Parshiot Bhar and B’chukotai 5770

Parshiot Bhar and B’chukotai 5770

Rabbi Ari Kahn     

Coming Home

In the penultimate parsha of the Book of Vayikra the text returns us to the locale where the Torah was given: Sinai. We cannot help but ask why the law taught in the beginning of Parshat Behar, as opposed to all of the other laws mentioned in the book of Vayikra, is specifically associated with Sinai. Perhaps understanding the law which is taught will help us understand why the location is significant.

ספר ויקרא פרק כה, א-ב

וַיְדַבֵּר ה’ אֶל מֹשֶׁה בְּהַר סִינַי לֵאמֹר: דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם כִּי תָבֹאוּ אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי נֹתֵן לָכֶם וְשָׁבְתָה הָאָרֶץ שַׁבָּת לה’:

And God spoke to Moshe on Mount Sinai, saying: 'Speak to the Children of Israel, and say to them: When you come into the land which I give you, the land will keep a Shabbat to God. (Vayikra 25:1-2)

This is the law of shmitah, the sabbatical year, referred to as a type of Sabbath with which we are thus far unacquainted. Up to this point, "Shabbat" has referred to an appointed day of the week, or of the year, that is set aside as holy. The Sabbaths outlined in last week's parsha, Parshat Emor, were called mo'adim, appointed days, meeting points in time, as it were, which create a rendezvous with God. Like Shabbat, these days are imbued with kedushat hazman, "holiness of time" and hence just as Shabbat[1] may be called a mo'ed,[2] so can the holidays be called Shabbat[3].

Parshat Behar presents a new kind of Shabbat, one which will affect the land. The land will lie fallow one year in seven, and it will be a “Shabbat” for God. But the Torah does not stop there: aside from this sabbatical cycle of rest for the land one year in seven, a larger cycle is revealed. After seven cycles of seven years, after the forty-ninth year, we arrive at the Jubilee year – the Yovel.

ספר ויקרא פרק כה, ח-יד

וְסָפַרְתָּ לְךָ שֶׁבַע שַׁבְּתֹת שָׁנִים שֶׁבַע שָׁנִים שֶׁבַע פְּעָמִים וְהָיוּ לְךָ יְמֵי שֶׁבַע שַׁבְּתֹת הַשָּׁנִים תֵּשַׁע וְאַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה: וְהַעֲבַרְתָּ שׁוֹפַר תְּרוּעָה בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַשְּׁבִעִי בֶּעָשׂוֹר לַחֹדֶשׁ בְּיוֹם הַכִּפֻּרִים תַּעֲבִירוּ שׁוֹפָר בְּכָל אַרְצְכֶם: וְקִדַּשְׁתֶּם אֵת שְׁנַת הַחֲמִשִּׁים שָׁנָה וּקְרָאתֶם דְּרוֹר בָּאָרֶץ לְכָל יֹשְׁבֶיהָ יוֹבֵל הִוא תִּהְיֶה לָכֶם וְשַׁבְתֶּם אִישׁ אֶל אֲחֻזָּתוֹ וְאִישׁ אֶל מִשְׁפַּחְתּוֹ תָּשֻׁבוּ:  יוֹבֵל הִוא שְׁנַת הַחֲמִשִּׁים שָׁנָה תִּהְיֶה לָכֶם לֹא תִזְרָעוּ וְלֹא תִקְצְרוּ אֶת סְפִיחֶיהָ וְלֹא תִבְצְרוּ אֶת נְזִרֶיהָ:  כִּי יוֹבֵל הִוא קֹדֶשׁ תִּהְיֶה לָכֶם מִן הַשָּׂדֶה תֹּאכְלוּ אֶת תְּבוּאָתָהּ:  בִּשְׁנַת הַיּוֹבֵל הַזֹּאת תָּשֻׁבוּ אִישׁ אֶל אֲחֻזָּתוֹ: וְכִי תִמְכְּרוּ מִמְכָּר לַעֲמִיתֶךָ אוֹ קָנֹה מִיַּד עֲמִיתֶךָ אַל תּוֹנוּ אִישׁ אֶת אָחִיו:

And you shall count for you seven sabbaths of years, seven times seven years; and you shall keep the days of seven sabbaths of years, forty-nine years.  Then you shall sound the blast of the shofar (horn) in the seventh month on the tenth day of the month; on Yom Kippur, sound the shofar throughout your land.  And you shall sanctify the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all the inhabitants thereof; it shall be a Yovel (Jubilee Year) for you; and you shall return, every man to his possession, and every man shall return to his family.  A Yovel shall that fiftieth year be to you; you shall neither sow nor reap that which grows of itself, nor gather the grapes of the undressed vines.  For it is a Yovel; it shall be holy to you; you shall eat the produce of the field [in that year].  In this year of Yovel every man will return to his possession.  And if you sell anything to your neighbor, or buy from your neighbor’s hand, do not deceive one another. (Vayikra 25:8-14)

At the end of the forty-nine year cycle, on Yom Kippur of the fiftieth year, a shofar blast is sounded. The choice of Yom Kippur as the critical day requires some explanation. Had the last day of the previous year or the first day of the new year (either the first or second day of Rosh Hashana, respectively) been chosen, things would have been clear[4]; as it stands, Yom Kippur seems a strange choice. An analysis of this choice will shed light on this particular “Shabbat” - and other festivals as well.

Yom Kippur is a day of renewal. Historically, it is the day the Jews were forgiven for the sin of the Golden Calf. On the Tenth of Tishrei, Yom Kippur, Moshe descended the mountain with the second set of Tablets, hence it is the day that the Jews (finally) accepted the Torah. Subsequently, this same day is the day of forgiveness for all generations, a day of unparalleled holiness that is referred to as 'the Sabbath of Sabbaths,' Shabbat Shabbaton.”[5]

The term Shabbat Shabbaton is also found in our present parsha, in reference to the shmita cycle:

ספר ויקרא פרק כה, ד

וּבַשָּׁנָה הַשְּׁבִיעִת שַׁבַּת שַׁבָּתוֹן יִהְיֶה לָאָרֶץ שַׁבָּת לַה' שָׂדְךָ לֹא תִזְרָע וְכַרְמְךָ לֹא תִזְמֹר:

And in the seventh year the land will have a Shabbat Shabbaton, a Shabbat to God; you shall not sow your field nor prune your vineyard. (Vayikra 25:4)

The language of the verses creates a connection between Yom Kippur and the Shmita/Yovel cycle, but as we shall see, the connection is more than merely linguistic.

Though a rare occurrence, Yovel seems to have a parallel in a more- frequently celebrated holiday. The cycle of seven times seven is reminiscent of another mo'ed (festival) enumerated in Parshat Emor: Shavuot, named for the seven weeks counted from Pesach, celebrating the Exodus, to the day of the Revelation. The Jubilee cycle may thus be seen as a macrocosm of the omer period that culminates in the festival of Shavuot,[6] also known as Atzeret or Hag haBikurim.

The word Atzeret is also used in the Torah[7] in reference to Shmini Atzeret, the holiday that follows the seven days of Sukkot; once again, a sanctified day that is celebrated at the end of seven significant, festive, holy days. In fact, the Ramban makes this connection explicit: in his writings, a parallel is drawn between the seven days of hol hamoed Sukkot and the seven weeks of the omer. The omer is a macrocosm of Sukkot; hence there is an intrinsic relationship between Atzeret and Shmini Atzeret.[8]

Thus far, we have noted that Shmita and Yovel, Shabbat and Yom Kippur, Shavuot and Shmini Atzeret, all seem to share something very significant. The intricate interplay of the "cycle of seven and eight" is an indication of this deeper connection, a connection that, once revealed, will give us greater insight into the festivals themselves and into the unique reference to Mount Sinai regarding the Shmita/Yovel cycle.[9]

The seventh day is Shabbat; the next day, the eighth day, is the first day of the following week. However, the eighth is not always seen as the first of the new cycle of seven; often, the eighth is considered a continuation or completion of the previous seven. When this is so, the number eight is associated with the metaphysical aspects that lie beyond the natural order expressed by seven; hence, circumcision, which completes and perfects the natural cycle of birth, is on the eighth day.

Shmini Atzeret belongs in this same category. As a festival in and of itself, it is not a "repetition" of the first day of Sukkot; Shmini Atzeret is imbued with a new type of holiness, which follows seven days of holiness. So, too, the cycle of the omer, which culminates in Shavuot: the fiftieth day follows seven weeks of seven days. The fiftieth day parallels the mystical, metaphysical number eight. We might say that Shavuot takes the "Shabbat model" one step further: If the seventh day is Shabbat, this fiftieth day, the day the Torah was given at Mount Sinai, is Shabbat Shabbaton. For this same reason, the day that the second set of Tablets was given - Yom Kippur - is also called “Shabbat Shabbaton”. It should not be a surprise, then, that we celebrate the completion of the reading of the Torah on the "other" eighth day – Shmini Atzeret. It is on this day, the eighth day that completes the festival of seven days, that our sages instructed us to complete, and immediately renew, the yearly Torah cycle. Shmini Atzeret therefore bears a fundamental similarity to Shavuot: Shmini Atzeret is the day we rejoice in the gift of Torah and reaffirm our commitment to Torah, renewing the cycle of reading and learning the Torah that was first given to us on Shavuot and later re-transmitted on Yom Kippur. Each of these three occasions represents, or perhaps is represented by, the number eight, Shabbat Shabbaton, which concludes, perfects, and re-launches the natural order.

All of this brings us back to Yovel, the Jubilee Year. The term Yovel makes an earlier appearance in the Torah, in the book of Shmot. In preparation for the giving of the Torah, Mount Sinai was declared holy, separated by a boundary that was temporarily erected and was enforced to prevent anyone from entering a section that contained 'too much' holiness.

שמות פרק יט:יב,יג

וְהִגְבַּלְתָּ אֶת הָעָם סָבִיב לֵאמֹר הִשָּׁמְרוּ לָכֶם עֲלוֹת בָּהָר וּנְגֹעַ בְּקָצֵהוּ כָּל הַנֹּגֵעַ בָּהָר מוֹת יוּמָת: לֹא תִגַּע בּוֹ יָד כִּי סָקוֹל יִסָּקֵל אוֹ יָרֹה יִיָּרֶה אִם בְּהֵמָה אִם אִישׁ לֹא יִחְיֶה בִּמְשֹׁךְ הַיֹּבֵל הֵמָּה יַעֲלוּ בָהָר:

And you shall set bounds for the people all round, saying: Take care not to go up the mount or to touch its borders; whoever touches the mount will be put to death; No hand shall touch it, or he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live; when the Yovel is sounded long, they shall come up to the mount.' (Shmot 19:12-13)

Rashi explains the word Yovel as “ram’s horn,”[10] a sound blasted to indicate a cessation of holiness.[11] Similarly, even today the shofar is blown at the end of Yom Kippur to indicate that the holy day has come to an end. This is no random custom: at Sinai, while the mountain was suffused in holiness, Moshe alone entered the cloud which signified God's presence. There, he heard the Word of God and received the Tablets of Testimony. In a very carefully scripted parallel ritual, each year on Yom Kippur the Kohen Gadol ventured into the Holy of Holies, the innermost sanctum of the Beit haMikdash that is beyond the boundary where all others may go. There, he burned incense, producing a cloud reminiscent of the cloud that covered Mount Sinai, and he prayed for atonement for the entire nation, just as Moshe did on Mount Sinai.[12]

In his comments on the verses that describe the first yovel, the ram's horn that sounded a warning at Mount Sinai, Rashi adds one additional piece of information: this shofar was the horn of the ram that Avraham sacrificed as a replacement for Yitzchak.[13] The Ramban continues this stream of thought by telling us that in fact there is a multi-faceted connection between Yitzhak and the sights and sounds experienced at Mount Sinai. The yovel is the first such connection – the horn of the ram sacrificed at the Akeida produces the warning blast at Mount Sinai – but it is not the only connection:  the sounds that the Children of Israel heard at the foot of Mount Sinai were so awe-inspiring that they were described by the Torah in very particular language[14] – language that connects them with “pachad Yitzchak” the fear of Yitzchak.[15]

ספר שמות פרק יט, טז

וַיְהִי בַיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי בִּהְיֹת הַבֹּקֶר וַיְהִי קֹלֹת וּבְרָקִים וְעָנָן כָּבֵד עַל הָהָר וְקֹל שֹׁפָר חָזָק מְאֹד וַיֶּחֱרַד כָּל הָעָם אֲשֶׁר בַּמַּחֲנֶה.

And on the third day when the morning came, there was thunder and lightning and a heavy cloud on the mountain, and the sound of the shofar was extremely loud, and all the people in the camp trembled. (Shmot 19:16)

Aside from this description of the scene at Sinai,[16] the only other use of the word vayeherad, the fear or trembling experienced by the entire nation, is found in connection with Yitzchak:

בראשית פרק כז, לג

וַיֶּחֱרַד יִצְחָק חֲרָדָה גְּדֹלָה עַד מְאֹד וַיֹּאמֶר מִי אֵפוֹא הוּא הַצָּד צַיִד וַיָּבֵא לִי וָאֹכַל מִכֹּל בְּטֶרֶם תָּבוֹא וָאֲבָרֲכֵהוּ גַּם בָּרוּךְ יִהְיֶה:

And Yitzchak trembled very exceedingly, and said: 'Who, then is the one that trapped game and served it to me? I ate it all before you came, and I blessed him; the blessing shall remain his. (Bereishit 27:33)

Yitzchak’s fear is understandable; his world had been shaken. It was not Esav who had previously brought him his food, it was Yaakov. Yitzchak knew Esav, the rugged hunter; perhaps he feared for Yaakov’s wellbeing, knowing what Esav's reaction would be:

בראשית פרק כז, מא

וַיִּשְׂטֹם עֵשָׂו אֶת יַעֲקֹב עַל הַבְּרָכָה אֲשֶׁר בֵּרֲכוֹ אָבִיו וַיֹּאמֶר עֵשָׂו בְּלִבּוֹ יִקְרְבוּ יְמֵי אֵבֶל אָבִי וְאַהַרְגָה אֶת יַעֲקֹב אָחִי:

And Esav hated Yaakov because of the blessing which his father blessed him. And Esav said in his heart: 'Let the days of mourning for my father be at hand; then will I kill my brother Yaakov.' (Bereishit 27:41)

"Pachad Yitzchak", the fear and trembling with which Yaakov reacted, was fear for the continuity of Israel, fear for the consequences of what Yaakov had done in order to take upon himself the blessings. This same fear is what caused his descendents to tremble at Sinai:  they understood fully the consequences of taking upon themselves the commitment to Torah. Becoming the nation that lived on the high standards imposed by Torah law also brought with it a down-side: responsibility, accountability. Failure to fulfill their obligations would bring punishments which, when meted out on a national scale, could threaten the very existence of the Jewish people.

Yaakov runs away, and for many years he is safe from his brother's anger. When he finally returns to the Land of Israel, as he approaches the border, he is frightened:

בראשית פרק לב, ח

וַיִּירָא יַעֲקֹב מְאֹד וַיֵּצֶר לוֹ וַיַּחַץ אֶת הָעָם אֲשֶׁר אִתּוֹ וְאֶת הַצֹּאן וְאֶת הַבָּקָר וְהַגְּמַלִּים לִשְׁנֵי מַחֲנוֹת:

Then Yaakov was very frightened and distressed. And he divided the people accompanying him, and the flocks, and the herds, and the camels, into two camps. (Bereishit 32:8)

He then prays to God, and in very particular language he expresses his fears:

בראשית פרק לב, יב

…הַצִּילֵנִי נָא מִיַּד אָחִי מִיַּד עֵשָׂו כִּי יָרֵא אָנֹכִי אֹתוֹ פֶּן יָבוֹא וְהִכַּנִי אֵם עַל בָּנִים:

Rescue me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esav; I fear him, for he can come and kill us all, mothers and children alike. (Bereishit 32:12)

Yaakov is afraid that the children would be killed with their mothers; this term recurs later in the Torah at the end of the 22^nd chapter of Vayikra – almost immediately preceding the discussion of the mo'adim (festivals):

ויקרא פרק כב, כז-כח

שׁוֹר אוֹ כֶשֶׂב אוֹ עֵז כִּי יִוָּלֵד וְהָיָה שִׁבְעַת יָמִים תַּחַת אִמּוֹ וּמִיּוֹם הַשְּׁמִינִי וָהָלְאָה יֵרָצֶה לְקָרְבַּן אִשֶּׁה לה’: וְשׁוֹר אוֹ שֶׂה אֹתוֹ וְאֶת בְּנוֹ לֹא תִשְׁחֲטוּ בְּיוֹם אֶחָד:

When a bullock, sheep, or goat, is born, it must remain with its mother for seven days; Then, from the eighth day and thenceforth it may be accepted as a fire offering to God. And whether it be a bull, a sheep or goat, you shall not kill a female and its child on the same day. (Vayikra 22:27-28)

Here we have another law which discusses the idea of seven and eight. A calf cannot be killed during the first seven days of its life – the minimum duration that one must wait is eight days[17], and even then a mother should never be killed on the same day as its offspring.

At the very core of this law, we may discern more than a linguistic connection to Yaakov's fears: When Yaakov entered the room to bring the food for his father, the action that started the cycle of events which led to his exile, Yaakov brought two goats.

בראשית פרק כז, ט

לֶךְ נָא אֶל הַצֹּאן וְקַח לִי מִשָּׁם שְׁנֵי גְּדָיֵי עִזִּים טֹבִים וְאֶעֱשֶׂה אֹתָם מַטְעַמִּים לְאָבִיךָ כַּאֲשֶׁר אָהֵב:

Go now to the flock, and fetch me two good goat kids; and I will make from them savory dishes for your father, such as he loves. (Bereishit 27:9)

The Midrash points to these two goats as the forerunners of the goats which would be brought on Yom Kippur[18]:

בראשית רבה (וילנא) פרשת תולדות פרשה סה יד

ר' חלבו אמר טובים לך שעל ידן את נוטל את הברכות, וטובים לבניך שעל ידן הוא מתכפר להם ביום הכפורים, דכתיב (ויקרא טז) כי ביום הזה יכפר וגו'.

R. Helbo said: "Two good goat kids" - good for you, and good for your descendants. Good for you, since you will receive the blessings through them; and good for your descendants, who will be pardoned through them on the Day of Atonement, as it is written, 'For on this day shall atonement be made for you, etc.' [Vayikra 16: 30]. (Bereishit Rabbah 65:14)

In their own way, the midrashic masters point to a much larger philosophical issue that resurfaces in numerous discussions of our forefathers' lives and behavior: Although they lived long before the historical events celebrated by Jewish festivals, our forefathers were spiritually sensitive individuals who were able to sense the holiness intrinsic in the particular days on which, generations later, great events would transpire.[19]

Elsewhere, the Pirkei d’Rebbi Eliezer speaks of even an earlier occurrence of someone who "sensed" the tremendous spiritual capacity of the 15^th of Nisan - Pesach - and wanted to bring an offering to God on that day. His name was Adam. In fact, the first offering recorded in the Torah was brought by his sons. The Midrash teaches that Kayin and Hevel did not come to the decision to bring offerings randomly; the Midrash explains that it was their father Adam who instructed them to do so:

ספר בראשית פרק ד, ג-ד

וַיְהִי מִקֵּץ יָמִים וַיָּבֵא קַיִן מִפְּרִי הָאֲדָמָה מִנְחָה לַה’: וְהֶבֶל הֵבִיא גַם הוּא מִבְּכֹרוֹת צֹאנוֹ וּמֵחֶלְבֵהֶן וַיִּשַׁע ה’ אֶל הֶבֶל וְאֶל מִנְחָתוֹ:

And at the end of days (or, less literally, "An era ended", the era of Eden) it came to pass, that Kayin brought someof his crops as an offering to God. And Hevel also brought of the firstborn of his flock, from the fattest ones; and God responded to Hevel and to his offering. (Bereishit 4:3-4)

The Midrash fills in the background: the date that would one day be Pesach was quickly approaching. Adam sensed this, and told his sons that one day the Jews will bring offerings on this day, and they should as well. Kayin brought leftover roasted flax seed, while Hevel brought his choicest “firstlings;”[20] Kayin’s offering was rejected while Hevel’s offering was accepted.

Kayin felt stinging humiliation, and took his anger out on his brother in a brutal act of murder. Apparently, the “custom” of people not getting along between Pesach and Shavuot has its origin at the very dawn of history.[21]

As a punishment Kayin is made to wander. When he complains that life as a fugitive will be untenable, God responds:

בראשית פרק ד טו

וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ ה' לָכֵן כָּל הֹרֵג קַיִן שִׁבְעָתַיִם יֻקָּם וַיָּשֶׂם ה' לְקַיִן אוֹת לְבִלְתִּי הַכּוֹת אֹתוֹ כָּל מֹצְאוֹ:

And God said to him: 'Therefore, whoever kills Kayin, vengeance shall be taken on him shiv'atayim (sevenfold). (Bereishit 4:15)

The meaning of the word shiv'atayim is debated among the commentators. The normative understanding is 'seven times' or seven generations.[22] Rav Zadok Hakohen uses this word in an unexpected context; he says that the counting of the omer, the counting of seven times seven, is shiv'atayim. [23]

This startling association seems less strange when we consider it in the context of the larger cycles at play: On Pesach, when Kayin killed Hevel, we begin counting the omer – seven times seven. This, in Rav Zadok's view, is the shiv'atayim that protected Kayin. We continue counting until Shavuot, when the offering of the First Fruits, Bikurim, is brought – precisely the sacrifice Kayin did NOT bring.

The culmination of the counting of the omer is celebrated on Shavuot, the very day the Torah was given. As we have seen, this was made possible by the total unity the Jews experienced at Sinai, where they stood united as one person with one heart.[24] This unity is a tikun for the discord between Kayin and Hevel, echoed many years later when the brothers sold Yosef and unwittingly brought about their own enslavement in Egypt.

The days between Pesach and Shavuot are windows of spiritual opportunity. These are days that should be used for individual and national introspection, when we work both on personal and interpersonal traits, and strive to create the unity that was once achieved at the foot on Mount Sinai on the day that has come to be known as Shavuot. This yearly process of counting the omer and building upon the intrinsic powers of these days is intertwined the other 'seven times seven,' the cycle of Shmita and Yovel: On Yovel we turn back the clock, as it were. We break through the artificial boundaries that are erected between Jews, and each man returns to his natural place, to his inheritance in the land of Israel, and to his family and tribe. Yovel, which is parallel to Shavuot, is also  a time of unity:

ויקרא פרק כה, לה-לו

וְכִי יָמוּךְ אָחִיךָ וּמָטָה יָדוֹ עִמָּךְ וְהֶחֱזַקְתָּ בּוֹ גֵּר וְתוֹשָׁב וָחַי עִמָּךְ: אַל תִּקַּח מֵאִתּוֹ נֶשֶׁךְ וְתַרְבִּית וְיָרֵאתָ מֵאֱלֹהֶיךָ וְחֵי אָחִיךָ עִמָּךְ:

And if your brother is destitute, and his means fail, then you must support him, stranger or resident alike, and he shall live with you. Do not charge him interest or increase; fear your God, that your brother may live with you. (Vayikra 25:35-36)

This law teaches mutual responsibility. Unlike brothers who could not get along, unlike one brother who killed another, unlike brothers who sold their own brother into slavery, this law creates unity, like the unity achieved at Mount Sinai. Here, then, is the completion of the circle, the reason our parsha stresses that the laws of Shmita and Yovel were transmitted at Mount Sinai: these are laws that recreate the unity of Mount Sinai, enabling us to live as harmony, as brothers, united by history and destiny.

תהלים פרק קלג א

הִנֵּה מַה טּוֹב וּמַה נָּעִים שֶׁבֶת אַחִים גַּם יָחַד:

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

---

[1] See Vayikra 23: 2-3.

ויקרא פרק כג, ב-ג

דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם מוֹעֲדֵי ה’ אֲשֶׁר תִּקְרְאוּ אֹתָם מִקְרָאֵי קֹדֶשׁ אֵלֶּה הֵם מוֹעֲדָי: שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים תֵּעָשֶׂה מְלָאכָה וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי שַׁבַּת שַׁבָּתוֹן מִקְרָא קֹדֶשׁ כָּל מְלָאכָה לֹא תַעֲשׂוּ שַׁבָּת הִוא לַה' בְּכֹל מוֹשְׁבֹתֵיכֶם:

"Speak to the Children of Israel, and say to them: 'The appointed seasons of God, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My appointed seasons. Six days shall work be done; but on the seventh day is a sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation; you shall do no manner of work; it is a sabbath to God in all your dwellings."

Verse 2 speaks of moed (in the possessive plural mo'adai) while the next verse speaks of Shabbat, placing Shabbat in this category as well; Shabbat is also a “moed” –  a meeting point with God.

[2] The word moed is also familiar to us regarding sanctity of place – the Ohel Mo'ed, the “Tent of Meeting.” For example, see Shmot 28:43.

[3] See Vayikra 23:15, where the verse was taken literally by some dissidents to mean “Shabbat” the realization that “mo'ed” can mean Shabbat, should have helped resolve this confusion, and point to the solution that at times “Shabbat” can refer to a mo'ed – holiday. Also see Vayikra 23:37-39.

ספר ויקרא פרק כג, לז-לט

אֵלֶּה מוֹעֲדֵי ה’ אֲשֶׁר תִּקְרְאוּ אֹתָם מִקְרָאֵי קֹדֶשׁ לְהַקְרִיב אִשֶּׁה לַה’ עֹלָה וּמִנְחָה זֶבַח וּנְסָכִים דְּבַר יוֹם בְּיוֹמוֹ:  מִלְּבַד שַׁבְּתֹת ה’ וּמִלְּבַד מַתְּנוֹתֵיכֶם וּמִלְּבַד כָּל נִדְרֵיכֶם וּמִלְּבַד כָּל נִדְבֹתֵיכֶם אֲשֶׁר תִּתְּנוּ לַה’: אַךְ בַּחֲמִשָּׁה עָשָׂר יוֹם לַחֹדֶשׁ הַשְּׁבִיעִי בְּאָסְפְּכֶם אֶת תְּבוּאַת הָאָרֶץ תָּחֹגּוּ אֶת חַג ה’ שִׁבְעַת יָמִים בַּיּוֹם הָרִאשׁוֹן שַׁבָּתוֹן וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁמִינִי שַׁבָּתוֹן:

[4] This point is actually part of a much larger and far more complex discussion of Yom Kippur's place in the calendar, to which I hope to devote further analysis at a later date.

[5] See Vayikra 16:31, 23:32.

ויקרא פרק כג, לב

 שַׁבַּת שַׁבָּתוֹן הוּא לָכֶם וְעִנִּיתֶם אֶת נַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶם בְּתִשְׁעָה לַחֹדֶשׁ בָּעֶרֶב מֵעֶרֶב עַד עֶרֶב תִּשְׁבְּתוּ שַׁבַּתְּכֶם: פ

[6] See Devarim 15:9-10.

ספר דברים פרק טז, ט-י

שִׁבְעָה שָׁבֻעֹת תִּסְפָּר לָךְ מֵהָחֵל חֶרְמֵשׁ בַּקָּמָה תָּחֵל לִסְפֹּר שִׁבְעָה שָׁבֻעוֹת: וְעָשִׂיתָ חַג שָׁבֻעוֹת לַה’ אֱלֹהֶיךָ מִסַּת נִדְבַת יָדְךָ אֲשֶׁר תִּתֵּן כַּאֲשֶׁר יְבָרֶכְךָ ה’ אֱלֹקֶיךָ:

[7] Vayikra 23:36.

[8] See Ramban, Vayikra 23:36.

רמב"ן על ויקרא פרק כג פסוק לו

… ועל דרך האמת, כי ששת ימים עשה ה' את השמים ואת הארץ (שמות כ יא), ויום השביעי הוא שבת ואין לו בן זוג, וכנסת ישראל היא בת זוגו שנאמר ואת הארץ, והנה היא שמינית "עצרת היא", כי שם נעצר הכל וצוה בחג המצות שבעה ימים בקדושה לפניהם ולאחריהם כי כולם קדושים ובתוכם ה', ומנה ממנו תשעה וארבעים יום שבעה שבועות כימי עולם, וקדש יום שמיני כשמיני של חג, והימים הספורים בינתים כחולו של מועד בין הראשון והשמיני בחג, והוא יום מתן תורה שהראם בו את אשו הגדולה ודבריו שמעו מתוך האש ולכך יקראו רבותינו ז"ל בכל מקום חג השבועות עצרת, כי הוא כיום שמיני של חג שקראו הכתוב כן וזהו מאמרם (חגיגה יז) שמיני רגל בפני עצמו הוא לענין פז"ר קש"ב ותשלומין דראשון הוא, כי הוא אצילות הראשונים ואינו כאחדות שלהם ולכך יזכיר בפרשת כל הבכור (דברים טז טו) בשלש רגלים, חג המצות וחג השבועות וחג הסוכות שבעת ימים, ולא יזכיר השמיני, כי שם אמר יראה כל זכורך וגו', והנה זה מבואר:

[9] See Mishna Hallah 4:10.

[10] Rashi, Shmot 19:13.

רש"י על שמות יט, יג

היבל - הוא שופר של איל, שכן בערביא קורין לדכרא יובלא, ושופר של אילו של יצחק היה:

[11] Ibid. (Rashi, Shmot 19:13.)

רש"י על  שמות יט, יג

במשך היבל - כשימשוך היובל קול ארוך הוא סימן סלוק שכינה והפסקת הקול, וכיון שנסתלק הם רשאין לעלות:

[12] For more on this theme, see Emanations, p. 249ff.

[13] Yitzchak was, in fact, the first person to be circumcised on the eighth day after his birth.

[14] The Ramban quotes only the last part of this verse, though ostensibly the first part of the verse seems more germane to the discussion on the sound of the shofar.

[15] Ramban, Shmot 19:13

רמב"ן שמות יט:יג

במשוך היובל המה יעלו בהר - הוא שופר של איל, ושופר אילו של יצחק היה (פדר"א לה). לשון רש"י. ולא הבינותי זה, כי אילו של יצחק עולה הקריב אותו, והקרנים והטלפים הכל נשרף בעולות (זבחים פה ב). אולי גבל הקב"ה עפר קרנו והחזירו למה שהיה. אבל לפי דעתי האגדה הזו יש לה סוד, ואמרו שזה הקול הוא פחד יצחק, ולכך אמר (פסוק טז) ויחרד כל העם אשר במחנה, ולא השיגו דבור בגבורה הזאת זולתי קול (דברים ד יב):

[16] This same word is also used two verses later in Shmot; this time, to describe the trembling of Mount Sinai itself when God descended:

שמות פרק יט:יח

וְהַר סִינַי עָשַׁן כֻּלּוֹ מִפְּנֵי אֲשֶׁר יָרַד עָלָיו ה’ בָּאֵשׁ וַיַּעַל עֲשָׁנוֹ כְּעֶשֶׁן הַכִּבְשָׁן וַיֶּחֱרַד כָּל הָהָר מְאֹד:

[17] The Zohar Vayikra 91a, observes that this applies to humans as well, and therefore the brit milah is done only on the eighth day.

זוהר כרך ג (ויקרא) פרשת אמור דף צא עמוד א

שור או כשב או עז כי יולד והיה שבעת ימים תחת אמו וגו', רבי יוסי פתח (תהלים לו) צדקתך כהררי אל משפטיך תהום רבה אדם ובהמה תושיע יי', האי קרא אית לאסתכלא ביה, אבל תא חזי צדק כתרא קדישא עלאה, כהררי אל כאינון טורין עלאין קדישין דאקרון טורי דאפרסמונא דכיא, ובגין דאיהי סלקא לאתקשרא בהו לעילא כל דינהא בשיקולא חדא לכלא דלית בההוא דינא רחמי, משפטיך תהום רבה משפט דאיהו רחמי נחית לתתא לההוא דרגא לתקנא עלמין וחייס על כלא ועביד דינא ברחמי לבסמא עלמא ובגין דאיהו רחמי אדם ובהמה תושיע יי' לכלא בשיקולא חדא, אדם ובהמה הא אוקמוה מאן דהוא אדם ושוי לגרמיה כבהמה אדם ובהמה דין אדם ודין בהמה חד הוא, אדם, (בראשית יז) ובן שמנת ימים ימול לכם כל זכר, בהמה והיה שבעת ימים תחת אמו ומיום השמיני והלאה ירצה לקרבן אשה ליי' בגין דיעבר עלייהו שבת חד ודא (הקדמה יג) אוקמוה:

[18] Another Midrash, found in the Pirkei d’Rebbi Eliezer, sees the goats that Yaakov offered Yitzhak as related to the offering of Pesach. See Pirkei d'Rebbi Eliezer, chapter 31 (in some editions, chapter 32), cited by Rashi, Bereishit 27:9.

רש"י בראשית פרק כז

שני גדיי עזים - וכי שני גדיי עזים היה מאכלו של יצחק, אלא האחד הקריב לפסחו והאחד עשה מטעמים. בפרקי דרבי אליעזר (פרק לב):

פרקי דרבי אליעזר (היגר) - "חורב" פרק לא

וכי שני גדיי עזים היה מאכלו של יצחק אלא להקריב אחד קרבן פסחים, ואחד עשה מטעמים,

[19] This implies that the events may have occurred on these particular days because of the spiritual power inherent in the day. We may say that certain days are hard-wired for spirituality; there are times that are "windows" to holiness.

[20] Pirkei d'Rebbi Eliezer, chapter 21.

פרקי דרבי אליעזר (היגר) - "חורב"  פרק כא

ויהי קין איש אוהב לזרוע ויהי הבל איש אוהב לרעות צאן, זה נותן ממלאכתו מאכל לזה, והגיע לילו יום טוב בפסח וקרא אדם לבניו ואמר להן עתידין ישראל להקריב קרבנות פסחים הקריבו גם אתם לפני בוראכם, והביא קין מותר מאכלו קליות זרע פשתן, והביא הבל מבכורות צאנו ומחלביהן כבשים שלא נגזזו לצמר, ונתעבה מנחת קין ונתרצה מנחת הבל, שנ' וישע ה' אל הבל ואל מנחתו, ר' יהושע בן קרחא אומר אמר הב"ה חס ושלום שלא נתערבו מנחת הבל וקין לעולם, אפי' בארג בגד, שנ' לא תלבש שעטנז צמר ופשתים יחדו ואפילו היא מדובקת לא תעלה עליך.

[21] Regarding the students of Rabbi Akiva who died between Pesach and Shavuot as a punishment for their lack of mutual respect, see Talmud  Bavli Yevamot 62b.

[22] See Rashi and Ibn Ezra. The Radak thinks it simply means “many times”; Seforno understands the word to mean "times seven."

[23] Pri Zadik Chag Shavuot section 3.

ספר פרי צדיק חג השבועות - אות ג

והשם יתברך בתורה שבכתב קורא להחג בשם שבועות על שם שבעה שבועות שהוא שבחן של ישראל דאיתא בזוהר הקדוש (ח"ג צ"ז ב') מה כתיב וספרה לה שבעת ימים אוף הכי כו' אמר קודשא בריך הוא מכאן ולהלאה חושבנא לדיוכתא וספרתם לכם כו'. והספירה הוא התשוקה להטהר וכן ישראל אחר יציאת מצרים ספרו ז' פעמים ז' בתשוקתם לקבל התורה ועל ידי זה זכו להתברר בכל המדות מזוקק שבעתים ז' פעמים ז' ועל ידי זה זכו למתן תורה וקראו השם יתברך להחג בשם שבועות, היינו שזכו ישראל על ידי הז' שבועות שספרו. וזה הענין דכתיב בשבועותיכם ומה הוא הלשון שבועותיכם. והתחלת הפסוק הוא וביום הבכורים, היינו דביכורים הוא בחינת אילנא דחיי וכמו שאמר בזוהר הקדוש ורעיא מהימנא (פנחס רנ"ג א'), והיינו שעל ידי מתן תורה שנעשו חרות על הלוחות חירות ממלאך המות (כמו שאמרו תנחומא תשא ט"ז)

[24] See Rashi’s comments to Shmot 19:2.

שמות פרק יט, א

בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַשְּׁלִישִׁי לְצֵאת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם בַּיּוֹם הַזֶּה בָּאוּ מִדְבַּר סִינָי: (ב) וַיִּסְעוּ מֵרְפִידִים וַיָּבֹאוּ מִדְבַּר סִינַי וַיַּחֲנוּ בַּמִּדְבָּר וַיִּחַן שָׁם יִשְׂרָאֵל נֶגֶד הָהָר:

רש"י שמות פרק יט פסוק ב

ויחן שם ישראל - כאיש אחד בלב אחד, אבל שאר כל החניות בתרעומת ובמחלוקת:

Parshat Emor - “The Story Behind the Story”

Parshat Emor

Rabbi Ari Kahn

   

“The Story Behind the Story”

Parshat Emor primarily teaches law[1]: Laws concerning the Kohanim, and laws regarding the various festivals, make up the majority of the Parsha. There is a short narrative section at the end of the Parsha, which itself introduces more law, then returns to narrative:

ויקרא פרק כד, י-כג

וַיֵּצֵא בֶּן אִשָּׁה יִשְׂרְאֵלִית וְהוּא בֶּן אִישׁ מִצְרִי בְּתוֹךְ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיִּנָּצוּ בַּמַּחֲנֶה בֶּן הַיִּשְׂרְאֵלִית וְאִישׁ הַיִּשְׂרְאֵלִי: וַיִּקֹּב בֶּן הָאִשָּׁה הַיִּשְׂרְאֵלִית אֶת הַשֵּׁם וַיְקַלֵּל וַיָּבִיאוּ אֹתוֹ אֶל מֹשֶׁה וְשֵׁם אִמּוֹ שְׁלֹמִית בַּת דִּבְרִי לְמַטֵּה דָן: וַיַּנִּיחֻהוּ בַּמִּשְׁמָר לִפְרֹשׁ לָהֶם עַל פִּי ה’:

וַיְדַבֵּר ה’ אֶל מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר: הוֹצֵא אֶת הַמְקַלֵּל אֶל מִחוּץ לַמַּחֲנֶה וְסָמְכוּ כָל הַשֹּׁמְעִים אֶת יְדֵיהֶם עַל רֹאשׁוֹ וְרָגְמוּ אֹתוֹ כָּל הָעֵדָה: וְאֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל תְּדַבֵּר לֵאמֹר אִישׁ אִישׁ כִּי יְקַלֵּל אֱלֹהָיו וְנָשָׂא חֶטְאוֹ: וְנֹקֵב שֵׁם ה’ מוֹת יוּמָת רָגוֹם יִרְגְּמוּ בוֹ כָּל הָעֵדָה כַּגֵּר כָּאֶזְרָח בְּנָקְבוֹ שֵׁם יוּמָת: וְאִישׁ כִּי יַכֶּה כָּל נֶפֶשׁ אָדָם מוֹת יוּמָת: וּמַכֵּה נֶפֶשׁ בְּהֵמָה יְשַׁלְּמֶנָּה נֶפֶשׁ תַּחַת נָפֶשׁ: וְאִישׁ כִּי יִתֵּן מוּם בַּעֲמִיתוֹ כַּאֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה כֵּן יֵעָשֶׂה לּוֹ: שֶׁבֶר תַּחַת שֶׁבֶר עַיִן תַּחַת עַיִן שֵׁן תַּחַת שֵׁן כַּאֲשֶׁר יִתֵּן מוּם בָּאָדָם כֵּן יִנָּתֶן בּוֹ: וּמַכֵּה בְהֵמָה יְשַׁלְּמֶנָּה וּמַכֵּה אָדָם יוּמָת: מִשְׁפַּט אֶחָד יִהְיֶה לָכֶם כַּגֵּר כָּאֶזְרָח יִהְיֶה כִּי אֲנִי ה’ אֱלֹהֵיכֶם: וַיְדַבֵּר מֹשֶׁה אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיּוֹצִיאוּ אֶת הַמְקַלֵּל אֶל מִחוּץ לַמַּחֲנֶה וַיִּרְגְּמוּ אֹתוֹ אָבֶן וּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל עָשׂוּ כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּה ה’ אֶת מֹשֶׁה:

And the son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the people of Israel; and this son of the Israelite woman and a man of Israel strove together in the camp. And the Israelite woman’s son blasphemed the name of God, and cursed. And they brought him to Moshe; and his mother’s name was Shlomit, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan. And they put him in custody, that they might make a decision according to God's Will.

And God spoke to Moshe, saying: ‘Banish the person who has cursed from the camp; and let all who heard him lay their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation pelt him with stones. And you shall speak to the People of Israel, saying, “Whoever curses his God shall bear [the consequences of] his sin. And he who blasphemes the name of God shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him; as well the stranger, as he who is born in the land, when he blasphemes the name of the Lord, shall be put to death. …You shall have one kind of law for the stranger, as for one of your own country; for I am the Almighty your God.’ And Moshe spoke to the People of Israel, that they should bring forth him who had cursed out of the camp, and pelt him with stones. And the People of Israel did as God commanded Moshe. (Vayikra 24:10-23)

While the law of the “blasphemer” is certainly important, both the context and the style in which this law is transmitted raise questions: are somewhat irregular. The law is told in the form of a narrative, rather than in the dispassionate legalistic form of the surrounding text in this Parsha and elsewhere in the Torah. Even if we assume that the narrative style is crucial to the transmission of this law, the narrative itself is somewhat irregular: Why is this story told here? There seems to be nothing within the episode to indicate that it transpired at the particular time and place in which it is inserted into the text. Furthermore, why is the identity of the blasphemer revealed? When compared to other incidents of individual sinners in the desert, such as the wood-gatherer, this seems a departure from the norm.[2] Finally, what was so unique about this case that Moshe found it necessary to consult with God in order to clarify the law? A closer examination of the events and the individuals involved in this incident may help us understand why the story is told at this juncture.

The blasphemer is described as the son of an Egyptian man and an Israelite woman. By making this identification the Torah seems to be pointing out that his problematic lineage plays no small role in his sin: The curse he utters springs from his Egyptian blood.[3] The reader is subtly referred back to Paroh’s impudent question, “Who is God, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I do not know God, nor will I let Israel go.” (Sh’mot 5:3). And yet, the Torah goes beyond a general statement of his lineage, and supplies us with the name of his mother; there must be something even more specific that we are meant to learn from this uncharacteristic detail. In fact, the rabbis go even farther, and identify the Egyptian father of the blasphemer.

ויקרא רבה (וילנא) פרשת אמור פרשה לב:ד

והוא בן איש מצרי: רבנן ור' לוי. רבנן אמרי אעפ"י שלא היו ממזרין באותה שעה הוא היה ממזר; ר' לוי אמר ממזר ברור היה. כיצד? נוגשין היו מצרים ושוטרים היו ישראל נוגש היה ממונה על י' שוטרים ושוטר היה ממונה על י' בני אדם נמצא נוגש ממונה על ק' בני אדם. חד זמן קדם נוגש גבי שוטר א"ל זיל כנוש לי חבורתך כיון שנכנס שחקה לו אשתו אמר דהדין גברא היא. יצא והטמין עצמו לאחורי הסולם כיון שיצא בעלה נכנס וקלקל עמה. הפך לאחוריו וחמתיה נפק מן גו ביתא כיון דידע דחמתיה נפק לגביה והוי מחי ליה כל ההוא יומא וא"ל לעי טבאית לעי טבאית מתכוין בעי למקטלי'. באותה שעה הציץ רוח הקדש במשה הה"ד (שמות ב) "ויפן כה וכה". מהו כה וכה אלא ראה מה עשה לו בבית ובשדה. אמר לו, לא דיו שקלקל עם אשתו אלא שהוא מבקש להרגו! מיד "וירא כי אין איש."

‘Whose father was an Egyptian’ (Vayikra 24: 10). Our rabbis and R. Levi differ on the interpretation. Our rabbis say: Although there were no bastards among them at that time, he was a bastard. R. Levi says: He was definitely a bastard. How is this to be understood? [During their enslavement] the taskmasters were Egyptians and the officers were Israelites. One taskmaster was in charge of ten officers and one officer was in charge of ten men. Thus a taskmaster had charge of a hundred men. On one occasion a taskmaster paid an early visit to an officer and said to him:  ‘Go and assemble me your group.’ When he came in the other's wife smiled at him. He thought: 'She is mine!' So he went out and hid behind a ladder. No sooner had her husband gone out than he entered and misconducted himself with her. The other turned round and saw him coming out of the house. When the taskmaster realized that he had seen him, he went to him and kept beating him all that day, saying to him: 'Work hard, work hard!' The reason was that he wanted to kill him. Thereupon the Divine Inspiration began to stir in Moshe; hence it is written, ‘And he looked this way and that’ (Shmot 2:12). What is the significance of the expression ‘this way and that’?—[Moshe] saw what the taskmaster had done to the officer in the house and in the field. He thought: Not enough that he has misconducted himself with his wife but he must seek to kill him! Instantly, 'When he saw that there was no man, he smote the Egyptian' (ib.). (Midrash Rabbah - Vayikra 32:4)

The father of this man^[4] was none other than the abusive taskmaster whom Moshe saw beating the Jewish slave.^[5] According to the Midrash, the Egyptian first abused the wife and then attempted to kill the husband. In the course of the abuse of the wife a child was conceived. This child joined the Jewish People and left Egypt with his mother. Now, he has an altercation with another man, and curses God.

We cannot avoid the impression that all three members of this tragic triangle are less-than sterling characters; the Egyptian is clearly the most evil character in the scene, taking advantage of his position of power over those under his thumb. The husband is described as an officer of his fellow slaves; this is not a position to which men were appointed because of their high moral standards or their popularity among the Israelites. This was an abusive position, held by men who were able and apparently willing to force their fellow Jews to obey the Egyptian taskmasters. It is unlikely that he was beloved by his people, nor would any of the Israelites have been likely to go out on a limb in his defense. Nonetheless, even this officer is seen by Moshe as a brother. Moshe's commitment to justice, as well as his commitment to protecting every Jew, was uncompromising, unparalleled. Moshe takes action; he steps in to save this Jewish officer from being beaten to death, killing the Egyptian taskmaster. Later, when Moshe again intercedes to try to stop an altercation between two Jews, his previous action is thrown back in his face:

שמות פרק ב, יג-יד

וַיֵּצֵא בַּיּוֹם הַשֵּׁנִי וְהִנֵּה שְׁנֵי אֲנָשִׁים עִבְרִים נִצִּים וַיֹּאמֶר לָרָשָׁע לָמָּה תַכֶּה רֵעֶךָ:  וַיֹּאמֶר מִי שָׂמְךָ לְאִישׁ שַׂר וְשֹׁפֵט עָלֵינוּ הַלְהָרְגֵנִי אַתָּה אֹמֵר כַּאֲשֶׁר הָרַגְתָּ אֶת הַמִּצְרִי וַיִּירָא מֹשֶׁה וַיֹּאמַר אָכֵן נוֹדַע הַדָּבָר:

And when he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews struggled together; and he said to the one who did the wrong, ‘Why do you strike your fellow?’ And he said, ‘Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me, as you killed the Egyptian?’ And Moshe feared, and said, ‘Certainly this thing is known.’ (Sh’mot 2:13-14)

According to the Midrash, the two who were fighting on the second day were Datan and Aviram, two provocateurs known primarily for their activities in the desert.

שמות רבה (וילנא) פרשת שמות פרשה א

"ויצא ביום השני והנה שני אנשים עברים נצים:" זה דתן ואבירם קראם נצים על שם סופם, הם הם שאמרו דבר זה הם היו שהותירו מן המן, הם היו שאמרו (במדבר יד) נתנה ראש ונשובה מצרימה, הם שהמרו על ים סוף, ד"א נצים שהיו מתכוונין להרוג זה את זה, כמה דתימא (דברים כה) כי ינצו אנשים יחדו, ואמר ר"א במצות של מיתה הכתוב מדבר, ויאמר לרשע למה תכה רעך הכית לא נאמר אלא תכה, מכאן שמשעה שאדם מרים ידו להכות חבירו אע"פ שלא הכהו נקרא רשע, רעך, שהוא רשע כיוצא בך מלמד ששניהם רשעים.

And he went out the second day, and behold, two men of the Hebrews were striving together (ib. 13). This refers to Datan and Aviram, whom he calls ’striving’ on account of their subsequent record; for it was they who said this thing; it was they who left over of the Manna; they it was who said: ‘Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt’ (Bamidbar 14:4). It was they who rebelled at the Red Sea. (Shmot Rabba 1:29)

At almost every turn in the desert, whenever trouble brewed, Datan was on the scene, and this midrash informs us that this was nothing new: The two men whom Moshe saw fighting in Egypt were none other than Datan and Aviram. When we add this information to another midrash concerning Datan's background, the scen becomes even more charged: According to the midrash, the reason Datan knew of Moshe having killed the Egyptian in order to save a Jew, was because Datan was that Jew. The Midrash explains that Datan was the husband of Shlomit, the daughter of Dibri.

שמות רבה (וילנא) פרשת שמות פרשה א

והיה משה רואה אותו ומביט בו וראה ברוח הקודש מה שעשה בבית וראה מה שעתיד לעשות לו בשדה, אמר ודאי זה חייב מיתה, כמו שכתוב (ויקרא כד) ומכה אדם יומת, ולא עוד אלא שבא על אשתו של דתן על כך חייב הריגה, שנא' (שם /ויקרא/ כ) מות יומת הנואף והנואפת, והיינו דכתיב ויפן כה וכה וגו', ראה מה עשה לו בבית ומה עשה לו בשדה

When Moshe saw this, he knew by means of Divine Inspiration what had happened in the house and what the Egyptian was about to do in the field; so he said: 'This man certainly deserves his death, as it is written (Vayikra 24): ‘And anyone who strikes another person [with mortal blows] shall be put to death’. Moreover, since he cohabited with the wife of Datan he deserves slaying, as it is said (Vayikra 20:10): "Both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death’. Hence does it say: “And he looked this way and that way’(Shmot 2:12); namely, he saw what [the Egyptian] did to [Datan] in the house and what he intended to do to him in the field. (Shmot Rabba 1:28)

One day Datan struggles with the Egyptian taskmaster who wished to kill him; the next day he struggles with another Jew. On both occasions, Moshe intercedes and saves him. Datan, though, is ungrateful, even resentful. This resentment is especially ironic if we consider the debt Datan owed Moshe – his very life.

The two men enmeshed in this triangle are, therefore, unsavory characters: the disgraced husband, Datan, was a "kapo" of sorts, who resented Moshe and challenged his leadership every step of the way. The Egyptian was a cruel taskmaster, a rapist, and a would-be murderer. The third member of the triangle was Shlomit, the daughter of Dibri – Datan's wife, the mother of the blasphemer. What was her role in these sordid episodes? The midrashic material is not of one mind, with various midrashim attributing different degrees of responsibility. The first midrash we examined made a point of her flirtatious behavior:  "When he came in the other's wife smiled at him. Thought he: “She is mine!” While the midrashim do not go so far as to call Shlomit a willing participant, there is most definitely a school of thought that points an accusing finger towards her less-than-modest comportment:  some commentators read something ominous in her name: Shlomit, the daughter of Dibri, implies that she was too talkative, too locquacious, somehow more effusive and outgoing than propriety would dictate.[6] On the other hand, other sources seem to indicate that what transpired was not only without her consent, it was completely without her knowledge!

שמות רבה (וילנא) פרשת שמות פרשה א

פעם אחת הלך נוגש מצרי אצל שוטר ישראל ונתן עיניו באשתו שהיתה יפת תואר בלי מום, עמד לשעת קריאת הגבר והוציאו מביתו וחזר המצרי ובא על אשתו והיתה סבורה שהוא בעלה ונתעברה ממנו, חזר בעלה ומצא המצרי יוצא מביתו שאל אותה שמא נגע בך אמרה לו הן וסבורה אני שאתה הוא.

Once an Egyptian taskmaster went to a Jewish officer and set eyes upon his wife who was beautiful without blemish. He waited for daybreak, when he dragged the officer out of his house and then returned to lie down with the woman, who thought that it was her husband, with the result that she became pregnant from him. When her husband returned, he discovered the Egyptian emerging from his house. He then asked her: ‘Did he touch you?’ She replied: ‘Yes, for I thought it was you.’ (Shmot Rabba 1:28)

But even this source is introduced by a more damning statement: Tradition tells us that the Jews remained chaste during the duration of their enslavement. There was one exception:

שמות רבה (וילנא) פרשת שמות פרשה א

ומנין שלא נחשדו על הערוה שהרי אחת היתה ופרסמה הכתוב שנאמר (ויקרא כד) ושם אמו שלומית בת דברי.

Whence do we know that they were not suspect of adultery? Because there was only one immoral woman and the Bible published her name, as it is said: ‘And his mother's name was Shlomit, the daughter of Dibri.[7] (Shmot Rabba 1:28)

Although the Midrash tells us that the Egyptian violated her without her knowledge, and ostensibly against her will, the prefacing remarks concerning her immorality belie a less-than flattering attitude toward her. Perhaps both midrashim should be seen as complimenting one another: Shlomit behaved immorally by sending out inappropriate signals to the Egyptian taskmaster, but she was not a willing participant in the results of her own flirtation. We may perhaps discern this same split in the reasoning Moshe employed before deciding to kill the Egyptian: the basis for his "verdict" is a verse concerning adultery, not rape: “Both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death.”  (Vayikra 20:10).

         

From a sociological perspective, and in light of what we know from world history, the question of sexuality in a slave society is often extremely complicated: The slaveholder believes that the slaves are property, owned – body and soul – and used at will to satisfy the needs of the privileged class. The slave, on the other hand, often uses sexuality to improve living conditions or to guarantee survival. Slavery thus undermines the most basic relationships, overturning the most basic human rights. Loss of personal dominion over one's body casts a shadow over the ability of men and women of the slave class to form stable relationships, free of mistrust and beyond the suspicion of promiscuity. By the time the Jews are redeemed from slavery, a certain doubt has crept in to the collective consciousness. Not all the Jews were completely confident that their spouses had remained chaste. It is in this  context that the Zohar explains the enigmatic episode at Marah:

זוהר כרך ג (במדבר) פרשת נשא דף קכד עמוד ב

ר' אלעזר פתח ואמר (שמות טו) ויבאו מרתה ולא יכלו לשתות מים ממרה כי מרים הם הא אוקמוה, אמר תווהנא איך בני עלמא לא מסתכלין ולא משתדלין במלין דאורייתא הכא אית לאסתכלא אמאי כתיב הכא שם שם לו חק ומשפט ושם נסהו, אבל ודאי רזא דמלה דהכא על מייא הוה בגין דמצראי הוו אמרי דבנייהו דישראל הוו מנייהו והוו כמה בישראל דחשדין לאנתתייהו בדא, עד דקודשא בריך הוא מטא לון להאי אתר ובעא למבדק לון מה כתיב ויבאו מרתה וגו', ויצעק אל יי' וגו', אמר קודשא בריך הוא למשה משה מה את בעי הא כמה חבילין קיימין גבייכו הכא ואנא בעינא למבדק הכא נשיהון דישראל כתוב שמא קדישא ורמי למייא ויבדקון כלהון נשי וגוברין ולא ישתאר לעז על בני ועד דיבדקון כלהו הכא לא אשרי שמי עלייהו מיד ויורהו יי' עץ וישלך אל המים דא שמא קדישא ההוא דהוה כותב כהנא למבדק נשיהון דישראל כדין שם שם לו חק ומשפט ושם נסהו, ואי תימא נשיהון דישראל יאות אינון אמאי, אלא אוף אינון בעיין דלא אסתאבו בנשיהון דמצראי, ונשיהון דישראל לא אסתאבו במצראי כל אינון שנין דהוו בינייהו וכלהו נפקו גוברין ונוקבין זכאין ואשתכחו זרעא דישראל קדישין זכאין כדין קודשא בריך הוא אשרי שמיה בינייהו ועל דא על מיא ודאי שם שם לו חק ומשפט ושם נסהו אוף הכא במיא בדיק כהנא לאתתא ובשמא קדישא:

Rabbi Eleazar adduced here the verse: “And when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter.... There he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them” (Shmot 15: 23-25). ‘I wonder’, he said, ‘how it is that people take so little trouble to understand the words of the Torah. Here, for example, one should really inquire what is the point of the words “There he made for them... and there he proved them”. The inner significance of the water mentioned here is this: The Egyptians claimed to be the parents of the children of the Israelites, and many among the Israelites suspected their wives in the matter. So the Holy One, blessed be He, brought them to that place, where He desired to put them to the test. Thus when Moshe cried to God, he was told: 'Write down the Divine Name, cast it into the water, and let all of them, women and men, be tested, so that no evil report should remain in regard to My children; and until they all be probed I will not cause My Name to rest upon them. Straightway “God showed him a tree, and he cast it into the waters”, the tree being thus identical with the Divine Name the priest has to write for the testing of the wife of an Israelite (who suspects her of infidelity). Thus “There he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them”. Now it may be asked: This was properly done for the women, but why include the men? But, indeed, the men also had to be probed to show that they had not contaminated themselves with Egyptian women, in the same way as the women had to be probed to show that they had kept themselves uncontaminated by Egyptian men, all the time they were among them. And all, male and female, were proved to be pure, were found to be the seed of Israel, holy and pure. Then the Holy One, blessed be He, caused His Name to dwell among them. (Zohar, Bamidbar 124b)

As in the sotah ritual, the prerequisite for the Divine Presence to dwell amongst the people was the drinking of bitter water which contained the Divine Name. At Marah, the Jews were given an opportunity to lift the cloud of suspicion that had cast its shadow between husbands and wives. Each and every one was proven to have remained chaste, and husbands and wives were reunited. There was one woman, though, who could not have passed such a test; Shlomit and Datan both knew that her son was the child of the Egyptian taskmaster. Apparently, Shlomit was not tested at Marah. She was no longer married, and therefore was not given the bitter waters to drink.

The various characters in our short but strange narrative are beginning to come into focus: Datan and Shlomit, a worthy match; her son by her Egyptian paramour, and an unidentified individual with whom this son becomes embroiled in strife and fisticuffs.

ויקרא פרק כד, י-כג

וַיֵּצֵא בֶּן אִשָּׁה יִשְׂרְאֵלִית וְהוּא בֶּן אִישׁ מִצְרִי בְּתוֹךְ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיִּנָּצוּ בַּמַּחֲנֶה בֶּן הַיִּשְׂרְאֵלִית וְאִישׁ הַיִּשְׂרְאֵלִי:

And the son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the people of Israel; and this son of the Israelite woman and the Israelite man strove together in the camp. (Vayikra 24:10)

What was the root of the controversy?

ויקרא רבה (וילנא) פרשת אמור פרשה לב סימן ג

תני ר' חייא מפרשת יוחסין יצא שבא ליטע אהלו במחנה דן אמרו לו מה לך ליטע אהלך במחנה דן אמר להם מבנות דן אני אמרו לו כתיב (במדבר ב) איש על דגלו באותות לבית אבותם ולא לבית אמותם נכנס לבית דינו של משה ויצא מחוייב עמד וגדף.

R. Hiyya taught: He went out as a result of the section regarding pedigrees. For he came with the intention of pitching his tent in the camp of Dan, so they said to him: ‘What right have you to pitch your tent in the camp of Dan?' Said he to them: 'I am descended from the daughters of Dan.’ 'It is written,' they told him, ' “By their fathers’ houses; every man with his own standard, according to the ensigns” (Bamidbar 2, 2);-- fathers’ but not mothers’ houses.' He appealed to the court of Moshe and lost his case, so he rose and reviled God. (Vayikra Rabba 32:3)

This indeed explains the source of his discontent but not the reason for his altercation with the Israelite. The Zohar explains the reason for the fight and the identity of his antagonist:

זוהר כרך ג (ויקרא) פרשת אמור דף קו עמוד א

 ושם אמו שלומית בת דברי עד כאן סתים שמא דאמיה כיון דכתיב ויקוב נקיב שמא דאימיה, אמר רבי אבא אי לאו דבוצינא קדישא קיימא בעלמא לא ארשינא לגלאה (מכאן ולהלאה) דהא לא אתיהיב מלה דא לגלאה אלא לחברייא דאינון בין מחצדי חקלא (דאי לאו) תיפח רוחיהון דאינון דאתיין לגלאה לאינון דלא ידעי, ת"ח כתיב וינצו במחנה בן הישראלית ואיש הישראלי האי קרא הא אוקימנא אבל דא בר אינתו אחרא דאבוי בעלה דשלומית הוה, וכיון דאתא ההוא מצראה עלה בפלגות ליליא תב לביתא וידע מלה אתפרש מנה ולא אתא עלה, ונטל אינתו אחרא ואוליד להאי ואקרי איש הישראלי, ואחרא בן הישראלית, אי אינון אינצו הכא כחדא מאי קא בעי הכא שמא קדישא ואמאי קלל שמא קדישא, אלא איש הישראלי אמר מלה מאמיה מגו קטטה, מיד ויקוב בן האשה הישראלית, כמה דאת אמר ויקוב חור בדלתו, רזא דמלה נטל ה' דשמא קדישא ולייט לאגנא על אמיה ודא הוא נקיבא דאיהו נקיב ופריש שמא קדישא, ולמחצדי חקלא אתמר,

‘And his mother’s name, etc.’ Up to this point his mother's name was concealed, but now that he had uttered blasphemy his mother's name is mentioned. Said R. Abba: ‘Were it not that the Sacred Lamp is still alive, I would not reveal this, since it is not meant to be revealed save to those who are among the reapers of the field: a curse on those who want to reveal to those who should not know! The Israelite man mentioned here was the son of another woman, and his father was the husband of Shlomit. When an Egyptian came to her in the middle of the night and he returned home and became aware of it, he separated from her and took another wife. Hence one is called “the Israelite man” and the other “the son of the Israelite woman”. Now if they quarreled, how came the Holy Name to be involved? The reason was that the Israelite man reviled the other's mother, and the latter took the He from the Holy Name and cursed with it to defend his mother; hence the word nakav (lit. hollowed) is used, to show that he separated the letters of the Holy Name. But all this is only for “the reapers of the field”.’ (Zohar Vayikra, 106a)

             

While certain elements of this Zohar are clearly too obscure to explain, there are some points that we can decipher. These men who fought had something in common – their parents were once married. Moreover, their fathers once fought; both seemed to have inherited contentious constitutions from their respective fathers.

When the son of Shlomit is denied the right to dwell with the tribe of Dan, the son of Datan provokes him. Perhaps possessing the tact and congeniality of his father he calls the formers’ mother a whore. He tells him how his mother cheated on her husband, with a hated Egyptian. He is further told of how Moshe himself intervened and killed his father.[8] Now perhaps this man suspects that he knows why he lost his case, assuming that Moshe would never rule in his favor because of his background. So he curses. He uses the great and awesome name of God to vent his anger, sadness and frustration.

But why curse with the name of God? Why utter the ineffable, - the unspeakable? The Midrash provides the explanation:

שמות רבה (וילנא) פרשת שמות פרשה א

ר' נחמיה אומר ראה שאין מי שיזכיר עליו את השם ויהרגנו, ורבנן אמרי ראה שאין תוחלת של צדיקים עומדות הימנו ולא מזרעו עד סוף כל הדורות, כיון שראה משה כך נמלך במלאכים ואמר להם חייב זה הריגה, אמרו לו הן הה"ד וירא כי אין איש שילמד עליו זכות, ויך את המצרי, במה הרגו …רבנן אמרי הזכיר עליו את השם והרגו שנאמר הלהרגני אתה אומר

R. Nehemiah says: He saw that there was none who would mention over him God's name and slay him. The Sages said: He saw that there was no hope that righteous persons would arise from him or his offspring until the end of generations. When Moshe saw this, he took counsel with the angels and said to them: ‘This man deserves death.’ They agreed; hence it says: “And when he saw that there was no man” to say a good word for him, “and he smote the Egyptian.” With what did he slay him? … The Rabbis say that he pronounced God's name against him and thus slew him, for it is said: “Do you say to kill me?” (Shmot 2, 14). (Midrash Rabba Sh’mot 1:29)

The method of execution of the Egyptian was by uttering the Divine Name. Now, when the son of the Egyptian utters the Divine Name he is placed in detention, awaiting a Divine directive. It is possible that Moshe’s silence is not due to lack of knowledge, rather to what he may feel is an inappropriate legal decision on his part. A similar phenomenon is discerned in the case of Zimri and Cozbi. Moshe had married a woman from Midyan; why couldn’t Zimri do the same? Of course Moshe knew the response; he sensed, though, that it would be unseemly if it was meted out directly by himself without Divine instruction.[9]

But where did the man learn the ineffable name? The sages say he heard it at Sinai. When God said “I am the Almighty, your God…” the ineffable name was articulated. This man, born of a forbidden union and raised as one of the Jews, a man who witnessed the plagues and the splitting of the sea, who stood at Mount Sinai and saw the heavens open, who saw and heard the Voice of God together with all of Israel, was only able to distill from these experiences the ability to curse. The failure was his own; while it is true that he was most likely livid with rage, emotionally ravaged, utterly humiliated, nonetheless his response indicates a complete breakdown, a total moral failure.

The use he makes of the Divine Name is so different from that of Moshe. When he sees a man abusing his slave, Moshe feels obligated to stop the unjustified beating. Moshe uses the name of God to achieve peace, in much the same way the Divine Name is used at Marah, and in the sotah ritual: There, too, the Name is utilized in order to create peace. The son of the Egyptian did not seem to understand this, or did not wish to understand this. His action is as different as Moshe’s as Zimri’s affair with a Midianite woman differed from Moshe's marriage to Zipporah.

At Sinai, the greatest event in the history of the world, all witnesses should have been transformed, elevated. This man concluded the wrong lesson from Sinai: Instead of truth, understanding and holiness, he walked away with venom.

Perhaps now we also understand why this narrative is taught at this juncture. The next verse is the start of a new Parsha, “B’har”, which tells us what Moshe learned at Sinai:

ויקרא פרק כד:כג

וַיְדַבֵּר מֹשֶׁה אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיּוֹצִיאוּ אֶת הַמְקַלֵּל אֶל מִחוּץ לַמַּחֲנֶה וַיִּרְגְּמוּ אֹתוֹ אָבֶן וּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל עָשׂוּ כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּה ה’ אֶת מֹשֶׁה: פ

ויקרא פרק כה:א

וַיְדַבֵּר ה’ אֶל מֹשֶׁה בְּהַר סִינַי לֵאמֹר:

And Moshe spoke to the People of Israel, that they should remove the person who had cursed from the camp, and pelt him with stone[s]. And the People of Israel did as God commanded Moshe. (Vayikra 24: 23)

And God spoke to Moshe at Mount Sinai, saying… (Vayikra 25:1)

This section stands in stark contrast to the lesson learned by the son of the Egyptian at Sinai. Instead of beauty, he saw emptiness; for him, Sinai was just another hill, the Tablets of Stone only rocks. Rather than allowing what he had seen, heard and experienced to uplift him, instead of using God’s Name for blessings and holiness, he degraded himself by blaspheming and defiling the Holy Name. He took all the great spiritual gifts he had been offered and turned them into something hurtful and vile. In a sense, he "missed the mountain;" perhaps that is why he was stoned.

---

[1] The only other section of narrative is the tragic deaths of Nadav and Avihu, however their deaths seems to be introduced in order to teach the laws of holiness which follow the laws of the Mishkan.

[2]  In contrast, the wood-gatherer remains anonymous, though at least one authority identifies him with Zelafhad. See Talmud Bavli Shabbat 96b.

תלמוד בבלי מסכת שבת דף צו/ב

תנו רבנן מקושש זה צלפחד וכן הוא אומר ויהיו בני ישראל במדבר וימצאו איש וגו' ולהלן הוא אומר אבינו מת במדבר מה להלן צלפחד אף כאן צלפחד דברי רבי עקיבא אמר לו רבי יהודה בן בתירא עקיבא בין כך ובין כך אתה עתיד ליתן את הדין אם כדבריך התורה כיסתו ואתה מגלה אותו ואם לאו אתה מוציא לעז על אותו צדיק

[3]  See Da’at Zekeinim m'Baalei haTosfot on Vayikra 24:10:

דעת זקנים מבעלי התוספות על ויקרא פרק כד פסוק י

והוא בן איש מצרי - הוא גרם לו שברך את השם שדרכן של מצריים לבזות את השם כמו שאמר פרעה לא ידעתי את ה':

[4] According to the Ariz"al (Sha'ar Hapsukim, Emor) the taskmaster was a reincarnation of Kayin. See Explorations, Parshat Bereishit, for a discussion of this idea.

שער הפסוקים - פרשת אמור

הענין הוא, כי זה בן האשה הישראלית, הוא בן האיש המצרי, שהרגו מרע"ה, כנזכר בפרשת שמות. וכבר ידעת, כי המצרי ההוא, היה גלגול הרע, אשר בקין בן אדם, וזה הבן מכח האב נמשך, וגם הוא מן הרע ההוא של קין היה. וז"ס והוא בן איש מצרי, ולכן "ויקלל את השם."

שער הפסוקים - פרשת אמור

 והוא בן איש מצרי שהרגו משה, לפי שהיה בחי' קין, ולכן נתקנא על התאומה יתירה של הבל, והיא האשה הישראלית. והרגו משה, והוא הבל, וזה הבן שלה בא לאגנא על אימיה. וקי"ן בגימטריא אהי"ה במלוי יודי"ן ע"ה, והיא סוד תאומה יתירה, שהיא א' החסירה מן קין, פהות ממספר אהי"ה הנזכר. וגם באהי"ה דיודי"ן אל"ף אחת לבד, והבל שתי תאומות:

[5]  See Explorations, Parshat Bereishit. Moshe was a reincarnation of Hevel: Rather than seeking to kill his brother, Moshe attempts to help his brother, and kills in defense of his brother, in stark contrast to the heinous crime of Kayin. According to the Midrash, Moshe merited prophesy due to this gesture. “G-d then said to him: ‘You have put aside your work and have gone to share the sorrow of Israel, behaving to them like a brother; well, I will also leave those on high and below and only speak with you.’ Hence it is written: ‘And when God saw that he turned aside to see’ (Shmot 3, 4); because G-d saw that Moshe turned aside from his duties to look upon their burdens, He called unto him out of the midst of the bush.’ (ib.).”(Shmot Rabba 1:27)

[6]  See Rashi ad loc.: Shlomit is derived from Shalom – she would say hello to all- and Dibri – she was too talkative and outgoing.

[7]  In his comments on the verses in our present parsha, Rashi labels Shlomit a “whore”. On the other hand, commenting on the verses in Shmot in which Moshe's execution of the Egyptian oppressor is recounted, Rashi states that Shlomit was unaware that the man with whom she was intimate was not her husband. Moreover, whereas her name is not mentioned in Shmot, in Vayikra her name is recorded, which Rashi clearly sees as an indication of her personality; see above, note 6. My conclusion from these conflicting portraits is that Rashi felt her provocative behavior had provoked the assault. While this resolution may not be ‘politically correct’, it may be the only way to resolve the contradictions between Rashi’s two comments.

.

[8]  Zohar Vayikra 106a  “R. Yitzhak said: Besides insulting his mother, he mentioned that his father was the man whom Moshe had slain.”

[9]  See comments of Rabbenu Bahya ad loc.

רבינו בחיי על ויקרא פרק כד פסוק י

והוא בן איש מצרי - שהרג משה, שהיה נוגש וממונה על בעלה של שלומית:

 בתוך בני ישראל מלמד שנתגייר:

 וינצו במחנה - יש לשאול אם היו שניהם מריבים זה עם זה למה זה יברך את השם על זאת, היה ראוי לו להתרעם על משה או שיכנו ויהרגנו. אבל יתכן לומר כי איש הישראלי ספר לו ענין אביו הנהרג והזכיר לו היאך היתה מיתתו כי משה הרגו בשם המפורש, ולפיכך ויקוב בן האשה הישראלית את השם ויקלל, כלומר את השם ששמע בסיני פירש וקלל. ולפיכך נסמכה פרשת מקלל לפרשת בהר סיני, ולפי שלא רצה לבא אל אהל מועד לפיכך ויביאו אותו אל משה, ולזה לא אמר אל משה ואל כל העדה כמו שנאמר במקושש: