Tafsiran yang Mengutip untuk Bilangan 32:14

ספו Add. Comp. לספת to add (Num. 32:14).

You ought to appreciate that this paragraph contains an explanation of what exactly did happen to Yaakov as a result of his encounter with Esau. There is also a hint of what would be a correct form of relationship between the respective descendants of Esau and Yaakov during the long course of Jewish history. It is worth our while to consider Yaakov’s preparations for his fateful encounter with Esau as something to use as a model for ourselves in our dealings with the descendants of Esau. Basically, Yaakov used a three-pronged approach. 1) He prepared to wage war if it were forced upon him. 2) He prayed to G’d for deliverance. 3) He prepared gifts to soften the mood of his adversary. The first stage of his preparation, mobilising for war, is described in our paragraph in verse eight when the Torah writes that he divided the camp in two to give himself the maximum chance for at least one camp to escape unharmed. He then engaged in prayer when he appealed to G’d, saying (verse 12) “please save me from my brother, from Esau.” The third part of his preparation, i.e.. sending gifts (or bribes if you will), is found in verses 14-21. A great Jewish King, the King Chiskiyah learned from Yaakov when Jerusalem was under siege when he faced Sancheriv, [who during his time was the foremost conqueror of the world who had already liquidated the Northern Kingdom and exiled the Ten Tribes, Ed.]. We read in Kings II 18,15 that Chiskiyah gave all the silver that was in the treasury of the Temple and in his own vaults to Sancheriv in accordance with that King’s demands. He also readied what few forces remained at his disposal for war (Chronicles II 32,6). Finally, he prayed (Kings II 19,15) asking G’d to demonstrate His power to the world at large by saving the Kingdom of Yehudah. We have to act similarly whenever we find ourselves threatened by hostile Gentile forces. However, nowadays when G’d’s displeasure with us has become manifest seeing we are still in exile, we must not provoke war against our enemies as is evident from Song of Songs 2,7 השבעתי אתכם בנות ירושלים וגו', “I have made you take an oath o daughters of Jerusalem, etc.” One opinion in the Talmud Ketuvot 111 understands the oath as an undertaking by Jews in exile not to rebel against the local rulers and try and recapture the land of Israel by force of arms.

ירכיבהו על במתי ארץ, “He makes it ride on the heights of the earth.” This is a simile describing Israel as having received control of a choice piece of real estate on earth, a central part of the civilized world, a land “higher” than all other countries. [If the earth is considered as a globe and Jerusalem its center, instead of the equator or longitude 180 degrees, then this is literally true. Ed.] (The author bases himself on Sifri 316). The thrust of these verses is that in spite of the advantages conferred on the Jewish people in every sphere, they trampled it and thereby kicked out (at G’d). The meaning of the words כליות חטה in verse 14 is “the fat part, choicest part,” of the wheat kernels. The reason Moses uses the comparison with kidneys, כליות, is because the wheat kernels resemble the shape of the kidney. According to Taanit 23, in the days of Shimon ben Shetach there was such prosperity in Israel that the wheat kernels were as large as oxen.