After the vision of the burning bush, Moshe Rabbeinu returns to Yitro and tells him that he received instructions to return to Egypt. After being questioned why he’d return to a place everyone was trying to escape, Moshe explains that Hakadosh Baruch Hu revealed Himself to him and Bnei Yisrael were set to receive the Torah. Yitro wishes him success, and Moshe sets out on his way:
Moshe took his wife and his sons, set them to ride on the donkey, and he returned to the land of Egypt. Moshe took the staff of G-d in his hand.
Why does it say הַחֲמֹר – the donkey, and not say חֲמֹר – a donkey? Rashi says, this was a specific donkey – the donkey that Avraham Avinu saddled for Akeidat Yitzchak, and the donkey on which the Melech HaMashiach is destined to be revealed: עָנִי וְרֹכֵב עַל־חֲמוֹר – humble and riding on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9).
According to Rashi, this donkey first appeared with Avraham Avinu. It appeared a second time with Moshe, and it is destined to soon bring us to the Geula! How much time has passed since Akeidat Yitzchak until now? Almost 3800 years; a donkey almost 3800 years old, on which Mashiach will ride!
Rashi’s words stem from the Midrash (Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 31), which contains more context. The donkey Avraham Avinu saddled was the offspring of the donkey created during Creation – בְּעֶרֶב שַׁבָּת בֵּין הַשְּׁמָשׁוֹת. On Erev Shabbat, during twilight, a female donkey was created for Bilam to ride, and to this donkey was born another donkey that lived for 2000 years until it reached Avraham, and from Avraham it passed to Moshe, and when Mashiach comes, he will arrive on that same donkey. The Mishnah in Avot (5:6) speaks of it:
Ten things were created on Erev Shabbat at twilight, and they are: the mouth of the earth, the mouth of the well, the mouth of the donkey, the rainbow, the manna, the staff of Moshe, the shamir, the letters, the writing, and the tablets.
According to this Midrash, this donkey is 5,783 years old [in year 5769]. And where exactly is this donkey today? It is written in Chazal, but I don’t want to reveal the location to you in case I decide to organize a big tour there! Perhaps in our next shiur we’ll reveal the location.
Let's now dive into our topic of donkeys. The Rada”l, Rav David Luria writes, this idea is not just from the Midrash but also written in the Zohar (Vayechi) – the Mashiach will come on the offspring of the donkey which was created during twilight on Erev Shabbat: בְּנִי אֲתוֹנוֹ אֹסְרִי לַגֶּפֶן עִירֹה וְלַשֹּׂרֵקָה. It is the specific donkey from the days of Creation, and a hint to this is found in the Pasuk describing Avraham saddling his donkey: וַיַּחֲבֹשׁ אֶת־חֲמֹרוֹ. The name אַבְרָהָם in gematria is 248, the same numerical value as חָמֹר, as it is spelled (without a vav) in the Pasuk. Related, the Zohar says, Yaakov Avinu blesses Yissachar: יִשָּׂשכָר חֲמֹר גָּרֶם. The word גָּרֶם is Avram before the conversion, and חֲמֹר is Avraham after the conversion; אַבְרָם is גָּרֶם (243), and אַבְרָהָם is חֲמֹר. This implies Yaakov blessed Yissachar with the qualities of Avraham Avinu, which are that of a donkey. The meaning of this seems obscure and hidden, but we’ll try to understand it all.
First and foremost, Chazal ask, why does the Mashiach need a donkey that is over five-thousand years old? Why can't he be given a stretch Lincoln with an open roof? And what exactly is the meaning of humble and riding on a donkey?
First, we need to note, the use of this donkey was given to three people: Avraham, Moshe, and Mashiach, and we need to understand the connection between these three people – why only they rode on the donkey whose origin is Erev Shabbat during twilight. Before we explain these things, let's start first and foremost with Perek Shira. There’s an oft-heard segula that reciting Perek Shira for forty days in a row brings miracles and salvation – there are fancy posters that advertise this idea all over, but I’ve never found an actual source. Whenever asked how we know this is true, I simply say, “Because it says so on the lamp post!”
Anyone who has gone through Perek Shira has seen that all the creatures sing Pesukim from Tanach – except for one: the frog. The frog says: בָּרוּךְ שֵׁם כְּבוֹד מַלְכוּתוֹ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד – a verse that does not appear in Tanach, but it is a song of the angels. If asked which Pasuk the donkey should recite, we’d all surely respond: יִשָּׂשכָר חֲמֹר גָּרֶם, but that is not the Pasuk the donkey sings. Rather, it sings:
Yours, G-d, are greatness, might, splendor, triumph, and majesty – yes, all that is in heaven and on earth; to You, G-d, belong kingship and preeminence above all.
The first to sing this was David HaMelech, and we say it every day in Vayevarech David. Why? What is in this song? It is written Sefer Divrei HaYamim (I 29:11), that David gathered all his wealth from his wars and dedicated it to the work of the Beit Hamikdash. After he finished setting aside all his wealth, Hakadosh Baruch Hu told him: “No, it won’t be you who builds the Mikdash; it will be your son, Shlomo.” David responded with this Pasuk: “Everything is Yours, Ribbono Shel Olam, nothing is mine!”
Let’s ask the obvious question: How exactly does this Pasuk and idea connect with the donkey and why does it sing this verse specifically? There is a commentary on Perek Shira called Sha'ar Shimon – a work from some 350 years ago where a very beautiful explanation is provided.
The Gemara says (Berachot 58a), what is the meaning of the Pasuk לְךָ ה' הַגְּדֻלָּה וְהַגְּבוּרָה וְהַתִּפְאֶרֶת וְהַנֵּצַח וְהַהוֹד? It was taught in the name of Rabbi Akiva, לְךָ ה' הַגְּדֻלָּה is the splitting of Yam Suf; וְהַגְּבוּרָה is the plague of the firstborn; וְהַתִּפְאֶרֶת is the giving of the Torah; וְהַנֵּצַח is Yerushalayim; and וְהַהוֹד is the Beit Hamikdash. Sha’ar Shimon writes, the donkey praises Hakadosh Baruch Hu for taking him as a partner from the days of Creation all the way to those of Mashiach. This is what the donkey is saying: “I am the one who was created in a special manner at twilight after the six days of Creation, and therefore I say לְךָ ה' הַגְּדֻלָּה – which reflects the Creation! And I was a part of Yetziat Mitzraim, where everyone left with ninety donkeys loaded with riches – וְהַגְּבוּרָה. And I am the one who was subjugated under Moshe Rabbeinu to whom you gave the Torah – וְהַתִּפְאֶרֶת. And also, I am the one who will be subjugated under Mashiach ben David who will restore the crown of Yerushalayim to its former glory and build the Beit Hamikdash through him – וְהַנֵּצַח וְהַהוֹד.” For all the projects in Creation, the donkey is a partner, and therefore he sings!
Today is the 20th of Tevet, the Yom Hillula of Rabbi Yaakov Abuhatzeira, and in his merit all the soldiers currently fighting [in Operation Cast Lead – מִבְצָע עוֹפֶרֶת יְצוּקָה] should return home safely, and all the injured – soldiers and civilians alike – should receive a refuah shleima. It is known that in the month of Tevet, there were supposed to be three fasts. Aside from the tenth of Tevet, which we continue to fast today, there were supposed to be two more fasts that people fasted on; except we are a weak generation, so they combined all three into one fast that starts at five in the morning and ends at five in the afternoon. On the tenth of Tevet, the siege on Yerushalayim began. On the ninth of Tevet, our Selichot say Ezra HaSofer died, but Chazal also say: לֹא נוֹדַע אֵיזֶה הִיא הַצָרָה שֶׁאֵרַע בּוֹ – an unknown trouble happened on that day (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 580:2). Commentators point out that it is actually well known what took place on that day, but they could not print it, so the best thing was to write “an unknown event,” because that would surely lead to everyone wanting to know, asking, and being told verbally.
What event was it? One of the commentators on Megillat Ta’anit writes: I heard in the name of a great one that on that day ‘אוֹתוֹ הָאִישׁ', ‘that man’ – 'זִכְרוֹ וּשְׁמוֹ יִמַּחֵי' – was born. In that Year, 3761, the Tekufat Tevet (winter solstice) occurred on a Friday, four and a half hours into the day, on the eighth day of the month of Tevet. It follows that December 25, the birthdate of that man, fell on Shabbat Kodesh, the ninth of Tevet. From this, one can understand what is written in Megillat Ta’anit: “On the ninth of Tevet, our Rabbis did not record what occurred on this day because they feared to write that a fast was decreed for this reason.”
On the eighth of Tevet, the Torah was translated into Greek and there was darkness in the world for three days. Chazal say (Masechet Sofrim 1:7), and the Gemara recounts (Megillah 9a), seventy-two elders were summoned by king Talmai and they were placed in 72 separated rooms where they were then commanded to translate the Torah into Greek. This was a day as difficult for Am Yisrael like the day on which the Golden Calf was made. Despite being isolated from one another and not having had the chance to collaborate, there were 13 places in which they all, intentionally, made the exact same deviation in translation. The Gemara (Megillah 9a) lists these spots along with their reasons, and one of them is pertinent to our shiur. The eighth intentional change listed is:
Instead of וַיַּרְכִּבֵם עַל־הַחֲמֹר, they all wrote: “And Moshe took his wife and his sons and set them upon a carrier of people.”
Unlike a previous change – where אֶת הָאַרְנֶבֶת (the hare) was replaced with אֶת צְעִירַת הָרַגְלַיִם (short-legged beast) because Talmai’s wife was named Arnevet and they did not want to be seen as calling her an impure animal – Rashi says there is another reason for this change and the omission of ‘donkey’. They changed it because it would not be appropriate in the eyes of Talmai for Moshe Rabbeinu, the king of Bnei Yisrael, to be riding in on a donkey! He’d surely ask, “Did Moshe not have a horse? Or a camel? The King of Israel drives a Subaru?!? He should be riding in on a stretch Lincoln with a convertible roof! Or a Hummer!” So, instead, they wrote a carrier of people.
The Ibn Ezra writes, the elders had to change the word because Talmai would claim it’s demeaning for the Navi’s wife to ride on one donkey together with her two sons. The whole family on one donkey?! Not appropriate! The Maharsha says, indeed Talmai would have asked, “Why a donkey? Wasn't there money to buy a Mercedes?!” And while the sages could have easily explained that Moshe had sufficient funds but wanted the donkey because it was a special donkey from Avraham Avinu – there’d be no way Talmai would understand or believe them.
Those elders changed another thing, also related to the donkey and Moshe Rabbeinu – this time from Parshat Korach. In Parshat Korach, Moshe Rabbeinu turns to Hakadosh Baruch Hu with a request not to answer the prayers of Korach and his assembly:
