Comentários de Citação sobre Êxodo 18:21

That we may observe you. We will appoint [=וְנֶחֱזֶה from you governors and rulers, as in, “And you shall discern תֶּחֱזֶה from all the people.”³Shemos 18:21. So did Rabbi Tanchuma expound. Another explanation for “that we may observe וְנֶחֱזֶה you,” is that we will ponder what greatness to give you, but she says, “What can you offer the perfect one?” What greatness can you give me, that will equal my greatness, or even the greatness of the banners of the encircling מְחוֹלוֹת encampments⁴The Bnei Yisroel’s encampments [=מחנים] were in the form of circles [=מחולות] when they were in the wilderness. (Sforno) in the wilderness?

יחנו בני ישראל מנגד, “the Children of Israel shall encamp at a distance, etc.;” according to Tanchuma Bamidbar 14 this was one mile distant from the Tabernacle. This corresponded to the instructions given by Joshua (Joshua 3,4) to the people to keep a distance of 2,000 cubits between themselves and the Holy Ark which crossed the river Jordan ahead of the main body of the Israelites. The reason the Tabernacle was not to be more distant from the camp was to enable the people to walk to it on the Sabbath to conduct their prayers. The flags were equidistant from one another in each direction, whereas Moses and Aaron and his sons were close to the Ark. We know this as the Torah writes that the ones who were making their camp immediately east of the Tent of Meeting were Moses and Aaron and his sons (Numbers 3,38). G’d had said that He wanted it that way so that in case He had occasion to become angry at the Israelites, Moses and Aaron would be at hand to re-establish harmony between G’d and the people. This is the deeper meaning of Psalms 20,6 נרננה בישועתיך, “we will jubilate when Your Shechinah will be present.” The תשועה the psalmist refers to is the saving of the Jewish people from the Egyptians at the sea, whereas the words following in that same verse, i.e. ובשם אלו-הינו נדגל, “and in the name of our G’d we will display flags,” refer to the flags in the desert; finally, the last words of that verse ימלא ה' כל משאלותיך, “may the Lord grant all your requests,” refer to the additional stature attained by the Israelites at that time giving individual status to each of the tribes as a group beloved by G’d by means of the flags they displayed. (Tanchuma Bamidbar 10). The Midrash further sees in Song of Songs 2,4 an allusion to the same idea. Solomon writes there: “He brought me to the banquet room and His banner of love was over me.” We may understand what is written there as a parable. A wealthy man had a treasure chamber full of wine. When he entered to examine the wine he found that it had all turned to vinegar. As he turned around to leave that treasure chamber he came across a single barrel of good wine. Thereupon he said that this single barrel was dearer to him than the entire amount in the rest of that storage chamber. The Lord has 70 nations at His disposal; however, upon examination the only nation from which He derives any pleasure are the Jewish people. The word יין, “wine,” has a numerical value of 70, an allusion to the nations of the world. Concerning all of the barrels of wine G’d said that only the one (nation) which flies a flag has merited His love so that Israel can say: “it is displayed over me.”
Solomon also says (Song of Songs 6,8) “there are 60 queens and 80 concubines, and damsels without number, whereas unique is she My dove,” a reference to the Jewish people. The former are an allusion to the alufim of the sons of Seir mentioned in Genesis 36. The eighty concubines are a reference to the descendants of Noach which have ben named. The damsels without number refer to the descendants of Ishmael, whereas “the unique one,” which did not intermarry with any of the others are the Jewish people.
Rabbi Yehudah in Tanchuma Bamidbar 10 said that the verse “He brought me to the house of wine” (Song of Songs 2,4), is a reference to the revelation at Mount Sinai. The Torah may be interpreted to yield either 49 aspects of purity or 49 aspects of impurity (depending on who does the studying). He points out that the numerical value of the word ודגלו, “and His flag,” is 49. The next paragraph in Tanchuma (Bamidbar 11) sees in the words איש על דגלו באותות in our portion an allusion to Solomon saying in Song of Songs 6,10: מי זאת הנשקפה כמו שחר יפה כלבנה ברה כחמה איומה כדגלות, “Who is she that shines like the dawn, beautiful as the moon, radiant as the sun, awesome as bannered hosts?” The nations of the world are portrayed as trying to seduce the Jewish people by inviting the beautiful looking Jewish people to become one of them, culturally speaking. They hold out the promise of appointing the converts to important positions in their midst. Israel replies sarcastically, מה תחזו בשולמית, “what can you possibly bestow upon us (7,1) seeing that we have already been granted positions more elevated than any of you can ever attain!”
. והחונים קדמה מזרחה, “and the ones encamped forward, to the east.” The three tribes Yehudah, Issachar, and Zevulun who were stationed right next to Moses and Aaron benefited thereby in that these tribes are described at various times in the Bible as very competent in Torah-law. (compare Judges 5,14 re Zevulun, Chronicles I 12,32 re Issachar and Genesis 49,10 regarding Yehudah). This is what the Talmud Sukkah 56 had in mind when it said that the good experienced by the righteous also devolves upon his neighbour. On the other hand, the tribes of Reuven, Shimon, and Gad were encamped close to the area where Korach and his family had their tents. Concerning them we apply the saying: “woe to the wicked and to those who keep company with him.”
There were a total of seven clouds of glory surrounding these various camps. Four clouds were positioned one in each direction, i.e. east, west, south, and north. One cloud would move a distance of three days’ march in front of the people; the cloud indicating the presence of the Shechinah would be positioned on top of the people’s camp including the Tabernacle. The seventh cloud would form a curtain between the people and the Shechinah. Numbers 10,14 describes the cloud which rested above the camp by day and by night. The cloud which traveled a three-days’ march ahead of the people would cause all snakes and other harmful creatures in the path of the Israelites to die; it would also smooth out valleys and rises in the terrain to enable the people to walk on an even surface. The cloud which acted as a sort of curtain above the entire camp would protect the people against climate changes such as excessive heat or cold. Concerning the experiences of this entire generation Solomon wrote in Song of Songs 6,4: יפה את רעיתי כתרצה, “You are beautiful my beloved when your deeds are pleasing.” In other words, when the Jewish people were pleasing to G’d in their deeds and desires, He in turn made all obstacles in their way disappear (Tanchuma Bamidbar 12). Moses referred to this state of affairs in Deut. 32,10 when he said: ”He discovered them in a desert land....He encircled them and granted them discernment, etc.” This meant that G’d instructed them in the ways of the Torah. The entire verse in Deuteronomy there is a graphic description in poetic form of the uplifting experiences the Jewish people enjoyed in the desert, largely thanks to the flags, i.e. again in the words of Solomon in Song of Songs 5,10 דגול מרבבה, “they were elevated by being surrounded by myriads of angels.” Thus far the Midrash.

And you shall speak to all the wise-hearted. Here too, He mentions two instances of the second person [addressing Moses directly]: And you shall speak. This is because all the wise-hearted received their emanation from Moses, as it is written And I will take of the spirit that is upon you and place it upon them (Numbers 11:17). Similarly, all the craftsmen who were “in the shadow of God” received the flow of wisdom through Moses, as it is written And you shall select from all the people (Exodus 18:21) — meaning, through the holy spirit that is upon you. This means that you [Moses] should influence the judges of Israel from the holy spirit that is upon you. So too, And you shall speak to all the wise-hearted so that they may receive the emanation of intellectual light from you. Therefore, it is stated at the end of all the work of the Tabernacle, And Moses finished the work (Exodus 40:33). But did Moses really finish the work? Wasn’t it all the wise-hearted who did it? Rather, since Moses emanated to them from his intellectual light, it is as if he himself did all the work.
And it says, “whom I have filled with a spirit of wisdom,” meaning, although in truth it is I who filled him with a spirit of wisdom, for the Lord gives wisdom (Proverbs 2:6), nevertheless, since the flow reaches them through you [Moses], it will all be attributed to your name. Therefore it says, And you — from your essential being and the additional wisdom within you — shall speak to all the wise-hearted to influence them.
Since it says wise-hearted in the plural, it should have said “whom I have filled them [plural] with a spirit of wisdom.” We can say that whom I have filled him refers back to Moses, because since I filled him with a spirit of wisdom, therefore he will emanate from his wisdom to all the wise-hearted. This is not God’s statement to Moses, since it doesn’t say “whom I have filled you with a spirit of wisdom.” Rather, the verse explains to us what is meant by saying to Moses, And you shall speak to all the wise-hearted — why do I attribute this task to Moses? Because I have filled him with a spirit of wisdom. And afterwards, the Holy One, blessed be He, returned and said to Moses in the second person, And they shall make Aaron’s garments, etc. The word asher [whom] serves as an explanatory term [meaning “because”], as is its usage in several places.

Since this was in your heart For a person does not request this thing unless he has the fear of Heaven in his heart, as it is stated (Ex. 18:21): “But you must seek out from the people men of ability, God-fearing men.”