Aggada -- Translations into English; Bible. Old Testament -- Legends; Jewish legends; Midrash -- Translations into English
The judge must pronounce judgement before it be executed, hence, too,
the tribe of Asher, "the executors of justice," followed Dan, the
judges. The name Asher also signifies "good fortune," referring to the
good fortune of Israel that was chosen to the God's people, and in
accordance with this name also do the gifts of the prince of the tribe
of Asher allude to the distinction of Israel. The charger, one hundred
and thirty shekels of silver in weight, corresponds to the nations of
the world, whom, however, God repudiated, choosing Israel in their
stead. The bowl of seventy shekels corresponds to the seventy pious
souls of whom Israel consisted when they moved to Egypt. Both vessels
were filled with fine flour. God sent His prophets to the other nations
as well as to Israel, but Israel alone declared itself willing to
accept the Torah. This nation accepted "the spoon of then shekels of
gold filled with incense," every man among them being willing to accept
the Ten Commandments and the Torah. The three burnt offerings
corresponded to the three crowns that Israel received from their God,
the crown of the Torah, the crown of the Priesthood, and the crown of
the Kingdom, for which reason also golden crowns were fashioned on the
Ark in which the Torah was kept, on the altar on which the priests
offered sacrifices, and on the table that symbolized the kingdom. But
the highest of all is the crown of a good name, which a man earns
through good deeds, for the crucial test is not the study of the Torah,
but the life conforming to it. For this reason also there was a sin
offering among the offerings, corresponding to the crown of good deeds,
for these alone can serve as an expiation. The two oxen indicate the
two Torot that God gave His people, the written and the oral, whereas
the fifteen peace offerings of small cattle correspond to the three
Patriarchs and the twelve fathers of the tribes, for these fifteen God
had chosen. [399]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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