How Do You Assess the Value of a Mitzvah? The Case of Shabbos vs. Sexual Morality and Murder

Be as careful with a minor commandment as with a major one, since you do not know the reward for the commandments. Assess the loss incurred in a good deed against its reward and the gain in sin against its loss. (Mishnah Avos 2, 1)

R. Sa’adia Gaon writes:
We know that the transgression is not severe by the fact that the punishment is not severe...We know that the transgression is severe because the punishment is severe i.e. kares, excision, misah bi’ye’dei shamayim – death by an act of heaven and the four methods of execution (sekilah, serefah, hereg, chenek) (Emunos v’De’os 5,4)
One can determine the severity or lightness of the transgression based on the punishment.

Positive Commandments vs. Negative Commandments
The Rambam makes a distinction between positive commandments and negative commandments. Concerning mitzvos lo’ sa’aseh, (with a few exceptions) the Torah is clear on the punishment for these transgressions. There are eight degrees of punishment: misah – execution by (sekilah, serefah, hereg and chenek) kares -- excision, misah bi’ye’dei shamayim – death by an act of heaven and malkos -- stripes.

On the other hand, concerning mitzvos aseh, since the reward is not clear it is hard to know what is more or less severe. Rather, God preferred to command the fulfillment of each mitzvah, whichever one it may be, without declaring which would receive greater reward. Therefore, it behooves us to strive to fulfill each and every mitzvas aseh equally. In this vein, Chazal say, ha’osek b’mitzvah patur min ha’mitzvah, without any prejudice between the one mitzvah he is performing and the mitzvah being missed at the same time (Sukkah 25a). Similarly, they say: ‘ein ma’avirin ‘al ha’mitzvos, We do not pass over mitzvos i.e. when the occasion for practicing a mitzvah presents itself to you, do not pass it by and forsake it to practice some other mitzvah (Pesachim 64b, Yoma 33a).

Subsequently, the Mishnah says, even though the measure of one mitzvah against another is not clear there is a method for comparison. Every aseh that is not performed which has a punishment for failure of performance also has great reward linked to it when it is performed.
(Rambam Mishnah Commentary, Avos 2,1)

Sefer Chasidim disagrees with this approach:

Regarding the opinion that according to the severity of the suffering inflicted you can determine the punishment and reward for mitzvos he argues:
The punishment for transgressing Shabbos is stoning i.e. the most severe punishment. In some cases of sexual immorality the punishment is less severe -- strangulation or kares, excision. Should Shabbos, then, be assessed as having a higher value than sexual morality? No. Despite the fact that it is permitted to transgress Shabbos to save a life, there is no similar exception for sins with a lesser punishment like forbidden sexual relationships or murder where neither would receive the severer punishment of stoning. Hence, do not conclude from these degrees of punishment that one mitzvah has more value than another. Also, in assessing a mitzvah, there is the additional factor of when exceptions are permitted. In contrast to Shabbos, the Torah does not make exceptions to the rule for immorality and murder. (Parma edition, Siman 157, my paraphrase)

The Rambam provides a more comprehensive approach to the issue of punishment in relation to sin in the Moreh:

Preliminary Remark.—Whether the punishment is great or small, the pain inflicted intense or less intense, depends on the following four conditions.
1. The greatness of the sin. Actions that cause great harm are punished severely, whilst actions that cause little harm are punished less severely.
2. The frequency of the crime. A crime that is frequently committed must be put down by severe punishment; crimes of rare occurrence may be suppressed by a lenient punishment considering that they are rarely committed.
3. The amount of temptation. Only fear of a severe punishment restrains us from actions for which there exists a great temptation, either because we have a great desire for these actions, or are accustomed to them, or feel unhappy without them.
4. The facility of doing the thing secretly, and unseen and unnoticed. From such acts we are deterred only by the fear of a great and terrible punishment.
After this preliminary remark, I say that the precepts of the Law may be divided into the following four classes with respect to the punishment for their transgression: -- (1) Precepts whose transgression is followed by sentence of death pronounced by a court of law. (2) Precepts whose transgression is punished with excision, such transgression being held to be a very great sin. (3) In some cases the transgression is punished by stripes administered with a strap (such transgression not being considered a grievous sin, as it concerns only a simple prohibition); or by ”death by Heaven.” (4) Precepts the transgression of which is not punished [even] by stripes. Prohibitions of this kind are all those that involve no act. But there are the following exceptions: [First], Swearing falsely, because it is gross neglect of man’s duty, who ought to bear constantly in mind the greatness of God. [Secondly], Changing an animal devoted to the sanctuary for another (Lev. xxvii. 10), because this change leads to contemning sacrifices devoted to the name of God. [Thirdly], Cursing a person by the name of God (ibid. xix. 14); because many dread the effect of a curse more than bodily harm. The transgression of other negative commandments that involve no act causes little harm, and cannot always be avoided, as it consists in mere words: moreover, man’s back would be inflicted with stripes all the year round if he were to be punished with stripes for each transgression of this kind. Besides, previous warning is impossible in this case. There is also wisdom in the number of stripes: for although the number of their maximum is given, there is no fixed number how many are to be applied to each person; each man receives only as many stripes as he can bear, but not more than forty (Dent. xxv. 3), even if he be strong enough for a hundred.
The ”death by the court of law” is not inflicted for the transgression of any of the dietary laws: because in such a case no great harm is done, and the temptation of man to transgress these laws is not as great as the temptation to the enjoyment of sexual intercourse. In some of the dietary laws the punishment is excision. This is the case with the prohibition of eating blood (Lev. xvii. 26). For in ancient days people were very eager and anxious to eat blood as a kind of idolatrous ceremony, as is explained in the book Tomtom, and therefore the prohibition of eating blood is made very stringent. Excision is also the punishment for eating fat; because people enjoy it, and because it was distinguished and sanctified by its use in the offerings. … Death by the court of law is decreed in important cases: when faith is undermined, or a great crime is committed, viz., idolatry, incest, murder, or actions that lead to these crimes. It is further decreed for breaking the Sabbath (Exod. xxxi. 15): because the keeping of Sabbath is a confirmation of our belief in the Creation; … Capital punishment is only decreed for these serious crimes, and in no other case. Not all forbidden sexual intercourse is visited with the penalty of death, but only in those cases in which the criminal act can easily be done, is of frequent occurrence, is base and disgraceful, and of a tempting character; otherwise excision is the punishment. Likewise not all kinds of idolatry are capital crimes, but only the principal acts of idolatry, such as praying to an idol, prophesying in its name, passing a child through the fire, consulting with familiar spirits, and acting as a wizard or witch.
(Moreh 3, 41)

As we see from the discussion in these sources, there are more factors in addition to the severity of the punishment to consider in assessing the value of a mitzvah. The meaning of the Mishnah can take on many different interpretations depending on whether we look at positive or negative commandments, exceptions permitted for some mitzvos and not for others, the degree of temptation involved, the ability to sin secretly and the frequency of the sin.

Should Shabbos, then, be assessed as having a higher value than sexual morality and murder?

The fact is, it is permitted to transgress Shabbos to save a life. There is no similar exception for forbidden sexual relationships or murder, where neither would receive the severer punishment of stoning. Sexual morality and murder allow no exceptions to the rule. In assessing these mitzvos, there is the additional factor of when exceptions are permitted. Therefore, as the Sefer Chasidim points out, sexual morality and murder should be assessed as having a higher value than Shabbos.

The Lost Custom of the Pre-Wedding Dinner for the Poor (Yiddish: di oreme vetshere)

From a memoir of Rabbi Reuven Agushewitz (1897-1950) on life in the Lithuanian shtetl:

The night before a wedding there was a custom to make a dinner for the poor – a dinner which was certainly no worse, and sometimes even better, than the dinner for the families and their guests. Don’t forget that with this dinner the idea was not to make an impression on anybody, but to succeed with the Master of the Universe, upon Whose will the entire happiness of the young couple depends. Aside from this dinner, generous donations were set aside for the poor. At the dinner, poor people from the surrounding shtetls convened, among whim one could find usually also comic talents, merry beggars, who wanted to show off their stuff and thus regaled the crowd. I myself was at a Poor Man’s Supper at my brother’s wedding – it was the best meal I ever had, even better than the dinner of the Hospitality Committee to which my father used to take me. (Faith and Heresy by Reuven Agushewitz, translated from Yiddish by Mark Steiner, New York: Yeshiva University Press, 2006, p. 8 n)

The Miracle of Chanukah: Why Doesn’t ‘Al haNissim Mention the Miracle of the Oil?

On Chanukah and Purim we insert prayers of thanksgiving specifically for the miracles of those holidays in the berakhos of hoda’ah, thanksgiving, in the Shemoneh Esreh and the birkas ha’mazon, grace after meals.

The story of Chanukah in ‘al hanissim is a condensed account of the struggle of the Chashmonaim against the Greek-Syrians. The ‘al ha’nissim texts for both Chanukah and Purim are found in the Siddur of Rav Amram Gaon, the first siddur. ‘Al hanissim does not mention the miracle of the oil.

The question is: Why Doesn’t ‘Al haNissim Mention the Miracle of the Oil?

I believe the answer lies in the nature of the berakha of modim. We say:

We gratefully thank You, for it is You Who are Hashem, our God and God of our forefathers for all eternity; Rock of our lives, Shield of our salvation are You from generation to generation. We shall thank You and relate your praise – for our lives, which are committed to Your power and of our souls that are entrusted to You; for Your miracles that are with us every day; and for Your wonders and favors in every season – evening, morning and afternoon. The Beneficent One, for Your compassions were never exhausted, and the Compassionate One, for Your kindness never ended – always have we put our hope in You. For all these, may Your Name be blessed and exalted, our King, continually forever and ever. Everything alive will gratefully acknowledge You, Selah! And praise Your Name sincerely, O God of our salvation and help, Selah! Blessed are You Hashem, Your Name is ha’tov, the Beneficent One and to you it is fitting to give thanks. (Artscroll translation)

There are two types of nes, miracles: Nes nigleh and nes nistar, Obvious miracles and hidden miracles. The miracles mentioned in modim are exclusively nes nistar, hidden miracles that follow the course of nature created and controlled by God every day for:

our lives…
salvation from generation to generation…
our lives…
our souls that are entrusted to You…
Your miracles that are with us every day…
Your wonders and favors in every season – evening, morning and afternoon…
Your kindness never ended…
Everything alive will gratefully acknowledge You.
The miracle of the oil is a nes nigleh, an obvious miracle, a clear demonstration of God’s power to change the course of nature and make the oil burn longer than it normally would burn.

This different type of miracle would be out of place in a berakha dedicated to the hidden miracles of everyday existence. Hence, the miracle of the oil is left out in ‘al hanissim and the victory of the Chashmonaim, a nes nistar of battles fought and won according to the laws of nature is included in modim.

The Alshich on Lavan’s 100 Tricks

The Alshich once delivered a derashah on parshas va’yetzei, and the Ari zal was among the listeners. The Alshich explained Yaakov's comment to his wives, "And your father cheated me and changed my salary aseres monim, which the Midrash understands as actually one hundred times (Bereishis Rabbah 74). The Alshich proceeded to list one by one all the tricks and the lies and sly maneuvering through which Lavan tried to swindle Yaakov. Throughout the derashah, the Ari zal sat and smiled.

Later, when asked as to the reason behind his smile, the Ari zal explained that in the heavens it was decreed that Lavan should descend and listen to the derashah that disclosed the entire list of his deceitful plots. After the listing of each trick, the Ari zal saw that Lavan nodded as if to confirm his guilt. The Alshich continued disclosing these secrets one by one until he had listed ninety-nine pranks. When he reached number one hundred, Lavan jumped up in protest: "That is enough - this one I did not do!" he exclaimed, and then ran out of the room.

The Ari zal concluded, "In truth, he committed that hundredth crime, as well. But just a bit of shame was left within him, and he was too ashamed to confess."

Rambam on God, Prophecy and the Torah

In Yesodei haTorah Rambam tells us the halakhos regarding our beliefs on:
God
Creation and
Prophecy

On the subject of creation he tells us about the angels. (Yesodei haTorah, 2:3-7)

Question:
Why does the Rambam discuss mal’a’khim, angels, in Yesodei haTorah in between the subjects of God (Yesodei haTorah 1) and Prophecy (Yesodei haTorah, 7-10)?

I believe the connection between angels and prophecy lies in a discussion of Avoda Zarah in the Moreh where the Rambam writes:

It is known that the heathen in those days built temples to stars, and set up in those temples the image which they agreed upon to worship; because it was in some relation to a certain star or to a portion of one of the spheres. We were, therefore, commanded to build a temple to the name of God, and to place therein the ark with two tables of stone, on which there were written the commandments" I am the Lord," etc., and " Thou shalt have no other God before me," etc. Naturally the fundamental belief in prophecy precedes the belief in the Law, for without the belief in prophecy there can be no belief in the Law. But a prophet only receives divine inspiration through the agency of an angel. Comp. " The angel of the Lord called" (Gen. xxii. 15): " The angel of the Lord said unto her" (ibid. xvi. 11): and other innumerable instances. Even Moses our Teacher received his first prophecy through an angel." And an angel of the Lord appeared to him in the flame of fire" (Exod. iii.). It is therefore dear that the belief in the existence of angels precedes the belief in prophecy, and the latter precedes the belief in the Law. The Sabeans, in their ignorance of the existence of God, believed that the spheres with their stars were beings without beginning and without end, that the images and certain trees, the Asherot, derived certain powers from the spheres, that they inspired the prophets, spoke to them in visions, and told them what was good and what bad. I have explained their theory when speaking of the prophets of the Ashera. But when the wise men discovered and proved that there was a Being, neither itself corporeal nor residing as a force in a corporeal body, viz., the true, one God, and that there existed besides other purely incorporeal beings which God endowed with His goodness and His light, namely, the angels, and that these beings are not included in the sphere and its stars, it became evident that it was these angels and not the images or Asherot that charged the prophets. From the preceding remarks it is clear that the belief in the existence of angels is connected with the belief in the Existence of God; and the belief in God and angels leads to the belief in Prophecy and in the truth of the Law. In order to firmly establish this creed, God commanded [the Israelites] to make over the ark the form of two angels. The belief in the existence of angels is thus inculcated into the minds of the people, and this belief is in importance next to the belief in God's Existence; it leads us to believe in Prophecy and in the Law, and opposes idolatry. If there had only been one figure of a cherub, the people would have been misled and would have mistaken it for God's image which was to be worshipped, in the fashion of the heathen; or they might have assumed that the angel [represented by the figure] was also a deity, and would thus have adopted a Dualism. By making two cherubim and distinctly declaring" the Lord is our God, the Lord is One," Moses dearly proclaimed the theory of the existence of a number of angels; he left no room for the error of considering those figures as deities, since [he declared that) God is
one, and that He is the Creator of the angels, who are more than one.
--Moreh 3, 45

The sequence is as follows:
God – angels – prophecy – Torah.
Each one is a prerequisite for the next one. God created the angels. The angels are needed to communicate with the prophets. Prophecy is a prerequisite for the Torah.

The prohecy of Moshe Rabbenu for the Torah is different and on a higher level without the intermediary of an angel. But that is a subject for another post.

Koh Yihyeh Zarekha: So shall your seed be

In Lekh Lekha we read:
After these things the word of the Lord came to Avram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Avram; I am your shield, and your reward will be great.
And Avram said, Lord God, what will you give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
And Avram said, Behold, to me you have given no seed; and, lo, one born in my house is my heir (i.e.Yishma’el).
And, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, This shall not be your heir; but he who shall come forth from your own bowels shall be your heir.
And He brought him outside, and said, Look now toward heaven, and count the stars, if you are able to count them; and He said to him, So shall your seed be.
And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
(Beresihis 15:1-6)

The peshat is that Avram went out and looked at the stars and saw that God promised him that his progeny would be innumerable like the stars.

R. Meir Shapiro of Lublin asks:
Why did Hashem say va’yo’mer, He said, twice?

Because when Avram went out he literally started to count the stars – 1, 2, 3…10 …100…10,000 etc. So, at that point, when Hashem sees Avram counting, another va’yo’mer is warranted and Hashem then says to Avram:
Koh Yihyeh Zarekha, So shall your seed be. May they also be so literal, pure and obedient as you are in following my commands even when the task seems impossible. This foretells the na’aseh v’nishma’ aspect of the character of ‘am yisra’el.

Shnayim mikra v’echad targum: Why Mikra Twice?

R. Huna b. Judah says in the name of R. Ammi: A man should always complete his Parashiyos together with the congregation, [reading] twice the Hebrew text and once the [Aramaic] Targum, (Berakhos 8a)

Why do we read the Hebrew text twice and the Targum once?

Prof. Steven Fraade notes that the formulation, parashiyyot, his weekly readings, makes it clear that a person’s private reading, reviewing and translation of the reading is intended. By geonic times, however, there developed the custom in some places of fulfilling this requirement communally by reading the section twice in Hebrew and once in Aramaic in shul on Shabbos morning before kri’yas ha-Torah. (See ‘Otzar ha-Geonim, p. 19, responsa to Berakhos 8b.)

Many of the ancient targumim from Eretz Yisrael published from the Cairo Geniza contain not a continuous targum, as we find in the Dead Sea Scrolls, but each pasuk appears first in Hebrew, in its entirety, and then in Aramaic. Other Geniza texts, and later manuscripts of the other Targums, usually have simply the first word or words of the pasuk before the Aramaic translation. But they still suggest that, unlike the continuous Aramaic translations from Qumran, these were to be keyed to the reading or studying of the Torah text and not to substitute for it.
--“Rabbinic Views on the Practice of Targum”, in The Galilee in Late Antiquity, edited by Lee I. Levine, pp. 264-265.

Chazal could not see the study of Targum without the study of the Torah text, mikra.

The Taj, Kesser Torah or crown, of the ‘edot ha-mizrach contains the Torah text once, Targum Onkelos and Rav Sa’adia Gaon’s Arabic translation, in that order, for each pasuk.

The reason for repeating the Torah text twice is still not clear and requires further research.

Rambam on Chasidim and Humility

The Mishnah says: Me’od me’od he’vei she’fal ruach.

BE EXCEEDING LOWLY OF SPIRIT, FOR THE EXPECTATION OF MORTAL MAN IS [THAT HE WILL TURN TO] WORMS. (Avos, 4:4)

Why this accentuated deviation from the advocacy of a middle course?
According to Rambam: Because, for Man, being naturally over-inclined to pride, it is necessary to over-emphasize the quality of self-depreciation.

In his Commentary on the Mishnah the Rambam relates a story that he read in a book on ethics.

One of the pious (Arabic: al-fu’du’la. Hebrew: chasidim) was asked:
What was the happiest day of your life?

He said:
The day I traveled on a ship in the lowest class wearing rags. Wealthy merchants were on the boat and one them wanted to relieve himself. In view of my lowly status he urinated on me. I was amazed at his arrogance and brazenness. In truth, I was not upset in the least by his actions and I accepted it with equanimity. At that point I was very happy that I reached the level of not caring about the debasement I suffered from this flawed person and that I was able to put him out of mind.

The Rambam concludes from this: There is no doubt that this is the ultimate extreme low in spirit that Man can reach at the other end of the spectrum from the trait of pride (Arabic: at-tikbar. Hebrew: ha'ga’a’vah).


Is the Rambam praising this exceedingly humble, meek and submissive person? Is the Rambam saying that this is true chasidus that people should emulate and strive for as the ultimate level of humility?

I think not because later on in the Rambam’s commentary on this Mishnah, he quotes the Gemara:

R. Hiyya b. Ashi said in the name of Rav: A talmid chakham should possess an eighth [of pride]. R. Huna the son of R. Joshua said: [This small amount of pride] crowns him like the awn of the grain. Rava said: [A talmid chakham] who possesses [haughtiness of spirit] deserves excommunication, and if he does not possess it [some pride] he deserves excommunication (Sotah 5a).

The Rambam then concludes:
It is not fitting to go to the extreme of total shiflus because it is not a pious and good, proper trait (Arabic: min al-fa’da’il. Hebrew: ha’ma’alos).

Rashi says on the words and if he does not possess it [some pride] he deserves excommunication: A talmid chakham who has no sense of self-worth and self-respect will be unable to gain the respect and awe he needs from his community to teach and chastise them.

Some have interpreted the behavior of the chasid in this story as the Rambam’s recommended model to imitate. Clearly, we see from the Gemara and the Rambam’s conclusion that the chasid’s behavior is not desirable and in fact should be shunned. Meekness at that level is an extreme to avoid. The use of the term chasidim by the Hebrew translators of the Rambam is misleading. The source of the story may not even be a Jewish book on ethics. The Rambam may have been quoting a non-Jewish source and holding it up for disapproval.

The Rambam needs to be read very carefully, in context and with close attention to his conclusions after a long excursus.

May we all be able to find the small turn from middle path towards humility, avoid the pitfalls of ga’avah and the mistaken path of the meek.

In Response to the Yeshivish-ists: Two Samples of Yeshivish

The following two samples lead me to ask: Is it necessary to communicate like this in Yeshivish? Are these people getting their point across?

Sample 1: A Torah Discussion from Shema Yisrael Discussion Forums

1) If a drop of milk falls onto a kli, it is a sofek how far it will spread. 2) A sofek Rabim is a sofek to the whole generation, a sofek yachid is where there are some people who are knolagable about the sofek. 3) We are meikil in a sofek rabim in that it can be combined with a second sofek to make a sofek s'feka thereby permitting something which may have otherwise been forbidden. 4) We are machmir in a sofek yachid because the facts are knowable; we simply haven't ascertained them. 5) We need 60 times 61 minus a bit to mevatel the drop (and not just 60 times 60) because 1. The drop spreads in the wall to osser (a little less than) 60 times itself. That plus the drop make a little less than 61. 2. This 61 ossurs 60 times itself. 3. Thus we need 60 times (a little less than) 61 to mevatel the drop. 6) Because of the sofek yachid, we have to be choshesh for the worst-case scenario when a drop of milk falls onto a meat pot. Thus when the drop falls on the raikan we assume the drop spreads up to 60 times itself in the raikan area -- thereby making the largest issur of ChaNaN in the kli.

Sample 2: The Gettysburg Address in YESHIVISH TRANSLATION:

Be'erech a yoivel and a half ago, the meyasdim shtelled avek on this makom a naiya malchus with thekavana that no one should have bailus over their chaver, and on this yesoid that everyone has the zelba zchusim. We're holding by a geferliche machloikes being machria if this medina, or an andere medina made in the same oifen and with the same machshovos, can have a kiyum. We are all mitztaref on the daled amos where a chalois of that machloikes happened in order to be mechabed the soldiers who dinged zich with each other. We are here to be koiveia chotsh a chelek of that karka as a kever for the bekavodike soldiers who were moiser nefesh and were niftar to give a chiyus to our nation. Yashrus is mechayev us to do this... Lemaise, hagam the velt won't be goires or machshiv what we speak out here, it's zicher not shayach for them to forget what they tued uf here. We are mechuyav to be meshabed ourselves to the melocha in which these soldiers made a haschala--that vibalt they were moiser nefesh for this eisek, we must be mamash torud in it--that we are all mekabel on ourselves to be moisif on their peula so that their maisim should not be a bracha levatulla-- that Hashem should give the gantze oilam a naiya bren for cheirus-- that a nation that shtams by the oilam, by the oilam, by the oilam, will blaib fest ahd oilam.

Weiser, Chaim M. 1995. The First Dictionary of Yeshivish. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, P. xxxiii.

Rambam on Divine Attributes in Prayer: The Limits of Human Power

One should also not add to the enumeration of Hashem’s attributes in the Shemoneh Esreh and say: ha’el ha’gadol ha’gibor v’ha’nora he’chazak v’ha’amitz v’ha’izuz, the great, mighty and awesome God, strong, brave and powerful. It is beyond human ability to fully praise God, except to say what Moshe said. (Tefillah 9:7)

This Rambam follows the Gemara:
A certain [reader] went down in the presence of R. Hanina and said, O God, the great, mighty, terrible, majestic, powerful, awful, strong, fearless, sure and honored. He waited till he had finished, and when he had finished he said to him, Have you concluded all the praise of your Master? Why do we want all this? Even with these three that we do say, had not Moses our Master mentioned them in the Law (Devarim 10:17) and had not the Men of the Great Synagogue come and inserted them in the Tefillah, we should not have been able to mention them, and you say all these and still go on! It is as if an earthly king had a million denarii of gold, and someone praised him as possessing silver ones. Would it not be an insult to him? (Berakhos 33b)

The Rambam explains this mashal in Moreh Nevukhim:
Consider, first, how repulsive and annoying the accumulation of all these positive attributes was to him; next, how he showed that, if we had only to follow our reason, we should never' have composed these prayers, and we should not have uttered any of them. It has, however, become necessary to address men in words that should leave some idea in their minds, and, in accordance with the saying of our Sages," The Torah speaks in the language of men," the Creator has been described to us in terms of our own perfections; but we should not on that account have uttered any other than the three above-mentioned attributes, and we should not have used them as names of God except when meeting with them in reading the Law. Subsequently, the men of the Great Synagogue, who were prophets, introduced these expressions also into the prayer, but we should not on that account use [in our prayers] any other attributes of God. The principal lesson to be derived from this passage is that there are two reasons for our employing those phrases in our prayers : first, they occur in the Pentateuch; secondly, the Prophets introduced them into the prayer. Were it not for the first reason, we should never have uttered them; and were it not for the second reason, we should not have copied them from the Pentateuch to recite them in our prayers: how then could we approve of the use of those numerous attributes! You also learn from this that we ought not to mention and employ ill our prayers all the attributes we find applied to God in the books of the Prophetq: for he does not say," Were it not that Moses, our Teacher, said them, we should not have been able to use them": but he adds another condition-" and had not the men of the Great Synagogue come forward and established their use in the prayer," because only for that reason are we allowed to use them in our prayers. We cannot approve of what those foolish persons do who are extravagant in praise, fluent and prolix in the prayers they compose, and in the hymns they make in the desire to approach the Creator. They describe God in attributes which would be an offence if applied to a human being; for those persons have no knowledge of these great and important principles, which are not accessible to the ordinary intelligence of man. Treating the Creator as a familiar object, they describe Him and speak of Him in any expressions they think proper; they eloquently continue to praise Him in that manner, and believe that they can thereby influence Him and produce an effect on Him. If they find some phrase suited to their object in the words of the Prophets they are still more inclined to consider that they are free to make use of such texts-which should at least be explained-to employ them in their literal sense, to derive new expressions from them, to form from them numerous variations, and to found whole compositions on them. This license is frequently met with in the compositions of the singers, preachers, and others who imagine themselves to be able to compose a poem. Such authors write things which partly are real heresy, partly contain such folly and absurdity that they naturally cause those who hear them to laugh, but also to feel grieved at the thought that such things can be uttered in reference to God. Were it not that 1 pitied the authors for their defects. And did not wish to injure them, I should have cited some passages to show you their mistakes; besides, the fault of their compositions is obvious to all intelligent persons. You must consider it, and think thus : If slander and libel is a great sin, how much greater is the sin of those who speak with looseness of tongue in reference to God, and describe Him by attributes which are far below Him; and I declare that they not only commit an ordinary sin, but unconsciously at least incur the guilt of profanity and blasphemy. This applies both to the multitude that listens to such prayers, and to the foolish man that recites them. Men, however, who understand the fault of such compositions, and, nevertheless, recite them, may be classed, according to my opinion, among those to whom the following words are applied:" And the children of Israel used words that were not right against the Lord their God" (2 Kings xvii. 9): and" utter error against the Lord" (Isa. =ii. 6). If you are of those who regard the honour of their Creator, do not listen in any way to them, much less utter what they say, and still less compose such prayers. knowing how great is the offence of one who hurls aspersions against the Supreme Being. There is no necessity at all for you to use positive attributes of God with the view of magnifying Him in your thoughts, or to go beyond the limits which the men of the Great Synagogue have introduced in the prayers and in the blessings, for this is sufficient for all purposes, and even more than Sufficient, as Rabbi Haninah said. Other attributes, such as occur in the books of the Prophets, may be uttered when we meet with them in reading those books; but we must bear in mind what has already been explained, that they are
either attributes of God's actions, or expressions implying the negation of the opposite. This likewise should not be divulged to the multitude; but a reflection of this kind is fitted for the few only who believe that the glorification of God does not consist in uttering that which is not to be uttered, but in reflecting on that on which man should reflect.

We Will now conclude our exposition of the wise words of R. Haninah. He does not employ any such simile as:" A king who possesses millions of gold denarii, and is praised as having hundreds" : for this would imply that God's perfections, although more perfect than those ascribed to man are still of the same kind: but this is not the case, as has been proved. The excellence of the simile consists in the words: who possesses golden denarii, and is praised as having silver denarii" this implies that these attributes, though perfections as regards ourselves, are not such as regards God; in reference to Him they would all be defects, as is distinctly suggested in the remark," Is this not an offence to Him ?" '
(Moreh I,59)

I always suspected that there is also anti-Islamic polemic here because the Muslims list a hundred attributes of God.

Rambam on Yiddish, Yeshivish and Other Jewish Languages

When the Jewish people were exiled in the days of wicked Nevuchadnezzar, they mixed with Persians, Greeks and other nationalities. Children were born to them in foreign lands. The language of these children was confused, a mixture of many languages. They were unable to express themselves adequately and accurately in any one language, as it is written: “Their children spoke half in the tongue of Ashdod; they could not speak Hebrew, nor any foreign tongue” (Nechemiah 13:24). When anyone of them prayed, his Hebrew vocabulary was too limited to express his needs or to praise God without mixing Hebrew with other languages. When Ezra and his Beis Din took notice of this they instituted the Shemonah Esreh in their present order: the first contain praise to God; the last three thanksgiving; the intermediate blessings contain petitions for the most essential needs of the individual and the community. They were to be set on everyone’s lips and learned… (Tefillah 1:4).

The development of Jewish languages as a result of galus is a very interesting topic that sheds light on different levels of assimilation and acculturation in various places at different times.

The Gemara in Jewish Aramaic is probably the best example of a Jewish language that comes close to Hebrew in lasting importance for all time.

Judeo-Arabic probably comes next in holiness because of the many classic works of the Geonim and Rishonim that were written by R. Saadia Gaon, and classics like Chovos ha’Levavos, Kuzari, Moreh Nevukhim and Rambam’s Commentary on the Mishnah, Sefer ha’Mitzvos and many Teshuvos and letters.

Ladino was used to write Me’am Lo’ez. Yiddish, on the other hand, was not used as the language for any classic seforim.

What distinguishes all of these Jewish languages from Yeshivish is the fact that they were all written in Hebrew letters. Until modern times -- and the level of acculturation to non-Jewish culture that came with it -- Jews did not think of writing in a goyish alphabet. Other alphabets were foreign to them and not for Jews even when they used the vernacular of the country in which they lived for speech. This tells something about the acculturated nature of Yeshivish that I think many would like to ignore or deny.

The Rambam’s remarks are a sad commentary on our times: “The language of these children is confused, a mixture of many languages. They are unable to express themselves adequately and accurately in any one language.”

In ancient times this produced something positive: The Shemonah Esreh. In modern times we have yet to see what hasgacha pratis will bring about that is positive from the current cultural environment.

Shofar, Sukkah and Lulav: Is There a Connection Between Shofar and Sukkah v’Lulav?

The Rambam’s Mishneh Torah is divided into fourteen books according to subjects or classes of laws. For example, the laws of Shabbos and the annual holidays that fall in different seasons and times of the year are in Sefer Zemanim, the Book of Seasons. Each book is further divided into sections of halakhos. In the case of Sefer Zemanim, those sections are Hilkhos Shabbos, Hilkhos Eruvin, Hilkhos Hamez u-Mazah, Hilkhos Shofar Sukkah v'Lulav, etc.

Why did the Rambam combine the laws of Shofar, Sukkah and Lulav into one set of halakhos?
Shofar is a mitzvah on Rosh Hashanah and ostensibly has no connection to yetzias mitzrayim. Sukkah is connected to yetzias mitzrayim and the agricultural aspect of the shalosh regalim as the chag ha’asif, the harvest festival. Lulav is perfomed on Sukkos and hence fits with Sukkos. But what is the connection between Shofar, on one hand, and Sukkah and Lulav, on the other hand?

Discussions in my Sukkah came up with the following answers:

1. There is no connection, but, the Rambam preferred to group them together rather than leave them as singletons
2. They are connected by the fact that they are mitzvos aseh, positive commandments, that occur in Tishrei
3. There are eight chapters in Hilkhos Shofar, Sukkah and Lulav corresponding to the eight days of Sukkos when Shmini Atzeres is included. The Rambam discusses the simcha shel ahava component of Shmini Atzeres in the eighth chapter of Hilkhos Shofar, Sukkah and Lulav

Rav Dovid Cohen says the connection is the celebration of success on Sukkos with Lulav on being forgiven during the y’mei ha’din of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. This is based on the Midrash Tehilllim 17.

Yom Kippur: Why is it Called God’s Name Day

Yom Kippur is sometimes called Gottes Namen, God’s Name, Day. Some of the reasons offered for this name are:
1 -The Kohen Gadol pronounced the shem ha-meforash as part of the avodah
2 - We conclude with yichud Hashem reciting Hashem hu ha’Elokim, seven times.

Rav Dovid Cohen offered another explanation. The Ramban says the Bnei Yisrael lost knowledge of the Names, shemos, of Hashem at the chet ha-‘egel, the sin of the Golden Calf. At mattan Torah God provided them with weapons i.e. shemos to protect themselves against pestilence and the angel of death. Death would have been conquered as in the time of Adam before he sinned in the Garden of Eden when there was no death.

Va’yis’natzlu v’nei Yisrael es ‘ed’yam mei’har choreiv.
And the people of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by the mount Horeb (Shemos 33:6)

The Ramban on this pasuk is based on the Midrash:
R. Simeon b. Yohai said: [They stripped themselves of] the belts with which He had girded them (Shemos Rabbah 45:2).

BEHOLD, I SEND AN ANGEL BEFORE THEE (XXIII, 20). Thus it is written, I said: Ye are godlike beings (Ps. LXXXII, 6). Had Israel waited for Moses and not perpetrated that act, there would have been no exile, neither would the Angel of Death have had any power over them. And thus it says, And the writing was the writing of God, graven (haruth) upon the tables (Ex. XXXII, 16). What is the meaning of ’haruth’? R. Judah and R. Nehemiah each explained it. R. Judah says: Free (heruth) from captivity; and R. Nehemiah says: Free from the Angel of Death. When Israel exclaimed: ’All that the Lord hath spoken will we do, and hearken’ (ib. XXIV, 7), the Holy One, blessed be He, said: ' If I gave but one commandment to Adam, that he might fulfill it, and I made him equal to the ministering angels,- for it says, Behold, the man was as one of us (Gen. III, 22) --how much more so should those who practise and fulfill all the six hundred and thirteen commandments-not to mention their general principles, details, and minutiae-- be deserving of eternal life?’ This is the meaning of And from Mattanah to Nahaliel--nahalu (Num. XXI, 19)4; for they had inherited [through the Torah, given as a gift], from God eternal life. As soon, however, as they said, ’This is thy god, O Israel’ (Ex. XXXII, 4), death came upon them. God said: ‘You have followed the course of Adam who did not withstand his trials for more than three hours, and at nine hours death was decreed upon him. “ I said: Ye are godlike beings,” but since you have followed the footsteps of Adam, Nevertheless ye shall die like men. (Shemos Rabbah 32:1)

The Ramban says, that Yisrael accepted death upon themselves as punishment in repentance and remorse for their sin with the Golden Calf.

Yisrael’s voluntary acceptance of death by giving up the power of the shemos to protect them was part of their teshuvah. The second luchos given on Yom Kippur is a sign that their teshuvah was accepted. Hence, the connection to Yom Kippur and the shemos of Hashem on God’s Name Day – Gottes Namen.

The Butcher in Monsey: No One is Immune to the Yetzer Hara’

Rav Dovid Cohen pointed out that the incident of the butcher in Monsey is proof that no one is immune to the yetzer hara’. Rav Dovid noted that the first comment of the Rema in Shulchan ‘Arukh:
Shi’vi’si Hashem l’neg’di samid…
I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. (Tehillim 16:8), is the first step to fend off the yetzer hara’.

The Rema follows with the elaboration of the Moreh Nevukhim which directs us to keep our mindset along the following lines as an antidote to the yetzer hara’:

WE do not sit, move, and occupy ourselves when we are alone and
at home, in the same manner as we do in the presence of a great
king; we speak and open our mouth as we please when we are with
the people of our own household and with our relatives, but not so
when we are in a royal assembly. If we therefore desire to attain
human perfection, and to be truly men of God, we must awake
from our sleep, and bear in mind that the great king that is over us,
and is always joined to us, is greater than any earthly king, greater
than David and Solomon. The king that cleaves to us and embraces
us is the Intellect that influences us, and forms the link between us
and God. We perceive God by means of that light that He sends
down unto us, wherefore the Psalmist says," In Thy light shall we
see light" (Ps. xxxvi. g): so God looks down upon us through that
same light, and is always with us beholding and watching us on
account of this light." Can any hide himself in secret places that I
shall not see him ?" (Jer. xxiii. 24). Note this particularly.
When the perfect bear this in mind, they will be filled with fear of
God, humility, and piety, with true, not apparent, reverence and
respect of God, in such a manner that their conduct, even when
alone with their wives or in the bath, will be as modest as they are
in public intercourse with other people. Thus it is related of our
renowned Sages that even in their sexual intercourse with their
wives they behaved with great modesty. They also said," Who is
modest ? He whose conduct in the dark night is the same as in the
day." You know also how much they warned us not to walk
proudly, since" the fulness of the whole earth is His glory" (Isa.
vi. 3). They thought that by these rules the above-mentioned idea
will be firmly established in the hearts of men, viz., that we are
always before God, and it is in the presence of His glory that we go
to and fro. The great men among our Sages would not uncover
their heads because they believed that God's glory was round them
and over them; for the same reason they spoke little. In our
Commentary on the Sayings of the Fathers (chap. i. 17) we have
fully explained how we have to restrict our speech. Comp." For
God is in heaven and thou upon earth, therefore let thy words be
few" (Eccles. v. i).
What I have here pointed out to you is the object of all our
religious acts. For by [carrying out] all the details of the prescribed
practices, and repeating them continually, some few pious men
may attain human perfection. They will be filled with respect and
reverence towards God; and bearing in mind who is with them,
they will perform their duty. God declares in plain words that it is
the object of all religious acts to produce in man fear of God and
obedience to His word-the state of mind which we have
demonstrated in this chapter for those who desire to know the
truth, as being our duty to seek. Comp." If thou wilt not observe to
do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou
mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, the Lord thy God"
(Dent. xrvffi. 58). Consider how clearly it is stated here that the
only object and aim of" all the words of this law" is to [make
man] fear" the glorious and fearful name?' That this end is
attained by certain acts we learn likewise from the phrase
employed in this verse:" If thou wilt not observe to do . . . that
thou mayest fear?' For this phrase clearly shows that fear of God is
inculcated [into our hearts] when we act in accordance with the
positive and the negative precepts. But the truths which the Law
teaches us-the knowledge of God's Existence and Unity create in us
love of God, as we have shown repeatedly. You know how
frequently the Law exhorts us to love God. Comp." And thou shalt
love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul,
and with all thy might 11 (Deut. vi. 5). The two objects, love and
fear of God, are acquired by two different means. The love is the
result of the truths taught in the Law, including the true knowledge
of the Existence of God; whilst fear of God is produced by the
practices prescribed in the Law. Note this explanation. (Moreh, III:52)

We Proclaim God is King on Rosh Hashanah: What About the Rest of the Year?

Recite before Me on Rosh Hashanah [texts making mention of] kingship, remembrance, and the shofar-- kingship, so that you may proclaim Me king over you; remembrance, so that your remembrance may rise favourably before Me; and through what? Through the shofar. (Rosh Hashanah 16a)

Is it only on Rosh Hashanah that we have kabalas ‘ol malkhus shamayim?

The Imrei Emes of Ger says, true, that is an obligation all year. However, Rosh Hashanah gives us the power to do it all year.

As the Gemara expresses it:
R. Zevid said: If the first day of the New Year is warm, all's the year will be warm; if cold, all the year will be cold. Of what [religious] significance is this [weather forecast]? (Bava Basra 147a)

The Imrei Emes explains the Gemara metaphorically:
The degree of warmth and excitement with which we accept malkhus shamayim on Rosh Hashanah – is the degree of warmth and excitement with which we serve God all year.

The Difference Between Tish’a B’av and Yom Kippur

R. Avraham Heschel of Apt was opposed to voluntary fasts and self-affliction.

He used to say:
--If I could, I would abolish all the fasts except for the yom ha’mar, the bitter day, Tish’a b’Av and the Yom ha’Kadosh, the Holy Day, Yom Kippur.

On the bitter day -- who can eat?

On the Holy Day – who needs to eat?

Rosh Hashanah that Falls on Shabbos: Is Writing Permitted?

Once, when Rosh Hashanah occurred on Shabbos, R. Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev made the following argument to God:
-- Master of the universe, this year You are forced to inscribe Your people Israel for a good and peaceful year. Since it is, shabbos ha’yom l’Hashem, Shabbos today for Hashem, and writing is forbidden, how can you fulfill: b’rosh Hashanah yi’ka’seivun? On Rosh Hashanah will be inscribed...? You have no choice but to inscribe each one of your children to life because pikuach nefesh dokheh shabbos, saving a life overrides shabbos…and writing then becomes permitted.

True Kavanah During Shofar Blowing

R. Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev was looking for a Ba’al Toke’ah for his Beis Medrash. Candidates came from all over for the honorable position.

R. Levi Yitzchak interviewed them and asked:
--What kavanos do you have when you blow shofar?

Each one tried to impress R. Levi Yitzchak with special kavanos from the Ari and other great mekubalim. R. Levi Yitzchak was not impressed to engage any of them.

One day he was approached by a shofar blower who said:
--Rebbe, I am a plain Jew with four daughters to marry off and I do not have dowry for them. When I blow the shofar I think:
--Master of the universe, I did Your will and kept your mitzvos. So, You also, make my will Your will: Help me find husbands for my daughters.

R. Levi Yitzchak was overjoyed with this answer and said:
--Your kavanos are true kavanos. You shall be my ba’al toke’ah.

Selichos: What Kind of Prayer?

Va’ya’avor Hashem ‘al panav vayikra, And ‘the Lord passed by before him and proclaimed [etc.] (Shemos 34:6). R. Yochanan said: Were it not written in the text, it would be impossible for us to say such a thing; this verse teaches us that the Holy One, blessed be He, drew his talis round Him like the sheliach tzibur and showed Moshe the order of prayer. He said to him: Whenever Israel sin, let them carry out this service, reciting the yud gimel midos ha’rachamim, thirteen attributes of mercy, before Me, and I will forgive them. Hashem, Hashem, ‘The Lord, the Lord’: I am the Eternal before a man sins and the same after a man sins and repents. ‘A God merciful and gracious:’ Rab Judah said: A covenant has been made with the thirteen attributes that they will not be turned away empty-handed, as it says, Behold I make a covenant. (Rosh Hashanah 17b).

The basic core of the selichos are these pesukim of the thirteen midos:
Hashem, Hashem, El Rachum v’Chanun….
And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin…(Shemos 34:6-7).

A covenant has been made with the thirteen attributes that they will not be turned away empty-handed. But, is that always the case? It appears many do come away empty-handed. The Tzror ha’Mor explains that one does not come away empty-handed if it is not merely used as a magic formula when saying these words. Only if one has internalized and emulated these Divine attributes in their behavior does the promise of this reward come true (Ki Sisa).

Rashi says: A covenant: A covenant has been made with the thirteen attributes, that if Yisrael mentions them in their prayers on fasts, that they will not be turned away empty-handed.

We learn two points from Rashi: 1) the yud gimel midos are recited on fasts and 2) that they are said be’tzibur, in public prayer.

Yet, there is no mention of the 13 midos in Gemara Ta’anis (15) on the subject of tefilas ta’anis!
The Rambam does not mention the 13 midos either in his hilkhos tefilah or in the seder ha-tefilos. However, the Rambam does say: The whole house of Israel has formed a custom to engage in the performance of charity and good deeds between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur to a much larger extent than during the entire year. Besides, during these ten days, they are all accustomed to rise in the night and to pray and supplicate in the synagogue until daylight (Teshuvah 3:4).

The Rokeach mentions reciting the13 midos in hilkhos yom hakippurim for ne’ilah only.
It appears that at first selichos was said on Yom Kippur just as the Torah tells they were first said by Hashem on Yom Kippur when the second tablets were given.

The Rav says, ‘al panav, according to the Gemara, does not mean and passed before him, Moshe. Rather, the Holy One, blessed be He, drew the talis robe round Himself, so to speak, like the sheliach tzibur and showed Moshe the order of prayer for teshuvah. Every sheliach tzibur for selichos is, so to speak, playing the role of God, the first Sheliach tzibur for selichos. Therefore, we are especially careful in choosing a qualified sheliach tzibur; someone who is an accomplished person in the areas of Torah and good deeds for selichos and the yamin noraim.
(Based on the works of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik presented in Harerei Kedem by R. Mechel Shurkin, I, pp. 1-2 and Machzor M’soras Harav, pp.XXV-XXVI).

What kind of prayer is selichos?
It is a unique tefilah for special days modeled after the selichos on the Yom HaKadosh in which we ask for forgiveness. We have a bris with Hashem that we will not turned away empty-handed if we imitate His attributes and mention them. This was His lesson on prayer to us.

Teshuvah

The Indispensable Idea in the Torah
Repentance is one of those principles which are an indispensable element in the creed of the followers of the Torah. For it is impossible for man to be entirely free from error and sin; he either does not know the opinion which he has to choose, or he adopts a principle, not for its own merits, but in order to gratify his desire or passion. If we were convinced that we could never make our crooked ways straight, we should for ever continue in our errors, and perhaps add other sins to them since we did not see that any remedy was left to us. But the belief in the effect of repentance causes us to improve, to return to the best of the ways, and to become more perfect than we were before we sinned. For this reason many things are prescribed for the promotion of this very useful principle: e.g., confessions and sacrifices for sins committed unknowingly, and in some cases even for sins committed intentionally, and fasts, and that which is common to all cases of repentance from sin, the resolve to discontinue sinning. For that is the aim of this principle. Of all these precepts the use is obvious. (Moreh 3:36)

Yom Kippur
The object of the Fast of Atonement is evident. The Fast creates the sense of repentance: it is the same day on which the chief of all prophets came down [from Mount Sinai] with the second tablets, and announced to the people the divine pardon of their great sin: the day was therefore appointed for ever as a day devoted to repentance and true worship of God. For this reason all material enjoyment, all trouble and care for the body, are interdicted, no work may be done; the day must be spent in confession; everyone shall confess his sins and abandon them. (Moreh 3:43)

Rambam on Class Size in School

Twenty-five children may be taught by one teacher. If there are more than twenty-five pupils, but fewer than forty, an assistant should be engaged to help with instruction. If there are more than forty, two elementary teachers are appointed.
(Talmud Torah 2:5)

Elul: Intro to the Psychology of Teshuvah

The arrival of Elul raises questions in man’s mind:
Where do I begin?
How do I enter the realm of teshuvah?

Elul is known as an acronym for ani l’dodi v’dodi li.
A Jew must believe: ani l’dodi v’dodi li, I am for my beloved and my beloved is for me.
We are the children of God and He has chosen us as His people.

Visualize an open door. This is the gate through which we enter the realm of teshuvah. This is the entrance to the New Year.

A Jew must believe that no matter where he is, no matter what state he is in, he is not lost…all the doors are open before him to return to his beloved Father.

Ani l’dodi v’dodi li – this is the opening to teshuvah for all Jews, no matter where they are.
--The Slonimer Rebbe, Nesivos Shalom (Devarim p. 93)

Rambam on Exercise, Dieting and Lashon Hara’

Anyone who sits around idle and does not exercise will be subject to physical discomforts and failing strength, even though he eats wholesome food and takes care of himself in accordance with medical advice. Overeating is like deadly poison to the human body. Most illnesses which befall man arise either from bad food or excessive eating of good food. Shlomo, in his wisdom said: shomer piv u’l’shono shomer me’tzaros nafsho, “He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself clear of trouble” (Mishlei 21:23). That is to say, he who guards his mouth from bad food and excessive eating, and keeps his tongue from unnecessary talk keeps himself clear of trouble.
--Dei’os, 4:15

From Elul to Sh’mini Atzeres: The Ashkenazic Minhag to Recite L’Dovid, Hashem ‘Ori v’Yish’i

Hashem ‘Ori – God is my light. The custom to say this mizmor during the period of teshuvah is based on the Midrash Shochar Tov (Minhagei Yeshurun, 139):

God is my light, on Rosh Hashanah; my salvation, on Yom Kippur; ki yitz’pe’neni b’sukoh, He will hide me in His shelter, an allusion to Sukkos.

The implication is that on Rosh Hashanah God helps us to see the light and repent, on Yom Kippur He provides us salvation by forgiving our sins. Once we are forgiven, He shelters us from all foes and dangers, just as He sheltered our ancestors in the Wilderness. Because of this allusion to the preparation for repentance and its aftermath, the custom was adopted to recite this mizmor during the entire repentance period from Rosh Chodesh Elul through Sh’mini Atzeres.

Another allusion to Elul in the mizmor is the word, lu’le, which is Elul spelled backwards.

Minhag Not Accepted by All
Ostraha, a city in Volhynia, Ukraine, famous since the 16th century because it was served by gedolim, such as, Maharshal, the Shelah, Maharsha and the Taz, kept a record of customs.
According to the Minhagei Beis Ha’knesses Ha’Gadol of Ostraha, every day the shir shel yom was said before birkos ha’shachar. At the conclusion of shacharis, no mizmorim were said, even the mizmor, l’dovid ‘ori v’yish’i, in the months of Elul and Tishrei. The exception to the rule was during ‘aseres y’mei teshuvah when the entire Sefer Tehillim was recited.

The Aderes, R. Eliyahu Dovid Rabinowitz Se’omin of Mir, Ponivezh and Jerusalem, comments on the minhag in Ostraha to exclude l’dovid ‘ori:

The Gra (Ma’aseh Rav 53) held, like other later ge’onim (unnamed), that the mizmor, l’dovid ‘ori, is not said. The general reasons given are aversion to placing an undue burden on the community, torach tzibur (Berakhos 13b) and because it keeps people from getting to work (Megillah 21a).
--Sefer Tefilas Dovid, (Ahavas Shalom edition, Jerusalem, 2004), pp.140-141n.

Mishnah Berurah Mentions the Prevalence of the Minhag
The Mishnah Berurah (581:2) says that the prevalent custom in his parts was to recite the mizmor, l’dovid ‘ori after davening, morning and evening, up to and including Sh’mini ‘Atzeres.

Hidden Meaning Explored in Derush
This minhag was the topic of a derashah (Ya’aros Devash, Part I: Derush 11) by R. Yonasan Eybeshutz. He explains some of the hidden meaning behind this mizmor.

The Gemara in Yoma (20a) says:
Satan has no permission to act as accuser on the Day of Atonement. Whence [is that derived]? — Rama b. Hama said: HaSaTaN in numerical value (5+300+9+50) is three hundred and sixty-four, that means: on three hundred and sixty-four days he has permission to act as accuser, but on the Day of Atonement he has no permission to act as accuser.

It is written: And ye shall afflict your souls, in the ninth day of the month at evening. Now, do we fast on the ninth? Why, we fast on the tenth! But this teaches you that if one eats and drinks on the ninth, Scripture accounts it to him as if he fasted on the ninth and tenth. (Berakhos 8b)

The two days of Rosh Hashanah are considered one long day, yoma arichta. Adam was created on Erev Shabbos, the first of Tishrei. The Midrash says, the sun did not set the entire day of Shabbos until the conclusion of Shabbos. Then Adam thought the world was darkness. Therefore, the first and second day of Tishrei was one long day.

As the Midrash says:
R. Levi said in the name of the son of Nezirah: That light functioned thirty-six hours, twelve on the eve of the Sabbath [i.e. Friday], twelve during the night of the Sabbath, and twelve on the Sabbath [day]. When the sun sank at the termination of the Sabbath, darkness began to set in. Adam was terrified, [thinking,] Surely indeed the darkness shall bruise [E.V. ’envelop’] me (Ps. CXXXIX, 11): shall he of whom it was written, He shall bruise thy head (Gen. III, 15) now come to attack me! What did the Lord do for him? He made him find two flints which he struck against each other; light came forth and he uttered a blessing over it; hence it is written, But the night was light about me-ba'adeni (Ps. loc. cit.), i.e. the night was light in my Eden (be-’edni). (Bereishis Rabbah 12:6)

Therefore, in the year the world was created Yom Kippur was on the ninth of Tishrei, based on the solar days. Hence the pasuk: v’e’nisem ‘es naf’sho’sei’khem b’tish’ah la’chodesh ba’erev…, you shall afflict your souls; in the ninth day of the month at evening….

But according to the lunar days, it was the tenth day. Because the first two days were indeed two days.

When the world was created Satan was given power over 364 days of the year in solar days. In fact, to this day the Western world uses the solar calendar. Satan in gematria is 364. Yom Kippur is not included because Rosh Hashanah is divided into two days. That is how Yom Kippur became the tenth day. Satan has no dominion over that day because it is beyond 364. The first year of creation only had 364 days. Yom Kippur is one day, separate and unique. The beginning of the next cycle of 10 in the decimal system.

Based on the Midrash (Bereishis Rabbah 82:3), Yom Kippur is a special day separate, distinct and different from all the other days of the year. On the ninth one may eat because Satan has dominion over it. Satan has a share in the eating because it is part of the material world, gashmiyus. However, Satan has no dominion over the tenth, because it is completely holy to God. Yom Kippur is the Yom HaKadosh, par excellence. This Holy Day is the day on which there is salvation and help, yesh’a and ‘ozer, because Satan has no dominion over that day.

Hence, Rosh Hashanah is ‘ori, my light, because it is a long day with plentiful light for two days in one without any darkness. Because of that long day at the time of creation, God is my salvation, Hashem yish’i, on Yom Kippur. There is no Satan to interfere on that day of Yom Kippur which is beyond the 364 days of the solar year. Rather, Hashem is our salvation on Yom Kippur and we receive atonement.

The Yiddish Word Bashert: What Does it Mean? What is the Origin of the Word?

The word means predestined or predetermined as in the sentences:

He or she is not married yet because they have not met their bashert.

If it is bashert to have wealth, one has wealth.

Rav Dovid Cohen in his book, Ha-Safah Ha-Kedoshah: Yiddish, writes that the etymology of the word is from the Yiddish word sher, meaning a scissor. Just as a scissor can cut the shape of an object, bashert means the future shape of events was pre-cut or predetermined to be a certain way.

Two Lessons from The Rav: Don’t Wear Sneakers on a Date and …

Rabbi Yissachar Frand related the following story about Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik:

When the Rav was getting older he needed a student to serve as his personal aide in his apartment. One evening, after taking care of the Rav, the student said:
-- I have to leave now. I am going out on a date.

The Rav saw that his aide was wearing sneakers, and said:
-- Don’t wear sneakers on a date. I think you should wear dress shoes on a date.

The student responded, without thinking:
-- I am wearing white socks and I cannot wear dress shoes with white socks.

The student immediately realized that the Rav always wore white socks with black dress shoes. He was very embarrassed that he just said this to the Rav.

The Rav offered that he could borrow any pair of black socks or blue socks in his drawer. When the student heard this, he asked why the Rav wears white socks instead of blue or black. The Rav explained that the Rebbetzin is ill and it is hard for her to match up the black and blue socks. He makes it easier for her by wearing white for an easy match.

The second lesson is: … Be Considerate to Your Wife

Sheva Berakhos: The Holiness of Kiddushin

What does holiness mean?

The root of kiddushin is kuf, daled and shin which means to separate. Something is holy because it is separated, distinguished, dedicated, sanctified and apart from something else.

The world is divided into three realms: Space, Time and Intellect; olam, shanah and nefesh. Hashem has given us mitzvos that sanctify each realm.

Some examples include:
Space – Eretz Yisrael as Eretz ha-Kodesh, the Holy Land
Time – Shabbos Kodesh for the holy day of the week, Shemittah for the years
Intellect – Purification of the mind through Torah study, kedushas and taharas ha-guf with the laws of tum’ah / taharah and kashrus

The Rambam named one of the 14 books that comprise the Mishneh Torah, Sefer Kedushah, Book of Holiness. There are only two sets of laws in Sefer Kedushah: 1 – Forbidden sexual relationships and 2 – Forbidden foods. The Rambam explains that with these two areas of law Hashem sanctified us and separated us from the goyim. In both cases the Torah says separation, ve-hivdalti and va-'avdil:

22. You shall therefore keep all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them; that the land, where I bring you to dwell in it, vomit you not out.
23. And you shall not walk in the manners of the nation, which I cast out before you; for they committed all these things, and therefore I loathed them.
24. But I have said to you, You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess it, a land that flows with milk and honey; I am the Lord your God, which have separated you from other people.
25. You shall therefore differentiate between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean birds and clean; and you shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by bird, or by any manner of living thing that creeps on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean.
26. And you shall be holy to me; for I the Lord am holy, and have separated you from other people, that you should be mine.
--Vayikra 20

Marriage is called kiddushin because it sanctifies and dedicates the chassan and kallah to each other and separates them from everyone else. The birkas ‘erusin says:

Ve-tzivanu ‘al ho-‘aroyos, ve’asar lanu ‘es ho-‘arusos, ve-hittir lanu ‘es ha-nes’uos lanu ‘al ye-dei chuppah ve-kiddushin.

…Commanded us regarding forbidden unions; Who forbade betrothed women to us and permitted women who are married to us through canopy and consecration….
Holy matrimony is kiddushin. The chassan and kallah are holy to each other; dedicated to each other, permitted to each other and separated and forbidden to others.

Although, according to Rav Kafih, the Rambam did not conclude the birkas ‘erusin with the words ‘al ye-dei chuppah ve-kiddushin. The Rambam stopped at mekadesh yisrael because the kedushah of ‘am yisrael is not based solely on the chuppah and kiddushin of a pe-nuyah alone. Rather, kedushas ‘am yisrael is based on the laws of ‘isurei biah and ma’achalos ‘asuros.

May all chassanim and kallos be zokheh to a life of kedushah and taharah, kedushas ha-nefesh and kedushas ha-guf.

Sefer Yetzirah: The Letter Sav

Last Shabbos I spoke at a Sheva Berakhos about the mystery of the letter sav in the Sefer Yetzirah. The Sefer Yetzirah, Book of Creation, attributed to Avraham Avinu, tells about how God created the world with the alefbeis.

According to the Sefer Yetzirah, when God created the world, him’likh, He elevated, the letter sav b’chen, over chen.

What does this mean? The Sefas Emes (Parshas Vayishlach, 5646) explains, that when the inner light, ‘or ha-penimi, is seen in a person that is the appreciation of the ultimate, infinite truth about that person (i.e. the letter sav is the last letter of the alefbeis symbolizing infinity, the superlative).

I believe that when a chassan sees the true inner beauty in the person he chooses to marry that is the realization of emes, of the full range of qualities of that person [which starts with alef and ends with sav]. Then the true chen becomes apparent, as opposed to the chen that is false as in, sheker ha’chen v’hevel ha’yofi i.e. outward, superficial charm and beauty (Mishle 31). At that point chen, spelled with ches and nun get the letter sav added to it in the middle, and that spells, chassan.

And if you transpose the letters you get nachas, the pride and joy that the parents draw upon when they see the chassan and kallah aware of the inner light that they see in each other, ‘ad me’ah ve-esrim shanah.

Yishma’el’s Descendants and Prayer

I have recently heard people saying that the Arabs are as successful as they are against the Jews because they are descendants of Yishma’el , another son of Avraham, and they have a powerful faculty for prayer. God listened to Yishma’el and now He is listening to their fervent, sincere prayers five times a day.

I find this idea odious and contradictory to the belief in Hashem and that we are His chosen people.

If there are people out there who think that this will inspire Jews to be more righteous and daven more and better they are off the track. How could anyone imagine that the prayers of terrorists who blow themselves up with innocent people on a bus or a pizza shop would be answered by Hashem.

We read in Parshas ‘Ekev last Shabbos:

6. For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a special people to himself, above all peoples that are upon the face of the earth.
7. The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because you were more in number than any people; for you were the fewest of all peoples;
8. But because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn to your fathers, has the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of slaves, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
9. Know therefore that the Lord your God, he is God, the faithful God, which keeps covenant and mercy with those who love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;
10. And repays those who hate him to their face, to destroy them; he will not be slack to him who hates him, he will repay him to his face.
11. You shall therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command you this day, to do them.
12. Therefore it shall come to pass, if you give heed to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that the Lord your God shall keep with you the covenant and the mercy which he swore to your fathers;
13. And he will love you, and bless you, and multiply you; he will also bless the fruit of your womb, and the fruit of your land, your grain, and your wine, and your oil, the produce of your cows, and the flocks of your sheep, in the land which he swore to your fathers to give you.
14. You shall be blessed above all people; there shall not be male or female barren among you, or among your cattle.
15. And the Lord will take away from you all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which you know, upon you; but will lay them upon all those who hate you.
16. And you shall destroy all the people which the Lord your God shall deliver you; your eye shall have no pity upon them; neither shall you serve their gods; for that will be a snare to you.
17. If you shall say in your heart, These nations are more than I; how can I dispossess them?
18. You shall not be afraid of them; but shall well remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh, and to all Egypt;
19. The great trials which your eyes saw, and the signs, and the wonders, and the mighty hand, and the stretched out arm, whereby the Lord your God brought you out; so shall the Lord your God do to all the people of whom you are afraid.
20. Moreover the Lord your God will send the hornet among them, until those who are left, and hide themselves from you, are destroyed.
21. You shall not be frightened by them; for the Lord your God is among you, a mighty God and awesome.
22. And the Lord your God will clear away those nations before you, little by little; you may not destroy them at once, lest the beasts of the field grow numerous upon you.
23. But the Lord your God shall deliver them to you, and shall destroy them with a mighty destruction, until they are destroyed.
24. And he shall deliver their kings into your hand, and you shall destroy their name from under heaven; there shall no man be able to stand before you, until you have destroyed them.
-- Devarim 7

Rambam’s 13 Principles of Faith: Missing the 14th ?

Is there a fourteenth principle that the Rambam does not enumerate?

The number 14 has special significance for the Rambam. Rambam consistently classifies the mitzvos into groups of fourteen: fourteen books, classes, or categories. This scheme is first mentioned by Rambam in the Sefer ha-Mitzvos and is also used in the Mishneh Torah and the Moreh Nevuchim.

The Mishneh Torah is also referred to as Yad ha-Hazakah, alluding to the fourteen books; the numerical value of the letters Yud and Dalet (Yad) equal fourteen.

Yet, the Rambam has 13 ‘ikkarim, principles of faith, in his introduction to Perek Chelek. The most familiar version of these 13 are the Ani Ma’amin’s in the Siddur.

Many reasons have been offered for the use of 14 in Rambam’s writings.

Rav Dovid Cohen feels that the Rambam memorialized his brother and benefactor by using the number 14, the gematria of Dalet Vav Dalet, 4+6+4 = 14.

R. Yehoshua ha-Nagid (1310-1355, a descendant of Rambam), quoted by R. N.L. Rabinovitch in Mishneh Torah im Perush Yad Peshutah, Hakdamah u-Minyan ha-Mizvot (Jerusalem, 1997), 68, offers the following explanation: [The number fourteen] is an allusion to the positive and negative commandments. The numerical value of the 248 positive commandments in small numbers is as follows: 200 = 2, 40 = 4, and 8 = 8. 2+4+8 = 14. Similarly, the 365 negative commandments in small numbers are as follows: 300 = 3, 60 = 6, and 5 = 5. 3+6+5 = 14. R. Rabinovitch questions this explanation in light of the fact that it was not customary to refer to the different numbers 248 and 365 as the breakdown between the positive and negative commandments in the time of Rambam. Rambam’s thirteen ikkarim, the Principles of Faith, are also actually fourteen. The fourteenth principle, not listed with the others but nonetheless underlying them all, is the belief in free will. Rambam says in Hilkhot Teshuvah 5:3 that free will is an important principle and it is the pillar on which the Torah and the mitzvos stand. Perhaps, R. Rabinovitch argues, Rambam therefore chose the number fourteen as the numerical scheme for his writings.
--See Elimelekh Polinsky, “Parent-Child Relationships and Ta’amei ha-Mizvot” in The Legacy of Maimonides: Religion, Reason and Community edited by Yamin Levy and Sahlom Carmy (Yashar Books, 2006), pp.175-176 n. 4. http://www.yasharbooks.com/Legacy.html

The Kotel: How the Western Wall Survived and its Meaning

Titus told four commanders to destroy the Beis ha-Mikdash in order to squelch any idea of rebellion and political independence by the Jews. Titus understood that the only way to subdue the Jews was to destroy their spiritual center.

In the Tish’ah be-Av Kinah, Zekhor asher asah, R. Elazar ha-Kalir, tells us how the Kotel survived when the Beis ha-Mikdash was destroyed: “He left the one on the west side as a memorial.” The commanders were told to destroy their assigned walls and yet one did not do his job. The poet Kalir does not say why, but, the attack on the western side failed. Hashem wanted to leave a remnant. Hence, we have the Kotel today.

The poem continues later with the idea that the Shekhinah resides on the Har ha-bayis even after the churban, ve-tzag achar kosleinu. The Shekhinah is still there today behind the wall that He chose to keep standing.

Hineh zeh ‘omed achar kosleinu mashgiach min ha-chalonos mei’tzitz min ha-charakim, Behold, he stands behind our wall, gazing in at the windows, looking through the lattice (Shir ha-Shirim 2:9).

The Midrash Shir ha-shirim Rabbah (2:26) says:
BEHOLD HE STANDETH BEHIND OUR WALL: behind the western wall of the Temple. Why so? Because God has sworn to him that it will never be destroyed….

The Shekhinah is behind the Kotel, in the shadow and shade of the Kotel.

The Rambam in Beis ha-Bechirah (6:14-16): kidsha le-sha’atah ve-kidshah le-‘asid lavo. The sanctity of the mikdash is from the shekhinah and the shekhinah is always present, u-shekihnah einah betelah (Vayikra 26:31).

Based on: The Lord is Righteous in All His Ways: Reflections on the Tish’ah be-Av Kinot by Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, edited by Jacob J. Shacter, (Toras Horav Foundation, 2006) pp. 204-207.

Yetzias Mitzrayim: Because God Loved Bnai Yisrael or Hated Them?

Va’teirognu ve’oholeichem va’to’mru be’sinas Hashem o’sonu hotzianu me’eretz mitzrayim la’ses o’sonu be’yad ho’emori le’hashmideinu

And you murmured in your tents, and said, Because the Lord hated us, he has brought us out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us.
--Devarim 1:27

How could Bnai Yisrael think that Hashem hated them? They were slaves, worked to the bone and experienced other tortures and horrors. Then, they were taken out of Egypt with miracles to cross the Red Sea and receive the Torah. Are things like that bad or done out of hatred?

The Chafetz Chaim explained (as related by Reb Velvel Soloveitchik) that when the Communist revolution took place in Russia many Jews were happy and looked forward to better times. But after some time they realized this was not any better for the Jews than the Czar. The Chafetz Chaim said this does not mean that it had to be bad for the Jews. Rather, this is the way of God in the world. It might have been good depending on the behavior of Klal Yisrael. If they deserved, it would have been good. If not, it was turned into something bad.

So, also, in our pasuk: Bnai Yisrael felt if they deserved it to be good, it would have been good for them. If it was turning out bad, it was a sign they did not deserve yetzias mitzrayim as a reward. Therefore, at this moment of despondency they legitimately thought, leaving Egypt could lead to their destruction.
--from Bad Kodesh, A Collection of Chidushim on the Torah said by R. Barukh Dov Povarsky, Ponivezher Rosh Yeshiva

Decisions on Attending Kollel

I attended a lecture last night by R. Shlomo Pearl, Rosh Kollel at the Bostoner in Flatbush. He raised a number of interesting questions on Kibud Av v’Em that deserve further study. One case follows:

You learn in a kollel and your parents are so against it that they threaten they will take your younger siblings out of yeshiva and place them in public school unless you quit kollel and get a job or go to college.

What should you do?

Rav Yitzchak Zilbershatyn held that sending children to public school is like shmad and to prevent that he should go to work and learn between 4-6 am and 8-11 pm.

Rav Elyashiv held he should go to kollel and the rest is in Hashem’s hands. The mitzvah of Kibud Av does not apply when it conflicts with doing a mitzvah.

The Holiness of Man Rests in the Power of Speech

In Parshas Matos we are given the mitzvah of nedarim, vows. The Midrash says:

If a man vows a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth (Bamidbar 30:3). This pasuk means to say: v'adam biy'kar bal yalin nimshal ka'behemos nidmu. Nevertheless [if a] man does not abide in honor [i.e. does not keep his word or is not careful with his speech]; he is like the beasts that perish (Tehillim 49:13).

This Midrash is very difficult to understand. What does honor have to do with changing your mind? Why is the Torah so strict concerning breaking your word or not following what you said? What is so terrible? What if you just changed your mind? Why is it any different than acting one way today and changing your behavior tomorrow? Does something get broken in the process of change when you change your mind with with words, that does not break when you act differently? What is the big deal if you are not careful with what you say?

I believe the Rambam’s explanation of the Gemara, hirhurei averah kashu me’averah is relevant to understanding this Midrash. The Rambam says:

There is a well-known saying of the Rabbis, “The thoughts about the sin are more dangerous than the sin itself (Yoma 29a).” When a person is disobedient, this is due to certain accidents connected to the corporeal element in his constitution; for man sins only by his animal nature, whereas thinking is a faculty of man connected with his form, -- a person who thinks sinfully sins therefore by means of the nobler portion of his self; and he who wrongly causes a foolish slave to work does not sin as much as he who wrongly causes a noble and free man to do the work of a slave. For this specifically human element, with all its properties and powers, should only be employed in suitable work, in attempts to join higher beings, and not in attempts to go down and reach the lower creatures…This gift of speech, therefore, which God gave us in order to enable us to perfect ourselves, to learn and to teach, must not be employed in doing that which is for us most degrading and perfectly disgraceful; we must not imitate the songs and tales of ignorant and lascivious people. It may be suitable for them but not for a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Those who employ the faculty of thinking and speaking in the service of that sense which is no honor to us, who think more than necessary of drink and love, or even to sing of these things; they employ and use the divine gift in acts of rebellion against the Giver, and in the transgression of His commandments.
--Moreh III, 8

The Midrash means to say: Why is the Torah so strict concerning breaking your word or not following what you said? Man is on a higher level because he has the power to think and speak. When man lowers himself, acts disgracefully, abuses the power of speech for lewdness and obscenity or is careless about the vows he makes with his mouth, then he is indeed lower like a behemah. When man does not act honorably, he is like a beast.

The holiness of man should be elevated, not degraded. This concept is something that was part of the Slabodka derekh in mussar. The concept of romemus ha’adam, that the elevated status of man should be a constant reminder to refrain from vulgar speech and low behavior. Rather, man should strive to reach the highest levels of kedushas haguf and kedushas hapeh, holiness in behavior and speech. It behooves man to act according to his higher status.

Sinas Chinam and the Matzav in Eretz Yisroel

I spent last Shabbos at a Satmar summer resort where one of the speakers spoke about Sinas Chinam and the Matzav in Eretz Yisroel. In the course of his talk he quoted Yeshayahu 27 and Yirmiyahu 1, which follow below. The main point was that the time for sinas chinam is over. Finding fault with each other is not the way. It is time for rapprochement amongst Klal Yisrael. In the end, despite our faults, there is a geulah. Hashem has had enough of the criticism of Yisrael. Yisrael is atoned. May the geulah come soon.

In days to come Jacob shall take root; Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.
Did he strike him, as he struck those who struck him? or is he slain according to the slaughter of those who are slain by him?
By measure, by exile, you contended with them; he removed her by his rough blast in the day of the east wind.
By this therefore shall the iniquity of Jacob be atoned; and this is all the fruit to take away his sin; when he makes all the stones of the altar as chalk stones crushed to pieces, the Asherim and the sun images shall not remain standing…
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall beat out his harvest from the strongly flowing river to the brook of Egypt, and you shall be gathered one by one, O you people of Israel.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great shofar shall be blown, and those shall come who were lost in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem.
--Yeshayahu 27

Then the Lord said to me, Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land…
And they shall fight against you; but they shall not prevail against you; for I am with you, said the Lord, to save you.
--Yirmiyahu 1

Why is a Shochet’s Knife Called a Chalaf ?

Whom did you hear saying that the place between Hall and altar was [considered] north? R. Eleazar son of R. Simeon, for it was taught: What is [considered] north? From the northern wall of the altar up to the [northern] wall of the Temple court and opposite the whole altar on the north, this is the opinion of R. Jose son of R. Judah. R. Eleazar son of R. Simeon adds also the space between the Hall and the altar. Rabbi adds also the space for the treading of the priests and the place for the treading of the Israelites within, and all agree, min ha’chalifos, that from the inside of the knives’ cell it was illegitimate.
--Yoma 36a

This remaining space is called beis ha’chalifos…because they stored the holy knives there and a sakin, a knife, is called chiluf in Arabic…
--Rashi Yoma 36a

I once saw a source which said a shochet’s knife is called a chalaf because it changes, cholef, the state of the animal from life to death. Does anyone know the source for this explanation?

Story on shochet’s knives: I was once boarding a plane and security stopped an Israeli shochet who spoke English poorly. Security found a chalaf in his bag and asked him what this was about? He said, “I am a killer.” In the midst of the commotion that followed, he asked me to help explain it to security.

How Can Eliyahu Attend Every Bris?

How Can Eliyahu Attend Every Bris simultaneously everywhere?

On Mount Carmel, Eliyahu proved himself by bringing fire from heaven, and the multitudes responded, Hashem hu ha’Elokim, Hashem is the God, Hashem hu ha’Elokim, Hashem is the God. R. Elimelekh of Lizhensk says, because he brought the entire nation to repent, he merited to have a neshama, a soul, that encompasses all of Klal Yisrael. When a baby boy is being circumcised, a spark of Eliyahu’s nefesh flies off and reveals itself at the bris to the baby. Each baby gets his share. When he grows up and leads a good life this part of Eliyahu reveals itself in him.

The Tur (Orach Chaim, 295) writes that after Shabbos we mention Eliyahu because the prohibition against crossing the Techum Shabbos prevented him from attending any bris on Shabbos. Once Shabbos is over, Eliyahu can come, and so we mention him at that time. If that is the case: How could Eliyahu ever attend any bris on Shabbos anywhere outside the techum?

According to the answer offered by R. Elimelekh the problem is solved. However, the Chasam Sofer offers another answer: There are two types of revelations of Eliyahu. One is where he appears in bodily form. In that form he is required to observe the mitzvos and the issur of techumin apply. The second type of revelation is in the spiritual form in which he appears at a bris. In this spiritual form he is not obligated to observe the mitzvos, just as a dead person is exempt from mitzvos. Therefore, Eliyahu can attend every bris everywhere, even on Shabbos.

Self Esteem: A Lesson from R. Zelig Pliskin

Last night I heard R. Pliskin speak about his new book, Building Your Self-Image. He told a story about someone who thought he was stupid because, in comparison with his brother who was a creative genius, he felt stupid. Everything is relative. However, upon further discussion this fellow revealed that he was a math major and graduated with an award that only 1 in 800 received. Yet, he thought of himself as stupid.

The lesson is to be objective about oneself. People should not be self-demeaning. Each person has his own gifts that should help provide self-esteem.

Ma’aser A’ni – The Poor Man’s Tithe: Where Does the Torah Specify The Third and Sixth Year?

Parshas Re’eh:
At the end of three years you shall bring forth all the tithe of your produce in that year, and shall lay it up inside your gates; And the Levite, because he has no part nor inheritance with you, and the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow, who are inside your gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.
--Devarim 14:28-29

The Rambam (Sefer haMitzvos, Aseh 130) says we are commanded to set aside the poor man’s tithe in the third year and sixth year i.e. three years later means every three years, of every Shemittah cycle. This is contained in His words: At the end of three years you shall bring forth all the tithe of your produce in that year….

When learning this mitzvah in the shiur Reb Yitzchak Klein asked: Where does the Torah specify the third and sixth Year?

Reb Labe Marcus pointed to the Ibn Ezra who says: At the end of three years – that is ma’aser shlishi and ma’aser sheni is not taken in that year….

The Torah says further on in Parsha Ki Savo more explicitly:
When you have finished tithing all the tithes of your produce the third year, which is the year of tithing, and have given it to the Levite(ma’aser rishon), the stranger, the orphan, and the widow(ma’aser a’ni, that they may eat inside your gates, and be filled.
--Devarim 26:12

The Gemara says:
R. Joshua b. Levi says: [It is written], When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithe of thine increase in the third year, which is the year of the tithe. This means the year in which there is only one tithe. How is then one to act? [He gives] the first tithe and the tithe of the poor, and the second tithe is omitted. Is this correct, or should the first tithe also be omitted? — [Not so], because it says, Moreover thou shalt speak unto the Levites and say unto them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithe which I have given you from them for your inheritance. The text here compares the tithe [of the Levites] to an inheritance, [to signify that] just as an inheritance is to be held uninterruptedly, so their tithe is to be given without interruption. It has been taught to the same effect: ‘When thou hast made an end of tithing etc.’ [This means] a year in which there is only one tithe. How is one to act? [He gives] first tithe and tithe of the poor, and the second tithe is omitted. Should perhaps the first tithe also be omitted? — [Not so], because it says, and the Levite shall come, which means to say, every time he comes give him. So R. Judah. R. Eliezer b. Jacob says: We have no need [to appeal to this text]. It says, Moreover thou shalt speak unto the Levites and say unto them, When ye take from the children of Israel the tithe which I have given you from them for your inheritance. The text here compares the tithe to an inheritance, to signify that just as an inheritance is held uninterruptedly, so the tithe is to be given without interruption.
--Rosh Hashanah 12b (See also Rambam, Matnos A’niyim 6:4)

Daily Motivator: The Opening Lines of Mesilas Yesharim

A Kollel student who had enviable motivation and enthusiasm for learning year after year, day after day confided that his motivator was reading the opening lines of Mesilas Yesharim every day before leaving home:

Man needs to realize clearly his duty in this world and what goal is worthy of his endeavors all the days of his life.
--Chapter 1

These few lines inspired him and by his behavior he inspired others.

Erev Shabbos Parshas Chukas: Fasting for Talmud Burning in Paris 1242

Some segments of the Ashkenazic Jewry in the Middle Ages observed a fast day on Erev Shabbos Parshas Chukas. This fast commemorated the public burning of twenty-four carriage-loads of the Talmud in Paris in 1242.

The Magen Avraham and Sefer Eliyahu Rabbah (Orach Chaim 580) mention this custom. The fast is observed on Erev Shabbos Parshas Chukas, not on a specific day of the month of Tamuz (like the 9th of Tamuz when it occurred), because it was determined after consultation (she’elas chalom) that Parshas Chukas was foretold as the time when a decree against the Torah would occur. Targum Onkelos on Parshas Chukas makes a hidden allusion, remez, to some decree against the Torah in history by translating zo’s chukas haTorah, v’da gezeras ora’yso, meaning, on day vav, the sixth day of the week, da gezeras ora’yso this is the decree, gezera, against the Torah (Shibalei Haleket 263, the reading of da with vav as a connective is not in our versions of Onkelos). The Magen Avraham adds that two major Jewish communities were destroyed on that same day, Erev Shabbos Parshas Chukas, during the devastating riots of Tach V'tat, the Chmelnitzki uprising.

Rabbi Hillel Ben Rabbenu Eliezer of Verona, a student of Rabbenu Yonah, wrote that he believed that the public burning of the Talmud was a direct punishment for the burning of some works of the Rambam, which happened forty days earlier with the encouragement of leading Rabbis in Europe. Some Rabbis rejected some of the ideas found in the Rambam's Guide for the Perplexed and Sefer haMada. Rabbenu Yonah led the campaign to ban these books. His student describes the deep sense of regret felt by Rabbenu Yonah after the Talmud burning. Thereafter, whenever he would teach halakha he would mention the opinion of the Rambam and not dispute the ruling. It is said that Rabbenu Yonah wrote Sha'arei Teshuva, his classic work on the laws and methods of repentance, to atone for this incident. However, there is no historical evidence to support the belief that Sha'arei Teshuva was written for this reason. Nevertheless, R. Hillel of Verona writes that after the Talmud burning there was deep regret in the Jewish community for burning the Rambam’s books. After the Talmud burning the controversy over the Rambam waned.

The Talmud burning has some additional historical background of interest.

In the year 1240, the apostate Nicholas Donin laid a charge before the authorities in Northern France that the Talmud contained blasphemies against Jesus. The Jews were compelled to surrender their copies of the Talmud pending clarification of the charge; this took the form of the Disputation of Paris, at the end of which Louis IX ordered that all copies of the Talmud be confiscated and burned. Twenty-four cartloads were consigned to the flames in 1242. The occasion was commemorated in R. Me'ir ben Barukh of Rothenburg's dirge Sha'ali Serufah be-'Esh, which was subsequently included in the dirge of the Ashkenazi rite recited on 9 Av. The precedent of 1242 was followed in later centuries; instances of Talmud burning are recorded in Italy, Poland, and elsewhere. After 1242 the popes continued to advocate burning the Talmud. In general, although censored, the Talmud was not burned on a large scale until a renewed order in 1552 by Pope Julius III led to a big bonfire in Rome (commemorated thereafter by an annual fast among the Jews of Rome), followed by many others in Italy under the instructions of the Inquisition. It was reported that in Venice over a thousand copies of the Talmud and other sacred literature were burned. The last such public burning was held in Kamieniec-Podolski in Poland in 1757, when a thousand copies were put into a pit and burned following a disputation between the Jews and the Frankists (see Frank, Ya'aqov), who played a leading role in hunting down copies of the Talmud for incineration.
-- The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion based on:
Salo W. Baron, "The Burning of the Talmud in 1553, in Light of Sixteenth-Century Catholic Attitudes toward the Talmud,", in Essential Papers on Judaism and Christianity in Conflict; From Late Antiquity to the Reformation (New York, 1991). Solomon Grayzel, The Church and the Jews in the XIIIth Century (New York, 1966).

Our tefillah can be the same as that of the Shibalei Haleket (263) regarding the Talmud burning in Paris:

May its ashes serve as atonement for us like a burnt-offering on the altar, and it should be pleasant for the people of Yehuda like a meal-offering properly sacrificed…and May all of the consolations of the prophets for Israel come true with the ingathering of our exiles.