לֹ֣א תְנַסּ֔וּ אֶת־יְהוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֑ם כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר נִסִּיתֶ֖ם בַּמַּסָּֽה׃
Não tentarão a Yehová, seu Elohim, como o tentaram em Massá.
Rabbeinu Bahya
With these words Solomon warned us to display faith in the Lord and in His ability and willingness to provide our needs for us. The practical way of demonstrating this faith is the setting aside of a portion of our harvests for the Lord or those whom he has appointed to be the recipient of these “gifts.” One should not begrudge the money or food given to the poor and destitute seeing in them something that impoverishes the giver. On the contrary, one should view such gifts as insuring that one will continue to be the beneficiary of G’d’s bounty. Solomon spells this out even more clearly in Proverbs 28,27 where we read: ”He who gives to the poor will not be in need.” We must truly believe that G’d will add to our resources as a result of our demonstrating this faith by sharing what we have with others. This is the meaning of Proverbs 11,24: יש מפזר ונוסף עוד, “one man gives generously (appears to waste) and winds up with more.” Solomon also said (Proverbs 10,2) ”the treasures of wickedness are useless; whereas charity saves from death.” The author of Proverbs means that the excess accumulated by means of robbery and extortion will prove ineffectual, whereas the very giving up of part of one’s fortune to assist the poor and needy is what will prove effective in determining the individual’s fate, so much so that it may save the donor from what otherwise would have been certain death.
Our sages in Ketuvot 66 phrase it thus: מלח ממון חסר, “if someone wants to treat money as if it were salt, i.e. enduring forever, he will find that it decreases.” Others quote the proverb as ממון מלח חסד, “if someone wants his money to endure as does salt, he should use it to perform acts of loving kindness(with it).” Seeing that this is so it behooves a person to spend his money (part of it) on the performance of commandments which involve expense, especially the commandment to give charity. He who gives to the poor in fact gives to the Almighty. [I suppose the meaning is that thereby G’d will not have to trouble Himself to sustain that poor person. Ed]. Similarly, he who donates money for sacred purposes such as the Temple, etc., is only giving to G’d what belongs to G’d in the first place. David spelled this out in Chronicles I 29,14 when he said: “for everything emanated from You and that which comes from Your hand we have given to You.” All of these considerations prompted Solomon to say in the verse quoted above: “honour the Lord with your wealth.”
The expression הון used by Solomon includes all kinds of things which a person accumulates in order to keep and preserve them. The word is derived from Psalms 119,14: כעל כל הון, “as over all riches.” Other examples of the word in the Bible occur in Proverbs 30,16 ואש לא אמרה הון, “and the fire never says ‘enough’”. Fire’s appetite to devour things is never satisfied. As long as an object subject to burning is available fire is anxious to devour it.
According to a Midrashic explanation found in the Midrash Mishley on our verse, the word “fire” here refers to the fires of hell and Solomon means that there is no end to the sufferings which people who are in Gehinom have to endure. It would seem that the two verses quoted at the introduction to our Parshah both describe the need to be generous with one’s wealth in order to avoid paying for one’s miserliness by undergoing the afflictions of Gehinom. It is in order to “put G’d to the test” by fulfilling the obligation to be charitable, to give away some of one’s accumulated wealth in order to see whether indeed G’d will compensate one for doing so. This is why Solomon added at the outset: “so that the Lord will fill your barns with plenty.” The word וימלאו, “and they will be filled,” is to be understood as the result of one’s fulfilling the first half of verse 9, i.e. to honour the Lord from one’s wealth. The words: “and your vats will overflow with new wine,” are in response to the words: “from the first fruits of all your harvests” in verse 9 of that chapter. This is also why the Torah refers to “the harvest of the vineyard” in Deuteronomy 22,9.
Concerning the giving of tithes, the prophet Maleachi 3,10 has stated that if someone were to test the Lord (His promises and if they come true), the only way he is allowed to do this is by means of performing the commandment of giving charity and observing if G’d indeed will enrich him thereby rather than make him poorer. The prophet describes this as an exception to the general rule not to put G’d to the test by saying: “I will perform a certain commandment in order to be enriched materially by the reward.” Compare Deut. 6.16: “you must not put the Lord to the test.” Our sages in Taanit 9,1 have stated that the verse quoted from Malachi represents the single and solitary exception to the prohibition spelled out in Deut. 6,16. They understand the prophet’s words: “bring your tithes, etc.,” as almost an invitation to prove that G’d does reward those who diminish their wealth by sharing the harvest with the poor, as resulting in an addition to those people’s material possessions forthwith. When Solomon spoke about the positive results accruing to the individual who honours the Lord from his wealth, he too meant this not as something given on condition that G’d would reward the individual forthwith but as a statement of fact, of what would ensue as a result of such conduct by those individuals. This is why he did not preface his comments with the words: “if you do such and such.” Basically, the lesson is that although putting the Lord to the test is forbidden, the subject of tithing is an exception to this rule.
Our sages in Ketuvot 66 phrase it thus: מלח ממון חסר, “if someone wants to treat money as if it were salt, i.e. enduring forever, he will find that it decreases.” Others quote the proverb as ממון מלח חסד, “if someone wants his money to endure as does salt, he should use it to perform acts of loving kindness(with it).” Seeing that this is so it behooves a person to spend his money (part of it) on the performance of commandments which involve expense, especially the commandment to give charity. He who gives to the poor in fact gives to the Almighty. [I suppose the meaning is that thereby G’d will not have to trouble Himself to sustain that poor person. Ed]. Similarly, he who donates money for sacred purposes such as the Temple, etc., is only giving to G’d what belongs to G’d in the first place. David spelled this out in Chronicles I 29,14 when he said: “for everything emanated from You and that which comes from Your hand we have given to You.” All of these considerations prompted Solomon to say in the verse quoted above: “honour the Lord with your wealth.”
The expression הון used by Solomon includes all kinds of things which a person accumulates in order to keep and preserve them. The word is derived from Psalms 119,14: כעל כל הון, “as over all riches.” Other examples of the word in the Bible occur in Proverbs 30,16 ואש לא אמרה הון, “and the fire never says ‘enough’”. Fire’s appetite to devour things is never satisfied. As long as an object subject to burning is available fire is anxious to devour it.
According to a Midrashic explanation found in the Midrash Mishley on our verse, the word “fire” here refers to the fires of hell and Solomon means that there is no end to the sufferings which people who are in Gehinom have to endure. It would seem that the two verses quoted at the introduction to our Parshah both describe the need to be generous with one’s wealth in order to avoid paying for one’s miserliness by undergoing the afflictions of Gehinom. It is in order to “put G’d to the test” by fulfilling the obligation to be charitable, to give away some of one’s accumulated wealth in order to see whether indeed G’d will compensate one for doing so. This is why Solomon added at the outset: “so that the Lord will fill your barns with plenty.” The word וימלאו, “and they will be filled,” is to be understood as the result of one’s fulfilling the first half of verse 9, i.e. to honour the Lord from one’s wealth. The words: “and your vats will overflow with new wine,” are in response to the words: “from the first fruits of all your harvests” in verse 9 of that chapter. This is also why the Torah refers to “the harvest of the vineyard” in Deuteronomy 22,9.
Concerning the giving of tithes, the prophet Maleachi 3,10 has stated that if someone were to test the Lord (His promises and if they come true), the only way he is allowed to do this is by means of performing the commandment of giving charity and observing if G’d indeed will enrich him thereby rather than make him poorer. The prophet describes this as an exception to the general rule not to put G’d to the test by saying: “I will perform a certain commandment in order to be enriched materially by the reward.” Compare Deut. 6.16: “you must not put the Lord to the test.” Our sages in Taanit 9,1 have stated that the verse quoted from Malachi represents the single and solitary exception to the prohibition spelled out in Deut. 6,16. They understand the prophet’s words: “bring your tithes, etc.,” as almost an invitation to prove that G’d does reward those who diminish their wealth by sharing the harvest with the poor, as resulting in an addition to those people’s material possessions forthwith. When Solomon spoke about the positive results accruing to the individual who honours the Lord from his wealth, he too meant this not as something given on condition that G’d would reward the individual forthwith but as a statement of fact, of what would ensue as a result of such conduct by those individuals. This is why he did not preface his comments with the words: “if you do such and such.” Basically, the lesson is that although putting the Lord to the test is forbidden, the subject of tithing is an exception to this rule.
Tze'enah Ure'enah
King Solomon, of blessed memory, said: “honor the Lord with your wealth, with the best of all your income, and your barns will be filled with grain, your vats will burst with new wine” [Proverbs, 3:9–10]. King Solomon showed us in this verse that the person should rely on the Holy One and the person should honor the Holy One with what he can and owns, and should feed the poor. He should know that God will repay him double. He should not think that when he will give the poor person, his wealth will decrease, but he should rely on the Holy One, who will increase his money even more, as the verse says, “one man gives generously and ends with more” [Proverbs, 11:24]. There are many who are not stingy and spend money on the poor. With this, they gather even more. Therefore, the verses said that you should honor the Holy One with your goods. Then the Holy One will make you rich, will increase your grain and your wine. We find this concerning the tithes. The Holy One explicitly wrote, “put me to the test” [Malachi, 3:10]. This means, the Holy One said test me and give tithes and charity, and I will make you rich. Even though concerning all the commandments, the person should not say, I will fulfill a commandment, expecting that I should have good luck with my money, as the verse says, “do not try the Lord” [Deuteronomy, 6:16]. This means, do not test God. However, concerning tithes, one may test God and may say, I am giving tithes and charity expecting that it will make me rich. Our sages also learned from these verses, “honor the Lord with your wealth” [Proverbs, 3:9]. You should honor God with what God has given you. When someone sees that he has a good voice to sing and praise God, he should not spare himself, and should sing to honor the Holy One. However, in any event he should not do it so that women and men would praise him for his voice, but to honor the Holy One. Similarly, when he was worthy to be a scribe, he should write books to learn from them. The one who writes a Torah scroll, his reward is like he had received the Torah on Mount Sinai. Similarly, he can be a mohel. His reward is very great because thirteen covenants were said concerning the commandment of circumcision. The verse “honor the Lord with your wealth” [Proverbs, 3:9] says this. This means, with whatever God has blessed you; you should honor the Holy One. Also, Israel are called first. Thus, it is just that they should bring the first of their grain and fruits to the Holy One, who is called first, since He is the first, before everything. Therefore, the Torah wrote here that one should bring the first fruits to the Holy One before he tests them. This is the meaning of “you shall take some of every first fruit of the soil” [26:2].1Bahya, Ki Tavo, Introduction. This means, you should take some of every first fruit of the soil.
Radak
אסון, a mishap brought about either by man or by direct heavenly intervention, a natural disaster, for instance. Yaakov’s fear was based on a mishap having befallen Joseph at the time (as he had been led to believe). The Talmud in Ketuvot 30 describes mishaps caused by “man” as thorns and thistles, and the like. [based on Proverbs 22,5. The assumption appears to be that such “mishaps” are preventable by man being careful.] We may well ask why Yaakov was afraid of a mishap that might befall Binyamin while he was on the way more than he was afraid of a mishap which might befall him at home? The answer is that mishaps which befall people on a journey are statistically far more frequent than those that befall a person while he is at home. Wild animals, bandits, etc., are usually roaming on much traveled routes. Due to the likelihood of encountering such hazards while traveling, even righteous people who have no reason to fear G’d’s retribution for any wrongs they may have committed, need to be especially careful in any situation which is known to be especially hazardous, and they must not ignore such dangers by relying on G’d to keep them safe. Even if they would be saved from some danger through a miracle G’d would perform for them, their accumulated merits would be diminished thereby. Our sages have found an allusion to all this in Deuteronomy 6,15 לא תנסו את ה' אלוקיכם, “do not cause the Lord your G’d to have to perform a miracle for you.” We find proof that even an outstanding man such as the prophet Samuel when sent to anoint a successor to King Sha-ul and setting out on the way to Chevron to anoint one of Yishai’s sons, was afraid and said so to G’d. G’d Himself told him what precautions to take. (Samuel I 16,2) In view of the above it is not surprising therefore that Yaakov was especially concerned about Binyamin’s safety during the journey.