בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֗וּא יִהְיֶ֤ה יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ שְׁלִ֣ישִׁיָּ֔ה לְמִצְרַ֖יִם וּלְאַשּׁ֑וּר בְּרָכָ֖ה בְּקֶ֥רֶב הָאָֽרֶץ׃
En ce jour-là, Israël uni, lui troisième, à l’Égypte et à l’Assyrie, sera un sujet de bénédiction dans l’étendue de ces pays,
Chizkuni
והיה ברכה, “as a result you will become a source of blessing.” We find a parallel to this expression in Isaiah 19,24: ביום ההוא אשים את ישראל ברכה בקרב הארץ, “on that day I will set up Israel as a blessing in the midst of the earth.”
Ibn Ezra
ועוד בה וגו׳ And yet in it shall be, etc. According to some: Ten more kings will rule over Judah before the exile, and then ושבה והיתה לבער it18*The kingdom. shall again be removed19A. V., Shall return and shall be eaten.: comp. ובערת And thou shalt put away (Deuter. 21:21); others compare לבער with תבערו You shall kindle (Exod. 35:3)—and the number of kings from that time, Uzziah included, was really ten. Some explain, the tenth part will be left in the land. Grammatically, עשיריה is an adjective, the tenth; but different from עשירית the tenth part; comp. שלישיה (19:24) the third. It is, therefore, clear that עשיריה refers to the number of kings.20עשיריה being an adjective, and the feminine noun מלכות being supplied, the phrase ועוד בה עשיריה וגו״ is explained by I. E., But yet in it shall be a tenth reign, and then it shall again, etc.
Rabbeinu Bahya
The entire thrust of the passage in Exodus 34 is to teach the Israelites how to pray and entreat G’d in order for their entreaties to be effective. They are to drape the talit (with the tzitzit) around themselves and invoke the attributes of the Lord relevant to the sin committed for which they seek forgiveness. When the sages spoke about draping the talit over oneself they referred to a white talit, seeing that white is the symbol of forgiveness. This is why the prophet Isaiah 1,18 said: “if your sins are as red as certain types of red wool, they will become white as snow (as a result of your repentance). Just as the color red is a symbol of sin so white is a symbol of forgiveness. When man drapes the white talit over himself this is a pointer to G’d that He should cover His creatures in the white of His pardon and forgiveness. The first time G’d did this is recorded in Genesis 3,21: “The Lord made tunics made of leather for Adam and his wife and clothed them in it.” It is also a reminder that in the future G’d will resurrect the dead and dress them in garments appropriate for them. This is the mystical dimension of Job 38,14: “it changes like clay under the seal till its hues are fixed like those of a garment.” Seeing that this commandment is an allusion to the resurrection of our bodies, it is one which envelopes our body seeing the tzitzit are threads hanging from a talit similar to the locks of hair hanging from the head. This is the meaning of Ezekiel 8,3 which we discussed before. The holes made near the corners of the talit through which the threads of the tzizit are introduced symbolize the eyes, whereas the five knots symbolise the five senses man possesses. The eight strings represent the eight days which elapse until the male baby is circumcised. This is why the sages (Tanchuma Lech Lecha 20) have said that anyone who has not been circumcised will not take part in the resurrection of the dead. You will find five knots at each of the corners of the talit making a total of 20 such knots. This number corresponds to the combined number of fingers and toes, i.e. all these details symbolise man’s entire body.
The reason that the upper third of each bundle of tzitzit is wound whereas the lower two thirds remain hanging freely is to hint that although at the present time the Jewish people are scattered throughout the surface of the globe, i.e. are in exile, (the principal nations harbouring our exiles being Ishmael and Edom (Esau), and therefore the Israelites are at the bottom of the totem pole (nowadays), when the redemption comes we will occupy our true place at the top of the totem pole, i.e. the upper third of the tzizit, bound together), fulfilling the promise of Deut. 26,19: “and to place you at the top among the nations of the earth.” This idea has been spelled out by Zecharyah 13,8: “throughout the land, declares the Lord, two thirds shall perish, shall die, and one third of it shall survive.” Elaborating on this verse Bamidbar Rabbah 15,11 states that the third which will survive the events described by the prophet are the Jewish people. The Midrash bases this on Isaiah 19,24: “In that day, Israel shall be a third (partner with Egypt and Assyria) as a blessing on earth.
Another observation by the sages of the Midrash (Shabbat 32): anyone who observes the commandment of wearing tzitzit will merit to be attended to by 2800 servants. They derive this from Zecharyah 8,23: “In those days ten men from nations of every tongue (70 nations) will take hold- they will take hold of every Jew by a corner of his cloak and say: ‘let us go with you, for we have heard that G’d is with you.’” (Seeing that each talit has four corners this means that 2800 men will beg an individual Jew to be his servant.)
Anyone who treats the commandment of tzitit with contempt is described in Job 38,13 as subject to the curse: “and seizes the corners of the earth and shakes the wicked out of it.”
The reason that the upper third of each bundle of tzitzit is wound whereas the lower two thirds remain hanging freely is to hint that although at the present time the Jewish people are scattered throughout the surface of the globe, i.e. are in exile, (the principal nations harbouring our exiles being Ishmael and Edom (Esau), and therefore the Israelites are at the bottom of the totem pole (nowadays), when the redemption comes we will occupy our true place at the top of the totem pole, i.e. the upper third of the tzizit, bound together), fulfilling the promise of Deut. 26,19: “and to place you at the top among the nations of the earth.” This idea has been spelled out by Zecharyah 13,8: “throughout the land, declares the Lord, two thirds shall perish, shall die, and one third of it shall survive.” Elaborating on this verse Bamidbar Rabbah 15,11 states that the third which will survive the events described by the prophet are the Jewish people. The Midrash bases this on Isaiah 19,24: “In that day, Israel shall be a third (partner with Egypt and Assyria) as a blessing on earth.
Another observation by the sages of the Midrash (Shabbat 32): anyone who observes the commandment of wearing tzitzit will merit to be attended to by 2800 servants. They derive this from Zecharyah 8,23: “In those days ten men from nations of every tongue (70 nations) will take hold- they will take hold of every Jew by a corner of his cloak and say: ‘let us go with you, for we have heard that G’d is with you.’” (Seeing that each talit has four corners this means that 2800 men will beg an individual Jew to be his servant.)
Anyone who treats the commandment of tzitit with contempt is described in Job 38,13 as subject to the curse: “and seizes the corners of the earth and shakes the wicked out of it.”