Halakhah su Isaia 40:35

What brought this commentator to this difficulty was because many treated the verse “In the beginning God created (bara)” (ibid. 1:1) as if it was written “At the beginning of God’s creating (bero) the heavens and the earth, the earth was empty (tohu) and void (vohu)” – it did not exist, meaning there was no earth. Similarly, “darkness” is the absence of light, meaning there was none.¹⁰ According to this interpretation nothing existed prior to the creation of light. So the first created condition was light, followed by darkness at night. Thus a 24-hour day consists of light followed by darkness – day followed by night. But this interpretation is completely incorrect. Because why did he need to mention the heavens since it did not state that they were nonexistent like the earth? Also, from a grammatical point of view, why is there an added vav (“and”) to the word “veha’arez”? This is not the same as the extra vav found in verbs, as in “On the third day Abraham lifted (vayisa) his eyes” (ibid. 22:4), “he abandoned (vaya’azov) his servants” (Exodus 9:21). They are like the weak fe in Arabic, for Arabic forms are similar to those of the Holy Tongue (Hebrew). However, no vav is added to nouns. Also, according to this interpretation the wind and the water were not created,¹¹ No mention is made of the creation of air and water, even though they are referred to in verse 2. yet it is written in the book of Psalms with regard to both of these “for He commanded and they came to be” (148:5).¹² The verses in Psalms are: “Praise Him, heavens of heavens (the sphere of fire), and waters that are above the heavens. They should praise the name of God, for he commanded and they were created” (148:4–5). Even darkness was created, as it is written “who forms light and creates darkness” (Isaiah 45:7).

The truth is that Scripture mentions the heavens and the earth because they form one globe, with the heavens like the circumference and the earth like the point at the center.¹³ Ibn Ezra is of the opinion that the “heavens” spoken of in Genesis refer to the lower sky, the atmosphere that is immediately above the earth. Genesis does not speak of the spheres of planets and stars that encompass the earth. See Ibn Ezra’s commentary to Genesis 1:1–2. Now the earth was covered with water from all sides, as it is written “they will not return to cover the earth” (Psalms 104:9), and the wind surrounds the waters.¹⁴ Thus the lower world consists of four spheres, each one encompassing those below it. Their order from innermost to outermost is: earth, water, air, and fire. The ancients believed that everything in the lower world, the world below the moon’s sphere, is composed of four elements – fire, air, water, and earth. This lower world is the subject of Creation in the book of Genesis. These are the four elements, namely, the heavens, earth, wind and water, for the heavens correspond to fire. Similarly we find “To make a weight for the wind and He counted the waters by measure” (Job 28:25), “For He gazes to the edges of the earth, under all the heavens He sees” (ibid. 28:24). Similarly, “Who measured the waters with his fist and counted the heavens with a span, and all the dust of the earth in a measure… who counted the wind of God” (Isaiah 40:12–13). Again, “Who ascended to the heavens and descended” (Proverbs 30:4), and the other three follow the word “heavens.”¹⁵ The verse reads: “Who ascended to the heavens and descended, who gathered wind in his fists, who bound the waters in a garment, who erected the ends of earth” (Proverbs 30:4). Here again, the four basic elements are enumerated. Also, “The sun shines” (Ecclesiastes 1:5) corresponds to the heavens, “and the earth remains forever” (ibid. 1:4), “round and round goes the wind” (ibid. 1:6), “all the rivers go to the sea” (ibid. 1:7). Since the circumference, which is the heavens, and the center, which is the earth, were created, so too all that is between them was created.

Now the darkness proceeded the light, as it is written (Genesis 1:2). The great movement (diurnal movement) includes the time of darkness and light, and that is called “yom” (day), that is, a complete day of twenty-four hours.¹⁸ Thus “day” includes a period of darkness and a period of light, in that order. This does not conflict with the fact that Scripture first mentioned “God called the light ‘day’” (Genesis 1:5) before the night, for this is common with the Hebrew language, namely, when someone mentions two things he should begin with the latter.¹⁹ Verses 3 and 4 refer to the light, therefore verse 5 begins by calling the light “day.” For example, “I gave Jacob and Esau to Isaac, and I gave to Esau…” (Joshua 24:4). In the same way, “Your’s is the day also the night” (Psalms 74:16), and he mentions the minor luminary (the moon) that governs the night before the greater luminary (the sun), although the latter is more important than the former. Also, do not be perplexed when Scripture says “He formed the light and created darkness” (Isaiah 40:12). Scripture puts the light first because it has advantages over darkness, even though darkness came before the light. Similarly, in the verse “His sons Isaac and Ishmael” (Genesis 25:9).²⁰ Isaac is mentioned first, even though he was the younger son. Also, “There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife” (ibid. 49:31), although he buried her.²¹ Abraham is mentioned first although Sarah was buried first.

Judaism exhibits a fascination bordering on a fixation with regard to matters of astronomy, astrology, and celestial phenomena. The vagaries of the Jewish calendar are only the tip of the iceberg. The prophet Isaiah exclaims, "Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of His might and because He is strong in power, not one is missing" (Isaiah 40:26). The prophet marvels at the celestial creations, at the myriad bodies that were created in the heavens, each one having an assigned task and an assigned place. Isaiah notes that their Creator knows each and every one "by name," i.e., by role and function, and pointing to that phenomenon, he constructs a cryptic, but succinct and compelling, proof for the existence of the Deity. Isaiah points to the continued existence of the celestial bodies in formulating an Argument from Design. The argument is predicated upon an awareness that the ongoing existence of the universe is directly contingent upon the size, position and velocity—not to speak of the centrifugal force—of each of the heavenly bodies. Had any one of those bodies been created possessing different mass or shape, or located in an alternate position within the firmament, or were the laws of nature not operative, the universe would long since have ceased to exist.

A person blesses these three blessings each day: the first is who has not made me a gentile, since "All nations are as naught in His sight; He accounts them as less than nothing" (Isaiah 40:17). The second is who has not made me a [Canaanite] slave since the slave is not commanded in positive commandments which are caused by time, and further, that they have no merit of ancestry, since their ancestors did not stand at Mount Sinai. And further, that we do not believe them, since "the more slaves, the more theft" (Pirkei Avot 2:7). And further, that it is forbidden for a slave to marry a Jewish woman, and that a slave is close to a gentile. The Rama"h questions if a convert blesses "who has not made me a gentile" and if a captive blesses "who has not made me a slave", and replies that so we have seen, the blessing applies specifically to the beginning of the creation of man, and as such a convert does not bless "who has not made me a gentile" except when they were entirely born and bred (pregnancy and birth) in holiness [Judaism]. But the captive blesses "who has not made me a slave", since this blessing was not established for slavery itself but rather since the slave is not obligated in commandments like a Jew, and is not fitting to enter the community [marry into it], and is unsuitable for many things. And the third blessing is who has not made me a woman, since she is not commanded in positive commandments that are caused by time as we have explaned in the introduction to this book. The man is similar to a labourer who enters a field and plants with permission, and the woman is similar to one who enters a field without permission. And further, that the fear of her husband is upon her and she is unable to perform even that which she is commanded in. And women are accustomed to bless instead of "who has not made me a woman", "who has made me according to His will", like one who justifies the Judgement regarding the evil that has come upon them.

Elul is written 'full,' meaning that the vav is added because this is how it appears in the Book of Nechemia chapter 6 and in the Mishnah at the beginning of tractate Rosh Hashanah. In the ninth chapter of Bechorot Tishre is written with one yud at the end of it and not more, and it is also written so in the Mishnah there. Marcheshvan is written with one vav as it is found in the Mishnah, and in the first chapter of the gemara Ta'anit as well as elsewhere. If one writes is simply as Cheshvan this is legitimate because that is what people call the month and that is how it is printed in calendars and people will not be led astray. It appears to me that if Cheshvan is written with two vavs it is also a legitimate spelling because the extra letter does not change the pronunciation and will not lead people astray. One must write Marcheshvan as a single word and if it is written as two words - Mar Cheshvan - I am in doubt that it is legitimate. Even if one says that this is acceptable, I am still in doubt in a case when Mar is written at the end of one line and Cheshvan at the beginning of the next. It appears to me that Mar is its own word meaning, as some people explain, that the rains fall in this month and Mar refers to raindrops as it is written "The nations are but a drop in a bucket..." (Isaiah 40:15) One could also say that in the Jerusalem Talmud (chapter 1, halacha 2) and in midrash Bereshit 48 it teaches that the names of the months were brought by the returnees from the Babylonian exile. Therefore one could say that they made this month a remembrance for the beginning of the sins which led to exile that itself began with the ten northern tribes and only afterward continued withe Judah and Benjamin. The 'chief sinner' was Yerovam ben Nevat who switched the seventh and eight months of the calendar, as it says in the Book of Kings (I Kings 12:32-33). Mar in Aramaic means 'switch,' which would make Marcheshvan a reference to switching Cheshvan and Tishre, the seventh and eight months. There is also a hint here thaht this change cause bitterness (marirut) to all of Israel. Despite all this, in truth we do not expound the meaning of the names of the month in a definitive fashion and therefore if Marcheshvan is written as two words or on two line this is a doubtful case despite the fact that I am inclined to permit it. If, Gd forbid, this doubt should lead to the inability to grant a divorce then perhaps one should be lenient.

And regarding if they are practiced at this time or not, many of the great commentators have already disagreed about this. And what comes out of the discussion in the Chapter [entitled] Hazroa with the good commentary is that they are practiced today. And that is likewise the opinion of Rabbenu Alfasi, may his memory be blessed, and Ramban, may this memory be blessed. But we do not have the power over the butchers now to force them to give them to them. 'And those who trust in the Lord shall renew their strength.'