meta: {"file": "/data/tomer/Sefaria-Export/txt/Tanakh/Commentary/Alshich/Torah/Alshich on Torah/English/Sefaria Community Translation.txt"}
text: Alshich on Torah
  תורת משה - אלשיך
  Sefaria Community Translation
  
  
  Alshich on Torah
  
  Genesis
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  ...Behold Laban placed his eyes on money, as he saw that for a little water, he gave a nose-ring and bracelets. And all the more so after they fed him, his men and his camels, would he then give a nice sum to the bride's relatives. And so, he blustered to show the goodness of their hearts, by saying, "Here is Rebecca in front of you; take her and go." But [the servant] foiled their plan and brought out vessels of silver and vessels of gold, but gave them to Rebecca; since they would stay with her in the house of her [new] husband. What he gave to her brother and her mother, however, was only cakes. And when they saw that they waited falsely, their dance turned into mourning. And so they reversed [their way] towards him, and vented their anger by saying, "Let the girl abide...," to anger him and to correct that which he had spoiled with the money. And they also did not say, "Afterwards, you shall take her," but rather, "Afterwards, she will go" - meaning, "but not with you." Then he answered, "Do not [think] that it is I you are scaring, but rather it is the Lord that you are angering, as He is the one that is doing all that I do and makes me successful - so it is Him that you are opposing." And this is [the meaning of] his saying, "Do not delay me, since the Lord has given success to my journey." Then in order to remove the blame from themselves, they said, "Let us call the girl and inquire at her mouth." And in order to put into her heart that she should decline, they spoke to her in a questioning way, "Will you go? [...] And also "with this man?" As he is a servant and lacking honor. And in spite of all this, "she said, 'I will go.'"
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  Why did Pharaoh not say, "and there is not that can interpret it to me"; like it is stated above, "but there was none that could interpret them to Pharaoh"; and as the Sages, may their memory be blessed, said, "They would interpret it, but not to Pharaoh"...
  
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  [Joseph] put into his heart that, in that the Lord was with him, he was not brought down there for naught; but rather to precipitate the [arrival of the] Divine Presence in Egypt, such that he was Its 'chariot.' And so he saw that the Lord was with him. And therefore when he was in the house of his master, he did not inform his father, to redeem him form his master. And [so it was] in this way, regarding all of the times [that he was in Egypt], he was as if silent. As behold, the intellect would suggest that at least when he was still in the jail, he would assuage his father's worrying with a carrier to run with a letter from his hand. However since he stopped himself to not reveal [anything to his father], he therefore called his firstborn son, Menashe - meaning, it is good to praise the Lord, "for God made me forget all my toil, and all my father’s house." As I was given the strength to forget this through him... As if not, I would have told my father's household. But the Lord [granted him a child] so that his father would not redeem him from his distress with all of the wealth of his home, and that [he not] command him to return to his land. And [then] the entire preparation of the exile which He, may He be blessed, prepared by having His Divine Presence come to Egypt with Joseph as its chariot would have been spoiled. And this is [the meaning of] "for God made me forget..."
  
  Exodus
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  ...As once Moshe saw the making of the Tabernacle, 'that it was awesome, to make a sanctuary for Him, that the Lord God would dwell within it; and He commanded His people, that they should take gifts; and Bezalel and Oholiab and every wise-hearted man to do make the ark, the menorah, the table, all the vessels of the Tabernacle, its tent and its cover; and Aaron and his sons to be priests in front of him - would his heart not be soured to say, "'What is this that the Lord has done to me,' as I have no portion in this great thing!" Would it not be even more, since he was supposed to be the priest in the future and Aaron be the Levite, but the matter was changed during his [receiving] his mission to Egypt. Hence God came to speak to his heart and to comfort him. And He said, "Do not be concerned, since your portion is greater than all of them. For does not the perfection of them all come through you? For it is through that which 'you command' the Children of Israel with all of the commandments. They also merit in that which 'They shall take the oil to you, etc.' As through this, they will be effective in lighting the permanent lamp - as will be explained - to bring them light for the world to come. However without you, they would not have merited this. That is concerning the aggregate of Israel. And that which you are jealous about Aaron and his sons - that they are the priests and not you - also their perfection is from you. And they do not even have the power to sanctify the garments for priesthood without you. But rather (Exodus 28:3), 'You shall speak to the wise-hearted... and they shall make, etc. to sanctify him.' Through that which it shall be though you!"
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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   ... [Shabbat observance] is an inner thing that connects between Me and you, as it is something that is within Me and goes into you, meaning in[to] your souls - such that your souls become like a sanctuary for My Divine Presence, which is also a part of God, may He be blessed... And if so, since the dwelling of the Divine Presence in the Tabernacle is not intrinsic, but rather a result of man - as it is found (Exodus 25:8), "'And make Me a sanctuary, so I will dwell among you,' 'so among it,' is not stated, but rather, 'so among them'"; which is because the sanctuary of God is man, and it spreads out from him to the Tabernacle - if so, I will ask from this, how is it that man who is the sanctuary of God would do work on Shabbat upon the Tabernacle which does not intrinsically have the Divine Presence within it, but rather from that which is drawn to it from man; as it is drawn to the Tabernacle from man, in his being the sanctuary of God. 
  And there is also a second reason; and that is that the Shabbat [represents] eternal holiness for man, whereas the Tabernacle is only for its time. So how could the holiness that is only for [all] generations be overridden by that which is only for a limited time. And this is [the meaning] of that which is written, "for your generations."
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  ...Look and see that it is not fitting to profane Shabbat with the work of the Tabernacle. For is it not that the Tabernacle and all of its vessels do not have holiness in them until the Tabernacle is established in its place and the Divine Presence rests upon it? It comes out that the making of the Tabernacle is only a preparation for something that will only be holy after its making. However, there is no need to say that Shabbat is intrinsically holy...
  
  Leviticus
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  And the one whose house it is shall come. Our Father, our King, our God teaches us the way of truth in order that we be enlightened to serve God. And this is that which we are obliged to place 'like a seal on our hearts' (ref. to Song of Songs 8:6): that there is nothing void of His watching, may He be blessed, and there is no teaching of pain which is not reproach for sin. And it is good to praise God for all pain which has not come, for if one's God were not in one's midst, these evils would have found one. And this is "And the one whose house it is shall come". The "telling" [that the homeowner gives to the priest] could have been "<i>I have seen</i> something like a plague in the house" -- but this is not what God has chosen, rather that they should say "something like a plague <i>has appeared to me</i> on <i>my</i> house". This is as if to say, <i>for my sake</i> it appeared on the house; for my sin God made me liable for a plague of <i>tzara'at</i>, it should have been on me and God placed it [instead] on my house. And this is why it says "appeared to me"; as if to say, it is suitable to say "like a plague appeared to me" for this has the substance of "to me". This is like what is said (Genesis 27:3-4) "prepare for me a dish"; "and trap for me"; "and bring it to me". And there are innumerable further examples.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  ...As there is nothing that profanes and makes a man's heart haughty like great bounty; as it is stated (Deuteronomy 32:15), "So Jeshurun grew fat and kicked." And behold that all of this happens [because] he does not look to God who gave it to him, but rather they forget Him and say that it is 'their strength and their might that produced all of this glory for them.' As ingratitude removes them from the good path and from walking after God, to the point that they are soon lost. Hence our Father in heaven, who wishes [our good] like a father for a child, loves us and teaches us proper ethics: From the time when the scythe begins [to cut] the crop of barley - which is the first of the land's produce - before our hearts become haughty when we see the abundance of produce in the house and in the field, when the threshing floors are filled with grain and the barns with plenty; God comes to open blinded eyes to teach them knowledge. As 'the Lord's is the earth and all of its fullness' - the fruit and the fruit of fruits - since man has no power; hence 'all is vanity.' And so they shall do this in order that their heart not become haughty; such that before any enjoyment from the bounty of the field comes to their mouth, and before they taste the smallest bit of bread or parched grain, all of the Jewish people bring the first of their harvest to the priest while saying to Him, may He be blessed, "Behold we recognize that all of the land and everything in it is Yours; and what is Yours from the beginning of it all has been given to You before we eat from anything, to show that everything is from You and that we are not brazen-faced ingrates." And this is [the meaning] of its statement, "When you come to the land," which you did not need to take with the might of your hands but rather as one who comes to an inheritance": It should not enter your heart to say, "The land was given to us an inheritance from our forefathers and it is ours and our children's forever; and that which we eat its goodness and its produce, it is the effort of our hands that we eat, as we work the land by plowing and reaping and [doing] all the work in the field until the produce arrives. As none of us stops from work - whether by sowing, planting trees, planting shoots, winnowing separating - so we eat the bread of the land by the sweat of our brow..." Hence God, may He be blessed, preceded [us by] saying, "Observe and see that after your coming to the land is not an inheritance that has no break, nor a present given to a heir that had it as an inheritance with no break, but rather 'which I give' - in the present tense - and the giving is never completely final. For whenever you turn away from Me, I shall transfer it to others besides you. And you should not let it enter your minds that it is your harvest that you are harvesting, but rather, 'you shall harvest the harvest' of the land, for it is blessed, and you shall be blessed from its blessing."... "Then you shall bring the omer of the first-fruits of your harvest unto the priest," so that you not be ingrates. And perhaps you will say, "What is this that I should give to the priest, since he is a servant of my Master just like me, such that my Father in Heaven will not take the smallest thing from me and not require it from me, God forbid. So how will it be examined and revealed and seen that I am showing appreciation to God?" Hence, it stated, "And he shall wave the omer before the Lord," such that the priest will wave it up and down and to the directions of the world - to indicate that all of the world and up and down are His, may He be blessed, and that this omer is going to Him and not to the priest...
  
  Numbers
  
  
  
  Deuteronomy
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  And notice that the permission to eat meat that we have up in the text was repeated here, and why was it repeated? And more, why does it say "and you will say 'I will eat meat'? What is gained by reminding us that, given that we already have the permission to eat meat? And more, if it mentioned "when your soul desires" why does it repeat "with all of your soul desire"? It is obvious that this is the case! And it is repeating the same wording in the previous verse regarding the enlargement of borders. And it also says 'from your cattle, from your sheep' that God has given you - all these are extra words, and it would have been enough to say 'you shall make a sacrifice and eat'. And more, it says 'in your gates' - who wouldn't know that they eat in their borders? And it also repeats 'like the deer' etc, and it also 'make sure not to eat the blood' and 'spill the blood into the earth like water' like the previous verse.
  [This is the answer] Indeed, let's talk about the greatness of the Blessed One. When God saw that this is the way of a person, to walk mischievously around one's heart, to find ways to permit what it knows to be forbidden. And this is the way of the Impulse to Evil, to go for murmur to murmur, slowly slowly, to separate a person from the ways of God. And this is that, in the beginning, it sees that the borders were enlarged by God, and then the way to the place where God put the Temple is far away, and it says 'if just you were close to the place that God chose, then you would make a sacrifice of well-being, and you would eat meat, but now what can you do, you're so far away.' And despite this, you would strengthen your heart and say 'would it really please God that I eat meat without bringing it to the tent entrance?' And as a sword the Impulse would pierce you to eat meat to satisfy your own flesh and to fill your belly rather than to do the will of your Maker. But this is what is meant: it would be a kindness [tzedakah] to the soul (of the animal) if you ate from the cattle and the sheep, and raise the soul as you make it part of a Human, that has a neshamah, since what could be said of that animal? And now your merit would be raised, and it is known, but this is "the desire of the soul" and not of your body, this would be for the sake of heaven. ... And only if you are doing this for the desire of raising the soul, to raise the soul of the animal to the higher levels of a soul that possesses holiness, and not for the sake of enjoying your body. And this is what I warn you against: it says 'with your soul desire' and not 'to please your body.' 