Class 12 - Barukh El Elyon - Bringing the Blessings of Heaven Down to Earth

And blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your foes into your hand.” And [Abram] gave him a tenth of everything.

“Praised be GOD who has granted a haven to Israel—God’s people—just as promised; not a single word has failed of all the gracious promises that were made through God’s servant Moses.

So Moses took the redemption money from those over and above the ones redeemed by the Levites;

If ransom is imposed, the owner must pay whatever is imposed to redeem the owner’s own life.

Panic and pitfall are our lot, death and destruction.

And GOD’s ransomed shall return, and come with shouting to Zion, crowned with joy everlasting. They shall attain joy and gladness, while sorrow and sighing flee.

So let GOD’s ransomed return, and come with shouting to Zion, crowned with joy everlasting. Let them attain joy and gladness, while sorrow and sighing flee.

But I will bring healing to you and cure you of your wounds—declares GOD. Though they called you “Outcast, that Zion whom no one seeks out,”

How long will you grieve my spirit, and crush me with words?

(12) Observe the sabbath day and keep it holy, as your God ה׳ has commanded you. (13) Six days you shall labor and do all your work, (14) but the seventh day is a sabbath of your God ה׳; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your ox or your ass, or any of your cattle, or the stranger in your settlements, so that your male and female slave may rest as you do. (15) Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and your God ה׳ freed you from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore your God ה׳ has commanded you to observe the sabbath day.

If your offering is a meal offering on a griddle, it shall be of choice flour with oil mixed in, unleavened.

When a person presents an offering of meal to ה׳: The offering shall be of choice flour; the offerer shall pour oil upon it, lay frankincense on it,

Rabbi Yitzḥak says: For what reason is the meal offering different from other offerings in that the term “an individual [nefesh]” is stated with regard to it? The Holy One, Blessed be He, said: Whose practice is it to bring a meal offering? It is that of a poor individual; and I will ascribe him credit as if he offered up his soul [nafsho] in front of Me.

Sing to God, chant hymns to His name; extol Him who rides the clouds; the LORD is His name. Exult in His presence—

Aravot, skies, is the firmament that contains righteousness; justice; righteousness, i.e., charity; the treasuries of life; the treasuries of peace; the treasuries of blessing; the souls of the righteous; the spirits and souls that are to be created; and the dew that the Holy One, Blessed be He, will use to revive the dead...There, in the firmaments, are the ofanim, the seraphim, the holy divine creatures, and the ministering angels, and the Throne of Glory. The King, God, the living, lofty, exalted One dwells above them in Aravot, as it is stated: “Extol Him Who rides upon the skies [Aravot], Whose name is God” (Psalms 68:5)...

Your kingship is an eternal kingship; your dominion is for all generations.

He said, ‘Please let me go, for we are going to have a family feast in our town and my brother has summoned me to it. Do me a favor, let me slip away to see my kinsmen.’ That is why he has not come to the king’s table.”

Truly, GOD is waiting to show you grace, truly, to arise and pardon you. For GOD is a God of justice; happy are all who wait, in turn.

The principle of double payment applies more broadly than the principle of fourfold or fivefold payment, as the principle of double payment applies both to the theft of something that is alive and to the theft of something that is not alive, but the principle of fourfold or fivefold payment applies only to the theft of an ox or a sheep...

A Psalm, a song for the Sabbath day...Rabbi Yitzchak said, "Every engagement of the Sabbath is doubled." The omer offering is doubled (Leviticus 23:16), [combining] the two omer offerings into one. Its sacrifice is doubled (Numbers 28:9), with two lambs offered on the Sabbath day. Its punishment is doubled (Exodus 31:14), one who violates it shall surely be put to death. Its reward is doubled (Isaiah 58:13), "And you shall call the Sabbath a delight, the holy [day] of the Lord honored." Its warnings are doubled, "Remember" and "Keep." Its Psalm is doubled, "A Psalm, a song for the Sabbath day."...

then Solomon declared: “GOD has chosen to abide in a thick cloud:

So the people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick cloud where God was.

Start out and make your way to the hill country of the Amorites and to all their neighbors in the Arabah, the hill country, the Shephelah, the Negeb, the seacoast, the land of the Canaanites, and the Lebanon, as far as the Great River, the river Euphrates.

The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping on his hip.

As for the foreigners who are joined to GOD, to render service, and to love GOD’s name, to be devoted servants—All who keep the sabbath and do not profane it, and who hold fast to My covenant—

In the case of one who slaughters a domesticated animal, an undomesticated animal, or a bird, and blood did not emerge from them during the slaughter, all of these are permitted for consumption and do not require the ritual washing of the hands as they may be eaten with ritually impure [mesoavot] hands, because they were not rendered susceptible to ritual impurity through contact with blood, which is one of the seven liquids that render food susceptible to impurity. Rabbi Shimon says: They were rendered susceptible to ritual impurity by means of the slaughter itself.

GEMARA: The reason that they may be eaten with ritually impure hands is that blood did not emerge from the animals or birds during the slaughter; but if blood emerged from them during slaughter, they may not be eaten with ritually impure hands. The Gemara asks: Why not? Ordinary hands are impure with second-degree ritual impurity and an item of second-degree impurity cannot impart third-degree impurity to non-sacred items with which it comes into contact. The Gemara clarifies: From where is it ascertained that we are dealing in the mishna with non-sacred food, and not with the slaughter of an offering? That is clear, as the tanna teaches in the list of those slaughtered: An undomesticated animal. As, if the tanna is referring to the slaughter of sacrificial animals and birds, is there any undomesticated animal included in the framework of sacrificial animals? And furthermore, if the tanna is referring to sacrificial animals, when no blood emerges from them are the offerings valid? The offering itself requires blood, as it is only through the presenting of the blood upon the altar that the offering is accepted. And furthermore, if the tanna is referring to sacrificial animals, when blood emerges from them, does it render them susceptible to ritual impurity? But doesn’t Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba say that Rabbi Yoḥanan says: From where is it derived that the blood of sacrificial animals does not render food susceptible to ritual impurity? It is derived from a verse, as it is stated: “You shall not eat it; you shall pour it upon the earth like water” (Deuteronomy 12:24). Blood of a non-sacred animal, which is poured like water when it is slaughtered, renders food susceptible to ritual impurity. By contrast, blood of a sacrificial animal, which is not poured like water but is presented on the altar, does not render food susceptible to ritual impurity. And furthermore, if the tanna is referring to sacrificial animals, when blood does not emerge from them are they not nevertheless rendered susceptible to ritual impurity? Let them be rendered susceptible to ritual impurity by means of regard for sanctity, as we maintain that regard for sanctity renders food suceptible to ritual impurity even in the absence of contact with any of the seven liquids.

you shall answer, ‘Your servant Jacob’s; they are a gift sent to my lord Esau; and [Jacob] himself is right behind us.’”

O LORD, my crag, my fortress, my rescuer, my God, my rock in whom I seek refuge, my shield, my mighty champion, my haven.

Happy are those whose way is blameless, who follow the teaching of the LORD.

(1) King David was now old, advanced in years...(5) Now Adonijah son of Haggith went about boasting, “I will be king!” He provided himself with chariots and horses, and an escort of fifty outrunners.

“Now Adonijah, son of Haggith, exalted himself, saying: I will be king” (I Kings 1:5). Rav Yehuda says that Rav says: The term “exalted himself” teaches that he sought for the monarchy to fit him, but it did not fit him.

Trust in GOD—for ever and ever, for in Yah—GOD—you have an everlasting Rock.

He (R' Chanina ben Dosa) used to say: one with whom men are pleased, God is pleased. But anyone from whom men are displeased, God is displeased...

Remember the sabbath day and keep it holy.

The sacral vestments of Aaron shall pass on to his sons after him, for them to be anointed and ordained in.

You shall keep the sabbath, for it is holy for you. One who profanes it shall be put to death: whoever does work on it, that person shall be cut off from among kin.

Rabbi Ḥanina would wrap himself in his garment and stand at nightfall on Shabbat eve, and say: Come and we will go out to greet Shabbat the queen...

All the choice first fruits of every kind, and all the gifts of every kind—of all your contributions—shall go to the priests. You shall further give the first of the yield of your baking to the priest, that a blessing may rest upon your home.

On six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there shall be a sabbath of complete rest, a sacred occasion. You shall do no work; it shall be a sabbath of ה׳ throughout your settlements.

but the seventh day is a sabbath of your God ה׳: you shall not do any work—you, your son or daughter, your male or female slave, or your cattle, or the stranger who is within your settlements.