Matot
Encyclopedia
Matot, Mattot, Mattoth, or Matos (מַּטּוֹת — Hebrew
for “tribes,” the fifth word, and the first distinctive word, in the parshah) is the 42nd weekly Torah portion (parshah) in the annual Jewish
cycle of Torah reading
and the ninth in the book of Numbers
. It constitutes Jews in the Diaspora
generally read it in July or early August.
The lunisolar
Hebrew calendar
contains up to 55 week
s, the exact number varying between 50 in common years and 54 or 55 in leap years. In leap years (for example, 2011 and 2014), parshah Matot is read separately. In common years (for example, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2018), parshah Matot is combined with the next parshah, Masei
, to help achieve the number of weekly readings needed.
told the heads of the Israelite
tribe
s God’s
commands
about nedarim
(commitments commonly translated, or perhaps mistranslated, as "vow
s"). If a man made a vow to God, he was to carry out all that he promised. If a girl living in her father’s household made a vow to God or assumed an obligation, and her father learned of it and did not object, her vow would stand. But if her father objected on the day that he learned of it, her vow would not stand, and God would forgive her. If she married
while her vow was still in force, and her husband learned of it and did not object on the day that he found out, her vow would stand. But if her husband objected on the day that he learned of it, her vow would not stand, and God would forgive her. The vow of a widow or divorced woman was binding. If a married woman made a vow and her husband learned of it and did not object, then her vow would stand. But if her husband objected on the day that he learned of it, her vow would not stand, and God would forgive her. If her husband annulled one of her vows after the day that he learned of it, he would bear her guilt.
ites, after which he would die. At Moses’ direction, a thousand men from each tribe, with Phinehas
son of Eleazar
serving as priest
on the campaign with the sacred utensils and trumpet
s, attacked Midian and slew every man, including five kings
of Midian and the prophet
Balaam
. The Israelites burned the Midianite towns, took the Midianite women and children captive, seized all their beasts and wealth as booty, and brought the captives and spoil to Moses, Eleazar, and the Israelite community at the steppes of Moab
. Moses became angry with the army’s commanders for sparing the women, as they were the ones who, at Balaam’s bidding, had induced the Israelites to trespass against God in the sin of Peor
. Moses then told the Israelites to kill every boy and every woman who had had sexual relations, but to spare the virgin girls.
. Eleazar told the troops to take any article that could withstand fire
— gold
, silver
, copper
, iron
, tin
, and lead
— and pass them through fire to clean them, and to cleanse everything with water of lustration. Eleazar directed that on the seventh day they should wash their clothes and be clean, and thereafter be free to enter the camp.
s. The total booty came to 675,000 sheep, 72,000 head of cattle, 61,000 asses, and 32,000 virgin women, which Moses and Eleazar divided as God had commanded.
The commanders of the troops told Moses that they had checked the warriors, and not one was missing, so they brought as an offering to God the gold that they came upon — armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and pendants — to make expiation for their persons before God. Moses and Eleazar accepted from them 16,750 shekels of gold, but the warriors in the ranks kept their booty for themselves.
and the Gadites
, who owned much cattle
, noted that the lands of Jazer and Gilead
on the east side
of the Jordan River suited cattle, and they approached Moses, Eleazar, and the chieftain
s and asked that those lands be given to them as a holding. Moses asked them if the rest of the Israelites were to go to war while they stayed on the east bank, and would that not undermine the enthusiasm of the rest of the Israelites for crossing into the Promised Land
. Moses likened their position to that of the scouts
who surveyed the land
and then turned the minds of the Israelites against invading, thus incensing God and causing God to swear that none of the adult Israelites (except Caleb
and Joshua
) would see the land. They replied that they would build their sheepfolds and towns east of the Jordan and leave their children there, but then serve as shock-troops in the van of the Israelites until the land was conquered and not seek a share of the land west of the Jordan. Moses then said that if they would do this, and every shock-fighter among them crossed the Jordan, then they would be clear before God and Israel, and this land would be their holding. But Moses continued, if they did not do as they promised, they would have sinned against God.
Moses instructed Eleazar, Joshua, and the family heads of the Israelite tribes to carry out the agreement. So Moses assigned the Gadites, the Reubenites, and half the tribe of Manasseh
lands on the east side of the Jordan.
in the Mishnah
, Tosefta
, Jerusalem Talmud
, and Babylonian Talmud
interpreted the laws of vows in Exodus Leviticus
and and Deuteronomy
(Mishnah Nedarim 1:1–11:11; Tosefta Nedarim 1:1–7:8; Jerusalem Talmud Nedarim 1a–; Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 2a–91b; Mishnah Shevuot 1:1–8:6; Tosefta Shevuot 1:1–6:7; Jerusalem Talmud Shevuot 1a–; Babylonian Talmud Shevuot 2a–49b.)
Rabbi Akiba taught that vows are a fence to self-restraint. (Mishnah Avot 3:13.) But the Jerusalem Talmud asked whether it was not enough that the Torah had forbidden us things that we should seek to forbid yet other things to ourselves. (Jerusalem Talmud Nedarim 9:1.) The Gemara
discouraged vows. Rabbi Nathan
taught that one who vows is as if he built a high place, and he who fulfils a vow is as if he sacrificed on that high place. And the Gemara deduced from Rabbi Nathan's teaching that is meritorious to seek absolution from vows. (Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 22a, 59a.) And a midrash
told the tale of King Jannai
, who owned two thousand towns, all of which were destroyed because of true oaths. A man would swear to his friend that he would eat such-and-such a food at such-and-such a place and drink such-and-such a drink at such-and-such a place. And they would go and fulfill their oaths and would be destroyed (for swearing to trifles). The midrash concluded that if this was the fate of people who swore truthfully, how much more would swearing to a falsehood lead to destruction. (Numbers Rabbah
22:1.)
The Mishnah taught that the law of the dissolution of vows hovers in the air and has nothing on which to rest in the Biblical text. (Mishnah Chagigah 1:8; Babylonian Talmud Chagigah 10a.) Rab Judah
said that Samuel found the Scriptural basis for the law of the dissolution of vows in the words of “he shall not break his word,” which teaches that “he” — the vower — may not break the vow, but others might dissolve it for him. (Babylonian Talmud Chagigah 10a.) The Rabbis taught in a Baraita
that a Sage could annul a vow retroactively. (Babylonian Talmud Ketubot 74b.)
Rabbah bar bar Hana
told of how an Arab merchant took him to see Mount Sinai, where he saw scorpions surround it, and they stood like white donkeys. Rabbah bar bar Hana heard a Heavenly Voice expressing regret about making an oath and asking who would annul the oath. When Rabbah bar bar Hana came before the Rabbis, they told him that he should have annulled the oath. But Rabbah bar bar Hana thought that perhaps it was the oath in connection with the Flood, where in God promised never to destroy the world again with another flood. The Rabbis replied that if that had been the oath, the Heavenly Voice would not have expressed regret. (Babylonian Talmud Bava Batra 74a.)
Raba
employed to interpret which says: “And Moses besought (va-yechal) the Lord his God” in connection with the incident of the Golden Calf
. Raba noted that uses the term “besought” (va-yechal), while uses the similar term “break” (yachel) in connection with vows. Transferring the use of to Raba reasoned that meant that Moses stood in prayer before God until Moses annulled for God God’s vow to destroy Israel, for a master had taught that while people cannot break their vows, others may annul their vows for them. (Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 32a.) Similarly, Rabbi Berekiah taught in the name of Rabbi Helbo
in the name of Rabbi Isaac that Moses absolved God of God’s vow. When the Israelites made the Golden Calf, Moses began to persuade God to forgive them, but God explained to Moses that God had already taken an oath in that “he who sacrifices to the gods . . . shall be utterly destroyed,” and God could not retract an oath. Moses responded by asking whether God had not granted Moses the power to annul oaths in by saying, “When a man vows a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not break his word,” implying that while he himself could not break his word, a scholar could absolve his vow. So Moses wrapped himself in his cloak and adopted the posture of a sage, and God stood before Moses as one asking for the annulment of a vow. (Exodus Rabbah
43:4.)
Rabbi Simeon ben Yohai taught that just as the texts “He shall not break his word” in and “Defer not to pay it” in Ecclesiastes
apply to vows, so they also apply to valuations, and thus Moses exhorts the Israelites in “When a man shall clearly utter a vow of persons to the Lord, according to your valuation . . . .” (Leviticus Rabbah
37:2.)
The Mishnah taught that a father or husband could annul vows that involved self-denial, such as bathing and adorning oneself. (Mishnah Nedarim 11:1; Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 79a–b.) The Gemara deduced from the words “between a man and his wife, between a father and his daughter” in that in addition to vows of self-denial, a husband could also annul vows that affected the relationship between husband and wife. (Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 79b.) And a midrash taught that just as a husband could annul only vows that would cause personal affliction between the spouses, so too, a father could annul only vows that would cause personal affliction between him and his daughter. (Midrash Tanhuma
Matos 1.)
The Mishnah taught that in the case of a betrothed young woman, her father and her fiancé could annul her vows, if they both did so. If her father but not her fiancé attempted to annul her vow, or if her fiancé but not her father attempted to annul her vow, it was not annulled. And the Mishnah taught that it went without saying that her vow was not annulled if one of them confirmed it. (Mishnah 10:1; Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 66b–67a.)
that “God is judge; He puts down one, and lifts up another.” (Numbers Rabbah 22:8.)
reports, “Tillegath-pilneser
king of Assyria . . . carried . . . away . . . the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.” (Numbers Rabbah 22:7.)
Similarly, a midrash taught that the Reubenites and the Gadites cherished their property more than human life, putting their cattle before their children when they told Moses in “We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones.” Moses told them that their priorities were wrong and that they should rather do the more important things first, when Moses told them in “Build you cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep.” The midrash saw in their different priorities application of the words of “A wise man's understanding is at his right hand” — applying to Moses — and “A fool's understanding at his left” — applying to the Reubenites and the Gadites. God told the Reubenites and the Gadites that as they showed greater love for their cattle than for human souls, there would be no blessing in it for them. The midrash thus saw in their fate application of the words of Proverbs
“An estate may be gotten hastily at the beginning; but the end thereof shall not be blessed,” and the words of “Do not weary yourself to be rich; cease from your own wisdom.” (Numbers Rabbah 22:9.)
In the Mishnah, Rabbi Meir
noted that and 29 stated the same condition in both positive and negative formulations. states the condition in the positive: “And Moses said to them, if the children of Gad and the children of Reuben will pass with you over the Jordan, . . . then you shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession.” And states the same condition in the negative: “But if they will not pass over with you armed, then they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.” Rabbi Meir deduced that every stipulation must be stated in both the negative and positive formulations, like the condition of the children of Gad and the children of Reuben in and 29, or it is not a binding stipulation. Rabbi Hanina ben Gamaliel II
maintained, however, that Moses stated the matter both ways because he needed to do so to be understood; otherwise one might have concluded that the Gadites and Reubenites would receive no inheritance even in the land of Canaan. (Mishnah Kiddushin 3:4; Babylonian Talmud Kiddushin 61a.)
The Sages taught in a Baraita that they honored the memory of the family that baked the Temple showbread
, for they never allowed fine bread to be found in their children's hands. And the Sages honored the memory of the family that made the Temple incense, for they never allowed a bride of their house to go about perfumed. In both cases, the families did so to fulfill the command of that “you shall be clear before the Lord and before Israel” — meaning that people should act so as to avoid even the appearance of transgression. (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 38a.)
cited a verse in the parshah for one negative commandment
:
(Maimonides. Mishneh Torah
, Negative Commandment 157. Cairo
, Egypt, 1170–1180. Reprinted in Maimonides. The Commandments: Sefer Ha-Mitzvoth of Maimonides. Translated by Charles B. Chavel, 2:148–49. London: Soncino Press, 1967. ISBN 0-900689-71-4.)
, there is 1 positive and 1 negative commandment in the parshah.
(Sefer HaHinnuch: The Book of [Mitzvah] Education. Translated by Charles Wengrov, 4:203–15. Jerusalem: Feldheim Pub., 1988. ISBN 0-87306-457-7.)
for parshah Matot is Jeremiah
The haftarah is the first of three readings of admonition leading up to Tisha B'Av
.
When parshah Matot is combined with parshah Masei (as it is in 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, and 2017), the haftarah is the haftarah for parshah Masei:
the son of Hilkiah
, a priest in Anathoth
in the land of Benjamin
, to whom God’s word came in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah
the son of Amon
as king of Judah
, in the reign of Josiah’s son Jehoiakim
, and through the eleventh year of the reign of Josiah’s son Zedekiah
, when Jerusalem was carried away captive.
God’s word came to Jeremiah to say that before God formed him in the womb, God knew him, sanctified him, and appointed him a prophet to the nations. Jeremiah protested that he could not speak, for he was a child, but God told him not to fear, for he would go wherever God would send him, say whatever God would command him to say, and God would be with him to deliver him. Then God touched Jeremiah’s mouth and said that God had put words in his mouth and set him over the nations to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant. God asked Jeremiah what he saw, he replied that he saw the rod of an almond tree, and God said that he had seen well, for God watches over God’s word to perform it.
God’s word came to Jeremiah a second time to ask what he saw, he replied that he saw a seething pot tipping from the north, and God said that out of the north evil would break forth upon all Israel. For God would call all the kingdoms of the north to come, and they would set their thrones at Jerusalem’s gate, against its walls, and against the cities of Judah. God would utter God’s judgments against Judah, as its people had forsaken God and worshipped the work of their own hands. God thus directed Jeremiah to gird his loins, arise, and speak to the Judean people all that God commanded, for God had made Jeremiah a fortified city, an iron pillar, and brazen walls against the land of Judah, its rulers, its priests, and its people. They would fight against him, but they would not prevail, for God would be with him to deliver him.
God’s word came to Jeremiah to tell him to go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem that God remembered the affection of her youth, her love as a bride, how she followed God in the wilderness. Israel was God’s hallowed portion and God’s first-fruits, and all that devoured Israel would be held guilty and evil would come upon them.
(Babylonian Talmud Bava Batra 15a), and as Jews read Lamentations on Tisha B’Av, this probably accounts for why a selection from Jeremiah begins the series of haftarot of admonition. (Michael Fishbane
. The JPS Bible Commentary: Haftarot, 262. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2002. ISBN 0-8276-0691-5.)
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
for “tribes,” the fifth word, and the first distinctive word, in the parshah) is the 42nd weekly Torah portion (parshah) in the annual Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
cycle of Torah reading
Torah reading
Torah reading is a Jewish religious ritual that involves the public reading of a set of passages from a Torah scroll. The term often refers to the entire ceremony of removing the Torah scroll from the ark, chanting the appropriate excerpt with special cantillation, and returning the scroll to...
and the ninth in the book of Numbers
Book of Numbers
The Book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch....
. It constitutes Jews in the Diaspora
Jewish diaspora
The Jewish diaspora is the English term used to describe the Galut גלות , or 'exile', of the Jews from the region of the Kingdom of Judah and Roman Iudaea and later emigration from wider Eretz Israel....
generally read it in July or early August.
The lunisolar
Lunisolar calendar
A lunisolar calendar is a calendar in many cultures whose date indicates both the moon phase and the time of the solar year. If the solar year is defined as a tropical year then a lunisolar calendar will give an indication of the season; if it is taken as a sidereal year then the calendar will...
Hebrew calendar
Hebrew calendar
The Hebrew calendar , or Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today predominantly for Jewish religious observances. It determines the dates for Jewish holidays and the appropriate public reading of Torah portions, yahrzeits , and daily Psalm reading, among many ceremonial uses...
contains up to 55 week
Week
A week is a time unit equal to seven days.The English word week continues an Old English wice, ultimately from a Common Germanic , from a root "turn, move, change"...
s, the exact number varying between 50 in common years and 54 or 55 in leap years. In leap years (for example, 2011 and 2014), parshah Matot is read separately. In common years (for example, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2018), parshah Matot is combined with the next parshah, Masei
Masei
Masei, Mas’ei, or Masse is the 43rd weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the 10th and last in the book of Numbers...
, to help achieve the number of weekly readings needed.
Summary
Vows
MosesMoses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
told the heads of the Israelite
Israelite
According to the Bible the Israelites were a Hebrew-speaking people of the Ancient Near East who inhabited the Land of Canaan during the monarchic period .The word "Israelite" derives from the Biblical Hebrew ישראל...
tribe
Tribe
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
s God’s
Names of God in Judaism
In Judaism, the name of God is more than a distinguishing title; it represents the Jewish conception of the divine nature, and of the relationship of God to the Jewish people and to the world. To demonstrate the sacredness of the names of God, and as a means of showing respect and reverence for...
commands
Mitzvah
The primary meaning of the Hebrew word refers to precepts and commandments as commanded by God...
about nedarim
Neder
In Judaism, a neder is a declaration, using the name of God, of the acceptance of a self-made pledge, stating that the pledge must be fulfilled with the same importance as a halakha. The neder may be to fulfill some act in the future or to refrain from a particular type of activity of the...
(commitments commonly translated, or perhaps mistranslated, as "vow
Vow
A vow is a promise or oath.-Marriage vows:Marriage vows are binding promises each partner in a couple makes to the other during a wedding ceremony. Marriage customs have developed over history and keep changing as human society develops...
s"). If a man made a vow to God, he was to carry out all that he promised. If a girl living in her father’s household made a vow to God or assumed an obligation, and her father learned of it and did not object, her vow would stand. But if her father objected on the day that he learned of it, her vow would not stand, and God would forgive her. If she married
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
while her vow was still in force, and her husband learned of it and did not object on the day that he found out, her vow would stand. But if her husband objected on the day that he learned of it, her vow would not stand, and God would forgive her. The vow of a widow or divorced woman was binding. If a married woman made a vow and her husband learned of it and did not object, then her vow would stand. But if her husband objected on the day that he learned of it, her vow would not stand, and God would forgive her. If her husband annulled one of her vows after the day that he learned of it, he would bear her guilt.
Vengeance on Midian
God directed Moses to attack the MidianMidian
Midian , Madyan , or Madiam is a geographical place and a people mentioned in the Bible and in the Qur'an. It is believed to be in northwest Saudi Arabia on the east shore of the Gulf of Aqaba and the northern Red Sea...
ites, after which he would die. At Moses’ direction, a thousand men from each tribe, with Phinehas
Phinehas
-Biblical figures:*Phinehas, son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron the High Priest*Phinehas, son of the High Priest Eli. He was a priest at Shiloh, and died when the Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant-Other :*Pinchas, the 41st weekly Torah portion....
son of Eleazar
Eleazar
Eleazar , was a priest in the Hebrew Bible, the second Kohen Gadol - succeeding his father Aaron. He was a nephew of Moses.-Life:...
serving as priest
Kohen
A Kohen is the Hebrew word for priest. Jewish Kohens are traditionally believed and halachically required to be of direct patrilineal descent from the Biblical Aaron....
on the campaign with the sacred utensils and trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s, attacked Midian and slew every man, including five kings
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
of Midian and the prophet
Prophet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
Balaam
Balaam
Balaam is a diviner in the Torah, his story occurring towards the end of the Book of Numbers. The etymology of his name is uncertain, and discussed below. Every ancient reference to Balaam considers him a non-Israelite, a prophet, and the son of Beor, though Beor is not so clearly identified...
. The Israelites burned the Midianite towns, took the Midianite women and children captive, seized all their beasts and wealth as booty, and brought the captives and spoil to Moses, Eleazar, and the Israelite community at the steppes of Moab
Moab
Moab is the historical name for a mountainous strip of land in Jordan. The land lies alongside much of the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. The existence of the Kingdom of Moab is attested to by numerous archeological findings, most notably the Mesha Stele, which describes the Moabite victory over...
. Moses became angry with the army’s commanders for sparing the women, as they were the ones who, at Balaam’s bidding, had induced the Israelites to trespass against God in the sin of Peor
Heresy of Peor
The heresy of Peor is an event related in the Torah at Numbers 25:1-15. Back references to the event occur in Numbers 25:18 and 31:16, Deuteronomy 4:3, Joshua 22:17, Hosea 9:10; Psalm 106:28...
. Moses then told the Israelites to kill every boy and every woman who had had sexual relations, but to spare the virgin girls.
Cleansing from battle
Moses directed the troops to stay outside the camp for 7 days after that, directed everyone of them who had touched a corpse to cleanse himself on the third and seventh days, and directed them to cleanse everything made of cloth, hide, or woodWood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
. Eleazar told the troops to take any article that could withstand fire
Fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....
— gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
, silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
, copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
, iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
, tin
Tin
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group 14 elements, germanium and lead and has two possible oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4...
, and lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
— and pass them through fire to clean them, and to cleanse everything with water of lustration. Eleazar directed that on the seventh day they should wash their clothes and be clean, and thereafter be free to enter the camp.
Dividing the booty
God told Moses to work with Eleazar and the family heads to inventory and divide the booty equally between the combatants and the rest of the community. God told them to exact a levy for God of one item in 500 of the warriors’ captive persons and animals to be given to Eleazar, and one in every 50 of the other Israelites’ captive persons and animals to be given to the LeviteLevite
In Jewish tradition, a Levite is a member of the Hebrew tribe of Levi. When Joshua led the Israelites into the land of Canaan, the Levites were the only Israelite tribe that received cities but were not allowed to be landowners "because the Lord the God of Israel himself is their inheritance"...
s. The total booty came to 675,000 sheep, 72,000 head of cattle, 61,000 asses, and 32,000 virgin women, which Moses and Eleazar divided as God had commanded.
Land for the Reubenites and Gadites
The ReubenitesTribe of Reuben
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Reuben was one of the Tribes of Israel.From after the conquest of the land by Joshua until the formation of the first Kingdom of Israel in c. 1050 BC, the Tribe of Reuben was a part of a loose confederation of Israelite tribes. No central government...
and the Gadites
Tribe of Gad
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Gad was one of the Tribes of Israel.From after the conquest of the land by Joshua until the formation of the first Kingdom of Israel in c. 1050 BC, the Tribe of Gad was a part of a loose confederation of Israelite tribes. No central government existed,...
, who owned much cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
, noted that the lands of Jazer and Gilead
Gilead
In the Bible "Gilead" means hill of testimony or mound of witness, , a mountainous region east of the Jordan River, situated in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. It is also referred to by the Aramaic name Yegar-Sahadutha, which carries the same meaning as the Hebrew . From its mountainous character...
on the east side
Transjordan (Bible)
The Transjordan is used to describe an area of land in the Southern Levant lying east of the Jordan River that is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. The area is said to form part of an ill-defined area known as the land of Israel...
of the Jordan River suited cattle, and they approached Moses, Eleazar, and the chieftain
Tribal chief
A tribal chief is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies with social stratification under a single leader emerged in the Neolithic period out of earlier tribal structures with little stratification, and they remained prevalent throughout the Iron Age.In the case of ...
s and asked that those lands be given to them as a holding. Moses asked them if the rest of the Israelites were to go to war while they stayed on the east bank, and would that not undermine the enthusiasm of the rest of the Israelites for crossing into the Promised Land
Promised land
The Promised Land is a term used to describe the land promised or given by God, according to the Hebrew Bible, to the Israelites, the descendants of Jacob. The promise is firstly made to Abraham and then renewed to his son Isaac, and to Isaac's son Jacob , Abraham's grandson...
. Moses likened their position to that of the scouts
Shlach
Shlach, Shelach, Sh'lah, Shlach Lecha, or Sh’lah L’kha is the 37th weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the fourth in the book of Numbers. It constitutes Jews in the Diaspora generally read it in June...
who surveyed the land
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the...
and then turned the minds of the Israelites against invading, thus incensing God and causing God to swear that none of the adult Israelites (except Caleb
Caleb
Caleb is a male given name. A character called Caleb is named in both the Bible and Quran.-Caleb:When the Hebrews came to the outskirts of Canaan, the land that had been promised to them by God, after having fled slavery in Egypt, Moses sent twelve spies into Canaan to report on what was...
and Joshua
Joshua
Joshua , is a minor figure in the Torah, being one of the spies for Israel and in few passages as Moses's assistant. He turns to be the central character in the Hebrew Bible's Book of Joshua...
) would see the land. They replied that they would build their sheepfolds and towns east of the Jordan and leave their children there, but then serve as shock-troops in the van of the Israelites until the land was conquered and not seek a share of the land west of the Jordan. Moses then said that if they would do this, and every shock-fighter among them crossed the Jordan, then they would be clear before God and Israel, and this land would be their holding. But Moses continued, if they did not do as they promised, they would have sinned against God.
Moses instructed Eleazar, Joshua, and the family heads of the Israelite tribes to carry out the agreement. So Moses assigned the Gadites, the Reubenites, and half the tribe of Manasseh
Tribe of Manasseh
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Manasseh was one of the Tribes of Israel. Together with the Tribe of Ephraim, Manasseh also formed the House of Joseph....
lands on the east side of the Jordan.
In classical rabbinic interpretation
Numbers chapter 30
Tractates Nedarim and ShevuotShevu'ot
Shevu'ot or Shevuot is a book of the Mishnah and Talmud. It is the sixth volume of the book of Nezikin. Shevu'ot deals primarily with the laws of oaths in halakha ....
in the Mishnah
Mishnah
The Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
, Tosefta
Tosefta
The Tosefta is a compilation of the Jewish oral law from the period of the Mishnah.-Overview:...
, Jerusalem Talmud
Jerusalem Talmud
The Jerusalem Talmud, talmud meaning "instruction", "learning", , is a collection of Rabbinic notes on the 2nd-century Mishnah which was compiled in the Land of Israel during the 4th-5th century. The voluminous text is also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud de-Eretz Yisrael...
, and Babylonian Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
interpreted the laws of vows in Exodus Leviticus
and and Deuteronomy
(Mishnah Nedarim 1:1–11:11; Tosefta Nedarim 1:1–7:8; Jerusalem Talmud Nedarim 1a–; Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 2a–91b; Mishnah Shevuot 1:1–8:6; Tosefta Shevuot 1:1–6:7; Jerusalem Talmud Shevuot 1a–; Babylonian Talmud Shevuot 2a–49b.)
Rabbi Akiba taught that vows are a fence to self-restraint. (Mishnah Avot 3:13.) But the Jerusalem Talmud asked whether it was not enough that the Torah had forbidden us things that we should seek to forbid yet other things to ourselves. (Jerusalem Talmud Nedarim 9:1.) The Gemara
Gemara
The Gemara is the component of the Talmud comprising rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah. After the Mishnah was published by Rabbi Judah the Prince The Gemara (also transliterated Gemora or, less commonly, Gemorra; from Aramaic גמרא gamar; literally, "[to] study" or "learning by...
discouraged vows. Rabbi Nathan
Rabbi Nathan
Nathan the Babylonian , also known as Rabbi Nathan, was a tanna of the third generation , the son of a Babylonian exilarch. For unknown reasons he left Babylonia, and his bright prospects there, to settle in the land of Israel, where he was made chief of the school at Usha...
taught that one who vows is as if he built a high place, and he who fulfils a vow is as if he sacrificed on that high place. And the Gemara deduced from Rabbi Nathan's teaching that is meritorious to seek absolution from vows. (Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 22a, 59a.) And a midrash
Midrash
The Hebrew term Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible....
told the tale of King Jannai
Alexander Jannaeus
Alexander Jannaeus was king of Judea from 103 BC to 76 BC. The son of John Hyrcanus, he inherited the throne from his brother Aristobulus I, and appears to have married his brother's widow, Shlomtzion or "Shelomit", also known as Salome Alexandra, according to the Biblical law of Yibbum...
, who owned two thousand towns, all of which were destroyed because of true oaths. A man would swear to his friend that he would eat such-and-such a food at such-and-such a place and drink such-and-such a drink at such-and-such a place. And they would go and fulfill their oaths and would be destroyed (for swearing to trifles). The midrash concluded that if this was the fate of people who swore truthfully, how much more would swearing to a falsehood lead to destruction. (Numbers Rabbah
Numbers Rabbah
Numbers Rabbah is a religious text holy to classical Judaism. It is a midrash comprising a collection of ancient rabbinical homiletic interpretations of the book of Numbers ....
22:1.)
The Mishnah taught that the law of the dissolution of vows hovers in the air and has nothing on which to rest in the Biblical text. (Mishnah Chagigah 1:8; Babylonian Talmud Chagigah 10a.) Rab Judah
Judah ben Ezekiel
Judah ben Ezekiel , was a Babylonian amora of the 2nd generation. He was the most prominent disciple of Rav , in whose house he often stayed, and whose son Hiyya was his pupil...
said that Samuel found the Scriptural basis for the law of the dissolution of vows in the words of “he shall not break his word,” which teaches that “he” — the vower — may not break the vow, but others might dissolve it for him. (Babylonian Talmud Chagigah 10a.) The Rabbis taught in a Baraita
Baraita
Baraita designates a tradition in the Jewish oral law not incorporated in the Mishnah. "Baraita" thus refers to teachings "outside" of the six orders of the Mishnah...
that a Sage could annul a vow retroactively. (Babylonian Talmud Ketubot 74b.)
Rabbah bar bar Hana
Rabbah bar bar Hana
Rabbah bar bar Hana was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia, known as an Amora of the second generation. He was the grandson of Hana and the brother of Hiyya. He went to Palestine and became a pupil of Rav Yochanan, whose sayings he transmitted...
told of how an Arab merchant took him to see Mount Sinai, where he saw scorpions surround it, and they stood like white donkeys. Rabbah bar bar Hana heard a Heavenly Voice expressing regret about making an oath and asking who would annul the oath. When Rabbah bar bar Hana came before the Rabbis, they told him that he should have annulled the oath. But Rabbah bar bar Hana thought that perhaps it was the oath in connection with the Flood, where in God promised never to destroy the world again with another flood. The Rabbis replied that if that had been the oath, the Heavenly Voice would not have expressed regret. (Babylonian Talmud Bava Batra 74a.)
Raba
Rava (amora)
For the third generation Amora sage of Babylon, with a similar name, see: Joseph b. Hama .Abba ben Joseph bar Ḥama, who is exclusively referred to in the Talmud by the name Rava , was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia, known as an amora, born in 270. He is one of the most often-cited Rabbis...
employed to interpret which says: “And Moses besought (va-yechal) the Lord his God” in connection with the incident of the Golden Calf
Golden calf
According to the Hebrew Bible, the golden calf was an idol made by Aaron to satisfy the Israelites during Moses' absence, when he went up to Mount Sinai...
. Raba noted that uses the term “besought” (va-yechal), while uses the similar term “break” (yachel) in connection with vows. Transferring the use of to Raba reasoned that meant that Moses stood in prayer before God until Moses annulled for God God’s vow to destroy Israel, for a master had taught that while people cannot break their vows, others may annul their vows for them. (Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 32a.) Similarly, Rabbi Berekiah taught in the name of Rabbi Helbo
Rabbi Helbo
Rabbi Helbo was an amora who flourished about the end of the 3rd century, and who is frequently mentioned in both Talmuds. It seems that Ḥelbo was at first in Babylon, where he studied under Rav Huna, the head of the Academy of Sura, and that, like the other Babylonian amoraim, he was called "Rab"...
in the name of Rabbi Isaac that Moses absolved God of God’s vow. When the Israelites made the Golden Calf, Moses began to persuade God to forgive them, but God explained to Moses that God had already taken an oath in that “he who sacrifices to the gods . . . shall be utterly destroyed,” and God could not retract an oath. Moses responded by asking whether God had not granted Moses the power to annul oaths in by saying, “When a man vows a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not break his word,” implying that while he himself could not break his word, a scholar could absolve his vow. So Moses wrapped himself in his cloak and adopted the posture of a sage, and God stood before Moses as one asking for the annulment of a vow. (Exodus Rabbah
Exodus Rabbah
Exodus Rabbah is the midrash to Exodus, containing in the printed editions 52 parashiyyot. It is not uniform in its composition.- Structure :In parashiyyot i.-xiv...
43:4.)
Rabbi Simeon ben Yohai taught that just as the texts “He shall not break his word” in and “Defer not to pay it” in Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes
The Book of Ecclesiastes, called , is a book of the Hebrew Bible. The English name derives from the Greek translation of the Hebrew title.The main speaker in the book, identified by the name or title Qoheleth , introduces himself as "son of David, king in Jerusalem." The work consists of personal...
apply to vows, so they also apply to valuations, and thus Moses exhorts the Israelites in “When a man shall clearly utter a vow of persons to the Lord, according to your valuation . . . .” (Leviticus Rabbah
Leviticus Rabbah
Leviticus Rabbah, Vayikrah Rabbah, or Wayiqra Rabbah is a homiletic midrash to the Biblical book of Leviticus . It is referred to by Nathan ben Jehiel in his Aruk as well as by Rashi in his commentaries on , and elsewhere. According to Leopold Zunz, Hai Gaon and Nissim knew and made use of it...
37:2.)
The Mishnah taught that a father or husband could annul vows that involved self-denial, such as bathing and adorning oneself. (Mishnah Nedarim 11:1; Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 79a–b.) The Gemara deduced from the words “between a man and his wife, between a father and his daughter” in that in addition to vows of self-denial, a husband could also annul vows that affected the relationship between husband and wife. (Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 79b.) And a midrash taught that just as a husband could annul only vows that would cause personal affliction between the spouses, so too, a father could annul only vows that would cause personal affliction between him and his daughter. (Midrash Tanhuma
Tanhuma
Midrash Tanhuma is the name given to three different collections of Pentateuch haggadot; two are extant, while the third is known only through citations. These midrashim, although bearing the name of R. Tanḥuma, must not be regarded as having been written or edited by him...
Matos 1.)
The Mishnah taught that in the case of a betrothed young woman, her father and her fiancé could annul her vows, if they both did so. If her father but not her fiancé attempted to annul her vow, or if her fiancé but not her father attempted to annul her vow, it was not annulled. And the Mishnah taught that it went without saying that her vow was not annulled if one of them confirmed it. (Mishnah 10:1; Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 66b–67a.)
Numbers chapter 31
A midrash deduced from the proximity of the report in that “the children of Israel took captive the women of Midian . . . and all their cattle” with the report of that “the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle” that God cast the Midianites down before Israel so that the Reubenites and Gadites might grow rich. The midrash cited this turn of events as proof of the words of PsalmPsalms
The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...
that “God is judge; He puts down one, and lifts up another.” (Numbers Rabbah 22:8.)
Numbers chapter 32
A midrash deduced from that the Reubenites and Gadites were rich, possessing large amounts of cattle, but they loved their possessions so much that they separated themselves from their fellow Israelites and settled outside the Land of Israel. As a result, they became the first tribes to be taken away into exile, as 1 ChroniclesBooks of Chronicles
The Books of Chronicles are part of the Hebrew Bible. In the Masoretic Text, it appears as the first or last book of the Ketuvim . Chronicles largely parallels the Davidic narratives in the Books of Samuel and the Books of Kings...
reports, “Tillegath-pilneser
Tiglath-Pileser III
Tiglath-Pileser III was a prominent king of Assyria in the eighth century BC and is widely regarded as the founder of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Tiglath-Pileser III seized the Assyrian throne during a civil war and killed the royal family...
king of Assyria . . . carried . . . away . . . the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.” (Numbers Rabbah 22:7.)
Similarly, a midrash taught that the Reubenites and the Gadites cherished their property more than human life, putting their cattle before their children when they told Moses in “We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones.” Moses told them that their priorities were wrong and that they should rather do the more important things first, when Moses told them in “Build you cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep.” The midrash saw in their different priorities application of the words of “A wise man's understanding is at his right hand” — applying to Moses — and “A fool's understanding at his left” — applying to the Reubenites and the Gadites. God told the Reubenites and the Gadites that as they showed greater love for their cattle than for human souls, there would be no blessing in it for them. The midrash thus saw in their fate application of the words of Proverbs
Book of Proverbs
The Book of Proverbs , commonly referred to simply as Proverbs, is a book of the Hebrew Bible.The original Hebrew title of the book of Proverbs is "Míshlê Shlomoh" . When translated into Greek and Latin, the title took on different forms. In the Greek Septuagint the title became "paroimai paroimiae"...
“An estate may be gotten hastily at the beginning; but the end thereof shall not be blessed,” and the words of “Do not weary yourself to be rich; cease from your own wisdom.” (Numbers Rabbah 22:9.)
In the Mishnah, Rabbi Meir
Rabbi Meir
Rabbi Meir or Rabbi Meir Baal Hanes was a Jewish sage who lived in the time of the Mishna. He was considered one of the greatest of the Tannaim of the fourth generation . According to legend , his father was a descendant of the Roman Emperor Nero who had converted to Judaism. His wife Bruriah is...
noted that and 29 stated the same condition in both positive and negative formulations. states the condition in the positive: “And Moses said to them, if the children of Gad and the children of Reuben will pass with you over the Jordan, . . . then you shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession.” And states the same condition in the negative: “But if they will not pass over with you armed, then they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.” Rabbi Meir deduced that every stipulation must be stated in both the negative and positive formulations, like the condition of the children of Gad and the children of Reuben in and 29, or it is not a binding stipulation. Rabbi Hanina ben Gamaliel II
Gamaliel
Gamaliel the Elder , or Rabban Gamaliel I , was a leading authority in the Sanhedrin in the mid 1st century CE. He was the grandson of the great Jewish teacher Hillel the Elder, and died twenty years before the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem...
maintained, however, that Moses stated the matter both ways because he needed to do so to be understood; otherwise one might have concluded that the Gadites and Reubenites would receive no inheritance even in the land of Canaan. (Mishnah Kiddushin 3:4; Babylonian Talmud Kiddushin 61a.)
The Sages taught in a Baraita that they honored the memory of the family that baked the Temple showbread
Showbread
Showbread , in the King James Version: shewbread, in a biblical or Jewish context, refers to the cakes or loaves of bread which were always present on a specially dedicated table, in the Temple in Jerusalem as an offering to God...
, for they never allowed fine bread to be found in their children's hands. And the Sages honored the memory of the family that made the Temple incense, for they never allowed a bride of their house to go about perfumed. In both cases, the families did so to fulfill the command of that “you shall be clear before the Lord and before Israel” — meaning that people should act so as to avoid even the appearance of transgression. (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 38a.)
According to Maimonides
MaimonidesMaimonides
Moses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...
cited a verse in the parshah for one negative commandment
Mitzvah
The primary meaning of the Hebrew word refers to precepts and commandments as commanded by God...
:
- Not to transgress in matters that one has forbidden oneself
(Maimonides. Mishneh Torah
Mishneh Torah
The Mishneh Torah subtitled Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka is a code of Jewish religious law authored by Maimonides , one of history's foremost rabbis...
, Negative Commandment 157. Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, Egypt, 1170–1180. Reprinted in Maimonides. The Commandments: Sefer Ha-Mitzvoth of Maimonides. Translated by Charles B. Chavel, 2:148–49. London: Soncino Press, 1967. ISBN 0-900689-71-4.)
According to Sefer ha-Chinuch
According to Sefer ha-ChinuchSefer ha-Chinuch
The Sefer ha-Chinuch , often simply "the Chinuch" is a work which systematically discusses the 613 commandments of the Torah. It was published anonymously in 13th century Spain...
, there is 1 positive and 1 negative commandment in the parshah.
- The precept of the law of nullifying vows
- That we should not break our word in vows that we make
(Sefer HaHinnuch: The Book of [Mitzvah] Education. Translated by Charles Wengrov, 4:203–15. Jerusalem: Feldheim Pub., 1988. ISBN 0-87306-457-7.)
Haftarah
The haftarahHaftarah
The haftarah or haftoroh is a series of selections from the books of Nevi'im of the Hebrew Bible that is publicly read in synagogue as part of Jewish religious practice...
for parshah Matot is Jeremiah
Book of Jeremiah
The Book of Jeremiah is the second of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, following the book of Isaiah and preceding Ezekiel and the Book of the Twelve....
The haftarah is the first of three readings of admonition leading up to Tisha B'Av
Tisha B'Av
|Av]],") is an annual fast day in Judaism, named for the ninth day of the month of Av in the Hebrew calendar. The fast commemorates the destruction of both the First Temple and Second Temple in Jerusalem, which occurred about 655 years apart, but on the same Hebrew calendar date...
.
When parshah Matot is combined with parshah Masei (as it is in 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, and 2017), the haftarah is the haftarah for parshah Masei:
- for Ashkenazi JewsAshkenazi JewsAshkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...
: & - for Sephardi JewsSephardi JewsSephardi Jews is a general term referring to the descendants of the Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula before their expulsion in the Spanish Inquisition. It can also refer to those who use a Sephardic style of liturgy or would otherwise define themselves in terms of the Jewish customs and...
: &
Summary
The haftarah in begins by identifying its words as those of JeremiahJeremiah
Jeremiah Hebrew：יִרְמְיָה , Modern Hebrew:Yirməyāhū, IPA: jirməˈjaːhu, Tiberian:Yirmĭyahu, Greek:Ἰερεμίας), meaning "Yahweh exalts", or called the "Weeping prophet" was one of the main prophets of the Hebrew Bible...
the son of Hilkiah
Hilkiah
Hilkiah was a Hebrew Priest at the time of King Josiah. His name is mentioned in II Kings. He was the High Priest and is known for finding a lost copy of the Book of the law at the Temple in Jerusalem at the time that King Josiah commanded that the Holy Temple be refurbished . His preaching may...
, a priest in Anathoth
Anathoth
Anathoth - the name of one of the cities given to "the children of Aaron" , in the tribe of Benjamin . Since the Israelites often did not change the names of the towns they found in Canaan, the name of this town may be derived from a Canaanite goddess, ‘Anat...
in the land of Benjamin
Tribe of Benjamin
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Benjamin בִּנְיָמִין was one of the Tribes of Israel.From after the conquest of the land by Joshua until the formation of the first Kingdom of Israel in c. 1050 BCE, the Tribe of Benjamin was a part of a loose confederation of Israelite tribes...
, to whom God’s word came in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah
Josiah
Josiah or Yoshiyahu or Joshua was a king of Judah who instituted major reforms. Josiah is credited by most historians with having established or compiled important Jewish scriptures during the Deuteronomic reform that occurred during his rule.Josiah became king of Judah at the age of eight, after...
the son of Amon
Amon of Judah
Amon was the king of Judah who succeeded his father Manasseh of Judah on the throne according to the Bible. His mother was Meshullemeth, daughter of Haruz of Jotbah. He was married to Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath....
as king of Judah
Kingdom of Judah
The Kingdom of Judah was a Jewish state established in the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. It is often referred to as the "Southern Kingdom" to distinguish it from the northern Kingdom of Israel....
, in the reign of Josiah’s son Jehoiakim
Jehoiakim
Jehoiakim .On Josiah's death, Jehoiakim's younger brother Jehoahaz was proclaimed king, but after three months pharaoh Necho II deposed him and replaced him with the eldest son, Eliakim, who adopted the name Jehoiakim and became king at the age of twenty-five...
, and through the eleventh year of the reign of Josiah’s son Zedekiah
Zedekiah
Zedekiah or Tzidkiyahu was the last king of Judah before the destruction of the kingdom by Babylon. He was installed as king of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar II, king of Babylon, after a siege of Jerusalem to succeed his nephew, Jeconiah, who was overthrown as king after a reign of only three months and...
, when Jerusalem was carried away captive.
God’s word came to Jeremiah to say that before God formed him in the womb, God knew him, sanctified him, and appointed him a prophet to the nations. Jeremiah protested that he could not speak, for he was a child, but God told him not to fear, for he would go wherever God would send him, say whatever God would command him to say, and God would be with him to deliver him. Then God touched Jeremiah’s mouth and said that God had put words in his mouth and set him over the nations to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant. God asked Jeremiah what he saw, he replied that he saw the rod of an almond tree, and God said that he had seen well, for God watches over God’s word to perform it.
God’s word came to Jeremiah a second time to ask what he saw, he replied that he saw a seething pot tipping from the north, and God said that out of the north evil would break forth upon all Israel. For God would call all the kingdoms of the north to come, and they would set their thrones at Jerusalem’s gate, against its walls, and against the cities of Judah. God would utter God’s judgments against Judah, as its people had forsaken God and worshipped the work of their own hands. God thus directed Jeremiah to gird his loins, arise, and speak to the Judean people all that God commanded, for God had made Jeremiah a fortified city, an iron pillar, and brazen walls against the land of Judah, its rulers, its priests, and its people. They would fight against him, but they would not prevail, for God would be with him to deliver him.
God’s word came to Jeremiah to tell him to go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem that God remembered the affection of her youth, her love as a bride, how she followed God in the wilderness. Israel was God’s hallowed portion and God’s first-fruits, and all that devoured Israel would be held guilty and evil would come upon them.
Connection to the special Sabbath
The first of three readings of admonition leading up to Tisha B'Av, the haftarah admonishes Judah and Israel in And then in the haftarah concludes with consolation. The Gemara taught that Jeremiah wrote the book of LamentationsBook of Lamentations
The Book of Lamentations ) is a poetic book of the Hebrew Bible composed by the Jewish prophet Jeremiah. It mourns the destruction of Jerusalem and the Holy Temple in the 6th Century BCE....
(Babylonian Talmud Bava Batra 15a), and as Jews read Lamentations on Tisha B’Av, this probably accounts for why a selection from Jeremiah begins the series of haftarot of admonition. (Michael Fishbane
Michael Fishbane
Michael A. Fishbane is a scholar of Judaism and rabbinic literature. Formerly at Brandeis University, he is currently the Nathan Cummings Professor of Jewish Studies at the Divinity School, University of Chicago....
. The JPS Bible Commentary: Haftarot, 262. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2002. ISBN 0-8276-0691-5.)
Biblical
- Genesis (vow). (vows). (vows); (vows); (valuation of vows). (vows); (trumpets); (the spies); (sharing with the priests and Levites); (vow); (Midianites). (Reubenites and Gadites); (vows).
- JoshuaBook of JoshuaThe Book of Joshua is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible and of the Old Testament. Its 24 chapters tell of the entry of the Israelites into Canaan, their conquest and division of the land under the leadership of Joshua, and of serving God in the land....
(Reubenites and Gadites); (Reubenites and Gadites). - JudgesBook of JudgesThe Book of Judges is the seventh book of the Hebrew bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its title describes its contents: it contains the history of Biblical judges, divinely inspired prophets whose direct knowledge of Yahweh allows them to act as decision-makers for the Israelites, as...
(Midianites). - 1 SamuelBooks of SamuelThe Books of Samuel in the Jewish bible are part of the Former Prophets, , a theological history of the Israelites affirming and explaining the Torah under the guidance of the prophets.Samuel begins by telling how the prophet Samuel is chosen by...
(vow); (division of booty). (God avenges); (paying vows); (the righteous shall inherit the land); (men call their lands after their own names); (paying vows); (washing); (performing vows); (value of lives); (vengeance belongs to God); (Peor); (value of lives). (vows).
Early nonrabbinic
- JosephusJosephusTitus Flavius Josephus , also called Joseph ben Matityahu , was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of...
, Antiquities of the JewsAntiquities of the JewsAntiquities of the Jews is a twenty volume historiographical work composed by the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus in the thirteenth year of the reign of Roman emperor Flavius Domitian which was around 93 or 94 AD. Antiquities of the Jews contains an account of history of the Jewish people,...
4:7:1, 3. Circa 93–94. Reprinted in, e.g., The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition. Translated by William WhistonWilliam WhistonWilliam Whiston was an English theologian, historian, and mathematician. He is probably best known for his translation of the Antiquities of the Jews and other works by Josephus, his A New Theory of the Earth, and his Arianism...
, 113–14. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Pub., 1987. ISBN 0-913573-86-8. - MatthewGospel of MatthewThe Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...
5:33–37 (vows). - Qur'anQur'anThe Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
: 2:224–226; 5:89; 9:12–13; 16:91–92, 94; 66:2 (vows).
Classical rabbinic
- MishnahMishnahThe Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
: Chagigah 1:8; Nedarim 1:1–11:11; Gittin 4:7; Kiddushin 3:4; Shevuot 1:1–8:6; Avot 3:13. Land of Israel, circa 200 C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., The Mishnah: A New Translation. Translated by Jacob NeusnerJacob NeusnerJacob Neusner is an American academic scholar of Judaism who lives in Rhinebeck, New York.-Biography:Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Neusner was educated at Harvard University, the Jewish Theological Seminary of America , the University of Oxford, and Columbia University.Neusner is often celebrated...
, 406–30, 492. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988. ISBN 0-300-05022-4. - ToseftaToseftaThe Tosefta is a compilation of the Jewish oral law from the period of the Mishnah.-Overview:...
: Peah 4:15; Terumot 5:8; Nedarim 1:1–7:8; Sotah 7:17; Shevuot 1:1–6:7; Keritot 4:15. Land of Israel, circa 300 C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., The Tosefta: Translated from the Hebrew, with a New Introduction. Translated by Jacob Neusner, 1:73, 161, 785–805, 864; 2:1219–44, 1571. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Pub., 2002. ISBN 1-56563-642-2.
- Jerusalem TalmudJerusalem TalmudThe Jerusalem Talmud, talmud meaning "instruction", "learning", , is a collection of Rabbinic notes on the 2nd-century Mishnah which was compiled in the Land of Israel during the 4th-5th century. The voluminous text is also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud de-Eretz Yisrael...
: Terumot 35b; Bikkurim 6a; Nedarim 1a–; Shevuot 1a–. Land of Israel, circa 400 CE. Reprinted in, e.g., Talmud Yerushalmi. Edited by Chaim Malinowitz, Yisroel Simcha Schorr, and Mordechai Marcus, vols. 7, 12. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2008–2011. - Babylonian TalmudTalmudThe Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
: Berakhot 8b, 24a, 32a; Shabbat 16b, 58b, 60a, 63b–64a, 157a; Eruvin 63a; Pesachim 13a, 66b; Yoma 38a, 63b; Moed Katan 9a, 16a; Chagigah 10a; Yevamot 29b, 53a, 87a–b, 93a, 108a; Ketubot 40b, 46b–47a, 49a, 52a, 57b, 59a–b, 60b–61a, 70a, 71a–b, 74a, 101a, 102b; Nedarim 2a–91b; Nazir 4b, 12b, 20b, 21b, 23a, 37b, 38b, 61a, 62b; Sotah 3a, 13b, 43a; Gittin 35b, 75a, 85a; Kiddushin 3b, 61a, 78a, 81b; Bava Kamma 25b, 61a; Bava Metzia 94a, 96a; Bava Batra 2b, 120b; Sanhedrin 39a, 90a, 106a; Makkot 11a, 16a; Shevuot 20a–21a, 26a; Avodah Zarah 67b, 75b; Zevachim 97a, 113b; Menachot 77b; Chullin 25b; Arakhin 20b; Temurah 6b, 13a; Keritot 6b; Niddah 46a–b. Babylonia, 6th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Talmud Bavli. Edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr, Chaim Malinowitz, and Mordechai Marcus, 72 vols. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2006.
Medieval
- RashiRashiShlomo Yitzhaki , or in Latin Salomon Isaacides, and today generally known by the acronym Rashi , was a medieval French rabbi famed as the author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, as well as a comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh...
. Commentary. Numbers 30–32. TroyesTroyesTroyes is a commune and the capital of the Aube department in north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about southeast of Paris. Many half-timbered houses survive in the old town...
, France, late 11th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Rashi. The Torah: With Rashi’s Commentary Translated, Annotated, and Elucidated. Translated and annotated by Yisrael Isser Zvi Herczeg, 4:369–401. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1997. ISBN 0-89906-029-3. - Numbers RabbahNumbers RabbahNumbers Rabbah is a religious text holy to classical Judaism. It is a midrash comprising a collection of ancient rabbinical homiletic interpretations of the book of Numbers ....
22:1–9. 12th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Midrash Rabbah: Numbers. Translated by Judah J. Slotki. London: Soncino Press, 1939. ISBN 0-900689-38-2. - ZoharZoharThe Zohar is the foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material on Mysticism, mythical cosmogony, and mystical psychology...
3:241b. Spain, late 13th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., The Zohar. Translated by Harry Sperling and Maurice Simon. 5 vols. London: Soncino Press, 1934.
Modern
- Samson Raphael HirschSamson Raphael HirschSamson Raphael Hirsch was a German rabbi best known as the intellectual founder of the Torah im Derech Eretz school of contemporary Orthodox Judaism...
. Horeb: A Philosophy of Jewish Laws and Observances. Translated by Isidore Grunfeld, 276, 314–52. London: Soncino Press, 1962. Reprinted 2002 ISBN 0-900689-40-4. Originally published as Horeb, Versuche über Jissroel’s Pflichten in der Zerstreuung. Germany, 1837. - Carol L. Meyers. “The Roots of Restriction: Women in Early Israel.” Biblical ArchaeologistNear Eastern Archaeology MagazineNear Eastern Archaeology is an American magazine dedicated to the publication of art, archaeology, history, anthropology, literature, philology, and epigraphy of the Near Eastern and Mediterranean worlds from the Palaeolithic through Ottoman periods. The magazine is written for a general audience...
. 41 (3) (Sept. 1978). - Jacob MilgromJacob MilgromJacob Milgrom was a prominent American Jewish Bible scholar and Conservative rabbi, best known for his comprehensive Torah commentaries and work on the Dead Sea Scrolls.-Biography:...
. The JPS Torah Commentary: Numbers: The Traditional Hebrew Text with the New JPS Translation, 250–77, 488–96. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1990. ISBN 0-8276-0329-0. - Mary DouglasMary DouglasDame Mary Douglas, DBE, FBA was a British anthropologist, known for her writings on human culture and symbolism....
. In the Wilderness: The Doctrine of Defilement in the Book of Numbers, xix, 60, 86, 100, 103, 106, 108–10, 112, 120–21, 123, 126, 135, 141, 147, 160, 170–71, 183, 185–86, 199, 218, 222, 242. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993. Reprinted 2004. ISBN 0-19-924541-X. - Baruch A. Levine. Numbers 21–36, 4A:423–507. New York: Anchor Bible, 2000. ISBN 0-385-41256-8.
- Suzanne A. Brody. “Gag Rule.” In Dancing in the White Spaces: The Yearly Torah Cycle and More Poems, 101. Shelbyville, Kentucky: Wasteland Press, 2007. ISBN 1-60047-112-9.
Texts
Commentaries
- Academy for Jewish Religion, New York
- Aish.com
- American Jewish University
- Anshe Emes Synagogue, Los Angeles
- Bar-Ilan University
- Chabad.org
- eparsha.com
- G-dcast
- The Israel Koschitzky Virtual Beit Midrash
- Jewish Agency for Israel
- Jewish Theological Seminary
- Miriam Aflalo
- MyJewishLearning.com
- Ohr Sameach
- Orthodox Union
- OzTorah, Torah from Australia
- Oz Ve Shalom — Netivot Shalom
- Pardes from Jerusalem
- RabbiShimon.com
- Rabbi Shlomo Riskin
- Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld
- Reconstructionist Judaism
- Sephardic Institute
- Shiur.com
- 613.org Jewish Torah Audio
- Tanach Study Center
- Teach613.org, Torah Education at Cherry Hill
- Torah from Dixie
- Torah.org
- TorahVort.com
- Union for Reform Judaism
- United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth
- United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
- What’s Bothering Rashi?
- Yeshiva University
- Yeshivat Chovevei Torah