כִּ֖י לוּלֵ֣א הִתְמַהְמָ֑הְנוּ כִּֽי־עַתָּ֥ה שַׁ֖בְנוּ זֶ֥ה פַעֲמָֽיִם׃
Certes, sans nos délais, nous serions, à présent, déjà revenus deux fois!"
Rav Hirsch
V. 2. עזי, von עוז ,עזז: die Widerstandskraft, die Unüberwindlichkeit. Mein Unüberwundengebliebensein: — daß Pharao und das Weltmeer mich unberührt gelassen, und זמרת: das jetzige Singen, in dem ich begriffen bin, beides ist Gotteswirkung. Wir haben schon zu Bereschit 43, 10 das Verhältnis von זמרה, der Melodie, zu שיר, dem Liedeswort angedeutet. Wir meinten, es sei die Melodie das hörbare Emporringen des Gemüts zur ganzen Höhe der Begeisterung und Reife des in der Seele arbeitenden Gedankens ( — die Rebe zur Weinfrucht —). Diese höchste Arbeit des menschlichen Geistes, in welcher sich seine edelste Energie entfaltet, ist bei dem gottbegeisterten Sänger selbst ein Gotteswirken. Es ist, wie der Liederkönig Israels von sich ausspricht: Gottes Geist, der durch ihn spricht, und sein Wort schwebt auf seiner Zunge. — רוח ד׳ דבר בי ומלתו על לשוני,(Sam. II. 23, 2). Darum fehlt in allen diesen Sätzen (hier — Ps. 118, 14; Jes. 12, 2) die Personalbezeichnung: mein, nicht זמרתי, sondern זמרת. Der Sänger will ja eben sagen: es sei nicht זמרתו!
Rabbeinu Bahya
One of the amazing statements in that passage concerns Rabbi Chanina ben Tradyan who supposedly was exchanged for Emperor Lupinos who was burned in his stead. Similar statements appear concerning the other martyrs on that famous list. Concerning such far-out statements, I have heard that they must be understood as analogous to the binding of Yitzchak. Once Avraham was irrevocably committed to slaughtering Yitzchak, and the latter had accepted the decree, he was replaced by the ram Avraham found which had been caught in the thicket (Genesis 22,13). According to that view something similar occurred with all of the ten martyrs. Seeing that they had submitted to G’d’s decree it became possible to exchange them for Romans or others. The point is that once the lives of these scholars were spared they were in effect reborn. It is therefore no contradiction to say that they had indeed died a martyr’s death. These scholars had all “tasted” death so that the sin for which their lives were meant to expiate had been wiped out once and for all.
When the Torah wrote: “and place each man’s money at the mouth of his feeding bag,” this was an allusion that the Torah treats the life-force, נפש, of a person as equivalent to minted silver whereas his body is compared to a feeding bag seeing it contains the soul (silver). I believe we can carry this allusion a little further when we look at 43,10 when Yehudah said: “we could have returned already twice.” He may have hinted at something we find in Job 34,36 and 33,29[based on the concept of a soul’s repeated return to life on earth in order to cleanse itself of sins committed in a former life. Ed.] where the point is made that in order to deal finally with some sin, retribution may have to be spread over several installments. [Rabbi Moshe Alshich makes this point more clearly when explaining why G’d did not wipe out Pharaoh with a single plague. His sins were such that a single act of retribution would not have sufficed to punish him. He had to have relief between one affliction and the next in order to absorb and suffer the next installment. Ed.]
The verse in Job 33,29 פעמים שלוש עם גבר, “two or three times with a man,” may be a reference to the need for someone to be reincarnated repeatedly in order to expiate for sins committed in a previous incarnation. The words וישובו העירה describing the return of the brothers to the capital of Egypt may be an allusion to Yehudah’s feeling on the matter. All the Torah had needed to write was וישובו מצרימה, “they returned to Egypt.” The use of the word העירה suggests a meta-physical aspect of the matter. (Compare the use of the word עיר as a hyperbole in Kohelet 9,14). This is the reason that the Parshah concludes with the words:
When the Torah wrote: “and place each man’s money at the mouth of his feeding bag,” this was an allusion that the Torah treats the life-force, נפש, of a person as equivalent to minted silver whereas his body is compared to a feeding bag seeing it contains the soul (silver). I believe we can carry this allusion a little further when we look at 43,10 when Yehudah said: “we could have returned already twice.” He may have hinted at something we find in Job 34,36 and 33,29[based on the concept of a soul’s repeated return to life on earth in order to cleanse itself of sins committed in a former life. Ed.] where the point is made that in order to deal finally with some sin, retribution may have to be spread over several installments. [Rabbi Moshe Alshich makes this point more clearly when explaining why G’d did not wipe out Pharaoh with a single plague. His sins were such that a single act of retribution would not have sufficed to punish him. He had to have relief between one affliction and the next in order to absorb and suffer the next installment. Ed.]
The verse in Job 33,29 פעמים שלוש עם גבר, “two or three times with a man,” may be a reference to the need for someone to be reincarnated repeatedly in order to expiate for sins committed in a previous incarnation. The words וישובו העירה describing the return of the brothers to the capital of Egypt may be an allusion to Yehudah’s feeling on the matter. All the Torah had needed to write was וישובו מצרימה, “they returned to Egypt.” The use of the word העירה suggests a meta-physical aspect of the matter. (Compare the use of the word עיר as a hyperbole in Kohelet 9,14). This is the reason that the Parshah concludes with the words:
Ramban
‘LU’ (O) THAT ISHMAEL MIGHT LIVE BEFORE THEE. The meaning of this word lu everywhere is as the word im (if), and it is also found combined in the word lulei, which means “if not.” [The Hebrew word lulei, ordinarily written with a yud at the end] is sometimes written with an aleph at the end.449See Hebrew text of Scripture, ibid., 43:10. It is also combined into the form of ilu, as in the verses: ‘Ve’ilu’ (But if) we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen;450Esther 7:4. ‘Ve’ilu’ (And if) a thousand years twice told.451Ecclesiastes 6:6. The purport of this word ilu is “even if,” and its meaning is as if it said, “if if,” the double use of the word being for the purpose of emphasis, as in the expressions: Is it only through Moses alone;452Numbers 12:2. The words “only” and “alone” (harak; ach) are redundant and used for emphasis. Was it because there were no graves;453Exodus 14:11. The Hebrew words hamibli ein are both negatives. Again the redundancy is for special emphasis. and other similar cases. Abraham thus said: “If Ishmael live before Thee, I will be pleased with this blessing with which Thou hast blessed me, namely, with seed from Sarah.” For since He promised him at first, One born of your own body is to be your heir,454Above, 15:4. and the heir was to be one person, he [Abraham] had thought that this referred to Ishmael. But now that he was told that he will beget a child from Sarah and he understood that this child was to be the heir, he feared lest Ishmael die. Therefore, he said this: [O that Ishmael might live before Thee].
Live before Thee. Rashi explained: “Live in reverence of Thee, similar in meaning to Walk before Me,455Verse 1 here. which Onkelos renders, ‘Worship Me.’” But this is not correct, since He said, And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee.456Verse 20 here. If the sense of Abraham’s prayer is, as Rashi explained, that Ishmael live in reverence of G-d, how could G-d assure him of that, since, as the Sages express it, “Everything is by hand of Heaven except the fear of Heaven,” (Berachoth 33 b) which is in the hands of man to be determined by his free choice. (Mizrachi.) Instead, its meaning is that he live and his seed will always exist.
Live before Thee. Rashi explained: “Live in reverence of Thee, similar in meaning to Walk before Me,455Verse 1 here. which Onkelos renders, ‘Worship Me.’” But this is not correct, since He said, And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee.456Verse 20 here. If the sense of Abraham’s prayer is, as Rashi explained, that Ishmael live in reverence of G-d, how could G-d assure him of that, since, as the Sages express it, “Everything is by hand of Heaven except the fear of Heaven,” (Berachoth 33 b) which is in the hands of man to be determined by his free choice. (Mizrachi.) Instead, its meaning is that he live and his seed will always exist.