Комментарий о цитате к Йоэль 2:20

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. The reason the Torah begins with the letter bet is because throughout the book of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon compares the Torah to the sun, whose path only traverses three directions, like the shape of the letter bet which is open to the north (referring to the left side of the letter, which in classical cartography was used for north, as opposed to maps today which have the left side on the map represent west). And its giving [of the Torah] was through Moses, whose face was like the sun. Perhaps the reason is because the evil inclination, which opposes the Torah, comes from the north and breaks through the fence of the Torah, as it is written: And I will distance the northern one from you (Joel 2:20). Similarly, the gold that comes from the north opposes the Torah. And for the most part, they [wealth and Torah] flee from each other, as it is written: It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I might learn Your statutes (Psalms 119:71). This is not the place to elaborate further on this matter. It can be further explained according to what is said: Wisdom has built her house (Proverbs 9:1), therefore the wisdom of the Torah begins with bet, as it [this wisdom] is the mistress of the general house.

Ibn Shuaib writes in parshat Phinehas about this verse that the water that will go out of Jerusalem will drown the water of the river Shittim, that Israel engaged in illicit sex there.⁴Numbers, 25:1–9. The waters that will go out of Jerusalem will drown the waters of Shittim. This may be interpreted by the verse “I will sprinkle clean water on you” [Ezekiel, 36:25]. That is to say, I will sprinkle water on you so that you will not follow the Evil Inclination, after adultery, as the verse says, “He will destroy death forever” [Isaiah, 25:8]. That is to say, the Evil Inclination will no longer exist. There are bodies of water that and the one who sits and drinks from these waters must engage in illicit sexual relations. It was so at the river of Shittim. When Israel were sitting at the river Shittim, they engaged in illicit sexual relations, because the water flowed over vegetation, and some herbs have within them the ability to cause a person to engage in illicit sexual relations. In contrast, there are some herbs that cause the person to refrain from sexual relations. Therefore, the Holy One promises to give us the river that causes us to refrain from illicit sexual relations and this river will feed other rivers whose nature was to incite illicit sexual relations, like the river Shittim. The hope is that Israel will not sin anymore, as the verse promised, “I will drive the northerners far from you” [Joel, 2:20]. That is to say, I will remove the Evil Inclination from Israel when the Messiah will come, in the expectation that they will be free of sins, as the verse said here, “living waters shall flow from Jerusalem” [14:8].⁵Ibn Shuaib, Derashot, II: 398.

V. 18. שחין, dessen Etymologie wir bereits zu Schmot 9, 9 gegeben haben, – wir machen nur noch ergänzend auf צחן (Joel 2, 20 צחנתו) aufmerksam, das den Geruch der Fäulnis bedeutet, – ist eine jede Hautentzündung, die entweder von innen heraus oder durch Schlag usw. entstanden, mit Ausnahme der Brandwunde durch Feuer. Diese letztere ist unter מכוה (V. 24) verstanden (ת׳׳כ, Chulin 8a). – ונרפש, daß hier nicht von völliger Heilung die Rede ist, ergibt sich aus V. 20: בשחין פרחה, es ist somit die Entzündung noch vorhanden; es ist daher der Zustand begonnener, aber noch nicht vollendeter Heilung, נרפא ולא נרפא, wie es in ת׳׳כ bezeichnet wird. Die Haut war durch Entzündung zerstört und es hat sich bereits wieder eine neue feine Haut כקליפת השום gebildet. So lange dieses Stadium der Heilung noch nicht begonnen :heißt die Entzündung שחין מורד ,מורדת (– wahrscheinlich gärend, in Aufruhr schwärend –) so lange kann sich kein נגע טמא daran bilden. Ist die Entzündung ganz geheilt und vernarbt (צלקת), so daß sich eine neue feste Haut gebildet hat, so fällt diese unter den allgemeinen Begriff עור בשר und unterliegt den bisher besprochenen נגע Vorschriften בשלשה סימנים ובשני שבועות. Ist es aber נרפא ולא נרפא, so treten die hier folgenden Vorschriften ein: ein נגע auf der neugebildeten Haut hat nur eine Woche הסגר und wird nur durch zwei מחיה .מוחלט ,שער לבן ופשיון ,סימנים findet nicht dabei statt. Ganz ebenso ist מכוה (V. 24 f. – Negaim 3, 4 und 9, 2).