לא תעשו לכם אלילים, “Do not make idols for yourselves.” Here the Torah refers to the various forces named earlier whom people worship as אלילים from the root אילות, “strength, power,” calling such idols אלילים rather than אילים [which would mean something powerful, Ed.] in order to remind us of the impotence of such idols. Even though such idols may sometimes appear as very imposing and therefore powerful, the fact that their power is derived from outside influences makes them essentially weak, impotent. Having already mentioned אלילים, idols which are natural phenomena such as the sun and the moon, etc., the Torah goes on to mention man-made symbols such as statutes and pillars which were constructed in order to be recipients of the power presumed to reside within the aforementioned idols. All this leaves us with the question of why idolatry has been inserted into this paragraph altogether. Our sages in Sifra at the end of our portion answer that the Torah wants to contrast the situation of a Jew who has been sold to an idolater with the danger that being in such an environment he might fall victim to such religious tenets as are believed by his master. He might say to himself that seeing his (successful) master worships such forces it might be well for him to do the same. From this it is only a small step to argue that seeing the sexual mores of his master are quite permissive, he himself would also adopt such mores. Furthermore, seeing that his master does not observe the laws of the Sabbath, he, the servant and property of the Gentile would do the same. The Torah therefore warns that even though one is the employee or slave of such a Gentile this must not lead one to adopt his master’s religious practices.

ואבן משכית לא תתנו בארצכם להשתחות עליה, “and you must not place a flooring stone made to show an image and bow down to it.” You are not even to use such an image to prostrate yourself to G’d in heaven (Maimonides Hilchot Avodah Zarah 6,6). The same rule applies to the planting of trees next to the Altar in the courtyard of the Temple (Halachah 9 in above-mentioned chapter by Maimonides). The reason for all this is that these were heathen practices at the time. Sifra Behar 9,5 sees in the word בארצכם, “in your land,” a limiting factor for this prohibition; “only in your land,” i.e. outside the Temple, must you not prostrate yourselves to the Lord G’d; inside the holy precincts of the courtyard of the Temple you are allowed to do so on the stones which cover the floor of that building.

את שבתותי תשמורו ומקדשי תיראו, “You are to observe My Sabbaths and you are to revere My Sanctuary.” According to Sifra Behar 9,6 this verse is a comprehensive warning to observe all the commandments. According to Nachmanides the Sifra means that by warning about the pitfalls of selling a Jew to a Gentile and what might happen to his religious observances while he is in the household of such a Gentile, the Torah effectively issues a warning concerning the observance of all the commandments. Once he is in the house of an idolater he is liable to stop all Jewish observances. Alternatively, we may see in the warning concerning the Sabbath and the Sanctuary a warning which embraces all the commandments, as between them they represent the whole Torah.

אני ה, “I am the Lord.” These words are a reminder that G’d’s stature as the Lord means that He either rewards or punishes those that observe or transgress the laws of the Torah. Wherever the words אני ה' appear they mean that the commandment they refer to is a very important commandment and that G’d is the one Who rewards or punishes people who observe it or ignore it. This is the reason that this portion concludes with these two important commandments. It is natural that a king commands his subjects to respect and honour him. He does not need to explain why he demands such obeisance. It is enough for him to remind his subjects that he is the king. Tanchuma (Bereshit 12) in commenting on Genesis 41,44 draws a comparison for us from when Pharaoh said to Joseph: “I am Pharaoh but without you no one shall lift a hand or foot in the whole land of Egypt.” Pharaoh had already given Joseph his ring of office empowering him to exercise his authority. If the use of the word אני when spoken by a ruler who was only flesh and blood such as Pharaoh carried so much weight, imagine how much weight the word אני when spoken by G’d the ruler of the whole universe must carry. Solomon made a similar point in Kohelet 8,2 where he wrote: אני פי מלך שמור ועל דברת שבועת אלוהים, “whenever the word אני appears, I warn you to observe it carefully; it is an oath of G’d.”

עטרת חכמים עשרם אולת כסילים אולת, ”The crown of the wise is their riches; the foolishness of fools is folly” (Proverbs 14,10).

Solomon informed us here that wealth is an attribute possessed by the wise who benefit by it whereas for the sinners it is an attribute that causes them to stumble. When material wealth is in the hands of the wise person it is a crown and honor for him. The reason is simply that all the time the wise man lacks wealth his wisdom is held in low esteem and his words are not heeded as the general public equates wealth with competence of the person who possesses it. Not only this, but wealth is accompanied by authority to lend power to truth and to effectively denigrate lies, etc. Also, the wealthy wise man is able to spend his wealth in a manner where it does a great deal of good, which in turn will reflect credit upon him and enhance his reputation. The reverse is true when fools are wealthy as they boast about their wealth and they employ their wealth to strengthen other like-minded individuals, in the process increasing the amount of sin committed. The financial success of the sinner is always a danger as it serves the fools to maintain their sinful lifestyle, and encourages them to continue in their mistaken ways.

Wealth is somewhat like the sun which performs contradictory actions. On the one hand, the sun’s rays bleach garments restoring their original whiteness, on the other hand, it blackens the skin of those who expose their skin to the sun on a regular basis. It is up to the recipient to either benefit or suffer from the rays of the sun. Similarly, it is up to the recipient to make proper or improper use of material wealth. For the former such wealth turns into a crown, for the latter it becomes a mark of his folly. The reason Solomon used the word אולת, “folly,” twice in this verse is to tell us that wealth for the foolish causes foolishness in the soul of the owners. The following rule governs the matter: wealth first corrupts the body of the foolish (sinful) owners, eventually further corrupting and destroying their souls. The wise, by contrast are on guard against the dangers inherent in owning wealth. As a result of their caution wealth becomes them, enhances their reputation so that they derive both physical and spiritual benefit from it as they are fully aware that wealth and success in this life are only preparatory steps for the needs of the soul so that it will acquire wisdom and perfect itself.

Another lesson by Solomon concerning phenomena which appear at first glance as definitely desirable is found in Proverbs 15,21: “folly is joy for someone devoid of reason; a man of discernment walks a straight path.” Joy, abundant peace, i.e. unconcern about problems in the word, are a folly as they bespeak lack of sensitivity; only people practicing foolish pursuits enjoy such feelings. A discerning individual, instead of sitting back and enjoying his lack of immediate problems learns from this that he should use the opportunity to improve his character traits. This is why the Torah always holds out the promise of success in this world both for one’s body and for one’s soul when one performs the commandments written in the Torah. Such people are aware that the so-called serenity in this world is not an end itself seeing they are matters of interest only to the body, i.e. to the material parts of this universe. However, the purpose of the body, the material parts of this world, is to help us attain spiritual goals, i.e. to attain more knowledge about G’d. In this way we will ultimately attain the joy of receiving the radiations of light from His face. This is our real objective. The Torah therefore assures us that the path to achieving our true aim is via performance of the commandments which in due course will result in our acquiring the merit to enjoy eternal life, something we failed to achieve even with the help of the first and the second Temple.

אם בחקותי תלכו ואת מצותי תשמרו ועשיתם אותם, “if you will walk in My statutes and observe My commandments and carry them out;” the statutes referred to here are the laws about Shemittah and Yovel which were mentioned in the previous portion. Now the Torah adds that if we observe this legislation G’d will provide rain at the appropriate time and will bless our harvests and all the growth of the earth in order to provide us with abundance of physical and material blessings.

ונתתי שלום בארץ, “and I will provide peace on earth.” After G’d listed a whole string of blessings which He would provide, the Torah concludes with the ultimate blessing, peace. Our sages in Sifra Bechukotai 1,8 say that the blessing of peace is a reminder that regardless of how much food and drink a person has, if he is not blessed with peace and security the other blessings are of little value. To live in peace and security in Eretz Yisrael is as important as all the other blessings combined.

A kabbalistic approach to the words: “I will grant peace in your land, etc.” This was a promise that the foundation of the universe (עולם) (known as the emanation יסוד) will remain connected to the ארץ of which the Torah spoke in Genesis 1,1 when mention of earth first occurs. That verse alluded to the mystical dimension of the ten emanations. It is this kind of “peace” with which the Jewish people residing in the land of Israel will be blessed as a consequence of keeping the laws of the Torah. This is the meaning of Solomon in Kohelet 3,11 גם את העולם נתן בלבם, “He also put the world into their heart.” The heart is another word for the earth in the universe, i.e. it is like a wheel within a wheel (Ezekiel 1,16) and the emanation known as כל suffuses everything, i.e. is בכל. Seeing that the abundance (of G’d’s blessings) emanates from the emanations נצח והוד to earth via the emanation יסוד, and the two emanations נצח והוד symbolise the למודי ה', the learned people who have intimate knowledge of the Lord, the sages (Berachot 64) stated that these Torah scholars help increase the peace which is found on earth. They proved this from a verse in Isaiah 54,13: וכל בניך למודי ה' ורב שלום בניך, “when all your children are imbued with knowledge of the Lord, there will be abundant peace among your children.”

ורדפו מכם חמשה מאה, “and five of you will take up the pursuit of one hundred (of the enemy).” The verse goes on: “and one hundred of you (in units of five) will pursue ten thousand of the enemy.” When you understand the verse in this manner you will have no difficulty with the apparently inflated ratio of Israelites pursuing the enemy. The ratio of one Israelite to 20 of the enemy is the same in both parts of the verse. The sages (Sifra Bechukotai 2,4) were not fazed by the apparently lopsided ratio and explained that the power of a few people keeping the Torah is increased out of all proportion when the groups of Torah-observant people increase in number. This is why when there are large numbers of observant Jews they may even put one hundred times their number to flight.

ופניתי אליכם, “I will turn (My attention) to you, etc.” I will cause that My grace will remain attached to you. It is a well known fact that this state of affairs is the objective of the intelligence with which man has ben equipped. What is known as 'רצון ה', “G’d’s grace (goodwill),” is what עולם הבא, the world of the future, is all about. We have an allusion to this in Psalms 30,6 that רגע באפו חיים ברצונו, (normally translated as) “a moment of His anger is like a lifetime of His goodwill.” Here the meaning is understood to be the combined amount of time G’d is angry at the creatures in the terrestrial universe. Or, “G’d needs to vent His anger for a moment at the creatures in the terrestrial world in order for them to ultimately merit enjoying His goodwill in the world to come.” It is as a moment compared to the infinitely long time, “a lifetime.” He displays goodwill in the hereafter. When G’d speaks of והתהלכתי בתוככם, “I will walk among you,” in verse 12, we must not understand this in the purely physical sense, but according to Sifra Bechukotai 3,3 it means that in the future, in the hereafter we have described, the Lord will go for a walk among the righteous who have taken their places in that world. The word may be compared to when G’d used to “walk about” in Gan Eden, in Genesis 3,5. It is a metaphor for G’d’s attribute כבוד feeling at home among people. The written Torah, ever at pains to express concepts which do not exist on earth in language we understand, describes such concepts in words we can understand. The word בתוככם, “among you,” may be understood as related to something round, without beginning or end, a circle in which every spot is equidistant from the centre. People who dance in a circle are happy, seeing all of them are equidistant from the point which is the centre, i.e. in this instance the point where G’d is perceived to be. Having said that G’d will relate to the Jewish people like the point, centre inside a circle, the Torah goes on to describe the Lord as being G’d for the Jewish people (verse 13). This is an illustration of Isaiah 25,9 who speaks of the Jewish people saying (something sounding almost blasphemous) “here is this One who is our G’d.” This verse is describing graphically the closeness in terms of knowledge and intellectual appreciation of the Lord which will exist in that idyllic period. Just as certain people have intimate psychological knowledge and understanding of certain ones of their friends, so the righteous at that time will have insights into the way G’d operates. Naturally, the word “this” in the verse in Isaiah is not to be understood literally anymore than the mixed multitude speaking of the absent Moses in Exodus 32,1 when they said: “for this man Moses, etc.” meant by the word זה, “this,” that they could see Moses at that time. Seeing that Moses had been well known to the people, it was in order to refer to him as “this man,” even though he was not physically present and visible at that time. In other words, our paragraph is an illustration of the fact that there is reward in the hereafter for good deeds performed in this life. The Torah garbed this information in language we can understand, relying on our intellectual astuteness to understand what is meant. It is an unusual thing for the Torah to do this as the Torah does not generally spell out matters relating to the world of disembodied spirits. Even our prophets did not have a clear understanding of what goes on in that world, so that our sages in Berachot 34 went on record saying that all the prophecies of the prophets related only to matters on earth, no one having become privy to anything which goes on in that other world except G’d Himself.” Further proof that this paragraph does refer to matters transpiring in the afterlife is the indisputable fact that the promises recorded here have never come true in history, in life on earth.

ונתתי משכני בתוככם ולא תגעל נפשי אתכם, “I will place My Sanctuary among you and My spirit will not reject you.” The word געילה, is an expression of פליטה, “retching, vomiting.” We find the word in that sense in Samuel II 1,21 כי שם נגעל מגן גבורים, “for there (Gilboa) the shield of warriors lay rejected.” David (the author) meant that the shield of the Jewish warriors had rejected the oil of anointing applied to them. In a similar vein we can understand verse 44 in our chapter לא מאסתים ולא געלתים, {even when I punished them by exiling them) “I did not despise them or reject them.” G’d is saying that He did not drive the Jewish people away from Him. Onkelos translates the words ולא תגעל נפשי אתכם similarly, saying ולא ירחק מימרי יתכון.

A kabbalistic approach: the word נפשי when applied to G’d is a reference to the Shechinah, an attribute of the Lord. We have another example of the use of this word in that sense in Psalms 24,4 אשר לא נשא לשוא נפשו, “who did not utter a false oath using His attribute of נפש.” The formula swearing an oath had first been used in the Ten Commandments where G’d forbade mentioning His name in vain with the words לא תשא את שם ה' אלוקיך לשוא, “do not utter the name of the Lord your G’d in vain” (Exodus 207). At that point Onkelos translated the same words i.e. לשום את שמו in Deut. 12,5 as לאשראה שכינתה, “to verify the Shechinah.” [The author quotes a number of scriptural texts all of which are supposed to prove that the attribute referred to here as נפש is the attribute of Justice. Seeing that the Torah had already mentioned that G’d had established His Sanctuary among us, i.e. that His presence was amongst the Jewish people, it would be a repetition to understand the word נפשי in our verse as a reference to the same attribute. It is far more likely then to refer to the attribute of Justice, and the Torah promises that even that attribute will not reject the Jewish people. One example where the word נפשי is obviously a reference to that attribute is Jeremiah 5,9 ואם בגוי אשר כזה לא תתנקם נפשי, “shall I not bring retribution to a nation such as this?” I have paraphrased and condensed this somewhat. Ed.]

ואולך אתכם קוממיות, ”I made you walk erect.” [The author clearly understands this paragraph as promises for the future rather than as a record of the past. Ed.]. I (author speaking) have already mentioned previously that the promises made in this paragraph have never been fulfilled during the period when the two Temples were standing. They will, however, be fulfilled in the future. Our sages have used this verse to prove the height of average man will be 200 cubits, twice the height of Adam prior to his sin (Sanhedrin 100). We find a similar statement in Baba Batra 75, i.e. that the meaning of the word קוממיות in our verse is two heights of man according to the view of Rabbi Meir, or two hundred cubits as this is twice the height of the Temple of Herod (after restoration of the second Temple built in the days of Zerubabel). The Talmud in Sanhedrin 100 elaborates on the subject of phenomenal developments in the future by stating that G’d would bring to Jerusalem gemstones of gigantic proportions embedding them in the gates of Jerusalem, etc. In their discussion, the sages quote from Isaiah 54,12 that the gates of Jerusalem will be made of precious stones, etc. [I am condensing this as the reader can read up that section and more in the (translated) Talmud. The important thing is that the sages of the Talmud did not engage in metaphors here seeing that a student who had first ridiculed some of these predictions until he had been quoted the relevant verses from Scripture was fixed by an angry stare of his teacher as a result of which he died and his limbs turned into a heap of ashes. The fact that he did not believe his teacher until given proof was considered heresy, and the terrible punishment would not have been applied to matters which are merely metaphors. Ed.]

The reason that this chapter containing the blessings begins with the letter א and ends with the last letter of the aleph bet, the letter ת, is to teach that all these blessings are not likely to become manifest in stages, in installments, but that when the Israelites will observe the Torah from א-ת, from the first letter of the aleph bet to the last letter, only then will all the blessings promised here become due. The paragraph dealing with a variety of curses in the event the Israelites would fail to observe the Torah’s commandments begins with the letter א in verse 14 and concludes with he letter ה at the end of verse 46. In other words, all these curses represent only half of the letters in the tetragramaton, the last half. This is what the psalmist referred to in Psalm 91,15 when he said עמו אנכי בצרה, “I remain with him (the Jewish people) when it is in distress.”

If you will count the number of verses the Torah devoted to the list of blessings and the list of curses respectively, you will find that the Torah used more verses to describe the curses. This phenomenon is repeated in the Book of Deuteronomy where Moses composed both the blessings and the curses (with the approval of G’d). The psychology behind this phenomenon is to warn people of how much harm they will do to themselves if they do not follow the instructions and advice of the Torah to observe the commandments. We find a similar phenomenon already at the revelation at Mount Sinai when the attribute of Justice appeared as the awe-inspiring manifestation of thunder-lightning-smoke and trembling of the ground, whereas the attribute of Mercy was wrapped inside of this, not drawing attention to itself. This is in line with the statement of the sons of Korach in Psalms 45,14 that כל כבודה בת מלך פנימה, “that all the honour and glory of the King’s daughter is within,” i.e. that the attribute of כבוד is found not in the fancy garments described in that very verse but beyond it, inside it, where it is not visually imposing. [Elijah’s experience at Mount Chorev in Kings I 19,8 where after the powerful manifestations of other attributes, G’d, i.e. Hashem, finally appears to him as a mere whisper, was of the same kind. Ed.]

A Midrash, aware of the tendency of people to read something negative into the relatively short list of blessings, warns us not to say that G’d did not offer many verses containing blessings but instead devoted so many verses to the list of curses and that this reflects on the preponderance of the attribute of Justice. We should note instead that the list of blessings commences with the letter א, i.e. אם בחקותי תלכו and concludes with the letter ת, i.e. the blessings cover all the letters of the aleph bet, whereas by contrast the curses begin with the letter ו and conclude with the letter ה, as if to show that they go in reverse order and do not even cover one single whole letter of the aleph bet. It is not the number of verses which reflects the relative strength of the attribute of Mercy and the attribute of Justice but the order in which these letters are arranged, i.e. the attribute of Mercy is far greater.

ואם לא תשמעו לי, “and if you do not listen to Me, etc.” The Torah refers to the people not heeding the instruction to study Torah; it goes on to list a succession of seven different sins, each progressively more serious than the preceding one. The words ולא תעשון, “and you will not perform,” are a direct result of your failing to study Torah. The next sin which results from the previous one is that you will “despise My statutes.” The reason for this is that you do not know he reasons behind this legislation. Having reached the stage of rejecting part of My laws you will also find fault with My משפטים, social legislation, feeling revolted by them. Your negative attitude will include both such legislation involving stealing and robbery as well as regulations governing with whom you may have sexual intercourse. You, in common with the Gentiles, will find such legislation burdensome, often running counter to your natural instincts, especially when people whom you believe you love are forbidden to you as marriage partners. The Torah is aware of the impact of this legislation and this is why in verse 43, at the end of the paragraph, it repeats once more that your failure to observe these commandments is the principal cause of all the disasters predicted in this chapter. When the Torah speaks about לבלתי עשות את כל מצותי, “not to perform all My commandments” (verse 15), this is not a repetition but means that not only will you not observe My commandments but you will try to prevent others from performing them, i.e. the words mean: ”so that they will not be performed.” The words: “all My commandments,” mean that you have reached the stage when you deny the validity of any of My laws. This accounts for the sixth of the seven sins we said are listed in the introduction to the warning of retributive action by G’d. Finally, the seventh sin is described as להפרכם את בריתי, “to breach My covenant,” i.e. you deny the essential tenets of Judaism. The verses 14-15 are a model lesson of the Talmudic axiom that “one sin brings another sin in its wake.”

אף אני אעשה זאת לכם, “also I will do this to you.” According to the plain meaning of the text, seeing that G’d’s mode of operation in our universe is based on the principle of reciprocity, מדה כנגד מדה, G’d says: “I will bring to bear upon you seven different kinds of retributions, each in response to one of your sins.”

את השחפת ואת הקדחת, “swelling lesions and burning fever;” these are two separate punishments; in order that these phenomena not be considered as not life-threating, the Torah adds the words מחלות עינים ומדיבות נפש, “which cause the eyes to pine and the souls to languish;” [Our author would translate these words as “ruining the eyes and the soul, Ed.] When this (result) occurs this is the third of the seven retributions to be visited on the Israelites.

וזרעתם לריק זרעכם ואכלוהו אויביכם, “you will sow your seed in vain as your enemies will consume them” (the harvest). The fifth is ונתתי פני בכם ונגפתם, “I will set My face against you and you will be routed by your enemies.” The sixth punishment is: “your foes will dominate you.” Finally, the seventh and last punishment is: “you shall flee though none pursues.” This then is the meaning of the words in verse 18 שבע על חטאתכם, “seven in response to your (seven) sins.” There is a second set of 7 different disasters beginning with verse 19 the first of which is: “I will break your proud glory;” the glory referred to is the Holy Temple. The Temple has been referred to as גאון עזכם, ”the pride of your power,” in Ezekiel 24,21. The second disaster is described as “your skies will turn to iron;” the third that “your earth will be like copper.” The fourth in this series are the words “so that your strength will be spent to no purpose.” The fifth is described as: “your land shall not yield its produce.” The sixth and seventh are the failure of the tree to yield (either its timber) or its fruit,“ The curse on the trees is divided into two parts, a) the tree will not yield; b) fruit. The words לא יתן, “it will not yield,” are used both for the tree and its fruit as separate contributions made by trees to man’s comfort. The Torah continues to list yet another seven kinds of disasters as follows: 1) “I will loose wild beasts against you;” this is actually a reference to three different forms of disasters as it includes free roaming beasts, domesticated four-legged animals, and all kinds of creeping creatures; 4) “they shall bereave you of your children;” 5) “they will kill your cattle;” 6) “they shall decimate you;” 7) they will make your roads desolate.” A fourth group of seven retributions begins with verse 23; it is introduced by the words: “if after all the foregoing you still have not been chastised to return to Me:” G’d now speaks about striking back at the Jewish people seven times for their sins. This group of plagues commences with 1) the avenging sword which avenges the breach of the covenant with G’d (verse 25); 2) “you will be delivered to your cities (do not venture outside);” 3) “I will send pestilence against you.” 4) “I will deliver you into he hands of your enemy.” 5) “I will break the staff of your bread” (by famine); 5) “ten women will bake bread having only one oven between them;” 6) “they will bring back your bread by weight” (sharing out merely crumbs) (verse 26). 7) “you will eat without becoming sated.” A fifth string of seven acts of retributions is in store for you if all the ones that have hit you thus far have failed to be effective. This string commences with verse 29: 1) eating your own children; 2) destruction of lofty buildings and decimating sun-gods. Casting your carcasses upon the carcasses of your idols; 4) “My spirit will reject you.” 5) Destruction of the cities. 6) Ruin of your temples by foreign troops. 7) refusal of G’d to accept your sacrificial offerings. In verse 32 the Torah speaks of: “I will make the land desolate.” This is not part of the disasters visited upon the Jewish people but it means that the conquerors will not feel at home in Eretz Yisrael after they have conquered it.

A kabbalistic approach: the word אני, “I”, in the sequence אף אני אעשה זאת לכם in verse 16 is a reference to the attribute of Justice. In fact wherever this expression does occur when G’d is speaking it refers to that attribute of Justice. This consideration is what prompted Nachmanides to comment on verse 18 that the attribute אני is equivalent to the word זאת in that verse. The last letter ה in the tetragram alludes to this attribute, i.e. it is employed by G’d to discipline man at the time G’d is angry. This is the reason why the Torah writes in verse 18 ויספתי ליסרה אתכם, “I will continue to afflict and discipline you,” [this would be strange seeing that the Torah had not previously spoken about G’d “disciplining” the people. However, if אני and זאת are the same attribute the verse makes perfect sense. Ed.] The extra letter ה at the end of the word ליסרה instead of merely the word ליסר which we would have expected, refers to that last letter ה in the tetragrammaton which is the allusion to the attribute of Justice in that name Hashem. It is a reduced form of the attribute of Justice. The very word ויספתי implies something additional, not part of the essence. G’d Himself used this word when He said after the deluge (Genesis 8,21) לא אוסיף לקלל עוד את האדמה, “I will not add additional curses against the earth, etc.” This was a promise not to employ the attribute of Justice in a stronger form. [G’d’s “feelings” about man’s failures have been discussed at greater length on Genesis 6,6 both in the homiletical and kabbalistic sections of our author’s commentary. Ed.] When David says in Psalms 27,3 אם תקום עלי מלחמה בזאת אני בוטח, the proper way to understand this verse is that: “if war breaks out against me then I rely on the limiting factor of the attribute אני which is expressed by the use of the word זאת, i.e. a reduced form of the attribute of Justice.” We find another allusion to this meaning of the added letter ה at the end of a word where we would not expect it in Maleachi 3,7: שובו אלי ואשובה אליכם, “return to Me and I shall return to you.” The word should have been אשוב. The letterה at the end is an allusion to the reduced form of the attribute of Justice as represented by the last letter ה in the tetragram. We may therefore understand verse 18 to mean that “although I am the attribute of Justice, I do not relate to you with the full impact of Justice but restrain that attribute as is inherent in the word אני,” a reference to the reduced impact of the attribute of Justice when it is part of the tetragram, i.e. Hashem. As to the expression שבע על חטאתכם, normally translated as: “seven times on account of your sins,” the kabbalistic meaning is that these words were spoken by the attribute זאת, the one which had said ויסרתי, “I shall discipline,” and והכתי, “I shall strike;” this attribute is also known as שבע or בת שבע, the mother of Solomon. This is why the prophet Isaiah 50,1 said: ובפשעכם שלחה אמכם, “on account of your sins your mother was dismissed.” [Seeing that Bat Sheva, Solomon’s mother was in a state of incomplete divorce when she first encountered David, a divorce whose effectiveness depended on her husband’s not returning from war, the prophet compares her rejection, i.e. a conditional rejection, to the rejection of the Jewish people by G’d without a decree of divorce. This is presumably why Kabbalists describe the ”weaker” state of the attribute of Justice by calling that attribute שבע or בת שבע, Ed.]

ואם תלכו עמי קרי, “and if you behave casually with me, etc. This is the way a Torah-oriented Jew relates to his experiences: if he is successful in his endeavours he does not credit his astuteness with his success but sees in it an act of loving kindness by Hashem; he certainly does not think that he was so deserving an individual that G’d rewarded him for his righteousness by granting him this success. This is the Torah’s warning in Deut. 9,5: “not because of your righteousness and the uprightness of your heart are you coming to possess their land, etc.” However, if bad fortune strikes a Torah-observant Jew (or what he perceives as bad fortune), the first thing he must do is to confess his personal inadequacies and assume that the reason for his afflictions are sins which he committed; on no account is he to attribute his misfortune to “bad luck,” i.e. to coincidence. If he were to make the mistake of doing so he will find that G’d adds more such “bad luck” as a punishment for his mistaken attitude. In other words, the mistaken notion that his fate was due to coincidence, מקרה, causes G’d to add more such מקרים"“. This is what is meant when G’d said in verse 24: “also I will behave toward you with casualness.” The Torah repeats the same sentiment in verse 28 in an accentuated form. In that instance the קרי will be an expression of G’d’s anger, חמה. It will appear as if G’d is “unloading” a measure of such coincidences on the Jew who refuses to heed the warnings expressed here.

ואפו עשר נשים, “and ten women will bake (in one oven).” This number is not to be understood literally, but is an example of an unusually large number, not appropriate for the subject under discussion. We find an example of this in Job 19,3 where he said: “you humiliate me ten times.” It means that Job complained about being humiliated time and again. The reason the number “ten” is used to illustrate such concepts of something occurring frequently is because this number is the conclusion of a number of digits which are all included in it. The number “seven” has similar properties as it includes all the days of the week, a recurring phenomenon. When Solomon writes in Proverbs 24,16 that a righteous person can fall seven times and recover, this does not mean that he cannot recover an eighth time, but that he can recover after having fallen many times. The Torah describes Yaakov as prostrating himself before his brother Esau “seven times” in Genesis 33,3. The number “seven” need not be understood literally but is a metaphor for “many times.” The reason that that number has become the symbol of “many times” may be that the only sequential combination of letters in the aleph bet which produces the number seven are the letters ג and ד, a combination of these two numbers as letters yields the word דג, fish, a species whose rate of multiplying is described as ישרצו, in Genesis 1,20 as “the waters shall teem with fish.” Yaakov applied this to human beings also when he blessed Joseph’s children wishing וידגו לרב בקרב הארץ, “may they increase abundantly as fish,” in Genesis 48,16. We may therefore view both the number seven and the number ten as metaphors for large numbers of something.

והשמותי את מקדשיכם, “I will make your Sanctuaries desolate.” The fact that the Torah still refers to these buildings as “sanctuaries,” is to teach us that even when they have been destroyed their sites retain their original sanctity (compare Megillah 28). We read in Midrash Tehillim (11,4) “Rabbi Pedot said that regardless of the Sanctuary being operative or destroyed, the Shechinah did not depart from that site as it is written in Psalms 11,4: ה' בהיכל קדשו ה' בשמים ה' בשמים כסאו, ‘the Lord is in His holy palace, the Lord- His throne is in heaven.’” The psalmist says that although G’d is in His Sanctuary in heaven on His throne, His Shechinah is in the Sanctuary on earth. The fact that this Sanctuary retains its sanctity is derived from Kings I 9,3: “My eyes and My heart will remain there forever.” Another verse in Scripture stating the same is found in Psalms 3,5: ”He answers me from His holy mountain selah,” (forever). Even though it is now only a mountain (as opposed to a Sanctuary) it retains its sanctity, selah. Another verse having a bearing on this subject is found in Micah 4,10: “for now you must leave the city and dwell (ושכנת) in the field;” the fact that the prophet says of G’d (Shechinah) that it will continue to “dwell,” means it will be at home. [According to the author’s version of Micah, the word we have as ושכנת was spelled as ושכנתי, “I will dwell”. Ed.] This means that although the area has become as desolate as a field, the Shechinah will continue to dwell there. Rabbi Acha said that the Shechinah has never departed from the Western Wall as it is written in Song of Songs 2,9: “there He stands behind our wall.”

ושממו עליה אויביכם, “your foes who dwell upon it will be desolate.” The desolation will be experienced by your enemies who will never feel comfortable in your land. This verse is good news for the Jewish people. G’d promises this in order that Jews in exile should never have to lament that seeing that they have been exiled from the Holy Land, others will now experience the pleasures to be experienced in that land. Thus far Sifra Bechukotai 6,8 on our verse. As a result the peoples who will dwell there will not engage in civilising the country which they took over as desolate; they will not wall their cities. Any nation attempting to rebuild this country will find themselves lacking in strength to do so. This is a tremendous source of encouragement for exiled Jews that the land awaits their eventual return to it before it will begin to bloom again.

בשבתכם עליה, “when you used to dwell on it.” From the words אז תרצה, “then it will be appeased,” in verse 34, up until the words בשבתכם עליה here, you will find ten references to Shemittah, in one form or another. The message is that the 70 years of exile in Babylon represented ten shemittah cycles. Seeing that the entire Torah is a string of allusions to the past and the future there is nothing surprising in this.

וכשלו איש באחיו, “they will stumble over one another, etc.” According to Sanhedrin 27 the Torah means that they will stumble each over the sins committed by the other, i.e. their reciprocal responsibility which they disregarded became their undoing. This is also what Moses had in mind in Deut. 29,9 when he described each Israelite as “standing upright” at that time, (i.e. not stumbling over his fellow’s sins). The example for this reciprocal responsibility was illustrated most powerfully when because of failure to admonish Achan who had taken money from the loot of Jericho declared sacred for the Temple, this sin became the cause of Israel losing its first campaign after the capture of Jericho. (compare Joshua chapter seven with special emphasis on verse 11) [Contrary to Moses who had asked G’d in connection with Korach why the sin of one man should cause G’d’s anger against a whole nation, in Achan’s case G’d spelled out that it did. Ed.] G’d tells Joshua that “Israel has sinned;” He did not tell him that “an Israelite had sinned.” The whole nation was held responsible for the sin of an individual. An accessory after the fact, i.e. someone who does not admonish the sinner has made himself his partner. Seeing that what Achan had done could not have been concealed completely, there had already been many accessories. This incident prompted the sages in Shir Hashirim Rabbah 6,16 to comment that the use of the word "nut” in אל גנת האגוז ירדתי, “I went down to the nut-grove” (Song of Songs 6,11), describes that just as it is impossible to pluck one walnut without making the whole tree shake, so it is impossible for an individual to commit a sin without ripples of what he did affecting the entire Jewish people. This is what had bothered Moses in Numbers 16,22: “one man sinned and You are angry at the whole congregation!”

ואז ירצו את עונם, “and then they shall atone for their iniquity.” This verse served the sages in Mechilta Bachodesh 10 as proof that afflictions suffered achieve atonement for the victim just as sacrifices offered achieve atonement; the word ירצו here and the same root used in connection with the sacrificial offerings, i.e. נרצה, is proof that the purpose and effect of such offerings is the same (Leviticus 1,4). Here the Torah speaks about afflictions suffered by the body, in Leviticus 1,4 the “physical affliction’s” equivalent is the financial expense involved in buying the animal which is killed.

וזכרתי את בריתי יעקב, “I shall remember My covenant with Yaakov, etc.” Here the Torah lists the names of the patriarchs in the reverse order of their historical roles. The reason for this, according to the plain meaning of the text, is that Yaakov was mentioned first so that if the (unexpired) merit of Yaakov sufficed to activate G’d’s attribute of Mercy the merits of the other patriarchs, i.e. our spiritual capital, would not have to be invoked. If the sins to be offset by the merits of the patriarchs were greater than the combined unused merits of Yaakov, G’d promises to also invoke the merits of Yitzchak, and failing this the merits of Avraham. The expression “I will remember,” is used only in connection with Yaakov and Avraham; G’d does not need to “remember” the merits of Yitzchak as the heap of ashes of the ram burned in his stead is constantly present in G’d’s eye (Compare Rashi).

A Midrashic approach (found in Vayikra Rabbah 36,4): when mentioning the memory of Avraham and Yitzchak the Torah adds the word אף to signify that both these patriarchs had also sired and raised an Ishmael and Esau respectively, thus causing G’d to become angry; in connection with Yaaov that word is missing seeing all his children remained true to their father’s teaching, to Torah-values. The Torah has listed the merits of the patriarchs. How do we know that G’d will also invoke the merits of the four matriarchs? These are alluded to by the extra word את before mention of the word בריתי, “My covenant.” The word את describing the matriarchs is not unique in our verse. We find this word as referring to three of the matriarchs when Yaakov tells his sons that these three matriarchs had been buried either by him or his forefather in the cave of Machpelah (compare Genesis 47,31). This is also confirmed by Sifra Bechukotai 8,8.

Personally, I believe that the word אף used in connection with G’d remembering Yitzchak and Avraham respectively is an allusion to the attribute of Justice such as in Genesis 18,23 האף תספה צדיק עם רשע. Both Avraham and Yitzchak had an equal part in the binding of Yitzchak, each one of them suppressing their natural instincts; Avraham suppressed the father’s instinct by demonstrating obedience to G’d and being prepared to slaughter his son, whereas Yitzchak suppressed the natural survival instinct by not challenging his father who made him the victim of G’d’s commandment and by submitting to being slaughtered. When the Torah wrote on that occasion (Genesis 22,6) “they both walked together,” the point of that statement is to show that both father and son shared equally in that merit, they both had the same thing in mind, namely to submit to the attribute of Justice. In our verse the name Yaakov is spelled with the extra letter ו, something quite unusual which we find only on five occasions in the entire Bible. This corresponds to five other places in the Bible where the name Elijah, normally spelled as אליהו is spelled with the letter ו at the end of his name missing, i.e. as אליה. According to Rashi what all this means is that Yaakov took a letter from Elijah’s name as a guarantee, as collateral, that the prophet would make an appearance on earth announcing the advent of the redemption of the Jewish people.

Another Midrashic comment (Vayikra Rabbah 36,4) relates to why the Torah mentions the merit of the earth, i.e. the soil of the Holy Land, as a factor in evoking the attribute of Mercy. Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish explains this by means of a parable. A king had three daughters who were being raised by one female governess. Whenever he inquired after the welfare of his daughters, he added that they should also concern themselves with how that governess was faring. Thus far the Midrash. In other words, the Holy land is our governess and contributes much to the welfare of the Jewish people. Looked at with a little more sophistication, the three בנות, daughters, in that parable are metaphors for the attributes and merits of the patriarchs.

A kabbalistic approach: The reason that the Torah mentions Yaakov first in the list of the patriarchs is because he represented the attribute זכור which is an alternate name for the attribute of Mercy. The Torah wanted to arrange the attributes (or emanations) in ascending order. There are a total of seven such attributes of which Yaakov represents four, i.e. he is always perceived as accompanied by two עמודי שמים, heavenly pillars, plus the קו האמצעי, the centre “line” of the diagram of emanations (which we mentioned many times). This “centre line” which also reconciles the left and right side of the emanations, is represented here by the additional letter ו in Yaakov’s name. Then there are the attributes represented by Avraham and Yitzchak (one each) plus the earth (Eretz Yisrael) which completes the seventh attribute. Each one of the patriarchs is described by the Torah as “My covenant”, [a reference to the patriarchs in their functions as the celestial counterparts of the physical patriarchs we are familiar with. Ed. ]. The land of Israel which formed part of the covenant G’d concluded with each of the patriarchs is an integral part of that “covenant” and this is why it is mentioned here. We find this order of the attributes alluded to more clearly in Deuteronomy 4,37 where Moses said: ויוציאך בפניו בכחו הגדול ממצרים, normally translated simply as: “He took you out before Him with His great strength from Egypt.” [According to the Kabbalists these adjectives have more profound meaning, hence the author explains. Ed.] The word בפניו is a reference to Yaakov as we know from Psalms 24,6 מבקשי פניך יעקב סלה, “those who seek Your Presence, Yaakov, forever.” The word בכחו in that verse in Deut. refers to Yitzchak, [traditionally a symbol of גבורה, strength. Ed.] whereas the word הגדול refers to Avraham .

Another reason why Yaakov has been mentioned first in the list of the patriarchs is in order for the attribute כבוד to look first at the image engraved in the chayot of the מרכבה, and thereby evoke feelings of mercy toward the Jewish people. [I suppose the reference is to the often mentioned tradition that Yaakov’s features are engraved on the throne of G’d in the celestial regions. Ed.] The reason that Yaakov’s name here is spelled with the extra letter ו is a reference to the fact that he represents the sixth of the emanations, תפארת, harmony. This letter is also one found in the tetragrammaton...

...[At this point the author refers to details of the vision of Ezekiel in chapter one of his book, in speculations about the four chayot mentioned having four faces each, etc. I have omitted this as it is of interest only to advanced students of Kabbalah. Ed.]

In order to avoid any misunderstanding, (author ‘s words), the Midrash which referred to the patriarchs as “daughters being raised by a governess” does not understand the reference to the patriarchs as to their celestial counterparts but as being to Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov as we know them as the ancestors of the Jewish nation.

ואף גם זאת, “But in spite of all this, etc.” according to the plain meaning of the text the Torah assures us that even when the Jewish people will be in exile G’d will not despise them there but will keep His covenant with them.

A Midrashic approach based on Sifra quoted presently: the word זאת refers to the Torah in which it is written וזאת התורה, “this” is the Torah (Deut. 4,44). The verse is a hint that the Torah will not depart from the Jewish people when they are in exile. This promise is parallel to a similar promise by Moses in Deut. 31,21 כי לא תשכח מפי זרעו, “she will not be forgotten from the mouth of its offspring.” Our sages in Sifra Bechukotai 8,10 used this verse to say that the only thing which the Jewish people will retain of all their former glory and which will ensure that they are not totally despised is the Torah. If this had been taken from them also they would be entitled to claim that G’d had totally despised them and been revolted by them.

לא מאסתים, “I do not despise them.” This is a reference to exile under Emperor Vespasianus. ולא געלתים, “and I do not reject them,” during the days of the Greek dominance of the land of Israel. לכלותם להפר בריתי אתם, “to annul My covenant with them.” This is a reference to the time of Haman. כי אני ה' אלוהיהם, “for I am the Lord their G’d.” This refers to the period known as Gog and Magog. This is a period when no creature will be able to dominate or rule over the Israelites.

When you review this whole paragraph starting with the words ואם לא תשמעו in verse 14 until the conclusion of verse 43, you will find that it contains 390 words. This is the total number of years that the tribes sinned in the land of Israel prior to heir being exiled. The period commenced with the declaration in Samuel II 20,1: “we do not have a share in David nor a common inheritance with the son of Yishai.” [This was Sheva ben Bichri’s call to rebellion against the Kingdom of David and occurred during the last years of David’s reign. Ed.] You will find that in Chronicles I 16,16 the word יצחק in the reference to ושבועתו ליצחק, is spelled with the letter ש instead of the letter צ, thus hinting at 390 years after which that oath that the land of Canaan would belong to the descendants of Yitzchak might expire. [The commonly accepted text of the Bible does not show that letter ש, though I have found that in Cassel’s version of comparative spellings in the Bible it is given as an alternate spelling. Ed.] It is assumed that G’d had sworn to Yitzchak that if his descendants would not sin for more than 390 years He would not decree exile for them. This is also alluded to in Ezekiel 4,5-6: “and I will impose upon you 390 days (years), corresponding to the days of their guilt; and so you shall bear the guilt for the House of Israel. When you have completed these, you shall lie another forty years on your right side, and bear the guilt of the House of Yehudah. One day for each year I impose upon you.”

A kabbalistic approach: The words ואף גם זאת are meant to include the כנסת ישראל the spiritual concept of the people of Israel. [The word אף then is understood as “also.” Ed.] The כנסת ישראל is known as זאת, as we know from Psalms 118,23 מאת ה' היתה זאת, “the כנסת ישראל emanated from the Lord,” (as well as from Genesis 49,28), and the verse would contain a promise that wherever the physical people of Israel would be exiled to an element of the Shechinah would remain with them. This is the deeper meaning of the words in verse 44: “I will not despise them and reject them to the point of totally destroying them.” This idea is also reflected in the hymn composed by Assaph (Psalms 80,15) “look down from heaven and see; take note of this (זאת) vine.” The words “look down from heaven and see,” are similar to Kings I 8, 32 ואתה תשמע השמים, “and You will listen (to the prayer) from heaven.” The words ופקד גפן זאת, “and take note of this vine,” should be understood as “and take not of the vine of זאת,” i.e. of the כנסת ישראל known as זאת. Among his other words Assaph also explained here that this vine known as זאת is well known through the wickedness referred to in verse 14 of the same Psalm as חזיר מיער, where the letter ע is suspended. The suspension of that letter is supposed to allude to the religion of the Romans. I have already mentioned this in connection with Genesis 36,31 about the kings of the Kingdom of Edom who preceded the first Jewish king. (See verse 39 there commencing with the words: “A Midrashic approach”. Ed.).

Remember that according to the Kabbalists there is a considerable difference between the meaning of the word גם and the word אף although both are used as forms of “also.” The word אף always refers to the addition of the attribute of Justice, whereas the word גם refers to the addition of the attribute of Mercy. The word גם is perceived as an abbreviation of the word גמילות חסדים, “performance of deeds of loving kindness.” One such example would be found in Genesis 30 6 וגם שמע בקולי, “and He also listened to my voice (in prayer, Rachel speaking).” According to this we may understand the words ואף גם זאת as a combination of the attribute of Justice and the attribute of Mercy as represented by the attribute זאת.

וזכרתי להם ברית ראשונים, “I will remember for their benefit the covenant with the ancients, etc.” After the Torah had mentioned the word וזכרתי in verse 42 referring to the three elder patriarchs who are already in the celestial regions, the Torah now applies the same wording to the covenants concluded with the people at Mount Sinai both in connection with the first and the second set of Tablets; it assures the Jewish people that the promises inherent in those covenants will also not be nullified by G’d entirely. The latter covenants are the ones concluded with the יוצאי מצרים, the participants in the Exodus from Egypt as opposed to the “earlier” ones referred to as ראשונים. This is why the Torah added here: 'אשר הוצאתי אותם מארץ מצרים לעיני הגוים להיות להם לאלוהים אני ה', “whom I took out of the land of Egypt in full view of all the nations, in order to be and remain their G’d, I am the Lord.” it is as if the Torah had added: “and in order to say to them at Mount Sinai: “I am the Lord your G’d who has taken you out of Egypt from the house of bondage, etc.” (Exodus 20,2).

A kabbalistic approach: the words ברית ראשונים, refer to the covenant with the first three emanations, the “first” ones compared to the following seven emanations. Grammatically, this is a construction similar to the one in Job 15,7 הראשון אדם תולד, “are you the first human being ever born?” [The point is that the word ראשון does not have to mean the objectively first, but is a word used relative to other, even identical phenomena which become manifest later in time. Ed.] Seeing that the Torah had mentioned the three “elder” patriarchs not in their genealogical order (compare verse 42) and I had explained that though three patriarchs are mentioned by name that the verse spoke of seven different attributes (emanations), now that the Torah again uses the term וזכרתי, “I will remember,” it refers to the fact that there had been a previous “remembrance” of the patriarchs in order to complete the בנין, the structure. Furthermore, the attribute of Mercy which was alluded to in the extra letter ו in the spelling of the name יעקוב, which is part of the seven attributes alluded to in that verse, is an aspect of the attribute of Mercy which also contains part of the attribute of Justice. In order to reassure the people in exile, G’d promises here that He will particularly remember the first set of “remembrance” in which the attribute of Mercy was portrayed as “self-sufficient,” not diluted through incorporating part of the attribute of Justice. Such an assurance was deemed necessary at this point seeing that the attribute which took the people out of Egypt was the attribute אני, a form of the attribute of Justice, and the declared objective was “to be their אלוהים, G’d,” as the attribute of Justice.