Haftarah/Ashamalatah
Isa 1:16 “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put
away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Stop doing evil!
Isa 1:17 “Learn to do good! Seek right-ruling, reprove
the oppressor, defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.
Isa 1:18 “Come now, and let us reason together,” says יהוה. “Though your
sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like
crimson, they shall be as wool.
Isa 1:19 “If you
submit and obey, you shall eat the good of the land;
Isa 1:20 but if
you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword,” for the mouth of יהוה has spoken.
Isa 1:21 How the
steadfast city has become a whore! I have filled it with right-ruling;
righteousness lodged in it, but now murderers.
Isa 1:22 Your
silver has become dross, your wine is mixed with water.
Isa 1:23 Your
rulers are stubborn, and companions of thieves. Everyone loves bribes, and runs
after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, nor does the cause of the
widow reach them.
Isa 1:24 Therefore
the Master declares, יהוה of hosts, the
Elohim of Yisra’ĕl, “Ah, I shall be eased of My adversaries, and I shall be
avenged of My enemies.
Isa 1:25 “And I
shall turn My hand against you, and shall refine your dross as with lye, and
shall remove all your alloy. (mixture)
Isa 1:26 “And I shall
give back your judges as at the first, and your counsellors as at the
beginning. After this you shall be called the city of righteousness, a
steadfast city.”
Isa 31:6 Turn back to Him from whom the children of
Yisra’ĕl have deeply(profoundly) fallen away(become apostate) - Israel’s apostasy is deeply profound.
“One of the problems the
early Greek and Latin Church fathers had with the Torah is how it connected to
everyday life. In their Greek and Roman worldview, the goal was to escape this
mundane physical world and ascend to the sublime realm of ideas and philosophy
where the soul could be free from the clutches of the fallen universe. In their
view of the transcendent G-d it hardly seemed possible that He could be
concerned with houses, crops, cloths and even latrines. Somehow the haloed
image of Messiah was besmirched by such worldly concerns. They concluded that
the true meaning of the Torah(indeed of all Scripture) was embedded in the
mystical layer of its meaning, extractable only through allegory.
The very fact that Torah often
deals with the most common elements of life shows that YHVH always intended for
His truth and nature to be manifested through human lives. Unlike the pagan
gods manufactured in the minds and hands of fallen mankind whose “wholly other”
character forbade them to have contact with mortals, the Elohim of Yisrael
dwells in the midst of His people. He would descend so they might ascend. From
the very beginning YHVH intended to reveal Himself to man through Messiah –
Immanuel – Elohim with us.”
The conclusion of this matter is that only a very small remnant embraces
the truth of YHVH.
Isa 10:20 And in that day it shall be that the remnant
of Yisra’ĕl, and those who have escaped of the house of Yaʽaqoḇ, never again lean
upon him who defeated them, but shall lean upon יהוה, the Set-apart
One of Yisra’ĕl, in truth.
Isa 10:21 A
remnant shall return, the remnant of Yaʽaqoḇ, to
the Mighty Ěl.
Isa 10:22 For
though your people, O Yisra’ĕl, be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of
them shall return – a decisive end, overflowing with righteousness.
Isa 10:23 For the
Master יהוה of hosts is making a complete end, as
decided, in the midst of all the earth.
Isa 10:24
Therefore thus said the Master יהוה of hosts, “My
people, who dwell in Tsiyon, be not afraid of Ashshur, who beats you with a rod
and lifts up his staff against you, in the way of Mitsrayim.
Isa 10:25 “For yet
a little while and the displeasure shall be completed, and My displeasure be to
their destruction.”
How does this remnant live? – Our Torah portion begins.
Deu 22:8 “When you build a new house, then you shall
make a parapet for your roof, so that you do not bring blood-guilt on your
house when one falls from it.
“The
first instruction given regards the requirement of a parapet, a small guard
rail required to be built around the edge of a roof or balcony. In the ancient
near east, houses were built with flat roofs which were utilized for various
purposes: drying and storing produce, socializing, and sleeping in warm
weather. The roof provided a kind of “living room” where guests and family
could gather. As such, it was imperative that safety from falling from the roof
be provided. A home owner who did not make such a provision was liable for the
injury or death of anyone who might fall from his roof. Negligence in such a
matter was tantamount to homicide. The Sages ruled that the parapet should be a
minimum of 10 hand-breadths tall (30 inches). The law of the parapet is a good
illustration of the Torah itself, which when obeyed, functions as a “guard
rail” for life in general.”
Deu 22:9 “Do not sow your vineyard with different
kinds of seed, lest the yield of the seed which you have sown and the fruit of
your vineyard be defiled.
Deu 22:10 “Do not plough with an ox and a donkey
together. (Mat 11:29)
Deu 22:11 “Do not put on a garment of different kinds,
of wool and linen together.
Drash vs 11 – Wool
comes from an animal, linen comes from the earth. Man can take cotton seed and
produce linen. Man has no role in bring a sheep that provides wool into the
world. We assume that a normal man is not able to bring heaven and earth
together. Only Messiah is able to do this, and who Messiah appoints – his
priesthood.
“Josephus
(Ant. 4.208) offers the suggestion that the prohibition relates to the manner
in which those things pertaining to the High Priest were not to be used by the common
man. Since the High Priest wears garments woven of wool and linen (e.g., Ex
39:8), these are comparable to that of the anointing oil and incense which was
not to be duplicated or used by the common Israelite (cf.Ex 30:22–27).
Interestingly, the very next section of our parashah deals with tzitzit, which
were traditionally made of white linen threads combined with the dyed woollen
thread of teichelet (the blue string). Since these do not constitute a garment,
they do not violate the prohibition of mixtures. Yet in combining the two
substances, the common Israelite wore something that symbolically connected to
the Ephod of the High Priest. Since the purpose of the tzitzit was to remind
one of the commandments so as to do them, the combination of wool and linen
reinforced the fact that obedience to YHVH required the duties and service of
the High Priest. As a kingdom of priests (cf. Ex 19:6), Israel’s life revolved
around the Tabernacle/Temple where YHVHs way of atonement was constantly
displayed in the priestly service and sacrifices.”
Deu 22:12 “Make tassels on the four corners of the
garment with which you cover yourself.
The
more detailed instructions for the tzitzit (plural is tzitziyot) are found in
Num 15:37f. It is there that the actual term צִיצִת (tzitzit) is found. The
word itself describes a “tuft” or “strand” and could be used of a lock of hair
(Ezek 8:3) as well as a “tassel” of thread. The cognate word in Assyrian
(zizitu) describes the moveable part of a loom.
In
our text, the word used is גְּדִלִים (g’dilim) from גָּדִל
(gadil) used only here and in 1Ki 7:17 which describes “wreaths of chain work”
on the capitals of the courtyard of Solomon’s Temple. Some (like the Kairites)
have taken this to be a prescription for how the tzitzit are to be made, i.e.,
in a twisted or braided fashion. But the word is used in cognate languages of
common rope or cords, and most likely simply describes the manner in which
strands are combined to form a single cord. The Sages regarded the wrapping of
the teichelet (blue thread) and the tying of knots as complying with the words
of our text.
The
tassels are specifically commanded to be attached to the “four corners of the
garment with which you cover yourself.” In ancient times, this was an ordinary
outer garment worn all day. In the Middle Ages when such a garment would too
quickly identify a Jewish person to persecutors, the tzitzit were attached to a
smaller inner garment called a tallit katan (“small tallit”), offering the
ability to hide the tzitzit when necessary.
The
tassels are to be attached to the “four corners” ( אַרְבַּע
כַּנפְוֹת ) or “wings” of the garment. These may have been
actual corners, but could also describe scallops along the hem or even “the
places at which vertical bands of embroidery met the hems” (Tigay, JPS:
Deuteronomy, p. 203). The halachah of the Sages opted for actual corners,
requiring that the garment to which tzitzit are attached have clearly distinct
corners (cf. Menachot in the Mishnah).
There
is nothing in this text nor in Num 15:37f which clearly limits the wearing of
tzitzit to men, though this became the rabbinic halachah based upon the ruling
that women were exempt from time-bound commandments.
Since
the purpose of the tzitzit is that “you man look upon them” (Num 15:39), and
since this would only be practical during daylight hours, the Rabbis included
the ordinance of tzitzit among the timebound commandments (cf. m.Kiddushin
1.7). But even in their halachah, women were exempted, not prohibited.
Tzitzit
are not considered a garment (since if they were, the prohibition of sha’atnez
would apply) and thus could not be ruled as a male garment (which would be
prohibited for women, cf. Deut 22:5; cf. Sifre §115). Moreover, there are
historical examples of leading Sages whose wives and maid servants wore tzitzit
(b.Menachot 43a; b.Sukkah 11a; y.Berachot 37a). Based upon the biblical texts
themselves, there is nothing to suggest that the commandment of tzitzit applies
only to males.”
Deu 22:13 “When any man takes a wife, and shall go in
to her, and shall hate her,
Deu 22:14 and shall make abusive charges against her
and bring an evil name on her and say, ‘I took this woman, and when I came to
her I did not find her a maiden,’
Deu 22:15 then the father and mother of the young woman
shall take and bring out the proof of the girl’s maidenhood to the
elders of the city at the gate.
Deu 22:16 “And the girl’s father shall say to the
elders, ‘I gave my daughter to this man as wife, and he hates her.
Deu 22:17 ‘And see, he has made abusive charges against
her, saying, “I did not find your daughter a maiden,” and yet these are the proofs
of my daughter’s maidenhood.’ And they shall spread the garment before the
elders of the city.
Deu 22:18 “And the elders of that city shall take that
man and punish him,
Deu 22:19 and fine him one hundred pieces of silver and
give them to the father of the young woman, because he has brought an evil name
on a maiden of Yisra’ĕl. And she is to be his wife, he is not allowed to put
her away all his days.
Deu 22:20 “But if the matter is true, that the girl was
not found a maiden,
Deu 22:21 then they shall bring out the girl to the
door of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death
with stones, because she has done wickedness in Yisra’ĕl, to whore in her
father’s house. Thus you shall purge the evil from your midst.
Deu 22:22 “When a man is found lying with a woman
married to a husband, then both of them shall die, both the man that lay with
the woman, and the woman. Thus you shall purge the evil from Yisra’ĕl.
Deu 22:23 “When a girl who is a maiden is engaged to a
husband, and a man finds her in the city and lies with her,
Deu 22:24 then you shall bring them both out to the
gate of that city, and shall stone them to death with stones, the girl because
she did not cry out in the city, and the man because he has humbled his
neighbour’s wife. Thus you shall purge the evil from your midst.
Deu 22:25 “But if a man finds the girl who is engaged
in the field, and the man seizes her and lies with her, then only the man who
lay with her shall die.
Deu 22:26 “But you shall do no matter to the girl. The
girl has no sin worthy of death – for the matter is like a man who rises
against his neighbour and kills him –
Deu 22:27 for he found her in the field, and she cried
out, the engaged girl, but without anyone to save her.
Deu 22:28 “When a man finds a girl who is a maiden, who
is not engaged, and he seizes her and lies with her, and they are found out,
Deu 22:29 then the man who lay with her shall give to
the girl’s father fifty pieces of silver, and she is to be his wife because he
has humbled her. He is not allowed to put her away all his days.
Deu 22:30 “A man does not take his father’s wife, nor
uncover his father’s skirt.
The
very fact that these laws are given, shows clearly that YHVH intends sexual relationships
to be reserved for committed relationships. The author of Hebrews reiterates
this when he wrote: “Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the
marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers YHVH will judge”
(Heb 13:4). The “marriage bed” (Gk - he koite) is a
euphemism for sexual relations. Regardless of what our current society may say,
casual sex where there is no commitment is sinful and contrary to YHVH’s good
purposes. Our Torah text makes it clear that YHVH’s intention is that a woman be
a virgin when she marries for the first time. For a woman to remain a virgin
until she marries means that men must also honor YHVH’s standards.
Bringing
an accusation against a wife, charging her with pre-marital unchastity is a
serious issue. If the charges are shown to be valid, the penalty is death.
However, a false accusation required the husband to be flogged, to pay damages
to the woman’s father, and the impossibility of ever bringing similar charges against
her in the future (which would result in a valid divorce). The manner in which
such accusations are proven false is for the woman’s parents to produce for the
elders “evidence of her virginity,” which consisted of a cloth ( שִׂמְלָה , simlah). Simlah is a common
noun (found 35x in the Tanach) that describes “garments” in general. In some
cases, it may be used of garments reserved for special occasions (cf. Gen 45:22
where the garments Yosef/Joseph gives to his brothers may have been for the
occasion of their dining with him). It is very probable that in the ancient
near east Semitic cultures, virgins were accustomed to wear clothing that
marked them out as unmarried and still under the guardianship of their fathers.
In Judges 21:12, 400 virgins are identified among the population of
Jabesh-gilead. For a young woman to be so adorned would be allowed only as long
as the community in which she lived knew her to be a virgin.
If, however,
the charges were proven true, the woman is brought to the entrance of her
father’s house and executed. The fact that she comes to her father’s house
reinforces the Torah perspective that a father is
responsible
for the purity of his daughter until she marries. In the same way that a father
had the authority to annul a vow his unmarried daughter had made (Num 30:3f),
so he is responsible to guard her from any situation that might result in
pre-marital unchastity. In bringing the guilty woman to the entrance of her
father’s house, the charge against her also marks the fact that her father was
woefully negligent in his duties. This concept, of the father’s duty to guard
his daughters, ought to encourage us, even in our modern day, to take seriously
the responsibility Elohim has given to fathers.”
Deu 23:1 “No one wounded, crushed or whose member is
cut off does enter the assembly of יהוה.
Deu 23:2 “No one
of illegitimate birth does enter the assembly of יהוה, even a tenth
generation of his does not enter the assembly of יהוה.
Deu 23:3 “An
Ammonite or Mo’aḇite does not enter the assembly of יהוה, even a tenth generation of them does not
ever enter the assembly of יהוה,
Deu 23:4 because
they did not meet you with bread and water on the way when you came out of
Mitsrayim, and because they hired against you Bilʽam son
of Beʽor from Pethor of Aram Naharayim, to curse you.
Deu 23:5 “But יהוה your Elohim refused to listen to Bilʽam,
and יהוה your Elohim turned the curse into a
blessing for you, because יהוה your Elohim
loves you.
Deu 23:6 “Do not
seek their peace nor their good, all your days, forever.
Two types of emasculation occurred
in the ancient near east, and are specifically noted in our text. Beyond being
a eunuch, self-castration is known to have occurred in the ancient near east as
part of certain religious ceremonies. Castration was also a form of punishment
among some of the pagan nations. Excluding eunuchs from participation in the
“assembly of YHVH” was most likely founded upon its close association with
paganism. Moreover, eunuchs would not govern with an eye to the next
generation, since they were unable to father children. Such governance could
therefore be woefully short-sighted. Likewise, those “ill-begotten or
illegitimate” ( מַמְזרֵ , mamzer) are excluded from the governing “assembly of
YHVH.”
The exact meaning of mamzer is
debated, but there is little evidence that it means children born out of
wedlock. The Sages (noting the close proximity of forbidden sexual
relationships in the previous context) understand it to refer to children born
from incest or adulterous relationships. The Lxx and Targum Jonathan interpret
it to mean children born of prostitution. If these suggestions are on the mark,
the point of excluding such from the “assembly of YHVH” is that those who
govern should be from whole families because their decisions should nurture a
society that fosters wholesome and stable homes. The phrase “even in the tenth generation”
should most likely be understood as meaning “never.” Ammonites and Moabites are
also excluded from the governing
Deu 23:7 “Do not
loathe an Eḏomite, for he is your brother. Do not loathe a Mitsrite,
because you were a stranger in his land.
Deu 23:8 “The
children of the third generation born to them do enter the assembly of יהוה.
Deu 23:9 “When the
army goes out against your enemies, then you shall guard yourself from every
evil matter.
Deu 23:10 “When
there is any man among you who is not clean because of an emission in the
night, then he shall go outside the camp. Let him not come into the midst of
the camp.
Deu 23:11 “And it
shall be, when evening comes, that he bathes with water. And when the sun sets
let him come into the midst of the camp.
Deu 23:12 “And you
shall have a place outside the camp, where you shall go out,
Deu 23:13 and you
shall have a sharp implement among your equipment, and when you sit down
outside, you shall dig with it and turn and cover your excrement.
Deu 23:14 “For יהוה your Elohim walks in the midst of your
camp, to deliver you and give your enemies over to you. Therefore your camp
shall be set-apart, so that He does not see unclean matter among you, and shall
turn away from you.
Deu 23:15 “You do
not hand over to his master the slave who has escaped from his master to you.
Deu 23:16 “Let him
dwell with you in your midst, in the place which he chooses within one of your
gates, where it is pleasing to him. Do not oppress him.
Deu 23:17 “None of
the daughters of Yisra’ĕl is to be a cult prostitute, nor any of the sons of
Yisra’ĕl be a cult prostitute.
Deu 23:18 “Do not
bring the gift of a whore or the pay of a dog to the House of יהוה your Elohim for any vowed offering, for
both of these are an abomination to יהוה your Elohim.
Deu 23:19 “Do not
lend at interest to your brother, interest of silver, interest of food, or
interest of whatever is lent at interest.
Deu 23:20 “To a
foreigner you lend at interest, but to your brother you do not lend at
interest, so that יהוה your Elohim
might bless you in all that you put your hand to in the land which you are
entering to possess.
Deu 23:21 “When
you make a vow to יהוה your Elohim,
do not delay to pay it, for יהוה your Elohim is
certainly requiring it of you, and it shall be sin in you.
Deu 23:22 “But
when you abstain from vowing, it is not sin in you.
Deu 23:23 “That
which has gone from your lips you shall guard and do, for you voluntarily vowed
to יהוה your Elohim what you have promised with
your mouth.
Deu 23:24 “When
you come into your neighbour’s vineyard, you shall eat to the satisfaction of
your desire, but do not put any in a receptacle of yours.
Deu 23:25 “When
you come into your neighbour’s standing grain, you shall pluck the heads with
your hand, but do not use a sickle on your neighbour’s standing grain.
Please
note these notes are under construction and are subject to correction and are
in no way a final authority on any subject
