האמת והשלום אהבו (זכריה ח, יט)

(1) Joseph flung himself upon his father’s face and wept over him and kissed him. (2) Then Joseph ordered the physicians in his service to embalm his father, and the physicians embalmed Israel. (3) It required forty days, for such is the full period of embalming. The Egyptians bewailed him seventy days; (4) and when the wailing period was over, Joseph spoke to Pharaoh’s court, saying, “Do me this favor, and lay this appeal before Pharaoh: (5) ‘My father made me swear, saying, “I am about to die. Be sure to bury me in the grave which I made ready for myself in the land of Canaan.” Now, therefore, let me go up and bury my father; then I shall return.’” (6) And Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you promise on oath.” (7) So Joseph went up to bury his father; and with him went up all the officials of Pharaoh, the senior members of his court, and all of Egypt’s dignitaries, (8) together with all of Joseph’s household, his brothers, and his father’s household; only their children, their flocks, and their herds were left in the region of Goshen. (9) Chariots, too, and horsemen went up with him; it was a very large troop. (10) When they came to Goren ha-Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, they held there a very great and solemn lamentation; and he observed a mourning period of seven days for his father. (11) And when the Canaanite inhabitants of the land saw the mourning at Goren ha-Atad, they said, “This is a solemn mourning on the part of the Egyptians.” That is why it was named Abel-mizraim, which is beyond the Jordan. (12) Thus his sons did for him as he had instructed them. (13) His sons carried him to the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, the field near Mamre, which Abraham had bought for a burial site from Ephron the Hittite. (14) After burying his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers and all who had gone up with him to bury his father. (15) When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph still bears a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrong that we did him!” (16) So they sent this message to Joseph, “Before his death your father left this instruction: (17) So shall you say to Joseph, ‘Forgive, I urge you, the offense and guilt of your brothers who treated you so harshly.’ Therefore, please forgive the offense of the servants of the God of your father.” And Joseph was in tears as they spoke to him. (18) His brothers went to him themselves, flung themselves before him, and said, “We are prepared to be your slaves.” (19) But Joseph said to them, “Have no fear! Am I a substitute for God? (20) Besides, although you intended me harm, God intended it for good, so as to bring about the present result—the survival of many people. (21) And so, fear not. I will sustain you and your children.” Thus he reassured them, speaking kindly to them. (22) So Joseph and his father’s household remained in Egypt. Joseph lived one hundred and ten years. (23) Joseph lived to see children of the third generation of Ephraim; the children of Machir son of Manasseh were likewise born upon Joseph’s knees. (24) At length, Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. God will surely take notice of you and bring you up from this land to the land that He promised on oath to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” (25) So Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “When God has taken notice of you, you shall carry up my bones from here.” (26) Joseph died at the age of one hundred and ten years; and he was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt.

“…and he made for his father a mourning of seven days.” (Genesis 50:10) Why do we mourn for seven days? In parallel to the seven days of feasting. The Holy One said to them: in this world you shared the pain of this righteous one and mourned for him seven days, in the coming world I will transform that mourning to joy, as it says “…and I will turn their mourning into joy and will comfort them and make them rejoice from their sorrow.” (Jeremiah 31:12) And just as I console you, so I will console Zion and all her waste places in the manner that it says,” For the Lord shall console Zion, He shall console all its ruins, and He shall make its desert like a paradise and its wasteland like the garden of the Lord; joy and happiness shall be found therein, thanksgiving and a voice of song.” (Isaiah 51:3)

§ The Sages taught: How does one dance before the bride, i.e., what does one recite while dancing at her wedding? Beit Shammai say: One recites praise of the bride as she is, emphasizing her good qualities. And Beit Hillel say: One recites: A fair and attractive bride. Beit Shammai said to Beit Hillel: In a case where the bride was lame or blind, does one say with regard to her: A fair and attractive bride? But the Torah states: “Keep you from a false matter” (Exodus 23:7). Beit Hillel said to Beit Shammai: According to your statement, with regard to one who acquired an inferior acquisition from the market, should another praise it and enhance its value in his eyes or condemn it and diminish its value in his eyes? You must say that he should praise it and enhance its value in his eyes and refrain from causing him anguish. From here the Sages said: A person’s disposition should always be empathetic with mankind, and treat everyone courteously. In this case too, once the groom has married his bride, one praises her as being fair and attractive.

(17) and I have declared: I will take you out of the misery of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey.’ (18) They will listen to you; then you shall go with the elders of Israel to the king of Egypt and you shall say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, manifested Himself to us. Now therefore, let us go a distance of three days into the wilderness to sacrifice to the LORD our God.’

...“And the Lord said to him: Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark [tav] upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry on account of all the abominations that are done in her midst” (Ezekiel 9:4). The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to the angel Gabriel: Go and inscribe a tav of ink on the foreheads of the righteous as a sign so that the angels of destruction will not have dominion over them. And inscribe a tav of blood on the foreheads of the wicked as a sign so that the angels of destruction will have dominion over them...And what is different about the letter tav, that it was inscribed on the foreheads of the righteous? Rav said: Tav is the first letter of the word tiḥye, you shall live, indicating that the righteous shall live. Tav is also the first letter of the word tamut, you shall die, indicating that the wicked shall die. And Shmuel said: The letter tav is the first letter of the word tama, ceased, indicating that the merit of the Patriarchs has ceased and will not help the wicked. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The letter tav is the first letter of the word taḥon, will have mercy, indicating that due to the merit of the Patriarchs God will have mercy on the righteous. And Reish Lakish said: The letter tav is the last letter of the seal of the Holy One, Blessed be He, as Rabbi Ḥanina said: The seal of the Holy One, Blessed be He, is truth [emet], which ends with the letter tav.

It was taught in the Tosefta: There is no greeting [shalom] others permitted in the bathhouse. The Gemara comments that this statement supports the opinion of Rav Hamnuna in the name of Ulla, who said: It is forbidden for a person to greet [shalom] his friend in the bathhouse because Shalom is one of the names of God, as it is stated: “And Gideon built there an altar for God and he called Him Lord Shalom” (Judges 6:24). Therefore, it is prohibited to utter the word shalom in a dishonorable place.

(9) Said Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai: Peace is so great that all blessings are included in it (Ps. 29:11) “Hashem will give strength to His people, Hashem will bless His people with peace”. Hizkiah said two things. Hizkiah said: Peace is so great that all mitzvot are written [in the conditional form] (Exodus 23:4-5) “If you see” “If you encounter” (Deut. 22:6) “If you happen by” – if a mitzvah came to your hand, you are bound to do it. However, here (Ps. 34:15) “Seek peace and pursue it.” Seek – [this word applies] in your own place; pursue – [this word applies] in any other place. Hizkiah said gave another explanation: Peace is so great that about every travelling of the children of Israel it is written ‘and they travelled’ ‘and they encamped’ they travelled disputing [with each other] and encamped disputing. But when they arrived at Mount Sinai they did one single encampment, as it is written ‘and Israel encamped [verb in singular] there’ – it is not written ‘they encamped there’, rather, it is written ‘he encamped there.’ At the moment the Holy One of Blessing said ‘this is the moment I will give Torah to the children of Israel’