(3) And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because on it God ceased from all the work of creation that He had done.
Nachmanides was the foremost halakhist of his age. Like Maimonides before him, Nachmanides was a Spaniard who was both a physician and a great Torah scholar. However, unlike the rationalist Maimonides, Nachmanides had a strong mystical bent. His biblical commentaries are the first ones to incorporate the mystical teachings of kabbalah.
He was well-known for his aggressive refutations of Christianity, most notably, his debate with Pablo Christiani, a converted Jew, before King Jaime I of Spain in 1263.
Nachmanides could be described as one of history's first Zionists, because he declared that it is a mitzvah to take possession of Israel and to live in it (relying on Num. 33:53). He said, "So long as Israel occupies [the Holy Land], the earth is regarded as subject to Him." Nachmanides fulfilled this commandment, moving to the Holy Land during the Crusades after he was expelled from Spain for his polemics. He found devastation in the Holy Land, "but even in this destruction," he said, "it is a blessed land." He died there in 1270 C.E.
English
ודע כי נכלל עוד במלת "לַעֲשׂוֹת" כי ששת ימי בראשית הם כל ימות עולם כי קיומו יהיה ששת אלפים שנה (ר"ה לא) שלכך אמרו (ב"ר יט ח) יומו של הקב"ה אלף שנים והנה בשני הימים הראשונים היה העולם כולו מים ולא נשלם בהם דבר והם רמז לשני אלפים הראשונים שלא היה בהם קורא בשם ה' וכך אמרו (ע"ז ט) שני אלפים תהו אבל היתה הבריאה ביום הראשון האור כנגד האלף של ימות אדם שהיה אורו של עולם מכיר את בוראו ואולי לא עבד אנוש עבודה זרה עד שמת אדם הראשון ביום השני יְהִי רָקִיעַ וִיהִי מַבְדִּיל שבו היו מובדלין נח ובניו הצדיקים מן הרשעים שנדונו במים ביום השלישי נראית היבשה והצמיחה ועשתה פירות הוא האלף השלישי המתחיל בהיות אברהם בן מ"ח שנה (ב"ר סד ד) ואָז הוּחַל לִקְרֹא בְּשֵׁם ה' (להלן ד כו) וצמח צמח צדיק כי משך רבים לדעת את ה' כמו שדרשו וְאֶת הַנֶּפֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ בְחָרָן (שם יב ה) וצוה את ביתו ואת בניו אַחֲרָיו וְשָׁמְרוּ דֶּרֶךְ ה' לַעֲשׂוֹת צְדָקָה וּמִשְׁפָּט (יח יט) ועלה הענין עד שקבלו זרעו את התורה בסיני ונבנה הבית ביום ההוא ואז נתקיימו כל המצות שהם פירות העולם ודע כי מעת היות בין השמשות יחשב כיום מחר ועל כן יתחיל ענין כל יום קודם לו מעט כאשר נולד אברהם באלף השני וכן תראה בכל יום ויום והיום הרביעי נבראו בו המאורות הגדול והקטן והכוכבים יומו ירמוז באלף הד' הוא החל כאשר נבנה בית ראשון ע"ב שנה אחרי בניינו עד אחרי הבית השני קע"ב שנה והנה ביום הזה לכל בני ישראל היה אור כי מלא כבוד ה' את בית ה' והיה אור ישראל לאש על גבי המזבח רבוץ שם כארי אוכל הקרבנות ואחרי כן הקטין אורם וגלו כאשר יעדר במולד הלבנה וזרחה להם כל ימי בית שני והאש על גבי המזבח רבוץ ככלב ושקעו שני המאורים בערב היום וחרב הבית ביום החמישי שרצו המים נפש חיה ועוף יעופף על הארץ רמז לאלף החמישי המתחיל קע"ב שנה אחר חרבן הבית כי בו ימשלו האומות ויעשה אדם כדגי הים כרמש לא מושל בו כלו בחכה העלה יגורהו בחרמו ויאספהו במכמרתו ואין דורש את ה' ביום הששי בבקר "תוצא הארץ נפש חיה למינה בהמה ורמש וחיתו ארץ למינה" והיתה בריאתה קודם זרוח השמש כענין שכתוב (תהלים קד כב) תִּזְרַח הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ יֵאָסֵפוּן וְאֶל מְעוֹנֹתָם יִרְבָּצוּן ואז נברא האדם בצלם אלהים והוא זמן ממשלתו שנאמר (שם כג) יֵצֵא אָדָם לְפָעֳלוֹ וְלַעֲבֹדָתוֹ עֲדֵי עָרֶב והוא האלף הששי כי בתחלתו ימשלו בו החיות הם המלכיות אשר לא ידעו את ה' ואחרי עשיריתו כשעור הנץ החמה ליום (עיין פסחים צד) יבא הגואל שנאמר בו (תהלים פט לז) וְכִסְאוֹ כַשֶּׁמֶשׁ נֶגְדִּי זהו בן דוד הנעשה בצלם אלהים כדכתיב (דניאל ז יגיד) וַאֲרוּ עִם עֲנָנֵי שְׁמַיָּא כְּבַר אֱנָשׁ אָתֵה הֲוָה וְעַד עַתִּיק יוֹמַיָּא מְטָה וּקְדָמוֹהִי הַקְרְבוּהִי וְלֵהּ יְהִיב שָׁלְטָן וִיקָר וּמַלְכוּ ויהיה זה קי"ח אחר חמשת אלפים לכלות דבר ה' מפי דניאל (שם יב יא) וּמֵעֵת הוּסַר הַתָּמִיד וְלָתֵת שִׁקּוּץ שֹׁמֵם יָמִים אֶלֶף מָאתַיִם וְתִשְׁעִים ונראה משנוי הימים משרץ המים והעוף לחית הארץ כי בתחלת האלף הששי תתחדש מלכות אומה שלטת ואימתני ותקיפא יתירא ומתקרבת אל האמת יותר מן הראשונות היום השביעי שבת רמז לעולם הבא שכולו שבת ומנוחה לחיי העולמים והאל ישמרנו בכל הימים וישים חלקינו עם עבדיו התמימים
And you should know that also included in the word, "to make" is that the six days of creation are all of the days of the world - since their duration will be six thousand years (Rosh Hashanah 31a) - as it is for this reason that they say that the day of the Holy One, blessed be He, is a thousand years (Bereishit Rabbah 19:8). And behold, on the first two days the whole world was water and nothing was completed on them, and they hint to the first two thousand years of chaos (tohu), in which there was not one who called in the name of God. And so did they say (Avodah Zarah 9a), "Two thousand years of chaos." But as there was the creation of light on the first day, it corresponds to the thousand years of Adam - who was the light of the world, recognizing his Creator. And maybe Enosh did not worship idolatry until Adam died. On the second day, "Let there be a firmament and let it divide" (Genesis 1:6) - as on it, Noach and his righteous children became separated from the evildoers that were judged with water. On the third day, the dry land appeared and grew vegetation and produced fruit - that is the third millennium that started when Avraham was forty-eight years old (Bereishit Rabbah 48b) - and "then began the calling in the name of the Lord" (Genesis 4:26), and 'a righteous sprout' grew; since he pulled many to know the Lord, as they expounded [about] "and the souls that they had made in Charan" (Genesis 12:5). And he commanded 'his household and his children after him that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice.' And the matter advanced to the point that his seed received the Torah at Sinai. And the first Temple was built on that day, and they kept all of the commandments, which are the fruits of the world. And you should know that twilight is considered like the next day, and so the matter of each day begins slightly before it; as when Avraham is born at the end of the second day. And so you will see with each and every day. And on the fourth day, the big and small luminaries (the sun and the moon) and the stars were created. Its day hints to the fourth millennium, which is the one that begins when the first Temple was [already] built for seventy-two years until one hundred and seventy-two years after the second Temple. And behold, on this day 'there was light for all of the Children of Israel,' 'since the glory of God filled the House of the Lord' and the light of Israel was like a fire on top of the altar, crouching there like a lion eating the sacrifices. And afterward, their light diminished and they were exiled, [such] as [the light] disappears at the beginning of the [cycle of the] moon. And it shone for them all the days of the second Temple, and the fire on top of the altar was like a dog crouching. And the two luminaries set at the evening of the day, and the Temple was destroyed. On the fifth day, the waters swarmed with living animals and flying birds upon the earth. It hints to the fifth millennium that begins one hundred and seventy-two years after the destruction of Temple; since to it were the nations of the world compared, and man was made 'to be like the fish of the sea, like the crawling animals that none rules over - they bring it all up with a hook, they catch them with a net, and gather them with a drag.' And there is no one that seeks the Lord. On the sixth day in the morning, "Let the earth bring forth the living creature after its kind, animals and creeping things, and beast of the earth after its kind" (Genesis 1:24) - and its creation was before the shining of the sun, as the matter that is written (Psalms 104:22), "The sun shines and they gather, and crouch in their dens." And then man was created in the image of God, and that is the time of his rulership, as it states (Psalms 104:23), "Man goes out to his labor and to his work until the evening." And that is the sixth millennium, since in its beginning, the beasts rule in it - these are the kingdoms that did not know God. And after its tenth - like the measure of the sunrise to the day (see Pesachim 94a)- the redeemer will come, as it states about him (Psalms 89:37), "and his throne will be like the sun across from Me." This is the son of David, who is made in the image of God, as it is written (Daniel 7:13-14), "and behold with the clouds of the sky, there was a man coming, and he came up to the One of Ancient Days and they brought him in front of Him and they brought him close to Him. And to him did He give dominion and glory and kingship." And this will be one hundred and eighteen [years] after the [first] five thousand, to complete the word of the Lord through the mouth of Daniel (Daniel 12:11), “From the time that the regular sacrifice was removed and the silent abomination was placed, there are one thousand two hundred and ninety days.” And it appears from the change of the days, from the swarms of the waters and the fowl, to the beasts of the land that at the beginning of the sixth millennium, there will arise the rulership of a controlling, fearful and violent nation, and one that comes closer to the truth than the first ones. The seventh day is Shabbat. It hints to the world to come, which is completely Shabbat and rest for eternal life. And may God guard us in all of the days and place our portion with His innocent servants (those do not try to divine the future).
Chazal or Ḥazal (Hebrew: חז"ל), an acronym for the Hebrew "Ḥakhameinu Zikhram Liv'rakha" (חכמינו זכרונם לברכה, "Our Sages, may their memory be blessed"), refers to all Jewish sages of the Mishna, Tosefta and Talmud eras, spanning from the times of the final 300 years of the Second Temple of Jerusalem until the 6th century CE, or c. 250 BCE – c. 625 CE.
Chazal are generally divided according to their era and the main writing done in that era:
- Soferim ("scribes"): The most common rooted[clarification needed] term used for all sages from before the era of Ezra the scribe until the Zugot era, including the men of the Great Assembly. This era stretches from the Matan Torah ("giving of the Law"; Moses receiving the Torah on Biblical Mount Sinai), to the Halakha("traditions") era, including the times of Simeon the Just; either Simon I (c. 300 BCE) or Simon II (c. 210 BCE).
- Zugot ("pairs"): Five pairs (zugot) of Tannaim from consecutive generations, who had lived during a period of around 100 years towards the end of the Second Temple era. (142 BCE – ca. 40 BCE)
- Tannaim ("teachers"): Refers to the sages of the Mishnah, who lived in the Land of Israel until 220 CE. In addition to the Mishnah, their writings were preserved in the Midrash. Key figures among the Tannaim include Hillel the Elder, Rabbi Akiva, and Judah haNasi.
- Amoraim ("expounders"): Refers to the sages of the Talmud who were active during the end of the era of the sealing of the Mishnah, and until the times of the sealing of the Talmud (220 CE – 500 CE). The Amoraim sages were active in two areas, the Land of Israel, and Babylon. In addition to the Babylonian Talmud and the Jerusalem Talmud, their writings were preserved in midrashs such as Midrash Rabba.
- Savoraim ("reasoners"): Refers to the sages of Beth midrash (Torah study places) in Babylon from the end of the era of the Amoraim (5th century) and until the beginning of the era of the Geonim (from the end of the 6th century or the midst of the 7th century).
7 Torah Holidays
Pesach (7)
Shavuot (1)
Rosh Hashanah (1)
Yom Kippur (1)
Sukkot (7)
Shemini Etzeret (1)
Shabbat (52)
TOTAL: (70)
Shelosh Regalim
Name of Holiday |
Land of Israel: Harvest |
People of Israel: Memory/History |
Torah of Israel: Educative, existential, spiritual meaning, |
Chag HaMatzot Pesach |
Month of Aviv Omer offering |
We were Slaves in Egypt |
Freedom/slavery |
Chag HaKatzir Shavuot (Atzeret) |
First Fruits (reaping) |
(there is no mention of a connection with Har Sinai) |
Taking care of the poor |
Chag HaAsif Sukkot |
Harvest Festival |
Dwelled in Huts in the desert |
Joy, Happiness |
Pesach
Shavuot
Sukkot
5 Places that the Torah refers to the Holidays:
-
What is the Holiday called?
-
When is the Holiday?
-
What is the meaning of the Holiday?
Remember we were slaves
1. Shemot Mishpatim Exodus: 23:6-19
1. (Shabbat - doesn’t name it) - rest your animals and servants so they can be refreshed.
3 Festivals (Pilgrimage) - First choice fruits
Chag HaMatzot - Month of Aviv (spring) - went forth from Egypt -(historical reason)
Chag HaKatzir - First Fruits (agricultural)
Chag Aasif - Harvest Festival (agricultural)
2. Shemot Ki-Tissa Exodus: 34:17-26
Chag HaMatzot - month of Aviv
Shabbat
Chag Hashavuot - First fruits
Chag Haasif
3 times a year appear
Mention of Chag HaPesach
3. Vayikra Emor Leviticus: 23:1-44
Fixed times: Moadim Hashem
Shabbat - cessation of creative labor
1st month - 14th day - Pesach (offering)
15th day - Chag HaMatzot - Seven days 7th day is also sacred
Omer - offering begins day after the Sabbath - count seven weeks -
50 days - Reaping Holiday - leave the corners of your field for the poor
7th month - First day of the month Zichron Truah
10th day of 7th Month - Yom HaKippurim
15th day 7th month - Chag Sukkot - 7days
8th day - Atzeret
These are the set times:
15th day of the 7th month - Festival of (Yud Ha Vav Ha) (in gathering the produce) 7 day Chag
1st take Pri Atz Hadar Kapot Timarim - Unaf - Atz Ahvit - Arve Nahal
Dwell in Sukkot 7 days - In order that you will know that you dwelled in booths when you left Egypt
4. Bamidbar Pinchas Numbers: (Chapters 28 & 29) 28:1- 30:1
The sacrifices for the (Moadim) specified
Shabbat - It’s offerings
Rosh Chodesh - It’s offerings
1st Month - 14th - Pesach L’Hashem
15th day - 7 day Chag - Eat Matzot - it’s offerings
Yom HaBikkurim - (no mention of the time)
7th Month - 1st of the Month - Yom Teruah - it’s offerings
10th day of 7th Month - Day of Afflicting your soul - it’s offerings
15th day of 7th Month - Chag to Hashem for 7 days - it’s offerings
Yom Hashmini Atzeret - it’s offerings
5. Devarim Re’eh Deuteronomy: 16:1-17
Observe the Month of Aviv - Pesach to Hashem - no eating Chametz for 7 days - Remember that you left Egypt quickly - It is a 7 day Holiday and the 7th day is (Atzeret)
7 weeks you will count - from the sickle (not Shabbat) - Chag Shavuot - celebrate with family and orphan and widow -
Chag Sukkot - after the ingathering (Asaf) of your harvest (7) days
Three festivals rejoice at the place Hashem will tell you
Chag HaMatzot, Chag HaShavuot, Chag HaSukkot
Ishmael ben Elisha, (flourished 2nd century ad), Jewish tanna (Talmudic teacher) and sage who left an enduring imprint on Talmudic literature and on Judaism. He is generally referred to simply as Rabbi Ishmael.
As a young child, Ishmael, whose parentage is not known but who traced his lineage through a high priest, was taken captive and transported to Rome when the second Temple was destroyed at Jerusalem. He was ransomed from Rome by the older tanna and sage, Rabbi Joshua (Joshua ben Hananiah), on one of the latter’s trips there. Ishmael was taught by Rabbi Joshua, who reputedly had seen in him, even as a captive, great promise as a teacher of the Jews. He lived and taught in southern Palestine. He was a close colleague of Rabbi Akiba (Akiba ben Joseph), who also had studied under Rabbi Joshua. Ishmael used set, rational rules and a simple, literal approach to Biblical exposition, and he occasionally upbraided Akiba for the latter’s excessive interpretations of superficial Biblical words or phrases. As tanna he was held in affection for his human approach; one of his dicta was, “Receive all men joyfully.” He is remembered for his flexible approach to Judaic practice, and he interpreted the Law so as to mitigate rather than introduce hardship.
Ishmael founded a Talmudic school, known simply as “the house of Ishmael,” that is credited with the Midrash, or commentary, on the book of Exodus, the Mekhilta(Measure), and the Sifre (a form of commentary) on Numbers and part of the Sifre on Deuteronomy. Ishmael himself refined the exegetical principles known as the Seven Rules of Hillel and amplified them to thirteen in number.
The literature of the tanna period dealing with mysticism mentions Ishmael, and a number of mystical works are attributed to him, including several of the type known as maʿase bereshit (“work of creation”) and several in the genre of maʿase Merkava (“work of the chariot,” a reference to the divine chariot seen by the prophet in Ezekiel I). Maʿase bereshit dealt with mystical cosmology and cosmogony, while maʿase Merkava was the basic element of Jewish mysticism of the era. Ishmael is best remembered, however, for his work as tanna and exegete of the Torah.