meta: {"file": "/data/tomer/Sefaria-Export/txt/Tanakh/Commentary/Ibn Ezra/Torah/Ibn Ezra on Exodus/English/Sefaria Community Translation.txt"}
text: Ibn Ezra on Exodus
  אבן עזרא על שמות
  Sefaria Community Translation
  
  
  Ibn Ezra on Exodus
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  Now these. The purpose of the <i>vav</i> is to recall 
  
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  1} When they afflicted them--despite the affliction, the people continued to increase as they had before.
  
  
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  And He dealt well: ... And that is the good that is mentioned afterwards, "And He made houses for them"; as in (II Samuel 7:11), "As the Lord shall make a house (dynasty) for you." 
  
  
  
  
  
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  The thoughts of God are deep; who can perceive His secret? To Him alone the plot is clear. Perhaps God
  caused it to come about that Moshe would grow up in the royal palace, that his soul might be habituated to
  be on the highest level, not lowly and accustomed to being in a house of slaves. For do we not see that he
  kills the Egyptian for performing an act of unjust violence? And he saves the Midianite daughters from the
  shepherds, for they (the shepherds) perform unjust violence in watering their flocks from the water drawn by
  them (the daughters of Re’uel).
  And moreover: had he grown up among his brethren, such that they had known him since his youth, they
  would not be in awe of him, for they would consider him as one of them. 
  
  
  
  
  
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  "To Horeb, the mountain of God"—Thus wrote Moses. And the reason it is "Horeb" (i.e. dry) is because of the great heat, for rain did not fall there, because it was close to Egypt, [only] a three day's walk, as Moses spoke. And because the Nile was far away, there was no moisture there, and the dryness prevailed. 
  
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  "And he saw": There are those who interpret "belabat esh" as "belehavat esh", but the correct interpretation in my view is that it means "in the heart [labah = lev] of the fire" since this is what we find [in Ezekiel 16:30] "How weak was your heart [libah]". And R. Adonim [=Dunash] says that if that were the case, it should have a hiriq under the lamed [i.e. libah], as in "el ginat egoz" [Song of Songs 6:11]. But he has forgotten "ukheganah zro'eha tatzmiah" [Isaiah 61:11]. "The bush": the sage says this was a sort of thorn bush.
  
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  Now - the reason that "the cry of the Israelites [has reached Me]" is that they repented. The reason "I have also seen the pressure [with which the Egyptians pressed them]" is that they made schemes against them. That is the meaning of what Yitro said: "by the result of their very schemes against them."
  
  
  
  
  
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  Here God said that we said the only older people remember this way. Because they heard in their voices, maybe they didn't say it from their hearts
  
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  This was told to him in Midian...
  
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  And it happened in the way - They had a tradition that an eight-day son should not be circumcised if he was sick or traveling since there wasn't a possibility for delaying the travel. And this was because Moses could not be delayed in his Divine mission. He saw by his own counsel not to circumcise, since the youngster would be in danger if he was put to travel. And behold, HaShem sent an angel to remind Moses to pause himself and circumcise the child and go on his way on his own. And the youngster would stay with his mother until he healed, and behold the reason of "he met him" is that sickness from HaShem came to Moses that he didn't think of it. And this is "he sought to kill him" if he didn't circumcise his son. And due to the trembling that seized him he wasn't able to circumcise his son, and Tzipporah circumcised him, because he revealed to her the secret. And do not be surprise to read "HaShem met him" because it was an angel/messenger of HaShem. And like [this verse, we have] "And HaShem walks in front of them during the day" (Exodus 13:21) and there it is written "And God's angel traveled" (Exodus 14:19). And Rav Shmuel ben Chofni says God forbid that God would want to kill Moses, who goes in a Divine mission to save his people! He just wanted to kill Eliezer. And the sign is that "he met him" and "he wanted to kill him", and after "him" is explained to be Eliezer, because it is written "the foreskin of her son", and this is not explicit in the beginning, since his name had not been given yet. And like [this verse, we have] "And it was on her giving birth, and he put his hand" (Genesis 38:28)
  
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  And he went- The Elders were the advisors in in every generation. Because it is not possible to speak with 600,000 men. Only the Elders would speak with them.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  One can ask , if Hashem hardened his heart what was his sin? The answer is that Hashem gave wisdom to man, and placed insight into his heart to be able to draw additional power to increasegood, or to detract from his evil, as i will explain later .......But the reason for the hardening of his heart is to increase My miracles. Rabbi Yeshua states the reason was to allow him to suffer the plagues, and he speaks incorrectly.
  
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  Wisemen of astronomy.
  Magicians. Those who change the appearnce of something.
  Sorcerers. Those who know the secrets of created matter. The word is quadrilateral (with four root letters, and therefore not Hebrew). Perhaps it is an Egyptian word, or Akkadian (Babylonian/Chaldean), because similar words have been found in scripture only from those languages. The text distinguishes between Moshe's act, in which the staff truly transformed into a snake, and the act of the sorcerers, which is why the text states "belateihem". The word has a trilateral root, it's meaning is as "the flame (blade) of the sword", "I lay burning", "the day that comes shall burn them". It connotes flashing and passing fire, namely illusion.
  
  
  
  
  
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  And the magicians said: Since they saw that they did like Aaron's act with the snake and with the plagues of blood and frogs, but they could not do now like what Aaron did; they said to Pharaoh, "This plague did not come on account of Israel, that you should send them away. Rather, it is a plague of God, according to the system of the stars, upon the constellation of Egypt... Moreover, since Moses had given word to Pharaoh about the plague of the Nile before it occurred, as well as the plague of the frogs; but the did not mention the plague of the lice beforehand.
  
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  And Pharaoh hardened. He hardened his heart like he did with the frogs, it is written there "and his heart hardened"
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  They were Egyptians that mixed in with the Jewish people. They were the "Rabbles" that were amongst them.
  
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  It was a night of watching unto the Lord: According to its simple understanding, since it mentioned, "it was a night of watching unto the Lord," and at the end, "watching... for all the Children of Israel throughout their generations" - it appears that the explanation is that because the Lord watched them and did not let the destroyer come to their homes to attack, He commanded that this night be preserved by all of the Children of Israel throughout their generation. And [this is by way of] eating the Passover sacrifice, according to its statute, and matza and bitter herbs on that night. But some understand it's explanation to be like the explanation of "the watchers of the [city] walls" (Song of Songs 5:7), such that they not sleep, but rather give thanks and recount the powerful acts of the Lord upon their leaving Egypt. And the Sages, may their memory be blessed, hint to this - "the time of reading Shema in the morning has arrived" (Passover Haggadah).   
  
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  And once you have circumcised him: Of his [own] will; that he repent to the faith of Israel, if he is [of age to be obligated to perform] the commandment.
  
  
  
  
  
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  “And this shall serve you”—There are those who dispute our holy ancestors, and say that “being a sign and a reminder” has the same meaning as:  “For they are a graceful wreath upon your head, a necklace about your throat” (Proverbs 1:9).  [They] also [suggest] that “tie them as a sign upon your arm” has the same meaning as:  “Bind them upon the tablet of your heart always” (Proverbs 6:9).  [They] similarly [understand] “write them on the doorposts of your house” as the same in meaning to “Write them on the tablet of your heart” (Proverbs 3:3).  In that case, what would “a sign” and “a reminder” mean?  That it will be flowing in your mouth, “For with a strong arm God brought you out of Egypt.” However, this is an incorrect approach.  For at the beginning of the book [of Proverbs] it states “The Proverbs of Solomon.”  Therefore, [the readers should expect] that everything mentioned in the book is a proverb [not literal].  However, the Torah is not a book of proverbs—God forbid!—so that this verse must retain its literal meaning, and we will not remove it from its peshat.  For its literal meaning doesn’t contradict any logical principle, as is the case for “and you shall circumcise your hearts” (Deuteronomy 10:16), the understanding of which needs to be adjusted…
  
  
  
  
  
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  Is this not the thing?: It is not explained. We only know that it was so; as how would they say something that had not happened to his face. And this thing is included in "and they did not listen to Moses."
  
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  Stand and see the deliverance of the Lord: Since you will not make war on Egypt. Rather you will see the deliverance of the Lord that He will do for you today. One may wonder how [such] a large camp of six hundred thousand men would be afraid of those pursing after them. And why did they not fight for their lives and for their children? The answer is that the Egyptians were the Israelites' masters. And [so] this generation that went out of Egypt learned from its youth to tolerate the yoke of Egypt and had a lowly image. And [so] how could they now battle with their masters? And Israel was [also] indolent and not trained in warfare. Do you not see that Amalek came with [only] a small group and were it not for the prayer of Moshe, they would have overpowered Israel. And the only God, 'who does great things' and 'for whom all plots are contemplated,' caused that all the males of the people that went out of Egypt would die. As there was no strength in them to fight against the Canaanites, until a new generation, after the generation of the desert, arose. And they did not see exile and they had a [confident] spirit, as I mentioned in the words about Moshe in the Parsha of Eleh Shemot (Ibn Ezra on Exodus 2:3).
  
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  There are those who say that Moshe was screaming out to Hashem. This is not correct, since He already spoke to him when saying ואכבדה בפרעה. [Rather] it [the text] only speaks of Moshe, who is representative of all of Israel. [This was] because Bene Yisrael screamed out to Hashem [14:10]
  
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  And the waters were a wall for them: For the waters congealed, and it is written (15:8), "stood up like a wall of liquid." But after most of Israel passed through, the waters, that were a wall for them, melted. And this is [the meaning of] (14:26), "and the waters will return upon Egypt. And they separated between the Egyptians and the dry land...
  
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  And the Children of Israel: The explanation of mentioning this another time is because Pharaoh was drowning while there were still Israelite people crossing. And this was a wonder within a wonder. For in the place that Israel was crossing the Sea, there was an eastern wind drying [the water]; but in the place where Pharaoh and his army were, God brought a different wind to melt the waters that had congealed and became walls. But behold, the two winds were [both] in the Sea and the two places [within it] were close [to each other]. And the testimony for this understanding is that it is written in the Song [of the Sea] (15:8), "With the wind of  Your anger, the waters piled up" - and that is the wind that was with Israel; but it is [also] written (15:10), "You made Your wind blow, the sea covered them" - and that is the one that drowned the Egyptians...
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  And He spoke: God had already told me that you are obligated to rest tomorrow, that you not do work - even [preparation of] food for oneself...
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  2) Moshe explained to Yitro not only the final result (Yetziat Mitzrayim), but the challenges that the Jewish people face along the way.
  
  
  
  
  
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  Be Ready: Perhaps a person shouldn't sleep on them at night, because they will hear the voice of God in the morning, like the way of the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur. 
  
  
  
  
  
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  Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi, may His memory be an honor, asked me why it mentioned, "I am the Lord, your God, that took you out of the land of Egypt," and it did not state, "that made the heavens and the earth and I made you." And this was my answer to him: Know that the levels of people’s faith, in which they believe in the glorious God in their hearts, is not equal. As the masses believe that which was heard by their ears, that their Master told them this. And above them are those that saw it written in the words of the Torah that God gave to Moshe. And if a heretic comes to challenge that there is no God, they will place their hands on their mouths, as they will not know [what] to answer. And the one whose heart has elevated him to learn the sciences – which are like stairs to rise up upon to the place of his desire – will recognize the work of God in the patterns and the plants and the animals, and in his own human body - that he will know the function of each limb, according to its development, and why it is [made] in such a pattern. And his heart will elevate him afterwards to know the matters of the planets, that they are the works of God in the intermediate world – that he should stand and know the time of when the sun should appear or the moon and how much [of that time] the sun will appear. And he will also know why the moon appears and Who caused it [to do so]. And all of this, he will know with clear proofs that have no doubt. And from [these] ways of God, the enlightened one will know God. And so did Moshe say (Exodus 33:13), “show me Your ways and I will know You.” And behold the glorious God mentioned in the first of the statements (of the Ten Commandments), “I am the Lord, your God” – and this can only be understood by someone who is an outstanding sage. As I have already explained in Parshat Veeleh HaShemot (Ibn Ezra on Exodus 3:15) that this God is alone and He exists without change and there is none besides Him who is eternal and there is none like Him that 'dwells from the beginning always.' And He supports the higher world with His power and the intermediary world with the power of God, and His holy angels that are in the higher world. And this lowly world that we are in, He supports with the power of God and with the power of the two higher worlds. And behold, the statement, “I am the Lord, your God,” suffices for the enlightened one in every nation. As [while] only Israel concedes to the making of the heavens and the earth which today is close to five thousand years ago, the sages of the nations of the world do not deny that God alone made the heavens and the earth; just that they say that God always makes [them] – without a beginning and an end. And behold, God made signs and wonders for Israel in Egypt until He brought them out of there, ‘to be for them a God.’ And so did Moshe say (Deuteronomy 4:34), “Or did God venture to come and take for Himself a nation.” And the explanation is that God did to Israel that which He did not do to all nations, since God created the intermediate world that it govern the lowly world according to the [astrological] system [over] everything – whether it is from the good or the bad, so will it happen, since so did God apportion it to the [constellations]. And behold it was in the system for Israel – according to the stars of their constellation – to still be slaves. And God with His power – because of His love for the forefathers – introduced signs in the lowly world that were not in the power of the intermediate world, and He took Israel out from the control of the constellations, so that they be a people that is an inheritance for Him. And because of this, our ancestors said (Shabbat 156a), “There is no constellation (<i>mazal</i>) for Israel.” And I will also elucidate this in a metaphoric fashion in Parsht Ki Tissa (Ibn Ezra on Exodus 33:21). And behold, because of the signs that God did in Egypt, Moshe said (Deuteronomy 4:35), “You have been shown, to know” – that all saw this: the sages and those that are not sages, the adults and the children. And he also added about the matter of the stand at Mount Sinai, that they heard the voice of God. Hence afterwards, he said (Deuteronomy 4:36), “From the Heavens, He made you hear His voice to instruct you.” And he said at the end [of this], that there is complete knowledge that a person can place into his heart until it is clarified in his heart that God is alone. Therefore, he said (Deuteronomy 4:39), “And you will know today and place it upon your heart.” And David said (II Chronicles 28:9), "And you Shlomo, my son, know the God of your father and serve him [with a complete heart]" - and knowledge is in the heart and not with the admission of the mouth. And behold it mentioned for the enlightened one, "I am the Lord"; and it added, "that took you out," so that the enlightened and the unenlightened one would [both] understand. And it said, "your God," since you are obligated because He took you out of a house of bondage 'to be a servant to Me, that you should serve Me and that you should be a people for Me, and I will be for you a God.' And Moshe explained this in the section, "And when your son will ask you" (Deuteronomy 6:20), since the explanation of the question is, "Why are we obligated to do the commandments of God more than every man? And is there not one Creator to all of us?" And behold, he mentioned three answers.The first is that ‘we were slaves to Pharaoh’ and He did us this great good; therefore we are obligated to keep all of what He commanded us, even if we don’t know the explanation of His commandments. And the second is because these commandments are not for His need, but rather ‘to benefit us all of the days and to keep us alive.’ And the third is that we should be righteous [so as] to inherit the world to come. And the men of research have found that all physical things are ten, and these are the main categories and there is none above them. The first one is the essence of everything and it is permanent, and the [other] nine things are all contingent, and they all rely upon the first and accompany it and come from it. For it is like measurement of one in the calculation of ten, since all of the calculation comes from it and every calculation is found in it, as it is the foundation. And behold, this first statement (of the ‘Ten Commandments’) that the glorious God said includes all of the commandments of the heart and the tongue and the deed, as one who does not believe in God in his heart has no commandment upon him.  And a person is obligated to remember Him at every moment to honor Him; since all that he does, he should only do for the sake of His honor. And he [likewise] should only prevent himself from [transgressing] negative commandments for the sake of the honor of God alone. As a man who gives charity to a poor person should not give it for the honor of the sexton and not in order that people will praise him – as then, the level of man will be higher in his eyes than the level of the honor of God, who gave him assets – and he should prefer to [use] his money to give what he can to receive reward from God. And so [too], one who does a sin in secret so that it will not be made known to the king or that people [not] see him and he become light in their eyes. And someone who thinks this is crazy, since so is it written (Psalms 94:9), “if he creates the eye, does he not observe.” And behold, God sees in secret places that which people are not able to see in the open, since God knows his thoughts and his secret. And behold, he was afraid of the king that will die tomorrow, that he should not punish him, and was not afraid of the true King, in whose hand is his soul - in this world and in the world to come. And Rav Saadia Gaon authored “The Commandments (<i>Azharot</i>)” and categorized all of the commandments in these ten statements (‘Ten Commandments’) and found the glorious Name of God in the first five statements. And I have already explained that the first statement is the foundation, and all of the structures of the commandments [lay] upon it. And after it is written, “There shall not be.” And the sin of one who does not believe in the great God is greater than the sin of one who worships idolatry. As there are many that believe in God and they [nonetheless] sacrifice and burn incense to idolatry, like the ones that burn incense to the ‘queen of the Heavens’; as they think that it will cause good to be done to them, like they said (Jeremiah 44:18), “And since we have stopped burning incense to the queen of the Heavens, we have been lacking everything”; and it is written (II Kings 17:33), “The Lord they feared, but their gods they would worship; and so [too] Na’aman (II Kings 5:18), “in my bowing down in Beit Rimon.”And behold, these admitted [the existence of] God, however they combined another with Him. Therefore the Name of the glorious God is written in this statement. And in the third statement, It is also written, as the sin of swearing falsely is less than idolatry. He just disgraces the Name of God openly – perhaps he did this because of anger or a need, as in his heart, he believed in God and he does not combine another with Him. And in the fourth statement, the Name of God is written, as He rested on the seventh day. And behold, one who does work on Shabbat is denying the story of Creation. And this sin is less than the one who takes up His name in vain. And in the fifth statement, the Name of God is written, since parents partner with Him in [a person’s] creation. And if he does not honor them, it is as if he does not honor God. And the remaining five statements correspond to man – the first is the most difficult, as it is to separate the soul from on top of the body. And that which is after it is not in the body, and that which is after that – not to steal – is with money; and afterwards, it is with the tongue; and afterwards coveting is in the heart. 
  
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  “...or that [is] in the Earth beneath...” [All] that is beneath the heavens, as that of the image of a multitude, they have distinct divisions and He implored thus also in the waters. 
  And he spoke the scriptures to the land below. For the Sea and the Earth are one ball.
  
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  The word "longevity" refers to the result...for your mitzva you will prolong your days. The words "on the ground" refer to something else. Because when Israel preserves this mitzvah it will not be exiled. And it is written, "Father and mother have made it easier for you". And here, with respect to a father, they will not do the opposite of cursing or mitigating. And he had to kill the blasphemer. That the listeners will hear the curse from his mouth. And he does not have to. For the curse can also be done in secret, so the Lord commanded that there be a cursed word for all the Scriptures which are in secret
  
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  You shall not kill: with your hand; or with your tongue to testify falsely to have him killed; or in your being a talebearer; or to purposely give bad counsel; or when a secret is revealed to you with which you can save him if you reveal it to him - if you don't reveal it, you are like a murderer.
  You shall not commit adultery: Many people have mistakenly thought that this prohibition against adultery applies only with regards to a married woman, which is inferred because we find the phrase "committing adultery with a fellow man’s wife" - what is the purpose of repeating this after it says "If a man commits adultery with a married woman" (see Leviticus 20:10)? However, this reasoning is incorrect. In actual fact, the previous verse (Exodus 20:9) says: “[Any person] who curses his father or his mother shall be put to death; he has insulted his father and his mother—his bloodguilt is upon him.” The reason for this [harsh punishment] is that he has committed a grave sin by cursing his parents, who were the ones to bring him into this world. Similarly for “committing adultery with a fellow man’s wife” – [it is repeated] to emphasise that he has committed a serious abomination by committing adultery with another man’s wife, whereas he is obliged to love [and therefore give respect to] his fellow man as he would to himself. And the word <i>adultery</i> is talking [more broadly] about <i>immorality</i> as in "[The land was defiled by her casual immorality, as] she committed adultery with stone and with wood." (Jeremiah 3:9) and it is inappropriate to publicize this abomination. R. Saadia Gaon said that immorality exists on many levels: the lowest level is sleeping with a virgin or a widow (outside of marriage - see Deuteronomy 23); the level above that is a man's cohabitation with his wife during her menstruation, since she will be permitted to him after several days (Lev. 18:19); above that is a married woman as it is possible that her husband will die and she will [consequently] be permitted to him (Lev. 18:20); above that is an idolatress who does not follow the Torah of the Jews if he has not yet been with her, as it is possible that she will convert and he can then marry her as a [seemly] wife - except that if he has already had carnal relations with her then he has actually served idols (see Lev. 18:21); above that is homosexual acts which have no permitted circumstances (Lev. 18:22); above that is bestiality, i.e. a man sleeping with an animal (Lev. 18:23). [R. Saadia] Gaon knew how to rank [these different levels of immorality]. In Leviticus 18 all of these types of immorality have [the punishment of] karet (see Lev. 18:29). [R. Saadia Gaon] leaves out [the prohibition of sleeping with close relatives discussed in Leviticus 18 such as a man's] mother, sister or daughter.
  You shall not steal (<i>tignov</i>): The understanding of (<i>genevah</i>) is taking money in secret. And there is a thief who is [to be put to] death, like someone who steals a soul of Israel, whether he is a small youth or [even one of an] 'undiscerning tongue.' And the stealing of money [mentioned] is whether it is in front of [the victim] or not in front of him. Or that he tricked him in a calculation or measurement or weight. And this word also includes one who 'steals the heart' of another, like Avshalom did.   
  You shall not testify against your neighbor,  false witness: For many years I searched in my heart for a reason for the use of this word - it says "a false witness" (<i>ed</i>) instead of saying "false testimony" (<i>edut</i>). Following my knowledge at present, it is because [the verse] is addressing the false witness himself. It is as if it were written, "do not testify if you are a false witness."...
  
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  You shall not covet: Many people have wondered about this commandment, how is is that a man not covet in his heart that which is beautiful [and] all that which appears pleasant in his eyes. I will give you a parable [to explain this]. You should know that a villager who thinks correctly and sees that the king's daughter is beautiful will not covet her in his heart, that he should sleep with her; as he knows that this is impossible. And this villager will not think like one of the lunatics that desires that he should have wings to fly in the sky, when it is not possible. [This is like] that which a man does not desire to sleep with his mother, even though she is beautiful, as they have accustomed him from his youth to know that it is forbidden to him. So must every enlightened person know that a beautiful woman or money is not attained by a person because of his wisdom or knowledge; rather it is from that which God apportioned to him. And Kohelet said, "(to that) [and to the one that did not toil in it], will he give it as his portion" (Ecclesiastes 2:21). And the sages said (Moed Katan 28a), "Children, life and sustenance - [this] matter does not depend on merit, but rather on the constellation." And because of this, the enlightened one will not desire and not covet. And once he knows that God forbade him the wife of his friend, it is more removed in his eyes than the daughter of the king is in the eyes of the villager. Therefore, he will 'rejoice in his portion' and he won't place in his heart to covet and desire something that is not his. Since he knows that God did not want to give it to him [and that] he is not able to take it with his power and thoughts and machinations. Hence, he will trust in his Creator, that He will provide for him and that He will do what is good in His eyes. And behold, the commentary on the Ten Commandments is completed....
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  He has no blood: His killer does not have [the sin of] spilling blood upon himself...
  
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  And the meaning of "the one one who burns" (maviir) is not like (Exodus 22:4), "If a man has graze (yaver)," even though they are from the same [root] - since the word, "fire" indicates this. And this is the poetic nature of the holy tongue - to say the same word that has two meanings, such as [in] (Judges 15:16), "With the jaw of an ass (chamor), mass (chamor) upon mass"; and (Judges 10:4), " who rode on thirty burros (ayarim) and owned thirty cities (ayarim)" - in [which] the second is cities. And the proof is the [rest of the verse], "these are called Havvoth-jair to this day." 
  
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  And a stranger – once the stranger accepts not to worship idolatry, you cannot oppress him in your country/land, because you are more powerful than him. And remember! You were strangers like him. And the same way that the text reminds you that the stranger does not have power, so too the widow and the orphans, who are Israelites, have no power. And after the text says you shall not wrong, it uses the plural form, but then it says if you do wrong them, uses the singular. This is because whoever sees a person oppressing an orphan or a widow and does not help the orphan and the widow, he too is considered as an oppressor. You must not mistreat any widow or orphan. Widows and orphans, like strangers, are in a disadvantaged position relative to other citizens.
  
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  If you wrong them – and here comes the punishment. If a person oppresses and there is no helper, the punishment comes to everyone. That is why after this verse comes ‘My anger shall blaze and I will kill you – all of you. And it says ‘I will heed his cry as soon as he cries out to Me’ – this refers to the orphan, but it is obviously the case with the widow. Just that one imagines that the orphan would be a minor and not be aware of the situation, but this is not the case with the widow.
  
  
  
  
  
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  the first: ... And [Rashi] said that gedi (kid) is a young tender animal, and that this noun is [also] said for a young ox or sheep. And his proof is (in Genesis 38:20, where it states), gedi of the goats - for what [else] is the need for its qualification? But it is not like this, as only something from the species of goats is called a gedi. And in Arabic, it is [also] gedi, and it is not said for another species [besides goats]. However there is a difference between gedi and gedi of the goats; as the gedi is bigger than the gedi of the goats, such that [the latter] still needs to be with the [adult] goats. Hence, gedi and gedi of the goats. And the Sages received a tradition that Jews not eat meat with milk (as well as not to cook meat with milk). And now I will explain: You should know that the custom of the Torah is to speak about what is common. [For example with,] "the daughter of an ostrich" (Leviticus 11:16), why did Scripture alter it to say it like this? And does the daughter encompass the whole species? And we have not found it like this [with other species]. You should know that ostrich meat is dry like wood; and [so] it is not customary for people to eat it, as it has no moisture in it. And the only thing that is eaten from all of the species is the daughter - since it is female and young, it has a bit of moisture. But the young male does not. Likewise, people do not eat meat with milk, as it is not a pleasant food. As meat only gets cooked after a long time, and milk is not [quick to cook]; such that it is not the custom in the lands of Yishmael to this day for people to eat veal cooked in milk. [This is] because there is much moisture in veal, like there is [also] in milk, and so it is injurious - hence it is not eaten. But because gedi meat does not have moisture and it is warm when it is young, they therefore cook it in milk. And do not wonder, on account of it not being the custom of the people in these places to eat the gedi of the goats. For the physicians concur that there is no meat [as good] as it, and they even permit sick people to eat it. And in Spain, the Land of Israel, Persia and Babylonia, they do eat it. This was also the custom of the ancient ones (to eat it): "Two good gedii of the goats" (Genesis 27:9); "and we shall make a gedi of the goats before you" (Judges 13:15); and the priests eat a gedi of the goats as a sin-offering. And since no one eats raw meat, it is forbidden to cook a gedi in its mother's milk.... And we do not have a need to seek the reason for its prohibition, as it is hidden from the eyes of the ones with understanding. Perhaps it was because it is cruel-hearted to cook a kid in its mother's milk, in the way of "Do not slaughter a sheep or an ox - it and its child on one day (Leviticus 22:28), and "do not take the mother upon the young" (Deuteronomy 22:6). And most people are not accustomed to having sheep, so they buy milk from the marketplace and the milk is from a collection of different sheep. [Hence] maybe the buyer of the gedi will not know where is its mother; and when he buys milk, maybe there is milk there that is from the mother of the gedi that he bought, so he would transgress. And [we are] stringent about any doubt [concerning a law] from the Torah. And behold even the Yishmaelites concur that if a gedi is cooked in its mother's milk, such that the lineage is the same, then [the meat] is more pleasant. And the verse is speaking about what is common. And behold the ancient ones, may their memory be blessed, were stringent to remove any doubt and they forbade [all] meat and milk. And the Lord that gave them wisdom should give them their full wage....
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  From a creature that was known in those days. As it is written, "and gave you sandals of tahash to wear (Ezek. 16:10)." Therefore, it was already known.
  
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  And you shall make: Our predecessors said that the form of the keruvim were like two youths, and that its meaning is "like a baby (keravya)" in Aramaic, and that the [letter] kaf is [a prefix]. Yet they spoke correctly, that they have the form of children - if they have a tradition, and they made the word a mnemonic, like chanukah [is used]. For the kaf [in] keruv is [part of the] root. And the testimony ([is in] verse 20 of this chapter), "and hakeruvim were" - since the [letter] hay [at the beginning of the word (ha)] is a definitive hay and not one of questioning, like the hay (in Isaiah 27:7), "Was he beaten as his beater has been?" (Had the hay been used as a questioning hay, the kaf could have been part of the root.)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  G-d forbid that Hashem should repent! No, the Torah is merely speaking in a language that human beings can understand, just as it does when it says "He went up" (Genesis 17:22) and "He went down" (Genesis 11:5), and "God will be made happy by His creations" (Ps. 104:31). And also, "He was grieved in His heart" - and behold Samuel also said "The Glory of Israel does not deceive or change His mind" (I Samuel 15:29) And the text says "I repented". And there are those who explain this as an expression of communication, and this is unnecessary.
  
  
  
  
  
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  The Gaon said, "Panai is My anger; as in (I Samuel 1:18), 'and she no longer had paneah.'" But behold, what shall he do with the words, "If Panecha does not go with me?" And according to my opinion, the understanding of Panai is Me, Myself, as in (II Samuel 17:11), "and panecha go into battle."
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  These are the wise of heart and the reason is that their hearts were elevated