Week 28 (Book 5): Shimron and the "Night of Vigil" (Leil Shimurim)

SONG OF SONGS:

5. Turn away your eyes from me, for they have made me haughty; your hair is like a flock of goats that streamed down from Gilead.                     

6. Your teeth are like a flock of ewes that came up from the washing, all of which are perfect and there is no bereavement among them.

7. Your temple is like a split pomegranate from beneath your kerchief.

70 SOULS THAT DESCENDED TO EGYPT: Shimron

TALMUD SHEVUOTH: Daf 28 - Oaths over bread.

BOOK OF JEREMIAH: Chapter 28

Week 28 in the Jewish calendar is the week of the first night of Passover. The verses of Shir HaShirim of this week are from Hashem’s perspective. Again, there is a reference to domesticated animals – the goat and the ewe. There is also a reference to the need to stay away from haughtiness, which is the essential aspect of Passover: ridding oneself of chametz and eating the matzah.

Of the seventy souls of the Jewish people that descended to Egypt, the twenty-eighth mentioned is Shimron. The name Shimron appears to have at its root the word Shomer, to keep, to guard. Matzah needs to be Shmurah, guarded: “You shall guard the matzot.” (Exodus, 12:17) The matzot need guarding to ensure that it does not become chametz. Otherwise, it may not been eaten on Passover. The main mitzvah of eating matzah is on the first night of Passover. That night is called, “Leil Shimurim,” a night in which we feel G-d watch over us to such an extent that it is even common custom to keep doors unlocked.

Daf Kaf Chet (Folio 28) of Shvuot continues to discuss different laws related to oaths made over a loaf of bread, and what happens if one ate such a bread. Again, there’s a clear connection to Passover and not eating bread at this time of the year.

Chapter 28 of the Book of Jeremiah contains a similar theme to the above. It again mentions the “yoke” of Babylonian exile, similar to that carried by a domesticated animal. It also gives the prime example of someone who is filled with spiritual chametz to the point of believing his own false prophecies, compared to Jeremiah, who maintains his humility throughout:   

10. And Hananiah the prophet took the bar off the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke it. (…)

13. Go and say to Hananiah, saying: So said the Lord: Bars of wood have you broken, and you shall make in their stead bars of iron.  

15. And Jeremiah the prophet said to Hananiah the prophet: The Lord did not send you, and you assured this people with a lie.

16. Therefore, so said the Lord: Behold I send you off the face of the earth; this year you shall die, for you have spoken perversion against the Lord.  

17. And Hananiah the prophet died in that year, in the seventh month.

Nissan is the seventh month counting from Rosh Hashanah.    

Week 29 (Book 5): Feeling Chosen (Our Special Bond with G-d)

SONG OF SONGS:

8. There are sixty queens and eighty concubines, and innumerable maidens.

9. My dove, my perfect one, is but one; she is one to her mother, she is the pure one of she who bore her; daughters saw her and praised her, queens and concubines, and they lauded her;

10. Who is this who looks forth like the dawn, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, awesome as the bannered legions?"

70 SOULS THAT DESCENDED TO EGYPTH: Zebulun

TALMUD SHEVUOT: Daf 29 - Oaths that are related to the supernatural and/or are contradicted by actions

BOOKS OF JEREMIAH: Chapter 29

Week 29 in the Jewish calendar is the week of Passover. The verses of Shir HaShirim of this week single out the Jewish people among all the nations of the world; its speaks of being being pure and praised by the one who “bore her.” It was on Passover after all that the Jews were truly born as a nation. It was specifically on the Seventh Day of Passover, when the Sea of Reeds split this week, that this distinction became the most clear, and the other nations so fearful.

Of the seventy souls of the Jewish people that descended to Egypt, the twenty-ninth mentioned is Zebulun. Zebulun comes from the word Yizbeleni, in Leah’s prophecy, which means “he will make one’s chief dwelling with me.” The words parallel the above words of Shir HaShirim. On Passover is when it becomes clear that we are chosen above the other nations. Passover is also the first step towards the creation of the Mishkan – the whole purpose of leaving Egypt is to serve Hashem and to have his dwelling be among the people.

Daf Kaf Chet (Folio 29) of Shvuot speaks of laws of sacrifices (like the Korban Pessach) brought for breaking a two-part oath (related to not eating figs and grapes), as well as the laws of vain oaths, and imposing an oath on someone else. These discussions also include references to oaths made over a loaf of bread. Vain oaths are those that contradict what people know to be true, things that are impossible, such as camels flying or a serpent the size of an olive press. Vain oaths are also those that directly contradict a previous oath, such as: “If one said 'I swear that I will eat this loaf, I swear that I will not eat it.” The Splitting of the Sea was something that contradicted what everyone knew to be true, and contradicted the very nature of the Sea, and apparently even the oath made by Hashem that the waters of Noah would never again pass over the earth. (Isaiah 54:9) Nevertheless, Moshe imposes an action upon the Sea of Reeds, in order to fulfill Hashem’s oath to Abraham, and the Jewish people’s oath to Joseph (regarding the burial of his bones in Israel). In fact, the Midrash Tehillim teaches that the sea only split when it saw Joseph’s casket.

Chapter 29 of the Book of Jeremiah contains a similar theme to the above. It speaks of redemption from exile, in the form of an oath (which was indeed fulfilled), and also of a special bond between the Jewish people and G-d (seeking G-d and finding Him), and once again being held in distinction from all the nations. Conversely, those that do not go to Babylon will have such a miserable future (like loathsome figs) that those that witness will make oaths.

10. For so said the Lord: For at the completion of seventy years of Babylon I will remember you, and I will fulfill My good word toward you, to restore you to this place.

11. For I know the thoughts that I think about you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.  

12. And you shall call Me and go and pray to Me, and I will hearken to you.

13. And you will seek Me and find [Me] for you will seek Me with all your heart.  

14. And I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will return your captivity and gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will return you to the place whence I exiled you.  

15. For you have said: The Lord has set up prophets for us in Babylon.  

16. For so said the Lord concerning the king who sits on the throne of David and concerning the entire people that dwells in this city: Your brethren who have not left with you into exile.  

 

17. So said the Lord of Hosts: Behold I incite upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and I will make them as the loathsome figs, which cannot be eaten because they are so bad.  

18. And I will pursue them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, for an oath, for astonishment, for hissing, and for a reproach among all the nations where I have exiled them.

Week 30 (Book 5): Sered, Nets and Chains

SONG OF SONGS:

11. "I went down to the nut garden to see the green plants of the valley, to see whether the vine had blossomed, the pomegranates were in bloom.                       

12. I did not know; my soul made me chariots for a princely people."                   

1. "Return, return, O Shulammite; return, return, and let us gaze upon you." "What will you see for the Shulammite, as in the dance of the two camps?

GENERATIONS FROM ADAM TO THE LAST KING OF JUDAH: Sered

TALMUD SHEVUOTH: Daf 30 – Distancing oneself from falsehood, and communal oaths.

BOOK OF JEREMIAH: Chapter 30

Week 30 in the Jewish calendar is the last week of Nissan, which includes the yahrzeit of Yehoshua and Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. The first verse of Shir HaShirim for this week make reference to a nut garden, green plants, a vine and pomegranites. Rashi’s comments show these descriptions refer in large part to Torah scholarship and fulfillment of the commandments. Interestingly, Rashi also specifically mentions “teachers of the Misnah,” the Oral Torah transmitted from Moshe to Yehoshua, and from Yehoshua to the elders and future generations.

Rashi also brings a second homilectic interpretation regarding the meaning of the nut garden: “Just as if this nut falls into the mud, its interior does not become sullied, so are the Israelites exiled among the nations and smitten with many blows, but their deeds are not sullied.” This is a very fitting description of the events of the Holocaust.

The second and third verses also speak of exile, specifically the Roman exile, which we are still presently in, and in which the Holocaust took place.

12. I did not know; my soul made me chariots for a princely people." 

Rashi - I did not know: The congregation of Israel laments: I did not know to beware of sin, that I should retain my honor and my greatness, and I erred in the matter of groundless hatred and controversy, which intensified during the reign of the Hasmonean kings, Hyrcanus and Aristobulus, until one of them brought the kingdom of Rome and received the kingship from their hand and became their vassal, and since then, my soul made me to be chariots, that the nobility of other nations ride upon me.

The Second Temple was ultimately destroyed due to baseless hatred. Failure to learn the lessons from those events are what have kept us in exile until this day.

Of the seventy souls of the Jewish people that descended to Egypt, the thirtieth mentioned is Sered. A Sarad is a netmaker or maker of chains (Aruch). Yehoshua would capture and absorb every word of Moshe, just like a netmaker would capture fish. Yehoshua Bin Nun literally means, Joshua the son of a fish (a reference to Moshe himself). Chains are also an appropriate metaphor for this week, given the captivity we endured during the Holocaust.

Daf Lamed (Folio 30) of Shvuot starts a new chapter regarding an oath taken by a witness in a Jewish court. The daf discusses to whom this oath applies, rules regarding not favoring one party over another, and distancing oneself from falsehood. Much of this seems to apply to Yehoshua. There is also an emphasis on the collectivity of the Jewish people, with many verses referring to Am: "B'Tzedek Tishpot Amisecha" … "va'Yeshev Moshe... va'Ya'amod ha'Am.” Yom HaShoah marks a time that was rife with falsehood, as well as a time when all Jews were collectively persecuted, regardless of religiosity, ethnicity or nationality.

Chapter 30 of the Book of Jeremiah contains a similar theme to the above. As many of the the other chapters in the Book, it speaks of the destruction and calamity that is to take place, but Rashi notes that it does not only refer to the destruction of the Temple and the Babylonian exile, but also of Gog and Magog. The words also make reference to pains that are like birth pangs (similar to the birth pangs leading up to the Messianic era (Chevlei Mashiach). Many believe that the Holocaust is to be considered Chevlei Mashiach. Also, different than in previous chapters, this one brings a silver lining, stating that unlike other nations, the Jewish people would not be completely destroyed.

5. For so said the Lord: A sound of quaking we have heard, fear, and there is no peace. 

Rashi: A sound of quaking we have heard: Some interpret this as alluding to the tidings of Babylon, from which those exiled there quaked. But the Midrash Aggadah explains it as an allusion to the war of Gog and Magog.   

6. Ask now and see whether a male gives birth. Why have I seen every man [with] his hands on his loins like a woman in confinement, and every face has turned to pallor? 

Rashi: whether a male gives birth: Whether it is customary for males to give birth, so that labor pains should seize them like a woman in confinement...   

   

7. Ho! For that day is great, with none like it, and it is a time of distress for Jacob, through which he shall be saved.  

Rashi: that day: The day of the assassination of Belshazzar and the downfall of Babylon. Another explanation: the day of the downfall of Gog.    .

(…)

11. For I am with you, says the Lord, to save you, for I will make an end of all the nations where I dispersed you, but of you I will not make an end, but I will chasten you in measure, and I will not completely destroy you.

   

12. For so said the Lord: Your injury is painful, your wound grievous. 

13. No one deems your wound to be healed, you have no healing medicines. 

Rashi: to be healed: cure. No one thinks that you will have salvation.   

14. All your lovers have forgotten you, they do not seek you, for I have smitten you with the wound of an enemy, cruel chastisement, for the greatness of your iniquity; your sins are many. 

Week 31 (Book 5): Strong and Praiseworthy

SONG OF SONGS: 

2. How fair are your feet in sandals, O daughter of nobles! The curves of your thighs are like jewels, the handiwork of a craftsman.

3. Your navel is [like] a round basin, where no mixed wine is lacking; your belly is [like] a stack of wheat, fenced in with roses.

4. Your two breasts are like two fawns, the twins of a gazelle.

SEVENTY SOULS THAT DESCENDED TO EGYPT: Elon

TALMUD SHEVUOTH: Daf 31 – Distancing Oneself  from Falsehood and Liability for False Oaths

BOOK OF JEREMIAH: Chapter 31

Week 31 in the Jewish calendar is the week of Rosh Chodesh Iyar, Yom HaZikaron and of Yom Ha’Atzma’ut. The verses of Shir HaShirim of this week all relate to praises made by the other nations towards the Jewish people. It speaks of how they want to cleave to the Jews. This seems so rare and out of context, and yet that is exactly what happened after Yom Ha’Atzma’ut. For the first time in a long time, the Jews were widely admired. This admiration, which started in great part in 1948, continues until this day.

It is interesting that Rashi notes that while the Jewish people praised G-d from top to bottom, beginning with the head, the praises of non-Jews to the Jewish people are from bottom to top, beginning with the feet. The initial praises after Israel’s War of Independence related to its deeds, military might, associated with the feet.

The third verse for this week also appears to be a reference to Iyar, as it speaks of “twins of a gazelle,” perhaps a reference to Yissachar and Zebulun, whose partnership was like that of twins.

Of the seventy souls of the Jewish people that descended to Egypt, the thirty-first mentioned is Elon. Elon means oak tree. Oak trees are particularly majestic, large, strong and enduring. Elon Moreh is another name for Shechem. As explained in Week 1 of Book 2, Shechem is the first place visited by Avraham, Yaakov, as well as Yehoshua when entering the Land of Israel. Even in modern times, the first settlement established in Judea and Samaria after the Six Day War was Elon Moreh, which is another biblical name for the city Shechem. Shechem is the gateway to the Land of Israel. Therefore, it is appropriate that Elon be mentioned this week.

Daf Lamed Alef (Folio 31) of Shvuot continues to discuss matters regarding an oath taken by a witness in a Jewish court and staying away from false mattes. It also discusses people that are excluded from liability for a court oath. It discusses cases when mistakes were by accident or on purpose (Shogeg uMezid). The return to the Land of Israel is often discussed in Jewish law in the context of three oaths made by the Jewish people during exile, one of which was not to return to Israel by force. There is much debate on whether the Jews indeed violated this oath by returning to the land, and if so, given the context in which it took place, whether they could be “liable” for it.[1] Almost all opinions deem that returning to the Land was not a violation.

Chapter 31 of the Book of Jeremiah contains a similar theme to the above. It speaks of openly of a time when the Jewish people would be able to return to its land, to build and be built:

1. So says the Lord: In the wilderness, the people who had escaped the sword found favor; He [therefore] went to give Israel their resting place.  

2. From long ago, the Lord appeared to me; With everlasting love have I loved you; therefore have I drawn you to Me with loving-kindness.  

3. Yet again will I rebuild you, then you shall be built, O virgin of Israel; yet again shall you be adorned with your tabrets, and you shall go out with the dances of those who make merry.  

4. Yet again shall you plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria, indeed planters shall plant [them] and redeem [them].  

5. For there is a day, the watchers shall call on the mountains of Ephraim; Rise! Let us go up to Zion, to the Lord, our God.  

6. For so says the Lord to Jacob, "Sing [with] joy and shout at the head of the nations, make it heard, praise, and say, 'O Lord, help Your people, the remnant of Israel!'

7. Behold I bring them from the north country and gather them from the uttermost ends of the earth, the blind and the lame amongst them, the woman with child and she who travails with child all together; a great company shall they return there.  

8. With weeping will they come, and with supplications will I lead them, along brooks of water will I make them go, on a straight road upon which they will not stumble, for I have become a Father to Israel, and Ephraim is My firstborn.  

9. Hear the word of the Lord, O nations, and declare it on the islands from afar, and say, "He Who scattered Israel will gather them together and watch them as a shepherd his flock.  

10. For the Lord has redeemed Jacob and has saved him out of the hand of him who is stronger than he. 

11. And they shall come and jubilate on the height of Zion, and they will stream to the goodness of the Lord, over corn, wine, and oil, and over sheep and cattle, and their soul shall be like a well-watered garden, and they shall have no further worry at all.

12. Then shall the virgin rejoice in the round dance with music, and the young men and the old men together, and I will turn their mourning into joy and will comfort them and make them rejoice from their sorrow.  

13. And I will refresh the soul of the priests with fat, and My people-they will be satisfied with My goodness, is the word of the Lord. 

14. So says the Lord: A voice is heard on high, lamentation, bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, she refuses to be comforted for her children for they are not.  

15. So says the Lord: Refrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for there is reward for your work, says the Lord, and they shall come back from the land of the enemy.  

16. And there is hope for your future, says the Lord, and the children shall return to their own border.  

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[1] http://www.kby.org/hebrew/torat-yavneh/view.asp?id=3970

Week 32 (Book 5): Securing Our Connection to the Land in the Face of the Enemy

SONG OF SONGS:

5. Your neck is like an ivory tower; your eyes are [like] pools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bath-Rabbim; your face is as the tower of Lebanon, facing towards Damascus.

6. Your head upon you is like Carmel, and the braided locks of your head are like purple; the king is bound in the tresses.

7. How fair and how pleasant you are, a love with delights!

SEVENTY SOULS THAT DESCENDED TO EGYPT: Jahleel

TALMUD SHEVUOTH: Daf 32 - Liability for Oaths

BOOK OF JEREMIAH: Chapter 32

Week 32 in the Jewish calendar continues to be connected to Yom Ha’Atzma’ut. The verses of Shir HaShirim of this week also relate to praises made by the other nations towards the Jewish people. There are also many references to places in the region, where unfortunately many came to attack us: Heshbon (in Jordan), Lebanon, Damascus…

Of the seventy souls of the Jewish people that descended to Egypt, the thirty-second mentioned is Jahleel. Jahleel means to wait for, to yearn for G-d. Yachel also contains the language of forgiveness, as well as nullification and desecration. Week 32 of Book 1 shows that this week is deeply connected to how other nations will finally acknowledge Israel after so many years. The week, related to Bilaam, is represented by the mule in Perek Shirah. Bilaam was trying to nullify the oath made by G-d to Abraham – he was, in many ways, the “anti-Abraham.” It is also related to the heart (32 is Lev). We yearn for Hashem with all our hearts and to return to our land, and in so doing, G-d nullifies those that fight against our connection to the Land of Israel.

Daf Lamed Beit (Folio 32) of Shevuoth continues to discuss cases in which people that are excluded from liability for a court oath. This again is related to the three oaths mentioned last week.

Chapter 32 of the Book of Jeremiah contains a similar theme to the above. It again speaks openly of a time when the Jewish people would be able to return to its land, and the prophet Jeremiah himself is told to redeem his family’s portion of the Land by purchasing it:[1]

6. And Jeremiah said: The word of the Lord came to me, saying:  

7. Behold, Hanamel, the son of Shallum your uncle, is coming to you, saying: Buy for yourself my field that is in Anathoth, for the right of redemption is yours to buy it. 

   

(…)

12. And I gave the deed of the purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah the son of Maaseiah in the presence of Hanamel my uncle and in the presence of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, in the presence of all the Jews who sat in the prison yard.  

13. And I charged Baruch in their presence, saying: 

14. So said the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel; Take these scrolls, this deed of purchase and the signed one and this open scroll, and put them into an earthen vessel so that they remain many years.  

15. For so says the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel; Houses and fields and vineyards shall be purchased again in this land.

(...)

36. And now, therefore, so said the Lord God of Israel concerning this city which you say, "It has been given into the hand[s] of the king of Babylon by the sword and by famine and by pestilence"; 

37. Behold I will gather them from all the lands where I have driven them with My anger and with My wrath and with great fury, and I will restore them to this place and I will cause them to dwell safely. 

38. And they shall be My people, and I will be their God.  

39. And I will give them one accord and one way to fear Me all the time, so that it be good for them and for their children after them.  

40. And I will form for them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from them to do them good, and My fear I will place in their heart, not to turn away from Me. 

41. And I will rejoice over them to do good to them, and I will plant them in this land truly with all My heart and with all My soul. 

42. For so said the Lord: As I have brought upon this people all this great evil, so will I bring upon them all the good that I speak concerning them.  

43. And the field shall be bought in this land, which you say, "It is desolate without man or beast; it has been given into the hand[s] of the Chaldeans." 

44. Men shall buy fields for money and inscribe deeds and sign [them] and appoint witnesses in the land of Benjamin and in the environs of Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah and in the cities of the mountain and in the cities of the lowland and in the cities of the southland, for I will restore their captivity, says the Lord.

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[1] This contains the Haftorah for the Torah portion of Behar which often falls on this week as well.