Chumashחומש

עודך מסתולל בעמי. כְּתַרְגּוּמוֹ, כְּבִישַׁת בֵּהּ בְּעַמִּי, וְהוּא מִגִּזְרַת מְסִלָּה, דִּמְתַרְגְּמִינָן אֹרַח כְּבִישָׁא, וּבְלַעַז קלקי"ר; וּכְבָר פֵּרַשְׁתִּי בְּסוֹף וַיְהִי מִקֵּץ, כָּל תֵּבָה שֶׁתְּחִלַּת יְסוֹדָהּ סמ"ך וְהִיא בָּאָה לְדַבֵּר בִּלְשׁוֹן מִתְפַּעֵל, נוֹתֵן הַתָּי"ו שֶׁל שִׁמּוּשׁ בְּאֶמְצַע אוֹתִיּוֹת שֶׁל עִקָּר, כְּגוֹן זוֹ, וּכְגוֹן "וְיִסְתַּבֵּל הֶחָגָב" (קה' י"ב), מִגִּזְרַת סבל, "כִּי תִשְׂתָּרֵר עָלֵינוּ" (במדבר ט"ז), מִגִּזְרַת נָגִיד וְשָׂר, "מִשְׂתַּכֵּל הֲוֵית" (דניאל ז'):

עודך מסתולל בעמי Understand this as the Targum does: THOU TREADEST DOWN MY PEOPLE. The word מסתולל is of the same derivation as מְסִלַּה which we render in the Targum by “a trodden path”: old French caucher. I have already explained at the end of Sedrah ויהי מקץ (see Rashi on Genesis 44:16) that in the case of every word (verb) whose first root letter is ס (or ש), when it is intended to express the idea of acting upon itself (our Hithpael conjugation) one puts the ת of the prefix (הִתְ or מִת or יִתְ etc.) between the root letters, just as in this case, and as in, (Ecclesiastes 12:5) ‘‘and the grasshopper shall drag itself along heavily (ויסתבל)” which is derived from סבל “to carry a load”; (Numbers 16:13) “that thou wouldst make thyself altogether a prince (השתרר תשתרר) over us”, of the same derivation as the word שר in (II Chronicles 32:21) “a prince (שר) and noble”; (Daniel 7:8) ‘‘I was considering (מסתכל)” from the root סכל, “to reflect on.”

כעת מחר. כָּעֵת הַזֹּאת לְמָחָר; שָׂרַט לוֹ שְׂרִיטָה בַּכֹּתֶל – לְמָחָר כְּשֶׁתַּגִּיעַ חַמָּה לְכָאן, יֵרֵד הַבָּרָד:

כעת מחר means AT THIS TIME (כָּעֵת not כְּעֵת) TO-MORROW — He scratched a mark on the wall, saying, “To-morrow when the sun-rays reach here the hail will descend” (Exodus Rabbah 12:2; cf. Rashi on Genesis 21:2).

הוסדה. שֶׁנִּתְיַסְּדָה; וְכָל תֵּבָה שֶׁתְּחִלַּת יְסוֹדָהּ יוֹ"ד, כְּגוֹן יסד, ילד, ידע, יסר, כְּשֶׁהִיא מִתְפַּעֶלֶת, תָּבֹא הַוָּי"ו בִּמְקוֹם הַיּוֹ"ד, כְּמוֹ הִוָּסְדָהּ, הִוָּלְדָהּ (הושע ב'), וַיִּוָּדַע, "וַיִּוָּלֵד לְיוֹסֵף" (בראשית מ"ו), "בִּדְבָרִים לֹא יִוָּסֶר עָבֶד" (משלי כ"ט):

הוסדה means [FROM THE DAY] WHEN IT WAS FOUNDED (נתיסדה). Every word (verb) the first root-letter of which is י, as יסד and ילד and ידע and יסר, when it is used in the Hithpael sense (Rashi means our Niphal which often is the reflexive of the Kal), a ו replaces this י; e. g., הוסדה here, from יסד; (Hosea 2:5) “her being born (הִוָלְדָּהּ)”; (Esther 2:22) “and it was known (ויודע)”; (Genesis 66:20) “and there was born (ויולד) to Joseph”; (Proverbs 29:19) A servant will not be corrected (יוסר) by words”.

שלח העז. כְּתַרְגּוּמוֹ, שְׁלַח כְּנוֹשׁ, וְכֵן "יוֹשְׁבֵי הַגֵּבִים הֵעִיזוּ" (ישעיה י'), "הָעִזוּ בְּנֵי בִנְיָמִן" (ירמיה ו'):

שלח העז translate it as the Targum: SEND, GATHER. Similar examples of this sense are, (Isaiah 10:31) “The inhabitants of Gebim gather together (העיזו)”; (Jeremiah 6:1) “Gather together (העיזו), ye children of Benjamin”.

ולא יאסף הביתה. לְשׁוֹן הַכְנָסָה הוּא:

ולא יאסף הביתה The verb denotes “bringing into a place” so that the translation is: AND WHICH IS NOT GATHERED INTO THE HOUSE.

הניס. הִבְרִיחַ:

הניס means HE MADE THEM FLEE.

על השמים. לְצַד הַשָּׁמַיִם. וּמִדְרַשׁ אַגָּדָה: הִגְבִּיהוֹ הַקָּבָּ"ה לְמֹשֶׁה לְמַעְלָה מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם:

על השמים signifies towards the heavens (i. e. על is the equivalent of אל). A Midrashic comment is that the Holy One, blessed be He, raised Moses high above the heavens see Midrash Tanchuma, Vaera 15).

מתלקחת בתוך הברד. נֵס בְּתוֹךְ נֵס, הָאֵשׁ וְהַבָּרָד מְעֹרָבִין, וְהַבָּרָד מַיִם הוּא, וְלַעֲשׂוֹת רְצוֹן קוֹנָם עָשׂוּ שָׁלוֹם בֵּינֵיהֶם:

מתלקחת בתוך הברד [AND FIRE] FLASHING UP AMIDST THE HAIL — a miracle within a miracle! Fire and hail mingled, although hail is water! But in order to perform the will of their Creator they made peace one with the other (Exodus Rabbah 12:4).

ורב. דַּי לוֹ בְּמַה שֶּׁהוֹרִיד כְּבָר:

ורב AND IT IS ENOUGH — let it suffice Him with what He has brought down already.

כצאתי את העיר. מִן הָעִיר, אֲבָל בְּתוֹךְ הָעִיר לֹא הִתְפַּלֵּל לְפִי שֶׁהָיְתָה מְלֵאָה גִּלּוּלִים (שמות רבה):

כצאתי את העיר — This is the same as מן העיר [AS SOON AS I AM GONE OUT] FROM THE CITY. But he did not pray within the city because it was full of idols (Exodus Rabbah 12:5).

טרם תיראון. עֲדַיִן לֹא תִירְאוּן; וְכֵן כָּל טֶרֶם שֶׁבַּמִּקְרָא "עֲדַיִן לֹא" הוּא, וְאֵינוֹ לְשׁוֹן קֹדֶם, "טֶרֶם יִשְׁכָּבוּ" (בראשית י"ט) – עַד לָא שְׁכִיבוּ, "טֶרֶם יִצְמָח" (שם ב') – עַד לָא צְמַח. אַף זֶה כֵן הוּא – יָדַעְתִּי כִּי עֲדַיִן אֵינְכֶם יְרֵאִים, וּמִשֶּׁתִּהְיֶה הָרְוָחָה תַעַמְדוּ בְּקִלְקוּלְכֶם:

טרם תראון means YE DO NOT YET FEAR. Wherever occurs in Scripture it signifies ״not yet”, and does not mean “before”. For example: (Genesis 19:4) טרם ישכבו, which the Targum renders by “whilst yet they had not lain down”; (Genesis 2:5) טרם יצמח which the Targum renders by “not yet sprung forth”. This, too, has the same meaning: I know that ye do not yet fear the Lord, and that as soon as there will be respite you will continue in your moral corruption.

והפשתה והשערה נכתה. נִשְׁבְּרָה, לְשׁוֹן "פַּרְעֹה נְכֹה" (מלכים ב כ"ג), "נְכָאִים" (ישעיהו ט"ז), וְכֵן לֹא נֻכּוּ; וְלֹא יִתָּכֵן לְפָרְשׁוֹ לְשׁוֹן הַכָּאָה, שֶׁאֵין נו"ן בִּמְקוֹם ה"א לְפָרֵשׁ נֻכָּתָה כְּמוֹ הֻכָּתָה, נֻכּוּ כְּמוֹ הֻכּוּ, אֶלָּא הַנּו"ן שֹׁרֶשׁ בַּתֵּבָה וַהֲרֵי הוּא מִגִּזְרַת "וְשֻׁפּוּ עַצְמוֹתָיו" (איוב ל"ג):

והפשתה והשערה נכתה AND THE FLAX AND THE BARLEY נכתה — i. e. were broken; it has the same meaning as in, (2 Kings 23:29) “Pharaoh-Necho (נכה)”, which denotes Pharaoh the lame i. e. broken in so far as the power of his legs is concerned (cf. II Samuel 9:3); (Isaiah 16:7) “brocken (נכאים)”, and so too לא נכו (v. 32), “they were not broken”. It would not be correct to explain that it is connected in meaning with the word that signifies “smiting”, הכאה, for a נ cannot take the place of a ה that one may explain נֻכָּתָה as being equivalent to הֻכָּתָה, and נֻכּוּ to הֻכּוּ, but the נ is a root-letter in the verb, and the word נֻכּוּ is of the same grammatical form as the verb in, (Job. 33:21) “and all his bones are laid bare” שֻׁפּוּ (i. e. Pual of כי השערה אביב

כי השערה אביב. כְּבָר בִּכְּרָה וְעוֹמֶדֶת בְּקָשְׁיָהּ, וְנִשְׁתַּבְּרוּ וְנָפְלוּ, וְכֵן הַפִּשְׁתָּה גָּדְלָה כְבָר, וְהֻקְשָׁה לַעֲמֹד בְּגִבְעוֹלֶיהָ:

כי השערה אביב FOR THE BARLEY WAS IN THE EAR — it had produced its first ears and it stood on its stalks; these were therefore broken and fell. So, too, the flax had already grown and had become hard enough to stand in its capsules.

השערה אביב. עָמְדָה בְּאִבֶּיהָ, לְשׁוֹן "בְּאִבֵּי הַנָּחַל" (שיר ו'):

השערה אביב means [THE BARLEY] STOOD IN RIPE STATE, similar in meaning to, (Song 6:11) “[to look at] the ripe plants (באבי] of the valley”.

כי אפילת הנה. מְאֻחָרוֹת, וַעֲדַיִן הָיוּ רַכּוֹת וִיכוֹלוֹת לַעֲמֹד בִּפְנֵי קָשֶׁה; וְאַעַ"פִּ שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר "וְאֵת כָּל עֵשֶׂב הַשָּׂדֶה הִכָּה הַבָּרָד", יֵשׁ לְפָרֵשׁ פְּשׁוּטוֹ שֶׁל מִקְרָא בַּעֲשָׂבִים הָעוֹמְדִים בְּקִלְחָם, הָרְאוּיִם לִלְקוֹת בַּבָּרָד. וּבְמִדְרַשׁ רַבִּי תַּנְחוּמָא יֵשׁ מֵרַבּוֹתֵינוּ שֶׁנֶּחְלְקוּ עַל זֹאת, וְדָרְשׁוּ כי אפילת, פִּלְאֵי פְלָאוֹת נַעֲשׂוּ לָהֶם שֶׁלֹּא לָקוּ:

כי אפילת הנה means FOR THEY WERE LATE in growing and they were still soft and able to resist the blow of anything hard. It is true that it is stated, (v. 25) “and every herb of the field did the hail smite”, but one must explain the real meaning of that verse as referring to herbs that stood on their stalks and were therefore liable to be broken by the hail. In the Midrash of Rabbi Tanchuma 2:2:16 some of our Rabbis differed in their explanation of this, and explained the words כי אפילת to signify that most remarkable wonders (פלאי פלאות) happened to them in that they were not smitten.

לא נתך. לֹא הִגִּיעַ, וְאַף אוֹתָן שֶׁהָיוּ בָּאֲוִיר לֹא הִגִּיעוּ לָאָרֶץ; וְדוֹמֶה לוֹ: "וַתִּתַּךְ עָלֵינוּ הָאָלָה וְהַשְּׁבוּעָה" (דניאל ט') דְּעֶזְרָא – וַתַּגִּיעַ עָלֵינוּ. וּמְנַחֵם בֶּן סָרוּק חִבְּרוֹ בְּחֵלֶק "כְּהִתּוּךְ כֶּסֶף" (יחזקאל כ"ב), לְשׁוֹן יְצִיקַת מַתֶּכֶת, וְרוֹאֶה אֲנִי אֶת דְּבָרָיו, כְּתַרְגּוּמוֹ וְיָצַק – וְאַתִּיךְ, לָצֶקֶת – לְאַתָּכָא. אַף זֶה לֹא נִתַּךְ לָאָרֶץ – לֹא הוּצַק לָאָרֶץ:

לא נתך means [RAIN] DID NOT REACH the earth (i. e. no fresh rain came down) — that rain, too, which was alredy in the air at the moment when Moses was praying remained there and did not reach the ground. In a similar sense is “ותתך עלינו the curse and the oath” — a passage in the book of Ezra (really, Daniel 9:11) — which signifies, “the curse and the oath have reached us”. But Menachem ben Seruk classified it in the same section as, (Ezekiel 22:22) “כהתוך כסף” which has the meaning of melting (pouring forth) metal. I agree with his opinion, because in the Targum we render ויצק, (Onkelos Exodus 38:5) “And he cast (metal)”, by ואתיך, and (Onkelos Exodus 38:27) לצקת, “to cast (metal)” by לאתכא, each of these Aramaic words being of the same root as our word נתך. Therefore לא נתך ארצה would mean: rain was not poured out to the ground.