SONG
OF SONGS: 13. You, who sit in the gardens the friends hearken to your voice;
let me hear [it].
70
SOULS THAT DESCENDED TO EGYPT: Joseph and Yetzer
TALMUD
MAKKOT: Daf 9 - 16
BOOK
OF JEREMIAH: Chapter 51
Week 51 in
the Jewish calendar is the last week of Elul. The verse of Shir HaShirim for
this week speaks of the Jewish people sitting in the gardens, while G-d asks to
hear their voice. This again is connected to the idea of the King being in the
field. He is waiting for us to speak to Him.
Rashi explains
that the gardens mentioned are those of strangers during exile and the friends
are the angels that hear the voice of the Jewish people in the synagogues. This
appears to be particularly connected with Rosh Hashanah. The voice that Hashem
hears may also be the voice of the Shofar, our desperate cry to reconnect to
G-d.
Of the
seventy souls of the Jewish people that descended to Egypt, the fifty-first added
here is Joseph, who is mentioned separately, along with his mother Rachel and
his brother Benjamin. Joseph is the Tzadik Yesod Olam, the foundation of the
world, from whom comes both the physical and spiritual sustenance for the rest
of the world. This quality is closely associated with Rosh Hashanah, the day in
which the sustenance for the entire rest of the year is decided. Tishrei is
also associated with the Tribe of Efraim.
This week is
also connected with Yetzer, son of Naftali. This name is a reference to the teshuvah
(repentance) we perform for the sins committed because of our Yetzer Harah, our
evil inclination. Yetzer also comes from the the world Yotzer, creator. It is
on Rosh Hashanah that we crown Hashem as King, the Creator of the Universe.
Dappim 9 through
16 of Makkot includes all of Chapter 2 (folios 9 through 13), which is all
about cities of refuge. Dapim 13 through 16 are part of Chapter 3, regarding
different laws related to lashes and whether or not they are given under
various circumstances. Elul is connected to both concepts – we seek refuge as
well as repentance and early atonement, so that we are ready for Rosh Hashanah,
the Day of Judgement.
Chapter 51
of the Book of Jeremiah contains a similar theme to the above. The chapter
continues to speak of the judgment and the downfall of the greatest empire at
the time, Babylon. Just as Babylon was a “destroyer,” so it will be destroyed.
It seems related to the idea of vengeance associated with the cities of refuge,
yet Babylon will have no place to hide. It will be severely punished for its
murders.
20. You are for Me a
shatterer, yea weapons of war, and with you I would shatter nations, and with
you I would destroy kingdoms.
21. And with you I
would shatter a horse and his rider, and with you I would shatter a chariot and
its rider.
22. And with you I
would shatter man and woman, and with you I would shatter elder and youth, and
with you I would shatter young man and virgin.
23. And with you I
would shatter a shepherd and his flock, and with you I would shatter a farmer
and his team, and with you I would shatter governors and officers.
24. And I will
recompense Babylon and all the inhabitants of [the land of] the Chaldeans for
all their evil that they committed in Zion before your eyes, says the
Lord.
25. Behold I am
against you, O destroying mountain, says the Lord, who destroys all the earth,
and I will stretch out My hand upon you and roll you down from the rocks and
make you a burnt mountain.
(…)
49. As Babylon
[caused] the slain of Israel to fall, so in Babylon shall fall the slain of all
the land.
50. Fugitives from
the sword, go, do not stand still! Remember the Lord from the distant past, and
let Jerusalem enter your mind.
51. "We are
ashamed for we have heard reproach, embarrassment has covered our faces, for
strangers have come upon the sanctuaries of the house of the Lord."
“The hand of our god is exalted for we have
destroyed His house.”
52. Therefore,
behold days are coming, says the Lord, and I will visit retribution upon her
graven images and throughout her land the mortally wounded shall groan.
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