ציטירנדיקער פּירוש אויף ישעיהו 54:2

ותקהל העדה אל פתח אהל מועד, “and the assembly was gathered in the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.” This required a miracle, of course This is one of several places in the Bible where a very small area was able to accommodate a very large number of people (compare Tanchuma Tzav 12.). When Moses was told to assemble all the people at the entrance of the Tabernacle, he turned to G’d saying: “how can six hundred thousand men and six hundred thousand youngsters fit into the entrance [an area of 50 by 100 cubits] of the Tabernacle? G’d replied: “is this what you are concerned about? Was not the heaven at one time no bigger than the eye of a needle and I managed to fit the entire earth through it?” G’d quoted Isaiah 40,22: “Who spread out the skies like gauze, stretched them out like a tent to dwell in?” At the revelation at Mount Sinai G’d appeared surrounded by 22,000 chariots filled with ministering angels as we know from Psalms 68,18: ‘G’d’s chariots, myriads upon myriads, thousands upon thousands, the Lord is among them as in Sinai in holiness.’ Each of these chariots was similar to the one Ezekiel saw in his vision. Seeing this was so, how could the mountain have supported all these chariots? Clearly, miracles happened which temporarily suspended the rules applying to terrestrial space. At the time G’d had told the mountain: “expand and accommodate all the loyal people.” When the Jewish people crossed the Jordan river 40 years later the entire Jewish people found space between the staves of the Holy Ark behind the Priests who marched ahead. This is based on Joshua 3,9: “Joshua said to the Children of Israel: ‘come close and listen to the words of the Lord. your G’d.’” In the future these miracles will be re-enacted when all the people ever since Adam who qualify for resurrection will have to be accommodated on earth. Aren’t they going to complain that they do not find room to stand? However, G’d promised that at that time “I will expand the size of Jerusalem” as prophesied by Isaiah 54,2 who quotes G’d as addressing Jerusalem saying to her: “enlarge the size of your tent, extend the size of your dwelling; do not stint!” Thus far the comments of the Midrash Tanchuma Tzav 12 on the subject.

מה טובו אהליך יעקב, ”how goodly are your tents, Yaakov;” In the Talmud tractate Sanhedrin folio 105 treatment of this verse, Rabbi Yochanan is quoted as saying that the wording, i.e. the metaphors of Bileam’s blessings reveal that these blessings had been involuntary. He had intended to point to the paucity of synagogues and houses of Torah study, but what came out of his mouth were words of admiration for same. He referred to these houses of studies now as if they were equivalent to Tabernacles devoted to G–d as His residence, i.e. משכנותיך ישראל. Instead of saying that its dynasties would be short lived, he said that they would flow like rivers. Instead of saying that they would not enjoy orchards and vineyards, he said: כגנות על נהר, “like gardens situate near a river;” (for easy irrigation) Rabbi Yochanan there continues in this vein. An alternate interpretation by Rabbi Abba bar kahane: all of Bileam’s blessings eventually turned into curses when the Jewish people did not live up to the idealistic version of them he had painted, except the blessings concerning the synagogues and houses of Torah study. A different scholar understands the word נטיו, derived from נטיה, meaning: “propensity,” rivers having a propensity, inclination, to wend their way through the landscape in a certain fashion sometimes becoming wider or narrower depending on the contours of the landscape surrounding them. Bileam suggests that the fortunes of the Jewish people in the future will parallel what we observe with rivers. Isaiah uses the same simile in Isaiah 66,12, when he said: נוטה אליה כנהר שלום, “like a river at peace.” (as opposed to flood in the next simile of the prophet) Bileam’s similes reflect the changing experiences of rivers and streams as reflecting Jewish history in the future. The more active the rivers, the more they symbolise powerful blessings for the Jewish people. Isaiah 54,2 is also a metaphor describing this concept where it is applied to the earth’s solid surface.