Musar к Бамидбар 5:32

Parshat Nasso, commences with commandment 362, that people who have become defiled are required to leave the camp, as it says (5,1) וישלחו מן המחנה people who suffer from serious impurities such as טומאת זב, טומאת מת, or צרעת.

וישלחו מן המחנה . What is meant is that והיה מחניך קדוש, the impure, should be sent from all three camps, as the situation required, in order to comply with the Torah's instructions in Deut. 23,15, והיה מחניך קדוש, "your camp shall remain holy." The Zohar there explains that the reference is to the 248 limbs of a person which make up his skeleton and which must retain their sanctity. This is hinted at in our paragraph. There are three camps and they represent respectively the head, the heart, and the stomach. The head is the seat of the brain and of all thoughts, and this domain must not be polluted by even the most minor degree of impurity. Our sages have already taught us that the הרהורי עבירה, impure thoughts and intentions, are more dangerous morally than the actual impurity caused by committing the sin (Yuma 29a). There follows the camp of the Levites, which is comparable to the heart of man. Obviously a good and pure heart is to be maintained at all times. The third camp is comparable to man's stomach and intestines, an area vital for converting food into energy, and discharge of that which cannot be used constructively. This area is somewhat ugly; it reminds us constantly of the bodily aspects of man and our tragic inability to remain alive without the body. Nonetheless, anyone who suffers from severe types of impurity must leave even that part of the camp. The moral lesson of all this is to sanctify oneself by means of one's food intake or abstention from it. The Jew is commanded to observe modesty even when he performs biological functions that are necessary, such as excretions of undigested food. All of these rules are designed to expel serious impurities.

והתודו את חטאתם . The Sefer HaChinuch writes that we are commanded to confess all our sins before G–d as soon as we feel sorry to have committed such sins. The manner in which this is done is that the sinner recites: "O Lord, I have sinned inadvertently, knowingly, or even out of feelings of rebelliousness," followed by a list of the sins committed. It is necessary to spell out each sin as explicitly as one is capable of, and beg for forgiveness. The procedure should not be something cursory. Our sages add that even sins that can be atoned for by the bringing of a sacrifice must be spelled out at the time the sacrifice is offered. Concerning such sins, the Torah says in Numbers 5,6: "Speak to the children of Israel, any man or woman who will commit any of the sins one is apt to commit against one's fellow man thus breaking faith with G–d, and that person becomes aware of his guilt, he shall confess their sins which they have committed." The Mechilta there comments that the words in Leviticus 5,5: והתודה אשר חטא עליה, indicate that the confession must take place before the sin offering has been slaughtered.

והתודו את חטאתם . The Sefer HaChinuch writes that we are commanded to confess all our sins before G–d as soon as we feel sorry to have committed such sins. The manner in which this is done is that the sinner recites: "O Lord, I have sinned inadvertently, knowingly, or even out of feelings of rebelliousness," followed by a list of the sins committed. It is necessary to spell out each sin as explicitly as one is capable of, and beg for forgiveness. The procedure should not be something cursory. Our sages add that even sins that can be atoned for by the bringing of a sacrifice must be spelled out at the time the sacrifice is offered. Concerning such sins, the Torah says in Numbers 5,6: "Speak to the children of Israel, any man or woman who will commit any of the sins one is apt to commit against one's fellow man thus breaking faith with G–d, and that person becomes aware of his guilt, he shall confess their sins which they have committed." The Mechilta there comments that the words in Leviticus 5,5: והתודה אשר חטא עליה, indicate that the confession must take place before the sin offering has been slaughtered.

First of all, the episode of the serpent, who spoke lashon hara of the Holy One Blessed be He and thereby brought death to the world. And (Bereshith 29:20): "If G-d will be with me and guard me," concerning which Chazal have said: "if He will guard me against lashon hara." And the episode of Joseph (Ibid. 37:2): "And Joseph brought their evil talk to their father," this being the catalyst of the descent of the Jews to Egypt. And (Shemoth 2:14): "In truth, the thing has become known" (see Rashi there and what we shall write below). There, too, (4:1) Moses our teacher, may peace be upon him, says: "But they will not believe me," and the Blessed L-rd counters (Ibid. 2): "What is this in your hand?" … (3) …and it became a serpent." Also there (6): "And, behold, his hand was leprous as snow." And (Ibid. 17:2): "And the people quarreled with Moses… (7) …over the quarrel of the children of Israel, etc." followed by (8): "And Amalek came and warred with Israel, etc." And (Ibid. 23:1): "You shall not bear a false report, which applies to both the speaker and the receiver [of lashon hara] (as we find in Makkoth 23a), followed by (2): "Do not be after many to do evil." And, in reference to the me'il [the outer robe of the ephod] (Ibid. 28:32): "A border shall there be to its mouth roundabout," and the entire section. And (35): "And its sound will be heard when he comes to the sanctuary, etc." And the entire section of Tazria and Metzora: the plague-spots of houses, the plague-spots of clothing, the plague-spots of men, (Vayikra 13:46): "Solitary shall he sit"— even outside of the camp of Israel. And his atonement— "chirping" birds. And (Ibid. 19:16): "Do not go talebearing among your people," (Ibid. 17): "Reprove, shall you reprove your neighbor, but you shall not bear sin because of him." And (Ibid. 25:17): "You shall not wrong, one man, his fellow," which relates to verbal wronging, which is also in the category of evil speech. And (Bamidbar 5:1): "And they shall send out of the camp every leper"— even if he were as great in Torah as Doeg. And (Ibid. 12:1): "And Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses, etc." And the entire section of Shelach Lecha, which speaks about the spies. And (Ibid. 21:5): "And the people spoke against G-d and against Moses." And (Devarim 23:10): "When you go out as a camp against your foes, guard yourself against every evil thing [davar ra]," concerning which Chazal have said: "davar ra" may be read as "dibbur ra" [evil speech]. And in Tetze, the "giving out of an evil name [motzi shem ra]," and (Ibid. 24:9): "Remember what the L-rd your G-d did to Miriam, etc." And (Ibid. 27:24): "Cursed be he who smites his friend in secret," which refers to lashon hara. And it is known that all of the "cursings" were preceded by blessings; and they opened with blessing, saying: "Blessed is he who does not smite"— whence we derive that one who is heedful in this is blessed.

First of all, the episode of the serpent, who spoke lashon hara of the Holy One Blessed be He and thereby brought death to the world. And (Bereshith 29:20): "If G-d will be with me and guard me," concerning which Chazal have said: "if He will guard me against lashon hara." And the episode of Joseph (Ibid. 37:2): "And Joseph brought their evil talk to their father," this being the catalyst of the descent of the Jews to Egypt. And (Shemoth 2:14): "In truth, the thing has become known" (see Rashi there and what we shall write below). There, too, (4:1) Moses our teacher, may peace be upon him, says: "But they will not believe me," and the Blessed L-rd counters (Ibid. 2): "What is this in your hand?" … (3) …and it became a serpent." Also there (6): "And, behold, his hand was leprous as snow." And (Ibid. 17:2): "And the people quarreled with Moses… (7) …over the quarrel of the children of Israel, etc." followed by (8): "And Amalek came and warred with Israel, etc." And (Ibid. 23:1): "You shall not bear a false report, which applies to both the speaker and the receiver [of lashon hara] (as we find in Makkoth 23a), followed by (2): "Do not be after many to do evil." And, in reference to the me'il [the outer robe of the ephod] (Ibid. 28:32): "A border shall there be to its mouth roundabout," and the entire section. And (35): "And its sound will be heard when he comes to the sanctuary, etc." And the entire section of Tazria and Metzora: the plague-spots of houses, the plague-spots of clothing, the plague-spots of men, (Vayikra 13:46): "Solitary shall he sit"— even outside of the camp of Israel. And his atonement— "chirping" birds. And (Ibid. 19:16): "Do not go talebearing among your people," (Ibid. 17): "Reprove, shall you reprove your neighbor, but you shall not bear sin because of him." And (Ibid. 25:17): "You shall not wrong, one man, his fellow," which relates to verbal wronging, which is also in the category of evil speech. And (Bamidbar 5:1): "And they shall send out of the camp every leper"— even if he were as great in Torah as Doeg. And (Ibid. 12:1): "And Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses, etc." And the entire section of Shelach Lecha, which speaks about the spies. And (Ibid. 21:5): "And the people spoke against G-d and against Moses." And (Devarim 23:10): "When you go out as a camp against your foes, guard yourself against every evil thing [davar ra]," concerning which Chazal have said: "davar ra" may be read as "dibbur ra" [evil speech]. And in Tetze, the "giving out of an evil name [motzi shem ra]," and (Ibid. 24:9): "Remember what the L-rd your G-d did to Miriam, etc." And (Ibid. 27:24): "Cursed be he who smites his friend in secret," which refers to lashon hara. And it is known that all of the "cursings" were preceded by blessings; and they opened with blessing, saying: "Blessed is he who does not smite"— whence we derive that one who is heedful in this is blessed.

And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Yoma 85b), “‘Of all your sins; you shall be pure before the Lord’ - Yom Kippur atones for transgressions between a person and the Omnipresent. Yom Kippur does not atone for transgressions between a person and his fellow until he appeases his fellow.” Hence one who has robbed his fellow must return the theft and confess afterwards. But if he confesses first, his confession is ineffective. [This is] as our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Bava Kamma 110a) concerning a robber or one who swears falsely [about his debt] who is obligated to pay the principal and a fifth, and to bring a guilt-offering - that one who brings his theft before he has brought his guilt-offering has fulfilled [his obligation]; his guilt-offering before he has brought his theft has not fulfilled [his obligation]. For it is stated concerning the robber of a convert that has no heirs, such that [the robber] must give the repayments to a priest, (Numbers 5:8) “then the guilt shall be to the Lord for the priest; besides the ram of atonement with which atonement is made on his behalf.” Its explanation: The guilt that is mentioned in this verse is referring to the repayment - from the usage (Numbers 5:7), “and he shall give it to whom he is guilty.” And he brings the repayment [first], “besides the ram of atonement with which atonement is made on his behalf” afterwards.

This is the secret of the relationship between מילה, removal of the foreskin and פריעה, the splitting and pulling down of the thin membrane beneath the foreskin (which is part of the operation, and without which the rite of circumcision is halachically invalid). Once this has been accomplished the form will resemble its Creator, and man will emerge in the image of G–d. We have discussed elsewhere how different parts of the human body correspond to different regions of the ספירות, emanations. Just as there can be no peace and harmony in the Heavenly Regions until the power of the emanation מלכות has been revealed as the ultimate objective G–d had in mind when He started the creative processes, so man on earth is not "complete" until his member has been revealed minus the foreskin and the membrane underneath it. This is what the sages had in mind when they said מל ולא פרע כאלו לא מל, "If someone removed his foreskin and failed to split that membrane, he might as well not have removed the foreskin at all" (Shabbat 137). Similarly in the case of a Sotah, (a woman who has to disprove accusations of marital infidelity), the Torah demands that the hair of her head be loosened and thereby prominently displayed to indicate that she had committed a violation of religious norms (Numbers 5,18). [It is considered an act of ערוה, unchastity, for a married Jewish woman to thus display her hair. Ed.]

When Israel sinned and as a result the Temple was destroyed, the שכינה went into exile with the Jewish people, seeing that it was a pledge G–d had entrusted to them. This is the mystical dimension of the verse: אלה פקודי המשכן, משכן העדות, "These are the "pledges" of the Tabernacle, the "pledges" of the "Testimony" (Exodus 38,21). This is the basis for the Rabbinic statement in Megillah 29 that Israel is beloved (by G–d) since wherever the people of Israel are exiled, the שכינה is exiled with them. When they were exiled to Egypt the שכינה was with them, as we know from Genesis 46,4, where G–d told Jacob: "I shall go down to Egypt with you." When the Jewish people went into exile in Babylonia the שכינה accompanied them, as we know from Isaiah 43,14: "For your sake I sent to Babylon." When Israel was exiled in Elam the שכינה accompanied them, as we know from Jeremiah 49,38: "I will set My throne in Elam." When the Jewish people went into the Roman exile the שכינה also went with them, as we know from Isaiah 63,1: "Who is this coming from Edom,…..it is I who contend victoriously, powerful to give triumph." When the people of Israel return to their land from exile the שכינה will also accompany them as we know from Deut. 23,35: ושב ה' אלוקיכם את שבותך ורחמך, "G–d will come back with your imprisoned ones and have mercy on you." We would have expected the Torah to say: והשיב, "He will bring back," instead of "He will come back." We also have a verse in Song of Songs 4,8: "With Me from Lebanon O bride, come with Me!" Rabbi Meir explains this as a parable: It is like a king saying to his servant "if you need to seek me out, I shall be with my son." This is the meaning of "who dwells with them in their defilement," which we have quoted earlier. All this although G–d had warned Israel not to defile their encampments or the land they would live on, for it is the land G–d Himself has His abode in.

Come and see how great is the power of peace. For in the beginning of the creation of the universe the Holy One Blessed be He employed Himself in the creation of an instrument of peace, as it is written (Bereshith 1:3): "And G-d said: 'Let there be light' — and there was light." And how do we know that light is peace? For it is written (Isaiah 45:7): "He fashions light and creates darkness; He makes peace and creates evil." On this basis, our teachers of blessed memory ruled (Shabbath 23b): "As between a candle for his house and wine for kiddush, to sanctify the Sabbath [if he can afford only one], a candle for his house takes precedence because of the peace of his household." What is more, our sages enacted many ordinances in pursuit of the paths of peace, viz. (Gittin 59a): "They declared the following in pursuit of the paths of peace: 'The Cohein reads first [in the Torah], then the Levite, then the Israelite, because of "the paths of peace."'" An eruv [a halachic enabling device] is placed in an old house, because of "the paths of peace." The pit nearest the irrigation canal is filled first because of "the paths of peace."'" And so is it written (Proverbs 3;17): "Its [Torah's] ways are ways of pleasantness and all of its paths are peace." And thus did our sages of blessed memory say in the aggadah (Bamidbar Rabbah 15:13, Tanchuma Beha'alothecha 11): "There are thirteen things that the Holy One Blessed be He loved, and of all of them, He "doubled" [in profusion of love], only "peace." They [(the thirteen)] are: Cohanim, Levites, Israel, Sanhedrin [the high court], the first-born, the offerings of the tabernacle, the sacrifices, the oil of anointment, the Land of Israel, Jerusalem, the Temple, the kingdom of the house of David, and the silver and the gold. The Cohanim — (Shemoth 28:41): "And they shall be priests unto Me." the Levites (Numbers 3:41): "And I shall take the Levites unto Me." Israel — (Shemoth 19:6): "And you [Israel] shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests." Sanhedrin — (Numbers 11:16): "Gather unto Me seventy men." The first-born — (Shemoth 13:2) "Sanctify unto Me every first-born." The offerings of the tabernacle — (Ibid. 25:2): "And they shall take unto Me an offering." The sacrifices — (Numbers 28:2): "You shall heed to sacrifice unto Me in its appointed time." The oil of anointment — (Shemoth 30:31): "The holy oil of anointment shall this be unto Me for your generations." The Land of Israel — (Ibid. 19:5): "For unto Me is all the land." Jerusalem — (I Kings 11:36): "The city that I have chosen unto Me." The Temple — (I Chronicles 17:12): "He shall build unto Me a habitation." The kingdom of the house of David — (I Samuel 16:1): "For I have seen in his sons a king unto Me." The silver and the gold — (Chaggai 2:8): "Mine is the silver, and Mine is the gold." But, of all of these, none was doubled [in profusion of love] but "peace," as it is written (Isaiah 27:5): "Or let him take hold of My strength. He shall make peace unto Me; peace shall he make unto Me." Great is peace, which takes precedence to praise of the Blessed One Himself. For when Yithro came to Moses, immediately (Exodus 18:7): "And each made inquiry of the other's peace," whereas only afterwards (Ibid. 8): "And Moses related to his father-in-law all of the miracles that the Holy One Blessed be He had wrought for Israel." What is more, for all of the mitzvoth that the wicked perform in this world, the Holy One Blessed be He gives them their reward in this world — such as wealth, property, years, honor, and the like — except peace, which He does not give them, as it is written (Isaiah 57:21): "There is no peace, says my G-d, for the wicked." And, what is more, the Holy One Blessed be He gives peace as a reward to the righteous, as it is written (Ibid. 32:17): "And the reward for righteousness shall be peace…" What is more, it is with peace that He draws near to Him converts and penitents, as it is written (Ibid. 57:19): "He creates the utterance of the lips: 'Peace, Peace,' for the far and the near, says the L-rd, and I will heal him." Great is peace, for in regard to all of the journeyings in the desert it is written "And they journeyed and they rested," journeying in strife and resting in strife. But when they came to Mount Sinai, they made one great "resting," as it is written (Shemoth 19:2): "And Israel rested there, before the mountain." (Vayikra Rabbah 9:9): "The Holy One Blessed be He said: 'The time has now arrived for Me to give Torah to My children.'" For as long as they are at peace with one another, the Shechinah is among them. And thus is it said (Devarim 33:5): "And He was a King in Yeshurun when the heads of the people were gathered, together with the tribes of Israel." When does the kingdom and the Shechinah of the Blessed One abide in Israel? When they are all gathered together as one. Come and see how great is the power of peace; for it is through the power of peace that the world endures. For thus have our sages of blessed memory said (Avoth 1:18): "On three things does the world stand: on judgment, on truth, and on peace, as it is written (Zechariah 8:16): 'Truth and a judgment of peace shall you judge in your gates.'" What is more, when there is peace among men, there is blessing in their fruits, as it is written (Ibid. 12): "For as the seed of peace, the vine shall give its fruit, and the earth shall give its produce, and the heavens shall give its dew, and I shall bequeath all of these to the remnant of this people." And thus is it written (Psalms 147:14): "He makes peace on your borders and sates you with the fatness of wheat." Our sages have said (Vayikra Rabbah 9:9): "Great is peace, for if one erases one letter of G-d's name, he transgresses a negative commandment, as it is written (Devarim 12:3): 'And you shall wipe out their [the idols'] name from that place,' followed by (Ibid. 4): 'You shall not do so to the L-rd your G-d.' Yet to make peace between a man and his wife, the Torah says (Numbers 5:23): 'And the Cohein shall write these curses [containing G-d's name] in a book and erase them into the bitter waters.' The Holy One Blessed be He says: 'Let My name, which was written in holiness, be erased by the waters.'" And Chazal have said further (Vayikrah Rabbah 9:9): "Great is peace, for all of the goodly blessings and consolations that the Holy One Blessed be He convokes upon Israel conclude with "peace." The Shema — "He spreads a canopy of peace." The Amidah — "He makes peace." The priestly blessing — "And He shall repose peace upon you." "Therefore, my sons, be circumspect in this trait — to love peace and to pursue peace. For there is no end to the reward for loving peace and pursuing peace." Until here, the language of Ma'aloth Hamiddoth.

The metaphysical significance of all this is that the world was created with the letter ב, in the word Bereshit, which is a veiled reference to ברכה, blessing, benediction. Since Adam had preferred to follow the advice of the serpent, the source of curse, he was cursed himself, and with him the whole universe. Our sages express this by saying that the serpent cohabited with Eve, and infected her with its pollutant. This is the reason why the next section in our Parshah deals with the סוטה, the wife suspected of infidelity, and why the husband's feelings are described as ועבר עליו רוח קנאה. I have already described the meaning of רוח. When the Torah speaks about רוח קנאה it refers to the spirit of impurity with which man has become infested from the time Adam observed the serpent having sexual intercourse with his wife (Shabbat 146a). The Kabbalists pointed out that the dichotomy that the serpent caused in this "lower" world, the potential discord between man and his wife, had parallel results in the Celestial Regions, where the matches are made (who is to marry whom down here on earth). Originally, Adam had been created male and female, or, in the words of Bereshit Rabbah 8,1, דו פרצופי, with two faces in opposite directions, their common back not being visible until after Eve had been separated from him. After that separation, man and his potential partner remain united as one in the Celestial Regions. When the serpent polluted Eve, all this changed. Rashi already comments that the use of the word איש, איש, twice in 5,12, indicates that the trespass committed is twofold, a) against one's partner in marriage on earth, b) against the "איש מלחמה" in the Celestial Regions, i.e. against G–d. This is so because she tore asunder what even in the heavens formerly belonged together. The "pollutant" that the serpent impregnated Eve with, is a spiritual concept, i.e. Eve's counterpart in the Heavenly Regions became polluted. Pardes Rimonim already warns against our thinking that the קליפה, impurity, actually penetrated the holy regions of the Heavens. What is meant is that the complaint, or accusation of the forces of impurity that were leveled against the human beings now became "audible" in those Celestial Regions. Since it is incumbent on the true judge to dispense true justice, G–d's primary inclination to dispense חסד, kindness, was thwarted and He was "forced" to vacate the throne of Mercy and move over to the throne of Justice, and thereby restrain some of the largess He had intended to bestow upon those who cleave to Him. This whole episode is known as the כניסת הקליפה בתוך הקדושה, the penetration of the "peel" into the domain of sanctity. I have dealt with this at length in my introduction Toldot Adam. This then is what is at the root of the words "the spirit of jealousy overcame him, since she had become defiled, etc." The Torah depicts the effect of what happened when Eve had been seduced by the serpent. When the Torah continues with the apparent alternative of והיא לא נטמאה, "she had not become defiled," the obvious reference is to the "Eve" of the Celestial Regions, the spiritual counterpart of womanhood which could not actually become defiled; actual impurity cannot enter those regions.

Books have been written on the subject, and I do not propose to deal with this except to debunk those who say that the whole point of doing Teshuvah is to obtain forgiveness for one's sins, and to head off afflictions. One must not approach repentance from that aspect, but one must confess the sins committed with each specific organ. Only when one does so will repentance "tear up all evil decrees in the world." This is the true meaning of our verse (5,7) והשיב את אשמו בראשו, "and bring back his guilt on his own head."

ואם לא נטמאה האשה וטהורה היא, "If the woman has not defiled herself, but is pure, she will remain unharmed and able to retain seed" (5,28). Why would the Torah have to add the words "she is pure," since this is obvious "if she had not defiled herself?" The deeper meaning is that if someone had defiled himself and subsequently purified himself through remorse and whatever purifying process prescribed, the Torah promises us that such "purity" is also subject to its blessing; repentance is such a great moral accomplishment that it turns erstwhile debits into merits (Yoma 86b).

All the commandments of the Torah, whether positive or negative commandments, if a man has transgressed one of them, either intentionally or unintentionally, when he repents and returns from his sinfulness, he must confess it before God, Blessed be He. As it is said, "When a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to commit a trespass against the Lord, and that soul shall be found guilty then they shall confess their sin which they have done" (Num. 5:6). This is confession by words. And as for all men who have sinned or trespassed and all who are liable to death by the court, or to lashing, their sins are not atoned for by death or by lashing, or by sacrifice until they do repentance and confess. And anyone who injures another, or who causes him monetary loss, even though he paid him, there is no atonement for the offender until he confesses and resolves never to do a similar act. And how does he confess? He should say, "Pray, O God, I sinned, I dealt perversely, I trespassed before You, and I did thus and thus, and now, behold, I am repentant and I am ashamed of my deeds, and I shall never repeat such a thing." This is the essence of confession. And he who confesses at length and dwells upon this matter deserves praise. Also it is an important part of confession for him to say : "But we have sinned."

We read in Chronicles I 16,27: הוד והדר לפניו, עז וחדוה במקומו, "Glory and majesty are before Him, strength and joy are in His place." This verse contains a lesson about the exiles of the Jewish people, i.e. that they are for the good of the Jewish people. The chapter quoted describes an ongoing activity, i.e. בשרו מיום אל יום ישועתו, that even the redemption that has not occurred yet should be spoken of daily, or better still, it refers to a period of over one thousand years. Considering that in our eyes G–d's day is equal to a millenium, it follows that this is why Adam died on the day he ate from the tree (as he was warned he would in Genesis 2,17), though he lived close to one thousand years, the verse quoted in Chronicles, clearly refers to a period of exile. Lamentations 1,13, which describes the exile as already lasting כל היום,-at least one thousand years,- prompts the Zohar to comment that "my very glory," הודי, has proven to be my ruin." When you re-arrange the letter of the word הוד, you get דוה, as in כל היום דוה, "suffering constantly" (ibid.). I have already elaborated on this elsewhere, where I wrote that the word "הדר," is derived from "היפוך, i.e. "turning something around, reversing it," similar to the meaning of the expression "הדרן עלך," i.e. הפוך בה והפוך בה," (keep reviewing it, keep busy with it). What the Zohar meant was that the original "הוד," glory, will eventually lead to an even greater degree of "הוד" in the messianic future, just because that "הוד" had been converted to "דוה." We are told of that day in the future that ישמח ה' במעשיו, "that G–d will delight in His works" (Psalms 104,31). When you re-arrange the letters of the word ישמח, you have the word משיח, a reference to when that time will come. Concerning that day, the Midrash says that the Messiah will be given the combined “הוד, glory of Moses and הדר (its reversal) of Joshua, meaning that from the time of Joshua the spiritual decline set in, and the glory, הוד, kept turning into progressively more דוה, suffering. The הדר, decline would then reverse itself, i.e. the meaning of that term would no longer be negative. This process will lead to the cessation and disappearance of the iniquity due to the pollutants that the serpent spread throughout the world, and will enable the Messiah to make his appearance, and the new dimension of "light," the glory of the Messiah to manifest itself. The הדר (reduced measure of majesty in relation to Moses) of the new leader Joshua will be reversed at that time, a time described in Ezra 2,63 as the period when there is once again a High Priest who can stand in front of the אורים ותומים, the time when Elijah will have appeared. This period is alluded to when the Torah tells us in Numbers 27,21 that the new leader of the Jewish people will have to consult G–d by means of the אורים ותומים, i.e. the Ineffable Name worn by the High Priest Elazar in his breast plate. We also find an allusion to messianic times when the Jewish people are counted in our portion; the name of the son of Dan is given as שוחם (26,42), whereas in Parshat Vayigash, (Genesis 46,23) it is given as חשים. I have found that the Ari comments on this that the reason why the letter ו is missing in the spelling of that name in Genesis is to allude to the letters in the word משיח. In the time immediately preceding the arrival of the Messiah, one of the descendants of Dan will conduct a great battle. All this is mentioned in the Zohar's commentary on Parshat Balak (page 68-69, Sullam edition). It is based on Genesis 49,17: "Dan shall be a serpent (נחש) by the road, a viper (שפיפון) by the path, that bites the horse's heels so that its rider is thrown backwards." According to the Zohar, the "serpent" is a reference to Shimshon whereas the "viper" is a reference to Elijah who rescued Tzaliah a descendant of Dan when the latter "flew" in pursuit of Bileam. The latter, escaped by means of sorcery and Tzaliah was at a loss what to do. When Numbers 23,3 describes Bileam as וילך שפי, this is a reference to Bileam's profound identification with the negative forces in this world as symbolized by the serpent. Jacob's blessing to Dan referred to above and resulted in two descendants of Dan referred to as Tzaliah and Ira asserting mastery over the evil forces of this world. Ira was one of David's warriors. This is what is alluded to in Samuel II 8,4: "David hamstrung all the horses (of his adversary)…"The רכב referred to in that verse alludes to Genesis 49,17, i.e. an exploit of Dan. The words ויפול רוכבו אחור in that same verse refer to someone called Shalyah from the tribe of Dan who will assist the משיח בן יוסף in the war preceding the coming of the Messiah. The verse in Genesis concludes with the word לישועתך קויתי השם, to indicate that looking forward to imminent redemption at that time will be justified. The reason why the son of Dan here is referred to as שוחם is to express the hope that this descendant of Dan at the time mentioned will be equivalent to the משוח מלחמה, the Priest whose special task it was to accompany Israel in battle (Sotah 42 on Deuteronomy 20,2). [Active participation in war was certainly not the Priest's normal function. In fact any priest who had killed a person was no longer fit to perform Service in the Temple. Ed.] Pinchas too, seeing that he was descended maternally from the tribe of Joseph, whose descendants will play the leading role in the battle preceding the coming of the Messiah, was such a משוח מלחמה. At a later stage this very שוחם is "transformed" into a חומש. When someone has inadvertently used sacred property, i.e. Temple property, for personal or mundane purposes, he must make restitution of the principal amount plus twenty per cent so that the total amount paid back is twenty percent (חומש) larger than the original. The people of Israel are considered as קדש לשם "sacred to the Lord," as Rashi explains on Song of Songs 8,12: האלף לך שלמה, ומאתים לנוטרים את פריו. Israel is considered G–d's vineyard, and anything stolen from it must not only be replaced, but the חומש, in this case מאתים, must be added to make the restitution legal.

הרואה סוטה בקלקולה יזיר עצמו מהיין "If someone sees a סוטה in her state of disgrace, he should resolve to abstain from wine." I have written previously that the reason the woman becomes a curse, i.e. והיתה האשה לאלה, is because of the pollutant of the original serpent which had contaminated Eve. The Nazirite has to abstain from wine since Eve had squeezed out the juice from a cluster of grapes. Once this תקון, correction, has been made, the curse is converted into a blessing. This is why the ברכת כהנים, is written in the Torah following the paragraph of the Nazirite.

There are many different ways the 248 positive and 365 negative commandments have been counted. The earliest compiler and the most authoritative one has been the author of הלכות גדולות, followed by the great scholar Shlomo Gabirol and subsequently the great master Maimonides. There followed Rabbi Moshe from Kotzi known as the סמ"ג or ספר מצות גדולות. The fact that we find far earlier attempts to determine how certain laws are derived from the written Torah, such as during the time of Rabbi Akiva and later Talmudic scholars, does not make those scholars we just mentioned arbiters as to who among the earlier scholars is correct. To mention just one example of different views, take the law of the סוטה, Numbers 5,14. It is debated whether the Torah when discussing the husbands's jealousy of his wife (and all the procedures prescribed when there is insufficient prima facie evidence of marital infidelity on her part) is something that is merely his right, or whether it is his duty. Whereas Rabbi Yishmael considers this merely a husband's privilege, Rabbi Akiva considers it the husband's duty. There are numerous disagreements between these two scholars concerning whether certain statements in the written Torah are merely indications of a permissible course of action or whether they make it mandatory.

לא תשא את שם ידו"ד אלהיך. The Rekanati describes anyone who swears a vain or false oath as קוצץ בנטיעות cutting planted trees, i.e. damaging G–d's universe. This is the reason the Torah used the expression לא תשא instead of לא תשבע. By using the expression תשא the idea is conveyed that the groom should not be separated from the bride, [the word is used as נישואים marriage. Ed.] When the Torah continues כי לא ינקה השם, "that G–d will not clear one who does so," this is a reference to another verse in which a person has been cleared, ונקתה, and the resulting union with her husband is fruitful (Numbers 5,28). He who separates will not be cleared, however. Thus far the Rekananti. I have already explained elsewhere how the word שבועה, oath, is derived from שבעה, seven, and is connected with the בנין the "structure" of the universe, something G–d created in seven days. You may read up about this in my treatise שבועות, פרק תורה אור, חלק תורה תמימה.

But at that very moment Israel declared, ‘We will do’ before ‘We will hear’ (Shemos 24:7) and all of them were shown to be righteous, as it is stated, “You are entirely beautiful, my beloved, and there is no flaw in you” (Shir HaShirim 4:7). And it is also said of them, “Who can find a woman of valor” (Mishlei 31:10) and, “A woman of valor is a crown for her husband” (Mishlei 12:4). Therefore the Zohar (ibid., 96b) refers to the flour offering of Shavuos as a “jealousy offering” (Bamidbar 5:18). It is also called a “new flour offering” (Vayikra 23:16) because Israel was as if created anew the day the Torah was given. Thus they resembled a straying wife who is discovered to be unsullied, of whom it is stated, “She shall be exonerated and seed shall be sown and she shall be pure” (Bamidbar 5:28). And so did Israel become pure after they brought the Shavuos offering.

But at that very moment Israel declared, ‘We will do’ before ‘We will hear’ (Shemos 24:7) and all of them were shown to be righteous, as it is stated, “You are entirely beautiful, my beloved, and there is no flaw in you” (Shir HaShirim 4:7). And it is also said of them, “Who can find a woman of valor” (Mishlei 31:10) and, “A woman of valor is a crown for her husband” (Mishlei 12:4). Therefore the Zohar (ibid., 96b) refers to the flour offering of Shavuos as a “jealousy offering” (Bamidbar 5:18). It is also called a “new flour offering” (Vayikra 23:16) because Israel was as if created anew the day the Torah was given. Thus they resembled a straying wife who is discovered to be unsullied, of whom it is stated, “She shall be exonerated and seed shall be sown and she shall be pure” (Bamidbar 5:28). And so did Israel become pure after they brought the Shavuos offering.