Yalkut Shimoni on Torah

-Rabbi Dr. David Mevorach Seidenberg, from "Kabbalah and

Ecology"
-http://www.amazon.com/Kabbalah-Ecology-Image-MoreThan-Human-World/dp/1107081335
Yalkut Shimoni on Torah

... YHVH Elohim a parable to a king . . . who poured hot

and cold mixed into his [glass] cups and they withstood
(didnt break). Thus says the Holy One: If I create with the
quality of judgment (Elohim), how will the world stand? With
the quality of mercy (YHVH), then wont sin spread? Rather
here I will create it with the quality of judgment and the
quality of mercy may it only be that the world will stand!

... ... And every growth/siach of the field [Gn 2:5]All the
trees as it were /kilu are conversing/msichin, these with
these. All the trees as it were are conversing with the
creatures / `im habriyot. All the trees were created to give
pleasure to the creatures . . . All the conversations of the
creatures are about nothing except the land . . . All the
prayers of Israel are about nothing except the Temple/ beyt
hamiqdash.

... Said the Holy One [to Avram]: Up until now you have not
been whole beforeme, but circumcise the flesh of your
foreskin and be whole/tamim [Gn 17:1].

And he arrived at the place Why do we use a pseudonym

and call the Holy One place (makom)? Because He is the
place of the world and the world is not His place. R Yosi ben
Halifta said we dont know whether the Holy One is the
place of the world or if the world is His place. From that
which is written Behold, there is a place with Me
(Shemot 33:21) it appears that He is the place of the world
and the world is not His place. R Yitzchak said from that
which is written which are the abode for the God Who
precedes all (Devarim 33:21) we cannot know whether
the Holy One is the abode of the world or whether the world
is His abode. From that which is written O Lord, You have
been our dwelling place throughout all generations.
(Tehillim 90:1) we see that the Holy One is the abode of the
world and the world is not His abode. This is like a mighty
mounted warrior, whose armor and garments hang down
around his steed. The horse is secondary to the rider, the
rider is not secondary to the horse. This is that which is
written Only that You rode on Your steeds with Your
chariots of salvation. (Habakuk 3:8)

and he lay down in that place R Yehudah says here he

lay down, but all fourteen years that he was hidden away in

the land serving Ever he never laid down. R Nechemia

says here he lay down, but all twenty years that he was in
the House of Lavan he never laid down. And what would he
say? Fifteen songs of ascent which are in the Book of
Tehillim. And why the songs of ascent? As it says Had it
not been for the Lord Who was with us, let Israel declare
now, (Tehillim 124:1) this refers to grandfather Yisrael
(Yisrael Saba). R Shmuel bar Nachman said he would say
the whole Book of Tehillim, and for what reason? As it says
But You are holy; You await the praises of Israel, (Tehillim
22:4) this refers to grandfather Yisrael (Yisrael Saba).
Yaakov was seventy-seven when he left his house, and the
well went before him two days travel all the way from Beer
Sheva to Mount Moriah. He reached there at midday and
the Holy One encountered him there, as it says And he
arrived at the place (Bereshit 28:11) Why is the Holy One
known as place (makom) Because in every place where
the righteous stand, there the Holy One is found, as it says
Wherever I allow My name to be mentioned, I will come to
you and bless you. (Shemot 20:21) The Holy One said to
him Yaakov, the bread is in your bag and the well is before
you to eat and drink. Lay down in this place. He replied
Master of the world, right now when the sun is only a fifth
down, should I lay down in the place at the wrong time?!
The sun moved into the west and Yaakov looked and saw
the sun and lay down there, as it says and he lodged
there because the sun had set (Bereshit 28:11) Yaakov
took twelve stones from the stones of the altar upon which
Yitzchak was bound and placed them under his head. The
place (hamakom) came to make known to him that in the
future twelve tribes would rise out of him, and they were
made into one rock in order to make known to him that they
would all in the future be one nation in the land.

that he did not obey her (Bereshit 39:10) Rebbe said:

he listened to her but the Holy One brought the likeness of
his father and he was embarrassed and fled. The second
time he went in (to her) the Holy One lifted up the
foundation stone and said to him, if you touch her, behold I
will throw it down and destroy the world! This is what is
written, and his arms were gilded from the hands of the
Mighty One of Jacob; from there he sustained the rock of
Israel. (Bereshit 49:24) R Shmuel bar Nachmani said in the
name of R Yochanan: anyone who does one commandment
in this world, it precedes him and goes before home in the
World to Come as it says, and your righteousness shall
go before you (Isaiah 58:8) and anyone who
transgresses one transgression in this world it clings to him
and goes before him to the Day of Judgement as it says,
The paths of their way are held [by them]; they go up in
waste and are lost. (Job 6:18)

... Turn yourself back (away from) what you asked and dont
continue in this matter, as its written: Who

watches/shomer his mouth and his tongue, keeps/shomer

his soul from trouble [Pr 21:23].

...Rabi Pinchas and Rabi Chilkiyah said in the name of Rabi

Simon: the ministering angels gathered to Hashem and said
before Him: Master of the world, when is the beginning of
the year? And He said: Why do you ask Me? I and you
should ask the Court Below. And what is the meaning of
"like Hashem our G-d whenever we call upon Him,"--calling
upon Him is by the festivals, as it is said, "These are the
festivals of Hashem, a holy calling." Rav Krispa said in the
name of Rav Yochanan: in the past, these were the festivals
of Hashem; from now on, it is as you call them. If you call
them, they are My festivals, and if not, they are not My
festivals. "This month is for you"--you count according to it
and the nations of the world do not count according to it.
Rebbi said in the name of Rabi Yehuda bar Ilai: the way of
the world is that the greater count according to the greater,
and the smaller count according to the smaller. Eisav, who
is greater, counts according to the sun, which is greater,
and Yaakov, who is smaller, counts according to the moon,
which is smaller. Rav Nachman said: it's a good sign; the
greater one rules during the day and does not rule at night,
so too the wicked Eisav rules in This World and does not
rule in the World to Come. The smaller one rules by day and
by night, so too Yaakov rules in This World and in the World
to Come. Rav Nachman said: all the time that the light of
the greater one shines, the light of the smaller one is not
noticed; when the light of the greater one sets, the light of
the smaller one is noticed. So too as long as the light of
Eisav is shining, the light of Yaakov is not noticed; once
Eisav's light sets, the light of Yaakov is noticed, as it is said:
"Arise and give light..." This month [is the first of months:]
Rav Shmuel bar Abba said, every month that is begun from

six hours or less, the eye has power to see it. From six hours
or more, eyes have no power to see it. And the month that
Hashem said to Moshe [Nisan 2448] was begun from above
six hours, and no eye could see it; but Hashem showed it to
him with a finger and said to him, "this month....". Rav Acha
said in the name of Rav Shmuel bar Nachmani: the year
that Yisrael left Egypt, the months of the year and the
months of the period were equal. Rav Chiyya said in the
name of Rav Yochanan: Hashem wrapped Himself in a talis
with tzitzis and stood Moshe here and Aharon here, and
called to Michael and Gavriel, and He made them as if they
were the witnesses of the new moon. He said to them: how
did you see the moon? Before the sun or after the sun? To
its north or to its south? How much was it tilted, and how
wide was it?--He said to them, according to this order [of
questioning] your children will be sanctifying the month
Below; through an elder and through witnesses and through
a talis with tzitzis...

... R Yehoshua of Sachnin said in the name of R Levi: And I

placed My words into your mouth This refers to the
Torah. and with the shadow of My hand I covered you
(Isaiah 51:16) This refers to acts of loving kindness. This
comes to teach you that anyone who occupies himself with
Torah and acts of kindness merits to take shelter in the

shadow of the Holy One. This is what is written How

precious is Your kindness, O God, and the sons of man will
take refuge in the shadow of Your wings. (Psalms 36:8)
to plant the heavens and to found the earth this refers to
the offerings, as it says and to say to Zion you are My
people. (Isaiah 51:16) R Huna bar Pappa said: we went
over all of the Scripture and could not find anywhere that
Israel was called Zion. Where did we find it? and to say
to Zion you are My people.

... Said R' Levi: The Holy One Blessed Be He appeared to

them like a picture which is visible form all angles. A
thousand people may gaze on it and it gazes on all of them.
So is the Holy One Blesses Be He. When He spoke, every
individual Yisrael maintained: "He spoke to me!" "I am
Hashem your (plural) G-d" is not written here, rather " I am
Hashem your (singular) G-d". Said R' Yosi: In accordance
with each and everyone's personal capacities did the word
speak to him. Do not be astonished at the Manna which
came down on Yisrael - each one tasting the flavour that he
was capable of tasting - the infants in accordance with their
capacities... the young men in accordance with their

capacities... and the old in accordance with their capacities.

If that was so in the case of the Manna, that everyone
tasted the flavour that he could appreciate, the word (the
word of Hashem at the receiving of the Torah), all the more
so! Said (King) David (Psalm 29:4): " The Voice of Hashem is
in strength". It does not say "In HIS strength", but just
strength - in the strength (capacities) of each man.
..

...And the tables were the work of God. the tablets were not
created from earth (i.e. this physical world) rather from
heaven

Take the staff (Bamidbar 20:8) This is what the scripture

says The staff of your might the Lord will send from
Zion (Psalms 110:2) This is the staff which was in the
hand of our father Yaakov, as it says for with my staff I
crossed (Genesis 32:11) And it is the staff which was in
the hand of Yehudah, as it says Your signet, your cloak, and
the staff that is in your hand. (Genesis 38:18) And it was in
the hand of Moshe, as it says And you shall take this staff
in your hand (Exodus 4:17) And it was in the hand of

Aharon, as it says Aaron cast his staff (Exodus 7:10) And

it was in the hand of David, as it says And he took his staff
in his hand (Samuel I 17:40) And it was in the hand of
every king until the Holy Temple was destroyed, and so in
the future that very staff will be given to the King Messiah
and with it he will rule over the nations of the world in the
future. Therefore it says The staff of your might the Lord
will send from Zion (Psalms 110:2)

this good mountain and the Lebanon. Everyone called it

mountain. Avraham called it mountain, as it says On the
mountain, the Lord will be seen. (Bereshit 22:14) David
called it mountain, as it says Who will ascend upon the
Lord's mountain (Tehillim 24:3) Isaiah called it mountain,
as it says And it shall be at the end of the days, that the
mountain of the Lord's house shall be firmly established at
the top of the mountains (Yeshayahu 2:2) The nations
called it mountain, as it says And many peoples shall go,
and they shall say, "Come, let us go up to the Lord's
mountain (ibid 2:3) Levanon refers to the Holy Temple,
as it says You are [as] Gilead to me, O head of the
Levanon (Yirmiyahu 22:6) and it says and the
Levanon shall fall through a mighty one. (Yeshayahu 10:34)
And why is it called Levanon? Because it bleaches (malbin)
the sins of Israel like snow, as it says If your sins prove to

be like crimson, they will become white as snow

(Yeshayahu 1:18)
Pray let me cross over. The word nah indicates that this is a
request. the good land that is on the other side of the
Jordan. This is what R Yehudah meant when he said that
the land of Canaan is good, but not the portion of the
children of Reuven and Gad (which was on the east side of
the Jordan river). this good mountain. This refers to
Jerusalem. And the Lebanon. This refers to the Holy Temple,
as it says Open your doors, O Lebanon (Zechariah 11:1)
There are those who say that the Lebanon refers to the
appointing of a king. Pray let me cross over (eevrah nah)
and see. Everything which Moshe requested he did with a
language of supplication (nah) - Please forgive
(Bamidbar 14:19), I beseech you, God, please heal her.
(Bamidbar 12:13) Pray let me cross over (Devarim 3:25)
the mountain. This refers to the Holy Temple, as it says
for the mountain that God desired (Tehillim 68:17) Good.
This refers to Jerusalem, as it says let us be sated with
the goodness of Your house (Tehillim 65:5) The Lebanon.
This refers to the Holy of Holies, as it says Open your
doors, O Lebanon (Zechariah 11:1) R Simlai expounded:
why did Moshe our teacher desire to enter into the land of
Israel, did he need to eat its fruits or be sated from its
goodness? Rather, this is what Moshe said I gave many
commandments to Israel which cannot be fulfilled except in
the land. I will go in in order that they all be fulfilled at my
hands. The Holy One said to him if all you are asking for is
to receive the reward for these actions, I will consider it as if
you had done all of these commandments, as it says
Therefore, I will allot him a portion in public (Yeshayahu
53:12) I will give him his full reward. Maybe you will say
this is like the latter ones and not the earlier ones? The
verse continues and with the strong he shall share
plunder (ibid.) Like Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov who
were strong in Torah and fulfilling commandments.
because he poured out his soul to death (ibid.) He gave

himself over to death, as it says if not, erase me now

from Your book, which You have written. (Shemot 32:32)
and with transgressors he was counted (Yeshayahu
53:12) He was counted with the generation that died in the
wilderness. and he bore the sin of many (ibid.) He
gained atonement for the sin of the Golden Calf. and
interceded for the transgressors. (ibid.) He pleaded for
mercy on the behalf of the sinners in Israel that they should
repent. Intercession (pegiya) refers to prayer, as its says
And you, pray not on behalf of this people, neither lift up
cry nor prayer, and entreat Me not for I will not hear you.
(Yirmiyahu 7:16)

... For you have not yet come (Devarim 12:9) this was
said in order to permit private altars between the resting
place and the inheritance, because the resting place
refers to Shiloh and the inheritance is Jerusalem. Why did
the verse mention them separately? To permit private altars
between the two. Inheritance refers to Jerusalem, as its
says My inheritance was to Me like a lion in the forest
(Yirmiyahu 12:8) and it says Is My inheritance to Me a
speckled bird of prey? (Yirmiyahu 12:9) These are the
words of R Yehudah. R Shimon says the resting place is
Jerusalem and the inheritance is Shiloh, as it says This is
My resting place forever; here I shall dwell for I desired it,
(Tehillim132:14) and it says For the Lord has chosen Zion;
He desired it for His habitation. (Tehillim 132:13) The
opinion that the resting place is Shiloh makes sense, that is
why the verse says to the resting place and to the
inheritance. But according to the opinion that says that the
inheritance is Shiloh and the resting place Jerusalem, it

should have said to the inheritance and to the resting

place! That is a difficulty. The opinion that both refer to
Shiloh makes sense, because the resting place where they
ceased from the conquest and the inheritance where they
divided tribal portions, as it is written And Yehoshua cast
lots at Shiloh before the Lord; and there Yehoshua divided
the land (Yehoshua 18:10) But according to the opinion
that both refer to Jerusalem the inheritance is the eternal
inheritance, but the resting place? What does the resting
refer to? The resting of the ark, as it is written And now,
arise, O Lord God to Your resting place, You and the Ark of
Your might (Divre HaYamim II 6:41) The opinion that both
refer to Jerusalem makes sense, because while the
Tabernacle was at Shiloh private altars were permitted, as it
is written And Manoah took the kid goat and the mealoffering, and offered it upon the rock to the Lord (Shoftim
13:19) But the according to the opinion that both refer to
Shiloh, then private altars were forbidden while the
Tabernacle was there and how do we understand Manoahs
act? It was a temporary injunction. The House of R
Yishmael taught like the opinion of R Shimon bar Yochai
that both refer to Jerusalem, and your sign is: one man
pulled many to him