Sotah 37a — the Talmud in English

He jumped ![](pamud.bmp "

exact page location")

the tribe of Benjamin, and descended into the sea first.

As it is stated

Psalms 68:25]: “They saw Your ways, O God, the ways of my God, my King, in holiness. Then the leaders went first [Israel went first to say the song], after the musicians [and after them the angels], among maidens playing timbrels [these are Miriam and her maidens]. In assemblies bless God, the Lord, from the source of Israel [even those still passing from their mother’s womb said the song]”—

There,

on the sea,

Benjamin,

the

youngest,

became

ruler over them [the dalet has a tzeri and it is like with a kamatz, that is, he ruled over them; because of that—from the fact that he jumped into the sea—Benjamin merited that Saul emerged from him, who was king over Israel]”.

the dalet is vocalized with a tzere, and it is equivalent to vocalization with a kamatz, meaning that he ruled over them. Since he jumped into the sea, Benjamin merited that Saul should emerge from him, and he was king over Israel]”.

Do not read “

the

read it as

rōdem,”

but rather “

rad yam”—“he descended into the sea.”

And the leaders of Judah

were jealous of them, and

stoned them

with stones,

as it is stated

[in the continuation of the verse]: “

The leaders of Judah stoned them

[they were stoning them], and the leaders of Zebulun, the leaders of Naphtali”?

Therefore the righteous Benjamin merited and became a host

[lodging place]

for the Divine Presence,

the Holy of Holies being built in his portion,

as it is stated: “And to Benjamin he said: The beloved of the Lord shall dwell securely upon him; He protects him all day

and between his shoulders He dwells.”

and He dwells between his shoulders."

Rabbi Judah said to

Rabbi Meir:

The incident did not happen that way!

Rather,

the tribe

would say: “

I will not descend first

into the sea

until it has split,” and

the

tribe

would say: “

I will not descend first into the sea.”

Nahshon son of Amminadav jumped

from the tribe of Judah,

and descended into the sea first.

As it is stated: “

Ephraim surrounds me with deceit, and the house of Israel with guile

[Ephraim and the house of Israel surround me with deceit and guile, for they were afraid to rely upon the Almighty and denied their faith in Him],

but Judah

[however, Judah]

still rules with God

[he descended into the sea with his trust in God].”

And concerning him it is explicitly stated in the received tradition

[Psalms 69:1]: “

For the leader, concerning the roses, of David.

Save me, O God, for the waters have reached the soul.

I have sunk in the mire of the deep, and there is no foothold

[there is no place to stand]; I have entered the depths of waters, and the stream [the forceful flood of the waters] swept me away,” and it is written there: “

Let not the stream of waters sweep me away, and let not the deep swallow me,

and let not the pit close [shut] its mouth over me.”

At that time Moses was prolonging his prayer. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: My beloved ones are drowning in the sea, and you are prolonging your prayer before Me!?

Moses said before Him

Moses:

Master of the Universe! And what is in my power to do!?

He said to him

the Almighty to Moses: “[And the Lord said to Moses: Why do you cry out to Me?]

Speak to the children of Israel, and let them journey.

And you, raise your staff and stretch out your hand

over the sea and split it, and the children of Israel shall come into the midst of the sea on dry land.”

Therefore Judah merited—

for Nahshon son of Amminadav was from his tribe—

to exercise rulership in Israel,

for the kingship of the House of David emerged from him.

As it is stated: “

When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language.

Judah became His sanctuary, Israel His dominions.

The sea saw and fled; the Jordan turned backward”—

What is the reason that “

Judah became His sanctuary”

and “

Israel His dominions,”

that is: What is the reason Judah was sanctified so that Israel would be His dominions?

Because “

the sea saw and fled.”

Here the Gemara returns to the matter of the blessings and curses of the Levites:

It was taught: Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov says:

It is impossible to say

that the entire tribe of

Levi was below

between the two mountains, Gerizim and Ebal—

for it has already been stated

in the verse that the tribe of Levi was

above

on Mount Gerizim, as it is stated [Deuteronomy 27:12]: “These shall stand to bless the people on Mount Gerizim when you cross the Jordan: Simeon and Levi and Judah and Issachar and Joseph and Benjamin.”

And

also,

it is impossible to say

that the entire tribe of Levi was

above

on Mount Gerizim—

for it has already been stated

concerning them that they were

below

between the two mountains, as it is stated in the Book of Joshua [8:33]: “And all Israel and its elders and officers and judges stood on this side and on that side of the Ark, opposite the Levitical priests who carried the Ark of the House of the Lord, the stranger as the native, half toward Mount Gerizim and half toward Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord commanded, to bless the people of Israel first.”

How then

shall these two verses be reconciled?

The elders of the priesthood and the Levites

were

below

between the two mountains,

and the remainder

of the tribe of Levi were

above.

Rabbi Josiah says:

Everyone fit to serve

[to carry the Ark] from the tribe of Levi—that is, from the age of thirty until the age of fifty—were

below, and the remainder

of the tribe of Levi were

above.

Rabbi—

who disagrees with what we learned, that six tribes stood on Mount Gerizim and six tribes stood on Mount Ebal—

says:

Both these and those—

all Israel and all the Levites—

stood below

between the two mountains, but:

they turned their faces toward Mount Gerizim and began with the blessing.

And they turned their faces

toward Mount Ebal and began with the curse.

And

what [is the meaning of] “These shall stand to bless the people

These shall stand to bless the people

on Mount Gerizim,” and “These shall stand

and “These shall stand

on

the curse

Mount Ebal for the curse”?

“On”

is

adjacent.

And where do we find “on” meaning adjacent?

As it was taught:

It is written concerning the mitzva of the showbread: “And you shall take fine flour and bake it, twelve loaves; two-tenths shall be in each loaf. And you shall place them in two rows, six to a row, on the pure table before the Lord.

And you shall place on the row pure frankincense,

and it shall be for the bread as a memorial portion, a fire-offering to the Lord.”

Rabbi says: “

On”

the row does not mean upon it, but

adjacent

to the row—that is, on the table, between the two rows.

Do you say: “on” means adjacent, or does it mean only literally upon?

That is: And where do we find “on” meaning adjacent!?

When it says

[Exodus 40:3]: “And you shall place there [in the Tabernacle] the Ark of the Testimony,

and you shall screen the Ark

with the curtain,” it is impossible to explain it according to its plain meaning, that he should place it upon the Ark, for the curtain is a partition between the Holy and the Holy of Holies, as it is stated [Exodus 26:33]: “And you shall place the curtain beneath the clasps, and you shall bring there, within the curtain, the Ark of the Testimony; and the curtain shall separate for you between the Holy and the Holy of Holies.”

You must say: “

On”

is

adjacent.

We learned in the Mishna:

They turned their faces toward Mount Gerizim

and began with the blessing: “Blessed is the man who does not make an idol or a molten image,” and both these and those answered, “Amen.” They turned their faces toward Mount Ebal and began with the curse: “Cursed is the man who makes an idol or a molten image,” and both these and those answered, “Amen,” until they completed the blessings and curses:

“Blessed is the person who does not make a graven image or a molten image,” and both these and those answered, “Amen.” They turned their faces toward Mount Ebal and began with the curse: “Cursed is the person who makes a graven image or a molten image,” and both these and those answered, “Amen,” until they completed the blessings and the curses:

After the curses concerning several mitzvot, which are called “the particular curse,” it is written: “Cursed is the one who does not uphold the words of this Torah to perform them,” and this is “the general curse,” which includes the entire Torah.

The Sages taught:

For every mitzva and mitzva there is

a general blessing

and

a particular blessing,

and

a general curse

and

a particular curse, for just as they would say: “A general curse and a particular curse,” so too with the blessing they would say: “Blessed is the one who upholds the words of this Torah to perform them,” in addition to the blessings that they would say concerning each “particular curse.”

for just as they would say a general curse and a specific curse, so too, with the blessing they would say: “Blessed is the one who upholds the words of this Torah to perform them,” in addition to the blessings they would say for each specific curse.

And every mitzva and mitzva contains several parts: 1.

to learn; 2.

2.

and to teach; 3.

3.

to safeguard; 4.

4.

and to perform,

and a covenant was made concerning all of them.