Kommentar zu Sotah 7:11

אלו נאמרין. פרשת סוטה – as it is written (Numbers 5:19): “[The priest shall adjure the woman,] saying to her, [“If no man has lain with you, if you have not gone astray in defilement while married to your husband, be immune to harm from this water of bitterness that induces the spell].” In any language that he states it.

Introduction Beginning with this mishnah and continuing through the end of the tractate, the Mishnah discusses things that must be recited. Some of these must be recited in Hebrew and others can be recited in any language. The reason that these are discussed in Mishnah Sotah is that the first example is the oath that the priest makes the sotah swear, which may be recited in any language.

וידוי מעשר – (Deuteronomy 26:13): “I have cleared out the consecrated portion from the house, etc.” He states it in any language that he wishes, as it is written (ibid.): “You shall declare before the LORD your God,” in every language that he speaks.

The mishnah lists seven recitations which can be made in any language.

קריאת שמע – as it is written (Deuteronomy 6:4): “Hear O Israel ” in any language that you hear.

The following may be recited in any language:
the section concerning the sotah, The first is the oath that the priest makes a sotah swear (Numbers 5:19-23). The Talmud derives this by using a midrash. It may also be that since the sotah has to understand what she is swearing to, if she doesn’t understand Hebrew it can be recited in any language that she does understand. This rationale lies behind most, if not all, of the other recitations listed in this mishnah.

ותפלה – a congregation–community that prays, prays–recites the Amidah in any language, but an individual does not pray other than in the holy tongue (i.e., Hebrew).

the confession made at the presentation of tithes, On Passover of the fourth and seventh year of the seven year sabbatical cycle, each householder must come to the Temple and confess that he has not withheld tithes in his home (see Deuteronomy 26:13-15). This would include all forms of tithe, each of which must be disposed of in the proper fashion. This confession may be recited in any language.

וברכת המזון – as it is written (Deuteronomy 8:10): ‘and you shall bless–give thanks [the LORD your God],” in any language that you bless–give thanks.

the shema, The Shema, one of the two central parts of Jewish prayer, recited twice daily, can be recited in any language. Since the Shema is the central declaration of faith, it must be understood by the person reciting it, and therefore can be recited in any language.

ושבועת העדות ושבועת הפקדון – in any language that he made them take an oath and did not give thanks, they are liable. The oath of testimony, we derive it as it is written regarding it (Leviticus 5:1): “[If a person incurs guilt] when he heard a public imprecation,” and the oath of deposit, he derives it [through an analogy] from the oath of testimony (Tractate Sotah 33a): "תחטא" –incurs guilt (Leviticus 5:1) and "תחטא"–sins (Leviticus 5:21).

the prayer (the, The amidah, the other central feature of Jewish prayer, which is recited thrice daily (and more on special occasions) can also be recited in any language. The Talmud says that since the amidah is the prayer in which human beings approach God with their requests, it would not make sense for it to be recited in a language which the speaker does not understand.

the grace after meals, For similar reasons, the grace after meals may be recited in any language as well.

the oath concerning testimony, If a person thinks that another person knows testimony about his case, and the other person denies such knowledge, he may force him to take an oath that he does not know any testimony (see Leviticus 5:1, 6 and Mishnah Shevuoth 4:3). This oath may be recited in any language, since it is critical that the person swearing understands what he is saying.

the oath concerning a deposit. If a person thinks that he gave a deposit to another person, but that person denies having received such a deposit, the claimant may make the other person swear that he does not have the deposit. This too can be recited in any language for the same reason as above.

מקרא בכורים – that he would recite from (Deuteronomy 26:5): “My father was a fugitive Aramean,” until the conclusion of the portion.

Introduction In yesterday’s mishnah we learned which “declarations” can be recited in any language. In today’s mishnah we learn the opposite; those things which must be recited in Hebrew. The list in today’s mishnah will be discussed in much greater length in the rest of this chapter and indeed through most of the rest of the tractate.

וחליצת יבמה – she states (Deuteronomy 25:7): “My husband’s brother refuses to establish a name in Israel for his brother,” and he states (Deuteronomy 25:8): “I do not want to marry her.” And after the ceremony of removing the shoe of the brother-in-law–levir, she says (Deuteronomy 25:9): “Thus shall be done to the man [who will not uphold his brother’s house!]”

The following are recited in the holy tongue (:
The reading made at the offering of the firstfruits, When a person brings his first fruits to the Temple, he must recite Deuteronomy 26:5-11. In tomorrow’s mishnah we shall learn why this must be recited in Hebrew.

ברכות וקללות – that the Jewish people recited at Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal.

The recitation at halitzah, Halitzah is the ceremony performed when the brother-in-law does not want to marry his dead brother’s wife. Both the widow and her brother-in-law must make some declarations (see Deuteronomy 25:7-9). Mishnah four will explain why this must be recited in Hebrew.

The blessings and curses, These refer to the blessings and curses stated by the Levites on Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Ebal. Mishnah 5 will elaborate.

ברכות כ"ג – after the Divine Service on the Day (i.e., Yom Kippur) in the innermost sanctum (i.e., the Holy of Holies), he would read the portion in the Torah and make the eight blessings that are explained in our Mishnah.

The priestly blessing, The priestly blessing is described in Numbers 6:23-26. It is still recited in the morning prayer service today, as part of the amidah prayer. It will be discussed below in mishnah 6.

ופרשת המלך – this is the portion of "הקהל"–Gathering the people (see Deuteronomy 31:10-13), as it explains at the end of our chapter (Mishnah 8).

The blessing of the high priest, This refers to the blessing given by the high priest to the people on Yom Kippur after he has come out from the Holy of Holies. See below, mishnah 7.

ופרשת עגלה ערופה – (Deuteronomy 21:7): “Our hands did not shed this blood,” (Deuteronomy 21:8): “Absolve, O LORD, your people Israel, etc.”

The section of the king, The “section of the king” refers to the portion of the Torah read by the king when the congregation gathers together on Sukkot after the seventh year has been completed (below mishnah eight).

פרשת משוח מלחמה – (Deuteronomy 20:2): “Before you join battle, etc,” (Deuteronomy 20:3): “Hear, O Israel! You are about to join battle [with your enemy].”

The section of the calf whose neck is broken, This is what the elders recite when they break the neck of a heifer to atone for a murder whose perpetrator is unknown (Deuteronomy 21:7-8). This will be explained in chapter nine.

And the priest anointed [to accompany the army] in battle when he speaks to the people. This refers to the charge given by the priest given to the army before they go out to war (Deuteronomy 20:2-4). See below, chapter eight.

כיצד – like from where.

Introduction This mishnah introduces the midrash which proves that the declaration made upon bringing the first fruits must be in Hebrew.

ולהלן הוא אומר – in the blessings and curses of Har Gerizim (Deuteronomy 27:11-14).

How is it that the declaration made [at the bringing] of the first-fruits [must be in Hebrew]? [It is said], “And you shall answer and say before the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 26:5), and elsewhere it is said, “And the Levites shall answer and say” (Deuteronomy 27:14); just as the “answer” made elsewhere must be in the holy tongue, so must the [declaration discussed here] be in the holy tongue. That the declaration made upon bringing the first fruits must be in Hebrew is derived by comparing the word “answer” in the passage concerning first fruits, with the word “answer” in reference to the blessings and curses that the Levites give to the children of Israel after they have entered the land. Just as the latter must be in Hebrew so too must the former. However, the mishnah does not explain why the blessings and curses made by the Levites must be in Hebrew. The Talmud explains this as a midrashic connection between the word “voice” in this verse (Deut. 27:14), with the word “voice” in Exodus 19:19, “As Moses spoke, God answered him in a voice”. [JPS translates “thunder” but the word “kol” is the same in both contexts.]

מה ענייה האמורה להלן בלשון הקודש – as it is written (Deuteronomy 27:14): “[The Levites] shall then proclaim in a loud voice to all the people of Israel.” And it is written there (Exodus 19:19): “God answered him in thunder.” Just as there, it is in the Holy Tongue (i.e., Hebrew), so here too, in the Holy Tongue.

וענתה ואמרה ככה – there is no need to teach it through a Gezerah Shavah (analogy), for it is learned from itself, (Deuteronomy 25:9): ‘and [she shall] make this declaration: Thus [shall be done to the man who will not build up his brother’s house!].” In such a language she should state this.

Introduction This mishnah proves why the halitzah (release from Levirate marriage) must be recited in Hebrew.

How is it that the formula of halitzah [must be recited in Hebrew]? [It is said] “And she shall answer and say” (Deuteronomy 25:9), and elsewhere it says, “And the Levites shall answer and say” (Deuteronomy 27:14); just as the “answer” made elsewhere must be in the holy tongue, so must the [declaration discussed here] be in the holy tongue. Rabbi Judah says: “And she shall answer and say thus”, she must say it in this language. The first opinion in the mishnah proves that the halitzah formula must be recited in Hebrew using the same midrash that yesterday’s mishnah used to prove that the declaration made upon bringing the first fruits must be in Hebrew. Both mishnayoth connect the word “say” in this context to the “say” in the context of the Levitical curses and blessings. Rabbi Judah derives this requirement without comparing the word “say” here with “say” elsewhere. Deut. 27:14 uses the word “thus”, a word which is somewhat superfluous. Rabbi Judah understands that word as teaching that the halitzah formula must be recited in Hebrew. Note that there is no halakhic debate between Rabbi Judah and the first opinion; there is only a debate on midrashic technique.

שבשומרון – near Shomron–Samaria.

Introduction This mishnah is an explanation of Deuteronomy 27 and several other biblical passages, which describe or refer to the blessings and curses which the Levites were to recite on Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Ebal. Note that this mishnah does not explain how we know that these blessings and curses had to be recited in Hebrew. This seems to be taken for granted.

מכאן ומכאן – on the mountains.

How were the blessings and curses [pronounced]?
When Israel crossed the Jordan and came to Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Ebal which are by Samaria, in the vicinity of Shechem which is near the terebinths of Moreh, as it is said, “Are they not the other side of the Jordan, [beyond the west road that is in the land of the Canaanites who dwell in the Arabah near Gilgal, by the terebinths of Moreh] (Deut. 11:30), and elsewhere it says, “And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Shechem unto the terebinth of Moreh” (Genesis 12:6) just as the terebinth of Moreh mentioned in this latter verse is Shechem, so the terebinth of Moreh mentioned in the former verse is Shechem. This section identifies the location of Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Ebal. Deut. 12:30 says that they are near the “terebinths of Moreh” and in Genesis 12:6 the “terebinths of Moreh” are identified as Shechem (currently an Arab city called Nablus, after the Greek Neapolis). Since the rabbis new where Shechem was but not where the “terebinths of Moreh” were, the identification with Shechem was crucial to identify the location of the two mountains.

בשבעים לשון – in the writing of seventy nations and all who wish to teach it should come to study so that there won’t be any fault-finding for the nations to state that we didn’t have from where to learn.

Six tribes went up Mt. Gerizim and six tribes went up Mt. Ebal, and the priests and Levites with the ark stood below in the middle, the priests surrounding the ark, the Levites [surrounding] the priests, and all Israel on this side and that side, as it is said, “And all Israel, with their elders, officials, and judges stood on both sides of the ark, facing the levitical priests” (Joshua 8:33). After locating the two mountains, the mishnah begins to describe the ritual of blessings and curses. As described in Deut. 27:12-13, half of the tribes went up to Mt. Gerizim and half went up to Mt. Ebal. The mishnah now harmonizes the description in Deuteronomy with that in Joshua 8:33, which seems to say that instead of going up the two mountains, the Israelites faced the two mountains. The mishnah says that all of the tribes went up and the priests, Levites and various officials remained in the middle, as is described in Joshua. The priests formed the inner circle around the ark and the Levites encircled the priests. Another problem is that according to Deut. 27:12, the tribe of Levi stood on Mt. Gerizim, whereas Joshua and Deut. 27:14 seem to place them in the middle. Some commentators resolve this by saying that only some of the Levites remained below.

את האבנים – they concealed the alter after they offered the burnt offerings and the peace offerings.

They turned their faces towards Mt. Gerizim and opened with the blessing: Blessed be anyone who does not make a graven or molten image”. And these and these respond amen. They then turned their faces towards Mt. Ebal and opened with the curse: “Cursed be anyone who makes a graven or molten image” (Deut. 27:15). And these and these respond amen. [So they continue] until they complete the blessings and curses. This section harmonizes Deuteronomy 11 with Deuteronomy 27. The earlier chapter refers to blessings recited on Mt. Gerizim and curses on Mt. Ebal. Deuteronomy 27 lists only the curses and it also seems to assume that the Levites who stand in the middle pronounce the curses and blessings. The mishnah resolves these two difficulties by saying that the curses in Deuteronomy 27 are only half of what was said. Not only were the curses recited but the opposite of each curse was also recited as a blessing. Furthermore, the blessings and curses were recited by the Levites while standing between the two mountains, but the Levites would face Mt. Gerizim when blessing and Mt. Ebal when cursing.

ולנו במקומן – in their lodgings in Gilgal, and there, they established the stones.

After that they brought the stones, built the altar and plastered it with plaster, and inscribed upon it all the words of the Torah in seventy languages, as it is said, “most distinctly (be’er. This section refers to Deuteronomy 27:4-5, 8. The mishnah reads the building of the altar as occurring after the blessings and curses and not before, as the order of the verses might be read as implicating. The stones to which the mishnah refers are the same stones that had previously been placed in the Jordan when Israel crossed the river (see Joshua 4:1-11). The most interesting element of this section is that the words “be’er hetev” which JPS translates as “most distinctly”, and could also be translated as “well-explained” are interpreted by the rabbis as meaning that the Torah was written in seventy languages. This is the amount of languages and nations which exist in the world, according to rabbinic folklore. Part of the entering into the land of Israel was that the Torah had to be made available to all of the nations of the world. Indeed, this may be reflective of the fact that in rabbinic times, the Bible was indeed translated into Greek, Aramaic and later on into Roman, the three international languages in the time of the Mishnah.

Then they took the stones and went and spent the night in their place. After having set up the altar with the stones that had previously been in the Jordan, the stones are brought back to their proper place in the Gilgal. According to many commentators, they used them to make another altar there.

במדינה אומר אותה שלש ברכות – that the Kohanim interrupt between each verse, [and the community] answers [Amen].

Introduction This mishnah describes how the priestly blessing was performed, both outside of the Temple and in the Temple. The priestly blessing is Numbers 6:24-26. In Israel it is still done every day. Outside of Israel, some synagogues have the blessing on holidays. Our mishnah discusses differences between how the blessing is done inside the Temple and outside of the Temple. The mishnah does not address why the priestly blessing must be recited in Hebrew. The Talmud explains that Numbers 6:23 which reads “Thus shall you bless” implies that the priests must use the exact words written in the Torah.

ובמקדש ברכה אחת – because they do not answer “Amen” in the Temple and there is no interruption here.

How was the priestly blessing [pronounced]?
In the province (outside of the it was said as three blessings, but in the Temple as one blessing. There are three clauses in the priestly blessing. Outside of the Temple after each clause the people would answer “amen”. However, inside the Temple, the people didn’t respond until all three clauses were recited, and when they did respond they didn’t say “amen” but rather “Blessed is the God of Israel forever and ever”.

ככתבה – with a Yud, Heih (i.e., the letters of the name of God).

In the Temple the name was uttered as it is written, but in the province in its substituted name. In the Temple the priests pronounced God’s name as it is written YHWH. (Today we don’t know how this word was pronounced). However, outside the Temple it is pronounced using the substitute name “Adonai”, the way we pronounce God’s name today.

בכנויו – with an Aleph, Daleth [Nun, Yud] for we don’t mention God’s name as it is written other than in the Temple alone, as it states (Exodus 20:21): “in every place where I cause My name to be mentioned, I will come to you and bless you.” The Biblical text transposed it and expounded upon it: In every place that I will come to you and bless you, which is in the Temple–Sanctuary, there I will mention My name.

In the province the priests raise their hands at the height of their shoulders, but in the Temple above their heads, except the high priest who does not raise his hands higher than the frontlet (on his. Rabbi Judah says: even the high priest raises his hands higher than the frontlet, as it says, “And Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them” (Leviticus 9:22). In the Temple the priests raise their hands above their heads when blessing the people, while outside of the Temple, they raise their hands no higher than their shoulders. According to the first opinion, the high priest did not lift his hands higher than his head, for on his head was a “frontlet” upon which was written God’s name (Exodus 28:36). Rabbi Judah believes that just as the rest of the priests raised their hands above their heads, so too did the high priest. Rabbi Judah interprets the blessing mentioned in Leviticus 9:22, a blessing given by Aaron the high priest, to be the priestly blessing in Numbers 6. Just as Aaron lifts his hands above his head, so too do the other priests.

כנגד כתפותיהם – because it requires the lifting of the palms of the hands, as it is written (Leviticus 9:22): “Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them.” And it is written (Deuteronomy 18:5): “him and his descendants [to be in attendance for service in the name of the LORD] for all time.” Just as he is with the raising of his hands, so too his descendants–children also with the raising of their hands for all time.

ובמקדש – when they bless the people with the holy name of God and Divine Presence is above from the second joints of their fingers, they lift their hands above their heads.

שאין מגביה ידיו למעלה מן הציץ – because the name of God is written upon it. But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Yehuda.

ברכות כ"ג – on Yom Kippur after the Divine Service–Avodah had been completed, he reads the Torah and makes eight blessings–benedictions.

Introduction This mishnah deals with the blessings recited by the high priest on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), after he finished performing the special worship service for that day.

חזן הכנסת – the sexton of the assembly upon whom the duties of the assembly are upon him to bring in

How were the benedictions of the high priest [performed]?
The hazzan of the synagogue takes the Torah scroll and gives it to the president of the synagogue; the vice-president of the synagogue gives it to the high priest, and the high priest stands, receives [the scroll] and reads [the following portions]: “After the death” (Leviticus 16:1-34), and “But on the tenth day” (Leviticus 23:26-32). Then he rolls the Torah (, places it in his bosom and exclaims, “More than I have read before you is written here!” [The portion], “On the tenth day” (Numbers 29:7-11), which is in the book of Numbers, he reads by heart. After the high priest has finished performing the Yom Kippur service (and sent the scapegoat out to the desert) he would go out to the Temple courtyard and sit there until they bring him the Torah scroll. The scroll is not handed directly to him, but rather several synagogue functionaries participate in passing the scroll before it reaches the high priest. [Somewhat reminiscent of a brit milah in which the baby is passed around before being circumcised.] Note that according to the mishnah there was a synagogue on the Temple grounds. Indeed, archaeologists have found a dedicatory inscription near the Temple which mentions the “head of a synagogue”.

ראש הכנסת – through his lips are decided all the matters of the congregation, who will recite the prayers leading up to the Shema for the benefit of those who come too late for the regular service, who will recite the Maftir–Haftarah from the prophets and who will go down before the Ark (to serve as the representative of the congregation).

And he blesses upon it eight benedictions: “For the Torah”, “For the Temple service”, “For thanksgiving”, “For the pardon of sin”, “For the Temple”, “For Israel”, “For the priests”, and the rest of the prayer. When the high priest receives the Torah, he reads the portions which deal with Yom Kippur. This begins with two passages from Leviticus. After he closing the Torah he tells the people that there is more in the Torah than what he just read to them. [As an aside, this reminds of rabbis telling their congregation on Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur that there are other holidays also coming up.] The passage concerning Yom Kippur which is found towards the end of Numbers he doesn’t read from the scroll itself, but rather by heart. Generally speaking, portions of the written Torah should not be read in public by heart. However, since it would take a long time to roll from Leviticus 23 to Numbers 29 and it would not be respectful to the congregation for them to have to wait long while the Torah is being scrolled. The respect for the congregation is important enough that the Yom Kippur ceremony itself is adjusted to take this into account.

סגן – who is ready in place of the Kohen Gadol–High Priest for if something should happen to him to make him unfit for service, he will serve in his place.

Today when a person receives an aliyah to the Torah, they read one blessing before and after. The high priest reads eight blessings. “For the Torah”, is the same blessing recited today before and after the Torah reading (according to some commentators the high priest said these blessings like we do today, one before and one after, but the mishnah refers to this as one blessing.) “For the Temple service” is similar to the third to last blessing in the amidah as it is said today. “For thanksgiving” is similar to the next to last blessing in today’s amidah. “For the pardon of sin” is similar to one of the middle blessings in today’s amidah, which begins “Forgive us.” “For the Temple” is a prayer that the Temple should continue to stand. “For Israel” is a prayer that God’s presence should not depart from the people of Israel. “For the priests” is a prayer that God will accept the worship of the priests. And for the rest of the prayer this refers to a final prayer that God should protect Israel and thanks God for listening to our prayers.

והסגן לכ"ג – and all of them are because of the honor of the High Priest, as it is written (Proverbs 14:28): “A numerous people is the glory of the king.”

וכ"ג עומד ומקבל – it follows that he was sitting, we learn from this that he would read in the Women’s Court, for if it was in the Court of Israel, we hold that there is no sitting in that court other than only the kings of the house of David.

וקורא אחרי מות – which is the order of [the ritual of] Yom Kippur.

ואך בעשור – in the Torah portion (Leviticus 22:26 and following): “When an ox or a a sheep or a goat is born” that is near the portion of Aharei Mot (Leviticus 16) and he is able to roll the Torah scroll to there while the Aramaic translator is translating the concluding verse of Aharei Mot and there is no delay in order that the Aramaic translator should interrupt–stop.

וגולל את התורה – and even though he did not read about the tenth [day of Tishrei] in the book of Numbers (chapter 29, verses 7-11), he reads it by heart. But he should not roll the Torah scroll to there because it is far and there is a delay that would cause the Aramaic translator to interrupt and it is a reproach to the community, and to read from two Torah scrolls is impossible because single person does not read from two Torah scrolls in the congregation because of the defect of the first Torah scroll.

יותר ממה שקריתי לפניכם – what I am about to read further by heart, they should not say that it is missing from this Scroll, therefore, I won’t roll it there, and why so much? In order not to cast aspersion against the Torah scroll.

על התורה – the blessing that is after it (i.e., the Haftarah).

ועל העבודה – May the LORD our God accept [our worship].

ועל ההודאה – We give thanks to You.

ועל מחילת עון – You have chosen us that we conclude it with “the king who pardons and forgives our iniquities.”

ועל המקדש – that th Divine Presence should rest on the Temple and we conclude it with Praised is the LORD Who dwells in Zion.

ועל הכהנים – that He should accept their sacrifices with favor and we conclude it with [the blessing] “who sanctifies the Kohanim.”

[בשמיני] – In the eight year of the Sabbatical year–Shemittah that just passed, which is at the conclusion of this seventh year at the conclusion of the first day of Yom Tov (i.e., Sukkot), as it is written (Deuteronomy 31:10): “On the Feast of Booths.” I hear–learn even on the last day of Yom Tov of the holiday, the inference teaches us (Deuteronomy 31:11): “When all Israel comes to appear [before the LORD your God],”from the beginning of the Intermediate Days [of the Festival].

Introduction Deuteronomy 31:10-12 states, “Every seventh year, at the time of the sabbatical year, at Sukkot, when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God in the place that He will choose, you shall read this Teaching aloud in the presence of all Israel. Gather the people men, women, children and the strangers in your communities that they may hear and so learn to revere the Lord your God and to observe faithfully every word of this Teaching.” Our mishnah discusses how this ceremony, which is called by the rabbis “Gathering”, was performed. The ceremony was performed on the holiday of Sukkot which immediately followed the end of the sabbatical year.

אגריפס המלך – he was from the seed of Herod and in his days, the Second Temple was destroyed.

How was the procedure in connection with the portion read by the king?
At the conclusion of the first day of the festival ( in the eighth [year], at the end of the seventh year, they erect a wooden platform in the Temple court, and he sits upon it, as it is said, “At the end of seven years, in the set time” etc (Deuteronomy 31:10). The mishnah teaches that they erected a wooden platform in the Temple so that the king can be heard when he reads the portions of Deuteronomy to the people.

זלגו עיניו דמעות – fo this Biblical verse disqualifies him from being King.

The synagogue attendant takes a Torah scroll and hands it to the head of the synagogue, the head of the synagogue hands it to the deputy and he hands it to the high priest, and the high priest hands it to the king and the king stands and receives it, but reads it while sitting. This section describes the same procedure of passing the Torah which we read in yesterday’s mishnah in connection with the high priest reading the Torah on Yom Kippur. The only difference is that the king recites while seated. It was considered more honorable for the king to sit than to stand.

אחינו אתה – his mother is from the Israelites.

King Agrippa stood and received it and read standing, and the sages praised him. When he reached, “You shall not place a foreigner over you” (ibid 17:15) his eyes ran with tears. They said to him, “Fear not, Agrippas, you are our brother, you are our brother!” The mishnah now brings an interesting story about King Aggripas, a descendent of Herod who was an Idumean and not of Israelite stock. When Aggripas was reading the prescribed portions he would stand in order to show his deference for the Torah. Despite the fact that the mishnah says that the king is to sit, the sages praise Aggripas for going “beyond the letter of the law.” His standing while reading establishes Aggripas as a righteous king, despite his being from Herod’s family. When Aggripas read that it is forbidden for Israelites to have a foreign king, he began to cry because he realized that his own kingship was illegitimate. The sages had such respect for him, that they cried back to him that he is indeed their brother. Some commentators say that the sages just said this to make him feel better, while others say that since his mother is an Israelite, he is indeed a legitimate king. In any case, the mishnah is a poignant portrayal of the political situation in which Jews lived in this period.

וקורא מתחלת אלה הדברים עד שמע – that is in [the Torah portion of] Vaethanan, and connects with the portion of the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4-9) and “If you will surely hearken” (Deuteronomy 11:13-21), for in the portion of the Shema is the acceptance of the kingdom of heaven and in the “If you will surely hearken” portion is the acceptance of the yoke of the commandments and he skips and reads (Deuteronomy 14:22): You shall set aside every year a tenth part” and from there he skips and reads (Deuteronomy 26:1ven 2): “When you have set aside in full the tenth part of your yield,” because it is the time of the ingathering [of the crops] and the giving of gifts to the poor and separating the priest’s due and the tithes and even though the portion of the king is between the “You shall set aside every year a tenth part” and “When you have set aside in full the tenth part of your yield,” he reads them together to not interrupt the [verses about the] tithes and afterwards the blessings and curses (Deuteronomy chapter 27-28) which are the acceptance of the decrees and punishments of the Torah and then he returns and reads the portion of the king (Deuteronomy 17:15-20): “You shall be free to set a king over yourselves.”

[The king] reads from the beginning of “These are the words” (ibid 1:1) until the Shema ((ibid 6:4-9), and the Shema, and “It will come to pass if you hear” (ibid 11:13-21 the second part of the, and “You shall surely tithe” (ibid 14:22-29), and “When you have finished tithing” (ibid 26:12-15) and the portion of the king (ibid 17:14-20) and the blessings and curses (ibid 28), until he finishes all the section. The Torah says that the king is supposed to read “this Teaching” (Torah). The mishnah does not understand this to mean that he must read all of the Torah or even all of Deuteronomy, which would certainly have taken quite a long time. Rather he reads selected portions of Deuteronomy. He reads the beginning of the book, and then he reads passages that are part of the Shema and then some passages concerning tithes. The tithes’ passages are read since Sukkot is a harvest festival and it is when tithes are separated from produce. He also reads the portion about the king, and the blessings and curses which are found towards the end of Deuteronomy. This last passage was a means by which the covenant between God and Israel could be symbolically renewed.

The blessings that the high priest recites, the king recites, except that he substitutes one for the festivals instead of one for the pardon of sin. After reading from the Torah, the king recites most of the blessings which the high priest recites on Yom Kippur. The difference is that instead of praying for forgiveness of sin, as the high priest does on Yom Kippur, the king has a prayer over the festival, a prayer which is still recited today in the festival amidah.