Pisqa’ 317¹

1

“Curds of the herd, and milk of the flocks” (Dt.32:14)—

as it was in the days of Solomon,

for it is said:

“Solomon’s daily provisions consisted of . . . ten well-fattened oxen,

twenty pasturing oxen, and a hundred head from the flock” (1Ki.5:2-3).

“With the fat of lambs and rams” (Dt.32:14)—

as it was in the days of the ten tribes

[after the division of Israel and Judah],

for it is said:

“Feasting on the lambs of the flock

and the calves from within their stalls” (Am.6:4).

“With the richest part of the wheat” (Dt.32:14)—

as it was in the days of Solomon,

for it is said:

“Solomon’s bread ration for a single day

was thirty kor of semolina” (1Ki.5:2).

“And the blood of the grape you drank as wine” (Dt.32:14)—

as it was in the days of the ten tribes

[before the exile to Babylonia],

for it is said:

“Swilling wine from the jug” (Am.6:6).

2

Another word:

“He ensconced him above the heights of the Land” (Dt.32:13)—

this refers to the Holy Abode,

which is higher than the rest of the world,

as it is said:

“And you shall arise and ascend

to the place which HASHEM your God shall choose” (Dt.17:8).

And He says:

“And many nations will come and say:

Go and ascend the Mountain of HASHEM” (Is.2:3)

“And he ate the yield of My fields” (Dt.32:13)—

these are the baskets of First-fruits.

“And He suckled him on honey from a boulder

and oil from a flinty rock” (Dt.32:13)—

these are the oil-libations.

“Curds of the herd and milk of the flocks, with the fat of lambs and rams” (Dt.32:14)—

this refers to the Purification-offering,

the Holocaust-offering, the Communion-offering,

the Thanksgiving-offering, the Guilt-offering,

and the minor consecrations.

“With the richest part of the wheat” (Dt.32:14)—

this is the Flour-offerings.

“And the blood of the grape you drank as wine” (Dt.32:14)—

these are the Wine-libations.

3

Another word:

“He ensconced it above the heights of the Land” (Dt.32:13)—

this refers to Torah,

As it is said:

“HASHEM created Me at the beginning of His way” (Prov.8:22).²

“And he will eat the yield of My fields” (Dt.32:13)—

this refers to declamation of Scripture.

“And He suckled him on honey from a boulder” (Dt.32:13)—

this refers to repeated tradition.

“And oil from a flinty rock” (Dt.32:13)—

this refers to dialectics.

“Curds of the herd, and milk of the flocks,

With the fat of lambs and rams” (Dt.32:14)—

This refers to logical deductions,

analogical reasoning , legal reasoning,

and refutations.

“With the richest part of the wheat” (Dt.32:14)—

these are the legal traditions,

which are the substance of Torah.³

 

“And the blood of the grape you drank as wine” (Dt.32:14)—

this refers to the traditions of lore,

which, like wine, tug at the human heart.⁴

4

Another word:

“He ensconced it above the heights of the Land” (Dt.32:13)—

this refers to the world,

For it is said:

“The wild boar of the forest ruins it” (Ps.80:14).⁵

“And he will eat the yield of My fields” (Dt.32:13)—

this refers to the [taxes of the] four Empires.⁶

“And He suckled him on honey from a boulder,

And oil from a flinty rock” (Dt.32:13)—

These are the [Roman] oppressors,

who occupy the Land of Israel.

[They are skin-flints,] for whom

spending a perutah is like squeezing a stone.⁷

Yet, in a future tomorrow,

Israel will indeed inherit their wealth,

And will delight in it as if it were oil and honey.

“Curds of the herd” (Dt.32:14)—

this refers to their appointees and officers.⁸

“With the richest part of the wheat” (Dt.32:14)—

This refers to their clerics.⁹

“And rams” (Dt.32:14)—

this refers to their centurions.¹⁰

“And rams of Bashan” (Dt.32:14)—

this refers to their beneficiaries,¹¹

who extract the very crumbs between our teeth.¹²

“And billy-goats” (Dt.32:14)—

this refers to their senators.¹³

“With the richest part of the wheat” (Dt.32:14)—

this refers to their noble ladies.¹⁴

“And the blood of the grape you drank as wine” (Dt.32:14)—

Yet, in a future tomorrow,

Israel will indeed inherit their wealth,

And will delight in it as if it were oil and honey.

Another word:

“With the richest part¹⁵of the wheat” (Dt.32:14)—

In the future, each and every wheat berry

will be as fat as two large bull kidneys,

weighing in at four Sepphoran litra.

5

Now, should this surprise you,

consider the matter of turnip heads!

It once happened that

one turnip head weighed in at thirty Sepphoran litra!

It once happened that

a fox made his nest in a turnip head!

It once happened,

in Shikhin,¹⁶ that a certain mustard stalk had three twigs.

They split off one of them, and it provided shade for a potter’s hut.

They cracked it open and found within it

nine qavs of mustard seeds.

Said R. Shimon b. Halafta:

I had a stalk of cabbage in my house,

and I could climb up and down on it

like climbing up and down a ladder!

6

Another word:

“And the blood of the grape you drank as wine” (Dt.32:14)—

you will suffer no exhaustion,

either from treading or picking.

Rather, you’ll bring the vine

from the vineyard on a wagon,

set it up in the corner,

and proceed to drink from it

as you would drink from a barrel.

1. H:323-325;JN2:341-344.
2. //M. Avot6:9.
3. // M. Hag. 1:9; cf. T. Hag.1:9, M. Avot 3:18).
4. For other examples of midrashic naturalization of rabbinic intellectual skills with Scriptural texts, see Pisqa’ot 306.16, 306.18, 317.4, 344.2, etc.
5. The world is the implied object of Ps.80:10: “uproot its roots” as well as the boar’s depredations at Ps.80:14). Cf. renderings of Basser, p. 119 and H:498, Pisqa’ 317, n. 3.
6. That is, Persia, Media, Greece, and Rome. See Pisqa’ 313.5.
7. There is some degree of confusion about the textual situation. See F:360, critical apparatus, l.1, and Basser, p. 120.
8. “Appointee” or “governor” (Greek: hupatikos); “officer” (Greek: hegemon), cf. 327.1. See F:360, ns. 1, 3, 4, 5 for the Greek and Latin calques that underlie these official titles.
9. Greek: kiliarkos.
10. Latin: centurio
11. Latin: beneficiarii.,.
12. Heb: bein shinayim : Note the assonance with Bashan and beneficiarii
13. Greek: sunkletos.
14. Latin: matron.
15. Heb: kelayot; literally, “kidneys,” also “rich meat.”
16. Shikhin is near Sepphoris, in the upper Galilee.