Pisqa’ 342¹

1

“And this is the blessing that Moses . . . bestowed . . . before his death” (Dt.33:1).

Insofar as Moses at first spoke to Israel with harsh words,²

[as it is said:],

““Sucked dry by famine, ravaging plague” (Dt.32:24);

“Outside, the sword orphans its victims” (Dt.32:25);

“How, at Horeb, you angered HASHEM your God . . .” (Dt.9:8);

“You have been rebellious against HASHEM” (Dt.9:7)—

he then went and spoke comforting words to them,

[as it is said:]

“And this is the blessing that Moses . . . bestowed” (Dt.33:1).

And all the Prophets learned from Moses.

For they would begin speaking to Israel with harsh words,

and then go and speak comforting words to them.³

2

Now, you can’t find, among all the Prophets,

another whose words were as harsh as Hosea’s!

At first, he said to them:

“Give them, HASHEM, whatever You give them—

orphaned wombs and shrivelled dugs” (Hos.9:14).

But, he then went and spoke comforting words to them,

[as it is said:]

“[Israel’s] boughs shall branch out far,

his beauty will compare to the olive tree,

and he will be redolent of Lebanon” (Hos.14:7).

And, continuing:

“Those who dwelled beneath his shade will return,

to flourish with the grain and to blossom like the vine;

his scent like the wine of Lebanon” (Hos.14:7).

And, moreover:

“I will heal them from their back-sliding, I will love them freely! . . .

I will be like the dew for Israel, who will flower like a lily.” (Hos.14:5-6)

3

And in this way, too, did Joel speak to them:

“Listen up, you elders!

Lend and ear, all you who dwell in the Land!

Has anything like this happened in your days,

or in the days of your fathers?

Recount it to your children, and their children to theirs,

and their children to the next generation!” (Joel.1:1-2)

And, continuing:

“What the cutter has left over, the locust has consumed.

And what the locust spares, the worm has devoured” (Joel.1:4).

But, he then went and spoke comforting words to them,

[as it is said:]

“And I will repay to you the years consumed

by the locust and the worm, by the grub and the cutter!” (Joel.2:25).

4

And in this way, too, did Amos speak to them:

“Listen to this word, you cows of Bashan,⁴

who inhabit the Samarian hill-country!

You, who defraud the down-trodden, who rob the paupers,

who say to their masters—bring on the drinks!” (Amos 4:1).

But, he then went and spoke comforting words to them,

[as it is said:]

“Now, days are approaching . . .

when the plowman will bump into the reaper” (Amos 9:13).

5

And in this way, too, did Micah speak to them:

“You hate good and love evil! You have stolen their skin from off of them!

(Mic.3:2-3).

And, continuing:

“and their flesh off their bones!” (Mic.3:3)

But, he then went and spoke comforting words to them,

[as it is said:]

“And who is a God like You!

Forgiving iniquity and remitting transgression;

who has not retained His wrath forever,

against the remnant of His portion, for he desires kindness.

May He return to us in love, and repress our transgressions,

casting into the depths of the sea all their sins” (Mic.7:18-19)

6

And in this way, too, did Jeremiah speak to them:

“And I will silence in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem

the sound of mirth and gladness, the voice of bridegroom and bride (Jer.7:34).”

But, he then went and spoke comforting words to them,

[as it is said:]

“Then shall maidens dance gaily, young men and old alike” (Jer.31:12-13).

Is it possible to say that,

after offering words of comfort to them,

they might yet again go and speak words of rebuke ⁵to them?

The Teaching states:

“Thus shall Babylon go under, never to rise again,

because of the disaster that I will bring upon her . . .

Thus far are the words of Jeremiah” (Jer.51:64)—

I would conclude from this that

after offering words of comfort to them,

[the Prophets] will not go and speak

words of rebuke to them!

7

“And this is the blessing that Moses . . . bestowed” (Dt.33:1)—

indeed, the word, this, adds [a second] to the first blessing

that their father, Jacob, bestowed upon them!

[As it is said:]

“And this is what their father said to them, while bestowing their blessings” (Gn.49:28).

It turns out that we learn:

The point at which Father Jacob concluded his blessing of Israel,

from that very point did Moses begin!

For it is said:

“This is the blessing . . . he bestowed.”

“And this is the blessing that Moses . . . bestowed” (Dt.33:1)—

indeed, this adds [a second] to the first blessing [bestowed by Moses]!

Now, which one is that?

“A prayer of Moses, the man of God” (Ps.90:1)

Now, the resolution of the matter hinges upon an ambiguity!

For we do not know if a prayer precedes a blessing [in importance]

or if a blessing precedes a prayer!

When He says:

“And this is the blessing” (Dt.33:1)—

I would conclude that, indeed,

a prayer precedes a blessing in importance,

[since a blessing is added to a prayer],

but a blessing does not precede a prayer!

8

“That Moses bestowed” (Dt.33:1)—

had others bestowed the blessing upon Israel,

their blessing would have been deserved.

But instead, Moses had blessed them himself.

Thus, it so happens that,

indeed, Moses was capable of blessing Israel,

and Israel deserved to be blessed by Moses.

9

“The man of God” (Ps.90:1)—

this is one of ten instances of a person identified as a man of God:

 

Moses is called a man of God—

“A prayer of Moses, the man of God” (Ps.90:1);

 

Elkanah is called a man of God—

“And the man of God came to Eli” (1Sam.2:27);

 

Samuel is called a man of God—

“For, indeed, a man of God is in this city” (1Sam.9:6);

 

David is called a man of God,

as it is said:

“According to the command of David, the man of God” (Neh.12:24);

 

Shemaiah is called a man of God,

as it is said:

“Now the word of HASHEM came to Shemaiah, the man of God” (1Ki.12:22);

 

Ido is called a man of God,

as it is said:

“For, indeed, a man of God came from Judah with the word of HASHEM” (1Ki.13:1);

 

Elijah is called a man of God,

as it is said:

“And now, man of God, let my life be precious” (2Ki.1:13);

 

Elisha is called a man of God,

as it is said:

“See, now—I am sure he is a man of the Holy God!” (2Ki.4:9);

 

Micah is called a man of God,

as it is said:

“And the man of God drew near, and he spoke to the king of Israel (1Ki.20:28);

 

Amotz is called a man of God,

as it is said:

“Then the man of God came to him saying:

O king! The army of Israel should not go with you” (2Chron.25:7).⁶    

10

“Before his death” (Dt.33:1).

Now, can you imagine that

Moses would have blessed Israel after his death!

Actually, when the Teaching states:

“Before his death,”

the point is:

“Close to the time of his death.”

And we have a similar example:

“Get ready! I am sending you Elijah the Prophet,

before the coming of the day of HASHEM” (Mal.3:23).

Now, can you imagine that

Elijah would prophesy to them after the coming of that day?

The Teaching states:

“Before the coming of the day of HASHEM” (Mal.3:23)—

that is, close to its coming.

1. H:349-351; JN2:401-404
2. Heb: devarim qashim; cf. 342.6 below, and the synonymous divrei tochakhah.
3. Pisqa’ 342.1-10 offers a grand midrashic history of Israel’s prophets who, on the model of Moses, began their prophetic careers as rebukers and became consolers. The unit is parallel to Pisqa 1.2 ff. in bulk and complements it thematically, by focusing on Moses’ example of offering “harsh words” as an initial response to Israel’s sin, followed by words of comfort (divrei nikhumim)
4. “The cows of Bashan” is a satirical reference to the noble women of Samaria who, according to Amos, embody the easy sexuality attributed to Samarians in general and the Bashan in particular. Another epithet, “the bulls of Bashan,” (Ps.22:12), reveals Bashan as a place of power and cruelty, also part of the idolatrous and licentious image of Bashan in the biblical literature.
5. Heb: divrei tochakhah, in context synonymous with devarim            qashim (“harsh words”), the term preferred at 342.1-2. Cf. Pisqa’ 1:1-2 ff.
6. //ARNB:37.