meta: {"file": "/data/tomer/Sefaria-Export/txt/Tanakh/Commentary/Rabbeinu Bahya/Rabbeinu Bahya/English/Sefaria Community Translation.txt"}
text: Rabbeinu Bahya
  רבנו בחיי
  Sefaria Community Translation
  
  
  Rabbeinu Bahya
  
  Introduction
  
  
  
  I know that the works of the Torah commentators break down according to a four part structure and approach. There are those who pursue the pshat, the plain meaning of the text. There are those who long for the way of midrash, the literary and exegetic meaning. Some choose the way of the intellect and philosophical investigation. Then there are those elevated ones, whose hearts seek the path to the house of God. Their hearts are sated with fatness and they eat dripping honey from the comb. They have entered into the place of the seer, further than the oracles, grasping root and branch. Therefore I saw fit to split my commentary into four parts according to these various paths, in order that all the pieces should be made whole.
  
  Bereshit
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  And know that in this Torah portion there is an explanation as to what occurred between Jacob and his brother Esau (and it is also a hint for [future] generations as to what will always happen in the future with the children of Esau) that enables us to ascribe to Jacob three discrete ways of being - towards war, towards gifts, and towards gifts. "Towards war" as it is written "and he divided the people with him" and as it is written "thinking, 'if Esau comes..." etc. (Genesis 32:8-9); "Towards prayer" as it he said "O God of my father Abraham...Deliver me" (Genesis 32:10-12); "Towards gifts" it is written  "200 she goats and 20 he goats, etc." (Genesis 32:15). [This is the case as well with] King Hezekiah who also ascribed these three ways of being as it is seen regarding Senacherib, King of Ashur, as it is written [regarding an orientation towards gifts]: "And Hezekiah gave him all the money" (2 Kings 18). And it is written [regarding an orientation towards war] "And he gave the nation to the ministers of war" (II Chronicles 32), and it is written [regarding an orientation towards prayer] "And Hezekiah prayed before God" (2 Kings 19). And thus we also need to go according to the directions of our ancestors and establish for ourselves a way of being to receive their faces [i.e. that follows in their ways] as gifts by way of refined speech; as prayer [by coming] before God the Exalted; however as war, it is impossible as it says "I have sworn with you daughters of Jerusalem, etc." (Song of Songs 2). They have sworn not to arouse themselves to war with the nations.  
  
  Shemot
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  Like a ring of gold, a golden ornament Is a wise person's reproof in a receptive ear. (Proverbs 25:12)
  ...In this verse, King Solomon, of blessed memory, teaches the virtue of accepting reproof and criticism. Torah depends on one’s ability to accept reproof. The highest virtue is found in the one who accepts criticism and listens to the one who rebukes him. It is the basis for the fulfillment of the Torah. One who rejects reproof is marked by a repulsive virtue containing the worst evils. To reject criticism causes one to reject the yoke of the commandments.  Regarding this, Solomon wrote: "Discipline is worse than the one who abandons God's way; he who hates rebuke will die."  (Prov. 15:10)  This means that one who rejects reproof is worse than the person who abandons the observance of Torah since such a person is guilty of denying the yoke of commandments. A person who abandons the path of Torah may face punishment but he is not condemned to death. One who rejects reproof is not pardoned through suffering but is sentenced to death. This is what King Solomon meant when he said, "He who hates rebuke will die." It is not enough for him to face painful suffering as a judgment…Conversely, Solomon explains that reproof is like a thing of beauty just as earrings are adornments to the body. When a wise person presents criticism to a person who is receptive to the criticism, the criticism is compared to an earring or an adornment which beautifies the soul of the individual.  There are two types of people with regard to reproof: those whom we are obligated to criticize and those whom we should avoid criticizing. There are three types of people whom one is obligated to criticize: the wise, the simple and the youth. There are three types of people to whom one should avoid offering reproof: scoffers, fools and the wicked.  Regarding scoffers, we are taught, "Do not rebuke the scoffer for he will hate you." (Prov. 9:8) … Regarding fools, it is written, "Do not speak to the fool for he will disdain your sensible words." (Prov. 23:9) The scoffer hates the person who criticizes him while the fool makes light of the words of reproof and mocks the person who is wiser than they are.  Regarding the wicked, it is stated, "…to rebuke the wicked person for his blemish is to call down abuse on oneself." (Prov. 9:7) This means that when one criticizes the wicked and points out his blemish, the wicked responds by casting his own blemish back on the one who rebuked him. The people to whom one should offer reproof include the wise. It is written, "Reprove the wise person and he will love you." (Prov. 9:8) Sometimes a wise person needs to be criticized when he accidently sins or does so by chance. Regarding the simple, it is written, "Endow the simple with shrewdness." (Prov. 1:4) Regarding the young, Scripture states "(He endows) the young with knowledge and foresight." (ibid) The most important type of reproof is the criticism offered to the young since their intellect is not fully developed and they lived under the domination of the evil inclination for the thirteen years when their thoughts and understanding were completely focused on worldly pleasures of the body. While they are still adolescents and their nature is malleable, young people are in need of criticism to rein in their behavior and to help them come under the control of their good inclination. They gain this by listening to the person who reproves them and by paying attention to words of Torah which is entirely reproof. It is written, "The way to life is the rebuke that disciplines." (Prov. 6:23) If a person was allowed to follow his basic nature, whether good or bad, he would not be able to separate himself from his youthful behavior when he reached the full maturity, as it is written, "Train a lad in the way he ought to go; he will not swerve from it even in his old age." (Prov. 22:6) Thus, a person acquires great benefit and merit for himself (by accepting criticism when he is young.) Because of this Solomon advises us to offer reproof to a young person with 'the rod of discipline,' "if folly settles in the heart of a lad, the rod of discipline will remove it." (Prov. 22:15) This means that even if the folly has attached itself to his heart and he has become accustomed to acting in this fashion for many years, do not despair and say, 'There is no way to make him improve,' for as long as he is a lad and the rod of discipline is used, he can remove it. By disciplining him little by little, the reproof will eventually enter his heart. When the word of the disciplinarian is soft so and offered with constancy it will eventually make an impression on the one who is disciplined just as drops of water which are soft and pleasing eventually leave a hole in a rock (upon which the water drips).  But if a person despairs and does not try to offer a young person reproof, it is as if he hates him, as it is stated: "He who spares the rod, hates his son; but he who loves him disciplines him early," (Prov. 14:23) The Midrash interprets this verse: "He who spares the rod, hates his son," refers to King David, while "He who loves him, disciplines him early," refers to Jacob, teaching that one who withholds discipline in the end will cause his children to follow evil company. We find this to be the case with Abraham who spoiled Ishmael and eventually he followed evil company…similarly Isaac spoiled Esau so that he left his father to follow evil company… David spoiled Adoniyah and Abshalom causing them to follow evil company… "He who loves him disciplines him early" refers to Abraham in the case of Isaac and Isaac in the case of Jacob. Similarly because Jacob disciplined his sons, there was no unworthy sons among them. Because he was a wise disciplinarian and the sons were attentive to him they became like refined gold made into earrings and they were truly the children of their father's legacy. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  
  
  
  .... This is also the mystical aspect of our sages’ saying (Shevuot 20), “the words "zachor" and "shamor" were said as one,” for "zachor" is the attribute of compassion, and "shamor" the attribute of justice, and so the voice with "zachor" and "shamor" is the attribute of compassion within the attribute of justice. This was also why there were two tablets, five against five, one tablet corresponding to the attribute of compassion and the second tablet, on which there also five statements, with five negative statements and beginning with "do not murder," corresponding to the attribute of justice, and for this reason, they were two, and not all of the statements were on a single tablet. And Moshe our Teacher, a"h, who reached HaShem the special One, _he_ is the attribute of tif'eret, he would hear "zachor," and all of Israel "shamor." ...
  
  Vayikra
  
  
  
  Bamidbar
  
  
  
  Devarim
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  According to the Midrash "and you shall make a guardrail on your roof for the faller will fall from it", he was apportioned to fall from the time of the six days of creation, but you do not need to cause that his death should be on your hands. The idea of this Midrash is that all the creation in their entirety were creation at their request and desire, and the Holy One B"H informed them in the beginning of the creation all of their [related] matters and all that would befall them in the future. And also informed them of the days of their lives and deaths, and how they would occur. And how they would sustain themselves if with spirit or difficult, if independently or with the aid of others. And so our Rabbis have explained that all of the process of creation was performed with its knowledge and with its characters it was created, as it says "and all his legions", and they accepted and desired all; and accordingly they [the Rabbis] said 'he was apportioned to fall from the time of the six days of creation'. And Nevertheless their is a great punishment for those that [surround?], and so we make a guardrail on our roofs.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  It is common courtesy to welcome newcomers with food and drink; not that the Israelites had any needs in the desert--they had Manna falling [from heaven] for them and a well that traveled with them.
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  Do not despise the Edomite... Even though you ought to despise him, because he went out with the sword for you; and the Egyptians also, even though they drowned your male [children] in the Nile, do not detest them, because they provided you a lodging in an hour of distress and fled to them in the days of famine and were treated with great honor.... And it is said of both of them, "Thou shalt not detest," the Edomite that met them with the sword, and the Egyptians that drown them in the water, whereas with Ammon and Moab, the sin made them loathsome, and Scripture says, "Do not inquire for their well-bring or their good." From here do the Sages deduce that one who causes a man to sin is worse than the one who kills him--a killer takes a man from This World and the inciter takes him from this world and the hereafter.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  “Like an eagle arousing its nest;” [The text] compares [God’s] honor (kavod) to the eagle. Just as the eagle is the king of the birds, honor is perceived as the “king” of all dispersed minds, hinted in “and from there they dispersed” (Genesis 2:10). Just as the eagle takes its young, carrying them on top of its wings, guiding them to various places, so God “alone, guides them”, that is, the Jewish people, God did not employ the help or assistance of any other deity. We have a similar verse (Psalms 73:25) “Whom else do I have in heaven except You?” We rely neither on angels nor any other celestial forces but only on God directly. The text goes on saying: “having You I want no one on earth.” Furthermore, elaborating on the comparison with the eagle, “just as the eagle renews itself from time to time, so Israel does renew itself from time to time.” And just “eagles grow new plumes” (Isaiah 40:31) and “that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (Ps 103:5) so too honor renews itself when the Flow comes to it from Above, after it was stopped up due to the sins of Israel. 