פרשת בחקותי תשי"ח - הברכות

And I will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you.

ולא תגעל נפשי אתכם This means AND MY SPIRIT SHALL NOT LOATHE YOU. The root געל wherever it occurs denotes the casting out (as though spewing) or something that has been absorbed in another substance. In a similar sense the verb is used in (II Samuel 1:21) “For there the shield of the mighty was נגעל, [the shield of Saul, as though it had never been anointed with oil]”, i. e. it did not show itself receptive to being anointed, but ejected, as it were, the oily substance with which it had been smeared; for they used to smear leather shields with boiled fat in order to make the blow of the arrow or the spear glide off, so that it should not penetrate the leather. (Thus, when two things have been in the closest association, the term געל may be used of that which finally discards the other. It spews it out, as it were, it is sick of it, loathes it.)

ונתתי שלום AND I WILL GIVE PEACE [IN THE [LAND— Perhaps you will say, “Well, there is food and there is drink; but if there is no peace, then all this is nothing!” Scripture therefore states after all these promises “I will give peace in the land”. Hence we may learn that peace counterbalances everything. In a similar sense it states: “Who makest peace and createst all things" (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 1 8).

ורדפו מכם [AND FIVE] OF YOU SHALL PURSUE [A HUNDRED] — five of the weakest among you — and not alone of the most robust among you (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 2 4).

‎חמישה מאה ומאה מכם רבבה FIVE [OF YOU SHALL PURSUE] A HUNDRED AND A HUNDRED… TEN THOUSAND — But is this the right proportion? Surely it should have stated only “and a hundred of you shall pursue two thousand (and not ten thousand)!? But the explanation is: a few who fulfill the commandments of the Torah cannot compare with the many who fulfill the commandments of the Torah (i. e. the greater the group of those loyal to the Torah, the greater is the morale and, under God’s blessing, the physical strength of each individual belonging to the group) (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 2 4).

its produce from “the mountains bring him food” [Job 40:20]. It is not known whether the yod is part of the triliteral root, or whether, like the word “living creature” [cf . Genesis 7:4], it is not part of the triliteral root.

you shall dwell in security for in times of famine, people wander from their homes (compare, “it will not henceforth yield its produce for you; a fugitive and a wanderer will you be” [Genesis 4:12]).

The wonder will be that a small number of you will pursue a large number of enemies. I have already explained in Sefer Moznayyim that the words “ten”, “hundred”, “thousand”, and “myriad” (ten thousands) are approximate quantities. It is customary to exaggerate numbers by multiplying them by ten, as in “now you are worth all ten thousand of us” [II Samuel 18:3]. Here Scripture exceeds this custom — five people pursuing one hundred people involves twice the usual proportion. Moreover, each of a hundred people will himself be able to pursue a hundred people.