Estudiar Biblia hebrea
Estudiar Biblia hebrea

Talmud sobre Habacuc 3:9

עֶרְיָ֤ה תֵעוֹר֙ קַשְׁתֶּ֔ךָ שְׁבֻע֥וֹת מַטּ֖וֹת אֹ֣מֶר סֶ֑לָה נְהָר֖וֹת תְּבַקַּע־אָֽרֶץ׃

Descubrióse enteramente tu arco, Los juramentos á las tribus, palabra segura.  (Selah.) Hendiste la tierra con ríos.

Tractate Kallah Rabbati

BARAITHA. Subordinate your will to the will of Heaven; for so we find that Jacob did not kiss Joseph.
GEMARA. Why did he not kiss him? He thought that, since he was away from home, women may have led him astray because of his beauty; as it is written, And he presented himself unto him, and fell on his neck.121Gen. 46, 29, which does not mention Jacob kissing his son. [Joseph] wanted to kiss him but he would not let him do so, as it is written, And he wept on his neck a good while.122ibid., a good while is explained that Joseph kept on weeping but Jacob still did not kiss him. That is to say, he [only] kissed him when he died, as it is written, And wept upon him, and kissed him.123ibid. L, 1. Joseph said, ‘Thirty-nine years have [passed] before him124i.e. it was thirty-nine years since Joseph left home. As Jacob lived in Egypt seventeen years (ibid. XLVII, 28), Joseph must have been separated from his father twenty-two years. and I have not kissed my father’s mouth, and now shall I bury him without kissing him?’ That is the meaning of what is written, And Israel beheld Joseph’s sons and said: Who are these?125ibid. XLVIII, 8. Did he not know until then who they were? But [Jacob] inquired of him whether they had been born in wedlock,126lit. ‘with a kethubah’, i.e. according to the Hebrew marriage law. and when he showed him the kethubah his mind became at rest and he kissed them for the sake of Joseph.
Raba said: Infer from this that [Joseph] was aroused sexually by her;127viz. Potiphar’s wife (ibid. XXXIX, 7ff), otherwise Jacob would not have doubted Joseph’s moral purity. for should you say that he was not aroused by her, it has been taught:128B.M. 83b (Sonc. ed., pp. 478f.). The reference is to the story of R. Eleazar b. Simeon, who had a man arrested because of his insolence towards him and subsequently hanged. R. Eleazar regretted his action, but was assured by his disciples that the man must have been guilty of a capital crime. On hearing this, he felt relieved and reassured that his own body would not decompose after his death. He laid his hand upon his heart129lit. ‘his inwards’, and similarly in the continuation. and exclaimed, ‘Rejoice my heart, rejoice my heart! If matters about which you are doubtful are so,130i.e. seem to be just. He was doubtful whether the man deserved hanging. how much more those about which you are certain! I am confident that neither worms nor decay will have power over you’. He applied to himself the verse, My flesh also dwelleth in safety.131Ps. 16, 9. Now he132viz. R. Eleazar; and yet he felt assured that the worms would have no power over his body. is not mentioned among those [over whom the worms have no dominion],133Cf. B.B. 17a (Sonc. ed., p. 86): ‘There are seven over whom the worms had no dominion, viz. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Moses, Aaron and Miriam, and Benjamin, son of Jacob’. how much more so Jacob who is mentioned!134How could Jacob then doubt the innocence of Joseph, seeing that the sin of suspecting the innocent would have lost him that privilege? Therefore [we must say] that Jacob held back from kissing Joseph because of what he saw by means of the Holy Spirit.135He was inspired by God to do so in order that Joseph should not communicate her moral impurity to him. And where is this136Joseph’s moral impurity. alluded to? As it is written, But his137i.e. Joseph’s. bow abode firm;138Gen. 49, 24. The word bow is found in both the passages cited. On the exegetical rule of Gezerah Shawah, inference from analogous phraseology, what applies to one applies also to the other. In Hab. the bow is described as being bare, ‘eryah, which is equated with ‘erwah, ‘forbidden intercourse’. Consequently the use of bow in connection with Joseph indicates that there was an occasion when he was aroused sinfully. and it is written there, Thy bow is made quite bare.139Hab. 3, 9. The Heb. maṭṭeh can mean ‘rod’ or ‘tribe’. The Rabbinic interpretation is that God swore to Jacob that the tribes descended from him would be pure. What caused him to be saved? Sworn are the rods of the word. Selah. What is the meaning of Selah?140The word. Selah is by a process of analogy equated with the words the God of Jacob … Selah; that is to say, the word sworn by the God of Jacob to him. It is to be taken in the sense of The God of Jacob … Selah.141Ps. 46, 12. It was quoted in refutation, And it came to pass, when Laban heard the tidings of Jacob his sister’s son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him142Gen. 29, 13.—is not this a case where an inference from minor to major is to be drawn? If of Laban who kissed idols and harlots it is so written,143That he kissed Jacob. Joseph who did not kiss these [yet did not kiss Jacob]! Perhaps the verse should not have written this, but it points to Jacob’s merit. [It indicates,] And he [Laban] ran to meet him, i.e. he wanted to kiss him but [Jacob] would not permit him; he then embraced him again to kiss him, whereupon he struck [Laban] on his cheek. This may be proved from the fact that it is written wayyenashsheḳ144There are two Heb. roots with the same letters, one meaning ‘to kiss’ and the other ‘to be equipped with weapons’, and the verb in the verse is given the second sense, i.e. he attacked him. and not wayyishshaḳ. Hence it is proved; here it is written, And he kissed them145Gen. 48, 10, where the verb is wayyishshaḳ and denotes an expression of love. and [continues], And embraced them.
What is the difference between wayyishshaḳ and wayyenashsheḳ? The latter146Which is an intensive form of the verb. indicates [kissing] with the whole body, the former [only] with the mouth. Whence do we know that this is so? For it is written, He kisses [yishshaḳ] the lips that giveth a right answer.147Prov. 24, 26. Wherever wayyishshaḳ occurs it denotes a [light] impress to be added to the count.148A single gesture which may form part of a further display of affection subsequently. Come and hear: [It is stated,] And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him.149Gen. 33, 4, the verb being wayyishshaḳ. Is not this [act of kissing] similar to what Laban did? The reply is: Go and see how many teeth were dug into him.150In the Heb. text the word has dots over the letters, which are taken by the Midrash to indicate that Esau’s real intention was to bite Jacob. [Cf. ARN, p. 165.] And why? Because he [really] wanted to bite him, but at the time his teeth became as [soft as] wax and he knocked his jaws against Jacob’s neck and became weak. To that episode David alluded when he said, Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God; for Thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek, Thou hast broken the teeth of the wicked.151Ps. 3, 8.
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Avot D'Rabbi Natan

Abraham our forefather was tested with ten trials before the Holy Blessed One, and he emerged from each one complete.
They are as follows: Two when God said to him, “Go forth!” Two with his two sons. Two with his two wives. One with the war of the kings. One at the Covenant of the Parts. One in Ur Kasdim. One with circumcision. (The Covenant of the Parts.) And why so many? So that when Abraham our forefather comes to take his reward, the angels will say: More than us, more than anyone, Abraham deserves his reward, as it says (Ecclesiastes 9:7), “Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart.”
Because Abraham was tested with ten trials, and emerged from each one complete, the Holy Blessed One performed ten miracles for his children in Egypt, and brought ten plagues, and performed ten more miracles at the sea, and brought ten more plagues upon the Egyptians at the sea.
The Egyptians roared at the top of their lungs, and so the Holy Blessed One thundered back across the sea, as it says (Job 37:5), “God thunders marvelously with His voice.” The Egyptians came to the sea with bows and arrows, and so the Holy Blessed One appeared before them with a bow and arrow, as it says (Habakkuk 3:9), “Bared and ready is Your bow,” and (Psalms 18:15), “He sent forth His arrows and scattered them….” The Egyptians came to the sea with swords, so the Holy Blessed One came upon them with swords (and mercy), as it says (ibid.), “He sent forth His arrows and scattered them; He discharged lightning and routed them.” And lighting always means a sword, as it says (Ezekiel 21:14–15), “The sword, the sword has been sharpened and polished, sharpened in order to slaughter, so that it sparkles like lightning.” The Egyptians came proudly with shield and armor, and so the Holy Blessed One did the same, as it says (Psalms 35:2), “Grab shield and armor and rise to my defense.” The Egyptians came with spears, and so did the Holy Blessed One, as it says (Habakkuk 3:11), “Your flashing spear in brilliance.” The Egyptians came with rocks and slings, and the Holy Blessed One outdid them with hailstones, as it says (Psalms 18:13), “(Out of the brilliance before Him,) hail and fiery coals pierced His clouds.”
When our ancestors stood at the sea, Moses said to them: Arise and cross! They said to him: We will not cross until the sea begins to split open. So Moses took his staff and struck the sea, and it began to split open, as it says (Habakkuk 3:14), “You will split open the heads of his warriors with your staff.” Moses said to them: Arise and cross! They said to him: We will not cross until the sea becomes like a valley before us. So Moses struck the sea and it became like a valley before them, as it says (Psalms 78:13), “He split the sea and passed them through,” and (Isaiah 63:14), “Like a beast going down into the valley.” Moses said to them: Arise and cross! They said: We will not cross until it is divided into sections, as it says (Psalms 136:13), “Who divided the Sea of Reeds into sections.” Moses said to them: Arise and cross!. They said: We will not cross until it becomes solid matter. So Moses took his staff and struck the sea, and it became mud, as it says (Habakkuk 3:15), “You led Your horse into the sea, onto solid waters.” Moses said to them: Arise and cross! They said: We will not cross until it becomes a desert. So Moses took his staff and struck the sea, as it says (Psalms 106:9), “He led them through the depths as if it were the desert.” Moses said to them: Arise and cross! They said: We will not cross until it becomes all smashed up into particles. So Moses took his staff and struck the sea, as it says (Psalms 74:13), “You smashed the sea with Your might.” Moses said to them: Arise and cross! They said: We will not cross until it becomes a bed of rocks. He took his staff and struck the sea, as it says (there), “You broke the heads of crocodiles on the water.” And they could not be broken like this except on rocks. Moses said to them: Arise and cross! They said: We will not cross until it becomes dry land. So Moses took his staff and struck the sea, as it says (Psalms 66:6), “He turned the sea into dry land,” and (Exodus 14:29), “And the children of Israel walked on dry land in the midst of the sea.” Moses said to them: Arise and cross! They said: We will not cross until it becomes walls. So Moses took his staff and struck the sea, as it says (Exodus 14:22), “And the water became a wall for them, on their right and on their left.” Moses said to them: Arise and cross! They said: We will not cross until goatskins (nodot) [to drink from] appear before us. So Moses took his staff and struck the sea, as it says (Exodus 15:8), “[The walls] stood like a stack (ned) of flowing water.” (And where do we learn that between the sections, fire came down and, as it says [Isaiah 64:1], “Like fire kindles brushwood, and fire boils water to announce Your name to Your antagonists”?) And so the goatskins would draw oil and honey into the mouths of the babies, who would nurse from them, as it says (Deuteronomy 32:13), “He nursed him with honey from the rock.” And some say that fresh water flowed from the sea, and they would drink it between the sections of the sea, since seawater is usually salty, for it says, “flowing,” which always means sweet, as it says (Song of Songs 4:15), “A well of fresh water, flowing from the Lebanon.” And the Clouds of Glory were above them, so that the sun would not oppress them. And this is how the Israelites crossed the water, in order that they would feel no pain.
Rabbi Eliezer would say: The sea depths were arched over them from above, and the Israelites crossed through, so that they would feel no pain. Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Shimon would say: The upper waters and the lower waters tossed the Egyptians, as it says (Exodus 14:27), “The Eternal tossed the Egyptians into the sea.”
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