Hebrew Insights into Parashat Cha’yey Sarah: B'resheet (Genesis) 23 – 25:18
Even though the name of this week’s Parasha means “Sarah’s Life”, it is actually her death and burial which the opening verses describe. At this point, Avraham is looking to purchase a burial plot for his family. He has his eye set on a particular site in Kiryat Arba, opposite Mamre “which is Chevron”* (23:19). In order to strike the real estate deal, Avraham seeks out Efron (Ephron), who is the owner of a cave called Machpela. “Machpela” stems from the root k.f.l (kaf, fey, lamed – the consonant sounds ch and k are often designated by the same letter, kaf or chaf), which means “double”. The name itself is not specifically explained, though it may have been given to this cave because it possibly had two or more chambers (thus making it especially suitable for burial purposes). Efron’s name, quite appropriately, is derived from the root “ah’far” (a.f.r., ayin, fey, resh) meaning “dust of the ground”. It is the same dust that is mentioned in B’resheet (Genesis) 3:19: “For dust you are and to dust you shall return,” the famous words that were pronounced over Adam after he had succumbed to temptation. “Ah’far” is also the term YHVH uses when He makes His promises to the Patriarchs concerning the multiplicity of their seed (Gen. 13:16; 28:14). The ‘equation’ of dust (in Efron’s name) and duplicity (in the name of the burial cave), points to this very promise, in spite of the themes of death and burial and in their very presence.
Avraham pays in full (23:16) for his acquisition, as did his grandson Ya’acov when he purchased a field in the town of Sh’chem (Shechem, in Gen. 33:19), and likewise David, generations later, when he bought Ornan’s (Araunah) threshing floor in Yerushalayim (Jerusalem, 2nd Sam. 24:24, upon which the Temple was later erected). Not coincidentally, Chevron, Sh’cehm (Ya'acov's son's tomb) and the Temple Mount are currently the three most contested spots in the entire land of Israel!
The payment that Avraham made was in hard cash: 400 shekels of silver. The three consonants that form the root for “shekel”, sh.k.l (shin, kof, lamed), also form the verb “to weigh”. Thus, the price paid for the plot was made up of 400 equal units of approximately one half ounce each. All in all Avraham paid about 200 “weighted” ounces, or 12 pounds, of silver. The name “Chevron” is made up of the root ch.v.r. (chaf, vet, resh), which is shared by the following: “to tie, bind, join, unite, friend, and company”. Although in the course of its long history this town has not seen much unity and friendship (it served as David's capital during his seven-year rule over the house of Yehuda-Judah, before he united all of Israel, and is currently divided between the Muslims and the Jews), its name may point to days yet to come.
Chapter 24 highlights Avraham’s senior servant, who “ruled over all his possessions” (v. 2). The servant is here described as a “moshel” (one of the words for “ruler”). “Moshel” is of the same root (m.sh.l, mem, shin, lamed) as terms like: “proverb”, parable, example, to be like, resemble and comparable”. In Tehilim (Psalms) 28:1 the writer cries: “I have become – “nimshalti” - like those who go down to the pit”. The parable in Yechez’kel (Ezekiel) 22:2 is called a “mashal”. In Shmuel Alef (1st Samuel) 10:12 Shaul (Saul) is made a public example of (as a prophet), with the use of “mashal”. The people of Israel is likewise presented as a none-too-positive example among the nations; or in other words, an object lesson, such as in Yirmiyah (Jeremiah) 24:9 where they are called: “a reproach and a proverb… in all places whither I shall drive them” (italics added). There are many more of examples of the usage of the verb and noun emanating from m.sh.l, but how is this connected to the elderly servant?
The servant, as a representative of Avraham, carries out the duties that are delegated to him. As such, he strives to serve by approaching his assignment in the same manner as his master would have done. This is the format, if you will, for the conduct of a true Godly ruler, or leader, who takes his orders from above, endeavoring to carry them out like his Master, thus becoming a representative ‘sample’, a “mashal” or a likeness, of the One whom he follows. The Elohim of Israel spoke…”he who rules over (“moshel”) men, by ruling (“moshel”) in the fear of YHVH, will shine as the light of the sun in the morning….” (2nd Sam. 23:3,4). One such ruler was Yoseph, whose trials and tests were the purifying work of “the Word of YHVH”. Once he was ‘confirmed’ (another word which helps define “m.sh.l”) to this Word, he was appointed a “ruler" [moshe] over all of the king’s possessions” (Ps. 105:18-20). “What is man…” in the eyes of his Creator? In Tehilim (Psalms) 8:5-7 it says, “You have made him to rule” is the Hebrew verb “tam’shile’hu”, that can also be read, “you have made him like…”, or, “you have made of him a proverbial example.” This, then, points to a representational form of rule, or leadership. Avraham's servant certainly displays this characteristic of conforming to his master, so much so that his master’s God becomes his! Yeshua’s words attest to the fact that he too operated by this principle: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does” (Yochanan - John - 5:19).
Avraham’s 'representative' servant is instructed to perform a mission, but is not told how to carry it out. He chooses to present a 'fleece' to "YHVH, the Elohim of my master Avraham" (24:12). The fleece and its fulfillment focus on water, or on means of obtaining that commodity which is so precious in that part of the world. Hence we find here “spring (or source), well and trough”. The first two are “ayin” and “be'er”, respectively, and the last one is “shoket” (from the verb “le'ha'shkot” - "to give a drink"). “Ayin” is also the word used for “eye.” Although the experts see no direct link between “spring” (or “source”) and “eye”, Yeshua refers to the latter as a type of a source when He says in Matthew 6:22: “The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.” The root of “be'er” (“well”) is identical to the root of “ba'er” (b.a.r, bet, alef, resh), which means to “expound or clarify”, as it appears in Dvarim (Deuteronomy) 1:5; 27:8 and in Chavakook (Habakkuk) 2:2 (where "inscribe" should read "clarify" or "expound"). And thus, it is the episode by the well which makes the results of his mission clear to the inquiring servant, as he is "gazing at her [the girl] in silence [and wondering]… whether YHVH had made his journey successful or not" (24:21). However, he need not wonder for long…
"Success" is “hatzlacha”, from the root tz.l.ch. (tzadi, lamed, chet), which also means to "prosper", and is used a number of times in this Parasha. The primary root, tz.l.ch, means to “advance, or cross" (such as in 2nd Sam. 19:18), and is used for the “coming of the Spirit,” (also in Jud. 14:6). Whenever it is used to mean "success", the verb appears in the active causative form, rendering it: “to cause to advance." These, the verb and noun, teach us, therefire, that prosperity and success may be obtained only with the help of an ‘external force’, just as is exemplified here by the servant who is completely dependent on YHVH to “cause him to advance.” The servant's awareness of this fact is also expressed by his prayer in 24:12: "O YHVH Elohim of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham." In this instance the root tz.l.ch, for "success" does not show up at all. The literal wording for "give me success" is just "to bring about".
The chain of the desired events, that were brought about, starts by the appearance of a young maiden named Rivka (Rebecca). Her rather curious name originates from the root letters r. v/b. k. (resh, vet/bet, kof), which are also the root letters of “marbek”, that is, “stall”; in itself stemming from an Aramaic word meaning "to tie down" (the animals). “Marbek” is always used in connection with fatted calves (ref. Amos 6:4; 1st Sam. 28:24; Mal. 4:2; Jer. 46:21). Rivka's name points without question to the importance her family attached to their possessions, (by naming her thus they were also expressing hopes regarding their livestock).
Upon her departure, Rivka's family blesses her saying "...Our sister, you will become [multiply into] thousands of ten thousands, and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies" (Gen. 24:60). This blessing is being uttered by Rivka’s family members without being aware that a similar blessing, about the seed possessing the gate of those who hate them, was also pronounced by YHVH's angel over Avraham, upon the latter's willingness to sacrifice Yitzchak (Gen. 22:17). It is quite likely that his master informed about this blessing now, hearing it again in these present circumstances, the "success" of his assignment is being confirmed to him yet again.
“Gate” is “sha'ar” in Hebrew (sh.a.r, shin, ayin, resh). Because much of the administration, justice, and business used to take place by the city gate, he who possessed the gate also had charge over the entire city (or area). "The gate of the enemy" denotes, therefore, the enemy's area of control and dominion. Earlier on in our Parasha “gate” has also been referred to in Avraham’s business transaction, in 23:10 and 18: “And Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the ears of the sons of Heth, of all that went in at the gate of his city, saying…” And: “The field of Ephron was certified… to Abraham for a possession in the presence of the sons of Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his city” (italics added). These transactions, by the "gate", have lent that word yet other meanings: "measure", "calculate", or "recon", as we shall see in next week's Parasha (Gen. 26:12), where the term used is "(one hundred) times over".
Rivka's blessing, in addition to the themes of dominion and power, also speak of: "tens of thousands". “Ten thousand” is “r'vava”, whereas a “thousand” is “elef”. “Elef” (a.l.f., alef, lamed, fey), with a slight modification, may become the name of the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, “alef”, lending it a place of importance, and hence, by implication, pointing also to a great numerical value. “Aluf” is "chief", but at times also means “a companion”. It is perhaps a large group of "companions" that proverbially make up the number one thousand. “R'vava” is one of the words stemming from the very common root of r.v/b. (resh, vet/bet) meaning "much, great and chief". In the next Parasha (in Gen. 25:23) we will meet "the greater (who will serve the younger)" that will be designated by “rav”.
The Parasha ends in the same way it had begun: burials are the order of the day. First Avraham dies…"in a ripe old age, an old man satisfied…” (25:8). "Ripe" here is “saveh'ah,” which is also "satisfied", (of the root s.v.a, or sh.v.a), a word we examined last week when we looked at the figure “seven” and “oath”. Avraham, too, is buried in the Cave of Machpela. Finally, the last verses of the Parasha deal with the death of Yishma'el, whose burial place is not mentioned.
Multiplicity in various forms, leadership, prosperity, dominion and greatness are some of the terms we encountered in this Parasha, whose main narrative is "sandwiched" in between deaths and burials. These deaths, however, seem to magnify all the more the blessings granted to the progeny left behind, accentuating the abundance of life that it is destined for.
*A reminder that the letter combination “ch” stands for the guttural sound similar to the one in the Scottish “loch”.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Parashat Vayera - B'resheet (Genesis) 18-22
Hebrew Insights into Parashat Vayera - B'resheet (Genesis) 18 - 22
“Vayera”, which is translated "He appeared", actually means "and he showed himself", and even more literally: “and he caused himself to be seen”. The word stems from the root r.a.h. (resh, alef, hey), meaning to "see". Some of its other derivatives are: "seen, to show, to be seen, and sight." Certainly, "seeing" plays a major role in this Parasha. Yes, YHVH does appear before Avraham - but it seems that it is incumbent upon the latter to do the ‘seeing’. Thus, according to18: 2, "seeing the three men, he sees….” The peculiar wording of the text indicates that Avraham has to look beyond what meets his eye. Accordingly, verses 1 and 2 state that “YHVH appeared to him… and he lifted up his eyes and saw… three men!"
The principle promulgated by Yeshua in Matthew 25:40, namely, "inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me," is apparent throughout this chapter. Avraham appears to be keenly aware of the fact that by entertaining strangers, one could, unknowingly (or knowingly), be entertaining (at the very least), angels… (Ref. Hebrew 13:2). These strangers, whether one of them is or is not YHVH himself, are greeted by their host, in word and deed, with the homage due the King of kings.
This passage contains significant interchanges between single person and plural persons*. In verse 3, Avraham addresses the three men whom he had just seen, calling them "Adonai" (“Lords”) and says: “…If now I have found favor in your [single person] sight, pass not away from your servant". Verses 4,5,8 and 9 all employ the second person plural. But in verse 10, where the promise is pronounced of the son who is to be born to Sarah within the year, there is a switch to the single person again (“and he said I will return..” italics added). In verses 13 and 14 the name YHVH is actually mentioned as the One addressing Avraham (relating to Sarah’s response), while in 16 the “men rise up” and get ready to leave. Starting with verse 17 the scene changes altogether. In the passage which commences here (describing Avraham's intercession on behalf of the cities of Sdom and Amora - Gomorrah), YHVH and the men, who until now seemed to represent Him, are referred to as totally separate entities: “And the men turned their faces away from there, and went toward Sodom. But Abraham still stood before YHVH” (v. 22). The unclear distinction between the three persons and YHVH leaves us baffled as to ‘who is who’ here, and raises the question whether there is a hidden message in this unusual and enigmatic text formulation. Later on, when Lot and the members of his family are being led out of Sdom by the messengers-visitors, there is a similar lack of distinction between YHVH and His ‘agents’ (ref. 19:16-21).* Thus, although this Parasha is characterized by ‘seeing’, the reader’s vision is more often than not quite impaired.
Avraham’s guests, however, stand and view Sdom at a distance, while the Elohim who "showed Himself" to Avraham determines (v. 17) not to (literally) "cover" His plans from His servant, and to inform him what it is that He was about to do (to Sdom and Amora). YHVH then declares that He himself aims to "come down and see if they had done according to the outcry that had come" to Him (18:21 italics added). In this instance, the "seeing" is a symbolic "inspection", or a declaration of intention that will obviously be followed by action on YHVH’s part.
Following Avraham's bargaining scene with YHVH, we meet his nephew Lot as he is sitting in the evening by the gate of Sdom (whereas his uncle had been sitting at the door of his tent in the heat of day). Now it is his turn to "see" (19:1). Lot greets the two messengers (quite likely of the same three-men-party that had visited his uncle) by rising up and bowing down, just as his relative had done. He too offers to have his guests' feet washed, and is anxious to supply them with refreshments. As it is evening time, Lot also offers them a place for the night, which they are very reluctant to accept (or are they simply testing him?), and do so only after much imploring on the part of their host. The meal served by Avraham under the tree was far more peaceful than the feast at Lot's house in the town of Sdom. No sooner are they done, and the town's evil men surround the house. The messengers, however, quickly and supernaturally blind the would-be-assailants (ref. 19:1). Next, Lot tries to talk his family into leaving town, but his sons-in-law perceive it to be a joke ("laughing", is the word in Hebrew). This laughter, however, is only short lived… as in verse 25 YHVH overthrows the two cities, and in verse 28 Avraham is watching (literally “seeing” - “vayar” again of our root r.a.h) “the smoke of the country”.
Laughter was also part of the scene with Avraham and his guests (referred to above). The three visitors came in order to reaffirm, once again, the promise of a son. Sarah, who overheard this conversation, laughed in her tent and later denied it (18:12-15). What’s more, this is not the last time that she is seen laughing After giving birth, exactly within the year as YHVH had declared, Sarah says, "Elohim has made me laugh, and everyone who hears of it will laugh at me" (21:6 italics added). “And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian… mocking (the word is again “laughing”, v. 9, italics added).” "Seeing" this “laughter” results in the banishment of Hagar and her son Yishmael (Ishmael). The banished handmaiden wanders in the wilderness by Beer Sheva, and when her drinking water is used up she places her son under a shrub and exclaims: ”Let me not see the death of the boy. And she … lifted up her voice and cried" (ve.16 italics added). “And God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water; and she went and filled the bottle with water, and gave drink to the boy” (v. 19 italics added).
Hagar's eyes are opened in the wilderness of Beer Sheva. The episode that follows expounds on the meaning of the named of that town’s name (21:22 – 34). Beer Sheva is literally "the well of seven". The words “adjure, charge and oath” share the same root (sh.v.a, shin, bet/vet, ayin). “Satisfaction, or to have had enough” (especially regarding food), is “sovah” being of the same root (although the letter “shin” is modified to a “sin”). The usage of the number seven is often indicative of “fullness” and “completeness”, and as such it is also a solemn promise, or an oath that could be guaranteed simply by repeating it seven times (or by using multiplications of seven). The connection between these two words ("seven" and "oath") is well illustrated here in our story, namely in Avraham and Avimelech's settlement (21:22 - 34). Avraham places seven (“sheva”) ewe lambs in front of Avimlelech, as a witness to the fact that he had dug a well that was now under dispute. Following that action "he called that place Beer Sheva, because there the two of them took an oath (sh'vu'ah)". In Matthew 18:21, we see Peter proclaiming that the act of forgiving up to seven times is sufficient. Yeshua, of course, goes beyond that, but He too stays within the ‘realm of seven’, saying…"up to seventy times seven.” Truly, “…The words of YHVH are pure words; as silver… refined seventy times" (Ps. 12:6). The figure ‘seventy’ tells us that His words promise to guarantee full satisfaction. "…On the day when YHVH binds up the fracture of His people and heals the bruise He has inflicted… the light of the sun will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven days" (Is. 30:26b, 26a). Again, the guarantee of fullness in the form of "sevens" renders it like an oath. The sunrise and sunset dictate the formation of any given day, just as the sun and the moon control the length of the months and seasons of the Biblical year. The seven-day week, however, seems to be quite arbitrary - but is it? Elohim chose to create the world in six days and then to add one more at the end, which He set apart for rest, remembrance and declaration. The sanctification of the seventh day, the commemoration of the number "seven" (in naming the “week” “shavu’a”), the fullness and completeness of what Elohim has accomplished, and its guaranteed fulfillment, are all innately expressed in the Hebrew language by the root sh/s.v.a: "In Your presence there is fullness ("sova") of joy; I will be satisfied (“es'be'ah”) with Your likeness when I awake" (Ps. 16:11 & 17:15).
The next scene is the famous "binding of Yitzchak (Isaac)", known in Hebrew as “Akedat Yitzchak”. After a three-day journey with Yitzchak and two of his servants “…Avraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar…” (22:4 italics added). Responding to his son's question, as to the whereabouts of the lamb for the sacrifice, Avraham says…"Elohim will see for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son" (v.7 literal translation, italics added). YHVH does indeed "see" (translated as “provide”) a substitute for Yitzchak in the form of a ram… "And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and behold, a ram was caught in the thicket by his horns. And Abraham called the name of the place ‘YHVH Yir'eh - will see’ - as it is said to this day - 'it shall be seen on the mountain of YHVH'" (v.13-14 emphasis added).
As it is in the beginning, so it is at the end of the Parasha - YHVH reveals Himself. In the opening verses Avraham “sees” Him using his 'inner eyes' and discernment, even when looking upon the three men. YHVH is also seen as the One who reveals His "secret to His servants the prophets" (Amos 3:7) before resorting to judge Sdom and Amora, though not before doing His own "seeing" of the state of affairs there. Further, His messengers' aura of light impairs the vision of the spiritually blind. Avimelech sees YHVH in a dream whic prevents him from sinning with Sarah. The latter’s “seeing” causes her to send Hagar and Yishamael away, but their needs are seen to by YHVH in the wilderness. And finally, He is the One who “sees” (present tense) for Himself the sacrificial Lamb provided by Him for all time.
Earlier we noticed that Avraham was sitting at the tent door “in the heat of the day” (18:1), while Lot was sitting at the gate of the city of Sdom “in the evening” (19:1). But in the Parasha as a whole, it is the expression “early in the morning” that keeps reoccurring. In three out of four times it relates to Avraham (19:27; 21:14; 22:3), and one time to Avimelech (20:8). “And he rose early” is, each time, “va’yashkem” of the root sh.ch.m (shin, kaf/chaf, meme) which is also applied to the word “shoulder”. This is illustrated very graphically in 21:14: “And Abraham rose up early - “va-yashkem” - in the morning, and took bread and a bottle of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder -”shichma” - (italics added). The connection of those two identical terms is thought to be imbedded in the very reason for rising early, which is to put one’s shoulders to work.
In 19:37 and 38 we learn of the origin of the Moabites and the Amonites. The fact that they are the product of an incestuous relationship is expressed by the name of the oldest. “Mo’av” stems from “m’av”, meaning “from a father”, as the boy had been begotten by his mother’s father (his own grandfather). The second boy’s mother names him “Ben Ami” (Ammon), meaning “son of my people”, which is also a reference to the close family tie. Lot’s daughters’ conduct is not surprising, as earlier on, when the men of Sdom demanded that he hand over his guests to them, their father attempted to offer these two daughters in place of the visitors (ref. 19:4-8).
* In all these cases this is much more pronounced in the Hebrew original than in the translations, one reason being that in English there is no distinction between you singular and plural.
“Vayera”, which is translated "He appeared", actually means "and he showed himself", and even more literally: “and he caused himself to be seen”. The word stems from the root r.a.h. (resh, alef, hey), meaning to "see". Some of its other derivatives are: "seen, to show, to be seen, and sight." Certainly, "seeing" plays a major role in this Parasha. Yes, YHVH does appear before Avraham - but it seems that it is incumbent upon the latter to do the ‘seeing’. Thus, according to18: 2, "seeing the three men, he sees….” The peculiar wording of the text indicates that Avraham has to look beyond what meets his eye. Accordingly, verses 1 and 2 state that “YHVH appeared to him… and he lifted up his eyes and saw… three men!"
The principle promulgated by Yeshua in Matthew 25:40, namely, "inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me," is apparent throughout this chapter. Avraham appears to be keenly aware of the fact that by entertaining strangers, one could, unknowingly (or knowingly), be entertaining (at the very least), angels… (Ref. Hebrew 13:2). These strangers, whether one of them is or is not YHVH himself, are greeted by their host, in word and deed, with the homage due the King of kings.
This passage contains significant interchanges between single person and plural persons*. In verse 3, Avraham addresses the three men whom he had just seen, calling them "Adonai" (“Lords”) and says: “…If now I have found favor in your [single person] sight, pass not away from your servant". Verses 4,5,8 and 9 all employ the second person plural. But in verse 10, where the promise is pronounced of the son who is to be born to Sarah within the year, there is a switch to the single person again (“and he said I will return..” italics added). In verses 13 and 14 the name YHVH is actually mentioned as the One addressing Avraham (relating to Sarah’s response), while in 16 the “men rise up” and get ready to leave. Starting with verse 17 the scene changes altogether. In the passage which commences here (describing Avraham's intercession on behalf of the cities of Sdom and Amora - Gomorrah), YHVH and the men, who until now seemed to represent Him, are referred to as totally separate entities: “And the men turned their faces away from there, and went toward Sodom. But Abraham still stood before YHVH” (v. 22). The unclear distinction between the three persons and YHVH leaves us baffled as to ‘who is who’ here, and raises the question whether there is a hidden message in this unusual and enigmatic text formulation. Later on, when Lot and the members of his family are being led out of Sdom by the messengers-visitors, there is a similar lack of distinction between YHVH and His ‘agents’ (ref. 19:16-21).* Thus, although this Parasha is characterized by ‘seeing’, the reader’s vision is more often than not quite impaired.
Avraham’s guests, however, stand and view Sdom at a distance, while the Elohim who "showed Himself" to Avraham determines (v. 17) not to (literally) "cover" His plans from His servant, and to inform him what it is that He was about to do (to Sdom and Amora). YHVH then declares that He himself aims to "come down and see if they had done according to the outcry that had come" to Him (18:21 italics added). In this instance, the "seeing" is a symbolic "inspection", or a declaration of intention that will obviously be followed by action on YHVH’s part.
Following Avraham's bargaining scene with YHVH, we meet his nephew Lot as he is sitting in the evening by the gate of Sdom (whereas his uncle had been sitting at the door of his tent in the heat of day). Now it is his turn to "see" (19:1). Lot greets the two messengers (quite likely of the same three-men-party that had visited his uncle) by rising up and bowing down, just as his relative had done. He too offers to have his guests' feet washed, and is anxious to supply them with refreshments. As it is evening time, Lot also offers them a place for the night, which they are very reluctant to accept (or are they simply testing him?), and do so only after much imploring on the part of their host. The meal served by Avraham under the tree was far more peaceful than the feast at Lot's house in the town of Sdom. No sooner are they done, and the town's evil men surround the house. The messengers, however, quickly and supernaturally blind the would-be-assailants (ref. 19:1). Next, Lot tries to talk his family into leaving town, but his sons-in-law perceive it to be a joke ("laughing", is the word in Hebrew). This laughter, however, is only short lived… as in verse 25 YHVH overthrows the two cities, and in verse 28 Avraham is watching (literally “seeing” - “vayar” again of our root r.a.h) “the smoke of the country”.
Laughter was also part of the scene with Avraham and his guests (referred to above). The three visitors came in order to reaffirm, once again, the promise of a son. Sarah, who overheard this conversation, laughed in her tent and later denied it (18:12-15). What’s more, this is not the last time that she is seen laughing After giving birth, exactly within the year as YHVH had declared, Sarah says, "Elohim has made me laugh, and everyone who hears of it will laugh at me" (21:6 italics added). “And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian… mocking (the word is again “laughing”, v. 9, italics added).” "Seeing" this “laughter” results in the banishment of Hagar and her son Yishmael (Ishmael). The banished handmaiden wanders in the wilderness by Beer Sheva, and when her drinking water is used up she places her son under a shrub and exclaims: ”Let me not see the death of the boy. And she … lifted up her voice and cried" (ve.16 italics added). “And God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water; and she went and filled the bottle with water, and gave drink to the boy” (v. 19 italics added).
Hagar's eyes are opened in the wilderness of Beer Sheva. The episode that follows expounds on the meaning of the named of that town’s name (21:22 – 34). Beer Sheva is literally "the well of seven". The words “adjure, charge and oath” share the same root (sh.v.a, shin, bet/vet, ayin). “Satisfaction, or to have had enough” (especially regarding food), is “sovah” being of the same root (although the letter “shin” is modified to a “sin”). The usage of the number seven is often indicative of “fullness” and “completeness”, and as such it is also a solemn promise, or an oath that could be guaranteed simply by repeating it seven times (or by using multiplications of seven). The connection between these two words ("seven" and "oath") is well illustrated here in our story, namely in Avraham and Avimelech's settlement (21:22 - 34). Avraham places seven (“sheva”) ewe lambs in front of Avimlelech, as a witness to the fact that he had dug a well that was now under dispute. Following that action "he called that place Beer Sheva, because there the two of them took an oath (sh'vu'ah)". In Matthew 18:21, we see Peter proclaiming that the act of forgiving up to seven times is sufficient. Yeshua, of course, goes beyond that, but He too stays within the ‘realm of seven’, saying…"up to seventy times seven.” Truly, “…The words of YHVH are pure words; as silver… refined seventy times" (Ps. 12:6). The figure ‘seventy’ tells us that His words promise to guarantee full satisfaction. "…On the day when YHVH binds up the fracture of His people and heals the bruise He has inflicted… the light of the sun will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven days" (Is. 30:26b, 26a). Again, the guarantee of fullness in the form of "sevens" renders it like an oath. The sunrise and sunset dictate the formation of any given day, just as the sun and the moon control the length of the months and seasons of the Biblical year. The seven-day week, however, seems to be quite arbitrary - but is it? Elohim chose to create the world in six days and then to add one more at the end, which He set apart for rest, remembrance and declaration. The sanctification of the seventh day, the commemoration of the number "seven" (in naming the “week” “shavu’a”), the fullness and completeness of what Elohim has accomplished, and its guaranteed fulfillment, are all innately expressed in the Hebrew language by the root sh/s.v.a: "In Your presence there is fullness ("sova") of joy; I will be satisfied (“es'be'ah”) with Your likeness when I awake" (Ps. 16:11 & 17:15).
The next scene is the famous "binding of Yitzchak (Isaac)", known in Hebrew as “Akedat Yitzchak”. After a three-day journey with Yitzchak and two of his servants “…Avraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar…” (22:4 italics added). Responding to his son's question, as to the whereabouts of the lamb for the sacrifice, Avraham says…"Elohim will see for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son" (v.7 literal translation, italics added). YHVH does indeed "see" (translated as “provide”) a substitute for Yitzchak in the form of a ram… "And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and behold, a ram was caught in the thicket by his horns. And Abraham called the name of the place ‘YHVH Yir'eh - will see’ - as it is said to this day - 'it shall be seen on the mountain of YHVH'" (v.13-14 emphasis added).
As it is in the beginning, so it is at the end of the Parasha - YHVH reveals Himself. In the opening verses Avraham “sees” Him using his 'inner eyes' and discernment, even when looking upon the three men. YHVH is also seen as the One who reveals His "secret to His servants the prophets" (Amos 3:7) before resorting to judge Sdom and Amora, though not before doing His own "seeing" of the state of affairs there. Further, His messengers' aura of light impairs the vision of the spiritually blind. Avimelech sees YHVH in a dream whic prevents him from sinning with Sarah. The latter’s “seeing” causes her to send Hagar and Yishamael away, but their needs are seen to by YHVH in the wilderness. And finally, He is the One who “sees” (present tense) for Himself the sacrificial Lamb provided by Him for all time.
Earlier we noticed that Avraham was sitting at the tent door “in the heat of the day” (18:1), while Lot was sitting at the gate of the city of Sdom “in the evening” (19:1). But in the Parasha as a whole, it is the expression “early in the morning” that keeps reoccurring. In three out of four times it relates to Avraham (19:27; 21:14; 22:3), and one time to Avimelech (20:8). “And he rose early” is, each time, “va’yashkem” of the root sh.ch.m (shin, kaf/chaf, meme) which is also applied to the word “shoulder”. This is illustrated very graphically in 21:14: “And Abraham rose up early - “va-yashkem” - in the morning, and took bread and a bottle of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder -”shichma” - (italics added). The connection of those two identical terms is thought to be imbedded in the very reason for rising early, which is to put one’s shoulders to work.
In 19:37 and 38 we learn of the origin of the Moabites and the Amonites. The fact that they are the product of an incestuous relationship is expressed by the name of the oldest. “Mo’av” stems from “m’av”, meaning “from a father”, as the boy had been begotten by his mother’s father (his own grandfather). The second boy’s mother names him “Ben Ami” (Ammon), meaning “son of my people”, which is also a reference to the close family tie. Lot’s daughters’ conduct is not surprising, as earlier on, when the men of Sdom demanded that he hand over his guests to them, their father attempted to offer these two daughters in place of the visitors (ref. 19:4-8).
* In all these cases this is much more pronounced in the Hebrew original than in the translations, one reason being that in English there is no distinction between you singular and plural.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Parashat Lech Lecha - Genesis 12 - 17
Parashat* Lech Lecha - B'resheet (Genesis) 12 -1 7
Avram, whom we met at the end of last week's Parasha, is now singled out from the rest of his kin and community. He is commanded to go forth and leave behind him his native country, heritage and culture (12:1). The expression "lech lecha" (literally, "go for yourself") can best be rendered in English as the emphatic: "go forth" or "get yourself going". The alliteration makes it especially forceful and commanding.
Avram is promised a large progeny and a great blessing that will also be extended to those who bless this progeny. In fact, this seed is destined to be a blessing to "all the families of the earth" (12:3). “Family” is “mishpacha”, of the root sh.f.ch (shin, pey/fey, chet), which is also the root for a word found in 16:1 of our Parasha, “shifcha” – “handmaiden” (in reference to Hagar). It is thought that the root sh.f.ch means to "pour water”, perhaps on the hands of one’s master (in 2 Kings 3:11 Elisha is said to have poured water on the hands of his master, Elijah), and hence “handmaiden”. But even though the etymological connection between “handmaiden” and “family” does not appear to be sufficiently clear, their spiritual and/or social connection is. The family affords opportunities for its members to learn to serve, a factor which maintains its strength and unity, while at the same time causing it to become a source of blessing to society as a whole. In 12:2 and 3 “blessing”, which is "bracha", appears five times in several forms. B.r.ch. (bet, resh, kaf) also makes up the root for “knee” ("berech"). Bowing the knee is always associated with humility ("to Me every knee shall bow…" Is. 45:23). Thus, experiencing a blessing humbles its recipient, stirring him to bend or bow the knee in gracious thankfulness.
This first promise to Avram involves a land. The next promise has to do with a nation (ref. 12:1,2). Immediately upon entering the Land, Avram is seen building an altar and moving on. In the next two verses (8,9) mention is made of three of the four directions of the wind: “east, west and south”. In Biblical Hebrew there are several words for each of those, the ones used here being "kedem", "yam", and "negev". In YHVH's promises to Avram, in 13:14, mention is made of all of those, with the addition of “north”, which is "tzafon".
The root of “east” - “kedem” - is k.d.m (kof, dalet, mem), with its primal meaning being "before" or "in front of". Thus, its derivatives are to “greet” or “meet" (Deut. 23:4; Mic. 6:6), "early” and "first". Words such as "old" and "ancient" also stem from "kedem" (as are the “everlasting hills” promised to Yoseph – Joseph – in Deut. 33:15, and the term "kadmoni" – “ancient” in 1st Sam. 24:13). The root k.d.m, therefore, reveals an interesting approach to the dimensions of time and space. That which is "in front", is also that which is "early", from “antiquity” and of the “past”. Thus, “kedem, the “east”, denotes what is “ahead”, and at the same time that which was. In Kohelet (Ecclesiastics) 1:9 it says: “That which has been is that which shall be,” a fact that is certainly true of our Elohim, “who is, and who was, and who is coming” (Rev. 11:17). "Kadim" is the east wind which many times spells blight and dryness (e.g. Job 27:21; Ps. 48:7), while the prophet Y’chezkel (Ezekiel) saw the glory of the Elohim of Israel coming from the same direction ("kadim", i.e. the “east”, in 43:1,2). One of the best known usages of "kedem" is found in B'resheet (Genesis) 3:24, referring to the place where Elohim expelled our renegade ancestors: "east of Eden".“
West” here is "yam". Yam means “sea”, and since the "Great Sea" (the Mediterranean) shore runs the entire length of Israel's west, it has become synonymous with that direction. “
Negev”, is the word here for “south”, and is used to denote wilderness and dryness, but a reference to the "forest land of the negev" is made in Y’chezkel 20:47. It is in the same prophecy where the fires that would consume every tree there (as indeed they have) are mentioned.
The last direction is "north" - “tzafon”, the root of which is tz.f.n (tzadi, pe/fe, noon), and means to “conceal or hide". That same word is used when Moshe (Moses) was hidden for the first three months after his birth (Ex. 2:2). In T’hilim/Psalms 27:5 we read about being hidden by YHVH in His succah (booth), and in 83:3 about YHVH’s “hidden ones”. The north also conceals evil, and it is from there that "evil will break forth", according to Y’rmiyahu’s (Jeremiah) prophecy (1: 14). The proud king of Babylon declares his position to be "on the mount of the assembly in the far north" (Is. 14:13), words that are countered by the Elohim of Israel in T’hilim 48:1,2, proclaiming that His holy mountain, Mount Tziyon (Zion), is in the far north.
After receiving the promise of a land extending in every direction, and a seed so numerous (rendering it) too great to count (13:14-16), Avram builds another altar, this time in Alonei Mamreh, which is Chevron (Hebron). It is from that location that he sets forth to rescue his nephew Lot, who was taken captive in the war between the kings (four against five in chapter 14). It is here (14:13) that we first encounter the term "Hebrew", "ivri", attached to Avram's name, after his ancestor Ever, whom we mentioned last week. Indeed, Avram is now entitled to this ‘label’ as he ‘crossed over’, both physically and spiritually! When he returns, after having accomplished his mission successfully, he is greeted by the king of S’dom (Sodom) in the Valley of Shaveh. “Shaveh” is “equality, agreement, or resemblance”, and in this case probably an “even plain”. “I have set YHVH always before me” (Ps. 16:8), reads in Hebrew: “I have envisioned [or imagined] YHVH before me… "which is "shiviti" indicating that one sees Him at one’s eye level (as He is near to those who call upon Him). The valley of “shaveh” is also called here the “Kings' Valley”, and is (apparently) the place where Avram meets another king. His encounter with the king of S’dom, in this 'valley or plain of evenness', is being interrupted by the appearance (at ‘eye level’) of another monarch, Malchitzedek king of Shalem (Salem).
The root of “shalem”, sh.l.m - shin, lamed, mem, is “perfection, wholeness, completeness and requital”. This king, whose name means "king of righteousness", is also a priest of the Most High God (“El Elyon”). Thus, in his ‘persona’ are met the two offices of king and priest (ref. Zec. 6:13). In his blessing to Avram, whom he serves with bread and wine, Malchitzedek invokes “El Elyon” (“Most High God”), calling Him "possessor of heaven and earth". "Possessor" here is "koneh", and simply means "buyer", thus connoting “redeemer (of heaven and earth)”. When Chava (Eve) gave birth to Kayin (Cain), she exclaimed: "I have purchased (‘kaniti’) a man from YHVH" (Gen. 4:1, deeming that the pain and “sorrow” of giving birth was the price she paid Adonai for her firstborn). Malchitzedek gives thanks once again to "El Elyon", who has "delivered Avram's enemies into his hand" (ref. 14: 20), using “migen” for "delivered", which stems from the root meaning "shield or protection".
Avram gives his newly-met acquaintance "a tenth (‘ma'aser’) of all", an act which concludes this encounter. At this point the text recaptures Avram's tryst with the king of S’dom, but the language of the next few verses seems to be colored by what had just taken place during the encounter with the king of Shalem. Upon being offered the spoils of the war, Avram answers the king of S’dom by mentioning the name of YHVH, repeating the expression "El Elyon - Most High God - the purchaser of heaven and earth" (ve. 22). He then refuses the king’s offer, on the grounds that it should not be said that he had been made rich by the latter. The word for "rich" is "ashir", of the same root as "eser"- "ten" (the consonant for "sh" and "s" being one and the same; "shin" when denoting “sh” and "sin" when denoting “s”), from which we get the “tenth part”, or the “tithe” – “ma’aser” - that Avram had just paid Malchitzedek. As this scene with the king of S’dom fades, another one comes into view – the description of a vision in which YHVH speaks to Avram: "Fear not Avram, I am your shield…" (15:1). The word used for "shield" here is "mah’gen", a different form of which we saw in Malchizedek's blessing of Avram a few verses above. Thus, the echo of that dramatic meeting continues to accompany the events that follow it.
When Avram wonders what it is that Adonai (the Lord), who promises him a great reward, will give him "seeing that [he is] childless…" (ve.2), he is granted a promise of a son. Once again he is told that his progeny will be numerous. Avram "believed God". The root for "believe" is "a.m.n", from which we get the term "amen". It is also the root word for “trust, steady, faithful”, for “nurse” (Num. 11:12), “guardian” (2 Kings 10:1), and for “bringing up and training” (Est. 2:7). Proverbs/Mishley 8 cites the call of Wisdom-personified. In verses 29-30 Wisdom says, "when He marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was the craftsman at His side…". The word here for "craftsman" is "amon", once again, from the root a.m.n. Faith, therefore, is the act of believing which involves 1) training, and 2) action - in other words, practice. Putting convictions into practice is guaranteed many a time by a covenant. Thus, in N’chem’ya (Nehemiah) 9:38 we see the people making “a sure covenant”, which in that particular text depicts the root a.m.n, again and is therefore termed “amana.” Based on this understanding, the Apostle Ya'acov (James) writes: "Do not merely listen to the Word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says" (1:22); "… Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead" (2:17).
Avram experiences an awe-inspiring vision, in which the Covenant is confirmed. In Hebrew the experience and the Covenant are called “habrit ben habtarim” - "the covenant between the cut up pieces". The infinitive of “cut up”, "ba'ter", also means to “dissect or dismember” (15:10). In verse 17 those pieces are called "gzarim", from the verb “gazor", meaning, once again, "cut up". Verse 18 says, "on that day YHVH cut [literally] a Covenant with Avram…". This time the word for "cut" is "ka’rot" (which is also used frequently for cutting down trees). These powerful verbs point to the irrevocability and depth of this Covenant. It is no wonder then, that the very sign of the Covenant itself involves a cutting - a removal of the foreskin - which is recorded in 17:10-14, after Yishamel's birth and Avram's name change, augmented by the words: “The uncircumcised male whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off [stemming from “ka’rot”] from his people…” (17:14 italics added).
The meaning of the name Av’ram is "exalted father". In 17:4,5 Elohim declares that his name is no longer to be Avram, but Avra'ham, because he is to become “a father to multitudes” of nations. Technically, this name change involves adding only the letter "hey" (comparable to "h"), which stands for the word "hamon", meaning a multitude or multitudes. Hamon is of the root verb "hama", which is “boisterous, noisy, roaring”; thus the promised multitude was to become a teeming one, and rather loud at that! This "hamon" is to be made up of nations or peoples (“goyim”). Interestingly, all these lofty promises, along with the institution of circumcision, are couched in very brief but concise terms. Thus, our text provides a good example of the compactness and conciseness so characteristic of Biblical Hebrew.
Sarai's destiny also changes with a single letter (v. 15). The last letter of her name, being "yod" (comparable to “y”), is exchanged for a "hey", thus making her Sarah, "a princess", who will not only mother a son, but “nations and kings of nations” are also to come from her (17:16).
In the course of dealing with these forefathers' names, YHVH does not forget the offspring. Since Avraham laughs at the prospect of having a child, seeing that he and is wife are so old, he is told to name this future son Yitzchak, meaning, "he will laugh". No doubt, in the end, the One who will have the last laugh in this story is the One responsible for giving this name, the One who “sits in the heavens and laughs” (Ps. 2:4). And as we shall see next week, there is more laughing to come…
*“Parashat” is “Parasha of…”, thus the Parasha of B’resheet is Parashat B’resheet, and this week’s Parasha of Lech Lecha, is Parashat Lech Lecha.
Avram, whom we met at the end of last week's Parasha, is now singled out from the rest of his kin and community. He is commanded to go forth and leave behind him his native country, heritage and culture (12:1). The expression "lech lecha" (literally, "go for yourself") can best be rendered in English as the emphatic: "go forth" or "get yourself going". The alliteration makes it especially forceful and commanding.
Avram is promised a large progeny and a great blessing that will also be extended to those who bless this progeny. In fact, this seed is destined to be a blessing to "all the families of the earth" (12:3). “Family” is “mishpacha”, of the root sh.f.ch (shin, pey/fey, chet), which is also the root for a word found in 16:1 of our Parasha, “shifcha” – “handmaiden” (in reference to Hagar). It is thought that the root sh.f.ch means to "pour water”, perhaps on the hands of one’s master (in 2 Kings 3:11 Elisha is said to have poured water on the hands of his master, Elijah), and hence “handmaiden”. But even though the etymological connection between “handmaiden” and “family” does not appear to be sufficiently clear, their spiritual and/or social connection is. The family affords opportunities for its members to learn to serve, a factor which maintains its strength and unity, while at the same time causing it to become a source of blessing to society as a whole. In 12:2 and 3 “blessing”, which is "bracha", appears five times in several forms. B.r.ch. (bet, resh, kaf) also makes up the root for “knee” ("berech"). Bowing the knee is always associated with humility ("to Me every knee shall bow…" Is. 45:23). Thus, experiencing a blessing humbles its recipient, stirring him to bend or bow the knee in gracious thankfulness.
This first promise to Avram involves a land. The next promise has to do with a nation (ref. 12:1,2). Immediately upon entering the Land, Avram is seen building an altar and moving on. In the next two verses (8,9) mention is made of three of the four directions of the wind: “east, west and south”. In Biblical Hebrew there are several words for each of those, the ones used here being "kedem", "yam", and "negev". In YHVH's promises to Avram, in 13:14, mention is made of all of those, with the addition of “north”, which is "tzafon".
The root of “east” - “kedem” - is k.d.m (kof, dalet, mem), with its primal meaning being "before" or "in front of". Thus, its derivatives are to “greet” or “meet" (Deut. 23:4; Mic. 6:6), "early” and "first". Words such as "old" and "ancient" also stem from "kedem" (as are the “everlasting hills” promised to Yoseph – Joseph – in Deut. 33:15, and the term "kadmoni" – “ancient” in 1st Sam. 24:13). The root k.d.m, therefore, reveals an interesting approach to the dimensions of time and space. That which is "in front", is also that which is "early", from “antiquity” and of the “past”. Thus, “kedem, the “east”, denotes what is “ahead”, and at the same time that which was. In Kohelet (Ecclesiastics) 1:9 it says: “That which has been is that which shall be,” a fact that is certainly true of our Elohim, “who is, and who was, and who is coming” (Rev. 11:17). "Kadim" is the east wind which many times spells blight and dryness (e.g. Job 27:21; Ps. 48:7), while the prophet Y’chezkel (Ezekiel) saw the glory of the Elohim of Israel coming from the same direction ("kadim", i.e. the “east”, in 43:1,2). One of the best known usages of "kedem" is found in B'resheet (Genesis) 3:24, referring to the place where Elohim expelled our renegade ancestors: "east of Eden".“
West” here is "yam". Yam means “sea”, and since the "Great Sea" (the Mediterranean) shore runs the entire length of Israel's west, it has become synonymous with that direction. “
Negev”, is the word here for “south”, and is used to denote wilderness and dryness, but a reference to the "forest land of the negev" is made in Y’chezkel 20:47. It is in the same prophecy where the fires that would consume every tree there (as indeed they have) are mentioned.
The last direction is "north" - “tzafon”, the root of which is tz.f.n (tzadi, pe/fe, noon), and means to “conceal or hide". That same word is used when Moshe (Moses) was hidden for the first three months after his birth (Ex. 2:2). In T’hilim/Psalms 27:5 we read about being hidden by YHVH in His succah (booth), and in 83:3 about YHVH’s “hidden ones”. The north also conceals evil, and it is from there that "evil will break forth", according to Y’rmiyahu’s (Jeremiah) prophecy (1: 14). The proud king of Babylon declares his position to be "on the mount of the assembly in the far north" (Is. 14:13), words that are countered by the Elohim of Israel in T’hilim 48:1,2, proclaiming that His holy mountain, Mount Tziyon (Zion), is in the far north.
After receiving the promise of a land extending in every direction, and a seed so numerous (rendering it) too great to count (13:14-16), Avram builds another altar, this time in Alonei Mamreh, which is Chevron (Hebron). It is from that location that he sets forth to rescue his nephew Lot, who was taken captive in the war between the kings (four against five in chapter 14). It is here (14:13) that we first encounter the term "Hebrew", "ivri", attached to Avram's name, after his ancestor Ever, whom we mentioned last week. Indeed, Avram is now entitled to this ‘label’ as he ‘crossed over’, both physically and spiritually! When he returns, after having accomplished his mission successfully, he is greeted by the king of S’dom (Sodom) in the Valley of Shaveh. “Shaveh” is “equality, agreement, or resemblance”, and in this case probably an “even plain”. “I have set YHVH always before me” (Ps. 16:8), reads in Hebrew: “I have envisioned [or imagined] YHVH before me… "which is "shiviti" indicating that one sees Him at one’s eye level (as He is near to those who call upon Him). The valley of “shaveh” is also called here the “Kings' Valley”, and is (apparently) the place where Avram meets another king. His encounter with the king of S’dom, in this 'valley or plain of evenness', is being interrupted by the appearance (at ‘eye level’) of another monarch, Malchitzedek king of Shalem (Salem).
The root of “shalem”, sh.l.m - shin, lamed, mem, is “perfection, wholeness, completeness and requital”. This king, whose name means "king of righteousness", is also a priest of the Most High God (“El Elyon”). Thus, in his ‘persona’ are met the two offices of king and priest (ref. Zec. 6:13). In his blessing to Avram, whom he serves with bread and wine, Malchitzedek invokes “El Elyon” (“Most High God”), calling Him "possessor of heaven and earth". "Possessor" here is "koneh", and simply means "buyer", thus connoting “redeemer (of heaven and earth)”. When Chava (Eve) gave birth to Kayin (Cain), she exclaimed: "I have purchased (‘kaniti’) a man from YHVH" (Gen. 4:1, deeming that the pain and “sorrow” of giving birth was the price she paid Adonai for her firstborn). Malchitzedek gives thanks once again to "El Elyon", who has "delivered Avram's enemies into his hand" (ref. 14: 20), using “migen” for "delivered", which stems from the root meaning "shield or protection".
Avram gives his newly-met acquaintance "a tenth (‘ma'aser’) of all", an act which concludes this encounter. At this point the text recaptures Avram's tryst with the king of S’dom, but the language of the next few verses seems to be colored by what had just taken place during the encounter with the king of Shalem. Upon being offered the spoils of the war, Avram answers the king of S’dom by mentioning the name of YHVH, repeating the expression "El Elyon - Most High God - the purchaser of heaven and earth" (ve. 22). He then refuses the king’s offer, on the grounds that it should not be said that he had been made rich by the latter. The word for "rich" is "ashir", of the same root as "eser"- "ten" (the consonant for "sh" and "s" being one and the same; "shin" when denoting “sh” and "sin" when denoting “s”), from which we get the “tenth part”, or the “tithe” – “ma’aser” - that Avram had just paid Malchitzedek. As this scene with the king of S’dom fades, another one comes into view – the description of a vision in which YHVH speaks to Avram: "Fear not Avram, I am your shield…" (15:1). The word used for "shield" here is "mah’gen", a different form of which we saw in Malchizedek's blessing of Avram a few verses above. Thus, the echo of that dramatic meeting continues to accompany the events that follow it.
When Avram wonders what it is that Adonai (the Lord), who promises him a great reward, will give him "seeing that [he is] childless…" (ve.2), he is granted a promise of a son. Once again he is told that his progeny will be numerous. Avram "believed God". The root for "believe" is "a.m.n", from which we get the term "amen". It is also the root word for “trust, steady, faithful”, for “nurse” (Num. 11:12), “guardian” (2 Kings 10:1), and for “bringing up and training” (Est. 2:7). Proverbs/Mishley 8 cites the call of Wisdom-personified. In verses 29-30 Wisdom says, "when He marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was the craftsman at His side…". The word here for "craftsman" is "amon", once again, from the root a.m.n. Faith, therefore, is the act of believing which involves 1) training, and 2) action - in other words, practice. Putting convictions into practice is guaranteed many a time by a covenant. Thus, in N’chem’ya (Nehemiah) 9:38 we see the people making “a sure covenant”, which in that particular text depicts the root a.m.n, again and is therefore termed “amana.” Based on this understanding, the Apostle Ya'acov (James) writes: "Do not merely listen to the Word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says" (1:22); "… Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead" (2:17).
Avram experiences an awe-inspiring vision, in which the Covenant is confirmed. In Hebrew the experience and the Covenant are called “habrit ben habtarim” - "the covenant between the cut up pieces". The infinitive of “cut up”, "ba'ter", also means to “dissect or dismember” (15:10). In verse 17 those pieces are called "gzarim", from the verb “gazor", meaning, once again, "cut up". Verse 18 says, "on that day YHVH cut [literally] a Covenant with Avram…". This time the word for "cut" is "ka’rot" (which is also used frequently for cutting down trees). These powerful verbs point to the irrevocability and depth of this Covenant. It is no wonder then, that the very sign of the Covenant itself involves a cutting - a removal of the foreskin - which is recorded in 17:10-14, after Yishamel's birth and Avram's name change, augmented by the words: “The uncircumcised male whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off [stemming from “ka’rot”] from his people…” (17:14 italics added).
The meaning of the name Av’ram is "exalted father". In 17:4,5 Elohim declares that his name is no longer to be Avram, but Avra'ham, because he is to become “a father to multitudes” of nations. Technically, this name change involves adding only the letter "hey" (comparable to "h"), which stands for the word "hamon", meaning a multitude or multitudes. Hamon is of the root verb "hama", which is “boisterous, noisy, roaring”; thus the promised multitude was to become a teeming one, and rather loud at that! This "hamon" is to be made up of nations or peoples (“goyim”). Interestingly, all these lofty promises, along with the institution of circumcision, are couched in very brief but concise terms. Thus, our text provides a good example of the compactness and conciseness so characteristic of Biblical Hebrew.
Sarai's destiny also changes with a single letter (v. 15). The last letter of her name, being "yod" (comparable to “y”), is exchanged for a "hey", thus making her Sarah, "a princess", who will not only mother a son, but “nations and kings of nations” are also to come from her (17:16).
In the course of dealing with these forefathers' names, YHVH does not forget the offspring. Since Avraham laughs at the prospect of having a child, seeing that he and is wife are so old, he is told to name this future son Yitzchak, meaning, "he will laugh". No doubt, in the end, the One who will have the last laugh in this story is the One responsible for giving this name, the One who “sits in the heavens and laughs” (Ps. 2:4). And as we shall see next week, there is more laughing to come…
*“Parashat” is “Parasha of…”, thus the Parasha of B’resheet is Parashat B’resheet, and this week’s Parasha of Lech Lecha, is Parashat Lech Lecha.
Parashat Noach (Noah) - Genesis 6:9 - 11:32
Hebrew Insights into Parashat Noach (Noah) - B'resheet (Genesis) 6:9 – 11:32
In this Parasha, as is the case in many others, we find certain key words (words stemming from the same three letter root) which are repeated within a given passage, or strewn throughout the text. In the first section of this Parasha there are two words that are repeated several times over. Later on we also find a few derivatives of Noach’s name scattered in a number of places.
In Parashat B’resheet 5:29 Noach’s name was explained: “Now he called his name Noach, saying, this one will comfort us… “ The root for the verb “to comfort”, in this instance, is n.ch.m (nun, chet, mem), pronounced "nachem". Noach’s name, however, does not contain the consonant “m” (the letter “mem” in Hebrew). And whereas in his dark and evil generation he was a comfort to Elohim, his name actually means “rest” (n.u.ch, noon, vav, chet). At the end of Parashat B’resheet, in Genesis 6:6, there is another reference to the root n.ch.m. We read there: “And YHVH repented [or “regretted”, that is “was sorry”] that He had made man on the earth”. “Repented” there is “(va)yinachem”. But how is “comfort” related to “regret” or to “being sorry”? The root n.ch.m’s primary meaning is to be “sorry”, which shows that only deep empathy with another’s sorrow can be a source of genuine comfort at a time of grief.
At the end of our Parasha an explanation is given for the name Ba’vel (Babel). According to 11:7,9 “Ba’vel” was so named because “there Elohim confused the language” of the builders of the tower. However, the verb “confuse” used in verses 7 and 9 is “balal”, and although similar in sound Ba'vel and the verb balal are not identical. “Bavel” actually means (in the Sumerian and Akkadian languages) “Gate of El (god)”. The names Noach and Bavel are two examples of how the Tanach (O.T.) employs puns (for another such case refer Joshua 5:9).
Now back to “rest”. Ironically, Noach lives in a time of great unrest prevailing among the world’s populous, a fact that also leads to major natural disruptions. Yet, in the midst of it all, calm can be found in the 'eye of the storm' represented by the one who was found righteous at that time (ref. 6:9; 7:1), and by the place of refuge that he was constructing. In 8:4 we find the Ark “resting upon the mountains of Ararat” (italics added). Following the raven, a dove is sent out “to see if the water had abated… and finds no resting place for the sole of her foot…. “ (8:8,9 italics added). Rest is depicted and even highlighted here against the backdrop of a great tumult. When Noach, his family and the animals come out of the ark, Noach builds an altar. In 8:21 we read: “And YHVH smelled the soothing aroma”. The word for “soothing” is “nicho’ach”, which is, once again, of the root "nuch" – that is, “rest”. Do these words constitute subtle tidings of future peace and rest?
In YHVH’s Word it is not only the existing word, or expression, which deserves attention. Frequently it is the absent one that arouses interest, as well as the reason for its absence. Such, for example, is the case with the dove that was sent “to see if the water had receded”. “Receded” in this case is “kalu” spelt with a “kof”, rather than the expected “kalu” with the letter “kaf” (meaning “finished, done, completed”). However, the “kalu” used here means “having become light, or of little substance”, from which stems “k’lala”- "curse" (and literally, to “make something of no esteem”). In 8:12 YHVH says: “I will never again curse [a’ka’lel] the ground”. Was Noach using this unusual form of “recede”, bearing in mind the cause for the great deluge which was YHVH’s curse?
Last week, we dealt with the root of “erev” (“evening”), which means a “pledge”, but also “mixture” (being but two of its many other meanings). This time, it is the “raven” (“orev”), which shares this same root. The association between “raven” and “evening” is found in the Song of Songs (Song of Solomon) 5:11, where the beloved’s dark curls are compared to the dark raven. The black fowl, therefore, borrows its name from the evening’s fading light (and hence darkness).
At the beginning of our Parasha we are told about the corruption that all mankind is entrenched in (6:11), the word there being “tisha’chet”, of the root sh.ch.t (shin, chet, tav), which primarily means to “destroy or destruction”. In verses 12, 13 and 17, derivatives of this root appear four times, both as “corruption” and also as the verb for the “destruction” which YHVH is about to mete out to the entire earth and its inhabitants. Inherent in the verb “sha’chot”, therefore, is corruption's self-destructiveness. Additionally, the impact of the verb “sha’chot” (with a “tav” at the end) receives an extra emphasis, as it evokes a similar sounding verb with a different “t” consonant at the end (“tet”), which means to “slaughter”. In Yishayahu (Isaiah) 11:9 (and 65:25) we read the following: “They shall not hurt nor destroy – yash’chitu - in all My holy mountain”. Interestingly, this condition of ‘no destruction’ is also characterized by water (of at leat the imagery of it). Let us continue reading in Yishayahu: “For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of YHVH as the waters cover the sea (italics added).”
The other noun repeated in these selfsame verses (of chapter 6), is “chamas” (ch.m.s., chet, mem, samech), which is translated “violence”; “…And the earth was filled with violence” (6:11, ref. also v. 13). “Chamas”, as a rule, is connected to sinful acts of violence and injustice. This verb (which is also a noun) rhymes with another - “chamad”. The latter means to “delight”, but can also mean to “desire or covet” (as was the case with the fruit of the tree in Gen. 3:6, which seemed “desirable – nechmad - to make one wise”). Quite often similar sounding words, like “chamas” and “chamad”, are also connected in meaning. Thus, the violent actions of “chamas” are motivated by covetousness, or unbridled desire. (Is it a lingual coincidence, then, that Chamas is also the name of the notorious terror organization in the Middle East, bearing in mind the similarities between Arabic and Hebrew?)
Planted right in the midst of these descriptions of corruption, violence and pending destruction, is the only (potential) solution: the Ark - "tey'va". More than a millenium later another 'savior' will be protected by a "tey'va" (though translated "basket" in English) which will float on water. It is going to be Moshe. In the process of the building this Ark, our attention is first drawn to the act of propitiation and atonement: “kippur.” “Make yourself an ark of gopher wood… and… cover it inside and out with pitch" (6:14 italics added). The verb and noun for the action (of “covering”) and the material itself (“pitch”) are of the root, k.f.r (kaf, pey/fey* resh) – which makes up “kippur”. Thus, this Ark is to become a shelter, offering a covering for the sins of the age, as it were. The rabbis believe that anyone, among those who had watched it being built through the many years of its construction, could have also found refuge in it. Instead, the spectators chose to scoff and ridicule its builder. In most other cases, the verb and the noun stemming from the root k.f.r are used directly in connection with ‘atonement’ (e.g. Daniel 9:24) or as ‘payment of a price, or ransom’ (e.g. Num. 35:31).
The very principles of atonement, and its causes, also find expression in our Parasha. Thus we read in chapter 9:4-6: “But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning … From the hand of every man's brother I will require the life of man. Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed…” (v. 4-6). Indeed, for atonement to be effective, blood is imperative.
The importance of covering is brought out one more time in this Parasha, in the story of Noach’s three sons’ reaction to their father's drunken stupor. Cham (Ham), the son who looks upon his father’s nakedness, is condemned by a curse of slavery which is pronounced upon his son Cna’an (Canaan) (9:20-26), whose name stems from the root “subdued” (k.n.a, kaf, noon, ayin)."
And it happened in the six hundred and first year, at the beginning, on the first of the month that the waters were dried up from off the earth. And Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked. And, behold, the face of the earth was dried!” (8:13). “Dried” in both instances in the above verse is “cha’rvu”. In 7:22 we read, “all that was in the dry land, died.” Once again, “dry land” is “charava”. Both the verb, as well as the noun, are of the root ch.r.v (chet, resh, vet) which is also the root for “waste, desolate, attack, sword, plunder, wage war, fight” and more. It is interesting that in Hebrew thought “dryness”, denoting lack of water and rain (and hence drought), is commensurate with terms associated with lifelessness and destruction, which points to the shortage of water characterizing the land of Israel (even before the latter is ever mentioned!).
When emerging out of the ark, Noach and his family are given the same ‘marching orders’ as was Adam, their ‘proto-type’ predecessor. They are to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth” (9:1). The injunction to be fruitful is “pru”. In the 10th generation, one of Noach’s descendants, Avram (Abram) will be informed, this time by the bestowal of a blessing, that he will become “fruitful” (Gen. 17:6), while four generations later his great-grandson will be named, in faith, “multiple fruitfulness” – that is - Ephraim.
Among the many names found in our Parasha, there are three in particular that call for our attention. All three persons are second cousins: the first is Yefet’s (Jepheth) grandson, the son of Yavan (Javan) - Dodanim (or Rodanim, as he is called in 1 Ch. 1:7); the second is Cham’s (Ham) grandson, the son of Cush – Nimrod; and the third is Shem’s grandson by his son Arpachshad, who is named Ever (Eber).
Yavan is the Hebrew word for Greece. Down the road of history Greece will become a major power of unprecedented influence over the entire world in a number of areas, one of which is government. Yavan’s son’s two names, Dodanim and Rodanim mean, respectively, “cousins and rulers” (“rdu”, connected to Rodanim, is the verb YHVH used when He told Adam and Chava to subdue the earth in Gen. 1:28. Now this mandate will be carried out by the sons of Greece-Yavan). His cousin, Cham’s grandson, Nimrod, is the one who builds Bavel; a place, which will become synonymous with the ‘world hierarchal systems’, especially as pertaining to religious matters. Nimrod means, “we will rebel”, and rebel he does by setting up his own kingdom, as a direct counterfeit of God’s Kingdom (10:10).
The third cousin, Shem’s grandson Ever, is of the firstborn lineage. It is his name which is given to the entire race - the Hebrews (“Ivrim”), who are to represent Elohim’s Kingdom on earth. The name Ever is derived from the verb to “pass or cross over”, a fact that this race will be seen demonstrating throughout biblical history, beginning with Avram. We will observe the Hebrews passing over from one place, or condition, to another, whether in a physical sense or otherwise, in order to earn the name of the forbearer. .
The generation of the “cousins” (is it a coincidence that one of them is actually named “Dodanim” - “cousins”?) was a unique one, having left its imprint upon humanity to this very day.
We read above that Noach and his sons were to “fill the land”. This “filling”, quite likely, was not meant only in a physical sense. But instead, Nimrod and the other inhabitants of the Shinar Valley (ref. 10:2, 10) had rebelled against Elohim and busied themselves erecting a tower, which, by their own admittance was designed to prevent their scattering on earth (ref. 11:4). The verb in Hebrew, “nafutz” may be a derivative of either the root “putz”, or “nafatz”, both of which convey violent action (Jer. 23:29 – “a hammer that breaks the rock”; “… dashes your little ones against the rock”, Ps. 137 9). It was the sons of Noach from whom “the whole earth was populated” (9:19) that is “scattered” (n.f.z. again). This usage of this particular verb here, with its various negative connotation, is totally appropriate for the spread of this largely rebellious population. We read that it is YHVH who has “scattered – va’ya’fets - them abroad” (11:8), because, as He states: “Indeed, the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they will begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them” (11:6). “Propose to do” is “yazmu”, while in Modern Hebrew this term refers to “initiatives” and “projects”, in Biblical Hebrew the root y.z.m. is “unrestrained activity”, and not surprisingly is analogous to the verbs “zamom”, which is “to devise wickedness”, and “zamah” which is “to lust”.
At the very end of the Parasha we are introduced to the “exalted father” - Av’ram, whose goings forth, preceded by the command “lech lecha” (“go!”), will be reported next, in a Parasha by the same name.
* The p and f sounds are designated by the same letter and may be pronounced as “p” in one form of the word, and as an “f” in another. The same is also true about the “b” and “v” sounds.
Posted by Ephraim and Rimona at 4:28 AM
In this Parasha, as is the case in many others, we find certain key words (words stemming from the same three letter root) which are repeated within a given passage, or strewn throughout the text. In the first section of this Parasha there are two words that are repeated several times over. Later on we also find a few derivatives of Noach’s name scattered in a number of places.
In Parashat B’resheet 5:29 Noach’s name was explained: “Now he called his name Noach, saying, this one will comfort us… “ The root for the verb “to comfort”, in this instance, is n.ch.m (nun, chet, mem), pronounced "nachem". Noach’s name, however, does not contain the consonant “m” (the letter “mem” in Hebrew). And whereas in his dark and evil generation he was a comfort to Elohim, his name actually means “rest” (n.u.ch, noon, vav, chet). At the end of Parashat B’resheet, in Genesis 6:6, there is another reference to the root n.ch.m. We read there: “And YHVH repented [or “regretted”, that is “was sorry”] that He had made man on the earth”. “Repented” there is “(va)yinachem”. But how is “comfort” related to “regret” or to “being sorry”? The root n.ch.m’s primary meaning is to be “sorry”, which shows that only deep empathy with another’s sorrow can be a source of genuine comfort at a time of grief.
At the end of our Parasha an explanation is given for the name Ba’vel (Babel). According to 11:7,9 “Ba’vel” was so named because “there Elohim confused the language” of the builders of the tower. However, the verb “confuse” used in verses 7 and 9 is “balal”, and although similar in sound Ba'vel and the verb balal are not identical. “Bavel” actually means (in the Sumerian and Akkadian languages) “Gate of El (god)”. The names Noach and Bavel are two examples of how the Tanach (O.T.) employs puns (for another such case refer Joshua 5:9).
Now back to “rest”. Ironically, Noach lives in a time of great unrest prevailing among the world’s populous, a fact that also leads to major natural disruptions. Yet, in the midst of it all, calm can be found in the 'eye of the storm' represented by the one who was found righteous at that time (ref. 6:9; 7:1), and by the place of refuge that he was constructing. In 8:4 we find the Ark “resting upon the mountains of Ararat” (italics added). Following the raven, a dove is sent out “to see if the water had abated… and finds no resting place for the sole of her foot…. “ (8:8,9 italics added). Rest is depicted and even highlighted here against the backdrop of a great tumult. When Noach, his family and the animals come out of the ark, Noach builds an altar. In 8:21 we read: “And YHVH smelled the soothing aroma”. The word for “soothing” is “nicho’ach”, which is, once again, of the root "nuch" – that is, “rest”. Do these words constitute subtle tidings of future peace and rest?
In YHVH’s Word it is not only the existing word, or expression, which deserves attention. Frequently it is the absent one that arouses interest, as well as the reason for its absence. Such, for example, is the case with the dove that was sent “to see if the water had receded”. “Receded” in this case is “kalu” spelt with a “kof”, rather than the expected “kalu” with the letter “kaf” (meaning “finished, done, completed”). However, the “kalu” used here means “having become light, or of little substance”, from which stems “k’lala”- "curse" (and literally, to “make something of no esteem”). In 8:12 YHVH says: “I will never again curse [a’ka’lel] the ground”. Was Noach using this unusual form of “recede”, bearing in mind the cause for the great deluge which was YHVH’s curse?
Last week, we dealt with the root of “erev” (“evening”), which means a “pledge”, but also “mixture” (being but two of its many other meanings). This time, it is the “raven” (“orev”), which shares this same root. The association between “raven” and “evening” is found in the Song of Songs (Song of Solomon) 5:11, where the beloved’s dark curls are compared to the dark raven. The black fowl, therefore, borrows its name from the evening’s fading light (and hence darkness).
At the beginning of our Parasha we are told about the corruption that all mankind is entrenched in (6:11), the word there being “tisha’chet”, of the root sh.ch.t (shin, chet, tav), which primarily means to “destroy or destruction”. In verses 12, 13 and 17, derivatives of this root appear four times, both as “corruption” and also as the verb for the “destruction” which YHVH is about to mete out to the entire earth and its inhabitants. Inherent in the verb “sha’chot”, therefore, is corruption's self-destructiveness. Additionally, the impact of the verb “sha’chot” (with a “tav” at the end) receives an extra emphasis, as it evokes a similar sounding verb with a different “t” consonant at the end (“tet”), which means to “slaughter”. In Yishayahu (Isaiah) 11:9 (and 65:25) we read the following: “They shall not hurt nor destroy – yash’chitu - in all My holy mountain”. Interestingly, this condition of ‘no destruction’ is also characterized by water (of at leat the imagery of it). Let us continue reading in Yishayahu: “For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of YHVH as the waters cover the sea (italics added).”
The other noun repeated in these selfsame verses (of chapter 6), is “chamas” (ch.m.s., chet, mem, samech), which is translated “violence”; “…And the earth was filled with violence” (6:11, ref. also v. 13). “Chamas”, as a rule, is connected to sinful acts of violence and injustice. This verb (which is also a noun) rhymes with another - “chamad”. The latter means to “delight”, but can also mean to “desire or covet” (as was the case with the fruit of the tree in Gen. 3:6, which seemed “desirable – nechmad - to make one wise”). Quite often similar sounding words, like “chamas” and “chamad”, are also connected in meaning. Thus, the violent actions of “chamas” are motivated by covetousness, or unbridled desire. (Is it a lingual coincidence, then, that Chamas is also the name of the notorious terror organization in the Middle East, bearing in mind the similarities between Arabic and Hebrew?)
Planted right in the midst of these descriptions of corruption, violence and pending destruction, is the only (potential) solution: the Ark - "tey'va". More than a millenium later another 'savior' will be protected by a "tey'va" (though translated "basket" in English) which will float on water. It is going to be Moshe. In the process of the building this Ark, our attention is first drawn to the act of propitiation and atonement: “kippur.” “Make yourself an ark of gopher wood… and… cover it inside and out with pitch" (6:14 italics added). The verb and noun for the action (of “covering”) and the material itself (“pitch”) are of the root, k.f.r (kaf, pey/fey* resh) – which makes up “kippur”. Thus, this Ark is to become a shelter, offering a covering for the sins of the age, as it were. The rabbis believe that anyone, among those who had watched it being built through the many years of its construction, could have also found refuge in it. Instead, the spectators chose to scoff and ridicule its builder. In most other cases, the verb and the noun stemming from the root k.f.r are used directly in connection with ‘atonement’ (e.g. Daniel 9:24) or as ‘payment of a price, or ransom’ (e.g. Num. 35:31).
The very principles of atonement, and its causes, also find expression in our Parasha. Thus we read in chapter 9:4-6: “But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning … From the hand of every man's brother I will require the life of man. Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed…” (v. 4-6). Indeed, for atonement to be effective, blood is imperative.
The importance of covering is brought out one more time in this Parasha, in the story of Noach’s three sons’ reaction to their father's drunken stupor. Cham (Ham), the son who looks upon his father’s nakedness, is condemned by a curse of slavery which is pronounced upon his son Cna’an (Canaan) (9:20-26), whose name stems from the root “subdued” (k.n.a, kaf, noon, ayin)."
And it happened in the six hundred and first year, at the beginning, on the first of the month that the waters were dried up from off the earth. And Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked. And, behold, the face of the earth was dried!” (8:13). “Dried” in both instances in the above verse is “cha’rvu”. In 7:22 we read, “all that was in the dry land, died.” Once again, “dry land” is “charava”. Both the verb, as well as the noun, are of the root ch.r.v (chet, resh, vet) which is also the root for “waste, desolate, attack, sword, plunder, wage war, fight” and more. It is interesting that in Hebrew thought “dryness”, denoting lack of water and rain (and hence drought), is commensurate with terms associated with lifelessness and destruction, which points to the shortage of water characterizing the land of Israel (even before the latter is ever mentioned!).
When emerging out of the ark, Noach and his family are given the same ‘marching orders’ as was Adam, their ‘proto-type’ predecessor. They are to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth” (9:1). The injunction to be fruitful is “pru”. In the 10th generation, one of Noach’s descendants, Avram (Abram) will be informed, this time by the bestowal of a blessing, that he will become “fruitful” (Gen. 17:6), while four generations later his great-grandson will be named, in faith, “multiple fruitfulness” – that is - Ephraim.
Among the many names found in our Parasha, there are three in particular that call for our attention. All three persons are second cousins: the first is Yefet’s (Jepheth) grandson, the son of Yavan (Javan) - Dodanim (or Rodanim, as he is called in 1 Ch. 1:7); the second is Cham’s (Ham) grandson, the son of Cush – Nimrod; and the third is Shem’s grandson by his son Arpachshad, who is named Ever (Eber).
Yavan is the Hebrew word for Greece. Down the road of history Greece will become a major power of unprecedented influence over the entire world in a number of areas, one of which is government. Yavan’s son’s two names, Dodanim and Rodanim mean, respectively, “cousins and rulers” (“rdu”, connected to Rodanim, is the verb YHVH used when He told Adam and Chava to subdue the earth in Gen. 1:28. Now this mandate will be carried out by the sons of Greece-Yavan). His cousin, Cham’s grandson, Nimrod, is the one who builds Bavel; a place, which will become synonymous with the ‘world hierarchal systems’, especially as pertaining to religious matters. Nimrod means, “we will rebel”, and rebel he does by setting up his own kingdom, as a direct counterfeit of God’s Kingdom (10:10).
The third cousin, Shem’s grandson Ever, is of the firstborn lineage. It is his name which is given to the entire race - the Hebrews (“Ivrim”), who are to represent Elohim’s Kingdom on earth. The name Ever is derived from the verb to “pass or cross over”, a fact that this race will be seen demonstrating throughout biblical history, beginning with Avram. We will observe the Hebrews passing over from one place, or condition, to another, whether in a physical sense or otherwise, in order to earn the name of the forbearer. .
The generation of the “cousins” (is it a coincidence that one of them is actually named “Dodanim” - “cousins”?) was a unique one, having left its imprint upon humanity to this very day.
We read above that Noach and his sons were to “fill the land”. This “filling”, quite likely, was not meant only in a physical sense. But instead, Nimrod and the other inhabitants of the Shinar Valley (ref. 10:2, 10) had rebelled against Elohim and busied themselves erecting a tower, which, by their own admittance was designed to prevent their scattering on earth (ref. 11:4). The verb in Hebrew, “nafutz” may be a derivative of either the root “putz”, or “nafatz”, both of which convey violent action (Jer. 23:29 – “a hammer that breaks the rock”; “… dashes your little ones against the rock”, Ps. 137 9). It was the sons of Noach from whom “the whole earth was populated” (9:19) that is “scattered” (n.f.z. again). This usage of this particular verb here, with its various negative connotation, is totally appropriate for the spread of this largely rebellious population. We read that it is YHVH who has “scattered – va’ya’fets - them abroad” (11:8), because, as He states: “Indeed, the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they will begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them” (11:6). “Propose to do” is “yazmu”, while in Modern Hebrew this term refers to “initiatives” and “projects”, in Biblical Hebrew the root y.z.m. is “unrestrained activity”, and not surprisingly is analogous to the verbs “zamom”, which is “to devise wickedness”, and “zamah” which is “to lust”.
At the very end of the Parasha we are introduced to the “exalted father” - Av’ram, whose goings forth, preceded by the command “lech lecha” (“go!”), will be reported next, in a Parasha by the same name.
* The p and f sounds are designated by the same letter and may be pronounced as “p” in one form of the word, and as an “f” in another. The same is also true about the “b” and “v” sounds.
Posted by Ephraim and Rimona at 4:28 AM
Parashat B'resheet Genesis 1:1 - 6:8
Hebrew Insights into Parashat B’resheet – Genesis 1:1 – 6:8
The Hebrew language is characterized by remarkable conciseness, which allows information to be conveyed in very succinct forms. Along with that, it is also a very picturesque language, and often content and form (in the Tanach, especially) are congruous. Thus, this first Parasha, being as it is, a narrative of the origins, is replete with information, eternal patterns and principles, yet all are communicated very briefly, with matching terminology. In fact, the latter deserves individual attention. Although this time we will not be able to cover the full gamut of terms included in Parashat (“Parasha of”) B’resheet, in the weeks to come several of the others will ‘pop up’ in other Parashot (plural for Parasha), and it is then that we will try to do them justice.
God’s name appears here as the composite “Elohim”, of the root “el”, meaning “strong, mighty, powerful”. Elohim is in the plural form, a fact which lends the word much greater dimensions. But in addition to that, Elohim includes “El”, which is another word for God, as well as “Eloha”, yet one more word, of the same root, for God.
B’resheet is both the name of the first Parasha, and the name of the book of Genesis. “B’resheet bara Elohim…” At the first –b’resheet - created - bara – Elohim - God. The meaning of r’sheet is “first, beginning, start and prominence” and it stems from the root r.o.sh (the letters are resh, alef, shin), being the word for “head”. (Notice the river in 2:10 that comes out of Eden and divides into four streams. The latter are also called here “heads”). The usage of this phraseology, therefore, establishes a foundation that the prime and first cause is Elohim, who is the initiator of everything. It is written in Colossians 1:16,17 it is written of Messiah Yeshua: “For by Him all things were created, in the heavens and on earth… He is also the head of the Body… and He is the beginning… so that He might come to have first place in everything” (italics added). This above passage indeed exhausts “r’sheet” to its fullest. Interestingly, the very first 3 letters which constitute the Bible’s opening word, “b’re(sheet)” are also the same as the ones that make up the next word, “bara”, which is “created” (the letters being bet, resh, alef). Thus, “created” appears twice in a row in the very beginning of the Holy Writ, as if to add an extra emphasis to the fact that Elohim is truly the Creator. Note that the verb “bara”, to “create”, refers exclusively to the Creator, and never to man. The adjective for “healthy” or “fat” – “bari” (such as in Gen. 41:2; Jud. 3:17) also stems from the same root, as do verbs such as, to “clear up” an area (e.g. Josh. 17:15), and “eat” (2nd Sam. 12:17); the latter two almost opposing each other. This plethora (and other connected verbs) points to the act of creation as being multi-facetted. In fact the primary meaning of “bara” is to “release the varying elements or materials so as to enable them to exist, materialize, express themselves, or grow.”
The act of creation involved processes of separation. YHVH* separated light from darkness (Gen. 1:4); water from water (vs. 6,7). He created the lights in the heaven to separate the night from the day, and the seasons one from the other (vs. 15,18). He also distinguished between the different types of flora and fauna, between man and woman, and finally between the weekdays and the Shabbat. The verb used for separating is “havdel” (of the root b.d.l, bet, dalet, lamed), to “divide or separate.”
But when He separated the water from the land, Elohim said: “Let the water under the heavens be gathered - yikavu - to one place” (1:9). A “mikveh”, is therefore a place of the gathering of water and stems from the root, k.v.h.(kof, vav, hey), which is also the word for “hope". Each time we read in English “wait for the Lord,” the verb in Hebrew is “kaveh.” Thus, our hope is found while we are being gathered unto Him who is our Mikveh: “Oh YHVH, the hope ("mikveh", here, rather than the standard "tikva") of Israel… “ is the cry of the prophet Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah) in 17:13. According to Romans 6:3-5, we have been immersed into Him, which makes Him the mikveh (traditional Jewish place of immersion), “for in hope we have been saved” (Rom. 8:24 italics added). Our hope, then, lies in the fact that we are in Him, and He is in us, and therefore we now walk in new life (see Rom. 4:3; 4, John 17:23) as a new creation. Thus the "mikveh" stands for a place of being gathered to, and for 'immersion in hope', seen both in the act of creation and in the act of the spiritual re-birth.
The creation having been a progressive process, each day's accomplishment was in preparation for the one that was to follow. And whereas before we touched on the 'separation' aspect of creation, here we see its integrative aspect. Separation and integration, though seemingly mutually exclusive, actually work hand in hand and are typical of the Hebraic mind and character, and nowhere is this better exemplified than in the first and second chapters of the Bible.
Although each day's creative work was different from the next, the days were separated one from the other in an identical manner, by an evening and a morning. This was possibly done in order to set the pattern for the days that were to come, which, unlike the days of creation, were to be identical one to the other. The day began in the evening - erev - and it is interesting to note that among its many meanings, “erev” also means a “pledge” or a “guarantee.” Thus, the promise of the day to come is found in the twilight of its predecessor. “Boker”, "morning", is another word rich in diverse meanings, one of which is to “inquire, frequent or visit”, connoting concern and care (see Ezk. 34:12). Once again, there is an assurance for things hoped for from the One who is in charge of Time and who operates within it (e.g. Jer. 33:25, Lam. 3:22-23), as is apparent from 2:2. Elohim is seen there “resting” (after having completed His work), while the word in Hebrew is “sha’va’t” of the root sh.b/v.t meaning to “"cease”, and is similar to the root y.sh.v., to "sit”. It is this root, which also forms the word “Shabbat”.
As for the pinnacle of creation, man and woman, they were created "in the image and likeness" of their Creator (v. 26). “Image” is "tzelem" - from the root “tzel” which is a “shadow”. At best a human being may reflect the Almighty in the same way a two dimensional shadow 'represents' a three-dimensional object. “Likeness” is “d'moot”, which contains the word “dam” – "blood" (from which are derived words such as “adama” for “earth”, “adom” for “red” and “adam”, of course, for “man”). Here we see a clear connection to the Messiah, who incarnated in a flesh and blood body as the “Second Adam”. Man and woman were created different and at different times, yet “in the image (tzelem) of God created He him, male and female created He them” (v. 28). Once again we see differentiation and oneness together. He - man - was created both male and female, and likewise the male and the female together reflect the "tzelem" of the one Elohim. In 2:24 we read that they were to become “one flesh”, and yet that could only take place after woman was taken out (separated) from man’s own body (ref. 2:21,21).
One more point concerning this union: In 2:18, 20 the woman as the "help suitable" (as translated in most versions) for man is actually described as a help “contrary or opposite” to him – “ezer ke’negdo” (“neged” being “in front of” or “opposite to”). Originally, Chava* (Eve) was to be a counterpart of Adam, not an inferior being in subjection to him. Rather, the two were to contrast and complement one another as two opposite forces do, attracting and polarizing at the same time thus creating life-giving energy.
In the last verse (25) of chapter 2 we read: ”And they were both naked ("aroomim"/plural), the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. In 3:7 a major change takes place, and so we read: “And the eyes of the two of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed for themselves girdles of fig leaves”. The man and his wife made for themselves covering from the leaves of the fig tree, speak of their attitude, as the word for “fig” - t'ena – is closely related (at least in sound) to “to'ana” which is a “pretext” or “looking for reasons.” In Shoftim (Judges) 14:4 Shimshon (Samson) is seen looking for such a pretext or “an occasion against the Philistines.”
In 3:21 we read: "And He clothed them, - va’yalbishem, a verb whose root is l.v.sh, which is the verb for to “dress” and also forms the word for “clothes, garment” – “l’vush” or “malbush”. In 2:25 we read that “the man and his wife were naked and not ashamed”, the verb for “being ashamed” (plural) being, “yit’boshashu” of the root b.o.sh. Thus, although of no etymological connection, because of the similarity of consonants some rabbinical interpretations connect “l’vush” – garment, to “bosh” - “shame” (remember the b and v sounds are interchangeable), as indeed the garment was to cover the shameful nakedness.
In the last episode depicting our protagonists, we see them being sent ("expelled" in Hebrew) out of the Garden, but not without a hint of a hope. East of Eden, Elohim placed the Cherubim and the two-edged ("revolving") sword to guard the way to the Tree of Life (ref. 3:24). This image conjures up another - one in which Cherubim were also placed above a "sword", that is the sword of the Word (see Eph. 6:17; Heb. 3:12), in the form of the tablets written by Moshe (Moses). These tablets were placed in the ark, above which two Cherubim were instated. In other words, is this a subtle picture, inserted into the somber scene of the expulsion, of a future Holy of Holies where atonement (covering) was to be made? Once the Holy of Holies (through the ultimate atonement) became accessible to all, so did the way to the Tree of Life, through Him who is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
Finally, let us follow the genealogy of the forefathers as listed in chapter 5. The names form the following: Man (Adam) is appointed (Shet) mortal (Enosh) sorrow (Keinan). One who praises God (M’halal'el) will come down (Yared), teaching (Chanoch) that His death will send (Metushelach), the hidden king (Lemech, whose name contains the three letters for king, but not in the right order), and rest (No’ach).
(Regretfully the name of the person who had this is insight is unknown, and therefore cannot be given credit here.)
* YHVH is the Tetragrammaton, or the ineffable name of God, which is made up of fourconsonants, the pronunciation of which remains unknown despite different conjectures.
* B and V sound are denoted by the same letter - Bet
* The “ch” consonant sound is the same as the “ch” in the Scottish “Loch.”
The Hebrew language is characterized by remarkable conciseness, which allows information to be conveyed in very succinct forms. Along with that, it is also a very picturesque language, and often content and form (in the Tanach, especially) are congruous. Thus, this first Parasha, being as it is, a narrative of the origins, is replete with information, eternal patterns and principles, yet all are communicated very briefly, with matching terminology. In fact, the latter deserves individual attention. Although this time we will not be able to cover the full gamut of terms included in Parashat (“Parasha of”) B’resheet, in the weeks to come several of the others will ‘pop up’ in other Parashot (plural for Parasha), and it is then that we will try to do them justice.
God’s name appears here as the composite “Elohim”, of the root “el”, meaning “strong, mighty, powerful”. Elohim is in the plural form, a fact which lends the word much greater dimensions. But in addition to that, Elohim includes “El”, which is another word for God, as well as “Eloha”, yet one more word, of the same root, for God.
B’resheet is both the name of the first Parasha, and the name of the book of Genesis. “B’resheet bara Elohim…” At the first –b’resheet - created - bara – Elohim - God. The meaning of r’sheet is “first, beginning, start and prominence” and it stems from the root r.o.sh (the letters are resh, alef, shin), being the word for “head”. (Notice the river in 2:10 that comes out of Eden and divides into four streams. The latter are also called here “heads”). The usage of this phraseology, therefore, establishes a foundation that the prime and first cause is Elohim, who is the initiator of everything. It is written in Colossians 1:16,17 it is written of Messiah Yeshua: “For by Him all things were created, in the heavens and on earth… He is also the head of the Body… and He is the beginning… so that He might come to have first place in everything” (italics added). This above passage indeed exhausts “r’sheet” to its fullest. Interestingly, the very first 3 letters which constitute the Bible’s opening word, “b’re(sheet)” are also the same as the ones that make up the next word, “bara”, which is “created” (the letters being bet, resh, alef). Thus, “created” appears twice in a row in the very beginning of the Holy Writ, as if to add an extra emphasis to the fact that Elohim is truly the Creator. Note that the verb “bara”, to “create”, refers exclusively to the Creator, and never to man. The adjective for “healthy” or “fat” – “bari” (such as in Gen. 41:2; Jud. 3:17) also stems from the same root, as do verbs such as, to “clear up” an area (e.g. Josh. 17:15), and “eat” (2nd Sam. 12:17); the latter two almost opposing each other. This plethora (and other connected verbs) points to the act of creation as being multi-facetted. In fact the primary meaning of “bara” is to “release the varying elements or materials so as to enable them to exist, materialize, express themselves, or grow.”
The act of creation involved processes of separation. YHVH* separated light from darkness (Gen. 1:4); water from water (vs. 6,7). He created the lights in the heaven to separate the night from the day, and the seasons one from the other (vs. 15,18). He also distinguished between the different types of flora and fauna, between man and woman, and finally between the weekdays and the Shabbat. The verb used for separating is “havdel” (of the root b.d.l, bet, dalet, lamed), to “divide or separate.”
But when He separated the water from the land, Elohim said: “Let the water under the heavens be gathered - yikavu - to one place” (1:9). A “mikveh”, is therefore a place of the gathering of water and stems from the root, k.v.h.(kof, vav, hey), which is also the word for “hope". Each time we read in English “wait for the Lord,” the verb in Hebrew is “kaveh.” Thus, our hope is found while we are being gathered unto Him who is our Mikveh: “Oh YHVH, the hope ("mikveh", here, rather than the standard "tikva") of Israel… “ is the cry of the prophet Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah) in 17:13. According to Romans 6:3-5, we have been immersed into Him, which makes Him the mikveh (traditional Jewish place of immersion), “for in hope we have been saved” (Rom. 8:24 italics added). Our hope, then, lies in the fact that we are in Him, and He is in us, and therefore we now walk in new life (see Rom. 4:3; 4, John 17:23) as a new creation. Thus the "mikveh" stands for a place of being gathered to, and for 'immersion in hope', seen both in the act of creation and in the act of the spiritual re-birth.
The creation having been a progressive process, each day's accomplishment was in preparation for the one that was to follow. And whereas before we touched on the 'separation' aspect of creation, here we see its integrative aspect. Separation and integration, though seemingly mutually exclusive, actually work hand in hand and are typical of the Hebraic mind and character, and nowhere is this better exemplified than in the first and second chapters of the Bible.
Although each day's creative work was different from the next, the days were separated one from the other in an identical manner, by an evening and a morning. This was possibly done in order to set the pattern for the days that were to come, which, unlike the days of creation, were to be identical one to the other. The day began in the evening - erev - and it is interesting to note that among its many meanings, “erev” also means a “pledge” or a “guarantee.” Thus, the promise of the day to come is found in the twilight of its predecessor. “Boker”, "morning", is another word rich in diverse meanings, one of which is to “inquire, frequent or visit”, connoting concern and care (see Ezk. 34:12). Once again, there is an assurance for things hoped for from the One who is in charge of Time and who operates within it (e.g. Jer. 33:25, Lam. 3:22-23), as is apparent from 2:2. Elohim is seen there “resting” (after having completed His work), while the word in Hebrew is “sha’va’t” of the root sh.b/v.t meaning to “"cease”, and is similar to the root y.sh.v., to "sit”. It is this root, which also forms the word “Shabbat”.
As for the pinnacle of creation, man and woman, they were created "in the image and likeness" of their Creator (v. 26). “Image” is "tzelem" - from the root “tzel” which is a “shadow”. At best a human being may reflect the Almighty in the same way a two dimensional shadow 'represents' a three-dimensional object. “Likeness” is “d'moot”, which contains the word “dam” – "blood" (from which are derived words such as “adama” for “earth”, “adom” for “red” and “adam”, of course, for “man”). Here we see a clear connection to the Messiah, who incarnated in a flesh and blood body as the “Second Adam”. Man and woman were created different and at different times, yet “in the image (tzelem) of God created He him, male and female created He them” (v. 28). Once again we see differentiation and oneness together. He - man - was created both male and female, and likewise the male and the female together reflect the "tzelem" of the one Elohim. In 2:24 we read that they were to become “one flesh”, and yet that could only take place after woman was taken out (separated) from man’s own body (ref. 2:21,21).
One more point concerning this union: In 2:18, 20 the woman as the "help suitable" (as translated in most versions) for man is actually described as a help “contrary or opposite” to him – “ezer ke’negdo” (“neged” being “in front of” or “opposite to”). Originally, Chava* (Eve) was to be a counterpart of Adam, not an inferior being in subjection to him. Rather, the two were to contrast and complement one another as two opposite forces do, attracting and polarizing at the same time thus creating life-giving energy.
In the last verse (25) of chapter 2 we read: ”And they were both naked ("aroomim"/plural), the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. In 3:7 a major change takes place, and so we read: “And the eyes of the two of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed for themselves girdles of fig leaves”. The man and his wife made for themselves covering from the leaves of the fig tree, speak of their attitude, as the word for “fig” - t'ena – is closely related (at least in sound) to “to'ana” which is a “pretext” or “looking for reasons.” In Shoftim (Judges) 14:4 Shimshon (Samson) is seen looking for such a pretext or “an occasion against the Philistines.”
In 3:21 we read: "And He clothed them, - va’yalbishem, a verb whose root is l.v.sh, which is the verb for to “dress” and also forms the word for “clothes, garment” – “l’vush” or “malbush”. In 2:25 we read that “the man and his wife were naked and not ashamed”, the verb for “being ashamed” (plural) being, “yit’boshashu” of the root b.o.sh. Thus, although of no etymological connection, because of the similarity of consonants some rabbinical interpretations connect “l’vush” – garment, to “bosh” - “shame” (remember the b and v sounds are interchangeable), as indeed the garment was to cover the shameful nakedness.
In the last episode depicting our protagonists, we see them being sent ("expelled" in Hebrew) out of the Garden, but not without a hint of a hope. East of Eden, Elohim placed the Cherubim and the two-edged ("revolving") sword to guard the way to the Tree of Life (ref. 3:24). This image conjures up another - one in which Cherubim were also placed above a "sword", that is the sword of the Word (see Eph. 6:17; Heb. 3:12), in the form of the tablets written by Moshe (Moses). These tablets were placed in the ark, above which two Cherubim were instated. In other words, is this a subtle picture, inserted into the somber scene of the expulsion, of a future Holy of Holies where atonement (covering) was to be made? Once the Holy of Holies (through the ultimate atonement) became accessible to all, so did the way to the Tree of Life, through Him who is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
Finally, let us follow the genealogy of the forefathers as listed in chapter 5. The names form the following: Man (Adam) is appointed (Shet) mortal (Enosh) sorrow (Keinan). One who praises God (M’halal'el) will come down (Yared), teaching (Chanoch) that His death will send (Metushelach), the hidden king (Lemech, whose name contains the three letters for king, but not in the right order), and rest (No’ach).
(Regretfully the name of the person who had this is insight is unknown, and therefore cannot be given credit here.)
* YHVH is the Tetragrammaton, or the ineffable name of God, which is made up of fourconsonants, the pronunciation of which remains unknown despite different conjectures.
* B and V sound are denoted by the same letter - Bet
* The “ch” consonant sound is the same as the “ch” in the Scottish “Loch.”
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Parashat Ve'zot Habracha - D'varim (Deuteronomy) 33-34
Hebrew insights into Parashat Ve’zot Habracha - D'vraim (Deuteronomy) 33-34
The Torah’s last Parasha, with its prophetic blessings upon the People of Yisrael and the individual tribes, is also the last curtain for Moshe who takes his leave off the stage of history. We have seen the Patriarchs bless their sons before their departure, and now we view Moshe blessing the people whom he had carried in his bosom like a father (sometimes in spite of himself, ref. Num, 11:12) for over forty years.
The opening statement, “ve’zot habracha” (“and this is the blessing”), indicates that the first and more general component of the blessing (33:2-5) is part and parcel of one singular blessing that Moshe delivers as YHVH’s spirit rests upon him. That is to say that the tribes’ blessings are not separate from the word bestowed upon the nation as a whole. The very usage of “b’racha”, singular, implies that YHVH is considering each individual tribe as part of a complete entity.
The glorious and majestic description of the giving of the Torah at Sinai is likened to an epiphany, if you will, of YHVH Himself, denoted by His “coming”, “rising” and “shinning forth” over physical and geographical locations (ref v. 2). An equivalent description, although underscored by a more specific prophecy, found in Chavakuk (Habakkuk) 3:3, will perhaps help us realize that this expose’ of YHVH may not be restricted only to the event which took place at Chorev, as YHVH is not bound to, or limited by Time, even when He intercepts our dimensionally-confined world. Thus, a wider scope of revelation of Yisrael’s Elohim is presented. Interestingly, in “He came with ten thousands of saints” (v. 2), it is not the usual “ba” (“came”), but rather the Aramaic “ata”, evoking the Aramaic “maranatha” – or “maran ata” (found in the New Covenant) - that is, “Master come” or “the Master has come”. The enigmatic meaning of verses 2 and 3 is matched by the very words and syntax used, all of which are difficult and extraordinary, and present a task for the commentators to grapple with. The literal rendering, for example, of “ten thousands of saints”, mentioned in verse 2, is “ten thousands of holiness”, the word there being “kodesh”. Thus, if the text is referring to “ten thousands of saints” or “holy ones”, why are “His holy ones” in the next verse (v. 3) rendered as “k’doshav” (“kadosh”, “holy one”), plain and simple? If in both cases the meaning is "His holy ones" why are they not identical, with only the second being couched in straightforward terminology? Or, is it possible that “ten thousands of holiness” is not a reference to “saints” (or “angels” according to rabbinic interpretation) at all, but is a description of His abode being “abundant in holiness”?
The next expression in the same verse is no less problematic. That which is translated either “firey law” or “flashing lightning” is “eshdat” in Hebrew, being a term that appears nowhere else. If broken in two it is: “e’sh” – fire – and “dat” – meaning “law, edict” or “manner of things”. However, “dat” is found only in Esther, one time in Ezra and in the Aramaic sections of Daniel, making its usage here, at such an early stage, totally doubtful. According to the B.D.B Lexicon “eshdat” was originally “esh yokeh-dat”, that is “burning fire” (with the first two syllables now missing). 1 According to this viewpoint we should read, “On His right (-that is, the right hand side) is a burning fire”.
Verse 3 reads: “Indeed, He loves the people; All thy holy ones are in Thy hand, and they followed in Thy steps, carrying your words”. This presents several problems. It changes mid-sentence from third to second person. “He who loves the nations” or “peoples” is described as “chovev amim”. The root ch.v.v. - love - is also shared by one of the words for “bosom.” Chovav is also one of the names of Moshe’s father-in-law (ref. Num. 10:29). According to Daat Mikra, “even when He expresses love toward all peoples, ‘all His Holy ones’ are Yisrael and they are ‘in Your hand’”. Therefore the change to second person in the second part of the verse denotes YHVH’s closeness to His people. Daat Mikra adds that the rest of the verse should read: “And they will be smitten at Your feet, and receive Your Word” 2, whereas according to BDB the verb “tuku”, translated “smitten”, is of dubious meaning and should therefore be understood as: “will be assembled”, as it is more compatible with the context. 3
Yisrael’s present and future destiny is defined in the next two verses. Since Moshe is mentioned here in third person, the question arises whether he is speaking of himself, or is the assembly intoning the following: “Moses charged us with Torah, an inheritance for the assembly of Jacob. And there was a king in Jeshurun” [remember last Parasha’s Yeshurun, “the one who has been straightened”, in contradistinction to Ya’acov who is “winding or crooked”?]; when the heads of the people were gathered, the tribes of Israel together” (vs. 4, 5). For the “assembly of Jacob”, we have here the unusual form of “kehila” (of the root k.h.l), rather than the frequent “kahal” or “eda”. “Kehila” appears to refer to a more organized form of the congregation, or society, rather than to a random assembly of the multitudes. Thus, when the People of Yisrael is in unison YHVH rules in their midst as a King of a redeemed community whose inheritance is Torah, rendering them no longer a wayward Ya’acov, but a Yeshurun whose paths have been made straight.
At this point Moshe confers on each tribe its respective prophetic blessing.
The first three tribes to receive their blessings are the firstborn Reuven, who in spite of having lost the birthright (ref. 1st Chronicles 5:1, 2), symbolizes here this significant position; Secondly, Yehuda (Judah), who was to receive the kingly position, while Levi is third to be given his blessing and stands for the office of the priesthood. There is no mistake - this is the order of YHVH’s Kingdom: the birthright comes first, ideally consisting of kingship and priesthood. However, in the un-regenerated state the birthright had to be divided up into its two offices (namely the ‘kingly’ and the ‘priestly’), which were only brought together in Yeshua (ref. Zech. 6:13). But when YHVH’s kingdom will be fully manifested on earth, His people will form the long-awaited-for nation of priests (after the order of Malchitzedek) and kings (e.g. ref. 2nd Peter 2:9).
Since Yehuda, according to the blessing (v. 7), was destined to be “brought to his people”, it is apparent that he will be separated from them at some point, a word which became fact when the ten northern tribes seceded from the united kingdom, as it had existed under Shaul (Saul), David and Shlomo (Solomon) his son, never to have been reunited with Yehuda.
Of Levi it says (v. 9): “who said to his father and to his mother, I have not seen him; and he has not acknowledged his brothers, nor knew his own son, for they have observed Your word and kept Your covenant.” The word for “acknowledge” is “hekir”, also meaning to “recognize”, and stems from the root n.ch.r (noon, kaf/chaf, resh) used in “nochri”, “stranger”, and in the verb “hitnaker”, to be “estranged”. This term describes Yoseph’s initial treatment of his brothers in B’resheet (Genesis) 42:7. The Levites, who were also to assume the position of judges, could not be “partial” to anyone, including their own family members, or as the Hebrew has it, they could not “recognize or acknowledge" their relatives, but rather, had to become “estranged” from them. “Estrangement” and “recognition”, although appearing to be contradictory, are in fact not that far apart; at times it takes the former in order to achieve the latter (as was the case with Yoseph and his brothers).
The description enumerating Yoseph’s blessing (vs. 13 – 17) resembles a trail going up and down hills, descending into valleys and underground resources and climbing mountain tops; a journey, which while topographical and geographical, also crosses the boundaries of Time and is ‘intercepted’ by the human element as well as by heavenly bodies, such as the sun and the moon (recalling to mind Yoseph’s dreams). “Meged” - translated “precious - is the leitmotif of this passage, as it is repeated five times within a few verses. Its expanded meaning is “excellence, glory, and gifts of choice” in reference to nature.4 In verse 15, Yoseph’s hills and mountains are termed “ancient” (“kedem” - “first, initial, primary”), and “everlasting” (the word being “olam”, which also means “futurity”). Both the heavens and the abyss are destined to contribute toward Yoseph’s well being. That which the ground will produce for him on a monthly basis will grow so fast, that it will seem as though “expelled” (‘”the best yield” is “geresh”, g.r.sh, to “expel, force out") by the earth. On the one hand “he shall push out the peoples” (v. 17). His leadership position, however, is not likened to the prowess of a king or a military leader, nor even to that of a typical priest, but rather to that of the Nazarite (ref. end of v. 16 – “n’zir ehcav”, literally the “nazarite among his brothers” and translated as “the one who was separated from his brothers”, or “a prince among his brothers”). The title used here originates from “nezer”, a “crown or a miter”, which is made up of the nazarite’s uncut hair (as we saw in Parashat Nasso, Num. 6). The “nazarite”, or “nazir”, is one who takes upon himself an oath to abstain from worldly pleasures.
Z’vulun (Zebulun) is told to rejoice in his “going out” (v. 18). In Parashat Ki Tetze (Deut. 21:10) we already noted that “going out” many a time connotes going out to war (ref. 1st Ch. 12:33), and in Z’vulun’s case also going out to sea (ref. Ya’acov’s blessings to his sons, in Gen. 49:13). Yisas’char’s (Issachar) tent dwelling is the antidote to Z’vulun’s “going out”, and refers to homestead and attachment to the land (the tent dwelling here does not seem to suggest a nomadic life style; cf. Jacob’s blessings, Gen. 49:14), and perhaps also to the wisdom and discernment characteristic of this people (ref. 1st Chronicles 12:32). The mutual cooperation between these two neighboring tribes is captured by verse 19. Yisas’char “shall call the peoples to the mountain. There they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness,” while Z’vulun will make provisions of “the bounty of the seas and treasures hidden in the sand”.
Naphtali is “satisfied with favor”, which is “s’vah ratzon” (v. 23), while Asher, who is “favorable in the eyes of his brothers”, is “r’tzooy echav” (v. 24). Both these words emanate from the root r.tz.h., which is to “please, accept, favor”.
In verse 15 we read about the “ancient – kedem - mountains”, while in verse 27 Elohim, who is described as a “dwelling place” (“me’ona”), is called “Elohey kedem”, translated here as “eternal”. Thus, He who always was from the very beginning, is also the One who will ever be and it is He who will enable Yisrael to “dwell alone securely” (v. 28), as He Himself is her dwelling place while “underneath [her] are [His] everlasting arms” (v. 27).
Moshe’s last words constitute an exhilarating exclamation: “Blessed are you, O Israel! Who is like you, O people saved by YHVH, the shield of your help, and who is the sword of your excellency! And your enemies shall be found liars to you, and you shall tread on their high places” (33:29). It is most likely that Moshe himself did not compose the last eight verses of D’varim (chapter 34, or even the entire chapter, consisting of 12 verses). About his body it is said, “He buried him…” (34:6), inferring the direct involvement of the Holy One of Yisrael in the task. And although in Sh’mot (Exodus) 33:20 YHVH said to Moshe: “You cannot see My face. For there no man can see Me and live”, here we read, in verse 10: “And never since has a prophet like Moses arisen in Israel, whom YHVH knew face to face”. Even if not to be taken literally, these words do point to Moshe’s intimate knowledge of the Almighty, since “panim el panim” (“face to face”) implies exposure before someone, as in Hebrew “face” is not only an external image, with the root p.n.h (which we have noted several times in the past) meaning “to turn”. Thus “face” is that which “turns” to look at another. And while “panim” is the “exterior,” or the “surface”, “p’nim” means “inner” (ref. Ezekiel 40:19,23 etc.). Thus “panim” - face - expresses also that which is on the inside. In 2nd Corinthians 3:18 this principle is applied in a powerful way to each individual believer: “We all, with our face having been unveiled, having beheld [‘turned toward’] the glory of YHVH as in a mirror, are being changed [on the inside] into the same image from glory to glory, even as by YHVH, the Spirit” (italics added).
[1] The New Brown, Driver, Briggs, Gesenius Lexicon, Francis Brown Hendrickson. Publishers, Peabody, Mass. 1979
[2] Da’at Mikra, A’ahron Mirski, Rav Cook Inst., Jerusalem, 2001
[3] The New Brown, Driver, Briggs, Gesenius Lexicon
[4] Ibid.
The Torah’s last Parasha, with its prophetic blessings upon the People of Yisrael and the individual tribes, is also the last curtain for Moshe who takes his leave off the stage of history. We have seen the Patriarchs bless their sons before their departure, and now we view Moshe blessing the people whom he had carried in his bosom like a father (sometimes in spite of himself, ref. Num, 11:12) for over forty years.
The opening statement, “ve’zot habracha” (“and this is the blessing”), indicates that the first and more general component of the blessing (33:2-5) is part and parcel of one singular blessing that Moshe delivers as YHVH’s spirit rests upon him. That is to say that the tribes’ blessings are not separate from the word bestowed upon the nation as a whole. The very usage of “b’racha”, singular, implies that YHVH is considering each individual tribe as part of a complete entity.
The glorious and majestic description of the giving of the Torah at Sinai is likened to an epiphany, if you will, of YHVH Himself, denoted by His “coming”, “rising” and “shinning forth” over physical and geographical locations (ref v. 2). An equivalent description, although underscored by a more specific prophecy, found in Chavakuk (Habakkuk) 3:3, will perhaps help us realize that this expose’ of YHVH may not be restricted only to the event which took place at Chorev, as YHVH is not bound to, or limited by Time, even when He intercepts our dimensionally-confined world. Thus, a wider scope of revelation of Yisrael’s Elohim is presented. Interestingly, in “He came with ten thousands of saints” (v. 2), it is not the usual “ba” (“came”), but rather the Aramaic “ata”, evoking the Aramaic “maranatha” – or “maran ata” (found in the New Covenant) - that is, “Master come” or “the Master has come”. The enigmatic meaning of verses 2 and 3 is matched by the very words and syntax used, all of which are difficult and extraordinary, and present a task for the commentators to grapple with. The literal rendering, for example, of “ten thousands of saints”, mentioned in verse 2, is “ten thousands of holiness”, the word there being “kodesh”. Thus, if the text is referring to “ten thousands of saints” or “holy ones”, why are “His holy ones” in the next verse (v. 3) rendered as “k’doshav” (“kadosh”, “holy one”), plain and simple? If in both cases the meaning is "His holy ones" why are they not identical, with only the second being couched in straightforward terminology? Or, is it possible that “ten thousands of holiness” is not a reference to “saints” (or “angels” according to rabbinic interpretation) at all, but is a description of His abode being “abundant in holiness”?
The next expression in the same verse is no less problematic. That which is translated either “firey law” or “flashing lightning” is “eshdat” in Hebrew, being a term that appears nowhere else. If broken in two it is: “e’sh” – fire – and “dat” – meaning “law, edict” or “manner of things”. However, “dat” is found only in Esther, one time in Ezra and in the Aramaic sections of Daniel, making its usage here, at such an early stage, totally doubtful. According to the B.D.B Lexicon “eshdat” was originally “esh yokeh-dat”, that is “burning fire” (with the first two syllables now missing). 1 According to this viewpoint we should read, “On His right (-that is, the right hand side) is a burning fire”.
Verse 3 reads: “Indeed, He loves the people; All thy holy ones are in Thy hand, and they followed in Thy steps, carrying your words”. This presents several problems. It changes mid-sentence from third to second person. “He who loves the nations” or “peoples” is described as “chovev amim”. The root ch.v.v. - love - is also shared by one of the words for “bosom.” Chovav is also one of the names of Moshe’s father-in-law (ref. Num. 10:29). According to Daat Mikra, “even when He expresses love toward all peoples, ‘all His Holy ones’ are Yisrael and they are ‘in Your hand’”. Therefore the change to second person in the second part of the verse denotes YHVH’s closeness to His people. Daat Mikra adds that the rest of the verse should read: “And they will be smitten at Your feet, and receive Your Word” 2, whereas according to BDB the verb “tuku”, translated “smitten”, is of dubious meaning and should therefore be understood as: “will be assembled”, as it is more compatible with the context. 3
Yisrael’s present and future destiny is defined in the next two verses. Since Moshe is mentioned here in third person, the question arises whether he is speaking of himself, or is the assembly intoning the following: “Moses charged us with Torah, an inheritance for the assembly of Jacob. And there was a king in Jeshurun” [remember last Parasha’s Yeshurun, “the one who has been straightened”, in contradistinction to Ya’acov who is “winding or crooked”?]; when the heads of the people were gathered, the tribes of Israel together” (vs. 4, 5). For the “assembly of Jacob”, we have here the unusual form of “kehila” (of the root k.h.l), rather than the frequent “kahal” or “eda”. “Kehila” appears to refer to a more organized form of the congregation, or society, rather than to a random assembly of the multitudes. Thus, when the People of Yisrael is in unison YHVH rules in their midst as a King of a redeemed community whose inheritance is Torah, rendering them no longer a wayward Ya’acov, but a Yeshurun whose paths have been made straight.
At this point Moshe confers on each tribe its respective prophetic blessing.
The first three tribes to receive their blessings are the firstborn Reuven, who in spite of having lost the birthright (ref. 1st Chronicles 5:1, 2), symbolizes here this significant position; Secondly, Yehuda (Judah), who was to receive the kingly position, while Levi is third to be given his blessing and stands for the office of the priesthood. There is no mistake - this is the order of YHVH’s Kingdom: the birthright comes first, ideally consisting of kingship and priesthood. However, in the un-regenerated state the birthright had to be divided up into its two offices (namely the ‘kingly’ and the ‘priestly’), which were only brought together in Yeshua (ref. Zech. 6:13). But when YHVH’s kingdom will be fully manifested on earth, His people will form the long-awaited-for nation of priests (after the order of Malchitzedek) and kings (e.g. ref. 2nd Peter 2:9).
Since Yehuda, according to the blessing (v. 7), was destined to be “brought to his people”, it is apparent that he will be separated from them at some point, a word which became fact when the ten northern tribes seceded from the united kingdom, as it had existed under Shaul (Saul), David and Shlomo (Solomon) his son, never to have been reunited with Yehuda.
Of Levi it says (v. 9): “who said to his father and to his mother, I have not seen him; and he has not acknowledged his brothers, nor knew his own son, for they have observed Your word and kept Your covenant.” The word for “acknowledge” is “hekir”, also meaning to “recognize”, and stems from the root n.ch.r (noon, kaf/chaf, resh) used in “nochri”, “stranger”, and in the verb “hitnaker”, to be “estranged”. This term describes Yoseph’s initial treatment of his brothers in B’resheet (Genesis) 42:7. The Levites, who were also to assume the position of judges, could not be “partial” to anyone, including their own family members, or as the Hebrew has it, they could not “recognize or acknowledge" their relatives, but rather, had to become “estranged” from them. “Estrangement” and “recognition”, although appearing to be contradictory, are in fact not that far apart; at times it takes the former in order to achieve the latter (as was the case with Yoseph and his brothers).
The description enumerating Yoseph’s blessing (vs. 13 – 17) resembles a trail going up and down hills, descending into valleys and underground resources and climbing mountain tops; a journey, which while topographical and geographical, also crosses the boundaries of Time and is ‘intercepted’ by the human element as well as by heavenly bodies, such as the sun and the moon (recalling to mind Yoseph’s dreams). “Meged” - translated “precious - is the leitmotif of this passage, as it is repeated five times within a few verses. Its expanded meaning is “excellence, glory, and gifts of choice” in reference to nature.4 In verse 15, Yoseph’s hills and mountains are termed “ancient” (“kedem” - “first, initial, primary”), and “everlasting” (the word being “olam”, which also means “futurity”). Both the heavens and the abyss are destined to contribute toward Yoseph’s well being. That which the ground will produce for him on a monthly basis will grow so fast, that it will seem as though “expelled” (‘”the best yield” is “geresh”, g.r.sh, to “expel, force out") by the earth. On the one hand “he shall push out the peoples” (v. 17). His leadership position, however, is not likened to the prowess of a king or a military leader, nor even to that of a typical priest, but rather to that of the Nazarite (ref. end of v. 16 – “n’zir ehcav”, literally the “nazarite among his brothers” and translated as “the one who was separated from his brothers”, or “a prince among his brothers”). The title used here originates from “nezer”, a “crown or a miter”, which is made up of the nazarite’s uncut hair (as we saw in Parashat Nasso, Num. 6). The “nazarite”, or “nazir”, is one who takes upon himself an oath to abstain from worldly pleasures.
Z’vulun (Zebulun) is told to rejoice in his “going out” (v. 18). In Parashat Ki Tetze (Deut. 21:10) we already noted that “going out” many a time connotes going out to war (ref. 1st Ch. 12:33), and in Z’vulun’s case also going out to sea (ref. Ya’acov’s blessings to his sons, in Gen. 49:13). Yisas’char’s (Issachar) tent dwelling is the antidote to Z’vulun’s “going out”, and refers to homestead and attachment to the land (the tent dwelling here does not seem to suggest a nomadic life style; cf. Jacob’s blessings, Gen. 49:14), and perhaps also to the wisdom and discernment characteristic of this people (ref. 1st Chronicles 12:32). The mutual cooperation between these two neighboring tribes is captured by verse 19. Yisas’char “shall call the peoples to the mountain. There they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness,” while Z’vulun will make provisions of “the bounty of the seas and treasures hidden in the sand”.
Naphtali is “satisfied with favor”, which is “s’vah ratzon” (v. 23), while Asher, who is “favorable in the eyes of his brothers”, is “r’tzooy echav” (v. 24). Both these words emanate from the root r.tz.h., which is to “please, accept, favor”.
In verse 15 we read about the “ancient – kedem - mountains”, while in verse 27 Elohim, who is described as a “dwelling place” (“me’ona”), is called “Elohey kedem”, translated here as “eternal”. Thus, He who always was from the very beginning, is also the One who will ever be and it is He who will enable Yisrael to “dwell alone securely” (v. 28), as He Himself is her dwelling place while “underneath [her] are [His] everlasting arms” (v. 27).
Moshe’s last words constitute an exhilarating exclamation: “Blessed are you, O Israel! Who is like you, O people saved by YHVH, the shield of your help, and who is the sword of your excellency! And your enemies shall be found liars to you, and you shall tread on their high places” (33:29). It is most likely that Moshe himself did not compose the last eight verses of D’varim (chapter 34, or even the entire chapter, consisting of 12 verses). About his body it is said, “He buried him…” (34:6), inferring the direct involvement of the Holy One of Yisrael in the task. And although in Sh’mot (Exodus) 33:20 YHVH said to Moshe: “You cannot see My face. For there no man can see Me and live”, here we read, in verse 10: “And never since has a prophet like Moses arisen in Israel, whom YHVH knew face to face”. Even if not to be taken literally, these words do point to Moshe’s intimate knowledge of the Almighty, since “panim el panim” (“face to face”) implies exposure before someone, as in Hebrew “face” is not only an external image, with the root p.n.h (which we have noted several times in the past) meaning “to turn”. Thus “face” is that which “turns” to look at another. And while “panim” is the “exterior,” or the “surface”, “p’nim” means “inner” (ref. Ezekiel 40:19,23 etc.). Thus “panim” - face - expresses also that which is on the inside. In 2nd Corinthians 3:18 this principle is applied in a powerful way to each individual believer: “We all, with our face having been unveiled, having beheld [‘turned toward’] the glory of YHVH as in a mirror, are being changed [on the inside] into the same image from glory to glory, even as by YHVH, the Spirit” (italics added).
[1] The New Brown, Driver, Briggs, Gesenius Lexicon, Francis Brown Hendrickson. Publishers, Peabody, Mass. 1979
[2] Da’at Mikra, A’ahron Mirski, Rav Cook Inst., Jerusalem, 2001
[3] The New Brown, Driver, Briggs, Gesenius Lexicon
[4] Ibid.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Parashat Ha'azinu - D'varim (Deuteronomy) 32
Hebrew Insights into Parashat Ha’azinu – D'varim (Deuteronomy) 32
Parashat Ha’azinu, which consists almost in its entirety of the so-called ”Song of Moshe” and called Shirat Ha’azinu in Hebrew, is the crescendo that the Dvarim (Deuteronomy) account has been building up to. It is a recitation which summarizes the Israelites’ history and predicts future situations, and continually revolves around a central pivot - YHVH, as the Almighty and as the loving father of His people. In the past two weeks we pointed out that Shirat Ha’azinu (the Ha’azinu song or poem) was to bear testimony for future generations (ref. 30:19). Last week, and the week before, heaven and earth were also summoned as “witnesses”, as they are, indeed, here too: “Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth” (italics added). The imperative “ha’azinu” (“listen”) is a derivative of “ozen” – “ear”, and would therefore be best translated “give ear”. You will notice that many of the verses are made up of couplets, where the same point is stated once and then repeated with a slight variation. The first two verses of the poem serve as a good example of this poetic device, which is so typical of biblical poetry:
Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak;
And hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
My doctrine shall drop as the rain;
My speech shall drop down as the dew,
As the small rain on the tender plant,
And as the showers on the grass;
YHVH’s love and care for Yisrael form the backdrop against which Yisrael’s past and future are respectively described and cast. According to the poem, the people’s relationship with and toward YHVH appears to be a primary cause of the events (past, present and future) which befall them.
Verse 4 exclaims that YHVH is “the Rock whose work is perfect”. The word here for rock is “tzur”. This word is repeated a number of times in our song, and thus we read in verse 13, in reference to YHVH’s benevolence toward Yisrael, “He made him suck … oil out of the flinty rock”. In response, Yeshurun (Jeshurun) – rooted in y.sh.r. “straight”, acts more like a Ya’acov (which is “crookedness”), and “scorned the Rock of their Salvation” (v. 15). Verse 18 reads thus: “You forgot the Rock who birthed you”. The verb used here for “forgot” is “teshi”, of the root n.sh.h (noon, shin, hey), which is also the root for the name Menashe (Manasseh). The imagery of the “rock”, a substance that one would not associate with tenderness, much less with motherhood, is juxtaposed with metaphors related to birthing and suckling. We encounter this type of unusual imagery also in 1st Corinthians 10:4, where we read: “Our fathers….all drank of the spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Messiah.”
In verses 30 and 31 there are several more references to “tzur”, while in verse 37 the “rock” is the one in whom “refuge is taken” (“chasayu”, ch.s.h., chet, samech, hey – to “take refuge”), being a more conventional usage of the rock metaphor. Because the idols of the peoples were many a time made of stone, or carved into a rock, “tzur” is also used here in relation to the gods of the pagans (e.g. verse 31). This is in contrast to Yisrael’s Elohim, who is totally detached from literal substance of the rock.
Other parts of our text appear to highlight different attributes of Elohim, one in particular is found in verse 27. In our reading let us include also verse 26. YHVH says about His treacherous people: “I will make an end of them, I will make their memory cease from among men: 27 Were it not that I dreaded the enemy’s provocation, lest their adversaries should misconstrue, lest they should say, ‘our hand is exalted and not YHVH has performed all this’”. “This verse [27] contains a very daring anthropomorphism [personification-humanization of YHVH] indeed, attributing to Him the sentiment of fear, as it were… and has no parallel in the Torah.” In this commentary Nechama Leibowitz includes other instances where Moshe expresses concern over the desecration of YHVH’s name among the nations and concludes: “This concern over desecrating the Divine name… assumes a much more intense and extreme form in our sidra [Parasha]. Here it is the Almighty Himself who is, as it were, “concerned” over the world being misled and diverted from the path leading mankind spiritually forward. He is filled with apprehension lest His name be brought into disrepute instead of sanctified and His sovereignty universally recognized and acknowledged, which is the ultimate goal of all creation.”[1]
“I will make an end of them…” is couched here in a very unique term, which appears nowhere else in the Tanach (O.T.), “af’ey’em”. Several possible interpretations of this term have been extrapolated. Most “have traced its meaning to the word pe’ah – “corner”, others to af (“anger”).” Rashi breaks up the word into its three syllables, and comes up with: “af ey hem”, which is a question that reads as follows: “In anger (“af”, meaning YHVH’s anger), where are they?” implying that YHVH’s anger has reduced them to non-existence.[2] Da’at Mikra offers another interpretation, with the same “pe’ah” – “corner, edge” in mind: “I will not leave of them as much as an edge.”[3]
Another verse whose translation requires some attention is verse 5, where it says: “They have corrupted themselves: they are not His sons; it is their blemish; they are a crooked and perverse generation.” And although the Hebrew there is somewhat obscure, according to Da’at Mikra it should read, “His sons’ blemish is theirs” (literal translation), that is to say: “their perversion is of their own making, and therefore they are “lo-banav”, “not-His-sons”; in the same way that it was said of Ephraim “not-My-people” (“Lo-Ami”, Hos. 1:9).[4] In contradistinction, verse 6 names YHVH as “your father, the One who purchases you” – “kone’cha”. Quite often the term “koneh” (k.n.h, kof, noon, hey) – to “buy, or purchase” – is synonymous with redeeming, and lends the latter act its graphic meaning, as the role of the redeemer is primarily to pay for, and buy that which is lost (such as freedom or property). Many years later, in 1st Corinthians 6:20 and 7:23, Shaul (Paul) reminds the redeemed community: “You are bought with a price”. “Kone’cha”, with its similarity to “ken” (a “bird’s nest”), inspired Rashi to suggest that this is a reference to the nest that YHVH is making for Yisrael (see also verse 11).
At this point, starting with verse 6 and through 14, the poem expounds very tenderly on the establishing of the Israelite nation, and on the care and love bestowed on it by its Maker. Of the fact that Yisrael had a major role in global affairs, much before it even came into being, we learn from verse 8: “When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when He separated the sons of Adam, He set the bounds of the people according to the number of the sons of Israel” (italics added). When one takes into consideration the fact that the above separation took place after the Flood, and more particularly that YHVH scattered the people during the Tower of Ba’vel (Babel) era (Gen. 10:25, 11:8), this statement becomes all the more momentous.
A string of verbs, which follow one another in progressive intensity and describe YHVH’s involvement with Yisrael, is introduced in verses 10 & 11. “He found him…He compassed him about … He cared for him…. Like an eagle that stirs up His nest… He hovers… He spreads his wings… He takes him… lifts him….” The “desert land,” the “waste”, and the “howling wilderness” mentioned here (v. 10), conjure up in the mind a lost entity wondering around, and thus these verbs appear as the solution and answer to the dire condition of the people. These verbs are replete with activity: “vay’vone’nehu” (root b.n.h, bet/vet, noon, hey), translated “cared”, but in actual fact could relate to “bina” – “wisdom”, and thus may read: “endowed him with wisdom”; or to “hitbonen”, which is to “look closely, watch”. Another possibility is the connection to “boneh”, “build, build up, or edify”. “Guarded him” is a translation of “yitz’renhu”, which is of the root n.tz.r, (noon, tzadi, resh), meaning to “keep, guard, watch, hide, protect”. It is from this root that “netzer”, the “branch” of Yishayahu (Isaiah) 11:1 is derived, and the “watchmen” – “notzrim” – of Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah) 31:6. “Hovers” is particularly interesting, as it is “ye’ra’chef”, of the root r.ch.f (resh, chet, pey/fey), which is found in B’resheet (Genesis) 1:2 (in reference to the Spirit of Elohim). We also recall Parashat Va’era, in Shmot (Exodus) 6:7, 8 where we read YHVH’s promise: “And I will take you…. to the land concerning which I lifted up My hand…” (italics added). In Sh’mot (Exodus) 19:4, we also read YHVH’s address to Yisrael: “I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself”. Thus Parashat Ha’azinu echoes promises of the past, transferring them to the present day reality of the Israelite Nation on the threshold of the Promised Land.
Next is the enumeration of the goodness and plenty that Yisrael was endowed with, and with which she shall be blessed in the future (v. 13-14). Verse 15 witnesses a transition, and once again there is an inventory, if you will, of densely listed verbs. Unfortunately not all of them can be translated into verb form in English: “Yeshurun grew fat… kicked… put on weight… became thick… covered in layers… forsook Elohim his maker…”. In Hebrew all these are in verb form and follow one another thus: “va’yishman… va’yiv’at… shamanta, avita, kasita, va’yitosh… va’y’na’bel”, almost as though stampeding over each other. Just as before, where YHVH’s intense activities around His people were depicted in verb form, so too here, the Israelites’ intent on turning away from Him is described in a chain reaction of fast moves.
The excerpt of verses 28-35 presents a controversy, which has been engaging the commentators for generations. Who is the subject of verses 28-29? Is it Yisrael, or is it the enemies? In verse 30, again, who is being chased, is it Yisrael, or the enemies? Verse 36: “For YHVH will bring His people justice; and He shall have compassion on His servants…” seems to indicate that the former section would have referred to the enemy. However, according to 30 and 31, it would appear that Yisrael is the subject of the section: “How shall one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them and YHVH had shut them up? For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges.” Who is it that YHVH is “selling”? (Remember verse 6, where He was depicted as the Father and the “buyer”?). Does He not sell that which belongs to Him? And in verse 31, in the references to “their rock” and to “our rock”, is there not a distinction made between Yisrael and the other nations? Verses 37 and 38 present a similar dilemma. Again, is it Yisrael or is it the nations that are the subject of this brief portion? Having just read that YHVH will have compassion on His people, this could possibly refer to the enemies, whose rock and god (the rock being the "god" and not a mere metaphor for strength, unlike the Elohim of Yisrael who is symbolized by the rock, but is not the rock itself) is unable to help them. Conversely, this could also be talking to Yisrael, who had been leaning on false gods whom they trusted to no avail. What do you think?
“And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel. And he said to them, ‘Set your hearts to all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your sons to observe and to do, all the words of this law; For it is not a vain thing for you, because it is your life. And by this word you shall prolong your days in the land where you go over Jordan, there to possess it’” (vs. 45-47). Thus Moshe seals these most solemn words of the testimonial poem. The words, “for it is not a vain thing for you, because it is your life” are rendered in Hebrew, “for it is not an empty word for you, because…” and here it is possible to read, “He is your life”… ”I am the way, the truth and the Life”, were Yeshua’s words in John 14:6. And just as Shirat Ha’azinu was to bear a testimony, so was there a testimony borne by the Word-made-flesh (John 1:14), “so that all might believe…” (John 1:7).
[[1]] New Studies in Devarim, Nechama Leibowitz, trans. Aryeh Newman. Eliner
Library, Department for Torah Education and Culture in the Diaspora. Hemed Books Inc.,
Brooklyn, N.Y.
[2] Ibid
[3] Da’at Mikra, A’ahron Mirski, Rav Kook Inst., Jerusalem, 2001
[4] Ibid.
Parashat Ha’azinu, which consists almost in its entirety of the so-called ”Song of Moshe” and called Shirat Ha’azinu in Hebrew, is the crescendo that the Dvarim (Deuteronomy) account has been building up to. It is a recitation which summarizes the Israelites’ history and predicts future situations, and continually revolves around a central pivot - YHVH, as the Almighty and as the loving father of His people. In the past two weeks we pointed out that Shirat Ha’azinu (the Ha’azinu song or poem) was to bear testimony for future generations (ref. 30:19). Last week, and the week before, heaven and earth were also summoned as “witnesses”, as they are, indeed, here too: “Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth” (italics added). The imperative “ha’azinu” (“listen”) is a derivative of “ozen” – “ear”, and would therefore be best translated “give ear”. You will notice that many of the verses are made up of couplets, where the same point is stated once and then repeated with a slight variation. The first two verses of the poem serve as a good example of this poetic device, which is so typical of biblical poetry:
Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak;
And hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
My doctrine shall drop as the rain;
My speech shall drop down as the dew,
As the small rain on the tender plant,
And as the showers on the grass;
YHVH’s love and care for Yisrael form the backdrop against which Yisrael’s past and future are respectively described and cast. According to the poem, the people’s relationship with and toward YHVH appears to be a primary cause of the events (past, present and future) which befall them.
Verse 4 exclaims that YHVH is “the Rock whose work is perfect”. The word here for rock is “tzur”. This word is repeated a number of times in our song, and thus we read in verse 13, in reference to YHVH’s benevolence toward Yisrael, “He made him suck … oil out of the flinty rock”. In response, Yeshurun (Jeshurun) – rooted in y.sh.r. “straight”, acts more like a Ya’acov (which is “crookedness”), and “scorned the Rock of their Salvation” (v. 15). Verse 18 reads thus: “You forgot the Rock who birthed you”. The verb used here for “forgot” is “teshi”, of the root n.sh.h (noon, shin, hey), which is also the root for the name Menashe (Manasseh). The imagery of the “rock”, a substance that one would not associate with tenderness, much less with motherhood, is juxtaposed with metaphors related to birthing and suckling. We encounter this type of unusual imagery also in 1st Corinthians 10:4, where we read: “Our fathers….all drank of the spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Messiah.”
In verses 30 and 31 there are several more references to “tzur”, while in verse 37 the “rock” is the one in whom “refuge is taken” (“chasayu”, ch.s.h., chet, samech, hey – to “take refuge”), being a more conventional usage of the rock metaphor. Because the idols of the peoples were many a time made of stone, or carved into a rock, “tzur” is also used here in relation to the gods of the pagans (e.g. verse 31). This is in contrast to Yisrael’s Elohim, who is totally detached from literal substance of the rock.
Other parts of our text appear to highlight different attributes of Elohim, one in particular is found in verse 27. In our reading let us include also verse 26. YHVH says about His treacherous people: “I will make an end of them, I will make their memory cease from among men: 27 Were it not that I dreaded the enemy’s provocation, lest their adversaries should misconstrue, lest they should say, ‘our hand is exalted and not YHVH has performed all this’”. “This verse [27] contains a very daring anthropomorphism [personification-humanization of YHVH] indeed, attributing to Him the sentiment of fear, as it were… and has no parallel in the Torah.” In this commentary Nechama Leibowitz includes other instances where Moshe expresses concern over the desecration of YHVH’s name among the nations and concludes: “This concern over desecrating the Divine name… assumes a much more intense and extreme form in our sidra [Parasha]. Here it is the Almighty Himself who is, as it were, “concerned” over the world being misled and diverted from the path leading mankind spiritually forward. He is filled with apprehension lest His name be brought into disrepute instead of sanctified and His sovereignty universally recognized and acknowledged, which is the ultimate goal of all creation.”[1]
“I will make an end of them…” is couched here in a very unique term, which appears nowhere else in the Tanach (O.T.), “af’ey’em”. Several possible interpretations of this term have been extrapolated. Most “have traced its meaning to the word pe’ah – “corner”, others to af (“anger”).” Rashi breaks up the word into its three syllables, and comes up with: “af ey hem”, which is a question that reads as follows: “In anger (“af”, meaning YHVH’s anger), where are they?” implying that YHVH’s anger has reduced them to non-existence.[2] Da’at Mikra offers another interpretation, with the same “pe’ah” – “corner, edge” in mind: “I will not leave of them as much as an edge.”[3]
Another verse whose translation requires some attention is verse 5, where it says: “They have corrupted themselves: they are not His sons; it is their blemish; they are a crooked and perverse generation.” And although the Hebrew there is somewhat obscure, according to Da’at Mikra it should read, “His sons’ blemish is theirs” (literal translation), that is to say: “their perversion is of their own making, and therefore they are “lo-banav”, “not-His-sons”; in the same way that it was said of Ephraim “not-My-people” (“Lo-Ami”, Hos. 1:9).[4] In contradistinction, verse 6 names YHVH as “your father, the One who purchases you” – “kone’cha”. Quite often the term “koneh” (k.n.h, kof, noon, hey) – to “buy, or purchase” – is synonymous with redeeming, and lends the latter act its graphic meaning, as the role of the redeemer is primarily to pay for, and buy that which is lost (such as freedom or property). Many years later, in 1st Corinthians 6:20 and 7:23, Shaul (Paul) reminds the redeemed community: “You are bought with a price”. “Kone’cha”, with its similarity to “ken” (a “bird’s nest”), inspired Rashi to suggest that this is a reference to the nest that YHVH is making for Yisrael (see also verse 11).
At this point, starting with verse 6 and through 14, the poem expounds very tenderly on the establishing of the Israelite nation, and on the care and love bestowed on it by its Maker. Of the fact that Yisrael had a major role in global affairs, much before it even came into being, we learn from verse 8: “When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when He separated the sons of Adam, He set the bounds of the people according to the number of the sons of Israel” (italics added). When one takes into consideration the fact that the above separation took place after the Flood, and more particularly that YHVH scattered the people during the Tower of Ba’vel (Babel) era (Gen. 10:25, 11:8), this statement becomes all the more momentous.
A string of verbs, which follow one another in progressive intensity and describe YHVH’s involvement with Yisrael, is introduced in verses 10 & 11. “He found him…He compassed him about … He cared for him…. Like an eagle that stirs up His nest… He hovers… He spreads his wings… He takes him… lifts him….” The “desert land,” the “waste”, and the “howling wilderness” mentioned here (v. 10), conjure up in the mind a lost entity wondering around, and thus these verbs appear as the solution and answer to the dire condition of the people. These verbs are replete with activity: “vay’vone’nehu” (root b.n.h, bet/vet, noon, hey), translated “cared”, but in actual fact could relate to “bina” – “wisdom”, and thus may read: “endowed him with wisdom”; or to “hitbonen”, which is to “look closely, watch”. Another possibility is the connection to “boneh”, “build, build up, or edify”. “Guarded him” is a translation of “yitz’renhu”, which is of the root n.tz.r, (noon, tzadi, resh), meaning to “keep, guard, watch, hide, protect”. It is from this root that “netzer”, the “branch” of Yishayahu (Isaiah) 11:1 is derived, and the “watchmen” – “notzrim” – of Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah) 31:6. “Hovers” is particularly interesting, as it is “ye’ra’chef”, of the root r.ch.f (resh, chet, pey/fey), which is found in B’resheet (Genesis) 1:2 (in reference to the Spirit of Elohim). We also recall Parashat Va’era, in Shmot (Exodus) 6:7, 8 where we read YHVH’s promise: “And I will take you…. to the land concerning which I lifted up My hand…” (italics added). In Sh’mot (Exodus) 19:4, we also read YHVH’s address to Yisrael: “I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself”. Thus Parashat Ha’azinu echoes promises of the past, transferring them to the present day reality of the Israelite Nation on the threshold of the Promised Land.
Next is the enumeration of the goodness and plenty that Yisrael was endowed with, and with which she shall be blessed in the future (v. 13-14). Verse 15 witnesses a transition, and once again there is an inventory, if you will, of densely listed verbs. Unfortunately not all of them can be translated into verb form in English: “Yeshurun grew fat… kicked… put on weight… became thick… covered in layers… forsook Elohim his maker…”. In Hebrew all these are in verb form and follow one another thus: “va’yishman… va’yiv’at… shamanta, avita, kasita, va’yitosh… va’y’na’bel”, almost as though stampeding over each other. Just as before, where YHVH’s intense activities around His people were depicted in verb form, so too here, the Israelites’ intent on turning away from Him is described in a chain reaction of fast moves.
The excerpt of verses 28-35 presents a controversy, which has been engaging the commentators for generations. Who is the subject of verses 28-29? Is it Yisrael, or is it the enemies? In verse 30, again, who is being chased, is it Yisrael, or the enemies? Verse 36: “For YHVH will bring His people justice; and He shall have compassion on His servants…” seems to indicate that the former section would have referred to the enemy. However, according to 30 and 31, it would appear that Yisrael is the subject of the section: “How shall one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them and YHVH had shut them up? For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges.” Who is it that YHVH is “selling”? (Remember verse 6, where He was depicted as the Father and the “buyer”?). Does He not sell that which belongs to Him? And in verse 31, in the references to “their rock” and to “our rock”, is there not a distinction made between Yisrael and the other nations? Verses 37 and 38 present a similar dilemma. Again, is it Yisrael or is it the nations that are the subject of this brief portion? Having just read that YHVH will have compassion on His people, this could possibly refer to the enemies, whose rock and god (the rock being the "god" and not a mere metaphor for strength, unlike the Elohim of Yisrael who is symbolized by the rock, but is not the rock itself) is unable to help them. Conversely, this could also be talking to Yisrael, who had been leaning on false gods whom they trusted to no avail. What do you think?
“And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel. And he said to them, ‘Set your hearts to all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your sons to observe and to do, all the words of this law; For it is not a vain thing for you, because it is your life. And by this word you shall prolong your days in the land where you go over Jordan, there to possess it’” (vs. 45-47). Thus Moshe seals these most solemn words of the testimonial poem. The words, “for it is not a vain thing for you, because it is your life” are rendered in Hebrew, “for it is not an empty word for you, because…” and here it is possible to read, “He is your life”… ”I am the way, the truth and the Life”, were Yeshua’s words in John 14:6. And just as Shirat Ha’azinu was to bear a testimony, so was there a testimony borne by the Word-made-flesh (John 1:14), “so that all might believe…” (John 1:7).
[[1]] New Studies in Devarim, Nechama Leibowitz, trans. Aryeh Newman. Eliner
Library, Department for Torah Education and Culture in the Diaspora. Hemed Books Inc.,
Brooklyn, N.Y.
[2] Ibid
[3] Da’at Mikra, A’ahron Mirski, Rav Kook Inst., Jerusalem, 2001
[4] Ibid.
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