Week 29 (Book 2): Jonah, Gechazi, and Placing a Fence Around One's Words

HAAZINU: If [only] they were wise and would understand this; they would reflect upon their fate. (Deuteronomy 32:29)

HAFTORAH: For You are my lamp, O' Lord; And the Lord does light my darkness. (II Samuel 22:29)

QUALITY FOR ACQUIRING THE TORAH: He Who Makes A Fence Around His Words

PROPHET: Jonah ben Amittai

LEVITICAL CITY: Juttah

The twenty-ninth week of the year is the week of Passover, days two through eight. In the verse of Haazinu, G-d asks that the Jewish people reflect upon their fate. The word for “fate” is Acharitam, which literally means “their end.” Much of Pessach is about reflecting not only about the previous redemption from Egypt, but also using the example of this first redemption to reflect upon the final one (Acharit k’Reshit, as we say in our prayers). In the Diaspora, the eighth day of Passover is celebrated, but in Hebrew that is not known as Shmini (Eighth) but rather Acharon shel Pessach, the Last [Day] of Passover. On that day, it is a Chassidic custom instituted by the Ba’al Shem Tov to have a Moshiach Seudah, a special meal in honor of the messianic redemption. In that meal, the Rebbe Rashab instituted that four cups of wine be drunk, just as at the Seder.

The Haftorah’s verse speaks of Hashem being our light in the times of darkness. Although we are still in the darkness of exile, connecting to G-d and to the final redemption brings light to it. During the first redemption, when Egypt was plagued with darkness, the Jewish people still had light.

The quality of this week is he who makes a fence around his words. During Pessach, and especially during the seder, we must be very careful with our words. Pessach stands for “Peh Sach,” the mouth talks.

This week’s prophet is Jonah, from the story of Jonah and the Whale. Jonah was also a disciple of Eliyahu and Elisha. He is very much represents the idea of putting a fence around one’s words, as he did not want to speak to the Assyrians in order not to help those that he foresaw were going to cause harm to the Jewish people. Even when on a stormy ship that was about to sink due to his refusal, he still did not want to speak. Jonah also is connected to the final redemption, as the Vilna Gaon explains he is a prototype for Mashiach ben Yosef. The story of Jonah is also connected to the redemption from Egypt, as the King of Nineveh is said to be no one other than Pharaoh himself.[1]

The levitical city for the week of Passover is Juttah. Juttah is spelled the same as “Yatteh” to turn, incline, or stretch one’s hand or arm. This word is found in the following passage in the Tanach:

3. Now the Egyptians are men and not G-d, and their horses are flesh and not spirit, and the Lord shall turn (“Yatteh”) His hand, and the helper shall stumble and the helped one shall fall, and together all of them shall perish.              

Rashi - shall turn His hand: For the Holy One, blessed be He, supports everything with His hand, and when He turns it, they will fall, like one who holds something in his hand, and when he inclines his hand, it falls. So is the Midrash Aggadah (Mechilta, Exodus 15:12). Jonathan, however, renders: shall raise the blow of His might.

This verse is extremely appropriate for the week of Passover, which includes the 7^th day of Passover, when the Egyptian “horses and their riders” were thrown into the sea. It was during this time that G-d took us out of Egypt with a strong hand and an outstretched arm (Yad Chazakah v’haZroah Netuyah, the same root as the word Yuttah).

 

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[1] Another student of Elisha who could very well have been the 29^th prophet is Gechazi. However, the Tanach as well as the Oral tradition mention quite a few mistakes committed by Gechazi that likely caused him to miss the opportunity to be a major prophet. Because he does not place a fence around his words, Gechazi becomes a Metzorah. If one looks closely at those mistakes though, one will find that Gechazi contained a spark of Mashiach ben David, and that most likely his intentions were good, it is just that the actions were not appropriate for the time and place. Our sages teach us that it was he and his sons who were the Metzora’im by the gates of Aram, who end up saving the Jews at the time. Mashiach himself is also described in the Talmud as a Metzorah by the gates of Rome. (Sanhedrin 98a)

Week 30 (Book 2): Isaiah and Giving All the Credit to G-d

HAAZINU: How can one [person] pursue a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, unless their [Mighty] Rock has sold them out, and the Lord has given them over? (Deuteronomy 32:30)

HAFTORAH: For by You I run upon a troop; By my G-d I scale a wall. (II Samuel 22:30)

QUALITY TO ACQUIRE THE TORAH: He Claims No Credit For His Achievements (Einoh Machazik Tovah L’atzmo)

PROPHET: Isaiah

LEVITICAL CITY: Beth-shemesh (city of Judah on the border)

Week Thirty is the last week of Nissan and includes Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) as well as the yahrzeit of Yehoshua. Haazinu’s verse for this week discusses the above-nature aspects of the persecution against the Jewish people, in which one or two people could pursue a thousand or even ten thousand. As far-fetched as this might sound, this actually happened during the Holocaust. On the other hand, during Yehoshua’s conquering of the Land of Israel, it was the Jews that were able to pursue the other nations, even though they were much smaller today. The same is true for Israel’s more recent wars, such as the War of Independence and the Six-Day War.

The Haftorah is once again more in line with the positive interpretation, reflecting this exact concept. King David talks about how he alone is able to run upon an entire troop of fighters, and how miraculously he’s able to even scale a wall.

The quality for this week, yet again, is about humility, about not taking credit for one’s achievements. Credit must be given to G-d, as reflected in the verse above: “For by You I run upon a troop; By my G-d I scale a wall.”

This week’s prophet is Isaiah. Interestingly, Nissan starts with Amotz, and ends with his son, Isaiah. Isaiah’s behavior also reflects the quality of this week. When Isaiah has one of the most vivid and intimate visions of G-d and the Divine Chariot, his reaction is not to think of himself and how great he must be to have merited such a vision. Quite to the contrary. He exclaims: “'Woe is me, for I am lost, because a man of unclean lips am I, and in the midst of people of unclean lips do I dwell; for the King, the L-rd of Hosts, have mine eyes seen.' [1] Isaiah’s prophecy in general has many admonitions but also many consolations and optimistic visions of the future. However, the optimism is always based on the notion that it is G-d that grants success, once we return to Him. Joshua himself also was very humble, and did not take credit for his achievements; he always saw himself as a follower and disciple of Moshe.

The levitical city for this week is Beth-shemesh, which means the house of the sun. It was Yehoshuah that famously told the sun to stand still:

12. Then Joshua spoke to the Lord on the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, "Sun, stand still upon Gibeon, and Moon in the valley of Ajalon." 13. And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is this not written in the book of Jashar? (which is the Torah)? So the sun stood still in the midst of the heaven, and it did not hasten to go down exactly a whole day.

It is interesting that for the week of Yehoshuah’s yahrzeit the levitical city should be connected to the sun, since after all, our sages compare Moshe to the sun and Yehoshua to the moon. Perhaps that is exactly the point, that Yehoshua saw himself not as a separate entity, but simply being “from the house of Moshe,” a student of his that “never left the tent.” Beth-shemesh figures prominently in the Tanach – it is also the birthplace of Shimshon, whose name also is connected to Shemesh, sun. Perhaps more than any other leader, Shimshon represents the idea of supernatural strength, which comes from G-d. 

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[1] http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/464019/jewish/The-Prophet-Isaiah.htm

Week 31 (Book 2): Yoel and the Rock of Israel

HAAZINU: For their rock is not like our [Mighty] Rock. Nevertheless, our enemies sit in judgment. (Deuteronomy 32:31)

HAFTORAH: [He is] the G-d Whose way is perfect; The word of the Lord is tried; He is a shield unto all them that trust (take refuge) in him. (II Samuel 22:31)

QUALITY FOR ACQUIRING THE TORAH: Beloved (Ahuv)

PROPHET: Yoel

LEVITICAL CITY: Kishion

The thirty-first week of the year is the week of Rosh Chodesh Iyar, as well as Yom Ha’Atzma’ut, Israel’s Independence Day. Iyar represents the Tribe of Issachar, who was known for its complete dedication to the study of Torah. In the verse of Haazinu, Moshe exclaims that there is no “rock” as our “Rock”, Tzur, another term for G-d. The best description of this term is probably the way King David describes G-d in the Haftorah verse for this week: a shield in which to take refuge. The verses are also a perfect description of G-d’s protection during Israel’s difficult struggle for independence, one in which Israel faced overwhelming odds, and in which the rest of the world simply sat in judgment. This hypocritical “judgment” continues until this day.

The quality of this week is “beloved” (Ahuv). This term is also used by Rabbi Meir in the description of those that study Tora h for its own sake (Lishmah), as the Tribe of Issachar did. The victory celebrated on Yom Ha’Atzma’ut is also a sign of how beloved we are by G-d. This feeling of being beloved came shortly after the Holocaust, when so many of the Jewish people felt so abandoned.

This week’s prophet is Yoel. His prophecy parallels the destruction followed by the modern miracles and victories that took place during this time.[1] It describes the plague of the locusts that completely devastated the Land of Israel. After the Jews repent, they are promised much grain, wine, and oil. (2:18‑19)

The levitical city for this week is Kishion, which comes from the word kasheh, which means difficult, tough. These are characteristics of Issachar (a strong-boned donkey), as well as characteristics shown by the Jews in fighting and winning Israel’s War of Independence.

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[1] http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/464027/jewish/Four-Prophets.htm

Week 32 (Book 2): Nahum and Light that Comes from Darkness

HAAZINU: For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the field of Gemorrah; their grapes are grapes of rosh, and they have bitter clusters. (Deuteronomy 32:32)

Positive light: Because the wine [Torah wisdom] that the Jewish people obtained was from enduring the suffering/fermentation of Sodom, and the fields (concentration camps) of Gemorrah. Their humility comes from great suffering and bitterness. (II Samuel 22:32)

HAFTORAH: 32. For who is G-d, save the Lord? And who is a rock, save our G-d?

QUALITY FOR ACQUIRING THE TORAH: Loves Hashem (Ohev et HaMakom)

PROPHET: Nahum

LEVITICAL CITY: Dobrath

  

Week Thirty-Two is the second week of Iyar. Haazinu’s verse discusses how the actions of the Jewish people paralleled those of Sodom and Gemorrah and how they were therefore deserving of great punishment. However, the verse could just as easily be read as to be referring to the enemies of the Jewish people, following the verse immediately prior to this one.

Similarly, a possible reading is to understand the verse to be referring to the victory the Jewish people obtained, which came from enduring the suffering/fermentation of Sodom, and the fields (concentration camps) of Gemorrah. Their strength comes from the great suffering and bitterness they encountered. Rashi mentions that the second part of the verse (as well as the next verse) are related to the suffering the Jews endured.

The Haftorah focuses on the positive note, mentioned in Haazinu’s previous verse. The verse speaks of how Hashem is in the only G-d, and that he is the only Tzur (Rock). As mentioned in Book 1, this week is deeply connected to the previous one, the week of Yom Ha’Atzma’ut, as well as the one before that, the week of Yom HaShoah. 

The quality for this week is again one of the the characteristics of someone who studies Torah for its own sake, to love G-d (ohev et HaMakom). Why is this word for G-d chosen here? Perhaps it is exactly because this week is connected to the Land of Israel, and it is in this place that we experience G-d in the fullest possible way, just as Yaakov experienced G-d at Beit-El.[1]

This week’s prophet is Nahum. Nahum’s message is also very much about how after great suffering, G-d has redeemed the Jewish people and the Land. We therefore show G-d appreciation, and love:

1. Behold on the mountains the feet of a herald announcing peace. O Judah, keep your feasts, pay your vows-for the wicked one shall no longer continue to pass through you; he has been completely cut off.

2. The scatterer who came up before you is besieged by a siege. Watch the way! Strengthen your loins! Fortify your power mightily.

3. For the Lord has restored the pride of Jacob as the pride of Israel, for the emptiers have emptied them out and destroyed their branches. (Chapter 2)

The levitical city for this week is Dobrath, which means the gathering a flock together.[2] This is a perfect description for the week that celebrates the gathering of the flock of the People of Israel back to its Land. What makes it even more appropriate is that Dobrath is the name of a well known kibbutz established in 1946, in the face of much struggle and Arab opposition.

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[1] Makom also expresses a certain experiential communion with G-d, as explained by Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik. http://www.midreshetmoriah.com/torah/view.asp?id=682

[2] The explanation of the meaning of Dobrath is taken from the kibbutz’s own website: http://www.dovrat.org/Site/pages/inPage.asp?catID=6

Week 33 (Book 2): Chabakuk and Torah that Comes from Suffering

HAAZINU: Their wine is the bitterness of serpents, and the bitterness of the ruthless cobras. (Deuteronomy 32:33)

Positive light: Their deep Torah wisdom came from the bitter serpents [enemies/exiles], and their ability to be a head (and to have a deep mind), from dealing with ruthless cobras [enemies/exiles].

HAFTORAH: 33. G-d is He who has fortified me with strength; and He looseth perfectly my path. (II Samuel 22:33)

QUALITY FOR ACQUIRING THE TORAH: Loves the creations/people (Ohev et HaBriot)

PROPHET: Chabakuk

LEVITICAL CITY: Jarmuth

The thirty-third week of the year is the week of Pessach Sheini and Lag Ba’omer. In Haazinu, the verse speaks again of the bitter punishment faced by the Jewish people, comparing it to wine. Wine is also a known metaphor for the essence and the hidden part of the Torah, associated primarily with the works of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. The joy of Lag Ba’omer comes in contrast to the suffering and the mourning that took place during omer period, with the passing of 24,000 of Rabbi Akiva’s students. Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai himself acquired this “wine” through much suffering. In the end, he said that the sufferring he endured was very much worth it.

In the Haftorah verse for this week, King David exclaims that G-d is his strength. The word used for strength is chayil. As explained in the beginning of this book, chayil is a known reference to the Torah, the source of King David’s power. The second part of the verse contains a word that is written (the ksiv) differently than how it is verbalized (the kri). The word written is darchoh (His way) not darchi (my way). The verse would therefore read, “G-d makes clear to me His perfect way.” The word for perfect used is tamim, which is also a reference to the Torah, as King David himself says in the psalms: “Torat Hashem Tmimah Meshivat Nafesh,” the Torah of G-d is perfect, it restores the soul.

The quality of this week is “loves the creations” (Ohev Et Habriot), the third term used by Rabbi Meir in the description of those that study Torah for its own sake (Lishmah). The first day of this week, Pessach Sheini, is the yahrzeit of Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yehuda Bar Ilai, and, as already mentioned, Lag Ba’omer is the yahrzeit of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai (Rashbi). Rashbi is the quintessential example of someone who studies Torah Lishmah. The quality Ohev Et Habriot is also the term used by Hillel in Pirkei Avot to describe Aharon. Aharon is the leader of the Jewish people associated with the sefirah of Hod, and Lag Ba’omer represents Hod shebeHod in the omer count.

This week’s prophet is Chabakuk. Just as Lag Ba’omer is about the revelation of the essence of the omer itself, Chabakuk was the one that prophecized the verse in which to encompass all of the Torah: Tzadik be’Emunatoh Yichyieh, "the Tzadik lives by his faith." (Chapter 2:5) This verse also perfectly describes Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, as well as Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Yehuda Bar Ilai, and all the other tzadikim connected to this week. Chabakuk also represents the concept of the revelation the deep secrets of the Torah, as we find in the end of Perek Shirah:

Rabbi Yeshayah, student of Rabbi

 Chanina ben Dosa, fasted eighty-five

fasts. He said, Dogs, about which it is

written, “The dogs are brazen of spirit;

they do not know satisfaction” (Isaiah

56:11) – shall they merit saying a song?

An angel answered him from Heaven and

said to him, Yeshayah, until when will

you fast over this? It is an oath from the

Holy One, Blessed is He; from the day

that He revealed His secret to Havakuk

the prophet, He has not revealed this

matter to anyone in the world.

The levitical city for this week is Jarmuth. It appears that this city is also called Ramoth and Remeth, which mean "height" or "heights." However, Ramoth and Yarmuth contains the letter Mem Vav Tav, which spell Maveth, death. Interestingly, Ramoth in Chronicles is spelled with an alef. Alef Mem Tav spells Emeth, truth (similar to Remeth, another spelling for this city). The name of this city seems to encompass the themes of Lag Ba’omer discussed above, heights and truth in the context of suffering and death.

The Tanach recounts that the city was conquered miraculously by Yehoshua (Ramoth with an alef  contains the word Re’em, perhaps a reference to Yehoshua himself,  who is compared to an animal called a Re'em).

The city was abandoned during the first exile,  but the Jewish people returned to the city in the times of Nechemia. Tel Yarmuth is an important archeological site in Israel today.