Until Shiloh Comes

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בראשית מ״ט:א׳-י׳

(א) וַיִּקְרָ֥א יַעֲקֹ֖ב אֶל־בָּנָ֑יו וַיֹּ֗אמֶר הֵאָֽסְפוּ֙ וְאַגִּ֣ידָה לָכֶ֔ם אֵ֛ת אֲשֶׁר־יִקְרָ֥א אֶתְכֶ֖ם בְּאַחֲרִ֥ית הַיָּמִֽים׃ (ב) הִקָּבְצ֥וּ וְשִׁמְע֖וּ בְּנֵ֣י יַעֲקֹ֑ב וְשִׁמְע֖וּ אֶל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֥ל אֲבִיכֶֽם׃ (ג) רְאוּבֵן֙ בְּכֹ֣רִי אַ֔תָּה כֹּחִ֖י וְרֵאשִׁ֣ית אוֹנִ֑י יֶ֥תֶר שְׂאֵ֖ת וְיֶ֥תֶר עָֽז׃ (ד) פַּ֤חַז כַּמַּ֙יִם֙ אַל־תּוֹתַ֔ר כִּ֥י עָלִ֖יתָ מִשְׁכְּבֵ֣י אָבִ֑יךָ אָ֥ז חִלַּ֖לְתָּ יְצוּעִ֥י עָלָֽה׃ {פ}
(ה) שִׁמְע֥וֹן וְלֵוִ֖י אַחִ֑ים כְּלֵ֥י חָמָ֖ס מְכֵרֹתֵיהֶֽם׃ (ו) בְּסֹדָם֙ אַל־תָּבֹ֣א נַפְשִׁ֔י בִּקְהָלָ֖ם אַל־תֵּחַ֣ד כְּבֹדִ֑י כִּ֤י בְאַפָּם֙ הָ֣רְגוּ אִ֔ישׁ וּבִרְצֹנָ֖ם עִקְּרוּ־שֽׁוֹר׃ (ז) אָר֤וּר אַפָּם֙ כִּ֣י עָ֔ז וְעֶבְרָתָ֖ם כִּ֣י קָשָׁ֑תָה אֲחַלְּקֵ֣ם בְּיַעֲקֹ֔ב וַאֲפִיצֵ֖ם בְּיִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ {פ}
(ח) יְהוּדָ֗ה אַתָּה֙ יוֹד֣וּךָ אַחֶ֔יךָ יָדְךָ֖ בְּעֹ֣רֶף אֹיְבֶ֑יךָ יִשְׁתַּחֲו֥וּ לְךָ֖ בְּנֵ֥י אָבִֽיךָ׃ (ט) גּ֤וּר אַרְיֵה֙ יְהוּדָ֔ה מִטֶּ֖רֶף בְּנִ֣י עָלִ֑יתָ כָּרַ֨ע רָבַ֧ץ כְּאַרְיֵ֛ה וּכְלָבִ֖יא מִ֥י יְקִימֶֽנּוּ׃ (י) לֹֽא־יָס֥וּר שֵׁ֙בֶט֙ מִֽיהוּדָ֔ה וּמְחֹקֵ֖ק מִבֵּ֣ין רַגְלָ֑יו עַ֚ד כִּֽי־יָבֹ֣א שִׁילֹ֔ה וְל֖וֹ יִקְּהַ֥ת עַמִּֽים׃

Genesis 49:1-10

(1) And Jacob called his sons and said, “Come together that I may tell you what is to befall you in days to come.
(2) Assemble and hearken, O sons of Jacob;
Hearken to Israel your father:
(3) Reuben, you are my first-born,
My might and first fruit of my vigor,
Exceeding in rank
And exceeding in honor.
(4) Unstable as water, you shall excel no longer;
For when you mounted your father’s bed,
You brought disgrace—my couch he mounted!
(5) Simeon and Levi are a pair;
Their weapons are tools of lawlessness.
(6) Let not my person be included in their council,
Let not my being be counted in their assembly.
For when angry they slay a man,*slay a man (So trad.) Or “slayed any [opposing] party”; cf. Gen. 4.23. Or, with NJPS, taking ’ish as a collective: “slay men.” See next note and Dictionary under ’ish.
And when pleased they maim an ox.*maim an ox Or, with Canaanite literary usage and taking this verse as referring to the events of chapter 34: “overthrew a dignitary.” Or, with NJPS, taking shor as a collective: “maimed oxen.”
(7) Cursed be their anger so fierce,
And their wrath so relentless.
I will divide them in Jacob,
Scatter them in Israel.
(8) You, O Judah, your brothers shall praise;
Your hand shall be on the nape of your foes;
Your father’s sons shall bow low to you.
(9) Judah is a lion’s whelp;
On prey, my son, have you grown.
He crouches, lies down like a lion,
Like a lioness*lioness (So trad.) Taking Heb. lavi’ as referring to a different sex than ’ari earlier in the verse, given that it is the females who hunt for their pride. NJPS “king of beasts,” taking lavi’ as a breed of lion. —who dare rouse him?
(10) The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet;
So that tribute shall come to him*So that tribute shall come to him Construing shiloh as shai loh “tribute to him,” following the Midrash; cf. Isa. 18.7. Meaning of Heb. uncertain; lit. “Until he comes to Shiloh.”
And the homage of peoples be his.

רש"י על בראשית מ״ט:י׳:ג׳

עד כי יבא שילה. מֶלֶךְ הַמָּשִׁיחַ שֶׁהַמְּלוּכָה שֶׁלּוֹ, וְכֵן תִּרְגְּמוֹ אֻנְקְלוֹס. וּמִדְרַשׁ אַגָּדָה שִׁילוֹ – שַׁי לוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר, יֹבִילוּ שַׁי לַמּוֹרָא (תהילים ע"ו):

Rashi on Genesis 49:10:3

עד כי יבא שילה means until the King Messiah will come, whose will be the kingdom (Genesis Rabbah 99:8). Thus too does Onkelos render it. A Midrashic interpretation is: שילה is the same as שי לו, a present unto him, as it is said, (Psalms 76:12) “Let them bring (שי) presents unto him that is to be feared.”

non auferetur sceptrum de Iuda et dux de femoribus eius donec veniat qui mittendus est et ipse erit expectatio gentium

The sceptre shall not be taken away from Juda, nor a ruler from his thigh, till he come that is to be sent, and he shall be the expectation of nations.

The Latin Vulgate

According to Muslims, Muhammad is identified as Shiloh,^[19] with a particular reference to Quran 3:81. According to a Muslim source called Sahih Muslim, Muhammad claimed, 'I am Hashir (the gatherer) at whose feet people will be gathered.' This is a reference to the Shiloh prophecy in Genesis 49:10 and the claim of being Shiloh.

Rahmatullah Kairanawi, a Muslim scholar from the 19th century, argues that Shiloh is Prophet Muhammad. Dr. Ali Ataie, a contemporary Muslim scholar of biblical hermeneutics, also argues that Shiloh is Prophet Muhammad. Hamza Myatt, a founding member of EFDawah, a debater, and a famous YouTuber, also entertains this argument.

Several former Jews and Christians also believed that Muhammad was the Shiloh. Abdul Salaam, a former Jewish scholar, converted to Islam in approximately 1512 CE during the era of the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II. Mohammad Ridha, an Iranian Jewish scholar, converted to Islam in approximately 1821 CE. Mohammad Sadiq Fakhrul Islam, an Iranian Christian cleric, embraced Islam at the beginning of the 19th century CE. Professor Abd al-Ahad Dawud was a Chaldean Catholic priest who converted to Islam in the 20th century CE. Contemporary American Islamic scholar Hamza Yusuf, a former Catholic Christian, also argues that Shiloh refers to Muhammad. see Wikipeida Shiloh

רשב"ם על בראשית מ״ט:י׳:ב׳

יקהת עמים - קבוצת האומות שהיו כפופים תחת שלמה אביו, כדכתיב: הוא רודה בכל עבר הנהר נתקבצו שם להמליך רחבעם, כדכתיב: וילך רחבעם שכמה כי שכם בא כל ישראל להמליך אותו ושכם אצל שילה, כדכתיב ביהושע: ויאסוף יהושע את כל ישראל שכמה וכל הפרשה. ולבסוף מפרש כל אלו הדברים היה לפני ה' בשילה. וגם בשופטים: הנה חג ה' בשילה במסלה העולה בית אל שכמה וגו'. וגם בירמיה: ויבאו אנשים משכם משילה ומשמרון. וקרקע חלקה היה בשכם סביב האלה אשר עם שכם הראויה להתקבץ שם בני אדם ולכבוד משכן אשר בשילה הסמוך שם. ויעקב עיקר הגדולה של יהודה שמדוד עד רחבעם פירש, אבל חוסר הגדולה לא רצה לפרש אלא מכללו של מקרא אתה מדקדק, שמשילה ואילך נתמעטה.

Rashbam on Genesis 49:10:2

ולו יקהת עמים, the mass of the people, who under the rule of his father Solomon, had been tightly controlled, as we know from Kings I 5,4 now assembled at Shechem to enthrone Rechavam as described in Chronicles II 10,1 where the people had all assembled in order to place him on his father’s throne. We know that Shechem was very close to Shiloh from Joshua 24,1 and the whole paragraph following. The description in what is reported in that paragraph sounds as if could all have taken place at Shiloh. [seeing that Joshua refers to the people listening to him “in the presence of the Lord”, i.e. at the Sanctuary which stood in Shiloh. Compare Joshua chapter 18,1 for similar wording referring directly to a presence of the people in Shiloh, in the presence of the Lord, i.e. the Tabernacle which had been erected there.” Ed.] Furthermore, in verse 26 of chapter 24 Joshua also concludes by stating that all of the exhortations in the chapter demanding from the people to remain loyal to G’d and His Torah had been addressed to them at the מקדש ה', G’d’s Sanctuary. All this supports the view that the precise location was Shiloh, whereas the region in which Shiloh was situated was Shechem, hence the reason both locations were mentioned. These two locations are linked in one sentence also in Judges 21,19 as well as in Jeremiah 41,5. There was open space at Shechem around the famous oak located near Shechem. At that location a mass rally could be held easily. The people would pay homage to the Sanctuary in Shiloh from that vantage point, as it was in their line of vision. This exegesis refutes the view of the heretics, especially that of the Christians, who claim that the שילה spelled here with a ה at the end and the city known as Shiloh spelled in Scripture as שלו as in Samuel 1,24 (where Elkanah would make his pilgrimages and where the Sanctuary stood) are not the same, the one in our verse referring to the Saviour, while the one in Samuel being a reference to the town. Yaakov, as opposed to the view of the Christians, did not elevate the position of Yehudah to that of being a Saviour beginning with that point in “time,” but he predicted that after the death of Solomon, the high point in Jewish history, a decline would set in as documented by the 10 tribes withdrawing their support of a king from the tribe of Yehudah.

רשב"ם על בראשית מ״ט:ט׳:ב׳

מטרף בני עלית - אתה יהודה בני לאחר שתעלה מלטרוף טרף באומות ותכרע ותשכב בעירך, לא יבא אויב להחרידך ולהקימך ממקומך. זהו עיקר פשוטו. והמפרשו במכירת יוסף לא ידע פשוטו של פסוק ולא בחילוק טעמים כלל.

Rashbam on Genesis 49:9:2

מטרף בני עלית, you my son Yehudah, seeing that after you have risen from dealing with the spoils of war you had acquired stature and were held in awe, have lain down like a lion, supremely confident that no one would dare disturb your rest. No enemy will dare to become the one to disturb your sleep and to attack you. This is the plain meaning of the verse repeating the word Yehudah twice in the same sequence. All those who understood Yaakov as referring to the sale of Joseph in this verse do not understand the sentence structure nor paid attention to the tone signs.

רש"י על בראשית מ״ט:ט׳:ב׳

מטרף. מִמַּה שֶּׁחֲשַׁדְתִּיךָ בְּטָרֹף טֹרַף יוֹסֵף חַיָּה רָעָה אֲכָלָתְהוּ – וְזֶהוּ יְהוּדָה שֶׁנִּמְשַׁל לְאַרְיֵה –

Rashi on Genesis 49:9:2

מטרף FROM THE PREY (literally, tearing) — From the deed of which I suspected you when I said (Genesis 37:33) “Joseph is torn in pieces, an evil beast hath devoured him” — and by that Judah was meant who was likened to a lion —

רשב"ם על בראשית מ״ט:ט״ז:א׳

דן ידין עמו - המפרש על שמשון לא ידע בעומק פשוטו של מקרא כלל. וכי יעקב בא להתנבאות על אדם שנפל ביד פלשתים וינקרו את עיניו ומת עם פלשתים בענין רע?! חלילה חלילה. אך על שבטו של דן נתנבא שהוא מאסף לכל המחנות. וגם ביהושע כתיב: והמאסף הולך אחר הארון ולפי שהיה הולך כל הימים בין בימי משה בין בימי יהושע אחר כל הדגלים והיה צריך להלחם עם כל האומות הרודפים אחריהם לזנב כל הנחשלים אחריהם בדרך, ולהינקם מן האומות כי גיבורים היו. לכך אמר יעקב: דן ידין עמו - ינקום נקמת עמו

Rashbam on Genesis 49:16:1

דן ידין עמו, those who explained this as a reference to Shimshon, one of the judges of Israel, have read the text only superficially. Did they really think that Yaakov, on his deathbed, would prophesy concerning a single specific individual who, moreover, fell into the hands of the Philistines and ended his life as their victim? Far be it from Yaakov to focus on such events at a time like this, even if he foresaw it! Yaakov relates to the tribe of Dan who is described as the rearguard of the Jewish armies in the desert both in Numbers 10,25 and in the Book of Joshua 6,9 where this tribe is described in identical terms. The fact that the rearguard is the most exposed section of the army which has to beat off any attacks from the rear, means that it needs extra protection by G’d. Yaakov says that he will enjoy success in avenging any unprovoked attacks on the Jewish people, i.e. their army. The words

Below slides from Rabbi Dr. Martin Lockshin Christian Influences on Jewish Biblical Interpretation

Rabbi Dr. Martin Lockshin is University Professor Emeritus at York University and lives in Jerusalem. He received his Ph.D. in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University and his rabbinic ordination in Israel while studying in Yeshivat Merkaz HaRav Kook. Among Lockshin’s publications is his four-volume translation and annotation of Rashbam’s commentary on the Torah.

JUDAISM ENCOUNTERS THE WORLD
A DECEMBER 25 ONLINE YOM IYYUN
9:30AM-2:25PM EASTERN TIME, 4:30PM-9:25PM ISRAEL TIME

9:30am Eastern time
Healing Jewish-Muslim Relations
Rabbi Dr. Yakov Nagen

10:10am
Judaism and Islam: Some Historical and Halakhic Perspectives
Dr. Marc Shapiro

10:50am
The Talmud’s Encounter with Zoroastrianism
Dr. Shai Secunda

11:30am
Christian Influences on Jewish Biblical Interpretation
Dr. Martin Lockshin

12:10pm break

12:25pm
Classic Halachic Evaluations of Christianity and their Modern Consequences
Dr. David Berger

1:05pm
Catholic-Jewish Relations Today
Dr. Malka Simkovich

1:45pm Eastern Time
The Theological Issues that Judaism Must Confront as it Considers Other Religions
Dr. Alon Goshen-Gottstein

see: https://torahinmotion.org/programs/e-tim-judaism-encounters-the-world-a-december-25th-online-yom-iyyun

Rabbi Menachem HaMeiri employs unique and radically universalist rhetoric when discussing Talmudic laws that distinguish between Jews and Gentiles. Most strikingly, Meiri argues that Gentiles who are “הדת בדרכי גדורים) "bounded by the ways of religion) are effectively Jewish for the purposes of numerous halakhic civil laws. This category seems clearly intended to include his Christian contemporaries, and can best be understood as a social construct that classifies such Gentiles as civilized rather than as barbarians. Meiri maintains this position even with regard to laws that the Torah limits to interactions among רעים or אחים, and even when the Talmud explicitly excludes עובדי זרה עבודה from their ambit.

https://www.torahleadership.org/categories/the_meiris_halakhah_about_christians_and_christianity_a_response_to_halbertal.pdf

בית הבחירה עבודה זרה דף כו עמוד א

ומ"מ כל שב אלקם ההיזק מאליו אין אנו מצווים להשתדל בהצלתם ואף בזו של גוים צריך אתה לבחון מהשהקדמנו באיזה גוי הוא אומר כן ר"ל שבעובדי האלילים נאמר שלא היו גדורים בדרכי הדתות ואדרבה כל עבירה וכל כיעור יפה בעיניהם וכבר אמר ראש הפילוסופים הרגו מי שאין לו דת הא כל שהוא מעובדי האלהות אע"פ שאינו מכלל הדת אינו בדין זה חלילה וחס וכבר ידעת בגר תושב והוא שקבל עליו שבע מצות שאתה מצווה להחיותו:

בית הבחירה גיטין דף סב עמוד א

ומכל מקום אמות הגדורות בדרכי הדתות ומאמינים במציאותו ית' לאחדותו ויכלתו אע"פ שמשתבשין בקצת דברים לפי אמונתנו אין להם מקום בדברים אלו:

Hence, the essence of Judaism is not proper intellectual understanding of the Divine, (which is impossible), but rather proper human imitation of the Divine traits, acting towards other human beings the way God would have us act, in compassionately righteous and just ways. And so Maimonides concludes his Guide for the Perplexed, written at the end of his life, with a citation from Jeremiah:

“Thus says the Lord: But only in this should one glory if he wishes to glory: Learn about and come to know Me. I am the Lord who does lovingkindness, justice and righteous compassion on earth. Only in these do I delight, says the Lord” (Jeremiah 9:22,23).

From this perspective, only a religion which teaches love of every human being, which demands a system of righteousness and morality, and which preaches a world of peace, can take its rightful place as a religion of ethical monotheism. Islam, for example, has enriched the world with architectural and decorative breakthroughs, glorious poetry, mathematical genius, and philosophical writings influenced by Aristotle. And certainly the Kalami and Sufi interpretations of the Koran, which present jihad as a spiritual struggle, place Islam alongside Judaism and Christianity as a worthy vehicle and noble model for ethical monotheism.

Tragically, however, the Jihadism, spawned from Saudi Arabia’s brand of Wahhabi Islam, the Al-Qaeda culture of homicide-bomber terrorism wreaking worldwide fear and destruction -from Manhattan to Bali- and threatening anyone who is not a Jihad believing Muslim, is the antithesis of ethical monotheism.

Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Aug 10, 2018 What goes around, comes around

משנה אבות ד׳:י״א

(יא) רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן הַסַּנְדְּלָר אוֹמֵר, כָּל כְּנֵסִיָּה שֶׁהִיא לְשֵׁם שָׁמַיִם, סוֹפָהּ לְהִתְקַיֵּם. וְשֶׁאֵינָהּ לְשֵׁם שָׁמַיִם, אֵין סוֹפָהּ לְהִתְקַיֵּם:

Pirkei Avot 4:11

(11) Rabbi Yochanan Hasandlar said: every assembly which is for the sake of heaven, will in the end endure; and every assembly which is not for the sake of heaven, will not endure in the end.

R. Emden comments on the teaching in Pirkei Avot:

He interprets this to refer to Christianity and Islam who:

“...have emerged from us and built their altars on the foundation of our divine religion...

Compared with the nations of the world who preceded them, who did not recognize God...their gathering [i.e., of these religions] is considered for the sake of Heaven.”

He places all three faiths of Judaism, Christianity and Islam into one category, by referring to “the three of us.”

He refers to:

“Jews, Christians and Muslims, three leading faiths (sheloshah ’umot rashiyot) . . . that erected their fortresses on the foundation of the Torah of Moses, our teacher, may he rest in peace, and who have spread in the world.”

R. Emden, like Rambam before him, believed that the purpose of Christianity and Islam was to prepare the multitudes of non-Jewish people in this world for a future era where faith, respect and order will prevail.

Rambam had long since written in (the uncensored version of) his Mishneh Torah:

“All these matters relating to Jesus of Nazareth and the Ishmaelite (Mohammed) who came after him only served to clear the way for King Messiah, to prepare the whole world to worship God with one accord...

Along similar lines, R. Emden writes

“Thus the Messianic hope, the Torah, and the commandments have become familiar topics -topics of conversation (among the inhabitants) of the far isles and many peoples, uncircumcised of heart and flesh. They are discussing these matters and the commandments of the Torah...

They have accepted upon themselves the majority of the Ten Commandments, in addition to many admirable traits that they have affirmed . . . . They have given honor to God, the Lord of Israel, and to His Torah and have made known His glory among the nations who knew Him not.”

See: Rabbi Jacob Emden, Sabbatianism, and Frankism: Attitudes Toward Christianity in the Eighteenth Century, by Jacob J. Schacter

The Kotz Blog, by Rabbi Gavin Michal R. YAAKOV EMDEN’S SURPRISING VIEWS ON CHRISTIANITY:

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