Parshas Vayishlach: Devorahs, Bees and Wet Nurses

Based on Edrei Tzon by Rabbi Abba Tzvi Naiman, http://beta.hebrewbooks.org/52758

(נט) וַֽיְשַׁלְּח֛וּ אֶת־רִבְקָ֥ה אֲחֹתָ֖ם וְאֶת־מֵנִקְתָּ֑הּ וְאֶת־עֶ֥בֶד אַבְרָהָ֖ם וְאֶת־אֲנָשָֽׁיו׃

(59) So they sent off their sister Rebekah and her nurse along with Abraham’s servant and his men.

(ח) וַתָּ֤מָת דְּבֹרָה֙ מֵינֶ֣קֶת רִבְקָ֔ה וַתִּקָּבֵ֛ר מִתַּ֥חַת לְבֵֽית־אֵ֖ל תַּ֣חַת הָֽאַלּ֑וֹן וַיִּקְרָ֥א שְׁמ֖וֹ אַלּ֥וֹן בָּכֽוּת׃ (פ)

(8) Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and was buried under the oak below Bethel; so it was named Allon-bacuth.

(ה) וְ֠הִיא יוֹשֶׁ֨בֶת תַּֽחַת־תֹּ֜מֶר דְּבוֹרָ֗ה בֵּ֧ין הָרָמָ֛ה וּבֵ֥ין בֵּֽית־אֵ֖ל בְּהַ֣ר אֶפְרָ֑יִם וַיַּעֲל֥וּ אֵלֶ֛יהָ בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לַמִּשְׁפָּֽט׃
(5) She used to sit under the Palm of Deborah, between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites would come to her for decisions.
(א) ותמת דבורה. מדרש כי מה שכתוב גבי דבורה הנביאה והיא יושבת תחת תמר דבורה זהו אלון בכות דבורה דהכא:

(1) ותמת דבורה, Deborah, Rivkah’s nursemaid died (near there) the reason why we are told about this at this point may be on account of the prophetess Deborah sitting and holding court near this tree, by the grave of Deborah (Judges, 4.5.)

אמר רב יהודה אמר רב כל המתיהר אם חכם הוא חכמתו מסתלקת ממנו אם נביא הוא נבואתו מסתלקת ממנו אם חכם הוא חכמתו מסתלקת ממנו מהלל דאמר מר התחיל מקנטרן בדברים וקאמר להו הלכה זו שמעתי ושכחתי אם נביא הוא נבואתו מסתלקת ממנו מדבורה דכתיב (שופטים ה, ז) חדלו פרזון בישראל חדלו עד שקמתי דבורה שקמתי אם בישראל וגו' וכתיב (שופטים ה, יב) עורי עורי דבורה עורי עורי דברי שיר וגו'

Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: Anyone who acts haughtily, if he is a Torah scholar, his wisdom departs from him; and if he is a prophet, his prophecy departs from him. The Gemara explains: That if he is a Torah scholar, his wisdom departs from him is learned from Hillel, for the Master said in this baraita: Hillel began to rebuke them with words. Because he acted haughtily, he ended up saying to them: I once heard this halakha, but I have forgotten it, as he was punished for his haughtiness by forgetting the law. That if he is a prophet his prophecy departs from him is learned from Deborah, as it is written: “The villagers ceased, they ceased in Israel, until I, Deborah, arose, I arose a mother in Israel” (Judges 5:7). For these words of self-glorification, Deborah was punished with a loss of her prophetic spirit, as it is written later that it was necessary to say to her: “Awake, awake, Deborah; awake, awake, utter a song” (Judges 5:12), because her prophecy had left her.

אמר רב נחמן לא יאה יהירותא לנשי תרתי נשי יהירן הויין וסניין שמייהו חדא שמה זיבורתא וחדא שמה כרכושתא זיבורתא כתיב בה (שופטים ד, ו) ותשלח ותקרא לברק ואילו איהי לא אזלה לגביה כרכושתא כתיב בה (מלכים ב כב, טו) אמרו לאיש ולא אמרה אמרו למלך

Rav Naḥman said: Haughtiness is not befitting a woman. And a proof to this is that there were two haughty women, whose names were identical to the names of loathsome creatures. One, Deborah, was called a hornet, as her Hebrew name, Devorah, means bee; and one, Huldah, was called a marten, as her name is the Hebrew term for that creature. From where is it known that they were haughty? With regard to Deborah, the bee, it is written: “And she sent and called Barak” (Judges 4:6), but she herself did not go to him. And with regard to Huldah, the marten, it is written: “Say to the man that sent you to me” (II Kings 22:15), but she did not say: Say to the king.

מפני מה אמרו דבש דבורים מותר מפני שמכניסות אותו לגופן ואין ממצות אותו מגופן

Why did they say that the honey of bees is permitted [being that it comes from bees which are no kosher]? Because the bees ingest the honey into their bodies; it is not excreted from their bodies.

(יח) וְהָיָ֣ה ׀ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֗וּא יִשְׁרֹ֤ק ה' לַזְּב֔וּב אֲשֶׁ֥ר בִּקְצֵ֖ה יְאֹרֵ֣י מִצְרָ֑יִם וְלַ֨דְּבוֹרָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֖ר בְּאֶ֥רֶץ אַשּֽׁוּר׃
(18) “In that day, the LORD will whistle to the flies at the ends of the water channels of Egypt and to the bees in the land of Assyria;