Hosting guests

Hi,

[Note: In Talmudic times, poultry was more expensive than beef.]

“Why do the offerings of Succot decrease each day?

“The Torah taught you the way of the world, via those offerings. If a person goes to stay somewhere, and his friend receives him, then on the first day the friend will receive him well and feed him poultry, on the second day the friend will feed him beef, on the third day the friend will feed him fish, on the fourth day the friend will feed him vegetables, and so it will decrease until the friend feeds him beans.”

(Midrash, Bamidbar Rabbah 21:25)

Chag sameach,
Mordechai

Shemini Atzeret, the Jews and the Nations

Hi,

“’On the eighth day, you shall have a celebration’ – This is the meaning of Tehillim 109:4, ‘In return for my love they hate me, but I am entirely prayer.’

“On Succot Israel brings before You seventy bulls for the seventy nations. Israel declares: Master of the Universe, we bring before You seventy bulls for the nations, and they should love us, but instead they hate us – In return for my love, they hate me!

“Therefore, Gd said to them: Now bring for yourselves. ‘On the eighth day you shall have a celebration for yourselves…’"

(Midrash, Bamidbar Rabbah 21:24)

Moadim l'simchah,
Mordechai

How Shmini Atzeret was born

Hi,

[The following is based on part of Yeshayah 26:15, rendered in this midrash as, ‘You have added for the nation; You have added for the nation, and You have been honored.’ The purpose is to explain how the 7-day holiday of Succot gained an eighth day.]

“The Jewish people declared before Gd: Master of the Universe! It is Your responsibility to provide us with festivals [literally: appointed times], and it is our responsibility to bring appropriate offerings to You. ‘You have been honored.’ You gave us Rosh Chodesh, and we bring offerings before You; on Pesach we brought offerings to You; on Rosh haShanah we brought offerings to You; on Yom Kippur we brought offerings to You; and the same was true for Succot. We have not abandoned a single festival!

“And so the Jewish people declared before Gd: It is for You to add festivals for us, and it is our responsibility to bring offerings before You and honor You. ‘You have added for the nattion, and You have been honored’ – HaShem said to them, ‘By your lives, I will not remove festivals from you, but rather I will add times for you to rejoice.’ And so it is written, ‘On the eighth day, you shall have a celebration.’”

(Midrash, Bamidbar Rabbah 21:23)

Moadim l'simchah,
Mordechai

HaShem and the Four Species

Hi,

"[Describing the Etrog, the Torah says] 'The beautiful fruit of a tree' - This is Gd, regarding Whom it is written, 'You are clothed in glory and beauty.'

"[Describing the Lulav, the Torah says] 'Palms of dates' - This is Gd, regarding Whom it is written, 'The Righteous will flower like a date.'

"[Describing the Hadas, the Torah says] 'Braided branch' - This is Gd, regarding Whom it is written, 'He stands among the Hadasim.'

"[Describing the Aravah, the Torah says] 'Willows of the stream' - This is Gd, regarding Whom it is written, 'Praise the One who rides among Aravot; Gd is His Name.'"

(Midrash, Vayyikra Rabbah 30:9)

Chag sameach,
Mordechai

Starting the accounting anew on Succot

Hi,

“This may be compared to a nation which needs to appease its king. When the king arrived within ten mil, the leaders came out and praised him, and he forgave one third of their burden. When the king arrived within five mil, the average people came out and praised him, and he forgave another third. When he entered the nation, everyone – men, women, children – came out and praised him, and he forgave everything. He said to them: What’s gone is gone; from here we will begin a new accounting.

“So on the eve of osh haShanah the leaders fast and Gd forgives one-third of their sins, and from Rosh haShanah to Yom Kippur individuals fast and Gd forgivens one-third of their sins, and on Yom Kippur all of them – men, women and children – fast, and Gd says to them: What’s gone is gone; from here we will begin a new accounting.

“From Yom Kippur to Succot all of Israel is involved in mitzvot – this one with his Succah, this one with his Lulav – and on the first day of Succot all of Israel stands before Gd with their lulavim and etrogim in Gd’s Name, and Gd says to them: What’s gone is gone; from here we will begin a new accounting.

“This is what Moshe meant when he told the Jews, ‘You shall take for yourselves on the first day.’”

(Midrash, Vayyikra Rabbah 30)

Chag sameach,
Mordechai

The reward for the expensive lulav

Hi,

"Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: From the reward for ‘taking’ you may deduce the reward for ‘taking.’ In Egypt Gd said, ‘You shall take a bundle of hyssop.’ How much is it worth? Four coins. And that mitzvah caused Israel to receive the spoils at the Sea, the spoils of Sichon and Og, and the spoils of 31 kings. Lulav costs a person more money, and includes more mitzvot, how much more so will be the reward!

"Therefore Moshe warned Israel, “Take for yourselves on the first day.”"

(Midrash, Vayyikra Rabbah 30)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The First

Hi,

“It is written: ‘And the first one [Esav] emerged.’

"Rabbi Chaggai said in the name of Rabbi Yitzchak: In the merit of ‘And you shall take for yourself on the first day [the mitzvah of the Arba Minim]’:

"I, the First, am revealed to you, as it is written (Yeshayah 44), ‘I am the first and I am the last.’

"I will punish the First [Esav] for you, as it is written, ‘And the first one emerged.’

"I will build the First for you, meaning the Beit haMikdash, as it is written, ‘The throne of honor, elevated from the first.’

"I will bring you the First, meaning Mashiach, as it is written, ‘Behold, here, the first for Zion.’"

(Midrash, Bereishit Rabbah 63:8)

Chag sameach,
Mordechai

The shelter of the Divine Succah

Hi,

"It is written, “Any ezrach in Yisrael shall dwell in succot.” Anyone who is of the sacred Jewish root and stem shall dwell in succot, beneath the shade of Hashem."

(Zohar to Parshat Emor)

Chag sameach,
Mordechai

Passion and Purity

Hi,

"Pure thought depends upon awakening and passion, and passion depends upon pure thought. Were a person capable of softening his heart and being continually passionate, his thoughts would be more pure. Were a person possessed of pure thought, he would be able to be increasingly passionate and awakened whenever he prepared himself.

"Therefore, a Jew needs both of these: To work and to elevate his thoughts as well as the awakening of his passion."

(Rav Klonymus Kalman Shapira, Bnei Macshavah Tovah, Seder Emtza'ei v'Yesod haChevra 8)

Gmar chatimah tovah,
Mordechai

Forgiveness pays off

Hi,

"If a person declines to exercise his own rights, Gd declines to notice his sins."

(Talmud, Rosh haShanah 17a)

Gmar tov,
Mordechai

Forgive even if you can't forgive

Hi,

"Even if one declines to forgive in order to help the penitent, he must remove the hatred from his heart, since the penitent has sincerely asked for forgiveness."

(R' Yisrael Meir Kagan, Mishneh Berurah 606:9)

Gmar tov,
Mordechai

Persistence in seeking forgiveness

Hi,

"One who sins against another, and requests forgiveness and is rejected, should assemble a line of people to appease his former victim… Regarding one who does this, the verse says, ‘He redeems his soul from passing into destruction.’"

(Talmud Yerushalmi, Bava Kama 8:7)

Gmar tov,
Mordechai

Tough love for the arrogant

Hi,

"When one sees that this trait [of arrogance] dominates his nature, he must think about great matters which frighten and confuse a person's thoughts, regarding the beginning of creatures and their end, how existence began and its ruin and end. When he recognizes that all that exists changes and passes, and that certainly his own existence will change and his body will be destroyed, the spirit that was arrogant in his life will become low and regretful at the time of his death."

(R' Shlomo ibn Gabirol, Tikkun Middot haNefesh 1)

Gmar chatimah tovah,
Mordechai

Tzom Gedalyah (nidcheh)

Hi,

We fast on the day after Rosh haShanah; this is called "Tzom Gedalyah," "The Fast of Gedalyah."

The Meaning of the Fast: After the Babylonians destroyed the Temple, they appointed Gedalyah as governor of Israel's Jews. A group of Jews, supported by another nation, wanted the Jews to rebel against the Babylonians, and they accused Gedalyah of sympathizing with the Babylonians. They ambushed him and killed him, and in the aftermath, the remaining Jewish community in Israel went into exile.

This day is commemorated as a public fast from first light to the emergence of the stars.

This year, the day after Rosh HaShanah is Shabbat. Therefore, the fast is pushed off (nidcheh) to Sunday.

Have an easy and meaningful fast,
Mordechai

Silent prayer is more acceptable?

Hi,

"One who prays and rises before his Master should not make his voice heard in his prayer. One who makes his voice heard will not have his prayers heard. Why? Because true prayer is not the voice that is heard...

"Therefore, one should not make his prayer audible; rather, he should pray silently, with the voice that is not heard, and that is the prayer that will always be accepted."

(Zohar Bereishit pg. 209b)

May we be inscribed and sealed for a great new year,
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 wrote, or should have written and did not, in the past year. I know that people's sensitivities are varied, and although I try to keep this in mind, I am aware that I don't always succeed.

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

Praying: Silent, Loud and in Tears

Hi,

Commenting on Tehillim 39:13, "Hear my prayer, Gd; lend an ear to my wailing. To my tears be not silent..."

"'Hear my prayer, Gd' - This refers to silent prayer.

"'Lend an ear to my wailing' - This refers to prayer in which one raises his voice in his trouble, like Shemot 2:23, 'And their wailing arose to Gd.' What is their wailing? In one's prayer, one raises his voice and turns his eyes above, as in Yeshayah 22:5, 'And wailing to the mountains.'

"And this prayer, 'To my tears be not silent,' ascends before the King and no gate can stand in its way, and tears are never returned empty.'"

(Zohar Bereishit pg. 132a)

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

The goal of praying silently

Hi,

"Why did they enact silent prayer? So as not to embarrass those who have sinned [and are admitting it in their prayer], just as the Torah did not assign separate locations for those who bring sin-offerings and burnt-offerings [so as not to explicitly identify those who bring sin-offerings for atonement in the Beit haMikdash]."

(Talmud, Sotah 32b)

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

Ask for a gift, not a salary

Hi,

"When praying, one should not do so from the perspective of, 'Gd will do what I ask because I have prayed with proper concentration,' for this simply evokes his sins [in order to weigh whether one in fact deserves to have his request fulfilled].

"Rather, one should pray from the perspective that HaShem will fulfill his request out of generosity."

(Tur, Orach Chaim 98)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Teshuvah: Will is everything

Hi,

"The will to goodness is everything; all of the skills in the universe are only the means to completing it. The content of his will [to goodness] is imprinted upon his soul by the light that is affixed within, and as a result, the great flow of Divine inspiration is manifested upon him continually, and a will which is great in its holiness, beyond the trait embedded in other human beings, grows powerful within him…"

(Rav Avraham Yitzchak haKohen Kook, Orot haTeshuvah 9:1)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Does sinning hurt?

Hi,

"All sins cause the heart to grieve, for they demolish the unity of the individual person and the universe… Every ethical severing from that whole, whether from thoughts or deeds, individual traits or general balance, causes many small cuts which instigate great internal pain for all aspects of the soul…"

(Rav Avraham Yitzchak haKohen Kook, Orot haTeshuvah 8:3, 8:7)

Have a great day,
Mordechai