1:11): FOR FROM THE RISING OF THE SUN [EVEN] TO WHERE IT SETS MY NAME SHALL BE GREAT AMONG THE GENTILES. The Holy One said: The nations of the world honor me; and they show me respect. Yet when you provoke me, I plead with you. How long do I tolerate <you>? (Numb. 14:27:) HOW LONG SHALL THIS EVIL CONGREGATION <BE MURMURING AGAINST ME>?
[10] Another interpretation (of Numb. 14:27): HOW LONG SHALL THIS EVIL CONGREGATION …? The Holy One said: Come and see the good things that I did for them when they went to explore the land. Wherever they entered, I made the head of that city die.43 So when they did enter they found all the people of that city attending to the head of the city. So they did not pay attention to them. However, through the very good which I did for them they spread slander. What did they say to Moses (in Numb. 13:32): <THE LAND … IS> A LAND THAT EATS UP ITS INHABITANTS…. After all this good which I did for them, lest they be recognized by those on whom they were spying, with the result that they would catch them, when after all these things they spoke slander, I was tolerated them. (Numb. 14:27:) HOW LONG SHALL THIS EVIL CONGREGATION …?
[11] Another interpretation (of Numb. 14:27): HOW LONG SHALL THIS EVIL CONGREGATION …? The Holy One said, as it were: Someone buys himself a servant, so that the servant may take the lantern44 and give light to the one who bought him; but I did not do so. Rather, though you are my servants, as stated (in Lev. 25:55): FOR TO ME THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL ARE SERVANTS, I have taken the lantern and given light to them, as stated (in Exod. 13:21): AND THE LORD WENT BEFORE THEM BY DAY IN A PILLAR OF CLOUD TO GUIDE THEM ON THE WAY AND BY NIGHT IN A PILLAR OF FIRE TO GIVE THEM LIGHT.
[12] Another interpretation (of Numb. 14:27). By universal custom one buys himself a servant so that, if he sets out on the road, his slave will go ahead and prepare for him safe and well supplied quarters;45 but I have not done so. Rather, though you are my servants, I prepared quarters <for you>, as stated (in Numb. 10:33): AND THE ARK OF THE COVENANT OF THE LORD TRAVELED AHEAD OF THEM THREE DAYS' JOURNEY TO SEEK OUT A RESTING PLACE FOR THEM.
[13] Another interpretation (of Numb. 14:27). By universal custom one buys himself a servant so that his servant will bake bread for him and so that his buyer may eat, but I did not do so. Rather, though you are my servants, I baked for you so that you might eat. It is so stated (in Exod. 16:4): BEHOLD, I WILL RAIN DOWN BREAD FROM THE HEAVENS FOR YOU. And so it says (in Ps. 78:25): EACH ONE ATE THE BREAD OF THE MIGHTY. After all these good things that I did for you, you provoke me. How long shall I endure <you>? (Numb. 14:27:) HOW LONG SHALL THIS EVIL CONGREGATION <BE MURMURING AGAINST ME>?
[14] [Another interpretation (of Numb. 14:27): HOW LONG SHALL <THIS> EVIL CONGREGATION <BE MURMURING AGAINST ME>?] The Holy One said to Moses: I am exterminating them from before me, for so it says (in Numb. 14:12): I WILL SMITE THEM WITH PESTILENCE AND DISPLACE THEM.46 Immediately Moses stood up to him by asking for mercy from the Holy One. How? When Israel made the calf, Moses stood up to him. At that time he made a plea on their behalf. He said to him: Please, make known to me by what principle you run your world. Thus it says this (in Exod. 33:13): PLEASE MAKE YOUR WAYS KNOWN TO ME THAT I MAY KNOW YOU…. The Holy One said to him: It is by the principle of mercy that I run my world, as stated (in Exod. 34:6): AND THE LORD PASSED BY BEFORE HIM, AND PROCLAIMED: THE LORD, THE LORD IS A MERCIFUL AND GRACIOUS GOD, SLOW TO ANGER AND ABOUNDING IN KINDNESS AND TRUTH. When Moses saw that the Holy One had said to him; SLOW TO ANGER, he began saying to the Holy One: Sovereign of the Universe, this is what you have said: SLOW TO ANGER. Is this <the way> you are slowing your passion? The Holy One said to him: Even so, I am going to punish them. <Moses> did nothing, but when the Holy One wanted to destroy them here, where it is stated (in Numb. 14:12): I WILL SMITE THEM WITH PESTILENCE AND DISPLACE THEM, Moses stood up and asked for mercy before the Holy One, as he said to him: Please, are these the stipulations which you prescribed when you said: SLOW TO ANGER? Fulfill your word here (in Numb. 14:17): AND NOW, PLEASE LET THE POWER OF THE LORD INCREASE, EVEN AS YOU HAVE SPOKEN, SAYING. Then what did <the Holy One> say (in vs. 18)? THE LORD IS SLOW TO ANGER AND OF GREAT KINDNESS…. Moses said to the Holy One: Sovereign of the Universe, in the case of a servant, if his deeds are good so that his master looks at him with a friendly face, one does not give his master any credit.47 So when would they give him credit? When the servant's conduct is evil with his deeds being evil, and then his master looks at him with a friendly face. So also in your case, O Sovereign of the Universe, pay no attention to their stiff neck. Thus it is stated (in Deut. 9:27): PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE STUBBORNNESS OF THIS PEOPLE NOR ITS WICKEDNESS NOR ITS SIN. So the Holy One said to him: See, because of you I am forgiving them. It is so stated (in Numb. 14:20): I HAVE PARDONED THEM AS YOU ASKED.
[15] (Numb. 15:1–3:) NOW THE LORD SPOKE <UNTO MOSES, SAYING>: SPEAK UNTO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL AND SAY UNTO THEM: WHEN YOU COME UNTO THE LAND OF YOUR HABITATIONS WHICH I AM GIVING YOU AND WOULD MAKE AN OFFERING TO THE LORD, A BURNT OFFERING OR A SACRIFICE TO FULFILL A VOW…. This text is related (to Jer. 3:19): <THEN I SAID:> HOW I WOULD PUT YOU AMONG THE CHILDREN AND GIVE YOU A DESIRABLE LAND, THE MOST BEAUTIFUL HERITAGE OF ALL THE NATIONS! AND I SAID: YOU SHALL CALL ME FATHER AND NOT TURN FROM FOLLOWING ME. What is the meaning of HOW I WOULD PUT YOU AMONG THE CHILDREN? How should I compare you with love of children? R. Jose bar Hanina said: What is the meaning of HOW I WOULD PUT YOU AMONG THE CHILDREN? There was great love between me and you. How did you introduce enmity between me and you?48 HOW I WOULD PUT (ashit) YOU AMONG THE CHILDREN! Now this language can only be the language of enmity, since it is stated (in Gen. 3:15): AND I WILL PUT (ashit) ENMITY BETWEEN YOU AND THE WOMAN.
Another interpretation (of Jer. 3:19): HOW I WOULD PUT YOU AMONG THE CHILDREN! R. Joshua the Levite said: The Holy One said: I argued in your defense49, but you made me one who argues your prosecution.50 HOW I WOULD PUT (rt.: ShYT) YOU AMONG THE CHILDREN? This language can only be the language of guilt, since it is stated (concerning one found guilty of negligence in Exod. 21:30): IF A RANSOM IS PUT (rt.: ShYT) UPON HIM, <HE SHALL GIVE WHATEVER IS PUT (rt.: SHYT) UPON HIM TO REDEEM HIS LIFE>.
Another interpretation (of Jer. 3:19): HOW I WOULD I PUT YOU AMONG THE CHILDREN! R. Hiyya said: The Holy One said: For which people did I do what I did for you? For which people did I part the sea? To which people did I give the Torah? Which people did I set apart, just as I have set you apart. HOW I WOULD PUT (rt.: ShYT) YOU AMONG THE CHILDREN! This language can only be the language of setting apart, since it is stated (in Gen. 30:40): AND HE PUT (rt.: ShYT) HIS OWN FLOCKS APART….
Another interpretation (of Jer. 3:19):
HOW I WOULD PUT YOU AMONG THE CHILDREN! R. Eliezer said: the Holy One said: For what people did I do what I have done for you? Have I not made you a special people in the world and separated you from all the <other> peoples? Thus it is stated (in Deut. 7:3):
YOU SHALL NOT INTERMARRY WITH THEM….
(Jer. 3:19:) HOW I WOULD PUT (rt.:
ShYT)
YOU AMONG THE CHILDREN … ! This language can only be the language of separation, since it is stated (in Gen. 4:25):
FOR GOD HAS APPOINTED (rt.:
ShYT)
ANOTHER SEED FOR ME.
Another interpretation (of Jer. 3:19): HOW I WOULD PUT (ashit, rt.: ShYT) YOU AMONG THE CHILDREN? R. Berekhyah the Priest [Berabbi] said: You were dear to me. <The Holy One was> like a person who had a single vineyard.51 So he hoed it, weeded it, and did everything necessary for it. How did you get me to make you unclaimed property? This language can only be the language of unclaimed property, since it is stated (of the Holy One's vineyard in Is. 5:6): AND I WILL MAKE (ashit, rt.: ShYT) IT A WASTE LAND. IT SHALL NEITHER BE PRUNED NOR HOED; AND THERE SHALL ARISE BRIERS AND THORNS (ShYT).
[16] Jer. 3:19): <HOW I WOULD PUT YOU AMONG THE CHILDREN> AND GIVE YOU A DESIRABLE LAND, a land that the ancestors of the world52 found desirable. <The first of these ancestors was> Abraham, of whom it is stated (in Gen. 12:9): THEN ABRAM JOURNEYED AS HE WENT ON AND TRAVELED TOWARDS THE NEGEB. And so it says (in Gen. 23:4): I AM AN ALIEN AND TRANSIENT AMONG YOU; GIVE ME A BURIAL PLACE AMONG YOU. <The second was> Isaac. {He also found it desirable when he was departing from <this> world. What did he say to his children (in Gen. 49:29)? BURY ME WITH MY ANCESTORS IN THE FIELD OF EPHRON BEN ZOHAR THE HITTITE.}53 [The Holy One also endeared it to Isaac (in Gen. 26:3): RESIDE IN THIS LAND, <AND I WILL BE WITH YOU AND BLESS YOU>…. ] <The third was> Jacob. This <is what> he commanded (in Gen. 50:5): IN MY GRAVE WHICH I DUG FOR MYSELF IN THE LAND OF <CANAAN, THERE YOU SHALL BURY ME>…. Ergo (in Jer. 3:19): A DESIRABLE LAND, THE MOST BEAUTIFUL (rts: TsBH TsB') HERITAGE OF THE NATIONS, in that it is a land of delights (rt.: TsBH) for the peoples of the world.
Another interpretation (of Jer. 3:19): THE MOST BEAUTIFUL (tsevi) HERITAGE. <It is> a land like a deer (tsevi), in that it hastens to bring forth its fruit.54
Another interpretation (of Jer. 3:19): THE MOST BEAUTIFUL (TsBY) HERITAGE OF THE NATIONS. <It is> a land in which all the peoples of the world delight (rt.: TsBY).
It is written (in Josh. 12:9): THE KING OF JERICHO, ONE; THE KING OF AI WHICH IS BESIDE BETHEL, ONE. Now there are not <even> three miles55 between the one <city> and the other; yet it says: THE KING OF JERICHO …; THE KING OF AI.56 R. Parnakh said: R. Johanan said: Every king who was outside the land and did not procure for himself one city within the land of Israel was not called a king. What is written (in Josh. 7:21)? I SAW AMONG THE SPOILS A FINE SHINAR MANTLE. What is a SHINAR MANTLE?57 A Babylonian58 robe of royal purple.59 It is simply that <its owner was> the one who was the king of Babylon, and he was encamped in the land of Israel. Ergo (in Jer. 3:19): THE MOST BEAUTIFUL HERITAGE OF THE NATIONS. (Ibid., cont.:) AND I SAID: YOU SHALL CALL ME FATHER. What is a father's concern? To love the son? What is a son's concern? He is responsible for his father's comfort, for giving him food and drink? Ergo, you also are responsible for your father who is in the heavens.
[17] (Numb. 15:2:) WHEN YOU COME…. What is written below on the matter (in vs. 20)? OF THE FIRST OF YOUR DOUGH YOU SHALL SET ASIDE A LOAF (hallah) AS AN OFFERING. Here is the food, but where is the drink? (Vss. 2, 5:) WHEN YOU COME UNTO THE LAND OF YOUR HABITATIONS, [ … ] AND <A QUARTER HIN OF> WINE FOR A LIBATION. This text is related (to Eccl. 9:7): GO, EAT YOUR BREAD WITH GLADNESS, AND DRINK YOUR WINE WITH A JOYFUL HEART, FOR GOD HAS ALREADY ACCEPTED YOUR WORKS. <These words are> speaking of Solomon.60 When he had built the Temple and completed it, what did he do? He celebrated a seven-day dedication. Then he returned and celebrated an additional seven days for the festival (of Tabernacles). But because they had forgotten to keep the Day of Atonement, they were distressed.61 R. Isaac said: A heavenly voice (bat qol) came forth and said to him (in Eccl. 9:7): GO, EAT YOUR BREAD WITH GLADNESS….
Another interpretation (of Eccl. 9:7): GO, EAT YOUR BREAD WITH GLADNESS…. <These words are> speaking of Israel with reference to the sacrifices that they offered. (Ibid., cont.:) AND DRINK YOUR WINE WITH A JOYFUL HEART. <These words> concern libations. He said to them: Whereas the Holy One is pleased with your sacrifices, it is stated (in Numb. 15:3): AND YOU SHALL MAKE AN OFFERING TO THE LORD, A BURNT OFFERING, OR A SACRIFICE….
[18] Another interpretation (of Numb. 15:2): WHEN YOU COME UNTO THE LAND OF YOUR HABITATIONS…. R. Zakkay of Sha'av (in Galilee) said: Israel said: Sovereign of the World, in every <other> place you call this [the Land of Canaan, but here (in Numb. 15:2)] <it is> THE LAND OF YOUR HABITATIONS.62 The Holy One said to them: By your life, I gave it to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob: To Abraham I said (in Gen. 24:7): TO YOUR SEED I SHALL GIVE THIS LAND.63 To Isaac I said (in Gen. 26:3): RESIDE IN THIS LAND, AND I WILL BE WITH YOU AND BLESS YOU, FOR TO YOU AND TO YOUR SEED I WILL GIVE ALL THESE LANDS…. To Jacob I said (in Gen. 28:13): THE LAND ON WHICH YOU ARE LYING I WILL GIVE TO YOU AND TO YOUR SEED. Since the son inherits from the father, he therefore said unto them (in Numb. 15:2): WHEN YOU COME UNTO THE LAND OF YOUR HABITATIONS.
[19] [Another interpretation (of Numb. 15:2):
WHEN YOU COME UNTO THE LAND OF YOUR HABITATIONS.] What is written above on the matter in the section on the spies (in Numb. 14:44)?
BUT THEY PRESUMED TO GO UP UNTO THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN. What is the meaning of
BUT THEY PRESUMED (rt.: '
PL)? They brought darkness (rt.: '
PL), they made it dark (rt.: '
PL), <and> they all remained in darkness (rt.: '
PL). Why? (Ibid., cont.:)
BUT THE ARK OF THE COVENANT OF THE LORD AND MOSES DID NOT DEPART FROM THE CAMP. Thus they did not go up with them, since it is stated <that> they
DID NOT DEPART FROM THE CAMP. Moses said: Thus did the Holy One say (in Deut. 1:42):
YOU SHALL NEITHER GO UP NOR FIGHT, FOR I AM NOT IN YOUR MIDST. Moses had said to them: Now you have said (in Deut. 1:28)
WHERE ARE WE GOING UP TO?
OUR BROTHERS HAVE CAUSED OUR HEARTS TO MELT (with fear)…. What is the meaning of
MELT (
hemassu)? He made our hearts sink (
himsiv).
64
Another interpretation of MELT (hemassu): R. Judah b. R. Simon <said>: They partitioned the heart. <Hemassu is> a Greek65 word, hemisu (which means "half").
Another interpretation of MELT (rt.: MSS): Our masters have said: From here <one deduces how> they tithed the pomegranates.66 Thus have our masters taught (in Ma'as. 1:2): <They tithe> POMEGRANATES, WHEN THEY BECOME SOFT (rt.: MSS).
(
Deut. 1:28, cont.:)
THEY ARE A PEOPLE LARGER AND MORE NUMEROUS THAN WE. He said to them: From the beginning you have been of two minds on the matter. <On the positive side> (according to Deut. 1:22):
THEN YOU ALL DREW NEAR UNTO ME AND SAID: LET US SEND MEN AHEAD OF US <TO EXPLORE THE LAND FOR US>; but it is written <on the negative side> (in vs. 27):
YOU MURMURED IN YOUR TENTS AND SAID: IT IS BECAUSE THE LORD HATED US THAT HE BROUGHT US OUT <FROM THE LAND OF EGYPT>. The Holy One says to them (in Mal. 1:2):
I HAVE LOVED YOU! But they say (in Deut. 1:27):
IT IS BECAUSE THE LORD HATED US THAT HE BROUGHT US OUT. Jose b. R. Hanina said, while teaching in the name of R. Ishmael: There is a common
67 proverb that says: What lies in your heart concerning your companion is what lies in my heart concerning me.
(Deut. 1:27:) IT IS BECAUSE THE LORD HATED US <THAT HE BROUGHT US OUT>. They interpreted <the verse> and said: You yourself know that he hates us. <Take the case of> a king of flesh and blood who has two sons. Now he also has two fields, one with irrigation and one watered by rain. <The field> with irrigation will be given to whichever one the king loves, while the one watered by rain will be given to that one whom he hates. The land of Egypt has irrigation, and we were in its midst, while the land of Canaan has rain.
68 So he brought us out from Egypt [to give us the land of Canaan]. Nevertheless (according to Deut. 1:41–42):
AND EACH OF YOU GIRDED ON HIS WEAPONS OF WAR, AND YOU VENTURED TO GO UP INTO THE HILL COUNTRY. BUT THE LORD SAID UNTO ME: SAY TO THEM: DO NOT GO UP AND DO NOT FIGHT. I had intended to go up with you, but now:
DO NOT GO UP. For you it will be a downfall; going up is not for you. Nevertheless (according to vs. 41), [
EACH OF]
YOU GIRDED ON <HIS WEAPONS>, and you all had become a single unit. (Ibid., cont.:)
AND YOU VENTURED TO GO UP INTO THE HILL COUNTRY. What is the meaning of
AND YOU VENTURED (rt.:
HYN))
TO GO UP INTO THE HILL COUNTRY? That they were saying: Drop by drop the hin
69 will be filled.
70 One text
(Deut. 1:43) says:
AND YOU ACTED PRESUMPTUOUSLY; while another text
(Deut. 1:41) says:
AND YOU VENTURED (rt.:
HYN). What is the meaning of
AND YOU ACTED PRESUMPTUOUSLY? That they acted presumptuously against the pleasures (
hanayot, rt.:
HNH)
71 of the Holy One.
[20]
(Deut. 1:44):
THEN THE AMORITES THAT DWELT IN THAT HILL COUNTRY CAME OUT TO MEET YOU, AND THEY PURSUED YOU AS DO THE BEES. Just as the bee immediately dies when it strikes someone, so also it was with you. When one of them touched you, his soul immediately departed.
(Deut. 1:44:) AS DO THE BEES: As the bee flies, so did they fly about you. In the past, when they <merely> heard a report of you, they died. It is so stated (in Exod. 15:14):
WHEN THE PEOPLES HEAR, THEY TREMBLE…. now (in Deut. 1:44:)
AND THEY PURSUED YOU AS DO THE BEES….
(Deut. 1:45:) SO YOU RETURNED TO WEEP BEFORE THE LORD, BUT THE LORD WOULD NOT HEED YOUR CRY OR GIVE EAR TO YOU. You, as it were, made strict justice as though it were brutal;
BUT THE LORD WOULD NOT HEED YOUR CRY….
(Deut. 10:11):
AND THE LORD SAID UNTO ME: ARISE, CONTINUE THE JOURNEY AT THE HEAD OF THE PEOPLE, THAT THEY MAY COME AND POSSESS THE LAND…. Now if I had come to execute justice with them, they would not be entering the land. Instead,
ARISE, CONTINUE THE JOURNEY AT THE HEAD OF THE PEOPLE…. Ergo (in Numb. 15:2):
WHEN YOU COME UNTO THE LAND OF YOUR HABITATIONS….
[21] (Numb. 15:3:) AND YOU SHALL MAKE AN OFFERING TO THE LORD, A BURNT OFFERING, OR A SACRIFICE…. The Holy One said to them: Whoever offers me a sacrifice in this world, does not offer it in vain.72 Rather [if] he offers it, it is pleasing to me. Also in the world to come, he shall have the right to make an offering. Then I will accept it, and it shall be pleasing to me. It is so stated (in Mal. 3:4): THEN SHALL THE OFFERING OF JUDAH AND JERUSALEM BE PLEASING TO THE LORD, AS IN THE DAYS OF OLD AND AS IN THE FORMER YEARS.
The End of the Supplement to Parashah Shelah
1. Tanh., Numb. 4:14; Numb. R. 17:1.
2. See TQid. 1:11; yQid. 1:7 (61a); Qid. 29a; Mekhilta deRabbi Ishmael, Pisha, 18 (on Exod. 13:13); Eccl. R. 9:9:1.
3. Gk.: doron.
4. Instead of YOU SHALL MAKE most translations render these words: AND WOULD MAKE, or the equivalent. The passage is understood somewhat differently here to fit the context of the midrash.
5. The text at the end of this section is greatly expanded in the parallels of Tanh., Numb. 4:14; Numb. R. 17:1; and in Buber’s “Spanish” manuscript (described on p. 150 of his “Mavo”).
6. Tanh., Numb. 4:14, cont.; Numb. R. 17:2.
7. Cf. below, Numb. 4a:17.
8. This sense is required by the midrash. A more traditional translation would begin the verse: FOR I HAVE KNOWN HIM, or FOR I HAVE CHOSEN HIM.
9. ySot. 5:8 (or 5) (20c); Gen. R. 57:4.
10. So the midrash interprets LAND OF UZ. See BB 15a.
11. Tanh., Numb. 4:15, cont.; Numb. R. 17:5.
12. Nimin, sing.: nima. Cf. Gk.: nema.
13. Cf. Men. 41b.
14. Men. 41b.
15. Sifre to Numb. 15:39 (115); Men. 43a.
16. Even though the antecedent, tassel, is feminine in Hebrew.
17. Since Divine Presence is also feminine, the gender argument becomes ineffective. Cf. the parallels in Tanh., Numb. R. 15, in Numb. 17:5, and in Buber’s “Spanish” manuscript (described on p. 150 of his “Mavo”), all of which speak here of Israel seeing the masculine “throne of glory, which is blue in appearance.” Cf. also Sifre to Numb. 15:39 (115), where the argument is that the pronoun is IT (in the singular) and not THEM (in the plural) with reference to tassels.
18. Tanh., Numb. 4:15, cont.; Numb. R. 17:6.
19. Gk.: kybernetes.
20. This supplement comes from Codex Vaticanus, Ebr. 34. It is found neither in Buber’s primary Oxford manuscript nor in the traditional version of the Tanhuma.
21. Numb. R. 16:24.
22. Gk.: zone (“girdle”).
23. Above, Exod. 2:9 and 8:7 (with the notes in those sections); also Lam. R. 2:13 (17); Cant. R. 4:4:1 PRK 16:3; PR 21:7; 33:10; M. Ps. 103:8.
24. See above, Exod. 9:12; Exod. R. 32:1; 41:7; 51:8; Lev. R. 18:3; cf. ‘AZ 5a.
25. See Exod. R. 32:1.
26. Exod. R. 27.
27. The beginning of this section is not found in Numb. R.
28. Exod. R. 24:1; cf. Tanh., Numb. 4:13.
29. With this sentence, the text again parallels Numb. R. 16:24.
30. Numb. R. 7:4; Mekhilta deRabbi Ishmael, Wayassa‘ 4 (on Exod. 16:15); Sifre to Numb. 11:4 (88); Yoma 74b.
31. Above, Numb. 4:13; below, Numb. 4a:10.
32. Numb. R. 16:25; cf. above, Numb. 4:24 and the note there; below, Numb. 4a:19.
33. Similarly Deut. R. 5:13.
34. Gk.: Sabbatikos (“Sabbatical”). See Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, Exod. 34:10; ySanh. 10:6 or 5 (29c); Gen. R. 73:6; Lam. R. 2:5 (9); PR 31:10; above, Gen. 10:17, it was beyond, or on an island in, this legendary river that at least some of the ten tribes were exiled. See also Tanh., Exod. 9:33; Gen. R. 11:5, PR 23:8; according to which the river carried stones in its current during the whole week but rested on the Sabbath. See also Pliny, HN 31:18 (24); Sanh. 65b. Cf. Josephus, BJ 7:5:1 (96–99), according to whom the Sabbath was the only day on which the river flowed.
35. Cf. Ezek. 34:12.
36. Higgalu. The verb can also mean “be exiled.
37. According to ySanh. 10:6 or 5 (29c) the exiles were divided into three parts: one beyond the Sambatyon River, one to Daphne at Antioch, and one into a cloud cover.
38. Numb. R. 16:26.
39. Corresponding to the stone in the hand of the child.
40. Tsarah. The Midrash understands the word in this sense, although most translations follow the other meaning of tsarah, i.e., “affliction,” “distress,” or the like. So also below, Deut. 4:14.
41. Mekhilta deRabbi Ishmael, Pisha 14 on Exod. 12:41; Sanh. 103b; M. Pss. 101:2; Exod. R. 41:1; also Mekhilta deRabbi Ishmael, Wayassa‘ 1 on Exod. 15:22; ySuk. 4:3 (54c); see ARN, A, 34.
42. Numb. R. 16:27.
43. Above, Numb. 4:13; 4a:3; Numb. R. 16:13, 24; see Numb. R. 9:18; Cant. R. 1:5:1.
44. Gk.: phanos.
45. Gk.: etoimasia (“preparation”).
46. See above, Numb. 4:24.
47. Numb. R. 16:28.
48. Above, Exod. 6:10; Lev. 7:12; Tanh., Exod. 6:17; Lev. 7:12; Exod. R. 32:2.
49. Gk.: synegoria.
50. Gk.: kategoria.
51. In allegory the vineyard normally represents Israel. See. e.g., Is. 5:3–7; Cant. 8:11. Cf. Mark 12:1–12 // Matthew 21:33–46 // Luke 20:9–19, where a failure to understand the vineyard as representing Israel usually leads to a ministerpretation that condemns Judaism. So Philip L. Culbertson, A Word Fitly Spoken (Albany: State Univ. of NY Press, 1995), pp. 219–255.
52. Literally: “fathers of the world.” According to Ber. 16b and Rashi, ad loc., the title father should be limited to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Similarly the title mother should apply only to Sarah, Rebekah, Leah, and Rachael.
53. Note that Gen. 49:1, 28 attributes these words to Jacob.
54. Sifre to Deut. 7:12 (37).
55. Lat.: mille.
56. I.e., why should two kings rule fortified cities so close to each other?
57. Gen. R. 85:14.
58. Gk.: Babylonikon; Lat.: Babylonicum.
59. Gk.: porphura; Lat.: purpura.
60. Numb. R. 17:2; see above Numb. 4:27.
61. See Gen. R. 35:3; see MQ 30a.
62. Numb. R. 17:3.
63. Cf. Galatians 3:16.
64. As Buber notes, p. 84, n. 91, the meaning or this word of uncertain.
65. Ilyonosti. The word comes from the Greek, Hellenisti, an adverb meaning “in Greek.
66. yMa‘as. 1:2 (48d).
67. Gk.: idiotes (“commoner”).
68. Cf. above, Numb. 4a:5.
69. A liquid measure equal to about a gallon and a half.
70. I.e., they had accumulated almost enough sin to overflow their allotted measure.
71. The initial letter here is a he. Cf. the parallel in Numb. R. 17:3, where the initial letter is a het. With such an emendation the text would read: “They acted presumptuously against the encampments of the Holy One.” I.e., they ignored the fact that the ark of the covenant had not departed out of the camp (Numb. 14:44).
72. Numb. R. 17:4; see Sifra to Lev. 9:24 (99: Parashat Shemini Mekhilta deMiluim); Lam. R. 5:1 (1); Lev. R. 7:96; also Deut. R. 4:11.
