בִּרְכַּ֣ת יְ֭הוָה הִ֣יא תַעֲשִׁ֑יר וְלֹֽא־יוֹסִ֖ף עֶ֣צֶב עִמָּֽהּ׃
די ברכה פֿון גאָט, זי מאַכט רײַך, מע דאַרף צו מאָל ניט צולײגן מי דערבײַ.
Rabbeinu Bahya
Shemot Rabbah 46,2 states that the instruction to Moses to carve for himself two stone tablets is an illustration of what Solomon had in mind in Kohelet 3,5 when he said: “there is a time to throw stones away and another time to assemble stones. He first referred to Moses who had smashed the first set of Tablets, whereas in the second half of his statement he referred to G’d’s instruction to Moses to carve for himself two stone tablets as mentioned in our verse. The latter statement was an illustration of the verse (Proverbs 10,23) “the blessing of the Lord makes people wealthy.” The blessing Solomon had in mind when he wrote that was the wording chosen by G’d here i.e. פסל לך, as if G’d had said: “the פסולת, “discarded (slivers of stone) used to carve out these tablets will remain your personal property.” G’d showed Moses a kind of large sapphire from which to carve the tablets. This made Moses a wealthy individual and enabled him to act as king over Israel. This also teaches you that anyone who makes Torah his vocation will find that his livelihood will somehow be provided by the Torah. This is the meaning of the words (Joshua 1,8) “for then (if you preoccupy yourself with Torah on an ongoing basis) you will succeed in your path and will be successful.” Such a person will not experience pain or anguish in the process of securing his livelihood and will not have to leave his home even in order to work for his livelihood.
Another meaning of the words: “carve for yourself!” The matter can be illustrated by means of a parable. A king took a trip abroad, overseas, leaving his wife and the various female servants of the palace behind. The queen now became the subject of the same kind of cheap gossip as is invariably spread about such servants. When these tales reached the ears of the king he wanted to execute his queen. When a companion of the queen who had been a witness to the marriage heard about this he tore up the marriage settlement which had been given to him for safe-keeping. He reasoned that if the king were to accuse his wife of misconduct he would tell him that she was not his wife anymore (seeing she had no marriage settlement). The king examined the reports that had reached him and did not find any substance in them. Only accusations against the maid servants could be substantiated. He immediately changed his mind and his wife became very dear to him again. Thereupon the witness who had previously torn up the marriage contract said to the king: “please write a new marriage contract for your wife.” The king responded that seeing that it was the witness who had torn up the original it was up to him to provide the means to write a replacement. The king was willing, however, to do the writing on the replacement contract. This is the reason G’d said to Moses: “carve for yourself!”
Another meaning of the words: “carve for yourself!” The matter can be illustrated by means of a parable. A king took a trip abroad, overseas, leaving his wife and the various female servants of the palace behind. The queen now became the subject of the same kind of cheap gossip as is invariably spread about such servants. When these tales reached the ears of the king he wanted to execute his queen. When a companion of the queen who had been a witness to the marriage heard about this he tore up the marriage settlement which had been given to him for safe-keeping. He reasoned that if the king were to accuse his wife of misconduct he would tell him that she was not his wife anymore (seeing she had no marriage settlement). The king examined the reports that had reached him and did not find any substance in them. Only accusations against the maid servants could be substantiated. He immediately changed his mind and his wife became very dear to him again. Thereupon the witness who had previously torn up the marriage contract said to the king: “please write a new marriage contract for your wife.” The king responded that seeing that it was the witness who had torn up the original it was up to him to provide the means to write a replacement. The king was willing, however, to do the writing on the replacement contract. This is the reason G’d said to Moses: “carve for yourself!”
Minchat Ani
Leaning: This is an allusion that the needy person should be treated equally with others as a reminder of freedom, as is stated, "Even a needy person should not eat without leaning. It is also a reminder that we are commanded all year long to give tzedakah and to support the needy who are afflicted.
It is necessary to explain why everyone at the Seder and not just the head of the household should lean as a reminder of freedom (unlike other customs at the Seder which are not specifically commanded by the Torah; these customs are performed by the head of the household alone). Also why do we have two customs for freedom: leaning and dipping? The answer is that we perform these customs to show that we are not simply performing these customs haphazardly but to tell the story of the wonders which God performed.
There is also a hint in the practice of leaning that we will write about later on regarding the wise child: answer the wise child according the laws of Passover, "We do not proceed to any dessert after the Afikomen." This teaches us that we must explain this specific custom to the wise child as well as all the other commandments about which he asks in order to fulfill the decree of the King, " What do the testimonies (adot), statutes (hukkim), and laws (mishpatim) mean that the Lord our God has commanded you," (even those that have no explanation)? To this one says that one should offer a full explanation and the customs in the laws of Passover so that," We do not proceed to the dessert after the Afikomen." That is, one does so that 'the taste of the Afikomen remains in his mouth.' The reason should remain not only when he is performing it, but after he performed the commandment as well. This is the case with the two times we dip. The purpose is meant to make an impression and literally leave a taste in his mouth since the dipping gives taste to the object we dip.
Finally, according to this explanation there are four time periods in the Seder: the time of sanctification, the time of remembrance, the time of blessing, and the time of spiritual exaltation for the good of the world to come. The four parts of the Seder allude to these four periods. In the beginning we are sanctified and enter into the service of the holy one. Then we serve God by remembering the Exodus of the Egypt until the time of the coming of the Messiah. The next period is the time of eating and drinking as the sages explained: ‘And she ate’31A reference to Ruth 2:14. , in this world; ‘and she was sufficed’, in the days of the Messiah: ‘and she left over’, in the future that is to come." (Shabbat 113b) Also, according to scripture: "The blessing of the Lord makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it." (Prov.10:22) This verse is according to what I have taught: a person does not pass away without half of his desires unfulfilled. Therefore, the more one enriches oneself, the more he brings sorrow. Rather it is the blessing of the Lord that enriches and does not add to our sorrow. This is a reference to the time of the coming of the Messiah, as it is written, "You shall eat, be satisfied, and bless." Thanksgiving will come in the time of the Messiah and spiritual exaltation through closeness to God in praise in the world to come - which will be even greater than the period of Messiah.
It is necessary to explain why everyone at the Seder and not just the head of the household should lean as a reminder of freedom (unlike other customs at the Seder which are not specifically commanded by the Torah; these customs are performed by the head of the household alone). Also why do we have two customs for freedom: leaning and dipping? The answer is that we perform these customs to show that we are not simply performing these customs haphazardly but to tell the story of the wonders which God performed.
There is also a hint in the practice of leaning that we will write about later on regarding the wise child: answer the wise child according the laws of Passover, "We do not proceed to any dessert after the Afikomen." This teaches us that we must explain this specific custom to the wise child as well as all the other commandments about which he asks in order to fulfill the decree of the King, " What do the testimonies (adot), statutes (hukkim), and laws (mishpatim) mean that the Lord our God has commanded you," (even those that have no explanation)? To this one says that one should offer a full explanation and the customs in the laws of Passover so that," We do not proceed to the dessert after the Afikomen." That is, one does so that 'the taste of the Afikomen remains in his mouth.' The reason should remain not only when he is performing it, but after he performed the commandment as well. This is the case with the two times we dip. The purpose is meant to make an impression and literally leave a taste in his mouth since the dipping gives taste to the object we dip.
Finally, according to this explanation there are four time periods in the Seder: the time of sanctification, the time of remembrance, the time of blessing, and the time of spiritual exaltation for the good of the world to come. The four parts of the Seder allude to these four periods. In the beginning we are sanctified and enter into the service of the holy one. Then we serve God by remembering the Exodus of the Egypt until the time of the coming of the Messiah. The next period is the time of eating and drinking as the sages explained: ‘And she ate’31A reference to Ruth 2:14. , in this world; ‘and she was sufficed’, in the days of the Messiah: ‘and she left over’, in the future that is to come." (Shabbat 113b) Also, according to scripture: "The blessing of the Lord makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it." (Prov.10:22) This verse is according to what I have taught: a person does not pass away without half of his desires unfulfilled. Therefore, the more one enriches oneself, the more he brings sorrow. Rather it is the blessing of the Lord that enriches and does not add to our sorrow. This is a reference to the time of the coming of the Messiah, as it is written, "You shall eat, be satisfied, and bless." Thanksgiving will come in the time of the Messiah and spiritual exaltation through closeness to God in praise in the world to come - which will be even greater than the period of Messiah.
Rabbeinu Bahya
ורפא ירפא, “and he shall provide for healing.” Whenever the Bible mentions the word רפואה when applied to a human being the letter פ always appears with the dagesh. For instance Jeremiah 51,9 רפאנו את בבל ולא נרפתה, “we tried to cure Babylon but she was incurable;” when we find the word used as something being performed by G’d then there is no dagesh in the letter פ. Example: Jeremiah 17,14 רפאני ה' וארפא, “Heal me O Lord and I shall be healed.” Another example is found in Psalms 147,3: הרופא לשבורי לב, “He heals the broken-hearted, etc.” There are many more examples. The reason for this distinction in the spelling of the description of the applied cure is that when man, i.e. a physician, administers a cure it is apt to be accompanied by pain and suffering, whereas a cure administered by the Lord is a painless procedure. This is part of the meaning of Proverbs 10,22: “the blessing of the Lord enriches, He does not add sorrow to it.”
When the sages in Baba Kama 85 stated that the words ורפא ירפא in our verse constitute permission for a physician to practice his art they said so only in connection with externally visible injuries or symptoms of diseases; internal diseases, especially mental diseases are not subject to treatment by physicians of flesh and blood. They are the sole domain of the One who provides the soul to all living creatures. [This interpretation seems to be based on Ibn Ezra, but is disputed by other authorities. Ed.].
When the sages in Baba Kama 85 stated that the words ורפא ירפא in our verse constitute permission for a physician to practice his art they said so only in connection with externally visible injuries or symptoms of diseases; internal diseases, especially mental diseases are not subject to treatment by physicians of flesh and blood. They are the sole domain of the One who provides the soul to all living creatures. [This interpretation seems to be based on Ibn Ezra, but is disputed by other authorities. Ed.].