The Exodus: 600,000 Souls, 600,000 Letters: The word “Israel” can be read as an acronym for “Yesh Shishim Ribo Otiot LaTorah”, meaning: “There are six hundred thousand letters in the Torah”. Therefore, Israel did not leave Egypt until there were six hundred thousand of them, in order for each soul to be “supported” by one letter in the Torah, as we have written in a number of places. Since the name “Israel” alludes to the number of letters in the Torah which corresponds to the number of souls, it follows that when the Jewish People come to count their souls [take a census], the accuser comes and accuses them saying, “Master of the universe, didn’t Israel only reach this size population in order to match the number of letters in the Torah which are hinted at in their name? And now they are negligent in [the Torah]!” All of G-d’s commandments are hints and allusions, to cause people to study G-d’s ways.

G-d overlooks many serious sins but He does not overlook negligence in Torah study. (Jeremiah 9:11-12). Even though they transgressed all of the sins, G-d only accused them of negligence in Torah study. As our Sages have said regarding the verse “the voice is the voice of Jacob” (Gen. 27:22): when the voice is the voice of Jacob, that is, of Torah study, then the hands are not the those of Esau, that is, the forces of evil are powerless. But when the voice is not that of Jacob, then the hands are that of Esau and the forces of impurity dominate. Our Sages likewise explained that the reason that “Amalek came and fought with Israel at Refidim” (Ex. 17:18) was that their hands had slackened from the Torah.

Israel was commanded to give a half-shekel, the word “shekel” has the same numerological value as “Nefesh”, with half of it having the same value as the Hebrew word “yira”, meaning “fear of Heaven” [including the word as a whole]. The other half has the same value as “Ruach”. This comes to warn and inform Israel that they should awaken their fear of Heaven in order to repair their souls and spirits, for heavenly prosecution comes as a result of negligence in Torah study and the remedy is for them to accept upon themselves to study Torah. This follows from the principle that the form of repentance must match the sin, which means that besides the redemption money that Israel gives, they must take upon themselves to study Torah, for the redemption money only atones for what is past, but from now actual Torah study.

The word “negef”, meaning “a scourge”, has the same numerological value as “Samael”, the Angel of Destruction, short two. ["Negef" equals 133, while "Samael" equals 131.] The missing two allude to the two Torahs (Oral and Written). When Israel are lax in the two Torahs, two powers are added to those of the forces of evil, and it becomes “negef”, a scourge, and afflicts them. Through the redemption money that Israel gives, the forces of evil have no power to rule over them, for charity is a protection against them, as is written, “Charity saves from death” (Proverbs 10:2).

The Oral Law was not the nimble work of men rather the oral transmission was handed down to us by Moses, our teacher. 

The Bible is quite clear that the animal sacrificial system will be restored in the messianic age. In fact, in the last nine chapters of the Book of Ezekiel, the prophet describes in vivid detail the elaborate rituals and lofty ceremonies which will occur in the third and final messianic Temple. In chapters 43-44, Ezekiel clearly states that the animal sacrifices will be reinstated in their full glory.  Clearly, God has not done away with them as evidenced by the fact that these elaborate Temple rituals will be restored with the advent of the messiah.

Let us now examine the Talmudic discussion from which this quote was derived. As you will discover, this text was carefully quoted out of its original context. In Tractate Yoma 39b, the Talmud quotes a Baraisa [1] that discusses numerous remarkable phenomena that occurred in the Temple during the Yom Kippur service. More specifically, the Talmud states that there was a strip of scarlet-dyed wool tied to the head of the scapegoat [2] which would turn white in the presence of the large crowd gathered at the Temple on the Day of Atonement. The Jewish people perceived this miraculous transformation as a heavenly sign that their sins were forgiven. The Talmud relates, however, that 40 years before the destruction of the second Temple the scarlet colored strip of wool did not turn white. 

The Rabbis taught that forty years prior to the destruction of the Temple the lot did not come up in the [high priest's] right hand nor did the tongue of scarlet wool become white . . . .

Tractate Yoma[4] is wholly given over to laws pertaining to Yom Kippur. Although missionaries cite the above statement which appears on page 39b, the discussion leading up to this quote begins on the previous page, 39a. Quoting from a Baraisa, the Talmud begins with a discussion of the deteriorating spiritual condition of the Jewish people during the second Temple period. Throughout this fascinating discourse, the miraculous events that transpired during the Temple ceremonies are the barometer by which the Baraisa measures the religious decline of the nation of Israel during this difficult epoch in Jewish history.

The period of time examined in this assessment begins with the era during which Shimon HaTzaddik [5] officiated as the high priest until the time that the Romans destroyed the second Temple in the year 70 C.E. More specifically, the Talmud breaks this period down into three successive stages, with the first stage being the most meritorious, the second marking a gradual spiritual decline, and the third the most deleterious.

The Baraisa begins by recounting the miraculous events that repeatedly occurred during the forty years when Shimon HaTzaddik officiated as high priest. The Baraisa then continues to relate how the appearance of these miracles progressively diminished in the years that followed his death. These events are as follows:

1) The lot inscribed “LaHashem,” would always appear in the right hand of the high priest [6] during the Yom Kippur service.

2) The strip of scarlet-dyed wool which was tied to the head of the scapegoat always turned white during the Yom Kippur service.

3) The western-most lamp of the Temple menorah remained lit until the priest would use its fire to kindle the next day’s lamps.

4) The pyre on the altar did not require any additional wood to sustain a strong fire.

5) There was a blessing upon the first fruits of the Omer, the two loaves offered on Shevuoth, and on the loaves of the showbread so that each priest was satisfied with a portion no larger than the size of an olive.

[6]The faithfulness and goodwill that Shimon HaTzaddik embodied during his public tenure as high priest profoundly inspired the nation. His most famous maxim was, “The world exists on three things: the Torah, divine worship, and acts of kindness.” (Pirkay Avot 1:2) He is described as a person who took great thought and consideration regarding his fellow man.[7] His extraordinary character affected the people deeply, and this manifested itself with a host of miraculous phenomena in the Temple, the House of Shimon’s dedication.

Following his death, however, the Jewish people were unable to sustain the spiritual heights which they had achieved during Shimon HaTzaddik’s lifetime. As a result, they digressed into a downward spiritual spiral from which they never recovered. This decline continued and worsened as the second Temple era continued to unfold. The Baraisa therefore relates that after the death of Shimon HaTzaddik the occurrence of these miracles became sporadic; there were some years when these miraculous signs occurred, and there were other years when they did not. This spiritual decay plunged to its lowest point during the last 40 years of the second Temple period. The Baraisa records that none of the above miracles occurred during these last four decades of the second Temple.

The question that immediately comes to mind is: In what dreadful sins did the children of Israel indulge during these last ill-famed 40 years of the second Temple that proved so devastating to their spiritual subsistence? What brought about the end of the miraculous events that were commonplace in the years that Shimon HaTzaddik served as high priest and periodically in the years that followed his death?

The Talmud, in fact, clearly and painfully records the sins that brought about the deplorable spiritual condition of the Jewish people during this last turbulent four decades of the second commonwealth.

In essence, there was not a sudden watershed event that caused supernatural events to end. The cessation of miraculous phenomena in the Temple was brought about by a slow spiritual decay among the Jewish people that lasted for many hundreds of years.

Although there were a number of sins that were rampant among the nation of Israel throughout this spiritual decline, there was no iniquity that was as self-destructive as the interpersonal baseless hatred that was pervasive among the Jewish people during this difficult time. This dreadful self-inflicted wound had infected the Jewish people and ultimately brought about the destruction of the second Temple.[8]

The Talmud bears record to this spiritual decay, and declares that this national tragedy reached its height exactly 40 years prior to the destruction of the second Temple. It was during this turbulent time that murders became so widespread that the Sanhedrin [9] ceased to judge capital crimes such as homicide. [10]

Under normal conditions, the Sanhedrin rarely carried out capital punishment. In fact, the Talmud proclaims that a Sanhedrin which put more than one person to death in 70 years was unflatteringly regarded as a “Killer Bais Din.” [11]

The Jewish judicial system was not set up for a lawless society where murder among the nation of Israel was widespread. It is for this reason, and under these deplorable conditions, that the glory of the Temple was dimmed, the miracles in the sanctuary ceased, and the Sanhedrin withdrew itself from adjudicating capital punishment.

Although the termination of miraculous events in the Temple was unrelated to alien theology, it bore testimony to a time in history when Jewish people in great numbers turned against each other.

Finally, what is the meaning behind this mysterious ritual of tying a scarlet ribbon to the head of the scapegoat with the hopeful anticipation that it would miraculously turn white? Why was the wool of the ribbon dyed scarlet? Why didn’t they color it blue or green? Why would it turn white? Moreover, how could the nation know that the marvelous transformation from scarlet to white was a clear indication that their sins had been forgiven? In essence, how do the colors scarlet and white relate to social justice and brotherly kindliness? What is the connection?

The answer to all these questions is found in the Bible. In the first chapter of the Book of Isaiah, the prophet severely castigates the Jewish people for their sins. However, Isaiah does not condemn his people for violating the Sabbath or not eating kosher. This was not the spiritual crisis which the nation was facing; rather, the prophet cries out that it was their lack of social justice and brotherly kindness that robbed the people of their spiritual sustenance.

They had abandoned and turned on each other, especially the most vulnerable members of society — the fatherless and the poor. With a visceral condemnation of his people that is virtually unparalleled in the Jewish scriptures, Isaiah berates the nation with the biting words. He compares his people to Sodom and Gomorrah and declares that if this is the manner with which you treat your fellow man, then God doesn’t desire your Sabbaths and your New Moons are unwanted. “When you beseech Me with your many prayers, I will not hear them for your hands are stained with blood.” [12] There was a time, Isaiah laments, that the city was filled with righteousness, but now it has become a harlot, filled with murderers! [13]

It is painfully difficult to read this chapter. As we listen to the pounding words of the prophet, there is a mortifying and numbing sense that all hope is lost. Reconciliation is impossible; God will never take us back. It is, though, precisely at this most desperate juncture that Isaiah proclaims the unimaginable: Hope is not lost and God’s tender mercy is within your grasp.

The prophet, therefore, instructs, “Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, let us reason together,” says the Lord, “though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land.” [14]

With the prophet’s reassuring words before us, we can now understand why the miracle surrounding the transformation of the scarlet ribbon was uniquely connected to the atonement achieved through social justice and brotherly kindness rather than blood atonement. If your sins that are as the scarlet-colored ribbon are to be forgiven and become white, indulge in acts of kindness and put an end to murder and baseless hatred. These precious words fell on deaf ears during the last 40 years of the second Temple.

Throughout the first chapter of Isaiah, blood sacrifices are regarded as trivial and insignificant, and the prophet encourages the nation not to depend on them. Thus, the moving portrait of the scarlet transforming to white stands as a living monument to the prophet’s inspiring message on bloodless atonement.

Isaiah loudly declares that charity and acts of kindness alone atone for man’s most grievous sins, as he repeatedly and resoundingly trivializes the blood sacrificial system as an efficacious means for atonement.

While Shimon HaTzaddik officiated for 40 years as high priest, the nation was inspired by his good will and they emulated him. As a result, the atonement outlined in Isaiah was efficacious and the scarlet ribbon always turned white. The people knew that God had forgiven them.

In the years that followed the death of Shimon HaTzaddik, the people’s dedication to his golden rule slacked off, and consequently, there were some years when the ribbon turned white and others when it did not.

Sadly, we can now also understand why 40 years prior to the destruction of the second Temple this auspicious miracle ended. It was during these calamitous four decades when Isaiah’s words of condemnation were personified.

Footnotes:

[1] A Baraisa is a statement made by a Tanna which was not included by Rabbi Yehudah Ha’nasi (approximately 200 C.E.) in the Mishnah.

[2] See Leviticus 16:7-10.

[3] The second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in approximately the year 70 C.E.

[4] The Aramaic word Yoma means “The Day,” and it refers to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.

[5] Shimon HaTzaddik (Simon the Just) succeeded Ezra during the early part of the second Temple period and officiated as high priest for forty years. Shimon was called “HaTzaddik” because of his faithfulness and his kindness to his countrymen (Josephus Antiquities 12:157).

[6] The high priest would randomly pick two lots from a box. One was inscribed “LaHashem,” and the other was inscribed, “LaAzazel,” (see Leviticus 16:8-10). It was considered an auspicious sign if the lot inscribed “LaHashem” appeared in the right hand of the high priest.

[7] Ecclus. [Sirach] 1, 4.

[8] Yoma 9b.

[9] The Sanhedrin is the name for the Jewish court system.

[10] Sanhedrin 41a; Avodah Zara 8b.

[11] Makkos 7a. “Bais Din,” literally, a “House of Law,” refers to a Jewish court.

[12] Isaiah 1:15.

[13] Isaiah 1:21.

[14] Isaiah 1:16-19.

As we consider a desperate time in our first century history, let us free ourselves of this spiritual affliction and turn toward each other with godly affection. May this repentance bring about the coming of the true messiah, quickly in our time.

Blessings,

Rabbi Tovia Singer HaCohen

The Bible relates in Exodus 12:3-13 that when the Jewish people were preparing themselves for their momentous exodus from Egypt, God commanded them to slaughter a year-old sheep or goat on the 14th day of the first month (Nissan) and to publicly place its blood on the outside doorposts of their homes. The Torah never states or even implies that the Passover sheep or goat atones for sin.

A mindful study of the Jewish scriptures reveals that the Torah had alluded to the Paschal lamb long before the exodus from Egypt occurred. Centuries earlier, the Almighty tested Abraham’s faith when God commanded him to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac. Genesis 22:7-8 relates that as the two ascended Mount Moriah together, Isaac turned to his father and asked, “Here is the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the offering?” Abraham then replied, “God will see to a lamb for an offering, my son.”

The question that immediately comes to mind is, what happened to that lamb that Abraham promised? A few verses later we find that it was a ram, not a lamb, which was sacrificed! Where was the lamb to which Abraham was prophetically referring? The answer of course is that our father Abraham was referring to the Paschal lamb. Just as God tested Abraham’s faith to show his worthiness to be the father of the chosen people, the young Jewish nation also had to have their faith tested to show their worthiness to participate in the exodus from Egypt, to receive the Torah at Mount Sinai, and to become the progenitors of the covenant people who would forever be known as “a light to the nations.”

In the Egyptian society where the Jewish people were enslaved, the lamb was considered a sacred god, similar to how the cow is deified and worshiped in India today. In ancient Egypt, molesting a lamb in any way was considered a crime punishable by death. That is why, when Egypt was overcome with the third plague of lice, Moses refused Pharaoh’s initial offer that the Jews bring their sacrifice to God while remaining in Egypt.

In Exodus 8:26, Moses explained to Pharaoh that if the Israelites were to kill these animals before the Egyptians, they would be stoned to death. The Almighty, therefore, used this to test the faithfulness of the Jewish people by commanding them to not only kill Egypt’s sacred god, but also to publicly place the lamb’s blood on their doorposts for all to see. Only those Israelites who, like Abraham, demonstrated that their fear of God exceeded their fear of the Egyptians, would be deemed worthy to have their homes passed over during the tenth and final plague.

The ancient religions promoted the same idea about atonement (e.g. Molech). They would joyfully offer a child into the fires of their sacrificial offering in order to expiate their sins and appease the gods. Why would a child sacrifice be used in this pagan ritual rather than an adult? The reason is because a child is thoroughly innocent of sin. A child, they reasoned, could not have committed iniquity and thus mirrored the animal sacrifice which also had to be unblemished. The Torah therefore admonishes the children of Israel never to offer human sacrifices, and forewarned Jewish people of terrible consequences if this commandment were violated.

This message was carefully communicated at Mt. Moriah where Abraham was prepared to offer up his beloved son Isaac as a sacrifice. At that crucial juncture in history when Abraham was ready to sacrifice Isaac, the Almighty admonished him that He did not want the human sacrifice, and directed Abraham to sacrifice the ram caught in the thicket instead.

The Almighty’s directive — that he only wanted animal sacrifices rather than human sacrifices — was immediately understood. This teaching has never departed from the mind and soul of the faithful children of Israel. Leviticus 17:11 specifically says that the blood of the sacrifice must be placed “upon the altar to make atonement for your souls.” That is to say, Leviticus 17:11 explicitly declares that blood can only effect atonement if it is placed on the altar.

The only methods of atonement in the Bible and there are three methods of atonement clearly defined in the Jewish scriptures: the sin sacrifice, repentance, and charity. Moreover, the sin sacrifice (known in the Jewish scriptures as korban chatat) did not atone for all types of sin, but rather, only for man’s most insignificant iniquity: unintentional sins. The sin sacrifice was inadequate to atone for a transgression committed intentionally. The brazen sinner was barred from the sanctuary and had to bear his own iniquity because of his rebellious intent to sin against God. The Torah teaches this fundamental principle in Numbers 15:27-31.

If a person sins unintentionally, then he shall offer a one-year-old female goat for a sin offering. The priest shall make atonement before the LORD for the person who goes astray when he sins unintentionally, making atonement for him that he may be forgiven . The person who does anything defiantly, whether he is native or an alien, that one is blaspheming the LORD; and that person shall be cut off from among his people, because he has despised the word of the LORD and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his guilt shall be on him.

Finally, the prophets loudly declared to the Jewish people that the contrite prayer of the penitent sinner replaces the sacrificial system. Therefore, atonement for unintentional sins today is expiated through devotional supplication to the Merciful One.

In fact, in Hosea 3:4-5, the prophet foretold with divine exactness that the nation of Israel would not have a sacrificial system during the last segment of Jewish history until the messianic age. Hosea 3:4-5 reads, . . . for the children of Israel shall abide many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, without ephod or teraphim. Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They shall fear the LORD and His goodness in the latter days.

In the words of the Bible, this period of time would last for many days. The words of Hosea were meticulously fulfilled, and we are without an animal sacrificial system today. Given the spiritual magnitude of this remarkable prophecy, Hosea was compelled to reveal how the ecclesiastical Temple functions were to be replaced. In essence, if the prophet is testifying that the nation of Israel will indeed be without a sacrificial system during their long exile until the messianic age, what are we to use instead? How are the Jewish people to atone for unintentional sin without a blood sacrifice during their bitter exile? What about all the animal sacrifices prescribed in the Book of Leviticus? Can the Jewish people get along without animal offerings?

For this reason, the statement in Hosea 14:2-3 is crucial. In these two verses, Hosea reveals to his beloved nation how they are to replace the sacrificial system during their protracted exile. The prophet declares that the Almighty wants us to “render for bulls the offering of our lips.” Prayer is to replace the sacrificial system. Hosea 14:2-3 states, Take words with you, and return to the LORD. Say to Him, “Take away all iniquity; receive us graciously, for we will render for bulls the offering of our lips.”

Rather, it is the prayers of the sinner that would become as bulls of the sin offerings.

King Solomon echoes this sentiment as well. In I Kings 8:46-50, King Solomon delivers a startling prophetic message as he inaugurates the first Temple that had just been completed. In his inauguration sermon, King Solomon forewarns that one day the Jewish people would be driven out of the land of Israel, and be banished to the land of their enemies, near and far. During their exile they would fervently desire to repent of their sins. King Solomon then declares that they would face Jerusalem from their exile, confess their sins, “and God will hear their prayers in heaven, and forgive them for all their transgressions.”

Only the contrite and repentant prayer of the remorseful sinner can bring about a complete atonement. King Solomon’s timeless remains the centerpiece of the Jewish system of atonement throughout his long and bitter exile.

Blessings,

Rabbi Tovia Singer HaCohen