Komentarz do Rodzaju 46:15

אלה בני לאה ואת דינה בתו THESE ARE THE SONS OF LEAH WITH HIS DAUGHTER DINAH. — Scripture associates the men with the name of Leah and the women with that of Jacob for the reason given the Talmud (Niddah 31a).

THIRTY AND THREE. But in the above enumeration you will find only thirty-two. However, the one whose name is omitted is Jochebed who was born as they entered the border city, as it is said, Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, whom [her mother] bore to Levi in Egypt.¹⁸⁵Numbers 26:59. She was born in Egypt, but she was not conceived in Egypt. This is the principle of our Rabbis.¹⁸⁴Baba Bathra 123a. See also Ramban, next Verse.
But Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra replied, saying that “this is surprising. For if so, why did Scripture not mention the wonder that befell her, for she gave birth to Moses when she was one hundred and thirty years old?¹⁸⁶Israel stayed in Egypt two hundred and ten years. Since Moses was eighty years old when he stood before Pharaoh, he was thus born one hundred and thirty years after they entered Egypt. And why did it mention the case of Sarah who gave birth when she was ninety years old? This distress was not yet sufficient for us so that the poets came and composed liturgic poems for the day of Simchath Torah,¹⁸⁷Literally, “Rejoicing of the Law.” On this festival day, which marks the last day of the festival of Succoth, the concluding chapter of the life of Moses is read in the Synagogue. The joyous celebrations on this day are due to the annual completion of the reading of the Torah, as well as to the fact that it is commenced anew. wherein they state, ‘Jochebed, my mother, will be comforted after me,’ [implying that Jochebed survived her son], and thus she was two hundred and fifty years old at the death of Moses!¹⁸⁸Her age when Moses was born added to Moses’ life span of one hundred and twenty totals two hundred and fifty. Is the proof of the poets for this longevity of Jochebed because Ahijah the Shilonite¹⁸⁹I Kings 11:29. lived a life of great duration?¹⁹⁰According to an Agadic tradition, Ahijah the Shilonite was among those who went out of Egypt, and lived to the days of Jeroboam I, king of Israel, a period of about four hundred and fifty years. (Baba Bathra 121b.) On the basis of this tradition, the poets claimed that since longevity was possible for Ahijah, it was possible also for Jochebed, Moses’ mother. [If so, this is not a proof, for his longevity is but] an Agadic tradition or the opinion of a single authority.”¹⁹¹The source for Ahijah’s longevity is the Seder Olam, Chapter 1. This book is a chronicle of Biblical times, composed by Rabbi Yosei ben Chalaphtah, a disciple of Rabbi Akiba. These are the words of Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra.
Now lest he be wise in his own eyes¹⁹²Proverbs 26:5. in contradicting the words of our Rabbis, I must answer him and say that in any case, there is in the matter of Jochebed a great wonder of the hidden miracles¹⁹³See Ramban, above, 17:1. which constitute the foundation of the Torah. Jochebed was Levi’s actual daughter, and not merely his offspring, as it is written, Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, whom [her mother] bore to Levi,¹⁸⁵Numbers 26:59. and it is furthermore written, And Amram took himself Jochebed his father’s sister for a wife.¹⁹⁴Exodus 6:20. [Thus Amram, Levi’s grandson, married Jochebed, Levi’s daughter.] Now if we would say that Levi begot Jochebed in his younger years, just as he begot all his sons, this would place her birth soon after his descent into Egypt, and she would have been very old at the time of Moses’ birth,¹⁸⁶Israel stayed in Egypt two hundred and ten years. Since Moses was eighty years old when he stood before Pharaoh, he was thus born one hundred and thirty years after they entered Egypt. at or near the age stated by our Rabbis.¹⁹⁵In that case the wonder would have been only on the part of Jochebed. And if we would say that he begot her after he resided in Egypt for many years — say, for a period of fifty-seven years — then Levi would have been one hundred years old at Jochebed’s birth, for when he went down to Egypt he was forty-three years¹⁹⁶Jacob married Leah when he was eighty-four years old. (Bereshith Rabbah 68:5). When Levi, her third son, was born, Jacob was thus eighty-seven. When he stood before Pharaoh, Jacob said that he was one hundred and thirty years old (47:9). Thus Levi was forty-three at that time. of age. In that case, there were two great wonders! [Levi, at the time he begot Jochebed], was as old as Abraham, concerning whom Scripture mentions, Shall a child be born to him who is a hundred years old?¹⁹⁷Above, 17:17. and it is further written, And my lord is old also,¹⁹⁸Ibid., 18:12. while Jochebed would still have been an elderly woman of seventy-three when Moses was born! And should we further postpone Jochebed’s birth to the end of Levi’s days, the wonder of his begetting a child will be greater than that of Abraham!
But I will tell you a true principle, clearly indicated in the Torah. Scripture mentions miracles performed through a prophet and which he previously prophesied, or performed by an angel who is revealed in the course of a Divine mission, but those effected naturally in order to help the righteous or destroy the wicked are not mentioned in the Torah or in the books of the prophets. May this be “hot gold poured into the mouth”¹⁹⁹Sanhedrin 92b. of this wise man who refuted the words of our Rabbis in the matter of Phinehas²⁰⁰In his Commentary to Numbers 25:12, Ibn Ezra brushes aside the tradition that Phinehas is identical with Elijah. and similar matters in many places. Why should Scripture mention hidden miracles when all the foundations of the Torah are hidden miracles. In the entire scope of the Torah there are only miracles, and no nature or custom. All assurances of the Torah are in the form of signs and wonders, as it is not natural that he who has connection with one of the forbidden degrees of marriage or he who eats forbidden fat suffers excision or death.²⁰¹Ramban here refers to death by heavenly punishment. See, for example, Leviticus 20:17. Nor is it by nature that the heavens become as iron²⁰²Leviticus 26:19. because we have sowed our fields in the Sabbatical year. Similarly, all the assurances of the Torah concerning those blessings [which will result from our observance of the law], and all the good fortune of the righteous ones because of their righteousness, as well as all the prayers of our king David [in the book of Psalms] and all our prayers, all are founded upon miracles and wonders, except that there is no heralded change in the nature of the world, as I have already mentioned,¹⁹³See Ramban, above, 17:1. and I will yet explain it further,²⁰³Ibid., Verse 11. with the help of G-d.
I will give you faithful testimony to that which I have said. We know that from the time Israel came into the Land until the birth of our lord David, about three hundred and seventy years elapsed.²⁰⁴From the Exodus to the building of the Temple, four hundred and eighty years elapsed (I Kings 6:1). Deduct the forty years spent in the desert and the seventy years of David’s lifespan, and the remainder is three hundred and seventy. These years are to be divided among four generations: Salmon, Boaz, Obed, and Jesse [David’s father],²⁰⁵Ruth 4: 21-22. each one being allotted ninety-three years. Thus when they begot children they were all approximately as old as Abraham was when he begot Isaac. Furthermore, each one begot his son in the year of his death, a most unusual thing, since in their era the general span of life was not a hundred years. And if one of them begot his son in his younger years, as is usual, the others would have had to be much older than Abraham, and thus the wonder concerning them would be exceedingly great since people in the generation of Abraham lived long, and in the days of David the average lifespan was reduced to a half. And perhaps these four generations lived longer than their contemporaries for it is possible that Salmon was already advanced in years when he entered the Land of Israel. It is for this reason that the masters of Tradition, who are the true Sages, have attributed longevity to Obed,²⁰⁶Bereshith Rabbah 96:4: “The Sages have said, Obed lived more than four hundred years.” this being a covert miracle which was done to the ancestor of the kingdom [of the house of David], the son of the righteous one [Ruth], who had come to take refuge under the wings of the Divine Presence.²⁰⁷See Ruth 2:12. The Sages similarly mention longevity in connection with Obed’s mother, Ruth.²⁰⁸In Baba Bathra 91 b, it is stated that Ruth was still alive in the days of Solomon. Now I have already explained¹⁹⁷Above, 17:17. that the wonder in the case of Abraham was not as the above-mentioned Sage [Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra] and other masters of the Scriptures have thought.²⁰⁹That the wonder was due to Abraham’s advanced age. Abraham begot Isaac seventy-five years before his death, prior to the completion of two-thirds of his lifespan, and in all generations, old age does not affect people until three quarters of their lives have passed, just as the doctors have considered the divisions of life to be: childhood, youth, manhood, and old age. In these generations, when the lifespan is about seventy years, doctors do not consider a person aged until after sixty. Moreover, Abraham begot many children²¹⁰Above, 25: 1-2. forty years after the birth of Isaac, and the wonder is thus manifoldly miraculous! And should we say that G-d caused Abraham to revert to his youthful days, it may be asked why Scripture does not mention this great wonder when it was an open and known miracle which is contrary to nature. Moreover, it is known that in this present generation some men beget children until they are full seventy or eighty years old and more, depending upon the extent to which they retain their natural vitality. Women also have no specific time [for ceasing to conceive], as long as they have their period they can give birth. However, the wonder in the case of Abraham and Sarah, as I explained there,¹⁹⁷Above, 17:17. was due to the fact that they had not begotten children in their younger years, and now together they begot a child. In the case of Sarah there was an additional wonder, i.e., that the manner of women²¹¹Ibid., 18:11. had ceased with her, and after this happens, women no longer give birth. Now if Jochebed lived as many years as her father Levi had,²¹²One hundred and thirty-seven years (Exodus 6:16). and if her vitality remained with her until near her old age, as is the way of women, it would be no wonder if she gave birth at the time set forth by our Rabbis, [namely, at one hundred and thirty years of age]. It is because G-d wanted to redeem Israel though the brothers [Moses and Aaron], and since the time of the redemption had not yet come, He delayed their birth many years until their mother was old. Nothing is too difficult for the Eternal.²¹³See above, 18:14.
Rabbeinu Shlomo [Rashi] wrote:²¹⁴Verse 26 here. “According to the view that a twin-sister was born with each of Jacob’s sons, we must say that they died before Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt because they are not enumerated here.” There is no necessity for this conclusion, for the Rabbis have said:²¹⁵Bereshith Rabbah 84:19. See also Ramban, above, 38:2. “Rabbi Yehudah says that Jacob’s sons married their sisters.” These twin-sisters were thus the wives of Jacob’s sons, concerning whom Scripture says, besides Jacob’s sons’ wives.²¹⁴Verse 26 here. In fact, Rabbi Yehudah arrived at this opinion on the basis of this verse, since if it refers to Canaanitish women what reason is there for Scripture to say, besides Jacob’s sons’ wives, after it had already said, that came out of his loins?²¹⁴Verse 26 here. It is only because his sons’ wives were also of those “that came out of his loins” that Scripture refers to them. It does not, however, divulge them here, just as it did not mention them explicitly when they were born together with Jacob’s sons. Furthermore, Scripture mentions here only those who begot children and increased in Egypt, in order to make known the great miracle which was performed in the mighty increase which they effected in Egypt, for at this juncture, they numbered seventy souls. Thus their wives were not counted because a man and his wife are one.

כל נפש בניו ובנותיו, Our sages in Baba Batra 123 claim that the number includes Yocheved who was born at the border with Egypt, Yaakov not being part of the count of 33.

כל נפש בניו ובנותיו שלושים ושלוש. If we count the names mentioned we find only 32 names. This prompted the sages to say that Yocheved, daughter of Levi, was born on the way to Egypt when Levi’s wife had just arrived at the border so that on arrival the requisite number of Israelites entered Egypt. (Baba Batra 123) She could not have been enumerated at departure, not having born and named as yet. This is also why we find the word בנותיו, “his daughters, (pl.) “as an obscure reference to Yocheved [daughter and granddaughter being lumped together as “daughter.” Serach, being a daughter of Asher who was a son of Zilpah, is mentioned separately as a “sister” in verse 17. Ed.] Both Ibn Ezra and my father wrote that the number 33 is made up by the addition of Yaakov to the total [although he was not anyone’s descendant, so that it is difficult to see him as included in the words בני ישראל in verse 8. Ed.] According to the commentary of these two scholars the words ובנותיו would have to be understood as similar to “ובני דן,” and the sons of Dan, seeing that he is reported as having had only one son by the name of Chushim (verse 23)

אלה בני לאה, “these were the sons of Leah. Rashi comments on this that from here we learn that when a woman orgasms first she will give birth to a male child. The rationale is that the woman’s seed in such a situation has already started to disperse, whereas the man’s seed ejaculated later is still in its original strength. The reverse is true when the man ejaculates earlier, i.e. that the woman’s seed being last is still in its original strength, resulting in its immediate conception. (Compare Talmud, tractate Niddah folio 31)

שלשים ושלש THIRTY THREE — But in the enumeration above you will find only thirty-two. The one whose name is omitted is Jochebed who was born “between the walls” just as they entered the border city, as it is said (Numbers 26:59) “Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, whom her mother bore to Levi in Egypt — she was born in Egypt, but she was not conceived in Egypt (Bava Batra 123).