Musar su Genesi 46:45

We always proceed from the premise that all of Israel is considered נפש אחת, a single soul, life-force. Israel as a whole is called by the title אדם. As a reminder of this fact the family members of Jacob, 66 in number, who moved from the land of Canaan to Egypt in Genesis 46,26 are referred to as נפש, soul, or person, in the singular. Just as a body possesses 248 limbs, so the Jewish national body, known as אדם, comprises a great number of parts. The Zohar refers to these parts as שייפא דגופא, shavings or splinters of a body There are, of course, different levels of importance among the various parts of a regular body. The same is true when we describe the parts of the body which make up the Jewish nation. There is a head, a heart, an eye, a hand, etc. However, just as all the parts of the body combine to make a whole human being, so all the parts of the Jewish nation combine to make it one unit. The unit created by these many parts in turn combines to form the chariot, מרכבה, of the spiritual counterpart of terrestrial man in the Celestial Regions. This celestial אדם is perceived as sitting on the throne which is one of the 248 spiritual limbs that form the root of the 248 positive commandments, which, if performed by terrestrial man, are his true source of life (אשר יעשה אותם האדם וחי בהם Leviticus 18, 5).

לאזני משפחת האזני . Rashi comments that Ozni is identical with אצבון (Genesis 46,16). Many commentators are puzzled by these various names mentioned, wanting to find some symbolism in them. I have heard that our rabbis have said that the fingers of man have been formed in the shape of pegs to enable him to put them inside his ears so as not to hear evil gossip. The word אצבעון is an allusion to this combination of finger and ear.

The entire nation is considered as if it were one person; this is why the Torah refers to the people as נפש, person (singular) already at the time Jacob descended into Egypt (Genesis 46,26, et al.). The significance of this lies in the fact that כי חלק ה' עמו, "that His people Israel are part of G–d Himself" (32,9). The remainder of mankind was divided into 70 nations, each one with a representative in the Celestial Regions, i.e. a horoscope presided over by a שר, "Minister," as we know from 4,19: "which the Lord your G–d assigned to all the nations; He took you and removed you from the iron crucible, from Egypt, to be for Him His very own nation, as is now the case" (4,20). The Jewish people's fortunes are not guided by intermediaries such as horoscopes. The 70 nations were divided from one another as we know from 32,8: "When the most High gave nations their homes and set the divisions of man, He fixed the boundaries of peoples in relation to Israel's numbers." The relationship (common denominator) between the "numbers" of Israel and that of the nations of the world is that Israel numbered 70 when they first went down to Egypt. The difference is only that the 70 Israelites that came to Egypt are all described as נפש, a single person. Any part of the Jewish nation is compared to the entire nation. Because Israel is part of G–d, it has an eternal future, as pointed out in Sanhedrin 90a: "Every Israelite has a share in the World to Come."

And in order to set one's mind at rest in this, I have thought it fit to introduce an exalted thought here which is rooted in the Yerushalmi adduced by Semag, that if one were walking on the road and struck one of his feet with the other and, in doing so, fell to the ground and hurt his body, his face and also that foot — aside from the fact that it would never enter his mind to take revenge of that foot by [desisting] from healing it, he would also harbor no hatred whatsoever against it. For what is the foot and what are his body and his face — they all are one [body], but divided into organs. Rather, he would reason that his sins caused this. Here, too, if it happened that his friend did not benefit him with a certain good that he asked of him, or even if he grieved or insulted him in some way, he should not avenge himself and harbor hatred against him. For who is his friend and who is he? Both are from one root, as it is written (I Chronicles 17:21): "And who is like Your people, Israel, one nation in the land?" And it is written [Bereshith 46:27): "All of the soul of the house of Jacob that came etc." It is not written "souls," to teach us that all the souls of Israel above are reckoned as one soul. It is just that each one is an entity in itself. As with a man in his entirety — even though, as a whole, he is one man, still, he has organs which are "heads" to him, like the head and the heart; and there are those beneath these, like the hand and the foot. And it is also into one rest that all of Israel will gather in the end — under the Throne of Glory — as it is written (I Samuel 25:29): "And the soul of my lord will be bound in the bond of life with the L-rd your G-d, etc." It is just that because in this world, where everyone is clothed in his own matter by himself, and because each of his affairs and undertakings is an entity in itself that a man imagines himself to be a distinct person and not "one" with his fellow Jew at all — but this is not so.

And in order to set one's mind at rest in this, I have thought it fit to introduce an exalted thought here which is rooted in the Yerushalmi adduced by Semag, that if one were walking on the road and struck one of his feet with the other and, in doing so, fell to the ground and hurt his body, his face and also that foot — aside from the fact that it would never enter his mind to take revenge of that foot by [desisting] from healing it, he would also harbor no hatred whatsoever against it. For what is the foot and what are his body and his face — they all are one [body], but divided into organs. Rather, he would reason that his sins caused this. Here, too, if it happened that his friend did not benefit him with a certain good that he asked of him, or even if he grieved or insulted him in some way, he should not avenge himself and harbor hatred against him. For who is his friend and who is he? Both are from one root, as it is written (I Chronicles 17:21): "And who is like Your people, Israel, one nation in the land?" And it is written [Bereshith 46:27): "All of the soul of the house of Jacob that came etc." It is not written "souls," to teach us that all the souls of Israel above are reckoned as one soul. It is just that each one is an entity in itself. As with a man in his entirety — even though, as a whole, he is one man, still, he has organs which are "heads" to him, like the head and the heart; and there are those beneath these, like the hand and the foot. And it is also into one rest that all of Israel will gather in the end — under the Throne of Glory — as it is written (I Samuel 25:29): "And the soul of my lord will be bound in the bond of life with the L-rd your G-d, etc." It is just that because in this world, where everyone is clothed in his own matter by himself, and because each of his affairs and undertakings is an entity in itself that a man imagines himself to be a distinct person and not "one" with his fellow Jew at all — but this is not so.

There is an additional important allusion in this verse which is seized upon by the Zohar in a different context. Accordingly, the performance of a מצוה enhances the "image" of G–d, whereas when one sins one damages G–d's "image" both in the Celestial Regions and on earth. Man's sins leave noticeable imprints on his face; this is the reason that Isaiah 3,9 speaks of: הכרת פנים ענתה בם, "Their faces reflect their sins. Rabbi Moshe Alshich, commenting on Genesis 45,28: אלכה ואראנו בטרם אמות, "I will go and see him (Joseph) before I die," writes that Jacob wanted to determine if Joseph had remained loyal to the Abrahamitic tradition by looking at his face. As soon as Jacob looked at Joseph's face (Genesis 46,29) he expressed willingness to die. The Torah phrases this peculiarly when it writes: "After I have seen that you are alive." At first glance the words "that you are alive" seem superfluous. Jacob indicated by his words that being "alive" in itself was quite meaningless unless Joseph had remained loyal to his father's teachings. Joseph's face reflected G–d's approval, i.e. G–d made Joseph's face light up. One of the ways which result in man's face being illuminated is by means of repentance. When the Jewish people are reminded (Deut. 5,4) that G–d spoke to them פנים אל פנים, "face to face," this is a compliment telling us that their facial features had undergone a change for the better, and that the ugly lines on their faces reflecting their sinful behavior had been erased. Psalms 42,12 speaks of the hope of the sons of Korach. There is no point in being downcast when repentance can cause us to reflect G–d's salvation on our own face; not only this, but we will simultaneously remove the tarnish caused to G–d's "image" by our own sins. The commandment to appear in the Temple three times a year (16,16), caused our sages in Chagigah 2a to say that the word יראה can be read both passively or actively, i.e. "to be seen" or "to see." Their message is that if one comes to the Temple with a positive attitude, i.e. in order to "see" G–d, then one will also be positively "seen" by G–d. This also enables us to understand another verse which is generally held to be almost beyond comprehension.

ואהבת לרעך כמוך . Philosophically speaking, we have demonstrated that the Jewish people are considered as a single unit; the seventy souls that came to Egypt are described as נפש, a single composite soul (Genesis 46,27), as distinct from the clan of Esau whose members are always described in the plural, to emphasize their diversity (Genesis chapter 36). You may well ask how you can be expected to love your fellow Jew just as yourself (19,18), when the reason you are to admonish him is that he commits transgressions which are apt to make you share in his punishment? The answer may be that we find many times that a person breaks his own hand or damages his own eyesight. He did not do so willingly, but the fact that it happened was a punishment for him. One does not stop loving oneself because one has caused oneself the loss of a hand or the loss of an eye. Similarly, one must not stop loving a fellow Jew who may have been or may become instrumental in causing one damage.

ואהבת לרעך כמוך . Philosophically speaking, we have demonstrated that the Jewish people are considered as a single unit; the seventy souls that came to Egypt are described as נפש, a single composite soul (Genesis 46,27), as distinct from the clan of Esau whose members are always described in the plural, to emphasize their diversity (Genesis chapter 36). You may well ask how you can be expected to love your fellow Jew just as yourself (19,18), when the reason you are to admonish him is that he commits transgressions which are apt to make you share in his punishment? The answer may be that we find many times that a person breaks his own hand or damages his own eyesight. He did not do so willingly, but the fact that it happened was a punishment for him. One does not stop loving oneself because one has caused oneself the loss of a hand or the loss of an eye. Similarly, one must not stop loving a fellow Jew who may have been or may become instrumental in causing one damage.

The zodiac sign of the lamb is the first of the twelve zodiac signs and represents the senior power to which G–d delegated a variety of such functions. It was this symbol which had to be slaughtered to drive home the point that without the consent of G–d it represented impotence instead of power. Since the Egyptians had made it a symbol of their שר, counterpart in the Celestial Regions, it had to be slaughtered by the Jews. For the same reason it was important that the redemption take place in the month of the ascendancy of that sign, and on the day that symbolised the zenith of its orbit, i.e. its power at its supposedly strongest. The Torah's explanation in Genesis 46,34, that any shepherd was an abomination to the Egyptians is logical. The mere suggestion that sheep needed human guardians -when they were viewed as a supreme deity- is an insult to their religion. When G–d said: החודש הזה לכם, "This month is for you," it is an announcement that Israel would be redeemed during the month of Nissan. G–d commanded that the lamb be taken in order to slaughter it and to humiliate by this single act the entire system upon which the Egyptians had built their position in this world. G–d performed judgments on the sheep, on the Egyptian deities, to demonstrate that He is not only a deity (like others, i.e. אלוקים) but that He is י-ה-ו-ה.

When Israel sinned and as a result the Temple was destroyed, the שכינה went into exile with the Jewish people, seeing that it was a pledge G–d had entrusted to them. This is the mystical dimension of the verse: אלה פקודי המשכן, משכן העדות, "These are the "pledges" of the Tabernacle, the "pledges" of the "Testimony" (Exodus 38,21). This is the basis for the Rabbinic statement in Megillah 29 that Israel is beloved (by G–d) since wherever the people of Israel are exiled, the שכינה is exiled with them. When they were exiled to Egypt the שכינה was with them, as we know from Genesis 46,4, where G–d told Jacob: "I shall go down to Egypt with you." When the Jewish people went into exile in Babylonia the שכינה accompanied them, as we know from Isaiah 43,14: "For your sake I sent to Babylon." When Israel was exiled in Elam the שכינה accompanied them, as we know from Jeremiah 49,38: "I will set My throne in Elam." When the Jewish people went into the Roman exile the שכינה also went with them, as we know from Isaiah 63,1: "Who is this coming from Edom,…..it is I who contend victoriously, powerful to give triumph." When the people of Israel return to their land from exile the שכינה will also accompany them as we know from Deut. 23,35: ושב ה' אלוקיכם את שבותך ורחמך, "G–d will come back with your imprisoned ones and have mercy on you." We would have expected the Torah to say: והשיב, "He will bring back," instead of "He will come back." We also have a verse in Song of Songs 4,8: "With Me from Lebanon O bride, come with Me!" Rabbi Meir explains this as a parable: It is like a king saying to his servant "if you need to seek me out, I shall be with my son." This is the meaning of "who dwells with them in their defilement," which we have quoted earlier. All this although G–d had warned Israel not to defile their encampments or the land they would live on, for it is the land G–d Himself has His abode in.

כהן-לוים-ישראלים, in descending order, are similar to נשמה-רוח-נפש. The Torah describes "Adam" on three levels, Genesis 2,7, ויהי אדם לנפש חיה. In Genesis 6,3, we find רוח האדם. Finally, in Genesis 2,7, we find him also as נשמת האדם. Kabbalists have described this parallel relationship and have claimed that this is the source for our reciting one hundred benedictions daily. The Israelite, who represents the נפש level, gives ten percent of his harvest to the Levite, who represents the רוח level. The Levite in turn, gives ten percent of what he has received to the Priest, who represents the נשמה level. This means the Priest is entitled to the "number" one (one out of a hundred). The author of Shaarey Orah as well as the author of Tolaat Yaakov have elaborated on the significance of these various numbers in the alphabet. We find the whole Jewish people referred to as נפש (singular), when Jacob and his family moved to Egypt (Genesis 46,27).

כהן-לוים-ישראלים, in descending order, are similar to נשמה-רוח-נפש. The Torah describes "Adam" on three levels, Genesis 2,7, ויהי אדם לנפש חיה. In Genesis 6,3, we find רוח האדם. Finally, in Genesis 2,7, we find him also as נשמת האדם. Kabbalists have described this parallel relationship and have claimed that this is the source for our reciting one hundred benedictions daily. The Israelite, who represents the נפש level, gives ten percent of his harvest to the Levite, who represents the רוח level. The Levite in turn, gives ten percent of what he has received to the Priest, who represents the נשמה level. This means the Priest is entitled to the "number" one (one out of a hundred). The author of Shaarey Orah as well as the author of Tolaat Yaakov have elaborated on the significance of these various numbers in the alphabet. We find the whole Jewish people referred to as נפש (singular), when Jacob and his family moved to Egypt (Genesis 46,27).

In my humble opinion this latter tradition need not contradict the statement that Rabbi Akiva was the re-incarnation of Joseph. Inclusion of the שכינה in the brothers' conspiracy of silence is equivalent to including Joseph, whom we have described as a junior מרכבה, carrier of the שכינה. Rabbi Akiva was the reincarnation of Joseph, and this is demonstrated by the former's close association with the שכינה. Joseph was the carrier of the שכינה when he descended to Egypt, which was the beginning of Jewish exile according to the Zohar. We also have the tradition that when the Jewish people descended into Egypt the שכינה accompanied them (Mechilta Beshalach on Genesis 46, 4). Something similar occurred before every other exile; in this particular instance, G–d inspired Joseph before the rest of his father's family came to Egypt. We see that Joseph's essence was a Divinely inspired one, which made him a partner of the שכינה for he was the מרכבה. If Rabbi Akiva ben Joseph breathed his last by saying “אחד,” this means that his soul departed while it was immediately "below" the שכינה.

We read in 12,48 that any male convert who wants to participate in the celebration of the Passover [in later years, after the Exodus. Ed.] must first circumcise himself. The same applies to a slave owned by a Jewish master (12,44). The reason is simply that as long as the powers of impurity are still a tangible part of such a male by reason of the presence of his foreskin he is not fit to approach the Presence of G–d. It is only by revealing the sign of the holy covenant that he becomes fit, and the Divine Presence is viewed as if drawing nourishment from that sanctified spot of the Covenant. There is another dimension to the inability of Israel to be redeemed except by the combination of the blood of circumcision and the blood of the Passover lamb. I have elaborated on this in the treatise cited above; here I will only summarize. A major component of the experience in Egypt was the need to re-instate the Holy Covenant and to repair the damage of the 130 years during which Adam had not maintained marital relations but had emitted semen which resulted in the creation of destructive agents in this world. This is why the redeemer (Moses) was born only 130 yars after the family of Jacob came to Egypt. Yochevet was 130 years old when Amram re-married her and when Moses was born, and she herself was conceived in the land of Canaan, but was not born until Jacob and his family arrived in Egypt, [viz: Rashi when reconciling the numbers of the Israelites who came down to Egypt as counted in Genesis 46,26. Ed.] I have alluded to this fact already several times in פרשת שמות.

We read in Chronicles I 16,27: הוד והדר לפניו, עז וחדוה במקומו, "Glory and majesty are before Him, strength and joy are in His place." This verse contains a lesson about the exiles of the Jewish people, i.e. that they are for the good of the Jewish people. The chapter quoted describes an ongoing activity, i.e. בשרו מיום אל יום ישועתו, that even the redemption that has not occurred yet should be spoken of daily, or better still, it refers to a period of over one thousand years. Considering that in our eyes G–d's day is equal to a millenium, it follows that this is why Adam died on the day he ate from the tree (as he was warned he would in Genesis 2,17), though he lived close to one thousand years, the verse quoted in Chronicles, clearly refers to a period of exile. Lamentations 1,13, which describes the exile as already lasting כל היום,-at least one thousand years,- prompts the Zohar to comment that "my very glory," הודי, has proven to be my ruin." When you re-arrange the letter of the word הוד, you get דוה, as in כל היום דוה, "suffering constantly" (ibid.). I have already elaborated on this elsewhere, where I wrote that the word "הדר," is derived from "היפוך, i.e. "turning something around, reversing it," similar to the meaning of the expression "הדרן עלך," i.e. הפוך בה והפוך בה," (keep reviewing it, keep busy with it). What the Zohar meant was that the original "הוד," glory, will eventually lead to an even greater degree of "הוד" in the messianic future, just because that "הוד" had been converted to "דוה." We are told of that day in the future that ישמח ה' במעשיו, "that G–d will delight in His works" (Psalms 104,31). When you re-arrange the letters of the word ישמח, you have the word משיח, a reference to when that time will come. Concerning that day, the Midrash says that the Messiah will be given the combined “הוד, glory of Moses and הדר (its reversal) of Joshua, meaning that from the time of Joshua the spiritual decline set in, and the glory, הוד, kept turning into progressively more דוה, suffering. The הדר, decline would then reverse itself, i.e. the meaning of that term would no longer be negative. This process will lead to the cessation and disappearance of the iniquity due to the pollutants that the serpent spread throughout the world, and will enable the Messiah to make his appearance, and the new dimension of "light," the glory of the Messiah to manifest itself. The הדר (reduced measure of majesty in relation to Moses) of the new leader Joshua will be reversed at that time, a time described in Ezra 2,63 as the period when there is once again a High Priest who can stand in front of the אורים ותומים, the time when Elijah will have appeared. This period is alluded to when the Torah tells us in Numbers 27,21 that the new leader of the Jewish people will have to consult G–d by means of the אורים ותומים, i.e. the Ineffable Name worn by the High Priest Elazar in his breast plate. We also find an allusion to messianic times when the Jewish people are counted in our portion; the name of the son of Dan is given as שוחם (26,42), whereas in Parshat Vayigash, (Genesis 46,23) it is given as חשים. I have found that the Ari comments on this that the reason why the letter ו is missing in the spelling of that name in Genesis is to allude to the letters in the word משיח. In the time immediately preceding the arrival of the Messiah, one of the descendants of Dan will conduct a great battle. All this is mentioned in the Zohar's commentary on Parshat Balak (page 68-69, Sullam edition). It is based on Genesis 49,17: "Dan shall be a serpent (נחש) by the road, a viper (שפיפון) by the path, that bites the horse's heels so that its rider is thrown backwards." According to the Zohar, the "serpent" is a reference to Shimshon whereas the "viper" is a reference to Elijah who rescued Tzaliah a descendant of Dan when the latter "flew" in pursuit of Bileam. The latter, escaped by means of sorcery and Tzaliah was at a loss what to do. When Numbers 23,3 describes Bileam as וילך שפי, this is a reference to Bileam's profound identification with the negative forces in this world as symbolized by the serpent. Jacob's blessing to Dan referred to above and resulted in two descendants of Dan referred to as Tzaliah and Ira asserting mastery over the evil forces of this world. Ira was one of David's warriors. This is what is alluded to in Samuel II 8,4: "David hamstrung all the horses (of his adversary)…"The רכב referred to in that verse alludes to Genesis 49,17, i.e. an exploit of Dan. The words ויפול רוכבו אחור in that same verse refer to someone called Shalyah from the tribe of Dan who will assist the משיח בן יוסף in the war preceding the coming of the Messiah. The verse in Genesis concludes with the word לישועתך קויתי השם, to indicate that looking forward to imminent redemption at that time will be justified. The reason why the son of Dan here is referred to as שוחם is to express the hope that this descendant of Dan at the time mentioned will be equivalent to the משוח מלחמה, the Priest whose special task it was to accompany Israel in battle (Sotah 42 on Deuteronomy 20,2). [Active participation in war was certainly not the Priest's normal function. In fact any priest who had killed a person was no longer fit to perform Service in the Temple. Ed.] Pinchas too, seeing that he was descended maternally from the tribe of Joseph, whose descendants will play the leading role in the battle preceding the coming of the Messiah, was such a משוח מלחמה. At a later stage this very שוחם is "transformed" into a חומש. When someone has inadvertently used sacred property, i.e. Temple property, for personal or mundane purposes, he must make restitution of the principal amount plus twenty per cent so that the total amount paid back is twenty percent (חומש) larger than the original. The people of Israel are considered as קדש לשם "sacred to the Lord," as Rashi explains on Song of Songs 8,12: האלף לך שלמה, ומאתים לנוטרים את פריו. Israel is considered G–d's vineyard, and anything stolen from it must not only be replaced, but the חומש, in this case מאתים, must be added to make the restitution legal.

The issue raised in Ketuvot 111 is raised by the Zohar (Sullam edition Vayechi page 106) in an even more drastic manner. To those who have died in חוצה לארץ and whose body is being transferred to ארץ ישראל, Rabbi Yuda wants to apply the verse from Jeremiah 2,7: ותבאו ותטמאו את ארצי ונחלתי שמתם לתועבה, "You have come and have defiled My land and made My inheritance an abomination!" Rabbi Yuda answered that Jacob was an exception to this rule; the שכינה had accompanied him on his descent to Egypt and had never left him. This is the reason G–d had said to him in 46,4: אנכי ארד עמך מצרימה, ואנכי אעלך גם עלה, "I shall go down with you to Egypt and I shall also go up with you." The message to Jacob was that, in spite of the fact that his soul would depart on foreign soil, it would remain close to G–d, whereas his body would be buried with those of his ancestors.

Why did the Midrash have to mention that Abraham's name was Abraham? Why did the Midrash have to mention that Jacob was called Israel? Both of these facts are recorded in the Torah explicitly! Another difficulty is that since the patriarchs are viewed as a group, why are Jacob and Isaac not also called Abraham? Neither, for that matter, do we find Abraham called Isaac? Why does the Midrash quote the verse from the beginning of the book of Exodus instead of quoting from Parshat Vayigash in which the descent of all the family of Jacob to Egypt is recorded? We find the identical wording to that in Exodus in Genesis 46,8. From that verse it is easier to conclude that Isaac was called Israel than from the verse in Exodus 1,1, since the stress in that latter verse is on the words את יעקב באו, they had come with Jacob. Rabbi Natan's statement emphasizing its profound meaning is puzzling. What profundity is there in his statement?

It states, “Thus said Hashem, for your sake I have sent you into Babylon and I have sent them all down in boats” (Yeshayahu 43:14). [The Zohar comments (Parashas Shemos 2b), “‘I have sent you into Babylon’ — This alludes to the Holy One Blessed is He.”] This illustrates the great love of the Holy One Blessed is He for Israel, on account of which He shares in their afflictions and descends with them into exile. Similarly, regarding the descent into Egypt it is stated, “These are the names of the children of Israel who came to Egypt with [es] Yaakov” (Shemos 1:1). Wherever the word את appears it includes something not mentioned in the verse. In this case it includes the Shechinah, which went down with Yaakov into Egypt, in keeping with the verse, “I will descend with you into Egypt and I will bring you up” (Bereishis 46:4). Regarding the Babylonian exile, however, not only does it state, “For your sake I have sent you into Babylon,” but, “In all their afflictions He is afflicted” (Yeshayahu 63:9). The succeeding exiles were more difficult to bear than the Egyptian exile.

In our portion the word איה in verse 21 is the allusion to such an event in the future. When the Torah discusses the ערכין and תמורה legislation in Leviticus 27,10 we are told: והיה הוא ותמורתו קודש, (if one did substitute one animal for another) "both the one originally vowed and its substitute will be deemed holy." The word תמורתו can be perceived as symbolizing תמר and ורות whose letters make up the word תמורתו. Both Tamar and Ruth may certainly be viewed as "substitutes," seeing they had not been deliberately chosen for the role they were destined to play. Our sages also say that when Yishai (David's father) slept with David's mother and David was conceived, this was due to an error on Yishai's part. He had thought that he was sleeping with a maid or concubine (Psalms 51,7 Metzudat David). [The verse reads –David speaking – "Indeed I was born with iniquity; with sin my mother conceived me." Ed.] David himself then was also a substitute as far as his mother was concerned. All of these extraordinary circumstances were designed by G–d to demonstrate that the impure is capable of being redeemed and becoming pure. The sperm that impregnated the various mothers mentioned originated in purity, could be called זרע קודש, holy seed. [In a gloss the author draws our attention to Ruth 4,7 where we find the expression על הגאולה ועל התמורה, placing the words "redemption and substitution" side by side. He finds a deep significance in this and speculates that it alerts us to the lesson that through the process of תמורה, substitution, the impure can achieve purity.] Er and Onan died because they defiled such sacred seed. Eventually Yehudah himself had to impregnate Tamar in order to enable the dynasty of David to have its beginnings. When, later on in 38,26, Yehudah acknowledged that he was the father of the infant Tamar was carrying, the Torah adds the word ממני, which our sages in Targum Yerushalmi interpret as a Heavenly voice calling out that the outcome conformed with a Heavenly plan and that neither Yehudah nor Tamar were guilty of misconduct.