Komentaryong Sumisipi para sa Mga Awit 37:28

And evidence for all this is from the midrash of our Sages, brought in Yalkut Parshat Shoftim (907), which states: Judges and officers shall you appoint for yourself — This is comparable to a king who had many sons and loved the youngest more than all of them. The king had an orchard that he cherished more than all his possessions, and he gave the orchard that he loved to his youngest son whom he loved. Similarly, the Holy One, blessed be He, said: “Of all the nations, I love Israel, as it is said When Israel was a youth I loved him, and from Egypt I called My son (Hosea 11:1).” And it is written For the Lord loves justice (Psalms 37:28). He gave the laws to Israel. The Holy One, blessed be He, said: “If you observe the law, I am exalted, as it is stated And the Lord of hosts shall be exalted through justice (Isaiah 5:16).”
One must analyze this midrash carefully, for it states, “This is comparable to a king who had many sons,” thus it refers to the nations as “sons” too. This is not explicitly stated in any verse. On the contrary, the verse states, from Egypt I called My son, which implies that only Israel is called “sons.” Also, from the statement “he loved the youngest more than all of them,” it implies that He loves the nations too, just not as much as Israel. This has no proof from Scripture; on the contrary, the verse states Yet I loved Jacob, but Esau I hated (Malachi 1:2-3). Furthermore, why did [the midrash] bring the verse When Israel was a youth I loved him as proof? Why not bring the verse I have loved you, says the Lord (ibid. 1:2) as proof?

AS THEY JOURNEYED FROM THE EAST. Rashi comments: “They journeyed from where they were then dwelling, as it is written above, And their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest toward Sephar, unto the mountain of the east.³³³Above, 10:30. From there they journeyed to search out for themselves a place that would accomodate them all, but they found none except Shinar.” But this is not correct for this is the account of the children of Shem only, concerning whom it was so said [that they dwelled at “the mountain of the east”], and why should Scripture attribute the dispersion to the descendants of Shem when the children of Japheth and of Ham were more numerous than they? Besides, their habitation in their countries was from Mesha to the mountain of the east,³³³Above, 10:30. and the dispersion of the nations took place before they settled there, for the children of Japheth surely did not come from the isles of the sea³³⁴Ibid., Verse 5. to the land of Shinar; rather, it was during the dispersion that G-d scattered them abroad upon the face of all the earth,³³⁵Verse 9 here. and at that time they were settled in their lands, after their nations.³³⁶Above, 10:31.
And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explained that the mountains of Ararat are in the east. [Thus the verse before us which states, as they journeyed from the east, means as they journeyed from the mountains of Ararat.] That which he said is correct for the mountains of Ararat are in the east near Assyria, as it is said, And they escaped into the land of Ararat.³³⁷II Kings 19:37. The reference there is to the sons of Sennacherib of Assyria, who slew their father and fled to the nearby land of Ararat. And when Noah came down from the mountain [upon which the ark had rested],³³⁸Above 8:4. he and his sons settled in those lands, and when they increased they journeyed from there to this valley called Shinar.
According to our Rabbis,³³⁹Sanhedrin 109a. the men of the dispersion rebelled against their Creator. But those who pursue the plain meaning of Scripture say³⁴⁰This opinion is found in R’dak. that their idea was only to be closely united, for Scripture declares their intention, lest we be scattered,³⁴¹Verse 4 here. and does not relate any other matter [motive] concerning them. But if it be as those commentators say, then the men of the dispersion were fools for how could one city and one tower suffice for all people of the world? Or perhaps they thought that they would not be fruitful and multiply, as it is written, and the seed of the wicked will be cut off.³⁴²Psalms 37:28.
However, he who knows the meaning of the word “name” — as they said, and we will make for us a name³⁴¹Verse 4 here. — will understand their intent and will know the extent of their evil intention in constructing the tower. And then he will understand the whole subject, namely, that theirs was an evil thought, and the punishment that came over them — to be dispersed in their languages and countries — was meted out measure for measure for “they mutilated the shoots” [of faith by seeking to undermine the principle of the Unity]. Thus their sin was comparable to that of their father Adam.³⁴³See Ramban above, 3:22. Perhaps on account of this the Sages expounded:³⁴⁴Bereshith Rabbah 38:12. “And the Eternal came down to see… which the children of men had built.³⁴⁵Verse 5 here. Said Rabbi Berachyah, ‘[Whose children could they have been but the children of men?] Perhaps the children of donkeys or camels? Rather it means the children of the first man, etc.’” Contemplate further that in the entire subject of the flood, Scripture mentions Elokim (G-d), while in the entire matter of the dispersion it mentions the Tetragrammaton; the flood came on account of the corruption of the land, and the dispersion came because “they mutilated the shoots” of faith and therefore their punishment was meted out by His Great Name. This explains the “coming down”³⁴⁵Verse 5 here. and also the Divine measure meted out in Sodom.³⁴⁶See Ramban further, 19:24. The student learned [in the mystic lore of the Cabala] will understand.

THOU SHALT NOT DEPART FROM THE WORD WHICH THEY SHALL TELL THEE, TO THE RIGHT NOR TO THE LEFT. “Even if he [the judge of the Great Sanhedrin] tells you of the right that it is the left, or about the left that it is the right [you must obey him].” This is Rashi’s language. The purport thereof is that even if you think in your heart that they are mistaken, and the matter is simple in your eyes just as you know [the difference] between your right hand and your left hand, you must still do as they command you. You are not to say: “How can I [permit myself to] eat this real forbidden fat, or execute this innocent man;” instead you are to say, “The Lord Who enjoined the commandments commanded that I perform all His commandments in accordance with all that they, who stand before Him in the place that He shall choose, teach me to do. He gave me the Torah as taught by them, even if they were to err.” Such was the case of Rabbi Yehoshua and Rabban Gamaliel [Rabbi Yehoshua being instructed by Rabban Gamaliel to come before him with his walking stick] on the Day of Atonement that occurred according to his reckoning.⁹⁰Following the destruction of the Second Temple, the Sanhedrin was re-established in Jabneh under the presidency of Rabban Yochanan ben Zaccai (see above, Note 19). It happened that his successor Rabban Gamaliel, once accepted the testimony of two witnesses with regard to proclaiming the New Moon. Rabbi Yehoshua held that their evidence was invalid, and that the New Moon should be proclaimed a day later. Since the month was Tishri, the Day of Atonement [i.e., the tenth of Tishri] would fall a day later according to Rabbi Yehoshua than according to the reckoning of Rabban Gamaliel. When Rabbi Yehoshua refused to accept the opinion of his colleague, who, by virtue of his presidency of the Sanhedrin, had the authority to make the binding decision, Rabban Gamaliel sent to him, “I order you to come to me carrying your walking stick and your money on the day you reckon to be the Day of Atonement. The order caused Rabbi Yehoshua personal anguish because carrying is forbidden on the Day of Atonement. The affair ended with Rabbi Yehoshua obeying Rabban Gamaliel’s command. When Rabbi Yehoshua arrived, “Rabban Gamaliel stood up and kissed him on the head and said to him; ‘Come in peace, my master and my disciple’ — ‘my master’ in wisdom, and ‘my disciple’ because you accepted my words” (Rosh Hashanah 25a).
Now the need for this commandment is very great, for the Torah was given to us in written form and it is known that not all opinions concur on newly arising matters. Disagreements would thus increase and the one Torah would become many Torahs. Scripture, therefore, defined the law that we are to obey the Great Court that stands before G-d in the place that He chose in whatever they tell us with respect to the interpretation of the Torah, whether they received its interpretation by means of witness from witness until Moses [who heard it] from the mouth of the Almighty, or whether they said so based on the implication [of the written words] of the Torah or its intent. For it was subject to their judgment that He gave them the Torah even if it [the judgment] appears to you to exchange right for left. And surely you are obligated to think that they say “right” what is truly right, because G-d’s spirit is upon the ministers of His Sanctuary,⁹¹Ezekiel 45:4. and He forsaketh not His saints; they are preserved forever⁹²Psalms 37:28. from error and stumbling. In the language of the Sifre:⁹³Sifre, Shoftim 154. “Even if they show you before your own eyes that right is left and that left is right — obey them!”