json/Midrash/Aggadah/Midrash Rabbah/Bamidbar Rabbah/English/Sefaria Community Translation.json

{
    "language": "en",
    "title": "Bamidbar Rabbah",
    "versionSource": "https://www.sefaria.org",
    "versionTitle": "Sefaria Community Translation",
    "license": "CC0",
    "versionTitleInHebrew": "תרגום קהילת ספריא",
    "actualLanguage": "en",
    "languageFamilyName": "english",
    "isBaseText": false,
    "isSource": false,
    "direction": "ltr",
    "heTitle": "במדבר רבה",
    "categories": [
        "Midrash",
        "Aggadah",
        "Midrash Rabbah"
    ],
    "text": [
        [
            "[1] \"And God spoke to Moses in the Sinai desert\" (Numbers 1:1), this is what the verse says, \"Your judgments are like the great deep\" (Psalms 36:7). Rabbi Meir said, the righteous are likened to their dwelling place and the wicked to their dwelling place. The righteous are likened to their dwelling place, \"In a good pasture will I feed them, and on the high mountains of Israel will their fold be\" (Ezekiel 34:14). And the wicked are likened to their dwelling place, \"Thus says the Lord GOD: In the day when he went down to Sheol I caused mourning\" (Ezekiel 31:15). With what are the wicked covered when they descend to Sheol? With the deep.  Hezekiah, the son of Rabbi Hiyya said, this jug, with what do they cover it? With an earthenware vessel. What is in it? Just as it is of earthenware, so they cover it with an earthenware vessel. So too the wicked. What is written about them? \"Woe unto them that deeply hide their counsel from the LORD, and whose works are in the dark, and they say, 'Who sees us? And who knows us?'\" (Isaiah 29:15). And because they are dark, the Holy One, blessed be He, lowers them to Sheol, which is dark, and covers them with the deep, which is darkness, as it is said, \"And darkness was upon the face of the deep\" (Genesis 1:2).  \"Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains\" (Psalms 36:7), the righteousness that You bring upon the world is as well-known as these mountains. \"Your judgments are like the great deep\" (Psalms 36:7), the  judgment that G-D executes in this world is like the great deep. Just as the deep is hidden, so is the judgment that You bring is hidden. How so?  Once Jerusalem was destroyed, it was destroyed on the ninth of Av, and when it was shown to Ezekiel, it was shown to him on the first of the month. Why? So as not to publicize on this day, the day of destruction. But whoever comes to aggrandize Israel, publicizes on this day, this place, this month, this year, this tragedy, \"on the day that they went out of the land of Egypt, saying\" (Numbers 1:1). What did He say to them? \"Take the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel\" (Numbers 1:2).",
            "[2]",
            "[3]...R’ Yehoshua be Levi said: If the nations of the world knew how good the Holy Temple was for them, they would surround it with fortifications in order to guard it. It was better for them than it was for Israel, just as Shlomo ordered his prayer “And also to the stranger, who is not of Your people Israel…” (Kings I 8:41 and it is written “…and do according to all that the stranger calls You for…” (Kings I 8:43) But when it comes to Israel, what is written? “…and give to each man according to his ways, whose heart You know…” (Chronicles II 6:30) If it was appropriate, He would give, and if not He would not. Don’t say that (they should value) the Holy Temple. Rather, if it were not for Israel the rain would not fall and the sun would not shine, because in their merit the Holy One brings plenty to His world. In the world to come the nations of the world will see how the Holy One is with Israel and they will come to cleave to them, as it says “In those days, when ten men of all the languages of the nations…” (Zechariah 8:23)",
            "[4]",
            "[5] And the Lord spoke to Moses in the desert of Sinai, this is what the scripture (Psalms 147:20) said: \"He has not done so with any other nation,\" and also (Psalms 148:14): \"He has raised a horn for his people.\" It's like a king who took a first wife and did not write her a marriage contract, he divorced her and did not write her a divorce certificate, so he did to the second and the third and did not write them a marriage contract or a divorce certificate. But what did he do? He saw a poor orphan, a daughter of forefathers, he wanted to take her, he said to his friend, do not treat her like the first ones, she is a daughter of forefathers, she is modest in her actions and kosher, and write her a marriage contract on this week, on this year, on this month, on how much in the month, on which day, as it is written in Esther (Esther 2:16): \"And Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus, to his royal house, in the tenth month, which is the month of Tevet, in the seventh year of his reign.\" So, the Holy One, Blessed be He, created the generation of the flood and did not write when they were created, removed them from the world and did not write when he removed them, but (Genesis 7:11): \"On this day all the sources of the great deep were broken,\" and so for the generation of the dispersion and so for the Egyptians he did not write when they were created and when they died, but since Israel stood, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses, I do not behave with these like those first ones, they are sons of forefathers, sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, go write them on which month, how much in the month, and in which year, in which city I raised their horn and gave them a suspended head, therefore it is said: And the Lord spoke to Moses in the Sinai Desert, here is the day, in the Tent of Meeting, here is the country, in the second year, this is the year, in the second month, this is the month, on the first of the month, how much in the month, here is written the day, why (Numbers 1:2): \"Lift up the head of all the congregation of the children of Israel,\" to fulfill what was said: \"He has not done so with any nation,\" and what did he do, \"He raised a horn for his people.\"",
            "[6]",
            "[7] “Hashem spoke to Moshe in the wilderness of Sinai,” (Num. 1:1) Why “in the wilderness of Sinai”? From here the Sages taught that the Torah was given with three things: With fire, with water, and with wilderness. From where do we derive fire? “Mount Sinai was entirely smoking…” (Ex. 19:18). From where do we derive water? As it is said: “The Heavens dripped, the clouds dripped with water,” (Jud. 5:4). From where do we derive wilderness? “Hashem spoke to Moshe in the wilderness of Sinai.” Why was it given with these three things? Just as these are free to all who come into the world, so too words of Torah are free, as it is said: “All who thirst, come for water,” (Isa. 55:1). Another interpretation of “Hashem spoke to Moshe in the wilderness of Sinai”: Anyone who does not make themselves like the wilderness - ownerless - will not be able to acquire the wisdom of the Torah, therefore it is said: “in the wilderness of Sinai.”",
            "[8]",
            "[9]",
            "[10]",
            "[11]",
            "[12] Another matter, but the tribe of Levi you shall not count, why weren't they counted with Israel? Because Levi's tribe was exceptional, similar to a king who has many legions and tells his adjutant to count the legions except for the one standing before him. Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: 'But the tribe of Levi... among the children of Israel, you shall not count them, but count them separately, for it is not the king's honor to count his legion with the legions. Therefore, Israel was counted separately and the tribe of Levi separately, and how do you say that because of this reason He said so, as it is written afterwards (Numbers 1, 50): 'And you shall appoint the Levites over the Tabernacle of the Testimony,' etc. When the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses 'But the tribe of Levi you shall not count,' etc., Moses was frightened and said perhaps there is a defect in my tribe that the Holy One, blessed be He, does not want me to count them. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses, I did not tell you this but to exempt them from the decree that they should not die with them. This is what is written: 'And you shall not lift up their head among the children of Israel,' why, because the Levites are mine (Numbers 3, 12): 'And the Levites shall be mine,' for whoever draws near to me, I draw near to him. They drew near to me, as it is said (Exodus 32, 26): 'And Moses said, who is for the Lord come to me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him,' they drew me near, and I draw them near, 'and the Levites shall be mine.' And not only that but because they were found to be faithful with me, they kept my warning (Exodus 20, 3): 'You shall have no other gods before me,' etc., therefore, they are worthy to be the faithful of my house. 'And you shall appoint the Levites over,' etc., and so it says (Psalms 101, 6): 'My eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me,' you find that everyone who is tested in a matter, the Holy One, blessed be He, loves him forever. So you find in Joshua, who was tested with Amalek and followed the Torah and the commandment, as it is said (Exodus 17, 13): 'And Joshua weakened...'; The Holy One told him: 'From your tribe, I will establish a redeemer against Amalek forever', (Judges 5, 14): 'From Ephraim, whose root is against Amalek'. Saul was tested and was not found worthy in his mission, rather (1 Samuel 15, 9): 'But Saul and the people spared...', he was sent back, and his kingdom was taken from him, (Judges 5, 14): 'After you, Benjamin...'. I also tested this tribe and found them to be guardians and they gave their lives for the sanctity of My name, as it is said (Exodus 32, 27-28): 'Put every man his sword by his side...' and the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses... (Deuteronomy 33, 9): 'He said of his father and his mother...'. Similarly, I bring them close and make them My treasurers and I trust My holiness and the use of My house on them, this is as it is written: 'But you shall appoint the Levites...'; why? Because they are trustworthy to Me. Even at the time of its disassembly and assembly, I do not want others to disassemble and assemble it but them, this is as it is written (Numbers 1, 51): 'And when the tabernacle sets forward...'. You might think the commandment is on the Levites but if Israelites did it, it's permissible? The teaching is to say (Numbers 1, 51): 'And the stranger that comes near shall be put to death', and so it says (Psalms 101, 3): 'I hate the work of them that turn aside...'; these are Israelites who turned away from the Holy One and made the golden calf and the Holy One hates for them to be His treasurers. And don't say that Israelites shouldn't touch it only at the time of travel but even at the time of encampments, only the sons of Levi should approach it, this is as it is written (Numbers 1, 52-53): 'And the children of Israel shall pitch their tents... and the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of testimony...'. And why do I warn them to keep Israelites away from the tabernacle, so that there will not be anger upon them, because they are not worthy to approach it, this is as it is written (Numbers 1, 53): 'And there shall be no wrath upon the congregation of the children of Israel', but the Levites, they will guard it, this is as it is written (Numbers 1, 53): 'And the Levites shall keep the charge of the tabernacle of testimony', (Numbers 1, 54): 'And the children of Israel did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so they did', that they distanced themselves from the tabernacle and gave a place for the Levites to camp around the tabernacle.\""
        ],
        [
            "[1] \"And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying (Numbers 2, 1), In eighteen places you find Moses and Aaron equal, corresponding to the eighteen blessings, the three early fathers. From there you find the establishment of praying three times a day. Abraham established the morning prayer, as it is said (Genesis 19, 27): 'And Abraham got up early in the morning and so on,' and there is no standing but prayer, as it is said (Psalms 106, 30): 'And Phinehas stood and prayed.' Isaac established the afternoon prayer, as it is said (Genesis 24, 63): 'And Isaac went out to meditate,' and there is no meditation but prayer, as it is said (Psalms 102, 1): 'A prayer of the afflicted when he is overwhelmed and so on.' Jacob established the evening prayer, as it is said (Genesis 28, 11): 'And he encountered the place and so on,' and there is no encounter but prayer, as it is said (Jeremiah 7, 16): 'And you, do not pray for this people and so on.' In eighteen places Moses and Aaron are paired, hinting to the eighteen blessings, corresponding to the eighteen mentions written in the Shema Yisrael, (Psalms 29, 1): 'Give unto the Lord, O you sons of the mighty.' The three fathers established that we pray three times a day and Moses and Aaron, and from these mentions, we learned the eighteen blessings.\"",
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            "These are the accountings of the children of Israel according to their fathers' house etc (Numbers 2:32). On ten occasions were Israel counted: Once when they went down to Egypt \"all the persons of Yaakov’s household who came to Egypt: seventy\" (Genesis 46:27). A second time when they came out\" The Children of Israel moved on from Ra’amses to Sukkot, about six hundred thousand on foot, menfolk apart from little-ones\" (Exodus 12:37). A third time after the incident of the Golden Calf: \"when you take up the head-count of the Children of Israel, in counting them, they are to give, each-man, a ransom for his life, for Ad-nai, when they count them, that there be no plague on them, when they count them. (Exodus 30:12). Twice in the Book of Numbers [chumash hapekudim]: once in connection with the formation of the camps (Numbers 1:2) and once in connection with the division of the land (Numbers 26:2). Twice in the days of Shaul \"[Shaul] mustered them in Bezek, and the Israelites numbered 300,000, the men of Yehudah 30,000\" and \"Shaul mustered the troops and enrolled them at Telaim: 200,000 men on foot, and 10,000 men of Yehudah\" (1 Samuel 11:8, 15:4). The eighth time in the days of David \"Yoav reported to the king the number of the people that had been recorded: in Israel there were 800,000 soldiers ready to draw the sword, and the men of Yehudah numbered 500,000\" (2 Samuel 24:9). The ninth time in the days of Ezra \"The sum of the entire community was 42,360\" (Ezra 2:64; see also Nehemiah 7:66). The tenth time will be in the future era, when, \"the sheep shall pass again under the hands of One who counts them [said Ad-nai]\" (Jeremiah 33:13).",
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            "[26] They had no sons and Eleazar served (Numbers 3, 4), Rabbi Yaakov bar Aibu said in the name of Rabbi Acha: If they had sons, they would precede Eleazar and Itamar, as whoever is first in inheritance is first in honor, provided that he follows the custom of his ancestors. Eleazar and Itamar served in front of their father Aaron, Rabbi Yitzhak said in his lifetime, Rabbi Chiya bar Abba said at his death. According to Rabbi Yitzhak, who said in his lifetime, it is written here 'in front of', and it is written later 'in front of', as it is written (Genesis 11, 28): And Haran died in front of his father Terach, just as 'in front of' written later refers to his lifetime, so 'in front of' written here refers to his lifetime. According to Rabbi Chiya bar Abba, who said at his death, it is written here 'in front of', and it is written later 'in front of' (Genesis 23, 3): And Abraham rose up from before his dead, just as 'in front of' written later refers to his death, so 'in front of' written here refers to his death. According to Rabbi Yitzhak, who said in his lifetime, if Aaron was impure, Eleazar served, if Eleazar was impure, Itamar served. There was an incident with Shimon ben Kimchit, who went to speak with the Arabian king, and a drop of spit came out of his mouth onto his clothes and made him impure, Judah his brother entered and served in his place in the High Priesthood, on that day his mother saw her two sons as High Priests. The sages said that Kimchit had seven sons and all of them served in the High Priesthood. The sages entered to her and said, what good deeds do you have, she said to them, so help me if the beams of my house have seen my hair, they said, all flour is flour, but the flour of Kimchit is fine flour, and they quoted about her this verse (Psalms 45, 14): All glorious is the king's daughter within etc. According to Rabbi Chiya who said at his death, when Aaron died, his son Eleazar served, when Eleazar died, Itamar served, therefore it is said: Eleazar and Itamar served in front of their father Aaron."
        ],
        [
            "[1] \"Bring the tribe of Levi near, and so on\" (Numbers 3:6), this is what is written (Psalms 92:13-14): \"A righteous person will flourish like a palm tree and so on\", \"planted in the house of the LORD\"  and so on. \"A righteous person will flourish like a palm tree\" - just as this palm tree's shade is far, so is the reward of the righteous far from them until the world to come. Just as this palm tree produces ripe dates, large<sup class=\"footnote-marker\">1</sup><i class=\"footnote\">Literally \"Nicolaus,\" a variety of date known for its large size.</i> dates, green dates, and it produces dry dates. So are the people of Israel, there are among them scholars of the Torah, and there are among them the people of the earth, and there are among them the ignorant. Just as this palm tree has unripe dates which do not enter the storage and it produces dates and they are brought into the storage, so were the people of Israel when they were in the desert; some of them entered the land of Israel and some did not. Just as this palm tree produces dates and also produces thorns and anyone who tries to pick the dates, the thorns which are in it rule over him, so are the righteous, anyone who does not guard himself from them, their bite is the bite of a fox, their sting is the sting of a scorpion, and their hissing is the hissing of a serpent, and even all their words are like burning coals.  Another interpretation, just as this palm tree has no waste but only dates for eating, branches for rejoicing (in the festival of Sukkot), fronds for covering (the Sukkah), fibers for ropes, small branches for the sieve, leaf stalks for beams in the house. So are the people of Israel, there is no waste among them but only some who are masters of the scripture, some are masters of the Mishnah, some are masters of the Aggadah (stories and folklore), some are masters of the commandments, some are masters of charity and every kind of subject.  Another interpretation, just as this palm tree, its heart is set upwards, so is the heart of the people of Israel set towards their Father in heaven, as it is said (Psalms 25:15): \"My eyes are always on the LORD, for he rescues me from the traps of my feet\".  Another interpretation, just as this palm tree has desire, so do the righteous have desire, what is their desire? The Holy One, Blessed be He, as it is said (Isaiah 26:9): \"My soul yearns for You in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for You. When your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness\". Rabbi Tanhuma said, there was a case with a certain date palm that was in Hamtan, and it did not produce fruit. They grafted it, but it still did not produce fruit. He told them, \"This date palm sees one from Jericho and yearns for it in its heart. Bring some of it and graft it, and it immediately produced fruit. So it is with all the desires and expectations of the righteous, The Holy One, blessed be He. Just as this date palm does not produce less than three bunches of fruit, so there are never fewer than three righteous people in the world, like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. It is likewise stated (Song of Songs 7:9): 'I said I would go up the palm tree, I would take hold of its boughs; may your breasts be like clusters of the vine, and the fragrance of your breath like apples.' Just as this date palm has palm fronds for praise and date clusters for the Sukkah, even its stalk goes for reinforcement and its wood for kindling, so there are among Israel righteous, upright, devout, Torah scholars, even their refuse are doers of kindness. If these date palms do not produce vessels, so too the righteous, the verse comes to state (Psalms 92:13), 'The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree.' Rabbi Tanhuma said, I asked Rav Huna about it, and he said this is in Babylonia, and they do make vessels from it, tables and lamps. If this cedar does not produce fruit, so too the righteous do not produce fruit, the verse comes to state: 'The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree.' Just as the date palm produces fruit, so too the righteous produce fruit, as it is stated (Isaiah 3:10), 'Say of the righteous that it shall be well with him, for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds.' Just as the date palm and cedar, anyone who goes up to their top and does not protect himself falls and dies, so too anyone who comes and attaches himself to Israel, he will end up taking his own life from their hands. You know this because Sarah was taken by Pharaoh for one night, and he and his household were stricken with plagues, as it is stated (Genesis 12:17), 'And the Lord afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues.' Just as the date palm and cedar are taller than all trees, so too Israel is greater than all nations, as it is stated (Esther 9:4), 'For Mordecai was great,' and (II Samuel 5:10), 'And David went on, and grew great.' Just as the date palm, if uprooted, has no replacement, so too the righteous have no replacement when they die, as it is stated (Job 28:12), 'But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? \"Another point, 'The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree' speaks about the tribe of Levi, who were righteous and performed good deeds, especially when the Israelites made the golden calf. As it is written (Exodus 32:26), 'And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.' Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, exalted them among the Israelites like this cedar that is tall and large in Lebanon compared to other trees. Just as they are great among all of Israel, He did not choose from all the tribes to serve Him but only the children of Levi. This is what is written (Psalms 92:14), 'They are planted in the house of the LORD.' Rabbi Hanan ben Pazi said, they are planted in the house of the LORD, these are the children who are in school. Another point, 'They are planted in the house of the LORD,' they never left the house of study. 'In the courtyards of our God they will blossom,' these are the songs. You should know that this is so, as it is said: 'Bring the tribe of Levi near and so on' and 'they shall keep his charge and so on.'",
            "[2] Another [explanation]: \"Bring close the tribe of Levi, etc.\" - this is [the meaning of] what is written (Psalms 65:5), \"Happy is the one whom You have chosen and You have brought close\": Happy is the one whom the Holy One, blessed be He, has chosen, even though he has not brought him close. And happy is the man that He has brought close, even though He has not chosen  him. And who is the one whom He has chosen? That is Avraham, as it is stated (Nehemiah 9:7), \"You are He, Lord God, Who chose Avram.\" But He did not bring him close, but rather he brought himself close. The Holy One, blessed be He, chose Yaakov, as it is stated (Psalms 135:4), \"For Yaakov did the Lord choose.\" And so [too] it says (Isaiah 41:8), \"Yaakov whom You have chosen.\" But He did not bring him close, but rather he brought himself close, as it is stated (Genesis 25:27), \"Yaakov was a simple man that sat in tents.\" He chose Moshe, as it is stated (Psalms 106:23), \"were it not for Moshe, His chosen\"; but He did not bring him close. Happy are those that the Holy One, blessed be He, chose, even though He did not bring them close. Come and see - the Holy One, blessed be He, brought Yitro close, but He did not choose him. He brought Rachav the prostitute close but He did not choose her. Happy are these that whom He brought close, even though He did not choose them. A [Roman] matron asked Rabbi Yose, \"[Does] your God bring close whomever He wants (arbitrarily)?\" [So] he brought a basket of figs in front of her and she would choose a nice one, she would choose it and eat it. He said to her, \"You know how to choose, [does] the Holy One, blessed be He not know how to choose? The one whom He sees has good deeds, He chooses him and brings him close.\" Rabbi Nechemiah [said] in the name of Rabbi Shmuel bar Rabbi Yitschak, \"Not all who are close are close, and not all who are distant are distant. There is one who is chosen and pushed off and brought close, [and] there is one who is chosen and pushed off and not brought close. Aharon was chosen - (I Samuel 2:28) 'And I chose him from all the tribes of Israel for Me as a priest.' And he was pushed off - (Deuteronomy 9:20) 'And with Aharon did the Lord get angry.' And it is written [after the event that the last verse cited was referring to] (Exodus 28:1), 'And you should bring close to you Aharon your brother.' Shaul was chosen - (I Samuel 10:24) 'Have you seen the one that the Lord chose?' And he was pushed off - (ibid., 15:11) 'I have regretted that I have crowned Shaul, etc.' And he was not brought close [again] - (ibid., 16:1) 'And I have been disgusted with him from ruling over Israel.' David was chosen - (Psalms 78:70) 'And He chose David, His servant.' And he was pushed off - (II Samuel 15:16-17) 'And the king went out, and all of household on his heels,... and they stood in Beit Merchak.'\" Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said, \"They excommunicated him. Nonetheless, he accepted his excommunication. This is [the meaning] of that which is written, (II Samuel 15:30) 'and David went up to the Ascent of Olives, he went up and cried, and his head was covered.'\" \"And he was brought close [again].\" Rabbi Yudan said, \"Eira Hayairi, the teacher of David, brought him close. This is what David says (Psalms 119:79), 'Let those that fear You (<i>yeirecha</i>) return to me, and they that know Your testimonies' - ['they that know'] is written as 'he that knows,' [meaning that]  Eira Hayairi was his teacher and brought [David] close.\" Rabbi Yehoshua of Sakhnin said in the name of Rabbi Levi, \"There are six that were chosen: the priesthood; the order of Levi; Israel; the monarchy of the house of David; Jerusalem; [and] the Temple. From where [do we know this about] the priesthood? Since it is written (I Samuel 2:28), 'And I chose him from all the tribes of Israel for Me as a priest.'  From where [do we know this about] the order of Levi? As it is stated (Deuteronomy 18:5), 'As he was chosen by the Lord, your God.' From where [do we know this about]Israel? As it is stated (Ibid., 7:6), 'the Lord, your God, chose you.' From where [do we know this about] the monarchy of the house of David? As it is stated (Psalms 78:70), 'And He chose David, His servant.' From where [do we know this about] Jerusalem? As it is stated (I Kings 11:32), 'the city that you chose.' From where [do we know this about] the Temple? As it stated (II Chronicles 7:16), 'I have chosen and sanctified this house.'\" David [meant to say in Psalms 65:5], \"Happy is the one whom the Holy One, blessed be He, has chosen, and happy is the one that He has brought close. And who is the one who is doubly happy? The one that the Holy One, blessed be He, chose and brought close.\" And who is that? That is Aharon and [the tribe of] Levi. From where [do we know this about] Aharon? Since it is written (I Samuel 2:28), \"And I chose him from all the tribes of Israel for Me as a priest.\" And from where [do we know] that He brought him close? As it is stated (Exodus 28:1), \"And you should bring close to you Aharon your brother.\" The Holy One, blessed be He chose Levi, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 18:5), \"As he was chosen by the Lord, your God.\" And from where [do we know] that He brought him close? As it is stated [here], \"Bring close the tribe of Levi, and stand [it up].\" And about them the verse (Psalms 65:5) says, \"Happy is the one whom You have chosen and You have brought close, who dwells in your courtyards\"; as you say (Numbers 3:7), \"And they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole congregation, etc.\"   [The continuation of Psalms 65:5 is:] \"let us be satiated from the good of Your house\" - that thy would eat from the tithes that were brought to the [Temple], as you would say (Numbers 18:21), \"To the house of Levi, behold, I have given all tithe in Israel for an inheritance, etc.\"  ",
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            "[11] ...According to the word of the Lord by their families, every male from a month old and up, twenty two thousand (Numbers 3:39). You find that the tribe of Levi in detail were twenty two thousand and three hundred, because there were four families: Gershon, Kehath, Merari, and Moses, and you read each family by itself and count it. (Numbers 3:22): For Gershon seven thousand and five hundred, (Numbers 3:28): And for Kehath eight thousand and six hundred, (Numbers 3:34): For Merari six thousand and two hundred, and they add up to twenty two thousand and three hundred. However, once he includes the Levites, he counts them as twenty two thousand. Where are the three hundred? But those mentioned in detail, to inform how many there were in each family, and those included are twenty two thousand and lacking from them three hundred. Why did he do so? But because of counting them to compare them to redeeming the first-born of Israel, and he subtracted from them three hundred who were the first-born of the Levites, because a first-born doesn't redeem a first-born. Therefore, there were in the families twenty two thousand and three hundred, and in total twenty two thousand, to redeem with them the first-born of Israel....",
            "",
            "",
            "[14] According to the word of the Lord by their families, every male from a month old and up, twenty two thousand (Numbers 3:39). You find that the tribe of Levi in detail were twenty two thousand and three hundred, because there were four families: Gershon, Kehath, Merari, and Moses, and you read each family by itself and count it. (Numbers 3:22): For Gershon seven thousand and five hundred, (Numbers 3:28): And for Kehath eight thousand and six hundred, (Numbers 3:34): For Merari six thousand and two hundred, and they add up to twenty two thousand and three hundred. However, once he includes the Levites, he counts them as twenty two thousand. Where are the three hundred? But those mentioned in detail, to inform how many there were in each family, and those included are twenty two thousand and lacking from them three hundred. Why did he do so? But because of counting them to compare them to redeeming the first-born of Israel, and he subtracted from them three hundred who were the first-born of the Levites, because a first-born doesn't redeem a first-born. Therefore, there were in the families twenty two thousand and three hundred, and in total twenty two thousand, to redeem with them the first-born of Israel."
        ],
        [
            "[1] And the Lord said to Moses, 'Take a census of all the firstborn males of the children of Israel, etc.' (Numbers 3:40). This is what is written (Isaiah 43:4), 'Since you were precious in My sight, You have been honored.' The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Jacob, 'Jacob, you are highly esteemed in My eyes, for I have established your descendants as the leaders of My throne, and in your name, the angels praise Me, saying (Psalms 41:14), \"Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.\" Be [precious], for you have been honored.' Another interpretation: 'Since you were precious in My sight, You have been honored.' The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Jacob, 'You are precious in My sight, for in the eyes of all the nations of the world, I have not given a measure as I have given to you. It is as a parable of a king who had many granaries, and they were all filled with straw and barley, but he did not scrutinize their contents. He had one granary, and he saw that it was becoming beautiful. He said to his household, 'Those granaries are filled with straw and barley; therefore, do not scrutinize their contents. But know how many kor measures are in it, how many sacks, how many chambers.' Similarly, this King, the King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, and the granary is Israel, as it is stated (Isaiah 21:10), 'O My threshed one and My son of the threshing floor.' And it is also stated (Jeremiah 2:3), 'Israel was holy to the Lord, the firstfruits of His harvest.' And the son of His household, that is Moses, as it is stated (Numbers 12:7), 'Not so is My servant Moses, who is faithful in all My house.' The servants of the idolaters, they are like straw. As it is stated (Isaiah 33:12), 'And peoples will be like the burnings of lime; thorns cut up, they will be burned with fire.' Therefore, do not scrutinize their contents. But Israel are righteous; all of them are bundles of wheat, as it is stated (Isaiah 60:21), 'And your people, all of them will be righteous.' And it also says (Song of Songs 4:7), 'You are all fair, my love, and there is no blemish in you.' Therefore, scrutinize their contents, for Moses counted how many kor measures are in it, as it is stated (Numbers 1:2), 'Take a census of all the congregation of the children of Israel.' How many sacks, as it is stated (Song of Songs 2:4), 'And his banner over me was love.' How many measures, as it is stated: 'Count every male, etc.'",
            "[2] Another interpretation: \"Number all the first-born males...\" (Numbers 3:40) This is what is written (Song of Songs 6:8-9): \"There are threescore queens ... My dove, my undefiled, is but one ...\" Compare in parable to a person who had a sales-bundle of glass stones and would bring them them to the market, but would not notice their number, since he would not bring them out by number. He would go in to put them away and would not put them away by number, since he would not care about them, as they were glass. But he had one sales-bundle of precious pearls, and he would take it and bring it out by number and put it away by number. Similarly, so to speak, the Holy One Blessed be He said to the nations of the world, \"I have not assigned a number. Why? Because they are not important to me at all. As it says (Isaiah 40:17), 'All the nations are as nothing before Him.' But you are My children, as it says, (Isaiah 46:3), 'that are borne [by Me] from the birth ...' Therefore, I count you all the time.\" Therefore, it is said \"Number all the first-born males.\" That is: \"There are threescore queens ... My dove, my undefiled, is but one ...\" - these are Israel.",
            "",
            "",
            "[15] <b>\"And take the Leviim for me\"</b> (Numbers 3:41), that they will be taken for My Name. <b>\"I am the Eternal\"</b> (ibid.), I am trusted to pay a good reward that they are taken for my name. <b>\"In place of every firstborn among the Children of Israel\"</b> (ibid.), since the firstborns are Mine, as it says (Numbers 8:17) <b>\"For Mine is every firstborn [...] on the day that I smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt... [I consecrated them to Myself]\"</b>, the Holy Blessed One says, for the sake of their obligation of Israel I changed the order of the world. With which side did I write in the Torah that a donkey may be redeemed with a lamb, as it says (Exodus 13:13) <b>\"The firstborn [lit. \"opening\"] of every donkey you shall redeem with a sheep\"</b>? I didn't do this; rather, I redeemed a sheep with a donkey. The Egyptians are called a donkey, as it says (Ezekiel 20:2) <b> \"That the flesh of donkeys is their flesh\"</b> and Israel is called a sheep, as it says (Jeremiah 50:17) <b>\"Israel is a scattered sheep\"</b>. And I murdered their firstborn, and I sanctified the firstborn of Israel, as it says <b>\"For Mine is every firstborn among the children of Israel ... on the day that I struck all the firstborn ... [of Egypt]\" </b>(Numbers 3:41). And the animals of the Leviim in place of all the firstborns amongst the animals of the Children of Israel, that they you brought out to kill the place the firstborn of the animals of Egypt, and saved the animals of Israel, and therefore sanctified to His Name the firstborn of the animals of Israel, and since he says <b>\"For Mine is every firstborn among the children of Israel ... on the day that I struck all the firstborn ... [of Egypt]\" </b>(Numbers 3:41)....",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "[12] And the inventory of Eleazar son of Aaron the priest, etc.\" (Numbers 4:16). This is what is written (Proverbs 25:6): \"Do not exalt yourself in the presence of the king, and do not stand in the place of great men.\" If in the presence of an earthly king, a person must conduct himself with humility, all the more so in the presence of the Almighty. Our Sages taught (Pirkei Avot 5:20): \"Be bold as a leopard, light as an eagle, swift as a deer, and mighty as a lion, to do the will of your Father in heaven.\" This teaches us that one should not be arrogant in the presence of the Almighty. Eliyahu said (Tanna Devei Eliyahu Rabbah 13): \"Anyone who increases the honor of Heaven and diminishes his own honor, the honor of Heaven increases and his own honor increases. And anyone who diminishes the honor of Heaven and increases his own honor, the honor of Heaven diminishes in its place, and his own honor diminishes.\" There was a story about a man who was standing in the synagogue and his son was standing opposite him. When everyone would respond after the one passing before the Ark, saying \"Hallelujah,\" his son would recite words of gibberish. They said to him, \"Look at your son, who recites words of gibberish.\" He said to them, \"What can I do? He is a child\" They laughed.\" The next day, he did the same thing, and everyone responded after the one passing before the Ark, saying \"Hallelujah,\" and his son recited words of gibberish. They said to him, \"Look at your son, who recites words of gibberish.\" He said to them, \"What can I do? He is a child; They laughed.\" For all eight days of the festival, his son would recite words, and he did not say anything to him. And that year, the [figurative laughing] man died, and his wife died, and his son died, and his grandson died, and fifteen souls came out of his household, and only one pair of human beings was left: one was a convert, one was blind, one was a fool, and one was wicked. There exists a captivating tale of a certain individual who, beset with remorse, realized that he had neglected the pursuit of knowledge and the utterance of prayers. In a moment of poignant reflection, he found himself standing within the sacred precincts of a synagogue. As the procession carrying the Divine Ark passed before him, he discerned a fervent voice resonating, echoing the words of the prophet Isaiah, \"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts\" (Isaiah 6:3). His companions inquired, eager to fathom the cause of his impassioned outburst. With a humble mien, he confessed, \"Alas, I was not graced with the privilege of immersing myself in the depths of Torah or the beauty of Mishnah. Now that I have been bestowed the precious gift of opportunity, I shall not raise my voice, lest my soul be estranged from me once again.\" Thus, for the span of that year, and the next, and yet another, he refrained from altering his demeanor, until providence guided his steps from the confines of Babylon to the hallowed land of Israel.  It was there, amidst the ebb and flow of fate, that the commander of the Roman legion, recognizing his wisdom and virtue, entrusted him with the mantle of leadership over all the diverse communities within the realm of Israel. Anointed as the eminent overseer, a city was granted unto him, an edifice constructed to honor his name, where he took up residence. Henceforth, he, his progeny, and subsequent generations were forever spared the malaise of haughtiness in the presence of the Divine. Thus, we glean a profound lesson that no soul ought to presume audacity before the exalted Majesty of the Almighty, for verily, those who dare to exalt themselves are destined to be abased. In consonance with this sentiment, we find resplendent echoes in the annals of King David, the illustrious sovereign of the House of Israel, who, with unwavering devotion, never deigned to exhibit prideful airs before the Divine. Instead, he humbled himself, assuming the guise of an ordinary layman, thereby amplifying the sacred sanctity inherent within the Divine Presence. Similarly, it is stated (1 Samuel 2:30): \"For those who honor Me I will honor, and those who scorn Me will be lightly esteemed.\" You also find this in the behavior of King David of Israel, who did not conduct himself with arrogance before the Almighty but humbled himself before Him as a layman, in order to increase the honor of the Almighty. When the Ark was brought from the house of Abinadab, which was in Gibeah, to be brought to Jerusalem, it is written (2 Samuel 6:1): \"And David gathered all the choice men of Israel, thirty thousand.\" David said, \"I will not bring the Ark in haste.\" Immediately, he took counsel with the officers of the thousands and the hundreds, and he sent them throughout all the land of Israel, saying (1 Chronicles 13:2): \"And David said to all the congregation of Israel, 'If it seems good to you, and if it is from the Lord our God, let us send word to our brethren who remain in all the land of Israel, and with them to the priests and Levites who are in their cities and their common-lands, that they may gather themselves to us.'\" Immediately, they all said to him, \"Do as you desire, for the matter appears straight in the eyes of all the people.\" Immediately, he sent and gathered all Israel from Shihor in Egypt to the entrance of Hamath, to bring the Ark of God from Kiriath-jearim.",
            "How many elders were present there? Rabbi Yirmeyah ben Elazar and Rabbi Berachyah said in the name of Rabbi Abba bar Kahana: There were ninety thousand elders present, and King David did not include Ahithophel among them. They sanctified themselves to form a procession before him. This is what is written: 'And David gathered more sons of Israel, thirty thousand' (2 Samuel 6:1). The simple understanding is that Kiryah is thirty thousand, totaling ninety thousand. Immediately, they went to Gibeah to bring the Ark from there, as it is written: 'And David and all the people who were with him arose and went' (2 Samuel 6:2). Another verse states: 'And David and all Israel went to Baalah of Judah' (1 Chronicles 13:6-7). How do these conflicting verses reconcile? All Israel went to Baalah, which is Kiryah. They waited there for the Ark until it was brought from Gibeah, but David and the elders rose from Baalah, which is Kiryah, and went to meet the Ark at Gibeah. From there, all of Israel would accompany it to Jerusalem.",
            "Some say that initially, they were reluctant to go until Baalah. They sent messengers to the wise men of the city to inquire about the proper way to transport the Ark. They sent it from there to the house of Abinadab in Gibeah to bring the Ark from there to Kiryah, and from Kiryah, all of Israel would ascend with it to Jerusalem. Since the Ark was there, David said to them, 'The honor of the Ark does not allow it to be carried by individuals; let us all go there together.' This is why it is written: 'And David and all the people went' (2 Samuel 6:2). Why didn't he go there initially, only to Baalah, which is Kiryah? Because Gibeah and Kiryah were considered as one, and the inhabitants of Gibeon lived there, as it is written: 'The children of Israel traveled and came to their cities on the third day: Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiryat Ye'arim' (Joshua 9:17). Kiryat Ye'arim fell within the territory of Judah, as it is counted among its portion: 'Kiryat Baal, which is Kiryat Ye'arim' (Joshua 15:60). It served as a border between Judah and Benjamin, as it is mentioned in the boundaries of the land of Benjamin: 'And its outskirts shall be to Kiryat Baal, which is Kiryat Ye'arim' (Joshua 18:14). However, Gibeah, where the Ark was, was within the borders of Benjamin, as it is mentioned in the cities of Benjamin: 'Gibeah, Ramah, Beeroth' (Joshua 18:25-26). Initially, they came there until Kiryat Ye'arim, which served as the border between Judah and Benjamin, and then they went to Gibeah (2 Samuel 6:2), which is called the name of God, the Lord of Hosts. Rabbi Yochanan said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai that it teaches us that the name and all its derivatives were engraved on the Ark.",
            "Rav Huna said, \"It teaches that the Tablets and their broken pieces were placed in the Ark\" (2 Samuel 6:3). They did not occupy space like the Torah, as it is written (Numbers 7:9), \"But to the descendants of Kohath, he did not give,\" meaning why was the verse silent about them? Because they are referred to as \"songs\" in the Torah, as it is stated (Psalm 119:54), \"Your statutes were songs to me.\" The Holy One, blessed be He, said to David, \"The words of the Torah that are written in it, as it is said (Proverbs 23:5), 'Will you set your eyes on it and it is gone? For it will surely sprout wings for itself and fly off like an eagle toward heaven.' You call them songs, but I cause you to stumble with a matter that even young children in the house of study know. 'But to the descendants of Kohath, he did not give,' and he brought it on a wagon.\"",
            "The Ark was carried by priests on the poles, and it was tearing them to pieces as they carried it. They carried it on the poles, and it was tearing them to pieces. David sent and brought Ahithophel, and said to him, \"If you tell me what to do with the Ark, which is tearing the priests to pieces, I will send you to the sages.\" David asked him, \"Whoever knows its proper place but does not respond to it, let him be choked to death.\" Ahithophel said to him, \"Slaughter the sacrificial offering before it, and it will stand still.\" The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Ahithophel, \"Regarding a matter similar to this, they say in proverbs every day, but you did not say it. 'But to the descendants of Kohath, he did not give,' and you spoke before me as if you had not known it. And that is why Uzzah died when he lifted it in the second incident, so that it would not come to this situation. As it is stated (2 Samuel 6:6), 'When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out.'\"",
            "And Uzzah and his brother were driving the wagon, as it is stated (2 Samuel 6:3), \"And they carried it from the house of Abinadab.\" Uzzah was behind it, and his brother was in front of it. (2 Samuel 6:4), \"And they carried it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill.\" What does the verse mean when it says, \"And they carried it from the house of Abinadab\"? What did they take with it? A chest that the Philistines sent back with it, in which was a Torah scroll. As it is taught in the Yerushalmi Shekalim, \"The Ark that Moses made was two cubits and a half in length, a cubit and a half in width, and a cubit and a half in height. And the Tablets were six cubits long, six cubits wide, and three cubits thick. They occupied the length of the Ark, and how many Tablets were there? Twelve cubits. And there remained there three cubits. Take from them a cubit; half of it will go to this wall and half of it to that wall. There remained there two cubits for the Torah scroll to rest, as it is stated (1 Kings 8:9), 'There was nothing in the Ark except the two tablets of stone.' 'Nothing' means nothing less than what is mentioned, to include the Torah scroll. The Ark provided sustenance for its length, and it provided sustenance for its width. How many Tablets were consumed by the Ark? Six cubits. There remained there three cubits. Take from them a cubit; half of it will go to this wall and half of it to that wall. There remained there two cubits, so that the Torah scroll would not have to enter and exit in a constrained manner. These are the words of Rabbi Meir. ",
            "Rabbi Yehuda says: With a cubit of five handbreadths, and the Tablets were six cubits long, six cubits wide, and three handbreadths thick. They were placed lengthwise in the Ark. How many consumed Tablets were in the Ark? Twelve handbreadths. There remained there half a handbreadth. Take from them half a handbreadth; half of it will go to this wall and half of it to that wall. There remained there half a handbreadth, which is where the pillars stood, as it is stated: \"The king made it of the best wood, and its pillars he made of silver\" (Song of Songs 3:9). The chest that the Philistines sent back with their offering to the God of Israel was placed alongside it. As it is stated: \"And you shall put the golden objects that you are returning to Him as a guilt offering in the chest by its side, and send it off, and it will go\" (1 Samuel 6:8). On top of it was the Torah scroll, as it is stated: \"Take this Torah scroll and place it beside the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God\" (Deuteronomy 31:26). How do I fulfill the verse that states, \"There is nothing in the Ark except the two Tablets\" (1 Kings 8:9)? It includes the broken Tablets that were placed in the Ark. For the whole Tablets and the broken Tablets were placed side by side in the Ark, as they were each three handbreadths thick. However, before the chest was brought, there was one cubit that protruded from the Ark, and on it was the Torah scroll placed. Therefore, it is written: \"And they carried it from the house of Abinadab\" (2 Samuel 6:4). This was the chest on which the Torah scroll was placed, and it stood beside the Ark of the Lord's Covenant.",
            "As for \"And his brother went before the Ark\" (2 Samuel 6:4), from here they said: His brother went ahead of him. When they brought it, there were ninety thousand elders walking before it, the priests carried it, and the Levites played music, and all of Israel danced. Whoever had a palm branch in his hand waved it, and whoever had a tambourine and musical instruments played them. This is what is written: \"And David and all the house of Israel were dancing before the Lord\" (2 Samuel 6:5). This refers to the palm branch that a person waves. \"And they came to the threshing floor of Nachon\" (2 Samuel 6:6). It is written as \"Kidon\" and it is written as \"Nakhon.\" Rabbi Yochanan says: Initially, it was \"Kidon,\" and ultimately, it was \"Nakhon.\"  ",
            "(2 Samuel 6:7) \"And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him there because of the indiscretion, and he died there beside the Ark of God.\"  The verse describes an incident involving Uzzah and the Ark of the Covenant. Uzzah touched the Ark in order to steady it when the oxen pulling the cart stumbled, and as a result, God struck him down and he died. The sages provide different explanations for the reason behind God's anger and punishment.  Rabbi Yochanan and Rabbi Elazar debate the meaning of \"beside the Ark.\" One opinion suggests that Uzzah acted improperly by touching the Ark without adhering to the proper guidelines prescribed by the Torah. According to this interpretation, Uzzah and the people with him should have carried the Ark on their shoulders and not transported it on a cart, as it is written in Joshua 4:11, \"And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over, that the Ark of the Lord passed over, and the priests, in the presence of the people.\" The Ark carried itself, so to speak, indicating that it did not need human assistance. Therefore, Uzzah's attempt to stabilize it was seen as a violation of the proper protocol.  The other opinion suggests that Uzzah acted improperly by attending to his own needs before the needs of the Ark. Uzzah failed to recognize the sanctity and divine presence associated with the Ark and neglected his responsibilities towards it. Thus, God's anger was directed at Uzzah for his lack of reverence and prioritization.  The verse concludes that Uzzah died there with the Ark of God. Rabbi Yochanan explains that Uzzah's death signified that he had a place in the World to Come, as it is written, \"With the Ark of God.\" Just as the Ark exists eternally in the World to Come, so too, Uzzah was destined for eternal life.  (2 Samuel 6:8) \"And David was displeased because the Lord had broken forth upon Uzzah, and he called the name of the place Perez-Uzzah to this day.\"  Rabbi Elazar explains the meaning of David's displeasure. David was concerned that people might misinterpret the incident and believe that Uzzah's death was a result of God's wrath towards David for his own improper actions. To avoid such misunderstanding, David diverted the Ark to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. David reasoned that by placing the Ark in the house of a non-Israelite, if something untoward were to happen, it would not be attributed to any wrongdoing on his part. Obed-Edom was a Levite associated with the Gittites, who were numbered at sixty-two. The name \"Obed\" means \"one who serves\" because he faithfully served before the Lord.  When David returned to Jerusalem, Ahithophel approached him and said, \"David, you did not learn a lesson from a small verse that even children recite: 'But to the sons of Kohath, he did not give.'\" The Levites were the ones tasked with carrying the Ark, and not the priests. They carried it on their shoulders and not on a cart. Ahithophel reminded David that when he initially attempted to bring the Ark to Jerusalem, he did not consult the proper procedures. In response to Ahithophel's criticism, David conceded and corrected his approach, as it is written (1 Chronicles 15:2), \"Then David said, 'None ought to carry the Ark of God but the Levites, for them has the Lord chosen to carry the Ark of God.'\" ",
            "\"And the ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. Our rabbis said: Two things were holy and great, and people thought they were difficult. In order not to speak disparagingly about them, the Holy One, blessed be He, included in them a great matter of praise and blessing. And they are: the incense and the ark. Regarding the incense, no one would say it was difficult, yet Nadab and Abihu died because of it, and the congregation of Korah was burned by it, and Uzziah was struck with leprosy because of it. Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, praised the incense greatly, as it was through it that Israel was redeemed, as it is said (Numbers 17:12-13): 'And Aaron took as Moses had spoken, and ran into the midst of the assembly, etc.' As for the ark, no one would say it was difficult, yet it smote the Philistines, and it killed the men of Beth-shemesh, and it killed Uzza. Therefore, a blessing was written about it, as it is said (2 Samuel 6:11): 'And the ark of the Lord remained, etc.' To teach you that the incense and the ark only kill the sins. In what did the Holy One, blessed be He, bless the house of Obed-Edom? Rabbi Yosei says: With sons, as it is written (1 Chronicles 26:4): 'And Obed-Edom had sons, etc.' Shemaiah the firstborn, etc. Yoach the third, etc. Sakar the fourth, etc. and Netanel, etc. and my work, the eighth. When Rabbi Yochanan was on the rise, they asked: What is 'my work'? He said to them: It means that a great work was done with the Torah. What great work did he do? He would light before the ark one candle in the morning and one candle in the evening. Rabbi Yosei served as his interpreter. What is the meaning? Is it because the ark did not eat or drink and did not receive honor except because of the two tablets that were in it, that the house of Obed-Edom would be blessed because of them? Rather, one who provides food and drink for scholars and students, and provides them with comfortable beds, for every single thing that he pays for, the Holy One, blessed be He, will reward him. They said about Obed-Edom that he had eighty sons and eighty daughters-in-law, and from each of them were born two each month. How is this? She would be impure for seven days, pure for seven days, and giving birth. Impure for seven days, pure for seven days, and giving birth. Sixteen each month. Behold, there are forty-eight. And the sons of Shemaiah were six, as it is written (1 Chronicles 26:6-7): 'And to Shemaiah his son were sons, etc.' The six belong to him. As it is written: 'And to Obed-Edom his sons were sons, etc.' This makes sixty-two. This is what is written (1 Chronicles 26:8): 'All these were the sons of Obed-Edom, etc.' So there were sixty-eight. His work? There were sixty-two. This is what is written (1 Chronicles 26:5): 'For God blessed him, etc.' David heard that at the end of three months, the Holy One, blessed be He, blessed Obed-Edom and his household, so he gathered the elders of Israel, the princes, the chiefs of the priests, and the Levites, to bring up the ark with great joy. As it is written (2 Samuel 6:12): 'And it was told King David, saying, \"The Lord has blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.\"'",
            "One opinion says that they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams for every step, and at the end, they sacrificed an ox and a fattened sheep. Another opinion says that for every step, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams, and at the end, they sacrificed an ox and a sheep. The sages say that one verse explains the other. For every step, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams, and at the end, an ox and a fattened sheep. Rabbi Hanina and Rabbi Mana said: One opinion says that for every stride, they sacrificed an ox and a fattened sheep, and at the end, seven bulls and seven rams. The other opinion says that for every stride, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams, and at the end, an ox and a fattened sheep.",
            "Rav Pappa bar Shmuel said: For every stride, they sacrificed an ox and a fattened sheep. For every set of six strides, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams. Rav Chisda said to him: If that's the case, then Obed-Edom filled the whole land of Israel with altars. Rather, for every set of six strides, they sacrificed an ox and a fattened sheep, for every six sets of six strides, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams.",
            "Sam 2, 7:12."
        ],
        [
            "[1]Do not cut off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites\" (Numbers 4:18). This is what is written (Psalms 33:18-19): \"Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon those who fear Him, upon those who hope for His kindness, to save their soul from death and to keep them alive in famine.\" \"Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon those who fear Him,\" this refers to the tribe of Levi, who sit and hope for the kindness of the Holy One, blessed be He. And if all creatures do not hope for the kindness of the Holy One, blessed be He, except to a greater extent the tribe of Levi, who did not receive a portion in the land but sit and pray that the land of Israel should yield its fruits so that they may take their tithes, for they have nothing in the world except the kindness of the Holy One, blessed be He. Be among those who hope for His kindness. \"To save their soul from death\" - from the death of the Ark. How so? Rabbi Elazar ben Pedat said, from what kind of death were they saved? If from the eternal death, there is no creature that does not die. What does it mean \"to save their soul from death\"? It means to save it from the death of the Ark. How? Rabbi Elazar ben Pedat said in the name of Rabbi Yose ben Zimra: When the Israelites would travel, two sparks of fire would emerge from the two staves of the Ark to strike their enemies. And from where do we know this? Because Moses said to the Israelites, \"What are you afraid of from the sons of Anak? Are they more powerful than those who came against us? And the Ark will consume them.\" And he also said (Deuteronomy 9:3), \"You shall know this day that the Lord your God is the one who goes before you,\" from here you may infer that the two sparks would precede them. He said to them (Deuteronomy 9:3), \"He will destroy them and subdue them before you.\" And once the sparks emerged, the fire would burn the burden carriers of the Ark and diminish.",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "[9] \"Aaron and his sons shall come and set them, etc.\" (Numbers 4:19). From here Rabbi Shmuel, son of Rabbi Nachman, said: \"Because the sons of Kohath knew that anyone who carries the Ark would have abundant reward, they would hasten to place the table, the menorah, the altars, and so on, as it is written, 'And Aaron and his sons shall come, etc.' (Numbers 4:20). 'But they shall not go in to see when the holy objects are covered, etc.' (Numbers 4:20). Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi said to Rabbi Shalom, 'Do you want to learn what incident caused the death of the sons of Kohath? Go and learn from this verse: 'But they shall not go in to see, etc.' It teaches that when they would come to carry the Ark, they would first remove the curtain from in front of it, and their eyes would feast on the Ark. Therefore, they would die, as it is stated, 'For no man can see Me and live' (Exodus 33:20). But how did Moses fix the situation? God said to him, 'At the time when they come to dismantle the Tabernacle, the sons of Kohath should not dismantle the curtain because of the Ark. Instead, the sons of Aaron, the priests, should enter and dismantle it because they are priests. They should cover the Ark and also the table and all the mentioned vessels.' In this way, they would have a safeguard that they would not die if they did not look at the Ark. This is what is written, 'But they shall not go in to see, etc.' This refers to the Ark. If they do as instructed, they will not die. What is 'Kabla'? Rabbi Levi said, 'If they see the Ark like this Kabla, which means that it falls from the eye, they will immediately die.' You can learn from the people of Beth Shemesh, as it is written, 'And He struck the men of Beth Shemesh, because they had looked into the Ark of the Lord, and He struck down the people, etc.' (1 Samuel 6:19). What is 'because they had looked into the Ark of the Lord'? Rabbi Abbahu and Rabbi Elazar both said, 'They were bending and prostrating themselves.' And one said, 'They were discussing excessive matters.' What did they say? Whoever said what you said and whoever agrees with what you said. Rabbi Levi said, 'The curtain on the Ark was folded, and they saw it. This caused a great calamity for them, as it is written, 'And He struck the people with a great slaughter, etc.' (1 Samuel 6:19). Rabbi Abbahu and Rabbi Elazar both said, 'Seventy men were killed, and each one of them was equivalent to fifty thousand men.' And one said, 'Fifty thousand men were killed, and each one of them was equivalent to seventy members of the Sanhedrin.' Rabbi Chanina and Rabbi Muna both said, 'Seventy men refers to the members of the Sanhedrin, and fifty thousand men were weighed against fifty thousand men of the people. And one said, 'Seventy men refers to the members of the Sanhedrin, and fifty thousand men were from the common people.' Elijah said, 'They were gathered and went to battle, and fifty thousand men fell from them. And the Sanhedrin suffered a great catastrophe with them. But who killed them? It was not anyone who killed them, but the people of Beth Shemesh, because they saw the Ark.' Therefore, the sons of Kohath were warned not to go and see, etc. God said, \"Just as I have dealt with the sons of Kohath because they feared and honored Me, and I bestowed honor upon them and took care to save their lives, so too, anyone who fears Me, I will honor him and his name will never be cut off from the world.\" From whom did you learn this? From the sons of Jonadab, son of Rechab, because they did My will, what is written about them? 'No man of the descendants of Jonadab, son of Rechab, shall lack a man to stand before Me forever' (Jeremiah 35:19). And if these strangers did so, how much more so did I do for Israel, who are My beloved children, the children of My beloved friends, with how much love and care do I treat them when they do My will and stand before Me all their days? As it is said, 'But you who cleave to the Lord your God are alive, every one of you, this day' (Deuteronomy 4:4)."
        ],
        [
            "(1) RAISE a census of the sons of Gershon\" etc. (Numbers 4:22), this is what is written (Proverbs 3:15): \"She is more precious than rubies; all your desires cannot compare to her\", as we have learned there (Tosefta Horayot 2:8): A sage takes precedence over the king of Israel, when a sage dies we have none like him, when the king of Israel dies all of Israel are suitable for the kingdom. The king takes precedence over the High Priest, as it is stated (1 Kings 1:33): \"And the king said to them, 'Take with you the servants of your lord'\" etc. The High Priest takes precedence over a prophet, as it is stated (1 Kings 1:34): \"And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet will anoint him there\", Zadok takes precedence over Nathan. Rabbi Huna in the name of Rabbi Chanina said (Jerusalem Talmud Horayot 3-5): A prophet folds [in] his hands and feet and sits before the priest, what is the reason, as it is written (Zechariah 3:8): \"Hear now, Joshua the High Priest\" etc., could ordinary people have been meant? The verse teaches (Zechariah 3:8): \"for they are men of symbol\", and \"symbol\" refers only to prophecy, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 13:2): \"And he gives you a sign or a wonder\". He who is anointed with the anointing oil takes precedence over him who is distinguished by many garments. A prophet takes precedence over him who is anointed for war, he who is anointed for war takes precedence over the deputy [High Priest], the deputy takes precedence over the head of a priestly watch, the head of a watch takes precedence over the head of a paternal house, the head of a paternal house takes precedence over the officer who oversees the Temple utensils, the officer who oversees the Temple utensils takes precedence over the treasurer, the treasurer takes precedence over an ordinary priest, an ordinary priest takes precedence over a Levite, a Levite takes precedence over an Israelite, an Israelite takes precedence over an illegitimate, an illegitimate takes precedence over a Gibeonite, a Gibeonite takes precedence over a proselyte, a proselyte takes precedence over a freed bondsman, when? When they are all equal. But if an illegitimate heir is a Torah scholar, he takes precedence over the High Priest who is an ignoramus, as it is stated: \"She is more precious than rubies\", we might have thought this is so with regard to redeeming [him from captivity], to revive and to clothe him, however, not for seating him, Rabbi Avin said: Even for seating him, what is the reason? \"She is more precious than rubies\", even more than this one who enters the Holy of Holies. Another interpretation, \"She is more precious than rubies\", it speaks of Kehat and Gershon, even though Gershon was the firstborn and we find that in every place the verse assigns honor to the firstborn, since Kehat bore the Ark where the Torah was, the verse gave precedence to Kehat over Gershon, as at first it states (Numbers 4:2): \"Take a census of the sons of Kehat\", and afterward it states: \"Take a census of the sons of Gershon\" etc., thus: \"She is more precious than rubies\", than a firstborn who is first to emerge, and \"rubies\" are only a beginning, As it is said (Ruth 4:7): 'And this was the manner in former time in Israel'.",
            "(2)",
            "(3)",
            "(4)",
            "(5)",
            "(6)",
            "(7)",
            "(8)",
            "(9)",
            "(10)",
            "(11) Their count was eight thousand five hundred and eighty (Numbers 4:48). This is what they meant by saying there's enumeration in detail and enumeration in general, like a person who has items precious and admirable and dear to him, he counts them in detail and then counts them in total, due to his joy in their abundance. Similarly, the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded to write the count of the Levites in detail and total, because they were His household and were proper and dear to him. (Numbers 4:49) At the command of the LORD they were counted by the hand of Moses. This is stated against the sons of Kohath, that Aaron numbered the sons of Kohath and said, so and so and so and so will carry the Ark, so and so and so and so will carry the altar, and so with all the holy vessels, as the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded Moses to do as Aaron did. Behold: by the hand of Moses. And how do you say that the scripture speaks about the service of the sons of Kohath? As it is written (Numbers 4:49), Each man upon his service and upon his burden. And so it is said about the sons of Kohath (Numbers 4:19), Aaron and his sons shall come and they shall appoint them each man upon his service and upon his burden. (Numbers 4:49) And his commands which the LORD commanded Moses. This is said against the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, that the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded Moses that their service should be according to His word, together with his brother Aaron. In the sons of Gershon it is written (Numbers 4:27), And you shall number them by the guard duty of all their burdens, behold Moses is with them, and in the sons of Merari it is written (Numbers 4:32), And you shall number by names the instruments of the duty of their burden, Moses brought, therefore it is written: and his commands which the LORD commanded Moses, that Moses counted and said so and so and so and so of the sons of Gershon shall carry the curtains, so and so and so and so will carry the tent of meeting, and so for all the instruments of their service, the burden of the sons of Gershon was from him in number, and so Moses counted and said so and so and so and so of the sons of Merari shall carry the boards, so and so and so and so of the sons of Merari shall carry the bars, and so he did for all the instruments of the service of the burden of the sons of Merari, that he counted them in number for their service, behold: which the LORD commanded Moses, that Moses was commanded concerning these two families, the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, that he should command them how they should carry and how they should guard what is under their hands, behold: which the LORD commanded Moses."
        ],
        [
            "(1)COMMAND the children of Israel to send out from the camp, etc.\" (Numbers 5:2). \"This is what is written: 'Take away the dross from the silver, and a vessel comes out for the refiner'\" (Proverbs 25:4). Rabbi Tanchuma bar Rabbi Abba said, \"What are 'the dross from the silver'? As long as this impurity is in the silver, its beauty is not visible. It only becomes apparent after the dross has been removed. 'The dross from the silver': afterward, 'a vessel comes out for the refiner.' How is this? When the Israelites left Egypt, all were blemished, because they labored with clay and bricks and ascended to the top of the building. And whoever was a builder would ascend on ladders made of those bricks. Either a stone would fall and cut his hand, or a beam or a piece of clay would enter his eye and blind him. They were all blemished. When they came to the desert of Sinai, God said, 'This is the honor of the Torah that I am giving you to the generation of blemished individuals.' And if I wait until others had arise, then I tarry giving the Torah. What did God do? He said to the angels, 'Descend to Israel and heal them.' And you should know that this is so, as Rabbi Yehuda said in the name of Rabbi Simon, 'From where do we know that they had no lames? As it is said: 'And they stood at the bottom of the mountain' (Exodus 19:17), and there is no standing except on one's feet. From where do we know that they had no blemishes? As it is said: 'All that the Lord has spoken, we will do' (Exodus 24:7). And from where do we know that they had no deaf people? As it is said: 'And they saw the voices' (Exodus 20:15). And from where do we know that they had no mute people? As it is said: 'And all the people answered' (Exodus 19:8). We can deduce from this that they were all healed. And if you do not learn from here, you can learn from another place, as it is said: 'None of the diseases that I placed upon Egypt will be upon you, etc.' (Exodus 15:26). Behold, they were healed. But once they committed the act of the calf, they reverted to being blemished, and they became lepers and those with issues [of impurity], for Moses would see them, as it is said: 'And Moses saw the people, that they were exposed' (Exodus 32:25), and 'exposed' [parua] means nothing other than leprosy, as it is stated: 'And the leper on whom the plague is... his head shall be bare, etc.' (Leviticus 13:45). God said to Moses, 'Until you made the Tabernacle, I would ignore the matters, and the lepers and those with issues would intermingle with you. Now that you have made the Tabernacle and I have bestowed My divine presence among you, separate them from your midst, and send out from the camp every leper, every one with an issue, and every unclean person, for what reason? 'So that they do not defile their camps, in the midst of which I dwell'\" (Numbers 5:3).",
            "(2)",
            "(3)",
            "(4)",
            "(5)",
            "(6)",
            "(7)",
            "(8)",
            "(9)",
            "(10) Another matter, command the children of Israel, the Rabbis interpret 'town' in exile as: command the children of Israel, for Israel has transgressed the commandments and are obliged to be sent away, this is exile. As it is written: 'And they shall put out of the camp,' there is no 'and they shall put out' but a language of exile, as you might say (Jeremiah 15:1): 'Send away from my presence, and let them go.' 'From the camp,' this is the land of Israel, where the divine presence dwells. Every leper, every one that has a running issue, and whoever is defiled by the dead. It hints to them that if Israel transgresses these three transgressions: idol worship, illicit sexual relations, and murder, they will be obliged to exile. The leper, this is idol worship, just as the leper defiles through entrance, so too idol worship defiles through entrance. The one with the \"issue\", this is illicit sexual relations, because both defile by way of seminal emission. 'Defiled by the dead', these are murderers, as they defile themselves and defile the land through bloodshed. And so we have learnt (Mishna Avot 5:12): 'Exile comes to the world for idol worship, for illicit sexual relations, and for bloodshed, and for not observing the sabbatical year.' For idol worship, how so? He says (Leviticus 26:30): 'And I will destroy your high places' and it is written (Leviticus 26:33): 'And I will scatter you among the nations, etc.', the place said to Israel: since you want idol worship, I too will exile you to a place where there is idol worship, therefore 'And I will destroy your high places.' For illicit sexual relations, how so? Rabbi Ishmael son of Rabbi Yosei said: as long as Israel are licentious in illicit sexual relations, the divine presence removes itself from them, as it is said (Deuteronomy 23:15): 'Neither shall you see a thing of nakedness among you, and turn away from following you.' \"And concerning the shedding of blood, as it is said (Numbers 35:33): 'Do not defile the land...,' the Scripture indicates that the shedding of blood defiles the land and causes the Shekhinah to depart. It was due to the shedding of blood that the First Temple was destroyed and the people of Israel were exiled from their land. These three transgressions existed in the First Temple, and therefore it was destroyed. As Rabbi Yochanan ben Torta said: 'Why was the First Temple destroyed? Because it contained three things: idolatry, sexual immorality, and bloodshed.' Regarding idolatry, it is written (Isaiah 28:20): 'For the bed is too short to stretch out on.' Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani said in the name of Rabbi Yonatan: 'The short bed refers to not having enough space to stretch out comfortably, as if two friends were lying together.' Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani said, when Rabbi Yonatan came to this verse, he wept and said, 'Who is it written about? (Psalms 33:7): 'He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; he lays up the depth in storehouses.' Make for him a narrow bed.' Regarding sexual immorality, it is written (Isaiah 3:16): 'The Lord said: Because the daughters of Zion are haughty...' And concerning bloodshed, it is written (2 Kings 21:16): 'Moreover, Manasseh shed very much innocent blood...' Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, brought three punishments upon them, corresponding to the three sins in their hands, as it is said (Micah 3:12): 'Therefore, because of you, Zion shall be plowed like a field...' And this verse refers to the Babylonian exile.  'From male to female you shall send them outside the camp' (Numbers 5:3). This is stated in reference to the exile of Media, as they went from Babylon to Media. And because they did not leave the land of Israel when they were exiled to Media, the term 'encampment' is not used here. Why then is it written in the context of the Media exile 'from male to female'? It hints to them that the kingdom of Media will issue decrees against them from male to female, as it is said (Esther 3:13): 'And letters were sent by couriers to all the king's provinces to destroy...'  'Outside the camp you shall send them' (Numbers 5:3). This is stated in reference to the Edomite exile, as they destroyed the Temple and exiled Israel from their land. And why does the Edomite exile follow the Babylonian exile? Because just as the Temple was destroyed and Israel was exiled from their land when Babylon destroyed it, so too the Edomites did the same. And it also says (Psalm 137:8): 'O daughter of Babylon, you will be destroyed.' The Scripture calls Edom the daughter of Babylon. Although there is a distinction between the Media exile and the Babylonian exile in the verse, the Scripture does not write it that way, but rather, due to the fact that the Media exile did not come except by virtue of the Babylonian exile, as they left Babylon to go to Media.  'They shall not defile their camp' (Numbers 5:3). This is stated in reference to the Greek exile, and therefore it is not said in this case that they were exiled from their land. Therefore, it is stated in this case that they defiled the Temple with the worship of idols that belonged to them. 'In whose midst I dwell' (Numbers 5:3). This hints to them that wherever they were exiled, the Divine Presence was with them.\" It was taught: Rabbi Nathan says, \"The people of Israel are beloved because wherever they were exiled, the Divine Presence was with them. When they were exiled to Egypt, the Divine Presence was with them, as it is said (1 Samuel 2:27): 'Did I reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt...?' When they were exiled to Babylon, the Divine Presence was with them, as it is said (Isaiah 43:14): 'For your sake, I have sent to Babylon...'  When they were exiled to Elam, the Divine Presence was with them, as it is said (Jeremiah 49:38): 'I will set My throne in Elam...' When they were exiled to Edom, the Divine Presence was with them, as it is said (Isaiah 63:1): 'Who is this coming from Edom...?' And when they are scattered, the Divine Presence is with them, as it is said (Deuteronomy 30:3): 'And the Lord, your God, will bring back your captivity...'  \"And when He brings back, it is not written, 'And He will restore,' but rather (Song of Songs 4:8): 'Come with me from Lebanon, my bride...' (Numbers 5:4): 'And the children of Israel did so, and sent them outside the camp.' As soon as they sinned, they were exiled.  \"Just as the Holy One, blessed be He, spoke to Moses, so did the children of Israel act. What did the Holy One, blessed be He, say to Moses? If they repent in the kingdoms where they are, the Holy One, blessed be He, will gather them, as it is said (Deuteronomy 30:1-3): 'And it shall come to pass when all these things come upon you... and the Lord, your God, will bring back your captivity... and the Lord, your God, will circumcise your heart...'  \"So did the children of Israel act, for in the end of days, when they will repent, they will be redeemed, as it is said (Isaiah 30:15): 'In returning and rest you shall be saved.' And just as a metzora, and zav, and one who has contracted impurity of the soul cannot be purified forever until they immerse in pure water, so too, the Holy One, blessed be He, is destined to sprinkle them with pure water and purify them, as it is said (Ezekiel 36:25): 'And I will sprinkle upon you pure water, and you will be purified...'\""
        ],
        [
            "(1) Man or woman, who does any of the sins etc. - Rabi Abahu says (Hosea 14:8): 'Those that dwell under His shadow' those are the gerim that come and have love for the shadow of the Holy One of Blessing. 'They shall grow as grain' in [the study of] Talmud. 'Shall blossom as vine' in [the study of] Aggadah. 'His memory/scent shall be as the wine of Lebanon' - said the Holy One of Blessing: \"The appreciation of the gerim is as dear to me as the wine that was poured on the altar [as libation.]\" And why does He call it [the altar] Lebanon (root LVN)? Because it whitens (maLViN) the sins of Israel like snow, as it is written (Isaiah 1:18) 'though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.' Rabi Shimon Bar Yochai says: because all the hearts (LeVavot) become happy due to it. As it says (Psalms 48:2): 'Fair in situation, the joy of the whole earth.' And the rabbis say - because of the verse (II Kings 9:3) 'and My eyes and My heart shall be there perpetually.' Another interpretation: 'they will grow as grain' - they will make the essence, they are like Israel; as it is said (Zechariah 9:17) 'grain [for] the young men [of Israel]'. 'They shall blossom as vine', as [just like] Israel, as it says (Psalms 80:9) 'You plucked a vine from Egypt.' And so you find that, just as a portion of the Torah was written regarding one Israel and another - that if he misappropriated something of him, that he is obligated to a sacrifice, as it is written (Leviticus 5:21) 'If any one sin, and commit a trespass etc.' - so too you find that the Holy One of Blessing wrote a portion of the Torah regarding what goes on between Israel and gerim, that if a man from Israel steals from a ger, the judgement is as if he stole from another man from Israel. You find that regarding this it is written 'a sin that he sinned' and regarding stealing from a ger it is written 'from any sins of a man.' Regarding this one it is written 'and trespassed a trespass against the Lord' and regarding this one it is written 'to trespass a trespass against the Lord.' Regarding this one it is written: 'And it will be, when he sins and is guilty' and regarding the ger it is written 'and that soul will be guilty'. Regarding this one it is written: 'And he will pay with his head' and regarding the ger it is written 'and he will return his guilt with his head'. Regarding this one it is written: 'and he will add his fifth' and regarding the ger it is written 'and he will add a fifth'. Regarding this one it is written: 'and he will bring his guilt-offering to the Lord' and regarding stealing a ger it is written 'besides the ram for the kipurim'. Behold we have learned: that the essence of the gerim is like Israel's. Therefore, they will be as grain and blossom....",
            "(2)",
            "(3)",
            "(4)...... “And David went and he took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the men of Jabesh- gilead… And he brought up from there the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son…” (Shmuel II 21:12-13) What did David do? He went and gathered all the elders and great ones of Israel, crossed the Jordan River, and came to Yavesh-gilead. He found the bones of Shaul and his son Yonatan, placed them in a casket and crossed back over the Jordan, as it says “And they buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the country of Benjamin in Zela, in the tomb of Kish his father and they did all that the king commanded…” (Shmuel II 21:14) What does ‘in Zela, in the tomb of Kish his father’ mean? It comes to teach us that they brought them to the border of Jerusalem and buried them there. Zela is next to Jerusalem, as it says “And Zelah, Eleph, and the Jebusite, which is Jerusalem…” (Yehoshua 18:28) ‘and they did all that the king commanded’ And what did the king command? He commanded that they carry Shaul’s casket from tribe to tribe. As Shaul’s casket entered each tribe’s territory all the men, women and children came out in order to perform an act of loving kindness to Shaul and his sons and thereby all of Israel would fulfill its obligation to loving kindness. This went on until they reached the land of his portion on the border of Jerusalem. Since the Holy One saw that they did loving kindness to Shaul and fulfilled the judgement of the Givonites He was immediately filled with mercy and sent rain upon the land, as it says “And God was entreated for the land after that.” (Shmuel II 21:14) From this we learn how close the Holy One brings those that are far away, even though they converted not for the sake of heaven. There is no need to even mention how he draws near righteous converts, “O Lord, all the kings of the earth will acknowledge You…” (Tehillim 138:4)",
            "(5)",
            "(6)",
            "(7)",
            "(8)",
            "(9) \"Another interpretation: 'And each man shall have his holy things for himself' (Leviticus 27:21). This is what is written (Psalms 128:1): 'Happy is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways.' It does not say 'Happy is Israel,' 'Happy are the priests,' or 'Happy are the Levites,' but rather 'Happy is everyone who fears the Lord.' These are the converts who are God-fearing, and they are included in the term 'Happy.' Just as it is stated about Israel (Deuteronomy 33:29): 'Happy are you, O Israel,' so it is stated about them: 'Happy is everyone who fears the Lord.' And concerning which convert is it stated 'Happy'? It is a convert who is a righteous proselyte, not those Kutim, as it is written about them (2 Kings 17:33): 'They feared the Lord, but they also served their own gods.' Rather, it refers to a convert who fears the Holy One, blessed be He, and walks in His ways, as it is written: 'Who walks in His ways' (Psalms 128:2). 'When you eat the labor of your hands' (Psalms 128:2), this refers to the convert who does not have the merit of the Patriarchs. In order for him not to say, 'Woe is me, I have no merit of the Patriarchs,' all the good deeds that he performs, he should say, 'I have no reward for them except in this world.' Therefore, the verse brings good tidings to the converts that through their own merit, they will eat in this world and in the World to Come. This is what is written: 'When you eat the labor of your hands.' These are the good deeds that one toils for in this world. As it is said (Job 3:17): 'There the weary are at rest.' And it says (Ecclesiastes 9:10): 'Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might.' And regarding their reward, it says (Psalms 128:2): 'Happy are you, and it is good for you.' 'Happy are you' in this world, and 'it is good for you' in the World to Come. 'Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine' (Psalms 128:3), even though his wife converted with him and is not from the daughters of Israel, she is considered like the daughters of Israel. This is what is written: 'Like a fruitful vine,' these are the daughters of Israel, as it is said (Psalms 80:9): 'You brought a vine out of Egypt.' 'She will bear sons within your home' (Psalms 128:3), when she conducts herself in her own right in Jewish observance, which is modesty, she merits to have sons who are experts in Scripture, experts in Mishnah, experts in giving and taking, sages, discerning individuals, and those who possess knowledge at the right time. This is what is written (Psalm 128:3): \"Your children are like olive shoots.\" What is the purpose of this olive? Some olives are for eating, some for drying, and some for oil. Its oil burns beautifully and is superior to all other oils, and it does not spoil either in sunny days or in rainy days. Similarly, the children of converts come. Among them are those who are masters of Scripture, masters of Mishnah, masters of dialectics, some are wise, some are understanding, and some have knowledge of the appropriate response in a timely manner. And they have a lasting seed forever. (Psalm 128:3) \"All around your table, your sons will stand, your righteousness.\" Because of your table, your sons will merit to great achievements. 'Behold, so will the man be blessed who fears the Lord' (Psalms 128:4). For so we found with Abraham and Sarah, who were converts, and Abraham, who feared the Lord, was blessed in this matter. And so shall all the converts who conduct themselves in accordance with their practice be blessed.\"[]“May the Lord bless you from Zion…” (Psalms 128:5) This comes to teach that the Holy One blesses them from the place that He blesses Israel. And from where do we learn that the blessings come out from Zion? As it says “As the dew of Hermon which runs down on the mountains of Zion…” (Psalms 133:3) and it says “May the Lord bless you from Zion, and see the good of Jerusalem all the days of your life.” (Psalms 128:5) May you merit to see the good of Jerusalem in the time to come. (Psalm 128:6) \"May you see children born to your children upon Israel,\" and is  because a convert sees children born to his children that peace comes upon Israel? Rather, the verse speaks specifically about a righteous convert, one who marries his daughter to a priest, and his sons serve as priests. They are the children of his children, who are priests and bless Israel, saying (Numbers 6:24-26), \"May the Lord bless you... May the Lord cause His face to shine upon you... May the Lord lift His face to you.\" Therefore, it says, \"Peace upon Israel.\" Just as we found regarding Rahab the harlot, who brought the spies into her house and saved them, the blessed God rewarded her as though He Himself had done it and gave her reward. Similarly, it says (Joshua 2:4), \"And the woman took the two men and hid them,\" and it is not written here, \"And she hid them,\" but rather, \"And she hid him.\" (See Midrash Tanchuma, Sh'lach 1:1) And what reward did she take? That her daughters married into the priesthood, and they bore sons who stood and served at the altars. They would enter the sanctuary and bless Israel with the explicit name of God, saying, \"May the Lord bless you... May the Lord illuminate for you... May the Lord lift His face to you.\" Therefore, it says, \"Peace upon Israel.\" Moses alludes to this in the Torah as well, that after the incident of the theft of the proselyte's property, it is written (Deuteronomy 14:29), \"And the Levite... and the proselyte shall come and eat.\" This teaches that a proselyte who converts for the sake of Heaven is rewarded that sons will come forth from his sons who will be their holy ones. And it further states (Deuteronomy 10:18), \"And He loves the proselyte to give him bread and garment.\" Aquilas the proselyte entered the presence of Rabbi Eliezer and said to him, \"Behold, all the praise of a proselyte and one who loves proselytes to give him bread and a garment.\" Rabbi Eliezer said to him, \"Is it light in your eyes that a matter that the elder [Jacob] said of himself (Genesis 28:20), 'And He will give me bread to eat and a garment to wear,' and this one comes and hands it to him on a reed?!\" He entered the presence of Rabbi Yehoshua, who comforted him with words. \"Bread\" refers to the Torah, as it says (Proverbs 9:5), \"Come, eat of my bread,\" and \"garment\" refers to the tallit. A person who merits Torah merits mitzvot, and not only that, but his daughters will be married into the priesthood, and his grandsons will offer sacrifices on the altar. This bread refers to the Showbread, and the garment refers to the high priest's garments. Now, in the sanctuary, within its borders, where do we find this bread? It is the Showbread, and where do we find this garment? It is the first shearing of the wool. That is why it is said: \"And every man shall sanctify his holy things for himself; they shall be holy to him\" (Leviticus 27:21), in the context of the portion regarding the convert."
        ],
        [
            "\"Each man, when his wife goes astray, etc.\" (Numbers 5:12). This is what is written: \"You neglected the Rock who gave birth to you, etc.\" (Deuteronomy 32:18). \"The Rock who gave birth to you\" is the same as what is written: \"And the eye of the adulterer waits for twilight, saying, 'No eye will see me.'\" (Job 24:15). The adulterer says, \"No creature knows about me,\" because all his actions are done in darkness. Similarly, it says: \"Passing through the street near her corner, he takes the road to her house, in the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night\" (Proverbs 7:8-9). He thinks that since he performs his deeds in darkness, the Holy One, blessed be He, does not know about them. It also says: \"Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the Lord. They do their works in darkness and say, 'Who sees us? Who knows us?'\" (Isaiah 29:15). This is the way of all transgressors; they think that the Holy One, blessed be He, does not see their actions. It also says: \"Do you think God can see through the thick darkness? How high as the heavens? What can you do? It is deeper than the depths of Sheol; what can you know? Its measure is longer than the earth and broader than the sea\" (Job 22:12-14). They say, \"What does God know?\" Clouds cover Him, and He cannot see, etc. \"Guard the path of forever\" (Proverbs 2:8). It also says: \"And the eye of the adulterer waits for twilight, saying, 'No eye will see me'\" (Job 24:15). He does not say, \"No person will see me,\" but \"No eye will see me\" - not an eye of the lower [world] and not an eye of the upper [world]. What does it mean when it says, \"And He conceals His face\"? The Holy One, blessed be He, who dwells in concealment, turns His face to the adulterer during that act. Because the adulterer and the adulteress desire that only their desire be fulfilled, the Holy One, blessed be He, exposes them in the world so that creatures will know and say, \"These are the face of the adulterer\" - as the form of the fetus resembles the form of the adulterer. It says, \"And He conceals His face\" (Job 34:29). Therefore, it is called \"adultery\" because both of them deny [their actions] and say, \"We did not commit a sin.\" But the creatures say, \"If that is so, what is this?\" And one should not say that when she separates from the adulterer at that time, the form of the fetus is similar to the form of her husband, but even if she separates from her husband and the adulterer comes upon her, the Holy One, blessed be He, transforms the form of the fetus into the form of the adulterer. And it says, \"You neglected the Rock who gave birth to you, etc.\" (Deuteronomy 32:18). Rabbi Yitzchak said: This adulterer denies the power of the Shekhinah (Divine Presence). How does the fetus pass from the man? The form of the fetus resembles the form of the adulterer for forty days. After forty days, the adulterer comes to her, and the Holy One, blessed be He, stands and observes, saying, \"Whose form shall I fashion? The form of the husband or the form of the adulterer?\" Ultimately, the Rock, the One who gave birth to you, fashions the form of the adulterer. And so it says: \"You neglected the Rock who gave birth to you, etc.\" Yud of \"teshi\" (you neglected) is small, and Shin of \"teshi\" (you neglected) is like the hand of the artist.Rabbi Abbahu said: \"To what can this matter be compared? To an artist who was given the task of completing the portrait of a king. When he came to finish the face, they told him, 'The king is dead, and another king has risen.' When the artist heard this, his hands dropped, and he began to wonder: 'What shall I do with these sketches? Should I complete it in the likeness of the first king or the second king?' He was perplexed.\" Similarly, the Holy One, blessed be He, serves as the artist. He fashions the form of the fetus in the likeness of its father. However, if the adulterer returns and comes upon her, then the sketches become mingled. This is what is written: \"They commit idolatry, adultery, and bloodshed, and they touch blood upon blood\" (Hosea 4:2). What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He reversed the initial form that He had fashioned in the likeness of the first husband to the likeness of the adulterer. This is to fulfill what is said: \"And He will place a different face\" (Job 34:29).   Be it known: \"You neglected the Rock who gave birth to you\" (Deuteronomy 32:18). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to the deniers, \"You hide yourselves from Me, but am I not the One who created the hearts?\" This is what is written: \"I, the Lord, search the heart; I test the kidneys\" (Jeremiah 17:10). For this reason, it is said: \"You neglected the Rock who gave birth to you.\" I created your hearts, and I fashioned your kidneys. And you forget Me and deceive Me, as if I do not see and do not know your actions. Moses also hinted at this matter in the portion of Sotah, as it is written: \"When a man's wife turns astray, etc.\" (Numbers 5:12).",
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            "This is the law of jealousy (Numbers 5:29), so said the Holy One, blessed be He: This Torah of jealousy shall always exist, for just as the Holy One, blessed be He, punished with jealousy those who worshiped the calf, so He will punish them and their generations. It is also stated (Deuteronomy 32:21): \"They made Me jealous with what is not God; they provoked Me with their vanities.\" What is written (Deuteronomy 32:24): \"With the wasting of famine,\" corresponds to \"And her belly shall swell\" (Numbers 5:27). Onkelos translates (Deuteronomy 32:24) \"swell\" as \"bloated with hunger.\" What is written (Deuteronomy 32:25): \"From without shall the sword bereave,\" corresponds to those whom the sons of Levi killed by the sword. What is written (Deuteronomy 32:24): \"And the teeth of beasts,\" refers to the plague, as it is written (Exodus 32:35): \"And the Lord smote the people.\" What is written (Numbers 5:29): \"That she strays\" (Ezekiel 16:32): \"The woman who commits adultery takes strangers instead of her husband,\" the Prophet rebuked them, saying that they were serving idols. What is written (Numbers 5:30): \"Or when the spirit of jealousy comes upon him,\" Moses prophesied about the future, that the Holy One, blessed be He, would be jealous for them. Therefore, it is written at the beginning of the passage (Numbers 5:14): \"And the spirit of jealousy comes upon him,\" speaking in reference to the jealousy caused by the calf. And at the end, it is written: \"When the spirit of jealousy comes upon him,\" referring to what He said about the future (Numbers 5:31): \"Then shall the man be guiltless from iniquity.\" This refers to the Holy One, blessed be He, who will acquit Israel so that they will no longer sin before Him. As He said to them through Ezekiel (Ezekiel 36:25-28): \"And I will sprinkle clean water upon you... and I will give you a new heart... and I will put My spirit within you... and I will save you from all your uncleanness.\" What is written (Numbers 5:31): \"Then shall the woman be free from guilt,\" refers to the Holy One, blessed be He, who will cleanse Israel so that they will no longer commit sin before Him. This is what He said about them through Ezekiel (Ezekiel 36:32): \"Not for your sakes do I this... but for Mine holy name's sake... I will be sanctified among the children of Israel forever.\" Just as the Holy One, blessed be He, forgave them concerning the calf, and He accepted their repentance, dwelled among them, and brought them into the land, so Ezekiel prophesied that this is what the Holy One, blessed be He, will ultimately do. As it is written (Ezekiel 37:21, 28): 'Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations... and they shall dwell in their own land... and the nations shall know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel when My sanctuary is in their midst forever.'\" "
        ],
        [
            "(1) When either a man or woman shall clearly utter a vow (Bamidbar) 6:2. This is what it written: The foundation stones are of precious stones, resembling the cedars of Lebanon. (Song of Songs 5:15) His thighs, this refers to the world that the Holy One, blessed be He, desired to create, as it is written (Song of Songs 7:11): 'And his desire is for me.' And from where do we derive that He said this? As it is said (Genesis 2:1): 'Thus the heavens and the earth were finished,' (and finished which can be understood as) a language of desire, as it is said (Psalms 123:1): 'My soul longs, indeed it even pines (same root letters),' etc. The pillars of marble that upheld all the works of Creation for six days, as it is said (Exodus 20:11): 'For in six days the Lord made,' etc. Behold, three of them (mothers) were created from these (marble pillars), and from them everything was created. Established upon the foundation stones of precious stones, their foundation was based on three praiseworthy things that have no equal in the world, as it is written (Proverbs 3:19-20): 'The Lord founded the earth in wisdom, established the heavens with understanding, by His knowledge the depths broke open,' this refers to the sea. Wisdom is the fear of the Lord, as it is said (Job 28:28): 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.' Knowledge is the one who recognizes his Creator, as it is said (Hosea 4:1): 'And there is no knowledge of God in the land,' and it is said (Jeremiah 9:23): 'Let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me.' His appearance is like the cedars of Lebanon, this refers to the reward of repentance, which is called turning away from evil, as it is said (Hosea 14:5): 'I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely,' and 'His countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars.' 'Young like the cedars,' this refers to the one who fears and recognizes his Creator, who is called a righteous person, and it is said (Psalms 92:13): 'The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree, he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon,' and it is said (1 Samuel 2:28): 'And I chose him out of all the tribes of Israel,' etc. And it is said (Psalms 65:5): 'Blessed is the one You choose and bring near.' (Song of Songs 5:16): 'His mouth is most sweet,' this refers to the Holy One, blessed be He. See what is said (Amos 5:4): 'For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel, Seek Me and live,' and you have a mouth sweeter than this, as it is said (Ezekiel 33:11): 'As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked,' etc., and you have a mouth sweeter than this, as it is said (Ezekiel 33:19): 'And if the wicked turn from his wickedness,' etc. Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: This only applies when he repents completely from evil; how do we know this? Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai taught: There was a man who was completely wicked all his days, and at the end, he became completely righteous. Concerning him, it is said (Ezekiel 33:12): 'And the righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression.' Rabbi Yochanan said: Moreover, for every sin that one has committed, the Holy One, blessed be He, counts them as merits. How do we know this? As it is said (Psalms 45:10): 'Myrrh and aloes, cassia; all your garments are scented,' all sinful acts thou hast committed, shall (after repentance) be like myrrh, at the time when they are cassia i.e cut-off (ceases from doing evil). And it is said (Ezekiel 33:15): 'He shall surely live.' Another explanation: 'His palate is sweet,' Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman said, in three places, the nations of the world heard that the Holy One, blessed be He, reproves Israel, and they rejoice. But in the end, they will depart in shame. And these are the verses: \"Come now, and let us reason together,\" says the Lord (Isaiah 1:18). They said, \"Now He is eliminating those who hate Israel (meaning Israel) from the world. Is it possible for these [nations] to argue with their Creator?\" Since He said to them, \"If your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow\" (Isaiah 1:18), they said, \"This is the rebuke we did not want; rather, it only applies to the delightful among them.\" Another is: \"Hear, O mountains, the controversy of the Lord\" (Micah 6:2). They said, \"Now He is eliminating their hatred of Israel from the world. Is it possible for these [nations] to argue with their Creator?\" And since He said to them, \"My people, what have I done to you, and how have I wearied you? Answer Me!\" (Micah 6:3), they said, \"This is the rebuke we did not want; rather, rather, it only applies to the delightful among them.\" Another is: \"And contend with the Lord against Judah, and to punish Jacob according to his ways\" (Hosea 12:3). They said, \"Now He is eliminating their hatred of Israel from the world. Is it possible for these [nations] to argue with their Creator?\" And since He said to them, \"In the womb he took his brother by the heel\" (Hosea 12:4), they said, \"This is the rebuke we did not want; rather, rather, it only applies to the delightful among them.\" Rabbi Yudan bar Rabbi Shimon said to a widow who [argued] with her son, she saw the judge ruled with a clear torch, zeal, and fairness. She said, \"If you judge him righteously like this he will kill you as well.\" When he finished adjudicating, he said to her, \"What did he do to you?\" She said to him, \"When he was in my womb, he used to kick me.\" He said to her, \"This is an offense? Jacob, while still in the womb, took his brother by the heel (causing pain to the mother.)\"; Rabbi Elazar said in the name of Rabbi Simai, the God of Jacob honored him. 'His palate is sweet,' Rabbi Azariah and Rabbi Acha said in the name of Rabbi Yochanan: When Israel heard (the words) 'I am the Lord your God,' at Sinai, their souls departed from them. The word of God returned to the Holy One, blessed be He, and said before Him, 'Master of the Universe, You are alive, and Your Torah is alive, and You have sent me to those who are dead, and they are all dead.' At that moment, the Holy One, blessed be He, returned and sweetened the word to them, as it is said (Psalms 29:4): 'The voice of the Lord is powerful, the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.' Rabbi Chama bar Rabbi Chanina said, \"To the youth, the voice of God is in strength, to the aged, the voice of God is in splendor.\" Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai taught, \"The Torah restored their souls, as it is said, 'The law of the Lord restores the soul.'\" All of it is desirable. Rabbi Chiya bar Abba: the custom of the world, when working for the owner of the house, because he humbles himself in clay, he received his reward. But the Holy One, blessed be He, warns Israel and says to them, \"Do not defile yourselves with any creeping thing, and I will give you your reward.\" This is what is written, \"You shall not make yourselves detestable with any swarming thing that swarms, for I am the Lord...\" What does \"I am the Lord\" mean? It means that I am faithful to reward you for this. Heed this: All of it is desirable. Rabbi Tanchum ben Rabbi Chiya, in the name of Rabbi Yochanan, taught, \"It is written, 'Sanctify My Sabbaths,' how do you sanctify it? Through eating, drinking, and wearing clean clothes.\" What is written about it? \"And they shall be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God.\" \"I am the Lord\" means that I am faithful to reward you. All of it is desirable. This is my beloved, as it is stated: \"And I have separated you from the peoples to be Mine\" (Leviticus 20:26). Rabbi Levi said, \"All the actions of the Israelites are distinguished from the nations of the world: in their plowing, in their sowing, in their reaping, in their sheaves, in their threshing, in their winepresses, and in their storage places.\" \"In their plowing\" (Deuteronomy 22:10): \"You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.\" \"In their sowing\" (Leviticus 19:19): \"You shall not sow your field with mixed seeds.\" \"In their reaping\" (Leviticus 19:9): \"You shall not complete the corner of your field in your reaping.\" \"In their sheaves\" (Deuteronomy 24:19): \"And you shall forget a sheaf in the field.\" \"In their threshing\" (Deuteronomy 25:4): \"You shall not muzzle an ox while it is threshing.\" \"In their winepresses and in their storage places\" (Exodus 22:28): \"You shall not delay the fullness of your grain and your wine.\" \"In their storage places\" (Leviticus 19:27): \"And you shall not round off the side-growth of your heads.\" \"In their counting\" (Exodus 30:12): Israel counts by the moon, and the nations of the world count by the sun. \"When you lift up\" (Exodus 30:12): When you lift up your heads. (Numbers 1:2): \"Lift up the heads.\" (Leviticus 20:26): \"To be Mine.\" Therefore, you are Mine, be beloved. [CHECK] This is my beloved, as it is stated: \"This is my beloved\" (Song of Songs 5:16). Rabbi Yudan said in the name of Rabbi Hama son of Rabbi Hanina, and Rabbi Berechiah said in the name of Rabbi Abahu: He [God] has many beloved ones, as it is written: \"And I have separated you from the peoples to be Mine\" (Leviticus 20:26). This is one who selects the beautiful from the ugly, selecting and selecting again, for anyone who selects the ugly from the beautiful does not return and select again. So too, the Holy One, blessed be He, waits for the nations of the world to repent and draw near under His wings. Another explanation: \"His legs are pillars of marble\" (Song of Songs 5:15). \"His legs\" refers to the Torah, as it is said: \"And it shall be health to your navel.\" \"Pillars of marble\" - why is the Torah compared to pillars? Because they are the pillars of the world, as it is said: \"If not for My covenant day and night, I would not have set up the laws of heaven and earth\" (Jeremiah 33:25). Rabbi Huna said in the name of Bar Kappara: What are these pillars like? They have loops above and bases below. Similarly, the portions of the Torah are expounded before them and after them, expounded before them, such as: \"When you come into the land and plant any kind of tree\" (Leviticus 19:23), and what is written before them: \"When a man lies carnally with a woman\" (Leviticus 19:20), and what connection does one have to the other? Rather, just as a man separates himself from uncircumcised fruits, so too, the disqualified ones separate from the kosher ones on the Day of Judgment. For Rabbi Yudan said in the name of Rabbi Levi: These are the ones who permitted illicit relations in this world and are destined to be hung by their foreheads in the future, as it is stated: \"Only God will strike the head of His enemies, the hairy crown of one who walks in his guilt\" (Psalms 68:22). And he says, \"I am not guilty; I am innocent\" (Psalms 69:5): He walks with his guilt, and this man goes with his debts. "
        ],
        [],
        [
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            "“And the chieftains of Israel brought close” (Numbers 7:2) – why did the chieftains come with alacrity to bring [their gifts] first, whereas they were slothful in the construction of the tabernacle and only brought the onyx stones and the stones for setting last? Because when Moshe said, “All the generous hearted ones should bring offerings to the Lord for the construction of the tabernacle,” and did not say [it] to the leaders, it was bad in their eyes that he did not tell them to bring [it]. They said, “Let people bring what they will bring, and we will fill in what is missing.” The entire Jewish people rejoiced and happily brought every gift, and did it with alacrity. See what is written, “And the men came along with the women” (Exodus 35:22) – as they were pushing each other and men and women were coming mixed together. And they brought all of the gift in two mornings, as it is stated (Exodus 36:3), “they continued to bring freewill offerings to him morning after morning (literally in the morning, in the morning)”; and it is written (Exodus 36:6), “And the material was sufficient.” After two days, the chieftains sought to give a gift, but they were unable. For Moshe had already commanded, “and they had a call go out in the camp (to stop), etc.” So the chieftains were distressed that they had not merited [to contribute] to the gifting of the tabernacle. They said, “Since we did not merit in the gifting of the tabernacle, let us give the garments of the high priest.” This is that which is written (Exodus 35:27), “And the chieftains brought onyx stones, etc.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “[About] my children who showed alacrity, let it be written that they brought and there was left over; and [about] the chieftains who were slothful, let a letter be lacking from their name.” As, in fact, “And the chieftains,” is written lacking a <i>yod</i>. When the tabernacle was completed, they came first and brought an offering with alacrity. That is that which is written, “And the chieftains of Israel brought close, etc.” They said, “Behold it is the time that we shall bring sacrifices with joy, that the Divine Presence has descended upon the work of our hands.” Since the tabernacle was done and it was not lacking anything, they said, “What can we bring?” They went and brought carts upon which the tabernacle could be carried. And who gave them this advice? The tribe of Yissachar. As this is what they told them, “Is this tabernacle that you made to fly in the air? Rather, donate carts that you should carry it in them.” That is why it is written, “And the chieftains of Israel brought close” – since they were consoled about that which they did earlier. “And the chieftains of Israel brought close” – I understand [from this] that they were commoners and were appointed. [Hence] we learn to say (Numbers 7:2), “the heads of their fathers’ houses” – and not [just], the heads of fathers’ houses. Moreover [their fathers] were also tribal chieftains – that is that which is written, “these were the chieftains of the tribes.” [Hence] they were chieftains who were sons of chieftains. “These were the chieftains of the tribes” – these were the ones who were appointed over them in Egypt: “And the overseers of the Children of Israel were beaten” (Exodus 5:14). “They were the ones who stood by during the counting” – for the counting of the encampments, as you say (Numbers 1:4), “Along with you, there shall be one man for each tribe, etc.”"
        ],
        [
            "One silver basin represents the Torah which has been likened to wine, as it is stated, \"And drink of the wine which I have mingled\" (Mishlei 9:5). Now because it is customary to drink wine in a basin – as you may gather from the text, \"They who drink wine in basins\" (Amos 6:6) – therefore, he brought a basin. Why \"of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary\"? As the numerical value of yayin (wine) is seventy, so there are shivim panim la’Torah (seventy facets/sides of Torah)....",
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            "...Another idea - Why are three types of elevation-offering mentioned? Corresponding to the three good qualities which the Jews possessed in Egypt, and in their merit [i.e. of those qualities] they were redeemed: that they did not change their names, that they did not change their language, and that they drew a boundary for themselves against promiscuity.",
            "",
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            "",
            "E-lohim is known in Yehudah [in Israel His Name is great] (Ps. 76:2), Rabbi Yehudah bar Ilai said:  When Israel was at the sea, the tribes were arguing with each other. One tribe said:  'I will go down first [into the sea]', and the other tribe said 'I will go down first.'  Nachshon jumped first into the waves of the sea and went down, and on him David said, \"Deliver me, O God, for the waters have reached my neck.\" Said the Holy One of Blessing to Moshe: My beloved is sinking in the sea and you are praying?! 'Tell the Israelites to get going!'(Ex. 14:15)\"This is 'E-lohim is known in Yehudah', and therefore the Holy One of Blessing increased the name of Nachshon among Israel, that he merited to be the first to bring offerings [for the Mishkan] , as it says: 'And the bringer on the first day, etc' - this is 'and in Israel his name became great.' they said to him: we said ours, now you say yours! He said to them: everywhere that it uses the phrase ‘and it will be’ indicates joy. \"And it will be on that day that the mountains shall drip with wine...\" (Yoel 4:18) “And it will be on that day that living water shall come forth from Jerusalem...\" (Zechariah 14:8) \"And it will be that on that day, the Lord shall continue…” (Isaiah 11:11) “And it shall come to pass on that day, a man shall keep alive a heifer of the herd…” (Isaiah 7:21) \"And it will be on that day, that a great shofar shall be sounded...\" (Isaiah 27:13) “And it will be that every survivor shall be in Zion…” (Isaiah 4:3) But it is also written “…and he was when Jerusalem was taken.” (Jeremiah 38:28) He replied to them: this also is joy and not sorrow, because on that very day the comforter was born and on that very day Israel took full recompense for all of their sins. As R’ Shmuel bar Nachman said: Israel took their full recompense for their sins on the day that the Holy Temple was destroyed, as it says “Your iniquity is complete, O daughter of Zion; He will no longer send you into exile…” (Lamentations 4:22)",
            "",
            "",
            "<b>And his offering: one silver bowl</b> (Numbers 7:13). Behold it is written (Song of Songs 4:7) \"You are all beautiful, my love, and there is no blemish in you\" - this is speaking of Israel. Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai taught: at the time that Israel stood before Mount Sinai to accept the Torah, there were no blind people among them, nor deaf, nor mentally incapable, nor mutes, nor lame, nor limping. At that moment it says, \"You are all beautiful, my love, there is no blemish in you.\" -- until they sinned with the calf, and among them were made <i>zavim</i> and <i>metzoraim</i>, as it says (Exodus 32:25) \"And Moshe saw the people, that they were scattered [פרוע]\", and it is also written (Leviticus 13:45) \"As for the person with a leprous affection, their clothes shall be rent, their head shall be wild [פרוע],\". At that moment, it says (Numbers 5:2) \"Send out from the camp every <i>tzarua</i> and every <i>zav</i>\". But before Mount Sinai, they were whole, as it says \"You are all beautiful, my love, there is no blemish in you\". Another opinion: \"All of you is beautiful, my love\" speaks of the tribes. And if you say, how can all of them be beautiful? For Ya'akov their father blessed the tribes, and chided Reuven, Shimon, and Levi. How can you say they \"you are all beautiful\"?! Rabbi Elazar says, even though he blessed the later tribes and chided the former tribes, even so he returned and blessed them, as it says (Genesis 49:28) \"These are the tribes of Israel, twelve...\" -- he made them nourished from each other. What is (Genesis 49:28) \"And he blessed them, each according to his own blessing\"? When he blessed them, he returned and blessed them again -- rather, it teaches that when Ya'akov our father blessed his children, he would compare them to animals. He compared Yehuda to a lion; \"Yehuda is a lion's whelp...\" (Genesis 49:9). He compared Dan to a snake; \"Dan shall be a snake...\" (Genesis 49:17). He compared Naftali to a hind; \"Naftali is a hind let loose...\" (Genesis 49:21). Binyamin to a wolf; \"Binyamin is a ravenous wolf...\" (Genesis 49:27). Even though this is so, he returned and called all of them lions, all snakes, all hinds, all wolves. You can know that this is so, since behold Dan was called a snake, and he returned and called him a lion; \"Dan is a lion's whelp...\" (Deuteronomy 33:22). So you learn that he returned and included Reuven, Shimon, and Levi in the blessing of their brothers, to uphold that which is written; \"you are entirely beautiful, my love\". And so the verse returns and counts Reuven, Shimon, and Levi individually in the book of Exodus, and does not count the others. Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Nechemya and the rabbis [offer alternaive explanations for this]. Rabbi Yehuda says, this is why Reuven, Shimon, and Levi were counted individually: since all the tribes did not guard their lineage in Egypt, and Reuven and Shimon and Levi guarded their lineages, thus their lineages are enumerated there. Rabbi Nechemya says, all the tribes worshipped star-worship in Egypt, and tre tribes of Reuven, Shimon, and Levi did not worship star-worship; thus they merited to be counted alone. And the rabbis say, all the tribes did not act with authoority/leadership [?] in Egypt, but Reuven, Shimon, and Levi acted with leadership in Egypt,. Reuven died and leadership was given to Shimon, Shimon died and it was given to Levi. Levi died and they wished to give it to Yehuda, and a Bat Kol went out and said, \"Leave it, until its time comes!\" When did it's time come? After the death of Yehoshua (Judges 1:1-2) \"And it was after the death of Joshua that the Israelites inquired... and God said, Yehuda will go up\". Rabbi Levi and Rabbi Chanin: one says  \"Therefore, it returned and related these three tribes, because their father had chided them.\" The other says, \"because their lineage relates to Moshe and Aharon\". And we do not know which of them said this and which of them said this, since it's from what Rabbi Yudan said in the name of Rabbi Yehuda son of Rabbi Simon in the name of Rabbi Chanin in the name of Rabbi Shmuel bar Yitzchak. \"The ear that listens to the reproof of life abides among the wise\" (Proverbs 15:31) -- this is Rabbi Chanin, who said, because he chided them. And because they accepted the reproof of their father, they merited to be ennumerated beside Moshe and Aharon. For this reason, it says \"You are entirely beautiful, my love...\". Another interpretation, \"you are entirely beauutiful, my love...\" according to Yirmiyahu, who said (Jeremiah 6:30) \"They are called 'rejected silver'...\" and Yechezkel called them dross; \"O mortal, the House of Israel has become dross to Me\" (Ezekiel 22:18). Zechariah came and said, \"I saw, and behold, a menorah... entirely [כֻּלָּהּ] of gold..\" (Zechariah 4:2), to fulfil that which is written, \"all of you [כֻּלָּךְ] is beautiful, my love\". Another interpreation; \"you are entirely beautiful, ...\": this is speaking of the princes of the tribes at the time that they brought forth for the dedication of the altar. They did not bring all together on one day, rather each and every one on individual days, as like that which is written \"One prince each day\" (Numbers 7:11). Could it be that the one who brought his offerings first was most beloved?! Yehuda who brought his offerings first was most beloved of all? So Rabbi Chelbo said; with all the tribes it is written \"his offering\", and with the prince of Yehuda it is written \"and his offering\" - and this is strange! He who offered first it is written of him, \"and his offering\" - it did not need to sppeak thus, rather of the first \"his offering\" and the rest \"and his offering\". And why is this so? Rabbi Brechya haCohen son of Rabbi said, since Yehuda ofered first, if he had come to pride himself over his brothers and say \"I am more honoured than you, since I offered first\", they would respond to him and say, \"you are he who offered last, for thus it says 'and his offering'!\" This made him lesser [and brought him down] to his brothers, and so: \"all of you is beautiful\".",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "<b>On the second day, brought (<i>hikriv</i>) Netanel, etc.:</b> Why does it state, \"brought\" [only with Netanel]? Because Reuven came and appealed: He said, “It is enough that Yehudah should precede me with the encampments; I should bring [next] based on the order of birth! Moshe rebuked him and said to him, “It is from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He, that it was told to me – bring (<i>hakrev</i>, which is the <i>ketiv</i> – the way the word is spelled in the Torah) from the [order of the] encampments!” Another explanation: <i>Hikriv</i> (which also means ‘he put him forward’) – Moshe put him forward against the will of Reuven. Another explanation: As if he brought first (even before Yehudah). Why is this so? Since he merited to have the counsel of the princes [to offer wagons], the verse counts it as if he were the first one to bring [it] up. Abba Chanan says in the name of Rabbi Eliezer, “Since he merited to have the counsel, he merited to have understanding given to his tribe, as it is stated (I Chronicles 12:33), ‘And from the children of Yissachar, who know understanding of times.’” And it is stated (Judges 5:15), “And Yissachar’s chiefs were with Deborah, etc.” And so does the verse recount his praise in the courts in Egypt, as it is stated (Numbers 26:24), “To Yashuv was the Yashuvite family” – and Yashuv is always [referring to] courts, as it is stated (Ezekiel 33:31), “They will come to you in crowds and sit (<i>yeshvu</i>) before you, etc.”; “and Yaakov was a simple man who sits (<i>yoshev</i>)  in tents” (Genesis 25:27), and it states (Deuteronomy 33:18), “and Yissachar in his tents.” <b>Brought his sacrifice, etc.</b> –  Rabbi Pinchas be Yair said, “Why did it add [the word,] <i>hikriv</i> and remove [the letter,] <i>yod</i>? Rather it is corresponding to the red heifer that they made that day. Therefore, it added [the word,] <i>hikriv</i> missing <i>yod</i>, and left the word with four letters – corresponding to the four things that the heifer required: red, complete, without a blemish, without the carrying of a yoke. As you would say (Numbers 19:2), ‘and they shall take to you a red heifer that is complete, etc.’” <b>One silver bowl</b> – the prince of Yissachar came and brought the offering for the sake of the Torah; as they love the Torah more than the other tribes, as it is stated (I Chronicles 12:33), “And from the children of Yissachar, who know understanding of times, etc.” What is “of times?” Rabbi Tanchuma said, “ Of holidays.” Rabbi Yose said, “Of intercalations.” [This verse in Chronicles continues,] “to know what Israel shall do” – on which day they shall make the holidays. [And further in the verse,] “their heads are two hundred” – these are the two hundred leaders of the Sanhedrin groomed by the tribe of Yissachar. [Still in the verse,] “and all of their brothers according to their mouths” – that they would agree to the law based on their mouths. And it states (Genesis 49:15), “bent his shoulder to haul” – since they would haul the yoke of Torah. [The verse in Genesis continues] \"and he will be a conscripted worker\" - as anyone who was mistaken in the law would ask it to the tribe of Yissachar and they would clarify it for them. <b>A silver bowl</b> – corresponding to the Torah that is called ‘bread,’ as it stated (Proverbs 19:5), “Come repast on my bread.”  And it is said about the showbread  (Exodus 25:29), “And you shall make its bowls and its ladles”; and we learned, “its bowls”  - these are the molds, as they would make the showbread in molds. <b>One hundred and thirty was its weight</b> – go out and calculate: twenty-four books of the written Torah and eighty from the Mishnah; which begins with [the letter,]  <i>mem</i> (which has a numerical equivalent of forty), “<i>me’imatai korin et haShema</i>, etc. and ends with <i>mem, “Hashem yivarech et amo be’shalom”</i>.  <i>Mem</i>  is forty and [another] <i>mem</i> is forty; behold eighty, [so] one hundred and four, as this is the count that the written Torah and the oral Torah come to. Another explanation: The beginnings of the six Orders of the Mishnah – the first letters come to eighty. Go out and calculate: <i>Mem</i> (forty) from “<i>me’imatai</i>” from the Order of Seeds; <i>yod</i> (ten) from “<i>yitziot haShabbat</i>” from the Order of Appointed Time; <i>chet</i> (eight) from “<i>chamesh-esreh nashim</i>” from the Order of Women; one (<i>alef</i>) from “<i>arbaah avot nezikin</i>” from the Order of Salvations (Damages); <i>caf</i> (twenty) from “<i>kol haZevachim</i>” from the Order of Holy Things; one (<i>alef</i>) from “<i>avot haTumaot </i>” from the Order of Purities - behold eighty, [so] from here [you see that] the count of the written Torah and the oral Torah come to one hundred and four. And it was given in twenty-six generations which were from Adam to Moshe, through whom the Torah was given – behold, one hundred and thirty. Hence the weight of the bowl was one hundred and thirty. ",
            "<b>One basin of silver</b> – corresponding to the Torah which is compared to wine, as it is stated (Proverbs 9:5), “and drink from the wine that I have mixed.” And since it is the custom of wine to be drunk form a basin, as you say (Amos 6:6), “Who drink from wine basins” – therefore, he brought “a basin that is seventy shekel of the holy shekels.” Why? Just like the numerical equivalent of wine is seventy, so too are there seventy faces to the Torah. Why does it state “one” about the bowl? Corresponding to the Torah that must be one, as you say (Numbers 15:16), “One Torah and one statute shall there be for you.” Why does it state “one” about the basin? Because the words of the written Torah and the words of the Oral Torah were all given by one shepherd – all of them were stated by one God to Moshe at Sinai. Why were they of silver? Corresponding to the Torah, about which it is stated (Psalms 12:7), “The words of the Lord are pure words, silver purged in a crucible, etc.” <b>Both of them filled with fine flour, etc.</b> – Scripture and Mishnah are full, since one does not contradict its fellow. <b>Fine flour</b> – as you say (Psalms 19:11), “drippings (<i>nofet</i>) of the comb” – like flour that one can see on top of the sieve (<i>napah</i>). <b>Mixed with oil</b> – that is Torah, which is required to be mixed with good deeds; like that which we learned (Avot 2:2),” Excellent is the study of the Torah together with a worldly occupation; for the exertion [expended] in both of them causes sin to be forgotten.” That is <b>for the offering</b> – as at that time, he brings a pleasantness of spirit to his Creator, when a man is involved in Torah study and is a master of good deeds and guards himself from sin. <b>One ladle</b> – corresponding to the tablets that were written by the hand of the Holy One, blessed be He, as you say (Exodus 32:16), “The tablets were God’s work, and the writing was God’s writing, etc.” <b>Ten of gold</b> – these are the ten statements (commandments) that were written on the tablets, as you say (Deuteronomy 10:4), “And He wrote on the tablets like the first writing, etc.” <b>Gold</b> – like you say (Song of Songs 5:14), “His hands are rods of gold”; and it states (Psalms 19:11), “More precious than gold, etc.” <b>Full of incense</b> – since the six hundred and thirteen commandments are mixed in them. And so do you find that there are six hundred and thirteen letters from “I” (the first word in the ten commandments) to “of your friend” (the last word), corresponding to the six hundred and thirteen commandments; and there are seven letters lacking, corresponding to the seven days of creation – to teach you that the whole world was only created in the merit of the Torah. That is <b>full of incense (<i>ketoret</i>)</b> – since the [letter] <i>kof</i> changes to a <i>dalet</i> [in] <i>at-bash gar-dak</i> (switching the early letters in the aleph-bet with the corresponding later letters), and the [numerical] count of the word then comes to six hundred and thirteen. Another explanation: <b>full of incense</b> – as between each and every statement written on the tablets, the sections and the details were written. And it comes out like that which Chananiah the son of the brother of Rabbi Yehoshua said: “His hands are rods of gold” – these are the two tablets of the covenant upon which were written, ‘written by the finger of God.' “Rods of gold” – just like these rods, between one large rod and another large rod, there are small rods; so too, between each and every statement, the sections of the Torah were written and its details. <b>One bull of the herd</b> – corresponding to the priests; <b>one ram</b> – corresponding to the Levites; <b>one lamb</b> – corresponding to Israel, as they all accepted the Torah as Sinai. <b>One goat for a sin offering</b> – corresponding to the converts that would convert in the future and were there; as everyone is fitting, as it is stated (Leviticus 18: 5), “which a man shall do and live by them.” It does not state, “priests, Levites and Israelites,” but rather “a man.” [This] teaches that, behold, even an idolater that converts and is involved in Torah is like a high priest. <b>And for peace offerings, two oxen (<i>bakar</i>)</b> – corresponding to the two Torahs; as anyone who checks (<i>mevaker</i>) and sacrifices his inclination to do everything that is written in them is making peace twice – peace above and peace below; as it is stated (Isaiah 27:5), “But if he holds fast to My refuge, peace will he make with Me, with Me he will make peace.” <b>Five rams, five he-goats, and five yearling lambs</b> - corresponding to three verses of the Torah in which the six Orders of the Mishnah are [indicated]. And they are [each] of two sections, and each and every section is made of five words, and these are them (Psalms 19:8-10): “The Torah of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; the decrees of the Lord, etc.... The ordinances of the Lord, etc.; the commandments of the Lord, etc.... The fear of the Lord, etc.; the judgments of the Lord, etc.” Hence they offered these three types of sacrifices as peace offerings, corresponding to the three verses in which the six Orders of the Mishnah are [indicated]. It comes out like that which Rabbi Tanchuma said: “The Torah of the Lord is perfect, [restoring the soul], etc.” – this is the Order of Women that warns a man to separate from sexual prohibitions in order to save him from death, like the one that says (Proverbs 5:19), “All who go to her cannot return and find again the paths of life.” And it states (Proverbs 5:16), “It will save you from the forbidden woman, etc.” “The decrees of the Lord [are trustworthy], etc.” – this is the Order of Seeds, as one has trust in the world’s Life and sows. “The ordinances of the Lord, [are just, rejoicing the heart], etc.” – this is the Order of Appointed Time that has all of the holidays in it, about which it is written (Deuteronomy 16:14), “And you shall rejoice in your holidays.” “The commandments of the Lord [are lucid, making the eyes light up,]. etc.” – this is the Order of Holy Things, which enlightens the eyes [to differentiate] between profane things and holy things. “The fear of the Lord [is pure], etc.” – this is the Order of Purities, which separates between purity and impurity. “The judgments of the Lord, etc.” – this is the Order of Damages, in which there are most of the laws.  And hence they offered five of each type corresponding to the five words written for each and every Order. And why were five words written for each and every order? Corresponding to the Torah which is five books, [in order] to teach you that [the sections of the Mishnah] are bodies of Torah. Why is the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, written in [the section of the verse relating to] each and every Order? Since He testifies upon them, that He stated them to Moshe from His mouth, in the same way that He stated the five books of the Torah. <b>That was the offering of Netanel, etc.</b> - once the Holy One, blessed be He, saw that he brought offerings according to the Orders of the Torah, He began to praise his sacrifice – “that was the offering of Netanel son of Tzuar.”"
        ],
        [],
        [
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "Another reading: \"When you raise up\". You see that Moshe struggled [nitkasha] with the design of the Menorah more than all the other vessels of the Mishkan [Tabernacle], until the Holy One Who is Blessed showed him with a finger. Similarly with the hoofs of impure and pure animals, as it says, \"These are the animals which you shall eat\" (Vayikra 11:4), these are the ones which you shall not eat, and showed him with a finger. Similarly with the moon, \"this month is for you\" (Shmot 12:2). Similarly with the Menorah, \"This is how the Menorah was made: it was hammered work [miksha] of gold\" (Bemidbar 8:4), which is to say how hard [kasha] it is to make, since Moshe became weary on account of it. When he struggled, The Holy One Who is Blessed said to Moshe: take a talent of gold and throw it in the fire and take it out, and it will be formed on its own, as it says, \"its cups, calyxes, and petals were of one piece with it [lit: came out from it]\" (Shmot 37:17) - he would strike it with a hammer and it would be made on its own. Therefore it says \"it will be made [te'aseh] of hammered work\" (Shmot 25:31) written with a [Hebrew letter] \"yod\" and not written \"you will make [ta'aseh]\", that is to say it will be made on its own. Moshe took the talent [of gold] and threw it in the fire. Moshe said, \"Master of the Universe, behold the talent is in the fire. Whatever you wish - so shall it be done.\" The Menorah immediately came out made according to its design, thus it is written, \"According to the pattern that the LORD had shown Moses...\" (Bemidbar 8:4). It is not written here \"so did Moses make the Menorah,\" rather \"so was the Menorah made.\" And who made it? The Holy One Who is Blessed. Therefore the Holy One Who is Blessed said to Moshe: If you are careful to light [it] before me, I will protect your souls from every evil thing, since souls are compared to a candle, as it says. \"the candle of Adonai is the soul of a person\" (Proverbs 20:27) and it says, \"When you raise up the candles)\" (Bemidbar 8:2)",
            "",
            "The Midrash Rabba (Bamidbar 15:5) relates that when the Jews were given the commandment to kindle the Menorah in the Temple (Bamidbar 8:2), they asked G'd why He told them to light up for Him Who is the Light of the whole world. G'd said to them, \"You are right. I do not need your light. But I want to give you an opportunity to light for Me like I have lit for you.\" G'd led the Jewish people with a cloud of glory and a pillar of fire. This is why He told them to kindle the lights when the Tabernacle was erected. \"This will elevate your position amongst the nations. They should say, look how the Jewish nation lights for the One who lights up the whole world.\" [...] The Midrash explains that this can be compared to a seeing person who leads a blind person as they travel along the road together. When they come to the house, the seeing person says to the blind one, \"Please go and light a candle for me.\" To this the blind person replies, \"I do not understand. As long as we were travelling, you supported and guided me. Why do you now ask me to light a candle for you?\" To this the seeing person responds, \"I want to give you an opportunity to pay me back so that you do not feel an ongoing debt of gratitude\".",
            "Another explanation, \"at the front of the menorah, let the seven lights give light\" (Numbers 8:2), so that they shouldn't dishonour the menorah. (Zechariah 4:10) \"Does anyone scorn a day of small [beginnings]? When they see the stone of distinction in the hand of Zerubavel they shall rejoice over these seven\". \"These\" -- this is the menorah. \"Seven\" -- these are the seven lights, corresponding to the seven stars that wander in all the land [planets?]. So they are beloved that they are not disgraced on them, for this it says \"at the front of the menorah let the seven lights give light\" -- so that they should not become mistaken to you, and you should need to say that He needs light, see that which is written of windows (Ezekiel 40:16) \"The recesses—and their supports—had windows with frames on the interior [of the gate complex on both sides]\" etc., and so \"the interiors [of the vestibules also had windows on both sides]\" (ibid.) were like these windows. 'Like windows' is not written here, rather, \"like the windows\", that they should be wide from the outside and narrow from within, so that they would bring in light from outside. Rabbi Berachyah the kohen said in the name of Rabbi, this lightning is offspring of the fire from above, and it comes out and lights the whole world, as it says (Ezekiel 1:13) \"Such then was the appearance of the creatures. With them was something that looked like burning coals of fire. This fire, suggestive of torches, kept moving about among the creatures; the fire had a radiance, and lightning issued from the fire.\" And lights the whole world, and I need their light. And why did I tell you? To deceive you. Rabbi Chanina said, the Holy Blessed one said \"Eyes have black and white [parts] in them, and you don't see from the white but rather from the black [parts], and so if your eyes that have black and white within them only see with the black, the Holy Blessed One is  entirely Light and needs to light them. Another explanation, \"at the front of the menorah\", flesh and blood kindle a light from another light, since they are unable to create light from darkness, as it says (Genesis 1:2) \"Darkness was over the face of the deep\". Why is it written after this (Genesis 1:3) \"And God said, \"Let there be light\"\" and from the midst of the darkness brought forth light. And I need to light them, and I didn't say to you except to bring you up -- (Exodus 27:20) \"to set up the eternal light\" .",
            "Another interpretation, \"at your setting up\" (Numbers 8:2). This is what the verse says (Psalms 139:12) \"Darkness is not dark for You; night is as light as day; darkness and light are the same\". And to us He says \"at your setting up\" -- to what is the matter similar? To a king who had a loved one. The king said, \"know that I will eat with you, so go and prepare for me\". The loved one went and prepared an ordinary couch, an ordinary lamp [menora], an ordinary table. When the king came, he brought his assistants around him and a golden lamp before him. When the loved one saw all the glory of the king, he became ashamed and hid all he had prepared for the king, since they all were ordinary. The king said to him, \"Did I not tell you I would eat with you? Why have you prepared nothing for me?\" The loved one said to him, \"I saw all the glory that you came with, and I was ashamed and hid all I had prepared for you, for they were all ordinary things.\" The king said to him, \"By your life [I swear] that I will ruin all my things that I brought with me, and for the sake of your love I will not use anything except your possessions!\" And so, the Holy Blessed One is entirely light, as it is said (Daniel 2:22) \"And light dwells with Him\", and God says to Israel \"Prepare for me a menorah and lights\". Why is written there (Exodus 25:8) \"And they will make me a Mikdash and I will dwell in their midst\", (Exodus 25:31) \"And make Me a menorah of pure gold\"? So when you make it, the Shechina comes. Why is it written there (Exodus 40:35) \"And Moshe was not able to enter the Tent of Meeting\", immediately [God] called to Moshe (Numbers 7:89) \"When Moshe went into the Tent of Meeting to speak with Him, he would her the Voice speaking\". What would it speak to him? \"At your setting up of the lights\".",
            "",
            "",
            "Rabbi Levi son of Rabbi says: A pure Menorah came down from heaven, as The Holy One Who is Blessed said to Moshe \"You will make a Menorah of pure gold [alt: a pure Menorah of gold]\" (Shmot 25:31) [Moshe] responded: how will we make it? [God] responded \"It will be made of hammered work [mikshah]\" (Shmot 25:31). Nevertheless, Moshe struggled [nitkasha] and went down and forgot its manner of work. He went up and said: My Master, how will we make it? [God] said \"It will be made of hammered work.\" Nevertheless, Moshe struggled and went down and forgot. He went up and said: My Master, I forgot it. [God] showed Moshe and Moshe still struggled. [God] said to him: \"See and do\" (Shmot 25:40), and took a Menorah of fire and showed him how it was made. Nevertheless, it was a struggle for Moshe. The Holy One Who is Blessed said to him: Go to Betzalel, and he will make it. [Moshe] told Betzalel and he immediately made it. He was amazed and said: For me, how many times did the Holy One Who is Blessed show me and I struggled to make it, but for you, who never saw it, you make it from your thoughts! Betzalel, you were standing in the shadow of God [b'tzel el] when the Holy One Who is Blessed showed me how to make it. Therefore, when the Temple was destroyed, the Menorah was hidden. And this is one of the five things that was hidden: the ark, the Menorah, the fire, the holy spirit, and the cherubs. When the Holy One Who is Blessed returns in [God]'s mercy and builds [God]'s house and sanctuary, [God] will bring them back to their place to make Jerusalem rejoice, as it says, \"The arid desert shall be glad, The wilderness shall rejoice\" (Isaiah 35:1), \"It shall blossom abundantly, It shall also exult\" (Isaiah 35:2)."
        ],
        [
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "These are the names of the men (Numbers 13:16): What were their names? Sethur the son of Michael; Nahbi the son of Vophsi; Geuel the son of Machi. There are people whose names are nice and whose actions are ugly, people whose names are ugly and actions are nice, people whose names and actions are nice, and people whose names and actions are ugly. Whose names are nice and whose actions are ugly - this is Ishmael and Esau: Ishmael means \"listens to God\" (\"<i>Shomea El</i>\"). Esau means \"does the will of his Maker\" (\"<i>Oseh Retzon Osav</i>\"). But their actions are bad. Whose names are ugly and whose actions are nice - these are those who ascended from exile: the children of Barak, the children of Sisera, and the children of Tamach. Whose names and actions are ugly - these are the spies. What is written about them? Sethur - that he closed him off (\"<i>setharo</i>\") from the world."
        ],
        [
            "(1) \"When you come to the land of your dwellings\": What is the halacha of how many things a person is obligated to do for his son? Our rabbis taught: A person is obligated to do five things for his son. G-d can be compared to a father and the Jewish people to His son. Just like a father is obligated to circumcise his son, G-d did so for the Jews by circumcising them by the hand of Yehoshua as it says (Joshua 5:2) \"Make for yourself stone knives.\" A father is obligated to redeem his son [if he is a firstborn] and G-d redeemed the Jews, as it says [II Samuel 7:23) \"to redeem it as a nation.\" [A father is obligated] to teach [his son] Torah, [and] G-d taught the Jews Torah as it says (Deuteronomy 11:19) \"Teach them to your children\" and it is written \"I am G-d your teacher.\" [A father is obligated] to teach [his son] mitsvot, [and] G-d taught the mitsvot to the Jews. [A father is obligated] to marry [his son] to a woman, [and] G-d told mankind: \"Be fruitful and multiply.\" A father is obligated to his son [in the following ways]: to give him food and drink, to bathe him, to give him ointments, and to clothe him, and thus did G-d for the Jews, as it is written (Ezekiel 16: 9) \"And I washed you in water, and I washed away your blood...and I clothed you with embroidered clothing...and My bread which I gave you...\" [and in Numbers 21:17] \"Arise, o well, sing to it.\" What does a father give to a son? Possessions. Thus G-d did for the Jews, as it says in Jeremiah 3:18, \"And I gave you a beloved land.\" And what must a son give to his father? A gift. Thus G-d said to the Jews, \"When you come to the land...and bring an olah-offering to G-d.\"",
            "(2) Thus opened Rabbi Tanchuma bar Abba, in the name of Rabbi Chanina brother of Rabbi Acha ben Rabbi Chanina:  ",
            "",
            "",
            "\"And make for yourselves tzitzit\" (Numbers 15:38): this is written (Psalms 97:11) \"Light is sown for the righteous, etc\" (Isaiah 42:21) \"God desires [His servant's] vindication\". The Holy Blessed One sowed the Torah and the commandments in order that the Jews would inherit them to life in the world to come. And God did not leave a thing in the world without giving a mitzvah about it to the Jews. Going out to plough: (Deuteronomy 22:10) \"Do not plough with an ox and a donkey together\". To sow: (Deuteronomy 22:9) \"Do not sow your vineyard [with two different species]\". To harvest: (Deuteronomy 24:19) \"When you reap your harvest [and forget a sheaf, leave it in the field for the poor\". Kneading: (Numbers 15:20) \"The first yield of your baking, [you shall set aside] a loaf [as a gift]\". Slaughter: (Deuteronomy 18:3) \"And give the priest the shoulder and the cheeks\". A birds' nest: sending away the mother bird. Animals and birds: (Leviticus 17:13) \"And slaughter, and cover the blood with dust\". Seedlings: (Leviticus 19:23) \"And you shall regard its fruit as forbidden\". Graves of the dead: (Deuteronomy 14:1) \"Do not gash yourselves\". Shaving hair: (Leviticus 19:27) \"Do not round off [the side-growth of your head]\". Building a house: (Deuteronomy 22:8) \"And write on the doorposts\". Covering oneself with a shawl: \"And you shall make for yourselves tzitzit\". And you shall make -- make, and not from a thing already made. That you should not go out numbered and make from them, rather, the commandment is to bring white and techelet and make. When? When there is techelet, and now we do not have anything but white, since the techelet has been lost (\"nignaz\", lit. stored away, like in a geniza). (Numbers 15:38) \"On the corners\" -- and not in the middle, but on the corner. (ibid.) \"A twisted thread\" -- that one needs to twist them. Rabbi Meir says: what is the difference between techelet and all other colours? Techelet resembles the firmament, and the firmament resembles the Throne of Glory, as it says (Exodus 24:10) \"And they saw the God of Israel... [under His feet there was a likeness of a pavement of sapphire...]\". (Numbers 15:39) \"And they shall be to you for tzitzit\" -- that they shall be seen. And what is the measurement [of the tzitzit]? Beit Shammai says, four fingers, and Beit Hillel says three. And how many threads? Beit Shammai says four, and Beit Hillel says three. (ibid.\" \"And you shall see them\" -- this comes to exclude nightclothes -- or, this is nothing other than an exclusion of the blind. He responded and said, (Numbers 15:40) \"That you should remember\" -- it gives sight and it reminds. Reminder to one who cannot see, and sight to one who can see. \"And you shall see it\", \"it\" in the masculine and not in the feminine. That if you make it so, like it is the Throne of Glory, you will see it similar to the techelet... [trans. unfinished]",
            "(6) EXCERPT......(B-Midbar 15;40) \"So that you will remember and do all my mitzvot.\" This is comparable to one who was thrown into the sea. The captain extended a rope to him and said: 'Catch this rope in your hand and don't let it go, for if you let it go, you will have no life.' Even so, the Holy One (blessed be He) said to Israel: The whole time that you cleave to the mitzvot - (Dvarim 4:4) \"And you who cleave to Ha-shem your God, you are all living today.\"  And similarly it says (Mishlei 4:13): \"Hold tight to tradition/musar, don't let it alone, keep it safe, for it is your life.\"... "
        ],
        [
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "14 \"A brother offended is more formidable than a stronghold; such strife is like the bars of a fortress\" (Proverbs 18:19). This is Korach, who violated the Torah - which is strength, as it is stated (Psalms 29:11), \"May the Lord to His people give strength, may the Lord bless His people with peace.\" \"Such strife is like the bars of a fortress\" - and did he not know that his opponents were hard? \"Like the bars of a fortress\" - this is [referring to] Moshe and Aharon. Just like a bar does not move, so [too] Moshe, as it is stated (Exodus 26:28), \"The center bar halfway up the planks shall run from end to end.\"",
            "15 Job said, (Job 15:28-34), \"He dwells in cities doomed to ruin, in houses that shall not be lived in, that are destined to become heaps of rubble. He will not be rich; his wealth will not endure; his produce shall not bend to the earth. He will never get away from the darkness; flames will sear his shoots; he will pass away by the breath of his mouth. He will not be trusted; he will be misled by falsehood, and falsehood will be his recompense. He will wither before his time, his boughs never having flourished. He will drop his unripe grapes like a vine; he will shed his blossoms like an olive tree. For the company of the impious is desolate; fire consumes the tents of the briber.\" \"He dwells in cities doomed to ruin, in houses that shall not be lived in, that are destined to become heaps of rubble\" - this was Korach, who was the administrator of the house of Pharaoh, and he had the keys to his treasuries in his hand. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, \"What benefit is it to you, you do not control them?\"  As it is stated, \"in houses that shall not be lived in, that are destined to become heaps of rubble.\" And to who are they destined? To those who are exiled. To Israel that was exiled from Egypt. \"He will not be rich; his wealth will not endure\" - even when he died. \"His produce shall not bend to the earth. He will never get away from the darkness\" - forever will he not avoid darkness. \"Flames will sear his shoots\" - our Rabbis said, \"When the wife of Korach descended to <i>Gehinnom</i>, it scorched her.\" \"He will pass away by the breath of his mouth\" - that he should not say, \"Shmuel will arise from me in the future, and I will be saved for his sake\" - rather, \"he will pass away by the breath of his mouth.\" \"He will not be trusted; he will be misled by falsehood\" - the Holy One, blessed be He, yells out to the two hundred and fifty men who dissented with him, \"Do not trust him, he is mistaken, 'he will not be trusted' when he is misled.'\" \"He will wither before his time\" - before he reaches his end to die, he will kill himself. \"He will drop his unripe grapes like a vine\" - this is his wife. \"He will shed his blossoms like an olive tree\" - these are his sons. And why? \"For the company of the impious is desolate; fire consumes the tents of the briber.\" \"And a fire went out from the Lord\" (Numbers 16:35).",
            "16 Another interpretation. It does not say, \"And Korach dissented; and he said; and he gathered; [or] and he commanded. Rather, \"And he took.\" What did he take? He did not take anything. But rather his heart took him. The verse said (Job 15:12), \"How your heart has taken you away, how your eyes have failed you.\" Rabbi Levi said, \"Whey did Korach dissent from Moshe? He said 'I am the son of oil, the son of Yitshar.' As it is stated (Numbers 7:13), 'your new wine (<i>tirosh</i>) and oil (<i>yitsharekha</i>), the calving of your herd and the lambing of your flock, in the land that He swore to your fathers to assign to you.' '<i>Tirosh</i> is wine; '<i>yitsharekha</i>' is oil. And in all drinks that you place oil, it is always found on top. And not only that, but it is written (Zachariah 4:14), 'They are the two anointed dignitaries (literally, sons of  <i>yitshar</i>) who attend the Lord of all the earth.' And does oil have sons? Rather this is Aharon and David that were anointed by the anointing oil. Aharon took the priesthood and David the monarchy. Korach said, 'Just as these, who were only anointed by anointing oil, took priesthood and monarchy; I, that am the son of oil, need not be anointed and I shall be a priest and king.' Immediately, he dissented with Moshe.\" ",
            "17 \"And he took.\" As he took his heart. \"It is not an enemy who curses me —I could bear that; it is not my foe who vaunts himself against me —I could hide from him\" (Psalms 55:13). This is [referring to] Doeg and Achitofel who were cursing me. They were not my enemies, but they cursed me and did not call me by my name. Rather, \"Why did the son of Yishai not come\" (I Samuel 20:27); \"I have seen the son of Yishai\" (I Samuel 22:9); \"Behold I have seen a son of Yishai\" (I Samuel 16:18). This is, \"It is not an enemy who reviles me —I could bear that.\" \"But it is you, my equal, my companion\" (Psalms 55:14). As he was a giant in Torah [knowledge]. \"And my acquaintance\" - as he would give and take in Jewish law (halakha). \"Sweet was our fellowship; [we walked in God’s house with feeling]\" (Psalms 55:15). What is [the understanding of] \"we walked in God’s house with feeling?\" As it is taught, \"A bull was offered by twenty-four (priests),\" so that the feelings could feel [it], as it is stated, \"we walked in God’s house with feeling.\" \"Let Him incite death against them\" (Psalms 55:16). Rabbi Elazar said, \"They had a counsel of heresy within them. To what were they similar. To a house full of straw, but there were holes in the house and the straw went into them. After some days, that straw that was in those holes began to come out [on the house's exterior. Then] everyone knew that the house was of straw. So [with] Doeg and Achitofel, they did not have [performance of] commandments at the beginning. Even though they [later] become masters of Torah, they were like their beginning.\" This is [the understanding of], \"for where they dwell, there evil is.\" Another interpretation (of Psalms 55:13-16): It is speaking about Moshe. \"It is not an enemy\" but rather Korach, who is from mine, \"who curses me\". \"Sweet was our fellowship,\" Aharon and Korach are the same; we walked in God’s house with feeling,\" this one slaughters and offers and that one sprinkles the blood. \"Let Him incite death against them\" - who brought death upon himself. \"They went down alive into Sheol, with all that belonged to them, etc.\" (Numbers 16:33).",
            "18 \"It is enough for you, sons of Levi\" (Numbers 16:7). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moshe, \"You have struck with a stick, and you will be struck with that with which you struck. You said, \"It is enough for you.\" And tomorrow you will hear, \"It is enough for you\" (Deuteronomy 3:26).",
            "",
            "",
            "21 The Seers (i.e., the prophets) were the ones who said the doubled letters, <i>mantzepakh</i> (<i>mem, nun, tzadi, peh,</i> and <i>kaf</i>, which are the letters that have a different form when they appear at the end of a word). [The doubling of <i>kaf</i> that is found in Genesis 12:1,] \"<i>Lekh lekha</i> (Go for yourself),\" hints to Avraham that he will father Yitschak at one hundred years [of age] (as the numerical value of these two words is one hundred). [The doubling of <i>mem</i> that is found in Genesis 26:16,] \"<i>ki atsamta memenu</i> (as you have become more powerful than us)\" is a hint [to Yitschak] that hints that he and his seed will be powerful in both worlds. The doubling of <i>nun</i> [that is found in Genesis 32:12,] \"<i>Hatsileini na</i> (Save me)\" [is a hint to] Yaakov, [that] he will be saved in both worlds.  The doubling of <i>peh</i> [that is found in Exodus 3:15, is a hint to] Israel, to Moshe,\"<i>pakod pakadeti etchem</i> (I have surely remembered you).\" The doubling of <i>tsadi</i> [that is found in Zachariah 6:12,] \"<i>hinei eesh, Tsemach shemo, [ou'metachtav yitsmach]</i> (behold, a man called Branch shall branch out from the place where he is,)\" is [referring to] the Messiah. And so is it stated (Jermiah 23:5), \"<i>vahikimoti leDavid tsemach tsadeek [...] </i> (and I will raise up a true branch of David [...]).\" \"The leader of fifty\" (Isaiah 3:3). Twenty-four books (of the Bible); add to them eleven of the thirteen [books of the minor prophets] - besides Yonah which is by itself - and six orders of the Mishnah and nine chapters of Torat Kohanim, behold fifty. \"Sixty were the queens,\" (Song of Songs 6:8), sixty tractates; \"and eighty were the concubines,\" eighty study halls that were in Jerusalem corresponding to its gates.; and maidens without number,\" the study outside. \"Behold the bed of Shlomo, sixty warriors\" (Song of Songs 3:7). [This corresponds to] the sixty letters of the priestly blessing (Numbers 6:24-26). Three hundred and eighteen [souls mentioned in Genesis 14:14 is the numerical equivalent of] Eliezer. \"Inasmuch (<i>ekev</i>) as Avraham obeyed Me and kept My charge: My commandments, My laws, and My teachings\" (Genesis 26:5) - he recognized him when he was three (the numerical equivalent of <i>ekev</i>, being three less than that of Avraham). The Satan (<i>HaSatan</i>) has the numerical equivalent of three hundred and sixty-four, the count of the days of the solar year that he rules over all of them to slander, excepting Yom Kippur. Rabbi Ami beiRabbi Abba said, \"Avraham was missing five organs before he was circumcised and [before] he fathered. The [letter] <i>hay</i> (with a numerical value of five) was added [to his name] and he became complete and fathered [corresponding to the complete set of organs, two hundred and forty-eight], the numerical count of his letters.\" \"A woman of valor is the crown of her husband\" (Proverbs 12:4) - that is Sarah. Her name had been Sarai. Two Amoraim (later rabbinic teachers) differed. One said, \"The  [letter] <i>yod</i> (with a numerical count of ten that was taken from her) was divided into two, [to give] a <i>hay</i> to Avaraham and a <i>hay</i> to Sarah.\" And [the other] said, \"The <i>yod</i> that was taken from Sarah raised a protest until Yehoshua came and Moshe added to him a <i>yod</i> - the Lord save you from the counsel of the [other] spies. [The significance of the letters in the name,] Yitschak [is as follows]: <i>Yod</i> (with a numerical count of ten) corresponds to the ten trials [of Avraham]. [The letter] <i>tsadi</i> (with a numerical count of ninety), [as] Sarah was ninety when he was born. [The letter] <i>chet</i> (with a numerical count of eight), [as] he was circumcised on the eighth day. And the letter <i>kof</i> (with a numerical count of one hundred), [as] Avraham was a hundred years old when he was born. Yaakov was called according to [the significance of the letters of] his [own] name: <i>Yod</i> [corresponds to] the tenth of his offspring going backwards. Count from (the last son), Binaymin to Levi - there are ten sons, [and Levi] was the tenth. [The letter] <i>ayin</i> (with a numerical count of seventy corresponds to the number of offspring he took to Egypt), \"with seventy souls\" (Deuteronomy 10:22). <i>Kof</i> corresponds to the [number of the] letters of the blessing [that he received minus the name of God, \"And may He give you etc.\" (Genesis 27:28)]. [The letter] <i>bet</i> (with a numerical count of two) remains, corresponding to two angels (that he saw on the ladder in his dream) rising. There were six hundred and thirteen commandments in the tablets - corresponding to the letters from \"I am\" (Exodus 20:2) to \"to your neighbor\" (Exodus 20:14) - corresponding to the six hundred and thirteen commandments - no less and no more. And they were all given to Moshe at [Mount] Sinai; and in them are statutes and judgments, Torah and Mishnah, Talmud and aggadah. \"The fear of the Lord is his treasure\" (Isaiah 33:6). There is no greater characteristic than fear and humility, [as it is stated] (Deuteronomy 10:12), \"And now Israel, what does the Lord, your God, ask of you besides to fear Him [...].\" \"The fear of\" (<i>Yirat</i>) has a numerical value of six hundred and eleven; and Torah has a numerical value of six hundred and eleven - and Torah and fear [of God] along with them, behold that is six hundred and thirteen. [The numerical value of] fringes (<i>tsitsit</i>) [is six hundred] - the rabbis taught: [Add] eight [strings] and five [knots], behold that is six hundred and thirteen. The days of Avraham were one hundred and seventy-five years, [of] Yitzchak were one hundred and eighty years [and of] Yaakov were a hundred and forty-seven years. When you put them together, it is found to be five hundred and two years. And so is the distance of the the heavens to the earth, \"like the the days of the heavens above the earth\" (Deuteronomy 11:21). \"[The man (David)] raised on high\" (II Samuel 23:1) - [high (<i>al</i>) has a numerical value of one hundred] corresponding to one hundred blessings. As on every day, one hundred men of Israel were dying. [So] David came and ordained [the daily saying of] one hundred blessings. Once he ordained them, the pestilence ceased. High (<i>al</i>) [corresponds to] the yoke (<i>ulah</i>) of Torah and the yoke of suffering. \"Forgive all guilt and take the good (<i>tov</i>) that we pay with the words of our lips\" (Hosea 14:3). Israel said, \"Master of the world, at the time that the Temple existed, we would offer a sacrifice and be cleansed. But now all we have in our hand is prayer.\" The numerical value of <i>tov</i> is seventeen. Prayer [consists of] nineteen blessings. Take away from them the blessing for the malfeasers that was composed at Yavneh, and \"Let the sprout of David blossom,\" which they ordained after it for the sake of \"Probe me, Lord, and try me\" (Psalms 26:2). Rabbi Simon says, \"Take <i>tov</i> [in <i>at-bash</i> (matching letters based on how close they are to the center of the alphabet), which is the same] as the numerical value of soul (<i>nefesh</i>). Israel said, 'At the time that the Temple existed, we would incinerate the fats and the innards and be cleansed. But now behold our fat, our blood and our souls. May it be Your will that it be atonement for us and \"that we pay with the words of our lips\" (Hosea 14:3).'\" \"And the Lord gave her conception (<i>herayon</i>)\" (Ruth 4:13). [<i>Herayon</i>] has a numerical value of two hundred and seventy one (the number of the days of the nine months of birthing).  The measure of the water of a mikveh (ritual bath) is forty <i>seah</i> [corresponding to the forty mentions] of well water, written in the Torah. And [the volume of] how many eggs is the measure of the mikveh? Five thousand seven hundred and sixty. Each <i>seah</i> is a hundred and forty-four eggs. Forty-three and a fifth eggs is the measure of [what is required for] <i>challah</i> [tithe]. And from where [do we know] that a mikveh requires forty <i>seah</i>? As it is written (Isaiah 8:6), \"Since this nation has rejected the waters of Shiloach that flow gently (<i>le'at</i>).\" The numerical value [of <i>le'at</i>] is forty. And one who separates the  measure of the <i>challah</i> [tithe] must separate one part in forty three and a fifth from Torah writ like the [numerical] value of <i>challah</i>. The  main categories of work [on Shabbat] are forty minus one (thirty-nine), as it is written (Exodus 35:1), \"These (<i>eleh</i>) are the things which the Lord commanded.\" [The numerical count of] \"<i>eleh</i>\" is thirty-six; \"things\" (being plural) is two; \"the things\" [indicates an additional] one - behold, forty minus one. \"He shall strike him forty, he shall not add\" (Deuteronomy 25:3), corresponds to the forty curses that the snake, Chava, Adam and the ground were cursed - and the sages lessened one, because of \"he shall not add.\" Those [judges] advocating innocence are more those advocating guilt. [For] it is best for the two to come and push off one. Seshach is Bavel (Babylon) [according to] its numerical value in <i>at-bash</i>. Tavel is Ramlah [according to] its numerical value in <i>al-bam</i> (another numerical scheme). \"Thus (<i>bezot</i>) shall Aaron enter the shrine; with a bull of the herd for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering\" (Leviticus 16:3). <i>Bezot</i> (which has a numerical count of four hundred and ten) is a hint to the first Temple that stood for four hundred and ten years.",
            "",
            "23 \"And the staff of Aharon\" (Numbers 17:21). Some say that it is the staff that was in the hand of Yehudah, as it is stated (Genesis 38:18), \"and the staff in your hand.\" And some say that it is the staff that was in the hand of Moshe. And it blossomed on its own, as it is stated (Numbers 17:23), \"behold the staff of Aharon sprouted.\" And some say that Moshe took one beam, cut it into twelve boards and said to them, \"All of you, take your stick from one source.\" And for what did he do this? \"It is honorable for a man to desist from strife, but every fool becomes embroiled\" (Proverbs 20:3) - so that they not say, \"His stick was damp and [so] flowered.\" And the Holy One, blessed be He, decreed about the stick; and the explicit name [of God] that was on the diadem (<i>tsits</i>) was upon it, as it is stated (Numbers 17:23), \"and a flower came out and it blossomed a blossom (<i>tsits</i>).\" And it flowered at night and made a fruit. \"And it put out (<i>yigmol</i>) almonds (<i>shekedim</i>) - it granted good (<i>gamal</i>) upon anyone who was constant (<i>shakad</i>) with the tribe of Levi. Why almonds and not pomegranates or nuts? Because Israel was compared to them. And that staff was in the hand of each and every king until the Temple was destroyed and it was hidden. And this staff will be in the hand of the king Messiah in the future, quickly in our days - as it is stated (Psalms 110:2), \"The Lord will stretch forth from Zion your mighty staff; hold sway over your enemies.\" "
        ],
        [
            "This is the ordinance - As it is said verse (Job:14): Who gave (brought forth) purity to one who is impure? , such as Abraham from Terah, Hezekiah from Achaz, etc , Israel from the nations of the world, the world to come from  this world. Who did so, who commanded so, who decreed it so, if not The One! (the world's only!) ....! There we learned (Parah 4:4): those who occupy themselves with the Parah from beginning to end, impurify their clothes, but it makes clothes Pure. God said: I carved a law (into the fabric of creation), a decree i made, you have no ability to  transgress (override) My law!",
            "This is the ordinance of the Torah - (Psalms 12:6) The sayings of G-d are pure (purify). R. Hanan Ben Pazzi elucidated this verse [of psalms with the parsha of Parah] Parah- which has seven seven sevens; seven cows, seven fires, seven sprinkling, seven washes, seven unclean, seven pure, seven priests. And if someone tells you they are five, tell him: Moses and Aaron are included, as it is said: And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, This is the ordinance of the Torah:",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "...And they will take for you a red cow - Rabbi Yose son of Rabbi Hanina says, The Holy One blessed be he said to Moses: \"to you I will reveal the reason for the red cow, but for others it will be a decree (without reason)\", as Rav Huna says, \"it is written (Psalms 75:3) \"At the time I choose, I will give judgment righteously/equitably\", and it is written (Zechariah 14:6), \"And it will come to pass on that day there will not be light, yeqarot and qippa'on. The written [tradition of orthography in scrolls] version is \"yiqpa'un\" {future tense = they will float}, [meaning] things which are hidden/covered from you in this world, in the future will float up [to the surface] in the world to come.\"",
            "...R. Acha in the name of R. Chanina said: At the time when Moses ascended to the heavenly heights, he heard the voice of the Holy One, Blessed Be He, who was sitting and studying the [Torah portion of] the Red Heifer, and uttering a halakhah in the name of the one who spoke it. \"R. Eliezer said: a calf [when written in the Torah] is one year old, and a cow is two [years old].\" [Moses] said before Him: \"Master of All the Worlds! May it be Your will that he [R. Eliezer] would be from my loins [i.e. would be my descendant].\" [God] said to him: \"By your life [i.e. assuredly] he is from your loins! For so it says in Scripture (Exodus 18:4): \"...and the name of the other [son of Moses] was 'Eliezer'...\", the same particular name.",
            "A gentile asked Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai, \"These rituals you do, they seem like witchcraft! You bring a heifer, burn it, crush it up, and take its ashes. [If] one of you is impure by the dead [the highest type impurity], 2 or 3 drops are sprinkled on him, and you declare him pure?!\" He said to him, \"Has a restless spirit ever entered you?\" He said to him, \"No!\" \"Have you ever seen a man where a restless spirit entered him?\" He said to him, \"Yes!\" [Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai] said to him, \"And what did you do for him?\" He sad to him, \"We brought roots and made them smoke beneath him, and pour water and it flees.\" He said to him, \"Your ears should hear what leaves from your mouth! The same thing is true for this spirit, the spirit of impurity, as it is written, (Zachariah 13:2) \"Even the prophets and the spirit of impurity will I remove from the land.\" They sprinkle upon him purifying waters, and it [the spirit of impurity] flees.\" After he left, our rabbi's students said, \"You pushed him off with a reed. What will you say to us?\" He said to them, \"By your lives, a dead person doesn't make things impure, and the water doesn't make things pure. Rather, God said, 'I have engraved a rule, I have decreed a decree (chukah chakakti, gezeira gazarti), and you have no permission to transgress what I decreed, as it says \"This is a chok (rule) of the Torah.\"",
            "\"Take the rod ... give the congregation and their cattle drink\" -- From here [we learn] that the Holy One takes pity on Israel's money. \"And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock\" -- similarly it says \"And all of the congregation he gathers to the door of the tent of meeting.\" This teaches that each one saw himself standing on the face of the rock. Likewise, when they crossed the Jordan, all of the Children of Israel entered between the staves of the ark, as it says (Joshua 3): \"Joshua said to the Children of Israel, come near and listen to the words of Hashem.\" [Similarly] here all of Israel were standing and seeing all of the miracles of the rock. They began to say \"Moses knows the rule of the rock. If he asks, it will bring forth water.\" So Moses was uncertain -- \"If I listen to them I nullify the words of the Allpresent, and the Holy One (Job 5:13) 'takes the wise in theןr craftiness.'\" But Moses had been careful for 40 years not to get angry at them, because he was terrified of the oath the Holy One swore: \"Not one of these men will see [the land]...\" They said to him: \"Here is a rock; just as you want to bring forth water from another rock, bring it forth from this one.\" He shouted at them \"Hear now, you rebels!\" \"Rebels (morim)\" has many meanings: 1) \"stubborn ones\" 2) \"fools\" -- in the sea villages they call fools \"morim\". 3) \"those who teach their teachers\" 4) \"archers\" (In I Sam 31:3 the word \"morim\" is used to mean \"archers\".)  ... Even so, Moses only used the rock that the Holy One told him [to use].",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "\"Those are the Waters of Merivah [...]\" (Numbers 20:13). From here you learn that it was set from before that Moshe would be punished at [these] Waters. See what is written, \"And they returned and they came to En-mishpat (literally, the Spring of Judgment), which is Kadesh […]\" (Genesis 14:7). That is the spring of Moshe's judgement, [which is Kadesh]. \"Those are the Waters of Merivah\" (Numbers 20:13). And it is called Kadesh, on account of that which is stated (Numbers 20:12), \"to sanctify Me in the eyes of the Children of Israel.” (Numbers 20:13) \"Those are the Waters of Merivah\": There is a parable: To what is this comparable? To the son of a king that took a stone and blinded his [own] eye. Upon each and every stone, his father would say, \"This is what blinded my son's eye.\" Hence it is stated, \"Those (in the plural) are the waters of Merivah.\"",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "\"And God sent against the nation the burning snakes\" (Bamidbar 21:1). Why did he punish [lit. collect from] them with snakes? Since the snake was the first to speak slander and was cursed for it, and they did not learn from it, the Holy One Blessed Be He said: The snake should come, which was the first to speak slander, and punish the speakers of slander, as it says (Ecclesiastes 10:8): \"And one who breaks a fence, a snake will bit him.\" Another explanation: Why were they punished by snakes? The snake, even if it partakes of all the delectable foods of the world, they turn into dust in its mouth, as it says (Isaiah 65:25): \"And a snake, dust is its bread\" - but these [the Jews] eat man, which turns into many flavors, as it says (Psalms 106:15): \"And He gave to them what they asked\", and it says (Devarim 20:7): \"For these forty years Hashem your God has been with you; you have not lacked anything\" - the snake, which eats many things and taste one taste, should come punish these who eat one thing and taste many tastes.",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "...\"Do not fear him\" - this is [the meaning of] that which Scripture stated (Proverbs 28:14), \"Happy is the man who always fears.\" And this is the trait of the righteous: even though the Holy One, blessed be He, reassures them, they do not relinquish fear. And so [was it] with Jacob - \"and Jacob feared\" (Genesis 32:8). Why did he fear? He said, \"Maybe I have been tarnished by something [when I was] with Laban... so the Holy One, blessed be He, abandoned me.\" And so too did Moses take hold of fear corresponding to his [fore] father. And why did he fear? He said, \"Maybe Israel misappropriated [some goods] in the war with Sichon or became tarnished with a sin.\" The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, \"Do not fear\"...",
            "33 Another interpretation of (Numb. 21:17), \"Then Israel sang\": This is one of the three things that Moses said before the Holy One, blessed be He, and He said [back] to him, \"You have taught me.\" He said in front of Him, \"Master of the Universe, from where does Israel know what they did (was wrong)? Did they not grow up in Egypt? And all of Egypt are idolaters. And when You gave the Torah, You did not give it to them, and they were also not standing there, as it is stated (Exod. 20:18), 'And the people stood from afar.' And You only gave it to me, as it is stated (Exod. 24:1), 'And He said to Moses, \"Ascend to the Lord.'\" And when You gave the statements (Ten Commandments), You did not give [them] to them. You did not say, 'I am the Lord, your (plural) God'; but rather I am the Lord, your (singular) God. [Hence] You said it to me. Did I sin?\" The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, \"By your life, you have spoken well. You have taught Me! From now on, I will say the expression, 'I am the Lord, your (plural) God.'\" The second one is when the Holy One, blessed be He, said ( in Numb. 34:7), \"visiting the iniquity of the parents upon the children\": Moses said, \"Master of the Universe, how many evildoers begat righteous ones; should they be removed by the iniquities of their parents? Terach was an idol-maker, but his son, Abraham, was righteous; so too Hezekiah was righteous, but Ahaz, his father was an evildoer; Josiah was righteous, but Amon, his father, was an evildoer. Is this proper, that the righteous be struck for the iniquities of their parents?\" The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, \"Behold, you have taught Me! By your life, I will nullify My words and preserve your words, as it is stated (Deut. 24:15), ‘The parents shall not die for the children, and the children shall not die for the parents'; and it is by your life that I shall write [these things] in your name, as it is stated (II Kings 14:6), 'as it is written in the Torah of Moses, which God commanded ....'\" The third one is when the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, \"Make war on Sichon; even if he does not want to engage with you, wage war with him, as stated (Deut. 2:24), 'Get up, go and cross the Arnon .'\" But Moses did not do like this. Rather what is written above? \"And I sent messengers\" (Deut. 2:26). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, \"By your life, I will nullify My words and preserve your words, as it is stated (Deut. 20:11), 'When you approach a town to attack it, you shall offer it terms of peace.'\" Once Sichon did not accept, the Holy One, blessed be He, felled him in front of them, as it is stated (Deut. 20:33), \"and we smote him.\" And not only that, but even [with] those that were hiding themselves in the caves to kill [the Israelites], the Holy One, blessed be He, signaled to the mountain and it crushed them, as it is stated (Ps. 74:13-14), \"who smashed the heads of the monsters in the waters. It was You who crushed the heads of Leviathan.\" A common proverb says [that] if you gave bread to an infant, let his mother know. The Holy One, blessed be He, said, \"From where will Israel know the favor I did for them?\" What did He do? He distanced the mountains from each other and the streams swept down [the corpses], as it is stated (Numb 21:17), \"And the streams poured.\" And the Israelites passed by and sang song - \"then Israel sang\" (Numb. 21:17). Israel said, \"It is for You to do miracles for us, but it is for us to bless and laud Your name\" - \"Salvation is to the Lord; upon Your people is Your blessing, Selah\" (Ps. 3:9). Upon the waters was it decreed against Moses, so he was not mentioned in the song. Moses said, \"Master of the Universe, \"I am dying because of them. You gave them the Torah from the wilderness, as it is stated, (Numb. 21:18), 'and from the wilderness, Matanah (which is also the word for gift).' And they possessed (<i>nachalu</i>) it from my hands, as it is stated (Numb. 21:19), 'And from Matanah, Nachliel.'\" And from when they possessed it, You decreed death upon me, as it is stated (Numb. 21:19), \"and from Nachliel, Bamot\" - and from possession comes death (<i>menachal, ba mot</i>). \"And from Bamot, Haggai in the field of Moav\" (Numb. 21:20), as it is stated (Deut. 34:6), \"And He buried him in the valley in the land of Moav.\" Job said, \"He is not partial to princes; the noble are not preferred to the wretched; for all of them are the work of His hands\" (Job 34:19)."
        ],
        [
            "\"And Balak son of Zippor saw\": The Torah says (Deuteronomy 32) \"The Rock--perfect is His work for all of His ways are justice.\" Hashem did not give the non-Jews an opening to say in the future \"You have distanced us.\" What did Hashem do? Just like He set up kings and sages and prophets for the Jews, He set these up for the non-Jews. He set up Shlomo as a king over the Jews and the entire earth, and He did the same for Nebuchadnezzar. This one built the Beit Hamikdash and said \"How many praises and supplications there are!\" and this one destroyed it and scoffed and said (Isaiah 14): \"I will ascend to the heights of the clouds.\" He gave David riches, and he took his house for His Name. And he gave Haman riches, and he took an entire nation to be slaughtered. All the greatness that the Jews took, you find that the nations took. Another example: He set up Moshe for the Jews and Bilaam for the nations. Understand what the difference is between Jewish prophets and non-Jewish prophets? Jewish prophets exhort the people about their sins, as it says (Ezekiel 3): \"And you, son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman etc.\" And the prophet from among the nations caused a breach to drive the creations from the world. Not only this, but all the prophets were [given prophecy] from the attribute of mercy on the Jews and the non-Jews, as Yirmiyah said (Jeremiah 48): \"My heart to Moav is as pipes moan.\" And as Yechezkel said (Ezekiel 27): \"Son of man, lament for Tyre.\" And this cruel one stood to uproot an entire nation for no reason. Therefore the passage of Bilaam was written, to make it known why Hashem took away the holy spirit from non-Jews, for this one was from them and see what he did.",
            "\"And Balak the son of Zippor saw\"",
            "",
            "",
            "5 \"And he sent messengers\" (Numbers 22:5). The Holy One, blessed be He, made miracles for them; and the Holy One, blessed be He, said, \"I redeem you and do miracles for you, but your rebel against Me. Come and see the seven salvations that I saved you - and you should have been obligated to praise Me seven times, corresponding to the seven salvations. And likewise it states (Judges 10:11-12), \"But the Lord said to the Children of Israel, 'Is it not that from the Egyptians, from the Amorites, from the Ammonites, and from the Philistines. And the Sidonians, Amalek, and Maon, etc., when you cried out to Me, I saved you from them.'\" Behold seven salvations. But you rebelled against Me with seven idolatries, as it is stated (Judges 10:6), \"The Israelites again did what was offensive in the eyes of the Lord; they served the Baalim and the Ashtaroth [...].\" And likewise does He rebuke them, \"'My people, what wrong have I done you; what hardship have I caused you' (Micah 6:3) What burden have I given to you? Did I say to you, 'Bring me burnt-offerings from the animals in the mountains?' Three animals are in your possession (according to Deuteronomy 14:4): 'the bull, the sheep, and the goat.' And seven are not in your possession (according to Deuteronomy 14:5): 'The deer, the gazelle, the roebuck, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope, and the mountain sheep.' Did I burden you to bring a sacrifice in front of Me from the animals which are not in your possession? I only commanded you from the animals which are in your possession, as it is stated (in Leviticus 22:27), 'A bull or a sheep or a goat.' And likewise, 'from the animals; (and) from the cattle and from the sheep' (Leviticus 1:2). And when Sichon and Og came out to fight against you, did I not bring them down before you? 'What hardship did I cause you?' Did I say to you to bring a sacrifice to them? Did Balak son of Tsippor not see that I did all of the miracles for you, so he hired Bilaam against you? But I turned the curses into blessings.",
            "6 \"And Balak saw\" (Numbers 22:2) When his messengers came to Bilaam, the Holy One, blesed be He, said to him, \"Who are these people\" (Numbers 22:9). Bilaam said to him, (Numbers 22:10), \"Balak son of Beor, king of Moav, sent to me.\" Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said, \"This is one of three people that the Holy One, blessed be He, examined and found to be a carriage of urine: Kayin, Chizkiyah and Bilaam. Kayin - at the time that the Holy One, blessed be He, said, 'Where is Hevel, your brother' (Genesis 4:9), he sought to - as if it were possible - deceive Him. He should have said, 'Master of the world, the hidden things and the revealed things are revealed in front of You, and You ask me about me about my brother?' Instead he said to Him (Genesis 4:9), 'I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?' The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, 'By your life, this is how you spoke? \"The blood of your brother is crying out.\"' Chizkiyah - when he got up (recovered) from his illness, Merodach-baladan sent him a gift - as it is stated (Isaiah 39:1), 'At that time, Merodach-baladan, sent' - Yishayah came [and] said to him, 'What did those people say, and from where did they come to you.' He should have said, 'You are a prophet of the Omnipresent, and you ask me?' Instead he began to be haughty and said (Isaiah 39:3), 'From a distant land; they have come from Babylonia.' Isaiah said, 'Since you have spoken like this (Isaiah 39:6-7), \"Days are coming when everything in your palace, will be carried off [...]. And some of your sons, your own issue, whom you will have fathered, will be taken to serve as eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylonia.\"' And likewise Bilaam the evildoer - at the time that Balak sent to him, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, 'Who are these people with you'; he should have said, 'Master of the world, 'Everything is revealed in front of You and there is not anything hidden from you, and You ask me?' Instead, he said to Him (Numbers 22:10), 'Balak son of Beor, king of Moav, sent to me.' The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, 'Since you speak to Me like this (Numbers 22:12), \"you may not curse the nation.\"' The Holy One, blessed be He, said, 'Evildoer of the world, it is written about Israel (Zechariah 2:12), \"since one who touches you is like one who touches the pupil of his eye,\" and you are going to touch them and curse them? His eye shall be removed.' As it is stated (Numbers 24:3), 'with the shut eye,' to fulfill, whoever 'touches them is like one who touches the pupil of his eye.'\" "
        ],
        [
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "8 \"To these apportion the land\" (Numbers 26:53) And who are they? The ones standing on the Plains of Moav. And was the land not apportioned to those that left Egypt? As it is written (Exodus 6:8), \"and I will give it to you as a possession.\" [So] for what reason was it not apportioned to them? Because the Holy One, blessed be He, foresaw that families from [those that left Egypt] would be destroyed. And who are they? [Of] those written above (Genesis 46:10), \"And the children of Shimon were Yemuel, Yamin, Ohad, Yakhin, Tsohar and Shaul,\" when you read \"to Nemuel, the Nemeulite family\" (Numbers 26:12-13), one is not there. And so [too,] with Binyamin: \"Bela, Bekher, etc.\" (Genesis 26:21), behold there are ten. But when you come to count them [you read], \"to Belaa, the Belaaite family [etc.] (Numbers 26:38-40), five of the sons are missing. Behold [those missing] were lost. Behold six families got lost from the licentiousness of the counsel of Bilaam. There is no [licentiousness] that does not accomplish its [end]. Hence the Holy One, blessed be He, said, \"[Why should] I apportion the land to people who will be die in the future?\" Once they came to the Plains of Moav, and they stood resiliently, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, \"To these apportion the land\" (Numbers 26:53).",
            "9 This is [the meaning of] that which is stated (Proverbs 18:18), \"The lot puts an end to strife.\" Since a sign was written for each and every tribe from Yaakov - \"Zevulun will dwell on the shore of the seas\" (Genesis 49:13); \"Yissachar is a boney donkey, etc.\" (Genesis 49:14); \"From Asher, his bread is fat\" (Genesis 49:20) – you are only permitted to divide [the land] by the lot. And there were miraculous acts in the lottery: Elazar the Priest wears the <i>Urim and Tumim</i>. And the slips of the lottery were in front of Yehoshua, as stated (Joshua 18:6) \"And I will cast the lot for you here in front of the Lord.\" But before the lot went up, Elazar said with the holy spirit, “The lot of tribe x is coming up, to take place y.” And Yehoshua would extend his hand and [it] would come up [into his hand. It was] as it is stated (Joshua 19:51), \"These are the inheritances that Elazar the Priest and Yehoshua ben Nun apportioned.\" And this was [even] more; that the lot would yell out at the time that it went up, \"I am the lot of tribe x; I have gone up to it in place y.\" And from where [do we know] that the lot speaks? As it is stated (Numbers 26:56), \"By the mouth of (according to) the lot.\"",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "18 R. Hiyya bar Abba said, “My creatures do not need My creatures. In your days, have you heard one saying, ‘Water this vine with wine, so that it will produce much wine,’ [or] ‘Water this olive tree with oil, so that it will produce much oil.’ My creatures do not need My creatures and I should need My creatures?” R. Jannai said, “It is customary that when a man is walking by a river, it is impossible for him not to drink two or three <i>log</i>. Now all the seas and all the water would fill the hollow of My hand, as stated (in Is. 40:12), ‘Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand?’ But [yet] I have written about your <i>log</i> (in Numb. 28:7), ‘poured as an offering of fermented drink,’ [which is] an expression of drinking, an expression of satiation, an expression of inebriation.” ",
            "19 I have created one animal in My world, and man is not able to support its victuals. And which is it? That is (in Ps. 50:10), “the behemoths on a thousand mountains.” R. Johanan, R. Simeon ben Laqish and the sages [disagreed about this]. R. Johanan said, “It was one animal crouching on a thousand mountains and a thousand mountains would produce many types of food, for the righteous to eat in the future to come, as stated (in Is. 65:10), ‘Sharon shall become a pasture for flocks, and the Valley of Achor a place for cattle to lie down.’” And the Sages say, “It crouches upon the thousand mountains, and the thousand mountains produce animals every day and it eats [them].” What is the explanation? [As] (in Job 40:20, cont.), “and all the beasts of the field play there.” Is it possible for a grazing animal to eat a grazing animal? R. Tanchuma says, “Great is the work of our God and how great are His acts.” And from where does it drink? R. Joshua ben Levi says, “It drinks up with one swallow all that the Jordan produces in six months, as stated (in Job 40:23), ‘He can restrain the river from its rushing; he is confident the Jordan will gush at his command.’ And the sages say, “It drinks up with one swallow all that the Jordan produces in twelve months, as stated (in Job 40:23), ‘He can restrain the river from its rushing; he is confident the Jordan will gush at his command.’ But it only has a moistening of the mouth [from it].” R. Huna said in the name of R. Joseph, “It did not [even] have a moistening of the mouth.” And [so] from where does it drink? R. Simeon ben Yochai taught (form Gen. 2:10), “’A river issues from Eden to water the garden’ and its name is Yuval, as stated (in Jer. 17:8), ‘sending forth its roots by a stream (<i>yuval</i>),’ and it drinks from it.” R. Chiya taught in the name of R. Meir (from Job 12:7), “’But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the sky, they will tell you’: ’But ask the beasts,’ this is the behemoth; ‘the birds of the sky,’ this is the <i>ziz</i> of the Omnipresent (a giant bird). [(Job 12:8) ‘Or speak to the earth, it will teach you; the fish of the sea, they will inform you’:] ‘Or speak to the earth,’ this is the Garden of Eden; ‘The fish of the sea,’ that is the leviathan. (Job 12:9) ‘Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?’” ",
            "20 You have one king and his name was Solomon, as stated (about the lavishness of his meals in I Kings 5:2-3), “Solomon’s daily provisions consisted of thirty <i>kor</i> of semolina, and sixty <i>kor</i> of [ordinary] flour, ten fattened oxen […].” R. Yehuda bar Zvidah said, “Solomon had a thousand wives and each and every one would make him like this every day, as she thought he would eat with her. [And] Nehemiah the governor did not [even] have the ability to reckon his meal, as stated (in Neh. 5:18), ‘And although what was prepared for each day came to one ox […].’ The Holy One, blessed be He, said, ‘My children, it is not because there is eating and drinking in front of Me that I said [it] to you. Rather it is because of the smell; that you shall be joyful and pleasant in front of Me, like a pleasing smell.’”",
            "21 (Numb 28:2) “Guard to offer it to Me at its set time”: This text is related (to Prov. 13:25), “The righteous man eats to satiate his soul.” This is Eliezer who said to Rebekah (in Gen. 24:17), “Please let me sip a bit of water,” enough to sip. (Prov. 13:25, cont.) “But the belly of the wicked is lacking.” That is Esau who said to Jacob (in Gen. 25:30), “Please stuff me (<i>haliteini</i>).” R. Isaac bar Zeira said, “He opened his mouth wide like a camel and said, ‘I will open my mouth and you put it in.’” It is taught there (Mishnah Shabbat 24:3), “One may not forcibly overfeed a camel on Shabbat and one may not force-feed it. However, one may place food into its mouth (<i>malitin</i>).” (Prov. 13:25), “The righteous man eats to satiate his soul”: This is Ruth about whom it is written (in Ruth 2:14), “and she ate her fill and had some left over.” As blessing dwelt in the mouth of that righteous woman. (Prov. 13:25, cont.) “But the belly of the wicked is lacking”: That is the gentiles. There was a story about a gentile who made a banquet for all the people of his city: R. Dustai said, “He invited me to that banquet, with all the people of his city, and his table was not lacking any of the tasty foods of the world except for <i>perekh</i> nuts alone. What did he do? He took the serving table that was in front of us that was worth more than sixty talents of silver and he broke it. I said to him, ‘Why did you do this?’ He said to me, ‘You say that this world is ours and the next world is yours. If we do not [get to] eat now, when will we eat?’ I read [as being] about him (Prov. 13:25, cont.), ‘but the belly of the wicked is lacking.’” ",
            "",
            "23 \"Command the Children of Israel\" (Numbers 28:2). This is [the meaning of] that which was stated by the verse (Job 27:23), \"The Omnipresent we have not found to be of great power\"; and [yet] it is written (in Job 36:22), \"It is true that God is beyond reach in His power.\" How are these two verses [resolved]? Rather [it is that] when He gives to [Israel], He gives to them according to His power. But when He requests something from them, He only requests according to their power. See what is written (Exodus 26:1), \"As for the Tabernacle, make it of ten curtains.\" But in the future, the Holy One, blessed be He, will make a canopy from clouds of glory for each and every righteous person, as it is stated (in Is. 4:5), \"The Lord will create over the whole shrine and meeting place of Mount Zion cloud by day and smoke with a glow of flaming fire by night; indeed over all the glory shall hang a canopy.\" And why is smoke in the canopy? Since anyone whose eyes were smoky and stingy with his students in this world will have his canopy filled with smoke in the world to come. Why is there fire in the canopy? [It is coming to] teach that each and every righteous person is lit up from the canopy of his fellow, that is more elevated than he; with light the radiance of which shines from [one] end of the world to the [other] end. Hence it is written, \"It is true that God is beyond reach in His power.\" When He requested something from them, He only requested according to their power, as it is stated (Exodus 27:20), \"And you shall command [...].\" But when He lit up for them, it was according to His power, as it is stated (Exodus 13:21), \"And the Lord went in front of them by day.\" [Moreover, about] the future to come, it is stated (Isaiah 60:1-3), \"Arise, My light [...]. But upon you the Lord will shine, and His Presence be seen over you. And nations shall walk by your light; kings, by your shining radiance. And it is written, (Isaiah 30:26), \"And the light of the moon shall become like the light of the sun […].\" Hence, \"It is true that God is beyond reach in His power.\" When He requested something from them, He only requested according to their power, as it is stated (Exodus 23:19), \"The choice first fruits of your land.\" But when He gives to them, it is according to His power, as it is stated (Ezekiel 47:12), \"All kinds of trees for food will grow up on both banks of the stream; their leaves will not wither nor their fruit fail; they will yield new fruit every month.\" What is [the meaning of] \"they will yield new fruit every month?\" That each and every tree yields new fruit each and every month, [such that] the new fruit of this month is not like the new fruit of another month. When He requested something from them, He only requested according to their power, as it is stated (Leviticus 23:40), \"And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of a beautiful true.\" But when He gives, it is according to His power, as it is stated (Isaiah 41:19), \"I will give in the wilderness cedar, acacia […].\" [And it is also written] (Isaiah 55:13), \"Instead of the brier, a cypress shall rise.\" ",
            "24 (Numb. 29:35) “On the eighth day you shall have a solemn assembly”: This text is related (to Is. 26:16), “You have added to the nation O Lord.\" The Community of Israel said in front of the Holy One, blessed be He, “Master of the world, You added [years of] tranquility to the generation of the flood, did they maybe ever offer a single bull or a single ram? It is not enough that they did not offer, but they [even] said (in Gen. 11:4), ‘Let us build for ourselves a city.’ And so too with the Sodomites, and so too with Pharaoh, and so too with Sennacherib and so too with Nebuchadnezzar. Did they maybe ever offer a single bull or a single ram? It is not enough that they did not offer [anything] in front of You, but they even angered You. And to whom is it fitting for You to add tranquility and glory? To Israel, as stated (in Is. 26:16), ‘You have added to the nation.’” And a nation is only referring to Israel, as stated (in II Sam. 7:23), “And who is like Your people Israel, a unique nation on earth.” The community of Israel said in front of the Holy One, blessed be He, “Master of the world, You should add festivals for us, and we shall offer sacrifices in front of You as is fitting.” (Is. 26:16, cont.) “You have been honored,” “You have given us new moons, and we sacrifice in front of You [then], as is stated (in Numb. 28:11), ‘And on new moons.’ You have given us Passover, we have sacrificed to You; You have given us Pentecost, we have sacrificed to You; You have given us the New Year, we have sacrificed to You; You have given us the Day of Atonement, we have sacrificed to You. And so too on the Festival [of Tabernacles]. We have not ignored [the sacrifices for] even one festival.” The Community of Israel said, “You should add festivals for us, and we shall offer sacrifices in front of You and honor You.” (Is. 26:16, cont.) “You have added to the nation and been honored […].” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, “By your lives, I will not take away holidays [from you], but I will add festivals for you to rejoice in them, as stated (in Numb. 29:35), ‘On the eighth day you shall have a solemn assembly.’” "
        ],
        [],
        [
            "A Halakha: <u>Is one who is pursued by non-Jews or bandits allowed to transgress the laws of Sabbath?</u> Our Rabbis taught: One who is pursued by non-Jews or bandits is permitted to transgress the laws of Sabbath, in order to save his life. Thus we also find with David: When Saul attempted to kill him, he fled and escaped. Our Rabbis said: It once happened that they came to the [Jewish] leadership in Sepphoris with harsh orders from the [Roman] government. They went and said to R. Elazar b. Parta: O Rabbi! We have received harsh orders from the government. What do you say we should do, should we flee? He feared telling them to flee explicitly, so he hinted to them: \"Why are you asking me? Go and ask Yaakov, Moshe, and David\". What does it say about Yaakov? (Hosea 12): \"And Jacob fled.\" Also about Moshe, (Exodus 2): \"Moshe fled.\" And also about David, (I Samuel 19): \"David fled and escaped.\" It also says (Isaiah 26): \"Go my people, enter your rooms.\" The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to them: Such great ones were fearful and fled from those who hated them, yet for those forty years that you were in the desert, I did not let them flee. Instead I felled all their haters before them, in that I myself that was with them. Not only that, but there were all kinds of snakes, serafim, and scorpions there: (Deuteronomy 8): \"Snakes, sefarim, and scorpions\", yet I did not allow them to hurt you. Therefore The Holy One Blessed Be He said to Moshe: Record the journeys that Israel undertook in the desert, it order that they should know what kind of miracles I performed from them. How [will they know]? From all that they read regarding \"These are the journeys\".",
            "2 This is what is stated in the verse (Psalms 77:21), \"You led (<i>nachita</i>) Your people like a flock through Moshe and Aharon.\" What is [the meaning of] <i>nachita</i>? It is the expression of an acrostic: Rabbi Eliezer says, \"You did <i>Nissim</i> (miracles) for them; You gave them <i>Chaim</i> (life); You split the <i>Yam Suf</i> (Reed Sea) for them; You gave them the <i>Torah</i> through Moshe and Aharon.\" Rabbi Yehoshua says, \"You did <i>Niflaot</i> (wonders) for them; You gave them <i>Cherut</i> (freedom); <i>Yamincha</i> (Your right hand) delivered them; You gave them <i>Tilluy rosh</i> (holding the head high) through Moshe and Aharon.\" Our masters said, \"<i>Nevi'im</i> (prophets) did You raise up from them; <i>Hasidim</i> (saints) did You raise up from them; <i>Yesharim</i> (upright ones) did You raise up from them; <i>Temimim</i> (unblemished ones) did You raise up from them through Moses and Aharon.\" Another interpretation [of] <i>nachita</i>: Rabbi Akiva says, \"You did <i>Noraot</i> (dreadful things) to their enemies; You sent<i>Charon af</i> (waxing anger) against them and You fought against them; You covered them with <i>Tehomot</i> (depths) through Moshe and Aharon. Another interpretation of (Psalms 77:21), \"You led Your people like a flock\": What is [the meaning of] flock? Just like one does not bring a flock under the shade of a roof (indoors), so too Israel when they were in the wilderness were not brought under the shade of a roof for forty years. Hence they were compared to a flock. Another interpretation of  (Psalms 77:21), \"You led Your people like a flock\": Just like a flock does not have storerooms collected for them but rather only graze from the wilderness, so too Israel for the forty years that they were in the wilderness were fed without storehouses. . Hence they were compared to a flock. Another interpretation of (Psalms 77:21), \"You led Your people like a flock\": And just like a flock follows to anywhere that the shepherd leads them, so too Israel journeyed to any place that Moshe and Aharon took them, as it is stated, \"These are the journeys of the Children of Israel\" - in order to fulfill that which is stated, \"You led Your people like a flock through Moshe and Aharon.\"",
            "3 (Numbers 33:1) \"These are the stages of the Children of Israel\": [The matter] is comparable to a king whose son was ill. He brought him to a certain place to heal him. When they returned, his father began recounting the stages, “Here we slept. Here we cooled off. Here you had a headache.” Similarly the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moshe, \"Recount to them all the places where they provoked Me.\" It is therefore stated (in Numbers 33:1), \"These are the stages....\" ",
            "4 Another interpretation: Why did all these stages (places) merit to be written in the Torah? Since they received (accommodated) Israel, the Holy One, blessed be He, will give them their reward in the future. It is so stated (in Isaiah 35:1-2), \"The arid desert shall be glad.... It shall blossom abundantly, it shall also exult....\" And if the desert [will receive] such for receiving Israel; one who receives a Torah scholar into his home, all the more so [will he be rewarded]. You find that in the future the desert will be a settlement and a settlement will be a desert. And where is it shown a settlement will be a desert in the future? It is so stated (Malachi 1:3), \"And I have hated Esav and will make his hills a desolation.\" And where is it shown a desert will be a settlement in the future? It is so stated (Isaiah 41:8), \"I will make a desert into a lake of water.\" Now there are no trees in the desert, but there will be trees there in the future, as stated (Isaiah  41:19), \"I will put cedar and acacia in the desert....\" Now there is no path there, as it is all sand. But there will be a path there in the future, as stated (Isaiah 43:19), \"I will place a path in the desert […].\" And it states (Isaiah 35:8), \"And there will be a highway there, and it shall be called the Sacred Way [...].\"",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "8 (Numbers 34:2) When you come to the Land of Israel: This is what is stated in the verse (in Numbers 23:19), \"God is not a man to be deceitful,\" [meaning] a man will not make God deceitful; \"nor the son of\" Amram (this is a play on words, as the verse reads, the son of man, \"Adam\") to make Him \"change His mind.\" As [only after God] said, \"Let Me go and I will destroy them,\" did the son of Amram stand and make Him change His mind, as stated (Exodus 32:14), \"And the Lord rescinded the evil that He was saying to do to His people.\" Another interpretation (of Numbers 23:19): \"God is not a man to be deceitful,\" with the good. When He speaks to bring good – even if the generation is liable – He does not delay [it]. But when He speaks to bring evil, He does go back on it, as it is stated (Numbers 23:19), \"He said it but does not do [it].\" You should know that He said to Avraham (Genesis 15:5), \"Look toward heaven and count the stars [...].\" And He did it, as stated (Deuteronomy 1:10), \"The Lord, your God, multiplied you, and behold you are today....\" [But when] He said to Avraham (Genesis 15:13), \"Know well that your offspring shall be strangers [... four hundred years],\" they only did two hundred and ten years. That is [the meaning of], \"God is not a man to be deceitful\" – with the good. But with the evil, \"He said it but does not do [it].\" [In this vein,] He said to Israel, \"As you are not My people\" (Hosea 1:9). But He went back and said, \"And I will say to Not My People, 'You are My people'\" (Hosea 2: 25). That is [the meaning of], \"He said it but does not do [it].\" He said to Avraham, \"As I will give [the land] to you and your offspring\" (Genesis 26:3), and He did not go back [on it]. As it is stated (Numbers 34:2), \"when you come to the Land of Canaan,\" and He brought them into the Land.",
            "",
            "",
            "",
            "This is as the verse says (Psalms 111:6) \"He revealed the strength of His deeds to His people, [in giving them the heritage of nations]\". The Holy Blessed One said to Israel, \"I could have created for you a new land; but, for the sake of showing you My strength, I will kill your enemies before you and give you their land; in order to fulfill what is written, \"He revealed the strength of His deeds to His people, in giving them the heritage of nations\" (ibid).",
            "\"And you shall provide yourselves with cities\" (Numbers 35:11), this is what the verse says, \"Good and upright is the Lord, therefore He shows sinners the way.\" (Psalms 25:8) \"Remember Your mercy, O God, and your lovingkindness.\" (Psalms 25:6). David said, Master of the Universe, were it not for the fact that Your lovingkindness preceded the First Man, he would not have been able to stand, as it says \"For the day you eat of it [the tree of knowledge of good and evil] you will surely die\" (Genesis 2:17). And You did not do this; rather, You brought him out from the Garden of Eden and he lived for 930 years(!) and only after that did he die. Why did you do that to him, to drive him out from the Garden of Eden, as it says (Genesis 3:24)  \"and He drove out the man\"? Why was he driven out, since he brought death upon the generations, and he was sentenced to immediate death? Rather, You had mercy upon him and drove him off, just as the accidental killer is exiled to a city of refuge. Thus it says, \"Remember Your mercy, O God, and Your lovingkindness, etc.\" Once Moshe stood and the Holy Blessed One told him, \"Provide yourselves with cities...\", Moshe said \"Master of the Universe, this one killed by accident in the south or the north; how will he know where the city of refuge is, that he may flee to it?\" God replied, \"'Set for yourselves the path... [i.e. to the cities of refuge]' (Deuteronomy 19:3), orient for yourselves the path so that you will not be mistaken and find the blood avenger and he will kill you \"and there will be for him no death penalty\" (Deuteronomy 19:6).\" He [Moshe] said again, \"How?\" He [God] said to him, set up for yourselves signs [<i>istlayot</i>] pointing to the cities of refuge, that they will know where to travel. And on every sign write \"Killer to the city of refuge\", as it says \"prepare for yourselves the way\". Thus said David, \"Good and upright is the Lord, therefore He shows sinners the way.\" If for killers He makes a path and a road for them to flee by and be saved, all the more so for righteous! \"He guides the humble in justice, and teaches the humble His way\" (Psalms 25:9). \"And the killer shall flee there who has killed a soul by accident\" -- but not on purpose. If he kills on purpose and he says \"I accidentally killed\" and flees to the cities of refuge, the Holy Blessed One says, even if he flees and enters to My altar, you shall kill him, as it says (Exodus 21:14) \"And if a person schemes, etc [against another, and kills him treacherously, you shall take him from My very altar to be put to death]\". And who was it who fled to the altar and was killed? Yoav, as it says (I Kings 2:28) \"When the news reached Joab, he fled to the Tent of the LORD [and grasped the horns of the altar]...\". And it says (II Samuel 23:8) \"Tahchemonite, the chief officer\" -- he did not know that it is written in the Torah \"And if a person schemes, etc\" that he went and grasped the horns of the altar. Rather it says \"Those killed by the court are not buried in the graves of their fathers, rather they alone; it is better for me that I die here and be buried in the graves of my fathers\". (I Kings 3:30-31) \"Benaiah reported back to the king that Joab had answered thus and thus, and the king said, 'Do just as he said; strike him down and bury him, and remove guilt from me and my father’s house for the blood of the innocent that Joab has shed.'\" And why was he killed? For so David his [Shlomo's] father had commanded him -- \"Further, you know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me, what he did to the two commanders of Israel’s forces, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether: he killed them\" (I Kings 2:5). What did he do to him..."
        ]
    ],
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        "Chapter",
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}