Rosh HaShanah - Conception of the World

Hi,

"Today is the conception of the world; today He will place all of the universe's creations in judgment, whether as children or as slaves.

"If as children, have mercy on us as a parent has mercy on children. If as slaves, our eyes are dependent on You until You show us favor and produce our judgment clear as light, You who are awesome and holy."

(Rosh haShanah liturgy, Hayom Harat Olam)

While many prayerbooks translate the opening as "birthday of," a more accurate translation for הרת is "conception of." This fits with the idea that the world was created in a semi-permanent state, and the acceptance of the Torah by human beings, generations later, gave the world permanence.

May we all be inscribed and sealed for a great new year!
Mordechai

The power of repentance

Hi,

"Repentance can atone for all sins. Even if a person was wicked his entire life, but he repented at the end, he will not be punished for any of his wickedness. It is written, 'A wicked person will not stumble for his wickedness, on the day he repents from it.'"

(Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Laws of Repentance 1:3)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Insincere repentance

Hi,

"We have been instructed regarding repentance in several places in the Torah.

"It has been shown that repentance is accepted even if it is the result of a person's troubles, all the more so if one repents as a result of awe of Gd and love of Him."

(Rabbeinu Yonah of Gerondi, Shaarei Teshuvah [Gates of Repentance], Section I)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Apology

Hi,

I would like to take a moment to ask everyone receiving this email feed for Mechilah (forgiveness) for anything hurtful or offensive I said or did, or anything I should have said/done and did not say/do, in the past year.

If there was anything at all, please let me know; I will grow by learning from my errors.

May we all be inscribed and sealed for a great new year,
Mordechai

Our purpose in this world

Hi,

"My father always used to rebuke me, as he saw that I would not take part in the pain of others.

"This is what he always told me: 'This is a person's entire purpose. A person is not created for himself. A person is created only to benefit others, with whatever power is in his possession."

(Rabbi Yitzchak, son of Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin, in his preface to Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin's "Nefesh haChaim")

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Full repentance

Hi,

"What defines full repentance? When the same circumstances come to hand, and due to one's repentance a person opts not to repeat the earlier [wrong] actions."

(Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Laws of Repentance 2:1)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Repentance - Admitting error

Hi,

"How does one admit sin? One says: 'Please, Gd, I have sinned accidentally/intentionally/rebelliously before You, I have done such-and-such, I regret it and I am embarassed by it, and I will never return to it.'

"This is the essence of viduy (admission); one who does more is praiseworthy."

(Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Laws of Repentance 1:1)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Teshuvah (Repentance)

Hi,

"Regarding any Mitzvah, whether a commandment or a prohibition:

"If a person violates a Mitvah, either in error or intentionally, when he repents and abandons his sin he must admit it before Gd, as it is written, 'A man or woman who performs...they shall admit their sins, which they performed.' This refers to verbal admission, and this is a Mitzvah."

(Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Laws of Repentance 1:1)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Our responsibility for each other

Hi,

"The Torah says, ‘That which is hidden is for HaShem, our Gd, and that which is revealed is for us and our descendants eternally.’ In this sentence, in a Torah scroll, why are there dots atop לנו ולבנינו and over the ע in עד?

"R’ Yehudah explained: To teach that HaShem did not punish for hidden sin until the Jews crossed the Yarden.

"R’ Nechemyah asked: Does Gd ever punish for that which is hidden?! The sentence says [that Gd does not punish for hidden sin] ‘eternally!’ Rather, just as Gd did not punish for hidden sin (until then), so Gd did not punish for open sin until the Jews crossed the Yarden River."

(Talmud, Sanhedrin 43b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Those who are beloved to Gd

Hi,

"There are three types of people who are beloved to Gd:

"One who does not get angry,
One who does not get drunk, and
One who does not insist on receiving the reward he deserves."

(Talmud, Pesachim 113b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Compromise

Hi,

"Rabbi Yehoshua ben Karchah taught: It is a Mitzvah for a judge to encourage compromise among litigants.

"It is written: 'Judge truth and the 'justice of peace' in your gates... What sort of justice contains peace as well? This refers to compromise."

(Talmud, Sanhedrin 6b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Separating the holy and the mundane

Hi,

A Talmudic statement about separating the sacred and mundane in our lives:

"One may not store coins in a sack that has been dedicated for storing Tefillin."

(Talmud, Berachot 23b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

A personal connection to Gd

Hi,

"Even when a person falls from his own spiritual level, he should try to remain attached to Gd with a small thought...This is like a coal. If even a small spark remains, one can fan it into a large flame."

(Likutim Yekarim 171-2)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

When energy is a good thing, when energy is a bad thing

Hi,

"Some are energetic [zariz] and are rewarded for it, and some are energetic and lose as a result of it; some are lazy and are rewarded for it, and some are lazy and lose as a result of it.

"'Energetic and rewarded' refers to a person who works all week and so does not need to work on Friday afternoon, close to Shabbat.

"'Energetic and loses' refers to a person who works all week, including Friday afternoon, close to Shabbat.

"'Lazy and rewarded' refers to a person who does not work all week, and does not work on Friday afternoon, close to Shabbat, either [he accomplishes a Mitzvah, even without intending to do so].

"'Lazy and loses' refers to a person who does not work all week, and works on Friday afternoon, close to Shabbat."

(Talmud, Pesachim 50b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Body and Soul

Hi,

I see great depth in this parable:

"Antonines (a Roman leader) said to Rabbi Yehudah haNassi: The body and soul could exonerate themselves from guilt (after death)! The body could say that the soul sinned; since the day the two had split, the body simply lay, like a silent stone, in the grave! And the soul could say that the body sinned; since the day the two had split, the soul had floated in the air like a bird!

"Rabbi Yehudah haNassi replied: I will give you a parable. This may be compared to a human king who has a beautiful orchard, with beautiful figs. He placed two guards in it, one lame and one blind. The lame one said to the blind one, 'I see beautiful figs; put me on your shoulders, and we will get them and eat them.' The lame one rode on the blind one's shoulders, brought them, and they ate them.

"Days later, the orchard owner returned and asked, 'Where are the beautiful figs?' The lame one said, 'Do I have legs on which to walk?' The blind one said, 'Do I have eyes with which to see?'

"So he put the lame one on the blind one's shoulders, and judged them as a unit."

(Talmud, Sanhedrin 91a-b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

To truly "love" Gd

Hi,

Here's a logical, but very weighty, thought:

"To love means to feel one's own being only through and in the being of another.

"To love Gd, therefore, means to feel that one's own existence and activity are rendered possible and obtain value and significance only through Gd and in Gd."

(R' Samson Raphael Hirsch, Horeb 49)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Aliyah

Hi,

A 19th century push for aliyah to Israel:

"Why did Jacob buy land in Shechem, if - being on his way to visit his father - he had no intention of remaining on that site?

"It is obvious that he did this to teach his descendants that the soil of the Holy Land must be purchased from its owners."

(The Third Redemption, R' Yehudah Alkalai (1843))

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The power of communal prayer

Hi,

"Rav Shmuel bar Unya said, citing Rav...How do we know that even if Gd decrees punishment for a community, the decree may be torn up?

"The Torah says, 'Who is like HaShem, our Gd, who responds whenever we call Him!'"

(Talmud, Yevamot 105a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Chanah and our prayers

Hi,

"Why do we recite nine blessings in the Musaf Amidah of Rosh haShanah?

"Rabbi Yitzchak of Carthagena explained: This is parallel to the nine times Chanah mentioned Gd's Name in her prayer (Samuel I 1), for it is noted that Chanah, as well as Sarah and Rachel, were answered on Rosh haShanah."

(Talmud, Berachot 29a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Divine mercy

Hi,

"When Rabbi Yochanan would see an ant, he would quote the verse, 'Your charity is like mighty mountains.'"

Rashi explains: Rabbi Yochanan was commenting on the fact that Gd provides food for the tiny ant just as He provides it for mighty beasts.

(Talmud, Chullin 63a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Human Compassion for all things

Hi,

"As for Man, whose function it is to show respect and love for Gd's universe and all its creatures, his heart has been created so tender that it feels with the whole organic world, bestowing sympathy even on beings devoid of feeling, mourning even for fading flowers, so that, if nothing else, the very nature of his heart must teach him that he is required above everything to feel himself the brother of all beings, and to recognize the claim of all beings to his love and beneficence."

(R' Samson Raphael Hirsch, Horeb 125)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Love of Gd

Hi,

Preface: In the 'Shma' we read that we are instructed to love Gd "b'Chol M'odecha," with all of our resources.

R' Yisrael Meir Kagan, also known as the Chafetz Chaim, wrote:

"In our poverty, we have not reached this trait - to give all of our wealth for the honor of Gd. At least, we should agree to love Gd and His Torah as we love one of our children.

"For example: If one had 6 children, how much would he spend for one of them - to feed them, to clothe them, to teach them Torah, to marry them off, etc? There are great expenditures involved. Now if he had 7 children, he certainly would make the same expenditures for the 7th.

"So a person is obligated to see the honor of Gd and His Torah at least as one of his children, and not to spend less on the honor of Torah and Gd than he would for one of his children. If he reaches this level - then he is fortunate, and it will be good for him."

(Commentary of Chafetz Chaim to Devarim)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Awe of Gd and Torah growth: A proportional relationship

Hi,

An interesting proportional relationship between spiritual and intellectual development

"A person is able to absorb and retain an amount of Torah in direct proportion to the degree of awe of Gd he has developed for himself."

(R' Chaim of Volozhin, Nefesh haChaim 5:1)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Mitzvot with great reward

Hi,

"Four activities give a person dividends in this world, even as the main reward remains for the next world:

1. Honoring one's parents

2. Helping others

3. Bringing peace between people

4. Studying Torah, which is parallel to all of the above."

(Avot d'Rabbi Natan 40:1)

Have a great day,
Mordechai