Pisqa’ 317¹⁰⁰

1. “Curds of the herd, and milk of the flocks” (Dt. 32:14)— as it was in the days of Solomon, for it is said: “Solomon’s daily provisions consisted of . . . ten well-fattened oxen, twenty pasturing oxen, and a hundred head from the flock” (1Ki. 5:2-3). “With the fat of lambs and rams” (Dt. 32:14)— as it was in the days of the ten tribes [after the division of Israel and Judah], for it is said: “Feasting on the lambs of the flock and the calves from within their stalls” (Am. 6:4). “With the richest part of the wheat” (Dt. 32:14)— as it was in the days of Solomon, for it is said: “Solomon’s bread ration for a single day was thirty kor of semolina” (1Ki. 5:2). “And the blood of the grape you drank as wine” (Dt. 32:14)— as it was in the days of the ten tribes [before the exile to Babylonia], for it is said: “Swilling wine from the jug” (Am. 6:6).

footnotes: ¹⁰⁰ H:323-325;JN2:341-344.

2. Another word: “He ensconced him above the heights of the Land” (Dt. 32:13)— this refers to the Holy Abode, which is higher than the rest of the world, as it is said: “And you shall arise and ascend to the place which HASHEM your God shall choose” (Dt. 17:8). And He says: “And many nations will come and say: Go and ascend the Mountain of HASHEM” (Is. 2:3) “And he ate the yield of My fields” (Dt. 32:13)— these are the baskets of First-fruits. “And He suckled him on honey from a boulder and oil from a flinty rock” (Dt. 32:13)— these are the oil-libations. “Curds of the herd and milk of the flocks, with the fat of lambs and rams” (Dt. 32:14)— this refers to the Purification-offering, the Holocaust-offering, the Communion-offering, the Thanksgiving-offering, the Guilt-offering, and the minor consecrations. “With the richest part of the wheat” (Dt. 32:14)— this is the Flour-offerings. “And the blood of the grape you drank as wine” (Dt. 32:14)— these are the Wine-libations.

3. Another word: “He ensconced it above the heights of the Land” (Dt. 32:13)— this refers to Torah,

**“HASHEM created Me at the beginning of His way” (Prov. 8:22).**¹⁰¹ “And he will eat the yield of My fields” (Dt. 32:13)— this refers to declamation of Scripture. “And He suckled him on honey from a boulder” (Dt. 32:13)— this refers to repeated tradition. “And oil from a flinty rock” (Dt. 32:13)— this refers to dialectics. “Curds of the herd, and milk of the flocks, With the fat of lambs and rams” (Dt. 32:14)— This refers to logical deductions, analogical reasoning, legal reasoning, and refutations. “With the richest part of the wheat” (Dt. 32:14)— these are the legal traditions, **which are the substance of Torah.**¹⁰² “And the blood of the grape you drank as wine” (Dt. 32:14)— this refers to the traditions of lore, which, like wine, tug at the human heart.¹⁰³ 306.16, 306.18, 317.4, 344.2, etc.

footnotes: ¹⁰¹ //M. Avot6:9. ¹⁰² // M. Hag. 1:9; cf. T. Hag. 1:9, M. Avot 3:18). ¹⁰³ For other examples of midrashic naturalization of rabbinic intellectual skills with Scriptural texts, see Pisqa’ot

4. Another word: “He ensconced it above the heights of the Land” (Dt. 32:13)— this refers to the world, For it is said: “The wild boar of the forest ruins it” (Ps. 80:14).¹⁰⁴ is the implied object of Ps. 80:10: “uproot its roots” as well as the boar’s depredations at Ps. 80:14). Cf. renderings of Basser, p. 119 and H:498, Pisqa’ 317, n. 3. “And he will eat the yield of My fields” (Dt. 32:13)— this refers to the [taxes of the] four Empires.¹⁰⁵ 313.5. “And He suckled him on honey from a boulder, And oil from a flinty rock” (Dt. 32:13)— These are the [Roman] oppressors, who occupy the Land of Israel. [They are skin-flints,] for whom spending a perutah is like squeezing a stone.¹⁰⁶ Yet, in a future tomorrow, Israel will indeed inherit their wealth, And will delight in it as if it were oil and honey.

footnotes: ¹⁰⁴ The world ¹⁰⁵ That is, Persia, Media, Greece, and Rome. See Pisqa’ ¹⁰⁶ There is some degree of confusion about the textual situation. See F:360, critical apparatus, l.1, and Basser, p. 120.

“Curds of the herd” (Dt. 32:14)— this refers to their appointees and officers.¹⁰⁷ “officer” (Greek*: hegemon), cf. 327.1. See F:360, ns. 1, 3, 4, 5 for the Greek and Latin calques that underlie these official titles. “With the richest part of the wheat” (Dt. 32:14)— This refers to their clerics.¹⁰⁸. “And rams” (Dt. 32:14)— this refers to their centurions.¹⁰⁹ “And rams of Bashan” (Dt. 32:14)— this refers to their beneficiaries,*¹¹⁰,. who extract the very crumbs between our teeth.¹¹¹ : Note the assonance with Bashan and beneficiarii “And billy-goats” (Dt. 32:14)— this refers to their senators.¹¹² “With the richest part of the wheat” (Dt. 32:14)— this refers to their noble ladies.¹¹³ “And the blood of the grape you drank as wine” (Dt. 32:14)— Yet, in a future tomorrow, Israel will indeed inherit their wealth, And will delight in it as if it were oil and honey.

footnotes: ¹⁰⁷ “Appointee” or “governor” (Greek: hupatikos); ¹⁰⁸ Greek: kiliarkos ¹⁰⁹ Latin: centurio ¹¹⁰ Latin: beneficiarii. ¹¹¹ Heb: bein shinayim ¹¹² Greek: sunkletos. ¹¹³ Latin: matron.

Another word: “With the richest part¹¹⁴; literally, “kidneys,” also “rich meat.”of the wheat” (Dt. 32:14)— In the future, each and every wheat berry will be as fat as two large bull kidneys, weighing in at four Sepphoran litra. 5. Now, should this surprise you, consider the matter of turnip heads! It once happened that one turnip head weighed in at thirty Sepphoran litra! It once happened that a fox made his nest in a turnip head! It once happened, in Shikhin,¹¹⁵ that a certain mustard stalk had three twigs. They split off one of them, and it provided shade for a potter’s hut. They cracked it open and found within it nine qavs of mustard seeds. Said R. Shimon b. Halafta: I had a stalk of cabbage in my house, and I could climb up and down on it like climbing up and down a ladder!

footnotes: ¹¹⁴ Heb: kelayot ¹¹⁵ Shikhin is near Sepphoris, in the upper Galilee.

6. Another word: “And the blood of the grape you drank as wine” (Dt. 32:14)— you will suffer no exhaustion, either from treading or picking. Rather, you’ll bring the vine from the vineyard on a wagon, set it up in the corner, and proceed to drink from it as you would drink from a barrel.