The holiday of Pesach (Passover) fast approacheth, and as such, it befits us to examine the biblical work known as "Shir haShirim," "the Song of Songs." Not only does this season call for this study because this book in read in synagogues on the Sabbath that falls during the Pesach holiday, but also because, as we shall (G-d willing) see, that much of the text, in metaphoric language, describes the love relationship between G-d and Israel that was forged through the climactic experience of the Exodus from Egypt, the great historic event commemorated by this festival.
Let us begin with an exerpt from the introduction of Rashi to his commentary on this work:
“Shelomoh (Solomon) saw through divine inspiration that Israel was destined to be exiled, one exile after another, destruction upon destruction, and to mourn in exile over their prior glory, remembering [G-d]’s original love for them, as they were His treasured nation. They will say, ‘Let me go and return to my first husband, for it was better for me then than now’ (Hoshea 2:9). They will remember His kindnesses, and the treachery they perpetrated, and the good things He told them he would grant them in the end of days. [Shelomoh] composed this book through divine inspiration, in terms of a woman bound as in eternal widowhood, pining for her Husband, endearing herself to her Beloved, recalling her young love for Him, and confessing her wrongdoing. Her Beloved, too, is pained by her pain, recalling the kindnesses of her youth, her pleasant beauty and the rightness of her acts, through which He became bound to her with a fierce love. He informs her that He has not removed her from His heart nor is her banishment true banishment, for she is yet His wife and He is her Husband, and he will yet return to her.”
Let us approach Pesach this year with an appreciation of just what we had in those great and early days when we walked with HaShem (G-d), and what could be ours again if want it sincerely enough and strive for it with earnest.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Ester 1:10-11 - A Little Purple Goes a Long Way
Ester 1:10-11: “On the seventh day, when the king’s heart was merry with wine, he told Mehuman, Bizetha, Charvona, Bigtha and Avagtha, Zethar and Karkas, the seven officers who attended Achashverosh, to bring Queen Vashti before the king [adorned] with the royal crown, to show the nations and the officers her beauty, for she was of pleasant appearance.”
Targum: “The righteous Mordechay prayed before HaShem (G-d), from the first day of the feast until the seventh day, which was the Sabbath. He ate no bread and drank no water, and on the seventh day which was the Sabbath, his supplication and the supplication of the Sanhedrin ascended before HaShem (i.e. was accepted), and when the king’s heart was merry with wine, HaShem unleashed upon him an angel of confusion, to agitate the feast.”
[The Targum has provided us with the background to the divine decree that the following events unfold as they do.]
“With this, [Achashverosh] spoke to Mehuman, Bizetha, Charvona, Bigtha and Avagtha, Zethar and Karkas…”
[The Targum now proceeds to expound upon each of the names of these attendants, demonstrating how the name carries the connotation of the corruptness of character of each respective personage. However, for our purposes, we’ll skip this stage of the Targum and proceed with the action:]
“…the seven officers whom the Master of the Universe shall ultimately eliminate and annihilate, who attended King Achashverosh during these seven days, and the king decreed upon these seven officers to bring Queen Vashti naked. [This was a punishment] for having [forced] the daughters of Israel to work naked, and to comb wool and flax on the Sabbath day.”
[Again the divine hand, unbeknownst to everyone else, is revealed, through the Targum, within the events of the megilah.]
“Therefore it was decreed upon her to die naked. However, the royal crown was [to be] on her head, in the merit that her grandfather, Nevuchadnetzar, clothed Daniel in purple garb.”
[In the book of Daniel, ch. 5, we read of the Babylonian King Belshatzar (Belshazzar) who makes a great feast at which, similar to the Targum's rendering of Achashverosh's feast, the Temple vessels are used to drink wine by the king, his wives and concubines. At this party, a mysterious hand appears and inscribes a cryptic message on the wall. After all attempts fail to interpret the "writing on the wall" (this is indeed the original story from which the famous phrase derives its origin), the Jewish sage/visionary Daniel, member of the royal Babylonian court, is called upon to demonstrate his interpretive skills and succeeds to the king's satisfaction. Belshatzar rewards Daniel with a purple garb and a golden chain. According to Jewish tradition, Belshatzar was Nevuchadnetzar's grandson. Curiously, the Targum seems to attribute this event to Nevuchadnetzar, in condradiction to the biblical narrative. In addition, Beshatzar was Vashti’s father, and Nevuchadnetzar was her great-grandfather. While true that the term “grandfather” could refer to an ancestor such as a great-grandfather, in this case Nevuchadnetzar, the problem would still remain that the book of Daniel is explicit that her father Belshatzar was the one to clothe Daniel in purple. Perhaps there is an error here in our text of the Targum and indeed “Belshatzar” should be substituted for “Nevuchadnetzar,” as well as “father” for “grandfather.”
In any event, the “purple” garment mentioned here is of a particular purple color known in Hebrew as “argaman,” and was a rare and expensive purple color generally reserved for royalty or nobility. For granting Daniel this dignity, a descendant of this wicked Babylonian king was likewise granted a commensurate dignity. We see therefore, that even the slightest good deed of even the most wicked does not go unrewarded. Vashti was to die for her wickedness, but the merit of her father was to grant her the final respect of dying with the dignity of royalty.]
“Therefore he decreed that she come before him [adorned] with the royal crown, to show the nations and the officers, for she was of pleasant appearance.”
Targum: “The righteous Mordechay prayed before HaShem (G-d), from the first day of the feast until the seventh day, which was the Sabbath. He ate no bread and drank no water, and on the seventh day which was the Sabbath, his supplication and the supplication of the Sanhedrin ascended before HaShem (i.e. was accepted), and when the king’s heart was merry with wine, HaShem unleashed upon him an angel of confusion, to agitate the feast.”
[The Targum has provided us with the background to the divine decree that the following events unfold as they do.]
“With this, [Achashverosh] spoke to Mehuman, Bizetha, Charvona, Bigtha and Avagtha, Zethar and Karkas…”
[The Targum now proceeds to expound upon each of the names of these attendants, demonstrating how the name carries the connotation of the corruptness of character of each respective personage. However, for our purposes, we’ll skip this stage of the Targum and proceed with the action:]
“…the seven officers whom the Master of the Universe shall ultimately eliminate and annihilate, who attended King Achashverosh during these seven days, and the king decreed upon these seven officers to bring Queen Vashti naked. [This was a punishment] for having [forced] the daughters of Israel to work naked, and to comb wool and flax on the Sabbath day.”
[Again the divine hand, unbeknownst to everyone else, is revealed, through the Targum, within the events of the megilah.]
“Therefore it was decreed upon her to die naked. However, the royal crown was [to be] on her head, in the merit that her grandfather, Nevuchadnetzar, clothed Daniel in purple garb.”
[In the book of Daniel, ch. 5, we read of the Babylonian King Belshatzar (Belshazzar) who makes a great feast at which, similar to the Targum's rendering of Achashverosh's feast, the Temple vessels are used to drink wine by the king, his wives and concubines. At this party, a mysterious hand appears and inscribes a cryptic message on the wall. After all attempts fail to interpret the "writing on the wall" (this is indeed the original story from which the famous phrase derives its origin), the Jewish sage/visionary Daniel, member of the royal Babylonian court, is called upon to demonstrate his interpretive skills and succeeds to the king's satisfaction. Belshatzar rewards Daniel with a purple garb and a golden chain. According to Jewish tradition, Belshatzar was Nevuchadnetzar's grandson. Curiously, the Targum seems to attribute this event to Nevuchadnetzar, in condradiction to the biblical narrative. In addition, Beshatzar was Vashti’s father, and Nevuchadnetzar was her great-grandfather. While true that the term “grandfather” could refer to an ancestor such as a great-grandfather, in this case Nevuchadnetzar, the problem would still remain that the book of Daniel is explicit that her father Belshatzar was the one to clothe Daniel in purple. Perhaps there is an error here in our text of the Targum and indeed “Belshatzar” should be substituted for “Nevuchadnetzar,” as well as “father” for “grandfather.”
In any event, the “purple” garment mentioned here is of a particular purple color known in Hebrew as “argaman,” and was a rare and expensive purple color generally reserved for royalty or nobility. For granting Daniel this dignity, a descendant of this wicked Babylonian king was likewise granted a commensurate dignity. We see therefore, that even the slightest good deed of even the most wicked does not go unrewarded. Vashti was to die for her wickedness, but the merit of her father was to grant her the final respect of dying with the dignity of royalty.]
“Therefore he decreed that she come before him [adorned] with the royal crown, to show the nations and the officers, for she was of pleasant appearance.”
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Ester 1:6-7 - When Will the Mourning Come?
[NOTE: Because of the many descriptive words in these verses that are difficult to translate, I have leaned heavily upon other translations for the English here. Although I could take a crack at it myself, I was unsure of a lot myself, and since for our purposes it won't make a tremendous difference, I relied on the standard translations.]
Ester 1:6: "There were hangings of white, fine cotton, and blue, bordered with cords of fine linen and purple, upon silver rods and pillars of marble; the couches were of gold and silver, upon a pavement of green, and white, and shell, and onyx marble."
[A beautiful description of the ornate surroundings of the party. The Targum here is even more descriptive, but to save time and effort we'll proceed directly to the next verse.]
1:7: "And they gave them drink in golden vessels--the vessels being diverse one from another--and royal wine in abundance, according to the bounty of the king. "
Targum: "[Achashverosh] commanded to give them to drink in the golden vessels of the Beth haMikdash that the wicked Nevuchadnetzar (Nebuchadnezzar) brought from Yerushalayim (Jerusalem)."
[These are the "golden vessels" of our verse.]
"The other vessels that King Achashverosh had there appeared like lead in comparison to the vessels of the Beth haMikdash."
[This last phrase, that the beauty of Achashverosh's own vessels paled in comparison to those of the Beth haMikdash, is the Targum's rendering of the phrase in our translation: "the vessels being diverse from one another," meaning that the two types of vessels present, those of the Beth haMikdash, and those of Achashverosh, were very different from each other. Those of the Beth haMikdash were extraordinarily brilliant, while those of Achashverosh appeared mundane in comparison.
This also brings us back to what we saw earlier in the Targum of v. 3 (see previous post). There the Targum told us that when the prominent Jews attending the first party (the 180-day party for the prominent men of the empire, as opposed to the 7-day local party for the people of Shushan), saw the vessels of the Beth haMikdash being used, they mourned and cried.]
"They drank young wine, fit for a king to drink, of abundant aroma and acute flavor, in no shortage, according to the bounty of the king."
[Interestingly, so far we have not seen that in this local party, also attended by the Jews of Shushan as we saw in the Targum of v. 5 (see previous post), that these Jews mourn over the use of the vessels of the Beth haMikdash as did those prominent Jews attending the 180-day party. We also saw in the Targum of v. 5 that the Jews were "found guilty" by Heaven for their participation in this 7-day party, perhaps deserving of death, but we did not find the same stated for the Jewish attendance at the previous party.
Ester 1:6: "There were hangings of white, fine cotton, and blue, bordered with cords of fine linen and purple, upon silver rods and pillars of marble; the couches were of gold and silver, upon a pavement of green, and white, and shell, and onyx marble."
[A beautiful description of the ornate surroundings of the party. The Targum here is even more descriptive, but to save time and effort we'll proceed directly to the next verse.]
1:7: "And they gave them drink in golden vessels--the vessels being diverse one from another--and royal wine in abundance, according to the bounty of the king. "
Targum: "[Achashverosh] commanded to give them to drink in the golden vessels of the Beth haMikdash that the wicked Nevuchadnetzar (Nebuchadnezzar) brought from Yerushalayim (Jerusalem)."
[These are the "golden vessels" of our verse.]
"The other vessels that King Achashverosh had there appeared like lead in comparison to the vessels of the Beth haMikdash."
[This last phrase, that the beauty of Achashverosh's own vessels paled in comparison to those of the Beth haMikdash, is the Targum's rendering of the phrase in our translation: "the vessels being diverse from one another," meaning that the two types of vessels present, those of the Beth haMikdash, and those of Achashverosh, were very different from each other. Those of the Beth haMikdash were extraordinarily brilliant, while those of Achashverosh appeared mundane in comparison.
This also brings us back to what we saw earlier in the Targum of v. 3 (see previous post). There the Targum told us that when the prominent Jews attending the first party (the 180-day party for the prominent men of the empire, as opposed to the 7-day local party for the people of Shushan), saw the vessels of the Beth haMikdash being used, they mourned and cried.]
"They drank young wine, fit for a king to drink, of abundant aroma and acute flavor, in no shortage, according to the bounty of the king."
[Interestingly, so far we have not seen that in this local party, also attended by the Jews of Shushan as we saw in the Targum of v. 5 (see previous post), that these Jews mourn over the use of the vessels of the Beth haMikdash as did those prominent Jews attending the 180-day party. We also saw in the Targum of v. 5 that the Jews were "found guilty" by Heaven for their participation in this 7-day party, perhaps deserving of death, but we did not find the same stated for the Jewish attendance at the previous party.
Why the difference? Could it somehow be related to the Jewish complacency over the destruction of the Beth haMikdash? What do you think?]
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Ester 1:5 - Mordechay is a Party Pooper
Ester 1:5: "At the end of these days, the king made a seven-day feast for all the people, great and small alike, that were found in Shushan the capital, in the courtyard of the king's inner garden.
"
Targum: "At the end of the days of this feast, the king made a seven-day feast for all the people of the House of Israel, great and small alike, that were found guilty in Shushan the capital, for they were counted among the uncircumcized masses, in the courtyard of the king's inner garden. There fragrant and fruit-bearing trees stood, coated halfway with fine gold,
inlaid with precious stones, forming a canopy above them. The Righteous Mordechay and his colleagues, however, were not there."
Why was attending this feast a sin? Why so severe, in fact, that the Jews would thus deserve to be wiped out? Any suggestions?
"Targum: "At the end of the days of this feast, the king made a seven-day feast for all the people of the House of Israel, great and small alike, that were found guilty in Shushan the capital, for they were counted among the uncircumcized masses, in the courtyard of the king's inner garden. There fragrant and fruit-bearing trees stood, coated halfway with fine gold,
inlaid with precious stones, forming a canopy above them. The Righteous Mordechay and his colleagues, however, were not there."
The plot thickens. The Targum here introduces the cause of the oncoming threat to our existence. For those unfamiliar with the Purim story, we will here spoil a bit. In Chapter 3 of the megilah, the evil Haman persuades the king to allow him to enact a decree of extermination against the Jewish people. The Targum now explains why HaShem (G-d) allowed such events to transpire. Somehow, by the great masses of Jews of Shushan attending Achashverosh's feast, as the Targum points out, together with the gentile masses, they were "found guilty" and deserving of punishment, indeed, it seems, with their very lives.
Why was attending this feast a sin? Why so severe, in fact, that the Jews would thus deserve to be wiped out? Any suggestions?
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Ester 1:4: Show Me the Money!
Ester 1:4: "When [Achashverosh] showed the wealth of the honor of his kingdom, and the glory of the splendor of his greatness for many days -- 180 days..."Targum: "After they ate and drank and indulged, [Achashve
rosh] showed them his wealth that remained in his hands from Koresh (Cyrus) the Mede. Koresh, too, discovered this wealth. He excavated the ruins of Bavel (Babylonia) on the bank of the Euphrates [River] and discovered there 680 bronze chests filled with fine gold and precious stones... With this wealth [Achashverosh's] glory was manifest many days, and the feast for the prominent men [lasted] 180 days."
rosh] showed them his wealth that remained in his hands from Koresh (Cyrus) the Mede. Koresh, too, discovered this wealth. He excavated the ruins of Bavel (Babylonia) on the bank of the Euphrates [River] and discovered there 680 bronze chests filled with fine gold and precious stones... With this wealth [Achashverosh's] glory was manifest many days, and the feast for the prominent men [lasted] 180 days."Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Ester 1:3 - Vassals and Vessels
[NOTE: Sometimes an elipsis (this thing: "...") in the middle of the text will indicate where I have abbreviated for the sake of relevant and new information. Sometimes the Targum is especially descriptive, which, while fascinating, I do not find relevant for our current exploration.]
Ester 1:3: "In the 3rd year of his reign, [Achashverosh] made a feast for all his officers and servants, the army of Persia and Media, the governors and the officers of state before him."
Targum: "In the 3rd year of Achashverosh's reign he made a feast. Why did he make a feast? Some say some provinces rebelled against him and he went and conquered them and after he conquered them he went and made a feast."
[This is in line with what we read in the Targum of v. 1 (see previous post). There we saw that on account of halting the construction of the Beth haMikdash, HaShem (G-d) divided Achasverosh's kingdom, but restored it to 127 province in the merit of Ester whom he was destined to marry. Ironically, although Achashverosh was at this point still married to Vashti, it was at this very feast that the need for a new queen, the opportunity for Ester to appear on the scene, becomes a reality, as we shall read in the coming verses of the megilah.]
"There is also an opinion that it was his birthday."
[Reason enough for a spectacular supremely ridiculously amazing party, no?]
"He sent letters to all the provinces to come and rejoice before him. He sent invitations to all the prominent men of state to come and rejoice with him, and 127 kings came before him from the 127 provinces, all of them adorned with their crowns on their heads... Some of the prominent men of Israel attended. When [the Jews] saw there the vessels of the Beth haMikdash, they cried and mourned."
[Later (v. 7), along with the description of the magnificence of Achashverosh's feast, the megliah describes the vessels (ie. dishes and stuff) that were used at the party. Jewish tradition tells us that these vessels were none other than those previously used by the Jews exclusively for sacred purposes in the Beth haMikdash. However, having been sacked by the Babylonians, and subsequently by the Persians upon conquering Babylonia, they were now nothing other than the property of the king, to use as he saw fit, even for so mundane a purpose as a drinking party. When the Jews, therefore, saw their most precious national treasures so disgraced, they were brought to tears and heartache.]
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
To Sit or Not to Sit
Ester 1:2: "In those days, when King Achashverosh sat upon his royal throne that was in Shushan (Susa) the capital."
Targum: "In those days, when King Achasverosh wanted to sit upon Shelomoh's (Solomon's) royal throne..."
[Not just any throne, but Shelomoh's throne! Even though Shelomoh lived centuries earlier than Achashverosh, he built a spectacular throne that remained extant and renowned even in Achashverosh's time. What was so spectacular about it? An abbreviated (albeit impressive) description of the throne based on Jewish sources can be found here (or at the above link). The Targum proceeds to fill us in on a bit of this throne's history:]
"...which was captured from Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) by Sheshak, King of Egypt..."
[This happened when Shelomoh's son, Rechavam (Rehoboam), reigned after him and came under attack by Egypt after what the prophet calls a defection of sorts from HaShem (G-d). Read the Biblical account here.]
"...and from Egypt was captured by Sancheriv (Sannacherib)..."
[Sancheriv was emperor of the ancient Assyrian Empire, and no friend of the Jews. In an attack on the Kingdom of Judah, then under the rule of the righteous King Chizkiyah(Hezekiah), Sancheriv's forces, over 185,000 strong, beseiged Yerushalayim, in what seemed certain doom for us. Miraculously, however, HaShem saved the Jews (go G-d!) and overnight 185,000 of Sancheriv's men dropped dead. (Read about Chizkiyah and his conflict with Sancheriv in II Kings 18-19.) Sancheriv also conducted wars against Egypt, during which, according to the Targum, he got his hands on Shelomoh's throne.]
"...and from Sancheriv was captured by Chizkiyah and returned to Yerushalayim..."
[Hooray! Go Jews!]
"...and again from Yerushalayim was captured by Pharoah Chagira, King of Egypt..."
[In fact, Pharoah Chagira, in Aramaic, literally means "Pharoah the Lame." He was so named because, upon trying to sit upon this great throne, was struck by one of the beasts that adorned it (if you didn't already, see the description of Shelomoh's throne here), rendering him a lame duck (or Pharoah, as it were).]
"...and from Egypt was captured by Nevuchadnetzar (Nebuchadnezzar) and brought to Bavel (Babylon)."
[We all know Nevuchadnetzar already as that bad boy who destroyed the first Beth haMikdash. Boo! He had other enemies, too, like the Egyptians, from whom he appropriated the throne next.]
"When Koresh (Cyrus) captured the vessels of Bavel he brought [the throne] to Elam."
[Koresh was emperor of the combined Persian-Median Empire which succeeded in conquering even the mighty Bavel and was the largest empire in history up to that point. It is this empire, under the subsequent rule of Achashverosh, in which the megilah takes place. Elam was the area of the empire in which Shushan, Achashverosh's capital, was located.]
"After this, Achashverosh became king, and wanted to sit upon [this throne] but was unable."
[Why was he unable? As indicated earlier, Pharoah "the Lame" Chagira made the almost fatal mistake of trying to sit on this throne, fit only for kings of Judah, an experience that earned him his name. Understandably then, Achashverosh was also unfit for this throne and was fortunate enough not to repeat the experience of others before him. Nonetheless:]
"He sent for and brought artisans from Alexandria to make one like it but they were unable, so they made one of lesser quality. They worked on it for two years, and on the 3rd year of his reign, [Achashverosh] sat upon that royal throne that the artisans made for him in Shushan the capital."
Targum: "In those days, when King Achasverosh wanted to sit upon Shelomoh's (Solomon's) royal throne..."
[Not just any throne, but Shelomoh's throne! Even though Shelomoh lived centuries earlier than Achashverosh, he built a spectacular throne that remained extant and renowned even in Achashverosh's time. What was so spectacular about it? An abbreviated (albeit impressive) description of the throne based on Jewish sources can be found here (or at the above link). The Targum proceeds to fill us in on a bit of this throne's history:]
"...which was captured from Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) by Sheshak, King of Egypt..."
[This happened when Shelomoh's son, Rechavam (Rehoboam), reigned after him and came under attack by Egypt after what the prophet calls a defection of sorts from HaShem (G-d). Read the Biblical account here.]
"...and from Egypt was captured by Sancheriv (Sannacherib)..."
[Sancheriv was emperor of the ancient Assyrian Empire, and no friend of the Jews. In an attack on the Kingdom of Judah, then under the rule of the righteous King Chizkiyah(Hezekiah), Sancheriv's forces, over 185,000 strong, beseiged Yerushalayim, in what seemed certain doom for us. Miraculously, however, HaShem saved the Jews (go G-d!) and overnight 185,000 of Sancheriv's men dropped dead. (Read about Chizkiyah and his conflict with Sancheriv in II Kings 18-19.) Sancheriv also conducted wars against Egypt, during which, according to the Targum, he got his hands on Shelomoh's throne.]
"...and from Sancheriv was captured by Chizkiyah and returned to Yerushalayim..."
[Hooray! Go Jews!]
"...and again from Yerushalayim was captured by Pharoah Chagira, King of Egypt..."
[In fact, Pharoah Chagira, in Aramaic, literally means "Pharoah the Lame." He was so named because, upon trying to sit upon this great throne, was struck by one of the beasts that adorned it (if you didn't already, see the description of Shelomoh's throne here), rendering him a lame duck (or Pharoah, as it were).]
"...and from Egypt was captured by Nevuchadnetzar (Nebuchadnezzar) and brought to Bavel (Babylon)."
[We all know Nevuchadnetzar already as that bad boy who destroyed the first Beth haMikdash. Boo! He had other enemies, too, like the Egyptians, from whom he appropriated the throne next.]
"When Koresh (Cyrus) captured the vessels of Bavel he brought [the throne] to Elam."
[Koresh was emperor of the combined Persian-Median Empire which succeeded in conquering even the mighty Bavel and was the largest empire in history up to that point. It is this empire, under the subsequent rule of Achashverosh, in which the megilah takes place. Elam was the area of the empire in which Shushan, Achashverosh's capital, was located.]
"After this, Achashverosh became king, and wanted to sit upon [this throne] but was unable."
[Why was he unable? As indicated earlier, Pharoah "the Lame" Chagira made the almost fatal mistake of trying to sit on this throne, fit only for kings of Judah, an experience that earned him his name. Understandably then, Achashverosh was also unfit for this throne and was fortunate enough not to repeat the experience of others before him. Nonetheless:]
"He sent for and brought artisans from Alexandria to make one like it but they were unable, so they made one of lesser quality. They worked on it for two years, and on the 3rd year of his reign, [Achashverosh] sat upon that royal throne that the artisans made for him in Shushan the capital."
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