meta: {"file": "/data/tomer/Sefaria-Export/txt/Tanakh/Commentary/Kli Yakar/Torah/Kli Yakar on Genesis/English/merged.txt"}
text: Kli Yakar on Genesis
  כלי יקר על בראשית
  merged
  
  This file contains merged sections from the following text versions:
  -Rabbi Mike Feuer, Jerusalem Anthology
  -
  -Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009
  -
  -Sefaria Community Translation
  -
  
  Kli Yakar on Genesis
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth: The reason that the Torah started with the letter 'bet' is that King Shlomo, in all of the book of Kohelet, compares the Torah to the Sun, which only moves in three directions like the shape of the 'bet,' that is only open on its north side [according to ancient maps that would place north on the left of the page and east on top]; and because it was given through Moshe, whose face is like the sun; and maybe the reason is that the evil inclination that opposes the Torah comes from the North and it 'breaks the fence' of the Torah, as it is stated (Joel 2:20), "And the northern one will I distance from you." And also because gold, which comes form the North, opposes the Torah; and they generally flee from one another, as it is stated (Psalms 119:71), "It is good that I have become poor, so that I can learn your statute;" And this is not the place to speak more about this. And it is possible to also explain it, in the way that it is stated (Proverbs 9:1), "Wise women have built their house;" hence, the wisdom of the Torah began with 'bet' [which sounds like <i>bayit</i>, the Hebrew word for house], since it is the mistress of the larger 'house.'
  In the beginning, created God...: It would have been fitting to begin the Torah with the name of God; so much so that the Sages of blessed memory needed to change [the word order in their Greek translation] for King Ptolemy and write, "God created the beginning." And about this, the commentators have given a reason that is praiseworthy: Since the existence of God, may He be praised, is impossible to fathom except though His attributes, His acts and the work of His hands, that He created; they are the ones that testify, speak and give faithful testimony about His blessed existence; therefore [the Torah] mentioned first, "In the beginning, created" and afterward is God made known. But there is a difficulty about this, since it should have been written, "Created God the beginning," since it is logical that  anything that the name of God could precede, it should precede; since behold [the knowledge of] the existence of God is not dependent upon the knowledge of the earlier things in the creation, about which the word <i>bereshit</i> [in the beginning] relates to, according to most commentators.
  And also [difficult] is that the writer of the <i>Akeida</i> [commentary - R. Yitschak Arama] based this explanation on the midrash (Bereshit Rabbah 1:12), "'And Your humility enlarges me' (Psalms 18:36); A king of flesh and blood mentions his name first and afterwards his acts, but the Holy One, blessed be He, mentioned His name after He mentioned His acts;" and what His humility is in this needs to be understood; and that which it says "made me great," in what way did He enlarge us and make us great? And what appears most likely to me, is to say that Rashi wanted to fix all of this when he said that "this text says nothing if not 'interpret me' - [the term <i>reshit</i>, literally, the start or head of is used here] because of the Torah and Israel which are [both] called <i>reshit</i>;" which means to say that it is impossible to know about God's existence, may He be blessed, except through the Torah and Israel. That's why they are called <i>reshit</i>, since they are both an introduction through which one comes to the knowledge of God's existence, may He be blessed [and so precede the name of God in the first sentence of the Torah.] Since the Torah publicizes faith in His creation and Divinity, may He be blessed. And Israel also knew to publicize the existence of God, may He be blessed, from the angle of the transmission that they received, one person from another, back to Adam who saw the world destroyed and built, and is a faithful witness to the creation of the world, which is a sign [indication] of its Creator; and this transmission was spread by the offspring of Avraham, Yitschak and Yisrael.
  And there is also a third way [to know about the existence of God], but not every one is capable of it, and that is to come to know about the existence of God, may He be blessed, through investigation and knowledge of all that is to be found in all of the three worlds and this is their order: At first, the researcher must understand the essence of things in the lowest world, since it is the easiest research [that exists]. And after knowing their essence, he should [seek to] also understand the essence of the creatures of the middle world. And from there, he should go up, [as] with a ladder going up the different levels, to know the essence of the highest world. And from there, he should go up to know and fathom that there is God who is found to ride upon all of them [and] who arranged them in this fashion, like the vision that Ya'akov saw (Genesis 28:12); in the four rungs of the ladder which was "positioned on the ground" - which [represents] comprehension of the lower world - "and its tip reached the skies" - this [represents] the middle world - "and the angels were going up and down on it;" - this [represents] the top world. "And behold the Lord stood upon it," (Genesis 28:13) since then [Ya'akov] grasped completely the existence of God, may He be blessed.
  However, not many will have the wisdom needed for this approach of investigation, to come to the secret of God, as a result of man's passage through this dimmed valley of the material world; hence it is enough for man to grasp His existence, may He be blessed, from the angle of the transmission as mentioned and from the angle of the Torah as mentioned. And about this the Sages, of blessed memory, have said (Chullin 91b) that the lower ones mention His name, may He be blessed, after two words, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 6:4), "Hear Yisrael, the Lord," but the upper ones don't mention the Name until after three words, as it is stated (Isaiah 6:3), "Holy, holy, holy [is] the Lord." Because the intellectual power of the upper ones is pure and clean and it is easy for them to handle the essence of the investigation of these three worlds; therefore they are not allowed to mention the Name except after three holinesses, which means that they first cognate the essence of all those that exist below and understand the place of each and, through this, sanctify Him, may He be blessed, below. And from there they go up to understand the essence of all those that exist in the middle world and they sanctify Him, may He be blessed, to reign also upon them. And from there they go up to also understand their own essence, and from there they go up to grasp His name, may He be blessed; hence they do not mention the Name until they sanctify Him first in all three worlds. But the lower ones' intellects are not so pure, and not every person is able to handle this investigation since it is great; hence it is enough for them to come to recognize the existence of God, may He be blessed after the two words, "Hear Israel;" since "Hear" is to listen to the words of this Torah which publicize His divinity, may He be blessed; "Israel" is the transmission that spread in Israel from Adam to Abraham, who announced and publicized His divinity, may He be blessed, as Rashi explained on the verse (Genesis 24:7), "Lord God of the heavens that took me from the house of my father;" and from [Avraham], His divinity, may He be blessed, was publicized in all of the offspring of Israel and Yehuda, as it is stated (Psalms 76:2), "God is known in Yehuda, in Israel His name is great." Thus it is stated, "In the beginning, created" and afterwards, "God," to hint to the three [ways of knowing God's existence]: since <i>reshit</i> [beginning of] indicates Israel and the Torah, that are [both] called <i>reshit</i>; and through the creation [hence the word "created"], God was made known [directly through the mode of investigation]. And this is the way of modesty, by which He - in a hint - had the name of Israel precede His name, may He be blessed, [since "<i>reshit</i>" precedes "created"] and that is truthfully glorious splendor and greatness [that He gave] to Israel; hence it is stated "And Your humility enlarges me." And some say that this humility is what He was involved with at first, for the needs of His world, and [only] afterwards did He publicize His name, may He be blessed.
  Rabbi Yitschak said, "It was not necessary to begin the Torah, etc. but rather so that the nations should not say, 'you are thieves, etc.'" (Rashi on Genesis 1:1): And it is difficult; and what about it, if they will say, "you are thieves," and because of this, the  order of the Torah should be changed? The answer to this is that  this matter brings heresy to the world, since they will say, "there is no law and no Judge" [in the world] and 'whoever is strongest prevails;' since if the world had a Ruler, who sets up its matters - it comings and goings - why did He not protest against you when you took by force - by way of theft - the lands of the seven [Canaanite] nations? Since it is for this reason that the judgment of the generation of the flood was not sealed except on account of theft, as it is stated (Proverbs 28:24), "One who steals from his father and mother and says 'it is not a transgression' is the companion of a destructive person;" since the reason this sin is greater than others is not because of the sin itself, but rather because of the evil that comes out of it; as the sinner who steals does not place guilt upon himself and says, "there is no transgression, since there is no God that judges in the world;" and therefore he is the companion of a destructive person, which means to say, [he is a companion] of the generation of the flood, as it is stated about them (Genesis 6:12), "since all flesh <i>destroyed</i> its way," since they also denied a principle of faith and said (Job 21:15), "What is the Omnipotent, that we should serve Him, etc." And this is what [brought] them to practice extortion and theft in the world. And because the prevention of theft is fundamental to all of faith, therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, made it come early and warned about it in the first commandment of (Exodus 12:2), "This month will be for you;" as over there, it is stated (Exodus 12:21), "And bring close and acquire <i>for yourselves</i> sheep," [meaning] from yours, and [not from] stolen ones; so explained the Ba'al HaTurim. And so too, Yitschak, when he commanded two kid goats to be brought to him, to make from them a Pesach sacrifice, he said (Genesis 27:3), "And hunt <i>for me</i> venison;" Rashi explained, from what is unowned and not from what is stolen, but since Esav's heart was not like that, it appeared to him that he could  rather "hunt venison <i>to bring</i>," even form what is stolen; hence the Holy One, blessed be He, caused that he should not bring it, but rather that Ya'akov [should do so], as he was careful about theft. So too, the ox that Adam sacrificed, the Sages, of blessed memory, say that it had one horn on its forehead; to show that Adam [too] was one 'horn' in the world - meaning to say that he was by himself in the world - and did not steal from any creature; therefore, his sacrifice was accepted. And all this is in order to push away theft and robbery which brings heresy and apostasy.
  And that which Rav Yitschak said, "It was not necessary to begin, etc," the explanation [of this] is not that the whole story from "In the beginning" to "This month shall be for you" should not have been written in the Torah at all; as behold there is a great need for the story of the creation of the world, since it publicizes the existence of God, may He be blessed; and the story of the generation of the flood publicizes His providence, may He be blessed, for reward and punishment. Besides that, there are  several commandments written in [this early section of the Torah: the prohibition of eating] the limb of a living animal to Noach, and circumcision to Avraham, and [the prohibition of eating] the sciatic nerve through Ya'akov. Rather, he means to say that since the essence of the Torah is that it was given for its commandments, if so, the Torah should have started with the first commandment [to the Jewish people]; and [as for] this story from "In the beginning" to "This month shall be for you," it would be enough for it to placed at the end of the Torah. About this, he comes to answer and say, if it was written like that, it would have been 'a law refutable from its beginning,' and it would have strengthened the hand of the transgressors to rebel against the Torah. And when they would read "This month shall be for you," all the more so would they rebel [even] more, and they will say, "Moshe certainly invented this commandment, since how can God command about theft, in saying "And bring close and acquire <i>for yourselves</i> sheep," [meaning] specifically from yours; since, behold, you are thieves, since you took the lands of the seven nations and God did not protest against you. Since maybe [such a reader] would not read the Torah, from beginning to end [and read about the creation, so as to understand that the Jews did not steal the land that they settled]. Therefore, it was necessary to have the story of the creation of the world precede [the first commandment of establishing the new month], to show that it is not through theft that they took [the land], but rather through justice and right. This is what the verse states (Psalms 111:6-7), "The power of His deeds did He tell His people, to give them the inheritance of nations. The work of His hands are true and right, faithful are all of His precepts;" since the crux of this telling that "He told the power of His deeds to His people," the whole thing was in order to show that the work of His hands are true and right; that the Torah, and the tablets that are the work of God, and the righteous ones that were created with [God's] two hands; that all [of this] was in truth and right, which prevents theft. "And faithful are all of His precepts;" [meaning] the precepts that God decreed upon the lands of the seven nations; since it was His will, may He be blessed, to give it to [the seven Canaanite nations] and it was  His will, may He be blessed, to take it from them and God, the King, decreed to appoint new appointees upon it." 
  And according to its simple understanding, it was necessary to begin the Torah from "In the beginning," to publicize belief in creation [<i>ex nihilo</i>], since it is the foundation of the entire Torah; since were we to assume that the world was pre-existent, there would be no room to accept a Torah that is predicated upon the foundation of free choice; therefore, it is required to place the foundation [meaning, the creation story] first.  
  
  Verse 2
  
  And the earth was chaos and void: 'What was, was' and what is the need of this knowledge? And it appears that we can say that, since - from the six days of creation and onwards - the Holy One, blessed be He, does not change anything from how it was [then;] and the Holy One, blessed be He, foresaw that because of the actions of the wicked, the world would go back to [being] chaos and void - as in the generation of the flood; and so [too] with the destruction of the Temple, it is written (Jeremiah 4:23), "I saw the world, and behold, it was chaos." And [so] the verse [here in Genesis 1:2] informs us that if at any future time it should happen that, through the actions of the wicked, the world will go back to being chaos, it should not be considered a change in the creation; but rather the world will go back to how it was, since it is its nature to be chaos and void and darkness. And through the actions of the righteous, the Holy One, blessed be He, overturned its nature and created light for the righteous; and through the corruption of the actions of the wicked, the world will go back to how it was; and it will not be considered a change in the creation, but rather the world will go back to how it was. And this is not called a change in creation, since this is a condition that the Holy One, blessed be He, made with all of the work of creation. And for this reason He decreased the light, and hid [the additional light that was taken away] for the righteous; since He, may He be blessed, is not a man that He should change His mind, but rather if the 'wicked will be silenced with darkness' because of the corruption of their deeds, it will not be considered a change in the creation. And this is the opinion of the midrash (Bereshit Rabbah 2:5): "'And the earth was chaos' - these are the actions of the wicked; 'And the Lord said "Let there be light,"' - these are the actions of the righteous, etc." What did the writer of this midrash see to take the verses out from their simple meaning? But according to what we have explained, the words of the midrash are understood, since the simple meaning stays in its place and the <i>drash</i> is an interpretation also of its simple meaning. And that with which it concludes there, "And I do not yet know which one He desires, if it is the actions of the wicked, etc.," you will find explained in my short essay, entitled The Way of Life, in the homiletic discourse on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, see there.
  
  Verse 3
  
  And the Lord said, "let there be light:" The word, <i>ohr</i> [light], is written five times in this section; and on the fourth day the word, <i>meohr</i> [luminaries] is written five times, with the addition of [the letter] <i>mem</i> [to the word <i>ohr</i>], and there is in this an amazing intention. And that is that since we have found that the Sages, of blessed memory, said (Chagigah 12a), "The light that was created on the first day was hidden" and there is [also] an opinion that says, "these are the very luminaries that were created on the first day and were not 'hung' until the fourth day;" and these two midrashic statements appear to contradict one another. But the truth is not thus, since everyone admits that the light of the first day was a great light and was [then] hidden and that those luminaries that were 'hung' on the fourth day are not the actual light [of the first day], but rather they received their light from a spark of the upper light that was created on the first day; therefore, the word, <i>ohr</i>, is mentioned [on the first day], since it was the actual light; but with luminaries on the fourth day, each one is mentioned as  <i>meohr</i>, with the addition of [the letter] <i>mem</i>, to show that they received their light from another light - greater than them - which is what is shown by the [letter] <i>mem</i> [which, when in front of a word, is a prefix that means, 'from']. And according to this, the midrashic statements do not contradict one another; since the first light was hidden - according to everyone - for the righteous, and the luminaries of the fourth day received a spark of the first light; and if so, certainly, 'they are the very luminaries,' since a part [i.e., the luminaries] is included in the whole [i.e., the light created on the first day]. And with this is also resolved [why] they were created [only to be] hidden; and this is a precious explanation.
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  And it was evening and it was morning, one day: [The reason] that it doesn't state 'a first day' [as it does with the other days, i.e., a second day, etc.] is in accordance with what the Rabbis, of blessed memory, said (Berakhot 12b), "We mention the trait of day at night and the trait of night during the day;" [this is] to remove [the opposite idea] from the hearts of heretics, who say that from one beginning there cannot come out two opposites - and so they decreed to say that the one who created the light, did not create the darkness; therefore, [the Torah] stated, "And it was evening and it was morning," meaning night and day; even though they appear to be opposites, nonetheless both of them [belong to] "one day" - the day of One, since one Power created them both. And this explanation is more lucid than the explanation of Rashi, who explained that the angels were not created until the second day; since the angels are not mentioned here, and what does that have to do with this verse of "And it was evening and it was morning?"
  
  Verse 6
  
  "Let there be a firmament:" In Chagigah 12a, [it is written,] "Rav said, 'At the time that the Holy One, blessed be He, created the world, it expanded like two bundles of woof, until the Holy One, blessed be He, rebuked it and made it stand in place, as it is written (Job 26:11), "The pillars of the skies tremble, and are astonished by his rebuke."' and this is what was stated by Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish, 'That which is written (Genesis 35:11), "I am the Power, the Omnipotent [<i>Sha-dai</i>, which can be broken down into two words that mean, that enough]," I am the One that said to my world, "Enough!"' and some say [that he said,] 'At the time that the Holy One, blessed be He, created the sea, it expanded and continued, until the Holy One, blessed be He, rebuked it, etc.'" And we should reflect upon what the writer of this statement told us, since [ostensibly, we could simply discard it and say] 'what was, was.' And it appears, that he is coming to advise man, [about] that which we see; that is in his nature to always long for his actions to extend without end and without limit and that everything should be permissible in his eyes; 'everything  that he wants, he does;' and if a man relies on his nature, then there will be no boundary and end to the chariot of the lusting of his desire; and  anarchy [would seem] good for him, such that there should be no limiting and stop to any action; up until God rebuked us through this Torah, which gives us a boundary and measure to all [our] actions; [to inform us] how far they can extend, according to the divine Will, and up until where is it permitted for [man] to send out the rein of his desire. 
  And it is a wonder about man, how is it that he did not find it in his intellect to set up a limit and measure for all of his actions - as with the rational commandments and what is similar to them - without divine intervention, since the intellect [should] compel [the rational commandments]. About this [the Torah] said, don't wonder about this desire [that gets in the way of his intellect,] since man acquired his nature from those that gave birth to him. Given that all men are formed from the skies, the land and the sea; since the soul is from the sky and the body is from the earth, which is made like clay, with water, as was explained by Rashi on the verse (Genesis 6:2), "And mist went up from the earth." And from the three of them a man is made complete, since the word, man [<i>eesh</i>] is [made up of] the first letters of earth [<i>erets</i>], sea [<i>yam</i>] and air [<i>shamayim</i>]. And usually, one finds the nature of the parents in the offspring; and so too, man received the nature of his 'parents,' sky, land and sea; since all of them were expanding and continuing without end, until God rebuked them - as that which it stated, "it was continually expanding," is also speaking about the earth, since this is the reason it mentions <i>two</i> bundles. And from then on, this has become the perpetual nature of all who are created from them, since 'like them will be their makers' - that [man] will have the will to expand in all of his actions without end.
  And nonetheless, the author of this statement comes to reprove man, to tell [him] that if he acquired their nature that he should have a desire to expand, as mentioned, behold, he should, at least, also acquire from them the good; to stop with the rebuke of God, may He be blessed, just like they stopped at the rebuke of God - in the manner of not going past it even a hair's breadth, so [too] man should stop at the rebuke of God, in the measure and amount in which God limited all actions through this Torah. And this is the intention of the statement in the Yalkut, Parshat Ha'azinu (32:942), "Stare at the sky and earth and at the sea, etc... lest they changed their traits, etc." And this reason was stated by the Sages, of blessed memory,  concerning the commandment of fringes (Sotah 17a), "Aquamarine is similar to the sea and the sea is similar to to the sky, etc.," since through the aquamarine, he will remember the sea and the sky, and learn from them to stop at the rebuke of God, not to change the measure [of what God forbids him], as will be explained, with God's help, in Parshat Shelach (Bemidbar 15:38). And that which it doesn't state, "Let there be a firmament and there was a firmament," in the [same] way that it states, "And there was light," is because 'a bad statement is not quickly done;' hence the firmament which teaches division was not done immediately; but the light, which was good for all, was done quickly, and so it immediately states, "And there was light."
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  And God called the firmament, heaven: God did not want that it should be called with the name, firmament - [<i>rakiya</i>] since that name indicates division and disagreement, as per (Exodus 39:3), "And they flattened (<i>yiraka'au</i>) the gold [into thin plates]" - for that which was to cover the earth. Since any [<i>rakiya</i>] is a covering that separates between two things. And for this reason, it does not state, "that it was good" on the second day, since disagreement was created on it; since there is no good except in a place where we find unity. And therefore on the third day, "that it was good" is stated twice, once for the work of third day and once for the finishing of the water, that has an aspect of unity in it, as it is stated, "let the waters gather to one place," and because of this unity, "that it was good" is mentioned.  But on the second day - from which comes out all differences, and which is the beginning of all difference and disagreement - "that it was good" was not said about it.  And God did not want that [the sky] should be called firmament, which indicates a cover that separates and divides between brothers; and it was called with the name, heavens [<i>shamayim</i>], which indicates peace, since <i>shamayim</i> is composed of the words, fire [<i>esh</i>] and water [<i>mayim</i>], who made peace between between themselves and joined together, and from them was created skies. And this is what the Rabbis, of blessed memory, state (Avot 5:17), "Any disagreement that is for the sake of the heavens [<i>shamayim</i>], etc.;" which means to say that a disagreement whose purpose is peace, as is the teaching of the name, <i>shamayim</i>; and [this is] easy to understand. And according to its simple meaning, "that it was good" was not stated on the second day, since there was no new creation on it, since the firmament was already created on the first day, and the reason for [no creations happening on the second day] is because the second day is the beginning of all difference and division; hence the Holy One, blessed be He, did not want to implant a nature of difference in any creation.
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  Fruit tree, making fruit according to its species: [The verse refers to all trees as fruit trees] since all trees are called fruit trees and all trees make fruit, some for food and some for medicine. And that which is stated, "making fruit according to its species," appears to be explained, in that 'man is [like] the tree of the field' and [a tree] is similar to him, whether as a result of its stature or whether as a result of its enduring remnant, like man, as it is stated (Job 14:7), "Since there is hope for a tree." And all of the grasses relate to the other animals, whether because of their being of lowly stature or whether because they don't have roots and branches, but rather  (Job 14:7), "like a flower, comes out and withers." And the Holy One, blessed be He, created all types of food, such that [each food] should be appropriate to the constitution of the eater; and combined every 'type [of food] to its type' [of eater], as it is stated (Psalms 145:16), "and He satiates the will of all life," which means to say [He feeds it with] something that is its will, from the angle that it is close to its nature and its constitution. And that is why it states, "And to all the living on the earth, etc... all of the green grass to eat." Since grass is not specifically appropriate except  for the species of physical life that do not speak. But for man, He said, "Behold, I have given all grass, etc. and all trees etc.," since from the physical aspect of man, the grass is also appropriate for him, and from the aspect of the spiritual mixture within him, the fruit of the tree is appropriate for him. And then every 'specie will go with it specie;' and that is why it says [here], "according to its species," [meaning] to the one who is its specie, which is man. And [with] grass that give off seed, the phrase, "according to its species," is not mentioned, since it is also for man [as well as animals], even though it is not completely its specie. But when [the grass] is [actually] made, [the Torah] does mention "according to its species," from the angle that [man] is, in one aspect, its species, which is the physical side of man.
  And the Rabbis, of blessed memory, stated (Bereshit Rabbah 5:9), that the earth sinned in this because the Holy One, blessed be He, said "fruit tree," [meaning] that the taste of the tree be like the taste of the fruit, and [the earth] didn't do that; hence when man sinned, it, too, was remembered for its sin and cursed. And here, it is asked, why wasn't it cursed immediately. And it appears that this is not a question at all, given that the main curse was that the earth should give forth mosquitos and fleas, as Rashi explained on the verse (Genesis 3:17), "Cursed is the ground on your account." But all of these things are destructive to man, and [hence] so long as man didn't sin, the ground was not cursed to bring up cursed things; since even if the earth sinned, nonetheless what was man's sin, that fleas and mosquitos should run after him; but once man also sinned, both of them were fitting for this curse. And later, in Parshat Achrei Mot, on the verse (Vayikra 18:25), "And the land shall be defiled and I will remember its iniquity upon it," it will be explained, with God's help, that the will of the Power, may He be blessed, was to give a clear and fine consistency to his creations, but [instead] He gave them a coarse and thick consistency. And had He given them a clear and fine consistency, the taste of the tree would have been as the taste of the fruit; and also man would not have a tendency for the most physical and he would not have come to sin. Nonetheless, from the angle that [the earth] sinned and gave a coarse consistency, it also caused the tree to make fruit and not [be a] fruit-tree; and this thing also caused man to sin, since this is the reason that man inclined to physicality and he fell to the sin. Therefore, with all of man's sins, the earth is punished and 'its iniquity is remembered upon it,' as will be explained later on, with God's help.
  And it appears that another correct reason can be given in this matter: since the snake saw that the earth changed the will of its Creator and, nonetheless, did not get punished; hence the snake found room to say to the woman, "you will not surely die," even if she go against the will of her Creator, in the [same] way as the earth did not get punished for that which it did not bring out trees, the taste of which was like the taste of the fruit. And so the snake said, [you will not die] even if God said, "don't eat from every <i>tree</i> of the garden;" that is to say, is the tree fitting to be eaten, that He should command you not to eat even from the tree [itself]? And the woman said, "from the <i>fruit</i> of the garden may we eat;" [meaning] I agree with your words, that only the fruit of the trees in the garden are fitting to eat and not the tree, hence there was no reason for Him to command us except on the fruit of the tree that is in the garden, and not on the tree [itself]. And the snake said, you will not die, since behold, don't you agree with this: the earth changed [what was commanded of it] and nonetheless was not punished; so too you will not die, you too [just like the earth].
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  "Let there be luminaries in the firmament of the heavens:" Luminaries (<i>meorot</i>) is written in [its] incomplete spelling [meaning that it lacks the letter <i>vav</i>]. Rashi explains that [hence] this [can be read also] as the word, curses (<i>ma'arot</i>), etc. I say that the following  is the reason a word that indicates curse is mentioned specifically with the luminaries: since the luminaries are the cause of time and all things that come under time involve pain. As the Rabbis, of blessed memory, said (Megillah 10b), "Every place where it is stated, 'and it was' is nothing but a place of pain" and [the Talmud] concludes that it is only in a place where it is stated "and it was in the days of" that it is an expression of pain; and the reason for this matter is because any thing that is dependent on days - meaning, on time - involves pain, but all of the higher existences that are above time, and time does not rule over them, they do not involve any pain. Therefore, it is stated, "Let there be luminaries," in [its] incomplete spelling, because all things that are under the sun involve curses and pain, since time wears everything out. And that which variants of the word, luminary (<i>me'ohr</i>), appear in this section five time and, so [too] in the first section, five variants of the word, light (<i>ohr</i>), agrees with the words of the midrash (Bereshit Rabbah 2:5), which says, "'And the Lord said, "let there be light,"' these are the actions of the righteous, etc.," and wants to explain the five times [that] light [is mentioned] corresponds to the five books of the Torah, [the study and practice of] which are the actions of the righteous.
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  "Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let fowl fly:" And later it is stated that the birds were created from the dirt. And the rabbis of blessed memory said (Chullin 27b), by way of compromise, that they were created from the swamp. It comes out that the birds were the intermediate of the animals - that were created from the land - and the fish - that were created from the sea. They taught through this, that these three types were not created except for man, [meaning] that they should be slaves to him. A hint to this is that [the word] 'slave' [<i>eved</i>] is [made up  of] the first letters of bird [<i>off</i>], animal [<i>behama</i>] and fish [<i>dagim</i>]. [This is] since all [of them] did God give to [man] as slaves, and [so] man has a hand in the sea and on the land, and upon both [sea and land] of together; so that man not find anything that is not given into his dominion. 
  And by way of [seeking the Torah's] hint [here], we have found that [different] groups of people relate to these three types; that the evil ones that incline towards the most earthly [matters] are compared 'to animals are they similar,' since also [the animals] come from the ground; and the righteous are compared to water, as their consistency is lighter than the consistency of the land, and are compared to fish, whose main life is from the water; and those in between are compared to the birds who fly between the sky and the earth, which is the intermediate between the spiritual and the physical, and its substance is form the water and the dirt, as was stated. And it appears that for this reason, a double blessing was stated about the fish - "be fruitful and multiply" - in the same way as what is mentioned for the human race. And with the birds, only one blessing is stated, "and the birds should multiply in the earth." But with the animals, no blessing is stated at all. And all of this is understood from itself, and [also] agrees with the words of the Rabbis, of blessed memory (Midrash Aggadah Bereshit 1), "No blessing was stated for the domesticated and wild animals because of the snake, etc.;" since the evil impulse - whose strength comes from the primordial snake - crouches there; among the group of evildoers, that are compared to domesticated and wild animals of the earth; and would it only be that they be reduced and not increase. And [it] will be explained more in Parshat Beha'alotekha that (Numbers 11:3), "the mixed multitude that was among them" - which were those in between - asked for meat and fish, which was not their type; and [instead] the meat of fowl was given to them, [and so] 'the type found its type.'
  
  Verse 21
  
  
  
  Verse 22
  
  
  
  Verse 23
  
  
  
  Verse 24
  
  
  
  Verse 25
  
  
  
  Verse 26
  
  "Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness:" Ramban wrote in the name of Rabbi David Kimchi that the Holy One, blessed be He, said to the earth, "Let us make, you and Me;" since the earth gave the bounty of its physical material - as it gave to the other animals - and the Holy One, blessed be He, gave the spiritual part; and [so,] "in our image, according to our likeness," means that [man] should be similar to both of them: in his body, to the earth and in his soul, to the celestial ones.
  And that which is written (Genesis 9:6), "Since in the image of God did He create man" [and not also in the image of the earth,] is to tell of the wonder that through [the Divine image], man is separated from all other animals. And many agreed with this explanation, and there [also] came many other explanations regarding the saying of "Let <i>us</i> make" and regarding the image and the likeness. And it is correct to say that it is [also] for this reason that [the Torah] stated the words, "Let us make;" to show His dominion, may He be blessed, specifically when He made man, to teach that the essence of His kingship is seen in His creatures, [meaning] from man who He formed for His glory. And regarding the image and the likeness, even though it is stated (Isaiah 40:18), "What image will you compare Him to," and it is written (Isaiah 40:25), "To who will you liken Me, that I should be equal," nonetheless we have found that the Holy One, blessed be He, appears to His prophets in a vision of the likeness of man; since at Mount Sinai, He appeared like an elder sitting in an academy and at the Sea, He appeared like a mighty warrior and it is [also] written (Ezekiel 1:26), "Upon the... throne was the likeness of a man;" as it is in all of these [types of] visions, that He, may He be blessed, was accustomed to be seen. And about this [manner of appearance as well], it is possible that He said, "in our image, according to our likeness," even though, in truth, He, may He be blessed, has no likeness; and 'it is the glory of God to hide the thing.'  
  "And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over the animals:" And later the order is reversed, as it is stated (Genesis 9:2),  And your fear and your dread shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every bird... and upon all the fishes of the sea," and also David reversed the order and stated (Psalms 8:7-9), "And You have given him mastery over the works of Your hands, everything have You placed under his feet. Sheep and cattle, all of them, and also the animals of the field. The birds of the sky and the fish of the sea, the ones that travel the paths of the seas." And also here it states, "let them have dominion," but in Parshat Noach [above], it did not mention dominion, and also David stated, "You have given him mastery," and this change [in wording,] does it not matter?
  And it seems most likely to me to say about this, that concerning these three types, man has greater power to rule over one than over the other. And behold, he can rule the most over the beasts and the wild animals and all that crawls on the ground, since they are found with him; and man can go after them to all of the places that they go - [to] and fro - and run to; which is not the case with birds and fish, since man cannot fly in the air or walk down to the bottom of the seas. And nonetheless, he has more power over the birds than over the fish, since man can, at least, see to where they are flying and chase after them or shoot his arrows and astound them; which is not the case with the fish, since they are covered by the sea, and so] they have two disadvantages [for man's control; not being seen and being inaccessible.] Therefore, here - where it states, "let them have dominion" [<i> veyirdu</i>] which is understood [also] as an expression of descent [<i>yeridah</i>], that if [man] does not merit [to have dominion,] he will be in descent in front of [the animals] and not be able [to control] them at all - it mentions the [three different types] in the manner of 'not just this, but even that;' and started with the fish of the sea [to say] 'not just' that [man] will not control them - as this is not such a novelty, since he cannot go to the place that the fish are going [and] also his eye has no mastery over them [to see them]  - 'but even' the birds, which he can see as they flee from before him; nonetheless, he will not control them [either]. And [so too] 'not [just'] the birds, 'but even' the beasts he will not control. But in Parshat Noach, and also [with] King David, [the verses] don't mention an expression of dominion, but rather an expression of fear and [being] below and governance - the understanding of which does not convey any expression of descent - if so, [these verses] are certainly speaking about a time when man [is meritorious], and so, he controls them. Hence, it mentions them [also] in the way of 'not just this, but even that' but in reverse order: 'not just that he will control those that walk on the ground, 'but even' the birds; and 'not just' the birds, which he can at least see, 'but even' the fish; and it is easy to understand.
  
  Verse 27
  
  
  
  Verse 28
  
  
  
  Verse 29
  
  
  
  Verse 30
  
  
  
  Verse 31
  
  And God saw all that He had made and behold, it was very good: Even though [the Torah] already mentioned "that it was good" in the creation of each and every day, nonetheless, here it repeated it and said, "behold, it was very good" after the creation of man, to teach that all of the creations were not created but for the sake of man. And even though it is stated, "that it was good" for all of them, it was stated based on the future; but they were not yet in their completeness and 'goodness' until man - for whose sake they came into existence - was created. Then [God] saw and said, "behold, it was very good." And you should know that there is a difference between [the phrase,] "that it was good" and [the phrase,] "behold, it was very good;" as the word, that [<i>ki</i>], is one of doubt, as if it is not certain; since behold, in every place the word, <i>ki</i>, relates to a doubt; because the word, <i>ki</i>, relates to time - as in "<i>ki tetseh</i>" ["when you go out"] and "<i>ki tavo</i>" ["when you come in"]; which means to say that [the phrase,] "And God saw that [<i>ki</i>] it was good" means that God was looking ahead, when the time will come that the nature of their goodness would be revealed; but "behold, it was very good" indicates certainty. And our Rabbis, of blessed memory, stated in a midrash [Bereshit Rabbah 8:5] that the Holy One, blessed be He debated with the angels whether or not to create man; and if the judgment had been not to create man, the existence of all the previous [creations] would have been for naught. Hence it states about them, "that it was good" which indicates a doubt, but when man was created, then they became certainly good; that is why it [then] states "all that He had made and <i>behold</i>, it was... good;" the word, behold, indicates the time of the present, at which man appeared; and then the 'goodness' and beauty of all the previous beings became seen retroactively. And it added [the word,] very, here, which was not mentioned earlier, to teach that through man, they were made very good; [and a] hint to this is that [the word,] very [<i>me'od</i>] is [made up of the same] letters [as the word,] man [<i>adam</i>].
  And it can also be explained through the metaphor of the eating of fish and meat, each of which is good by itself, but if they are mixed, they become bad; and these creations, it wasn't only that they were good by themselves, but even when they were all joined together, they were also good, and this is [what it means when] it states, "all that He had made and behold, it was very good."
  The sixth day: [The Torah] added [a letter], <i>hay</i> to the word, sixth, to say that the Holy One, blessed be He, made a condition with [his creations] that it all depends on whether Israel will accept the five [the numerical equivalent of the letter <i>hay</i>] books of the Torah; or that all of you will be in suspension until the sixth day of Sivan [when the Jews accepted the Torah], since <i>hey</i>, when it is spelled out, comes out to [the number, six.] And the reason for this matter is because the upper ones and the lower ones are two opposites, and they cannot exist [together] except through an intermediary that combines and unites these two opposite elements; and this is man who has a physical part and a spiritual part - "a part of God above;" and the retention of the spiritual side depends on the acceptance of the Torah. If so, if Israel had not accepted the Torah, there would not be any intermediary here to to unite the two opposite extremes and necessity would dictate that the world would return to being chaos and void. And don't answer me from the time period before the receiving of the Torah, since there were always righteous ones involved in Torah, like Noach, Shem and Ever and the forefathers and [others] similar to them; and with them was the great Name [of God, the numerical value of which] is made up of the number, twenty six. Therefore the world stood for twenty six generations without Torah among the masses; but after twenty-six generations, when the number of the Name was finished, there was not [any longer enough] strength among the individuals of the generations to preserve the worlds, except through the acceptance of the Torah.  Therefore, one who is involved with the Torah brings peace to the retinue above and below [Sanhedrin 99b] and this matter will be explained more later in Parshat Ha'azinu, with the help of God.
  And [about] that which the world was created specifically in six days, the commentators say that it is a hint to the time of the preservation of this world, that it will be six thousand [years], two thousand [years] of chaos, without Torah - corresponding to this, there are two [letters,] <i>aleph</i> [which is the same spelling as the Hebrew for 'thousand'] in the verse, "and the earth was chaos;" two thousand [years with] Torah - corresponding to this, there are two [letters,] <i>aleph</i> in the verse (Exodus 13:9), "in order that the Torah of your Lord be in your mouth;" and two thousand [years] of the days of the messiah - corresponding to this, there are two [letters,] <i>aleph</i> in the verse (Genesis 49:10), "until he will come to Shilo;" and this is correct. And other commentators were precise in [seeing the] creation of each and every day as corresponding to a millennium, one after the other, and we cannot elaborate about them [here.] And there are those that say that it is for [the following] reason that the <i>hay</i> is added on the sixth day, because the world was created with the [letter,] <i>hay</i>, and after the end of the work, the Holy One, blessed be He, deposited the instrument of his work with the sixth day and did not want that it should be with Him on Shabbat, so that [people] would learn from here that every craftsman should deposit his instruments with the sixth [day.]
  The sixth day. And He finished the skies: [The Torah] mentioned the Name of four [letters by way of] the first letters of these four words, [<i>yom hashishi vayekhulu hashamayim</i>; which] agrees with what I explained above about the reason of the twenty-six generations. And according to the simple explanation, it ended the story of the creation with the name of God that is a combination of [a letter from each of the words for] man [<i>yud</i>] and woman [<i>hay</i>]. This agrees with the words of our Rabbis, of blessed memory (Bava Batra 74b), "Everything that the Holy One, blessed be He, created in this world,  male and female, He created them;" and it is stated (Isaiah 26:4), "Through the Power [spelled <i>yud-hay</i>] God, the Rock of the Worlds" - by which, I mean that everything that He created in this world, in all of them, there is a likeness to the male and the female together. Since all males are a likeness of the emanator and all females are a likeness of the receiver; and all creations all have a side that emanates and a side that receives, [that are both] together in one. How is this: Behold, the Holy One, blessed be He is the first Emanator, who gives emanating words to the higher world, but He, may He be blessed, does not receive from [any] other; and the higher world, in turn, emanates to the middle world - it comes out that the higher world has the likeness of the male and the female together, as behold, it receives like a female from the first Cause, may He be blessed, and emanates like a male to the middle world; and so [too,] the middle world receives the emanation of the higher world and, in turn, emanates to the lower world. If [this is] so, also the middle world, is called male and female both together, emanating and receiving. And the lower ones, even though they are receiving and not emanating, nonetheless they have a likeness to the male in them, given that all that exist below need each other, some of them giving and some of them taking; and they also have actual males and females, like all of the animals; such that in all of them, it is appropriate to say that it is emanating and receiving both together - except for God alone, that to Him we can only attribute maleness, emanating and not receiving. This is what the Rabbis, of blessed memory, stated in several midrashic statements (Sotah 42b), "There is no man except the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is stated (Exodus 15:3), 'The Lord is a man of war;'" which means to say that we cannot attribute [maleness] which indicates an emanator who does not [also] receive, except to God alone, since all need Him, may He be blessed, and He does not need any of them. 
  And [about] that which we find the word, man, with reference to the creations, it is not an essential [usage of the word] but rather as [a metaphor, in  comparison] with a woman, but the essential [use] of the word, man, can not be related to [anything] but He, may He be blessed. Therefore, [the Torah] ends the entire story of creation on the sixth day with the name of the Power [<i>yod-hay</i>] that is a combination of the [letters] of the male and female; to teach that God created them all male and female [together in one.] Hence, in this world, the creatures do not use his full name [that extends to all four letters and not just the first two,] but rather the name [that only includes the first two letters, <i>yod-hay</i>,] but in the world to come - 'the day that is completely Shabbat,' then they will use the full name, since 'the dead may not praise the Power [<i>yod-hay</i>].' If so, [the second set of letters,] <i>vav-hay</i>, is hinted by the first letters of the words, "and He completed the skies," that speak about the day of Shabbat in what's revealed [exoteric] and hint to the hidden [esoteric] things - to the world to come; to teach that [only] then will the Name be complete. And so [too,] David ended the psalm (Psalms 103), "Bless my soul" - all of which speaks about the formation of creation - with the name of the Power, and see also later, Parshat Re'eh, on the verse (Deuteronomy 15:10), "Because of this thing."
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  The Tree of Life. Hashem did not command Adam to refrain from eating of this tree because it bore no seductive fruit. Rather it was the tree itself that granted immortality. By contrast the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge was extremely tempting and after they had eaten of it they understood the benefit to be had by partaking of the Tree of Life as well.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  “Did God really say: You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?”: There is a big question in this matter: If the woman added the command of "do not touch" by herself; behold, she knew the truth that God did not command about the touching. And if so, how was the woman seduced by these empty words, saying that in the same way as there is no death penalty from touching, so too is there no death penalty from eating? From a quick [survey], it appears that it can be explained that the woman did not hear the commandment from the mouth of the Mighty One, but rather from the mouth of her husband. And that is [the meaning of] what is written (Genesis 2:16), "And the Lord God commanded to (or about) the man, saying." What is [the meaning of] "saying?" Rather that he should tell his wife that this eating is dangerous. As it is for this reason that it is stated, "about" (<i>al</i>) and not "to" (<i>al</i>), meaning, regarding, that he not bring himself into danger. And the man saw in his [own] intellect to make a fence and to add upon the command; to forbid even touching to his wife, so that she should not come to eating. And Chava reasoned that everything he said to her was from the Mighty One. Therefore, this mistake came to her; as the snake found it, [in order] to deceive her. And with this [explanation], we do not need the explanation of Rashi, who explained that is for the [following] reason that the snake did not come to the first man (Adam) - because women are weak-willed and are easy to seduce. As without this, there is no difficulty; as behold, the snake wanted to prove from touching, that there is no death penalty with eating. And with the first man, he would not have been able to prove anything, since Adam knew the truth: that God did not command about the touching and that he added it on his own.
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  That it was tempting to the eyes. The prospective sinner is always faced with a choice between spiritual reward in the next world, which no eye has ever beheld, and tangible pleasure that is evident to all.
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  For she was the mother of all living: Why did he call her a name now after the sin? And also, he should have called her חיה/Chaya? It seems: Before the sin she was called חיה/Chaya after "mother of all חי/living". After the sin, when she had caused death for generations, her name was changed from חיה/Chaya to חוה/Chava, for חוה/Chava is formed from the term חויא/snake. And Scripture is coming to explain why he did not call her נחש/snake explicitly: because, rather, [even] before this she was the mother of all living and called חיה/Chaya, so when he changed her name it was unnecessary to do more than the yod to a vav so that some remnant of the original name remain intact.
  
  Verse 21
  
  
  
  Verse 22
  
  
  
  Verse 23
  
  to work the ground from where he had been taken – It is not for naught that the verse mentions “from where he had been taken.” I also found written in the midrash (Shachar Tov Tehillim 92) that the first man (Adam HaRishon) settled himself on Mount Moriah, and from where did they learn this? I further found in the words of our Sages (Chullin 60a) that Adam HaRishon offered a young bull with horns and hooves, and where did they find support in the Torah for this? It appears to me that the source for these statements is the verse “from where he had been taken.” That is to say, from the place about which it says “an altar of earth you shall make for Me…” (Shemot 20:21) As the Sages said, ‘the Holy One created him from the place of his atonement, if only that it be an atonement for him!’ (Bereshit Rabbah 14:8) This refers to Mount Moriah to which Gd sent him to work the ground, build an earthen altar from it and offer upon it an offering of atonement; he was taken from that earth and it is the gate through which he passed, as it gave him his thick, coarse substance through whose agency he fell into sin - as is explained above on the verse “…a tree which makes fruit.” (Bereshit 1:11) Therefore in the place which caused his sin, his atonement will be found because that place – that is, that earth – caused him to sin and therefore that earth is obligated to help him to attain atonement through working it into an altar upon which to offer a bull with horns and hooves. This is a correct explanation of the commandment ‘“an altar of earth you shall make for Me,’ because the damage will be fixed through that which caused the sin. Even according to the opinion that Gd gathered dust for the first man from the whole earth this is still the explanation, because the place about which it says “an altar of earth you shall make for Me” is the location of the foundation stone, from which the world was founded. Dust taken from the center of the world is like dust gathered from the whole earth. Through this the difficulty presented by the verse “…the land upon which you are lying to you I will give it and to your seed” is resolved. (Bereshit 28:13) Rashi explains the verse that Gd folded the entire land underneath Ya’akov. According to my explanation we do not have to say this, rather we can say that he lay down on the spot which is the navel of the world and its center - therefore it was as if he lay down on all the land in its entirety. 
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  [Kayin] was building a city. The verb is in the present tense to indicate that he continued building it his entire life, in the way of the avaricious who are never satisfied with what they possess.
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  Lemech married two women. Adah, whom he married to bear children, gave birth to two righteous men, one a shepherd like many of the righteous, and one the inventor of instruments for praising Hashem. But Tzillah, whom he married for pleasure, gave birth to a weapon maker in the spirit of Kayin.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  THE LENGTH OF THE ARK SHALL BE THREE HUNDRED CUBITS.  The verse specifies for us measure of its length, width and height...to let us know the greatness of the miracle, that a small space was able to hold much, because there were large creatures there such as elephants and wild oxen.  
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  
  
  Verse 21
  
  Take for yourself (or “from your own”). He was forbidden to take from others, even though everything was about to be destroyed. This would also increase the miracle since Noach surely did not possess enough to feed them all without a special blessing.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  …and for this reason it did not say at the beginning of this vision, ‘and Gd appeared to him’ but rather only once he (Avraham) had entered the land, because then he was prepared to behold visions of the Divine Presence. Beforehand, when he was still outside the land, he only heard a voice speaking of things. This is because Gd did not appear to him until he came to the land, as is explained shortly. Therefore he called that place the ladder of Tzur (sulma shel tzur) as it says in the Yalkut on this portion (remez 62) that once Avraham arrived at the ladder of Tzur he said ‘let my portion be in this land.’ Who told the author of this midrash that Avraham arrived at the ladder of Tzur? He certainly meant Mount Moriah, because that was the location of the ladder which Yaakov saw standing in the house of Gd (Bet El). Via that ladder souls ascend and descend, and there is the bedrock from which the body is hewn as it says, “…look at the rock whence you were hewn...” (Isaiah 51:1) because from that rock, which is called the foundation stone, the world in general was founded. Also man, who is called a microcosm (olam katan), was fashioned from the place of that rock, which is the also the place of the ladder for the soul as stated. For this reason it says “go to you” (lech l’cha) here and at the binding of Yitzchak, and so too in the verse “…I will go to the mountain of myrrh…” (Shir HaShirim 4:6) and so too “…the rain is over, and gone (to itself – halach lo)” (ShirHaShirim 2:11) it returned to the place of its source, 'because a mist comes up from the land' (compare Bereshit 2:6 and Taanit 9b). The same construction is found in the verse “Now get up and cross (to yourselves) the brook of Zered…” (Devarim 2:13) that is, so too into the land of Israel. And also “I will go (to me) to the great ones…” (Jeremiah 5:5) because there is the dwelling place of the whole ones. This is true of all ‘to me, to him, to you, to them’ (li, lo, lecha, lahem) in the Bible that they should be interpreted so. Therefore Avraham understood from the phrase go you (to yourself – lech lecha) to go to the land of Canaan, even though it was not stated to which land he should head. 
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  There he built an altar. God did not appear to Avraham when He gave him the order to go to Canaan because He does not grant visions outside of the Holy Land. Similarly, Avraham did not wish to build an altar where God does not allow His Presence to dwell.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  It seems to me from all this that one can say, that the Holy One gave the land to Avraham in order that he acquire there two types of benefit. The first is spiritual, and is acquired simply through seeing. The other is physical and is acquired through marking out its boundaries (see Baba Metzia 14b). The spiritual benefit is, that there is the place of the Sanctuary below aligned with the Holy Temple above. There the Lord made a place for His dwelling, and there “was His strengthen hidden.” (Habakuk 3:4) Anyone who gazes upon that holy place is immediately clothed in a spirit of purity and holiness and will see the supernal King  with his eyes. Sight alone is enough in order for one to acquire that perfection in the place which Avraham called “The Lord will see” (Bereshit 22:14), which can be read as will see (yireh) or will be seen (yeira’eh). Just as one comes there to see so to they come to be seen, because immediately upon arrival the Divine Presence sees him and he sees the face of the Divine Presence. In that moment, one becomes influenced and ennobled and cleaves to the radiance of the Divine Presence.  This is almost like the world to come, because there too the righteous sit and take pleasure in the radiance of His Presence. It is not every place in the land where one can merit to this perfection, but rather in the place which is called ‘The Lord sees,’ which is Mount Moriah and Bet El because above it is written “…until Beth El…To the place of the altar that he had made at first…” (Bereshit 13:3-4) and below (28:17) Rashi states that the Holy Temple came out to Bet El to meet him (Yaakov). The commentators explain that from that moment on those two places were connected, the place of the Holy Temple and Bet El, and became one. Therefore it was said here to Avram “Please raise your eyes and see, from the place where you are…” (Genesis 13:14) God indicated directly that this spiritual perfection which is acquired through sight will only be acquired by him from the place which he stood, which was Bet El. This is what is implied by the plain meaning of the verses “And he went on his journeys, from the south and until Beth el.” This is also what is meant by “to the land that I will show you,” (Bereshit 12:1) that I will show you there, for this reason you will see the King in His beauty with your own eyes.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  Three hundred and eighteen. See Rashi. Yet in verse 24 Avraham refers to the “men” who went with him. Undoubtedly he took with him actual soldiers but the number 318 hinted that victory was impossible without Divine assistance. <i>Eli-ezer</i> means “My God helps”.
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  Possessor of heaven and earth. Malki Zedek uses this title here in honor of Avraham, who was the first to make known God’s involvement with the lower world. Alternatively, he mentions it in his blessing to indicate that all bounty derives from the “dew of heaven and the fatness of earth” (27:28). Alternatively, it was through the victory over the four kings that God’s sovereignty over the earth became known.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  How shall I know: Our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Nedarim 32a), "Because Avram said, 'How shall I know,' he was punished with, 'You shall surely know [that your offspring shall be strangers in a land not theirs, and they shall be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years]' (Genesis 15:13)." But the intellect demurs from accepting this <i>drash</i> (homiletical understanding): That his children should suffer such a great punishment because of the sign that Avram requested; and Avram himself did not receive any punishment, whereas his children's teeth were set on edge. Therefore my heart tells me and has concluded that the exile in Egypt had other causes. And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, disagree about [the causes] – and you can find all of the opinions in [the commentary on the Torah] of our teacher, Rabbi Yitzchak Abarbanel, as he gathered them together. But (the reason for not quoting them here is that) the length of a page is too short to put all of those opinions upon it. Rather the writer of this <i>drash</i> was bothered by [the following question]: Whatever the reason for the exile may have been – why is it that the Holy One, blessed be He, should tell Avram this bad news, to distress him for nothing? It is about this that he said that [it was] for the sin of "How shall I know' – that he wanted to know something that was unnecessary to know, as why did he need to ask for a sign about the word of God? [Hence] he was punished with, 'You shall surely know,' such that the Holy One, blessed be He, informed him about something to distress him. And this is also poetic justice (<i>middah keneged middah</i>).
  And concerning the matter of what Avram asked, many have wondered why he asked for a sign about the inheritance of the land, but he didn’t ask for a sign about the promise of offspring. And I would also ask another question: Why did he not ask about the land immediately the first time, when the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, "I will give the land to your progeny" (Genesis 12:7)? And there are many opinions about these questions as well. But I say that the sign that Avram requested was not from being in doubt about God's promise, may He be blessed. Rather he wanted that the Holy One, blessed be He, make a covenant with him, so as to repulse any claimant or challenger against him. As above – when He said, "I will give the land to your progeny" – it was implied that this is just a gift. And about this Avram did not request the making of a covenant; as who would challenge a gift that God gave him? For the earth and its fullness are His; so it is His right to give it to whomever He wants. But once the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, "to give you this land to inherit" – it was implied that this gift that He mentioned was in the category of inheritance. So Avram responded lest the other descendants of Shem challenge [him] about [what they believed to be] their portion. For the sons of Shem were Elam, Arpachshad, Ashur, Lud, and Aram (Genesis 10:2), and Avram was descended from Arpachshad. And lest the other children of Shem would challenge the inheritance, he therefore said, "How shall I know that I will inherit it" - what is the sign that that I am the only inheritor, without challenge? And the answer came to him, "Take a three year old calf, etc." (Genesis 15:9): In the same way that God made an eternal covenant of salt with Aharon to repulse the challenge of Korach against him, so too did God make a covenant with Avram to repulse any claimant or challenger against him. As this was the rule in ancient times – that all who made covenants would pass between cut pieces, as is well-known.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  Sarah will <i>bear</i> you a son. In verse 16 God did not mention that Sarah would actually <i>bear</i> a son, so Avraham thought that perhaps she would adopt one.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  Will not inherit. Banishment does not prevent a son from inheriting. Rather, what she meant was that he would never inherit Avraham’s good character, hence he must be banished to prevent him from influencing Yitzchok.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  And go (you) to the land of Moriah – It mentioned ‘go you’ meaning go to your essence, because from there the origin of human physicality was taken, from the place of which it is said “An altar of earth you shall make for Me…” (Shemot 20:21) as was explained in the portion of Lech Lecha (Bereshit 12:1). In the word Moriah, the yud hey appears superfluous, because it is said “I will go to the mountain of myrrh (mor)…” (Shir HaShirim 4:6) However, there is the place of the foundation stone, from which two worlds created with the letters yud hey were founded, because the gate of heaven is there, and there the union between the Holy One and Israel is made complete, like the cleaving of a man to his wife between whom the name yud hey mediates, and His beloved said fifteen (songs of praise) parallel to the fifteen (yud hey) steps which came up from the Court of Women. These letters are also a sign of the Holy Temple which would be built there after the fifteen generations from Avraham to Shlomo.
  Upon one of the mountains which I will say to you – It says this because the Holy One had not revealed the place where the Holy Temple was to built to any creature, as will be explained below in the portion of Re’eh (Devarim 12:4). Except that Avraham knew this secret and that is why he called the place HaShem yireh (Gd will see) as I will explain on that verse. Another explanation of the phrase ‘which I will say to you’ is that in the future the word of Gd would come to the prophets from there, as it says “…and I will speak with you from atop the ark cover…” (Shemot 25:22) There are those who say that this phrase is referring to Gd’s statement ‘and bring him up to a whole offering.’ It doesn’t say ‘bring him up as’ but rather bring him up to. That is to say, in order to offer a different offering which I will say to you – who will be the offering? Either your son or some other thing. 
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  Father. Suspecting that Avraham intended to sacrifice him and not realizing that it was Hashem’s command, Yitzchok tested him to see whether he still responded to the name “Father.” Here I am, my son. Avraham assured him that he still his loving father. But where is the lamb. If he still loved him, what was he planning to offer? Elokim will show the lamb. Avraham hinted that he was indeed to be the offering, but it was Hashem who had chosen him.
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  As the stars … and like the sand. In times of peace they will be like the stars. 
  And when the nations try to destroy them, they will resemble the sand upon which the conquering waves are broken. Your descendants will inherit. After they have descended to their lowest point they will seek Hashem with all their hearts and then ascend to inherit their enemies.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  +++ To be proofread +++                  Sarah died in Kiriath-arba—now Hebron. [Translator's note: heading should be bold]                                                            In the aggadic compilation Yalkut Shimoni (Remez 102:7) the author infers that this place had four names, namely, Eshkol, Mamre, Kiriath-arba, Chevron (Hebron) and I would pay attention [Translator's note: "אמרתי ליתן טוב טעם ודעת על" is a specific rabbinic idiom, trans. unclear] to those four names: in accordance with this place being allocated to graves it is called by four names that indicate four ways by which death is being found. 1) Because there is a manner of death, when someone dies for his own sin, as it is written (Numbers 27:3) "but [he] died for his own sin". 2) And there is a manner of death due to the transgression of other people, as with the children who are caught in the transgression of their fathers, and the righteous who is caught in the transgression of the generation. 3) And there are those who pass away in the absence of a transgression, by natural death and the divisiveness of the four elements [Translator's note: earth, water, air, and fire], since it is natural that the end of all that is composited is to be separated. 4) And there is the death by a kiss, and this is the manner of death for the righteous: they die by a [Translator's note: heavenly] kiss, which is an expression for joining [Translator's note: connection?], and the issue about this is, that when their thought and their soul ascends and sticks to the wit of the worker [Translator's note: i.e., the creator, "שכל הפועל" is a specific rabbinic idiom, trans. unclear], the one who ascended will not descend again, but his soul remains joined there.
  
  To eulogize … and to weep. Usually weeping precedes eulogizing because the mourner’s sense of loss diminishes with time. In Sarah’s case, however, her absence was felt more each day.
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  וישקל אברהם לעפרן:  The name עפרן is missing a 'ו'. The Ba'al Haturim explains that he had an evil eye, and the name of עפרן without a 'ו' adds in gematria to ר״ע עי״ן (evil eye).  The reason for this comes from a statement in Bava Batra (9B) which states that whoever gives a coin to a poor person is blessed with 6 blessings, and whoever is stingy with the poor is not blessed with these 6 blessings.  It is for this reason that Efron lost his  'ו' (which has the numerical value of 6) - as he was stingy he lost 6 blessings.  Our sages also tell us (Sotah 36B) that we give the glass of blessing to a generous spirit, as the verse states טוב עין הוא יבורך (with a 'ו') - Don't read 'he is blessed', but rather 'he will bless'.  Both the literal reading and the way it is read are true - someone who blesses others generously will be blessed with the six blessings (as depicted by the 'ו' in יבורך).
  Furthermore,  know that the numerical value of רע עין = 400.  We find 400 in 4 different places specifically with regards to stingy people.  The first is Efron who was stingy and therefore took 400 Silver shekels. The second place relates to the brothers of Joseph had a bad view of Josef the righteous and they were jealous of him because of the coat of many colours.  The result of this was that the Jewish people were exiled for 400 years as strangers, affliction and servitude.  The third place relates to Esau who had a bad view of his brothers, and he was jealous of him because of the blessings which Isaac blessed Jacob.  It is for this reason that Jacob placed a space between each flock to fill the eyes of that evil man (that was to be given to Esau), because he came with 400 men. The fourth place relates to Naval, because he was a stingy man.  It was for this reason that David approached him with 400 men.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  Among whom I live. If Yitzchok lived near his wife’s family, either in Canaan or in Charan, he would be subject to their influence. But if he married a woman from Charan and they lived in Canaan he would not be influenced by them.
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  She You have proven for Your servant, for Yitzchak. Rashi explains, she is worthy for him that she is a doer of chessed. This topic is juxtaposed with the topic of Ephron the Chiti, because he too was from the family of Cana'an, and Ephron was begrudging of eye and therefore he [God] commanded to stay far from the Cana'anim, for they were begrudging [lit. evil of eye], because money will answer and testify to all, and every person is recognized through his pocket, if his actions are pure and straight, and there is no better test or "crucible" for a person than gold and silver. And thus said Shlomo (Mishlei 17:3) "A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold..." because one who wishes to test a person will go to the money and see what his nature is. For if he will remain in his righteousness in the business of money, then in every insight it will be revealed that he is complete [honest], and vice versa. And from here Eliezer learned that he didn't need to check Rivkah except with this trait--if she is generous [lit. has a good eye] and does kindness, and there he said "I will not demand from her anything but that she give me to drink, and if she responds, 'drink, and I will also give your camels to drink' then certainly she is a doer of kindness, that she will give me more than what I ask, and if so she You have proven for Your servant, for Yitzchak, for his entire household is garbed in salvation for other creatures"
  ... And the Sages, may their memory be blessed, said, "Any bride whose eyes are beautiful does not require examination of her whole body." But this is something that the senses contradict; as how many ugly women are there in the world who have beautiful eyes? And there is another difficulty: Why did the Sages, may their memory be blessed, see fit to give advice to ascertain this external beauty - is it not that 'charm is false and beauty is vanity?' Rather it is certain that they gave advice to ascertain her deeds. And this is the advice that was advised: That he check if she has a kind eye and purveys acts of loving-kindness. For if her eyes are kind to the creatures, then she is, without a doubt, perfect in all of her character traits. 
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  Avraham again took. The word <i>vayosef</i> — “again” — has connotations of continuing a previous relationship, hinting that this was the second time he married her. Keturah. See Rashi. Avraham named her in honor of the holy incense to make it known that she had repented fully after having lapsed into idolatry, so that now even her former deeds ascended to Heaven like the incense.
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  
  
  Verse 21
  
  
  
  Verse 22
  
  "The children agitated within her..."  This agitation happened when she would pass by the entrance of the Beit ha-Midrash of Shem and Ever.  Yaakov struggled to come out, and Esav grasped his hand.  And when she would pass by the entrance of the house of idols, Esav struggled to come out, and Yaakov grasped his hand.  But she did not reason out the matter this way, but rather that she had only one fetus in her belly, that wanted to come out whether for a beit midrash or for a house of idols.  If true, chas v'shalom, perhaps there are two authorities in existence!  Therefore she said, "why am I thus?", if I am just like all the other women who worship idols?  What advantage do I have over them if, chas v'shalom, there are two authorities in existence?  Therefore, "she went to inquire of ha-Shem", meaning, to inquire after the existence of God and God's essence.
  
  Verse 23
  
  "ha-Shem said to her: two nations are in your womb."  This was the opposite of what she had thought [as described in the previous commentary], that there is only one authority [God].  Rather, there are two children in your womb, one that will serve ha-Shem and one that will serve idols.  Yet ha-Shem is always one, there is no other.  There are those who interpret, "Yizchak entreated ha-Shem opposite his wife," that since he was a tzadik, the son of a tzadik, therefore it was certain that from his side he could only have suitable descendants.  But he feared that from his wife's side, since she was the daughter of Betuel and the sister of Laban, that in order to prevent her having any kind of unsuitable descendants, she was therefore barren.  Since her barrenness continued, therefore he was afraid lest she have a descendant without suitability, just like when Yishmael descended from Hagar, and thus perhaps this was the explanation for her barrenness.  When "the children agitated within her", one struggled to come out near the entrance to the Beit Midrash and one struggled to come out near the entrance to the house of idols.  By this she felt certain that one would be righteous and one evil.  About this the text says, "why am I thus?".  For I am just like Hagar!  In what way am I better than she?  And for what purpose did I pray?  "And she went to inquire of ha-Shem", what difference did my prayer make?  "ha-Shem said to her: two nations are in your womb" -- these are Rebbi [Yehudah ha-Nasi, and his friend, the Roman emperor] Antoninus!  This was the difference her prayer made, that Esav would also have kosher descendants like Antoninus [since Esav is the progenitor of Rome], and all the other righteous converts.  This was not true of Yishmael, and in this respect, you are better than Hagar.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  He named the well Eisek [Quarrel]. This well foreshadowed the First Holy Temple, in the time of which the kings of Judah and Israel, Israel’s “shepherds,” quarreled over the kingship and as an offshoot of their quarrel the shepherds of the nations also joined the fray.
  Sitnah [Obstruction] (or “Hatred”). This foreshadowed the Second Holy Temple, in the time of which baseless hatred became rampant. <i>Eisek</i> implies strife over a specific issue, whereas <i>sitnah</i> implies hatred for no reason.
  Rechovos [Wide Spaces]. This foreshadowed the Third Holy Temple, in the time of which the land will seem spacious because peace will reign among Israel.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  And he arrived at the place and lodged there because the sun had set. Our Sages said (Chullin 91b) that this was Mount Moriah, as it says about it “…and he saw the place from afar.” (Bereshit 22:4) That place was called ‘the place’ without any specific name. Every place has an identifying name, derived from the name of its owner or its nature, but in this it was separate from all other places – the essence and name of this place was hidden as I explained above in the portion of Vayera (22:14). Therefore it is called simply ‘the place,’ because it has not yet received the name which will distinguish it from all other places.
  Another reason why it is called simply ‘the place,’ is because this is the place of the world. This is both because the foundation stone, from which the world was founded, is located there, and that even now the whole world rests on it because from there the Divine abundance pours out to the world. Ya’akov sensed that this would be the place of the Holy Temple when he saw that the sun set upon him before its proper time, because this holy place dims the sphere of the sun and does not require the sun. On the contrary  - the sun needs it, as the Sages taught ‘R’ Avin said, we find that one who wants to make windows makes them wide on the inside and narrow on the outside in order to draw in the light from outside. But the windows of the Holy Temple were wide on the outside and narrow within – why? In order that the light would go out from the Temple and illuminate the world, as it says “…and the earth shone from His glory,” (Yechezkiel 43:2) and it is written “As a Throne of Glory, exalted from the beginning, so is the place of our Sanctuary.” (Yirmiyahu 17:12) See the version of this midrash in Yalkut parshat Tetzaveh 378. This is a proof that the sun does not light the Holy Temple, therefore the light of the sun dimmed immediately upon reaching this holy place, “…and it shall come to pass that at eventide it shall be light,” (Zechariah 14:7) because Gd shined the supernal light from this holy place until He appeared to Yaakov in a vision that night.
  There is another hint in what it says in the midrash Yalkut Shimoni 118, that the sun set two hours before its time. Why precisely two hours? There is a hint in this about the future, that so too will Israel’s sun set two years before its time. As Rashi explained in the Torah portion of Va'etchanan (Devarim 4:25) Gd brought the exile two years early, as its says “And the Lord hastened with the evil…” (Daniel 9:14) If this is so, then the Holy Temple which will be built in this place is destined to be destroyed two years before its sun has set. Therefore this hint came to Yaakov through the early setting of the sun, that there would be a sign in his hand that in the future the Holy Temple would be destroyed two years early. Therefore “…and he took some of the stones of the place and placed [them] at his head…” (Bereshit 28:11) They said in the midrash, brought by the Rama in Orach Chaim 555:2, that the pious and holy ones were accustomed to place a stone under their heads when they laid down on the night of Tisha B’Av. He said that they have a support from this verse “…and he took some of the stones…” because Yaakov saw the destruction. And who told the writer of this midrash that Yaakov saw the destruction? Certainly they learned this from the fact that the sun set two hours early, as I said.
  and he took some of the stones of the place and placed them at his head  - After it was known to him that this place would be the House of Gd which dims the sphere of the sun, therefor he took some of the stones of the place and set them as a guard to his head in order to show how he cherished their sanctity as it says “For Your servants desired its stones…” (Tehillim 102:15) He took twelve stones parallel to the twelve tribes as it says in the midrash (Bereshit Raba 68:11) that the stones argued, each one saying ‘let the righteous one rest his head on me!’ until they became one stone. This was a hint for the future as the writer of the Guide to the Perplexed wrote, that this is why the Holy One hid this place which would be the location of the Holy Temple and the King’s palace – in order that there not be argument between the tribes, each desiring that holy place to be theirs. Also for the sake of peace, as it says “But only to the place which the Lord your God shall choose from all your tribes…” (Devarim 12:5) And it is written “But only in the place the Lord will choose in one of your tribes…” (Devarim 12:14) How is this? When David purchased the threshing floor from Aravna the Yevusi, he collected the money from all of the tribes, as Rashi explains there (see Shmuel II 24:24). If this is so, then the argument between the stones which ended in their becoming one stone was sign for the future, that so too will be the argument between the crown jewels, the twelve tribes of Gd, that each tribe will say let the righteous One of the world rest His head upon me, referring to the Holy Temple as it says “As a Throne of Glory, exalted from the beginning, so is the place of our Sanctuary.” (Yirmiyahu 17:12) In the end they were made as one stone when David collected the gold from all of them. About this stone it is said regarding the building of the Second Temple “Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you sink to a plain! He will bring out the stone of the main architect, with shouts of grace, grace to it.” (Zechariah 4:7) When it says that He will bring out the stone of the main architect (even rosha) it means the stone which was at the head (rosh) of Yaakov. Bring it out to build the foundation for the Palace of Gd. Yaakov made a bed from it to lie upon in order that it be a sign that this will be 'the bed which is to Shlomo' (Song of Songs 3:7) – the king to whom peace belongs, as Rashi explained in Shir HaShirim on the verse “Behold the bed of Shlomo…” 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  
  
  Verse 21
  
  
  
  Verse 22
  
  
  
  Verse 23
  
  
  
  Verse 24
  
  
  
  Verse 25
  
  
  
  Verse 26
  
  
  
  Verse 27
  
  
  
  Verse 28
  
  
  
  Verse 29
  
  
  
  Verse 30
  
  
  
  Verse 31
  
  
  
  Verse 32
  
  
  
  Verse 33
  
  
  
  Verse 34
  
  
  
  Verse 35
  
  
  
  Verse 36
  
  
  
  Verse 37
  
  
  
  Verse 38
  
  
  
  Verse 39
  
  
  
  Verse 40
  
  
  
  Verse 41
  
  That I have been in your house. Actually, he was only in Lavan’s house for a month (29:14). The rest of the time he was in the field and in his tents. However, that month was so unpleasant that it seemed as if he spent the entire twenty years there.
  
  Verse 42
  
  The Fear (or “fear”) of Yitzchok. Lavan did not fear Avraham — who was already dead — but only his God. Yitzchok, on the other hand, was still alive and very powerful and it was primarily out of fear of him that Lavan refrained from harming Yaakov.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  Like the sands of the sea. In favorable times the Israelites are likened to the stars and in bad times they are trampled like the dust. But in intermediate times they are like the sand of the shore, which the waves continually threaten to overwhelm, but upon which they are broken instead.
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  
  
  Verse 21
  
  
  
  Verse 22
  
  
  
  Verse 23
  
  
  
  Verse 24
  
  
  
  Verse 25
  
  
  
  Verse 26
  
  
  
  Verse 27
  
  
  
  Verse 28
  
  
  
  Verse 29
  
  
  
  Verse 30
  
  
  
  Verse 31
  
  
  
  Verse 32
  
  
  
  Verse 33
  
  We find in [statements of] the Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, that deep things, the comprehension of which are difficult, are compared to tendons; as Rashi explained in Parshat Yitro (Exodus 19:3), s.v., and tell the Children of Israel (he explained, "[Tell] to the males, matters as difficult as tendons"). And comprehension is called eating; as we find that about the four that entered the 'orchard,' it cites the verse, 'eat your fill of honey,' about investigation that is hidden from 'the eye of all the living.' And this commandment is a hint for the [future] generations to prevent Israel from hidden (mystical) investigations; as [Ben Sira] said, "You have no businesses in hidden things." For one should be concerned [about this], lest their minds be destroyed and they come to heresy. As the many will not have the wisdom to understand the secrets properly, because their minds travel through the muddied valley. [This is] because the vanities of this world and its pleasures confuse the mind of man. And the hint in the prevention from eating the sciatic tendon for the generations is to be a commemoration that God prevented them from the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, such that they not feed their minds things as difficult as tendons - as he [injured] the hollow of Jacob's thigh. And if this setback temporarily occurred to the perfect Jacob when he veered a little from the even path, what will the 'hyssop of the wall' (average people) - whose primary occupation is with the vanities of this world and its pleasures - do? Therefore they should not be occupied with hidden things, except for the special few, like R. Shimon Bar Yochai and his likeness - who become repulsed by, and renounce, the vanities of this world. 
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  And Esau said I have much. Meaning much, but not everything, and Jacob said G-d blessed me and I have everything, because the wicked even if they have all the silver and gold in the World, they still feel missing, and they have much, but not all they need ,therefore said Esau I have much, but not everything, because still there is something missing. If he has a hundred in his hand, he desires two hundred. The righteous, on the other hand, even if they have little on their hands, they are satisfied and happy with their share, and it looks to them as if they have everything 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  A man found him, and, see, he was lost in the field. This is Gabriel. From what is said, 'A man found him,' understand that this man had been seeking Joseph. He had been looking around for him, and he found him. But Joseph didn't find the man. The man intended to warn Joseph that he should be wary of his brothers. He saw that he was wandering in the field, mistaken in his opinion that he had gone towards peace, but there would be no peace for him and his brothers. Thus this must be an angel - he knew what was in Joseph's heart. If this is not the case, then how would he know who this other man was, or that he was walking this way in error. Maybe this is his path? Obviously Joseph must have been walking on some road or pathway!
  Its midrashic interpretation is that he erred regarding the matter of the field, as is written of Cain and Abel. It would have been reasonable for Joseph to take to heart what had happened to Abel with Cain. Out of jealousy, Cain had killed his brother. Now Joseph thought: "Cain killed his brother ('when they were in the field') over a field. He said, 'This field that you are standing on belongs to me.' That is the reason for why he did what he did. However, why would my brothers kill me for nothing? Jealousy over a multicolored cloak does not resemble jealousy over a field!" This is the meaning of 'He was lost in (=mistaken about) the field.' The field referenced in the Cain story misled him. He did not realize that the nature of jealousy is volatile - for some little thing a man might rise against his fellow and murder him.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  The chief butler did not remember. After he was restored to his position he considered it beneath his dignity to remember a lowly Hebrew slave.
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  They stood next to the cows. They were so weak that they could stand only by leaning upon the healthy ones. This indicated that the populous would only survive the years of famine by consuming what they saved during the years of plenty.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  Yosef said "גשו נא אלי"-"come close to me". He showed them that he was circumcised. By doing this he wanted to show them his righteousness - that even though he was among people who were indulged with forbidden marriages, he didn't do the same. We find that it says in Tehillim "שישראל נגאלו ממצרים בזכות ד' דברים"- "that Bnei Yisrael got redeemed from Mitzrayim in the merit of 4 things" (1) they didn't change their clothes (2) they didn't change their names (3) they didn't speak Loshon Hara (4) they didn't intermarry.           So too, here, Yosef let his brothers know in which merits they would be taken out of the future Galus and he is hinting to them that he is complete in all of those 4 matters. He didn't change his name, as he said: "I am Yosef". He didn't change his language, as he spoke to them in Loshon Hakodesh. He didn't intermarry, as he showed them that he was circumcised. He didn't speak Loshon Hara, as he said "come close to me "- because he didn't want Benyamin to hear about the selling and he didn't tell his father anything either. Yosef is also hinting to them that because of their sin of selling him, their children will be strangers. Like it says: "and now dont be sad", meaning, specifically NOW because in the future you will be sad. Therefore Yosef is also hinting to them about the Geula and the things that will bring the Geula. Some say that he is hinting to the ten killed leaders, that in the future they will be sad over the selling.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  In them may my name be recalled and the names of my fathers.  That you recall for them all of what was taught concerning my name and the name of my ancestors. Because the name Israel is so named because "I have striven with beings divine and human (Genesis 32:29)."  Thus he will be a righteous man, ruling through fear of God.  And Jacob is so named because most of the goodness of the righteous is hidden, because their beginning is always with sorrow and their end is very exalted. And Abraham, is so named "Father of a multitude of nations (Genesis 17:4), thus they will be the head of all the nations.  And Isaac is translated "And I rejoiced", thus there will always be joy in their dwellings.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  Unstable as water. You lost the kingship because a ruler must be levelheaded. You have gone up your father’s bed. You lost the priesthood because you caused the Divine Presence to depart from your father’s bed and the Holy Temple is the “bed” of our heavenly Father. You profaned. You wished to prevent me from fathering more children so that your inheritance would not be reduced; therefore you have forfeited the extra portion of the firstborn.
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  He saw that rest is good. Unlike the pursuit of material wealth, the acquisition of Torah knowledge involves toil of the soul but quiescence of the body. For this reason the Torah was given on Shabbos.
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  As one of the tribes. See Rashi’s alternate explanation. Although in the desert the tribe of Yehudah traveled first and Dan last, they were equal in that both produced leaders (David and Shimshon) who eliminated the wicked from their midst.
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  From Asher will come rich food. Asher provided oil for the Temple service, upon which all prosperity depended, thus it was through Asher that the world enjoyed rich food. Delicacies for (or “of”) the king. Through the provisioning of the Temple Asher indirectly provided for the entire world, just as a king provides for his people. Alternatively, Asher was generous in the giving of charity.
  
  Verse 21
  
  
  
  Verse 22
  
  
  
  Verse 23
  
  
  
  Verse 24
  
  
  
  Verse 25
  
  
  
  Verse 26
  
  The blessings, etc. Alternatively, “The blessings that your father [gave you] are stronger than the blessings my forebears [gave me]” — Yaakov received the right of the firstborn through deceit, but he transferred it to Yoseif openly. Even to the boundaries. Therefore he was able to glory in it wherever he went.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  There they eulogized. The Egyptians mourned his passing bitterly because with his arrival the famine abated and with his death it returned.