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.