Seeking the meaning of the biblical text, Rabbi Shamah, who leads a Sephardic congregation in Brooklyn, New York, applies literary techniques in deep readings of the Pentateuch or Five Books of Moses. Based on his own translations for the most part, his analysis balances traditional "plain meaning" biblical interpretation with modern scholarship in fields such as archeology and linguistics. Organizing the material per the Jewish tradition of parashat (the weekly Torah portion reading) starting with Genesis, he presents lucid commentary on key themes in the context of other interpretations, inter-textual linkages, metaphorical accounts, symbolism, and apparently intentional quirks in narrative wording or syntax. The volume includes a glossary of terms and commentators. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Recalling the Covenant
A Contemporary Commentary on the Five Books of the TorahBy Rabbi Moshe ShamahKTAV Publishing House, Inc.
Copyright © 2011 Rabbi Moshe Shamah
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-60280-184-4Contents
PREFACE......................................................xixABBREVIATIONS................................................xxvPARASHAT BERESHIT............................................3PARASHAT NOAH................................................33PARASHAT LEKH LEKHA..........................................55PARASHAT VAYERA..............................................77PARASHAT HAYYE SARAH.........................................99PARASHAT TOLEDOT.............................................115PARASHAT VAYESE..............................................135PARASHAT VAYISHLAH...........................................149PARASHAT VAYESHEB............................................173PARASHAT MIQQES..............................................193PARASHAT VAYIGGASH...........................................213PARASHAT VAYHI...............................................227PARASHAT SHEMOT..............................................247PARASHAT VA'ERA..............................................275PARASHAT BO..................................................297PARASHAT BESHALLAH...........................................321PARASHAT YITRO...............................................349PARASHAT MISHPATIM...........................................385PARASHAT TERUMAH.............................................407PARASHAT TESAVVEH............................................425PARASHAT KI TISSA............................................445PARASHAT VAYAQHEL............................................479PARASHAT PEQUDE..............................................491PARASHAT VAYIQRA.............................................507PARASHAT SAV.................................................525PARASHAT SHEMINI.............................................547PARASHAT TAZRI'A.............................................569PARASHAT MESORA'.............................................585PARASHAT AHARE MOT...........................................593PARASHAT QEDOSHIM............................................617PARASHAT EMOR................................................637PARASHAT BEHAR...............................................655PARASHAT BEHUQQOTAI..........................................673PARASHAT BEMIDBAR............................................687PARASHAT NASO................................................703PARASHAT BEHAALOTEKHA........................................719PARASHAT SHELAH LEKHA........................................741PARASHAT QORAH...............................................763PARASHAT HUQQAT..............................................779PARASHAT BALAQ...............................................793PARASHAT PINEHAS.............................................809PARASHAT MATTOT..............................................825PARASHAT MAS'E...............................................843PARASHAT DEBARIM.............................................859PARASHAT VA'ETHANNAN.........................................873PARASTIAT 'EQEB..............................................897PARASHAT RE'EH...............................................909PARASHAT SHOFETIM............................................927PARASHAT KI TESE.............................................947PARASHAT KI TABO.............................................977PARASHAT NISSABIM............................................997PARASHAT VAYELEKH............................................1011PARASHAT HAAZINU.............................................1023PARASHAT VEZOT HABERAKHAH....................................1039ON NUMBER SYMBOLISM IN THE TORAH.............................1057REFLECTIONS ON MEGILLAT RUTH.................................1067REFLECTIONS ON THE BOOK OF JONAH.............................1077REFERENCES...................................................1089GLOSSARY OF TERMS AND COMMENTATORS...........................1093INDEX OF BIBLICAL AND RABBINICAL SOURCES.....................1097INDEX OF COMMENTATORS AND AUTHORS............................1127SUBJECT INDEX................................................1129
Chapter One
PARASHAT BERESHIT PART I
Genesis 1
1. General Remarks
In a majestic account of creation, the first chapter of the Torah articulates the most basic and important principles that a person should know concerning God, man and the world. God alone brought everything into being by divine fiat exactly according to His plan and purpose. He stands supreme, above the created order, outside of time and space. There are no restrictions on His will.
He created man — the text is explicit that it is speaking of male and female — as the pinnacle of creation and invested him with the highest degree of worth. Indeed, humankind was made "in the image of God," a phrase that implies the faculty of rational thought, freedom of will and infinite value. God blessed them and endowed them with the potential for prodigious achievement; He told them: "fill the earth, master it and rule over" its creatures.
Each component of creation is "good" and by the end of the sixth day, when creation was completed, all is "very good." The diet God assigned to man in Genesis 1, as well as to all living creatures, is vegetarian (vv. 29–30), manifesting His intent for the world to be a peaceful and tranquil domicile for man.
The ultimate fulfillment of creation comes with the seventh day, a day God blessed and sanctified, "for on that day He ceased from all His work, that God had created [for it to continue] to do" (Gen. 2:3; see Ibn Ezra). At this point the meaning of the seventh day, beyond being an abstract concept, is not explained; it will only emerge when Israel arrives on the scene.
In what appears to be a reaction to this chapter, the psalmist states:
Hashem, our Master, how majestic is Your name throughout the earth ... When I view Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and stars ...
What is man that You are mindful of him ... that You have made him little less than the angels ... and gave him to rule over the work of Your hands ... Sheep and oxen all, as well as the beasts of the field, The birds of heaven and the fish of the sea? Hashem, our Master, how majestic is Your name throughout the earth.
(Ps. 8:2, 4–10)
The larger implications are clear. Since one God created the world and all in it, and granted man his extraordinary status, he should express his appreciation to his Creator. Ultimately all human beings are dependent on Him and there is only Him to serve. Moral responsibility and accountability are implicit, as well as the capacity to live in a meaningful relationship with the Creator, topics to be addressed in the immediately following chapters.
That all humans are created in God's image and are recipients of His life-affirming blessings, possessing limitless dignity and unique value, is a proclamation that in an important respect means that all human beings are born equal. In Job's words regarding proper treatment of his slave: "Did not He who made me in the stomach make him, did not One form us both in the womb?" (Job 31:15). This egalitarian notion of man being created in the image of God set in motion thoughts about the human condition and...
