Parshas Ki Savo 5775

Who is the Aramean Referred to in the Torah?

The Torah writes (Deuteronomy 26:5):

And thou shalt speak and say before the LORD thy God: ‘A wandering Aramean was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there, few in number; and he became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous.

The Passover Hagaddah (see here) learns that this was Laban (see also Rashi here):

Go out and learn what what Lavan the Aramean sought to do to Ya'akov, our father; since Pharaoh only decreed [the death sentence] on the males but Lavan sought to uproot the whole [people]. As it is stated (Deuteronomy 26:5), "An Aramean was destroying my father and he went down to Egypt, and he resided there with a small number and he became there a nation, great, powerful and numerous."

The Rashbam (ibid) learns that this refers to Abraham:

ארמי אובד אבי, as if the Torah had written” my father Avraham was an Aramite, lost, and exiled from his birthplace Aram.” G’d had told him in Genesis 12,1 “go forth for yourself from your homeland, etc.” Later on, Avraham himself relates to Avimelech the king of the Philistines, (Genesis 20,13) that G’d had made him wander, away from his father’s house, etc. The meaning of the word אובד here is similar to תועה, the root Avraham used to describe wandering without specific objective, almost like walking because one is lost.

The Sforno (ibid) learns that this refers to Jacob:

ארמי אובד אבי, my father, i.e. Yaakov, who was for a while a wandering lost person without a home of his own, was not at the time able to establish a nation deserving or fit to inherit this land.

[see also Josh Waxman's parshablog which discusses grammatical reasons for why this cannot be Laban. Also see Sefer Shaarei Aharon here for further discussion]

Who is the king in the Tochacha?

The Torah writes (Deuteronomy  28:36):

The LORD will bring thee, and thy king whom thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation that thou hast not known, thou nor thy fathers; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone.

The Ramban (Leviticus 26:16) learns that this refers to King Agrippa II:

And furthermore a proof from what it says "And G-d will bring you, and the king whom you shall set over you to a nation which you have not known; you and your forefathers" - for King Agrippa travelled to Rome in the end of the period of the Second Temple, and from that journey the Temple was destroyed. It does not say "the king which rules over you" but "your king which you placed" - G-d hints to us that he was not fit for kingship and it was forbidden for him to rule over the Jews according to Torah law. Nevertheless, he was set to rule - he and his ancestors, against the law, as it is explained in Sotah (41b)

He adds later on (Deuteronomy 28:42) that this may also refer to King Aristobulus II:

It also makes sense that this verse hints to another king before Agrippa and that would be Aristobulus who was captured by a Roman general and brought to Rome in chains

The Talmud (Yomah 52b) cites King Josiah who thought this verse referred to him:

Who hid it (i.e. the Ark)? [King] Josiah hid it. What was his reason? He saw the verse: "The LORD will bring thee, and thy king whom thou shalt set over thee"

(Rashi [ibid] explains this based on the Jerusalem Talmud [Shekalim] that he was afraid he would go to exile in Babylon and this verse was referring to him)

(It is possible that the phrase "that you set over you" refers to Josiah because he was appointed by the people after they assassinated his father)

Midrash Lekach Tov / Pesikta Zutrasi (Ki Savo) says:

These are kings Jeconiah, Zedekiah and Jehoiakim

(The phrase "that you set over you" may refer to these kings because they were appointed by outside sources - Pharaoh Necho and Nebuchadnezzar)

Related Posts

Where did the Levites Live? (Parshas Shoftim 5775)

Who are the Elders? (Parshas Vaeschanan 5775)

Placement of Levites during the blessings and curses (Parshas Reeh 5775)

Who was Sihon, Og and Other Giants (Parshas Devarim 5775) 

Location of Mt. Ebal and Mt. Gerizim (Parshas Reeh 5775)

[Published at parshapeople.blogspot.com]