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Midrash RabbahBamidbar Rabbah 17

Midrash Rabbah

Bamidbar Rabbah 17

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English · The Sefaria Midrash Rabbah (2022)

“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: When you will come into the land of your dwellings, that I am giving to you” (Numbers 15:2). “When you will come into the land of your dwellings” – halakha: How many matters is a person obligated to perform for his son? Our Rabbis taught: There are five matters that a father is obligated to perform for his son. The father is the Holy One blessed be He, and the son is Israel. Just as the father is obligated to circumcise his son, so the Holy One blessed be He did for Israel, as He circumcised them by means of Joshua. “Make flint knives for yourself [and circumcise the children of Israel]” (Joshua 5:2). The father is obligated to redeem him, and the Holy One blessed be He redeemed Israel, as it is stated: “To redeem for Himself as a people” (II Samuel 7:23). To teach him Torah; the Holy One blessed be He taught Torah to Israel: “You shall teach them to your children” (Deuteronomy 11:19), and it is written: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you for your own benefit” (Isaiah 48:17). To teach him mitzvot; the Holy One blessed be He taught mitzvot to Israel. To marry a wife to him; the Holy One blessed be He said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28). The father is obligated to his son, to feed him and to give him to drink, to bathe him, to smear him with oil, and to clothe him. So, the Holy One blessed be He did for Israel. “I washed you with water and rinsed your blood…[and I anointed you with oil]. I clothed you in embroidery” (Ezekiel 16:9–10); “and My bread that I gave you” (Ezekiel 16:19); “rise, well, call to it” (Numbers 21:17). Just as the father gives property to his son, so the Holy One blessed be He did for Israel: “I gave you a desirable land” (Jeremiah 3:19). What is the son obligated to offer up to his father? It is a gift. So the Holy One blessed be He said to Israel: “When you will come into the land…you will perform…a burnt offering…to the Lord” (Numbers 15:2–3).

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English · The Sefaria Midrash Rabbah (2022)

In this way, Rabbi Tanḥuma bar Abba in the name of Rabbi Ḥanina, brother of Rabbi Aḥa ben Rabbi Ḥanina began: This is the portion of libations, as it is stated: “Or for a ram, you shall perform a meal offering…and wine as libation, one-third of a hin” (Numbers 15:6–7). From here forward: “It shall be, when you eat from the bread of the land…the first of your kneading you shall separate a loaf, as a gift” (Numbers 15:19–20). There is ḥalla below and libations above; that is why Rabbi Ḥanina began: “Go, eat your bread joyfully, and drink your wine goodheartedly” (Ecclesiastes 9:7). What is, “as God has already accepted your actions”? (Ecclesiastes 9:7). “Eat your bread joyfully” – this is the portion of ḥalla. “And drink your wine goodheartedly” – this is the portion of libations. What is, “as God has already accepted…”? This is having Israel enter the Land, as it is stated: “When you will come into the land…” Another matter, this verse is speaking concerning Abraham. When the Holy One blessed be He said to Abraham: “Take, now, your son, your only one” (Genesis 22:2), Abraham arose early, took him with alacrity, led him, and took him up to Mount Moriah. Abraham said: ‘Master of the universe, did you say “take, now” to me for nothing?’ He said to him: ‘No, it is to make you known [lehodiakha] throughout the world,’ as it is stated: “For I have known him [yedativ], so that he will command” (Genesis 18:19). Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai said: The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘As you live, I ascribe to you, that had I said to you to slaughter your soul, you would not delay for the sake of My name.’ As it is written: “And you did not withhold your son” (Genesis 22:12). It is already stated explicitly. What is the meaning of: “Your only one [yeḥidekha]”? (Genesis 22:12). This is your soul, as the soul is called yeḥida, as it is stated: “Rescue me from the sword, my soul [yeḥidati] from the grasp of the dog” (Psalms 22:21). Abraham said: ‘Master of the universe, I cannot descend from here without an offering.’ The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘Your offering is prepared from the six days of Creation.’ “Abraham lifted his eyes and saw that, behold, there was a ram” (Genesis 22:13), and our Rabbis taught that Abraham’s ram was created during twilight. Abraham took it and offered it up as a burnt offering in place of his son, just as it said: “He took the ram, and offered it up as a burnt offering” (Genesis 22:13). Is the verse incomplete? What is “in place of his son”? (Genesis 22:13). Abraham said: ‘Master of the universe, see it as though the blood of Isaac is sprinkled before You.’ He took the ram and flayed it and said: ‘So, see it as though it was the skin of Isaac that I flayed before You.’ He took it and absorbed its blood with salt, he said: ‘So, see it as though it is Isaac’s blood that is absorbed before You.’ He burned it and said: ‘So, see it as though Isaac’s ashes are piled atop the altar.’ Alternatively, what is “in place of his son”? The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘As you live, your son was sacrificed first, and the ram is in his place.’ At that moment, Abraham said: ‘I will not move from here until You take an oath to me that You will never again subject me to another ordeal, as God forbid, had I not heeded You, I would have lost everything that I strived for all my days.’ The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘As you live, so it is,’ and He took an oath that he would not subject him to another ordeal, as it is stated: “He said: By Myself I have taken an oath, the utterance of the Lord” (Genesis 22:16). The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘Harsh afflictions and other ordeals were fit to befall Abraham, but they did not come.’ These are the afflictions; those that befell Job, were fit to befall Abraham, as it is juxtaposed to the portion: “It was after these matters, and it was told…Utz his firstborn, and Buz…” (Genesis 22:20–21). Utz was Job: “There was a man in the land of Utz, Job was his name” (Job 1:1). At that moment, the Holy One blessed be He said to Abraham: “Go, eat your bread joyfully…as God has already accepted your actions” (Ecclesiastes 9:7). Another matter, “go, eat…” is speaking of Solomon; when he built the Temple and completed it, he made a dedication for seven days and made another seven days as a festival, but they forgot to observe Yom Kippur. Rabbi Yitzḥak said: The Divine Spirit emerged and said: “Go, eat your bread joyfully, and drink your wine goodheartedly, as God has already accepted your actions.”

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English · The Sefaria Midrash Rabbah (2022)

Another matter, “when you will come into the land of your dwellings” – Rabbi Zakai of She’av said: Israel said before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘Master of the universe, everywhere You call it the land of Canaan, but here you call it “the land of your dwelling”?’ The Holy One blessed be He said to them: ‘As you live, I gave it to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, all of them in the Bible; that is why it is “the land of your dwelling.”’ Why did Canaan merit that the land was called by his name? It is because when he heard that Israel was coming, he evacuated the place. The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘You evacuated the place; the land will be called by your name. And I will give you a land as fine as your land.’ Which is that? It is Africa. What is written above? It is the portion of the spies: “they defiantly [vayapilu] ascended to the mountaintop” (Numbers 14:44) – they brought blackness upon its inhabitants. They were all in blackness, as “the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, and Moses, did not move from the midst of the camp” (Numbers 14:44), as they did not ascend with them. Moses said to them: ‘This is what the Holy One blessed be He said to me: “Do not ascend and do not wage war, as I am not in your midst” (Deuteronomy 1:42). You said: “Where are we ascending? Our brethren have melted [hemasu] our hearts, [saying: A people greater and taller than we, cities great and fortified…]”’ (Deuteronomy 1:28). What is “melted [hemasu] our hearts”? Our Rabbis said: From here they derived the measure of the pomegranates, as our Rabbis taught: The pomegranates from when they reach half [misheyimasu]. “Hemasu our hearts, saying” – Moses said: ‘From the outset, you divided it. “You all approached me” (Deuteronomy 1:22) – For good: “All the heads of your tribes approached me” (Deuteronomy 5:20) – For evil. “You all approached me and said” (Deuteronomy 1:22), and it is written: “You murmured in your tents, and you said: In the Lord’s hatred of us”’ (Deuteronomy 1:27). The Holy One blessed be He said: “I have loved you” (Malachi 1:2), and they say “In the Lord’s hatred of us”? They were expounding and saying: ‘Know that He hates us: A flesh and blood king has two sons and two fields, one that is watered by irrigation and one that is watered by rain. Does he not give to the one that the king loves, the one watered by irrigation, and to the one that he hates, he gives the one that is watered by rain? The land of Egypt is watered by irrigation and we were in it. The land of Canaan is watered by rain, and he took us out of Egypt to give us the land of Canaan. Nevertheless, “You girded each man his weapons of war… The Lord said to me: Say to them: Do not ascend and do not wage war” (Deuteronomy 1:41–42). [God said:] ‘I thought to ascend with you, but now, do not ascend, because it will be a descent for you.’ Nevertheless, “you girded [vataḥgeru]” – you all became as one.’ “You prepare yourself [vatahinu] to ascend the mountain” (Deuteronomy 1:41) – what is vatahinu? They were saying: From drop to drop, the hin is filled. One verse says: “You sinned [Vatazidu]” (Deuteronomy 1:43) and one verse says: Vatahinu. What is vatazidu? They mocked [she'hezidu] the encampments of the Holy One blessed be He. “You ascended the mountain. The Emorites…emerged [against you and pursued you as do the bees]” (Deuteronomy 1:43–44). “The bees” – just as this bee, once it strikes a person it immediately dies; you, too, once one of them would touch you, his soul would depart. Just as the bee flies, they were flying above you. In the past, they would hear of your renown and die, as it is stated: “Peoples heard, they were agitated” (Exodus 15:14). But now: “[The Emorites…]pursued…they smote you” (Deuteronomy 1:44). “You returned and wept before the Lord, but the Lord did not heed” (Deuteronomy 1:45). It is, as it were, that you rendered the attribute of justice as though it were cruel. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said: Woe unto the wicked, as they render the attribute of justice as though it were cruel. “The Lord said: Rise, go on a journey” (Deuteronomy 10:11) – if I come to perform justice with you, you will not enter the Land. Rather, “rise, go on a journey [before the nation, and they will come and inherit the Land]” (Deuteronomy 10:11). That is, “when you will come into the land.”

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English · The Sefaria Midrash Rabbah (2022)

“And you will perform a fire offering to the Lord, a burnt offering, or a peace-offering to fulfill a vow, or as a pledge, or at your appointed times, to create a pleasing aroma to the Lord, from the cattle, or from the flock” (Numbers 15:3). “And you will perform a fire offering to the Lord, a burnt offering, or a peace offering” – The Holy One blessed be He said to them: ‘Anyone who sacrifices an offering to Me in this world does not sacrifice it for naught, but rather, he sacrifices it, and it is pleasant for Me. In the World to Come, too, he merits to sacrifice and I accept it and it is pleasant for Me,’ as it is stated: “The offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasant to the Lord, as in the days of old and as in former years” (Malachi 3:4).

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English · The Sefaria Midrash Rabbah (2022)

“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, and they shall prepare for themselves a fringe on the corners of their garments for their generations, and they shall put on the fringe of the corner a sky blue thread” (Numbers 15:38). “They shall prepare for themselves a fringe” – that is what is written: “Light is sown for the righteous…” (Psalms 97:11). “The Lord desired because of his righteousness” (Isaiah 42:21) – the Holy One blessed be He sowed the Torah and the mitzvot in order to bequeath to Israel life in the World to Come. He did not leave any matter in this world for which He did not give a mitzva to Israel. One goes out to plow – “do not plow with an ox and a donkey” (Deuteronomy 22:10); to sow – “Do not sow your vineyard [diverse kinds]” (Deuteronomy 22:9); to reap – “when you reap your harvest in your field, [and you forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not return to take it]” (Deuteronomy 24:19); kneading – “the first of your kneading, ḥalla” (Numbers 15:20); slaughtering – “he shall give the priest the foreleg, the jaw, [and the maw]” (Deuteronomy 18:3); a bird’s nest – sending away [the mother bird] from the nest; undomesticated animals and birds – “he shall pour out its blood and cover it with dust” (Leviticus 17:13); planting – “you shall seal its fruit” (Leviticus 19:23); burying the dead – “you shall not cut yourselves” (Deuteronomy 14:1); cutting hair – “you shall not round [the edge of your head]” (Leviticus 19:27); building a house – “you shall make a parapet for your roof” (Deuteronomy 22:8), “you shall write them on the doorposts” (Deuteronomy 6:9); clothing oneself with a garment – “they shall prepare for themselves a fringe.” “They shall prepare for themselves” – not from what has already been prepared; that one should not take out strings and prepare it from them, but rather, the mitzva is to bring white and sky blue and prepare. When? When there is sky blue; however, now, we have only white, as the sky blue has been sequestered. “On the corners” – not in the middle, but only on the corner; “a thread [petil]” – one is required to twine them [lefotelan]. Rabbi Meir said: In what way is sky blue different from all sorts of colors? It is that sky blue is similar to the firmament, and the firmament is similar to the Throne of Glory, as it is stated: “They saw the God of Israel [and under His feet was like a configuration of sapphire brick and like the very heavens in purity]” (Exodus 24:10). “It shall be for you a fringe, and you shall see it, and remember all the commandments of the Lord and perform them, and you shall not rove after your heart and after your eyes, after which you stray” (Numbers 15:39). “So that you will remember, and perform all My commandments, and be holy to your God” (Numbers 15:40). “It shall be for you a fringe” – that it should be seen. How much is its measure? Beit Shammai say: Four fingerbreadths, and Beit Hillel say: Three. How many strings? Beit Shammai say: Four, and Beit Hillel say: Three. “And you shall see it” – to the exclusion of a night garment. Or, is it only to the exclusion of a blind man? It then says: “So that you will remember” – it gave seeing and it gave remembering; remembering for one who cannot see, seeing for one who sees. “And you shall see it [oto]” – oto but not ota, if you do so, it is as though you see the Throne of Glory, that is similar to sky blue. “And you shall see it, and remember” – vision engenders memory, memory engenders action, as it is stated: “So that you will remember, and perform” (Numbers 15:40). Why? “For it is not an empty thing for you” (Deuteronomy 32:47). This is analogous to a homeowner who was weighing and paying taxes and writing receipts. His father said to him: ‘My son, be careful with the receipts, as your life is subject to it.’ So, the Holy One blessed be He said to Israel: “For it is not an empty thing for you, as it is your life…” (Deuteronomy 32:47).

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English · The Sefaria Midrash Rabbah (2022)

“You shall not rove after your heart” – the heart and the eyes are the mediators of the body, as they cause the body to stray. “So that you will remember, and perform all My commandments” – this is analogous to one cast into the water. The captain extended the rope and said to him: ‘Grasp this rope in your hand and do not let it go, as if you let it go, you will have no life.’ This, too, is what the Holy One blessed be He said to Israel: ‘As long as you cleave to the mitzvot – “but you, who cleave to the Lord your God, all of you live today”’ (Deuteronomy 4:4). Likewise it says: “Hold fast to admonition, do not let go; safeguard it, as it is your life” (Proverbs 4:13). “And be holy” – when you perform the mitzvot, you are sanctified, and dread of you will be cast over the idolaters. If you forsake the mitzvot, you become profaned. The Holy One blessed be He said to Israel: ‘In this world, by means of the evil inclination you forsake the mitzvot, but in the future, I will uproot it from you,’ as it is stated: “And I will place My spirit within you, [and I will act so that you will follow My statutes, and My ordinances you will observe and perform]” (Ezekiel 36:27).

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English: The Sefaria Midrash Rabbah (2022), CC BY. Hebrew: Torat Emet text, public domain. From Sefaria (sefaria.org). · Source ↗

English: The Sefaria Midrash Rabbah (2022), CC BY. Hebrew: Torat Emet text, public domain. From Sefaria (sefaria.org). · Source ↗

English translation: The Sefaria Midrash Rabbah, 2022, via Sefaria (sefaria.org). Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Changes: footnotes and HTML formatting removed.

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