Jews and Dates, Part II - The Date as a Devoted Martyr

Hi,

"Rabbi Shemuel bar Nachmeni cited R’ Yonatan: ‘I said I would ascend the date tree and hold on to its bunches (Song of Songs)’ – ‘I said I would ascend the date tree’ refers to Israel, but now I only grasped one bunch: Chananiah, Mishael and Azaryah."

(Talmud, Sanhedrin 93a)

Have a great day (and note the connection between this post and yesterday's post),
Mordechai

Jews and Dates

Hi,

"Rabbi Levi said: Like a date – A date has only one heart, so Israel has only one heart for their father in heaven."

(Talmud, Succah 45b)

[The idea of 'one heart' may be that most trees have branches that shoot off in different directions, while date palms are single-trunked until the lulavim at the top.]

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Filled with mitzvot like the pomegranate

Hi,

"‘Your skull (rakateich) is like the shell of a pomegranate’ – Even the empty ones (reikanin shebach) among you are full of mitzvot, like a pomegranate."

[Note: The source makes no mention of a pomegranate having 613 seeds!]

(Talmud, Sanhedrin 37a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Avraham's approach to evangelism

Hi,

"'And he called there in the name of Gd, Master of the Universe’ – Reish Lakish said: Do not read it as ‘And he called’ but as ‘And he made to call.’ This teaches that Avraham Avinu put the Name of Gd in the mouth of every traveller.

"How? After they ate and drank and stood to bless him, he said to them, ‘Did you eat my food? You ate the food of the Gd of the world! Thank, praise and bless the One who spoke and the world came into existence.’"

(Talmud, Sotah 10a-b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Praying at sunrise/sunset

Hi,

"Rabbi Yosi bar Chanina would pray with the partial appearance of the sun, so that he would live in awe of Heaven all day."

(Talmud Yerushalmi, Berachot 4:1)

Pnei Moshe explained: He would pray Shacharit at sunrise, so as to experience awe of Heaven for the rest of the day.

Sefer Charedim explained: He would pray Minchah at the approach of sunset, so as to experience awe of Heaven for the following night and the ensuing day.

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The Blessing of Shabbat, the Sanctity of Shabbat

Hi,

"Gd blessed Shabbat with the Manna and Gd sanctified Shabbat with the Manna:

"Gd blessed Shabbat with the Manna in that an omer measure of Manna fell daily, but on the eve of Shabbat two omer measures fell. Gd sanctified Shabbat with the Manna in that the Manna did not descend on Shabbat at all."

(Midrash, Bereishit Rabbah 11:2)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

How to respond 'Amen'

Hi,

"How is it known that one who replies 'Amen' should not raise his voice above that of the person who recites the actual blessing?

"It is written, 'Elevate Gd with me, and we will exalt His Name as one.'"

(Talmud, Berachot 45a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Preparing for Shabbat during the week

Hi,

"The sages wrote that a person should sharpen knives in honor of Shabbat. This is hinted in the verse, 'And they shall prepare whatever – Et – they will bring;' 'Et' connotes knives and cutting implements.

"It is proper to clean spider webs from the walls. It is appropriate to taste Shabbat foods on Friday; 'Those who taste it, have merited life.'

"All of these acts are within the scope of honoring Shabbat; a person performs such acts in preparing to greet a great person. A person tastes the food and cleans the house, and sharpens knives to prepare for eating."

(R' Yechiel Michel Epstein, Aruch haShulchan Orach Chaim 250:4)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Pledging tzedakah

Hi,

"'Do not use our mouth to make your flesh sin (Kohelet 5).' R' Yehoshua ben Levi explained: This refers to people who pledge tzedakah in public, but do not pay."

(Midrash, Kohelet Rabbah 5:5)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Why help others?

Hi,

“Among the roots of this mitzvah [of lending to the needy] is that Gd desired for His creations to be trained and accustomed in the traits of generosity and mercy, which are admirable.

"As a result of people's habituation to these good traits, they will be suited for receipt of good themselves. We have said that good and blessings come to those who are good, and not to those who are of the opposite. When Gd does good to those who are good, His desire to benefit the world is fulfilled.

“If not for this reason [to encourage people to help others], Gd would provide the needs of the pauper without our involvement.”

(Sefer haChinuch, Mitzvah 66)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The mandate of a miracle

Hi,

"Rabbi Tanchum bar Chanilai said: When Chananiah, Mishael and Azaryah exited the fiery furnace, all of the nations of the world came and slapped the Jews on their faces and declared, 'You have this Gd and yet you bow to an idol?!'

"Immediately, the Jews proclaimed (Daniel 9:7), 'Justice is with You, Gd, and embarrassment with us, like this very day.'"

(Talmud, Sanhedrin 93a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The home as an altar

Hi,

“And they shall take the blood and place it upon the two doorposts and the lintel, on the houses in which they will eat the offering. (Sh’mot 12:7)”

“And you shall take a bundle of hyssop and immerse it in the blood in the receptacle, and you shall place it upon the lintel and the two doorposts, from the blood in the receptacle. (Sh’mot 12:22)”

“We learn from here that our ancestors had three altars in Egypt: The lintel and the two doorposts. R’ Yishmael said there were four: The receptacle and the lintel and the two doorposts.”

(Midrash, Mechilta of R' Yishmael Bo 6)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The importance of circumcision

Hi,

"Circumcision is so important that if not for this mitzvah, Gd would not have created His world, as it is written, 'If not for My covenant, day and night, I would not have emplaced the laws of heaven and earth.'"

(Talmud, Nedarim 31b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Remember your origins

Hi,

“The departure from Egypt was the beginning of the introduction of the Jewish people to HaShem’s reign.

"The beginning is the essence, as it is written, ‘The end of a matter is better than its beginning.’ One must always remember this [beginning], which will bring strength and energy in all of one’s deeds. Depression begins when one forgets the origin.”

(Sfat Emet, Parshat Bo 5641)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The effect of sweetness on a person

Hi,

"One who is gripped by bulmus [a powerful craving for food that can destroy the body] should be fed honey and all kinds of sweets, for these illuminate the eyes of a person.

"There is no proof [that this works for bulmus], but there is a hint to it in Shemuel I 14, 'See, now, that my eyes have been illuminated, for I have tasted this small amount of honey.'"

(Talmud, Yoma 83b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Gilgul (Reincarnation): A Skeptic's View

Hi,

"I say that I have found some people among those who are called Jews who believe in Gilgul, and they call it 'transmigration.' In their minds, this means that Reuven’s spirit enters Shimon, and then Levi, and then Yehudah. Some, perhaps mnost of them, believe that a human soul may enter an animal, or an animal enter a human. The types of foolishness and confusion are legion."

(R' Saadia Gaon, Emunot v'Deiot 6:8)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Honoring children and their parents

Hi,

Here's an odd midrash, commenting on Vayyikra 6:2 -

"What prayer did Moshe recite for Aharon?

"R' Mana of Yeshevav and R' Yehoshua of Sichnin cited R' Levi: From the beginning of the book [Vayyikra] until now, it is written, 'And the children of Aharon will arrange,' 'And the children of Aharon will sprinkle,' 'And the children of Aharon will place.'

"Moshe said before Gd: Is the cistern despised and its water beloved? You have given honor to trees because of their children, as we have learned, 'All types of wood are acceptable for the altar, other than olive and grape [because they are needed for their fruit],' and for Aharon You will not give honor because of his children?

"Gd replied to Moshe: Because of you, I will bring him close and I will even make him the essence and his children subsidiary - 'Instruct Aharon and his children, saying...'"

(Midrash, Vayyikra Rabbah 7:1)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Atoning for inappropropriate spending

Hi,

"Gd was appeased by Israel for the creation of the Calf, and He found atonement for their sin. He told them, ‘Give to the Mishkan, and the gold of the Mishkan will come atone for the gold of the Calf.’"

(Rashi to Shir haShirim 1:13)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Teaching our children, Part II

Hi,

"'And you shall repeat [or: teach] it to your children' - These explicit mitzvot have already been hinted. Since He instructed us in the mitzvot, 'An eternal law for your generations,' 'Between Me and the Jewish people, an eternal sign,' 'This is My covenant you shall guard, between Me and you and your children after you,' we are instructed that our children should know the mitzvot.

"And how will they know the mitzvot, if we don't teach them?"

(Ramban to Devarim 6:7)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Teaching our children, Part I

Hi,

"The sages required us to train our minors in mitzvot for which they are suited, so that they will be trained and accustomed to mitzvot."

(Rashi to Talmud Succah 2b מדרבנן)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Breakaway Minyanim

Hi,

"The community may decree that no minyan pray outside the shul, because of appearances – lest the nations think that they are many [Jewish denominations]. Also, because of the individuals themselves who do not pay the taxes and pray elsewhere."

(R' Avraham Gombiner, Magen Avraham 154:23)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Tefillin: A Celebration

Hi,

The interesting opposition between Tefillin and Mourning:

"A mourner, on the first day of Shivah, is not permitted to don tefillin for the entire day - even after the burial.

"The verse [Amos 8:10] states, 'And its aftermath will be a bitter day.' Tefillin are termed 'glory' and should not be donned on a bitter day."

(Aruch haShulchan Orach Chaim 38:8, from Talmud, Moed Katan 21a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Baruch she'Amar

Hi,


“We say, ‘Blessed is He who spoke, and the world existed.’

“This is the expression of the sages, who said many times, ‘It is revealed and known before the One who spoke and the world existed,’ along the lines of the verse (Tehillim 33:9), ‘He spoke, and it was.’

“It means that that via speech the world was created, without any exhaustion or any other action, as it is written (Tehillim 33:6), ‘The heavens were created at the word of Gd.’

“This is also the message of Bereishit Rabbah (12:10) that this world was created with the letter ה, as it is written (Bereishit 2:4), ‘These are the chronicles of the heavens and the earth, בהבראם – בה"א בראם.’ It means that just as ה is the easiest letter to produce, so He created the world without any exhaustion or strain.”

(Avudraham, Baruch She’Amar and Psukei d’Zimrah)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Qualifications for judges

Hi,

"One may not place anyone on the Sanhedrin unless he is a person of wisdom, a good appearance, a person of physical stature, a person of age, a person knowledgeable in sorcery, and a person who knows seventy languages, so that the Sanhedrin will not need to hear testimony via an interpreter."

(Talmud, Menachot 65a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Moshe and Yitro cut a deal

Hi,

Here's one that requires much thought:

"Yitro made a condition with Moshe that he circumcise one of his sons and leave the other one."

(Midrash Aggadah, Shemot 18:3)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Wedding Violence?

Hi,

"Young man who ride out to greet a groom and bride, and who harm each other’s property in a manner of joy and laughter, or who do so in other joyous circumstances, are exempt from liability because that is the practice."

(Rama, Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat 378:9)

Have a great day,
Mordechai