הַמַּשְׂבִּ֣יַע בַּטּ֣וֹב עֶדְיֵ֑ךְ תִּתְחַדֵּ֖שׁ כַּנֶּ֣שֶׁר נְעוּרָֽיְכִי׃
좋은 것으로 네 소원을 만족케 하사 네 청춘으로 독수리 같이 새롭게 하시는도다
Rabbeinu Bahya
כנשר יעיר קנו, “Like an eagle arousing its nest;” Moses compares G’d’s attribute כבוד to the eagle, the king of the birds. Similarly, the attribute כבוד is perceived as the “king” of all the disembodied spirits. Just as the eagle takes its young, carrying them on top of its wings, guiding them to various places, so G’d alone, guides the Jewish people (in the desert). He did not employ the help or assistance of any other deity. We have a similar verse in Psalms 73,25: “Whom else do I have in heaven except You?” Assaph means that we rely neither on angels nor any other celestial forces but only on G’d directly. He goes on saying: “having You I want no one on earth.” Furthermore, elaborating on the comparison with the eagle, “just a the eagle renews itself from time to time, so Israel does renew itself from time to time.” The author cites Isaiah 40,31 יעלו אבר כנשרים as meaning that the eagle produces new wings from time to time. He quotes Psalms 103,5 as confirmation of the verse in Isaiah.
Rabbeinu Bahya
In light of this Midrash it is clear to me that the wisdom of Adam was reflected in the names he gave to the animals, each name alluding to its outstanding characteristic, that which made it different from other creatures.
Every single letter Adam chose in naming these animals reflected a special meaning. When the Midrash said: “due to his wisdom Adam recognised the nature of the lion, אריה,” this means that he was aware that the lion was the king of the animals due to its fearless posture. This concept was carried so far that eventually some of our prophets describe the greatness and fearlessness of G-d Himself in terms of a creature whose essence we understand, i.e. in terms of the lion (compare Hoseah 11,10) אחרי ה' ילכו, כאריה ישאג, “they will follow the Lord because He shouts like a lion.” The letters א-ר-י-ה which Adam selected when he named the lion were chosen by him as all these letters represent spiritual values. The letters א-ה-י are all letters which appear in one or the other names of G-d. or even in a single name of G-d such as the name א-ה-י-ה. The letter ר represents רוח, “spirit, i.e. “Holy Spirit.” So you will note that the prophet was not being irreverent when he drew a comparison between G-d and a lion, or vice-versa. A similar consideration prompted Adam to name the eagle נשר, as he recognised that the eagle amongst the birds was what the lion is amongst the mammals on earth. The eagle’s ability to fly higher than any other bird makes it the king amongst the birds.
We have a tradition that when an eagle completes his tenth year he flies so high that he approaches the planet which is the source of fire. Due to the excessive heat in that region he dives into the sea having already lost his feathers. Subsequently the eagle renews itself as before. This process repeats itself once every ten years until the hundredth year. At that point, the eagle flies even closer to the source of the fire and as a result drops into the sea and dies. This is what Rav Saadyah Gaon wrote (in connection with Psalms 103 5).
At any rate, Adam, who was aware of the nature of that bird, named it נשר, the letter ש representing the word אש, “fire,” the letter ר symbolising רוח, “Holy Spirit, and the letter נ symbolising נפילה, the fact that it “falls” into the sea. The eagle’s name in Hebrew therefore alludes to its role in history and its eventual demise; this is also what Adam is reported as having said (according to the Midrash we quoted) לזה נאה לקרותו נשר, “this creature would appropriately be called נשר.” The reason why the Midrash quotes Adam as saying נאה לקרות, is that the word נאה is understood to mean נאות וראוי, “suitable.” When it came to naming the donkey, Adam called it חמור. Adam had recognised that that animal was extremely dull-witted, more foolish than all the other animals. This is why he chose a name which is closely related to the word חומר, i.e. “matter, material.” An additional reason for that name is the fact that the donkey is a beast of burden employed to carry sacks of grain. Grain is measured in terms of a weight called חומר, as we find in Hoseah 3,2 חומר שעורים “a chomer of barley.” When Adam had concluded naming the animals, G-d asked Adam: “what is My Name?” Adam replied: א-ד-נ-י. When G-d asked him what had made him decide on that name, Adam said: “because You are the overlord of all creatures.” This is what is meant when Isaiah 42, 8 writes: אני ה' הוא שמי “I am the Lord; that is My name.” The repetition of the words “that is my name,” is a reference to the time that Adam had “named” G-d. If you were to ask where we find that Adam applied the four-lettered name י-ה-ו-ה to G-d, you will find it by removing the ח [According to תורת חיים our author means that you only have to deduct the letter ח from the word חיה, and you are left with the letters י-ה. When you write these letters as words, i.e. יוד הא, the numerical value (26) equals that of the four-lettered name of G-d.]
Every single letter Adam chose in naming these animals reflected a special meaning. When the Midrash said: “due to his wisdom Adam recognised the nature of the lion, אריה,” this means that he was aware that the lion was the king of the animals due to its fearless posture. This concept was carried so far that eventually some of our prophets describe the greatness and fearlessness of G-d Himself in terms of a creature whose essence we understand, i.e. in terms of the lion (compare Hoseah 11,10) אחרי ה' ילכו, כאריה ישאג, “they will follow the Lord because He shouts like a lion.” The letters א-ר-י-ה which Adam selected when he named the lion were chosen by him as all these letters represent spiritual values. The letters א-ה-י are all letters which appear in one or the other names of G-d. or even in a single name of G-d such as the name א-ה-י-ה. The letter ר represents רוח, “spirit, i.e. “Holy Spirit.” So you will note that the prophet was not being irreverent when he drew a comparison between G-d and a lion, or vice-versa. A similar consideration prompted Adam to name the eagle נשר, as he recognised that the eagle amongst the birds was what the lion is amongst the mammals on earth. The eagle’s ability to fly higher than any other bird makes it the king amongst the birds.
We have a tradition that when an eagle completes his tenth year he flies so high that he approaches the planet which is the source of fire. Due to the excessive heat in that region he dives into the sea having already lost his feathers. Subsequently the eagle renews itself as before. This process repeats itself once every ten years until the hundredth year. At that point, the eagle flies even closer to the source of the fire and as a result drops into the sea and dies. This is what Rav Saadyah Gaon wrote (in connection with Psalms 103 5).
At any rate, Adam, who was aware of the nature of that bird, named it נשר, the letter ש representing the word אש, “fire,” the letter ר symbolising רוח, “Holy Spirit, and the letter נ symbolising נפילה, the fact that it “falls” into the sea. The eagle’s name in Hebrew therefore alludes to its role in history and its eventual demise; this is also what Adam is reported as having said (according to the Midrash we quoted) לזה נאה לקרותו נשר, “this creature would appropriately be called נשר.” The reason why the Midrash quotes Adam as saying נאה לקרות, is that the word נאה is understood to mean נאות וראוי, “suitable.” When it came to naming the donkey, Adam called it חמור. Adam had recognised that that animal was extremely dull-witted, more foolish than all the other animals. This is why he chose a name which is closely related to the word חומר, i.e. “matter, material.” An additional reason for that name is the fact that the donkey is a beast of burden employed to carry sacks of grain. Grain is measured in terms of a weight called חומר, as we find in Hoseah 3,2 חומר שעורים “a chomer of barley.” When Adam had concluded naming the animals, G-d asked Adam: “what is My Name?” Adam replied: א-ד-נ-י. When G-d asked him what had made him decide on that name, Adam said: “because You are the overlord of all creatures.” This is what is meant when Isaiah 42, 8 writes: אני ה' הוא שמי “I am the Lord; that is My name.” The repetition of the words “that is my name,” is a reference to the time that Adam had “named” G-d. If you were to ask where we find that Adam applied the four-lettered name י-ה-ו-ה to G-d, you will find it by removing the ח [According to תורת חיים our author means that you only have to deduct the letter ח from the word חיה, and you are left with the letters י-ה. When you write these letters as words, i.e. יוד הא, the numerical value (26) equals that of the four-lettered name of G-d.]
Rabbeinu Bahya
In Pirke d'Rabbi Eliezer we are told (chapter 45) that G’d rewarded the women for this both in this life as well as in the world to come, seeing all this occurred on the first day of the month. (The Tabernacle was erected on the first of Nissan, the donations were given immediately after the Day of Atonement). Women observe the Day of the New Moon more than do the men as on that day they do not perform all the chores which they perform on ordinary days of the week (Hagahot Rabbi David Luria based on a saying in the Jerusalem Talmud Pesachim beginning of fourth chapter). In the world to come, the reward set aside for women having volunteered their jewelry on this occasion is based on Psalms 103,5: “He satisfies you with the good things in the prime of life so that your youth is renewed like that of the eagle.”
When the Torah reports that “every generously-minded individual brought bracelets and nose-rings, etc.,” this is a reference to the women who brought this jewelry. I believe we are dealing here with an abbreviated verse. The unabridged verse would read: “all the men who were of a generous disposition came after the women who had already brought jewelry including jewelry worn on intimate parts of their bodies.” The Torah then adds that the few people in whose possession there were such materials as blue wool, purple wool, and the skins of the animal called Tachash, etc., donated them. The same applies to the acacia wood in possession of a very small number of Israelites (verse 24). These people are named last as there were even fewer of them than there were people owning blue wool, etc.
When the Torah reports that “every generously-minded individual brought bracelets and nose-rings, etc.,” this is a reference to the women who brought this jewelry. I believe we are dealing here with an abbreviated verse. The unabridged verse would read: “all the men who were of a generous disposition came after the women who had already brought jewelry including jewelry worn on intimate parts of their bodies.” The Torah then adds that the few people in whose possession there were such materials as blue wool, purple wool, and the skins of the animal called Tachash, etc., donated them. The same applies to the acacia wood in possession of a very small number of Israelites (verse 24). These people are named last as there were even fewer of them than there were people owning blue wool, etc.