Midrasz do Rodzaju 22:12

(Numb. 30:3:) “When someone makes a vow (neder) to the Lord.” Let our master instruct us: How are konamot (i.e., vows of abstinence) and vows (nedarim)? Thus have our masters taught (in Ned. 2:1): [If one makes] a konam (i.e., a vow of absitinence) [that he will not sleep, that he will not speak; [if he utters a konam to his wife] “that I will not have marital relations with you,” such a one is liable to [the injunction] (in Numb. 30:3), “he shall not break his word.” [If he swears] an oath (shevu'ah)] that he will not sleep, that he will not walk, he is forbidden [to do so].¹Cf. Ned. 2:2-5; Ned. 13b, 14b-15a; 20a; yNed. 2:2-5 (37b-6); above, Lev. 1:16. Oaths (shevu'ot) carry more weight than vows (nedarim); and vows, than oaths. How so? [if one makes] a konam not to make a sukkah, not to take up a lulab, not to put on phylacteries, in the case of vows (nedarim) it is forbidden to put them on or to make them, even though they are commandments (of the Torah); but in the case of oaths (shevu'ot) it is permitted, because one does not swear to transgress against the commandments. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, “Be circumspect with your vows (nedarim) and do not break them; for all who break vows (nedarim) end up in being faithless in oaths (shevu'ot).” And the one who is faithless in oaths is denying the Holy One, blessed be He through it and will never have forgiveness, as stated (in Exod. 20:7 = Deut. 5:11), “for the Lord will not exonerate [one who takes His name in vain].” [Yet] it is also written (in Jer. 4:2), “And you shall swear, ‘As the Lord lives,’ [in truth, in justice, and in righteousness].” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, “Do not think that you have permission to swear in My name even in truth.²Numb. R. 22:1. You are not entitled to swear by My name unless you possess all the following attributes (of Deut. 10:20), “The Lord your God you shall fear, Him you shall serve, to Him you shall hold fast, [and by Him you shall swear]”: That you should be like those three who were called God-fearing, Abraham, Job, and Joseph: Abraham of whom it is written (in Gen. 22:12), “For now I know that you fear [God].” Concerning Job it is written (in Job 1:1), “the man was blameless [and upright, one who feared God].” Concerning Joseph it is written (in Gen. 42:18), “for I fear God.” Ergo (in Deut. 10:20), “The Lord your God you shall fear.” (Deut. 10:20, cont.:) “Him you shall serve.” [You do so,] if you turn [all] your attention to the Torah, fulfill [its] commandments and have no other work (abodah). It therefore is stated (ibid.), “Him you shall serve (rt.: 'bd).” (Deut. 10:20, cont.:) “To Him you shall hold fast.” Can one hold fast to the Divine Presence? Moreover, has it not already been stated (in Deut. 4:24), “For the Lord your God is a consuming fire?” It is simply [being stated with reference to] anyone marrying off his daughter to a scholar who reads [Scripture] and recites [Mishnah], that he engage in commerce³Gk.: pragmateia. for him and have him benefit from his assets.⁴Ket. 111b; cf. Sot. 14a. It is with reference to [such a] one that it is stated (in Deut. 10:20), “to him you shall hold fast.”
If you have all these [attributes] you may swear; if not, you are not entitled to swear. There is a story about King [Jannai], that he had two thousand towns and they all were destroyed because of a true oath. (Numbers 30:17:) “Between a man and his wife, between a father and his daughter.” Just like a man only annuls vows of self-affliction and matters between him and her, so too a father only annuls with regards to self-affliction and what is between him and her.

That you should be like those three who were called God-fearing, Abraham, Job, and Joseph:
Abraham of whom it is written (in Gen. 22:12): <FOR NOW I KNOW> THAT YOU FEAR GOD.
Concerning Job it is written (in Job 1:1): BLAMELESS AND UPRIGHT, ONE WHO FEARED GOD AND TURNED AWAY FROM EVIL.
Concerning Joseph it is written (in Gen. 42:18): FOR I FEAR GOD. Ergo (in Deut. 10:20):THE LORD YOUR GOD YOU SHALL FEAR.
[(Deut. 10:20, cont.:) HIM YOU SHALL SERVE.] <You do so,> if you turn <all> your attention to the Torah, fulfill <its> commandments and have no other work. It therefore is stated (ibid.): HIM YOU SHALL SERVE (rt.: 'BD).
(Deut. 10:20, cont.:) TO HIM YOU SHALL HOLD FAST. Can one hold fast to the Divine Presence? Moroever, has it not already been stated (in Deut. 4:24): FOR THE LORD YOUR GOD IS A CONSUMING FIRE? It is simply <being stated with reference to> anyone marrying off his daughter to a scholar, who reads <Scripture> and recites <Mishnah>, that he engage in commerce⁴Gk.: pragmateia. for him and have him benefit from his assets.⁵Ket. 111b; cf. Sot. 14a. It is with reference to <such a> one that it is stated (in Deut. 10:20): TO HIM YOU SHALL HOLD FAST.

The midwives asked him, “How are we supposed to know if the baby is male or female?” Rabbi Chanina said: He gave them a sign. If the baby is facing downwards, know that it is a boy, for he is facing the earth from which he was created. And if the baby is facing upwards, know that it is a girl, for she is facing the ribs from which she was created.

R. Jochanan said: "What does the passage (Ruth 1, 1) And it came to pass in the days when the judges judged, mean? It was a generation that judged its judges. If the judge said to a person: 'Remove the mote from thy eye,' he answered: 'Take the beam out of thine own eyes.' If the judge said to one: 'Thy silver is become dross,' the answer was: (Is. 1, 32) Thy wine is drugged with water." (Job 1, 6-9) Now it happened … .that the accuser (Satan) also came in the midst of them, etc. Thus said Satan before the Holy One, praised be He! "Sovereign of the Universe! I have sped all over the world and found no trusty man like thy servant Abraham, to whom thou dost say (Gen. 13, 17) Arise, wall: through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it, for unto thee will I give it. And notwithstanding this, when he searched for a grave to bury his wife Sarah, and did not find one until he bought it for four hundred silver shekels, he did not murmur or bear anything against Thee." Then said the Lord to Satan: "Hast thou directed thy attention toward My servant Job, for there is none like him . . and shunned evil. What does shunned evil, mean? R. Aba b. Samuel said: "Job was liberal with his money; the custom of the world is if a laborer has done some service to the value of a P'ruta that the employer [takes him to the storekeeper] buys something for this coin, and gives the laborer one-half of what is due him. Job, however, gave him the whole coin for such services. R. Jochanan remarked: "That which was said concerning Job is more important than that which was said concerning Abraham, for regarding Abraham it is written (Gen. 22, 12) Now I know that thou fearest God, etc. And regarding Job it is written (Job. 1, 1) And that man was whole-heearted and upright, and one that feared God and shunned evil."

(Lev. 16:1:) NOW THE LORD SPOKE UNTO MOSES AFTER THE DEATH < OF AARON'S TWO SONS >. This text is related (to Ps. 75:5 [4]): I SAY TO THE MERRYMAKERS (la-holelim): DO NOT MAKE MERRY…. < La-holelim means > "to those who create confusion (la-ma'arbavya')."¹⁴Tanh., Lev. 6:2; PRK 26(27):3; Lev. R. 20:2. These are the ones whose heart is full of evil intrigues (holhaliyot).¹⁵Although the main text reads holhaliyot, Buber cites the word in his notes as the more traditional halholiyot. In either case, whatever the spelling, the midrash interprets holelim and holhaliyot as coming from the same root. R. Levi called them "Woe-makers."¹⁶Dehonayya’ [zehonayya’]. The word seems coined as a pun on “merrymakers” (holelim). See Jastrow, p. 373, s.v., WYNY’. These are the < MERRYMAKERS (holelim) > who bring woe (alelay) into the world. (Ps. 75:5 [4], cont.:) TO THE WICKED, DO NOT LIFT UP THE HORN. The righteous have not been happy in my world, so would you seek to be happy in my world? [The first Adam was not happy in my world, so would you seek to be happy in my world?] R. Levi said in the name of R. Simeon [ben Menasya]: The round of the first Adam's heel outshone¹⁷Literally: Made dim < by comparison >. the sphere of the sun.¹⁸PRK 4:4; 12:1; 26(27):3; PR 14:10; as well as Tanh., Lev. 6:2; Lev. R. 20:2. [And do not be surprised at this. According to universal custom, when a person makes two small plates,¹⁹Gk.: diskarion. one for himself and one for his household, whose does he make the more beautiful? Is it not his own? So the first Adam was created for the service of the Holy One, but the sphere of the sun was created for the service of mortals. Is it not all the more certain that the round of the first Adam's heel outshone the sphere of the sun?] Now if the round of Adam's heel outshone < it >, how much the more < must > the countenance²⁰Gk.: charakter; or possibly krystallos; Lat. crystallum. of his face < have outshone it >. R. Levi said in the name of R. Hama bar Hanina: The Holy One set up thirteen canopies for the first Adam in the Garden of Eden, as stated (in Ezek. 28:13): YOU WERE IN EDEN, THE GARDEN OF GOD, EVERY PRECIOUS STONE WAS YOUR COVERING. Then after all this glory, < he was told > (in Gen. 3:19): FOR DUST YOU ARE AND UNTO DUST YOU SHALL RETURN. Abraham was not happy in my world, so would you seek to be happy in my world? Abraham had a son born to him at the end of a hundred years. Then the Holy One said to him (in Gen. 22:2): PLEASE TAKE YOUR SON, YOUR ONLY SON. So he journeyed, as written (in vs. 4): AND ON THE THIRD DAY [ABRAHAM LIFTED HIS EYES] AND SAW. What did he see? He saw a cloud joined to the mountain. He said to his son: My son, what do you see?²¹See above, Tanh. (Buber), Gen. 4:46, and the note there. He said to him: I see a beautiful mountain with a cloud joined to it. He said to his lads: Do you see anything? They said to him: We see a mountain and a hill. He said to them (in vs. 5): STAY HERE WITH ('M) THE DONKEY, < i.e., STAY HERE, YOU > PEOPLE ('M) WHO ARE LIKE THE DONKEY.²²So Yev. 62a; Ket. 111a; Qid. 104a; BQ 49a; Nid. 17a; Eccl. R. 9:7:1; PRE 31. See also Gen. R. 56:2; PR 40:6. He took his son Isaac and went up to the top of the mountain. Then he built the altar, arranged the wood, bound him upon the altar, and took the knife. If the Angel had not said to him (in vs. 12): DO NOT RAISE [YOUR HAND AGAINST THE LAD], he would have already been slaughtered. When he came to his mother, she said to him: What did your father do to you. He told her: Daddy took me, brought me up mountains, brought me down valleys, brought me up to the top of a particular mountain, and built an altar. So he told the whole story. If the Angel had not said to him (in Gen. 22:12): DO NOT RAISE [YOUR HAND AGAINST THE LAD], I would have already been slaughtered. She said to him: Woe (vay) to you, < my > poor son! If < the angel > had not said to him (in vs. 12): DO NOT RAISE < YOUR HAND >, you would have already been slaughtered! She did not succeed in finishing the sentence before her breath departed from her. It is so stated (in Gen. 23:2): AND ABRAHAM PROCEEDED TO MOURN FOR SARAH AND WEEP FOR HER. From where had he < just > come? He had < just > come from Mount Moriah.²³Eccl. R. 9:7:2.

Another interpretation (of Lev. 27:2) “When anyone explicitly vows […]”: This text is related (to Prov. 11:30), “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, but a wise person acquires lives (npshwt).” If a person is righteous, and does not occupy himself with Torah, even though he is righteous, he has nothing in his possession. Rather, “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life”; this refers to the Torah. Because when one is a Torah scholar (literally, child of Torah), he learns how one acquires lives (npshwt), as stated (ibid.), “but a wise person acquires lives.” As if he makes a vow for the value of human beings, he would have learned what to do from the Torah. But if he does not have Torah in his possession, he has nothing in his possession. And so you find in the case of Jephthah the Gileadite, because he was not a Torah scholar, he lost his daughter.¹⁶Gen. R. 60:5; Lev. R. 37:4. When? In the time that he fought with the Children of Ammon and made a vow at that time, as stated (in Jud. 11:30-31), “Then Jephthah made a vow to the Lord, [and said, ‘If You indeed give the Children of Ammon into my hand;] Then it shall be that whatever comes forth…, shall belong to the Lord, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.’” At that time the Holy One, blessed be He, was angry with him. The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “If there had come out from his house a dog, a pig, or a camel, he would have offered it to Me.” Hence He summoned his daughter to him. And why so much? So that all those that vow will learn the laws of vows and abnegations. [And the result was (in Jud. 11:34-35),] “and there was his daughter coming out to greet him [….] And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes […].” But was not Phinehas there?¹⁷Since he was an outstanding Torah scholar, and an outstanding Torah scholar could have annulled the vow. And still he said (in vs. 35), “and I cannot retract?” However, Phinehas had said, “I am a high priest and the son of a high priest. Shall I humble myself and go to an ignoramus ('am ha'arets)?” [And] Jephthah said, “I am head of the tribes of Israel and head of the magistrates. Shall I humble myself and go to a commoner?”¹⁸Gk.: idiotes. Between the two of them that poor woman perished from the world; so the two of them were liable for her blood. In the case of Phinehas, the holy spirit left him. In the case of Jephthah, his bones were scattered, as stated (in Jud. 12:7), “and he was buried in the cities of Gilead.”¹⁹Translations tend to emend the text and have Jephthah buried in a single city. When he sought to sacrifice her, she cried in front of him. His daughter said to him, “My father, I came out to greet you in joy, and [now] you slaughter me? Is it perhaps that the Holy One, blessed be He, wrote in the Torah that Israel offer the lives (npshwt) of people in front of the Holy One, blessed be He? And is it not written (in Lev. 1:2), ‘When one of you presents an offering to the Lord from the beasts.’ ‘From the beasts’ and not from people?” He said to her, “My daughter, I made a vow (in Jud. 11:31), ‘Then it shall be that whatever comes forth […].’ Is it possible that anyone who makes a vow does not have to fulfill his vow?” She said to him, “Behold, when our father Jacob made a vow (in Gen. 28:22), ‘and of all that You give me, I will surely set aside a tithe for You’; when the Holy One, blessed be He, gave him twelve sons, did he ever offer up one of them as a sacrifice? Moreover, does not Hannah [do likewise], when she makes a vow and says (as reported in I Sam. 1:11), ‘And she made a vow and said, “Lord of hosts, if You will surely see… [then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life].”’ Did she ever offer up her son as a sacrifice to the Holy One, blessed be He?” All these things she said to him, but he did not heed her. When she saw that he did not heed her, she said to him, “Let me go to a court of law. Perhaps one of them will find a loophole for your words.” Thus it is stated (in Jud. 11:37), “leave me alone for two months, so that I may go and come down to the mountains.” R. Zechariah said, “Is there anyone who comes down to the mountains? Does not one go up to the mountains? So what is the meaning of ‘and come down to the mountains?’ These represent the Sanhedrin,²⁰Gk.: synedrion. as in the usage (of Micah 6:2), ‘Hear, O mountains, the lawsuit of the Lord.’” She went to them, but they did not find a loophole for undoing his vow, because of the sin of those that he slaughtered from the tribe of Ephraim. So it is with reference to him that Scripture has said (in Prov. 28:3), “A poor man who exploits the indigent is a torrential rain which leaves no bread.” “A poor man who exploits the indigent.” This is referring to Jephthah; since he was poor in Torah like a [mere] sycamore shoot.²¹The metaphor designates one who is poor. (Prov. 28:3, cont.:) “Who exploits the indigent,” since he exploited the indigent, when he said [to the men of Ephraim] (in Jud. 12:6), “Say, ‘Shibboleth’; and he said, ‘Sibboleth,’ not being able to pronounce it correctly.” Then he slaughtered him. Therefore, he is (according to Prov. 28:3, cont.) “a torrential rain, and there is no bread,” in that he had someone who would undo his vow; however (ibid., cont.), “there is no bread,” in that the Holy One, blessed be He, had taken away the halakhah from them, so that they would not find [a loophole] for undoing his vow. When they did not find [a loophole] for undoing his vow, he went up and slaughtered her before the Holy One, blessed be He. Then the holy spirit proclaimed, “Did I desire you to sacrifice lives (npshwt) to Me, [lives] (according to Jer. 19:5), ‘which I never commanded, never spoke for, and which never entered My mind.’” “Which I never commanded” Abraham, that he slaughter his son. Instead I said to him (in Gen. 22:12), “Do not raise your hand against the lad.” [This was] in order to make known Abraham’s love [of God] to the nations of the world, that he did not spare his only one from Me and carried out the will of his Maker. (Jer 19:5 cont.:) “Never spoke” to Jephthah to offer up his daughter as a sacrifice to Me. Rabbi Johanan and R. Simeon ben Laqish [differed on the matter]. Rabbi Johanan says, “He was liable for money [in order to fulfill his vow], like the matter is written in Arakhin.” And R. Simoen ben Laquish said, “[He was liable for] nothing, as he made a stipulation about something that is impossible to sacrifice, and [so] there was no [liability] upon him.” “And which never entered my mind,” this is referring to Misha the king of Moab, about whom it is written that when he fell into the hand of the king of Israel (in II Kings 3:27), “And he took his firstborn son, who would become king in his stead, and offered him up as a burnt offering upon the wall.” What caused Misha to sacrifice his son?²²See the parallel text in Buber Tanchuma 10:7, which has the final question being about Jephthah, which fits much better with the continuation of the section. Because he was not a Torah scholar; for if he had read the Torah, he would not have lost his son, since it is written (in Lev 27:2-4) “When anyone explicitly vows [to the Lord the value of human beings (npshwt)] And the value of a male shall be […]. And if it is a female….” Ergo (in Prov. 11:30), “but a wise person acquires lives (npshwt).”

[(Gen. 26:1:) NOW THERE WAS A FAMINE IN THE LAND.] This text is related (to Ps. 33:18): BEHOLD, THE EYE OF THE LORD IS ON THOSE WHO FEAR HIM.¹⁹Gen. R. 40:1. It is speaking about Abraham, of whom it is read that he feared God. Thus it is stated (of Abraham in Gen. 22:12): THAT YOU FEAR GOD. (Ps. 33:18, cont.:) ON THOSE WHO WAIT FOR HIS STEADFAST LOVE, since < Abraham > was waiting for the Holy One, for this reason: (Ps. 33:19:) TO DELIVER THEIR LIFE FROM DEATH, < i.e., > from his execution by Nimrod. (Ibid., cont.:) TO KEEP THEM ALIVE IN THE FAMINE, the one which came in his days, as stated (in Gen. 26:1): NOW THERE WAS A FAMINE IN THE LAND.

We are taught R. Maier says, "It is said concerning Job, (Job. 1, 1) Fearing the Lord, and it is also said concerning Abraham, (Gen. 22, 12) Thou fearest God, just as the fearing of God mentioned concerning Abraham, was out of love, so also does the fearing of God mentioned in connection with Job mean out of love." But concerning Abraham himself how do we know that it was out of love? It is written (Is. 41, 8) The seed of Abraham My friend. What is the difference between one who serves God out of love, and one who serves Him out of fear [of punishment?] The difference is as mentioned in the following Baraitha: R. Simon b. Elazar says: "It is much more important that one serves God out of love than out of fear, for the rewards of the latter will endure for a thousand generations, while the reward of the former will endure for two thousand generations; it is written here, (Ex. 20, 6) And showing mercy unto the thousands of generations of them that love Me, and it is written, (Dent. 7, 9) That keep His commandments to the thousandth generation." Why, in the latter case, is it also mentioned who keepest the kindness and covenant of those who love Him and keep His commandments unto thousand generations? The reward of thousand generations, refers to the word next to it. There were two disciples who were standing before Raba, one said: "It was recited to me in my dream, (Ps. 31, 20), O how great is Thy goodness which Thou hast treasured up, with those that fear Thee." And the other one said it was recited to me in my dream, (Ib., ib. 12) And will rejoice all that put their trust in Thee. Forever will they shout for joy, etc." Raba then said to them: "Both of you are perfectly righteous; however, one of you is so out of love and the other out of fear [of punishment]."

(Lev. 5:1:) “And if a soul sins in that it hears a voice swearing […, if he does not speak out, he shall bear his iniquity].” This text is related (to Eccl. 5:1), “Do not be rash with your mouth, and let not your heart hasten to bring forth a word before God.” These [words refer to] people who vilify the name of the Holy One, blessed be He. Come and see, when the celestial beings were created, those below were created with half of the [divine] name, as stated (in Is. 26:4), “for through Yh,³⁸YH is the first half of the divine name, which the Hebrew spells out where the translation reads THE LORD. the Lord formed the worlds.”³⁹The midrash interprets tsur ‘olamim as FORMED THE WORLDS (i.e., this world and the world to come) rather than as the more usual EVERLASTING ROCK. For similar interpretations, see yHag. 2:1 (77c); Men. 29b; Gen. R. 12:10; M. Pss. 62:1; 114:3; cf. also M. Pss. 118:14. But why were they not created with all of it? So as not to mention the full name [of the Holy One, blessed be He] with him. Woe to those creatures who vilify the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, in vain. See what is written about offerings (in Lev. 1:2), “When one of you presents an offering to the Lord.” It does not say "to the Lord, an offering," but “an offering to the Lord” (so that who changes his mind about an offering in mid-sentence not mention God’s name for no reason).⁴⁰Tanh. (Buber), Gen. 1:6; Ned. 10ab; Sifra to Lev. 1:2, Wayyiqra, Parashah 2; Sifre, Deut.32:3 (306); Gen. R. 1:13. And [yet] people vilify the name of the Lord in vain. It is therefore stated (in Eccl. 5:1), “Do not be rash with your mouth…. for God is in heaven and you are on earth.” For who would say that God is not in heaven and that people are not on earth? [Accordingly], Solomon has said, “Every time that the weakest of the weak is above, he defeats the warrior below.” Go and learn from Abimelech (in Jud. 9:53), “But a certain woman dropped an upper millstone on Abimelech's head and cracked his skull.”⁴¹Since the woman was above the warrior Abimelech in the tower of Thebez, her killing him is an example of a relatively weak person defeating a warrior from above. And if he was a warrior among warriors and there was none like him, and [yet] a woman [was able to] kill him from above, how much the more so in the case of the Holy One, blessed be He! See what is written about Him (in Dan. 4:32), “All the inhabitants of the earth are of no account, and He does as He wishes [with the host of heaven and with the inhabitants of the earth].” It is also written (in Ps. 47:3), “For the Lord most high is awesome, a great King over all the earth,” and people are below. (Eccl. 5:1:) “Therefore let your words be few.” So what is there for you to do? To put your hand upon your mouth and upon your ear in order to neither speak nor hear. Ergo (in Lev. 5:1), “If a soul sins.”⁴²These words also appear in Lev. 5:21 [6:2]. (Lev. 5:1:) [“And if a soul sins in that it hears a voice swearing,] when he is a witness to what he has either seen or come to know, [if he does not speak out, he shall bear his iniquity].” This text is related (to Prov. 29:24), “The one who shares with a thief hates his own soul; he hears swearing and does not speak out.” What has caused anyone to say of him, “If a soul sins?” [It is] simply because he did not come and tell a sage, “So-and-so blasphemed the name of the Holy One, blessed be He.” He therefore shares his iniquities with him, as stated (in Lev. 5:1), “if he does not speak out, he shall bear his iniquity.” Therefore Solomon has said (in Prov. 29:24), “The one who shares with a thief hates his own soul.” Just as when the thief is caught, his partner is convicted along with him;⁴³Cf. Lev. R. 6:2. so whoever hears blasphemy of the Holy One, blessed be He, and does not speak out is convicted along with him. And let no one say, “What denunciation (lashon hara’ah) do I say?” The Holy One, blessed be He, has said (in Lev. 5:1ff.), “’On every matter,’ there is a denunciation in it. [But] with cursing the name, there is no denunciation.” Why? Because [it is] just like a case of a person cursing his companion. When he hears him, it is of no concern to him. But if he has cursed his father in his presence, he puts his life on the line and says, “You have cursed my father.” Moses said (in Deut. 32:6), “Is He not your Father who created you?” (Lev. 5:1:) [“And if a soul sins in that it hears a voice swearing,] when he is a witness to what he has seen.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “If you want to bear witness, bear witness; but if not, I will bear witness.” Thus it is stated (ibid.), “when he (He) is a witness.” And where is it shown that the Holy One, blessed be He, is called a witness? Where it is stated (in Jer. 29:23), “I am the One who knows and bears witness, says the Lord.” Come and see. All the parashioth written in this book have “mistake” written in them, except for this parashah, in which “mistake” is not mentioned.⁴⁴In fact, MISTAKE (shegagah), i.e., UNINTENTIONAL SIN, does appear in this parashah (in 5:15, 18). Elsewhere in Lev. the word only appears in 4:2, 22, 27; 22:4.) About him Solomon has said (in Eccl. 5:5), “Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, and do not say before the angel that it was a mistake,” (in Eccl. 5:1), “for God is in the heavens.” It is comparable to two people who threw stones at an image of a king.⁴⁵Gk.: eikonion, a diminutive form of eikon. One was drunk, and one was in possession of his senses. Both of them were caught and went to trial. [The judge] rendered a [guilty] verdict⁴⁶Gk.: apophasis. against the one with his senses and acquitted the one who was drunk. So it is in the case of whoever sins. It is concerning him that “mistake” is written (in Lev. 4:2) – “When a soul sins by mistake (rt.: shgg) [against any of the Lord's commandments]….”; (and likewise in Lev. 4:13) “And if the whole congregation of Israel should err (rt.: shgg).” And [about] all of them; because they sinned by mistake, they bring an offering and it shall be forgiven them. It is so stated (in Numb. 15:26), “The whole congregation of the Children of Israel and the stranger who resides in their midst shall be forgiven because [it happened] to all the people by mistake.” But the one who blasphemes receives a [guilty] verdict, as stated (in Lev. 24:16) “And the one who blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death.” It is also written (in Jer. 4:2), “And you shall swear, ‘As the Lord lives,’ in truth, in justice, and in righteousness; then shall nations bless themselves in Him, and Him shall they glory.” Scripture also says (in Deut. 10:20), “The Lord your God you shall fear, Him you shall serve, to Him you shall hold fast”; then after that, “and by Him you shall swear.”⁴⁷See Tanh. (Buber), Numb. 9:1; Numb. R. 9:1. (Ibid.:) “The Lord your God you shall fear,” so that you will be like those three of whom it is written, “he feared God (yr' 'lhym)”: Abraham, Joseph and Job. About Abraham it is written (in Gen. 22:12), “for now I know that you fear God (yr' 'lhym).” About Joseph it is written (in Gen. 42:18), “I fear (yr') God ('lhym).” About Job it is written (in Job 1:2), “he feared God (yr' 'lhym) and shunned evil.” (Deut. 10:20, cont.:) “Him you shall serve,” in that you will be busy with the Torah and with [fulfilling] the commandments. (Ibid. cont.:) “To him you shall hold fast,” in that you will honor the Torah scholars and benefit them with your property. Moses said to Israel, “Do not think that I have allowed you to swear by His name, even in truth. It is only, if all these conditions (mentioned earlier in the verse) abide with you, that you are entitled to swear; and if not, you are not entitled to swear [by His name], even in truth.” You shall not be like those of whom it is written (in Jer. 7:9), “[Will you …] swear falsely and sacrifice to Baal?” Rather, fulfill all these conditions and after that you are Mine, as stated (in Jer. 4:1), “If you return, O Israel, says the Lord, if you return unto Me [….]” Then after that [it says] (in vs. 2), “And you shall swear, ‘as the Lord lives’….” Our masters have said, “Even in truth one cannot swear.” Why? Thus have our masters taught (in Dem. 2:3): Let not someone from Israel be unrestrained in vows⁴⁸See also Ned. 20a. or in jesting, (or to lead one's companion astray with an oath by saying it is not an oath). There is a story about the royal mountain where there were two thousand towns, and all of them were destroyed because of a truthful oath that was unnecessary.⁴⁹Tanh. (Buber), Numb. 9:1; Numb. R. 9:1; cf. also Git. 57a. Now if one who swears in truth has this happen, how much the more so in the case of one who swears to a lie? How did they act? One would utter an oath to his companion that he was going to such and such a place to eat and drink. Then they would go and act to fulfill their oath. It is therefore stated (in Lev. 5:1), “If a soul sins in that it hears a voice swearing.” Now when the Holy One, blessed be He, comes to judge all people in the world to come, He will judge them along with sorcerers and adulterers. Where is it shown? Where it is stated (in Mal. 3:5), “Then I will draw near to you in judgment; and I will be a swift witness against sorcerers, against adulterers, against those who swear to a lie (in My name).” And I am finding them guilty and bringing them down to Gehinnom. The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “With the mouth that I gave you to be praising and glorifying My name, you are reproaching, blaspheming, and swearing to a lie in My name? Since I created all people to praise Me, as stated (in Prov. 16:4), “The Lord has made everything for His own purpose.” So is it not enough for you that you do not praise Me, but [that] you blaspheme [Me as well]! The Scripture has said (in Is. 57:20), “But the wicked are like the troubled sea, [for it cannot rest (rt.: shqt)].” [They are] just like this [kind of] sea which has waves in its midst exalting themselves upward. When each and every one of them reaches the sand, it is broken and returns (hozer).⁵⁰The word also means “repents.” And its companion also looks at it breaking, and [yet] exalts itself upward without repenting (hozer). So are the wicked, who look at one another and exalt themselves. Therefore, they are likened to the sea, as stated (in Is. 57:20), “But the wicked are like the troubled sea….” So did all the generations, the generation of Enosh, the generation of the flood, and the generation of the dispersion (i.e., of the Tower of Babel), not learn from each other. Instead they were exalting themselves. Therefore they are compared to the sea (in Is. 57:20), “But the wicked are like the troubled sea.” (Is. 57:20, cont.:) “For it cannot rest (rt.: shqt).” The wicked have no rest in the world, but the righteous have serenity (shqt), as stated (in Jer. 30:10), “and Jacob shall again have peace (shqt) and quiet with none to make him afraid.” Another interpretation (of Is. 57:20), “But the wicked are like the troubled sea.” Just as the sea has its dirt and mud in its mouth, so the wicked have their stench in their mouth. Thus it is stated (at the end of Is. 57:20), “and its waters toss up slime and mud.” It is not from choice that one hears blasphemies and invectives, but from the midst of the sins which are within him. Thus it is stated (in Lev. 5:1), “If a soul sins and hears a voice swearing….”⁵¹Most translations equate the sinning with the swearing. This more literal translation illustrates the point that the swearing comes from a soul which has already sinned. You find [that there are] three things under human control and three things not under human control ….⁵²Tanh., Gen. 6:12 (i.e., Toledot 12); Gen. R. 67:12. And not only [now] but even in the world to come. [So it is stated] (in Job 12:23), “He exalts (msgy') nations and destroys them.” The written text (ketiv) is “mshg'” (which means, misleads).⁵³In unpointed Hebrew the Sin (S) and the Shin (Sh) look alike. Since MShG’, which is pointed mashge’, can also be spelled with the extra yod (i.e., Y), the two words are interchangable in an unpointed text. Then He destroys them [and] brings them down to Abaddon,⁵⁴Abbadon is a name for Hell, which means “destruction.” while the righteous watch them. Thus it is stated (in Is. 66:24), “Then they shall go out and look at the corpses of the people who have rebelled against Me; their worms shall not die nor shall their fire be quenched”.

Another interpretation (of Lev. 27:2:) WHEN ANYONE EXPLICITLY VOWS…. This text is related (to Prov. 11:30): THE FRUIT OF THE RIGHTEOUS IS A TREE OF LIFE, [BUT A WISE PERSON ACQUIRES LIVES (NPShWT)]. This refers to the Torah, because when one is a Torah scholar (literally: child of Torah), he learns how one acquires lives (NPShWT), as stated (ibid.): BUT A WISE PERSON ACQUIRES LIVES.²⁷Tanh., Lev. 10:5. And so you find in the case of Jephthah the Gileadite, because he was not a Torah scholar, he forfeited his daughter.²⁸Gen. R. 60:5; Lev. R. 37:4. When? In the time that he fought with the children of Ammon and made a vow, as stated (in Jud. 11:30–31): THEN JEPHTHAH MADE A VOW TO THE LORD, < AND SAID: IF YOU INDEED GIVE THE CHILDREN OF AMMON INTO MY HAND, > THEN IT SHALL BE THAT WHATEVER COMES FORTH…, < SHALL BELONG TO THE LORD, AND I WILL OFFER IT UP AS A BURNT OFFERING >. At that time the Holy One was angry with him. The Holy One said: If there had come out from his house a dog, a pig, or a camel, he would have offered it to me. The Holy One summoned his daughter to him, as stated (in Jud. 11:34–35): AND THERE WAS HIS DAUGHTER COMING OUT TO MEET HIM <…. > AND IT CAME TO PASS, WHEN HE SAW HER, < THAT HE RENT HIS CLOTHES…. > But was not Phinehas there?²⁹As a high priest he could have annulled the vow, as explained in Eccl. R. 10:15:1, as well as in Gen. R. 60:5 and Lev. R. 37:4. Still he said (in vs. 35): AND I CANNOT RETRACT. However, Phinehas had said: I am a high priest and the son of a high priest. Shall I humble myself and go to an ignoramus 'am ha'arets)? But Jephthah said: I am head of the tribes of Israel and head of the magistrates. Shall I humble myself and go to a commoner?³⁰Gk.: idiotes. Between the two of them that poor woman perished; so the two of them were liable for her blood. In the case of Phinehas, the Holy Spirit left him. In the case of Jephthah, his bones were scattered, as stated (in Jud. 12:7): AND HE WAS BURIED IN THE CITIES OF GILEAD.³¹Translations tend to emend the text and have Jephthah buried in a single city. His daughter had said to him: My Father, is it ever written in the Torah: They offer the lives (NPShWT) of their sons upon the alter? And is it not written (in Lev. 1:2): [WHEN ONE OF YOU PRESENTS AN OFFERING TO THE LORD FROM THE CATTLE], < YOU SHALL PRESENT YOUR OFFERING > FROM THE HERD OR FROM THE FLOCK, < i.e., > from the cattle and not from the children of Adam? He said to her: My daughter, I made a vow (in Jud. 11:31): THEN IT SHALL BE THAT WHATEVER COMES FORTH…. [She said to him:] When our father Jacob made a vow (in Gen. 28:22): AND OF ALL THAT YOU GIVE ME, I WILL SURELY SET ASIDE A TITHE FOR YOU, and when the Holy One gave him twelve tribes, did he ever offer up one of them as a sacrifice? [Moreover, does not Hannah < do likewise >, when she makes a vow and says (in I Sam. 1:11): THEN I WILL GIVE HIM TO THE LORD ALL THE DAYS OF HIS LIFE. Did she ever offer up her son as a sacrifice to the Holy One?] All these things she said to him, but he did not heed her. She said to him: Let me go to a court of law. Perhaps one of them will find a loophole for your words. Thus it is stated (in Jud. 11:37): LEAVE ME ALONE FOR TWO MONTHS, [SO THAT I MAY GO AND COME DOWN TO THE MOUNTAINS]. R. Levi ben Berekhyah said: Is there anyone who comes down to the mountains? Does not one go up to the mountains? So what is the meaning of AND COME DOWN TO THE MOUNTAINS? These represent the Sanhedrin,³²Gk.: synedrion. as in the usage (of Micah 6:2): HEAR, O MOUNTAINS, THE LAWSUIT OF THE LORD. [She³³The bracketed section, which continues to near the end of the paragraph, is taken from Codex Vaticanus Ebr. 34, and from the traditional published editions of Tanh., Lev. 10:7. went to them, but they did not find a loophole for undoing his vow. So it is with reference to him that the Scripture has said (in Prov. 28:3): A POOR MAN WHO EXPLOITS THE INDIGENT IS A TORRENTIAL RAIN WHICH LEAVES NO BREAD. A POOR MAN: This is Jephthah, since he was poor in the Torah. He was a < mere > sycamore shoot.³⁴The metaphor designates one who is poor. (Prov. 28:3, cont.:) WHO EXPLOITS THE INDIGENT, since he exploited the indigent, when he said (in Jud. 12:6): SAY: SHIBBOLETH; AND HE SAID SIBBOLETH. Then he slaughtered him. Therefore, he is (according to Prov. 28:3, cont.) A TORRENTIAL RAIN, AND THERE IS NO BREAD, in that he had someone who would undo his vow; however (ibid., cont.): THERE IS NO BREAD, in that the Holy One had taken away the halakhah from them, so that they would not find [a loophole] for undoing his vow. When they did not find [a loophole] for undoing his vow, he went up and slaughtered her before the Holy One. Then the Holy Spirit proclaimed: Did I desire you to sacrifice lives (NPShWT) to me, < lives > (according to Jer. 19:5), WHICH I NEVER COMMANDED, NEVER SPOKE FOR, AND WHICH NEVER ENTERED MY MIND. WHICH I NEVER COMMANDED Abraham, that he slaughter his son. Instead I said to him (in Gen. 22:12): DO NOT RAISE YOUR HAND AGAINST THE LAD…. < It was > in order to make known to you how Abraham carried out my will, when the nations of the world were saying: Why does the Holy One love Abraham so much? For that reason he said to him (in Gen. 22:2): PLEASE TAKE YOUR SON…. Ergo (in Jer. 19:5): WHICH I NEVER COMMANDED Abraham, certainly not to slaughter his son, NEVER SPOKE FOR to Jephthah to offer up his daughter as a sacrifice to me, AND WHICH NEVER ENTERED MY MIND, that the king of Moab would fall into the hand of the King of Israel and offer up his firstborn son to me as a sacrifice, as stated (in II Kings 3:27): SO HE TOOK HIS FIRSTBORN SON, WHO WOULD BECOME KING IN HIS STEAD, AND OFFERED HIM UP AS A BURNT OFFERING UPON THE WALL.] Who caused Jephthah to forfeit his daughter? < He himself > because he had not studied the Torah; for if he had studied the Torah, he would not had forfeited his daughter, since it is written (in Lev. 27:2, 4): WHEN ANYONE EXPLICITLY VOWS < TO THE LORD THE VALUE OF HUMAN BEINGS (NPShWT) >…. AND IF IT IS A FEMALE < …. > Ergo (in Prov. 11:30): THE FRUIT OF THE RIGHTEOUS IS A TREE OF LIFE, < BUT A WISE PERSON ACQUIRES LIVES (NPShWT) >.

(Numb. 10:1–2:) “Then the Lord spoke [unto Moses saying], ‘Make two silver trumpets (hatsotserot).’” This text is related (to Ps. 24:7), “O gates, lift up your heads, be lifted up, you everlasting doors, [that the King of glory may come in].” When Solomon was bringing the ark into the Temple,¹⁷Numb. R. 15:13; above Exod. 2:6 and the note there. he began to say, “O gates, lift up your heads...,” because the openings were [too] low. [Then] he said, “Be lifted up you everlasting doors, that the King of glory may come in.” The gates said to him (in vss. 8 and 10), “Who is this king of glory? The gates immediately wanted to break his head [and would have done so,] if he had not said (in vs. 10), “The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.” Again he said (in vs. 8), “The Lord strong and mighty [...].” He said to them, “Expand yourselves, for the King of glory is coming upon you. They immediately showed Him honor (kavod), and raised themselves up.¹⁸Lam. R. 2:9 (13). So the ark entered. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them, “You have shown Me honor. Upon your lives, when I destroy My house, no one will prevail against you.” You know that all the implements of the Temple went into exile in Babylon as stated (in Dan. 1:2), “Then the Lord gave King Jehoiakim of Judah into his hand, with some of the implements from the house of God; and he brought them to the land of Shinar.” But the Temple gates were hidden in their place, as stated (in Lam. 2:9), “Her gates have sunk into the ground.” [Another interpretation:] What is the meaning (of Ps. 24:10), “the Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah?” That He imparts some of His glory to those who fear Him.¹⁹Numb. R.15:13; see PRK 32:9 (= Suppl. 1:9); M. Pss. 90:1. How? He is called "God" (elohim, a term denoting a power), and he called Moses "elohim," as stated (in Exod. 7:1), “See I have set you as elohim to Pharaoh.” He (the Holy One, blessed be He,) causes the dead to live, and he imparted some of His glory to Elijah. Thus he (i.e., Elijah) caused the dead to live, as stated (in I Kings 17:23), “and Elijah said, ‘See your son is alive.’” Because the Holy One, blessed be He, imparts some of his glory to those who fear Him, He put His own clothing on the messianic king, as stated (in Ps. 21:6), “honor and majesty You shall lay upon him.” What is written about the Holy One, blessed be He, (in Ps. 47:6)? “God has ascended amid acclamation; the Lord with the sound of a horn (shofar).” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses, “I have made you a king. It is so stated (in Deut. 33:5), ‘Then he became king in Jeshurun.’ Just as when the king goes forth, they sound trumpets before him, so also for you, (in Numb. 10:2:), ‘Make for yourself two silver trumpets.’ [This is] so that will they sound the trumpets before you when you take out and bring in Israel, as stated (Numb.10:3), ‘And they shall blow them and the whole community shall assemble before you.’” Hence (Numb. 10:2:), “Make for yourself two silver trumpets.” This text is related (to Prov. 24:21), “Fear the Lord, my child, and the king, and do not associate with those who would differ.” But what is the meaning of “and the king?” Simply [this, to] make Him (i.e., the Holy One, blessed be He,) king over you.²⁰Numb. R. 15:14 cont. Another interpretation (of Prov. 24:21), “and the king”: Be king over the evil drive, which is called a king, where it is stated (in Eccl. 9:14), “[There was a little city with few people in it,] and a great king came against it […].”²¹Cf. see above Gen. R. 11:1; 23:2; also Eccl. R. 4:13:1; 9:14:6, 9. Another interpretation (of Prov. 24:21), “and the king.” [More] than the king: Lest it be supposed that if the king says to you, “Worship an idol,” you should heed him;²²See above Gen. 2:15. the text reads (in Prov. 24:21), “Fear the Lord, my child, and the king.” Thus [when] Nebuchadnezzar told Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah to worship an idol, they did not heed him. Instead they said to him (in Dan. 3:18), “We will not serve your gods, nor will we pay homage to the image of gold which you have set up.” Nebuchadnezzar said to them (in Dan. 3:14), “’Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego?’ Did not the Holy One, blessed be He, say this to you that you should obey royalty in whatever it tells you, where it is stated (in Eccl. 8:2), ‘I [say], “Keep the king's command?”’” They said to him, “You are king over us for taxes and crop levies;²³Lat.: annona. but in regard to the service of idols, Nebuchadnezzar and a dog [have] equal [authority].” (Dan. 3:16-17:) “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to answer you in this [matter]. If our God [whom we serve is able to save us, He shall save us from the burning fiery furnace and from your hand O king].’” They said to him, “Whether He delivers us or whether He does not deliver us (in vs. 18), ‘be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods nor pay homage to the image of gold which you have set up.’” Ergo (in Prov. 24:21), “Fear the Lord, my child, and the king; and do not associate with those who would differ”; [i.e.,] in that Israel is called a third to all those that fear Him, but do not associate with those who say that there are two gods in the world, for the end of [such people] is to perish from the world. It is so stated (in Zech. 13:8), “And it shall come to pass throughout all the land, says the Lord, that two-thirds [in it] shall be cut off [and die], but one-third shall remain in it.” And who is the one-third? This is Israel as stated (in Is. 19:24), “And on that day Israel shall be a third [partner with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth].” Ergo (in Prov. 24:21), “Fear the Lord, my child, and the king.” Whoever is in fear of the Holy One, blessed be He, becomes a king. From whom did you learn [that]? From Abraham because he was in fear of the Holy One, blessed be He, and became a king. Thus it is stated (in Gen. 22:12), “for now I know that you fear God.” But where is it shown that he became a king? It is written (in Gen. 14:17), “[And the king of Sodom came out to meet him …] at the Valley of Shaveh, i.e., the valley of the king.” What is the meaning of the Valley of Shaveh (rt.: shwh?] That they all became equal (rt.: shwh). So taking counsel (or taking wood),²⁴‘Etsah. The word can mean either “counsel” or “wood.” they cut cedars, made a throne, and set him over them as king. And you should not say [this] only [in the case of] Abraham alone. In the case of Moses [as well did this happen], because he was in fear of the Holy One, blessed be He, as stated (in Exod. 3:6), “then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.” And where is it shown that he became a king?] Where it is stated (in Deut. 33:5), “Then he became king in Jeshurun.”²⁵Thus the king of whom Prov. 24:21 demands obedience, is a king who fears the Holy One like Abraham or Moses. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses, “I have made you a king. As they blow trumpets before a king when he goes forth to war, so shall they blow trumpets before you when you go forth to war.” How is it shown? From that which they read about the matter (in Numb. 10:2), “Make two silver trumpets.”²⁶The context of the passage concerns the sounding of an alarm in time of war.

(Numb. 22:31:) “Then the Lord uncovered the eyes of Balaam and he saw [the angel of the Lord….].” Was he blind?³⁴Numb. R. 20:15. [These words were] simply to inform him that even the eye is not under his control. (Ibid., cont.:) “Then he bowed down and prostrated himself on his face,” because [the angel] had spoken with him. (Numb. 22:32:) “And the angel of the Lord said unto him, ‘Why did you strike your she-ass these three times?’” The angel come to seek satisfaction at his hand for the she-ass. He said to him, “Now if for the she-ass, which has neither its own merit nor merit from ancestors, I have been commanded to seek satisfaction from your hand, how much the more so for an entire people that you have come to uproot!“ (Numb. 22:32, cont.:) “Here I have come out as an adversary (satan), because your way is contrary (yrt).” [Yrt is interpreted as] an acronym [concerning the ass for] yare'ah (she feared), ra'atah (she saw), natetah (she turned away). Another interpretation: [The numerical value of] yrt, in the atbash [scheme] is [equivalent to that of] shield (magen). (Numb. 22:33:) “For the she-ass saw me and turned away from me these three times. If she had not turned away [from me, surely just now I would have killed you] and let her live.” From here you have learned that he killed the ass. (Numb. 22:34:) “Then Balaam said unto the angel of the Lord, ‘I have sinned because I did not know.’” [These words are] to teach you that he was completely evil. He knew that nothing can withstand divine punishment except for repentance; for whenever anyone sins and says, “I have sinned,” the angel has no authority to touch him. (Ibid.:) “Because I did not know.” Although that wicked man was praising himself and saying (in Numb. 24:16), “who has knowledge of the Most High,” his mouth bore witness about him and said (in Numb. 22:34), “I did not know.” (Ibid., cont.:) “And now, if it is evil in your eyes, I will return.”³⁵This verb can also be rendered as “repent.” He said to him, “I did not go until the Holy One, blessed be He, said to me (in Numb. 22:20), “Arise and go with them”; yet you are saying that I should return! [Indeed] such is His practice! Similarly, did he not tell Abraham to sacrifice his son? Then after that [it is stated (in Gen. 22:11-12)], ‘But the angel of the Lord called [unto him…]. And he said, “Do not raise your hand [against the lad].”’ He is used to saying something, then to have an angel come and reverse it.” [So (in vs. 34),] “if it is evil in your eyes, I will return.” (Numb. 22:35:) “The angel of the Lord said unto Balaam, ‘Go with the men’”; for your lot is [to be] with them, and your end is to be obliterated with them from the world. (Ibid., cont.:) “So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.” [These words] teach that just as they were happy to curse [Israel], so was he happy. (Numb. 22:36:) “When Balak heard that Balaam had come.” [These words] teach that he sent messengers unto [Balak] to send him tidings.³⁶Numb. R. 22:16. (Ibid., cont.:) “He went out to meet him unto the city of Moab,” [i.e.,] unto their metropolis.³⁷Gk. and Lat.: metropolis. What was [Balak's] reason for preceding him to the borders? He said to him, “These are borders which have been fixed from the days of Noah, so that a nation would not enter the territory of its neighbor. These [people] are coming to uproot them.” He said to him, “Come to curse them.” Then he showed him how they had broken through and crossed the border of Sihon and Og, as though lodging a complaint against them. (Numb. 22:37:) “Then Balak said unto Balaam, ‘Did I not truly send unto you [to summon you; why did you not come unto me; am I really unable to honor you]?’” He prophesied that his end would be to go in disgrace. Then did Balaam also answer him like the [truth of the] matter (in Numb. 22:38), “So Balaam said unto Balak, ‘See, I have come unto you now, [but am I really able to say anything at all…?]’” For I do not have authority to say what I want.

(Gen. 27:6, 8, & 9:) AND REBEKAH SPOKE UNTO JACOB…. AND NOW MY SON, HEED ME IN WHAT < I CHARGE YOU >. PLEASE GO TO THE FLOCK…. As soon as Esau had gone to get < the venison >, he (Jacob) went to his father, as stated (in Gen. 27:18 & 19): THEN HE WENT UNTO HIS FATHER…. AND JACOB SAID UNTO HIS FATHER: < I AM ESAU, YOUR FIRST-BORN >…. So he blessed him (in Gen. 27:27). Even though you may say Jacob lied, he did not lie. Balaam said (in Numb. 23:21): NO ONE HAS BEHELD FALSEHOOD IN JACOB. [He said] merely (in Gen. 27:19 &. 20): I am Jacob; ESAU [IS] YOUR FIRST-BORN….³⁶It is possible to interpret Jacob’s words to his father as follows: IT IS I. ESAU IS YOUR FIRST-BORN. Cf. Gen. R. 65:18. PLEASE ARISE; SIT UP < AND EAT >…. THEN ISAAC SAID UNTO HIS SON: < HOW IS IT THAT YOU WERE SO QUICK > … ? He said to him (in Gen. 27:20, cont.): BECAUSE THE LORD YOUR GOD MADE IT HAPPEN FOR ME. Then in addition he said to him:³⁷Cf. Gen. R. 65:19. When you were bound upon the altar, the angel said (in Gen. 22:12): DO NOT RAISE YOUR HAND AGAINST THE LAD. Perhaps there was something there. The Holy One only caused < a sacrificial animal > to sprout forth for your sake, as stated (in Gen. 22:13): THEN ABRAHAM LIFTED HIS EYES < TO LOOK, AND THERE WAS A RAM BEHIND HIM >…. So also he said (here in Gen. 27:20): BECAUSE THE LORD YOUR GOD MADE IT HAPPEN FOR ME.³⁸Gen. R. 65:19 argues a fortiori that, if God would bless Isaac by making a sacrifice appear at the time of the binding, he certainly would expedite matters in preparing this meal. Now, when Isaac heard him say: BECAUSE THE LORD YOUR GOD MADE IT HAPPEN FOR ME, he said: This is not Esau. He said: Esau never mentions THE LORD YOUR GOD. He said to him (in vss. 21f.): PLEASE COME NEARER AND LET ME TOUCH YOU, MY SON…. SO JACOB CAME NEARER TO HIS FATHER ISAAC…. He said to him: Behold, in voice you are Jacob;³⁹Buber notes that his text here is garbled and suggests the reading translated here from MS 1240 of the De Rossi library in Parma. BUT (in vs. 22, cont.) THE HANDS ARE THE HANDS OF ESAU. R. Judah bar Il'ay said:⁴⁰yTa‘an. 4:8 (68d); Git. 57b; Gen. R. 65:21. In former generations one would ask: What is the meaning (of Gen. 27:22): THE VOICE IS THE VOICE OF JACOB? The voice of the Emperor⁴¹Lat.: Caesar. Hadrian, < who > [killed] eight thousand myriads (80,000,000) in Bethther.⁴²This town in Southern Israel is also known as Bithter or Bettar. The present Greek spelling is that adopted by Y. Aharoni and M. Avi-Yonah in The Macmillan Bible Atlas (New York: Macmillan, 1968. R. Johanan said: The voice of Jacob was crying out < over > what the hands of Esau did to him in Bethther.

(Numb. 15:1-2:) “Now the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, ‘Speak unto the Children of Israel ….’” Let our master instruct us: How many things is a father obligated to do for a son?⁵⁸Numb. R. 17:1. Thus have our masters taught: A father is obligated to do five things for a son: to circumcise him, to teach him Torah, to redeem him (according to the redemption of the first-born), to teach him a trade, and to take a wife for him.⁵⁹See TQid. 1:11; yQid. 1:7 (61a); Qid. 29a; Mekhilta deRabbi Ishmael, Pisha, 18 (on Exod. 13:13); Eccl. R. 9:9:1. The father is the Holy One, blessed be He, and the son is Israel. Just as a [human] father is obligated to his son, so does the Holy One, blessed be He, do for Israel. The [human] father is obligated to circumcise his son. Similarly the Holy One, blessed be He, circumcised Israel at the hands of Joshua (according to Josh. 5:2), “And he made for himself….” The father is obligated to redeem his son. Similarly the Holy One, blessed be He, did so for Israel. He redeemed them, as stated (in I Chron. 17:21), “And who is like Your people Israel, a unique nation on earth, whom God went to redeem as a people for Himself.” [The father is obligated] to teach him Torah, as stated (in Deut. 11:19), “And you shall teach them to your children by talking about them.” And the Holy One, blessed be He, also taught Torah to Israel, as stated] (in Is. 48:17), “I am the Lord your God, teaching you for your own good.” [The father is obligated] to teach him commandments. The Holy One, blessed be He, taught the commandments to Israel (in Lev. 27:34), “These are the commandments which the Lord commanded.” [Regarding marriage,] the Holy One, blessed be He, said to the Children of Noah (in Gen. 1:28), “Be fruitful and multiply.” [Moreover,] just as a father has a responsibility to his son to feed him, to give him drink, to wash him, to anoint him and to dress him, so does the Holy One, blessed be He, do for Israel, as stated (in Ezek. 16:9-10), “I bathed you in water, and washed the blood off you […]. I clothed you with embroidered garments, and gave you sandals of dolphin leather (tahash) to wear.” To feed him, as stated (Ezek. 16:19), “And My bread that I had given to you.” To give him to drink, as stated (in Numb. 21:17), “Spring up O well, answer it.” Just as a father bequeaths his properties to his son, so did the Holy One, blessed be He, do for Israel, as stated (in Jer. 3:19), “and I gave you a desirable land, the fairest heritage of all the nations.” Just as the father wills his property to his son, and [as] his son also is obligated to offer him a gift⁶⁰Gk.: doron.; so also did the Holy One, blessed be He, say to Israel (in Numb. 15:2-3), “When you come unto the land of your habitations [….] You shall make a burnt offering to the Lord […].” R. Tanhuma bar Abba opened [his discourse] in the name of R. Hanina the father of R. Aha bar Hanina [as follows]:⁶¹Numb. R. 17:2. This parashah concerns libations. Thus it is stated (in Numb. 15:6–7), “Or for a ram you shall make a meal offering […]. And for the oblation [you shall offer] a third of a hin of wine.” See it is about libations. From here on, it is in regard to the hallah, as stated (in vss. 19-20), “And it shall be that, when you eat from the bread of the land, [you shall set aside an offering for the Lord]. Of the first of your dough you shall set aside a loaf (hallah) as an offering….” Thus hallah [is mentioned] last, and libations first. For this reason R. Hanina opened (with Eccl. 9:7), “Go, eat your bread with gladness, [and drink your wine with a joyful heart].”⁶²Cf. below, Numb. 4a:17. What is the meaning of (Eccl 9:7, cont.), “God has already approved your works?” It is with reference to Abraham. When the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him (in Gen. 22:2), “Please take your son,” Abraham rose early, took him promptly, led him on, and brought him up to Mount Moriah. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him (in Gen. 22:12), “Do not raise your hand against the lad.” Abraham said to the Holy One, blessed be He, “Master of the world, did you tell me (in vs. 2), ‘Please take your son,’ for no reason?” He said to him, “No! Rather [it was] to make your character known in the world.” Thus it is stated (in Gen. 18:19), “For I have made him known,⁶³This sense is required by the midrash. A more traditional translation would begin the verse: FOR I HAVE KNOWN HIM, or FOR I HAVE CHOSEN HIM. so that he may charge [his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord].” R. Simeon ben Johay said, “The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, ‘By your life, I ascribe [your obedience] to you [as proof] that, if I had told you to take your own life, you would not have refrained [from doing so] for the sake of My name, and would have obeyed [the command] to be killed for the sake of My name.’” Where is it shown? R. Simeon ben Johay said, “As so is it written (in Gen. 22:16), ‘and you have not withheld your son, your only one.’ See, [‘your son’] has already specified Isaac. [So] what is the meaning of ‘your only one?’ It is to imply Abraham's life. Thus the soul is called only one, where it is stated (in Ps. 22:21) ‘Deliver my life from the sword, [my only one from the power of the dog].’” Abraham said to the Holy One, blessed be He, “Is it possible for me to go from here with no sacrifice?” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Abraham, “Here is your sacrifice. [It has been] prepared for you from the six days of creation.” (According to Gen. 22:13), “Then Abraham lifted his eyes to look, and there was a ram […].” As so did our masters teach, “The ram of Abraham was created from the six days of creation on the Sabbath eve at twilight.” So at that time, Abraham took it and (according to Gen 22:13, cont.) “he offered it up as a burnt offering in place of his son.” Once it said, “he offered it up as a burnt offering,” was the verse missing anything? [So] what is the meaning of “in place of his son?” At that time Abraham said to the Holy One, blessed be He, “Master of the world, see that I am slaughtering the ram; You should so see it as if my son is slaughtered in front of You.” When he took its blood, he said, “You should so see it as if the blood of Isaac is sprinkled before You.” When he took the ram and flayed it, he said to Him, “You should so see it as if Isaac is flayed in front of You on the altar.” When he burnt it, he said to Him, “You should so see it as if his ashes were gathered in front of You on the altar.” [Once it said,] “he offered it up as a burnt offering,” was the verse missing anything? [So] what is the meaning of “in place of his son?” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “By your life, it is your son that is sacrificed first, but it is simply that this ram is after him.” At that time Abraham said to the Holy One, blessed be He, “Master of the world, I am not moving from here until You swear to me that You will never test me again; for if, heaven forbid, I had not obeyed you, I should have destroyed everything I had accomplished during my lifetime.” R. Hanin said, “The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, ‘By your life, so it is; for if you had not obeyed Me, you would have possessed nothing.’” At that time the Holy One, blessed be He, swore to him that He would never test him again. Thus it is stated (in Gen. 22:16), “And he said, ‘I by Myself have sworn,’ says the Lord.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “By your life, severe afflictions and other trials had been designated to come upon you, but now they shall not come.” These were the same afflictions which came upon Job.⁶⁴ySot. 5:8 (or 5) (20c); Gen. R. 57:4. They had been designated to come upon Abraham, for the following has been joined to the parashah (in Gen. 22:20–21), “And it came to pass after these things, that it was told to Abraham [saying, ‘Behold Milcah, she also has borne sons to your brother Nahor,] Uz his first-born….’” And this is Job, according to what is stated (in Job 1:1), “There was a man in the land (belonging to) Uz.”⁶⁵So the midrash interprets LAND OF UZ. See BB 15a. At that time, The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Abraham (in Eccl. 9:7), “Go, eat your bread with gladness, [… for God has already approved your works].”

(Lev. 5:1:) AND IF A SOUL SINS IN THAT IT HEARS A VOICE SWEARING, [WHEN HE IS A WITNESS TO WHAT HE HAS EITHER SEEN OR COME TO KNOW.] The Holy One said: If you want to bear witness, bear witness; but if not, I will bear witness. Thus it is stated (ibid.): WHEN HE IS A WITNESS. And where is it shown that the Holy One is called a witness? Where it is stated (in Jer. 29:23): I AM THE ONE WHO KNOWS AND BEARS WITNESS, SAYS THE LORD. Come and see. All the parashioth written in this book have MISTAKE written in them, except for this parashah, in which MISTAKE is not mentioned.⁵⁷In fact, MISTAKE (shegagah), i.e., UNINTENTIONAL SIN, does appear in this parashah (in 5:15, 18). Elsewhere in Lev. the word only appears in 4:2, 22, 27; 22:4.) About him Solomon has said (in Eccl. 5:5 [6]): DO NOT LET YOUR MOUTH CAUSE YOUR FLESH TO SIN, [AND DO NOT SAY BEFORE THE ANGEL THAT IT WAS A MISTAKE]. It is comparable to two people who threw stones at an image of a king.⁵⁸Gk.: eikonion, a diminutive form of eikon. One was drunk, and one was in possession of his senses. Both of them were caught and went to trial. <The judge> rendered a <guilty> verdict⁵⁹Gk.: apophasis. against the one with his senses and acquitted the one who was drunk. So it is in the case of whoever sins. It is concerning him that MISTAKE is written (in Lev. 4:2): WHEN A SOUL SINS BY MISTAKE (rt.: ShGG) < AGAINST ANY OF THE LORD'S COMMANDMENTS >…. (Lev. 4:13:) AND IF THE WHOLE CONGREGATION OF ISRAEL SHOULD ERR (rt.: ShGG), because they all sinned by mistake, they bring an offering, and shall be forgiven them. It is so stated (in Numb. 15:26): THE WHOLE CONGREGATION OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL AND THE STRANGER WHO RESIDES IN THEIR MIDST SHALL BE FORGIVEN BECAUSE <IT HAPPENED > TO ALL THE PEOPLE BY MISTAKE. But the one who blasphemes receives a < guilty> verdict, as stated (in Lev. 24:16) AND THE ONE WHO BLASPHEMES THE NAME OF THE LORD SHALL SURELY BE PUT TO DEATH. [It is also written] (in Jer. 4:2): AND YOU SHALL SWEAR: AS THE LORD LIVES, IN TRUTH, IN JUSTICE, AND IN RIGHTEOUSNESS. [THEN SHALL NATIONS BLESS THEMSELVES IN HIM, AND HIM SHALL THEY GLORY.] The Scripture also says (in Deut. 10:20): THE LORD YOUR GOD YOU SHALL FEAR, HIM YOU SHALL SERVE, TO HIM YOU SHALL HOLD FAST, then after that, AND BY HIM YOU SHALL SWEAR.⁶⁰See below, Tanh. (Buber), Numb. 9:1; Numb. R. 9:1. (Ibid.:) THE LORD YOUR GOD YOU SHALL FEAR, so that you will be like those three of whom it is written: HE FEARED GOD (YR' 'LHYM). About Abraham it is written (in Gen. 22:12): FOR NOW I KNOW THAT YOU FEAR GOD (YR' 'LHYM)…. About Joseph it is written (in Gen. 42:18): FOR I FEAR (YR') GOD ('LHYM). About Job it is written (in Job 1:2): HE FEARED GOD (YR' 'LHYM) AND SHUNNED EVIL. (Deut. 10:20, cont.:) HIM YOU SHALL SERVE, in that you will be busy with the Torah and with <fulfilling> the commandments. (Ibid., cont.:) TO HIM YOU SHALL HOLD FAST, in that you will honor the disciples of the wise and share your property with them. Moses said to Israel: Do not think that I may have allowed you to swear by my name, even in truth. It is only, if all these conditions (mentioned earlier in the verse) abide with you, that you are entitled to swear by my name; and if not, you are not entitled to swear by my name, even in truth. You shall not be like those of whom it is written (in Jer. 7:9): WILL YOU <…> SWEAR FALSELY AND SACRIFICE TO BAAL? Fulfill all these conditions and after that you are mine, as stated (in Jer. 4:1): IF YOU RETURN, O ISRAEL, SAYS THE LORD, IF YOU RETURN UNTO ME…. Then after that <it says> (in vs. 2): AND YOU SHALL SWEAR: AS THE LORD LIVES….

14 Another interpretation (of Numb. 10:2), “Make for yourself two silver trumpets”: This text is related (to Prov. 24:21), “Fear the Lord, my child, and the king.” But what is the meaning of “and the king?” Simply [this, to] make Him (i.e., the Holy One, blessed be He,) king over you. Another interpretation (of Prov. 24:21), “and the king”: Crown the positive drive over the evil drive, which is called a king, where it is stated (in Eccl. 9:14), “[There was a little city with few people in it,] and a great king came against it […].”²¹Cf. see above Gen. R. 11:1; 23:2; also Eccl. R. 4:13:1; 9:14:6, 9. Another interpretation (of Prov. 24:21), “and the king”: Lest it be supposed that if the king says to you, “Worship an idol,” you should heed him; the text reads (in Prov. 24:21), “Fear the Lord, my child, and the king.” Thus [when] Nebuchadnezzar told Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah to worship an idol, they did not heed him. Instead they said to him (in Dan. 3:18), “We will not serve your gods, nor will we pay homage to the image of gold which you have set up.” Nebuchadnezzar said to them (in Dan. 3:14), “’Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego?’ Yesterday you were saying [that] anyone who was seeking to acquire idolatry should go to Jerusalem, as stated (Isaiah 10:10), ‘and their idols were from Jerusalem and from Samaria,’ and now you have come to make my idolatry, emptiness?” “’Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego?’ Did not the Holy One, blessed be He, say this to you that you should obey royalty in whatever it tells you, where it is stated (in Eccl. 8:2), ‘I [say], “Keep the king's command?”’” They said to him, “You are king over us for taxes and crop levies;²²Lat.: annona. but in regard to the service of idols, Nebuchadnezzar and a dog [have] equal [authority].” (Dan. 3:16-17:) “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to answer you in this [matter]. If our God whom we serve [is able to save us, He] shall save us [from the burning fiery furnace and] from your hand O king.’” [He answered, “And if not?” They said to him, “Whether He delivers us or whether He does not deliver us (in vs. 18), ‘be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods nor pay homage to the image of gold which you have set up.’” Ergo (in Prov. 24:21), “Fear the Lord, my child, and the king.” (Prov. 24:21, cont.) “And do not associate with those who would differ” – but do not associate with those who say that there are two gods in the world, for the end of [such people] is to perish from the world. It is so stated (in Zech. 13:8), “And it shall come to pass throughout all the land, says the Lord, that two-thirds [in it] shall be cut off [and die], but one-third shall remain in it.” And who is the one-third? This is Israel as stated (in Is. 19:24), “And on that day Israel shall be a third [partner with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth].” Ergo (in Prov. 24:21), “Fear the Lord, my child, and the king.” Whoever is in fear of the Holy One, blessed be He, becomes a king. From whom did you learn [that]? From Abraham because he was in fear of the Holy One, blessed be He, and became a king. Thus it is stated (in Gen. 22:12), “for now I know that you fear God.” But where is it shown that he became a king? It is written (in Gen. 14:17), “[And the king of Sodom came out to meet him …] at the Valley of Shaveh, i.e., the valley of the king.” What is the meaning of the Valley of Shaveh (rt.: shwh?] That they all became equal (rt.: shwh). So taking counsel (or taking wood),²³‘Etsah. The word can mean either “counsel” or “wood.” they cut cedars, made a throne, and set him over them as king. And you should not say [this] only [in the case of] Abraham alone. In the case of Moses [also] he became king, because he was in fear of the Holy One, blessed be He. Therefore it is written (in Prov. 24:21), “Fear the Lord, my child, and the king.”sup>24Thus the king of whom Prov. 24:21 demands obedience, is a king who fears the Holy One like Abraham or Moses.

[Another interpretation (of Prov. 24:21): FEAR THE LORD, MY CHILD, AND THE KING.] Whoever is in fear of the Holy One becomes a king. From whom did you learn <that>? From Abraham because he was in fear of the Holy One and became a king. Thus it is stated (in Gen. 22:12): FOR NOW I KNOW THAT YOU FEAR GOD. But where is it shown that he became a king? [R. Berekhyah the Priest Berabbi said in the name of R. Helbo:] It is written (in Gen. 14:17): <AND THE KING OF SODOM CAME OUT TO MEET HIM … > AT THE VALLEY OF SHAVEH, i.e., THE VALLEY OF THE KING. [What is the meaning of THE VALLEY OF SHAVEH (rt.: ShWH?] That they all became equal (rt.: ShWH). So taking counsel (or taking wood),⁵⁴‘Etsah. The word can mean either “counsel” or “wood”. they cut cedars, made a throne, and set him over them as king. And you should not say <this> only <in the case of> Abraham alone. In the case of Moses <as well>, because he was in fear of the Holy One, he became a king. [Now where is it stated that he feared <the Holy One>? Where it is stated (in Exod. 3:6): THEN MOSES HID HIS FACE, FOR HE WAS AFRAID TO LOOK AT GOD. And where is it shown that he became a king?] Where it is stated (in Deut. 33:5): THEN HE BECAME KING IN JESHURUN.⁵⁵Thus the king of whom Prov. 24:21 demands obedience, is a king who fears the Holy One like Abraham or Moses. The Holy One said to Moses: I have made you a king. As they blow trumpets before a king when he goes forth to war, so shall they blow trumpets before you when you go forth to war. It is therefore stated (in Numb. 10:2): MAKE TWO SILVER TRUMPETS.⁵⁶The context of the passage concerns the sounding of an alarm in time of war.

(2) Thus opened Rabbi Tanchuma bar Abba, in the name of Rabbi Chanina brother of Rabbi Acha ben Rabbi Chanina:

And Moses went, and returned unto Jethro his father-in-law. Prior to this is written: And when the Lord saw that he returned to see … and He said: “Moses, Moses” (Exod. 3:4). R. Abba the son of Kahana said: Everyone whose name is repeated in immediate succession experiences life in both worlds: Noah, Noah (Gen. 6:9); Abraham, Abraham (ibid. 22:11); Jacob, Jacob (ibid. 46:2); Moses, Moses (Exod. 3:4); Samuel, Samuel (I Sam. 3:10); Perez, Perez (Ruth 4:15). However, someone retorted: Is it not also written: These are the generations of Terah, Terah (Gen. 11:27). He replied: Even he had a portion in both worlds, for our patriarch Abraham was not buried until he was assured that his father, Terah, had repented, for it is said: But thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace (ibid. 15:15). Abraham said to the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the Universe: Shall I go to my fathers, though I have stored up good deeds in this world? The Holy One, blessed be He, answered: Be assured: Thy father hath repented. Hence his name was repeated.

And I will make my covenant between Me and thee (Gen. 17:2). Scripture says elsewhere in allusion to this verse: The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him; and His covenant, to make them know it (Ps. 25:14). What secret did He reveal to those who feared Him? The secret of circumcision. The Holy One, blessed be He, revealed to Abraham alone the mystery of circumcision. The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him. This alludes to Abraham, for it is written about him: Thou art a God-fearing man (Gen. 22:12). What is the meaning of the word sod (“secret”)? It may be explained arithmetically. In the word sod, the samekh is sixty, the vav six, and the dalet four—totaling seventy in all. Thus the Holy One, blessed be He, informed Abraham: I will produce from you seventy, as it is said: Thy fathers descended to Egypt with threescore and ten persons (Deut. 10:22); I will cause seventy elders to descend from them, as it is written: Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel (Num. 11:16); and I will also cause Moses to descend from you, and he will explain the Torah in seventy languages. Therefore, it is written: The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him; and His covenant, to make them know it.

(Numb. 30:2-3) “And Moses said to the heads of the tribes, ‘When someone makes a vow (neder) to the Lord.’” This is related to that which is written (in Jer. 4:2), “And you shall swear, ‘As the Lord lives,’ [in truth, in justice, and in righteousness].” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, “Do not think that you have permission to swear in My name even in truth. You are not entitled to swear by My name unless you possess all the following attributes (of Deut. 10:20), ‘The Lord your God you shall fear, Him you shall serve, to Him you shall hold fast, [and by Him you shall swear].’” That you should be like those who were called God-fearing, Abraham, Job, and Joseph: Abraham of whom it is written (in Gen. 22:12), “For now I know that you fear [God].” Concerning Job it is written (in Job 1:1), “the man was blameless and upright, one who feared God.” Concerning Joseph it is written (in Gen. 42:18), “for I fear God.” Ergo (in Deut. 10:20), “The Lord your God you shall fear.” (Deut. 10:20, cont.) “Him you shall serve.” [You do so,] if you turn [all] your attention to the Torah, fulfill [its] commandments and have no other work (abodah). It therefore is stated (ibid.), “Him you shall serve (rt.: 'bd).” (Deut. 10:20, cont.) “To Him you shall hold fast.” Can one hold fast to the Divine Presence? Moreover, has it not already been stated (in Deut. 4:24), “For the Lord your God is a consuming fire?” It is simply [being stated with reference to] anyone marrying off his daughter to a scholar who reads [Scripture] and recites [Mishnah], that he engage in commerce¹Gk.: pragmateia. for him and have him benefit from his assets.²Ket. 111b; cf. Sot. 14a. It is with reference to [such a] one that it is stated (in Deut. 10:20), “to him you shall hold fast.”
If you have all these [attributes] you may swear; if not, you are not entitled to swear. There is a story about King Jannai, that he had two thousand towns and they all were destroyed because of a true oath. How so? One man said to his fellow, “It is an oath that I will walk and eat such and such in place x”; and they would walk and fulfill the oath, and [the towns] were [nevertheless] destroyed. [If] this is with someone that swears truthfully, all the more so with one who swears falsely.

R. Tanhuma bar Abba opened <his discourse> in the name of R. Hanina the father of R. Aha bar Hanina <as follows>:⁷¹Tanh., Numb. 4:14, cont.; Numb. R. 17:2. This parashah concerns libations. Thus it is stated (in Numb. 15:6–7): OR FOR A RAM YOU SHALL MAKE A MEAL OFFERING […;] AND FOR THE OBLATION <YOU SHALL OFFER> a {HALF} [THIRD] OF A HIN OF WINE. From here on, in regard to the hallah (according to vss 19–20): AND IT SHALL BE THAT, WHEN YOU EAT FROM THE BREAD OF THE LAND, <YOU SHALL SET ASIDE AN OFFERING FOR THE LORD>. OF THE FIRST OF YOUR DOUGH YOU SHALL SET ASIDE A LOAF (hallah) AS AN OFFERING…. Thus hallah <is mentioned> last, and libations first. For this reason R. Hanina opened (with Eccl. 9:7): GO, EAT YOUR BREAD WITH GLADNESS, <AND DRINK YOUR WINE WITH A JOYFUL HEART>.⁷²Cf. below, Numb. 4a:17. In reference to what does the verse speak? With reference to Abraham, when the Holy One said to him (in Gen. 22:2): PLEASE TAKE YOUR SON. Abraham rose early, took him promptly, led him on, and brought him up to Mount Moriah. [The Holy One said to him (in Gen. 22:12): DO NOT RAISE YOUR HAND AGAINST THE LAD.] Abraham said to the Holy One: Sovereign of the World, did you tell me (in vs. 2): PLEASE TAKE, for no reason? He said to him: No! Rather <it was> to make you known in the world. Thus it is stated (in Gen. 18:19): FOR I HAVE MADE HIM KNOWN,⁷³This sense is required by the midrash. A more traditional translation would begin the verse: FOR I HAVE KNOWN HIM, or FOR I HAVE CHOSEN HIM. SO THAT HE MAY CHARGE <HIS CHILDREN AND HIS HOUSEHOLD AFTER HIM TO KEEP THE WAY OF THE LORD>…. R. Simeon ben Johay said: The Holy One said to him: By your life, I ascribe <your obedience> to you <as proof> that, if I had told you to take your own life, you would not have refrained <from doing so> for the sake of my name and would have obeyed <the command> to kill for the sake of my name. Where is it shown? R. Simeon ben Johay said: The Holy One said to him (in Gen. 22:16): AND YOU HAVE NOT WITHHELD YOUR SON, YOUR ONLY ONE. See, <YOUR SON> has already specified Isaac. <So> what is the meaning of YOUR ONLY ONE? Simply Abraham's life. Thus the soul is called ONLY ONE, where it is stated (in Ps. 22:21 [20]): DELIVER MY LIFE FROM THE SWORD, MY ONLY ONE FROM THE POWER OF THE DOG. Abraham said to the Holy One: Is it possible for me to go from here with no sacrifice? The Holy One said to Abraham: Here is your sacrifice. <It has been> prepared for you from the six days of creation. (According to Gen. 22:13): THEN ABRAHAM LIFTED HIS EYES TO LOOK, AND THERE WAS A RAM…. SO HE OFFERED IT UP AS A BURNT OFFERING IN PLACE OF HIS SON. At that time Abraham said to the Holy One: Sovereign of the World: I am not moving from here until you swear to me that you will never test me again; for if, heaven forbid, I had not obeyed you, I should have destroyed whatever I had accomplished during my lifetime. R. Hanan said: The Holy One said to him: By your life, so it shall be; for if you had not obeyed me, you would have possessed nothing. At that time the Holy One swore to him that he would never test him again. Thus it is stated (in Gen. 22:16): AND HE SAID: I BY MYSELF HAVE SWORN, SAYS THE LORD. The Holy One said to him: By your life severe afflictions and other trials had been designated to come upon you, but now they shall not come. These were the same afflictions which came upon Job.⁷⁴ySot. 5:8 (or 5) (20c); Gen. R. 57:4. They had been designated to come upon Abraham, for the following has been joined to the parashah (in Gen. 22:20–21): AND IT CAME TO PASS AFTER THESE THINGS, THAT IT WAS TOLD TO ABRAHAM: <BEHOLD MILCAH, SHE ALSO HAS BORNE SONS TO YOUR BROTHER NAHOR:> UZ HIS FIRST-BORN…. And this is Job, according to what is stated (in Job 1:1): THERE WAS A MAN IN THE LAND BELONGING TO UZ.⁷⁵So the midrash interprets LAND OF UZ. See BB 15a. [HIS (i.e., Uz's) NAME WAS JOB. The Holy One said to Abraham (in Eccl. 9:7): GO, EAT YOUR BREAD WITH GLADNESS, <AND DRINK YOUR WINE WITH A JOYFUL HEART, > FOR GOD HAS ALREADY APPROVED YOUR WORKS.

Rabbi Jehudah said: When the blade touched his neck, the soul of Isaac fled and departed, (but) when he heard His voice from between the two Cherubim, saying (to Abraham), "Lay not thine hand upon the lad" (Gen. 22:12), his soul returned to his body, and (Abraham) set him free, and Isaac stood upon his feet. And Isaac knew that in this manner the dead in the future will be quickened. He opened (his mouth), and said: Blessed art thou, O Lord, who quickeneth the dead.

(Gen. 22:10f.:) THEN ABRAHAM STRETCHED OUT < HIS HAND AND TOOK THE KNIFE TO SLAUGHTER HIS SON >, BUT THE ANGEL OF THE LORD CALLED UNTO HIM OUT OF THE HEAVENS…. He said to him: Who are you? He said to him: An angel. He said to him: The Holy One told me (in Gen. 22:2): PLEASE TAKE…. Now you are saying (in vs. 12): DO NOT STRETCH OUT < YOUR HAND AGAINST THE LAD >. At that time (in vs. 11): BUT THE ANGEL OF THE LORD CALLED. And Why did he call to him? To talk to him. And What did he say to him? He said to him (in vs. 11): ABRAHAM, ABRAHAM! And why two times? It is simply like a person who is walking on a remote road with his companion and leaves him behind. Then he calls to him: My companion, my companion! So the angel called: ABRAHAM, ABRAHAM, what are you doing? And why did he talk to him hurriedly? Because Abraham was in a hurry to slaughter him. At that time Abraham said to the Holy One: Sovereign of the World, one tests his companion when he does not know what is in his companion's heart. < But > you, since you search out hearts and kidneys, did you have to do this to me? Was it not revealed to you, when you told me to sacrifice my son, that I would wholeheartedly hasten to slaughter him?¹⁷⁶Cf. yTa‘an. 2:3 (65d). The Holy One said to him: < I did so > in order to make known to the peoples of the world that I did not choose you without a reason. Thus it is stated (in Gen. 22:12): FOR NOW I KNOW THAT < YOU > FEAR< GOD >….

...Rabbi Berechya, Rabbi Chiya, and the Rabbis "from there" [Babylonia] stated in the name of Rabbi Yehudah: Not a day passes that the Holy and Blessed One does not innovate some halacha in the heavenly court. What is the reason [prooftext]? As it is written: "Listen, listen to the roar of His voice, to the sound (hegeh) that issues from His mouth" (Job 37:2). And hegeh is none other than Torah, as it is written "meditate (v'hegita) on it day and night" (Joshua 1:8). And even these halachot was known by our father Abraham.

"And the angel of Ad-nai called to him out of heaven, and said: Abraham, Abraham" (Gen. 22:11). Rabbi Hiya taught: This is an expression of love, this is an expression of urging. Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov said: He spoke to him and to future generations, there is no generation which does not contain people like Avraham, and there is no generation which does not contain people like Yaakov, Moshe, and Shmuel. And he said: "Do not lay your hand etc." (Gen. 22:12) Where was the knife? Three tears had fallen from the angels of service and the knife dissolved. Avraham said: ‘I will strangle him,’ He said: ‘Do not lay your hand upon the lad.’ [Avraham] said ‘I will take a drop of blood from him’ - He said to him: ‘Neither do anything [me'uma] to him’ [meaning] inflict no blemish [muma] upon him. "Because now I know" [meaning] I have made it known to all that you love Me, "and you have not withheld, etc". And do not say that all ills that do not affect one’s own body are not ills, rather I ascribe merit to you as though I had told to you to sacrifice yourself and you did not refuse.

Another explanation: Rabbi Itzchak said, "At the time that Avraham sought to bind Itzchak, his son, [the latter] said to him, 'Father, I am a young man and I am concerned lest my body shake from fear of the knife and I will trouble you, and lest the slaughtering will be invalid and it will not be considered a sacrifice for you. Rather, tie me very well.' Immediately, ‘and he bound Itzchak.' Could he really tie up a man of thirty-seven (a different version: of twenty six years)? Rather, it was with his agreement. Immediately. 'And Avraham sent his hand.' He sends his hand to take the knife and his eyes brings down tears and the tears fall onto the eyes of Itzchak from the mercy of his father. And nonetheless, the heart was happy to do the will of his Maker. And the angels gathered in many groups above them. What did they yell out? 'The ways have become desolate, the wayfarer has ceased; He has rescinded His covenant; He has become disgusted with the cities' (Isaiah 33:8) – He does not desire Jerusalem and the Temple that he had in mind to bequeath to the children of Itzchak. 'He did not consider a man' – merit did not stand Avraham well: 'No creation has importance in front of Me.'" Rabbi Acha said, "Avraham started to wonder, 'These words are only words of wonder. Yesterday, you told me (Genesis 21:12), "Because in Itzchak will your seed be called." And [then] you went back and said, "Please take your son." And now You say to me, "Do not send your hand to the youth." It is a wonder!' The Holy One, blessed be He, said, 'Avraham, "I will not profane My covenant and the utterances of My lips, I will not change" (Psalms 89:35) – When I said, "Please take your son," I did not say, "slaughter him," but rather, "and bring him up." For the sake of love did I say [it] to you: I said to you, "Bring him up," and you have fulfilled My words. And now, bring him down.’ [A different version: They said a parable about a king that said to his friend, 'Bring up your son to my table.' His friend brought him up and his knife was in his hand. The king said, 'And did I say to you, "Bring him up to eat him?" I said to you, "Bring him up"' – [and this was] because of [the king's] love.) This is [the meaning of] what is written (Jeremiah 19:5), 'it did not come up on My heart' – that is Itzchak."]

... David is the shepherd of Israel, as it says “You shall shepherd My people Israel…” (Divre HaYamim I 11:2) And who shepherded David? The Holy One, as it says “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” (Tehillim 23:1) Jerusalem is the light of the world, as it says “And nations shall go by your light…” (Yeshayahu 60:3) And who is the light of Jerusalem? The Holy One, as it is written “…but the Lord shall be to you for an everlasting light…” (Yeshayahu 60:19)