Friday, September 07, 2007

With Them All, Forever

וְשָׁבֿ -ֲ-ֹֿ-ָ- אֱ-ֹ-ֶיךָֿ אֶתֿ שְׁבֿוּתְֿךָֿ...
דברים ל:ג

And G-d your God will come back (with) your captivity*...
Deuteronomy 30:3

(*i.e. those of you who were taken captive and taken away to exile)

Rashi comments:
It would have made more sense to write וְהֵשִׁיב (and [God] will bring back) — and so our Sages learned from here that God's presence, as it were, is together with the Jewish People in the distress of their Exile, and when they will be redeemed, God decreed redemption for Godself, that God will come back together with them.

And there is more to say — the day of the Ingathering of the Exiles is great and difficult, as if God Godself had to grab each individual by the hand, [dragging them] from their place, as that which is said:

And you will be gathered one by one, Children of Israel.

And even by the exiles of Other Nations we have found thus:

And I will come/bring back (with) the captivity of Mo’av.

And I will come/bring back (with) the captivity of Egypt.


הַעִדֹֿתִֿי בָֿכֶֿם הַיּוֹם אֶתֿ הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֶתֿ הָאָרֶץ...
דברים ל:יט

I have set against you as witnesses today the Heavens and the Earth...
Deuteronomy 30:19

Rashi comments:
The Holy Blessèd One said to Israel,
"Look at the heavens that I created to serve you — have they ever changed their qualities? Has the wheel of the sun ever not risen from the east to enlighten the entire world?"
As is said:
The sun rises, and the sun sets.
Look at the earth that I created to serve you — has it ever changed its qualities? Have you ever planted seeds in it that did not sprout? Or maybe you planted wheat and it came up barley?
...
uniformitarianism min haTora minayin?
(where do we see a source for it in the Torah?)

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