אָבִ֗י יִבָּחֵ֣ן אִיּ֣וֹב עַד־נֶ֑צַח עַל־תְּ֝שֻׁבֹ֗ת בְּאַנְשֵׁי־אָֽוֶן׃
욥이 끝까지 시험받기를 내가 원하노니 이는 그 대답이 악인과 같음이라
Rabbeinu Bahya
One of the amazing statements in that passage concerns Rabbi Chanina ben Tradyan who supposedly was exchanged for Emperor Lupinos who was burned in his stead. Similar statements appear concerning the other martyrs on that famous list. Concerning such far-out statements, I have heard that they must be understood as analogous to the binding of Yitzchak. Once Avraham was irrevocably committed to slaughtering Yitzchak, and the latter had accepted the decree, he was replaced by the ram Avraham found which had been caught in the thicket (Genesis 22,13). According to that view something similar occurred with all of the ten martyrs. Seeing that they had submitted to G’d’s decree it became possible to exchange them for Romans or others. The point is that once the lives of these scholars were spared they were in effect reborn. It is therefore no contradiction to say that they had indeed died a martyr’s death. These scholars had all “tasted” death so that the sin for which their lives were meant to expiate had been wiped out once and for all.
When the Torah wrote: “and place each man’s money at the mouth of his feeding bag,” this was an allusion that the Torah treats the life-force, נפש, of a person as equivalent to minted silver whereas his body is compared to a feeding bag seeing it contains the soul (silver). I believe we can carry this allusion a little further when we look at 43,10 when Yehudah said: “we could have returned already twice.” He may have hinted at something we find in Job 34,36 and 33,29[based on the concept of a soul’s repeated return to life on earth in order to cleanse itself of sins committed in a former life. Ed.] where the point is made that in order to deal finally with some sin, retribution may have to be spread over several installments. [Rabbi Moshe Alshich makes this point more clearly when explaining why G’d did not wipe out Pharaoh with a single plague. His sins were such that a single act of retribution would not have sufficed to punish him. He had to have relief between one affliction and the next in order to absorb and suffer the next installment. Ed.]
The verse in Job 33,29 פעמים שלוש עם גבר, “two or three times with a man,” may be a reference to the need for someone to be reincarnated repeatedly in order to expiate for sins committed in a previous incarnation. The words וישובו העירה describing the return of the brothers to the capital of Egypt may be an allusion to Yehudah’s feeling on the matter. All the Torah had needed to write was וישובו מצרימה, “they returned to Egypt.” The use of the word העירה suggests a meta-physical aspect of the matter. (Compare the use of the word עיר as a hyperbole in Kohelet 9,14). This is the reason that the Parshah concludes with the words:
When the Torah wrote: “and place each man’s money at the mouth of his feeding bag,” this was an allusion that the Torah treats the life-force, נפש, of a person as equivalent to minted silver whereas his body is compared to a feeding bag seeing it contains the soul (silver). I believe we can carry this allusion a little further when we look at 43,10 when Yehudah said: “we could have returned already twice.” He may have hinted at something we find in Job 34,36 and 33,29[based on the concept of a soul’s repeated return to life on earth in order to cleanse itself of sins committed in a former life. Ed.] where the point is made that in order to deal finally with some sin, retribution may have to be spread over several installments. [Rabbi Moshe Alshich makes this point more clearly when explaining why G’d did not wipe out Pharaoh with a single plague. His sins were such that a single act of retribution would not have sufficed to punish him. He had to have relief between one affliction and the next in order to absorb and suffer the next installment. Ed.]
The verse in Job 33,29 פעמים שלוש עם גבר, “two or three times with a man,” may be a reference to the need for someone to be reincarnated repeatedly in order to expiate for sins committed in a previous incarnation. The words וישובו העירה describing the return of the brothers to the capital of Egypt may be an allusion to Yehudah’s feeling on the matter. All the Torah had needed to write was וישובו מצרימה, “they returned to Egypt.” The use of the word העירה suggests a meta-physical aspect of the matter. (Compare the use of the word עיר as a hyperbole in Kohelet 9,14). This is the reason that the Parshah concludes with the words:
Rabbeinu Bahya
אל עפר תשוב, “and to dust you shall return.” The deeper meaning of this verse is reflected in the words of Elihu to Job in Job 34,36. The intelligent reader will understand what I mean. [Rabbi Chavell, in his annotations, understands the whole return to dust as a preliminary for man’s total rehabilitation from sin, a popular concept in all kabbalistic literature. Ed.]
Bereshit Rabbah 20,26 emphasizes that instead of the Torah writing תבא, “you will come,” it wrote תשוב, “you will return.” This is a reference to the eventual resurrection seeing that the words עד שובך אל האדמה already mentioned the first return to dust, original death. We may also see in this wording an allusion to Avraham who had said of himself that he was עפר ואפר, “dust and ashes,” and to whom Adam bequeathed seventy years of his allocated time on earth.
Bereshit Rabbah 20,26 emphasizes that instead of the Torah writing תבא, “you will come,” it wrote תשוב, “you will return.” This is a reference to the eventual resurrection seeing that the words עד שובך אל האדמה already mentioned the first return to dust, original death. We may also see in this wording an allusion to Avraham who had said of himself that he was עפר ואפר, “dust and ashes,” and to whom Adam bequeathed seventy years of his allocated time on earth.