[1] The commentators on this baraita have written that it contains certain difficulties. And although they did not spell them out explicitly, they are nonetheless discernible within it, and I shall point them out to you in the form of questions or doubts.

[2] The first question: Why did [the Mishnah] mention five acquisitions (*kinyanim*)? Behold, all created things, which were brought into existence from nothingness, are acquisitions (*kinyanim*). As Scripture states (Tehillim 104:24): *"The earth is full of Your acquisitions."* If so, the question arises: why did [the Mishnah] single out these five particular things by the designation *kinyanim* more than all others?

[3] Second — why are heaven and earth mentioned together as a single acquisition? It is well known that all the other acquisitions and all existing things are included within them, for both the upper, celestial world and the lower world are all encompassed within the all-inclusive upper sphere. If so, then why did He single out one nation, one man, and one house?

[4] Third — And if [the Mishnah] wished to enumerate each matter as a separate acquisition in its own right, why did it not mention the heavens as one acquisition and the earth as a separate acquisition, just as it mentioned Avraham — a private individual — and the Beit HaMikdash each as distinct acquisitions? Yet it mentions both the heavens and the earth together as a single acquisition.

[5] Fourth — Why does he cite the verse (Yeshayahu 66:1) "The heavens are My throne," which contains no language of acquisition? It would have been more fitting to prove his point from "God Most High, Who acquires heaven and earth" (Bereshit 14:19).

[6] Fifth — Why, regarding the acquisition of "heaven and earth," did he bring the verse (Tehillim 104:24), "How manifold are Your works, Hashem; the earth is full of Your acquisitions"? This verse encompasses Yisrael, Avraham, the Beit HaMikdash, and all the other acquisitions — so why was it singled out specifically for heaven and earth?

[7] Sixth — Why does [the text] mention Avraham specifically in connection with the *kinyanim* (acquisitions), and not the other Patriarchs, Moshe, or Dovid? Furthermore, the very verse cited is not specifically attributed to Avraham — "Possessor of heaven and earth" — for is not the *kinyan* over heaven and earth said [by the commentators] not in reference to Avraham [alone]?

[8] Regarding the seventh [reason] — concerning the acquisition of Israel — why was he not satisfied with the proof he brought from (Shemot 15:16), "until Your people pass over, whom You have acquired," and added to it (Tehillim 16:3), "as for the holy ones who are in the earth, they are the noble ones in whom is all my delight"? For in that latter verse, no acquisition is mentioned at all — nor is the idea that the world endures for their sake, as the commentators explain?

[9] The eighth question: Why, in connection with the acquisition of the Temple, did he cite the verse (Shemot 15:17), "The sanctuary, Hashem, which Your hands established" — which contains no language of acquisition? Surely it would have sufficed with the other verse he cited, (Tehillim 78:54), "This mountain which His right hand acquired."

[10] The ninth point concerns what is stated at the end of the baraita: "And everything that the Holy One, blessed is He, created in His world, He created solely for His glory." This implies that all things are the possession of the Holy One, blessed is He — not only those particular matters mentioned here. And what, furthermore, is the relevance of the verse cited afterward (Shemot 15:18): "Hashem shall reign forever and ever"?

[11] The tenth [reason for inquiry] — in this baraita, five acquisitions are mentioned. Yet in the Mechilta (Shemot 15:16), four things are said to have been called an acquisition: Yisrael; the Land of Yisrael; the Beit HaMikdash; and the Torah. In tractate Pesachim (87b), only three are mentioned: Torah, heaven and earth — which are counted as one — and Yisrael. And in the Sifri, three are likewise mentioned, but they are Yisrael, the Beit HaMikdash, and Torah — so much so that on account of this, some have written that this baraita was not transmitted in its proper form.

[12] What appears to me in this matter is that the term "acquisition" (kinyan) implies three things. The first is that the acquisition must be made by the acquirer himself and not through an intermediary — for if it were accomplished through another, he would not truly be the acquirer, and one could not say that the thing is his possession. Thus it is said of Avraham (Bereshit 25:10): "which Avraham had acquired"; "the purchase of his money" (ibid. 17:23); "which I acquired from the hand of the Emorite" (ibid. 48:22). The second is that the term implies permanence and continuity with the one who acquires it. The Philosopher already noted in his work on categories that this is the distinction between a kinyan and an inyan — that an inyan is easily removed, while a kinyan is lasting and difficult to remove. It is for this reason that the first man, in his wisdom, named his firstborn son Kayin, because he perceived that he would endure and persist; while the second son, whose brief life he foresaw — who was an inyan and not a kinyan — he called Hevel, for his days upon the earth would be as vanity (hevel). The third is that kinyan implies something beloved and cherished by the one who acquires it — "the purchase of his money," "for You acquired my innermost parts" (Tehillim 139:13). Therefore, a person's virtues are called his acquisitions (kinyanav), for his mind cleaves to them always. Now when we examine these matters as they apply to the Blessed One, a thing is fittingly called His acquisition from all three of these perspectives that I have mentioned. With regard to the first — those things that were not brought about through the natural order and the workings of the celestial spheres, but which the Holy One, blessed is He, made by His pure and absolute will, in a wondrous manner beyond the established natural order, are said to have been "acquired" by the Holy One, blessed is He, because He Himself made them without any intermediary. Likewise, the term kinyan would not apply to something transient and non-enduring — that came into being one night and perished the next — but only to things that are lasting, enduring, and self-subsistent, having received their permanence and eternity from the Blessed One who brought them into being. And with regard to the third perspective as well — namely, that beyond the fact that these acquisitions were made by the hands of the Holy One, blessed is He, through absolute will and without intermediary, His Shechinah and His wondrous individual Providence cleave to them constantly even after their creation. And by virtue of the attachment of the Shechinah to them, they are not subject to the natural order and the workings of the celestial forces; rather, their endurance and their making were entirely in accordance with the pure will that transcends the natural order. Thus, when all three of these perspectives come together in one thing, it is called and designated by the name of an acquisition (kinyan) of the Holy One, blessed is He, for it stands firm and unchanging. It is for this reason that the Beraita enumerates these five acquisitions — because all three of the perspectives I have mentioned converge in each and every one of them, and this cannot be found in any other existing thing among all existing things. With this, the first question is resolved.

[13] The first acquisition that was mentioned is "the Torah." For so said Shlomo, speaking in its name (Mishlei 8:22): "Hashem acquired me at the beginning of His way, before His works of old." And they said in the Tanchuma (Bereshit 1) that the Holy One, blessed is He, took counsel with the Torah and created the world. So too did our Sages, of blessed memory, say (Bereshit Rabbah 8:2) that the Torah preceded the world by two thousand years. Yet this precedence which they described is not a temporal one, for they did not believe that time existed prior to the creation of the world — since time is among the created things, being consequent upon the motion of the celestial sphere. Rather, their intent was to speak of causal precedence, for they received the tradition that the lower world was created for the sake of the human species, and the Torah is its purpose, for whose sake it was created. Therefore they said that the Torah preceded the world, because the final cause — which is the most distinguished of all four causes — is that which comes first in the mind of the agent before his actions. For the carpenter first conceives in his mind the purpose of the chair, and by envisioning the act of sitting he then crafts the chair, as the philosopher said: "the beginning of thought is the end of action." Thus the precedence of the Torah was in His blessed thought, as the precedence of a cause over its effect. And their statement that it preceded by two thousand years is a form of hyperbolic expression, in the manner of "even if a man were to live a thousand years twice over" (Kohelet 6:6). It is also possible to say that the precedence was not relative to the creation of the world, but rather to the world — and the explanation is that the world cannot be called complete in its perfection until after the light of Avraham shone forth, for it was then that people came to recognize their Creator. And our Sages, of blessed memory, said in Perek Chelek (Sanhedrin 97a) that the world endures for six thousand years, and they said that of these, two thousand were of chaos (tohu) and two thousand were of Torah. Thus the first two thousand years after creation were tohu, and throughout all those thousands of years it was His blessed intention to give the Torah to Avraham, who came at their end, and to his descendants after him. By this reckoning, the Torah preceded by those two thousand years the world of Avraham. Thus the Divine Torah is neither a natural work nor a celestial one, but rather a Divine act ordered according to His simple will; and from the standpoint that the Holy One, blessed is He, in His own glory and essence made it, prepared it, and searched it out, it is called His acquisition. Furthermore, after it was made, the radiance of His Shechinah and His love clung to it always — and therefore at its giving, "the glory of Hashem rested upon Mount Sinai" (Shemot 24:16), and one who occupies himself with Torah has the Shechinah resting upon him — this being the second aspect. Moreover, the Torah acquired from Him, blessed is He, eternity for us and for our children forever. It is from these three aspects that the Torah became the acquisition of the Holy One, blessed is He.

[14] The second acquisition is "heaven and earth." By this is not meant the totality of the upper and lower physical realms, but rather as I explained in the mishnah of "With ten utterances the world was created" — that is to say, at the beginning of Creation, the Holy One, blessed is He, created, in His very essence and without the intermediary of any pre-existing matter, one supernal substance from which everything in the heavens came into being, from which emerged the all-encompassing sphere, and one lower substance from which everything in the earth came into being. Concerning these the Torah states (Bereshit 1:1): "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." And how fitting is the teaching of the Sages, may their memory be blessed (Chagigah 12a), that both were created simultaneously, as it is stated (Yeshayahu 48:13): "I call to them, they stand together" — for the heavens are the encompassing sphere that moves in circular motion, and the earth is the stationary center around which it revolves, and it is impossible for an encompassing sphere to exist without a center, or a center without an encompassing sphere. Thus, from this aspect of their unity, they were created as one, and both are called a single acquisition. They refer not to the lower existing entities, but only to those two primordial substances that were created first. With this, the second and third questions are resolved.

[15] And behold, the heavens and the earth are the possession of the Holy One, blessed is He — whether on account of their creation, in that He created them fully by His will alone, without any intermediary. The rest of existing things, however, were made from one another. Yet even so, the First Mover has the Shechinah of Hashem cleaving to it, for He is the One Who moves it continuously, without any intermediary. As Moshe said (Devarim 33:26): "He rides the heavens to your aid" — which Onkelos renders: "whose Shechinah is in the heavens above." And likewise it is said (ibid. 3:24): "For who is there, God, in the heavens and on earth" — rendered: "For who is the God whose Shechinah is in the heavens above" — meaning that the Shechinah's being there is the very matter of the movement, in that Hashem, blessed is He, moves it without any intermediary. Concerning this the Psalmist said (Tehillim 68:5): "Extol Him Who rides upon the Aravot, whose name is Yah," etc. Yet His movement, blessed is He, is attributed specifically to the outermost sphere only on account of that sphere being eternal, enduring, and constant. Therefore this Baraita, in citing the acquisition of the heavens and the earth, brings two verses: the first — "Thus says Hashem: the heavens are My throne and the earth is My footstool" (Yeshayahu 66:1) — which points to the movement and the cleaving of the Shechinah, as Onkelos rendered (Shemot 17:16) "for a hand is upon the throne of Yah" as: "by oath it is declared before the Awesome One Whose Shechinah rests upon His glorious throne." And corresponding to the creation of the heavens and the earth — which came forth from Him, blessed is He, without any intermediary — the Baraita brings the verse (Tehillim 104:24): "How manifold are Your works, Hashem; You made them all with wisdom; the earth is full of Your possessions" — for it says "Your works" referring to the encompassing sphere and its center, which He fashioned with great wisdom, Himself, without any intermediary, and therefore they are His possession. And the Psalmist already alluded to this by saying (Tehillim 148:5–6): "For He commanded and they were created, and He set them in place forever and ever." With this, the fourth and fifth questions are resolved.

[16] The third acquisition mentioned is "Avraham." Although he was but one individual among all of humanity, Hashem, may He be exalted, chose him to be the beginning and root of the nation, and drew him forth from his own astrological destiny and from beneath the influence of the celestial constellations, altering the natural order on his behalf in Ur Kasdim. This act of choosing and taking hold of him is the acquisition of Hashem, may He be blessed — for it did not come about through the customary natural course, nor in accordance with the arrangement of the celestial order. Rather, God Himself, in His own glory, came to perform wonders for His devoted one. Just as at the beginning of Creation He created a single primordial matter without any intermediary — from which all the heavens were made, from which the sun went forth upon the earth, from which the moon was formed, and from which the twelve constellations of the firmament were made — so too, He, may He be blessed, in His own glory and without any intermediary, acquired Avraham. And this was not solely on account of Avraham himself, but in order that he would be "the father of a multitude of nations" (Bereshit 17:5), and so that from him would come Yitzchak — "as the light of morning when the sun rises" (Shmuel II 23:4) — and Yaakov — "established like the moon forever" (Tehillim 89:38) — and the twelve princes, the tribes of Hashem, corresponding in number to the constellations of the firmament. Thus Avraham Avinu was made by His hand like that supernal heavenly primordial matter, and the rest of his descendants flowed from him, just as all other created beings were fashioned from those original foundations. It is for this reason that the Baraita counts Avraham as one acquisition and not any of the other Patriarchs, just as it counts the heavens and earth as one acquisition and not the other created beings that were formed from them. The Midrash states (Bereshit Rabbah 12:9) that Avraham is God's acquisition, as it is written (Bereshit 2:4): "These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created [be-hibaram]" — do not read be-hibaram ("when they were created") but rather be-Avraham ("through Avraham"). And in order to point to this wondrous analogy, the Baraita cites as its proof-text: "Blessed is Avram to God Most High, Creator [koneh] of heaven and earth" (ibid. 14:19) — meaning that just as He acquired the heavens and earth by simple will and not through the natural order, so too He blessed Avraham by that same manner in which He acquired the heavens and earth. It is for this reason that this verse was brought in connection with him: although the word "acquisition" is mentioned only with regard to the heavens and earth, its proximity to Avraham indicates that his acquisition was like theirs. Beyond the fact that Avraham's acquisition came about by simple will, divine Providence became attached to him as well. As the Sages said in Bereshit Rabbah (ch. 47): "And God went up from above Avraham" (Bereshit 17:22) — the Patriarchs, they themselves are the Chariot — "And God went up from above Avraham"; "And God went up from upon him" (ibid. 35:13); "And behold, Hashem stood over him" (ibid. 28:13). Their intent was this: just as the Providence of Hashem, may He be blessed, cleaves to the supernal sphere, as expressed by the master of the prophets (Devarim 33:26): "Who rides the heavens in your help" — and as the Psalmist declares (Tehillim 68:5, 34): "To the One Who rides upon the clouds" and "To the One Who rides upon the most ancient heavens" — so too, in the very same sense in which the celestial sphere was the Chariot of Hashem and He, may He be blessed, rides upon it and moves it, Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov were likewise the Chariot of Hashem, may He be blessed, and He rides upon them and moves them — which is the constant cleaving of the Shechinah and His Providence to them. Avraham alone, however, is counted as the acquisition, because it was Hashem Himself who fashioned him. The other Patriarchs, by contrast, were each born of the one before him, and all of them ultimately descend from Avraham, peace be upon him. And although Avraham in his physical person has died, his merit and righteousness endure forever — as the prophet declared (Yeshayahu 51:2): "Look to Avraham your father... for I blessed him and made him many." With this, the sixth question is resolved.

[17] The fourth acquisition is "Israel." For although Yishmael and his descendants, the sons of the concubines — Sheba, Dedan, Ashurim, Letushim, and Leumim — and the sons of Esav all descended from Avraham's loins, the Holy One, blessed is He, chose Israel and set aside all the rest of his offspring. Moreover, this choice was not the result of nature, nor of the workings of the heavenly order, but solely of His simple, exalted will — as the prophet declared (Malachi 1:2–3): "I have loved you, says Hashem; yet you say: In what way have You loved us? Was not Esav Yaakov's brother? — says Hashem — yet I loved Yaakov, and Esav I hated." This choosing of the nation took place while they were in Egypt, through the overturning of nature and the supernal orders, as Moshe Rabbeinu stated (Devarim 4:34): "Or has God ever attempted to come and take for Himself a nation from within a nation, by trials, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, according to all that Hashem your God did for you in Egypt, before your eyes." Our Sages, of blessed memory, expounded: "And by great terrors" (Devarim 4:33) — this refers to the revelation of the Shechinah; for beyond their being chosen, the Shechinah also cleaved to them, as it is written (Shemot 29:45): "And I will dwell among the children of Israel" — which Onkelos renders: 'And I will cause My Shechinah to rest among the children of Israel.' And because the cleaving of the Shechinah was an essential, defining condition of the people, Moshe pleaded earnestly about it when he said (ibid. 33:15): "If Your Presence does not go" — rendered by Onkelos as: 'If Your Shechinah does not travel among us.'

[18] Another quality found in this nation is the endowment of endurance and eternity, as well as the abiding of the Shechinah with them throughout their exile. For it is written (Malachi 3:6): "I am Hashem, I have not changed; and you, the children of Israel, have not been consumed." And in the Sifri they taught: Beloved are Israel, for even though they are impure, the Shechinah is with them — as it is written (Vayikra 16:16): "Who dwells with them amidst their impurity." So much so that on account of this they said: When they were exiled to Bavel, the Shechinah went with them (Megillah 29a). And regarding exile in general, the Sages expounded (Ta'anit 16a): "In all their affliction, He was afflicted" (Yeshayahu 63:9).

[19] On account of these three aspects, Israel became the possession of the Holy One, blessed is He. And since two distinct aspects are to be recognized within Israel — the aspect of the people as a whole, among whom the Shechinah dwells, and the aspect of the holy prophets, with Moshe our Master at their head, in whom the Shechinah cleaved in a particular and constant manner — he therefore cited two verses regarding this matter: the first concerning the aspect of the nation as a whole, up to the verse "until Your people pass over, Hashem, until the people You have acquired pass over" (Shemot 15:16); and the second concerning the individual righteous ones and prophets among them, regarding whom it is said (Tehillim 16:3): "As for the holy ones who are in the earth, they are the mighty ones in whom is all my delight." The seventh question is thus resolved.

[20] The fifth acquisition is the "Beit HaMikdash." For Hashem chose it, designated it under His direct providence, and removed it from beneath the natural order of the heavens — as He Himself said of it (Melachim I 9:3): "And My eyes and My heart shall be there all the days." Moreover, the Shechinah dwelt in the Beit HaMikdash continually. Onkelos rendered the verse "in every place where I cause My name to be mentioned" (Shemot 20:21) as: "in every place where I cause My Shechinah to dwell"; and he rendered (Devarim 12:11) "the place that Hashem your God shall choose to cause His name to dwell there" as: "to cause His Shechinah to rest there." And although the Beit HaMikdash has been destroyed, our Sages ז"ל taught that even in its destruction it remains in its holiness. In the Tanchuma they said: Rabbi Shimon bar Nachmani said — before the Beit HaMikdash was destroyed, the Shechinah rested in the Sanctuary, as it is said (Chavakuk 2:20): "Hashem is in His holy Sanctuary." Once the Beit HaMikdash was destroyed — "Hashem, His throne is in the heavens" (Tehillim 11:4) — He withdrew His Shechinah to the heavens. Rabbi Elazar ben Pedat said: whether it is destroyed or not destroyed, it does not move from its place, as it is said (Melachim I 9:3): "And My eyes and My heart shall be there all the days." And so too it says (Tehillim 3:5): "With my voice I call out to Hashem, and He answers me from His holy mountain, Selah" — indicating that even though it is but a mountain, it remains in its holiness. See what is written (Divrei HaYamim II 33:16): "And he rebuilt the altar of Hashem" — He is the God who is in Yerushalayim. Rabbi Acha said: the Shechinah never departs from the Western Wall of the Beit HaMikdash, as it is said (Shir HaShirim 2:9): "Behold, He stands behind our wall." And so too they said in the Yerushalmi in the chapter Makom SheNahagu (Pesachim): Rabbi Simon said — what is written (Michah 4:10): "For now you shall go forth from the city and dwell in the field" — and it is written "My Shechinah," meaning that even though the Beit HaMikdash was destroyed and became an open field, nonetheless My Shechinah still stands there. This attests to its eternity and to the fact that it is destined to be rebuilt, for that which is the acquisition of the Holy One, blessed is He, endures and stands firm. Now, in the Baraita two verses are cited concerning the Beit HaMikdash in order to highlight what I have mentioned — that it is the acquisition of the Holy One, blessed is He, and the dwelling place of His Shechinah — both while it stood built, for which it says (Shemot 15:17): "The Sanctuary of Hashem which Your hands established"; and even while it lies in ruin, for which it says (Tehillim 78:54): "And He brought them to the border of His holy place, this mountain which His right hand acquired." That is to say, even when it is merely a mountain, it is His acquisition. There are those who explain the need for both of these verses as follows: "The Sanctuary of Hashem which Your hands established" is stated explicitly regarding the Beit HaMikdash; but since we had not yet found in it an expression of acquisition, it therefore cites "And He brought them to the border of His holy place" — and we derive a gezeirah shavah from kodesh to mikdash: just as mikdash, regarding which it says "Your hands established," refers to the Beit HaMikdash, so too "the border of His holy place" refers to the Beit HaMikdash. The eighth question has thus been resolved, whether according to my interpretation or according to his.

[21] Since five acquisitions were mentioned in this baraita, the baraita found it necessary to add further that not these alone did the Holy One, blessed is He, create for His glory — rather, all other created beings as well, all the works of His hands, every one of them, He created for His glory. Nevertheless, these five acquisitions were singled out in the baraita from all others, because all three of the aforementioned qualities are combined within them — namely, that they emanate directly from Him, blessed is He, without any intermediary; that the Shechinah rests upon them continually; and that their existence and eternity endure before Him, blessed is He. Now, since one might raise the objection: if the Holy One, blessed is He, created all existing things for His glory, why is it that of all the nations, only Yisrael alone recognized His divinity, His glory, and His greatness? — to address this, the baraita cites the verse (Shemot 15:18): "Hashem shall reign forever and ever." This means that days are coming when He will transform for all peoples a pure tongue, so that they will all call upon the name of Hashem and serve Him with one accord; all will accept the yoke of His sovereignty, and the word of the prophet will be fulfilled, as he said (Yeshayahu 43:7): "For My glory I have created him." And with this, the ninth question is resolved.

[22] Indeed, the fact that we find these "acquisitions" (*kinyanim*) listed in other places with a different number should not lead us to conclude that this *baraita* is defective. Rather, this *baraita* intended to explain specifically those matters in which all three aspects I mentioned are found — the aspects by virtue of which these things are called *kinyanim* uniquely belonging to Him, blessed be He — whereas in the other places, different considerations were intended. For in the Mechilta (Shemot 15:16), they said that four things are called *kinyan*, because there the intention was to explain the greatness of the Beit HaMikdash, and they stated that the attachment (*devekut*) found there was complete in its four causes. Therefore, they mentioned first — "Yisrael," as it is written (Shemot 15:16): "the people You have acquired" — who is the efficient cause. After that — "Eretz Yisrael," which is the material cause, as it is written (Bereshit 14:19): "Creator (*koneh*) of heaven and earth." Third — "the Beit HaMikdash," which is the formal cause, as it is written (Tehillim 78:54): "this mountain His right hand acquired." And lastly they mentioned the final cause, which is "the Torah," for it comes last in the act even though it precedes it in thought, as it is written (Mishlei 8:22): "Hashem acquired me as the beginning of His way." It is as if they were saying that the divine sanctity of the Temple existed through all four of its causes, and this is their meaning when they state that Yisrael — who are called *kinyan* — come there. Observe and see in their words that they directed their intent toward the four causes I have mentioned.

[23] Indeed, in tractate Pesachim (Pesachim 87b), three acquisitions are mentioned: "Torah" — as one; "heaven and earth" — as one; "Israel" — as one. This is to indicate that the Holy One, blessed is He, distinguished within the three worlds three portions that are uniquely subject to His governance, set apart from all other existences. These are: the intelligible form, separated from all materiality — which is designated by the name Torah, alluding to the first effect that was emanated from Him first and foremost; and in the middle world, the supernal sphere that encompasses all, which is moved directly by Him, blessed be He, without any intermediary; and in the lower world, the Israelite nation, which likewise is overseen by Him directly, without any intermediary. Now, Avraham and the Beit HaMikdash were not mentioned, because they are included within the category of Israel. I have already noted in the essay Ateret Zekenim that these three were singled out by virtue of being overseen without any intermediary.

[24] Indeed, in the *Sifri* on the verse (Devarim 32:6), "Is He not your Father who acquired you (*kancha*)," three acquisitions are enumerated: *Yisrael*, the Torah, and the Beit HaMikdash. *Yisrael*, as it is stated: "Is He not your Father who acquired you." The Beit HaMikdash, as it is stated (Tehillim 78:54): "This mountain His right hand acquired." The Torah, as it is stated (Mishlei 8:22): "Hashem acquired me as the beginning of His way." Let Yisrael, who are called an acquisition, come and build the Beit HaMikdash, which is called an acquisition, by virtue of the Torah, which is called an acquisition. This exposition, too, follows the same interpretive approach as that of the Mechilta — except that in the Sifri, mention is made of *Yisrael*, who is the agent; the Beit HaMikdash, which is the act performed; and the Torah, which is its ultimate purpose. No concern was given to mentioning Eretz Yisrael, since its subject matter is subsumed within that of the Beit HaMikdash, and also because the material cause is the least significant of all the causes. We thus see that the various expositions differ in accordance with the differing intentions behind them — and both these and those are words of the living God, containing no crookedness or perversity. With this, the tenth question has been resolved, and we have come to understand the meaning of the Baraita in its full clarity.

[25] And here is completed what I saw fit to explain from this distinguished chapter, in which the Sages intended to set forth the virtues of the divine Torah and its perfection — adjoining, bordering, and adjacent to tractate Avot, which I have [already] explained.

[26] I will praise the name of God with my mouth and exalt Him with thanksgiving, for He has strengthened my hand and granted me sound understanding and knowledge in the elucidation of these Mishnahs and Baraitot. For they are truly a source of living waters, and a deep well encompassing true beliefs and the hidden mysteries of Torah. And you, the one who studies — know the God of your father and serve Him; let not the words of these great and perfect ones depart from your eyes, hold fast to their teachings and do not let go: "This Book of the Torah shall not depart from your mouth, and you shall meditate in it day and night" (Yehoshua 1:8), for there you will find the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge. May it place upon your head a garland of grace, and may fear of your God come upon you, that you walk in His ways. May the God of your father help you to study it continually, and may the Almighty bless you with blessings upon the head of the righteous.

[27] The completion of this commentary took place in the city of Manopoli, which is in the province of Puglia, in the Kingdom of Naples, to which we came to dwell on account of the fury of the expulsion that was decreed upon the exile of Jerusalem that is in Spain. This kingdom received us at first with a pleasant countenance, yet turned into an enemy — it is that which consumed us and that which sought to destroy us. And this day was the eleventh day of the month of Tammuz, the beginning and the head of our calamities — the year 256 [5256] of the sixth millennium of Creation, counted from the Hashem. Blessed is Hashem forever, Amen and Amen.