ציטירנדיקער פּירוש אויף ישעיהו 63:9

AND THE ANGEL OF THE ETERNAL APPEARED UNTO HIM IN A FLAME OF FIRE. Because Scripture originally states, And the angel of the Eternal appeared, and then it goes on to say, And when the Eternal saw that he turned aside to see, G-d called unto him,¹³⁵Verse 4. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explained that elohim mentioned here [in the second verse] is the angel mentioned [in the first], as in the verse, For I have seen ‘elohim’ face to face.¹³⁶Genesis 32:31. The reference there is to an angel. See Ramban on Verses 26 and 30, there. The expression, I am the G-d of thy father,¹³⁷Verse 6. is a case of the deputy speaking in the name of Him Who sent him.¹³⁸See Vol. I, p. 260, for a similar instance. But this is not correct. Moses the greatest in prophecy, would not have hidden his face from an angel [as is related in Verse 6].
Our Rabbis have said in Bereshith Rabbah:¹³⁹Bereshith Rabbah 97:4. The complete quote mentioned here by Ramban is found in Shemoth Rabbah 2:8. “Angel. This refers to the angel Michael. Wherever Rabbi Yosei Ha’aruch¹⁴⁰Literally: “Rabbi Yosei the tall one.” He was an outstanding pupil of Rabbeinu Hakadosh, or Rabbi Judah the Prince, redactor of the Mishnah. was seen, people would say, ‘There is Rabbeinu Hakadosh.’ Similarly, wherever the angel Michael appears, there is also present the Glory of the Divine Presence.” The Rabbis intended to say that at first, the angel Michael appeared to Moses, and there was also the Glory of the Divine Presence, but Moses did not see the Glory, as he had not duly prepared his mind for prophecy. When he duly prepared his heart for it and he turned aside to see, then the vision of the Divine Presence revealed itself to him, and G-d called unto him out of the midst of the bush.¹³⁵Verse 4.

Reciting the benediction over the new moon is equivalent to testifying to the fact that G’d created the universe and all that is in it. This is the principal pillar of our religious faith. Seeing the moon renews itself month after month makes it easy to understand that G’d created one universe after another. Some unidentified sages have said that the black colour we observe on part of the moon serves as a reminder of the Israelites who are in exile and who count their months based on the lunar orbits. Concerning this phenomenon Solomon said (Song of Songs 6,10) יפה כלבנה, ברה כחמה, ”beautiful as the moon, brilliant as the sun.” G’d granted beauty to the moon and brilliance to the sun. The reason is that the moon resembles woman’s lower physiognomy in that it is activated by the male. The moon similarly receives its input from the sun. This is also the meaning of the statement in Ketuvot 59: “woman exists for the sake of beauty” [rather than for the performance of menial labour. Ed.]. Speaking of the sun, however, Solomon used the term ברה, as its light is clear, distinct. Seeing that Solomon used different adjectives in describing moon and sun it is clear that the moon lacks brilliance. You need not be surprised at the choice of metaphors by Solomon as the Shechinah which accompanies the Jewish people in their exile and which reflects the strength of the moon is also feeling the pain of the Jewish people in their troubles. We know this from Isaiah 63,9: “In all their troubles He was troubled.”

AND HE SHALL SERVE HIM ‘L’OLAM’ (FOREVER). Our Rabbis interpreted⁶⁰Mechilta here on the Verse. this to mean until the jubilee year. And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra wrote that “the meaning of olam in the Sacred Language is ‘time.’ It hath been already, ‘l’olamim’ which were before us means ‘the times’ [or ‘the ages’] which were before us.⁶¹Ecclesiastes 1:10. And there he may abide ‘ad olam’⁶²I Samuel 1:22. [cannot mean ‘forever,’ for Samuel did not stay all his life in Shiloh; it must therefore mean ‘until a certain time,’ i.e., until he comes of age]. This is why the Rabbis have said, and he shall serve him l’olam means up to the time of the jubilee year, for of all appointed seasons in Israel the jubilee year is the most remote, and the going out to freedom is as if the world was made anew for him. The sense of the verse is then, that he should return to his status in his first time, when he was free.” The student learned [in the mystic lore of the Cabala] will understand that l’olam is to be taken in its usual sense [i.e., forever], for he who works until the jubilee year has worked all the days of old.⁶³Isaiah 63:9. See also above Note 23. In the words of the Mechilta:⁶⁰Mechilta here on the Verse. “Rabbi⁶⁴The epithet for Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi, the redactor of the Mishnah, or as he is often known Rabbeinu Hakadosh, “Our holy teacher,” or simply “Rabbi.” says: Come and see that olam cannot mean more than fifty years, for it is said and he shall serve him ‘l’olam,’ which means until the jubilee year.” Now Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra forgot that which he wrote with understanding in another place.⁶⁵In his commentary to Leviticus 25:40-41, Ibn Ezra wrote on the verses, He shall serve with thee unto the year of jubilee. Then shall he go out from thee…: “This is what the Rabbis have received by tradition concerning the verse, and he shall serve him ‘l’olam,” meaning that he is to serve him until the jubilee year.” Thus Ibn Ezra did understand the verses there and found in them Scriptural proof that olam means fifty years, whilst here he wrote that it means “time.” Apparently, “he forgot” — as Ramban puts it — “what he wrote with understanding elsewhere.”

With me from Levanon will you come. And when you return from the exile, I will return with you, and also throughout the exile, I will be distressed in your distress.⁵³See Yeshayahu 63:9. Therefore, [Scripture] wrote, “with me from Levanon will you come.” When you are exiled from this Levanon, you will come with Me, and [Scripture] does not write, “With me to Levanon will you come,” to denote that from the time of your departure from here until the time of your return, I am with you wherever you will go and come.