And a garden makes the seed shoot up,
So the Lord GOD will make
Victory and renown shoot up
In the presence of all the nations.
(א) כי כארץ. ועוד המשיל ישועת ישראל לארץ שתוציא צמחה, כי היה הגרגיר בארץ נפסד ונשחת ואחר כך יצמח ויתחדש וישוב למה שהיה ויותר טוב ויפה בחדושו, כי ברוב החדש טוב מן הישן ועוד כי מגרגיר אחד יצאו כמה גרגירים, כן ישראל היו ימים רבים בגלות נשחתים ונפסדים וכמעט אבדה תקותם ויצמחו בהגיע עת הגאולה ויפרו וירבו ויוסיפו על מה שהיו במספר ובכבוד ובגדולה יותר ממה שהיו כפלי כפליים, ועוד המשיל אותם לגנה שתצמיח זרועיה זו אחר זו שאין הירקות צומחין כאחד אלא לפי עתי השנה ויתחדשו בה צמחים לפי עתי השנה, כן ישראל תתחדש להם טובה אחר טובה וזה יהיה נגד כל העכו"ם כי כולם ידעו ויכירו בטובתם שהיא גדולה על כל הטובות שבעולם:
Another parable for the salvation of Israel likened to a plant. Just as a little grain can be destroyed and then afterward regrow to even greater heights than before. And from one seed, many sprouts can flourish, so too Israel had many days in Exile full of destruction and loss. They almost lost all hope. They will flourish at the time of redemption, grow, and add one in terms of number, glory, and greatness even more than was before. They are also likened to a garden that whose seeds are planted in such a way that they bloom at season. So too Israel will have goodness following goodness and this will be against all foreign nations who will recognize that Israel's good is greater than any in the world.
A commentary on the Tanakh written by Rabbi David Kimchi, Radak (1160–1236). Radak, one of the the most famous Bible commentators of his time, was a grammarian, which is reflected in his commentary.
Composed: Provence, France (c.1185 - c.1235 CE)
For the sake of Jerusalem I will not be still,
Till her victory emerge resplendent
And her triumph like a flaming torch.
"for Zion's sake I will not hold my peace" I will not cease from arguing and proving her truth. To bring the salvation of Israel out of their exile requires practical action, and on this it says -
"for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest" I will not sit at ease without doing a thing, rather I will be diligent to save them...
Written by Rabbi Meir Leibush ben Yehiel Michel Wisser (Malbim), a trademark of the his commentary is his belief that there are no synonyms or repetition in the Tanakh. Each word represents a different idea or concept. Another important facet is his interest in connecting the written word to its rabbinic interpretation.
Composed: Warsaw (c.1844 - c.1874 CE)
I have set watchmen,
Who shall never be silent
By day or by night.
O you, the LORD’s remembrancers,
Take no rest
It is written: “I have set watchmen upon your walls, Jerusalem; they shall never be silent day nor night; those who remind the Lord, take no rest” (Isaiah 62:6). This is referring to the angels appointed by God to bring the redemption. The Gemara asks: What do these watchmen say to remind the Lord? This is what Rava bar Rav Sheila said: They recite the verse: “You will arise and have compassion upon Zion; for it is time to be gracious to her, for the appointed time has come” (Psalms 102:14).
Menahot (Meal Offerings) belongs to the fifth order, Kodshim (Holy things) and discusses the various grain-based offerings in the Temple. It has thirteen chapters.
Composed: Talmudic Babylon (c.450 - c.550 CE)
קָרֵב יוֹם אֲשֶׁר הוּא לֹא יוֹם וְלֹא לַיְלָה, רָם הוֹדַע כִּי לְךָ הַיּוֹם אַף לְךָ הַלַּיְלָה, שׁוֹמְרִים הַפְקֵד לְעִירְךָ כָּל הַיּוֹם וְכָל הַלַּיְלָה, תָּאִיר כְּאוֹר יוֹם חֶשְׁכַּת לַיְלָה, וַיְהִי בַּחֲצִי הַלַּיְלָה.
Bring close the day which is not day and not night [referring to the end of days - Zechariah 14:7], High One, make known that Yours is the day and also Yours is the night, guards appoint for Your city all the day and all the night, illuminate like the light of the day, the darkness of the night, and it was in the middle of the night.
Composed: c.280 - c.360 CE
The Haggadah is the classic Jewish text used as the basis of the Passover Seder. The text of the Haggadah was compiled during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. The roots of the Haggadah can be found in Masechet Pesachim. Thousands of editions of the Haggadah have been printed making it, perhaps, the most popular Jewish book ever written.
By His mighty arm:
Nevermore will I give your new grain
To your enemies for food,
Nor shall foreigners drink the new wine
For which you have labored.
Rabbi Avin bar Rav Adda said that Rabbi Yitzḥak said: From where is it derived that the Holy Blessed One wears Tefilin? As it is stated: “The Lord has sworn by His right hand, and by the arm of His strength” (Isaiah 62:8). Since it is customary to swear upon holy objects, it is understood that His right hand and the arm of His strength are the holy objects upon which God swore. Specifically, “His right hand” refers to the Torah, as it is stated in describing the giving of the Torah: “From His right hand, a fiery law for His people” (Deuteronomy 33:2). “The arm of His strength,” His left hand, refers to phylacteries, as it is stated: “The Lord gave strength to His nation” (Psalms 29:11), in the form of the mitzva of phylacteries. The Gemara asks: And from where is it derived that phylacteries provide strength for Israel? As it is written: “And all the nations of the land shall see that the name of the Lord is called upon you, and they will fear you” (Deuteronomy 28:10). It was taught in a baraita that Rabbi Eliezer the Great says: This is a reference to the phylacteries of the head, upon which the name of God is written in fulfillment of the verse: “That the name of the Lord is called upon you.”
Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said to Rav Ḥiyya bar Avin: What is written in the phylacteries of the Master of the world? Rav Ḥiyya bar Avin replied: It is written: “Who is like Your people, Israel, one nation in the land?” (I Chronicles 17:21).
Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak continues: Is the Holy Blessed One glorified through the glory of Israel? Rav Ḥiyya bar Avin answered: Yes, as indicated by the juxtaposition of two verses; as it is stated: “You have affirmed, this day, that the Lord is your God, and that you will walk in His ways and keep His laws and commandments, and listen to His voice.” And the subsequent verse states: “And the Lord has affirmed, this day, that you are His treasure, as He spoke to you, to keep His commandments” (Deuteronomy 26:17–18). From these two verses it is derived that the Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Israel: You have made Me a single entity [ḥativa] in the world, as you singled Me out as separate and unique. And because of this, I will make you a single entity in the world, and you will be a treasured nation, chosen by God. You have made Me a single entity in the world, as it is stated that Israel declares God’s oneness by saying: “Hear, Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One” (Deuteronomy 6:4). And because of this, I will make you a single entity in the world, unique and elevated with the utterance: “Who is like Your people, Israel, one nation in the land?”
Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr.
“But the end is reconciliation; the end is redemption; the end is the creation of the beloved community. It is this type of spirit and this type of love that can transform opposers into friends. It is this type of understanding goodwill that will transform the deep gloom of the old age into the exuberant gladness of the new age. It is this love which will bring about miracles in the hearts of men."
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heshel
God's dream is to be not alone,
but to have humanity as a partner
in the drama of continuous
creation. By whatever we do, by
every act we carry out, we either
advance or obstruct the drama of
redemption.
Rabbi Sharon Brous
The core story of my faith is a redemption story: the Exodus from Egypt—in Hebrew yetziat mitzrayim— literally emergence from the narrow place. That story forms the theological, ethical and psychic foundation of the Jewish experience of the world, animating and sustaining our people for thousands of years. And it is embedded in our liturgy and our calendar to such an extreme that it’s clear that it’s designed to affect everything from what we eat to how we pray to our heartache when reading the newspaper each morning. And it stands at the heart of the teachings of both Dr. King and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, and so many others who fought for liberation and redemption, not as political objectives or philosophical abstractions, but as mandates of their faith and moral imperatives.
It is, at its heart, not a story of oppression and enslavement in Egypt—only a few verses in the first two chapters of Exodus describe the hundreds of years of debasement and dehumanization. It’s also not the story of arrival in the Promised Land. As the book of Deuteronomy ends, Moses dies on top of the mountain looking out at, but never actually reaching the Land of Canaan. Instead, this story is consumed with the dreaming of, planning for and walking toward the Promised Land. It bears testament to the inextinguishable yearning, both human and divine, for freedom. Its focus is on the tedious, protracted and unfinished process of becoming free from oppression. It is a work in progress. And it endures because the journey from degradation to dignity remains an ongoing struggle. This story, at its heart, establishes the eternal truth of the triumph of freedom over slavery, dignity over degradation, liberation over systematized oppression. In a world of cruelty and injustice, this story is a testament to the inextinguishable yearning—human and divine—for freedom. For equity and equality. For hope in dark times, and for sacred responsibility in times of light and possibility.