Commentaire de citation sur Les Nombres 2:14

One of the sages of the generation said: "he had to say אויימה to make the rhyme rich^note To this day, in poetic analysis, the term "rime riche" — literally "rich rhyme" — is used for a rhyme scheme where three or more phonemes are repeated. I responded, if this is a rich rhyme, them many of his poems are so poor they're begging door-to-door! He paired the hei הר with the ḥet of נבחר! If that's because both are guttural letters, he should also rhyme aleph and 'ayin with them! And regarding bet and vav — for he rhymes לוי with נביא — he should also rhyme mem and pei with them! There should be five kinds of rhyming for the five phonetic points of articulation! If his reasoning for pairing hei and ḥet is that they look similar when written, he should pair resh and dalet. In fact, we see דעואל (Numbers 1:14) and רעואל (Numbers 2:14), דודנים (Genesis 10:4) and רודנים (I Chronicles 1:7). He ought to pair משפטים with פתים, since they have the same points of articulation — and the ṭet is found in place of tav in words like נצטדק, הצטיידנו, and ויצטירו. And he paired ויום with פדיון and עליון, which is also not correct. Even though we find mem and nun interchanged — as in חיין (Job 24:22) and חטין (Ezekiel 4:9), how can the mem of יום, a root letter, be paired with the nun of פדיון and עליון, which are from עלה and פדה, and thus not a root letter? And what's more, why rhyme? Is it just because it sounds nice when one ending seems like another? Maybe he had a sixth sense that mem sounds like nun even though they don't have the same point of articulation! He also paired עושׁר with עשׂר תעשׂר, which is certainly not correct unless the person praying is an Ephraimite.^note According to Judges 12:4-6, the Ephraimites didn't distinguish their sibilants properly.

May Reuven live He begins with the eldest, as is customary. He does not mention Shimon, either because of the incident of Baal Peor [Numbers 25: 3], in which the worshipers were Shimonites, as evidenced by their decline in numbers [Numbers 26: 14] [cf. Numbers 1: 23], as well as by the fact that it was their chieftain who was killed [Numbers 25: 14]. or He follows Yaaqov’s example, who did not bless Shimon or Levi. Out of respect for Aaron, his tribe was excepted, borne up on the coattails of Aaron; but Shimon lacked a great man of equivalent stature. If one should object, and ask, Why, then, did Moshe bless Reuven? — the answer is that Yaaqov did bless Reuven, the blessing being “you shall not stand out” [Genesis 49: 4], i.e., that he should be as one of his brethren. After Reuven, he mentions Y e hudah, who was the standard-bearer, and the first to go into battle. Then Levi, and then Benjamin, on account of the Levites’ dwelling in Jerusalem, which lay between the territory of Y e hudah and the territory of Benjamin, as it is written [cf. Joshua 18: 28 , Judges 1: 8]. Then the tribe of Joseph, in order not to postpone them, having already given precedence to his younger brother. Then Zevulun, on account of his going into war [Judges 5: 18], and then Yissakhar. After completing the children of the major wives, he begins with Gad, who encamped under the standard of two children of the major wives, and then Dan, since he was a standard-bearer, and then Naftali, because he was greater than Asher.