And you shall make the robe of the ephod completely of blue wool...

A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, on the bottom hem of the robe, all around.

It shall be on Aaron when he performs the service, and its sound shall be heard when he enters the Holy before the Lord and when he leaves,

so that he will not die.

(Shemot 28:31,34,35)

 

and its sound shall be heard when he enters the Holy - when the [golden] bells strike and hit each other, even though the pomegranate's bulge separates them. And since the Holy One, blessed be He commanded that no person shall be in the Tent of Meeting when he [the High Priest] comes to atone in the Holy until he leaves, therefore the Holy One commanded that his [the High Priest's] noise should be heard as he enters so that those who hear it would leave.

(RaShBaM Shemot 28:35)

 

and its sound shall be heard - the sound of the robe. And some say that when he serves in these vestments the Lord will hearken to his voice to fulfill his prayers when he enters the Holy.

(Ibn Ezra - the Short Commentary ad loc)

 

and its sound shall be heard - and he will enter before his Lord as if by permission, for it is forbidden to enter the king's hall abruptly.

(R. Yitzhak Shemuel Reggio ad loc)

 

and its sound shall be heard - ...It shall be on Aaron when he performs the service can be interpreted as saying that he [Aaron] thinks of the robe as something whose function is wholly related to the service and not [as a means] to glorify himself before the Blessed [God].

(NeTziV MiVolozhin: Ha'Amek Davar ad loc)

 

R. Simon said in the name of R. Yonatan of Bet Gubrin: There were two things for which no atonement was made [by the sacrifices], but the Torah provided an atonement for them, namely, slander and involuntary murder. No atonement was made [by the sacrifices] for slander, but the Torah provided an atonement for it, namely, the bell of the robe, as it says, It shall be on Aaron when he performs the service, and its sound shall be heard (Shemot 28:35); this sound is to come and make atonement for the voice of slander. Nor was there atonement for one who murdered involuntarily, but the Torah provided him with an atonement, namely, the death of the High Priest, as it says, And he shall dwell therein until the death of the high priest (Bamidbar 35: 25).

(Shir HaShirim Rabbah 4, based on Soncino translation)

 

 

There is No Joy Like the Resolution of Doubts;

"A bat kol came forth and said... "

Dalia Marx

One of the most troubling worries nestling in the hearts of the religious is concerned with whether they truly manage to fulfill the obligations of their faith and the demands made by their God. Believers, great and small and from different creeds and different eras, share this common anxiety: perhaps their acts are unworthy, improper, or unwanted by God

There is a midrash that talks about Moses preparing the anointing oil mentioned in our parasha (Shemot 25:6) that was used to anoint the High Priest and the vessels of the Tabernacle service and whose private use was prohibited (see Shemot 30). Moses is worried that he might not have carried out the command properly and he asks: "Have I, God forbid, made an improper use of the anointing oil?" (Horayot 12b), and so does his brother Aaron. Regarding this R. Moshe Hayyim Luzzato, the author of Mesilat Yesharim, writes: "Such is character of the pious; even regarding a commandment which they performed they worry and say, 'Lest some tiny bit of impropriety was intermixed with it - God forbid'" (Biyur Yirat Het, 24). This is the constant anxiety which dogs both the pious and - all the more so - the regular human beings who toil in God's service; they want to be sure their deeds are pleasing and acceptable. People usually never receive explicit approval of their actions, but the midrash mentioned above tells us that a bat kol [a heavenly voice, literally "daughter of voice," but see further explanations below] did supply the two brothers with such confirmation:

Our Rabbis taught: It is like the precious oil… coming down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard, etc.(Psalms 133)... And concerning this matter, Moses was anxious. He said, 'Have I, God forbid, made an improper use of the anointing oil?'

A bat kol came forth and called out, Like the precious oil…, like the dew of Hermon (ibid) as the law of improper use of holy objects is not applicable to the dew of Hermon, so also is it not applicable to the anointing oil on the beard of Aaron.

Aaron however, was still anxious. He said, 'It is possible that Moses did not trespass, but I may have trespassed'.

A bat kol came forth and said to him, Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity (ibid) as Moses is not guilty of trespass, so are you not guilty of trespass. (Bavli, Horayot 12a, based on Soncino translation)

Moses and Aaron worry that they might have accidentally misused the anointing oil; perhaps they touched it unnecessarily, or poured some on a spot that did not need anointing, or perhaps their intentions were imperfect.¹ Their anxiety involves the human fear of not performing deeds properly. The brothers' doubts are removed thanks to the bat kol which grants approval first to Moses' actions and then to Aaron's.

What is this bat kol - this "daughter of voice" - that comes forth twice in the midrash to calm Moses' and Aaron's fears? What is her status? What can we know of her existential essence? Comparison with two parallel traditions from the literature of the Sages teaches us that bat kol is not an entirely distinctive term: in the parallel Tannaitic source it is not the bat kol who bears the calming message, but rather: "The Holy Spirit [ruah hakodesh] answered him, 'Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. It is like the precious oil... '" (Sifra Shemini 1). In contrast, a later source mentions neither the Holy Spirit nor the bat kol, but rather: "Scripture testified for him - Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. It is like the precious oil... (Tanhuma [Vilna] Korah, 6).

What can we learn by comparing these three traditions? The earliest Tannaitic source has the Holy Spirit speaking, while the latest source - the Tanhuma - has Scripture itself testifying. Between the two (chronologically speaking) is the Talmudic version, which talks about a bat kol.

In an article which appeared in the Vayetze 5769 edition of Shabbat Shalom, I discussed some characteristic aspects of bat kol as it is described in the literature of the Sages. Here I shall continue investigating this fascinating phenomenon as it is described in rabbinic literature. There are four typical ways in which the term is understood:²

A) A Heavenly Bat kol, minor prophecy - God's words or transmitted words. For instance, after Rabbi Akiva's soul left him while his flesh was being torn with iron combs as he prolonged the recitation of the Shema and the angels complained about his fate, God replies: Their portion is in life and immediately we read: "A bat kol emerged and said: 'Happy are you Rabbi Akiva, for you are destined for life in the World to Come.'" (Bavli, Berakhot 61b). This kind of bat kol comforts, prohibits, admonishes, decides, and promises; it connects our world with the heavenly world. It is interesting that our region's other ancient cultures knew of phenomena similar to this kind of bat kol found in the literature of the Sages.³

B) An earthly bat kol to which is attributed a degree of prophecy - There is a story about R.Yohanan and R. Shimon ben Lakish wanting to visit Shmuel; they asked for a sign to let them know if they should make the journey. They decided: "We shall go after hearing a bat kol." Passing by a house they heard children calling out a verse from their lesson: and Shmuel died (I Samuel 28). They understood from this that the Amora Shmuel had died (J. Shabbat 6,9; 8c). Here we see how an ordinary utterance can be transformed into a kind of prophetic oracle for sages who requested a sign.

C) An earthly bat kol which expresses a general human truth - That is, an epigrammatic utterance. Kohut wrote about this kind of bat kol: "A human voice through which some matter is revealed and clarified, becoming a universal item of speech" (note 2). For instance, in the story about the mother whose seven sons were martyred because they refused to bow down to an idol, we read: "After a few days that woman went mad, fell from a roof, and died... and a bat kol came forth and said: the mother of the sons is joyful (Eikhah Rabbah [Vilna edition] 1:50). The bat kol which quoted from Psalms represents general opinion regarding the situation. True, in this case the bat kol may also be placed in the first category, that is, a bat kol which is heard after someone's death and tells of the person's condition and future lot. A parallel version of the story offers proof that it is actually referring to a human proverb: "And they read [this verse] as relating to her, the mother of the sons is joyful" (Eikhah Rabbah [Buber edition] 1).

D. A plain human voice. For example: "And one weds [couples] by the authority of a bat kol [that claims that the woman is widowed]. There was a case in which someone stood up on a hill top and said: 'So and so the son of so and so from such and such a place is dead.' They went [up the hill] but could find no one there and they married off his [the presumably dead man's] wife" (Mishnah Yevamot 16:6). That, by the way, is the term's sole occurrence in the Mishnah. It refers to the voice of an unseen human being whose testimony is relied upon in a legal ruling. In medieval literature, the term bat kol took on the additional meaning of "echo."

How can such different phenomena all be called by the same name? The meanings of the term bat kol are so different and varied that one might ask whether it is polysemic (one expression bearing several related definitions) or whether it is a homonym (a single string of letters used to designate a number of different words). I tend to think it is polysemic; while bat kol's significations are different, they are also related to each other and belong to the same common family of concepts. They are all acoustical phenomena; they are all completely reliable (perhaps making bat kol preferable in this regard to prophecy, since there are true and false prophecies and people are left having to distinguish between the two); they are usually authoritative or granted authority; and the producer of the bat kol always remains unseen to those who hear it.

This polysemy actual seems to serve a purpose; the various meanings join together to form a single continuum bridging Heaven and earth and linking the divine voice which speaks to humans with the human voice that goes forth into the world. There is a divine bat kol (Shekhinah, prophecy, etc.) and there is an anonymous yet human bat kol which lacks attribution but bears meaning for its audience. Sometimes that meaning is halakhic, sometimes it relates to faith and feelings, and sometimes it is simply informative. There is also a heavenly bat kol, such as that mentioned in the story of tanuro shel akhna'i [the "Oven of Akhna'i"] where its authority in deciding halakhic matters is rejected by the Sages (while, interestingly enough, elsewhere the Sages are happy to accept the bat kol's ruling in favor of Beit Hillel's halakhic positions).

And what of our generation? We have been granted no direct prophecy and no bat kol speaks to us. We are left having to search for "daughters of voice" [bat kol can be literally rendered "daughter of voice"], and sometimes even "granddaughters" and “great-granddaughters" of voice in the deeds of our brothers and sisters; we must listen for Divinity speaking to us through the actions of our fellow human beings. If we manage to even occasionally succeed, perhaps it will help us a little in dealing with the disturbing uncertainties mentioned in the beginning of this article.

1. Midrash Tanhuma makes Aaron's anxieties explicit: "Come and see the piety of Aaron the Righteous. When Moses poured the anointing oil on his head, Aaron shivered and was terrified and said: 'My brother Moses, perhaps I was unworthy to be anointed with the holy oil and [thus] I misused it and have become deserving of karet [being "cut off"]'" (Tanhuma, Vilna edition Korah 6). Rashi explains that Moses was worried that he might have misused the anointing oil by touching it while dressing Aaron, while Aaron expresses his anxiety in these words: "Perhaps some of the oil fell on me on a spot unworthy of anointing and thus I misused it."

2. Several researchers and exegetes have already created taxonomies of the bat kol phenomenon in the literature of the Sages. I have accepted and built upon some of their ideas, while setting aside others. Their discussions include: E.E. Urbach MeOlamam shel Hakhamim, Jerusalem 2002, pp. 23-27; S. Lieberman, Yevanim VeYivanut BeEretz Yisrael, Jerusalem 5744, pp. 294-298; Y Kahut, Hashlamot LaArukh HaShalem, II, pp. 212-214; HaEntziklopedia HaTalmudit, idem. Bat kol, pp. 214-215. These were all preceded by Tosafot Yom Tov on Yevamot 16:6.

3. See: D. Sperling, "Akkadian egerru and Hebrew bt.qwl," JANES, 4 (1972), pp. 62-64.

Dr. Dalia Marx is spending this year as a visiting professor at Potsdam University and at Abraham Geiger College in Berlin.

 

Remember what Amalek did to you on your journey... and cut down all the stragglers in your rear... undeterred by fear of God... You shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven, do not forget!

(Devarim 25: 17-19)

 

Blot out the memory of Amalek - Israel said to the Holy One Blessed Be He: Master of all worlds, you tell us to blot out the memory of Amalek!? We are flesh and blood, we last but an hour - You who exist and live forever - You remember! The Holy One Blessed Be He told them: My children, you need only read the passage about Amalek every year, and I will count it as if you are blotting its name out from the world.

(Pesiktah Rabbati 12)

 

It is a positive commandment to destroy the memory of Amalek, for it says, You shall blot out the memory of Amalek, and it is a positive commandment to always recall its evil deeds and waylaying in order to inflame hatred against it, for it is said, remember what Amalek did to you. Tradition teaches that remember is performed with the mouth, do not forget with the heart, for it is forbidden to forget to bear hostility and hatred towards it.

(RaMBaM, Hilkhot Melakhim, 5:5)

 

'Do not forget' - Do not forget this thing if the day comes and you will want to become like Amalek, and, like Amalek, you fail to recognize your obligation and do not know God. Rather, you only seek opportunities, in matters small or great, to exploit your advantage in order to harm your fellow men. Do not forget this if the day comes and you ask to relieve your heart of its role and its mission as Israel that you have taken upon yourself amongst humanity. Do not envy the laurels which a foolish world throws to those happy with having destroyed the happiness of others. Remember the tear-soaked soil which nurtures the laurels of those wreathes, do not forget this thing when the day comes and you yourself suffer Amalek's violence and coarseness. Keep standing straight! Preserve the humanity and values of justice that you learned from your God. The future belongs to them, and in the end humanity and justice will overcome coarseness and violence. You yourself were sent in order to announce and to bring near - with your very example - that overcoming and that future.

Do not forget - and in order that you not forget, remember from time to time, renew in your heart the memory of Amalek and what you have been told of its future.

(From Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch's commentary on Devarim 25:19, written circa 1860!)

 

And the king said to Esther...: "...what is your request, even to half the kingdom, it shall be fulfilled." Half the kingdom and not the whole kingdom, and not something that would divide the kingdom. What is that? The rebuilding of the Temple.

Let the King and Haman come to the wine-feast. Our rabbis taught: Why did Esther invite Haman?

R. Eliezer says: She set a trap for him, for it is said: Let their tables set before them be for them as a trap (Psalms 69).

R. Yehoshua says: She learned it in her father's house, for it is said, If your enemy is hungry, feed him bread, etc. (Proverbs 25).

R. Meir says: So that he would not be able to consider his situation, and rebel.

R. Yehudah says: So that he would not realize that she was a Jewess.

R. Nehemiah says: So that Israel would not say, "We have a sister in the King's house," and [feeling secure] take their minds off of [seeking Divine] mercy.

R.Yossi says: So that he would constantly be available to her [i.e., so that she would be able to find an opportunity to trip him up].

R. Shimon ben Menasyah says: So that perhaps the Omnipresent would take notice and perform a miracle for her.

R. Yehoshua ben Korha says: In order to show him [Haman] favor, so that both he and she would be killed [by the king, out of jealousy].

(Megillah 15b)

 

 

 

 

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