Cytowanie Komentarza do Daniela 12:2

It is possible to explain the proximity of these two paragraphs, i.e. the fight against Amalek and the arrival of Yitro followed by the paragraph of the revelation at Mount Sinai, followed in turn by Parshat Mishpatim, in a different way. It is a fact of life that the descendants of Esau are a painful thorn for the Jewish people throughout our history, no less so during the first hostile encounter reported at the end of Parshat Beshalach than at the end of our exile when G’d will bring the final redemption. We have a hint here that just as Israel was successful in its first encounter with Amalek with the help of Moses and Joshua so it will be during the final encounter in the future. During the exile in which we find ourselves nowadays we will be helped by the prophet Elijah, a descendant of the tribe of Levi just like Moses; the second helper will be the Mashiach ben Yoseph, the redeemer from the tribe of Joseph like Joshua who was from the tribe of Ephrayim. (based on a Jewish-Christian theological confrontation involving Nachmanides in his Sefer Hage-ulah page 291 edited by Rabbi Chavell). Just as the first redemption resulted in Yitro converting to Judaism and returning to the fold (his ancestor was Avraham), so, as a result of the final redemption, all the surviving Gentile nations will convert and join Judaism. The reason that the portion of Yitro which contains the account of the giving of the Torah also follows the story of the fight against Amalek and Yitro’s conversion, is that the report of the giving of the Torah is a reminder that eventually the Torah will become the property of all of mankind and G’d’s name and knowledge of Him will be world-wide “like the waters which cover the ocean” (Isaiah 11,9). Following that redemption there will be a יום הדין, a “day of judgment,” a resurrection of the dead. This is why the portion ואלה המשפטים follows the giving of the Torah to signal to us that resurrection and eternal life will be for those who observe the commandments spelled out in that portion. It is worth noting that when Daniel 12,2 refers to that day in the future he mentions the word אלה twice in that verse. The proximity of our portions is to be understood in terms of Isaiah 46,10 מגיד מראשית אחרית “who foretells at the beginning what the end is going to be like.” By commencing פרשת משפטים with the word ואלה, the link between Torah legislation, observance and resurrection as mentioned in Daniel is established.

גדל פרע, “the locks (of hair) growing wildly;” these are two words meaning almost the same, just as in Daniel 12,2: אדמת עפר, “dusty earth;”, “dusty earth

Sefer Daniel concludes with Techiyat HaMeitim, the revival of the dead. Ibn Ezra (to Daniel 12:2) cites an opinion that sees this revival as also alluding to the revival of the Jewish people returning to their land after a long exile. We add that it also alludes to the revival of Torah observance of many eras including our own. In the 1950’s, the community of Torah learners was tiny. Today it is, Baruch Hashem, burgeoning with exponential growth.