נְרַנְּנָ֤ה ׀ בִּ֘ישׁ֤וּעָתֶ֗ךָ וּבְשֵֽׁם־אֱלֹהֵ֥ינוּ נִדְגֹּ֑ל יְמַלֵּ֥א יְ֝הוָ֗ה כָּל־מִשְׁאֲלוֹתֶֽיךָ׃
מיר װעלן זינגען אין דײַן ישועה, און אין נאָמען פֿון אונדזער גאָט װעלן מיר אַ פֿאָן הײבן;גאָט װעט דערפֿילן אַלע דײַנע פֿאַרלאַנגען.
Kli Yakar
Each man by his banner with the signs of their fathers’ houses. We find in several midrashim (Numbers Rabbah 2:2-6) that greatly magnify the matter of the banners, and they interpreted about them the verse and in the name of our God we will set up our banners (Psalms 20:6). For at the time of the giving of the Torah, Israel saw the angels arranged in banners upon banners, and they desired to have banners like them. And on the verse Who is she that looks forth as the dawn (Song of Songs 6:10), they interpreted (Numbers Rabbah 2:4) that the nations looked at the exalted status of Israel and were amazed, etc., and said, Return, return, O Shulamite (Song of Songs 7:1). Cleave to us and come to us, and we will make of you dukes and governors. And Israel replies, What will you see in the Shulamite, as in the dance of the two camps? (Song of Songs 7:1). That is to say: What greatness can you give us? Can you perhaps give us greatness such as our God gave us — the banner of the camp of Judah to the east, etc.? And every insightful person will be astonished at what is this noise, and why the noise of the city in an uproar (1 Kings 1:41) about this, and what honor and greatness was done to Israel that they desired it so much.
Rabbeinu Bahya
יחנו בני ישראל מנגד, “the Children of Israel shall encamp at a distance, etc.;” according to Tanchuma Bamidbar 14 this was one mile distant from the Tabernacle. This corresponded to the instructions given by Joshua (Joshua 3,4) to the people to keep a distance of 2,000 cubits between themselves and the Holy Ark which crossed the river Jordan ahead of the main body of the Israelites. The reason the Tabernacle was not to be more distant from the camp was to enable the people to walk to it on the Sabbath to conduct their prayers. The flags were equidistant from one another in each direction, whereas Moses and Aaron and his sons were close to the Ark. We know this as the Torah writes that the ones who were making their camp immediately east of the Tent of Meeting were Moses and Aaron and his sons (Numbers 3,38). G’d had said that He wanted it that way so that in case He had occasion to become angry at the Israelites, Moses and Aaron would be at hand to re-establish harmony between G’d and the people. This is the deeper meaning of Psalms 20,6 נרננה בישועתיך, “we will jubilate when Your Shechinah will be present.” The תשועה the psalmist refers to is the saving of the Jewish people from the Egyptians at the sea, whereas the words following in that same verse, i.e. ובשם אלו-הינו נדגל, “and in the name of our G’d we will display flags,” refer to the flags in the desert; finally, the last words of that verse ימלא ה' כל משאלותיך, “may the Lord grant all your requests,” refer to the additional stature attained by the Israelites at that time giving individual status to each of the tribes as a group beloved by G’d by means of the flags they displayed. (Tanchuma Bamidbar 10). The Midrash further sees in Song of Songs 2,4 an allusion to the same idea. Solomon writes there: “He brought me to the banquet room and His banner of love was over me.” We may understand what is written there as a parable. A wealthy man had a treasure chamber full of wine. When he entered to examine the wine he found that it had all turned to vinegar. As he turned around to leave that treasure chamber he came across a single barrel of good wine. Thereupon he said that this single barrel was dearer to him than the entire amount in the rest of that storage chamber. The Lord has 70 nations at His disposal; however, upon examination the only nation from which He derives any pleasure are the Jewish people. The word יין, “wine,” has a numerical value of 70, an allusion to the nations of the world. Concerning all of the barrels of wine G’d said that only the one (nation) which flies a flag has merited His love so that Israel can say: “it is displayed over me.”
Solomon also says (Song of Songs 6,8) “there are 60 queens and 80 concubines, and damsels without number, whereas unique is she My dove,” a reference to the Jewish people. The former are an allusion to the alufim of the sons of Seir mentioned in Genesis 36. The eighty concubines are a reference to the descendants of Noach which have ben named. The damsels without number refer to the descendants of Ishmael, whereas “the unique one,” which did not intermarry with any of the others are the Jewish people.
Rabbi Yehudah in Tanchuma Bamidbar 10 said that the verse “He brought me to the house of wine” (Song of Songs 2,4), is a reference to the revelation at Mount Sinai. The Torah may be interpreted to yield either 49 aspects of purity or 49 aspects of impurity (depending on who does the studying). He points out that the numerical value of the word ודגלו, “and His flag,” is 49. The next paragraph in Tanchuma (Bamidbar 11) sees in the words איש על דגלו באותות in our portion an allusion to Solomon saying in Song of Songs 6,10: מי זאת הנשקפה כמו שחר יפה כלבנה ברה כחמה איומה כדגלות, “Who is she that shines like the dawn, beautiful as the moon, radiant as the sun, awesome as bannered hosts?” The nations of the world are portrayed as trying to seduce the Jewish people by inviting the beautiful looking Jewish people to become one of them, culturally speaking. They hold out the promise of appointing the converts to important positions in their midst. Israel replies sarcastically, מה תחזו בשולמית, “what can you possibly bestow upon us (7,1) seeing that we have already been granted positions more elevated than any of you can ever attain!”
. והחונים קדמה מזרחה, “and the ones encamped forward, to the east.” The three tribes Yehudah, Issachar, and Zevulun who were stationed right next to Moses and Aaron benefited thereby in that these tribes are described at various times in the Bible as very competent in Torah-law. (compare Judges 5,14 re Zevulun, Chronicles I 12,32 re Issachar and Genesis 49,10 regarding Yehudah). This is what the Talmud Sukkah 56 had in mind when it said that the good experienced by the righteous also devolves upon his neighbour. On the other hand, the tribes of Reuven, Shimon, and Gad were encamped close to the area where Korach and his family had their tents. Concerning them we apply the saying: “woe to the wicked and to those who keep company with him.”
There were a total of seven clouds of glory surrounding these various camps. Four clouds were positioned one in each direction, i.e. east, west, south, and north. One cloud would move a distance of three days’ march in front of the people; the cloud indicating the presence of the Shechinah would be positioned on top of the people’s camp including the Tabernacle. The seventh cloud would form a curtain between the people and the Shechinah. Numbers 10,14 describes the cloud which rested above the camp by day and by night. The cloud which traveled a three-days’ march ahead of the people would cause all snakes and other harmful creatures in the path of the Israelites to die; it would also smooth out valleys and rises in the terrain to enable the people to walk on an even surface. The cloud which acted as a sort of curtain above the entire camp would protect the people against climate changes such as excessive heat or cold. Concerning the experiences of this entire generation Solomon wrote in Song of Songs 6,4: יפה את רעיתי כתרצה, “You are beautiful my beloved when your deeds are pleasing.” In other words, when the Jewish people were pleasing to G’d in their deeds and desires, He in turn made all obstacles in their way disappear (Tanchuma Bamidbar 12). Moses referred to this state of affairs in Deut. 32,10 when he said: ”He discovered them in a desert land....He encircled them and granted them discernment, etc.” This meant that G’d instructed them in the ways of the Torah. The entire verse in Deuteronomy there is a graphic description in poetic form of the uplifting experiences the Jewish people enjoyed in the desert, largely thanks to the flags, i.e. again in the words of Solomon in Song of Songs 5,10 דגול מרבבה, “they were elevated by being surrounded by myriads of angels.” Thus far the Midrash.
Solomon also says (Song of Songs 6,8) “there are 60 queens and 80 concubines, and damsels without number, whereas unique is she My dove,” a reference to the Jewish people. The former are an allusion to the alufim of the sons of Seir mentioned in Genesis 36. The eighty concubines are a reference to the descendants of Noach which have ben named. The damsels without number refer to the descendants of Ishmael, whereas “the unique one,” which did not intermarry with any of the others are the Jewish people.
Rabbi Yehudah in Tanchuma Bamidbar 10 said that the verse “He brought me to the house of wine” (Song of Songs 2,4), is a reference to the revelation at Mount Sinai. The Torah may be interpreted to yield either 49 aspects of purity or 49 aspects of impurity (depending on who does the studying). He points out that the numerical value of the word ודגלו, “and His flag,” is 49. The next paragraph in Tanchuma (Bamidbar 11) sees in the words איש על דגלו באותות in our portion an allusion to Solomon saying in Song of Songs 6,10: מי זאת הנשקפה כמו שחר יפה כלבנה ברה כחמה איומה כדגלות, “Who is she that shines like the dawn, beautiful as the moon, radiant as the sun, awesome as bannered hosts?” The nations of the world are portrayed as trying to seduce the Jewish people by inviting the beautiful looking Jewish people to become one of them, culturally speaking. They hold out the promise of appointing the converts to important positions in their midst. Israel replies sarcastically, מה תחזו בשולמית, “what can you possibly bestow upon us (7,1) seeing that we have already been granted positions more elevated than any of you can ever attain!”
. והחונים קדמה מזרחה, “and the ones encamped forward, to the east.” The three tribes Yehudah, Issachar, and Zevulun who were stationed right next to Moses and Aaron benefited thereby in that these tribes are described at various times in the Bible as very competent in Torah-law. (compare Judges 5,14 re Zevulun, Chronicles I 12,32 re Issachar and Genesis 49,10 regarding Yehudah). This is what the Talmud Sukkah 56 had in mind when it said that the good experienced by the righteous also devolves upon his neighbour. On the other hand, the tribes of Reuven, Shimon, and Gad were encamped close to the area where Korach and his family had their tents. Concerning them we apply the saying: “woe to the wicked and to those who keep company with him.”
There were a total of seven clouds of glory surrounding these various camps. Four clouds were positioned one in each direction, i.e. east, west, south, and north. One cloud would move a distance of three days’ march in front of the people; the cloud indicating the presence of the Shechinah would be positioned on top of the people’s camp including the Tabernacle. The seventh cloud would form a curtain between the people and the Shechinah. Numbers 10,14 describes the cloud which rested above the camp by day and by night. The cloud which traveled a three-days’ march ahead of the people would cause all snakes and other harmful creatures in the path of the Israelites to die; it would also smooth out valleys and rises in the terrain to enable the people to walk on an even surface. The cloud which acted as a sort of curtain above the entire camp would protect the people against climate changes such as excessive heat or cold. Concerning the experiences of this entire generation Solomon wrote in Song of Songs 6,4: יפה את רעיתי כתרצה, “You are beautiful my beloved when your deeds are pleasing.” In other words, when the Jewish people were pleasing to G’d in their deeds and desires, He in turn made all obstacles in their way disappear (Tanchuma Bamidbar 12). Moses referred to this state of affairs in Deut. 32,10 when he said: ”He discovered them in a desert land....He encircled them and granted them discernment, etc.” This meant that G’d instructed them in the ways of the Torah. The entire verse in Deuteronomy there is a graphic description in poetic form of the uplifting experiences the Jewish people enjoyed in the desert, largely thanks to the flags, i.e. again in the words of Solomon in Song of Songs 5,10 דגול מרבבה, “they were elevated by being surrounded by myriads of angels.” Thus far the Midrash.
Rav Hirsch
V. 24. ועבדי כלב. Sein treues furchtloses Auftreten für die Wahrheit der Gottessache hat ihn der höchsten Bezeichnung eines für Gott wirkenden Menschen, עבד ד׳, würdig gemacht. עקב (siehe Bereschit 22, 18). היתה רוח אחרת עמו heißt wohl: ein anderer Geist hat ihm beigestanden, eine andere Anschauung und ein anderer Wille hat ihn vor der Verirrung seiner Gefährten gerettet. מלא ,וימלא אחרי kommt häufig in der Bedeutung: ein Wort, eine Zusage, einen Wunsch erfüllen, vor. So: למלא את דבר ד׳ (Kön. I. 22, 6), ימלא ד׳ כל משאלותיך (Ps. 20, 6). Es kann daher auch heißen: er hat die von ihm erwartete Pflichterfüllung erfüllt, indem, אחרי, er mir nachfolgte, mir treu blieb, nicht wie seine Gefährten סר מאחרי ד׳. Oder es kann auch אחרי geradezu als Objekt zu וימלא begriffen werden: er hat meine Nachfolge, d.i, die mir zu zollende Treue voll gelöst, erfüllt. וזרעו יורשנה, vergl. את אשר יורישך כמוש (Richter 11, 24). זרעו ist Objekt und Kaleb ist Subjekt von יורשנה: er wird es auf seine Kinder vererben, während bei den übrigen die Kinder die ersten Besitzer sein werden.