ציטירנדיקער פּירוש אויף במדבר 11:15

השמים, the prefix ה is to tell us that “the” heavens, (and “the” earth,) are phenomena with which the reader is supposed to be familiar. The fact that the plural mode is used does not mean that there are many small units which combine to make a heaven or an earth, but the plural ending is similar to the plural ending in the words: ,מים, חיים, פנים מלקחים, מעיים, רחיים, water, life, face, tongs, entrails, millstones, and many more like it. Basically, the term שמים describes something above us, whereas the term ארץ describes something below us.1,2. ויכולו השמים והארץ וכל צבאם; “heaven and earth, and all their components had been completed.” (2,1) The Bible also writes: (Nechemyah 9,6) ,אתה עשית את השמים שמי השמי, וכל צבאם, הארץ וכל אשר עליה, הים ואת כל אשר בהם, “You have completed heaven in all its details, as well as the upper heaven and all their host, the earth and everything on it, the ocean and everything in them.” We also read in Exodus 20,11 (part of the Decalogue): כי ששת ימים עשה ה' את השמים ואת הארץ, את הים ואת כל אשר בם, “for during a sequence of six days, the Lord completed the creation of heaven and earth, as well as the ocean and all their respective inhabitants;There is no reason for you, the reader, to be amazed at the feminine mode, i.e. היתה, “she had been,” used by the Torah when describing phenomena which are masculine; we find more such examples in the Bible, one being in Judges 18,7: ויראו את העם אשר בקרבה יושבת לבטח, “they observed the people dwelling in it carefree, etc.” [We would have expected יושב instead of יושבת seeing that the subject עם is masculine. Ed.] In Samuel 1,4,17 even the Holy Ark, which is always considered masculine, is referred to in the feminine mode, when the prophet wrote: וארון האלוקים נלקחה, “and the Ark of G-d was captured;” in Numbers 11,15, Moses is quoted as saying to G-d: ואם ככה את עושה לי “and if You, feminine mode for G-d, are doing (masculine mode) thus to me,” etc.”Incidentally, the prefix ו before the word: הארץ, appears to be unnecessary, as it does on numerous occasions, a glaring example being Exodus 13,7 ולא נחם אלוקים “(and) G-d did not guide them, etc.”

ולא תחנם, “and you are not to show them any favor.” The word תחנם has been explained in many different ways. It may mean חן, grace, charm; it may mean חנינה, compassion, pardon. Clearly, the plain meaning is from חנינה, compassion, reprieve, and tells us that we must not indulge our feelings of compassion vis-a-vis these people. It is as if the Torah had written לא תחון אותם, “do not be charmed by them”. According to the Talmud in Avodah Zarah 20 it is forbidden to even comment on the aesthetic beauty of artifacts designed in honor of idols. One must not even admire the physical features of a handsome Gentile or a beautiful Gentile woman. The Talmud suggests that this is part of the word לא תחנם when we read the letter ח as if it had the vowel chirik underneath it. They also understand the expression as meaning that we must not grant these people חניה “parking,” i.e. temporary residence status and that it is forbidden to sell any land to Gentiles in the land of Israel. The Torah spelled out the reason when it said “so that they will not lead you into sin.” You must also not give them any gift, including land, the letters in the word תחנם being read with the vowel pattern patach, sheva, patach, i.e. tachnam. In fact, the word lends itself to still further permutations by changing the vowel pattern. Basically, the sages demonstrate the power of the written Torah, which, because it does not have vowels or other signs such as commas and period signs, is capable of being interpreted in so many different ways. Changing the vowel pattern can give a single word many different meanings. Having appreciated this you will understand even better the power inherent in the names of G’d which lend themselves to so many permutations, i.e. different emphasis of the basic concept of Hashem. I have elaborated on this already in my comments on Numbers 11,15.

תוהו , this word in a similar construction appears in Psalms 107,40: ויעתם בתוהו לא דרך, “and He makes them lose their way, in a trackless desert.” It also occurs in Jeremiah 4,23: ראיתי את הארץ והנה תוהו, “I saw the earth, and here it is chaotic.” It would be incorrect to understand our verse as referring to the condition of the universe before heaven and earth had been created. If that translation were correct, the Torah should have written: והארץ היה תוהו ובוהו, i.e. “what is now viewed as “earth” already existed but in a chaotic state.” Seeing that the Torah wrote instead: היתה, is proof that that word refers to the earth itself, i.e. that at its inception the earth had been in a chaotic state. An alternate explanation: the whole phrase refers to the future, i.e. before the Lord created heaven and earth, there was only chaos. The same would apply to the words following, i.e. על פני תהום, on the surface of what in the future would be known as the תהום, “the great depth.” An alternate way of saying this is: מרחפת על פני המים, “was hovering on the surface of the ocean.” (the darkness). We must remember that the phenomena described by the Torah had not yet been created at the “time” described by the Torah. There are a number of phenomena that had not yet been created, such as the angels, the heavenly regions for the righteous and the abyss for the wicked, known respectively as maasseh merkavah and gehinom. The Torah, in describing the creation, refers only to phenomena visible to the human being. Even the planting of the garden in Eden has been written about in the Torah only in order to explain to us how and why first man declined so precipitously morally shortly after having been created. Nonetheless, the text conveys that the garden of Eden was created (planted) at the same time as the heavens and the earth, and that is why the Torah wrote: ויכולו השמים והארץ וכל צבאם; “heaven and earth, and all their components had been completed.” (2,1) The Bible also writes: (Nechemyah 9,6) ,אתה עשית את השמים שמי השמי, וכל צבאם, הארץ וכל אשר עליה, הים ואת כל אשר בהם, “You have completed heaven in all its details, as well as the upper heaven and all their host, the earth and everything on it, the ocean and everything in them.” We also read in Exodus 20,11 (part of the Decalogue): כי ששת ימים עשה ה' את השמים ואת הארץ, את הים ואת כל אשר בם, “for during a sequence of six days, the Lord completed the creation of heaven and earth, as well as the ocean and all their respective inhabitants; There is no reason for you, the reader, to be amazed at the feminine mode, i.e. היתה, “she had been,” used by the Torah when describing phenomena which are masculine; we find more such examples in the Bible, one being in Judges 18,7: ויראו את העם אשר בקרבה יושבת לבטח, “they observed the people dwelling in it carefree, etc.” [We would have expected יושב instead of יושבת seeing that the subject עם is masculine. Ed.] In Samuel 1,4,17 even the Holy Ark, which is always considered masculine, is referred to in the feminine mode, when the prophet wrote: וארון האלוקים נלקחה, “and the Ark of G-d was captured;” in Numbers 11,15, Moses is quoted as saying to G-d: ואם ככה את עושה לי “and if You, feminine mode or G-d, are doing (masculine mode) thus to me,” etc.”Incidentally, the prefix ו before the word: הארץ, appears to be unnecessary, as it does on numerous occasions, a glaring example being Exodus 13,7 ולא נחם אלוקים “(and) G-d did not guide them, etc.”

and condemned Job This is one of the verses wherein the Scribes rectified the language of the Scripture. “And they condemned,” as directed against the Omnipresent, by remaining silent, should have been written, but Scripture euphemized. Similarly (Num. 11:15), “and do not let me see my misfortune.” It should have been written: “and do not let me see their misfortune,” but Scripture euphemized, and so many [other] instances, in Sifrei (ad loc.) and in the Great Masorah.

and condemned Job This is one of the verses wherein the Scribes rectified the language of the Scripture. “And they condemned,” as directed against the Omnipresent, by remaining silent, should have been written, but Scripture euphemized. Similarly (Num. 11:15), “and do not let me see my misfortune.” It should have been written: “and do not let me see their misfortune,” but Scripture euphemized, and so many [other] instances, in Sifrei (ad loc.) and in the Great Masorah.