Sefer Shoftim chapter 13 is the opening chapter of the Shimshon cycle. The entire chapter deals with Shimshon's birth: the tidings brought by the angel of Hashem to the wife of Manoach, the special instructions she was commanded to keep, Manoach's attempt to understand the meaning of these things, and the revelation of the angel in the flame of the altar. Throughout the chapter we will study the explanations of the Malbim, the Metzudos and the Radak, alongside the words of Chazal, the Abarbanel, the Rema of Pano, and insights from the great masters of mussar.
וַיֹּסִיפוּ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לַעֲשׂוֹת הָרַע בְּעֵינֵי יְהוָה וַיִּתְּנֵם יְהוָה בְּיַד־פְּלִשְׁתִּים אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה׃ - And Bnei Yisrael again did what was evil in the eyes of Hashem, and Hashem gave them into the hand of the Pelishtim for forty years.
Bnei Yisrael do what is evil in the eyes of Hashem and are handed over to the Pelishtim. This is a recurring ritual in Sefer Shoftim: Yisrael sin, and the Pelishtim are the whip that brings them back to the right path.
וַיְהִי אִישׁ אֶחָד מִצׇּרְעָה מִמִּשְׁפַּחַת הַדָּנִי וּשְׁמוֹ מָנוֹחַ וְאִשְׁתּוֹ עֲקָרָה וְלֹא יָלָדָה׃ - And there was one man from Tzorah, of the family of the Dani, and his name was Manoach, and his wife was barren and had not borne.
The man's name is Manoach, of the family of the Dani, from Tzorah. His wife is not mentioned by name, but Chazal say her name was Tzlelponis. On the face of it, "barren and had not borne" seems to be a redundant doubling: a barren woman generally does not give birth. The Malbim explains: it is possible for a woman to be barren today and yet to have given birth in the past, before she became barren. This is what is called today in medicine "secondary infertility": a person has one or two children, and afterward the woman is no longer able to conceive. Therefore the verse emphasizes: barren today, and never having given birth at all. And furthermore: sometimes a woman does not give birth for other reasons, and not because of barrenness. So the verse comes and says: know that she did not give birth because of barrenness, and not for other reasons.
וַיֵּרָא מַלְאַךְ־יְהוָה אֶל־הָאִשָּׁה וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלֶיהָ הִנֵּה־נָא אַתְּ־עֲקָרָה וְלֹא יָלַדְתְּ וְהָרִית וְיָלַדְתְּ בֵּן׃ - And the angel of Hashem appeared to the woman and said to her: Behold now, you are barren and have not borne, but you shall conceive and bear a son.
When a couple does not have children, the doubt always hovers: is he barren or is she barren, or, Heaven forbid, both, and sometimes the truth is that it is neither one nor the other but the match between them, the very fact that he and she together is the cause of their not succeeding in having children. Here the angel reveals to her explicitly: "Behold now, you are barren," the barrenness is yours, and nevertheless I promise you, "you shall conceive and bear a son." And since this is so, I have instructions regarding this child and regarding the period of the pregnancy.
וְעַתָּה הִשָּׁמְרִי נָא וְאַל־תִּשְׁתִּי יַיִן וְשֵׁכָר וְאַל־תֹּאכְלִי כׇּל־טָמֵא׃ - And now, take care and do not drink wine or strong drink, and do not eat anything impure.
"And now, take care" - from now on guard yourself. "Do not drink wine or strong drink": what is strong drink? If this concerns nezirus, nezirus applies to wine and not to strong drink. Strong drink in our common usage is beer, liqueur and the like, and seemingly what is the problem in drinking them? Rather, the meaning is as the Targum renders it: "new wine and old wine." The new wine is called yayin, and the old wine is called shechar. It emerges that the shechar here also refers to wine, and this is understandable, for we are dealing with nezirus, and the nazir is warned about wine.
"וְאַל תֹּאכְלִי כׇּל טָמֵא" - here he warns her to eat even ordinary food (chullin) in purity. A kohen is warned not to eat terumah in a state of impurity, and that is an outright prohibition, but here we see that she is warned to eat even ordinary food in purity, and only righteous people of high stature would eat their ordinary food in purity. And Chazal say that the angel told her: "Do not eat anything impure" means do not eat anything forbidden to a nazir. For example, a nazir is forbidden to eat grapes, so you too must not eat grapes, which are considered impure with respect to a nazir.
And the Malbim points out a precise detail: notice that it does not say "Guard yourself now from wine and strong drink and from anything impure," but rather "הִשָּׁמְרִי נָא" (guard yourself now), and only afterward "וְאַל תִּשְׁתִּי יַיִן וְשֵׁכָר וְאַל תֹּאכְלִי" (do not drink wine or strong drink, and do not eat). If so, "guard yourself now" is a command in its own right: you need to guard yourself from things that naturally cause harm to a pregnant woman, for now within your womb there is a person who will save Israel.
כִּי הִנָּךְ הָרָה וְיֹלַדְתְּ בֵּן וּמוֹרָה לֹא־יַעֲלֶה עַל־רֹאשׁוֹ כִּי־נְזִיר אֱלֹהִים יִהְיֶה הַנַּעַר מִן־הַבָּטֶן וְהוּא יָחֵל לְהוֹשִׁיעַ אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵל מִיַּד פְּלִשְׁתִּים׃ - For behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son, and no razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a nazir of God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.
The Metzudos explains: because you will guard yourself from all these things, you will merit to conceive. And this boy, "מוֹרָה לֹא יַעֲלֶה עַל רֹאשׁוֹ" (no razor shall come upon his head) - he has the status of a nazir, and a nazir is forbidden to cut his hair. And since this is so, I am commanding you, even during the pregnancy, to be careful with the things a nazir is meant to be careful of.
"וְהוּא יָחֵל לְהוֹשִׁיעַ" - the Metzudos says: he will begin but not finish. In the past we saw judges who fought against the enemies and destroyed them, they completed the work. But with Shimshon, even though he struck the Philistines many times, each time he drew his hand back and did not continue fighting in order to defeat them completely. This reminds us of "Cast Lead," "Pillar of Cloud," "Protective Edge" and all the various operations: even though our enemies were struck many times, the hand was drawn back and the fight was not carried through to victory. Like Shimshon: the story is never brought to completion. Therefore she was told in advance - know that he will only begin to save Israel, there will be a beginning here and not an end.
There is a difficulty here, and the Malbim addresses it: earlier he said to her "הִנֵּה נָא אַתְּ עֲקָרָה וְלֹא יָלַדְתְּ וְהָרִית" (behold, you are barren and have not given birth, and you shall conceive), meaning a tiding for the future, you are destined to conceive. And here he says "כִּי הִנָּךְ הָרָה" (for behold, you are pregnant), meaning you are already pregnant. So is it a promise for the future or a description of the present state? The Malbim explains simply: it is as though he is telling her, you need to begin the guarding right now as if you are already pregnant, relate to it as if you are pregnant, and therefore already from now guard yourself from what I am telling you.
By contrast, Chazal in Midrash Rabbah in Parashas Naso say that there was already seed in the womb of Tzlelponit, and the moment the angel spoke with her it was implanted. According to this, "הִנָּךְ הָרָה" fits very well: now, at the moment I am speaking with you, you are pregnant - the very speech brought about the situation that she was pregnant.
And from here we can also explain a strange expression in the pasuk: "וְיֹלַדְתְּ בֵּן." "יָלַדְתְּ" is past tense, "וְיָלַדְתְּ" with the vav turns it into future tense, and "יוֹלֶדֶת" is present. But "וְיֹלַדְתְּ" is a combination of two. So is it speaking of the future or the present? The Malbim says: it is composed of the present and the converted past, meaning that a birth has already been prepared here now, as if you are giving birth at this very moment - because in the course of the speech a state of the possibility of birth was created within you.
וַתָּבֹא הָאִשָּׁה וַתֹּאמֶר לְאִישָׁהּ לֵאמֹר אִישׁ הָאֱלֹהִים בָּא אֵלַי וּמַרְאֵהוּ כְּמַרְאֵה מַלְאַךְ הָאֱלֹהִים נוֹרָא מְאֹד וְלֹא שְׁאִלְתִּיהוּ אֵי־מִזֶּה הוּא וְאֶת־שְׁמוֹ לֹא־הִגִּיד לִי׃ - And the woman came and told her husband, saying: A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like the appearance of an angel of God, very awesome, and I did not ask him where he was from, and he did not tell me his name.
The Malbim explains: she was uncertain whether this was a man or an angel. "A man of God" could be a prophet, and on one hand he was clothed in physical matter, in a bodily form, so perhaps he was a prophet. On the other hand, "וּמַרְאֵהוּ כְּמַרְאֵה מַלְאַךְ הָאֱלֹהִים נוֹרָא מְאֹד" - he filled me with awe and terrible dread, and if so it is quite possible that he was an angel. And she adds that she did not clarify the matter: "וְלֹא שְׁאִלְתִּיהוּ אֵי מִזֶּה הוּא". What does "אי מזה הוא" mean? The Malbim explains: their custom was to ask a person about his place, as in "וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ מִיכָה מֵאַיִן תָּבוֹא". And I did not ask him where he lived, nor did he tell me his name.
וַיֹּאמֶר לִי הִנָּךְ הָרָה וְיֹלַדְתְּ בֵּן וְעַתָּה אַל־תִּשְׁתִּי יַיִן וְשֵׁכָר וְאַל־תֹּאכְלִי כׇּל־טֻמְאָה כִּי־נְזִיר אֱלֹהִים יִהְיֶה הַנַּעַר מִן־הַבֶּטֶן עַד־יוֹם מוֹתוֹ׃ - And he said to me: Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son, and now do not drink wine or strong drink, and do not eat anything impure, for the boy shall be a nazir of God from the womb until the day of his death.
The Malbim explains: notice that she filtered the conversation and did not report the exchange precisely. Three things are missing here. The angel told her "behold, you are barren" - this she does not relate. He told her "no razor shall come upon his head" - this she does not say. He told her "and he shall begin to save Israel" - this too she does not say.
And why? Regarding what he told her, "you are barren" - as brought in the Midrash Rabbah, this was a matter of ways of peace. For until now it had sounded as though the problem was always with him; and for the sake of peace she did not relate that the angel had revealed to her that the problem was with her. "No razor shall come upon his head" is included in what she said, "he shall be a nazir of God," for a nazir is forbidden to cut his hair, and thus it is included. And as for why she did not say "and he shall begin to save Israel" - it is self-evident, the Malbim explains: the Philistines rule over us, and the moment they hear that here in the womb a savior for Israel is beginning to form, just as when Pharaoh heard that the savior of Israel was about to be born he decreed "every son that is born you shall cast into the river," for in his view such ones must be killed while they are small. If so, why should I publicize it, so that the Philistines would seek to kill me?
Conversely, she added something the angel did not say: "עַד יוֹם מוֹתוֹ," until the day of his death. The angel did not say this, and not without reason, for we know that before his death the Philistines would shave off the locks of his head, and if so his nezirus is not until the day of his death. Rather, this is how she understood it, that the command was that he should be kept in his nezirus until the day of his death, but the angel did not utter this from his mouth, for he knew that even before his death he would be desecrated from his nezirus.
וַיֶּעְתַּר מָנוֹחַ אֶל־יְהוָה וַיֹּאמַר בִּי אֲדוֹנָי אִישׁ הָאֱלֹהִים אֲשֶׁר שָׁלַחְתָּ יָבוֹא־נָא עוֹד אֵלֵינוּ וְיוֹרֵנוּ מַה־נַּעֲשֶׂה לַנַּעַר הַיּוּלָּד׃ - And Manoach entreated the Lord and said: Please, my Lord, let the man of God whom You sent come again to us and teach us what we shall do for the boy who is to be born.
Manoach asks Hashem that the messenger - and he does not know who he is, as we will see further on - should come again. And why? According to what his wife told him, the angel detailed only the woman's conduct: "do not drink wine or strong drink, do not eat anything impure." But what would be the conduct of the boy himself? This she did not tell him. Therefore he asks that he come and teach us what the boy's conduct should be.
Especially since this nezirus is a new thing. Shimshon's nezirus differs from other forms of nezirus: every nazir is warned not to become impure through the dead, whereas the nazir Shimshon is permitted to become impure through the dead. And there is another difference, less significant: every nazir, though forbidden to shave and cut his hair, if his hair became heavy may lighten it with a razor, that is, he may shorten a little of the length of his hair so that it not weigh upon him; whereas the nazir Shimshon, even if his hair became heavy, does not lighten it with a razor. And since there is a difference here from the ordinary forms of nezirus, Manoach asks that he come and teach us what exactly must be done.
וַיִּשְׁמַע הָאֱלֹהִים בְּקוֹל מָנוֹחַ וַיָּבֹא מַלְאַךְ הָאֱלֹהִים עוֹד אֶל־הָאִשָּׁה וְהִיא יוֹשֶׁבֶת בַּשָּׂדֶה וּמָנוֹחַ אִישָׁהּ אֵין עִמָּהּ׃ - And God heard the voice of Manoach, and the angel of God came again to the woman as she was sitting in the field, and Manoach her husband was not with her.
The Metzudos explains: "And God heard the voice of Manoach" - Hashem heard only in order to fulfill his request, for there was no need for it, and as we will immediately see, the angel added nothing.
וַתְּמַהֵר הָאִשָּׁה וַתָּרׇץ וַתַּגֵּד לְאִישָׁהּ וַתֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו הִנֵּה נִרְאָה אֵלַי הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר־בָּא בַיּוֹם אֵלָי׃ - The woman hurried and ran and told her husband, and she said to him: Behold, the man who came to me the other day has appeared to me.
וַיָּקׇם וַיֵּלֶךְ מָנוֹחַ אַחֲרֵי אִשְׁתּוֹ וַיָּבֹא אֶל־הָאִישׁ וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ הַאַתָּה הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר־דִּבַּרְתָּ אֶל־הָאִשָּׁה וַיֹּאמֶר אָנִי׃ - Manoach arose and went after his wife, and he came to the man and said to him: Are you the man who spoke to the woman? And he said: I am.
וַיֹּאמֶר מָנוֹחַ עַתָּה יָבֹא דְבָרֶיךָ מַה־יִּהְיֶה מִשְׁפַּט־הַנַּעַר וּמַעֲשֵׂהוּ׃ - And Manoach said: Now, when your words come to pass, what shall be the rule for the boy and his conduct?
Manoach asks two questions. "מַה יִּהְיֶה מִשְׁפַּט הַנַּעַר" - you have told us the practice of the woman and how she is to conduct herself during her pregnancy, but what is the boy's practice to be? "וּמַעֲשֵׂהוּ" - since you are designating him for great things, I understand that he is meant to do something great. And as we recall, Manoach had not been told that he "shall begin to save Israel," and therefore he asks: what will his deeds and mighty acts be?
וַיֹּאמֶר מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה אֶל־מָנוֹחַ מִכֹּל אֲשֶׁר־אָמַרְתִּי אֶל־הָאִשָּׁה תִּשָּׁמֵר׃ - And the angel of Hashem said to Manoach: Of all that I said to the woman, let her beware.
Notice: to the question about the boy's practice the angel does not answer at all. Why? Because regarding the boy's practice, ask those who know Torah and law and they will tell you. And from here, says the Malbim in the name of Chazal, we learn that Manoach was an unlearned man: they tell you the boy will be a Nazir, so open a Gemara in Tractate Nazir, go to the sages and they will explain to you what nezirut is. But Manoach was unlearned and therefore did not understand what this nezirut entailed. Therefore the angel tells him: "of all that I said to the woman, let her beware" - I came only to convey a message to the woman, for this is the novelty here, that the nezirut begins already with the woman, who is warned against anything impure and against drinking wine. This is something not usual in an ordinary pregnancy.
And why did the angel not come to Manoach? The Abarbanel says: because she was more prepared to see the angel, more refined and of higher standing, and worthy that the angel reveal himself to her. And indeed the second time too he appeared to her and she called her husband; he did not appear to Manoach directly to say to him "I spoke with your wife," but everything was through her. She was more prepared for prophecy.
And in the previous pasuk this too is hinted at: "וַיָּקׇם וַיֵּלֶךְ מָנוֹחַ אַחֲרֵי אִשְׁתּוֹ." In its plain sense, as the Metzudot says, he went after her because she knew the place and knew where she had met the angel, and if I wish to know where the angel is I must go after her. But in principle he could have walked ahead and she would direct him: further forward, further right, further left. And from here Chazal derive both the plain meaning and the deeper one. In the plain sense: he went after his wife, and it is not the way of honor for a man to walk behind a woman; the honor is that the husband walks in front and the wife behind him, as they said "go down a level and take a wife" - that a person should be of a somewhat higher standing and take a wife of a slightly lower standing than his, and this is good advice for domestic harmony. And in the deeper sense: "and Manoach went after his wife" expresses that Manoach was secondary to her, drawn after her - she in front and he trailing after her.
מִכֹּל אֲשֶׁר־יֵצֵא מִגֶּפֶן הַיַּיִן לֹא תֹאכַל וְיַיִן וְשֵׁכָר אַל־תֵּשְׁתְּ וְכׇל־טֻמְאָה אַל־תֹּאכַל כֹּל אֲשֶׁר־צִוִּיתִיהָ תִּשְׁמֹר׃ - Of anything that comes from the grapevine she shall not eat, and wine and strong drink she shall not drink, and any impure thing she shall not eat; all that I commanded her she shall observe.
The word "תשמור" is an interesting word: it is both a command word addressed to a male in the second person, and a directive for a female in the third person. I say "Rivka will observe tomorrow," and I say "you shall observe today" - the same word in two senses. One could say that the "tishmor" here is double. To whom is the angel now speaking? To Manoach. He says to him: of anything that comes from the grapevine she shall not eat, and wine and strong drink she shall not drink - that is, concerning the woman - and any impure thing she shall not eat, "כֹּל אֲשֶׁר צִוִּיתִיהָ תִּשְׁמֹר." Who shall observe? She, in the third person; and also you, in the second person - that you shall guard her: that you not bring such things into the house, that you not lead her into temptation, that you help her in the matter. So the "tishmor" is both for you and for her.
The Toldot Yaakov Yosef brings: "I heard in the name of the elder, the late Rav Ephraim of the holy community of Brod," who explained the words of Chazal "Manoach was an ignoramus" - by means of a parable for the question, and by means of a parable for the answer.
The parable for the question: There was a man in Cracow who grew wealthy and became one of the leading citizens of the city. Once they were delayed at a gathering and had to return to their homes, and there were no lights in the streets. The beadle walked with the lamp in front of that great magnate in order to accompany him. Said the magnate to him: What, are you not ashamed? Did they not teach you proper manners? Why are you walking in front of me? Do you not know that I am a great magnate? He replied: Surely you are mistaken and speaking nonsense - I am the one holding the lamp! If I walk behind you, you will go first and fall. Whoever holds the lamp must walk ahead. If so, there is a difficulty: On what basis did Rav Nachman determine that Manoach was an ignoramus because he walked behind his wife? She is the one who met the angel, she is the one who knows where he is, she is the one "holding the lamp" - and so she should walk in front and show him the way.
And the parable for the answer: There was a tailor who supplied fabrics and garments to the gentiles who traded with him. One time he studied in works of mussar about the virtue of trust in Hashem, that a person need not chase after his livelihood, and that whatever is coming to him will come to him, and that whoever trusts in Hashem, kindness surrounds him. Market day arrived and he decided he was not going. An hour passed, then two, and his wife came and said to him: The merchants from the market sent to call for you, they said they want to buy fabrics, where are you? He said to her: I told you I am not going, I trust in Hashem, whatever is coming to me will come to me. She began to argue and quarrel with him, but no one could move him. And behold, those merchants, who knew that his merchandise was good and that it was worthwhile to do business with him, in their distress came to him at his house. They said: Tell your husband to come out, we want to come in. He said: Whoever wants me - let him come to me. The merchants saw there was nothing to be done, they came inside, sat down, spoke, and concluded a deal with him exactly as would have happened at the market, and from within his house he gave them the merchandise. He said to her: Do you see what I told you? Whatever is coming to me from Heaven - they will bring it to me.
And this is the answer to our matter: The angel received a mission - to inform the woman and her husband of the manner of conduct with the child to be born. Is it possible that the angel would leave without fulfilling his mission? Surely not. And if he must necessarily fulfill his mission, why should I walk behind my wife? Let me sit in my house; there is an angel here who received a mission from Hashem to inform me of something, he knows my address and he will come to me. There is no need for anyone to show me the way. This calculation Manoach did not make, and from here we see that he was an ignoramus - for had he been a person of understanding and a Torah scholar, he would have understood that an angel who received a mission must carry it out. "And the words of a wise man's mouth are gracious," so concludes the Toldot Yaakov Yosef.
וַיֹּאמֶר מָנוֹחַ אֶל־מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה נַעְצְרָה־נָּא אוֹתָךְ וְנַעֲשֶׂה לְפָנֶיךָ גְּדִי עִזִּים׃ - And Manoach said to the angel of Hashem: Let us please detain you, and let us prepare before you a young goat.
The Malbim says: Manoach does not know whether this is an angel or a prophet, the same doubt that arose with the woman. Therefore he says: If you are a prophet - "let us please detain you" to dine with us, I want to invite you to a meal and treat you with honor; and if you are an angel - "let us prepare before you a young goat" as an offering.
וַיֹּאמֶר מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה אֶל־מָנוֹחַ אִם־תַּעְצְרֵנִי לֹא־אֹכַל בְּלַחְמֶךָ וְאִם־תַּעֲשֶׂה עֹלָה לַיהוָה תַּעֲלֶנָּה כִּי לֹא־יָדַע מָנוֹחַ כִּי־מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה הוּא׃ - And the angel of Hashem said to Manoach: If you detain me, I will not eat of your bread, and if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to Hashem, for Manoach did not know that he was an angel of Hashem.
"I will not eat of your bread" - and not only bread, says the Radak: bread includes all kinds of food, meaning I will not eat of your food. "And if you prepare a burnt offering to Hashem, offer it up" - the Radak explains: that generation was corrupt and there were idol worshipers in it, and therefore he says to him: Do not conduct yourself as they do, but rather, if you are already making a burnt offering - offer it up to Hashem alone.
And the Malbim explains: "If you detain me" - if you wish that I dine with you, I will not eat; and if you wish to offer up a burnt offering, then "one who sacrifices to the gods shall be destroyed, save to Hashem alone" - whoever sacrifices to an angel, even though the angel is called "elohim" in the sense of a messenger of Hashem, shall be destroyed. And as we already discussed with Gideon: you will never find in the Torah an offering in which it says "a fire offering to Elohim" or "an offering to Elohim"; the name Elohim does not appear in offerings at all, but always the name Havayah. For the name Havayah is the essential name alone, whereas the other names are not essential names, and "elohim" could, Heaven forbid, also be interpreted as referring to other gods. Therefore he says to him: If you wish to offer - "save to Hashem alone."
וַיֹּאמֶר מָנוֹחַ אֶל־מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה מִי שְׁמֶךָ כִּי־יָבֹא דְבָרְךָ וְכִבַּדְנוּךָ׃ - And Manoach said to the angel of Hashem: What is your name, that when your word comes to pass we may honor you?
Manoach thinks that perhaps he is a prophet, and his thinking is small-minded: it cannot be that a prophet would come and prophesy unless he expects some reward - did he come here for nothing? (In truth this is not so, for if the Holy One, blessed be He, sent the prophet, he is forbidden to hide and suppress his prophecy, and he is obligated to prophesy whether or not he is given anything.) But this is what Manoach thought, and we have already said that he was a simple man: if he came here, he surely expects something - reward, food, or honor. And since he invited him to a meal and the man does not want to eat, it seems he expects nothing physical, and if so, perhaps he is seeking honor. Therefore he says: "מִי שְׁמֶךָ, כִּי יָבֹא דְבָרְךָ וְכִבַּדְנוּךָ" - when your words come to pass we will honor you and tell everyone that a certain prophet informed us in advance, and from this you will gain a name and honor.
וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה לָמָּה זֶּה תִּשְׁאַל לִשְׁמִי וְהוּא־פֶלִאי׃ - And the angel of Hashem said to him: Why do you ask this about my name, seeing it is hidden?
The Malbim explains: the angel answers precisely to Manoach's words. You said you would honor me and tell everyone - I am not seeking honor, I am an angel of Hashem, and it has no glory from man's honor; what would it gain from people honoring it? And further, "and it is hidden" - my name is wondrous and hidden from those who dwell in houses of clay; you are physical people, and there is no relevance in my name for you, it is hidden from you.
And there is another aspect to this. The angel is called according to its mission, and since here, as we will soon see, it raises the offering upon the rock and "does wondrously" - its name now is "peli," from the word wonder (pele), for immediately it performs a wondrous act here. And further: it comes to announce a matter of nezirut, and how is nezirut stated in the Torah? "כִּי יַפְלִיא לִנְדֹּר נֶדֶר," as the Sages said. Even the section of nezirut in the Rambam is called "Sefer Hafla'ah," from the phrase "ki yafli." And incidentally, the Ibn Ezra explains why the Torah used the expression "ki yafli": because most people follow the desires of their heart, and one who suddenly separates himself from pleasure and desire - that is a wonder and a rare thing, and therefore "when a man clearly utters a vow to Hashem."
And let us note that we read "peli," and there is here an alef that is not heard, as though it were silent. And I saw in the sefer Kerem HaTzvi that this comes to hint that this nezirut is different from every other nezirut: a nazir is warned about three things - not to drink wine, not to shave his hair, and not to become impure through contact with the dead; while the nazir Shimshon is permitted to become impure through the dead, for he will need to perform acts of killing. If so, there is here one missing alef, and therefore "and it is peli" - there will be a wonder here, but not a complete wonder, one alef, as it were, is not heard.
And in the name of the holy Arizal it is said that the name through which barren women are remembered is the name Pela, which comes from the verse "open for me, my sister," and through it the Holy One, blessed be He, opens the woman's womb. And if so, you ask what is my name? By my mission - and what is my mission? Peli: peh, lamed, alef, yud, for I come to remember the barren woman through the name Pela. Here we have three explanations of how the name connects to the mission: from the aspect of the wonder it will immediately perform with the offering, from the aspect of the hafla'ah which is nezirut, and from the aspect of the holy name Pela through which it has now remembered Tzelalponit the barren woman.
וַיִּקַּח מָנוֹחַ אֶת־גְּדִי הָעִזִּים וְאֶת־הַמִּנְחָה וַיַּעַל עַל־הַצּוּר לַיהוָה וּמַפְלִא לַעֲשׂוֹת וּמָנוֹחַ וְאִשְׁתּוֹ רֹאִים׃ - And Manoach took the kid of the goats and the meal offering and offered it upon the rock to Hashem, and He did wondrously, while Manoach and his wife looked on.
Manoach takes the kid of the goats and the meal offering and raises them upon the rock. The Radak says in the name of the Sages that this was a temporary ruling (hora'at sha'ah), for one does not offer burnt offerings upon a rock, and this was a sacrifice not in the Mishkan of Hashem, and it is forbidden to bring sacrifices outside the Mishkan of Hashem. "And He did wondrously" - what is the wonder? The Malbim explains: when Manoach heard "if you make a burnt offering to Hashem, offer it up," he brought a sacrifice to Hashem, and the wonder is that the angel brought down fire before their eyes, and they see how fire descends from heaven and consumes the offering. And not only this, but also the manner in which the angel departed before their eyes by means of the flame.
וַיְהִי בַעֲלוֹת הַלַּהַב מֵעַל הַמִּזְבֵּחַ הַשָּׁמַיְמָה וַיַּעַל מַלְאַךְ־יְהוָה בְּלַהַב הַמִּזְבֵּחַ וּמָנוֹחַ וְאִשְׁתּוֹ רֹאִים וַיִּפְּלוּ עַל־פְּנֵיהֶם אָרְצָה׃ - And it came to pass, as the flame ascended from off the altar toward heaven, that the angel of Hashem ascended in the flame of the altar, while Manoach and his wife looked on, and they fell on their faces to the ground.
Suddenly they see the angel disappear in the flame of the altar and ascend heavenward, while clothed in a physical body. We have already seen that when someone clothed in a physical body departs from us, the ability to witness the departure requires a great level. Therefore Eliyahu said to Elisha his attendant: if you see how I am taken from you - you will have a double portion of my spirit. This shows that seeing the departure is a very high level. And now, when they saw the angel depart before their eyes, they understood that this was an immense level, and it immediately appears that this caused them dread.
וְלֹא־יָסַף עוֹד מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה לְהֵרָאֹה אֶל־מָנוֹחַ וְאֶל־אִשְׁתּוֹ אָז יָדַע מָנוֹחַ כִּי־מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה הוּא׃ - And the angel of Hashem did not appear again to Manoach and to his wife. Then Manoach knew that he was an angel of Hashem.
Until now he had a doubt: perhaps this was a man of wonders, perhaps a righteous man who pronounced a holy and hidden Name, and he expected that if so he would immediately come back down. So he watches and waits, and the man vanishes from their sight and does not return - and from this it became clear to him: this is an angel of Hashem.
And I heard a wonderful explanation, offered wittily, in the name of Rav Shalom Shwadron. What is the meaning of "and he did not appear to them anymore," from which it was learned that he was an angel of Hashem? Says Rav Shwadron: when someone asks you for a favor - "do me a favor, take care of this matter for me" - and you went, you took the trouble, you saw to it, and the matter was arranged in the best possible way. What is human nature? To look for an opportunity to pass by you and hear "yasher koach, may you merit mitzvos, I want to tell you well done, you really saved me." He will look for an opportunity to collect his thanks, his yasher koach. And here comes one bringing such tidings - that a child will be born who will save Israel - and he does not come to collect the thanks. A person would come once and twice to hear the yasher koach and the well done; and if he does not come to collect anything at all - this is surely because he is an angel of Hashem.
וַיֹּאמֶר מָנוֹחַ אֶל־אִשְׁתּוֹ מוֹת נָמוּת כִּי אֱלֹהִים רָאִינוּ׃ - And Manoach said to his wife: We will surely die, for we have seen God.
And why did he think this? The Malbim says that he already explained it regarding Gideon, who also thought "we will surely die." And the reason: it is written "for no man shall see Me and live," and a person does not grasp the Divine except when he is already dead. If so, if I have now seen the Divine - the angel of Hashem - it means that I am a moment before death, for a moment before death a person belongs more to the category of the dead, and then it is possible for him to see, as the Midrash says "in their lifetime they do not see, but in their death they see," meaning that in the process of dying one does indeed see. And especially since they saw the moment of parting, and as we said that seeing the moment the angel leaves the body requires a high level - and if we saw that, apparently, God forbid, we are about to die.
וַתֹּאמֶר לוֹ אִשְׁתּוֹ לוּ חָפֵץ יְהוָה לַהֲמִיתֵנוּ לֹא־לָקַח מִיָּדֵנוּ עֹלָה וּמִנְחָה וְלֹא הֶרְאָנוּ אֶת־כׇּל־אֵלֶּה וְכָעֵת לֹא הִשְׁמִיעָנוּ כָּזֹאת׃ - But his wife said to him: If Hashem had desired to kill us, He would not have accepted from our hand a burnt offering and a meal offering, nor would He have shown us all these things, nor at this time would He have let us hear such things as these.
His wife sets his mind at ease with three reasons. The first: if Hashem desired to kill us, He would not have accepted from our hand a burnt offering and a meal offering. When the Holy One, blessed be He, accepts a burnt offering and a meal offering from a person, it is a sign of love and favor - He desires you, loves you, wants you. And is it conceivable that He would accept a burnt offering and a meal offering from one He is angry with and wants to kill? Unthinkable. The second: "nor would He have shown us all these things" - He now showed us wonders; and does one show wonders to one who is about to die? And the third, the strongest of all: "nor at this time would He have let us hear such things" - the Holy One, blessed be He, comes to inform us that a child will be born here, and now He is taking us and killing us? Where is the child? Where is the prophecy? Where is the message? And does one inform people who are about to die that a child will be born to them? From this it is clear that we will not die over this matter. And with this she sets his mind at ease - and this is a further proof that Manoach was an unlearned man, for such simple matters, obvious to one who understands, he did not grasp in his mind, and his wife had to explain them to him.
וַתֵּלֶד הָאִשָּׁה בֵּן וַתִּקְרָא אֶת־שְׁמוֹ שִׁמְשׁוֹן וַיִּגְדַּל הַנַּעַר וַיְבָרְכֵהוּ יְהוָה׃ - And the woman bore a son and called his name Shimshon, and the boy grew and Hashem blessed him.
As the prophet had announced, so it was. "And Hashem blessed him" - that in all his affairs he saw blessing and success.
וַתָּחֶל רוּחַ יְהוָה לְפַעֲמוֹ בְּמַחֲנֵה־דָן בֵּין צׇרְעָה וּבֵין אֶשְׁתָּאֹל׃ - And the spirit of Hashem began to stir him in the camp of Dan, between Tzorah and Eshtaol.
What is the meaning of "lefaamo"? Our Sages say: that his hairs would stand up and ring like a bell (paamon) - like a bell his hairs would stand and chime when the holy spirit rested upon him. And the Malbim explains that "lefaamo" is like "time after time" (paam bepaam): the spirit of Hashem would come to him and leave him, come and leave. And why does the verse emphasize "in the camp of Dan"? Says the Malbim: because there is also a Tzorah and Eshtaol in the inheritance of Yehudah, as appears in the Book of Yehoshua chapter 15, and therefore it is important to emphasize that this refers to the Tzorah and Eshtaol in the camp of Dan and not those in the inheritance of Yehudah.
The Rama miPano writes that Tzelelponit, the mother of Shimshon, was the wife of On ben Pelet, and Manoach himself was On ben Pelet, whose soul was reincarnated in him. We know that the wife of On ben Pelet saved her husband and prevented him from joining Korach's dispute, and from this you will understand her merit that she now sees the angel: because of her special virtue in saving her husband. Therefore here too, just as then, Manoach is secondary to her: then he was drawn after Korach and she was the one with the wisdom who managed to extract him from there, and here she is the one who meets the angel, she is the one who grasps all the matters correctly, and she is the one who explains things to her husband.
The Rama miPano further says: we know the story in the Gemara about Abba Chilkiya, the grandson of Choni HaMe'agel, to whom the sages went to request that he pray for rain. He was in the field, and they saw how he was hoeing and paying them no attention, because he did not want to disrupt his work and his livelihood and cause loss to the owner of the field for whom he worked; and there was the whole story with the puddle and the like, and he did not speak with them at all. When he reached his house his wife came out toward him adorned, and he walked behind her rather than before her, as is proper for a man to walk before his wife. Afterward he entered his house and said to his wife: there are people here who came to request that we pray for rain, let us go up to the roof and pray before they speak with us, so that they will not attribute the matter to us. They went up to the roof, he to this corner and she to that corner, they prayed for rain, and the clouds came from her side. When he saw that clouds were beginning to come he came down and brought them in: peace upon you, did you want something? They told him their request, and he said: I see that, thank God, you no longer need us. They said to him: no, we know that it is you, and we have several questions. They asked him about all that had happened. They asked him why he walked behind his wife. He told them: because of a boundary of modesty, for it is not modest that you should walk behind my wife, and therefore it is better that I serve as a barrier between you and her. They asked him why he prayed on this side and she on that side, and that they noticed the clouds came from her side. He told them: because she performs kindness that is immediately available and I do not perform kindness in an immediate manner, she gives bread to a poor person and I give a coin, and until he goes to buy and until he eats it takes him time.
The Rama miPano says: Abba Chilkiya is Manoach, of whom it was said that he was an ignoramus in his previous incarnation. And just as in the previous incarnation "and Manoach went after his wife," so too Abba Chilkiya walks after his wife, except that here he shows that he did so with good intention, out of a boundary of modesty, so that the people walking behind him would not walk behind her, and it is better that her husband walk behind her. Furthermore, we saw here the piety of his wife, for the clouds came from her side, and just as in the previous incarnation the angel came to her, to Tzelelponit, and from this her virtue and greatness is seen, so too in this incarnation her virtue is seen in that the clouds came to her side. The Gemara further tells of a merit of Abba Chilkiya's wife: there were hooligans in her neighborhood, and he would pray for them to die while she would pray for them to repent, and they repented. Again we see her great virtue over his, for she prayed a more fitting and proper prayer and her prayer was accepted. The Rama miPano says: behold, you see that her virtue is greater than her husband's, just as in the previous incarnation the virtue of Tzelelponit was higher than the virtue of Manoach.
Chapter 13 places us at the threshold of the Shimshon cycle: Israel returns to sin and is delivered into the hand of the Pelishtim for forty years, and out of this a savior is born who will only begin to save and not complete the task. The tidings are delivered specifically to Manoach's wife, the barren woman, refined and prepared for prophecy, and within them are included new and special instructions of nezirut that begin already from the pregnancy. Manoach, of whom Chazal testified that he was an ignoramus, does not penetrate to the depth of the matter, does not understand that it would have been enough for him to ask those who know religion and law, does not understand that an angel sent on a mission would come to him himself, and does not even manage to calm himself, but rather his wife sets his mind at ease with three reasons. From the chapter we learned the boundaries of nezirut and the various expressions of "pelai," the value of modesty and peace, the power of a fitting prayer, and the virtue of a righteous woman who stands at the forefront and lights the way for her husband.