Ba'alei Brit Avram
בעלי ברית אברם
Sefaria Community Translation
https://www.sefaria.org

Ba'alei Brit Avram

Endorsement



Introduction



Bereshit



Noach

These are the generations of Noah. Noah etc. The text wants to praise Noah for having been whole from his beginning until his end. And this is why it is said, "These are the generations of Noah. Noah..." This intends to emphasize [Noah's wholeness] from his beginning until his end, he was of one value and of singularly similar acts. And an explanation for this reason that the text says "A righteous man he was in his generations" is that he was as such in generations when people are not seen as righteous--throughout all of this, as if in all of his generations, both in the generation of his youth and in the generation of his old age. Throughout them all, he was of one character. He was a righteous man in all of the generations that passed over him. And the text says "complete" (tamim), for he was not like some of the righteous people who have erred and in the end changed course and turned over (towards righteousness). Rather, he had always been 'complete,' for he had no blemish or  perversion. And, if you were to say, "How is it possible for him to have had this [quality]?" Then, say that the reason for this is "Noah walked with God." This is to say, that he never had any dealing with a human creature, but he would spend all day alone [i.e., with God]. And for this, he had the power to be saved from those [humans] and did not sin at all. Proof has been brought for his isolation, for the whole world had engaged in sexually illicit actions, and that is how they had many sons and daughters, and, as such, it says, "It was when the human species began to increase." Indeed, Noah did not produce offspring until he had reached 600 years of age, and all that he produced was three sons and nothing more, and all of this is to teach about his isolation. And for this, the text doubly mentioned their generations here, for the text said indeed, "in all of the world," and this is why the text said, "the land became corrupt etc."

Lech Lecha



Vayera



Chayei Sara



Toldot



Vayetzei



Vayishlach



Vayeshev

"And Reuben heard and saved him from their hands, etc." (Genesis Rabbah, Parasha 44) Where was Rabbi Yossi? He said, 'Every day each one of them used to serve his father, and that day of Reuben was [when he served], etc.' Rabbi Yossi interpreted 'וישמע' (and he heard) in the sense of hearing, as it literally means, while Rabbi Nechemia and the Sages interpreted it in the sense of understandingHowever, there is cause for wonder: when did Reuben serve his father on that particular day? He comes immediately [after the incident with Joseph], and since each of them served his father every day, why did Jacob need to send Joseph to them? He could have waited a little until one of them came to serve him, and then he could inform Joseph about the well-being of his brothers and the welfare of the flock.It can be explained that initially, his brothers intended to devise a plot and set a trap for him. Before this incident, they were grazing the cattle near their father, and Joseph was also shepherding with them, as it is mentioned that he was shepherding his brothers among the flock. When they became jealous of him, they went to a distant place, hoping that he might come there, and they could take revenge on him. This is also evident from their overall scheme: on that particular day, they intentionally delayed Reuben from going to his father to serve him so that their father would send Joseph. They gave Reuben a pretext, informing him that their intention was to travel to Dotan, and they asked him to delay his journey to help them prepare for their departure. Reuben agreed, and afterwards, he would go to his father." "And this means, 'Behold, I have heard people saying, 'Let's go to Dotan.'" Therefore, Jacob was distressed because none of them came that day as was customary. For this reason, he sent Joseph, fearing that the people of Shechem might gather against them due to what had happened. This is indicated by the phrase, 'Are not your brothers pasturing in Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them,' where Jacob said to him, 'Here I am.' Like a son who fears his father, he said to him, 'Please go and see,' meaning, 'See with your own eyes.' He did not learn it from the Maggid [angelic messenger], and he immediately returned to instruct him about his great distress. He sent him, meaning that he provided him with a guide until the depth of Hebron, and from there, he let him go. "And a man found him wandering," meaning that three angels encountered him. At first glance, it seems that they did not help him at all, and they did not make any effort to save him. On the contrary, if they had not met him, he would have returned to his father when he realized he was lost. Although he might not have returned, it would have been better for him to remain lost than to fall into the hands of his enemies who wanted to kill him. God, however, saved him from evil situations just as the angels saved him from the snakes. Nevertheless, all of this was part of the advice of a good companion, the buried one in Hebron. When he came to his brothers, Reuben was then involved in the household matters to serve his father for the day. He went to his father to serve him every day. He found out about their intentions from the words of his brothers, who wanted to kill Joseph. This is the meaning of 'And Reuben heard and saved him from their hands. And behold, it does not say here, 'And his brothers heard,' as it is stated about Judah. It is possible that Judah was their king, and they were obligated to listen to him by force. Another possibility is that since it says, 'And they took him and cast him,' with 'they took him' written in the singular form, it indicates that it was Simeon, as the sages state. Therefore, when they heard the matter from Reuben, they immediately arose and cast him into the pit. At that moment, after casting him into the pit, Reuben had not yet gone to his father, as he was occupied with the household matters before leaving. Later, he returned to the pit in the wilderness, took Joseph, and intended to return him to his father. This is what is meant by 'And Reuben returned to the pit.' Where was Rabbi Joshua saying that all the troubles of the household were thrown upon him? Once he turned away, he went to the pit. According to this interpretation, his statement, 'The boy is gone, and where can I go?' is more understandable. He meant that his intention was to bring the boy back to his father when he returned. Now, since the boy is gone, he does not want to go to his father, even though it is his daily task. Therefore, Rabbi Eliezer says that he was busy with fasting and mourning when he turned away and went to the pit. This explains his statement, 'And they sat down to eat bread, and Reuben did not sit with them to eat.' One can inquire about the deed that the tribes of Jacob did, allowing themselves to shed innocent blood and sell him.  And behold, some say that their intention was related to their suspicions that, God forbid, they might be separated from their elevated status of holiness, and Joseph would become the main figure in place of their father. They feared that they would become subordinate to him. They saw it similar to the case of Ishmael and Esau, as they observed that their father loved him more than all his brothers. Jacob trusted him, imparted knowledge to him, and taught him everything he learned. Joseph, too, had the same perception. He saw himself as the favorite, and his conduct was pious and esteemed in their eyes. As it is written, 'And Joseph brought evil reports of them to their father,' meaning that he reported that they were eating limbs from a living animal while it was still writhing. He was strict about this. He also claimed that they were gazing at the local girls, implying that they were engaging in inappropriate relationships, which he considered permissible. Furthermore, he mentioned that they called his brothers the sons of the maidservants, indicating a degree of disparagement towards them. He was strict about this as well. Regarding these three matters, the Scripture hints in the verse, 'Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, for he was a son of his old age,' meaning that he kept them in line with matters related to the flock. He was a young man who looked after the affairs of the youth, meticulously attending to their conduct. He would inform his brothers about the deeds of the youth. He referred to his father's wives as 'your father's wives,' unlike his brothers who referred to them as 'the maidservants of your father.' Therefore, when they observed him engaging in these actions of separation, strictness, and jealousy, they thought he intended to cause harm and displace them from their superior position. His dreams further strengthened this perception. Hence, they said it was permissible to pursue him and remove him from their midst."
.."And Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his loins, etc. It is suggested that the reason it says 'his clothes' and not 'his garments' as it did for Reuben is to emphasize that Jacob tore his precious garments. Similarly, it mentions 'sackcloth on his loins' and not 'girded with sackcloth' like 'gird with sackcloth.' Alternatively, it could be 'he put on sackcloth,' as in the case of Mordecai. Another reason for this excessive mourning is that, since one does not find comfort in life, as the sages said, it was not fitting for him to perform mourning rites for these actions. The verse also says 'and they rose,' not 'and they came.' It also mentions 'all his sons and all his daughters' without specifying that the comforters were young boys and girls. The reason for saying 'I will go down mourning' is questioned; what comfort did he find in this? It seems that Jacob mourned for Joseph in two ways: first, due to the loss of a great and righteous man like Joseph, for whom everyone should mourn. Second, because he was his son, and he had no merit to protect him, and his brothers' transgressions led to these events. Therefore, to express his awareness of Joseph's worth, he tore his splendid clothes, according to the saying, 'The garment makes the man.' And as 'and put your clothes upon you,' it is expounded as 'wear mourning garments' like the explanation in the Jerusalem Talmud (Pe'ah 5:7 and Rabbah). This is due to the general mourning, even if he didn't have a son; he would do this, as explained. The second point: 'and put sackcloth upon his loins.' It means that he placed the sackcloth directly on his flesh from the inside, and it stuck to his skin beneath his garments. He put it on his loins to signify mourning for his son who came out from his loins and his abdomen. He acted with this private mourning for many days. Later, his sons and daughters sensed this, and they saw his actions as a bad omen. As the Sages say (Midrash Kohelet 27): 'Anyone who prolongs mourning for a deceased more than necessary is doing so over another deceased.' This is what they felt against him, thinking that what he was doing was a bad sign for them. Therefore, they rose up to forcefully put an end to his behavior. Perhaps they demanded that he console himself for their sake, as he had other sons and daughters, and the sons had their own children. This is the meaning of 'all his sons and all his daughters.' He replied that he wasn't concerned about them, even though they were numerous, as he was mourning and lamenting for his son, and none of them would fill his place. According to the first interpretation, he meant that he would go down to his sons' level of mourning, behaving in mourning throughout his life for his son, for whom he did not merit to protect. And there are pious individuals who weep and mourn all their days when they see that, Heaven forbid, they stumbled even in a minor matter, as exemplified by Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananiah, who fasted every day because his teeth turned black, as he said, 'I am ashamed before my teeth,' as mentioned in Chagigah 22. Some say he responded to them that, on the contrary, it is better that they do not see him happy but rather sad, so that the Satan does not accuse him. Furthermore, he quoted the words of Job, 'If I say, "I will forget my complaint, I will change my expression and smile,"' meaning that he would forget entirely from his heart or, at least, even if he does not forget from his heart, he would change his face to present himself before people as if he has no sorrow. 'All my suffering I know that You will not acquit me,' meaning that he feared that the Satan would not cease accusing him.

Miketz



Vayigash



Vayechi



Shemot



Vaera



Bo



Beshalach



Yitro



Mishpatim



Terumah



Tetzaveh



Ki Tisa



Vayakhel



Pekudei



Vayikra



Tzav



Tazria



Metzora



Achrei Mot



Kedoshim

<b>You shall each fear your mother and your father, etc.:</b> He first commanded about the fear of father and mother, because one who honors his father and mother, and is afraid of them, recognizes those who gave him birth and who created him. And likewise is it incumbent upon his father and mother to also do to their forebears, and likewise those to those up until the supernal Elder who created everything. And so, from the fear of one's father and mother, he will recognize the existence of the Creator, may He be blessed, and His awe. This is along the lines of that which [the Sages] said (Kiddushin 30b), "I count it for you as if I lived among them and you honored Me." And from the Shabbat as well, we know and we believe in the origin of the world and that it has an Originator who originated it during the six days of creation. So, "I am the Lord your God," will then be fulfilled. And afterwards He warned about combination [of God with other forces], like His saying (Leviticus 19:4), "Do not turn to the idols," and distance yourself from that which is ugly and that which is similar to it, from combination and that which is similar to it. And because of this, he warned about the thinking of <i>pigul</i>, which is when he slaughters a sacrifice today in order to eat from it tomorrow, outside of its [allotted] time. For it is necessary to not mix and combine any other thought with it. And this is the meaning of (Leviticus 19:5), "you shall slaughter it to be acceptable for you."

Emor



Behar



Bechukotai



Bamidbar



Nasso



Beha'alotcha



Sh'lach



Korach



Chukat



Balak



Pinchas



Matot



Masei



Vaetchanan



Eikev



Re'eh



Shoftim



Ki Teitzei



Ki Tavo



Nitzavim



Vayeilech