[Parashat Kedoshim]
[1]
(Lev. 19:1–2:) THEN THE LORD SPOKE UNTO MOSES, SAYING: SPEAK UNTO THE WHOLE CONGREGATION OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, AND SAY UNTO THEM: YOU SHALL BE HOLY, [
BECAUSE I, THE LORD YOUR GOD, AM HOLY]. This text is related (to Is. 5:16):
THE LORD OF HOSTS HAS BEEN EXALTED THROUGH JUSTICE, AND THE HOLY GOD HAS BEEN SANCTIFIED THROUGH HOLINESS. When did the Holy One become exalted in his world?
1 When he brought about judgment and justice among the peoples of the world. It is so stated (in Is. 3:13):
THE LORD STANDS UP TO PLEAD A CAUSE, AND RISES TO JUDGE PEOPLES. It also says (in Dan. 7:9):
I LOOKED UNTIL THRONES WERE SET IN PLACE < or
THROWN DOWN > (
remiw).
2 What is the meaning of
THRONES (in the plural)? Were there a lot of thrones, when < there is > that which is written (in Is. 6:1):
I SAW THE LORD SEATED UPON A THRONE (in the singular)? What is the meaning of
THRONES? R. Jose the Galilean and R. Aqiva differed.
3 One said:
THRONES denotes the throne plus its
hypopodion4 {i.e., its footstool}; and the other said: These are thrones that belong to the nations of the world, since the Holy One is going to throw them down, as stated (in Hag. 2:22):
THEN I WILL THROW DOWN THE THRONE< S >
OF KINGDOMS, AND DESTROY THE KINGDOMS OF THE GENTILES. You know [for yourself] that this is so. "Thrones were set up," is not written here (in Dan. 7:9), but
THRONES WERE THROWN DOWN. Thus it is written (in Exod. 15:1 or 21):
THE HORSE AND HIS RIDER HE HAS THROWN (rt.:
RMH)
INTO THE SEA. < Our > masters say: What is the meaning of
THRONES? In the age to come the Holy One will sit down, and the angels will place thrones for the great ones of Israel for them to sit down, so that the Holy One will be sitting with them like the president of the court (
av bet din). Then they shall judge the peoples of the world, as stated (in Is. 3:14):
THE LORD WILL COME IN JUDGMENT ALONG WITH THE ELDERS OF HIS PEOPLE AND THEIR PRINCES.
5 "Against the elders of his people" is not written here, but
ALONG WITH THE ELDERS < OF HIS PEOPLE >. < Scripture > is teaching that the Holy One will sit along with the elders and princes of Israel to judge the nations of the world. And which < thrones > are they? These are the thrones of the house of David and the elders of Israel, as stated (in Ps. 122:5):
THERE STOOD THE THRONES OF JUDGMENT, THRONES OF THE HOUSE OF DAVID. R. Pinhas said in the name of R. Hilqiyah the Southerner (i.e., from Judah), < who spoke > in the name of R. Reuben: If you say: When thrones stand there for judgment, they are thrones of the house of David. Then what is < the meaning of >
(Dan. 7:9):
AND THE ANCIENT OF DAYS TOOK HIS SEAT? That he sits among them like the president of the court, and with them he judges the nations. It is therefore written
(ibid.):
UNTIL THRONES WERE SET IN PLACE. What is the meaning of (ibid., cont.):
AND THE HAIR OF HIS HEAD WAS LIKE CLEAN WOOL? When the Holy One cleanses himself from the nations of the world,
6 he gives them compensation for the easy commandments which they have observed in this world. < He does so > in order to judge them and convict them in the world to come, so that they will have no excuse and have no merit found for them. Thus it is stated (in Is. 14:32):
AND WHAT WILL HE ANSWER THE ANGELS OF7 A
< GIVEN > NATION? THAT THE LORD HAS ESTABLISHED ZION, AND IN IT THERE SHALL THE AFFLICTED OF HIS PEOPLE TAKE REFUGE. Then he immediately renders the judgment against them. At that time the Holy One becomes exalted in his world, as stated (in Is. 5:16):
THE LORD OF HOSTS IS EXALTED IN JUDGMENT, [
AND THE HOLY GOD IS SANCTIFIED IN JUSTICE]. What is the meaning of (ibid.):
THE LORD OF HOSTS IS EXALTED IN JUDGMENT? That he is sanctified in his world in justice, because he teaches concerning Israel what is stated (in Is. 63:1):
I SPEAK IN JUSTICE. The Holy One said to Israel: I am sanctified in you, as stated (in Is. 29:23):
FOR WHEN < JACOB > SEES HIS CHILDREN IN HIS MIDST, THE WORK OF MY HANDS, THEY SHALL SANCTIFY MY NAME; YES, THEY SHALL SANCTIFY THE HOLY ONE OF JACOB…. And so it says (in Is. 49:3):
ISRAEL IN WHOM I WILL BE GLORIFIED. So you are sanctified in me, and I am sanctified in you, as stated (in Lev. 11:44; cf. 19:2): [
SO YOU SHALL SANCTIFY YOURSELVES]
AND BE HOLY, BECAUSE I AM HOLY.
[2] Another interpretation (of Lev. 19:2:)
YOU SHALL BE HOLY. The Holy One said to Israel: Before I created my world, the ministering angels praised my name through you and sanctified me through you by saying (in I Chron. 16:36):
BLESSED IS THE LORD GOD OF ISRAEL FROM EVERLASTING TO EVERLASTING.
8 When the first Adam was created, the angels said: Sovereign of the World, is this the one in whose name we are praising you? He told them, [No]. This person is a thief, since it is stated (of him in Gen. 3:17):
< BECAUSE YOU OBEYED YOUR WIFE AND > ATE OF THE TREE ABOUT WHICH I COMMANDED YOU, < SAYING: DO NOT EAT OF IT. CURSED IS THE LAND BECAUSE OF YOU >. < When > Noah came, they said to him (i.e., to the Holy One): Is this the one? He told them, [No]. This person is a drunkard, since it is stated (of him in Gen. 9:21):
THEN HE DRANK OF THE WINE AND BECAME DRUNK…. < When > Abraham came, they said to him: Is this the one? He told them: This is a stranger (
ger). < When > Isaac came, they said to him: Is this the one? He told them: This one loves my enemy, as stated (in Gen. 25:28):
NOW ISAAC LOVED ESAU. When Jacob came, they said to him: Is this the one? He told them, Yes, for so it says (in Gen. 35:10):
GOD SAID TO HIM: YOUR NAME SHALL NO LONGER BE JACOB, BUT YOUR NAME SHALL BE ISRAEL…. So all Israel was called by his name. At that time the Holy One, Blessed be He, sanctified them because of his name, as stated (in Is. 49:3):
ISRAEL, IN WHOM I WILL BE GLORIFIED. The Holy One said to him: Since you were sanctified for my name before I created my world, Be holy as I am holy. It is so stated (in Lev. 19:2:)
YOU SHALL BE HOLY, BECAUSE I, THE LORD YOUR GOD, AM HOLY. To what is the matter comparable? To a king who betrothed a wife. He said to her because you have been betrothed (literally: sanctified) to my name, I am a king and you, a queen. Just as it (i.e., my name) is an honor for me, so it is an honor for you. Why? Because you are my wife. Thus the Holy One said to Moses. Go and sanctify (i.e., go and betroth) Israel, as stated (in Exod. 19:10):
GO UNTO THE PEOPLE AND SANCTIFY (rt.:
QDSh)
THEM TODAY AND TOMORROW. {The Holy One sanctified them} [He sanctified them. The Holy One came] and said to them (in Exod. 19:6):
BUT YOU SHALL BE FOR ME A KINGDOM OF PRIESTS, A HOLY (rt.:
QDSh)
NATION. Why?
(Lev. 19:2:) BECAUSE…
I AM HOLY. And you also shall be sanctified (rt.:
QDSh) just as you have sanctified me, as stated (in Lev. 19:2)
SPEAK UNTO THE WHOLE CONGREGATION OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, AND SAY UNTO THEM: YOU SHALL BE HOLY (rt.:
QDSh)…. The Holy One said unto them: If you are worthy, you shall be called a congregation of saints (rt.:
QDSh); < if > you are unworthy, you shall be called an evil congregation. (Numb. 14:27:)
HOW LONG SHALL THIS EVIL CONGREGATION…?
[3]
(Lev. 19:2:) SPEAK UNTO THE WHOLE CONGREGATION OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL. What reason did he have to speak this parashah in an assembly?
9 Why did he not say:
SPEAK UNTO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, as in the rest of the parashiot,
10 rather than
< SPEAK > UNTO THE WHOLE CONGREGATION < OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL >? Because all of the < Ten > Commandments are included within it. How?
In the Commandments it is written (in Exod. 20:2 = Deut. 5:6): I < AM > THE LORD YOUR GOD; and here (in Lev. 19:2): I < AM > THE LORD YOUR GOD.
In the Commandments it is written (in Exod. 20:3 = Deut. 5:7): YOU SHALL HAVE NO < OTHER GODS BESIDE ME >; and here (in Lev. 19:4): DO NOT TURN UNTO IDOLS.
In the Commandments it is written (in Exod. 20:7 = Deut. 5:11): YOU SHALL NOT TAKE < THE NAME OF THE LORD YOUR GOD IN VAIN >; and here (in Lev. 19:12): YOU SHALL NOT SWEAR FALSELY BY MY NAME.
In the Commandments it is written (in Exod. 20:8; cf. Deut. 5:12): REMEMBER [THE SABBATH DAY]; and here it is written (in Lev. 19:3): YOU SHALL KEEP MY SABBATHS.
In the Commandments it is written (in Exod. 20:12 = Deut. 5:16); HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER; and here it is written (in Lev. 19:3, cont.): YOU EACH SHALL FEAR HIS MOTHER AND HIS FATHER.
In the Commandments it is written (in Exod. 20:13 = Deut. 5:17): YOU SHALL NOT MURDER; and here it is written (in Lev. 19:16): YOU SHALL NOT STAND OVER THE BLOOD OF YOUR NEIGHBOR.
In the Commandments it is written (in Exod. 20:13 [14] = Deut. 5:17): YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY; and here it is written (in Lev. 19:2): YOU SHALL BE HOLY.
In the Commandments it is written (in Exod. 20:13 [15] = Deut. 5:17): YOU SHALL NOT STEAL; and here it is written (in Lev. 19:11): YOU SHALL NOT STEAL.
In the Commandments it is written (in Exod. 20:13 [16] = Deut. 5:17): YOU SHALL NOT BEAR < FALSE WITNESS AGAINST YOUR NEIGHBOR >; and here it is written (in Lev. 19:16): YOU SHALL NOT GO AROUND AS A SLANDERER AMONG YOUR PEOPLE.
In the Commandments it is written (in Exod. 20:14 [17] = Deut. 5:18): YOU SHALL NOT COVET; and here it is written (in Lev. 19:13): YOU SHALL NOT OPPRESS YOUR NEIGHBOR, AND YOU SHALL NOT ROB HIM.
Here is [why the Holy One told him to speak this parashah in an assembly.] Because all of the < Ten > Commandments are included within it. It is therefore stated (in Lev. 19:2): SPEAK UNTO THE WHOLE CONGREGATION OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL.
[4] [Another interpretation (of Lev. 19:2:) SPEAK UNTO THE WHOLE CONGREGATION OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL,] < AND SAY UNTO THEM: > YOU SHALL BE HOLY, BECAUSE I< , THE LORD YOUR GOD, > AM HOLY. The Holy One said to them: Be holy just as I am holy in every respect.11 See what is written (in Josh. 24:19): FOR HE IS A HOLY GOD (in the plural).12 What is the meaning of FOR HE IS A HOLY GOD (in the plural)? This verse < provides > an opening for the heretics (minim), in that he seems like two powers.13 The heretics asked R. Simlay: What is the meaning of FOR HE IS HOLY GOD?14 Do you not say that he is one power? See, here are < at least > two powers. He said to them: You idiots! [See what is written: FOR HE IS A HOLY GOD (in the plural). You would say: They are < at least > two powers, [for why are GOD and HOLY plural?] R. Berekhyah said in the name of R. Abba: What is the meaning of HE IS A HOLY < GOD > (with HOLY in the plural)? That he is holy in all categories of holiness. How? R. Aha bar Hanina said: His speech is in holiness, as stated (in Ps. 60:8 [6]): GOD SPOKE IN HIS HOLINESS (i.e., in the Holy Place, the Temple). His way is in holiness, as stated (in Ps. 77:14 [13]): YOUR WAY, O GOD, IS IN HOLINESS (i.e., in the Holy Place). He is seen in holiness, as stated (in Ps. 63:3 [2]): SO I HAVE BEHELD YOU IN HOLINESS, (i.e., in the Holy Place). His praise15 is in holiness, as stated (in Exod. 15:11): WHO IS LIKE YOU, GLORIOUS IN HOLINESS? The uncovering of his arm is in holiness, as stated (in Is. 52:10): THE LORD HAS UNCOVERED < HIS ARM OF HOLINESS >. Ergo (in Josh. 24:19) HE IS A HOLY GOD (with HOLY in the plural), because he is holy in all categories of holiness.
[5]
(Lev. 19:2:) YOU SHALL BE HOLY. Why? (
Ibid., cont.:)
BECAUSE I
< ,
THE LORD YOUR GOD, > AM HOLY; for I have made you cling to my loins, as stated (in Jer. 13:11):
FOR, AS THE GIRDLE CLINGS UNTO ONE'S LOINS, < SO I HAVE MADE ALL THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AND ALL THE HOUSE OF JUDAH CLING TO ME, SAYS THE LORD >.
16 The Holy One said to them, < i.e., > to Israel, I am not like flesh and blood. With a king of flesh and blood, mortals have no right to be called by his name. You yourself know that, when someone wants to accuse
17 his fellow, he calls him Augustus
18 so-and-so; and there is no life for him. But Israel is called by the name of the Holy One. He is called God; and he has called Israel gods, as stated (in Ps. 82:6):
I SAID: YOU ARE GODS. He is called wise, as stated (in Job 9:4):
ONE WISE OF HEART AND MIGHTY IN STRENGTH; and he has called Israel wise, as stated (in Deut. 4:6):
SURELY THIS GREAT NATION IS A WISE AND UNDERSTANDING PEOPLE. God is called beloved, as stated (in Cant. 5:10):
MY BELOVED IS BRIGHT AND RUDDY; and he has called them beloved, as stated (Cant. 5:1):
EAT, FRIENDS, AND DRINK TO EXCESS, BELOVED ONES. He is called chosen, as stated (in Cant. 5:15):
STATELY (literally:
CHOSEN)
AS THE CEDARS; and he has called them chosen, as stated (in Deut. 7:6): [
THE LORD YOUR GOD]
HAS CHOSEN YOU. He is called pious, as stated (in Jer. 3:12):
FOR [I]
AM PIOUS, SAYS THE LORD; and he has called them pious, as stated (in Ps. 50:5):
GATHER TO ME, MY PIOUS ONES. He is called holy, as stated (in Is. 6:3):
HOLY, HOLY, HOLY IS THE LORD OF HOSTS; and he has called Israel holy, [as stated (in Lev. 19:2):
YOU SHALL BE HOLY.] The Holy One said: In this world you have been called holy, but in the world to come (according to Is. 4:3):
AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS THAT THE ONE WHO IS LEFT IN ZION AND WHO REMAINS IN JERUSALEM SHALL BE CALLED HOLY.
[6]
(Lev. 19:2:) YOU SHALL BE HOLY. R. Pinhas bar Hama the Priest said: R. Reuben said: What is the meaning of that which is written (in Ezek. 3:12):
AND AFTER ME19 I HEARD A GREAT ROARING SOUND. What is the meaning of
AFTER ME ('
HRY)?
20 After ('
HRY) I and my friends praised him, I heard the ministering angels, as they praised him and said (ibid., cont.):
BLESSED BE THE GLORY OF THE LORD FROM HIS PLACE. It also says (in Job 38:7):
WHEN THE MORNING STARS (i.e., the seed of Jacob)
21 SANG TOGETHER, then (ibid., cont.:)
ALL THE CHILDREN OF GOD (i.e., all the angels)
SHOUTED FOR JOY. R. Mani said: Let not the recitation of the Shema be trivial in your eyes because there are two hundred forty-eight words in it,
22 corresponding to < the number of > parts that are in a human being; and out of them < comes >
BLESSED BE THE NAME OF HIS GLORIOUS MAJESTY FOREVER AND EVER.
23 The Holy One said: If you have kept what is mine in reciting it properly, I will also keep what is yours. Therefore, David offered praise
24 (in Ps. 17:8):
KEEP ME AS THE PUPIL OF AN EYE. The Holy One said to him (in Prov. 4:4):
KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS AND LIVE. R. Simeon ben Halafta said: To what is the matter comparable?
25 To someone who < lives > in Galilee and has a vineyard in Judea, while someone in Judea has a vineyard in Galilee. The one who < lives > in Galilee goes to Judea to cultivate his vineyard. The one in Judea goes to Galilee to cultivate his vineyard. < One day > they meet with each another, and one said to the other: Instead of you coming to my place, keep watch over what is mine in your neighborhood; and I will keep watch over what is yours in my neighborhood. So did David say (in Ps. 17:4):
KEEP ME AS THE PUPIL OF AN EYE? The Holy One said to him (in Prov. 4:4):
KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS AND LIVE. Similarly the Holy One said to Israel: Keep my commandment, the commandment to recite the Shema morning and evening, and I will keep you, as stated (in Ps. 121:7):
THE LORD SHALL KEEP YOU FROM ALL EVIL; HE SHALL KEEP YOUR SOUL.
[7]
(Lev. 19:23:) NOW WHEN YOU COME INTO THE LAND AND PLANT ANY TREE FOR FOOD. This text is related (to Zech. 8:11–12):
BUT NOW < I WILL NOT TREAT THE REMNANT OF THIS PEOPLE > AS IN THE FORMER DAYS…;
FOR AS THE SEED OF PEACE, THE VINE SHALL YIELD ITS FRUIT, THE EARTH SHALL YIELD ITS HARVEST…. What is the meaning of
NOT…
AS IN THE FORMER DAYS? When Israel went forth from Egypt and was walking in the desert, he brought down manna for them, brought over quails for them, and raised up the well for them.
26 Then each and every tribe made itself a conduit for water, which [drew < the water > from the well and] brought it in to them. Moreover, [each and every one] planted fig trees, vines, and pomegranates, which yielded fruit on the same day, just as it was from the beginning at the creation of the world (according to Gen. 1:11):
FRUIT TREE BEARING FRUIT ACCORDING TO ITS KIND. If the children of Adam had been worthy, it would have remained so until now. A person would plant a tree, and it would bear fruit immediately. When Adam sinned, the ground was cursed (according to Gen. 3:17):
CURSED IS THE LAND BECAUSE OF YOU. From now on (ibid., cont.:)
IN TOIL YOU SHALL YOU EAT OF IT ALL THE DAYS OF YOUR LIFE. He sowed wheat and it sprouted thistles, as stated (in vs. 18):
THORNS AND THISTLES SHALL IT SPROUT FOR YOU. When they went forth from Egypt, [the Holy One] raised up the well for them. Then they made plantings beside its water, and the trees bore fruit on the same day. When the well disappeared, [all the bounty disappeared.] What is written there (in Numb. 20:5)?
A PLACE WITH NO SEEDS, FIGS, VINES, OR POMEGRANATES. The Holy One said to Moses: Say to these Israelites: When you enter the land of Israel, I am restoring all the bounty to you, as stated (in Deut. 8:7–9):
FOR THE LORD YOUR GOD IS BRINGING YOU UNTO A GOOD LAND, < A LAND WITH STREAMS OF WATER >…;
A LAND OF WHEAT AND BARLEY, OF VINES, FIGS, AND POMEGRANATES…;
A LAND < IN > WHICH < YOU SHALL EAT BREAD > WITHOUT STINT. When they came into the land of Israel they began sinning (rt.:
HT'), as stated (in Jer. 2:7):
BUT YOU CAME AND DEFILED (rt.:
HT')
MY LAND. So it did not bear fruits as was appropriate. They planted much and brought in little, as stated (in Hag. 1:6):
YOU HAVE SOWN MUCH AND BROUGHT IN LITTLE.
27 Why? Because they ceased < offering > the firstfruits. (Ibid., cont.:)
YOU HAVE EATEN WITHOUT HAVING ENOUGH, after {the first fruits} [the shewbread] ceased. (Ibid., cont.:)
YOU HAVE DRUNK WITHOUT HAVING ENOUGH, after the libation of wine ceased. (Ibid., cont.:)
YOU HAVE PUT ON CLOTHES, WITHOUT BEING WARM, after the vestments of priesthood were abolished. (Ibid., cont.:)
THE WAGE EARNER HAS EARNED WAGES FOR A BAG WITH HOLES, after almsgiving ceased.
(Zech. 8:10:) A PERSON HAD NO EARNINGS, after pilgrims (going up to Jerusalem) ceased. (Ibid., cont.:)
AND THE CATTLE EARNED NOTHING, after the offerings ceased. But in the age to come, the Holy One will not act so. Thus it is stated (in Zech. 8:11–12):
BUT NOW I WILL NOT TREAT THE REMNANT OF THIS PEOPLE AS IN THE FORMER DAYS, SAYS THE LORD OF HOSTS; FOR AS THE SEED OF PEACE, THE VINE SHALL YIELD ITS FRUIT, THE EARTH SHALL YIELD ITS HARVEST, THE HEAVENS SHALL YIELD THEIR DEW, AND I WILL BEQUEATH ALL THESE THINGS TO THE REMNANT OF THIS PEOPLE….
[8]
(Lev. 19:23:) WHEN YOU COME INTO THE LAND AND PLANT. The Holy One said to Israel: Even though you find it (i.e., the land) full of all bounty, you shall not say: Let us settle down and not plant.
28 Rather, be careful in planting, as stated (ibid., cont.):
AND PLANT ANY TREE FOR FOOD. Just as you came in and found plantings which others had planted, so you shall plant for your children, lest someone say: Since I am old and tomorrow I shall die, why should I toil for others. Solomon said (in Eccl. 3:11):
HE HAS MADE EVERYTHING BEAUTIFUL IN ITS TIME. HE ALSO HAS PUT ETERNITY INTO THEIR HEART. ETERNITY ('
LM) is what is written (without the
W of the normal spelling, i.e., '
WLM.) Why? If the Holy One had not hidden (rt.: '
LM) the day of < one's > death from the children of Adam, a person would neither build nor plant; for he would have said: Tomorrow I shall die. Why should I persist in toiling for the sake of others? The Holy One, therefore, shut off (rt.: '
LM) human hearts from death, so that one would build and plant. < If > he is worthy, [it will be] for himself; < if > unworthy, < it will be > for others. There is a story about the emperor Hadrian, that he was going to war and traveling with his troops to fight with a certain country for having rebelled against him.
29 Now he found a certain old man who was planting fig saplings. Hadrian said to him: You are an old man. < Why are you > persisting in taking the trouble to toil for others? He said to Hadrian: My Lord Emperor, here I am planting. If I am worthy, I shall eat of the fruit of my saplings; but if not, my children will eat. < The emperor > spent three years at war, and after three years he returned. What did that old man do? He took a fruit basket, filled it with the firstfruits of beautiful figs, and drew near to Hadrian. He said to him: My Lord Emperor: Take these figs, for I am the same old man whom you found when you were on your way < to the war >, when you said: You are an old man. Why are you taking the trouble to toil for others? See, the Holy One has already found me worthy to eat some fruit from my saplings. Now this < fruit > in my fruit basket is from those < saplings >. Hadrian said to his servants: Take it from him and fill it with gold coins. And so they did. The old man took the fruit basket full of gold coins and began to go about his house boasting to his wife and children. So he told them the story. Now a woman neighbor of his was there. She heard what the old man had said. She said to her husband: When all the children of Adam go < through life >, the Holy One gives to them and prepares bounty for them. But you dwell in your dark house in dark misfortune. See, our [neighbor] honored the emperor with a fruit basket of figs; and he filled it with gold coins for him. Now you get up, take a large basket, and fill it with varieties of choice fruit, with apples, figs, and the other varieties of beautiful fruit, since he loves them a lot. Go and honor him with them. Perhaps he will fill it with gold for you, as he did for our old neighbor. He went and heeded his wife. So he took a large basket, filled it with apples and figs, and loaded it on his shoulder. Then he approached the emperor on a side road
30 and said to him: My Lord Emperor, I heard that you love fruit, I have come to honor you with figs and apples. The Emperor said to his officers:
31 Take the basket and hit
32 him on his face. And so they did. They hit him on his face, until his face swelled up; smashed his eyes; and made an example
33 of him. So he went home as one of whom an example had been made and crying. Now she (i.e., his wife) thought that he was coming with a basket full of gold coins. So when she saw him with his face swollen and with his body shattered and beaten, she said to him: What is the matter with you? He said to her: When I heeded you and went to honor him with this gift,
34 they hit me on my face. If I had listened to you and put varieties of hard fruit in the basket, they would already have pelted my face and my whole body with them. And why all this? In order to teach you that evil women destroy their husbands. Therefore one should not cease from planting. Rather, just as he found, one should still continue to plant even though he is old. The Holy One said to Israel: Learn from me. He spoke < by example >, as it were.
(Gen. 2:8):
AND THE LORD GOD PLANTED A GARDEN IN EDEN, IN THE EAST.
[9]
(Lev. 19:2:) YOU SHALL BE HOLY. This text is related (to Ps. 20:3 [2]):
MAY HE SEND YOU HELP FROM THE SANCTUARY AND SUSTAIN YOU FROM ZION. FROM THE SANCTUARY (
QDSh) < means > from the holiness (rt.:
QDSh) of the works that are in you;
AND [
SUSTAIN YOU]
FROM ZION (
MTsYWN) < means > [from the marker (
TsYWN)] of the works that are in you.
35 R. Berekhyah said: There was a story in our village about a certain spirit who dwelt by the spring.
36 Another spirit came to attack
37 it and sought to get it away from there. There was also there a certain saint whose name was Jose the man of Zaythor. The first spirit appeared to him. It said to him: Rabbi, look at how many years I have been situated here; yet neither at noon nor at night have I harmed < any > mortal. {Also not during the day.} But now this spirit has come upon me from another place and wants to get me away from here in order to harm mortals. He said to it: What shall we do? It said to him: Take your staves and your scythes, and go out against it at the noon hour. Then say: Ours is winning! Ours is winning! And it will run away. They did so and drove it away from there. They used to say: They did not move from here until they saw, as it were, a clot of blood floating on the water. When the sages heard about the matter, they said: If something which was not created with a need for assistance needs assistance, how much the more so in the case of the children of Adam. David, therefore, said (in Ps. 20:3 [2]):
MAY HE SEND YOU HELP FROM THE SANCTUARY.
[10]
(Lev. 19:23:) WHEN YOU COME INTO THE LAND AND PLANT. This text is related (to Eccl. 2:5):
I MADE GARDENS AND ORCHARDS FOR MYSELF, AND IN THEM I PLANTED EVERY KIND OF FRUIT TREE. Do not all the children of Adam plant whatever they want?
38 Whatever someone plants in the earth, it produces either pepper or something < else >. If someone plants, they produce, except that no one knows the place of every plant, < i.e. > where to plant it. However, because Solomon was wise, he planted all the species of trees, [as stated (ibid.):
I MADE GARDENS AND ORCHARDS FOR MYSELF, IN WHICH I PLANTED EVERY KIND OF FRUIT TREE.] R. Jannay said: Solomon even planted peppers, but how did he plant them? It is simply that Solomon was wise and knew the root of the foundation of the world.
39 Where is it shown?
(Ps. 50:2):
OUT OF ZION GOD HAS SHINED FORTH AS THE PERFECTION OF BEAUTY. Out of Zion has all of the whole world been perfected. Why is it called < Foundation > Stone? Because out of it the world was founded.
40 Now Solomon knew which vein went to Cush and planted peppers on it. They produced immediately. See what he says (in Eccl. 2:5):
AND IN THEM I PLANTED EVERY KIND OF FRUIT TREE.
Another interpretation (of Eccl. 2:5): AND IN THEM I PLANTED…. Just as a navel is set in the middle of a person, so the land of Israel is the navel of the world. Thus it is stated (in Ezek. 38:12): WHO DWELL ON THE NAVEL OF THE EARTH. The land of Israel sits at the center of the world; Jerusalem is in the center of the land of Israel; the sanctuary is in the center of Jerusalem; the Temple building is in the center of the sanctuary; the ark is in the center of the Temple building; and the foundation stone, out of which the world was founded, is before the Temple building.41 Now Solomon, who was wise, stood upon the roots that went out from < that stone > into the whole world and planted all species of trees in them. He therefore said (in Eccl. 2:5): I MADE GARDENS AND ORCHARDS FOR MYSELF.
[11] Another interpretation (of Lev. 19:23): WHEN YOU COME INTO THE LAND. This text is related (to Ps. 105:44–45): HE GAVE THEM THE LANDS OF NATIONS…, IN ORDER THAT THEY MIGHT KEEP HIS STATUTES…. HE GAVE THEM THE LANDS OF NATIONS. Whatever the Holy One took from the peoples of the world he gave to Israel: lands of silver and gold, fields, vineyards, and cities.42 But he gave < these > to them only so that they would occupy themselves with the Torah, as stated (vs. 45): IN ORDER THAT THEY MIGHT KEEP HIS STATUTES…. But they did not do so. Instead (according to Ezek. 36:17): AND THEY DEFILED {THEM ACCORDING TO THEIR WAY} [IT (i.e., the land) BY THEIR WAY AND BY THEIR DEEDS]. They defiled them (according to Josh. 7) in the destruction of Achan, as stated (in Jer. 2:7): BUT YOU CAME AND DEFILED MY LAND [by the destruction of Achan]. (Ibid. cont.): AND YOU MADE MY HERITAGE AN ABOMINATION, by the image of Micah (in Jud. 17–18). So what did the Holy One do to them? He exiled them from it, as stated (in Deut. 29:27): SO THE LORD UPROOTED THEM FROM THEIR LAND. What is the meaning of AND… UPROOTED (rt.: NTSh) THEM? He weakened (rt.: TShSh)43 their army. They planted and toiled, but the peoples of the world came and took. It is so stated (in Jud. 6:3): AND SO IT HAPPENED THAT, IF ISRAEL PLANTED, < MIDIAN, AMALEK, AND THE CHILDREN OF KEDEM WOULD ARISE >…. Then it is written (in vs. 4): THEY WOULD ENCAMP AGAINST THEM AND DESTROY THE PRODUCE OF THE EARTH. When they repent, (according to Is. 65:22): THEY SHALL NOT BUILD FOR ANOTHER TO DWELL IN; THEY SHALL NOT PLANT FOR ANOTHER TO EAT. Why? Because when they plant no one uproots, as stated (in Amos 9:15): AND WHEN I PLANT THEM ON THEIR LAND, THEY SHALL NEVER AGAIN BE UPROOTED (rt.: NTSh) FROM THE LAND WHICH I HAVE GIVEN THEM, SAYS THE LORD YOUR GOD.
[12]
(Lev. 19:23:) WHEN YOU COME INTO THE LAND. This text is related (to Jer. 3:19):
BUT I SAID: HOW I WOULD PUT YOU AMONG THE CHILDREN AND GIVE YOU A DESIRABLE LAND! < The situation > is comparable to a king who had concubines and had a lot of children.
44 But he had one child by a certain matron,
45 and he loved him to excess. The king gave fields and vineyards to all the children of the concubines, and after that he gave his < beloved > son one garden
46 from which all his food
47 came. The son sent and said to his father: To the children of the concubines you have given fields and vineyards, but to me you have given one garden. The king said to him: By your life, all my food (
cellaria) comes to me from this garden; and because I love you more than your brothers, I have given it to you. Similarly the Holy One created the peoples of the world, just as it is stated (in Cant. 6:8):
THERE ARE SIXTY QUEENS: These are the peoples. (Vs. 9):
< ONLY > ONE IS MY DOVE, < MY PERFECT ONE >: This is the congregation of Israel. Now the Holy One has distributed [fields and vineyards] to the peoples of the world, as stated (in Deut. 32:8):
WHEN THE MOST HIGH GAVE THE GENTILES AN INHERITANCE; but to Israel he has given the land of Israel, the larder (
cellaria) of the Holy One. The offerings come from it; the shewbread comes from it; the first fruits come from it; the omer comes from it; all the good things in the world [come from it]. Why all this? In order to made a distinction between the son of the matron and the children of the concubines, as stated (in Jer. 3:19):
BUT I SAID: HOW I WOULD PUT YOU AMONG THE CHILDREN < AND GIVE YOU A DESIRABLE LAND >… ! There was great love between the Holy One and Israel; so how did they bring in the enmity.
48 The Holy One said (ibid.):
HOW I WOULD PUT (
ashit)
YOU, and this language can only be the language of enmity. Thus it is stated (in Gen. 3:15):
I WILL PUT (
ashit)
ENMITY BETWEEN YOU AND THE WOMAN.
Another interpretation (of Jer. 3:19): HOW I WOULD PUT YOU AMONG THE CHILDREN. The Holy One said to them: I have spoken in your defense.49 How have you made me bring charges50 against you? (Ibid.:) HOW I WOULD PUT (rt.: ShYT) YOU AMONG THE CHILDREN. Now this can only be the language of an accuser,51 as stated (concerning one guilty of negligence in Exod. 21:30): IF A RANSOM IS PUT (rt.: ShYT) UPON HIM….
[13]
(Lev. 19:23:) WHEN YOU COME INTO THE LAND. Solomon said (in Prov. 31:16):
SHE SETS HER MIND ON A FIELD AND ACQUIRES IT. Come and see.
52 Whatever Abraham thought about in his heart the Holy One gave him. He thought [about] the land of [Israel], and he gave it to him, as stated (in Gen. 15:7):
I AM THE LORD WHO BROUGHT YOU OUT FROM UR OF THE CHALDEES [
TO GIVE YOU THIS LAND AS A POSSESSION]. Abraham said to the Holy One, Sovereign of the World, you have given me permission to say to you (in vs. 8):
HOW SHALL I KNOW < THAT I SHALL POSSESS IT >? He replied and said to him (in vs. 13):
KNOW FULL WELL < THAT YOUR SEED SHALL BE ALIEN IN A LAND NOT THEIRS WHERE THEY SHALL SERVE THEM AND BE OPPRESSED BY THEM >. Woe to that person who brings something out of his mouth without knowing how he brought it out. Because < Abraham > said (in vs. 8):
HOW SHALL I KNOW? his children were condemned to be enslaved in Egypt for four hundred years. So Solomon said (in Eccl. 6:7):
IS ALL HUMAN TOIL FOR ONE'S MOUTH…? What is the meaning of
IS ALL HUMAN TOIL FOR ONE'S MOUTH…? All the commandments and righteous deeds that one does. It is enough for the time that one's soul goes out of him. It is therefore stated (in Eccl. 6:7):
IS ALL HUMAN TOIL FOR ONE'S MOUTH? When Abraham heard < from the Holy One > (in Gen. 15:13):
KNOW FULL WELL, he thought about it in his heart and said: < Is it possible >
53 that every people which enslaves my children goes away in peace and is not condemned? The Holy One said to him (in Gen. 15:14):
BUT < I AM > ALSO < JUDGING > THE NATION < WHICH THEY SHALL SERVE >…. It is therefore stated (in Prov. 31:16):
SHE SETS HER MIND ON A FIELD AND ACQUIRES IT.
[14]
(Lev. 19:23:) < WHEN YOU COME INTO THE LAND > AND PLANT ANY TREE FOR FOOD, YOU SHALL COUNT (rt.: '
RL)
ITS FRUIT AS FORBIDDEN (literally:
AS FORESKIN, rt.: '
RL)…. < This verse > is teaching about an infant.
54 (Ibid., cont.:)
THREE YEARS IT SHALL BE FORBIDDEN (rt.: '
RL)
FOR YOU, when < an infant > can neither talk nor speak. (vs. 24:)
IN THE FOURTH YEAR ALL ITS FRUIT SHALL BE [
SET ASIDE (rt.:
QDSh)], when his father dedicates (rt.:
QDSh) him to the Torah. (Ibid., cont.:)
FOR PRAISES TO THE LORD. [What is the meaning of
PRAISES (with reference to an infant)?] < Those offered > from the time that he praises the Holy One. (Vs. 25:)
BUT IN THE FIFTH YEAR YOU MAY EAT ITS FRUIT, < i.e. > from the time that he begins to read in the Torah. (Ibid., cont.:)
TO INCREASE ITS YIELD FOR YOU. Hence our masters have taught (in
Avot 5:21):
AT FIVE YEARS OF AGE < HE IS READY > FOR < THE STUDY OF > SCRIPTURE; AT TEN, FOR MISHNAH. While in this world, one begets a son for himself, brings him to the elementary school, labors with him, and teaches him Torah. Then in the midst of troubles he dies. So he derives no happiness from him. The Holy One said to Israel: In this world, because the evil drive is found in you, you sin and your children die; but in the world to come I will remove the [evil] drive from among you.
55 Then you shall beget and be happy, as stated (in Is. 65:23):
THEY SHALL NOT LABOR IN VAIN, NOR BEAR CHILDREN IN TERROR, BECAUSE THEY ARE A SEED BLESSED OF THE LORD, AND THEIR OFFSPRING ALONG WITH THEM.
1. Tanh., Lev. 7:1.
2. The Aramaic word can mean both WERE SET IN PLACE and WERE THROWN DOWN. The former meaning better fits the biblical context; but one of the midrashic interpretations given here requires the latter meaning.
3. Hag. 14a.
4. The Greek word means “footstool.”
5. Exod. R. 5:12; see Wisdom 3:8; I Enoch 38:5; 48:9; I Corinthians 6:2.
6. Cf. the parallel in the traditional Midrash Tanhuma, Lev. 6:11 (Jerusalem: Eshkol, n.d.), which reads: “The Holy One cleanses himself from the worshipers of idols.”
7. mal’akhe. In the biblical context, the word should be rendered as “messengers of,” but the midrash interprets the passage eschatologically.
8. Tanh., Lev. 7:2.
9. Tanh., Lev. 7:3; Lev. R. 24:5.
10. I.e., in Exod. 14:2, 15; 25:2; 31:13 Lev. 1:2; 4:2; 7:23, 29; 12:2; 15:2; 18:2; 23:2, 10, 24, 34; 25:2; 27:2; Numb. 5:6, 12; 6:2; 9:10; 15:2, 18, 38; 17:17 (2); 19:2; 33:51; 35:10.
11. Tanh., Gen. 1:7; Lev. 7:4; above, Gen. 1:7.
12. The words, HOLY and GOD, are both plural in the Hebrew.
13. Alan F. Segal, Two Powers in Heaven: Early Rabbinic Reports about Christianity and Gnosticism (“Studies in Judaism in Late Antiquity,” 25; Leiden: Brill, 1977), p. 121.
14. See above, Tanh. (Buber), Gen. 1:7; and the parallels listed there.
15. Gk.: kalos (“beautifully”).
16. Tanh., Lev. 7:5.
17. Gk.: kategorein.
18. Lat.: Augusta. The text should read Augustus. See Jastrow, s.v., Agusta (‘GWST’).
19. This translation follows the interpretation of the midrash. A more traditional translation would be BEHIND ME.
20. Tanh., Lev. 7:6; also above, Exod. 4:13.
21. This interpretation of THE MORNING STARS is explicit in the parallel passage of Gen. R. 65:21, which explains that Jacob’s offspring are likened to stars in Dan. 12:3. See also the much fuller parallel in Tanh., Lev. 7:6.
22. The number includes the response after the first line of the Shema (cited below) plus the three preliminary words with which one precedes the Shema when praying in private, i.e., El melekh ne’eman (“God is a faithful king”).
23. This blessing is the liturgical response to the first line of the Shema.
24. Rt.: QLS; cf. Gk.: kalos (“beautifully”).
25. Deut. R. 4:4.
26. The well in question is the well of Numb. 21:16–20, which according to traditional interpretations was movable and followed the children of Israel during the forty-year wanderings. See below, Numb. 1:2; 6:35, 47–50; Tanh., Numb. 1:2; Numb. R. 1:2; 9:14; 13:20; 19:26; Seder ‘Olam Rabbah 5, 9–10; TSuk. 3:11–13; Pseudo-Philo 10:7; 11:15; also TSot. 11:1; Mekhilta deRabbi Ishmael, Wayassa‘ 6; Sifre Deut. 32:14(305); Shab. 35a; Ta‘an. 9a; Eccl. R. 1:2; M. Prov. 14; the various targums to Numb. 21:16–20; and I Corinthians 10:4.
27. Above, Exod. 8:10.
28. Tanh., Lev. 7:8.
29. Cf. Lev. R. 25:5; Eccl. R. 2:20:1.
30. Lat.: compendairia.
31. Gk.: stratiotai (“soldiers”).
32. rt.: TPH. This root is similar to the root for “apples,” and both are transliterated identically. The only difference is that the root for “apples” is spelled with a tav, while the root for “hit” is spelled with a tet.
33. Gk.: deigma.
34. Gk.: doron.
35. Tanh., Lev. 7:9; M. Pss. 20:5.
36. Lev. R. 24:3.
37. Lahizdawweg, from the root Zug. The word also has implications of mating. Cf. the Gk.: zeugos, i.e., “a team of beasts,” and then “a married couple.” Cf. also the Latin: conjugium, from jugum.
38. Tanh., Lev. 7:10.
39. See Eccl. R. 2:5:1.
40. See above, Lev. 6:4, and the note there.
41. Cf. Numb. R. 1:4.
42. Tanh., Lev.7:11.
43. TShSh and NTSh seem like the same root, because the form translated UPROOTED lacks the N, while the form translated “weakened” lacks the second Sh.
44. Tanh., Lev.7:12.
45. Lat.: matrona.
46. Pardes, which can also denote paradise.
47. This Latin words mean “food provisions.” “food receptacle,” or “larder.” The passage uses the word in more than one of these senses.
48. Above, Exod. 6:10; below, Numb. 4a: 15.
49. Gk.: synegoria, “advocacy”.
50. QTRG. Cf. Gk.: kategorein.
51. Gk.: kategor.
52. Tanh., Lev. 7:13.
53. Both sets of bracketed words in the sentence occur in Codex Vaticanus Ebr. 34 and in the traditional Midrash Tanhuma (Jerusalem: Eshkol, n.d.), Lev. 7:23.
54. Tanh., Lev. 7:14.
55. Below, 7:1.