Komentaryong Sumisipi para sa Joel 2:26

There is also a similarity between the Yom Kippur and Passover rituals. In addition to the rituals of Yom Kippur, there are three types of offerings which are performed all year long: the Tamid, the Minchat Kohen, and the Musaf offering. These offerings are offered on all the holidays as we learn in Parshat Pinchas (Numbers 28-29). The special offerings for Yom Kippur are enumerated in Parshat Acharei Mot. (Leviticus 16) Similarly at the Seder there are those rituals which are regular practices: netilah (washing the hands), motzi (the blessing for the bread/matzah), and birkat hamazon (the grace after the meals). There is also the additional ritual which is performed on other festivals - kiddush. And there are also the special rituals that relate uniquely to Passover.
On Yom Kippur, the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies to fulfill the required rituals four times: to bring the incense, to bring the blood of the bull, to bring the blood of the goat, and to bring out the coal pan. On Passover night there are four parts to the Seder, based around the four cups of wine. The four parts of these two ceremonies represent the four periods of
1) The first represents the period between the creation of the first human being and revelation at Mount Sinai. The period from the forefathers until Sinai is connected to the bringing of the incense on Yom Kippur. Like the incense, which is not a ritual of atonement but is beloved to the Holy One more than any of the other offerings, the period of the forefathers is most beloved to God. It represents the first entrance into the Holy of Holies. On Passover, Kiddush alludes to the forefathers who were holy and who sanctified the world just as the Kiddush sanctifies the day.
2) The second period is from the giving of the Torah until the coming of the Messiah. This period is connected to the offering of the bull. The bull represents Abraham and his offspring who are in need of atonement. The second part of the Seder, Maggid alludes to the present time for Israel in which they are commanded to learn, to observe, and to keep the Torah.
3) The third period in history is from the coming of the Messiah until Olam Habah, the World to Come. The goat offering alludes to Esau. With the coming of the Messiah, the other nations will find atonement as is stated in scripture: "For then I will make the people pure of speech, so that they all invoke the name of the Lord." (Zephaniah 3:9) The third part of the Seder Birkat HaMazon, the grace after the meal, represents the days of the Messiah, since it is stated: "I will raise the cup of deliverance and invoke the name of the Lord." (Ps. 116:13) Similarly, it is stated, "You shall eat, and be satisfied, and you shall bless." (Deut. 8:10) In the days of the Messiah the people of Israel shall be satisfied by all the good of this world, as it is stated: "And you shall eat your fill and praise the name of the Lord your God who dealt so wonderfully with you; My people shall be ashamed no more." (Joel 2:26)
4) The fourth and final period in human history is Olam Habah, the World to Come. The World to Come is connected to the fourth time the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies. This time there was no ritual; only the removal of the coal pan to make clear that the temple service was completed. Similarly, in the World to Come there will no longer be the Temple Service. The fourth part of the Seder begins with Hallel which alludes to the World to Come. There is no eating and drinking in this phase of the Seder. Rather, the righteous sit together and enjoy the Divine Presence, praising their creator just as scripture says in the following verse: "On that day they shall say, 'This is our God; we trust Him, and He delivers us. This is the Lord in whom we trust. Let us rejoice and exult in His deliverance.'" (Isaiah 25:9)

BEHOLD, THE HAND OF THE ETERNAL IS UPON THY CATTLE WHICH ARE IN THE FIELD. Scripture speaks of the ordinary custom that most cattle are in the field, but the plague was also upon the cattle in the houses, just as it is said, And all the cattle of Egypt died.²⁰⁰Verse 6. It is possible that because every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians,²⁰¹Genesis 46:34. the Egyptians removed the cattle from the cities except for the use of horses for riding and asses for loading. Thus the cattle were located far from Egypt, grazing in the fields bordering upon Goshen, and in those pastures the cattle of the Egyptians and of the Israelites would intermingle. Therefore it was necessary that it be said, And the Eternal shall make a division between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt.²⁰²Verse 4. It may be that the division was necessary because since the pestilence was caused by the change of air, it should naturally spread over the whole district, [affecting the cattle of the Israelites as well], but G-d dealt wondrously with them.²⁰³See Joel 2:26.

And the learned Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explained that the letter beth of the words b’E-il Sha-dai (by the Name G-d Almighty) connected [with the ensuing words ush’mi Hashem, making it ubish’mi Hashem], which has the following meaning: “And I appeared unto Abraham, etc., by the Name E-il Sha-dai (G-d Almighty), but by My Name the Eternal I was not made known unto them.”⁸Thus according to Ibn Ezra, the sense of the verse is as if it were written: “And I appeared into Abraham…b’E-il Sha-dai ubish’mi — [instead of ush’mi] — Hashem lo nodati lahem (and by My Name the Eternal I was not made known to them).”
The purport of the verse is that He appeared to the patriarchs by this Name [E-il Sha-dai], which indicates that He is the victor [and prevailer]⁹See Vol. I, pp. 215-6 and 556-7, for further discussion of this theme. See also end of Seder Bo in this volume. over the hosts of heaven, doing great miracles for them except that no change from the natural order of the world was noticeable, [as was the case with the miracles performed through Moses our teacher]. In famine, He redeemed them from death, and in war from the power of the sword,¹⁰Job 5:20. and He gave them riches and honor and all the goodness, just like all the assurances mentioned in the Torah [in the section dealing] with the blessings and curses.¹¹Leviticus 26:3-46 and Deuteronomy 28:1-69.
It is not [in nature] that man should be rewarded for performance of a commandment or punished for committing a transgression but by a miracle. If man were left to his nature or his fortune, his deeds would neither add to him nor diminish from him. Rather, reward and punishment in this world, as mentioned in the entire scope of the Torah, are all miracles, but they are hidden. They appear to the onlooker as being part of the natural order of things, but in truth they come upon man as punishment and reward [for his deeds]. It is for this reason that the Torah speaks at great length of the assurances concerning this world, and does not explain the assurances of the soul in “the World of Souls.”¹²This is the world to which the soul goes following the death of the body. At the resurrection, body and soul will be reunited. That world, according to Ramban, is Olam Haba (the Coming World). Ramban thus distinguishes between Olam Han’shamoth (the World of Souls) and Olam Haba. The Olam Han’shamoth is concomitant with this world, and Olam Haba is the world of the future. These [assurances mentioned in the Torah as recompense for the observance or transgression of the Divine Commandments] are wonders which go contrary to nature,¹³“For it is not by nature that the heavens become as iron because we have sowed our fields in the Sabbatical year, etc.” (Ramban, Vol. I, p. 557.) while the existence of the soul [after the death of the body] and its cleaving unto G-d are the proper way inherent in its nature that she returneth unto G-d Who gave it.¹⁴Ecclesiastes 12:7. I will yet explain it further¹⁵Leviticus 26:11. if G-d accomplishes it for me.¹⁶See Psalms 57:3.
Thus G-d said to Moses: “I have appeared to the patriarchs with the might of My arm with which I prevail over the constellations and help those whom I have chosen, but with My Name Yod Hei with which all existence came into being I was not made known to them, that is, to create new things for them by the open change of nature. And Wherefore say unto the children of Israel: I am the Eternal,¹⁷Verse 6. and inform them once again of the Great Name, [i.e., the Tetragrammaton], for by that Name I will deal wondrously with them,¹⁸See Joel 2:26. and they will know that I am the Eternal, that maketh all things. ”¹⁹Isaiah 44:24.
All the words of Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra on this matter were thus correct except that he was as one who prophesies but does not know it.²⁰The source of this expression, “he prophesied but did not know what he prophesied,” is in Sotah 12b. Ramban uses the expression here to intimate that Ibn Ezra did indeed allude to the correct interpretation of the verse, namely, that the letter beth in b’E-il Sha-dai is connected also to ush’mi Hashem, making it ubish’mi Hashem, as explained above (see Note 8). But, suggests Ramban, there is still a question to be raised on Ibn Ezra’s explanation, as explained further in the text. Even according to his interpretation, the verse should have said, “And I made Myself known to Abraham, etc., by the name of E-il Sha-dai, but by My Name Hashem, [which describes My true essence], I did not make Myself known to them,” or it should have said, “but by the Name Hashem I did not appear to them.”²¹In other words, why does the Torah use two separate terms: va’eira (and I appeared) and nodati (made Me known)? One term — “appear” or “made Me known” — should have sufficed in both cases. However, Ibn Ezra can answer this by saying that because the prophecy of the patriarchs came to them in the visions of the night,²²Genesis 46:2. See also Ramban, ibid., 15:1 (Vol. I, p. 193). He said here, Va’eira (And I appeared) to them, and because that of Moses was face to face²³Deuteronomy 34:10. He said here, “I made Me not known to them [the patriarchs] as I made Myself known to you [Moses].”
By way of the Truth, [the mystic teachings of the Cabala], the verse can be explained in consonance with its plain meaning and intent.²⁴Ramban is suggesting that whereas in other places the mystic teachings of the Cabala do not reflect the plain meaning of Scripture, here “the way of the Truth” is in harmony with the plain meaning and import of the text. He is saying: “I the Eternal appeared to the patriarchs through the speculum of E-il Sha-dai,” just as is the sense of the verse, In a vision do I make Myself known to him.²⁵Numbers 12:6. “But Myself, I the Eternal did not make Myself known to them, as they did not contemplate [Me] through a lucid speculum so that they should know me,” just as is the sense of the verse, And there hath not arisen a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Eternal knew face to face.²³Deuteronomy 34:10. The patriarchs did know the Proper Name of the Eternal, but it was not known to them through prophecy. Therefore when Abraham spoke with G-d, he mentioned the Proper Name together with the Name Aleph Dalet²⁶Genesis 15:2. See Ramban, ibid., 17:1 (Vol. I, p. 216). or Aleph Dalet alone.²⁷Ibid., 18:30. The purport thereof is that the revelation of the Divine Presence and His communication with them came to them through an ameliorated attribute of justice,²⁸See Vol. I, p. 543. and with that attribute was His conduct towards them. But with Moses, His conduct and His recognition to him were by the attribute of mercy, which is indicated by His Great Name, [i.e., the Tetragrammaton — the Eternal], just as is denoted in the verse, He caused His glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses,²⁹Isaiah 63:12. and it is written, So didst Thou lead Thy people, to make Thyself a glorious name.³⁰Ibid., Verse 14. Therefore Moses does not henceforth mention the name E-il Sha-dai, for the Torah was given with His great Name, as it is said, I am the Eternal thy G-d.³¹Further, 20:2. This is the sense of the verse, Our of heaven He made thee to hear His voice, that He might instruct thee; and upon earth He made thee to see His great fire.³²Deuteronomy 4:36. I have already alluded to the explanation of the word hashamayim (the heaven).³³In Genesis 1:8 (Vol. I, p. 37). May the Holy One, blessed be He, open our eyes and show us wonders in His Torah.