Parshat Yitro:
(ד) וְשֵׁ֥ם הָאֶחָ֖ד אֱלִיעֶ֑זֶר כִּֽי־אֱלֹהֵ֤י אָבִי֙ בְּעֶזְרִ֔י וַיַּצִּלֵ֖נִי מֵחֶ֥רֶב פַּרְעֹֽה׃
(4) and the other was named Eliezer, meaning, “The God of my father was my help, and He delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.”
Two Stories:
To access the script for easier reading, image descriptions, and additional source citations, please visit: https://tinyurl.com/MarbleNecksScript, or https://tinyurl.com/MarbleNecksScriptEnglish for a version with only English letters.
Footnotes:
...ואם אתה מן הכת השלישית כשתראה דבר מדבריהם שהדעת מרחיק אותו תעמוד ותתבונן בו ודע שהוא חידה ומשל ותשכב עשוק הלב וטירוד הרעיון בחבורו ובסברתו ותחשוב למצא כוונת השכל ואמונת היושר כמו שנאמר למצוא דברי חפץ וכתוב יושר דברי אמת ואז תסתכל בספרי זה ויועיל לך בע"ה:
...But if you are from the third group, [so that] when you see one of their words that intelligence pushes off, you stop and reflect about it and know that it is a riddle and a parable, and you lay burdened in your heart and occupied by the meaning of the idea in the composition and in its rational meaning and think to find the intelligent intention and the straight faith, as is states (Ecclesiastes 12:10), "to find words of desire and written straightly, even words of truth" - and [if so], look into this book of mine and it will help you, with God's help.
מַה רָאָה משֶׁה לִתֵּן נַפְשׁוֹ עַל עָרֵי מִקְלָט, אָמַר רַבִּי לֵוִי מִי שֶׁאָכַל אֶת הַתַּבְשִׁיל הוּא יוֹדֵעַ טַעְמוֹ, כֵּיצַד כְּשֶׁהָרַג משֶׁה אֶת הַמִּצְרִי יָצָא בַּיּוֹם הַשֵּׁנִי וּמָצָא לְדָתָן וַאֲבִירָם מְרִיבִין זֶה עִם זֶה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמות ב, יג): וַיֵּצֵא בַּיּוֹם הַשֵּׁנִי וגו', רַבִּי אַיְּבוּ אָמַר זֶה דָּתָן, הִתְחִיל מְבַזֶּה אוֹתוֹ, אָמַר לוֹ (שמות ב, יד): הַלְּהָרְגֵנִי אַתָּה אֹמֵר, כֵּיוָן שֶׁשָּׁמַע פַּרְעֹה כָּךְ, אָמַר כַּמָּה דְבָרִים שָׁמַעְתִּי וְשָׁתַקְתִּי, כֵּיוָן שֶׁהִגִּיעַ עַד שְׁפִיכוּת דָּמִים תָּפְסוּ אוֹתוֹ. וְהֵיאַךְ בָּרַח מִלִפְנֵי פַּרְעֹה, דִּכְתִיב (שמות ב, טו): וַיִּבְרַח משֶׁה מִפְּנֵי פַרְעֹה, אָמַר רַבִּי יַנַּאי בָּא הַקּוֹסְטִינָר לִתֵּן אֶת הַחֶרֶב עַל צַוָּארוֹ וְקָהֲתָה הַחֶרֶב מֵעַל צַוָּארוֹ שֶׁנַּעֲשָׂה שֶׁל שַׁיִשׁ, וּשְׁלֹמֹה מְקַלֵּס אוֹתוֹ (שיר השירים ז, ה): צַוָּארֵךְ כְּמִגְדַּל הַשֵּׁן. אָמַר רַבִּי אֶבְיָתָר וְלֹא עוֹד אֶלָּא שֶׁקָּהֲתָה הַחֶרֶב מִצַּוָּארוֹ וְהִיא נֶהֶפְכָה עַל הַקּוֹסְטִינָר, מִנַּיִן, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמות יח, ד): וַיַּצִּלֵנִי מֵחֶרֶב פַּרְעֹה, אָמַר משֶׁה לִי הִצִּיל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֲבָל לֹא לַקּוֹסְטִינֵר...
What did Moshe see to give his soul over the Cities of Refuge? Rabbi Levi said: One who has eaten the cooked food knows its taste. How is this so? When Moshe killed the Egyptian, he went out on the second day and found Datan and Aviram fighting with one another, as it is said (Shemot 2:13): "And he went on the second day, etc." Rabbi Eivu said: "This" is Datan; he began to be ridicule him [Moshe], he said to him (Shemot 2:14): "Do you propose to kill me?" When Pharaoh heard this, he said, "About many things I’ve heard and kept quiet, but now that it's reached bloodshed, apprehend him!" And how did he [Moshe] flee from before Pharaoh? As it is written, "And Moshe fled from before Pharaoh..." Rabbi Yanai said: The executioner came to put the sword on his neck, and the sword became blunted from upon his neck, which had been turned to marble. And Shlomo praises it (Shir HaShirim 7:5): "Your neck is like a tower of ivory." Rabbi Evyatar said: Not only that, but when the sword was blunted from his neck, it [the sword] turned against the executioner. From where is this derived? As it is stated (Shemot 18:4): "[God] delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh," Moshe said, "God saved me -- but not the executioner...."
(Partial translation by EE with some assistance from Artscroll Midrash Rabbah)
צַוָּארֵךְ כְּמִגְדַּל הַשֵּׁן, כְּתִיב (בראשית לג, ד): וַיָּרָץ עֵשָׂו לִקְרָאתוֹ וַיְחַבְּקֵהוּ וַיִּפֹּל עַל צַוָּארָו וַיִּשָּׁקֵהוּ, כֻּלּוֹ נָקוּד, אָמַר רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן אֶלְעָזָר... אֶלָּא מְלַמֵּד שֶׁלֹא בָּא לְנַשְּׁקוֹ אֶלָּא לְנָשְׁכוֹ, וְנַעֲשָׂה צַוָּארוֹ שֶׁל יַעֲקֹב אָבִינוּ שֶׁל שַׁיִּשׁ וְקָהוּ שִׁנָּיו שֶׁל אוֹתוֹ רָשָׁע וְנָמַסּוּ כַּדּוֹנָג, וּמַה תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר וַיִּבְכּוּ, אֶלָּא זֶה בּוֹכֶה עַל צַוָּארוֹ וְזֶה בּוֹכֶה עַל שִׁנָּיו. רַבִּי אַבָּהוּ בְּשֵׁם רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר מַיְיתֵי לָהּ מִן הֲדָא: צַוָּארֵךְ כְּמִגְדַּל הַשֵּׁן, כְּתִיב (שמות ב, טו): וַיִּשְׁמַע פַּרְעֹה אֶת הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה וַיְבַקֵּשׁ לַהֲרֹג אֶת משֶׁה וַיִּבְרַח משֶׁה, וְכִי יֵשׁ אָדָם יָכוֹל לִבְרוֹחַ מִן הַמֶּלֶךְ, אֶלָּא מְלַמֵּד שֶׁהָיָה עוֹמֵד וְנִדּוֹן בְּאוֹתוֹ הַיּוֹם וְחִיְּבוּ לְהַתִּיז אֶת רֹאשׁוֹ, אָמַר רַבִּי אֶבְיָתָר נִתְּזָה הַחֶרֶב מִצַּוָּארוֹ שֶׁל משֶׁה וְהִתִּיזָה צַוָּארוֹ שֶׁל קוֹסְטֵנָר הָרָשָׁע, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (שמות יח, ד): כִּי אֱלֹהֵי אָבִי בְּעֶזְרִי וַיַּצִּלֵנִי מֵחֶרֶב פַּרְעֹה, אוֹתִי הִצִּיל וְלַקּוֹסְטֵנָר לֹא הִצִּיל...
"Your neck is like an ivory tower." It is written (Bereishit 33:4): And Esav ran to greet him, and he hugged him, and he fell on his neck and he kissed him" -- ["kissed him"] it is entirely punctuated. Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar said: ... rather this comes to teach that he [Esav] did not come to kiss him [Yaakov], rather to bite him, and the neck of Yaakov our forefather became as a pillar of marble, and the teeth of that wicked man became blunted and they melted as wax. And what is the explanation of "And the cried?" Rather this one cried about his neck, and this one cried about his teeth. Rabbi Abahu said in the name of Rabbi Elazar, [a reference to] it can be found here (Shir HaShirim 7:5): “Your neck is like an ivory tower.” It is written (Shemot 2:15): "When Pharaoh learned of the matter, he sought to kill Moshe, and Moshe fled..." And is a person really able to flee from a king?! Rather this teaches that he [Pharaoh] stood and condemned him on that day, and ordered his beheading. Rabbi Evyatar said: The sword ricocheted from the neck of the evil executioner, as it is written (Shemot 18:4): "The God of my father was my help, and He delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.” -- "Me He saved, but not the executioner...
(Partial translation by EE)
(4) Esau ran to greet him. He embraced him and, falling on his neck, he kissed him; and they wept.
בפסוק וירץ לקראתו כו' וישקהו. דרשו חז"ל ביקש לנשכו כו' שמעתי מפי מו"ז ז"ל שהנשיקה עצמו הוא הנשיכה כדכתיב נעתרות נשיקות שונא כו' עכ"ד ז"ל. כי כמו שיעקב הכין עצמו לשלשה דברים דורון תפלה מלחמה. כמו כן זה לעומת זה כאשר ראה עשו שאין יכול לו במלחמה בא להזיק לו ע"י התקרבות. ונעשה צוארו כעמוד של שיש שלא יוכל להתדבק בו שום מגע נכרי...
In the verse, "...And he ran to greet him etc. and he kissed him," the sages expound, "he sought to bite him, etc." I heard from the mouth of [?] of blessed memory, that the kiss itself was the bite, as it is written (Mishlei 27:6): "...The kisses of an enemy are profuse." etc. until here did he of blessed memory write. For just as Yaakov prepared himself for three things -- gifts, prayer, and war -- so too did one do for the other. When Esav saw that he would not prevail over him through war, he came to harm him through his closeness. And his [Yaakov] neck became like a pillar of marble, in that no foreign attack was able to cling to him...
(Partial translation by EE)
...ויך את המצרי ויטמנהו בחול בשעה שהרגו לא היה שם מצרי אלא ישראל ואין חול אלא ישראל מה החול הזה מטלטלו ממקום למקום ואין קולו הולך כך ישראל אין ראוי להן להיות בעלי לשון הרע. אילולי אלו רשעים לא יצא הדבר לעולם...
(Shemot 2:12) "...he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand." In the moment that he killed him, there were no Egyptians there -- but there were Israelites. And "sand" refers to none other than the Israelites. Just as sand is moved from place to place and has no sound emanating from it, so too is it inappropriate for the Israelites to be speakers of Lashon Harah/evil speech. Were it not for these wicked people [Datan and Aviram], the matter would never have been discovered...
(Partial translation by EE)