השלים הכתוב ספר בראשית שהוא ספר היצירה בחידוש העולם ויצירת כל נוצר ובמקרי האבות שהם כענין יצירה לזרעם מפני שכל מקריהם ציורי דברים לרמוז ולהודיע כל עתיד לבא להם. ואחרי שהשלים היצירה התחיל ספר אחר בענין המעשה הבא מן הרמזים ההם.
ויעבר אברם בארץ עד מקום שכם אומר לך כלל תבין אותו בכל הפרשיות הבאות בענין אברהם יצחק ויעקב והוא ענין גדול הזכירוהו רבותינו בדרך קצרה ואמרו (תנחומא ט) כל מה שאירע לאבות סימן לבנים ולכן יאריכו הכתובים בספור המסעות וחפירת הבארות ושאר המקרים ויחשוב החושב בהם כאלו הם דברים מיותרים אין בהם תועלת וכולם באים ללמד על העתיד כי כאשר יבוא המקרה לנביא משלשת האבות יתבונן ממנו הדבר הנגזר לבא לזרעו
Concerning all decisions of “the guardians [angels],” know that when they proceed from a potential decree to a symbolic act, the decree will in any case be effected. It is for this reason that the prophets often perform some act in conjunction with the prophecies, just as Jeremiah commanded Baruch his disciple, And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates, and thou shalt say: Thus shall Babylon sink. Likewise is the matter of Elisha when he put his arm on the bow [held by Joash, King of Israel]: And Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The Eternal’s arrow of victory, even the arrow of victory against Aram. And it is further stated there, And the man of G-d was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldst have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Aram till thou hadst consumed it whereas now thou shalt smite Aram but thrice. It is for this reason that the Holy One, blessed be He, caused Abraham to take possession of the Land and symbolically did to him all that was destined to happen in the future to his children. Understand this principle. Now, with the help of G-d, I will begin to explain in detail the subject matter of the verses.
And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Shechem. This is the city of Shechem for such was the name of this place, and Shechem the son of Hamor was called by the name of his city. Now Rashi wrote, “He entered it unto the place of Shechem in order to pray on behalf of Jacob’s sons when they would come grieved from the field.” This is correct. And I add that Abraham took possession of this place at the very beginning, even before the land was given to him. It was thus hinted to him that his children would first conquer this place before they would merit it and before the guilt of the dwellers of the land was full to warrant their exile therefrom. It is for this reason that the verse here states, And the Canaanite was then in the land. And when the Holy One, blessed be He, gave him the land by His Word, Abraham journeyed from there and pitched his tent between Beth-el and Ai for this was the place that Joshua captured first.
It is possible that Scripture mentions, And the Canaanite was then in the land, to teach us concerning the substance of this chapter, i.e., to state that Abram came into the land of Canaan, but G-d did not show him the land He had promised him. He passed to the place of Shechem while the Canaanite, that bitter and impetuous nation, was yet in the land, and Abram feared him. Therefore he did not build an altar to G-d. But when he came to the vicinity of Shechem at the oak of Moreh, G-d appeared to him and gave him the land, and as a result his fear departed from him for he was already assured in the land that I will show thee, and then he built an altar to G-d in order to worship Him openly.
Now eilon Moreh (the oak of Moreh) is in the vicinity of Shechem and is also called eilonei Moreh, as it is written over against Gilgal, beside ‘eilonei Moreh.’ There in Shechem, near the Jordan, are Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal, where the Israelites arrived at the beginning of their entrance into the land. Eilonei Mamre, however, is a place in the land of Hebron, far from the Jordan.
Know that wherever Scripture states, eilonei Mamre, the name Mamre is on account of an Amorite by that name to whom the place belonged, just as it says, And he dwelt at the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshkol and brother of Aner, and wherever it says, eilon moreh or eilonei moreh, the places were so called on account of a man by the name of Moreh, but he was a Canaanite from the land of the Canaanites, who abide in the plains. When Scripture mentions Mamre alone, it means the name of a city, just as it is said: And Jacob came unto Isaac his father unto Mamre, the city of Arba, which is Hebron; Before Mamre which is Hebron. The man to whom the oaks belonged was called after the name of the city. A similar case is that of Shechem the son of Hamor, who was called Shechem after the name of the city Shechem.
In Bereshith Rabbah it is said, “In the opinion of Rabbi Yehudah, Mamre is the name of a place, and in the opinion of Rabbi Nechemyah, it is the name of a person.”
ואלה שמות בני ישראל. אַעַ"פִּ שֶׁמְּנָאָן בְּחַיֵּיהֶם בִּשְׁמוֹתָם, חָזַר וּמְנָאָם בְּמִיתָתָם, לְהוֹדִיעַ חִבָּתָם, שֶׁנִּמְשְׁלוּ לְכוֹכָבִים, שֶׁמּוֹצִיאָם וּמַכְנִיסָם בְּמִסְפַּר וּבִשְׁמוֹתָם (שמות רבה), שֶׁנֶּ' "הַמּוֹצִיא בְמִסְפָּר צְבָאָם לְכֻלָּם בְּשֵׁם יִקְרָא" (ישעיהו מ'):
ואחרי כן צוה בסתר למילדות להרוג הזכרים על האבנים, ואפילו היולדות עצמן לא ידעו בהם ואחרי כן צוה לכל עמו כל הבן הילוד היאורה תשליכוהו אתם. והענין שלא רצה לצוות לשרי הטבחים אשר לו להרגם בחרב המלך או שישליכו הם אותם ליאור, אבל אמר לעם כאשר ימצא כל אחד ילד יהודי ישליך אותו ביאור, ואם יצעק אבי הילד אל המלך או אל שר העיר יאמרו שיביא עדים ויעשה בו נקמה. וכאשר הותרה רצועת המלך היו המצרים מחפשים הבתים ונכנסים שם בלילות ומתנכרין ומוציאים הילדים משם, כי על כן נאמר ולא יכלה עוד הצפינו (שמות ב׳:ג׳):
ונראה שעמד זה ימים מעטים, כי בלדת אהרן לא היתה הגזרה, וכשנולד משה נראה שנתבטלה, אולי בת פרעה בחמלה עליו אמרה לאביה שלא יעשה כן, או כאשר נשמע כי מאת המלך נהיה הדבר ביטל אותו, או שהיה על פי האצטגנינות כדברי רבותינו (שמו''ר א כט), כי הכל התחכמות עליהם שלא יודע החמס וזה טעם מאמר האומרים למשה רבינו אשר הבאשתם את ריחנו לתת חרב בידם (שמות ה׳:כ״א), כי עתה יוסיפו בשנאתם אותנו, וימצאו טענה כי אנחנו מורדים במלכות ויהרגו אותנו בחרב לעיני הכל, לא יצטרכו עוד לעשות במרמה:
It is for this reason that he placed a levy upon them, as it was customary that strangers in a country contribute a levy to the king, as it is mentioned in the case of King Solomon. Afterwards he secretly commanded the midwives to kill the male children upon the birthstool so that even the mothers should not know it. Following that, he charged all his people, Every son that is born, ye — yourselves — shall cast into the river. Essentially, Pharaoh did not want to charge his executioners to slay them by the decree of the king or to cast them into the river. Rather, he said to the people that whoever would find a Jewish child should throw him into the river. Should the child’s father complain to the king or to the master of the city, they would tell him to bring witnesses and then they will exact vengeance [for the crime]. Now once the king’s restriction was removed, the Egyptians would search the houses, entering them at night, and indifferent [to the cries of the parents], would remove the children therefrom. It is therefore said, And when she could no longer hide him.
It appears that this [decree to drown the Israelite children] lasted but a short time, for when Aaron was born [three years before Moses], the decree was not yet in existence, and when [shortly after] Moses was born, it appears that the decree was revoked. Perhaps it was through Pharaoh’s daughter, who, in her compassion for the child Moses, said to her father that he should not act in that way. It may be that when it became known that this decree was enacted by the king, he revoked it, or again it may be that it was revoked on account of the astrologers, as is the opinion of the Rabbis, since it was all done dexterously by them in order that the crime not be known. This is the meaning of the complaint made to Moses our teacher [by the officers of the children of Israel], Ye have made our savor to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us, meaning, “Now they will increase their hatred of us and find justification for saying that we rebel against the government, and they will then openly slay us by the sword without the necessity of doing it slyly.”
הבה נתחכמה לו לא ראה פרעה וחכמי יועציו להכותם בחרב, כי תהיה בגידה גדולה להכות חנם העם אשר באו בארץ במצות המלך הראשון. וגם עם הארץ לא יתנו רשות למלך לעשות חמס כזה, כי עמהם הוא מתייעץ, ואף כי בני ישראל עם רב ועצום ויעשו עמהם מלחמה גדולה. אבל אמר שיעשו דרך חכמה שלא ירגישו ישראל כי באיבה יעשו בהם, ולכך הטיל בהם מס, כי דרך הגרים בארץ להעלות מס למלך כמו שבא בשלמה (מלכים א ט׳:כ״א):
It is for this reason that he placed a levy upon them, as it was customary that strangers in a country contribute a levy to the king, as it is mentioned in the case of King Solomon. Afterwards he secretly commanded the midwives to kill the male children upon the birthstool so that even the mothers should not know it. Following that, he charged all his people, Every son that is born, ye — yourselves — shall cast into the river. Essentially, Pharaoh did not want to charge his executioners to slay them by the decree of the king or to cast them into the river. Rather, he said to the people that whoever would find a Jewish child should throw him into the river. Should the child’s father complain to the king or to the master of the city, they would tell him to bring witnesses and then they will exact vengeance [for the crime]. Now once the king’s restriction was removed, the Egyptians would search the houses, entering them at night, and indifferent [to the cries of the parents], would remove the children therefrom. It is therefore said, And when she could no longer hide him.
It appears that this [decree to drown the Israelite children] lasted but a short time, for when Aaron was born [three years before Moses], the decree was not yet in existence, and when [shortly after] Moses was born, it appears that the decree was revoked. Perhaps it was through Pharaoh’s daughter, who, in her compassion for the child Moses, said to her father that he should not act in that way. It may be that when it became known that this decree was enacted by the king, he revoked it, or again it may be that it was revoked on account of the astrologers, as is the opinion of the Rabbis, since it was all done dexterously by them in order that the crime not be known. This is the meaning of the complaint made to Moses our teacher [by the officers of the children of Israel], Ye have made our savor to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us, meaning, “Now they will increase their hatred of us and find justification for saying that we rebel against the government, and they will then openly slay us by the sword without the necessity of doing it slyly.”
(ח) וּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל פָּרוּ וַיִּשְׁרְצוּ, אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁמֵּת יוֹסֵף וְאֶחָיו, אֱלֹהֵיהֶם לֹא מֵת, אֶלָּא וּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל פָּרוּ וַיִּשְׁרְצוּ. דָּבָר אַחֵר, כָּל אַחַת וְאַחַת יָלְדָה שִׁשָּׁה בְּכֶרֶס אֶחָד, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל פָּרוּ וַיִּשְׁרְצוּ וגו'. וְיֵשׁ אוֹמְרִים שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר, דִּכְתִיב: פָּרוּ שְׁנַיִם, וַיִּשְׁרְצוּ שְׁנַיִם, וַיִּרְבּוּ שְׁנַיִם, וַיַּעַצְמוּ שְׁנַיִם, בִּמְאֹד מְאֹד שְׁנַיִם, וַתִּמָּלֵא הָאָרֶץ אֹתָם שְׁנַיִם, הֲרֵי שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר. וַיַּעַצְמוּ, יֵשׁ אוֹמְרִים שִׁשָּׁה בְּכֶרֶס אֶחָד. וְאַל תִּתְמַהּ, שֶׁהֲרֵי עַקְרָב שֶׁהִיא מִן הַשְּׁרָצִים יוֹלֶדֶת שִׁבְעִים. רַבִּי נָתָן אוֹמֵר: וַתִּמָּלֵא הָאָרֶץ אֹתָם, כְּחוּשִׁים שֶׁל קַנִּים. וַיָּקָם מֶלֶךְ חָדָשׁ, כֵּיוָן שֶׁרָאוּ הַמִּצְרִים כָּךְ חִדְּשׁוּ גְּזֵרוֹת עֲלֵיהֶם, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב: וַיָּקָם מֶלֶךְ חָדָשׁ. רַב וּשְׁמוּאֵל, חַד אָמַר חָדָשׁ מַמָּשׁ, וְחַד אָמַר שֶׁנִּתְחַדְּשׁוּ גְזֵרוֹתָיו, שֶׁחִדֵּשׁ גְּזֵרוֹת וּפֻרְעָנֻיּוֹת עֲלֵיהֶם. טַעְמָא דְמַאן דְּאָמַר חָדָשׁ מַמָּשׁ, דִּכְתִיב: חָדָשׁ, טַעֲמָא דְמַאן דְּאָמַר שֶׁחִדֵּשׁ גְּזֵרוֹתָיו, דְּלָא כְתִיב וַיָּמָת וַיִּמְלֹךְ. אֲשֶׁר לֹא יָדַע אֶת יוֹסֵף, עַל דַּעְתֵּיהּ דְּמַאן דְּאָמַר חָדָשׁ נִיחָא, וְעַל דַּעְתֵּיהּ דְּמַאן דְּאָמַר שֶׁחִדֵּשׁ גְּזֵרוֹתָיו מַאי דָּרַשׁ בֵּיהּ, דַּהֲוֵי דָמֵי כְּמַאן דְּלָא יָדַע לֵיהּ לְיוֹסֵף כְּלַל. רַבָּנָן אָמְרֵי לָמָּה קְרָאוֹ מֶלֶךְ חָדָשׁ, וַהֲלֹא פַּרְעֹה עַצְמוֹ הָיָה, אֶלָּא שֶׁאָמְרוּ הַמִּצְרִיִים לְפַרְעֹה, בּוֹא וְנִזְדַּוֵּג לְאֻמָּה זוֹ. אָמַר לָהֶם שׁוֹטִים אַתֶּם, עַד עַכְשָׁו מִשֶּׁלָּהֶם אָנוּ אוֹכְלִים, וְהֵיאַךְ נִזְדַּוֵּג לָהֶם, אִלּוּלֵי יוֹסֵף לֹא הָיִינוּ חַיִּים. כֵּיוָן שֶׁלֹא שָׁמַע לָהֶם, הוֹרִידוּהוּ מִכִּסְּאוֹ שְׁלשָׁה חֳדָשִׁים, עַד שֶׁאָמַר לָהֶם כָּל מַה שֶּׁאַתֶּם רוֹצִים הֲרֵינִי עִמָּכֶם, וְהֵשִׁיבוּ אוֹתוֹ, לְפִיכָךְ כְּתִיב: וַיָּקָם מֶלֶךְ חָדָשׁ. רַבָּנָן פָּתְחִין פִּתְחָא לְהַאי קְרָא (הושע ה, ז): בַּה' בָּגָדוּ כִּי בָּנִים זָרִים יָלָדוּ עַתָּה יֹאכְלֵם חֹדֶשׁ אֶת חֶלְקֵיהֶם. לְלַמֶּדְךָ, כְּשֶׁמֵּת יוֹסֵף הֵפֵרוּ בְּרִית מִילָה, אָמְרוּ נִהְיֶה כַּמִּצְרִים. מִכָּאן אַתָּה לָמֵד שֶׁמשֶׁה מָלָן בִּיצִיאָתָן מִמִּצְרַיִם, וְכֵיוָן שֶׁעָשׂוּ כֵן, הָפַךְ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא הָאַהֲבָה שֶׁהָיוּ הַמִּצְרִיִּים אוֹהֲבִין אוֹתָן, לְשִׂנְאָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (תהלים קה, כה): הָפַךְ לִבָּם לִשְׂנֹא עַמּוֹ לְהִתְנַכֵּל בַּעֲבָדָיו, לְקַיֵּם מַה שֶּׁנֶּאֱמַר (הושע ה, ז): עַתָּה יֹאכְלֵם חֹדֶשׁ אֶת חֶלְקֵיהֶם. מֶלֶךְ חָדָשׁ, שֶׁעָמַד וְחִדֵּשׁ עֲלֵיהֶם גְּזֵרוֹתָיו. אֲשֶׁר לֹא יָדַע אֶת יוֹסֵף, וְכִי לֹא הָיָה מַכִּיר אֶת יוֹסֵף, אָמַר רַבִּי אָבִין מָשָׁל לְאֶחָד שֶׁרָגַם אוֹהֲבוֹ שֶׁל הַמֶּלֶךְ, אָמַר הַמֶּלֶךְ הַתִּיזוּ אֶת רֹאשׁוֹ, כִּי לְמָחָר יַעֲשֶׂה בִּי כָּךְ. לְכָךְ כָּתַב עָלָיו הַמִּקְרָא, כְּלוֹמַר הַיּוֹם אֲשֶׁר לֹא יָדַע אֶת יוֹסֵף, לְמָחָר הוּא עָתִיד לוֹמַר (שמות ה, ב): לֹא יָדַעְתִּי אֶת ה'.
(8) "And Yosef and his brothers and their entire generation passed away," to teach you that as long as one of them was still alive from the original ones that came down to Egypt, the Egyptians did not enslave the Israelites. "And the children of Israel reproduced and spawned," even though Yosef and his brothers died, their God did not die, instead "the children of Israel reproduced and spawned." Another point: Each one gave birth to six children in one litter, as it says: "And the children of Israel reproduced and spawned ..." Some say: Twelve [children in each litter] as it is written: "reproduced" - two, "spawned" - two, "they were many" - two, "they were massive" - two, "very much" - two, "and the land was filled with them" - two, for a total of twelve. "They were massive," some say: six children in each litter. And don't be incredulous, since the scorpion is one of the crawling creatures, and it gives birth to seventy at a time. Rabbi Natan says, "And the land was filled with them," like a field of reeds. "A new king arose," since the Egyptians saw this, they enacted new decrees upon them. That which is written: "A new king arose," Rav and Shmuel [interpret it]. One says: literally new. The other says: his decrees were new, he established decrees and punishments on them. The rationale of the one that says it was literally a new king, as it is written: "new." The rationale of the one that says it is referring to new decrees, since it is not written: "and he died, and a king was anointed." "Who did not know Yosef" -- according to the one who said it was a new king, this makes sense. According to the one who said he established new decrees, how does he explain ["that did not know Yosef"]? That he was _like_ one who did not know Yosef at all. The Rabbis say: Why does it call him a "new king"? Wasn't this the same Pharaoh as before? But the Egyptians said to Pharaoh: "let us mix it up with this nation." He said to them: "You are crazy! Until now we have eaten only because of them; how can we mix it up with them?! Were it not for Yosef we would all be dead." When he didn't listen to them, they deposed him from the throne for three months, until he said to them: "Whatever you want to do I am with you," and they re-appointed him. That is why it says, "A new king arose." The Rabbis took their opening text from this verse (Hosea 5:7): "Against God they have rebelled since they have given birth to foreign children, now the new moon will consume their parts." To teach you that when Yosef died they stopped performing circumcision; they said: Let us be like the Egyptians. From this you learn that Moshe circumcised them on their leaving Egypt. And when they did this [stopped observing circumcision], God converted the love of the Egyptians for them into hatred, as it says (Psalms 105:25): "He changed their mind to hate his nation, to harass his servants", to fulfill the verse (Hosea 5:7): "Now the new moon will consume their parts" [translator's note: the word "new moon," "hodesh," is re-vocalized by the Midrash to the word "new," "hadash."]. "A new king," since he arose and enacted new decrees against them. "Who did not know Yosef," and did he really not know Yosef?! Rabbi Abin said: It is like a parable of one who stoned to death the king's friend. The king said, Cut off his head, for tomorrow he will do the same thing to me. therefore Scripture says of him [Pharaoh] - in other words: today, "he did know Yosef," tomorrow, he will say (Exod. 5:2): "I do not know Adonai."
כִּי אַתָּה עָשִׂיתָ. אַתָּה גָרַמְתָּ לִי שֶׁהֵם שׂוֹנְאִים אוֹתִי, שֶׁהִבְדַּלְתַּנִי מִמַּאֲכָלָם וּמִמִּשְׁתֵּיהֶם וּמֵהִתְחַתֵּן בָּם. אִם נִתְחַתַּנְתִּי בָהֶם, הָיוּ מְרַחֲמִים עָלַי וְעַל בְּנֵי בְנוֹתֵיהֶם:
ותמלא הארץ אתם. אם היה הכוונה ארץ גושן מהם מיבעי וכן ת״א מנהון. אבל לשון המקרא אותם. בא ללמד דלא ארץ גושן לבד שהי׳ מיוחד לישראל ומלאה מישראל לבד. אלא אפילו כל א״מ שהי׳ עיקר ישיבת עם מצרים מ״מ מלאה הארץ את ישראל. ומשמעות אותם עמם. כמש״כ בספר ויקרא י״ז ה׳ עה״פ וזבחו זבחי שלמים לה׳ אותם. והיה כל מקום פנוי שמצאו ישראל לקנות ולדור נתישבו שמה. והיינו דכתיב במכת בכורות ופסח ה׳ על הפתח הרי שהיו הרבה בתי ישראל בקרב בתי מצרים. ואע״ג שיבואר להלן ב׳ כ״ה וג׳ ז׳ שפרעה נגש לישראל ולחצם לדור במיצר כדי להשפיל דעתם. מ״מ הי׳ באופן שנשארו בקרב ערי מצרים בין בתיהם. ובא הכתוב להקדים בזה סיבת שנאת מצרים וגזרת המלכות. ומחשבת חשד מה שלא עלה ע״ד ישראל. כ״ז בא משום שבקשו לצאת מרצון יעקב אביהם שישבו דוקא בארץ גושן כדי שיהיו בדד ונבדל ממצרים כמש״כ בפ׳ ויגש. אבל הם לא רצו כן. ובש״ר איתא עוד שפסקו למול מזה הטעם שאמרו נהיה כמצרים. דאחר שקבעו דירתם בקרבם מצאו טוב להם להשתוות למצרים ולא יהיו ניכרים שהמה יהודים. ומשום זה ביאר המדרש שהפך ה׳ לבם לשנוא עמו. וכבר ביארנו בס׳ בראשית עה״פ כי גר יהיה זרעך וגו׳ אשר היא הסבה שבכל דור ודור עומדים עלינו לכלותנו בשביל שאין אנו רוצים להיות כגרים ונבדלים מן האומות: