Shabbos Kodesh - 07 Reviewing the Parsha

A Person Should Always Complete the Torah Portion with the Congregation, Reading the Torah Portion Twice and the Translation Once

An additional aspect of preparing for Shabbos is the practice of reading the weekly Torah portion twice, and reading its translation once (hereinafter “shnayim mikrah”). This practice is codified in the Shulchan Aruch, which says, “Even though a person hears the entire Torah every Shabbos in synagogue, he must read the Torah portion of that week for himself twice in the original Hebrew and once with the translation, and this includes [words that have no translation like] ‘Ataros’ and ‘Divon.’”[1]

The source for this rule is in the Gemara: “A person should always complete the Torah portion with the congregation, reading the Torah portion twice and the translation once , and this includes [words that have no translation like] ‘Ataros’ and ‘Divon,’[2] because Hashem will lengthen the life of anyone who completes the Torah portion with the congregation.”[3] Every single individual must read the Torah portion every week twice in Hebrew and once in translation. The translation refers to the translation of Onkolus, who translated the Torah into Aramaic.

The apparent reason for this rule is that since a person has an obligation to know the holy Torah, it is appropriate for him to read the Torah portion with the translation every week in order to understand what the words mean and the simple meaning of the Torah. The reason to use the Aramaic translation is, ostensibly, because at the time of Chazal, this was the commonly spoken language.

We must, however, understand why we must read the words of the Torah twice. It would seem that in order to understand a verse, it is only necessary to read it once.

We must also understand why we are obligated to read the translation. In Chazal’s time, they read the translation of the Torah portion in the synagogue along with the Torah reading.[4] Why, then, do individuals also need to read the translation with themselves?

The Aramaic Translation is Used Because it was Given at Sinai

According to the simple understanding, the purpose of the translation is to explain the simple meaning of the verses of the Torah. Why, then, do we read the Aramaic translation in particular?  The Tur was persuaded by this question when he wrote: “Reading the Torah portion with Rashi’s explanation suffices to fulfill one’s obligation to read the ‘translation’ because the only reason why we read the translation is to understand the ideas better.”[5] Other early authorities wrote that using Rashi’s explanation of the Torah is better than the Aramaic translation. “I relayed my opinion that Rashi’s explanation is more effective than the translation in front of my rabbis, and they conceded that I was correct.”[6]

There are other early authorities, however, who maintain that one should read the Aramaic translation specifically: “The Aramaic translation is used because it was given at Sinai.”[7] The kabbalists also agreed that one must read Onkolus’s translation specifically, even if one does not understand Aramaic.

Let us understand the deeper meaning of why we must read the translation of the parshah specifically in Aramaic, Targum Onkelos.

Do not take the Aramaic Language Lightly

As we have done in previous chapters, we should identify the very first time we find the concept of Aramaic translation mentioned in the Torah.

It is noteworthy that the word “translation,” “תרגום,” is not mentioned at all in the Torah.[8]

While the word “translation,” “תרגום,” is not found in the Torah, the Torah uses actual Aramaic words a number of times! The clearest and most explicit instance of this is in the verse, “And Lavan called the place ‘Yagar Sahadusa,” and Yaakov called it ‘Galeid’ (‘גלעד’).”[9] Rashi explains that “Yagar Sahadusa” is the Aramaic translation of “Galeid.”[10] The words of Lavan the Aramean, therefore, present the clearest example of the use of Aramaic in the Torah.

Chazal say that “one should not take the Aramaic language lightly because we see from the fact that it is used in the Torah, Prophets, and Writings, that Hashem apportions honor to it.[11] Aramaic is the only foreign language used in the Torah.[12]

Any word written in the Torah is part of the Torah’s essence. It is clear that it is not coincidental that the Aramaic language is the only one used in the Torah, and that no other languages are mentioned in the Torah.

We also see the unique nature of Aramaic from a statement in the Gemara, which says that Hashem caused the Jewish people to go into exile in Babylonia “because their language is similar to the language of the Torah.”[13] We see from here that in addition to the importance of the Aramaic language (arising from the fact that it is used explicitly in the Torah), it is also important because of its similarity to the language of the Torah.

Every Word Spoken by Hashem at Sinai Branched out into the Seventy Languages

Chazal explain that the ten utterances spoken by G-d at Sinai were sub-divided into the seventy languages. Every single word spoken by Hashem was branched out into the seventy languages”[14] in order to allow everyone to hear. On a deeper level, this means that every nation was able to receive its portion.[15] The words were actually spoken by Hashem in Hebrew, but the sound sub-divided into the seventy languages.

Chazal also say that “‘Just like a hammer shatters a rock,’[16] - that just as this hammer shatters a rock into many shards, so too each word of Hashem shattered into the seventy languages.”[17] We find the same idea in the verse “G-d said one thing, and I heard two.”[18]

We see from all of this that there are two categories: Hebrew (Lashon HaKodesh\”The Holy Language”),[19] and the seventy foreign languages of the word. The Torah was primarily taught in Hebrew, but it branched out into the seventy languages. But what, indeed, is the connection between Hebrew and the seventy languages?

We must first find the connection between them in as we see in terms of a Jew’s soul. We will then be able to understand the connection between the languages themselves.

On one hand, we have the Jewish people, and on the other, we have the seventy nations.[20] Is there a contact point between them?  

There is a contact point between the Jewish people and the nations of the world, and we see this from the concept of the conversion. A convert is someone who came from the nations of the world and then becomes part of the Jewish people.  This process called conversion is really the connection, the contact point, between the nations and the Jewish people.[21]

Onkolus’s Translation – the Contact Point between the Seventy Languages and Hebrew

The translation of the Torah was written by Onkolus the convert.[22] We now see that it is no coincidence that the Torah’s Aramaic translation was written by a convert. Just as converts are the contact point between the nations of the world and the Jewish people, so too, the translation of the Torah is the contact point between the seventy languages and Hebrew.[23]

On one hand, we have the Hebrew language, which is the language of the Jewish people. On the other hand, we have the seventy languages, which are the languages of the seventy nations. Aramaic, the language of Onkolus’s translation, connects the nations’ languages to Hebrew. All of the other languages are merely combinations and hybrid versions of other languages, like “birds chirping”.[24]

The Gemara explains the translation of the Torah itself was given at Sinai, but that it had been forgotten, and then reestablished”[25] - through Onkolus the convert. Onkolus did not translate the Torah using his own intellect. Rather, he reestablished the translation using ruach hakodesh, Divine inspiration. The reason this occurred through a convert is because really, the translation of the Torah (Aramaic) has an inherent connection with a convert.

The Translation Bridges between the Seventy Languages and Hebrew, which is the Life-source

On yet a deeper level, we must understand that there are really two different types of Aramaic: the translation of Onkelus (Targum Onkelos) and the translation of Yonasan ben Uziel (Targum Yehonasan, the language of the Talmud Yerushalmi[26]), which differs slightly from Onkolus’s Aramaic. Onkolus translates many words which Yonasan ben Uziel and the Yerushalmi translate differently.

Chazal explain that the Babylonian language is called “Aramaic,” and the language of the land of Israel, which is also Aramaic, is called “Sursi.” “In the land of Israel, the language is Sursi… and in Babylonia, the language is Aramaic.”[27] Rashi explains that “the Sursi language is close to Aramaic, and I maintain that this is the dialect of the Talmud Yerushalmi.”[28]

Lashon HaKodesh\Hebrew is the source of everything. It contains the 22 letters[29] with which Hashem created the world and with which he continues to run the world.

The Hebrew language must somehow touch all of the nations, because we see that Hashem does not only give life to the Jewish people - He also gives life to all of the nations as well. As the prophet says, “You give life to all of them.”[30] Hashem wants them to continue to exist. We know this because if He did not want them to exist, they would not exist.

How does Hashem give life to the nations of the world? “Your words, Hashem, stand in the heavens.”[31] The words of Hashem, which are spoken in Lashon HaKodesh, give life. And the bridge which allows the nations to access the life force within the Hebrew language is the translation of Onkelos. The translation which arises in the land of Israel is closest to Hebrew. That goes out to Babylonia, and from there, it is the source for all of the other languages.

We therefore see that the language of the translation is actually the rope which ties together Hebrew and the seventy languages of the nations of the world. That is also why the one through whom the translation was revealed of the Torah had to be a convert. The idea of a convert is that of a contact point between the Jewish people and the seventy nations. The translation of the Torah, which is the bridge between the language of the Torah and the language of the nations, was revealed through him Onkelos particular – a convert.

The souls of the converts stood on Mt. Sinai.[32] Someone whose soul was not on Mt. Sinai could never convert. It is therefore evident that every successful convert’s soul was present on Mt. Sinai. Onkolus the convert, whose soul was on Mt. Sinai, was therefore the connection between all of the nations so that they should hear the Torah translated into the seventy languages because of this bridge, the Aramaic translation.

The Secret of the Translation – Shining the Light of the Holy Torah on to all of the Nations

We have now explained the essence of the language of the translation, where it comes from, and its place. We can now begin to contemplate why we must study the Aramaic translation of the Torah portion every single week.

What is the purpose of the Jewish people’s exile among the nations? Chazal reveal to us that “The only reason why Hashem exiled the Jewish people among the nations was to add converts onto them.”[33]

The superficial way of understanding a convert is that he has simply changed his religion, converting to Judasim; the act of conversion. There is, however, a deeper type of “conversion.” This type of conversion occurs when we take something spiritual from the nations, like a language or positive custom - and bring them into the Jewish people. This is also what will occur in the final ingathering of the exiled Jewish people. Jewish  people will return from the East, the West, and many other places. Every community will bring with it various customs, many of which originated with the gentiles. These customs are the “converts” which we have made part of the sanctity of the Jewish people.[34]

On one hand, we see that there is a process of bringing souls and customs from the nations of the world into the Jewish people. On the other hand, the opposite is also true. The Jewish people have to exert an influence on the other nations. The Aramaic translation of the Torah is the bridge which allows positive influences to flow in both directions.

The purpose of the holy Torah is to be revealed throughout the entire world. Chazal say that “Hashem looked into the Torah and created the world.” A human being looks into the Torah and sustains the world.[35] The world was created with the power of the Torah, and it is sustained with the power of the Torah.

The study of the Torah is an activity which is unique to the Jewish people. It is forbidden for the nations of the world to truly study the Torah. How, then, are we to shine the light of Torah into the whole world? This is the secret of the translation of the Torah which was given on Mt. Sinai. The Torah is learned only in Hebrew and therefore only the Jewish people can fulfill this. But we involve ourselves in the study of the Torah using the Aramaic translation, which serves as the intermediate point between Hebrew and the seventy languages.

By doing so, we cause the light of holiness to spread throughout the entire world.

Shnayim Mikrah V’Echad Targum – An Obligation

The Gemara says that “a person should always complete the Torah portion with the congregation, reading the Torah portion twice and the translation once”[36] The Rambam writes that this is an obligation. “Even though a person hears the entire Torah during the year in the congregation, he is obligated to read it for himself every single week according to the weekly Torah portion once in the original Hebrew text and once in translation.”[37]

Why did Chazal make this an obligation? He did so because our job in this world is to illuminate the entire world with the light of the holy Torah. If we learned and observed the Torah in Hebrew alone, we would not have the ability to reveal it to the entire world. This mitzvah to also read the Torah in its Aramaic translation in particular is, therefore, an obligation.

If one would read the Torah in other languages, this effort would fail. It is like one who wants to cross a river without using a bridge. Aramaic is the bridge language between Hebrew and the seventy languages. Anyone who tries this would fall into the water.

We have Lashon HaKodesh\Hebrew on one side and the seventy languages on the other. The Aramaic translation stands in between as an intermediary. It is impossible to convey meaning of the Torah into other languages without the Aramaic translation. The Aramaic text is the only reason why it is possible to translate the Torah into other languages.

Hebrew and the Seventy Languages – Category and Subcategory

We have explained the obligation to read the Torah’s Aramaic translation every week, but we must still clarify the obligation to read each verse of the Torah portion twice, and how that corresponds to the reading of the Aramaic translation.

Lashon HaKodesh\Hebrew is the root language, but a root language without branch languages is not enough. If the root language existed without any branch languages, it would be like a person who knows general principles[38] but none of the details[39]. On the other hand, if someone just knows the details, without any general principles, the whole source is missing. Even when we have general principles without the details, one cannot build anything.

The whole world is really constructed as a series of principles and details. On one hand, we have the seventy languages. On the other hand, we have Lashon HaKodesh\Hebrew. Lashon HaKodesh is the root language - and the seventy languages are the branches. The Jewish people are called “one nation in the land.”[40] This means that the Jewish people are the unifying principle. The nations of the world, on the other hand, are a disparity of seventy. They are the details.

If one states a principle but does not create details based on that principle, the principle will not be properly understood. In order to understand a principle as a principle, one must study its details. We can see this how when people want to understand something, they ask for examples. [41]

One can understand the principle only through its branches, the details of its application. Any understanding of a principle without understanding its details is generally faulty. This is why we must read the Torah verses twice. This brings the Torah from a singular understanding (the principle) to a conception of its multitude of details, from the general to the particular.

“Moshe Explained the Torah” – in Seventy Languages

It is written, “On the other side of the Jordan River, in the land of Moav, Moshe explained this by saying…”[42] Rashi explains: “he explained the Torah - in seventy languages he explained it.”[43] Moshe felt that it was not enough to explain the Torah in Lashon HaKodesh\Hebrew alone. He explained it in seventy languages as well.

Let us explain. When Hashem originally created the world, he included all of the future souls in the soul of Adam Harishon. Afterward, they became particularized into all of the individual souls of the people in future generations. Among the souls which branched out from Adam Harishon’s soul are the souls of the chosen nation, the Jewish people, and also the souls of the seventy nations.

If, however, it is true that Hashem chose the Jewish people, He desires them, and that they are the ultimate purpose of all creation, why did He create the seventy nations?

The explanation is that when the seventy nations ultimately find their rectification in the future, this will ultimately reveal the power of the Jewish people. The purpose of the nations of the world is to reveal what the Jewish people understand, and to bring that understanding from the potential to the actual.

In the World to Come, all of the nations of the world will be servants and will facilitate the work of the Jewish people. As Chazal say, “They will all come and fall down in front of Moshiach and the Jewish people and they will say, ‘Let us be servants to you and the Jewish people!’ Then every Jew will have two thousand eight hundred slaves, as it says, ‘In those days, ten men of all of the gentile nations will grab the coat-tails of a Jew and say, ‘Let us go with you!’”[44]

On a superficial level, this could refer to a physical servitude in which the nations will willingly subjugate themselves to the Jewish people. On a deeper level, however, this is not the case, for why would a person even care to have so many servants? The deeper meaning must therefore be the following: The whole idea and purpose of a servant is to serve his master. The purpose of the nations of the world, on the deepest level, is to reveal the principle (“כלל”) called the Jewish people (ישראל).

Let us understand. The Torah itself was taught in the seventy languages which correspond to the seventy nations. If the seventy nations are really a negative reality, as we are accustomed to thinking superficially, why then was the Torah taught in seventy languages? While the external reason may be so that Jewish people who do not understand Hebrew can understand the Torah, the deeper reason is that when the Jewish people stood at the foot of Mt. Sinai, every Jew connected to the source, so they already knew Hebrew.

The reason that the Torah was taught in seventy languages, therefore, was not because of a concern that some Jews would not understand Hebrew. Rather, the deeper meaning is that the Torah, in and of itself, had to reach all seventy languages, which are the branches that reveal the roots of their underlying roots.

Similarly, we read the Torah in the synagogue ("כלל"), so that it will be read in public. [45] This was initially instituted without any translation. They only began to read the Torah in the synagogue with the translation into other languages when the Jewish people were exiled among the nations. That is why the practice of translating the Torah, during the Torah reading, came into practice.

On a deeper level, the Jewish people went out into the nations in order to reveal the light of the Torah there. When the Jewish people were exiled in the times of Ezra, the custom of reading the Torah in the local language was instituted in order to reveal the Torah in that place. We must also use other languages today in order to make sure that people understand the Torah.

A Good Explanation – Seventy Languages

“And you shall write the words of this Torah on these stones with a good explanation.”[46] Rashi explains there as well that “‘a good explanation’ means ‘seventy languages’”.[47] On a simple level we can understand this to mean that the Torah’s explanation in the seventy languages merely explained the Torah in each language, but that nothing at all was added in the explanation which was not already in the Hebrew.

On a deeper level, however, an “explanation” of the Torah into seventy languages ostensibly “explains” the Torah itself. It is not a mere translation from one language to another. The translation of the Torah from Hebrew into the seventy languages reveals an understanding and deeper meaning of the Hebrew itself!

We therefore find that Chazal, when they explain the Torah, also use other languages, and do not limit themselves to the use of Hebrew.[48] This is done to the extent that some later authorities, especially the great Chassidic masters and the students of the Ramchal, use words from the local vernacular and create entire sermons from them.

How is this possible? If it is true that the nations’ languages were created by mutual agreement, by human invention, how can one derive anything holy from them?

It must therefore be that the revelation of the other languages is a revelation and explanation of the Torah itself, and not merely a way of teaching the Torah to people who do not understand Hebrew. They are here to reveal the depth hidden within the Torah itself. That is why the translation into the seventy languages is called a “good explanation.”

The root of this revelation, however, is dependent on us. That is why we are commanded to read the Torah portion twice in the original and once in the Aramaic translation. It was in order that we explain the Torah in the other languages.

“Teach the child according to his way.”[49] We are commanded to bring the Torah down from our language into the child’s language so that he will understand it. Similarly, in a very deep way, we must reveal the Torah in all of the languages.

Shnayim Mikrah V’Echad Targum – Including [Words that have no Translation like] ‘Ataros’ and ‘Divon.’”

We have explained that ultimately, the Aramaic translation of the Torah is the hub through which the Torah is revealed in all worlds, in all languages, and for the benefit of all created things. This is the deeper meaning behind our obligation to read the Aramaic translation of the Torah.

The Gemara explains, with regard to one’s obligation of shnayim mikrah, “A person should always complete the Torah portion with the congregation, reading the Torah portion twice and the translation once, even ‘Ataros’ and ‘Divon,’”[50] Rashi explains that “even ‘Ataros’ and ‘Divon’ refers to words which have no translation.”[51] “Ataros” and “Divon” are names of cities which the children of Gad, Reuven, and half of the tribe of Menashe inherited in the Trans-Jordan, as mentioned at the end of the book of Bamidbar. These are the names of places and Onkolus leaves those names as-is, and does not translate them.

This means that even though most words in the Torah have an Aramaic equivalent, there are other words which are not translated because they have no translation.

What should we do with those verses without a translation like “Ataros” and “Divon?”

Some authorities maintain that since those words do have a translation in the Yerushalmi translation of Targum Yonasan ben Uziel, one should read those words using the Yerushalmi translation. Others maintain that where Onkolus does not translate a word, the reader should read the verse three times in Hebrew. In those instances where there is also no Yerushalmi translation either, some early authorities maintain that one may read the verse twice without any translation, and others maintain that one should read the verse three times.[52]

We must understand why one must read a verse three times where a word has no translation.

The World to Come – One Language for all Nations

In the World to Come, all nations will have one language, as the prophet says, “I will then transform all nations to a clear language.”[53] Why will everyone share the same language in the world to come?

At the beginning of time, everyone spoke one language, as the Torah says, “And it was that the whole land spoke one language and unified words.”[54] Rashi explains that “one language” refers to Hebrew.[55] Later, “Hashem caused the languages of the earth to become confused.”[56] This is the source of the multiplicity of languages, of the seventy languages. In the World to Come, however, things will return to the way they were at their source.

The Midrash explains the process: “‘Let us go down and confuse their languages.’ He caused their languages to become confused and one of them did not understand another’s language. The first language that they spoke was Hebrew, the language with which the world was created. Hashem said, ‘The beings I created were divided by the evil inclination in this world, and they were divided into seventy languages, but in the World to Come, I will make them all the same, as one group calling out in my name and serving me, as the verse says, ‘I will then transform all nations to a clear language.’”[57]

It is therefore clear from this that the source of all of the other languages is the generation of the tower of Babel. At that time, all of the languages of the earth were confused and divided. They were unified at the beginning, as we see in the verse: “And they said, ‘Let us build for ourselves a city and a tower who’s top reaches the heavens and we will make a name for ourselves lest we be dispersed on the face of the earth.’”[58]  Language was the force which united them, but Hashem wanted to divide and separate them: “Indeed they are one people and one language for all of them and this is what caused them to start to do what they are doing. Now, nothing will stop them from doing what they have schemed to do. Let us go down and caused their languages to become confused so that one person will not be able to understand the language of his friend.”[59] Hashem divided them with a multiplicity of languages. The place of that tower was called Babylonia (“בבל,” meaning confusion) “because it was there that Hashem caused the languages of the earth to become confused (“בלל”), and it was from there that they were dispersed throughout the whole world.”[60]

We must understand the deeper message which is revealed here. One language united them and the multiplicity of languages divided them. The language which unified them was Hebrew, the language which forms the basis of all of creation.

Hebrew and the Seventy Languages – Unity and Separation

We have seen that having one language, Hebrew, is the source of unity and that the existence of the multiplicity of the seventy languages is the source of division.

When Hashem wanted to create division among the nations, He chose to create a variety of languages for them. On a simple level, this multiplicity caused their division. But on a deeper level, the bare fact that they no longer spoke Hebrew, the original language, constituted their departure from the perspective of unity (“achdus”) to the perspective of division (“pirud”). The Hebrew language, therefore, was the force which united them before they became separated.

The Vilna Gaon states a principle that whenever the Torah speaks in the singular, it is speaking to the masses, and wherever it speaks in the plural, it is talking to every individual.[61] When we speak in the singular, then we are really speaking to the masses like an individual, to each and every individual. But when we speak in the plural, it is the opposite.

We can now understand why the Sages instituted that we must read the Torah portion two times in Hebrew and once in the Aramaic translation. The Torah itself was taught to the congregation, so we must read it twice because it is taught to the masses. But the translation of the Torah, which is the language of division, meaning that it is “in the singular,” need only be read once, as we find in the Zohar.[62]

This is the deeper meaning of the difference between the seventy nations and Hebrew. The main difference is not that they are seventy and that Hebrew is just one language. If that were the case, then there would be no difference between Hebrew and any other individual language, for they are all only one language relative to the other seventy. The deeper difference is that the essential nature of Hebrew is “one language and unified words.”[63] This is not the case with regard to the other languages, which are divided by nature and come from a “world of separation” (alma d’piruda).

Hebrew – “One Language” at its Essence

The Jewish people are the essence of unity, “one nation in the land.”[64] That is why their language itself is the essence of unity. It is called “one language” not only because all of the nations at that time spoke that language. Rather, it is called “one language” because it is a language whose essential nature is unity. Why is this the case?

“With the word of Hashem, the heavens were created.”[65] Hashem created the whole universe with the twenty-two letters of the aleph-bais. The letters of the aleph-bais therefore constitute the reality of everything in creation. The existence of all created things is therefore made up of the letters of the aleph-bais.

Even if no one in the world spoke Hebrew, it would remain a language because it is different from other languages in that the essence of Hebrew is not dependant on whether people speak it. Rather, it is a language because it was used to create the heavens and the earth and the existence of creation, which are made of Hebrew letter combinations. It is the inner language of creation. The other languages, on the other hand, only exist when people speak them. They do not have any independent existence because they are the product of human invention.

This is the deeper reason why Hebrew is “one language.” “And it was that the whole land spoke one language and unified words.”[66] “Unified words,” (“דברים”) means that the essence of all of creation, all things (“דברים”), is the unity of the Hebrew language. Things (“דברים”) are referred to as such because they were created with the force of words (“דברים”). “With the word (“דבר”) of Hashem, the heavens were created.”[67] Because the word of Hashem is singular and unified (the singular “דבר,” rather than the plural “דברים”), all things in creation are therefore one. Later on, when the languages of the earth became divided, the “world of separation” was created. The entire world became spoiled with the language of separation from that time forward.

We see, therefore, that the purpose of reading the Torah in its Aramaic translation is not only to reveal the light of the Torah in other languages by translating it into Aramaic and other languages. Rather, the purpose of it is to return all of creation to the one language, the “unified words.”

The Purpose of Everything is to Return to the “One Language and Unified Words”

Chazal say, “The Torah was originally given to the Jewish people in Ivri type[68] and in Hebrew. Hashem re-gave the Torah to them in the days of Ezra using Ashuri type[69] and in Aramaic.”[70]

Aramaic is the language of the Talmud which we use today. But what is the purpose of this change?

At the end of the Vilna Gaon’s life, after he had studied the entire Oral and Written Torah, he made it his mission to go back and show how all of the details and minutiae of Torah can be found in the text of the written Torah.[71]

The deeper meaning of this is that he showed how all of the words of the two Talmuds and all of the other Midrashim of Chazal, which were written in Aramaic, can be found in the holy Torah, which is written in Hebrew. This was the goal he wanted to fulfill.

We see from this that although we want to shine the light of Hebrew into all of the other languages through the Aramaic translation, this is not the ultimate goal.

The real purpose is “and they shall serve G-d as one group.”[72] In the World to Come, when all nations join together as one unified group to serve Hashem, we will once again have a world of “one language and unified words.” Then the light of Hebrew will be revealed in everything.

The Perfection of the Letter Combinations of Hebrew in the World to Come – Accomplished by the Rectification of the Nations and their Languages

Hebrew has twenty-two letters. Every word in Hebrew consists of some combination of those twenty-two letters. The number of combinations which we know of today are limited. We are familiar with two letter combinations. For instance, one can combine the aleph with a beis, with a dalet, or a vav, etc. Every other letter is the same way. We also have combinations of three letters, of four letters, and of five letters, etc. We do not, however, have any combinations of thirteen letters or nineteen letters and so on. And even with regard to the two and three letter combinations, we do not combine every single letter with every other letter. Some combinations are meaningless.

In the ideal situation, we would have the ability to combine all letters with all other letters without exception. It is brought down in the name of the Baal Shem Tov that Moshiach will first combine all possible letter combinations like aleph-beis and beis-aleph, etc. Afterward, he will combine the entire Torah into one word.[73]

Why can we not make all of these combinations today?

Let us explain what we are lacking today. We have no way of understanding pure Hebrew today using only the Hebrew language to understand it. We sometimes use the languages of the nations in order to understand Hebrew. We sometimes find that Chazal use other languages to understand the Torah, like Aramaic and Greek.

Because our understanding of Hebrew comes through the subdivision-languages of the nations of the world, and because the nations as a whole have not yet been rectified, we therefore do not have everything we need to reveal their path in Hebrew. We therefore lack certain combinations because we cannot connect certain letters using Hebrew alone.

If the languages of the nations existed only for their own benefit, we would lack nothing in our understanding of Hebrew. But we have already explained that the letter combinations of the languages of the nations of the world exist in order to reveal that which exists within the Jewish people. This means that something is lacking in the rectification of the nations of the world and the letter combinations of their languages, and because the Torah is not yet revealed among them, we therefore lack the ability to make all possible letter combinations.

But when Moshiach comes in the World to Come, he will remove the spirit of impurity from the world and rectify all of the nations of the world. When their rectification is complete, then the Torah itself will be fully revealed and we will have all of the letter combinations of the Torah.

The purpose of the Translation is to Return it to the Torah

We now understand that when we read shnayim mikrah on erev Shabbos, it is reflecting the revelation at the end of time by revealing the holy Torah within all languages.

The Mogen Avraham therefore says in the name of the Arizal that after one reads each verse twice and the translation once, he should go back and read the verse without the translation once.[74]

What is the deeper reason for this practice?

If our goal was only to reveal the Torah in the Aramaic translation and from there to reveal it in the other languages, then the practice should be to conclude with the translation, and not with the verse itself. Because, however, the purpose of everything is to bring back the translation and all of the other languages back to the actual words of the verse in Hebrew, the proper order is the following: 1) verse, 2) revelation of the verse in translation, and then 3) again reading the verse of the Torah in Hebrew, in order to bring the translation back into the verses of the Torah - the ultimate goal.

We will now explain how all of this is connected to Shabbos kodesh.

The Gemara says that “a person should always complete the Torah portion with the congregation...”[75] What does “with the congregation” mean?

According to the Shulchan Aruch, “starting on Sunday, it is considered ‘with the congregation.’”[76] The Mishna Brura explains that “Once the congregation begins to read the Torah portion of the coming week at mincha on Shabbos afternoon, one who reads [shnayim mikrah] is considered to be doing so ‘with the congregation.’ Therefore when the author [of the Shulchan Aruch] wrote that it is considered ‘with the congregation’ starting on Sunday, he was not speaking with precision.”[77] We therefore see that starting at mincha on Shabbos, one may begin to read shnayim mikrah v’echad targum for the next week because that is the time when that Torah portion is first read in synagogues.

But what connection does shnayim mikrah have to mincha Shabbos afternoon?

Ezra made ten enactments. One of them was that congregations should read the Torah Shabbos afternoons at mincha. The Gemara explains that the reason for this enactment is “the Torah should be read at mincha on Shabbos because of those who sit on the street corners.”[78] The purpose of translation is also for “those who sit on the street corners,” for those who are ostensibly outside of the influence of the Torah. Shabbos afternoon is therefore the time when it is possible to begin reading the translation of the Torah as well.

Reading Shnayim Mikrah Before Shabbos is a Fulfillment of “And they shall Prepare that which they Shall Bring”

What is the ideal time to read the Torah portion?

The Arizal teaches the following custom: “The custom of my master was that as soon as he finished shacharis Friday morning, he went to the synagogue or his Beis Medrash. If there was a kosher Torah scroll there, he took it out and read shnayim mikrah v’echad targum from it… He read every verse individually shnayim mikrah v’echad targum, and he put off this reading until Friday. He said that this is according to the secret of the verse ‘And on the sixth day, they prepared that which they brought.’”[79]

The Vilna Gaon, however, had a different custom. “It is written in the book, Maaseh Rav, that the custom of the Vilna Gaon was that immediately after shacharis every day, he read part of the Torah portion shnayim mikrah v’echad targum and he concluded on erev Shabbos.”[80] In other words, he divided the Torah portion into seven parts so that he would complete it on erev Shabbos.

According to both the Arizal and the Vilna Gaon, however, the practice of reading the Torah portion shnayim mikrah v’echad targum is connected to Shabbos and constitutes preparing for Shabbos in fulfillment of “And on the sixth day, they prepared that which they brought.”

Tosafos also explain that the Sages not only connected the mitzvah of shnayim mikrah with when the congregation reads the Torah portion, but also with Shabbos. “From Shabbos mincha until the next Shabbos, it is considered ‘with the congregation.’ The time by which one must finish is discussed in the midrash, which says that ‘Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi commanded his children in three matters before he passed away. [One of them was that] they should not eat bread on Shabbos until they finish the whole Torah portion.’ This implies that before they could eat, they had to complete the Torah portion.”[81]

            It is necessary to understand the connection between reading shnayim mikrah v’echad targum and Shabbos.

Tosafos said that “from Shabbos mincha until the next Shabbos, it is considered ‘with the congregation.’ This means that the time for shnayim mikrah begins on Shabbos and ends on the next Shabbos.  This corresponds to what we have explained in the previous chapters, which is that the structure of time is “Shabbos, six days of the week, Shabbos.” We therefore see that the beginning of the time for shnayim mikrah begins on Shabbos, that the six days of the week is also its time, and that its time continues into the next Shabbos, which is when the time for shnayim mikrah ends.

            The time for shnayim mikrah therefore begins on Shabbos, continues for the six days of the week, and then ends on Shabbos. This is the same pattern as the proper perspective on the week, which is “Shabbos, six days of the week, and then Shabbos.”

            This pattern corresponds to the practice of reading shnayim mikrah according to the Arizal’s practice of “verse, translation, verse”[82] which is done in order that one should conclude by reading the verse.  All of this is done because the ultimate goal is not to simply reveal the Torah in the languages of the nations. Rather, the goal is to reveal the Torah within those languages and then bring that revelation back to the Jewish people, into the Hebrew language. 

            One Cannot Give over Words of Torah to a Gentile

               This is the deeper reason for Chazal’s prohibition against teaching Torah to a gentile.

“One may not give over the words of Torah to a gentile, as it says, ‘He did not do this for any gentile nation, and they do not know laws.’”[83] If our purpose is to reveal the Torah among the nations of the world, it should be the opposite! It should have been permitted, and perhaps even a mitzvah, to teach Torah to gentiles. Why then is it forbidden to teach Torah to gentiles?

It must therefore be that revealing the Torah to the nations of the world is not the ultimate goal. The goal is to reveal the Torah within them and to return that portion of the Torah to the Jewish people, into Hebrew. Teaching Torah to a gentile as he is, however, is forbidden.

            Two circumstances exist in which it is permissible to teach Torah to a gentile: teaching the seven mitzvos of the bnei noach (gentiles are referred to as children of Noach, “bnei noach.”)[84] and teaching a gentile who comes to convert.[85] The seven mitzvos of the bnei noach refer to those parts of the Torah which the gentile himself can fulfill. But if a gentile wants to convert and to become part of the Jewish people, then it is permitted to teach him the deeper aspects of the Torah.

            The seven mitzvos of the bnei noach are the gentiles’ connection to the Torah. Their purpose is to serve as a starting point, based upon which the entire Torah will illuminate them in the World to Come. If the gentiles had no mitzvos at all, they would have been completely cut off from the Torah and it would have had no starting point upon which to build any revelation of the Torah.

“Even ‘Ataros’ and ‘Divon’” – Words which already Returned to their Inner Root

Let us now return to something which we spoke about earlier.

One should complete the Torah portion shnayim mikrah v’echad targum, even for words like “Ataros” and “Divon,” which have no translation. According to some early authorities, one should read these verses three times. Why is this?

According to everything we have said so far, it is now clear. If our purpose was only to reveal the Torah in its Aramaic translation, there would be no reason to read it a third time whenever a word has no translation. But on a deeper level, some words have no translation outside of Hebrew because the word for those things is the same in Aramaic.

The words which are the same in the Aramaic translation and in Hebrew are words which have already come back to the inner light. The majority of the Aramaic language is different from Hebrew. Parts of it, however, are similar. In these, part of the holiness of those words returned to their source. There are also a relatively small minority of words, however, which are exactly the same in Hebrew and Aramaic. These words have already returned to their source.

We see, therefore, that the goal is to reveal Hebrew within all of the other languages, just as it was at the beginning when “the whole land spoke one language and unified words.”[86] This is also the ultimate goal. After the other languages were “spun off” from the original Hebrew, our job is to reveal the language of the holy Torah and to illuminate the other languages with it, so that they will all ultimately return to their inner source.

Verse, Translation, Verse – In Space, Time, and Soul

All of this was accomplished through Onkolus the convert, through whom this process was initiated. But this is also fulfilled through our souls, as well as in places and in time.

It happens in the soul as we see from converts. The converts are the portions of the nations of the world who are gathered from the nations of the world, and join the Jewish people, like Onkolus the convert. A convert’s soul joins the souls of the Jewish people.

It happens in a place as we see with regard to “Ataros” and “Divon,” which are the names of cities which were added onto the land of Israel on the other side of the Jordan River, as promised to Avraham. This was the portion of the land of Israel given to the tribes of Gad, Reuven, and half of the tribe of Menashe. This is also the idea behind the conquest of Syria in the time of King David, who also had to come from converts by spiritual necessity.

This is also the deeper meaning of Chazal’s statement that in the future, the land of Israel will expand to include the entire world.[87] Just like the Hebrew language must spread out to all of the languages, so too the land of Israel will, in the future, extend to all parts of the world.

What is the source of this spreading out?  It started with “Ataros and Divon,” the cities which the members of the tribe of Gad and Reuven asked to inherit when they promised, “And we will arm ourselves quickly and go before the children of Israel until we have brought them to their place.”[88] They helped with the conquest of the land of Israel. Afterward, they were able to shine the light of the land of Israel on the other side of the Jordan River in “Ataros, Divon, Ya’azer, Nimra, Cheshbon, Alaleil, Shavam, Nevo, and Ba’an.”[89]  This is the verse used in the law of shnayim mikrah v’echad targum to describe those words with no translation. These cities were illuminated with the light of the land of Israel, so even in the translation, they became part of the Hebrew language.

The Holidays – The Illumination of the Eternal Shabbos During the Year

And this concept happens is time as well. We first find this process in the mitzvah of tosefes Shabbos. We have the time of Shabbos itself and on top of that, we have a mitzvah to add from the weekday onto the Shabbos. This idea corresponds to the concept of the translation.

The concept of the mitzvah of adding onto Shabbos also exists with regard to the holidays. Shabbos is established and set from the six days of creation. The prohibition to do labor on Shabbos is fixed and does not change. But the other holidays are different. “Shabbos is fixed and set, but [the date of] Yom Kippur is determined by the Beis Din.”[90]

Shabbos is the source of all of the holidays. All of the holidays are an extension of it. They are like tosefes Shabbos. Shabbos then expands further to the ultimate goal, the eternal Shabbos.

Shabbos is fixed and there is a “tosefes Shabbos” added onto it. This addition consists of the holidays which, as we know, came about because of the exile. They all exist to remember the exodus from Egypt. They are also a “tosefes Shabbos” in the sense that labor is forbidden on them just like it is on Shabbos.

The next stage, however, is that there is also an “addition” added onto the holidays. This addition is the holidays of Chanukah and Purim, which are an extension of those exiles. Even though labor is technically permitted on those holidays, they are still a continuation of this idea of “adding” in the realm of time. All of the holidays, as well as Chanukah and Purim, are thus illuminations of the light of the eternal Shabbos of the future during the cycle of the year.

All Holidays will be Nullified Except Purim

When this light shines throughout the whole year, then “in the future, all of the holidays will be nullified, except for Purim.”[91] Why is this?

Where did the miracle of Purim take place? In the birthplace of the Aramaic language, Babylonia![92] The source of everything is Babylonia, the place where all languages were spun off from the original Hebrew. In the future, however, when we return everything to its source we will then merit the revelation of the return of all languages to the Jewish people, the rebuilding of the Beis Hamikdash, the return of the Jewish people from exile, and the return of all languages to Hebrew.

How did it happen that Mordechai was able to save Achashveirosh’s life? “Bigsan and Seresh were two Tarsians who conversed in the Tarsian language and said to one another, ‘From the moment that this one [Achashveirosh] came, our eyes have not seen sleep. Let us come and take poison in a cup so that he will die.’ They did not know that Mordechai was among those who sat in the Temple court and that he therefore spoke seventy languages.”[93] We therefore see that the miracle of Purim occurred through Mordechai because he knew the seventy languages.

The miracle of Purim occurred because of the combination of inside and outside. On one hand, Mordechai was a great Torah scholar who sat in the courtyard of the Temple. On the other hand, he brought that light “outside,” as it says, “And Mordechai sat at the gate of the king,”[94] in the place which leads to the outside. He succeeded in saving the Jewish people from that place.

Because this spiritual light has not yet been fully revealed, we do not yet have a full revelation. This is what Chazal were referring to when they said, “‘And Mordechai the Jew was second to King Achashveirosh and he was great among the Jewish people, and liked by the majority of his brethren,’ - to the majority of his brethren, but not to all of them.”[95]  This was really because the revelation was not complete.

The Secret of the Redemption of Purim

Purim comes from the same salvation that is the revelation of the spiritual light of the nation of Israel among the other nations.

“Esther did not reveal her birthplace or her nation.”[96] She revealed herself to Achashveirosh as if she were not even Jewish. That is how she was able to enter the king’s palace. She approached him with the aspect of the Jewish soul that appears outwardly like the soul of a gentile, and this is what King Achashveirosh thought.

When the Torah is hidden among the nations and its light shines into all languages, then the light of the redemption can shine.

This is why all of the holidays will be nullified in the future – except Purim. The redemption from Egypt took place because they did not change their language from Hebrew,[97] but the redemption of Purim was the opposite. It came about in the merit of the fact that Mordechai knew the seventy languages. It was through this that the redemption occurred.

We do, however, find that even in the redemption from Egypt, Yosef ascended to a great position because of his knowledge of the seventy languages. “The astrologers of Pharaoh said, ‘Shall you cause a slave bought for twenty silver pieces to rule over us?!’ He said to them, ‘I see concealed kingship within him.’ They said to him, “If so, let us see if he knows seventy languages.’ Gavriel came and taught him the seventy languages.”[98] This situation did not last, however, during the length of the Egyptian exile, as it says, “And a new king arose over Egypt who did not know Yosef.”[99]  (Rashi explains that “he made himself as if he did not know.”[100]) Therefore, the only thing which stood by them during the exile was the fact that they did not change their language.

But, “Just as it was when you went out of Egypt, I will show you wonders.”[101] Just as the root of the redemption from Egypt started with Yosef who knew seventy languages, it was also revealed in the redemption of Purim with the seventy languages that Mordechai knew that it was through this that the Jewish people were saved.

It is not coincidental that Mordechai knew seventy languages. It is part of the fact that he caused the light of the Torah to shine into the seventy languages. By shining the light of the Torah into the seventy languages, he revealed the light of the redemption - the light of the World to Come.

May it be Hashem’s will that that the light of the holy Torah should be revealed in all of the languages, and that all of the languages should become unified within the Hebrew language, and that all people should join together as one to serve Hashem with a whole heart - may it come soon in our days.