Re'emim
(ו) חֶ֣רֶב לַיהוָ֞ה מָלְאָ֥ה דָם֙ הֻדַּ֣שְׁנָה מֵחֵ֔לֶב מִדַּ֤ם כָּרִים֙ וְעַתּוּדִ֔ים מֵחֵ֖לֶב כִּלְי֣וֹת אֵילִ֑ים כִּ֣י זֶ֤בַח לַֽיהוָה֙ בְּבָצְרָ֔ה וְטֶ֥בַח גָּד֖וֹל בְּאֶ֥רֶץ אֱדֽוֹם׃ (ז) וְיָרְד֤וּ רְאֵמִים֙ עִמָּ֔ם וּפָרִ֖ים עִם־אַבִּירִ֑ים וְרִוְּתָ֤ה אַרְצָם֙ מִדָּ֔ם וַעֲפָרָ֖ם מֵחֵ֥לֶב יְדֻשָּֽׁן׃
(6) The LORD has a sword; it is sated with blood, It is gorged with fat— The blood of lambs and he-goats, The kidney fat of rams. For the LORD holds a sacrifice in Bozrah, A great slaughter in the land of Edom. (7) Wild oxen shall fall with them, Young bulls with mighty steers; And their land shall be drunk with blood, Their soil shall be saturated with fat.
(יז) בְּכ֨וֹר שׁוֹר֜וֹ הָדָ֣ר ל֗וֹ וְקַרְנֵ֤י רְאֵם֙ קַרְנָ֔יו בָּהֶ֗ם עַמִּ֛ים יְנַגַּ֥ח יַחְדָּ֖ו אַפְסֵי־אָ֑רֶץ וְהֵם֙ רִבְב֣וֹת אֶפְרַ֔יִם וְהֵ֖ם אַלְפֵ֥י מְנַשֶּֽׁה׃ (ס)
(17) Like a firstling bull in his majesty, He has horns like the horns of the wild-ox; With them he gores the peoples, The ends of the earth one and all. These are the myriads of Ephraim, Those are the thousands of Manasseh.
(ט) הֲיֹ֣אבֶה רֵּ֣ים עָבְדֶ֑ךָ אִם־יָ֝לִ֗ין עַל־אֲבוּסֶֽךָ׃ (י) הֲֽתִקְשָׁר־רֵ֭ים בְּתֶ֣לֶם עֲבֹת֑וֹ אִם־יְשַׂדֵּ֖ד עֲמָקִ֣ים אַחֲרֶֽיךָ׃ (יא) הֲֽתִבְטַח־בּ֭וֹ כִּי־רַ֣ב כֹּח֑וֹ וְתַעֲזֹ֖ב אֵלָ֣יו יְגִיעֶֽךָ׃ (יב) הֲתַאֲמִ֣ין בּ֭וֹ כִּי־ישוב [יָשִׁ֣יב] זַרְעֶ֑ךָ וְֽגָרְנְךָ֥ יֶאֱסֹֽף׃
(9) Would the wild ox agree to serve you? Would he spend the night at your crib? (10) Can you hold the wild ox by ropes to the furrow? Would he plow up the valleys behind you? (11) Would you rely on his great strength And leave your toil to him? (12) Would you trust him to bring in the seed And gather it in from your threshing floor?
אָמַר רַבָּה לְדִידִי חֲזֵי לִי אוּרְזִילָא בַּר יוֹמֵיהּ דַּהֲוָה כְּהַר תָּבוֹר וְהַר תָּבוֹר כַּמָּה הָוֵי אַרְבַּע פַּרְסֵי וּמְשָׁאכָא דְצַוְּארֵיהּ תְּלָתָא פַּרְסֵי וּבֵי מַרְבַּעְתָּא דְרֵישֵׁיהּ פַּרְסָא וּפַלְגָא רְמָא כּוּפְתָּא וּסְכַר לֵיהּ לְיַרְדְּנָא
Rabba said: I have seen a day-old antelope [urzila] that was as large as Mount Tabor. And how large is Mount Tabor? It is four parasangs. And the length of its neck was three parasangs, and the place where his head rests was a parasang and a half. It cast feces [kufta] and thereby dammed up the Jordan.
בשלמא למ"ד לא ירד מבול לא"י היינו דקם רימא התם אלא למ"ד ירד רימא היכא קם א"ר ינאי גוריות הכניסו בתיבה והאמר רבה בר בר חנה לדידי חזי לי אורזילא דרימא בת יומא והוי כהר תבור והר תבור כמה הויא ארבעין פרסי משכא דצואריה תלתא פרסי מרבעתא דרישא פרסא ופלגא רמא כבא וסכר ירדנא א"ר יוחנן ראשו הכניסו לתיבה והאמר מר מרבעתא דרישא פרסא ופלגא אלא ראש חוטמו הכניסו לתיבה והא א"ר יוחנן לא ירד מבול לא"י לדברי ר"ל קאמר והא קסגיא תיבה אמר ר"ל קרניו קשרו בתיבה והאמר רב חסדא אנשי דור המבול ברותחין קלקלו וברותחין נידונו ולטעמיך תיבה היכי סגיא ועוד עוג מלך הבשן היכא קאי אלא נס נעשה להם שנצטננו בצידי התיבה
The Gemara asks: Granted, according to the one who says the flood did not descend upon Eretz Yisrael, i.e., Rabbi Yoḥanan, this is the explanation of the fact that the reima remained there, in Eretz Yisrael, and survived the flood. But according to the one who says the flood descended upon Eretz Yisrael, i.e., Reish Lakish, how did the reima remain? Given its large size, it clearly could not have fit into Noah’s ark. Rabbi Yannai says: They brought reima cubs into the ark, and they survived the flood. The Gemara asks: But doesn’t Rabba bar bar Ḥana say: I have seen a day-old offspring of the reima, and it was as large as Mount Tabor. And how large is Mount Tabor? It is forty parasangs. And the length of the cub’s neck was three parasangs, and the place where its head rests, i.e., its neck, was a parasang and a half. It cast feces, and thereby dammed up the Jordan river. Even the cub would have been too large for the ark. Rabbi Yoḥanan says: They brought only the head of the cub into the ark, while its body remained outside. The Gemara asks: But doesn’t the Master, i.e., Rabba bar bar Ḥana, say that the size of the place where its head rests was a parasang and a half? Consequently, even its head alone would not fit into the ark. Rather, they brought the head, i.e., edge, of its nose into the ark, so that it might breathe. The Gemara wonders why Rabbi Yoḥanan was compelled to give this answer: But doesn’t Rabbi Yoḥanan say that the flood did not descend upon Eretz Yisrael? According to his opinion, perhaps the reima survived by remaining there during the flood. The Gemara answers that Rabbi Yoḥanan said his answer in accordance with the statement of Reish Lakish. The Gemara challenges: But the ark was moving upon the water. How it was possible to keep the nose of the reima in the ark? Reish Lakish says: They tied its horns to the ark, so that the reima would move with it. The Gemara asks: But doesn’t Rav Ḥisda say that the people of the generation of the flood sinned with boiling heat and were punished with boiling heat? How could the reima have survived the boiling water? The Gemara replies: And according to your reasoning, that it was impossible to survive the boiling water, how did the ark itself move? It was covered with pitch, which melts in boiling water. Moreover, how did Og, king of the Bashan (see Numbers 21:33–35), who according to tradition was of the generation of the flood, stand, i.e., survive the boiling water? Rather, it must be that a miracle was performed for them, namely that the water on the sides of the ark cooled, allowing the ark, the reima, and Og to survive.
Tachash
(ה) וְעֹרֹ֨ת אֵילִ֧ם מְאָדָּמִ֛ים וְעֹרֹ֥ת תְּחָשִׁ֖ים וַעֲצֵ֥י שִׁטִּֽים׃
(5) tanned ram skins, dolphin skins, and acacia wood;
(ב) תחשים. מִין חַיָּה, וְלֹא הָיְתָה אֶלָּא לְשָׁעָה, וְהַרְבֵּה גְּוָנִים הָיוּ לָהּ, לְכָךְ מְתֻרְגָּם סַסְגּוֹנָא שֶׁשָּׂשׂ וּמִתְפָּאֵר בִּגְוָנִין שֶׁלּוֹ (שבת כ"ח):
(2) תחשים TACHASH was a kind of wild beast. It existed only at that time (when Israel built the Tabernacle). It was multi-coloured and therefore it is translated in the Targum by ססגונה, and it is so translated because it delights (שָׂשׂ) and prides itself in its colours (גונא) (Shabbat 28; Midrash Tanchuma, Terumah 6).
(א) ויעש ה' אלהים לאדם ולאשתו כתנות עור. ע"ד הפשט עשה להם מלבושים מעולים ונכבדים מעור יתעטפו בהם כל גופם דרך כבוד כי היה כבודם לכלמה אם יעמדו באותן חגורות שעשו להם לכסות בשר ערוה בלבד. ואולי היה העור הזה עור תחש שהיה בימי משה נברא לשעתו לכבודם שיתכסו בו והיה כעין אותו עור תחש שהיה בימי משה שנברא לשעתו לכסות בו הארון וכליו ונגנז אח"כ והיו בו צבעים ומיני גוונים הרבה וכמו שתרגם אונקלוס ססגונא ששש בגוונין הרבה. ודעת רז"ל שהיו לבושים הללו מצויירין שם כל מיני עופות שבעולם ואדם הורישם לקין וכשנהרג קין באו לידו של נמרוד הוא שכתוב הוא היה גבור ציד וגו'. וכשהרג עשו לנמרוד נטלן עשו ממנו והוא שכתוב (בראשית כז טו) את בגדי עשו בנה הגדול החמודות מאי החמודות שחמדן מנמרוד.
(1) ויעש ה' אלוקים לאדם ולאשתו כתנות עור. “The Lord G-d made leather coats for man and his wife.” According to the plain meaning of the text, G-d made superior kinds of garments for them, garments which would cover their entire bodies and which would make them look distinguished. This had become necessary as their inherent dignity had turned to shame (compare Psalms 4,3 עד מה כבודי לכלמה, “how long will my honour be shamed?”) as long as only their genitals were covered by the fig leaves.
Perhaps this leather was made from the animal called Tachash which the Jewish people used as a covering for the Tabernacle in the desert . According to Tanchuma on Parshat Terumah 6, the Tachash had been created only for that purpose at the time. Possibly, here too, the animal out of whose hide these coats of Adam and Chavah were made had been created only for that purpose. According to Shabbat 28, the Holy Ark and other vessels of the Tabernacle were wrapped in the skin of the Tachash when they were being transported. Afterwards, these covers were hidden, never to be found again. Apparently this skin was multi-coloured. This would help to make anyone dressed in it look very distinguished.
Onkelos translates עור תחש as ססגונא “a multi-coloured skin.” The opinion of our sages appears to be that these garments had pictures of all the birds of the world and that Adam bequeathed them to his son Cain. When Cain was killed, they passed over to Nimrod; this is the meaning of Genesis 10,9 והוא היה גבור ציד “he was a very prodigious hunter.” At the death of Nimrod, these garments became the property of Esau. When the Torah speaks of these valuable garments which Esau entrusted to his mother (Genesis 27,15), the word חמודות, “desirable,” means that Esau (also a hunter) had long desired to obtain these garments from Nimrod.
Perhaps this leather was made from the animal called Tachash which the Jewish people used as a covering for the Tabernacle in the desert . According to Tanchuma on Parshat Terumah 6, the Tachash had been created only for that purpose at the time. Possibly, here too, the animal out of whose hide these coats of Adam and Chavah were made had been created only for that purpose. According to Shabbat 28, the Holy Ark and other vessels of the Tabernacle were wrapped in the skin of the Tachash when they were being transported. Afterwards, these covers were hidden, never to be found again. Apparently this skin was multi-coloured. This would help to make anyone dressed in it look very distinguished.
Onkelos translates עור תחש as ססגונא “a multi-coloured skin.” The opinion of our sages appears to be that these garments had pictures of all the birds of the world and that Adam bequeathed them to his son Cain. When Cain was killed, they passed over to Nimrod; this is the meaning of Genesis 10,9 והוא היה גבור ציד “he was a very prodigious hunter.” At the death of Nimrod, these garments became the property of Esau. When the Torah speaks of these valuable garments which Esau entrusted to his mother (Genesis 27,15), the word חמודות, “desirable,” means that Esau (also a hunter) had long desired to obtain these garments from Nimrod.
(א) ועורות תחשים. מין חיה, ודרשו רז"ל בפרק במה מדליקים תחש שהיה בימי משה בריה בפני עצמה היה וקרן אחת היה לו במצחו ולפי שעה נזדמן למשה ועשה ממנו משכן ונגנז. כלומר שהתחשים ההם שנזדמנו במדבר לא נזדמנו אלא לצורך המשכן בלבד ולכבודו של הקב"ה לקחת מהם עורותיהם שהיו מצויירים בציור נפלא ומעולה ואח"כ נתעלמו. ודקדקו רז"ל מדקאמרי קרן היה לו במצחו שמע מינה טהור הוא דהא אמרינן שור שהקריב אדם הראשון קרן אחת היה לו במצחו שנאמר (תהילים ס״ט:ל״ב) ותיטב לה' משור פר מקרן מפריס מקרין תרתי משמע מקרן כתיב. ועוד שלא הוכשר למלאכת שמים אלא בהמה טהורה בלבד שנאמר (שמות י״ג:ט׳) למען תהיה תורת ה' בפיך מן המותר בפיך. והרבה גוונים היו לו, ולכך תרגם אונקלוס ססגונא מתפאר בגוונים שלו.
(1) . ועורות תחשים, “and the skins of the tachash.” The tachash was some kind of free-roaming beast. Our sages in Shabbat 28 are of the opinion that the tachash was an animal which existed only during that generation and had a single horn on its forehead. Its whole function was to have its skin serve as one of the coverings of the Tabernacle. Apparently, the colour of their skin was so beautiful that it was not to be used again for secular purposes so that G’d allowed this animal to become extinct as soon as it had fulfilled its purpose. Our sages on that same folio explain that the fact that it had a horn on its forehead was proof that it was a ritually pure animal. According to our tradition the ox offered by Adam as a sacrifice also had only a single horn on its forehead. This is based on Psalms 69,32: “ותיטיב לה’ משור פר מקרן מפריס, “that will please the Lord more than oxen, than a bull with a horn and hooves.” The singular of the word קרן means that a particular bull had only one horn. Although the vowel pattern under the word מקרן suggests more than one, the absence of the letter י suggests that David speaks about a single-horned bull. At any rate, unless the tachash had been ritually pure, none of its parts would have qualified for use in the Tabernacle. We have a strong allusion to this in the words of Exodus 13,9 למען תהיה תורת ה’ בפיך, “so that what goes into your mouth should conform to the Torah of the Lord.” Seeing that the tachash had so many colours Onkelos translates ססגונה, “proud of its being multi-coloured.”
מֵתִיב רַבִּי אַבָּא, רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר: שְׁנֵי מִכְסָאוֹת הָיוּ, אֶחָד שֶׁל עוֹרוֹת אֵילִים מְאָדָּמִים וְאֶחָד שֶׁל עוֹרוֹת תְּחָשִׁים. רַבִּי נְחֶמְיָה אוֹמֵר: מִכְסֶה אֶחָד הָיָה, וְדוֹמֶה כְּמִין תְּלָא אִילָן. וְהָא תְּלָא אִילָן טָמֵא הוּא! הָכִי קָאָמַר: כְּמִין תְּלָא אִילָן הוּא, שֶׁיֵּשׁ בּוֹ גְּווֹנִין הַרְבֵּה, וְלֹא תְּלָא אִילָן. דְּאִילּוּ הָתָם טָמֵא, וְהָכָא טָהוֹר. אָמַר רַב יוֹסֵף: אִי הָכִי הַיְינוּ דִּמְתַרְגְּמִינַן ״סָסְגּוֹנָא״, שֶׁשָּׂשׂ בִּגְווֹנִין הַרְבֵּה.
Rabbi Abba raised an objection. Rabbi Yehuda says: There were two coverings for the Tabernacle, one made of the reddened hides of rams and one of the hides of teḥashim. Rabbi Neḥemya says: There was only one covering for the Tabernacle, half of which was made of rams’ hides and half from the hides of teḥashim. And teḥashim were similar to the species of undomesticated animals called tela ilan. The Gemara asks: But isn’t a tela ilan a non-kosher creature? The Gemara emends this statement: This is what Rabbi Neḥemya intended to say: It was like a tela ilan in that it was multicolored; however, it was not an actual tela ilan. There, the tela ilan is non-kosher, and here, the covering of the tent was made from kosher animals. Rav Yosef said: If so, that is the reason that we translate the word taḥash as sasgona, which means that it rejoices [sas] in many colors [gevanim].
(א) וְזֹאת הַתְּרוּמָה וְגוֹ'. וְעֹרֹת אֵילִם מְאָדָּמִים וְעֹרֹת תְּחָשִׁים. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה וְרַבִּי נֶחְמְיָה. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר: חַיָּה טְהוֹרָה גְּדוֹלָה הָיְתָה בַּמִּדְבָּר וְקֶרֶן אַחַת הָיָה לָהּ בְּמִצְחָהּ, וּבְעוֹרָהּ שִׁשָּׁה גְּוָנִים, וְנָטְלוּ אוֹתָהּ וְעָשׂוּ מִמֶּנָּה יְרִיעוֹת. וְרַבִּי נְחֶמְיָה אוֹמֵר: מַעֲשֵׂה נִסִּים הָיְתָה, וּלְשָׁעָה שֶׁנִּבְרֵאת, בָּהּ בַּשָּׁנָה נִגְנְזָה. וְעֹרֹת תְּחָשִׁים, לָמָּה? דִּכְתִיב: אֹרֶךְ הַיְרִיעָה הָאַחַת שְׁלֹשִים בָּאַמָּה. מִי מֵבִיא לְךָ יְרִיעָה שֶׁל שְׁלֹשִׁים אַמָּה. אֶלָּא מַעֲשֵׂה נֵס, לְשָׁעָה שֶׁנִּבְרֵאת נִגְנְזָה.
(1) This is the offering … and rams’ skins dyed red, and sealskins (Exod. 25:3). R. Judah and R. Nehemiah discussed this verse. R. Judah said: It was a large pure animal, with a single horn in its forehead and a skin of six different colors that roamed the desert.9The authorities were undecided as to whether it was a domesticated animal or a wild beast. See Shabbat 28b. They captured one of them and from its skin made a covering for the ark. R. Nehemiah contended that it was a miraculous creature He created for that precise moment, and that it disappeared immediately thereafter from earth. Why is it called orot tahashim (“sealskins,” lit. “skins of tahashim”)? Because the verse states: The length of each curtain shall be thirty cubits (Exod. 26:8). What known animal could supply enough skin for a curtain of thirty cubits? It must, indeed, have been a miraculous creation, which disappeared (immediately after it was created).
(ב) ולא היתה אלא לשעה. דאם לא כן הרי לא הותר למלאכת שמים אלא בהמה טהורה (שבת כח ע"ב), דכתיב (לעיל יג, ט) "למען תהיה תורה ה' בפיך" מן המותר בפיך, ואם כן תחש חיה טהורה היה, ולמה לא מנה אותה בבהמות וחיות טהורות, אלא לשעה היתה, ולא מנה דבר שהיה לשעה. והא דכתיב (יחזקאל טז, י) "ואנעלך תחש", דמשמע שהיו הרבה תחשים בימי משה והיו עושים ממנו מנעלים, זהו לא קשיא, דודאי כשברא הקב"ה לאותה חיה בשביל המשכן - הרבה היו למאוד, ולא שנבראו עשרה דוקא, רק שהיו הרבה. ומה שאמר רבי תנחומא משום רבי נחמיה (תנחומא תרומה, ו) 'מעשה נסים היה, לשעה נבראה ולשעה נגנזה', אין משמעו שלא היתה אלא לשעה אחת, רק היו צדין הרבה מאד עד שהיה די להם, ולא הוצרכו מנעלים יותר, שלא בלו מנעלים שלהם מעל רגליהם כדכתיב בקרא (דברים כט, ד):