Sefer ha-Bahir 137-138 -- wine and milk, the Torah of truth
Sefer ha-Bahir · The Book of Brilliance
ספר הבהיר · קלז-קלח
canonical late 12th c., Provence (ascribed to the 1st c. tanna) Hebrew Anonymous (attributed to Rabbi Nehunya ben ha-Kanah) tr. Hekhal Targum Project (machine-assisted draft; pending scholarly review)
The patriarchs-as-measures thread continued. Wine as dread (Gevurah) and milk as loving-kindness (Ḥesed); Jacob’s measure of truth, “the measure of peace,” in which “perfect (tam)” is at once peace, Torah, and uprightness (§ 137); and the Torah of truth as the measure “called Israel” that sustains the ten sayings by which the world stands, upheld by Moses’ ten raised fingers (§ 138).
A provisional scholarly draft, released openly for correction and not yet reviewed by a credentialed editor. The Hebrew is reproduced verbatim (two flagged citation slips: Psalm 28:21 for the verse at 25:21, and Exodus 13:11 for the raised-hand verse at 17:11); the standard modern English translation (Kaplan, 1979) is under copyright.
מהו יין וחלב, ומה ענין זה אצל זה, אלא מלמד שהיין הוא פחד וחלב הוא חסד, ומפני מה הזכיר יין תחילה, מפני שהוא קרוב אלינו יותר, יין וחלב סלקא דעתך, אלא אימא דמות יין וחלב, ובזכות אברהם שזכה למדת חסד זכה יצחק למדת פחד, והואיל וזכה יצחק למדת פחד זכה יעקב למדת אמת, שהוא מדת שלום, ומדד לו הקב”ה כמדתו דכתיב (בראשית כ”ה כז) ויעקב איש תם יושב אהלים ואין תם אלא שלום דכתיב (דברים י”ח יג) תמים תהיה עם ה’ אלהיך, ומתרגמינן שלים תהא, ואין תם אלא תורה שנאמר (מלאכי ב’ ו) תורת אמת היתה בפיהו וגו’, ומה כתיב בתריה בשלום ובמישור הלך אתי, ואין מישור אלא שלום דכתיב (תהלים כ”ח כא) תום ויושר, הלכך והיה כאשר ירים משה ידו וגבר ישראל (שמות י”ג יא) מלמד שהמדה שנקראת ישראל בתוכה תורת אמת:
What is ‘wine and milk,’ and what has this to do with that? Rather, it teaches that wine is dread (pachad) and milk is loving-kindness (chesed). And why did it mention wine first? Because it is nearer to us. ‘Wine and milk’ — do you [take it so]? Rather say: the likeness of wine and milk. And by the merit of Abraham, who merited the measure of loving-kindness, Isaac merited the measure of dread (pachad); and since Isaac merited the measure of dread, Jacob merited the measure of truth (emet), which is the measure of peace (shalom); and the Holy One measured him by his measure, as it is written (Genesis 25:27), ‘and Jacob was a perfect man (ish tam), dwelling in tents.’ And ‘perfect (tam)’ is nothing but peace, as it is written (Deuteronomy 18:13), ‘you shall be perfect (tamim) with the LORD your God,’ which we render [in the Targum] ‘you shall be complete (shalim).’ And ‘perfect (tam)’ is nothing but Torah, as it is said (Malachi 2:6), ‘the Torah of truth was in his mouth,’ and so on. And what is written after it? ‘In peace and uprightness he walked with me.’ And ‘uprightness (mishor)’ is nothing but peace, as it is written (Psalm 25:21), ‘perfection and uprightness (tom va-yosher).’ Therefore, ‘and it came to pass, when Moses raised his hand, that Israel prevailed’ (Exodus 17:11) — this teaches that within the measure that is called Israel is the Torah of truth.
Provisional draft (pending scholarly review)
ומאי ניהו תורת אמת, דבר שמורה על אמיתות העולמים ופעולתו במחשבה והוא מעמיד עשרה מאמרות שבהם עומד העולם והוא אחד מהם, וברא באדם כנגד אותם עשרה מאמרות עשר אצבעות ידים, וכשהיה משה מרים ידו ומכוין במיעוט כוונת הלב באותה המדה הנקראת ישראל ובתוכה תורת אמת ורומז לו עשר אצבעות ידיו שהוא מעמיד את העשרה, ואם לא יעזור את ישראל לא יתקיימו העשרה מאמרות בכל יום ויום הלכך וגבר ישראל, וכאשר יניח ידו וגבר עמלק (שם) וכי היה משה עושה שיגבר עמלק דכתיב וכאשר יניח ידו וגבר עמלק, אלא אסור לו לאדם לשהות שלש שעות כפיו פרושות השמים:
And what is the Torah of truth? A thing that indicates the truth of the worlds, and its action is in thought (machashavah); and it sustains the ten sayings (asara ma’amarot) by which the world stands, and it is one of them. And He created in man, corresponding to those ten sayings, ten fingers of the hands. And when Moses would raise his hands and direct, with a little intention of the heart, to that measure which is called Israel — within which is the Torah of truth — and he pointed to it with the ten fingers of his hands, [showing] that it sustains the ten: and if it does not help Israel, the ten sayings would not endure each and every day; therefore, ‘Israel prevailed.’ ‘And when he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed’ (ibid.) — but did Moses [bring it about] that Amalek prevailed, as it is written, ‘and when he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed’? Rather, it is forbidden for a person to keep his palms spread to heaven [longer than] three hours.
Provisional draft (pending scholarly review)
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This edition sets the verbatim Hebrew beside a fresh English rendering and a critical apparatus: a running commentary on the passage, notes on the controlled vocabulary and the rendering chosen for each term, and cross-references to the lexicon and to related sections. It is a provisional scholarly draft, released openly for correction and not yet reviewed by a credentialed editor.
Controlled terms noted in this passage: chesed (rendered as loving-kindness), gevurah (rendered as judgment), tiferet (rendered as the-sixth-sefirah). For each, the apparatus carries the sense set and the reason for the rendering chosen.
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wine, milk, and the measure of peace
Wine is dread (pachad, Gevurah) and milk is loving-kindness (chesed, the giving grade) — ‘the likeness of wine and milk,’ not literal; wine is named first because ‘it is nearer to us.’ By the merit-chain (Abraham’s chesed, then Isaac’s pachad), Jacob merited the measure of truth (emet), ‘the measure of peace’: ‘Jacob was a perfect man (ish tam)’ (Genesis 25:27), and ‘tam’ is peace (‘you shall be shalim,’ Deuteronomy 18:13 per the Targum), Torah (‘the Torah of truth,’ Malachi 2:6), and uprightness/peace (‘perfection and uprightness,’ Psalm 25:21). Sod: Jacob = Tiferet / Emet, the harmonizing center that is ‘peace’ between milk (Chesed) and wine (Gevurah); the measure called Israel holds the Torah of truth. (The verbatim Hebrew cites the last verse as Psalm 28:21, which cannot be — Psalm 28 has nine verses; the phrase ‘tom va-yosher’ is at Psalm 25:21.)
the Torah of truth and the ten sayings
The ‘Torah of truth’ is the measure (Tiferet, the grade ‘called Israel’) that ‘indicates the truth of the worlds,’ acts ‘in thought (machashavah),’ and ‘sustains the ten sayings by which the world stands,’ being itself one of them. Man’s ten fingers correspond to the ten sayings; Moses, raising his hands and directing his heart to ‘the measure called Israel,’ pointed with his ten fingers that it upholds the ten — so ‘Israel prevailed,’ for without its help ‘the ten sayings would not endure each day.’ Sod: the central grade, holding the Torah of truth, upholds the ten creative utterances by which the world was made (Avot 5:1); the raised hands a theurgic act sustaining the world — yet ‘forbidden to keep the palms spread more than three hours.‘
Editorial decisions
- Psalm 25:21 citation. The verbatim Hebrew cites ‘tom va-yosher’ as Psalm 28:21, which is impossible (Psalm 28 has nine verses); the phrase is at Psalm 25:21. Rendered with the correct locus and the slip noted. (claude-opus-4-8[session-pipe], 2026-07-03)
- Exodus 17:11 citation. Both halves of the raised/lowered-hand verse are Exodus 17:11; the source again gives the second half as 13:11 (as in section 135). Rendered at the correct single locus. (claude-opus-4-8[session-pipe], 2026-07-03)
chesed
Selected sense: loving-kindness
Active senses: loving-kindness, the-sefirah-chesed
Rationale: Milk is ‘loving-kindness (chesed)’ — Abraham’s measure, the giving grade. Rendered ‘loving-kindness’; the frame hears Chesed, the right arm.
Lexicon: lexicon/chesed
gevurah
Selected sense: judgment
Active senses: judgment, might, the-sefirah-gevurah
Rationale: Wine is ‘dread (pachad)’ — Isaac’s measure. Rendered ‘dread’; the frame hears Gevurah / Pachad, the left arm, dread and judgment, ‘nearer to us’ and named first.
Lexicon: lexicon/gevurah
tiferet
Selected sense: the-sixth-sefirah
Active senses: the-sixth-sefirah, beauty-glory
Rationale: Jacob’s measure of truth (emet), ‘the measure of peace,’ the middah ‘called Israel’ that holds the Torah of truth and sustains the ten sayings. Rendered as the measure of truth/Israel; the frame hears Tiferet, the harmonizing center between Chesed and Gevurah.
Lexicon: lexicon/tiferet
No public-domain translations indexed for this chunk.