meta: {"file": "/data/tomer/Sefaria-Export/txt/Tanakh/Commentary/Abarbanel/Abarbanel on Torah/English/merged.txt"}
text: Abarbanel on Torah
  אברבנאל על תורה
  merged
  
  This file contains merged sections from the following text versions:
  -The Biblical Exegesis of Don Isaac Abrabanel. PhD thesis by Dr. David E. Cohen, University of London, 2015
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  -Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009
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  -Etzion VBM
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  -YU Torah miTzion Beit Midrash
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  -Sefaria Community Translation
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  Abarbanel on Torah
  
  Genesis
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  ..."In the beginning G-d created" until "The first day" I see in these verses the following questions to raise
  
  ...The first question is in the verse "in the beginning God created" etc. It is that if the text was coming to tell the order of the creation and what came before, why would it say that the First created heaven and earth. For in them you will find that which physically exists above and below. If all this was created in the beginning, what was it that was created afterward? And the commentators ... this in the saying that the text did not come to tell us the order of creation ... You should say: in the beginning of God's creation of Heaven and Earth, the Land was Void and Nothing. This is the way of Rashi and Ibn Ezra. Ralbag is close to them if not that he makes ... with the saying "let there be light." The text speaks according to its thought "In the beginning God created Heaven and Earth and the Earth was Void and Nothingness ... God said let there be light." This explanation does not appear entirely correct with me because it would it would obligate that the text ... On the first intention creation to Heaven and Earth that is the essence ... and its faith. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  That the tree was good for food. She saw that the serpent himself ate of it with no ill effects. And she also gave it to her husband. The fruit had the effect of increasing one’s passions; therefore it was important to her that he eat of it as well. This passage illustrates the dangers of treating Hashem’s commandments as a subject for philosophical inquiry.
  
  
  
  
  
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  She gave birth … to … Hevel. “Vanity.” Hevel sought dominion over others, which is why he chose to be a sheperd. Kayin, on the other hand, desired material possessions, and because he lacked fear of Heaven he was unconcerned about the curse upon the soil.
  
  
  
  
  
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  Adonoy was comforted (or “repented”). That is, it would have appeared to a human observer that He repented.That He had made man. Note that it does not say that He repented that He <i>created</i> man, but only that He <i>made</i> him — i.e. that He allowed him to become so numerous. Hashem knew from the start that a creature made of earth could only be brought to perfection after much tending and pruning.Adonoy said. He said it to Mesushelach and Noach who had been charged with rebuking and forewarning the people.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  ... Without a doubt, as Noach and his children left the boat they were desolate, grieving for the past, ‎and fearful, frightened of the future. This was for four reasons: 1. They mourned the death of their ‎relatives and friends, all of their intimates … 2. They were fearful, frightened of the predatory ‎beasts. When they had been in a political body before, then when a beast came, as in an ambush, ‎many people gathered to kill it … 3. They were anxious, saying, “What shall we eat? We lack the ‎tree fruit which were given as food for Adam, and we lack fruit of the land from which to eat … 4. ‎They feared lest strife and quarrels befall brothers, and lest they kill each other as Kayin had killed ‎Hevel … ‎And when G-d saw that they were desolate for the past and anxious for the future, He addressed ‎their hearts regarding each of these four matters, and He blessed them in ways that matched each ‎of the thoughts in their hearts [in Bereishit 9:1-7].‎ For the first [thought], the lack of relatives and friends who had died in the flood, He told them, ‎‎“Bear fruit and multiply and fill the land.” Meaning: You shall generate relatives and friends from ‎your progeny, and they will be more lovingly loyal than strangers. It is as though He had said, “I will ‎give you great procreative capacity, so that the land will quickly fill up with your children.”‎ For the second thought, their fear of predatory beasts, He said, “And your fear and terror will be ‎upon all of the beasts of the land, and all of the birds of the heavens.” For the human form has a ‎natural domination and authority over all living creatures… “In your hand they have been placed,” ‎meaning to say that  [the animals] had acquired humility and domestication before human beings ‎on the boat, and this would remain.‎‏ ‏For the third thought, the lack of food, He said, “All crawling ‎creatures that live are for you to eat,” as if to say, “If you lack fruit to eat, take your food from the ‎living.”…‎‏ ‏And for the fourth thought, their fear of themselves lest they kill each other, He said, “But ‎only, your blood for your lives I will demand.”‎
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  ...And since they would learn the trait of cruelty from their killing animals in order to eat them, it forbade them [eating] a limb from a live animal, which is an even greater cruelty. And this is its statement, "But you may not eat meat in its soul (benafsho), its blood." And the [letter] bet, of benafsho is used in the place of "with," as in (Exodus 14:18), berikhvo oveparashav (with his chariot and with his riders)"; and (Exodus 15:20), "betupim ouvimacholot (with drums and with dances)." [Hence] the verse is saying, when the soul - its blood - is in it, do not eat from the meat. And this is a truly straight and true explanation...
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  I already recalled in the order of Genesis and the order of Noah as well that the Torah of God recalls three beginnings for the Israelite nation. The first ... was the first Adam.
  
  
  
  
  
  The 5th question: Why did the Lord Blessed be He not reveal the essential intention of this. ...
  ...The 6th question: What is the meaning of "you will be a blessing." 
  ...7th question:
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ...Though having said 'and there will be blessing through you all of the families of the land and in your seed'. I will say that in this way God explained to hi the purpose of the leaving which He commanded him. And that is that because of him they will be blessed and influenced and  many nations will come to learn about God for as he calls out in God's name they will recognize the truth through him... 
  ...but the purpose of the journey was hinted to him in the words 'and there will be a blessing' that God commanded him that when he goes there will be a blessing among the nations in their learning (about God) and in his informing them (the nations) of the true faith in a way that the world will be perfected through him. And God informed him that his special care for the world will be contagious as others will take his Torah and learn of his faith. And on this the Torah states 'I will bless those who bless you', meaning those who bless and praise you--those who are inclined to your discipline of God and those who accept your faith, I will bless them and make their lives better.  
  
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  As he came near. Avraham did not employ this subterfuge when he entered Canaan because he came there at God’s command and was confident that God would protect him.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  He lived in a cave. He was embarrassed to face Avraham, who had separated from him, so he told his daughters that the entire world was destroyed.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  Who would have said. They had not been told that Sarah would even be able to nurse. The purpose of this additional miracle was to spare Yitzchok having to nurse from a stranger. And was weaned. Sarah’s milk did not dry up until Yitzchok was two. It was to give thanks for this unexpected miracle that Avraham made the feast
  
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  Verse 9
  
  Elokim opened her eyes. He did not create a miraculous well for her but merely enabled her to find an existing one.
  
  
  
  
  
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  He bound his son. Yitzchok assumed that this was to be a symbolic offering. It was only when Avraham took the knife and marked the place for the cut did he realize that he was actually to be slaughtered. At that moment he called out to Hashem.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  Negotiable currency. Literally, “handed over to the merchant” — Avraham delivered the coins to the city’s financial expert for examination.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  Isaac was simply blind to Esau's faults.  Affection ruins judgment.
  
  
  
  
  
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  However to fulfill that which was further said to him (Genesis 26:3), "as I will give to you and your seed, all of these lands," Scripture recounted the matter of the wells, his leaving Gerar, and that which Abimelech came to seek his friendship - as if he was the master of the land. And observe this story, and see how it indicates this concept: For behold, Scripture mentioned [that] the reason of, "And the Philistines stopped up all the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of his father Abraham," was in order that Issac's shepherds should not benefit from them, and go away from there from lack of water; and besides that, Abimelech told Issac, "Go away from us, for you have become far too big for us," meaning [that] due to the large quantity of his livestock, there was no room for the livestock of the land; [such that] behold, Issac left the land - but he did not distance himself from the city [of Gerar]. As he dwelt in Nachal Gerar, close to the city - and not like Rashi wrote - as since it shares the name Gerar, it appears that it was close to it. [Hence] he dwelt there against their will. Moreover, he returned and dug the wells that Abraham had dug and the Philistines had filled. And in order to govern over them more, he called them by the name his father had called them - to indicate that they were not new. Rather he would open the wells that they had already filled and call them by their names - as he did this by the power of his hand. And they also dug and found a spring of living water... and even though the shepherds of Gerar fought about this well... behold, this well nevertheless stayed with the shepherds of Issac... And they also dug another well - and even though they also fought about it, it stayed with him; and he called it Sitnah, to [mark] their hatred (sinah) towards him. Until, when they dug the third well, they did not fight about it; and he therefore called its name, Rechovot - as Issac said, "the Lord has widened (hirchiv) and made us fruitful in the land." [This] means to say, "Even though they sent me away from them, the Lord widened it for us in this land, against their will." And this is the reason for all of this story - about which Ramban did not find any purpose or glory to Issac - being written here. [However, Ramban] maneuvered to explain it by way of [its] shell [to be] about our holy and glorious Temple. But in my opinion, there is great glory to Issac [in this story], and that is why it is written here. And since Issac did all of these things with a bold heart - as if he was the master of the land - hence in his coming to Beersheba, the Lord appeared to him and promised him, "I am the Lord of Abraham, your father, do not fear." [This] means to say, "I am the One who gave Abraham your father the power to defeat the kings, and I am the One who gave you the power to act with strength; hence do not fear the men of Gerar, nor about the matter of the wells that you made - as I am with you in all that you do"... 
  "We did not touch you and we sent you away in peace" - meaning to say that we did not take anything from all that is yours, but we rather sent you away in peace. As there is no doubt that you are now more blessed of the Lord than when you came to our land. And that proves that you received benefit and goodness in this land, even as it was from God. And therefore, it is not fit that you do harm to the land in which you lived and were blessed.
  
  
  
  
  
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  Angels … were ascending and descending. Yaakov was afraid that he had sinned in taking the blessings, but Hashem showed him that heaven approved and that the prayers and offerings of his offspring would ascend to heaven from this spot.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  Isn’t it enough that you took. When Leah stopped producing children Yaakov reduced the time he spent with her. Would you also take. Although the Matriarch’s pregnancies were all from Heaven, they did not refrain from using medicinal aids as well.
  
  
  
  
  
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  1- and Yaakov heard the words of Laban... until here is the order and in the next Pasukim are twenty three questions. 
  2- Question 1- why did Yaakov send for Rachel and Leah in the field to speak with them about the issues of their father and he did not come to talk to them in the city of their home.  And why did he not tell them what he heard from the sons of Laban, but only what he saw from their father, because both of the incidents helped to change his mind to leave the land. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  From " And Yaakov came complete to the town of Shechem etc." until "And Chamor, the father of Shechem came out" - Shechem is apparently the city that is close to Mamre Kiriat Arba, since behold when Yaakov was dwelling in Hevron that is Kiriat Arba his sons were sheparding the sheep in Shechem. And it is logical that there was between them a distance of a day maximum, and that is why Yaakov sends  [Yosef] to see how the brothers are faring, and the sheep too, and this was when he is close to where his father was. Despite this, the place where Dina was subjugated was far away from Hevron, where Yitzchak was, and this is a question that remains, since Chazal said that Shechem was a place ready for punishment, since there they subjugated Dina and the tribes were damaged. And from this it appears to me that Shechem was the name of the entire place, and Chamor was the prince of all that land [Abarbanel goes to show where he thinks the connection between Shalem, Shechem and Hevron is]... and the issue with Dina happened in a town named Shalem at the beginning, and it is in a corner of the place called Shechem, and the sons of Yaakov were pasturing the sheep in a different corner, farther away from that area... And it is said that "Yaakov put his tent in front of the city" to explain that there were other reasons for this issue [of Dina] to happen: the first one is that Yaakov pitched [his encampment] close to the city, and because of this Dina went out to see the daughters of the land, and if he had pitched in a place farther away, closer to the place of pasturing and farther from the city, Dina would not have come out and what happened would not have happened. Second reason, Yaakov had bought the piece of land where her tent was pitched from Chamor the father of Shechem, and the scripture teaches this by saying that at first he set his tent on the field, and then after the owners complained, he bought that piece of the field, since he did not want to rent it. And since he purchased it from the hand of Chamor, the prince of the land, it makes sense that he paid good money for it, since a prince of the land will not sell parts of his estate to a stranger unless he gave a princely sum. And he did not buy it from the hand of the sons of Chamor, his advanced age prevented him himself to go, but his sons went to make the sale, and this is why they went to the tents of Yaakov, and saw Dina there, and there is no doubt that they spoke with her and the soul of Shechem desired her, and this too was the reason of the continuation [of what happened] when she went out to see the daughters of the land. And this answers the second question. And Ibn Ezra already explained that Yaakov stayed in this city for many years, since Dina was seven years old when she arrived there, and Shimon and Levi were lads. Since Yaakov had entered the holy land, it was for this reason that he bought a piece of the field and became property owner of holy land, and he acquired an altar to praise G-d, that in His great compassion and love brought him to His land and saved him from Lavan... [Abarbanel goes into a discussion on the nature of Judaism, the name E-l and more] And maybe even this altar was a reason for what happened, since once it was ready all his children came to eat from the sacrifices and Shechem and all the town came to see the inauguration of the altar, and saw Dina there, and desired her, and what happened happened once she went out to see the daughters of the land - and this explains the third question. The Torah does not bring the phrase "and Dina came out" to criticize Dina as a "self-exposing daughter of a self-exposer; like mother, like daughter" as Rashi z"l has. Leah was a modest woman, to the point that Yaakov did not see anything until the moment he came to her. And the "Leah went out" really means that she went out just to the door of her tent and she went out joyfully and with holy intent to greet her husband Yaakov and from that came the birth of Yissachar, the tribe of modest Torah teachers. Also, one cannot say that she is called "daughter of Leah" as a criticism of her nature being of "self-exposing", since Leah was taught to stay in the tents, and Rachel was the one out with the sheep. And from Yaakov himself was known to be a modest person, hiding in the tents of scholars, and if he was modest like this, all the more his daughter. The intent wasnot for anything bad, as the text says "daughters of the town" and not sons of the town. Dina had no sisters, being the only maiden in the house and so she went out to see how the girls of the town dressed and used jewelry, and this explains our fourth question. And there is no doubt that she did not went out by herself, without the company of a man or a woman, and this is implied, just as the scripture has regarding Moses, that he went out to meet his father-in-law, and obviously he did not go alone. The text describes that Shechem was "the son of Chamor the Hivite, the prince of the land" to make sure that we understand that being the prince of the land he used force, and had no fear of those who were with Dinah or of the sons of Yaakov. And the text goes on to say, like Rashi explains, that he lay with her in the usual fashion and afflicted her in the unusual fashion, and how can one describe his doing such a disgrace. And Ibn Ezra explains that her being a virgin, and he doing three things - seizing her by force while she was passing through the market, forcing her in the natural way and in the unnatural way.And even if you know about the second thing, why is the text bringing the first? Isn't it already included? This is to teach that even if he wanted to have relations with her due to his wanting her as a wife, one cannot do this by force. The second comes to teach that he destroyed her virginity. And why is it explaining that he afflicted her? To explain that she did not go by her own will, but he hoped that it would being by her being forced and end by her wanting it.[...]
  
  
  
  
  
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  They approached … with confidence. Yaakov’s sons had performed the circumcisions themselves. Then when they came to check up on their “patients” they sent the women and children out of their rooms and killed them one at a time.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  Let us not kill him. Some of the brothers wished to kill him to prevent him from imposing his rule upon them, but Reuvein was concerned that the dreams might have been genuine. Throw him into this pit. If he escaped miraculously it would prove that the dreams were genuine.
  
  
  
  
  
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  At that time. This episode is inserted here to compare the founding of Yehudah’s dynasty with that of Yoseif’s dynasty, and to show how Providence saw to it that none of Yaakov’s offspring would be lost, so that even the sinful Er and Onan were replaced by the righteous Peretz and Zorach. Yehudah descended. He wanted to distance himself from his brothers’ cruelty as well as from his father’s sorrow. Nevertheless, from the fact that he went with his brothers to Egypt it is clear that he did not sever his ties to them altogether.She is righteous, [it is] from me. I had thought my two sons died on her account, but now I see that it was due to their own wickedness, for she has conceived through me yet I am still alive (<i>Abarbanel</i>).
  
  
  
  
  
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  ‘And Joseph was brought down to Egypt’, etc, to the end of this Scriptural portion. There are (valid) questions arising out of these two chapters (39 &amp; 40) also, which are as follows:
  Question 1: In the verse (Gen. 39:2): ‘And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master’, the verse utilizes the Hebrew verb <i>‘hayah’</i> (‘he was’) three times, which seems unnecessary repetition. It could simply have stated: ‘And the Lord was with Joseph, so that he was successful in his Egyptian master’s household’.
  Question 2: In connection with the Torah recording that his master handed over control of everything he had into his (Joseph’s) hands, it has already been stated previously: ‘And he appointed him over his household and all that he had he placed under his control (39:4) and yet again, subsequently, we are told: ‘And he left everything he had in Joseph’s hands and knew nothing of it’, etc (39:6). This threefold reiteration of the same point is surely unnecessary.
  Question 3: Why did Joseph’s master’s wife publicize what had taken place between Joseph and herself: for surely, by doing so, she was impugning her own moral dignity? It would have been better for her to maintain silence so as to retain her honor. Furthermore, (had she kept silent), the hope always remained that on some future occasion she might succeed in enticing him to comply with all her desires – in view of this, then, did she act foolishly?
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  The commentary will cover from: ‘And Joseph was brought down to Egypt’ etc (39:1) to ‘Now it transpired, after these events’ (40:1). Scripture relates that it was part of Divine providence, for Joseph’s benefit, that the Ishmaelites who had purchased him did not take him on their own familiar routes or lead him away to a distant land, nor did they sell him (merely) to grind amongst the millstones, or to work in a lowly occupation entailing much physical labor and exertion, but (on the contrary) sold him in Egypt, which was a highly advanced country, to Potiphar, who was Pharaoh’s officer, a prince – one of his greatest officials.
  Now, as regards the true meaning of (the Hebrew word) <i>‘sarisim’</i> (appearing here in the text), our Sages of blessed memory held various opinions, some maintaining that they were actually eunuchs – incapable of sexual relations – and others claiming that they were high-ranking officials; the latter view is the one I believe to be correct.
  We are also told that the Chief Executioner was appointed for the purpose of executing and incarcerating offenders, and accordingly the prison-house was under his control, being indeed located inside his own house; and the officer in charge of the prison was subject to his jurisdiction.
  
  Verse 2
  
  Now Joseph, despite being merely a slave to the ruling classes, constantly retained the fear of God before his eyes, and had the Almighty in mind throughout the course of his activities. It is regarding this that (the Torah) states: ‘And the Lord was with Joseph’, i.e. that the thought of Him was always in Joseph’s mind. Accordingly, as a reward for this, he became a person who succeeded in every venture he undertook.
  However, I personally consider the most accurate overall interpretation of these verses to be that Scripture here records three enormous acts of grace conferred by the Holy One, blessed be He, upon Joseph there (in the jail). The first was that, despite being but a slave, with a depressed spirit, he nonetheless enjoyed Divine influence to such a degree that when he heard a dream, he could interpret it in accordance with what would actually transpire in the future – and it was impossible for this to be on account of (his) inherent gift of discernment, simple knowledge (of current events), and well-developed analytical powers possessed by him, as such powers are variable in their results – they do indeed predict the truth on some occasions, whilst on others they fail to do so. (We are thus forced to conclude that) it was the spirit of the Almighty speaking through him, and that His word was upon his (Joseph’s) tongue; and accordingly, not a single one of his predictions failed to be fulfilled; he could also see dreams fulfilled in accordance with his predictions; and it is thus, in relation to all this, that Scripture states: ‘And the Almighty was with Joseph’. The second (act of Divine grace) was that he succeeded in all his affairs. Concerning this aspect, we are told, ‘And he was a successful person’ in that whatever he turned his hand to prospered. The third (act of Divine grace) was that, despite the general custom amongst high-ranking officials, on purchasing a slave, to leave him to labor in the fields, [indeed the Egyptians, in particular, would treat Hebrews in this fashion, as they were hated by them on account of their (i.e. the Hebrews) being meat-eaters], in this instance the Almighty favored him in his master’s house by allowing him to remain working inside the house, (even) in Egypt, where he could relax, rather than dispatching him to the fields to toil away there. In regard to this point, the verse emphasizes: ‘And he was in the house of his Egyptian master’. Moreover, since each of these three (acts of grace) were quite distinct, the narrative repeatedly utilizes the word ‘va’yehi’ (‘and he was’) in each particular instance. Thus, in the light of this interpretation, the first of the questions initially posed (by us) has been satisfactorily resolved.
  
  
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  When his master observed that the Almighty ‘was with him’, i.e. that he possessed both Divine knowledge and fear of God, and that He was, so to speak, ‘advising’ him in relation to his affairs; and on his witnessing such a great measure of Divine grace as would guarantee Joseph’s success in all his endeavors, Joseph found favor in his sight.
  It is, however, also legitimate to interpret the verse (39:3) ‘And his master saw that the Almighty was with him and that God caused all that he did to succeed’ as follows: sometimes merchants make healthy profits from their merchandise, but this is attributable solely to the deceitful (commercial) practices to which they resort: as Scripture indeed informs us elsewhere: (Hosea 12:8): ‘Canaan (i.e. the merchant) holds in his hands scales of deceit; he loves to defraud’); but Joseph did not act in this fashion, as God’s presence was permanently in his thoughts and before his eyes; hence he would never commit a wrong, nor would he ever resort to deceitful language – but nonetheless, the Almighty allowed all his dealings to prosper. It was due to this that his master elevated him to a higher status. Until now, he had been serving in his master’s home, but not inside his ‘inner sanctum’; he had not been attending upon his master in his inner chamber. But at this juncture, he (Potiphar) elevated his working status in three ways: first, he (Joseph) ministered directly to his master, by dressing and feeding him – this is what is meant by the phrase ‘and he ministered to him’; secondly, he appointed him in charge of his entire household, i.e. that he (Joseph) could henceforth command all the servants employed there to carry out such tasks as befitted them: thirdly, he handed over control of all his possessions to Joseph, by creating him guardian of his treasures and his riches.
  Now it was by virtue of Divine Providence that, from the very moment he had appointed Joseph over his household and all he possessed, ‘God blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake’ (39:5). And not only did He bless the items inside the house, which were under Joseph’s direct control, but the Divine blessing extended to all he owned, both in the house and in the fields, despite Joseph having no role to play in the fields at all.
  
  Verse 6
  
  The narrative continues to relate that Potiphar went yet one step further, by leaving all his possessions in Joseph’s charge, by which is meant without any written record or inventory (of the items in question). This, then, is what is meant by the phrase ‘And he knew nothing of what was under Joseph’s control’ (39:6). For previously, the Torah relates: ‘And he appointed him over his household, and handed over all his possessions to him’ i.e. his treasures – yet his master was aware of what was in the house, and he (Joseph) would account to him on a daily basis. However, once he had observed his success and his uprightness of character – ‘he was not cognizant of anything in Joseph’s possession’ (39:6), insofar as he did not demand any reckoning from him, as is customary amongst administrational delegators. This, then, is the true import of the phrase ‘he abandoned control of all his possessions’.
  Now when the Torah tells us (that he left everything in Joseph’s hands) ‘except the bread that he ate’ (39:6), it means to say that he left his entire wealth and possessions in Joseph’s charge without requiring any account from him, besides the bread his master ate; this could not be under Joseph’s control, as he was of Hebrew origin, and (as we are later informed – [Ch. 43:32]: ‘the Egyptians are not permitted to eat bread together with the Hebrews’ – as Rabbi Abraham Ibn Ezra has noted ( in his Torah commentary). Accordingly, (as we have amply demonstrated), there is, after all, nothing repetitious or superfluous contained within these verses, and thus the second question initially posed by us has been satisfactorily resolved.
  After Scripture has praised Joseph by recording that ‘God was with him’ and that ‘he was successful’, thus causing him to find favor in his master’s sight, it continues to lavish yet more praise on him, by relating that he was ‘of fair countenance and handsome appearance’, on account of which he found favor in the eyes of his master’s wife!
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  It is due to the fact that a man’s high status, plus the fact that everyone pays him attention, frequently induce women to love him, that Scripture states at this point (39:7): ‘So it happened after these events’ i.e. once he had been appointed supreme controller of his master’s house, coupled with his natural good looks, that his mistress started to think about him.
  When the verse tells us that ‘his master’s wife raised her eyes towards Joseph’, it intends to convey the idea that she was, so to speak, pleading with him (to surrender to her) because of her love for him. When it states that she ‘raised her eyes towards him’, this expression must be understood in the same sense as the phrase we find (in Psalm 123:1): ‘Unto Thee, O Lord, have I raised my eyes!’ She thus addressed him: ‘Lie with me!’, as though to say, ‘now that you are already in control of the entire household, rule over me as well!’
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  ‘But he (Joseph) refused, and said to his master’s wife’, etc. (39:8) First of all, the verse states that he inwardly refused – as being a mortal sin – to consort , rebelliously and treacherously, with his master’s wife – and, even more so, to beget children destined for idol-worship. And, besides this, i.e. his inward refusal to succumb – he also openly declared to her his reasons for avoiding intimacy with her –
  ‘Look, my master has handed over all his affairs to me’, etc. (39:8). What he wished to point out by this was that an individual who sins does so exclusively either to satiate himself with something materially beneficial, or for the sake of obtaining glory, or to fulfill a pledge (made by him); ‘but in my case, none of these factors apply: from the aspect of material benefit, my master has no idea of what household items are under my control, having placed all his possessions in my hand. As to obtaining glory, ‘even my master himself is not of higher rank in the household than I am’ – by which he meant to say: ‘whilst it is possible that within the king’s household, he is greater than I, in this household, he is not’. And as regards fulfillment of a pledge, my master has withheld nothing from me besides you, and that too is only because of your being his wife – i.e. insofar as your marital status is concerned; but not in any other respect. Accordingly, if all that remains to him is yourself, on account of your marriage to him, how can I perpetrate so great an evil as to remove you forcibly from him? – for by doing so, I would be acting like a traitor and a thief in respect of what was placed in my care. Furthermore, even if he knew nothing of the affair, and I could thus not be called a sinner against him personally, still, there can be no doubt that the sin would be against God, Who is aware of secret matters’. This, then, is what he meant by exclaiming: ‘I will have sinned against the Almighty!’
  
  
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  Now, as regards the next verse: (39:10): ‘And it happened, when she spoke to Joseph daily, but he paid no attention to her importunings’, I believe its correct interpretation is as follows: on the first occasion, Joseph did listen to her words, and replied to her, as she was his master’s wife; but subsequently, he became afraid that her continual advances would (ultimately) entice him; for repeated words or deeds can make a huge impression, so as to effect an alteration in a person’s conduct. Consequently, from then onwards, when she used to speak to him every day – our Sages indeed tell us that this went on for twelve months! – he would not listen to what she said, to avoid himself becoming seduced. Now she, as mistress of the house, would sit on the ground – as is customary for ladies of that rank – on a rug made of linen and embroidered wool – and high-ranking officials, when coming to converse with them, would (customarily) lie down on those very rugs to conduct their dialogue. She was accordingly continually urging Joseph to lie down beside her on the rug so that she could speak to him, but he (for his part) had no desire to approach her. This, then, is the (full) purport of the verse (found here) :(39:10): ‘But he paid no heed to her, to lie by her side, to be with her’. On perceiving that she would not accept his efforts to extricate himself (from her clutches), he chose to shut his ears and neither to listen to anything she said, nor, needless to say, to venture close to her in the place where she was seated.
  
  
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  Accordingly, when the power of her love overwhelmed her, and he was no longer paying any attention to her words, she seized him by his robe, reasoning that, once she had been so bold as to grab hold of it, he would be ashamed to despise her and tell her (outright): ‘I do not desire you!’ He, for his part, for fear that he would let himself be seduced by her advances and her conduct, fled away from her presence, and went outside, not even tarrying to extricate his robe from her hand so that she would not seize and kiss him. This is what Scripture intends to convey by (the expression) ‘he fled’ (39:12). He also did not wish to extract his garment from her hand by superior force because she was, after all, his mistress, so that she was able to detach it from him; as it was a robe in which he would envelop himself, like a cloak, as Nahmanides has stated (in his commentary on this passage).
  
  Verse 13
  
  She, for her part, seeing that he had left his robe in her hand and had fled outside naked – something which is not done – thought that, without doubt, if his master arrived on the scene, he would question him as to what had occurred, and Joseph would be compelled to reply to him to excuse himself for walking about outside the house naked; and that when he would tell him the truth as to what had taken place, her nefarious conduct would become public knowledge. This, then, is the correct interpretation of the verse: ‘Now it transpired, that when she saw that he had left his robe in her hand and fled outside’ (39:13) – for had he not done both these things, she would not have suspected him of revealing the incident; just as she too had not disclosed it till now. However, as he had fled outside naked, whoever saw him – and most certainly his master – would be prompted to demand an explanation from him; and he in turn would be forced to disclose the incident. It was due to such considerations (only) that she (decided to) act cunningly, for fear of the shame she would suffer on being discovered by the members of the household. Hence she herself publicized the affair, by exclaiming:(39:14): ‘Look how he (my husband) has brought us a Hebrew man’ – an enemy of the Egyptian nation – and promoted him over his household; and he, for his part, perceiving this, had the temerity to mock me!’ [in the sense of the Biblical verse (Proverbs 29:21): ‘he who pampers his slave from his youth will ultimately find the slave lording it over him!’] With such an interpretation of the passage, the third question we initially posed has been satisfactorily resolved.
  
  
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  Undoubtedly, when Joseph’s master, appreciating that God was ever-present in his mind, did not believe what his wife was saying; for had he done so, he would have had to put him to death. However, he was still troubled by this episode, and accordingly put him in prison – had he not acted in this way, he would have become a laughing-stock, as his wife was (already) saying as much. By remaining silent, he would have provided her with a pretext for being unfaithful to him. This, then, is what Scripture intends to convey by the phrase, ‘And when his master heard the words of his wife’ (39:19): – for he was not unduly affected by the incident itself, since he lent it no credence; nor was he influenced by the robe found in her hand – as he undoubtedly questioned Joseph about it, and was told the truth. The Torah mentions this only briefly, as it is quite clear from the basic drift of the narrative. Hence it does not say (39:19): ‘And his fury was aroused against Joseph’, but simply, ‘his fury was aroused’. He was angered by what his wife had said, and his mind pre-occupied with what to do to appease her, given that she was insisting on her version of events. Accordingly, he resolved to incarcerate Joseph in the prison-house, which was under his control and located within the precincts of his own home, to remain there until (his wife’s) fury had subsided.
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  He did not hand him over to his servants, the officials, to lead him away in shame and derision to the jail, as would be normal (in such cases); but rather, his master personally took him by the hand and led him there, as he (Joseph) was highly esteemed by him. This is what is meant by the verse ‘And Joseph’s master took him, and placed him in the prison-house’. (39:20). However, he did not put him in the area where men of lowly rank were imprisoned by order of the city’s judiciary, but in the section where royal prisoners were incarcerated; for inside the jail were various chambers and storeys, each separate from one another; and Joseph was placed in that very room where those princes imprisoned by royal command had been assigned.
  As for the next phrase, ‘and he remained there in the prison-house’, we must understand this to mean that he (Potiphar) placed him there, as this was to be his punishment, i.e. to remain there at his pleasure for a period of time; and he was to receive no further punishment.
  
  
  Verse 21
  
  Scripture then goes on to relate: ‘And the Almighty was with Joseph and extended grace towards him, and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison governor’ (39:21). We should note that, whereas in regard to Joseph’s master (Potiphar), who was a high-ranking official, Scripture (deliberately) employs the (more neutral) expression ‘he found favor in his sight’, in the case of the governor of the jail, who was cruel by nature, showing neither pity nor mercy [such a nature well suited his job, as he would inevitably be in the company of wrongdoers and sinful men all day long], – so that Joseph’s finding favor with him would be truly miraculous – Scripture relates: ‘The Almighty was with Joseph and extended him grace, granting him favor (even) with the governor of the jail’. This was nothing less than a miracle, taking into account the governor’s base character. Indeed, (Joseph found favor with him) to such an extent that the governor delegated control of all the prisoners to him, and he was appointed to watch over all their comings and goings. Now, since the poorest element amongst a group of prisoners continue with the performance of their regular occupations whilst in jail so as to allow them to earn some money, and it would be risky to permit outsiders to visit them to buy such items from them as they had made themselves, in case the prisoners plotted an escape, all their business affairs and dealings were directed through Joseph. This, then, is the underlying meaning of the phrase (39:22): ‘and everything they did there was done by him’ – as they carried out all their activities under his supervision. Rashi states in his commentary on this verse that everything was done at Joseph’s command and with his permission; and undoubtedly Joseph too obtained some personal benefit from this arrangement; hence the next verse goes on to say: (39:23): ‘The prison governor saw nothing of all that passed through (Joseph’s) hand’ – as he did not bother to check whether Joseph would obtain material benefit from it or not.
  The same verse then records that all these benefits flowed from the prison governor, despite this being totally out of character for him; and we may ascribe this to two reasons; first, because God was with Joseph, causing him to find favor in his sight; and secondly, because the Almighty granted Joseph success in regard to anything to which he turned his hand; and such success allowed him permanently to retain the governor’s favor.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  (On verses 37-38:) What did Pharaoh see to say to his servants, "Could we find another like him, a man in whom is the spirit of God," and that he said to him, "there is no one wise and understanding like you," and that he made him the master over his entire household and ruler over the entire land of Egypt - before he knew whether his words would be substantiated and whether the thing would come to effect as he had interpreted or not?! As behold, the chief wine steward did not do a thing [for just this reason], when he interpreted his dream positively. As maybe the thing would not be as he had interpreted it to Pharaoh. And if so, why did he raise him before the thing was tested? And he also [prematurely] gave him a wife from the notables of the land.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ...(On verse 8:) And this is difficult; as why did their interpretations not sit with his heart, and why did Jospeh's interpretation sit with his heart - as Pharaoh did not know the discipline of interpretation. So with what was it nevertheless known to him that they were not interpreting properly and that Joseph's interpretation was true?...
  
  
  
  
  
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  In truth we are guilty. The man’s mercy towards their households reminded them of their own lack of mercy towards their brother. Alternatively, until now they thought he was simply cruel, but now that they saw otherwise they knew that what had befallen them was a punishment.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  You will dwell. He invited his father to come to Egypt because he could not abandon his duties to go to Canaan. In the land of Goshen. In case his father was deterred by the immorality of the capital, he assured him that he could dwell in Goshen instead.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  Please do not bury me in Egypt. He was concerned that Yoseif would leave his coffin in Egypt until the redemption to ensure that the Israelites would take his own out as well.
  
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  On … the houses. The blood was to be placed on the inside because it was a sign for the B’nei Yisrael, not the Egyptians (see v. 13).
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  Moses filled four roles: prophet, king, teacher and judge, the first three of which no one else could help him with.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  Honor your father. Included within this is the obligation to honor Hashem, one’s true Father, and according to the Sages (<i>Kesubos</i> 103a), one’s older brother. It also includes honoring Torah scholars, who are like fathers to their disciples, heeding the prophets, showing respect to the elderly and obeying the Sanhedrin. The purpose of this <i>mitzvah</i> is to bolster faith in tradition by honoring its bearers. That is why it is listed on the first Tablet along with the commandments between man and God. So that your days may be lengthened. This is in recompense for his good deed towards his forebears. Alternatively, it is to enable his own children to honor <i>him</i>, measure for measure; therefore when this commandment is repeated in <i>Devarim</i> (5:16) the Torah adds, “in order that it will be good for you” (<i>Abarbanel</i>).
  
  Verse 13
  
  You shall not murder; you shall not commit adultery, etc. All the people witnessed the sounds: They said in the Mekhilta (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 20:14) - How were the Ten Commandments given? Five on one tablet and five on the other. It is written, "I am the Lord your God," and opposite it, "You shall not murder" - since spilling blood is tantamount to diminishing the likeness [of God]. It is written, "There shall not be unto you [any other gods]," and opposite it, "You shall not commit adultery," saying that anyone worshipping idolatry is tantamount to adultery against the Omnipresent. It is written, "You shall not take [the name of the Lord your God in vain]," and opposite it, "You shall not steal," saying that anyone who steals - in the end - comes to swear in vain, as it is written (Jeremiah 7:9), "Shall one steal, murder, commit adultery, [swear falsely]." And it is written (Hosea 4:2), "swearing, lying, [murdering, stealing]." It is written, "Remember the Sabbath day," and opposite it, "You shall not testify falsely against your fellow" - Scripture is saying that anyone who desecrates the Sabbath testifies before Him who spoke and brought the world into being that He did not rest on the seventh day; and anyone who keeps the Sabbath thereby testifies about [God's] creation of the world, as it is written (Isaiah 43:10), "You are My witnesses, says the Lord." It is written, "Honor your father [and your mother]," and opposite it, "You shall not covet," saying that anyone who covets - in the end - comes to beget a son who curses his father, and honors one who is not his father. This is why the Ten Commandments were given, five on one tablet and five on the other, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 5:19), "The Lord spoke those words, etc. and He wrote them [on two tablets of stone]." These are the words of Rabbi Chanina ben Gamliel. But the sages say: Ten were on one tablet and ten on the other, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 5:19) "The Lord spoke those words, etc. and He wrote them [on two tablets of stone]." To here [are the words of the Mekhilta]. This is the approach of the Sages, may their memory be blessed, about the organization of these Commandments and their need. However, according to what I explained in the verses, the first five were on one tablet due to their relating to matters of divinity; and the last five on [another] tablet due to their relating to  [that which] is between a man and his fellow - according to the opinion of Rabbi Chanina, which is the more logical. And the tablets were therefore two. For if all of the Commandments were on each one of the tablets, there would not have been a need for two tablets, but rather [only] one. And because of this, the name, Lord, and the name, God, is mentioned in each of the five first Commandments that were on one tablet, to indicate that they were commandments about divinity. However, in that the last fives ones are all about humanity - between a man and his fellow - none of the holy names [of God] are mentioned in any of them. And this is that which the Sages, may their memory be blessed, intended in their saying (Shemot Rabbah 80:47): The two tablets correspond to the heavens and the earth, to a groom and a bride, to two friends and to two worlds. As through this, they wanted to distinguish between the two tablets, according to what I have explained. And behold, there is no doubt that there are other commandments included in the Commandment, "You shall not murder" - as I mentioned. For murder is stated about the killing of a soul - like (Numbers 35:2) "and the blood-avenger [murders] the murderer"; but it is also stated about blows and wounds - like (Psalms 42:11), "Murdering my bones"; (Hosea 6:9), "murdering on the way to Shekhem"; (Psalms 62:4), "all of you murder him like a leaning wall." For it compared someone hit and "murdered" to a leaning wall, that is ready to fall but has not yet fallen. And the word, murderer, is also stated about one who causes death, even though he does not kill with his hands (actively) - like (Judges 20:4) "the husband of the murdered woman." And they slept with her and did not kill her, but she was murdered as a result of [their actions]. And according to all of these usages, it is fit to understand, "You shall not murder," about one who kills a soul and one who strikes his fellow [with] 'bruises and wounds, that are repayment for evil.' And that one not go talebearing is also included in this Commandment, for he causes the [potential] murder. And also included in this Commandment is that one not refrain from charity to the poor, and [from] the commandment of "and your brother shall live with you" (Leviticus 25:36) - as it is written (Deuteronomy 15:9), "so that you are mean to your needy brother and give him nothing, and he will cry out to the Lord against you, and you will incur sin." For one who withholds charity is killing the souls of the poor and the destitute. And also included in this negative commandment is the release of Hebrew slaves on the seventh year, and of the Hebrew maidservant, as is coming up. For if he detains them more than is the law; it is like killing and negating them from the world. And also included in this Commandment - according to the opinion of the Sages, may their memory be blessed - is one who whitens the face of (embarrasses) his fellow about a blemish that he or his ancestors had; and also one who infringes upon his fellow's trade, one who prevents his sustenance from him and one who competes (unfairly); and the one who slanders and the one who hands over his fellow - all of these are included in "You shall not murder." And all forbidden sexual relations and all types of adulterers are included in the Commandment, "You shall not commit adultery" - as was mentioned by Rabbi Avraham ibn Ezra. For even though adultery (<i>niuf</i>) is said specifically about one who sleeps with a married woman, see that it is also stated generally about all other sexual prohibitions - and as it stated (Job 24:15), "The eyes of the adulterer watch for twilight, saying, 'No eye will see me.'" And there are also many commandments included in the Commandment, "You shall not steal.” For the word, thief, is sometimes stated about one who kidnaps one of his brothers - like the words [of the Sages,] may their memory be blessed - and it also stated about one who takes his fellow's money without his knowledge, as it is written (Exodus 22:1), "If the thief is seized while tunneling"; and it is stated about withholding a pledge and exploitation, since it is taking a person's property against his will. Hence it is stated (Leviticus 5:21), "or by holding a pledge, or through robbery, or by defrauding his kinsman" - as it all called holding a pledge, which is theft. And the word, theft, is also stated about fraud and deceit - like (Genesis 31:20), "And Jacob stole Lavan's heart"; (Job 4:12) "A stolen word came to me." And from this angle and aspect, even oppressive words are called theft. And according to these usages, the Commandment of "Do not steal" includes kidnapping, stealing money or vessels, robbery and exploitation; the commandment of "a man shall not oppress his brother" (Leviticus 25:14), and "Stay away from a false thing (Exodus 23:7); all matters of theft and fooling people; the commandment of "You shall not render an unfair decision" (Leviticus 19:15) with size, weight and length; and all of the other commandments I mentioned above. And as for why the Commandment of "You shall not commit adultery," came between "You shall not murder" and "You shall not steal," it is surely because a wife is, from one aspect, like a man's body - bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh - but from another aspect, she is like his acquisitions and his money. Hence this Commandment is stated between "You shall not murder" and "You shall not steal." And once it warned a man not to injure his fellow with bad deeds - not towards his wife, his body or his money - it warned him also not to injure him with the words of his lips. And that is its stating, "You shall not testify falsely against your fellow." And besides this prohibition that a person not testify falsely; also included in it is one who mocks his fellow, one who speaks evil speech, one who talebears, one who whitens the face of his fellow in public and that which is similar to them from the commandments that I mentioned.  And after this, it warned that a man not injure his fellow with his thoughts. And that is, "You shall not covet." And Rabbi Avraham ibn Ezra explained that this Commandment is not only in thought, since coveting is also stated about robbing something desirable, as it is stated (Micah 2:2), "They covet fields, and rob." And, if so, it is warning with this about robbing that is a continuation of the act of coveting, and also about the internal coveting itself. And the great rabbi, Maimonides, agreed with this in the Book of Damages, Laws of Robbery and Lost Property 5 - that one does not transgress the negative commandment of "You shall not covet" until he takes an object that he coveted - which is coveting with an action. But desire (Deuteronomy 5:18) is only in the heart. And there are some of the decisors that disagree with him about this. And Rabbi Avraham ibn Ezra put effort into explaining that a person has the power to accustom himself to uphold this prohibition of "You shall not covet," even in the heart. And that is when a person accustoms himself to be satisfied with what he has, like he accustoms himself to the prohibition of forbidden sexual relations and that which is similar to it. And it mentioned the desired things according to [the order of] a man's need for them and that which it is fit for a man to expend efforts to acquire in his world. And that is why it first mentioned the coveting of a house; and then a wife; and then a slave and maidservant; and then an ox and donkey, that are animals that do not speak. And Scripture grouped the other things that are not so necessary when it stated, "and anything that is your fellow's." But in Mishneh Torah (Deuteronomy), it mentioned them according to the severity of the sin and the evil. For the most evil coveting is the coveting of a man for his fellow's wife, like the desire of David for Bathsheba. And after it in evil is the coveting of a man for his fellow's house, and afterwards the field. For even if a man does not live in it - like he lives in his house - it is surely the place of his nourishment and the inheritance of his ancestors, as it was in the matter of Ahab with the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. And after the field, it mentioned the slave and the maidservant that are not as esteemed as the field; and afterwards, the ox and donkey, which do not speak; and after them, it wanted to group all of the movable property that is not living - "and everything that is your fellow's." And I have already mentioned that these last five Commandments came with extreme terseness, because they are things that the human intellect understands, and because the first three of them were from the commandments that the Children of Noah were [already] commanded. Hence it does not say the word, "your fellow" here - meaning to say, "You shall not murder your fellow, you shall not commit adultery with your fellow's wife; you shall not steal from that which is your fellow's." As the whole world was already prohibited about [these things], whereas the Israelites were [deemed] fellows from the angle of the Torah which they received and by which they were united. However, with the commandment, "You shall not testify," it stated, "Your fellow" - and likewise with "You shall not covet." For the Holy One, blessed be He, added these two commandments to command them now to the Israelites, given that they were beloved fellows from once they received the Torah. And from that angle, and since they were the Children of Jacob - the seed of the blessed one of the Lord, it was fit that they not perpetrate injustice and that there not be expressions of deceit and bad desires in their mouths and hearts. And I also say that a double prohibition come upon coveting - in that it states, "You shall not covet your fellow's house; you shall not covet your fellow's wife" - because, as mentioned by the Medini (Aristotle), love and desire [of something] can be [because it is] useful or [because it is] enjoyable. And since they are different things, the negative commandment mentions [coveting] twice, as if it were saying, do not covet something wrong from that which is useful like a house or a field, and do not covet something wrong from that which is enjoyable like a woman. And with this, the second question is resolved. And Rabbi Avraham ibn Ezra already mentioned a different opinion about these Ten Commandments - that they are corresponding to the heavenly spheres, and he related each one to its sphere; and he felt that it was about this that it stated (Exodus 20:19), "you saw that I spoke to you from the heavens." But because these are tangible things, 'my soul is bewildered by them.' Hence I did not mention them here.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  Do not oppress a stranger. Do not pressure him even under circumstances where it would be appropriate to pressure a born Jew, lest he assume that you are doing so because he is a convert.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  "And you shall speak to all of the wise-hearted, etc. And they shall take the gold, etc." - what was the need to have this precede the command for the priestly garments? And note that it did not mention [something] like this with the ark and the cherubs or with the table and the menorah; and it is understood that the craftsmen would make them and take the necessary things to make them.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  And this is what you shall offer. The purpose of the altar could not have been for the sacrificing of sin offerings because God did not want people to sin in the first place. Rather, its primary purpose was for the sacrificing of the continual offerings, which were expressions of gratitude for God’s kindnesses to the B’nei Yisrael. Thus the morning offering recalled the Giving of the Torah, which took place in the morning. The afternoon sacrifice recalled the redemption from Egypt, which took place in the evening. The tenth of an <i>epha</i> of flour recalled the manna, of which each person received a tenth of an <i>epha</i> every day. The oil recalled the distinction they received at the time of the exodus and the wine recalled their joy.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  About that which Moses repeated, "If Your presence does not go, do not take us up from here," after [God], may He be blessed, had already conceded to him and said (in verse 14), "My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest" - why did Moses answer Him and say, "If Your presence does not go," and make efforts to find arguments about this (in verse 16), "For how shall it be known that I and Your people have gained favor in Your eyes, unless You go with us," which are all words that are apparently unnecessary for the matter about which he asked??
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  "And God said to Moses, carve for yourself" ... until "protect for yourself that which I teach you this day.  Here I banish ..."  And there is reason to question on these verses as follows:
  1. The first question: why did God command Moses to carve two tablets of stone akin to the first [set of tablets], upon which God would inscribe the Ten Commandments that were on the first set of tablets.  For if the second set of tablets were to replace the first set, it would be appropriate for them to be identical in all respects; however, the first set were both carved and inscribed by God, while the second set were carved by Moses, who did not inscribe them, and inscribed by God, who did not carve them.
  The second question: why did the second set of tablets have greater holiness than the first set, as indicated by the verse, "and no man shall ascend [the mountain] with you."  And for the first tablets, the verse said "ascend to God, you and Aharon and Nadav and Avihu ..." Also, here the verse warned "the sheep and the cattle shall not graze adjacent to the mountain," while no such restriction appears with respect to the first tablets.  It appears that the second tablets that Moses carved were holier than the first set that were carved by God.
  The third question: the verse states "and he called," as if to say he witnessed, " and I called in the name of God before you."  We might ask, what is this testimony, for after this the verse states "and God passed before him and he called 'Hashem Hashem ...'" and if so, there are two separate testimonies, where for one it says "he called in the name of God" and in the other it simply says "and God called."  And if the caller is Moses, we must ask if God stood beside him (as specified in the verse) why did Moses call out to him.  
  The fourth question: why weren't all of God's promises to Moses enacted, as there were things He promised that were absent and other things that were added on. For God promised "I will allow all of My goodness to pass before you ... and I will remove My hand and you will see Me from behind."  Yet we do not seen this enacted [in the verses]; neither God's passing His goodness before Moses, nor Moses seeing Him from behind. God also said, "I will proclaim the Name of the Lord before you, and the grace that I grant and the compassion that I show," which are the three attributes (God, Compassion, Grace) and no others.  Yet, at the moment of action, He proclaimed thirteen attributes.  And so He added upon his promise.  And note that in His promise, Grace preceded Compassion, but in the recital of the thirteen attributes, Compassion came before Grace. 
  The fifth question: the verse states, "God descended in a cloud and stood with Moses there."  Why specify that He descended in a cloud? And what is the meaning of "H/he stood with H/him there" - who was standing with whom?  Was God standing with Moses or was Moses standing with God?  And note that at the revelation at Mt. Sinai, the verse states, "And God descended onto Mt. Sinai," but did not reference a descent in a cloud.  For if one were to say that there was a cloud there, the verse does not reference one when God descended to speak to the Israelite nation.
  The sixth question: the verse, "And the Lord passed before him," should have appeared at the be  ginning of the story, and not in the middle after the prior verse stated, "And the Lord descended in a cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name of the Lord," for He was already speaking with him. So why specify, "the Lord passed before him," for after He proclaimed the name of the Lord there was no break in the attributes.  And there was no separation between them.  Note that in reference to the "standing" the verse did not say "before him", only that He stood there.  Indeed, in reference to His passing the verse says "before him."  And pay no mind to the teaching that explains that the phrase "the Lord passed before him" means that, in response to Moses' desire to see the Lord's face, the Lord changed the subject by enumerating the attributes, for this is not supportable from the grammar or the context. 
  The seventh question: when enumerating the thirteen attributes, why did God repeat the attribute "The Lord" twice. For no other attribute is repeated in this manner. And one cannot say that once was for the "Koreh" and one is for the "Kriyah" as the Gaon proposes: he wishes to say that the verse should be read, "and the Lord called out, 'the Lord, a God compassionate and gracious." Yet the cantillation dissuades us from this reading, as the Ibn Ezra responds, and one also should not say that the repeated name is similar to God calling out "Abraham, Abraham" or "Moses, Moses." For no other attribute is repeated here, whereas repeated names can be found in instances where on is speaking down to another, such as from a master to a servant, when required.  But calling out the Lord's honored name is not speaking down.  And furthermore, after verses stated, "And the Lord passed before him," it is clear that it was God calling out and  no other, so why would the verse need to specify that "the Lord passed by" and "the Lord called out?" 
  The eighth question: why aren't all of theses names and attributes expressed in the same conjugation (i.e., an active verb)?  Three of them are expressed in Pa'ul (Compassionate, Gracious and Slow to Anger).  And it would have been more appropriate to say "Bestower of Compassion and Grace, who Curbs His Anger" as with the attributes that follow "Abounding in Kindness, Extending Kindness to the thousandth generation, Forgiving Iniquity, and Visiting Iniquity.  And the Ramban writes that Compassionate, Gracious and Slow to Anger are all advjectives describing the Lord's elevated stature, therefore there was no need to say "Bestower of Compassion and Grace, who Curbs His Anger" because the name/attributes of "The Lord, The Lord, a God ..." is the subject of these attributes.  But I do not understand his ways, and his writings are insufficient to answer this question.
  The ninth question: when the verse states "forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin" why does it not reference other acts such as mutiny, malice and guilt and the like.  And why does Moses in his prayer after hearing the attributes in their entirety say, "Let the Lord please walk in our midst ... and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and erase the crimes." And the Prophet Micah says, "Who is like you, God, who pardons iniquity and passes over sin." And erases crimes. And the Psalmist said, "the iniquities of my youth and my sins do not remember." And erase the crime.  Why did each one of these complete Sages independently invoke the erasure of crimes? And none of them recall the three attributes ("forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin") together that are referenced in attributes here.
  The tenth question: [raises apparent contradictions within the 13 attributes]
  The eleventh question: visits the sins of the fathers upon the sons. How can one think that this is just or righteous, as the one who sins is worthy of death. And why punish the sons for sings of their fathers, for the verse says, "Sons shall not die for their fathers." And I have already raised this issue in Parshat Yitro with respect to the Ten Commandments.
  The twelfth question: why did the Blessed One see fit to enumerate these attributes and names but not others which were recounted elsewhere, such as "The Almighty, the Great, the Powerful and the Awesome," or the name "God Almighty, "God of Hosts," "Righteous and Just," "Good and Beneficent," "Creator of Universes," "Living and Everlasting," "Giver of Pardon and Forgiveness," "Jealous and Avenging," "Lord of the Sun," and all of the other descriptions that the prophets permitted as expressions of God.
  The thirteenth question: in the order of the attributes, you will find that "The Lord, the Lord" are considered attributes of mercy and "Almighty" is an attribute of justice, other than Rashi who says it is an attribute of mercy based on a verse from Psalsm (22) "My Almighty, My Almighty, why have you forsaken me." But there is no merit to Rashi's argument that Almighty is an attribute of mercy, for it was out of a sense of justice that King David complained, why did you leave, God - it would be appropriate for you to punish [Israel] and not to forsake her. "Merciful and Gracious" are attributes of mercy and "Long Suffering" is an attribute of justice. "Abundant in Goodness and Truth" are completely merciful, and after them come the attributes of justice.  Why were all of the attributes of mercy clustered together and all of the attributes of justice clustered together, instead of being mixed amongt each other?
  The fourteenth question: [How are the 13 attributes counted]
  The fifteenth question: The Blessed Lord said, "Before all your people I will do marvels, such as have not been brought in all the land, nor in any nation; and all the people amongst you shall see the work of the Lord, for it is awesome that which I am about to do with you." But the subsequent verses do not recount any miracles or wonders that were done after this Moses, "such as have not been brought in all the land, nor in any nation; and all the people amongst you shall see the work of the Lord," as the Lord said. What was the purposes of this covenant and for what purpose was it made. And I have parsed the verses in a permissible manner and these are all my questions.
  Response: "And the Lord said to Moses, 'Carve for yourself' ... and Moses carved two tablets of stone."  The opinion of all authentic scholars is that Moses stood upon the mountain three times, forty days and forty night each time, for a total of four months and two days, with two additional days of descent in the interim.  For on the day that Moses initially descended, he destroyed the tablets, and the verse (Exodus 32) then states, "On the following day, Moses said to the nation, 'You have sinned" ... and now I will ascend to the Lord and will stand and pray there forty more days until your sins are forgiven."  On his second descent, the verse states, "Moses awoke in the morning," it was four months and four days from the sixth day of Sivan (the date of Moses' first ascent) to Yom Kippur, which was on the tenth day of Tishrei.  And the order of the verses here supports this timeline.  Additionally, we have the verse from Deuteronomy (5:15) where Moses recounts three times that he stood upon Mt. Sinai, forty days each time, as it states, "As I ascended to the mountain ... and I stayed upon the mountain forty days and forty nights."  And the Lord gave me the two tablets of stone, and this is the first stay upon the mountain.  Afterwards, the verse states, "I prostrated before the Lord as I did the first time, forty days and forty nights ... for all of your sins," and this is the second stay upon the mountain (and with respect to this, Moses also said, "I prostrated myself before the Lord forty days and forty nights that I prostrated ..." which are the days of the second ascent, which is recounted again so that Moses could share the prayer that he prayed at that time.  Afterwards he said, "At that time, the Lord said to me, 'Carve for yourself two tablets of stone similar to the first ones' ... and I stood upon the mountain as I did the first time, for forty days and forty nights. And this was the third stay upon the mountain. "And He answered," and with this answer the forgiveness was completed... And God said to Moses, "Carve for yourself," to inform him that he would not merit the complete vision of the testimony except through the Torah which was given by his hands, for without this Moses would not have achieved this level of spiritual greatness.  And the reason for the word "yourself" was to warn Moses that he himself, and no other, should carve the tablets.  For the word "yourself" connotes isolation, as it was written [with respect to Abraham], "Go yourself from your land ..." that Abraham should go without his father or relatives (as explained there).  Similarly [with respect to the spies sent to Canaan], "Send for yourself men ..." that Moses should send them alone, apart from the rest of the nation.  And here, God saw that the tablets encompassed two miraculous qualities.  The first was that the workmanship was divine work, done in a miraculous fashion, and the second was the inscription, which was divinely written.  When Moses shattered the tablets, the workmanship and form was lost, but the words inscribed were not destroyed or lost. Therefore, God commanded Moses to carve the stone to make new tablets, ready to be inscribed, for it was Moses' obligation since he destroyed the first set of tablets.  However, He said the inscription would not be written by Moses, because he did not destroy 
  
  Leviticus
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  This is the offering of Aharon. Ten reasons can be presented for this meal-offering: 1) The Kohein Godol needs to atone for himself first before atoning for others. 2) So that others will say if the Kohein Godol needs atonement then we certainly do. 3) So that those who sinned will not be embarrassed about bringing an offering for themselves. 4) So that the poor will not be embarrassed bringing only flour. 5) So that the Kohein Godol will be humble before Hashem. 6) To demonstrate that the kohanim eat the meal-offerings because Hashem commanded and not to satiate themselves. 7) To thank Hashem for the gifts to the kohanim. 8) To atone for the possibility that the kohanim did not take enough in the fistful from the other meal-offerings. 9) Just as there is a continual communal offering, there should be a continual individual offering. 10) To atone for the Sin of the Golden Calf whose punishment is meted out slightly each day.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  ...His heart became like an inanimate (domem) rock, and he did not raise his voice in crying or eulogy, as would a father for [his] children; he also did not accept condolences from Moses. For he had no breath left in him, nor did he have any speech...
  
  
  
  
  
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  The 8th question is: why does the Torah specifically prohibit these foods mentioned in this section, is it because they are healthier for the body and good? Our eyes see the nations of the world and some are fat and healthy and not tired and noth failing and they are also foods that are worse for you and can kill you and the Torah does not warn us about eating those foods.
  
  
  
  
  The intent of these criteria is not that by virtue of them the animal will be pure, for they do not make for purity by themselves.  Rather, the intent of this is that they are signs that indicate that this animal is pure, and their absence indicates that it is impure.  And the reason is that animals that possess these signs generally have flesh that is pleasant for human consumption, because the cause for bringing up the cud is that the animal does not have molars in its upper jaw to grind its food, and on this account, it cannot eat bones, but only grasses, which it swallows whole, and when they are softened in the belly by the natural heat, it brings them up through its throat and grinds them with its jaws and swallows them a second time.  And these species of animals are fat and good for human consumption, because they find own food everywhere, and their temperamental mixture is more even, because they feed on grasses, both moist and dry, and because of this, these animals are not cruel, carnivorous, or wicked.
  
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  Regarding the Torah's prohibition of foods, many of the commentators have thought that it is because of the body's health and medical care, those foods being bad, and generating a harmful moistness.  This is the view of the Ramban, on the verse, "these you shall abhor among the birds" (Lev. 11:13).  But God forbid that I should believe this, because if that were the case, the divine Sefer Torah would be on the level of a minor book among the books of medicine -- short in both words and reasoning.  And this is not the way of the divine Torah, or the depth of its purpose.  Further, we can see with our own eyes that the nations that eat the flesh of the pig, the creepers, the mouse, and the other impure birds, beasts, and fish are all alive to this day, "firm as a mirror of cast metal" (Job 37:18), and there is none tired or weak among them.  Also, there are other animals that are well known to be harmful, like the viper, snake, serpent, and scorpion, that are not mentioned here among the category of prohibitions.  And there are also grasses and plants that are very injurious and deadly poisonous, like the alisor and its like, among those mentioned by the medical experts, and the Torah does not prohibit their consumption.  And all of this shows that the divine Torah does not come to heal the bodies, or to seek their health, but rather to promote the health of the soul and to heal its ailments, and therefore, it forbade foods that sully and abominate the pure and sublime soul, and that engender in the human temperamental mixture an impenetrability and a distortion of desires, by creating a bad mixture that gives rise to a spirit of pollution that defiles the mind and the deeds, and that expels the spirit of purity and holiness for which David prayed: "Do not take Your holy spirit away from me" (Ps. 51:13).  And he said "Fashion a pure heart for me, O God; create in me a steadfast spirit" (id. 12).  And it was because of this that He, may He be blessed, said, "You shall not draw abomination upon yourselves through anything that swarms; you shall not make yourselves impure therewith" (Lev. 11:43).  For in this consists the idea of impenetrability and impurity.  And Scripture does not call them "injurious" or "disease-causing," but "impure" and "abominable," showing that the rationale for the prohibition is on account of the soul and not on account of the body and its health.  It was necessary for the wholeness, clarity, and purity of the soul that the bodily temperament would be right, and that its food would create blood that was pure and refined, and not gross and thick and not right, as would be created by the forbidden foods.  And also the forbidden foods were related to the idolaters.  And even today in the land of India, it is forbidden to eat from the herd or from the flock, as the Master [Rambam] says in his Guide.  And in other countries, they eat forbidden foods because of their religion, and that is why these foods are called "abominations," as idolatry is called "abomination."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  You shall afflict yourselves. All the physical enjoyments are prohibited on Yom Kippur, so that the animal soul will be afflicted and be rebuked from chasing after these enjoyments. Work is prohibited so that our thoughts will be free for repentance and prayer, for how can we work on this day on which our life depends? The proselyte is also obligated in this so that the congregation will not be liable for his iniquities.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  You shall regard its fruit as closed off. According to the Moreh Nevuchim (3:37), the reason for <i>orlah</i> is because there was an idolatrous law to do certain known things during the planting to quicken the arrival of the fruits. Therefore, these fruits were prohibited so they would not come to these actions. A type of a mitzvah connected to the land that serves to distance one from idol worship is applicable in both Eretz Yisrael and outside of Eretz Yisrael. Afterwards the Torah prohibits the actions they did at the time of planting, as we see later.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  I will scatter you. From the time of the Destruction of the First and Second Temples many came to Spain and France and the rest of the kingdoms, and yet there as well they had no rest.
  
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  They will confess. As we explained, the leaders of the returnees from Babylon will confess, but the people will not repent. In their unfaithfulness. They will still ascribe everything to coincidence, as one who [attempts to purify himself but] immerses in a ritual pool with a vermin [that imparts impurity] in his hand. Therefore (v. 41), “I will bring them …” in an extended exile.
  
  
  
  
  
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  When a person expresses a vow. This refers to a vow made in time of trouble. It is not proper that we should make the valuation for a person in the same way as that of an animal. Furthermore, there is a set amount of the valuation to remove any jealousy in valuations. The Torah differentiates between male and female because the male is on the level of “form” (more spiritual) and the female is on the level of “matter” (more material). In reparation for damages, however, there is no difference between a male or female servant, and the like. This is because the damager makes no distinction. The valuation of a female is about half that of a male because the female fetus completes its formation in twice as much time — eighty days for the female and forty days for the male. Additionally, one man has the strength to work as two women.
  
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  Here is the first book of the Torah of G-d and it is Breisheit, which explicates the family line of the Children of Israel and their families, from the beginning of Creation until the Egyptian Exile. The second book explicates their exile and physical redemption from Egyptian slavery and spiritual redemption from 
  
  
  
  And is this not the opposite of what the Torah commanded (Exodus 30:12), "When you take a census of the Israelite people according to their enrollment, each shall pay the Lord a ransom for himself on being enrolled?" And over there Rashi explains, "When you wish to obtain the sum total of their number, do not take their census by their heads but each of them shall give half a shekel, and you shall count these, and so ascertain their number." And if so, how did it command here to count according to their heads?
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ... And I have already explained in the Order of Kit Tissa that this commandment of the half shekel - that they should give it at the time of the counting - was not a commandment for [the future] generations, that they should always do this. Rather it was proper advice that when [they] would want to count the people from [their] own thoughts and will, they should do it like this. And they benefited by this - by the giving of silver of the coins by each head from all the people - here for the work of the Tabernacle, for the purpose of the sockets... [As opposed to] if God had commanded to count, since 'the one who keeps a commandment does not know bad' (according to Ecclesiastes 8). Hence now when the count of the people was necessary, He, may He be blessed, commanded that they do it without the coin, [that comes] from fear of the plague - as 'the agents of a commandment are not hurt'. And let him 'not be scared and not tremble' 'from the plague that stalks in the darkness, or the scourge that ravages at noon' (according to Psalms 91:6). And that which Rashi explained that they they counted this time as well (in Numbers 1) with the shekels - with all due respect - is not true in the understanding of the verses. For they testify and tell that that Israel was not counted by shekels, but by their heads...
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  And have it stand. This connotes service; their role was: 1) “they shall serve,” which is the song, 2) “guardianship,” lest an outsider enter, and 3) “to serve,” which was the service of carrying.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  ...But if someone die upon the nazirite suddenly - meaning to say, in a sudden incident, such as if he was killed or choked in front of him, or if the nazirite entered a tent with a dead body in it, and he did not know - and defiled his head from being a nazirite; then he shall sit in his impurity seven days, and shave the hair of his head on the seventh day when he has already been purified... And on the eighth day, he brings his sacrifice, "and makes atonement for him, for that he sinned by reason of a soul" - meaning to say, for that he sinned by reason of a dead soul. Or its understanding is by reason of his own soul of the nazirite, since he had been ascetic and devoted, and he [now] sinned against it when he interrupted [this state] - as "No harm comes to the righteous" (Proverbs 12:21). And this is the correct understanding on the simple level, and not like the words of R. Yishmael (it appears that this is a mistake and it is supposed to be R. Elazar HaKappar) who expounded, "for that he sinned by reason of a soul," [to mean], that he distressed himself from [drinking] wine, by his being a nazirite. As behold, according to his explanation, it would have been fitting to say...  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  If war shall come. The trumpets will arouse them to repentance, and Hashem will no longer hide His Face from them, which is termed ‘being forgotten.’ And you will be remembered. This will remind them that they stand before Hashem and they will not sin on their joyous occasions.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  ... "And Miriam spoke... against Moses because (al odot) of the Cushite woman whom he had married" - meaning to say because of the insult to his wife committed by Moses in his separating from her. And they said, "If he did this because Zipporah was black like a Cushite, behold when he married her, she was already a Cushite - can a Cushite change his skin? And nevertheless, he took her [as a wife] and had children from her. So, if so, what did he see now to separate from her." And they also said, "If it was on account of the needs of prophecy that he separated from her, 'was it only with Moses that the Lord spoke; did He not also speak with us?' And [yet] we did not separate from [our spouses], from when we became prophets. So, if so, why did Moses separate from his wife on account of his prophecy? Did the Lord not also speak with us, and the Lord heard our words. And since we speak to Him and the Lord hears our voices without this separating, why did Moses separate from his wife?...
  
  
  
  
  
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  Behold, if so, from these six questions which Moshe, our teacher - peace be upon him - commanded to the scouts that they know and return the word to him, there was not one that the people asked, when they said (Deuteronomy 1:22), "and they will return to us the word: the path that we shall go up upon, and the cities that we shall come unto" - as Moshe did not command that they should know anything about the paths nor what cities were more fitting to conquer first. And also the scouts in their answers did not respond to this at all. But [rather], Moshe in his knowing the evil of the people, [understood] that there was to know whether the land was good and broad, plentiful of food and plentiful of settlement, in [such] a way that they would eat and be satiated and greatly delight upon it. And [so] he commanded them the two questions about the inhabited land and the two last questions about the land that is worked and sown. However, the other two questions Moshe invented himself, to ask about them. And this was in order that they know that the enemies were a large and strong nation and that the cities were fortified into the skies; and with this, they would recognize and know that their Savior is strong, and that it would not be with their [own] strength that they would inherit the land, and that their forearms would not deliver them. And hence they would increase their clinging to God, may He be blessed, and call to Him, 'since it is a time of trouble for Yaakov and from it he shall be delivered.' Behold, it has become clear from this that Moshe did not ask about the land, "whether it is good or bad,"  because of his being in doubt about the divine designs - God forbid - but rather to answer their questions, in his thinking that for this did they request to send scouts, as I elucidated; and that he only asked them, "are they strong or weak, are they few or are they many," in order to sway their hearts to return to God and to supplicate in front of Him, 'since to God is deliverance,' and that they should say, "Let us go and return to God,  so that He should do with us all of His wonders," and like he did at the [Reed] Sea. And it appears to me in truth that our master, Moshe, sinned in these first two questions that he asked about the people and the cities, as Israel did not ask them and also God, may He be blessed,  did not command about them, but [rather] he asked them on his own. And there is no doubt that his intention was good, but there came out from it what came out - 'like an error that goes out in front of the ruler.' And since 'an error in study is considered an intentional transgression,' the master of the prophets was punished.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  The Verse says, "Be holy to your God; I am God your Lord" to instruct us that we should be distinguished in our dress like a king's or master's servants, who wear an insignia on their clothes, so that we will be recognizable as servants and messengers of God
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  ...I have given you all of these gifts, because you will not inherit with Israel in their land. And you will not have a portion within it - not even the booty and spoils of the enemies, so that you will not be burdened by the thoughts of working the land. For "I am your portion and your inheritance," so you need not put forth effort outside of My service - which is your portion and your inheritance. And these gifts will suffice for your essential needs without [your] effort...
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  And Miriam died. This tells us something derogatory about the congregation, that instead of comforting Moshe and Aharon for their loss, they quarreled with them.
  
  
  
  
  
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  ...Fear and trembling struck Moses and all of Israel when they thought that Og was coming out to meet them after [their] victory [over] the king of the Amorites. [They thought] that it could only be that his heart swelled with valor and that his heart was impassioned to take vengeance for Sichon...
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  To the large [tribe], increase. According to Rashi they gave a larger portion to the bigger tribe, and yet it was all by means of lots. The ones causing the inheritance were those who went out of Egypt. According to Ramban the Land was divided into twelve equal portions, and the tribe was divided into families according to their size. It seems to me that the lottery would inform in which region of the Land the tribe’s inheritance would be, and afterwards Yehoshua and the elders would make the boundary according to the number of persons in the tribe. This is the meaning of (Bamidbar 33:54): “To whomever the lottery [system] ordains, it shall be his.” And this was the complaint of the tribe of Menashe to Yehoshua — that he gave them too little.
  
  
  
  
  
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  Take to yourself. Due to Moshe’s honor, Hashem told him to do it by himself, and to testify about Yehoshua’s completeness, to honor him from now on so that Bnei Yisroel will treat Yehoshua with honor.
  
  
  
  
  
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  In the Holy [Sanctuary] you shall pour. They poured it into a special place in the Altar; its measure was a <i>revi’is</i> (quarter of a <i>log</i>), the amount that is enough to cause a person to be inebriated.
  
  The reason for the constant offering was because of the two acts of kindness that Bnei Yisroel received: They acquired physical completion, to be free men, at the time of the Exodus from Egypt, and with the Giving of the Torah they acquired spiritual completion. Corresponding to these were two lambs, one in the morning corresponding to the Giving of the Torah which was in the morning, and one in the afternoon corresponding to the Exodus from Egypt. Corresponding to the manna they brought the meal-offering, tenth of an <i>eiphah</i> of flour, and for the joy and happiness that was given to them they brought wine and oil. They offered lambs (כבשים) because the people of Israel are completely subdued (נכבשים) to Hashem.
  
  
  
  
  
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  There is no doubt that all of the commandments - their general principles and their details - were given to Moses at Sinai. However Moses did not immediately say them when he heard them, but rather according to the time and place that was appropriate for it - as [befits] a good leader and a praiseworthy organizer. And behold, [regarding] annulment of vows - when Moses was alive, he did not give this over to any man. Rather every man who made a vow and regretted the vow, came before him, peace be upon him, to annul it. And in his being the one expert in the generation, he would annul the vows and oaths, and clarify any doubt that existed in the matter. But when God told him (Numbers 27:12), "Ascend to Mount Abarim... and be collected to your nation," and He commanded about sacrifices that they would do after his death - since the time of his death was approaching; he saw [fit] to teach the heads of the tribes, the commandment of annulling vows which he had done himself during this lifetime to help the nation. And it is for this reason that this section is written here...
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  Moshe was angry. The officers thought that only the Midianite warriors, who are men, should be killed. Similarly, it is written (Devorim 20:14): “However, the women and the children … are you to plunder for yourself.” Moshe, however, contended that in this case the women caused even more harm and must be killed, and the children must be killed as well so they will not fight against Bnei Yisroel when they grew up, or because of the sin of their fathers.
  
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  Divide in half. The rest of the community [received half because they] were withheld from the war only due to Moshe’s command, and the warriors were victorious in their merit and prayer. Just as they sent one part of fifty to the army, so too, they gave to the Levites one part of fifty to honor Hashem. The warriors gave one part of five hundred to Elozor as reward for Pinchas who went with them, and Hashem helped them through him.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  Why was the return of the killer made dependent upon the death of the high priest?...
  
  Speak to Bnei Yisroel. Moshe became disconsolate because he would not be able to carry out his mission of inheriting the land, so Hashem commanded him that he should give all the orders as if he was going to do it. The main points were: 1) to uproot the inhabitants, 2) to define the borders, 3) to divide them up amongst the tribes, 4) to bequeath an inheritance for the Levites, his tribe, and 5) to set aside the cities of refuge. Each one of these things was done with a command, and therefore when Moshe gave the orders now that they should be done in the future, it would be considered as if he had done them himself.
  
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  These are the words. Moshe Rabbeinu’s intention with these words was not to reproach or to give new mitzvot. Rather to explain those mitzvot which required explanation. In this book of the Chumash there are no mitzvot that were not alluded to already. Moshe retold stories of the ancestors so that there would be no doubt. It was not in order to reproach them through this, for that would be a pointless activity. All of it was from the mouth of Hashem. That Moshe addressed. He reproached them at the time for each sin, and was not afraid. The Torah here elaborates on what it stated briefly elsewhere.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  And since Israel sinned willingly, and he, peace be upon him, sinned by mistake and with a good intention, God, may he be blessed, wanted to to spare the honor of Moshe, [such that] his decree should not be amidst the decree of the people in <i>Parshat Shelach Lecha Anashim</i>. And [so] He delayed His anger upon him, as He delayed His anger upon Aharon for the story of the [golden] calf. And when in <i>Parshat Zot Chukat HaTorah</i> the people complained about the water, and in their complaint, they pointed out how Moshe and Aharon were the cause of the people's death and that they [would] not enter the land - as they said (Numbers 20:4), "And why did you bring the congregation of the Lord to this wilderness to die there, us and our cattle" - the verse mentioned that Moshe and Aharon went from in front of the congregation to the tent of meeting, mourning and with covered heads; and [they were] like embarrassed women at the mention of their sins. And thus did the word [of God] come to them that they should speak and do the act that He mentioned to extract the water. And when Moshe came to anger in his saying (Numbers 20:10), "Listen now, you rebels," the Holy One, blessed be He, became full of anger with him; since Israel caught him fittingly and He did not admit in his heart that which he sinned, and [so] got angry with them. And therefore He saw at this time to give [Moshe and Aharon] their punishment for their earlier sins. And, if so, the Waters of Merivah were the means to the thing and not the actual cause for it.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  Hashem grew angry at me. The reasons that Moshe wanted to enter the land were:
  1. To acquire perfection through fulfilling the mitzvos that only apply in Israel.
  2. That he should complete his work with the people until the conclusion, to bring them into the land.  
  3. To show the people that the land is truly good, and not as the spies had said.  
  4. To pray at the holy Mount Moriah.
  
  
  
  
  
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  Due to the horrible troubles, many of them will leave their faith and worship forms of the stars of the heavens, “human handiwork.” They do not believe them, because they know that in their knowledge and their recognition they are “wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.” They will only perform this service in order to escape death… and they will keep God’s Torah in their midst, while they serve the nations’ gods out of fear. This is not mentioned here to portray a sin, but rather a punishment: this was the greatest of evils, recognizing and feeling the belief of the true God in their hearts while they serve idols with their mouths, and their tongues will betray them, and they will be killed for this. About this it is said (Devarim 28:64), “And you shall serve there other gods.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  Knowledge of the unity of Hashem, His relationship to the nation, the creation of the world, His love of Yisroel and similar things, are not like hidden parts of the Torah, but should be explained constantly to everyone.
  
  
  
  
  
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  The tenth question is about its stating, "And at Taberah, and at Massah, and at Kibroth-hattaavah. And that is since there were several sins in the matter of the calf, why did it not finish its recounting, and then afterwards recount the sins of Taberah, Massah, and Kibroth-hattaavah? But it did not do this, but rather interspersed the matter of Taberah, Massah, and Kibroth-hattaavah into the story of the calf. And [only] then it returned to the story of the calf itself, as is clear in the parsha.
  The eleventh question is about its stating "And when the Lord sent you from Kadesh-barnea, saying, 'Go up and possess the land which I gave to you, then ye rebelled against the commandment of the Lord, etc.'" And it is difficult - why did it mention the matter of the scouts here in great brevity and with highlights like this, given that it already mentioned it at length and with a detailed story in the Order of Eleh HaDevarim?
  
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  Silver and gold upon them. Even if the idolaters wish to give you silver and gold to redeem their idols.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  A blessing and a curse. This refers to the <i>mitzvos</i> which are themselves blessing to those who perform them, and a curse to those who mock them. This is similar to good food, which is a blessing to the healthy and a curse to those who are ill.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  Do not eat. The reason that only from the time of Noach were people permitted to eat meat is explained by Ramban, that the sole reason for saving the animals was for the sake of Noach. According to <i>Sefer HaIkkarim</i> the reason is that animal flesh causes closing of the soul and leads to bad character traits. Therefore they were all forbidden to Adam. Kayin and Hevel thought that people were no better than animals, and most people thought this apart from a few treasured individuals. To remove this evil thinking Hashem permitted Noach to eat meat, and Hashem warned against killing people who have an intellect soul… 
  
  The most likely explanation seems to me that Adam was permitted to eat only plants, for the are the most appropriate food for humans. When they nevertheless sinned, mean was permitted to Noach, as if to say to them that they have no hope with the good path, but only through punishment… Just as everything is permitted to one who is ill when they have despaired of his life. Hashem did not forbid all meat to Bnei Yisroel, for their evil inclination would defeat them. However, He also did not permit everything, for they are not on the low level of the generation of the flood.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  Remember. On Shavuos it is difficult to come to Yerushalayim, since everyone was there shortly before, on Pesach. And unlike on Sukkos, the crops have not yet been brought in from the fields. So Hashem reminded them of their labor in Egypt, which was even more difficult. This is why it states, “these statutes”.
  
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  Celebrate for yourself. This means that I know that you will make yourself a festival of rejoicing at that time, and I ask that you make it into a mitzvah before Hashem, and dwell for seven days in <i>sukkos</i>. 
  
  Hashem commanded Yisroel to celebrate three festivals to give thanks for three good things He did for them, the exodus from Egypt, the giving of the Torah and the inheritance of the land of Israel… 
  The purpose of coming to Yerushalayim on those three festivals is 
  1. To give thanks to Hashem. 
  2. Through this the people will observe the fundamentals of the Torah.
  3. They will see the constant miracles of the <i>Beis HaMikdosh</i>, its service and its sacredness. 
  4. There will be an increase of recognition and peace amongst the people.
  5. That they will have an opportunity to learn Torah and to remove any doubts.
  
  
  
  
  
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  First Introduction: Behold, it is fitting that we know if a king is a necessary and intrinsically obligatory thing for a nation or whether it is possible without him. And the philosophers already thought that it was [necessary] and that the dominion of a king to a politically organized nation is like the relationship of the heart to the body of a living being that has a heart, and like the relationship of the First Cause to the world more generally. And even though these analysts reason that monarchy insures three things – the first being unity and the absence of [division], the second being continuity and the lack of [instability], and the third being absolute power – [in fact], their thinking about the obligation and necessity of a king is actually false. [This] since it is not to be denied that there can be many leaders of the people that gather and unite and agree upon one policy and that the leadership and law be according to them – and this goes against the first [claim]. And why should their leadership not be [for] one year or three years like the years of an employee or less? And when the turn of other 'judges and officers' arrives, they will rise instead of them and faithfully investigate the sin of the first ones, and that which they condemn must pay all that they have done badly – and this goes against the second [claim]. And why should their power also not be limited, as with religions and mores [– and this goes against the third claim]. And logic dictates that when an individual [disagrees] with a group, the law follows the group. And it is more likely that the lapse be with one man – as it stated (Proverbs 16:14), “The king’s wrath is a messenger of death” - than it be that the many would trespass when they take counsel together. As if one strays from the path, the others will protest against him. And since their leadership is temporary and they will have to be accountable after a 'few days,' that fear of flesh and blood is upon them. And why do we need to bring theoretical claims for this, as behold, experience trumps modeling: Look and see the lands the leadership of which is with kings, and [by contrast,] today we have seen many lands the leadership of which is is with temporary judges and leaders that are chosen among them and the King God is with them. Their law is refined by ordered limits, and [their leaders] are the ones that control the people that make the matters of war; none can stand in front of them – not from a tribe, and not from his land. Did you not know, did you not hear that a great land governed over the whole world, consumed the whole earth – search it and note it – while its leadership was through the Councils, that were wholesome and many and their leadership was temporary. However, afterward they were made a tributary. And also today, the Commonwealth of Venice, that great mistress among the nations, the rulers over states; and the Country of Florence, the beauty of all the lands; and other countries small and large are run by the mouth of leaders elected for set periods of time. And behold, the elected governments have 'in them nothing perverse or crooked' – no one raises his hand or foot to [do] a wrongful thing – and they conquer lands that are not theirs with wisdom, understanding and knowledge. And all of this shows that the presence of a king is not necessary for a nation, and like the teacher of the Guide (Maimonides) mentioned. And it is a wonder about this supposed opinion, that compares the unity of a [human] king over the control and will of people to the unity of the ancient necessary First Cause, may He be blessed. However, [even] in an animal body, the sages have already written that there are three main organs in its governance. And even according to the opinion of the head of the philosophers that only the heart is the main [one], behold, this is concerning the generation of the spirit, but it does not contradict that the government of the living faculties is from the brain, and the natural ones is from the liver. In the final analysis, it is impossible for natural matters not to be like this; as from the act of [Divine] will, they are [only] from the substance of that [which] is possible - ‘how can straw be compared to grain?’ And one should not ask from the statement (Proverbs 28:2), “When there is rebellion in the land, its ministers are many,” as there it is speaking about ministers, not about leaders and judges. And how will we [miss] that which is well-known among all, that when the leaders are good, it is better that they be many; and if they are bad, it is more dangerous. And therefore, I think that the kings were not set up with the examination of the people at first, and as it is written (Isaiah 7:6), “We will march against Yehudah and invade it […], and we will set up a king in it.” And even if they were only appointed by way of trustees to serve the people, and they are made masters, as if God, may He be blessed, gave them the ‘land and its fullness’; and they bequeathed it to their sons after them forever, as if it was land that he bought with his money, this too is ‘not worthwhile (literally, the same)’ with all reigns, as there will be kings that do not have leadership abilities. And this is the First Introduction.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  ...After our teacher, Moses, finished explaining the Torah, he said, "This day the Lord... commands you to do." [This] means to say, since I have already finished explaining the commandments, there is no need to speak about their explanation any more; but rather to command you about their performance and observance. As behold, perhaps up until now you did not know the explanation of the commandments. But now that I have already explained them, there is nothing new to add, and the only thing left to warn [about] is their performance. And this is [the meaning of] his saying, "This day, the Lord your God commands you to do"...
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  Hashem will raise. Now he mentions the destruction of the second Beis HaMikdosh. From afar. Who came from Britain and other distant countries speedily. They came three times.
  The first time Pompei came against Aristobulos.
  The second time Sussuis came with Herod against Antigonos.
  The third time Vespasian and Titus came.
  This corresponds to the three times the word “nation” appears in these verses.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  ...and it is since the nation in exile is divided into two parts: The smaller part are those that hold on to the religion and follow the Torah of the Lord, and they are referred to as Israel - but they remain the few from the many. And the other part of the people are those who - because of the troubles and the heaviness of the exile - have transgressed against His religion; as it is stated there (Deuteronomy 4:28), "And you shall worship other gods there...," as I explained. Hence it stated corresponding to the two parts of the nation, "you shall bring it to your heart amidst the various nations to which the Lord your God has banished you. And you will return to the Lord your God." As behold the first statement is about those under duress (anusim) that have left the framework of the religion. Hence to those, it stated, "you shall bring it to your heart" - as their repentance will [only] be in the heart and not in the mouth. For they will not be able to publicize their repentance and their faith. And this is [the meaning] of its stating, "amidst the various nations to which the Lord your God has banished you" - meaning to say, that they are mixed in with them and considered like them. Nevertheless, they will return to the Lord in their hearts. And regarding the other part of the Jews that are known [to be Jews], it states, "and you will return to the Lord your God, and you and your children will heed His voice with all your heart and soul, just as I enjoin upon you this day" - meaning to say that they will repent and do the commandments and heed the voice of God publicly, they and their children. For they have not abandoned their God there. And when they repent to God, they will follow Him. But [both] these and those will run [to Him] - each one according to his condition and his context. It promised that God, may He be blessed, will gather them unto Him. And this is [the meaning of] "And the Lord your God will return your captivity and have mercy upon you; and He will return and gather you." Behold it said, "And the Lord your God will return your captivity and have mercy upon you," about that part that are Jews publicly and hold on to their Judaism. And it states about them, "your captivity," since they are in captivity and servitude. And it states, "and [He will] have mercy upon you," as they will need mercy, due to their lowliness and troubles. However regarding the other part that have left the framework of the religion because of the their duress, it states, "and He will return and gather you from all of the nations." But it did not state regarding them, "captivity" nor "mercy." And this is the reason that it states that He will gather them from all the nations; as they are mixed in with them and have intermarried with them. And about these, it states (Deuteronomy 30:4), "Even if your outcasts are at the ends of the world, from there the Lord your God will gather you, from there He will fetch you"...
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  Verse 26
  
  
  
  Verse 27
  
  
  
  Verse 28
  
  
  
  Verse 29
  
  
  
  Verse 30
  
  
  
  Verse 31
  
  
  
  Verse 32
  
  
  
  Verse 33
  
  
  
  Verse 34
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  We learn seven principles from this song:
  1. That in the future there will be vengeance and repayment on all those who harm the Jewish people.
  2. This will occur at a specific time, decreed by Hashem’s supernal wisdom, but is not revealed, as the verse states, “Is this not sequestered with Me.”  
  3. That the redemption will be after their sins have been atoned.
  4. That during the exile the merit of the forefathers has ceased, and our salvation depends solely on Hashem’s great name, as the verse states, “Were it not for the enemy’s amassed rage… Now observe! For it is I! I am the One!”…  
  5. The resurrection of the dead will occur shortly after the ingathering of the exiles, as is also stated in Daniel 12:1-2).  
  6. That the redemption and the atonement are not conditional on repentance, as Ramban explains.  
  7. That all the words of this song have come true .
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  And no man knows his burial place. So that the enemies should not gain benefit, unlike the cave of the Patriarchs, which is in the hands of the Yishmaelim. 
  And so that they should not desecrate or trample his grave.
  Just as the level of his soul and his prophecy was hidden from every living thing, and this is alluded to in the phrase “In the valley [<i>bagai</i>]” which refers to the pride [<i>bega’ut</i>] and lofty honor.