meta: {"file": "/data/tomer/Sefaria-Export/txt/Tanakh/Commentary/Meshech Hochma/Meshech Hochma/English/Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009.txt"}
text: Meshech Hochma
  משך חכמה
  Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009
  
  
  Meshech Hochma
  
  Bereshit
  
  
  
  Noakh
  
  
  
  Lekh Lekha
  
  
  
  Vayera
  
  
  
  Khayei Sarah
  
  
  
  Toldot
  
  
  
  Vayetze
  
  
  
  Vayishlakh
  
  
  
  Vayeshev
  
  
  
  Miketz
  
  
  
  Vayigash
  
  
  
  Vayekhi
  
  
  
  Shemot
  
  
  
  Vaera
  
  
  And I will bring you out from the corruption and idolatry into which you have been sunken. And I will save you from their attempt to annihilate you, as one who saves from a murderer. And I will redeem you from the slave labor, so that you will be free without slave masters. And I will take you to Myself as a people to be a proper nation, with discipline and regimen, and Hashem will be your King (<i>Meshech Chochmah</i>).
  
  Bo
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  A festival to Hashem. This festival was not to commemorate their release from servitude but their recognition as a people by Hashem. That is why it is “an eternal statute,” to be observed even if they should subsequently become enslaved again, for instance in the time of Achashverosh. For the Divine recognition and the special providence that began at that time never cease (<i>Meshech Chochmah</i>).
  
  Beshalakh
  
  
  
  Yitro
  
  
  
  Mishpatim
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  The Festival of Ingathering. In <i>Devarim</i> (16:13) it is called the Festival of <i>Sukkos</i>. This name is not used here because the commandment to dwell in <i>sukkos</i> was instituted by Hashem at a later point to commemorate the restoration of the Clouds of Glory, which had been taken away after the Sin of the Calf. This took place on the first day of <i>Sukkos</i> after Moshe came down with the Second Tablets.
  
  Terumah
  
  
  
  Tetzaveh
  
  
  
  Ki Tisa
  
  
  
  
  For all your generations. Only those whose descendants could continue on the throne without any limitation were anointed with the sacred oil. Thus kings of the Davidic line could be anointed with it but the kings of the northern realm could not be, because their dominion was limited to a maximum of four generations (<i>Meshech Chochmah</i>).
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  And no man will covet. When the three pilgrim visits are mentioned in <i>Parashas Mishpatim</i> (23:17) this promise does not appear. This is because before the sin of the calf the B’nei Yisrael were completely unassailable. Now, however, they were vulnerable to attack and needed special assurance that they would come to no harm through making the pilgrimage (<i>Meshech Chochmah</i>).
  
  Vayakhel
  
  
  
  Pekudei
  
  
  
  Haftarat Shekalim
  
  
  
  Haftarat Zakhor
  
  
  
  Haftarat Hakhodesh
  
  
  
  Haftarat Shabbat Hagadol
  
  
  
  Haftarat First Day Pesakh
  
  
  
  Haftarat Last Day Pesakh
  
  
  
  Hafatarat Shabbat Rosh Khodesh
  
  
  
  Megillat Esther
  
  
  
  Vayikra
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  He shall take out the entire bullock. The unintentional sins of an anointed kohein, whose holiness is great, are considered as if they were intentional, and it brings guilt on the people. Thus, the Torah commands that his sin must be publicized since it is a <i>chillul Hashem</i>, and therefore his bullock is taken outside the three encampments, in the public eye. This is because everyone should know that he repented and brought his atonement.
  
  Tzav
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Girded him with the sash. The garments of the kohanim atone for sin. For example, the ephod atones for idolatry, the pants atone for illicit relations, and the tunic for bloodshed (Zevachim 88). Chazal said that one punished even for his thoughts about transgressing only by idolatry. Therefore, the Kohein Godol’s sash, which atones for idolatry, must atone for thoughts as well, and thus it is a mixture of wool and linen like the ephod. However, an ordinary <i>kohein</i>’s garments atone for illicit relations and bloodshed, in which thoughts are not considered like deeds, and therefore their sashes are not a mixture of wool and linen.  
  The reason thoughts are considered like deeds regarding idolatry is because in general transgression occurs through a person’s physical action, but the essence of idolatry is in the mind. Therefore, if he intended to worship idolatry the thought is combined to the deed. Now, there are three roots of transgression: Idolatry, illicit relations, and bloodshed. All the others branch out from these: The transgressions that stem from physical desires and envy are rooted in illicit relations, those that are caused by jealousy and harm another are included in bloodshed, and those between man and his Creator are rooted in idolatry. A person has no physical desire for idolatry; it is an error of the intellect. On Yom Kippur, when we are fasting, and thereby removed from physical desires, our souls are connected to their spiritual source: the Holy One, blessed be He. As a result, we are not prone to sin in idolatry. Therefore, at that time the Kohein Godol does not wear the ephod, and his sash is made of linen, for there is no need for an atonement for idolatry, since the Jewish people’s attachment to Hashem is the purification from any errors of the intellect.
  
  Shemini
  
  
  
  Tazria
  
  
  
  Metzora
  
  
  
  Akharei Mot
  
  
  
  Kedoshim
  
  
  
  Emor
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  And you reap its harvest. Here, Hashem’s will is revealed that Bnei Yisroel should not become materialistic in working the land. The Creator gave many commandments relating to each activity in the field, in every step, to unite all of a human being’s activities to Hashem. All the materialistic activities become illuminating and radiant ways to reach true perfection and closeness with Hashem … And so, at the beginning of the harvest the Torah commands to bring the <i>omer</i> and the “two breads” to Hashem, and then they will be permitted to eat from the new crop. Similarly, at the end of the harvest you may not harvest completely, rather you must give to the poor, and in the middle of the harvest you must not gather the gleaning … The principle is that the beginning, middle, and end of the harvest is sanctified to Hashem, and sanctified to the matters by which mercy and kindness will be implanted within them. These are the very means by which a Jew reaches the fulfillment of completeness and the purpose acceptable to Hashem. Therefore, the section on appointed times concludes (v. 22), “When you reap the harvest …” Although these commandments were previously written in Parshas Kedoshim, it was repeated to arouse our hearts to this realization.
  
  Behar
  
  
  
  Bekhukotai
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I will not despise them. This matter can be explained as follows: Let us examine something about the ways of the Heavenly Hashgachah, at least what is comprehendible to us. When the Heavenly Wisdom decreed that the people of Israel would have to wander in foreign lands for very many years, many methods and strategies were considered so that Israel would remain in existence as a nation and not assimilate into the gentile nations. The nation’s spiritual giants were well aware of this, and made fences and restrictions with which the nation could exist in the crash of the ocean’s waves and not sink into the stormy, torrential abyss. Therefore, Yaakov commanded in no uncertain terms to be buried in the land of Canaan, so that Israel would know who their nation’s forefathers are, and that their lineage is in the land of Canaan. In this way a natural connection was embedded in his descendants’ soul to yearn for their forefather’s land and to consider themselves as strangers in foreign lands. The nation’s Torah giants learned from this, and led by Ezra and the men of the Great Assembly, they restricted the nation in eighteen matters to separate them from the ways of the gentile nations. The people of Israel would know they are guests and strangers in a strange land; they are like shoots of the olive tree that cannot be grafted unto any other tree.  
  Israel has been among the non-Jews many, many years — none of the world’s inhabitants could believe the Jewish nation would exist for such a long time in such a miraculous fashion; it is incomprehensible to any intelligent person. For the thousands of years that swept over the diminutive nation, so weak and helpless, it was the way of Hashgachah that they would rest for close to a hundred or two hundred years. Afterwards, a storm wind would emerge and give rise to many waves; it would destroy, decimate, wear them out, demolish, and sweep away without mercy. The Jews would flee to a distant place and there they would reunite into a nation. They would grow, rise up, their wisdom would lead them to success, until they would forget they were strangers in a strange land. They would think this is the place from which they originated, and lose hope for Hashem’s spiritual salvation at the appointed time. There, an even stronger storm wind would come and it would remind them with a raging sound and an earthquake: “You are a Jew. Who made you into a man? Go for yourself to a land you do not know.” When we use our intellect to examine history, we see the alternating pattern of the Jew’s situation and his existence among the nations. This is for two reasons: To keep the true religion and its purity, and for the nation’s continued existence. For when the Jewish people rest among the gentile nations they will prosper, Torah and its discussion will increase. Their sons will be successful, but they will disagree with their parents. For this is man’s desire; the new generation has novel ideas, and more nerve to delve into what was hidden from the previous generation. This relates to human sciences, which originate in the human intellect. But it does not apply to the Divine religion that was given from Heaven … The Divine spiritual manifestation was always continuous. In the First Temple period the Divine Spirit dwelled, there were prophets and the sons of prophets, and there were the Urim and Tumim. Even during the Second Temple period they said: From there one can draw Divine Inspiration … But all this is absent in the exile, in which the gathering and the assembly for Torah study has decreased, and for this reason no rabbinic court may make any new decrees … This is the nation’s pattern: When they enter a foreign land they will not be Bnei Torah, for they are diminished from all the troubles, evil decrees, and expulsion. Afterwards the Divine Spirit awakens in them, and it aspires them to return to their origins, the quarry of holiness. They will study Torah, teach it, and have great successes until the Torah’s prestige is uplifted to the pinnacle. Now, the sons of the generation have nothing more to add to disagree with their fathers. What will be with man’s desire to be distinguished and create novel ideas? They will find fault with conceptions, deny what was passed on to them by their fathers, and conjecture new ideas whilst forgetting what their nation experienced — the endless wandering in a sea of troubles. Inevitably, they will soon retort: “Our fathers passed on to us falsehood.” The nation will abandon religious study and study foreign languages; they will think that Berlin is Jerusalem. “You have done like the worst of them, but like the best of them you haven’t done.” Then a storm wind will come and a tempest will uproot the nation from its main root, and put it in a distant nation whose language they never learnt. They will know they are strangers; they will realize that their language is the Holy Tongue and they simply change foreign languages like suits of clothing … In their wandering they will forget His Torah, its depth and sharp discussions. There, they will rest somewhat, and be awakened with holy feelings. Their sons will have courage and the young men will be successful in Torah study. This is the meaning of, “I will not despise them.” Despising refers to the low level of the nation in Torah and spiritual enlightenment influenced from our Torah, the Written and the Oral Tradition. “And I will not loathe them” refers to being repulsed and expelled from place to place. “To annihilate them” is the exile; “to break My covenant with them” is forgetting the Torah.
  
  Bamidbar
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  To perform service. The Torah does not use the language of <i>melachah</i> (creative activity prohibited on Shabbos) regarding the sons of Gershon and Merori, as it does here, because they carried using wagons and animals, which is only <i>mechameir</i> (guiding an animal), and not a <i>melachah</i>. On Shabbos it would only be liable for lashes. The sons of Kehos, however, carried on their shoulders, which is a <i>hotza’ah</i> (carrying), an important and complete <i>melachah</i>.
  
  Naso
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Bnei Yisroel did so. There was no difficulty from the point of view of those who had to command the <i>metzora’im</i> to go outside the Israelite camp, and that did not require warning. The difficulty might have been only from the perspective of the <i>metzora’im</i>, who had to be asked to leave the Cloud of Glory, and perhaps an argument would arise. However, the <i>metzora’im</i> accepted this command with joy, to attain atonement for their sin. Thus, it was not as if they harkened to a warning, but rather as if they easily fulfilled the word of Hashem as well.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  He shall bring himself. The time limit for a vow of <i>nezirus</i> was not mentioned in the Torah, because the main point of <i>nezirus</i> is to “set himself apart for Hashem,” which means to remove himself from physical desires, arrogance, and luxuries. Such a thing has no time limit. Each person needs to appraise himself as to the amount of time he needs to reign in his urges, whether 30 or 100 days, according to his nature. The test of whether he has reached completion, and his urges will not hold sway over him, is when he looks at his own affairs like someone looking at someone else’s actions, and he is not preoccupied with self-love. At such a level, one can be assured that he will only benefit from worldly pleasures in the proper amount and he will not be drawn after luxuries. On the contrary, he will have pleasure in this world and will have positive interactions with other people. Therefore, the Torah uses a language of “he shall bring himself” as if he were bringing another man. One should view his own affairs with the same perspective he views another man’s virtues and weighs him on the scales of justice.
  
  Behaalotkha
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Come to rest, Hashem, among the myriads and thousands of Israel. The explanation is that the twenty-two thousand Levites who carried the <i>Mikdash</i> should rest from their labor.
  
  Shelakh
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  The one bringing his offering. The person bringing the offering prepares the flour and oil, but the one doing the Divine service is the <i>kohein</i>.
  
  Korakh
  
  
  
  Khukkat
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Water rushed out abundantly. When a blessing is desired by Hashem and it is with His favorable countenance, it is praised for its quality and not for its quantity, for quality is a more sublime characteristic. When Hashem’s Name was not sanctified, the blessing was in quantity and not quality. Also, the people’s drinking was equated to the drinking of their livestock. In His command, Hashem said: “You will then bring forth for them water from the rock,” and did not mention abundant water. Furthermore: “And give drink [to] the community and their livestock (ואת בעירם)” — the word ואת interrupts the verse, to indicate that their drinking would be distinguished from that of their livestock. However, when they did not do as Hashem commanded, then: “Water rushed out abundantly, and the community and their livestock drank” — both were equal in their drinking, and the blessing was only in quantity.
  
  Balak 
  
  
  
  Pinekhas
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  They numbered. The early commentaries expressed astonishment as to why the tribe of Levi was smaller in population than the other tribes. In my opinion, the answer is that “by Him actions are weighed” — and He knew that the tribe of Levi would be the King’s legion. They would not inherit a portion, only the cities of open spaces. If the Levites would be numerous, they would have a complaint: Why was their inheritance reduced? Additionally, Bnei Yisroel would find it difficult to support a large population. Therefore, the Creator saw fit, in His wisdom, to withhold the miraculous population increase from them, and they only increased in a natural way. They were not counted among Bnei Yisroel, since no inheritance was given to them among Bnei Yisroel — therefore, they were less in number.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  My food [bread] of My fires. Bread satisfies the heart of man and connects his soul to his body, so too, the offerings connect the dwelling place of Hashem’s honor with His people, Yisroel. Therefore, they are called bread.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  For a pleasing aroma. In all the <i>Musaf</i>-offerings it says “for a pleasing aroma” before “to Adonoy,” yet on Yom Kippur it says “for a pleasing aroma” after “to Adonoy.” This is because on Yom Kippur there is no permission for the Satan to accuse. Materialism, which is the Evil Inclination, is nullified. We are separated from all physicality on Yom Kippur, and the people of Israel are almost forced to do the will of Hashem. Therefore, regarding all the other <i>Musaf</i>-offerings, we need to direct our intention for the sake of a pleasing aroma, so it says, “You shall bring a burnt-offering for a pleasing aroma to Adonoy.” On Yom Kippur, however, it says, “You shall bring a burnt-offering to Adonoy” and the pleasing aroma will come without intention.
  
  Mattot
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Shall remain incumbent upon her. In the entire section Scripture uses the language “it will stand” and “her vows shall stand” without saying “upon her,” except here. The reason is because in those cases the vows will exist forever, but here, a widow or divorced woman can have her vow released by a judge if she has regret. Only as long as she does not regret, the vow will stand, and that is why it says “it shall remain incumbent upon her”—as long as she bears the burden of the vow and does not release it.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Afterward you shall be gathered to your people. If the war with Midian took place after Moshe’s death, people would say it was not during Moshe’s lifetime because he flattered them, since he was the son-in-law of Yisro and dwelled in Midian for many years. Therefore, Moshe had to take revenge before his death.
  
  They mounted a campaign. In the Sefer HaMitzvos, Ramban counts this as a positive commandment. In the Sifei, the Sages derived that the enemy should not be surrounded on four sides from, “as Adonoy had commanded Moshe.” Ramban held the view that just as it is a commandment to seek peace, so too, it is a commandment to leave them a side to flee so they can save their lives. Rambam, however, does not count this as a positive commandment, because he held the view that this is a strategy of warfare. If Bnei Yisroel were to surround their enemy on all sides, this would cause them to despair that they will fall captive to their enemy, and they will be fortified with all their strength to fight valiantly. Therefore, this was not relevant to be counted as a positive commandment.
  
  Masei
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Before the leaders. Before Elozor is not written here, as in the case of the daughters of Tzelofchad, because they understood that such a thing could never be a permanent law, for it would cause the children of Israel to be divided from, and strangers to, each other. This could only take place with the agreement of the greatest men of the nation, or only in this generation until each man would take hold of his own inheritance. That is why they did not ask Elozor the <i>kohein</i>, for he wore the <i>Urim</i> and <i>Tumim</i>, about which is written <i>Mishpat</i> (Judgment). When consulting prophecy, the prophecy can be repealed. The decrees of the <i>Urim</i> and <i>Thumimn</i>, however, which are judgment, cannot be repealed; therefore they did not ask <i>Elozor</i>.
  
  Ruth
  
  
  
  Devarim
  
  
  
  Va'etkhanan
  
  
  
  Ekev
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  You will eat and be full and you will bless Hashem. This is thanksgiving, for the great kindness that Hashem gives each individual. However, the truth is that the blessing is not only for this purpose … When a person eats and is full, he is more likely to rebel against Hashem … therefore Hashem commanded that when a person eats and is satisfied he should mentions Hashem and offer Him thanks by blessing Him. In this way the person will remember who gave him the strength to act, and from whose Hand he takes the food to ease his hunger. This explains the connection to the following verse, “Look out for yourself lest you forget Hashem, your God … Lest you eat and be full …” 
  However, the blessing of “Who is good and Who does good” was established on the existence of the wandering nation, at the time when they were about to be exiled for two thousand years. Despite the exile the nation continues to exist in its unique way, with its glory and splendor. After the destruction of the Second Temple they thought that it would be impossible to continue to exist, and that they would be destroyed in the future, wandering like gypsies without dignity. This belief was strengthened when they saw what happened at Beitar, when only a few survived the Bar Kochba revolt. However, when they saw that a later king arose, filled with compassion, who decreed that they could bury their dead, they understood that Yisroel is a sheep amongst the seventy wolves, but with the kindness of Hashem and through the kindness of kings, they would be able to continue and strengthen and gain wisdom. When the waves of the sea come to drown them, the wind will come after and quiet the waves, through rulers and advisors whose hearts are in the hand of Hashem, who act as agents of kindness. Therefore they established the blessing of “Who is good and Who does good” as a blessing of the continued existence of the nation.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Cling to Him. In my opinion this is a separate mitzvah that includes every person in the nation, each according to his ability. For this reason we only find allusions and hints to it in the Torah. It refers to trust … the concept is that there is moral trust, like the trust of a nation in their king that he will be concerned with their needs, and there is natural trust, like a woman who trusts that her husband will provide for her needs. And there is a stronger trust, like the trust of a son in his father, the king that he will look after him and provide for everything that he needs. All of these concepts apply to Hashem, for He is our King and He is our Father… He knows everything that happens to us and what is in our hearts, and the actions of every person. Therefore he is more concerned with our wellbeing than we are ourselves. If so, a person can sit securely, at peace and tranquility, and not take any more precautions than those that Hashem decreed on us to take… This is the meaning of the verse, “Cling to Him.” When a person understands that he is clinging to Hashem, and attached to the Higher Providence from Hashem, and Hashem is aware of everything he does more than he himself is aware, and Hashem wants each of us to succeed more than we do ourselves… This is called “attachment.” This is a general <i>mitzvah</i> which has different aspects to each member of the nation without exception… With this a person will not be afraid of any person or enemy or any event other than Hashem, since he trusts in Hashem alone. Due to our many sins, this trust has been lost and caused the people of our generation to distance themselves from Torah scholars, and to distance their children from learning Torah. When we look to the future what will become of them?
  
  Re'eh
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Your hand generously to him. This is as our Sages say: We investigate someone who needs clothing [to check if he is really poor], but we do not investigate someone who needs food.
  
  Shoftim
  
  
  
  
  Do not plant for yourself. Inanimate objects do not consume and do not grow, for they are a combination of parts, and the fundamentals of inanimate objects are simple. If you find that a stone grows it is because the earth around it became attached to it and became hard until it became part of the stone. However it does not increase by itself. Conversely, plants and animals consume and grow, and constantly increase perfection in their existence, as is known. In order to teach this principle Hashem commanded to make an altar fo stones, and there should be no element of plant in it. To allow a person to contemplate, tat the altar is a place of sacrifices, yet itself does not require food or water. Similarly, the sacrifices are not for the purpose of food or increasing perfection of Hashem at all…  
  It is known that judgment is to Hashem alone, and it is truly something divine. Judgment can only be just if the judge does not receive any personal benefit, neither money, nor honor.
  
  Ki Tetze
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  He has promulgated libelous words. Her father claims what is due to him. The husband stated that the father gave his daughter over to turpitude, and educated her in an inappropriate lifestyle such that she had behaved promiscuously in her father’s house. Therefore the verse states: “He has promulgated libelous words.” Therefore he pays for the embarrassment of her father, one hundred silver coins to her father, and he is flogged for the fact that he attempted to have her killed. Therefore this is like a case of payment for one crime and lashes for another.
  
  Ki Tavo
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  To be for Him a treasured people. In Torah and mitzvos. For praise and for renown and for glory. This means with wisdom, with wealth, with nice customs and order. To be a people sanctified to Hashem. To not become mixed with the gentile nations and not to act as they do. You shall be separated and distinguished from them through purity and holiness. When the Jewish people are downtrodden amongst the gentile nations they try to find favor in the eyes of the nations of the world, and act as the most depraved amongst them. However this is not the case when they are held up for praise and renown.
  
  Nitzavim
  
  
  
  Vayelekh
  
  
  
  Haazinu
  
  
  
  Vezot Haberakha
  
  
  
  Eikhah
  
  
  
  Derush
  
  