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.