Pisqa’ 346¹

1

“Now, He² became a king in Jeshurun” (Dt.33:5)—

when Israel is of one mind here below,

His great Name is praised on high,

as it is said:

“Now, He became a king in Jeshurun” (Dt.33:5).

When?

“As the leaders of the people gather together” (Dt.33:5).

Actually, gathering, already implies the leaders of the people,

as it is said:

“Then HASHEM spoke to Moses:

Take all the leaders of the people and impale them in broad daylight” (Nu.25:4).

Another word:

When the Patriarch³ convenes the elders in judgment

in the convocation here below,

His great Name is praised on high,

As it is said:

“Now, He became a king in Jeshurun” (Dt.33:5).

When?

“As the leaders of the people gather together” (Dt.33:5).

Actually, gathering, applies to a gathering of elders,

[such as the Sanhedrin of seventy elders].

As it is said:

“And gather for me seventy men of the elders of Israel” (Nu.11:16)

2

“Together are the tribes of Israel” (Dt.33:5)—

When they are bound into a single band (‘agudah),

But not when they are broken into several bands.

And so does He say:

“When He builds in the Heavens His upper room,

and His band (‘agudato) is founded in the Earth” (Am.9:6)⁴

R. Shimon b. Yohai says:

An analogy—

A certain man brought together two ships.

He tied them to anchors and iron weights,

placing them on the high seas,

and he built upon them palaces.

As long as the ships were tied to each other, the palaces lasted.

When the ships were separated from each other, the palaces did not last.

So, too, Israel:

When they perform the will of the All-Present,

“He builds his upper room in the Heavens” (Amos 9:6);

yet, when they do not perform the will of the All-Present

—so to speak—

“His band is bound to (yesadah)⁵ the Earth” (Am.9:6).⁶

3

And, similarly, He says:

“This is my God and I will declare His beauty (‘aneweihu)” (Ex.15:2)—

that is, when I [sincerely] acknowledge Him, so to speak, He is lovely (na’eh).⁷

But when I do not acknowledge Him

—so to speak—

He is lovely in name only.⁸

And, similarly:

“Upon the Name of HASHEM do I call” (Dt.32:3)

When I call upon His Name, He is great;

but if not

—so to speak—

{He is not great}⁹.

And, similarly:

“You are my witnesses, says HASHEM, and I am God” (Is.43:12)—

when you are My witnesses, I am God;

but if you are not my witnesses

—so to speak—

I am not God.

And similarly:

“Towards You I raise my eyes, One Who dwells in the Heavens.” (Ps.123:1)—

were it not for me

—so to speak—

You would not be dwelling in the Heavens!

And here, too, you can say:

“Together are the tribes of Israel” (Dt.33:5)—

when they are bound into a single band,

but not when they are broken into several bands!

1. H:358-359; JN2:418-419.
2. In the context of the verse, the pronoun seems to refer to God, as in JPS. The rabbinic reading supports this rendering.
3. Heb: nasi’. In biblical Hebrew, the title, nasi’, can refer to a tribal chief (e.g., Lv. 4:20-26; Num. 7:2 ff.) or to an office equivalent to king (melekh),as in Ezek.45:7-12). In rabbinic literature, the term generally refers to the Roman appointed “Patriarch ,” as in R. Judah the Nasi’.
4. // M. Avot 3:6.
5. The root, y-s-d bears the sense of “foundation.” In the midrashic exploration of Amos 9:6, here and above, the root does double-duty, bearing a negative connotation of “earth-bound” as well as a positive connotation of “well-grounded.”
6. Cf. Avot 3:6 and Pisqa’ 346.2 above.
7. Na’eh (n-‘-h; “beauty”) and ‘aneweihu (n-w-h: “to dwell”) share assonance, but not a common root meaning. The midrashic reading here, which the translation attempts to convey, seems to incorporate ‘aneweihu into the semantic field of n-‘-h.
8. //Mechilta Ishmael, shirah, 3.
9. The bracketed phrase is scribally-abbreviated in some versions.