The trup symbol of psik in וְאַתָּה תְּצַוֶּה | אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל

Summary: to hint that it was not from the money of the Israelites, but rather that clouds brought it from Gan Eden. This according to Birkas Avraham.

Post: In parashat Tetzaveh, Birkas Avraham writes:

"3. The trup symbol of psik, to hint that it was not from the money of the Israelites, but rather that clouds brought it from Gan Eden.


In the aforementioned verse {at the start of Tetzaveh},

20. And you shall command the children of Israel, and they shall take to you pure olive oil, crushed for lighting, to kindle the lamps continually.

כ. וְאַתָּה תְּצַוֶּה אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְיִקְחוּ אֵלֶיךָ שֶׁמֶן זַיִת זָךְ כָּתִית לַמָּאוֹר לְהַעֲלֹת נֵר תָּמִיד:

there is a psik (a vertical bar | ) before the words אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל:

And it is possible to say that this alludes to that which is stated in Targum Yonatan upon the verse (in Shemot 35:27-28, in parashat Vayakhel):

27. And the princes brought the shoham stones and filling stones for the ephod and for the choshen;

כז. וְהַנְּשִׂאִם הֵבִיאוּ אֵת אַבְנֵי הַשֹּׁהַם וְאֵת אַבְנֵי הַמִּלֻּאִים לָאֵפוֹד וְלַחֹשֶׁן:

28. and the spice and the oil for lighting and for the anointing oil, and for the incense.

כח. וְאֶת הַבֹּשֶׂם וְאֶת הַשָּׁמֶן לְמָאוֹר וּלְשֶׁמֶן הַמִּשְׁחָה וְלִקְטֹרֶת הַסַּמִּים:

that the clouds {nesiim, in a homonym of princes} brought from Gan Eden the oil which was needed for the menorah and for the anointing oil, see there.


And therefore, there was needed here {in parashat Tetzaveh} a commandment only on the taking and bringing to the hands of Moshe Rabbenu, and the crushing of the olives and production of the oil is not mentioned.


And therefore, the Ramban, za'l, who sensed that the production of the oil was not mentioned, wrote as follows:

כ): אמר הכתוב בכאן ואתה תצווה - בעבור שאמר במשכן תמיד ועשית, והוא בצווי, אמר בכאן ואתה בעצמך תצווה להם שייקחו אליך את שמן המאור, כי אין להם דרך לעשות אותו במדבר רק אם היה אצלם משמרת. והנשיאים הביאוהו:

"The verse says regarding this 'and you shall command', since it regularly states by the Mishkan 'and you shall fashion', which is via an order {to others}, it states here 'and you, by yourself, shall command to them that they take to you the lighting oil, for they did not have a method of making it in the wilderness, unless they already possessed it and kept it. And the nesiim {princes} brought it."

{Further:}

וטעם אליך - שיביאוהו לפניו והוא יראנו אם הוא זך וכתית כראוי, וכן צו את בני ישראל וייקחו אליך (ויקרא כד ב

"And the meaning of 'unto you', is that they should bring it before him, and he should see it, is it is zach and katit as appropriate. And so too {Vayikra 24:2} 'command the Israelites and they shall take to you."

End quote.


And in truth, the Targum Yonatan in parashat Vayakhel explains the word hanesiim as clouds. And as is written in Masechet Yoma (75a) upon this verse. And that the clouds brought the avnei shoham and the avnei hamiluim, see inside in the gemara."

End of Birkas Avraham.

I'd like to expand on the references to Targum Yonasan and Yoma a bit.On the pesukim from above:

27. And the princes brought the shoham stones and filling stones for the ephod and for the choshen;

כז. וְהַנְּשִׂאִם הֵבִיאוּ אֵת אַבְנֵי הַשֹּׁהַם וְאֵת אַבְנֵי הַמִּלֻּאִים לָאֵפוֹד וְלַחֹשֶׁן:

28. and the spice and the oil for lighting and for the anointing oil, and for the incense.

כח. וְאֶת הַבֹּשֶׂם וְאֶת הַשָּׁמֶן לְמָאוֹר וּלְשֶׁמֶן הַמִּשְׁחָה וְלִקְטֹרֶת הַסַּמִּים:

Targum Yonasan renders:

And the clouds of heaven went to the Phison, and drew up from thence onyx stones, and stones for infilling, to enchase the ephod and the breastplate, and spread them upon the face of the wilderness; and the princes of Israel went, and brought them for the need of the work. And the clouds of heaven returned, and went to the garden of Eden, and took from thence choice aromatics, and oil of olives for the light, and pure balsam for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense. 

Which first has the clouds doing it and then having the princes doing it. And then, it returns to the actions of the clouds. The play on words is on nesiim, where it occasionally means clouds. The clear example of this is Mishlei 25:14:

יד  נְשִׂיאִים וְרוּחַ, וְגֶשֶׁם אָיִן--    אִישׁ מִתְהַלֵּל, בְּמַתַּת-שָׁקֶר.

14 As vapours and wind without rain, so is he that boasteth himself of a false gift.

I suppose this is from the sense of 'lifting'.

Targum Yonasan, as is actually quite typical in its dual rendition of the pasuk. First, a midrashic reinterpretation. Then, worked into the midrash so as not to contradict, a more literal rendition.

Masechet Yoma has just the midrash, and not really worked into the actual narrative. It seems more like something that was to expand on the miracle of the manna, rather than practically how these items came to Israelite possession. And oil, etc., are not mentioned, perhaps because the derasha was taking this out of context, as an instance of significant maximalism and context minimalism.

 R. Samuel b. Nahmani, in the name of R. Jonathan said: [This:] Of those things which came down every morning intimates that, together with the manna, there came down to Israel precious stones and pearls, as it is said: And hanesi'im brought the onyx stones;32  [and] it was taught: [nesi'im here means]: clouds literally, as it is said also: As clouds [nesi'im] and winds, without rain.3

In terms of relating it to a psik, aside from my regular objection that this is not psik, but is rather a munach legarmeih, I think it is a bit of a stretch to relate a psik after tetzaveh to this particular derasha.