Miriam's well - more than just water

Hi,

“From what source did the Jews nourish their fruit throughout their forty years in the wilderness? Rabbi Yochanan said: From the well, from which came most of their benefit.

"The well produced various types of grasses, vegetation and trees. We know this because after Miriam died, when the well stopped, they said (Bamidbar 20), ‘This is not a place of vegetation, figs and grapes.’”

(Midrash, Shir haShirim Rabbah 4)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Destroying Chametz, Eliminating Esav

Hi,

"In the merit of our eliminating chametz, Gd will eliminate Esav.

"It is written, 'Only, on the first day you shall eliminate leaven.' But it is not the first, it is the fourteenth [of Nisan]!

"Rather, in the merit of this [elimination of leaven], I will eliminate Esav, regarding whom it is written, 'And the first one, the red one, emerged.'"

(Rokeiach, Hilchot Pesach 271)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Admitting Divine Justice

Hi,

Tehillim 84:7 says: “Those who pass through the valley of tears will turn it into a spring; the early rain will cloak it in blessings.”

"‘Those who pass through’ are the people who violate Gd’s desires.
"‘The valley’ is deepened for them in Gehennom.
"‘Of tears’ – They cry and produce tears, like a spring.
"‘The early rain will cloak it in blessings’ – they declare the judgment to be righteous, saying, ‘Master of the Universe, You have judged well, You have found merit well, You have found liability well, You have prepared Gehennom for the wicked and Gan Eden for the righteous well.’"

(Talmud, Eruvin 19a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Repent in time

Hi,

"There are wicked people who are paired up in this world, and then one of them repents before his death and the other does not, so that the former stands with the righteous and the latter with the wicked [when they arrive in the Next World]. The latter sees the former, and says, 'Woe is me! Is there favoritism involved? We stole together, we murdered together, and he stands with the righteous while I stand with the wicked!'

"They reply to him, 'World-class fool! You were revolting, and your body was cast out for three days after your death!... When your friend understood this, he repented of that path. You had the ability to repent and did not do so.'

"He then says, ‘Let me go and repent,’ and they reply, ‘World-class fool! Don’t you know that this world is like Shabbat, and the world from which you came is like Friday? If one does not prepare on Friday, what will he eat on Shabbat? Further, this world is like the sea, and the world from which you came is like the land; if one does not prepare on land, what will he eat at sea?...'"

(Midrash, Ruth Rabbah 3:3)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The soul's existence before it enters this world

Hi,

"All of the souls which have existed since Creation, all stand before Gd until they descend to this world. In exactly the form they will manifest in that world, and in that physical appearance in which they will stand in that world, they stand above. When a soul is summoned to descend to the world, that soul, in that form in which it stands in this world, stands before Gd, and Gd makes it swear that it will guard the mitzvot of the Torah and not violate its laws."

(Zohar I pg. 233b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Lack of gratitude is animalistic

Hi,

[The last sentence in the book of Yonah mentions the people of Ninveh, upon whom Gd has mercy, and it also mentions "בהמה רבה," great numbers of animals who live in the city of Nineveh.]

"These are adult human beings whose minds are yet animalistic; they do not realize who created them."

(Rashi to Yonah 4:11)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Men and Women

Hi,

[Shemot 19:3 - HaShem tells Moshe, "So you shall say to the house of Jacob, and you shall instruct the sons of Israel."]

"'The house of Jacob' - This refers to the women; HaShem told Moshe, tell the women the main points, which they can hear. Then, 'You shall instruct the sons of Israel,' the men; tell them the fine points, which they can hear.

"Alternatively: Why to the women first? Because they are more energetic in mitzvot.

"Alternatively: Why to the women first? So that they would guide their children in Torah."

(Midrash, Shemot Rabbah 28:3)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Awe for the king

Hi,

"You should always feel awe for the king; [Moshe said to Pharaoh,] 'All of your servants will come down to me,' and he did not say, 'You will come down to me.'"

(Talmud, Zevachim 102a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

HaShem's anger at Moshe

Hi,

Shemot 4:14 says that when Moshe refused to lead the Jews, "HaShem displayed anger at Moshe."

"Rabbi Yehoshua ben Karcha said: All mentions of anger in the Torah involve some visible result, but regarding this event no visible result was mentioned.

"Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai said: A visible result was mentioned for this, too. HaShem then said to Moshe, 'Your brother Aharon, the Levite,' but Aharon is a Kohen! HaShem was telling Moshe, 'I said you would be the Kohen and Aharon would be the Levite, but now you will be the Levite and Aharon will be the Kohen.'"

(Talmud, Zevachim 102a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

What happened atop Mount Sinai?

Hi,

[The Torah says regarding the luchot [tablets], ‘And He gave to Moshe, when He concluded speaking to him.’ (Shemot 31:18)]

“Rabbi Avahu said: All through the forty days when Moshe was up above, he studied Torah and forgot it. He said to Gd, ‘Master of the Universe, I have had forty days and I still don’t know anything!’

“What did Gd do? At the conclusion of forty days, Gd gave him the Torah as a gift, as it is written, ‘And He gave to Moshe.’

“But did Moshe learn the entire Torah? Job 11 says, ‘Its measure is longer than the land, and broader than the sea!’ Could Moshe have learned it in forty days?!

"Rather, Gd taught Moshe principles [כללים], as it is written, ‘When He concluded [ככלתו] speaking to him.’”

(Midrash, Shemot Rabbah 41:6)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Give of yourself

Hi,

[Mishlei 18:16 says, "A person's gift will broaden for him."]

"'A person's gift will broaden for him' - This is Avraham. When he pursued the kings [to save Lot], the king of Sdom came out to greet him and offered, 'Give me the lives, and take the property for yourself.'

"Avraham then replied, 'I raise my hand before Gd, I will not take from a thread to a shoelace.' HaShem said to him: You say you will not take a thread - by your life, I will praise your children with that exact language, saying (Song of Songs 4), 'Your lips are like a red thread.' You say you will not take a shoelace, and I will praise your children with that exact language, saying (Song of Songs 7), 'How beautiful are your feet in their shoes.'

"And so [Avraham's gift of aid to Lot, and his generosity in declining human gifts], 'A person's gift broadens for him.'"

(Midrash, Shemot Rabbah 41)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The Humility of Avraham

Hi,

"If the blessed Creator provides a person with wealth or children, or gives him extra wisdom or comprehension or honor, he should increase his humility before the blessed Creator and honor people, benefiting them more than he did before. When Gd said to Avraham, ‘Can I conceal from Avraham,’ he said, ‘I am dust and ash.’"

(Orchot Tzaddikim, Shaar ha'Anavah)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The power of tzedakah

Hi,

[Preface: The biblical root שקפ, to gaze, is generally associated with Divine punishment.]

“People who tithe their produce are powerful, in that they convert a curse to a blessing. They recite the prayer to Gd, ‘השקיפה [gaze down] from Your sacred dwelling, from the Heavens, and bless Your nation.’”

(Midrash, Shemot Rabbah 41:1)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Jews and Grapes

Hi,

"When the Jews stood on Har Sinai they were compared to grapes. Grapes are pretty outside and ugly inside, so Israel – when they stood on Har Sinai and answered, ‘We will do and we will hear,’ that was with their mouths. Their hearts were not aligned… Grapes contain food and drink, so Israel contains people of Torah and people of deeds."

(Midrash Tanchuma Lech Lecha 21)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The divergent paths of Torah and secular philosophy?

Hi,

Here's one to chew on:

"The wisdom of philosophy and the wisdom of Torah and its laws do not follow the same path. The wisdom of Torah is a tradition received by Moshe from Sinai, and the scholar will analyze it via the methods assigned for its analysis, comparing one matter and another. Even where this approach does not follow natural wisdom, we follow the tradition. Philosophical wisdom is natural, though, with great scholars who established natural arguments, and in their great wisdom they dug deeper and corrupted (Hosheia 9:9) and needed to deny the Torah of Moshe, for the Torah is entirely unnatural and revelatory.

"Regarding this it is stated, ‘You shall be pure with HaShem your Gd,’ meaning that even if something is outside of natural logic, you should not doubt the received tradition, but walk before Him in purity. Therefore, you should not bring proof from their words, to make a sign or argument or parable against the just laws of Gd.

"Regarding this the scholar said, ‘Those who enter it will not return,’ meaning that one who enters this area of wisdom will not be able to leave it and introduce his heart to the wisdom of Torah, for he will not be able to return from the natural wisdom to which he has become accustomed. His heart will be continually drawn after it, and he will not be able to establish himself in the wisdom of Torah, which is the path of life, for his heart will be perpetually drawn after natural wisdom. He will try to equate the two wisdoms, and bring proof from one to the other, and so he will warp justice for these are two opposites and rivals which cannot dwell in the same space."

(Responsa of Rosh 55:9)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The Wisdom of Moshe

Hi,

In honor of Moshe Rabbeinu, whose yahrtzeit is observed on the 7th of Adar, which begins Thursday evening. [Granted that there are two months of Adar this year.]

"Fifty levels of understanding were created in this world, and all but one were given to Moshe, as it is written [Tehillim 8], 'And You made him just less than Gd.'"

(Talmud, Rosh HaShanah 21b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Shabbat vs. Rosh Chodesh

Hi,

This is a paraphrase of an idea:

Shabbat follows the six days of work, and a person's path during the six days of work is what merits the light of the sanctity of Shabbat. As the gemara says, one who works on erev Shabbat will have food to eat on Shabbat.

Rosh Chodesh, on the other hand, is at the start of the month. We have not yet performed deeds to merit the illumination of Rosh Chodesh, but this day, which comes after the moon has been reduced, hints to a person to recognize that he lacks light, and if he does not work and accept responsibility for the future, he will come in darkness and go in darkness and gain nothing for his struggle.

(The Sochachover, Shem m'Shemuel Reeh 5677, pg. 105)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The value of Seudah Shelishit (Shalosh Seudos)

Hi,

"When you sit at seudah shlishit [the third meal of Shabbat] in the company of the pious, do you not feel anything?

"The righteous say that the time of seudah shlishit is the time described [in Avot 4:17] as, 'A moment of teshuvah and good deeds is greater than all of the next world's life.' My great father-in-law told me that he heard from the Maggid of Koznitz that seudah shlishit is in the category of, 'The righteous sitting with crowns atop their heads, benefiting from the radiance of the Shechinah. [Berachot 17a]'...

"Certainly, your laziness seduces you further, saying, 'Who could compare to the Maggid and other righteous people?' But I have already told you that responses like this are the product of your yetzer hara."

(Rav Klonymus Kalman Schapiro, Bnei Machshavah Tovah, Seder Emtzaei v'Yesod haChevra 11)

Have a great day,
Mordecahi

Know how to look

Hi,

"Therefore, our group instructs and declares to each of its members: Know how to look. When anything occurs within yourself or outside yourself, know how to look.

"Looking does not refer only to seeing that which is [readily] found, but to a kind of birth in which we birth and produce something upon which we can look... One who experiences some kind of stirring must look, meaning to produce a form and look upon it and so stir himself."

(R' Klonymous Kalman Schapiro, Bnei Machshavah Tovah, Seder Emtzaei v'Yesod haChevra 11)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Does Gd listen to the prayers of the wicked?

Hi,

Mishlei 15:29 – “Gd is distant from the wicked, and He will hear the prayers of the righteous.”

“Rabbi Acha bar Chanina said: Come and see how Shlomo’s wisdom is so much harsher than the wisdom of his father. David said, ‘Gd is close to all who call Him, to all who call Him in truth (Tehillim 145:18),’ and Shlomo said, ‘Gd is distant from the wicked,’ meaning those who do not repent, ‘and He will hear the prayers of the righteous’ when they pray with the community.”

(Midrash Mishlei 15:29)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The importance of sensitivity to shame

Hi,

"The trait of bushah [sensitivity to shame] is a fence and iron barrier before all sin, for people violate many laws in private, with actions for which they would be ashamed in front of others."

(Orchot Tzaddikim, Shaar haBushah)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Moshe's love for Israel

Hi,

"Why did Moshe long to enter the land of Israel? Did he need to eat her fruit, or did he need to be sated from her goodness? Rather, Moshe said: Israel was commanded to perform many mitzvot, which may be fulfilled only in the land of Israel. I will enter the land, so that all of them will be fulfilled by me."

(Talmud, Sotah 14a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Holiness and purity require knowledge of Torah

Hi,

"It is written (Yechezkel 22:26), ‘Her priests have vandalized My Torah and desecrated My sanctuary.’

"Why did they not distinguish between the sacred and the mundane, and why did they not inform people of the difference between impure and pure? Because they are not people of Torah, they know not how to distinguish between sacred and mundane, between impure and pure."

(Midrash Tanchuma, Terumah 1)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Gd's conversations with Moshe

Hi,

"[It is written,] 'And Gd spoke [וידבר] to Moshe,' 'And Gd said [ויאמר] to Moshe,' and 'And Moshe said [ויאמר] to Gd,' 'And Moshe spoke [וידבר] to Gd.'

"This may be compared to a cave which is located at the shore. The sea rises and fills it, and then the sea does not leave it. From then on, the sea gives water to the cave, and the cave to the sea."

(Midrash, Shemot Rabbah 45:3)

Have a great day,
Mordechai