And here's a quick one

Exodus 12:17:

וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם֘ אֶת־הַמַּצּוֹת֒ כִּ֗י בְּעֶ֙צֶם֙ הַיּ֣וֹם הַזֶּ֔ה הוֹצֵ֥אתִי אֶת־צִבְאוֹתֵיכֶ֖ם מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרָ֑יִם וּשְׁמַרְתֶּ֞ם אֶת־הַיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּ֛ה לְדֹרֹתֵיכֶ֖ם חֻקַּ֥ת עוֹלָֽם׃
And yee ſhall obſerue the feaſt of vnleauened bread: for in this ſelfe ſame day haue I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt; therefore ſhall ye obſerue this day in your generations, by an ordinance for euer.

And our scholar comments:

צבאותיכם. צָדֵֿק. מצויינת רמז צבא מעוטר ומוכלל והם ישראל:
Your armies. The letter tzadeq [sic] is marked*, to indicate that this is the special crowned, diademed army -- namely, the Israelites.

*In the manuscript, the tzaddi(q) here has two tagin on its right head, and three on its left.

Smiting Egypt on Wednesday Night

Exodus 12:13:

וְהָיָה֩ הַדָּ֨ם לָכֶ֝ם לְאֹ֗ת עַ֤ל הַבָּתִּים֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר אַתֶּ֣ם שָׁ֔ם וְרָאִ֙יתִי֙ אֶת־הַדָּ֔ם וּפָסַחְתִּ֖י עֲלֵכֶ֑ם וְלֹא־יִֽהְיֶ֨ה בָכֶ֥ם נֶ֙גֶף֙ לְמַשְׁחִ֔ית בְּהַכֹּתִ֖י בְּאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם׃
And the blood ſhall be to you for a token vpon the houſes where you are: and when I ſee the blood, I will paſſe ouer you, and the plague ſhall not bee vpon you to deſtroy you, when I ſmite the land of Egypt.

Our scholar comments:

בהכתי בארץ מצרים. כשיכה את כל אומות העולם. וכת' וגם את בדם בריתך שלחתי אסיריך מבור. ישלח פושעי ישראל מגיהנם בזכות המילה. וזהו: על הבתים אשר אתם שם ולא יהיה בכם נגף למשחית. בהכתי רמז בתגין בליל הׄ. כשיכה בארץ מצרים בליל הפסח

When I smite the Land of Egypt. When he smites all the nations of the world. As it is written [with reference to the judgment of Jerusalem, in the apocalyptic future]: As for thee also, by the blood of thy Couenant, I haue ſent foorth thy priſoners out of the pit (Zechariah 9:11). He will bring out the Jewish sinners from Hell, in the merit of circumcision. And this is what our verse means when it says: upon the houses where you are [...] the plague shall not be upon you to destroy.
When I smite (בהכתי). The tagin [on the hé]* are an allusion to the evening [preceding] Thursday (ליל ה', the fifth night of the week), when He would strike in the Land of Egypt, on the Night of Passover (which fell on Wednesday night / Thursday).

*In the manuscript, there are three tagin protruding out of the head of the hé.

Hyperlink Big [=curly] Pé

This week is when we read Parashath Bo. I admit that I only looked at the second half of the parasha in our manuscript, the half which discusses the Tenth Plague (smiting of the firstborns) and the Pesaḥ. Surprisingly, there is very little in the way of tagin or strangely-shaped letters in this section, at least as reported in our manuscript. I find this surprising, because our commentator is very committed to the idea that everything in the exodus story is also about the future, the fall of the Fourth Empire, Edom/Rome/Christendom. (I think that he is somewhat representative of Ḥasidé Ashkenaz as a whole, though not totally sure.) Thus, one would expect this section to be full of interesting palaeographical details. Perhaps the reason that it isn't is that the Ḥasidé Ashkenaz were merely receiving the graphical tradition from earlier generations, who did not have this interest in Egypt as a prototype for Edom.

Anyway, here is a feature which we do have here.

Exodus 12:11:

וְכָכָה֘ תֹּאכְל֣וּ אֹתוֹ֒ מָתְנֵיכֶ֣ם חֲגֻרִ֔ים נַֽעֲלֵיכֶם֙ בְּרַגְלֵיכֶ֔ם וּמַקֶּלְכֶ֖ם בְּיֶדְכֶ֑ם וַאֲכַלְתֶּ֤ם אֹתוֹ֙ בְּחִפָּז֔וֹן פֶּ֥סַח ה֖וּא לַיהוָֽה׃
And thus ſhall ye eate it: with your loines girded, your ſhooes on your feet, and your ſtaffe in your hand: and ye ſhall eate it in haſte: it is the Lords Paſſeouer.

Our scholar comments on the pé lefufa (curly pé), which he calls פ"א גדולה (large pé), in the word בחפזון, in haste:

ואכלתם אתו בחפזון פסח: בחפזון ג' ואכלתם. יצאת. כי לא. ואכלתם אותו בחפזון כי בחפזון יצאת. אותו בחפזון ולא אחר בחפזון וזהו כי לא בחפזון תצ': בחפזון. פ' גדול [=לפופה] פי' חיפזון המפורש במקום אחר כלו' האומות נחפזון וכת' המה נחפזו. כלו' בחפזון של מצרים. ולמאן דאמר בחפזון של ישר' דכתי' בישר' אני אמרתי בחפזי'. בפ' דא פ' גדול' רמז בחפזון המצויין כלו' חפזון של שמנ[?]ה. ומחלו' במכילת':
פסח הוא. פסח והוא ניכר שהרי להק' הוא ולכך פ' גדול' כלו' זהו הפסח המצויין והמבואר בכל מקום שנקרא פסח זה הוא שבכאן לכך נרמז בגודל הפ' בכאן:

And ye shall eat it in haste (בחפזון). The word בחפזון appears three times in Scripture:

1. Here.
2. Deuteronomy 16:3: לֹא־תֹאכַ֤ל עָלָיו֙ חָמֵ֔ץ שִׁבְעַ֥ת יָמִ֛ים תֹּֽאכַל־עָלָ֥יו מַצּ֖וֹת לֶ֣חֶם עֹ֑נִי כִּ֣י בְחִפָּז֗וֹן יָצָ֙אתָ֙ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם לְמַ֣עַן תִּזְכֹּ֗ר אֶת־י֤וֹם צֵֽאתְךָ֙ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם כֹּ֖ל יְמֵ֥י חַיֶּֽיךָ׃
Thou ſhalt eat no leauened bread with it: ſeuen dayes ſhalt thou eat vnleauened bread therewith, euen the bread of affliction, (for thou cameſt forth out of the land of Egypt in haſte) that thou mayeſt remember the day when thou cameſt foorth out of the land of Egypt, all the dayes of thy life.
3. Isaiah 52:12: כִּ֣י לֹ֤א בְחִפָּזוֹן֙ תֵּצֵ֔אוּ וּבִמְנוּסָ֖ה לֹ֣א תֵלֵכ֑וּן כִּֽי־הֹלֵ֤ךְ לִפְנֵיכֶם֙ יְהוָ֔ה וּמְאַסִּפְכֶ֖ם אֱלֹהֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃
For ye ſhall not go out with haſte, nor goe by flight: for the Lord will goe before you: and the God of Iſrael will be your reward.

Only this [paschal offering] will be "in haste", but no other will be in haste. This is why the verse in Isaiah says: "Ye shall not go out with haste."
In haste. The pé is big [=curly]. This is meant [as a hyperlink] to indicate that this "haste" refers to the haste mentioned in another verse, namely that of the gentiles.* As it is written: המה ראו כן תמהו נבהלו נחפזו, "They sawe it, and so they marueiled, they were troubled and hasted away." (Pss 48:6) This indicates that our verse is talking about the haste of Egypt.
But what about the view that it is referring to the haste of the Israelites? Well, for that view our verse links to Pss 116:11, אני אמרתי בחפזי ("I said in my haste").
Either way, the big [=curly] pé in בחפזון, in our verse, alludes to a case of "haste" which is marked** somewhere else in Scripture. That is to say, haste of [??? -- word undecipherable]. But which haste is it? Well, that is the debate in the Mekhilta.
It is a Passover. It is a Passover, and it is designated as being for God. This is the Pesaḥ; any other time that Scripture refers to to "Pesaḥ", it is referring to this.

*This is an allusion to a debate in the Mekhilta and the Talmud Bavli, about what the word בחפזון means: does it mean the haste of the gentiles (midnight, when all their firstborns were dying), or that of the Israelites (morning, when they left Egypt)? If the former, then the paschal sacrifice must be eaten only until midnight; if the latter, one has all night.
**This seems to be a green light, maybe even a request, to make the pé curly in Pss 48:6 and 116:11. I'll remember that when I commission my scroll of Tehillim.

No time to analyze this, but I'll post it anyway.

כי ידבר אלכם פרעה לא' תנו לכם מופת (2 תגין על פ'). רמז גם לעתי' יהיה כך. תנו לׄכׄםׄ מׄלׄךׄ המשיח: מופת (2 תגין). רמז מופתים העתידי'. לׄכׄםׄ מׄוׄפׄתׄ בגי' הׄתׄוׄרׄהׄ. מופת (2 תגין) פ' יום היו הלוחות.

קח | את מטך והשלך וגו'. רמז שיבא המשיח וזהו קח את מטך. כעניין שנ' מטה עוזך ישלח
את' רמז ב' משיח'.
א֜ת֜ מ֜ט֜ך֜ בגי' ז֜ה֜ו֜ מ֜ל֜ך֜ ה֜מ֜ש֜י֜ח֜.
וה֜ש֜ל֜ך֜. בגי' ש֜נ֜ה֜. כך המכות היו שנה.
והשלך לפני. רמז מן השמים יהיה זה האות.
יהי לתנין. לפי שפרעה נמשל בו שנ' התנים הגדול הרובץ: ועוד רמז שיֵעשו פלאות לימות המשיח.
והשלך לפני. כפופ' ראשי למדין מלמעלה למטה כלו' ממרום יעשה נפלאו':
יהי לתנין. יר יפקוד יי בחׄרׄבׄו הקשה על לויתן נחש בריח ועל לויתן נחש עקלתון והרג את התנין אשר בים. רמז זה פרע' וממרום יפקוד בחרבו על פרעה וזהו יהי לתנין ( ) רמז נחש עקלתון הנון עקלתון: בריח ועקלתון רמז היה פרעה אומר אשלח אתכם ואחר כ' ויחזק לבו. וזהו עקלתון.
פרעה יהי לתנין. הוא התנין הוא שנ' בו והרג את התנין אשר בים ואהיה בים. האומו' הן התניני' וכת' בלענו בתנים (!) וכת' תרמוס כפיר ותנין. שברת ראשי תנינים על המ' וזהו פרעה יהי לתנין ו עקלתון.
קח את מטך. א֜ת֜ מטך אילו המכות והשלך לפני שילקו במטה. ומן השמים הוא וזהו :
תנין. נ' כפופ' ון' פשוט'. נחש בריח ונחש עקלתון.
. בזכות אברה':
יפקוד יי במר' על לויתן נׄחׄשׄ בריח. ועל לויתן נׄחׄשׄ עקלתון. הם מׄשׄיׄחׄ מׄשׄיׄחׄ ב' משיחים. והרג את התנין. אילו האומות. ד"א יהי לתנין זה המשיח וה כמו ינון שמו:
יהיה לתנין משיח.
יהיׄהׄ לתׄ ת' באתב"ש א' הרי אׄלׄיׄהׄ
. ינון שמו ינין כת': ינון משיח:
לפני פרעה. אילו האומו':
תנין לתנין ה בנו֒ן.
יהי לתנין. ויהי לתנין בלעני כתנין: והרג את התנין מחוללת תנין. וכל כיתב' דכו':
נׄדׄרׄוׄשׄ הׄמׄסׄוׄרׄתׄ: יהי לתנין ויהי לתנין. האומות בלעני כתנין. והרג את התנין זה פרע' וכת המחצהת רהב מחוללת תנין. זה פרע'. בים סוף נעשה וזהו התנין אשר בים:
ד"א הכל על אדום כמו שאמרנו: ע'כ':
ויהי לתנין: פרעה היה לתנין וכת' והרג את התנין:
יהי לתנין ויהי לתנין לית לית. רמז לא היה כן: ורמז באתבש הת' אׄלׄיׄהׄ כמו שאמרנ': לכך נא' יהי:

[...]

חמרים חמרם (2 תגין על כל מ'). תגין על מ' של חמרם. רמז על אותם חמרים שנ' גבי שליו במ' שנה. שנ' הממעיט אסף עשרה חמרים:

(I can’t figure out the point of this one. It’s a hyperlink to the quail, but so what? The next comment in the commentary says that the frogs , which died, are an allusion to the nations – Edom, Gog, and his forces – at the end of days. But still – how is this connected to the quail in the wilderness? Beats me.)

The languages of redemption

Exodus 6:6-7:

לָכֵ֞ן אֱמֹ֥ר לִבְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֮ אֲנִ֣י יְהוָה֒ וְהֽוֹצֵאתִ֣י אֶתְכֶ֗ם מִתַּ֨חַת֙ סִבְלֹ֣ת מִצְרַ֔יִם וְהִצַּלְתִּ֥י אֶתְכֶ֖ם מֵעֲבֹֽדָתָ֑ם וְגָֽאַלְתִּ֤י אֶתְכֶם֙ בִּזְר֣וֹעַ נְטוּיָ֔ה וּבִשְׁפָטִ֖ים גְּדֹלִֽים׃ ז וְלָֽקַחְתִּ֨י אֶתְכֶ֥ם לִי֙ לְעָ֔ם וְהָיִ֥יתִי לָכֶ֖ם לֵֽאלֹהִ֑ים וִֽידַעְתֶּ֗ם כִּ֣י אֲנִ֤י יְהוָה֙ אֱלֹ֣הֵיכֶ֔ם הַמּוֹצִ֣יא אֶתְכֶ֔ם מִתַּ֖חַת סִבְל֥וֹת מִצְרָֽיִם׃

Wherefore ſay vnto the children of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from vnder the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage: and I will redeeme you with a ſtretched out arme, and with great iudgements. And I will take you to mee for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye ſhall know that I am the Lord your God, which bringeth you out from vnder the burdens of the Egyptians.

Our scholar comments:

ד' דברים כאן והוצאתי והצלתי וגאלתי ולקחתי כנגד ד' מלכיות.
ובשפטים גדלים. ובשפטים מצויין בתגין כלומר בשפטים מצויינים ומפולאים. לכך מצויין:

ובשפטים. אותיות שפט הם מצויינים ששפט במצריים. ועוד רמז על משפטים שיעשה באומות העולם לעתיד ונשפטתי אתו בדבר ובדם וגשם שוטף.

ובשפטים גדלים ושפט בים. בים שפט בהם:
ובים שפט: לעינ' אותיות שפט מצויין ואותיות בים נשמר כך.

There are four terms mentioned here – I shall take out, and I shall rescue, and I shall redeem, and I shall take – corresponding to the Four Empires.*
And with great judgments.** The word u-vishfaṭim is marked distinguishedly with tagin, as if to say: with distinguished and wondrous judgments. Therefore, the letters shin-pé-ṭeth [in the middle of the word u-vishfaṭim] are marked, [for they spell shafaṭ = “He judged”], for He judged the Egyptians. Also, it alludes to the judgments which He will perform against the nations of the world in the future: And I will judge him with pestilence and with blood, and with overflowing rain. (Ezekiel 38:22)
And with great judments. [The letters of the word u-vishfaṭim can be re-arranged to spell] ve-shafaṭ ba-yam, “He will judge them at the Sea” – for He judged them at the Sea.
He judged them at the Sea – the letters shin-pé-ṭeth are marked, so what is left is the letters beth-yud-mem, spelling ba-yam - “at the Sea”.***

*The Four Empires of world history, according to the historical schema of the Book of Daniel and subsequent Jewish chronographers. (The traditional listing is: Babylonia, Persia, Greece, and Rome. Rome becomes Christendom, and is perceived as lasting through our own day.) An important part of the thinking of the Ḥasidé Ashkenaz in general, and this commentary in particular, is that the story of the Exodus applies not only to past events in Egypt, but to the subsequent Four Empires, and especially the last one, Rome.
**In the MS, there are six tagin on the shin (two on each head), two on the pé, and four on the ṭeth (two on each head.) There are also two tagin on the final mem of gedolim.



***I seem not to have copied the last line of this comment, but I remember it from the manuscript. It interprets ba-yam as “with ים”, i.e., with 50 (the gematria of yud+mem), alluding to the 50 plagues which R. Yosé Ha-galili says plagued the Egyptians at the Sea (as we say at the seder).

SIGNIFICANCE TO NA"KH:

I would consider writing the letters שפט in the middle of the word ונשפטתי in Ezekiel 38:22 with the same tagin which are used in the word ובשפטים in our passage in Exodus.

God reveals His name to Moses

Our parasha, Va’era, begins with the following revelation (Exodus 6:2-3):

וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר אֱלֹהִ֖ים אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֑ה וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֵלָ֖יו אֲנִ֥י יְהוָֽה׃ וָֽאֵרָ֗א אֶל־אַבְרָהָ֛ם אֶל־יִצְחָ֥ק וְאֶֽל־יַעֲקֹ֖ב בְּאֵ֣ל שַׁדָּ֑י וּשְׁמִ֣י יְהוָ֔ה לֹ֥א נוֹדַ֖עְתִּי לָהֶֽם

And God ſpake vnto Moses, and ſaid vnto him, I am the Lord. And I appeared vnto Abraham, vnto Isaac, and vnto Iacob, by the Name of God Almighty, but by my name IEHOVAH was I not knowen to them.

(As far as I know, this is the only place where the KJV prints an attempted transliteration of the Tetragrammaton, rather than translating it as "the LORD".)

Our scholar comments:

ושמי יי. לית. לא היה יותר שהקדוש מפרש שמו לאדם על ידי שאלה ששאל לו מה שמו אך משה -- לכך לית
ושמי יהוה: תגין על השם, כלומר אותו השם הנכתר והמצויין והוא השם המפורש המעולה

יהוה: מעוטרות הֵיהין רמז על הוויותיו ב' היהין הן י'. ורמז על י' הוויות עומק ראשית עומק אחרית (א) עומק מעלה (ב) עומק מטה (ג) עומק מזרח (ד) עומק מערב (ה) עומק צפון (ו) עומק דרום (ז) עומק טוב (ח) עומק רע (ט) עומק ראשית (י) עומק אחרית. הרי י' הווייות הכל ממנו
לא נודעתי להם. לא הודעתי היה לו לומר. אלא לא נודעתי -- אני לא נודעתי להם על ידי שום שאילה כי לא שאלו לי האבות מה שמך. ולך נודעתי על ידי ששאלת לי מה שמך ואמרתי לך השם והווייותיי, וזהו נודעתי כי השם הקדוש מעיד על ייחודו והווייתו, וכתיב: כשמך אלהים כן תהילתך. וזהו נודעתי

לא נודעתי. לית. לשום אדם נודעתי כי אם לך, על ידי שאילתך. ולכך תגין על השם לרמז על אודות ההווייות

And my name YHWH. This string of words appears nowhere else in Scripture, [only here] --for there has been no other occasion when God has made His explicit name known to an individual in response to the question "What is Thy name?". [He did this] only for Moses -- and therefore, this string of words appears nowhere else in Scripture.
And my name YHWH.* There are tagin on the Name, to indicate that this is the crowned, distinguished Name, the superior, explicit Name.
YHWH. The letters hé are crowned, to allude to His modes of existence.** Twice hé is ten, alluding to the ten modes of existence, utter firstness and utter lastness: (1) Utter height, (2) utter lowness, (3) utter east, (4) utter west, (5) utter north, (6) utter south, (7) utter good, (8) utter bad, (9) utter firstness, (10) utter lastness. These are the ten modes of existence -- all from Him.
I was not knowen (noda‘ti) to them. It should have said "I did not make known" (hoda‘ti). So what does it say I was not known? It means that I did not become known to them in response to any question, for the Patriarchs never asked me: "What is Thy name?" But to you I have become known in response to your question: "What is Thy name?" I have told you the Name, and my modes of existence. And this is why it says noda‘ti ("was known"), for the Holy Name gives testimony about His unity and existence. As it is written: According to thy Name, O God, so is thy praise. (Psalms 48:11). This is the meaning of noda‘ti.
I was not knowen to them. This string of words appears nowhere else in Scripture, for I was not known to anyone else, but only to you, in response to your question. Therefore, there are tagin on the Name, to allude to the modes of existence.

*In the manuscript, each of the two letters hé in the Name is crowned with three tagin. (This is interesting to me, because I have seen a set of Scrolls of Nevi'im in which several occurrences of the Tetragrammaton have their letters hé crowned with multiple tagin, in verses of particular significance.)





**I don't know much about these Ten Modes of Existence. I think that they are Saadianic, that is, they have something to do with the philosophy of R. Saadia Gaon in Sefer Emunoth Ve-de‘oth.

Haughty Kings

Exodus 2:5:

Moses is at Horeb (AKA Sinai), the Mountain of God, and God speaks to him out of a burning bush:

וַיֹּ֖אמֶר אַל־תִּקְרַ֣ב הֲלֹ֑ם שַׁל־נְעָלֶ֨יךָ֙ מֵעַ֣ל רַגְלֶ֔יךָ כִּ֣י הַמָּק֗וֹם אֲשֶׁ֤ר אַתָּה֙ עוֹמֵ֣ד עָלָ֔יו אַדְמַת־קֹ֖דֶשׁ הֽוּא׃

Or, in English:

And he ſaid, Drawe not nigh hither: put off thy ſhooes from off thy feete, for the place whereon thou ſtandeſt, is holy ground.

Our scholar comments:

אל תקרב הלם. ל' כפופה רמז לו למשה שלא יזכה למלכות והל' כפופה ויורדת כי ירד ממלכות והלמד סימן ל' מעלות
הלם של נעליך מעל. נעליך מלא, כי היו לו בכל רגלים ב' מנעלים, כי רועה היה בקוצים. וכן יחזקאל: נעליך. אבל יהושע וישעיה נעלך, בכל רגל מנעל אחד.
Draw not nigh hither [halom]. The lamed [in halom] is kefufa [bent, stopped over],* for He indicated to Moses that he would not merit to be a king. The lamed bends over and descends downward, because [Moses] descended from the kingship. [And why specifically the] lamed? Because it indicates the thirty benefits [?] of kingship.**
Hither; put off thy ſhooes [ne‘alekha]. The word ne‘alekha [thy feet] is spelled full [i.e., with a yud, indicating the plural], because he had two feet on each shoe, for he was a shepherd in the brambles. And similarly, in Ezekiel [24:17], the word ne‘alekha [is spelled thus, in the plural]. But in Joshua [5:15] and Isaiah [20:2], it is na‘alkha [in the singular], one shoe on each foot.

*The lamed is drawn something like this:





**30 benefits (?) of kingship: See Pirqé Avoth 6:6.

Our scholar then goes on to discuss the leprosy of King Uzziah of Judah. This is a story told in II Chronicles 26:16-21:

וּכְחֶזְקָת֗וֹ גָּבַ֤הּ לִבּוֹ֙ עַד־לְהַשְׁחִ֔ית וַיִּמְעַ֖ל בַּֽיהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהָ֑יו וַיָּבֹא֙ אֶל־הֵיכַ֣ל יְהוָ֔ה לְהַקְטִ֖יר עַל־מִזְבַּ֥ח הַקְּטֹֽרֶת׃ וַיָּבֹ֥א אַֽחֲרָ֖יו עֲזַרְיָ֣הוּ הַכֹּהֵ֑ן וְעִמּ֞וֹ כֹּֽהֲנִ֧ים ׀ לַֽיהוָ֛ה שְׁמוֹנִ֖ים בְּנֵי־חָֽיִל׃ וַיַּֽעַמְד֞וּ עַל־עֻזִּיָּ֣הוּ הַמֶּ֗לֶךְ וַיֹּ֤אמְרוּ לוֹ֙ לֹֽא־לְךָ֣ עֻזִּיָּ֗הוּ לְהַקְטִיר֙ לַֽיהוָ֔ה כִּ֣י לַכֹּֽהֲנִ֧ים בְּנֵֽי־אַהֲרֹ֛ן הַמְקֻדָּשִׁ֖ים לְהַקְטִ֑יר צֵ֤א מִן־הַמִּקְדָּשׁ֙ כִּ֣י מָעַ֔לְתָּ וְלֹֽא־לְךָ֥ לְכָב֖וֹד מֵֽיְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהִֽים׃ וַיִּזְעַף֙ עֻזִּיָּ֔הוּ וּבְיָד֥וֹ מִקְטֶ֖רֶת לְהַקְטִ֑יר וּבְזַעְפּ֣וֹ עִם־הַכֹּֽהֲנִ֗ים וְ֠הַצָּרַעַת זָֽרְחָ֨ה בְמִצְח֜וֹ לִפְנֵ֤י הַכֹּֽהֲנִים֙ בְּבֵ֣ית יְהוָ֔ה מֵעַ֖ל לְמִזְבַּ֥ח הַקְּטֹֽרֶת׃ וַיִּ֣פֶן אֵלָ֡יו עֲזַרְיָהוּ֩ כֹהֵ֨ן הָרֹ֜אשׁ וְכָל־הַכֹּֽהֲנִ֗ים וְהִנֵּה־ה֤וּא מְצֹרָע֙ בְּמִצְח֔וֹ וַיַּבְהִל֖וּהוּ מִשָּׁ֑ם וְגַם־הוּא֙ נִדְחַ֣ף לָצֵ֔את כִּ֥י נִגְּע֖וֹ יְהוָֽה׃ וַיְהִי֩ עֻזִּיָּ֨הוּ הַמֶּ֜לֶךְ מְצֹרָ֣ע ׀ עַד־י֣וֹם מוֹת֗וֹ וַיֵּ֜שֶׁב בֵּ֤ית החפשות (הַֽחָפְשִׁית֙) מְצֹרָ֔ע כִּ֥י נִגְזַ֖ר מִבֵּ֣ית יְהוָ֑ה וְיוֹתָ֤ם בְּנוֹ֙ עַל־בֵּ֣ית הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ שׁוֹפֵ֖ט אֶת־עַ֥ם הָאָֽרֶץ׃

2Ch 26:16 But when he was ſtrong, his heart was lifted vp to his deſtruction: for he tranſgreſſed againſt the Lord his God, and went into the temple of the Lord, to burne incenſe vpon the altar of incenſe.
2Ch 26:17 And Azariah the prieſt went in after him, and with him foureſcore priests of the Lord, that were valiant men.
2Ch 26:18 And they withſtood Uzziah the king, and ſaid vnto him, It perteineth not vnto thee, Uzziah, to burne incenſe vnto the Lord, but to the prieſtes the ſonnes of Aaron, that are conſecrated to burne incenſe. Goe out of the Sanctuarie; for thou haſt treſpaſſed, neither ſhall it be for thine honour from the Lord God.
2Ch 26:19 Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a cenſer in his hand, to burne incenſe, and while he was wroth with the prieſts, the leproſie euen rose vp in his forehead, before the prieſts, in the houſe of the Lord, from beſide the incenſe altar.
2Ch 26:20 And Azariah the chiefe prieſt, and all the prieſts looked vpon him, and behold, he was leprous in his forehead, and they thruſt him out from thence, yea himſelfe haſted alſo to goe out, becauſe the Lord had ſmitten him.
2Ch 26:21 And Uzziah the king was a leper vnto the day of his death, and dwelt in a ſeuerall houſe being a leper, for he was cut off from the houſe of the Lord: and Iotham his ſonne was ouer the kings houſe, iudging the people of the land.

Let's see how our scholar connects the verses in Exodus to this story. This is an interesting task, for unlike what we saw in the last post, where Nakh was read as a commentary on the Torah, here the Torah is being read as a sort of commentary on, or at least premonition of, Nakh. (Or perhaps it's still Nakh as a commentary on Torah: the Torah merely hints at Uzziah, by using a strangely-shaped letter, whereas Nakh spells out his story explicitly.)

אל תקרב הלם. רמז על עזיה שלא יקרב להקטיר הׄלׄםׄ. הלםׄ שלׄ נעלךׄ מׄלׄךׄ: של נעליך. של. רמז לשליפת סנׄדׄל מנעל הסרת מלכות. והש' מצויינת עזיה נטרד. ומצורע אסור בנעילה:
אל תקרב הלם ראש כפוף: וכן אל תקרב הלם. שלמה להתגאות במלכות ונטרד. וכן מנשה שהכניס צלם. ונטרדו: וכן נעליך ל' כפופ' סימן לשפלות הראש נטרדו: הׄלׄםׄ שׄל. שׄלׄמׄהׄ. ל הׄלם שׄל נׄעליך מׄעל. מׄנׄשׄהׄ: מֵעַל – מַעַל. שנא' צא מן המקדש כי מעלת: כי המקום אשר אתה עומ' רמז לבית המקד': אתה עׄוׄמׄדׄ ימים יהיה בהר: עומד מלא כל שעה אתה עומד על סיני מקום קדושה:

Draw not nigh hither. An allusion to Uzziah, who should not have drawn near to offer incense hither. The final letters of the words הלם של נעליך spell melekh, king.
Remove (shal) thy shoes. An allusion to the removing of the sandal -- the removing of kingship. The shin is marked* -- Uzziah was ruined [nitrad; I need better translation for this word]; a leper is forbidden to wear shoes.
Draw not nigh hither. With bowed-down head. And thus, do not draw nigh hither, O Solomon, to boast of thy kingship -- and he was ruined. The first five letters of the words הלם של spell Shelomo, Solomon. And similarly, [King] Menasseh brought an idol [into the Temple] -- and both were ruined. Therefore, in the word ne‘alekha, the lamed is bent over,** to allude that their heads were stooped down and they were ruing. הלם של spelled Shelomo, as we have said; and the initial letters of הלם של נעליך מעל, read backwards, spell Menasseh, Menashe. And the word me‘al (from upon) can be vocalized as ma‘al, "rebellion, trespass". As is it written: "Go out of the sanctuary, for thou hast trespassed."
For the place where thou standest [in Moses's case, the site of the burning bush, on Horeb] -- an allusion to the Temple.
Where you stand. [the number of?] days he would be on the mountain.
Stand [‘omed]. This word is spelled in full spelling (i.e., with a vav to indicate the vowel /o/), for the entire time that you are standing here on Sinai, it is a place of holiness.

*In the MS, the shin has six tagin on it, two on each head:



**In the manuscript, the lamed is written thus:


SIGNIFICANCE TO NA"KH:

Good question. I would like to mark some letters in the Chronicles story with what I call "hyperlink" symbols, but which ones? The words הלם and של נעליך do not appear in that story. I guess the best place to include the descending lameds, which indicate the plunge down from the glory of kingship, would be in the the words לא לך, "not unto thee (to burn incense)". And perhaps, though I'm much less sure of this, the word וישב, "he dwelt (in a several house being a leper)", could get the six tagin on the shin, for that is the verb which describes Uzziah's years as a leper, when (according to halakha) he would have been forbidden from wearing shoes.

Pharaoh's Daughter's Bath

Exodus 2:5:

וַתֵּ֤רֶד בַּת־פַּרְעֹה֙ לִרְחֹ֣ץ עַל־הַיְאֹ֔ר וְנַֽעֲרֹתֶ֥יהָ הֹֽלְכֹ֖ת עַל־יַ֣ד הַיְאֹ֑ר וַתֵּ֤רֶא אֶת־הַתֵּבָה֙ בְּת֣וֹךְ הַסּ֔וּף וַתִּשְׁלַ֥ח אֶת־אֲמָתָ֖הּ וַתִּקָּחֶֽהָ׃

Or, in English:

And the daughter of Pharaoh came downe to waſh her ſelfe at the riuer, and her maydens walked along by the riuer ſide: and when ſhee ſaw the arke among the flags, ſhe ſent her maid to fetch it.

(I don't know why the King James Version translates "suf" as "flags"; I was always taught that it meant "reeds".)

Anyway, our scholar comments:

ותרד בת פרעה לרחץ. שירדה לרחוץ מגילולי בית אביה, כמו: אם רחץ יי את צואת בנות ציון
לרחץ. רחיצה זו מצויינת. היא רחיצה ממש וטהרה מגלולים ומעוונות. וזהו לרחץ, תגין: רחיצה משיינ'
ונערתיה הלכת. ונערתיה, עין משונה, רמז שהיו נערותיה חפיצות לעכב הדבר כדאיתא בסוטה, אלא שבא גבריאל וחבטן ומתו, חוץ מאחת, דלאו אורח ארעה למלכה ללכת לבדה. ולכך הע', כי נערותיה רצו לעכב והיו ביד רמה הולכות
הלכת. חסר. הליכתן חסירה שהמיתן גבריאל, כמו שנאמר: הולך למות.
ונערתיה. חוזרת הרי"ש, כי רצו להמניע הדבר ולעכב.

Or, in English:

And the daughter of Pharaoh came downe to wash her ſelfe. She went down to wash herself clean of the idols of her father's house, like [the washing mentioned in Isaiah 4:4]: When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion.
To wash. This washing is special, a true washing off of idols and sinfulness. Therefore, the word לרחץ is marked with tagin* - a different [?] washing.
And her maydens walked along. The ‘ayin of the word ונערתיה is different.** This is a hint to the story that they tried to prevent her [from rescuing baby Moses], as told in [Tractate] Sota [12b], and [the angel] Gabriel came and beat them all to death, except for one, for it is not seemly for royalty to be walking completely alone. That is the reason for the ‘ayin, for they were walking be-yad rama [a Hebrew expression literally translating to "with upraised arm", but denoting defiantly, haughtily], and they wanted to stop her.
Walking [holkhoth]. The word הלכת is spelled defectively [i.e., without the letter vav to indicate the /o/ vowel], for their walking was defective, for [the angel] Gabriel killed them; [thus, "walking" here] is like [the meaning of the word in Genesis 25:32], behold I am going [holekh] to die.
And her maydens [ve-na‘arotheha]. The resh goes backwards,*** for they wanted to prevent the matter from taking place.

*The final tzadi has a tittle on the right head, and three on the left head. In today's Torah-scroll, every tzadi always has three tittles on the left head, but it is not clear that this would have been the case in the Middle Ages; perhaps only the midrashically significant letters got tagin back then. (It is interesting that their tagin actually had meaning, whereas today's are purely ornamental, and cannot have specific meaning, because they are applied to certain letters of the alphabet across the board. Any meaning that they have will be no more specific than the "meaning" of the particular letter of the alphabet.)







**In the manuscript, the left leg of the ‘ayin shoots up much higher than the right head.
***In the manuscript, the resh has an antenna coming out of the middle of its head, pointing toward the right, i.e. backwards (from the point of view of a right-to-left writing system).





SIGNIFICANCE TO NA"KH:

I would consider writing the final tzadi in רחץ in Isaiah 4:4 with the one tittle on the right head and the three on the left, to "activate the hyperlink" of intertextuality from both ends. In the Torah scroll, it indicates "there's a comment on this somewhere in Nakh", and in my Isaiah scroll, it would indicate "this is a kind of dibbur ha-mathḥil. As I heard at a shi'ur on Genesis Rabbah on Monday evening, "Ḥazal read the rest of the Bible as a commentary on the Torah."

לך לשלום

Exodus 4:18:

וַיֵּ֨לֶךְ מֹשֶׁ֜ה וַיָּ֣שָׁב ׀ אֶל־יֶ֣תֶר חֹֽתְנ֗וֹ וַיֹּ֤אמֶר לוֹ֙ אֵ֣לְכָה נָּ֗א וְאָשׁ֨וּבָה֙ אֶל־אַחַ֣י אֲשֶׁר־בְּמִצְרַ֔יִם וְאֶרְאֶ֖ה הַֽעוֹדָ֣ם חַיִּ֑ים וַיֹּ֧אמֶר יִתְר֛וֹ לְמֹשֶׁ֖ה לֵ֥ךְ לְשָׁלֽוֹם׃

And Moſes went and returned to Iether his father in law, and ſaid vnto him, Let me goe, I pray thee, and returne vnto my brethren, which are in Egypt, and ſee whether they bee yet aliue. And Iethro ſaid to Moſes, Goe in peace.

Our scholar comments:

לך לשלום. ך' בתגין. לשלום. למדין כפופין
לך. תגין רמז שזכות אברהם תעמד לך: ועוד רמז על ך. סימן שמלמעלה נאמר לו לך לשלום
וכן למדין כפופין מלמעלה למטה כאילו מלמעלה מן השמים נאמר לו לך לשלום. לכך הלמדין כפופין
ותדע לך שכך הוא שהרי כתיב לך לשלום וסמך לו ויאמר יי אל משה: שנתן לו שלום

Or, in English:

Lekh. There are tagin* [tittles, crownlets] on the kaf. Leshalom. The lameds are bent [or: stooped over].
Lekh. The tagin teach us that the merit of Abraham** will be upheld for you [=Moses]. And there is a further hint on the kaf*** – that it is a sign that "Go in peace" has been said to him from Above, and thus there are lameds stooped down from above to below, as if "Go in peace" were being said to him from above, from Heaven. Therefore, the lameds are stooped over. And know that this is so, from immediately after the words "Go in peace" come the words And the Lord said to Moses [in the subsequent verse, 4:19]. Thus, [the juxtaposition means that God said not only the following words, but also the preceding words] -- that He gave him peace [or: gave him the get-go, the permissive signal, to go in peace back to Egypt].

*In the MS, there are three tagin on the head of the kaf.
**What's this about? I think it's the fact that Abraham was the twentieth generation, counting from Adam, and the numerical value of the letter kaf is twenty. I think I've seen something like that elsewhere in this manuscript.
***What's the connection between the letter kaf and the idea that something has been said from Above, from Heaven? I don't really know. Maybe the hint is not in the kaf, but in the presence of tagin, which serve to point out something unusual or supernatural.

First Post

The worldwide Jewish community begins its annual reading of the Book of Exodus (שמות, Shemóth) this week, and will continue for the next few months.

I thought that this would be a great opportunity to present, each week, shtiklech about graphical features of this book, from MS Bodleian 202.

In old Torah scrolls from Ashkenaz-Tzarfath-Italia, we find various interestingly-shaped letters -- either they have special tittles issuing (tagin, "crowns") issuing from them, or there shape is interesting in some other way. One of the most common non-crown features is the so called "curly pe" (פ"א לפופה, pe lefufa), a tradition which exists also in Yemenite Torah scrolls.

Although we see material evidence of this tradition only starting in medieval Europe, Shlomo Zucker writes (I'll have to find the citation) that it goes back to first-millennium Middle East. I have heard the same assertion from Jordan Penkower. (Presumably, there is literary evidence for it.)

MS Bodleian 202 is valuable, for it is a commentary on Exodus, from the school of the Hasidé Ashkenaz, which comments on the meaning behind these graphical features of the text. It is attributed to Eleazar ben Moshe Ha-darshan.

I know of no other such commentary, certainly not of this scope. (Mind you, the commentary comments on many other features of the text, too -- the bit about the graphical features is only a small piece of it. And if I feel like it, I might include some of the non-graphically-based comments on this blog, too.)

Each week, I hope to present some piece of this, related to the weekly parasha.