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וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֶל משֶׁה אֱמֹר אֶל אַהֲרֹן נְטֵה אֶת מַטְּךָ וְהַךְ אֶת עֲפַר הָאָרֶץ, אָמַר רַבִּי תַּנְחוּם אָמַר לוֹ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְמשֶׁה עָפָר שֶׁהֵגֵן עָלֶיךָ כְּשֶׁהָרַגְתָּ אֶת הַמִּצְרִי אֵינוֹ דִין שֶׁיִּלְקֶה עַל יָדֶךָ, לְפִיכָךְ לָקוּ שָׁלשׁ מַכּוֹת אֵלּוּ עַל יְדֵי אַהֲרֹן.
... Said Rabbi Tarfon, said the holy one blessed be He to Moses, the dust that protected you when you slew the Egyptian it is not just that it should be struck by you,
therefore these three plagues were carried out by Aaron.
רש"י ד"ה אמר אל אהרן, לפי שהגין היאור על משה שנשלך לתוכו, לפיכך לא לקה על ידו, לא בדם ולא בצפרדעים, ולקה על ידי אהרן (שמות רבה ט, י). ע"כ. ובדומה להלן (ח, יב ד"ה "אמר אל אהרן"): לא היה העפר כדאי ללקות על ידי משה וכו' (שמות רבה י, ז). ע"כ. משום מה חשבתי תמיד, בלא לדייק בכתובים, שמשה רבנו ע"ה על דעת עצמו עשה כן, והנה רק עתה שמתי לב שבציוויו ית' עשה. הרי לך שהכרת טובה מעין מצוות עשה היא, ולא סתם מדה טובה. ואמרתי את הדבר לפני רבו של קיבוץ חפץ חיים ולפני ידידי ר' משה ריינמן שי', ונראה להם.
Since God commanded (and not Moses) that Aaron execute this and the subsequent miracle we learn that Hakarat HaTov (recognizing a good deed) is a commandment from God and not simply a good character trait.
Author: Asher Wassertheil
Composed: Jerusalem, Israel, c.1960 - c.2010 CE
A contemporary commentary focused on the elucidation of Rashi's commentary on the Torah.
לא תתעב מצרי THOU SHALT NOT ABHOR AN EGYPTIAN all in all (utterly), although they cast your male children into the river. And what is the reason that you should not abhor him utterly? Because they were your hosts in time of need (during Joseph’s reign when the neighbouring countries suffered from famine); therefore although they sinned against you do not utterly abhor him, but —
אמר ליה רבא לרבה בר מרי מנא הא מילתא דאמרי אינשי בירא דשתית מיניה לא תשדי ביה קלא א"ל דכתיב (דברים כג, ח) לא תתעב אדומי כי אחיך הוא ולא תתעב מצרי כי גר היית בארצו
"לא תתעב אדֹמי כי אחיך הוא, לא תתעב מצרי כי גר היית בארצו". לגבי "לא תתעב מצרי" ... וראה "מנחת יצחק". לדבריו, רש"י בא לבאר שכוונת הכתוב "כי גר היית בארצו" על תחילת בואם למצרים - "בשעת הדחק", בשל הרעב, שאז הטיבו להם ופרנסו אותם וכלכלו אותם, ויש להכיר להם טובה, אבל על שנות השעבוד, אף שגם בהן היינו גרים בארצם, איננו צריכים כלל להכיר טובה, אדרבה, על כך הם מרוחקים ואסורים לבא בקהל כדלהלן.
אשר נתתה עמדי. כָּאן כָּפַר בַּטּוֹבָה (עבודה זרה ה):
וְאָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן מִשּׁוּם רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן יוֹחַי: מִיּוֹם שֶׁבָּרָא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֶת עוֹלָמוֹ לֹא הָיָה אָדָם שֶׁהוֹדָה לְהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, עַד שֶׁבָּאתָה לֵאָה וְהוֹדַתּוּ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״הַפַּעַם אוֹדֶה אֶת ה׳״.
Hif. - הוֹדָה [to raise hands,] 1) to thank, acknowledge; to give praise. Taan. 6ᵇ מוֹדִים … לך we offer thanks unto thee. Ber. V, 3 he who says in public prayer מודים מודים … אותו ‘we thank, we thank’ (as if pointing in different directions and acknowledging two divinities) must be silenced. Ib. IX, 5 (play on מ̇אד̇ך, Deut. VI, 5) בכל מ̇ד̇ה ומדה … הוי מוֹדֶה לו for whatever measure He metes out to thee, give thanks to Him. Ib. 54ᵇ ארבעה צריכין להוֹרוֹת four persons are bound to offer public thanks; a. v. fr. —2) to admit, consent, to confess. Pes. IV, 9 (56ᵃ); Ber. 10ᵃ על ג׳ הוֹדוּ לו concerning three of his acts they agreed with him. B. Mets. 3ᵃ, a. fr. מוֹדֶה במקצת הטענה he who admits part of his opponent’s claim. Shebu. VI, 3; Keth. 108ᵇ, a. e. טענו … וה׳ לו בשעורים, v. טָעַן I. B. Mets. 12ᵇ בשחייב מודה when the debtor admits his indebtedness; a. v. fr. [Tosef. Par. IX (VIII), 6 שהן מודין, v. מוֹרִיר.]
Hithpa. - הִתְיַדֶּה, , Nithpa. נִתְוַדֶּה, (denom. of תּוֹדָה, cmp. Josh. VII, 19) to confess one’s sins before God. Yoma III, 8 ומִתְיַרֶּה and confesses in public. Ib. 40ᵃ להגריל ולהִתְוַדּוֹת to cast lots and to make confession (on the head of the scapegoat). Y. ib. VIII, end, 45ᶜ אע"פ שנ׳ בערבית צריך להתודות וכ׳ although he has made confession in the evening prayer, he must again confess &c.; a. fr.—V. וִידּוּי.
And Rabbi Elazar further said that Rabbi Ḥanina said: Whoever reports a saying in the name of he who said it brings redemption to the world. As it is stated with respect to the incident of Bigthan and Teresh: “And Esther reported it to the king in the name of Mordecai” (Esther 2:22), and this eventually brought redemption, as Mordecai was later rewarded for saving the king’s life, paving the way for the miraculous salvation.
See also: Why Jews Quote, Michael Marmur here
המשורר שאול טשרניחובסקי הפך את אתונו הלבנה של המשיח לגיבורת שירו "שָׁלֹשׁ אֲתוֹנוֹת", שם היא מוצגת מול האתון החומה (המסמנת את הנצרות) והאתון השחורה (המסמנת את האסלאם).
בשנת 1998 פורסם על ידי העיתונאי ספי רכלבסקי ספר בשם "חמורו של משיח", אשר גורס לטענתו כי במשנתו של הרב אברהם יצחק הכהן קוק והשקפת תלמידיו, מייצגים החילונים, את עולם החומר. כאשר הם מכשיר בידי האל והם נועדו להקים את המדינה היהודית ולהניע את תהליך הגאולה, אך לאחר שהמדינה תוקם, יידרשו החילונים לפנות את מקומם לציבור הדתי אשר מיועד להנהיג את המדינה. לפי אנלוגיה זו, החילונים הם "החמור" בעוד הציבור הדתי אשר נועד לתפוס את מקומו הם מעין "משיח" קולקטיבי. הספר עורר מחלוקת בקרב הציבור הישראלי ובעקבות כך החל הביטוי לשמש לעיתים כמייצג דוקטרינה בשיח הפוליטי-דתי. הצגת השקפת הראי"ה בצורה זו אינה מקובלת בקרב מרבית תלמידיו.
In Israel, the phrase "the Messiah's Donkey" can also refer to the controversial political-religious doctrine ascribed to the teachings of Avraham Yitzhak Kook which claims that secular Jews, which represent the material world, are an instrument in the hands of God whose purpose it was to establish the State of Israel and begin the process of redemption, but upon its establishment they would be required to step aside and allow the Religious-Haredi public to govern the state. According to this analogy, the secular Jewish public are the "donkey", while the Religious-Haredi public who would take their place represent a collective quasi-Messianic body. A book called The Messiah's Donkey, which focuses on this issue, was published in 1998 by Seffi Rachlevsky and caused widespread controversy among the Jewish-Israeli public; according to Hassidic teaching the donkey is a symbol of the fact that the Messiah and Messianic age will not oppose the material world, but rather harness it for sacred purposes. Thus, the act of riding upon the donkey is a symbol of the sovereignty of the Messiah over the material world (represented by the donkey).[4]
Rav Yosef, who said that he penetrated the meaning of the verse in Zechariah only through its Aramaic translation, willingly accepted upon himself to witness the “birthpangs of Messiah.” When other sages said, “Let him (Messiah) come, and may I not see him,” it was Rav Yosef who said, “Let him come, and may I merit to sit in the shadow of the dung of his donkey!”...
“The shadow of the dung of his donkey.” The word hamorei (his donkey) by a double entendre, refers to the material (homer). Customarily, devotion to the material affairs of the nation clouds spiritual ascent. Even so, if this movement would not be so audacious as to spread in a way unbecoming Israel, it would be easy to accept. Were it not for its extremism, the movement would not find oppressive the spirit of the Torah, and it would not attack the foundation of Torah, which is tantamount to “blinding the eye of the world.”4 But the “dung," the gross tendencies that are loathsome to all peoples, produce a shadow that dims the pure intellectual lights deriving from Torah.
Nonetheless, Rav Yosef was confident that eventually all these negative manifestations would surrender to the light of Torah and the knowledge of God. Rav Yosef will sit in the shadow of the dung of Messiah’s donkey. In the very midst of the darkness, of the shadow, “rendering like night in the midst of the noonday,” Rav Yosef will light the candle of the commandment and the light of Torah, and a little light dispels much darkness. The evil will be transformed into good, the curse into blessing.
This is the import of the cryptic passage in the Zohar:
The head of the academy in the palace of Messiah said, “Whoever does not transform darkness to light and bitterness to sweetness, may not enter here.”49
The prerequisite for the generation of Messiah is the ability to utilize all forces, even the most coarse, for the sake of good and the singular sanctity with which Israel were crowned.
(Ma’amarei RAYaH I [Jerusalem 5740/1980] pp. 94-99) see
One cannot altogether dismiss the success of the Zionists. Though this is pervaded by many deficiencies, there must also be here a spirit of the Divine, to build souls for the Holy Land. Through all does the Holy One, praised be He, accomplish his mission. Who can discern the mysterious working of God, to fathom why there should be among those who serve this caused people who are so thoroughly tainted by heresy?
Igeret, letter #473
The souls inspired by a destructive zeal reveal themselves especially at the end of days, before the great cataclysm that precedes the emergence of a new and more wondrous level of existence, when the old boundaries expand, just prior to the birth of a norm above the existing norms. In times of redemption insolence is on the increase. A fierce storm rages, more breaches appear, acts of insolence mount continually because they can find no satisfaction in the beneficence offered by the limited light. It does not satisfy all their yearnings, nor does it unravel for them the mystery of existence. They rebel against everything, including also the dimension of the good that could lead them to a great peace and help them rise to great heights. They rebel and they are indignant, they break and they discard; they seek their nourishment in alien pastures, embracing alien ideals and desecrating everything hallowed, but without finding peace....
Truly heroic spirits know that this force is one of the phenomena needed for the perfection of the world, for strengthening the power of the nation, of man and of the world. Initially this force represents the realm of the chaotic, but in the end it will be taken from the wicked and turned over to the hands of the righteous who will show the truth about perfection and construction, in a great resoluteness, inspired by clear perception and a steady and undimmed sense of the practical.
See Souls of Chaos here
בכל לבבך. בִּשְׁנֵי יְצָרֶיךָ (ספרי; ברכות נ"ד)
בכל לבבך [THOU SHALT LOVE THE LORD] WITH ALL THY HEART — The form of the noun with two ב instead of the usual form לבך suggests: Love Him with thy two inclinations (the יצר הטוב and the יצר הרע) (Sifrei Devarim 32:3; Berakhot 54a).
(כ) וּבָ֤א לְצִיּוֹן֙ גּוֹאֵ֔ל וּלְשָׁבֵ֥י פֶ֖שַׁע בְּיַֽעֲקֹ֑ב נְאֻ֖ם ה'׃
(20) He shall come as redeemer to Zion,
To those in Jacob who turn back from sin
—declares the LORD.