• Abravanel’s World of Torah

    Abravanel’s World of Torah

    is an enticingly innovative yet thoroughly loyal rendition of a major fifteenth-century Hebrew classic.
    For the first time, Don Yitzchak Abravanel’s Bible commentary has become accessible IN ENGLISH.
      
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Abravanel’s World of Torah: Series

Exodus

  • Introduction to the Book of Exodus

    Exodus (Shemot in Hebrew) segues from Genesis (Bereshit), for good reason.
    Here are four rationales that explain what takes us from the Torah’s first to second book.
     
    1) Bereshit dealt with individuals of great personal stature. To name some of the moral giants, we
    list: Adam, Noach, Shem, Eiver, Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov and his sons. There were other
    outstanding personalities, as well. After the narratives of these men of note were completed,
    Sefer Shemot commenced. Emphasis changes track from holy individuals to the holy Hebrew
    nation. Given the private/collective parameter, really, the Torah’s first book could aptly be
    called “The Book of Individuals”; the second book “The Book of the Nation.”
    2) A second rationale requires a deeper look, addressing the bedrock question: Why did God
    transmit the Torah? Answer: He desired to refine the Chosen People, His flock, through
    education and mitzvot. Scripture and its teachings uplift and enlighten body and soul. However,
    when the divine Torah sought to chronicle this unique and holy people, it first provided their
    backstory. In the beginning was their family tree. Indeed, worthy stock, blessed by the Maker.
    The Jews hail from a dedicated and close-knit religious-minded community. Remarkable men
    honed their descendants for nobility.
    Of course, all mankind descends from Adam and the Torah is saying more than who begot whom.
    Bereshit, metaphorically speaking, is a story about separating the wheat from the chaff, fruit from its
    peel. The men of renown are likened to what is ethically precious, morally craven descendants of Adam
    to byproduct discarded. Adam’s third son, Shet, was a cultivated, sweet fruit, a towering individual, a
    striking figure etched in God’s image.
    But not all of Shet’s descendants stayed the course. Many fell into the fruit peel category. Jews were of
    a different ilk. In time, Noach arrived, “a pure, tzaddik” to quote Bereshit. 6 The Torah relates that Noach
    found favor in the Creator’s eyes.  Yet, again, not all of the ancient mariner’s sons followed God.
    Specifically, Cham and Yafet didn’t, and are thus relegated to chaff, summarily dismissed. Shem, in
    contrast, held the flame, as did his great grandson Eiver, as did his great grandson Avraham. Avraham
    had it all, a delectable fruit, an indefatigable doer of good and a constant truth seeker. Of his offspring, 
    Yitzchak shined most brightly, all others marginalized. From Yitzchak came Yaakov. While Esav was
    detested, Yaakov rose in stature, a veritable Torah-value repository. Yaakov’s twelve sons clung to their
    father’s ways, all glimmering wheat stalks. Together, father and sons forged the holy nation, each one
    steadfast to Torah principles.
    And the Maker rewarded them, showering them with divine favor or providence. 8 In sum, the role of
    Bereshit provides an important contribution to understanding the roots of the Jewish People, their
    ancestry. Shemot recalls the greatness of the nation, and its religiosity.
    3) The Torah’s first book conveys the mighty deeds of the patriarchs, their holiness and divine
    communiqués. Hence, we read about the lives of Adam, Noach and his three sons, and all of their
    successive generations. This is by way of background until we reach Avraham. Avraham’s wholeness
    surpassed that of his predecessors. This observation is borne out by the fact that the Torah writes three
    parshiyot about his lifetime. For Yitzchak, the Torah dedicated one entire parashah. And in testimony to
    Yaakov’s and his son’s prominence, we count three pashiyot. Yosef and his brothers comprise Bereshit’s
    final three parshiyot. All tallied, the Torah’s first book consists of twelve parshiyot, all training a light on
    the patriarchs’ positive traits and contributions.
    Moshe’s attainments, by contrast, soared above the rest, equal to the sub-total of them. And in the field
    of prophecy, he far outdistanced them. That explains why Shemot’s twelve parshiyot pertain to the seer.
    In that regard, Bereshit’s scorecard, if you will, hints at the predominance of Moshe. An entire book
    belongs to the prophet, one equal to the Torah’s first book. Bereshit’s subjects are the patriarchs (and
    their forerunners); Shemot’s subject matter is Moshe.
    4) Finally, the divine Torah writes the epic story of how God took in His flock, the House of Yaakov. But
    first, readers needed to learn of Avraham’s, the first patriarch’s, sterling character. Still, Avraham had
    not been born into a vacuum. His illustrious forebears, to name some, were Adam, Noach, Shem, and
    Eiver. Avraham, morally and ethically evolved from them.
    Within Avraham’s story we read about a divine covenant, known as the brit bein ha’betarim. It foretells,
    “Your seed shall be strangers in a strange land.”  The covenant or brit also spoke of prodigious offspring,
    and a Holy Land which they could call home. Finally, in that brit, Avraham learned that God would
    extend His providence over the patriarch’s descendants, and His close attachment or devekut to them.
    The balance of Bereshit reveals how covenantal promises play out. Thus, for example, we read about
    Yaakov’s and Esav’s intrauterine posturing.  Later, there was a noxious sibling rivalry between Yosef and
    his brothers. Finally, a fierce famine forced Yaakov’s and his family’s descent into Egypt. Sowed were the
    seeds of national exile and redemption.Bereshit, then, lays the prefatory foundation upon which Shemot may be built. Put differently, theTorah’s first book introduces the ills and travails that precipitated a multi-century exile, one with
    disastrous consequences for the fledgling nation.
     It also opened a window. At the end of the calamitous sojourn in Egypt’s hell, salvation came – the
    exodus. That was only the half of it. On Sinai, the Hebrews acquired the requisite skillset to reach
    religious heights. Divine providence and the Shechinah nestled into the people’s desert camp, housed in
    the Tabernacle or Mishkan. To sum up, Bereshit brings the root causes (rivalry and famine); whereas,
    Shemot discusses the consequence (read: the second book elaborates on exile and exodus).

    We now better appreciate the divine wisdom that sequenced the order of Bereshit’s and Shemot’s parshiyot. As for the author, all had been transcribed by Moshe, at the word of God. Moreover, the prophet received commentary on all that the Creator communicated to him. After we have laid out these four introductory rationales, we proceed to Shemot’s commentary, with God’s help.

  • Parashat Beshalach

    “And it came to pass, when Pharoah had let the people go, that God led
    them not by the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was
    near, for God said: Lest perhaps the people repent when they see war,
    and they return to Egypt.”

    On our verse, readers readily note a difficulty with our verse. The Torah appears to disclose God’s
    motive for taking the escaped Jews via a desert, rather through the Coastal Route, that would have been
    a breeze. And it would have gotten the Jews to Canaan much faster.

    But what is written is not the underlying reason for God’s “peculiar” itinerary for His flock, as we shall
    soon discuss. Why does the Torah provide a feeble rationale (“Lest perhaps the people repent when
    they see war…”), when more meaty ones present themselves? Indeed, opting for a tenuous reason and
    omitting the real ones represents a glaring problem with the text.

    From the outset of the ten plagues, God was itching, you might say, to part the Red Sea, sending the
    Egyptians to Davy Jones’s locker. Below we bring three reasons to explain Heaven’s motive for leading
    the Hebrews away from the Coastal Road, instead, directing them via the divine cloud column and pillar
    of fire headlong into an arid wasteland.

    One has to do with the Hebrews leaving Egypt courtesy of and by permission of Pharoah. It was
    understood that the monarch authorized them to serve God in the desert per Moshe’s request: “Let my
    people go, that they may hold a feast unto Me in the wilderness.” From the first meeting at the palace,
    the wilderness was the professed destination. For that reason, the Creator did not bring them out to the
    Coastal Route. It would have given Pharoah license to slander the prophet, calling him a liar. Further,
    Pharoah would have deduced that their destination was the land of the Philistines, with no intention to
    serve God in the desert. This is expressed by our verse: “And it came to pass, when Pharoah had let the
    people go, that God led them not by the way of the land of the Philistines…”

    The Torah stresses that Pharoah permitted the Jews to leave. It was understood that they would
    celebrate in a serene, albeit barren setting. For that reason, Hashem could not guide them to Canaan via
    the land of the Philistines, adjacent to Egypt. Such a plan would have brought the monarch to conclude
    that in the land of Philistines were where the encampment sought refuge.

    Two concerned another wrinkle God may have anticipated. Had the Hebrews traveled along the
    Philistine Road, there stood a strong likelihood that the Philistines would have girded for war. Jewish
    preparedness, let us say, was nil. The masses would not have mustered up the courage to fight. And
    given that Egypt was nigh, they would have returned to it, opting for enslavement. We have concluded
    the second reason. Before we continue to the third one, we interject a midrash, based on our verse.

    “Although that was near” allows for multiple interpretations. In Pirkei Rabbi Eliezer, it is hinted that
    “although that was near” cloaks one of the very first Hebrew wars, one that ended in abject disaster. We
    speak about a misguided attempt by the Children of Efraim to hasten the liberation of Canaan. The
    impetuous tribe of Efraim marched headstrong out of Egypt and into the land of the Philistines, where
    they were soundly smashed. Two hundred thousand soldiers met death in their inglorious rush for
    redemption: “The Children of Efraim were as archers handling the bow, that turned back in the day of
    battle.”     Our verse states, “Lest perhaps the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt.” It alludes to the annihilation of the tribe of Efraim. When the encampment witnesses Efraim’s carnage,
    their brothers’ bones strewn about on the Philistine Road, they will chant in unity: Let us return to
    Egypt.

    To summarize the second point, we put forth that God did not guide them along the Coastal Highway,
    rather He opted for the desert. A vital lapse of time (forty years!) would grant the Hebrews precious
    opportunity to thoroughly train for war. After decades in the wilderness, they would encounter Sichon’s,
    Og’s, and the Canaanites’ formidable forces, emerging victorious. Further, these enemies are based far,
    far away from Egypt. Geographical considerations would have given pause to the Hebrews about a
    return to their former slaveowners.

    Three is the most powerful and compelling. The Philistine Route offered no body of water. The Creator
    hungered to split the sea for the Jews, and to drown Egyptians in it (revenge for Egyptians drowning
    Hebrew babies). That necessitated the nation to be led into the desert. The Red Sea served as the plan’s
    centerpiece. Our section’s second verse says: “But God led the people about, by the way of the
    wilderness by the Red Sea…”

    We can prove our point by interjecting a Hebrew grammar rule. Specifically, it concerns the usage of the
    Hebrew letter vav, generally a conjunction meaning “and.” However, in Scripture a vav may also signal a
    root cause. For our purposes here, we will show how it works, and reframe the section’s second verse
    accordingly. “And God, in order to lead the people about by the way of the wilderness – because of the
    Red Sea…”

    Rendering the verse as we have provides the proper accent or tone. Consequently, we better
    understand God’s main rationale for doing what He did. That is, he led them into a desert, and not into
    Canaan via the Coastal Road, because of a highly-anticipated confrontation and divine rendezvous at the
    Red Sea with their heartless, quondam taskmasters and baby-killers.

     

  • Parashat Bo: An Excerpt

    “So that I might place these signs of Mine in his midst.”

    ‘Pharoah was a lost cause but God aimed to instill lessons of eternal faith within His people. When
    they looked around them and saw God’s hand everywhere, it would be a boon. Belief would spring
    eternal. A better approach to these verses is that Moshe was taken in by Pharoah’s post-hail promise
    to liberate the Jews. The Almighty’s messenger mistakenly thought further plagues unnecessary.

    God knew differently…’

     Page 172 Sinai Rules by Zev Bar Eitan

  • Parashat Mishpatim: Jewish Law

    Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical
    commentator. In the book of Exodus, parashat Mishpatim, it delves into divine, judicial statutes that comprise large swathes of
    Jewish law or jurisprudence. This subject matter continues into the upcoming chapters, as well.

    “And these are the statutes which you shall set before them.”

    For the full discussion of Jewish jurisprudence, see Abravanel’s World. However, for our purposes here,
    we touch upon Abravanel’s introduction. He emphasizes one of his guiding principles that he applies
    throughout his commentary on the Bible. We speak about the integrity of Holy Writ. Not only must the
    words and verses be carefully analyzed and understood, but also their order, sequence, or juxtaposition
    illuminate the text.

    Let us elaborate. Abravanel writes in his preface to this chapter that he perused his predecessors’
    approaches regarding the sequence of the divine commandments pertaining to Jewish law. Does it
    matter which statute proceeds another?

    To his dismay, Abravanel found that a majority of commentators write that order is inconsequential.
    Since they assumed that the organization of the laws were random or haphazard, these commentators
    felt no pressing need, for example, to derive clarification or meaning from our chapter’s first
    commandment (“If you buy a Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve…”) to the second one (“And if a
    man sell his daughter to be a maid-servant…”), or to the third topic (“He who smites a man, so that he
    dies…”). For those writers who posit that all of our chapter’s statutes act as independent units, they
    failed to grasp minutiae which emerge from a proper appreciation of any given rule’s placement. Put
    differently, because they did not connect the dots, they missed the bigger picture.

    Indeed, Abravanel leveled sharp remarks regarding such a lackadaisical approach to the Bible’s organic
    integrity, let us call it. He had, perhaps, less patience for those commentators who did attempt to derive
    meaning from the statute’s sequence, but offered only gibberish. “Accept or reject them at your
    discretion,” Abravanel advises.

    Abravanel launches into an insightful discourse showing just how crucial juxtaposition is to a precise
    understanding of our chapter in particular, and of the Bible in general. How does Abravanel come to this
    conclusion, that sequence matters?

    It’s plain logic, Abravanel’s advances. Since God Himself is the judge of the universe, will He Himself not
    mete out justice? Did He not array His laws according to purposeful sequence? It’s as basic as that: God
    did not dictate the Pentateuch in a whimsical fashion to Moses. His design and method run throughout.

  • Parashat Mishpatim: The Three Major Jewish Festivals

    Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical
    commentator. The subject of the three major Jewish festivals is broached in Exodus chapter 23.
    Attendance in Jerusalem’s Holy Temple during those holidays is compulsory: “Three times in the year all
    your males shall appear before God Almighty.”

    “Three times you shall keep a feast unto Me in the year.”

    Abravanel writes, as we have ascertained in an earlier blog, that the Ten Commandments are really a
    start place for many more divine commandments. In that vein, when the Bible obligates Hebrews to
    observe Sabbath, it also alludes to the observance of the three major Jewish festivals.

    Passover comes first: “The feast of unleavened bread shall you keep. Seven days you shall eat
    unleavened bread…”Abravanel explains that, in fact, the eating of unleavened bread is only compulsory
    on the first day of Passover. The verse just cited means that should a Hebrew desire to eat bread during
    the seven-day holiday, that bread must be unleavened.

    Another detail about Passover emerges: timing. “At the time appointed in the month of Aviv, for in it
    you came out from Egypt.”Aviv, in Hebrew, means springtime. The genius of the Jewish calendar
    combines the lunar and solar months in order to safeguard that Passover will always be celebrated in
    the spring. When the Hebrews ascended Jerusalem’s holy mountain, they did not arrive empty-handed.
    Each visitor brought animal sacrifices to the Temple.

    The feast of harvest came next, followed by the third and last holiday – the feast of ingathering. “And the feast of harvest, the first fruits of your labor, which you sow in the field, and the feast of ingathering,at the end of the year, when you gather in your labors out of the field.”

    Abravanel teaches that the second festival coincides with the wheat harvest. Hence, Jews must offer the
    first fruits of grain to the attending priestly class in Jerusalem.

    As for the third major festival, it refers to the feast of ingathering. At that time, Hebrews brought wine,
    oil, plus a vast array of produce to the Temple. Lest readers get the wrong idea, Abravanel warns, and
    assume that the major festivals were celebrated in people’s hometowns, an explicit verse disabuses that
    false notion: “Three times in the year all your males shall appear before God Almighty.”

    “Before God Almighty” requires clarification. What does the phrase impart? It stresses the main point of
    visiting the Holy Temple. That is, the major festivals are not for the purpose of gorging on food and
    delighting in other mundane activities. Rather, visitors to Jerusalem were meant to foster an intimate
    relationship with the Maker, cleaving to Him. Proper demeanor toward God resembles a servant before
    his master.

    How appropriate, then, to celebrate each festival in otherworldly repose and devotion to the One
    Above! Priests and Levites residing in Jerusalem assisted their brethren to better understand holy
    teachings, further enhancing the Holy City’s spiritual experience for all visitors.

    See Abravanel’s World for a full discussion of the Jewish festivals, including one of Abravanel’s most
    resourceful efforts to find a connection between the third festival (“the feast of the ingathering”) and a
    seeming unrelated commandment pertaining to dietary laws – “You shall not boil a kid in its mother’s
    milk.”

     

     

  • Parashat Yitro: Torah From Heaven

    Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical
    commentator. Exodus chapter 19 sets the backdrop for mankind’s defining moment: The transmission of
    the Torah on Mount Sinai.

    “In the third month after the Children of Israel were gone forth out of the
    land of Egypt, the same day came into the wilderness of Sinai.”

    Abravanel asks about the timing of the watershed event: Why did God wait so long? Consider, the
    Hebrews left Egypt three months earlier. Why now? Abravanel probes further, asking why the Creator
    hadn’t transmitted the Pentateuch to Adam, the first man? Or perhaps, Abravanel writes, the Torah
    should have been given to Noah, when the Maker entered into a covenant with mankind. As for
    exemplary individuals, certainly the patriarchs – Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – ranked as worthy
    recipients. Hence, why didn’t God communicate the Torah to them, as He does now with Moses?

    At length, Abravanel answers this intriguing question. See Abravanel’s World for the full treatment.
    Here, we will touch on the three main points of the essay. But here is the starting premise. The Torah
    should not be mischaracterized as a religious text concerning conduct, a guidebook of dos and don’ts.
    Rather it is a divinely-crafted and heavenly-honed system for mastering true faith, divine belief. Now let
    us return to the question: Why was God’s Torah transmitted at this particular juncture in history?

    One, it wouldn’t befit the Pentateuch to be given to a special individual or even a cadre of holy people.
    Torah demands throngs or myriads of gathered, quality folk. Only in the midst of the Chosen Nation can
    Torah be transmitted.

    Two, the intermediary or transferor of the Torah needed to be a unique soul, a noble personage. With
    all due respect to the phenomenal patriarchs and their illustrious ancestors (including Adam and Noah),
    Moses was cut from a different cloth. Of course, we are speaking about highly unusual traits. Abravanel
    lists ten. To give a sampling, first on the list is moderation of physical or spousal comforts, like sexual
    intimacy. In a word – detachment. Second is disinterest in eating and drinking, illustrated by Moses’
    forty-day periods without food or drink.

    Three, context and orchestration are key. Thunder and lightning and shofar blasts contributed to Sinai’s
    ambience and mood, promoting the proper prelude. The lead-up miracles wrought in Egypt and the
    splitting of the Red Sea, too, were all indispensable.

    In sum, Abravanel teaches that God’s Torah needed a specific combination or conflation of diverse
    elements to perfectly fall into place, before it could be wrested from heaven and brought down to earth.

    A critical mass of huddled Hebrews, under the tutelage of the greatest of all prophets – Moses, on the
    heels of the wonders the Creator performed in Egypt and in the desert proved to be the requisite and
    rich ensemble.

     

  • Parshat Mishpatim : An Excerpt

    "In sum, tight linkage between the Utterances (10 Commandments) and accompanying laws convincingly persuades readers that Parashat Mishpatim conveys divine directives unlike any manmade moral code."

    Shemot: Sinai Rules, page 464

  • Parshat Terumah: The Tabernacle

    Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical
    commentator. In Exodus chapter 25, parshat Terumah, we read about the divine commandment to build for God a
    sanctuary in the tabernacle. We also learn how this sacred structure was to be financed.

    “And God spoke unto Moses saying: Speak to the Children of Israel, that
    they take for Me an offering. Of every man whose heart makes him
    willing, you shall take My offering….And let them make Me a sanctuary,
    that I may dwell among them.”

    Abravanel gets right to the point: Why did God command the Jews to build a sanctuary for Him? Is the
    Creator a physical being, in need of shelter? Of course, any physicality attributed to the Maker ranks
    preposterous, let alone despicable and untruthful. Wise Solomon, who built Jerusalem’s Holy Temple,
    stated the thorny problem: “But will God in very truth dwell on earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven
    of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this house that I have built?”

    Here is a synopsis of Abravanel’s approach. “God forbid,” Abravanel categorically states, “that the
    Creator is needful of a house with all its appurtenances.” Bible students, instead, should understand
    this commandment as follows. The Tabernacle is an object lesson, a concrete reminder that God dwells
    amidst the Hebrew encampment.

    Each Jew must process and internalize that lofty message, so it becomes etched in his soul and fiber.
    Song of songs alluded to God’s proximity this way: “He stands behind our wall. He looks through the
    windows. He peers through the lattice.”The Creator watches every move, hears every thought.

    The prophet Isaiah confirms this theological paradox of God’s infinitude and nearness. “Thus says God:
    The heaven is My throne, and the earth My footstool. Where is the house that you may build unto Me?
    And where is the place that may be My resting place? For all these things has My hand made…”

    Abravanel puts his finger on the significance inherent in the Tabernacle. The divine edifice is designed in
    order for Jews to know in their heart of hearts that the Creator’s providence cuddles the Chosen People.
    Abravanel returns to Isaiah: “But on this man will I look, even on him that is poor and of a contrite spirit,
    and trembles at My word.”

    “And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.” See Abravanel’s World for the full
    impact of this divine directive.

  • Parshat Yitro: The Ten Commandments

    Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) was a preeminent Jewish thinker, scholar, and prolific Biblical
    commentator. We read in Exodus chapter 20, parshat Yitro, that the Ten Commandments were transmitted to the
    Hebrews on Mount Sinai.

    “And God spoke all these words saying: I am God, Who brought you out
    of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no
    other gods before Me…”

    Abravanel discusses exactly what makes the Ten Commandments stand out from the rest of the Bible. It
    is, not surprisingly, an elaborate discourse. See Abravanel’s World for the entirety of it. Here, we will
    share with Bible students Abravanel’s three, salient observations.

    One has to do with the Speaker – God. In contrast to all of the other divine commandments, only the
    Decalogue was from Heaven, sans an intermediary. That is, when it came to the other commandments,
    Moses delivered them to the Hebrews, at God’s behest. Not so with the Ten Commandments. Neither
    angel or seraph or prophet uttered them; they came directly from Above. On that historic day, the
    Creator of heaven and earth descended, as it were, and addressed His nation. Understand, therefore,
    the Decalogues’ intrinsic prominence.

    Two stresses the audience, the Chosen People. With the other commandments, God transmitted them
    to a single person, Moses, albeit His specially-designated messenger who had shown himself worthy.
    Moses’ brethren were not privy to hear what Moses heard, nor see what he had seen. How different
    were the Ten Commandments! Every person, young and old, heard and understood God’s words. The
    myriads of Jews were an integral part of the conversation with the Divine. The fire at Sinai they beheld;
    the audible voice they heard.

    Three emphasizes the material upon which the Ten Commandments were written – all etched in stone.
    No other verse in the Torah, no other commandment had been so indelibly engraved. Rather, they were
    transcribed from God to Moses, who wrote them on parchment. As for the Ten Commandments,
    moreover, no engraver’s tool had been utilized. It was the Maker’s handiwork, His imprint upon rock.
    Moses hadn’t participated an iota in it.

    In brief, Bible students are hereby apprised of the Ten Commandment’s uniqueness, their
    otherworldliness. The Almighty alone put His imprimatur on them, in a manner of speaking, as
    evidenced by the three reasons stated above.

  • Prophets and Prophecy

     

    “And I appeared unto Avraham, unto Yitzchak, and unto Yaakov, as God

    Almighty, but by My name [Hashem] I made Me not known to them.”  Parashat Va’era, First Aliyah

    Classic commentators struggled to make sense of our verse. Some hold that it means that God had not
    revealed Himself to them via the Ineffable name. Others posit that Hashem made promises to them, but
    did not fulfil them. Both positions are weak, as we shall now demonstrate.
     
    The first school missed the mark because the Torah writes that God, in His Ineffable name, did
    communicate with Avraham. In one instance, the Ineffable name entered into a covenant with Avraham
    (in Hebrew the brit bein ha’betarim). On a separate occasion, the Ineffable name commanded Avraham
    to undergo circumcision or brit milah. Both verses are explicit.
    There are more: “And He said unto him: I am God…”, “And Avram called there on the name of God”, and
    “And, behold, God stood beside him and said: I am God…” Here we have proof that the Maker revealed
    Himself to the patriarchs by way of the Ineffable name.

     

    The second school falls short, for God fulfilled His promises to the patriarchs. It presupposed that He
    conveyed an oath that they would inherit the Holy Land in their lifetimes. That is a blatant misstatement.
    God never uttered such a thing. He did foretell, though, that the fourth generation of Hebrews
    sojourning in a foreign land would emerge to liberate, and take possession of, Israel.
    Other divine promises were made for the patriarchs’ lifetimes, and kept. To Avraham, He foretold that
    he would father children. And he did. Similarly, to Yitzchak and Yaakov, God extended promises.
    Promises were kept, as we read in those parshiyot pertaining to Yitzchak and Yaakov.
     
    One last clarification for the classic Biblical commentators. They argued that God had not performed
    miracles for the patriarchs along the lines that He had done for Moshe. For their proof, they bring the
    example of turning Moshe’s staff into a snake. Or another example of something supernatural that the
    Creator did for Moshe was the wonder of the prophet’s hand becoming leprous, and then hale again.
    We beg to differ. Actually, God generously dispensed miracles to the patriarchs. To begin with, Avraham
    was saved from Ur Kasdim’s clutches. Being rescued, unscathed, from Pharoah’s lusty play for Sarai also
    ranks as major. Later, the first patriarch experienced supernatural assistance from the Holy One with
    Sedom and Gemorrah, culminating in a successful mission to rescue Lot, against all odds. Or what about
    Lot’s wife’s punishment? She morphed into a pillar of salt. Given this raft of believe-it-or-not wonders,
    who can put forth that God had not performed prodigiously for the patriarchs, as He had with Moshe at
    this early stage in his career as a seer?

     

    We now turn and suggest what amounts to a truer read of our verse. Backdrop is essential. At the time
    when God reached out to Moshe, both he and nation had grown disillusioned over the prospect of ever
    gaining freedom from Egyptian taskmasters. Centuries of exile stripped slaves of their faith, relegating
    redemption or geulah to no more than a quixotic pipe dream of yesteryear. “For since I came to Pharoah
    to speak in Your name…”
     
    The Maker disabused the prophet of a mindset maligned by despair. Geulah, the prophet heard at
    present, was a foregone conclusion. It would absolutely come to fruition for multiple reasons. For
    brevity, we bring only the first rationale.

     

    What is the simple reading or pshat on our verse? Let us focus on divine communication, from the
    perspective of Hashem. He had not revealed Himself to the patriarchs in a manner by which they could
    know Him. God’s messages had come via an intermediary, and not directly or panim el panim.
    While it is true that those non-physical intermediators received their dispatches from Above, still and all,
    an intimate peek into God remained blocked. A barrier held the patriarchs at bay. When we review the
    verse, inserting the Hebrew names for God, we gain clarity: “And I appeared…as Kel Shakai, but by My
    name [Hashem], I made Me not known to them.”
    The verse informs us of a distance or gap separating the patriarchs and Hashem. Divine communication
    had been carried out via Kel Shakai’s angelic messengers. And yes, even on occasion, the
    communication had come about through His name – Hashem. Crucial is this. Intimacy or panim el panim
    had never been granted to the patriarchs.
    This was about to change. Geulah absolutely had to transpire (That was God’s solemn oath.). While in
    the desert, redemption would enable Moshe and every single Hebrew access or entrée to God – directly
    – each according to their spiritual preparedness and piety. Read: panim el panim (face to face). Said intimacy opens up
    avenues to know God’s glory and exaltedness. The patriarchs never attained panim el panim, their
    prophecies a notch below. In sum, a sea-change was in the offing, since God sought to upgrade His
    relationship with the Jews. For that to happen, geulah became more than an expedient; it became a

    must.

Page 2 of 2

PRAISE FOR THE WORK

An outstanding translation of the fascinating commentary by the last of the Spanish greats.
Rabbi Berel Wein
A major contribution to Torah literature.
Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski, MD
An interpretive reading in crisp, contemporary English.... [An] important contribution.
Yitzchok Adlerstein
Rabbi; cofounder, Cross Currents
Rabbi Zev Bar Eitan has embarked on a very ambitious project to make Abarbanel accessible to all Jews regardless of background. Baruch Hashem, he has succeeded admirably.
Rav Yitzchak Breitowitz
Rav, Kehillat Ohr Somayach
In clear, straightforward language…Bar Eitan opens the Abravanel’s world of complex ideas to the layman in a way that it has not been opened before. Highly recommended.
Rabbi Shmuel Goldin
Past President, Rabbinical Council of America; author, Unlocking the Torah Text and Unlocking the Haggada
Rabbi Zev Bar-Eitan…has achieved a rendition of the Abravanel which will enable all English readers to comprehend the depths and innovativeness of the original Hebrew text.
Rabbi Dr. Aaron Rakeffet-Rothkoff
Professor of Rabbinic Literature, Caroline and Joseph S. Gruss Institute, Yeshiva University
In an accessible and flowing language accompanied by a variety of visual aids, Abravanel is presented to the English reader in all his glory. [An] illuminative commentary.
Rachelle Fraenkel
Torah educator, Midrashot Nishmat and Matan
A masterful rendition…lucid, free-flowing and interesting.
Rabbi Zev Leff
Rabbi, Moshav Matityahu; Rosh Hayeshiva, Yeshiva Gedola Matityahu
I am perusing Vayikra, Vol. I: The Meat of the Matter, which looks very good and interesting.
Rabbi Emanuel Feldman
Rabbi Emeritus, Congregation Beth Jacob, Atlanta
Riveting and flowing elucidation of the text simplifies complex ideas leaving the reader readily able to grasp the Abravanel’s inner meaning and purposeful explanation.
Rabbi Meyer H. May
Executive Director, Simon Wiesenthal Center and Museums of Tolerance
Open[s] our eyes and minds to the fascinating world of the Abravanel and his unique way of analyzing the Torah...in a user-friendly commentary.
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Senior Managing Director, OU
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Rabbi Sholom Gold
Founding Rabbi, Kehillat Zichron Yosef, Har Nof
The translation is as beautiful as the original Hebrew and the English reader loses nothing in this excellent rendition.
Rabbi Allen Schwartz
Congregation Ohab Zedek, Yeshiva University
Abravanel needs a redeemer…Bar Eitan takes on this complex task.
Rabbi Gil Student
Student Action
At once a work of scholarship and a treat for the imagination.… Bar Eitan’s Abravanel presents Exodus as great literature, as exciting and gripping as any great Russian novel.
Rabbi Daniel Landes
Rosh Hayeshivah, Machon Pardes
Zev Bar Eitan has an intimate understanding of two characters: Abravanel and the modern reader. He traverses great distance to bring these two together masterfully.
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Rabbi, Young Israel of the Main Line; Rosh Mesivta, Mesivta High School of Greater Philadelphia
An uncommon treat.… Rabbi Bar Eitan is to be commended for providing an accessible entree to this timeless masterpiece.
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Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto Congregation
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Rachel Weinstein
Tanach Department, Ramaz Upper School, NY
The clear, easy-to-read language and appended notes and illustrations bring the Abravanel to life, for scholars and laymen alike. A great addition to per¬sonal and shul libraries.
Rabbi Yehoshua Weber
Rabbi, Clanton Park Synagogue, Toronto
Of great value to those who have hesitated to tackle this dense, complex work.… Render[s] the Abravanel’s commentary accessible to the modern reader.
Simi Peters
author, Learning to Read Midrash
A gift to the English-speaking audience.… An important “must have” addition to the English Torah library.
Chana Tannenbaum
EdD, lecturer, Bar-Ilan University
The thoughts of a Torah giant over 500 years ago in terminology understand¬able to the modern reader.
Deena Zimmerman
MD, MPH, IBCLC,author; lecturer
Allows the reader the opportunity to see firsthand the brilliance, creativity, and genius of this 15th-century Spanish biblical commentator.
Rabbi Elazar Muskin
Young Israel of Century City, Los Angeles
An excellent job bringing to life the profound ideas of one of the most original thinkers in Judaism and making them relevant and interesting 500 years later.
Rabbi Dr. Alan Kimche
Ner Yisrael Community, London
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Rabbi Moshe Schonbrun
Senior educator, JAC University of Arizona
I’ve really enjoyed reading Abravanel's World of Torah. Abravanel was a great and original thinker whose perspective has broadened my understanding of Torah. Rabbi Bar Eitan presents Abravanel’s thought clearly and lucidly. I highly recommend his work. I’ve also really benefitted from being able to email Rabbi Bar Eitan regarding points where I needed further clarity.
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London
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New Jersey