כִּֽי־דֹרֵ֣שׁ דָּ֭מִים אוֹתָ֣ם זָכָ֑ר לֹֽא־שָׁ֝כַ֗ח צַעֲקַ֥ת עניים [עֲנָוִֽים׃]
Sebab Dia yang menuntut balas atas darah telah mengingat mereka; Ia tidak melupakan jeritan orang-orang yang tertindas.
Rabbeinu Bahya
You are acquainted with the fact that the entire Joseph tragedy began when his father Yaakov made a coloured coat for him which Joseph wore as a sign of distinction. The fact that the brothers dipped the coloured coat of Joseph in the blood of a male goat which they specially slaughtered for that purpose telling their father: “this is what we have found,” was considered an act of great cruelty on their part. This is why their punishment which involved their bodies commenced immediately after Joseph’s death. Eventually, during the time of the Romans and after the destruction of the second Temple [which was destroyed due to an excess of groundless hatred between Jew and Jew. Ed.] the ten martyrs paid the last installment of that penalty with their deaths. As a reminder of all this, our Parshah mentions the word אנשים or האנשים a total of ten times when describing the brothers. Had it not been for this consideration, the Torah would have called them אחי יוסף, “Joseph’s brothers” or “the sons of Yaakov” each time. [The author lists the ten instances. I leave this to the reader. Ed.]
It is important to realise that contrary to a perception that all the ten martyrs listed in our prayers commemorating their death as martyrs occurred at one and the same time, this is simply not so.
It is important to realise that contrary to a perception that all the ten martyrs listed in our prayers commemorating their death as martyrs occurred at one and the same time, this is simply not so.
Rabbeinu Bahya
מוצא שפתיך תשמור ועשית, “you must fulfill what has crossed your lips and perform it.” According to the plain meaning of the text, these words refer once more to the vows discussed previously. Up until now the Torah had only forbidden being late in honoring one’s vows but had not said anything about the vow having to be carried out. Actually, we would have expected the Torah to write something like: “when you make a vow, carry it out and do not be late in paying it.” The meaning of the words מוצא שפתיך, is the actual vow. The words תשמור ועשית, refer to carrying out all the conditions of the vow, i.e. כאשר נדרת לה' אלו-היך, “as you vowed to the Lord your G’d in the free-willed gift of your heart.” The additional words אשר דברת בפיך “as you said with your mouth,” mean that you will not omit any detail of what you promised to do.
The Torah says all this to demonstrate how seriously it takes a vow. This is why the penalty for failing to keep such a commitment is so extreme, i.e. it is considered a sin against one’s soul. Compare Numbers 15,31 הנפש ההיא עונה בה, “that soul, his sin is upon him.” There are a few other instances where the Torah describes the ongoing sin in such terms such as when a poor person whom we have abused cries out to G’d in anguish about the treatment he has received from us when we held back his wages (Deut. 24,15). There are a few more such examples. The penalty may be that known as נפש תחת נפש, “a life for a life,” an example of the punishment matching the crime. When the Torah describes a sin in terms of involving נפש, you have to be on guard. Whenever the Torah uses the term נפש in such situations it is a reference to the life of the body of the sinner. Delaying payment of a vow is considered as a trespass against the essence of G’d. [Compare what author wrote in connection with Numbers 30,3 near the end of the kabbalistic approach where the author explained why a vow is something more serious than forbidding oneself something on oath. Ed.] This is why the Torah writes the unusual “for the Lord your G’d will demand it of you.” This is the essence of the “King” Who supervises all the details of what goes on. He demands accounting for blood spilled (Psalms 9,13) both in this world and in the world to come. This is why the words דרוש ידרשנו ה' אלו-היך מעמך have been repeated.
The Torah says all this to demonstrate how seriously it takes a vow. This is why the penalty for failing to keep such a commitment is so extreme, i.e. it is considered a sin against one’s soul. Compare Numbers 15,31 הנפש ההיא עונה בה, “that soul, his sin is upon him.” There are a few other instances where the Torah describes the ongoing sin in such terms such as when a poor person whom we have abused cries out to G’d in anguish about the treatment he has received from us when we held back his wages (Deut. 24,15). There are a few more such examples. The penalty may be that known as נפש תחת נפש, “a life for a life,” an example of the punishment matching the crime. When the Torah describes a sin in terms of involving נפש, you have to be on guard. Whenever the Torah uses the term נפש in such situations it is a reference to the life of the body of the sinner. Delaying payment of a vow is considered as a trespass against the essence of G’d. [Compare what author wrote in connection with Numbers 30,3 near the end of the kabbalistic approach where the author explained why a vow is something more serious than forbidding oneself something on oath. Ed.] This is why the Torah writes the unusual “for the Lord your G’d will demand it of you.” This is the essence of the “King” Who supervises all the details of what goes on. He demands accounting for blood spilled (Psalms 9,13) both in this world and in the world to come. This is why the words דרוש ידרשנו ה' אלו-היך מעמך have been repeated.