Hi,
"All you who have influence over the soul of the young, to prepare them for a life of justice, watch out that they retain that inner shield which protects from many aberrations; watch out that they remain sincere, truthful and straightforward as the Creator wanted them to be, so that they fear the lie more than the harshest punishment which you might inflict upon them."
(R' Samson Raphael Hirsch, Horeb paragraph 372)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Monday, July 30, 2012
After anger, there is hope
Hi,
"Eichah 5:22 says, 'For if You have been disgusted with us, You have been very angry with us.'
"R' Shimon ben Lakish explained: For disgust there is no hope, but for anger there is hope. One who is angry will eventually be appeased."
(Eichah Rabbah 5:22; see Eitz Yosef for an explanation of how this fits the sentence from Eichah)
המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai
"Eichah 5:22 says, 'For if You have been disgusted with us, You have been very angry with us.'
"R' Shimon ben Lakish explained: For disgust there is no hope, but for anger there is hope. One who is angry will eventually be appeased."
(Eichah Rabbah 5:22; see Eitz Yosef for an explanation of how this fits the sentence from Eichah)
המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai
Thursday, July 26, 2012
She has no one to comfort her?
Hi,
Eichah 1:2 says, "She cries at night, her tears are upon her jaw, and she has no one to comfort her."
"Rabbi Levi said: Wherever the Torah says 'there is none', there actually is. Thus Bereishit 11 says, 'And Sarai was barren, she had no child,' and then she had one…
"Shemuel I 1 says 'And Chanah had no children,' and then she did…
"And Yirmiyah 30 says, 'She is Zion, she has none who seek her,' and she does, as Yeshayah 59 predicts, 'A redeemer will come to Zion.'
"So, too, you say 'She has no one to comfort her,' but she does. In Yeshayah 51, Gd says, 'I, I am the One who comforts you."
(Midrash, Eichah Rabbah 1:26)
המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai
Eichah 1:2 says, "She cries at night, her tears are upon her jaw, and she has no one to comfort her."
"Rabbi Levi said: Wherever the Torah says 'there is none', there actually is. Thus Bereishit 11 says, 'And Sarai was barren, she had no child,' and then she had one…
"Shemuel I 1 says 'And Chanah had no children,' and then she did…
"And Yirmiyah 30 says, 'She is Zion, she has none who seek her,' and she does, as Yeshayah 59 predicts, 'A redeemer will come to Zion.'
"So, too, you say 'She has no one to comfort her,' but she does. In Yeshayah 51, Gd says, 'I, I am the One who comforts you."
(Midrash, Eichah Rabbah 1:26)
המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Who is getting your money in the end?
Hi,
"One who increases his wealth by charging interest and by usury is only gathering it for the one who gives to the poor."
(Mishlei 28:8)
המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai
"One who increases his wealth by charging interest and by usury is only gathering it for the one who gives to the poor."
(Mishlei 28:8)
המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Abraham's angels
Hi,
"Rabbi Tanchum bar Chanilai said: One should never diverge from local practice. Moshe ascended to Heaven [on Sinai, to receive the Torah] and did not eat bread, and the angels descended to earth and did eat bread [in Abraham's house].
"Do you really think they ate?! Rather, they appeared to eat."
(Talmud, Bava Metzia 86b)
המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai
"Rabbi Tanchum bar Chanilai said: One should never diverge from local practice. Moshe ascended to Heaven [on Sinai, to receive the Torah] and did not eat bread, and the angels descended to earth and did eat bread [in Abraham's house].
"Do you really think they ate?! Rather, they appeared to eat."
(Talmud, Bava Metzia 86b)
המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai
Monday, July 23, 2012
The dating habits of males
Hi,
"Rabbi Dostai bar Rabbi Yannai's students asked him: Why do men generally go seeking women, but women don't generally go seeking men?
"He explained: It may be compared to a person who has lost something; who goes looking for whom? The one who has lost something goes looking for that which he has lost."
(Talmud, Niddah 31b)
המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai
"Rabbi Dostai bar Rabbi Yannai's students asked him: Why do men generally go seeking women, but women don't generally go seeking men?
"He explained: It may be compared to a person who has lost something; who goes looking for whom? The one who has lost something goes looking for that which he has lost."
(Talmud, Niddah 31b)
המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Justice, Generosity, Mercy
Hi,
"So declares Gd: Judge truth, and perform generosity and mercy with each other. Do not cheat the widow, stranger and orphan, and do not plot evil against your brother in your hearts.
"But they refused to listen, and they turned a rebellious shoulder, and they deafened their ears from hearing. They made their hearts impenetrable, so as not to hear Torah and the messages sent by Gd via the early prophets, and great anger came from Gd."
(Zecharyah 7:9-12)
המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai
"So declares Gd: Judge truth, and perform generosity and mercy with each other. Do not cheat the widow, stranger and orphan, and do not plot evil against your brother in your hearts.
"But they refused to listen, and they turned a rebellious shoulder, and they deafened their ears from hearing. They made their hearts impenetrable, so as not to hear Torah and the messages sent by Gd via the early prophets, and great anger came from Gd."
(Zecharyah 7:9-12)
המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Care in speaking the Name of Gd
Hi,
"What would be wrong with saying, 'An offering for Gd' [in dedicating an offering]?
"Lest one say 'For Gd' and not 'an offering' [due to interruption], and so produce the Name of Heaven for naught."
(Talmud, Nedarim 10a-b)
המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai
"What would be wrong with saying, 'An offering for Gd' [in dedicating an offering]?
"Lest one say 'For Gd' and not 'an offering' [due to interruption], and so produce the Name of Heaven for naught."
(Talmud, Nedarim 10a-b)
המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Say little, Do much
Hi,
"Gd, too, said little and performed much, as in, 'And Gd said to Avram: Know that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, who will work them and oppress them for four hundred years. I will judge (דן) that nation, too, and then they will leave with great wealth.'
"Gd only said this with the [two] letters דן, but when He punished the Jews' enemies He did it with 72 letters, as in, 'Has Gd ever taken a nation from within a nation with signs - symbols, wonders and great, awesome deeds!'"
(Avot d'Rabbi Natan 1:13)
המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai
"Gd, too, said little and performed much, as in, 'And Gd said to Avram: Know that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, who will work them and oppress them for four hundred years. I will judge (דן) that nation, too, and then they will leave with great wealth.'
"Gd only said this with the [two] letters דן, but when He punished the Jews' enemies He did it with 72 letters, as in, 'Has Gd ever taken a nation from within a nation with signs - symbols, wonders and great, awesome deeds!'"
(Avot d'Rabbi Natan 1:13)
המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Actions speak louder than words
Hi,
Regarding the decision to begin the Torah with a description of the act of creating, instead of the Name of Gd:
"R' Yudin cited Achilles: To One such as this it is worthy to call 'Gd'! Normally, a flesh and blood king has himself praised in the land when he has not yet built baths for her, when he has not yet built privies. First he mentions his name, and then his praiseworthy achievements. The One of the world, though, acted and then was praised.
"Shimon ben Azzai said, based on "And Your humility increases me (Samuel II 22)": Flesh and blood mentions his own name and then his praiseworthy achievements, So-and-so Augustus, So-and-so Protata, but Gd is not thus. Once He created the needs of His world, then He mentioned His Name – Bereishit bara [In the beginning He created] and then Elokim."
(Midrash, Bereishit Rabbah 1:12)
המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai
Regarding the decision to begin the Torah with a description of the act of creating, instead of the Name of Gd:
"R' Yudin cited Achilles: To One such as this it is worthy to call 'Gd'! Normally, a flesh and blood king has himself praised in the land when he has not yet built baths for her, when he has not yet built privies. First he mentions his name, and then his praiseworthy achievements. The One of the world, though, acted and then was praised.
"Shimon ben Azzai said, based on "And Your humility increases me (Samuel II 22)": Flesh and blood mentions his own name and then his praiseworthy achievements, So-and-so Augustus, So-and-so Protata, but Gd is not thus. Once He created the needs of His world, then He mentioned His Name – Bereishit bara [In the beginning He created] and then Elokim."
(Midrash, Bereishit Rabbah 1:12)
המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
A good employee
Hi,
"Abba Chilkiyah was the grandson of Choni haM'agel [who was known for success in praying for rain]. When the world needed rain, the sages sent a messenger to Abba Chilkiyah, he would pray, and rain would come.
"Once they needed rain and sent a pair of rabbis to Abba Chilkiyah, to ask him to pray for rain. They went to his house and he wasn't there. They went into the fields and found him hoeing the fields. They greeted him, but he didn't turn to face them."
[some of the story removed for time and space]
"They later asked Abba Chilkiyah, 'When we greeted you, why didn't you turn to us?' Abba Chilkiyah responded: I was hired as a day laborer, and I didn't want to stop working [as that would be cheating my boss]."
(Talmud, Taanit 23a-b)
המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai
"Abba Chilkiyah was the grandson of Choni haM'agel [who was known for success in praying for rain]. When the world needed rain, the sages sent a messenger to Abba Chilkiyah, he would pray, and rain would come.
"Once they needed rain and sent a pair of rabbis to Abba Chilkiyah, to ask him to pray for rain. They went to his house and he wasn't there. They went into the fields and found him hoeing the fields. They greeted him, but he didn't turn to face them."
[some of the story removed for time and space]
"They later asked Abba Chilkiyah, 'When we greeted you, why didn't you turn to us?' Abba Chilkiyah responded: I was hired as a day laborer, and I didn't want to stop working [as that would be cheating my boss]."
(Talmud, Taanit 23a-b)
המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai
Monday, July 16, 2012
Life in the womb
Hi,
"There are no better days in a person's life than the time spent in the womb, regarding which it is written (Job 29), 'Who would place me in those early months, the days when my Gd protected me!'"
(Talmud, Niddah 30b)
המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai
"There are no better days in a person's life than the time spent in the womb, regarding which it is written (Job 29), 'Who would place me in those early months, the days when my Gd protected me!'"
(Talmud, Niddah 30b)
המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Taking on measures of special piety
Hi,
"Regarding taking on acts of special piety which involve pain, one who wishes to identify as unique may do so, one who wishes to identify as a Torah scholar may do so.
"Regarding taking on acts of special piety which confer honour, not all who wish to identify as unique may do so, not all who wish to identify as a Torah scholar may do so, unless one has been appointed as a leader by the community…
"Rabbi Zeira said: Only, one may not take these on if that will disgrace others [who are not practicing thus]."
(Talmud Yerushalmi, Berachot 2:9)
המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai
"Regarding taking on acts of special piety which involve pain, one who wishes to identify as unique may do so, one who wishes to identify as a Torah scholar may do so.
"Regarding taking on acts of special piety which confer honour, not all who wish to identify as unique may do so, not all who wish to identify as a Torah scholar may do so, unless one has been appointed as a leader by the community…
"Rabbi Zeira said: Only, one may not take these on if that will disgrace others [who are not practicing thus]."
(Talmud Yerushalmi, Berachot 2:9)
המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai
Saturday, July 14, 2012
With all of your strength
Hi,
The Talmud states, "Rava said: Torah is a potion of life for those who go to the right with it, but a potion of death for those who go to the left with it."
Rashi explains: "'To the right' refers to those who involve themselves with it using all of their strength, to know its secrets, like one who performs a task with his right hand, his essential hand."
(Talmud, Shabbat 88b)
המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai
The Talmud states, "Rava said: Torah is a potion of life for those who go to the right with it, but a potion of death for those who go to the left with it."
Rashi explains: "'To the right' refers to those who involve themselves with it using all of their strength, to know its secrets, like one who performs a task with his right hand, his essential hand."
(Talmud, Shabbat 88b)
המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Respect for local authority
Hi,
"The sage Ulla went to Pumbedita. A person there brought him a bloody cloth to examine (to determine purity or impurity of its contents), but he refused to examine it.
"He explained: 'Rabbi Elazar is the Master Sage of Israel, and yet when he travels to Rabbi Yehudah's region he won't perform such an examination (out of respect for Rabbi Yehudah), how could I now perform such an examination in Pumbedita?!'"
(Talmud, Niddah 20b)
המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai
"The sage Ulla went to Pumbedita. A person there brought him a bloody cloth to examine (to determine purity or impurity of its contents), but he refused to examine it.
"He explained: 'Rabbi Elazar is the Master Sage of Israel, and yet when he travels to Rabbi Yehudah's region he won't perform such an examination (out of respect for Rabbi Yehudah), how could I now perform such an examination in Pumbedita?!'"
(Talmud, Niddah 20b)
המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
The Large Eye of Greed
Hi,
"Abba Shaul said: I was a burier of the dead, and once a cave opened up below me and I found myself standing in the pupil of a corpse's eye, all the way up to my nostrils. When I got out, they told me that this was the eye of Avshalom (who greedily plotted a coup to take the throne from his father, King David).
"And don't think Abba Shaul was short; he was the tallest man of his generation!"
(Talmud, Niddah 24b)
המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai
"Abba Shaul said: I was a burier of the dead, and once a cave opened up below me and I found myself standing in the pupil of a corpse's eye, all the way up to my nostrils. When I got out, they told me that this was the eye of Avshalom (who greedily plotted a coup to take the throne from his father, King David).
"And don't think Abba Shaul was short; he was the tallest man of his generation!"
(Talmud, Niddah 24b)
המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
The righteous endure
Hi,
"It is written, 'And a righteous person is the foundation of the world (Proverbs 10:25).' This teaches that even after death, a righteous person is still a foundation of the world, protecting it."
(Vilna Gaon to Proverbs 10:25)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
"It is written, 'And a righteous person is the foundation of the world (Proverbs 10:25).' This teaches that even after death, a righteous person is still a foundation of the world, protecting it."
(Vilna Gaon to Proverbs 10:25)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Monday, July 9, 2012
The value of a stringency
Hi,
Rabbi Yehoshua once ruled strictly, following the view of the school of Shammai on a particular issue.
"Rabbi Yehoshua's students said to him: Our master, you have made us go extra distance!
"Rabbi Yehoshua replied: Better that I should make you go extra distance in this world, so that you might then 'go extra distance' in the next world!"
(Talmud, Niddah 16b)
המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai
Rabbi Yehoshua once ruled strictly, following the view of the school of Shammai on a particular issue.
"Rabbi Yehoshua's students said to him: Our master, you have made us go extra distance!
"Rabbi Yehoshua replied: Better that I should make you go extra distance in this world, so that you might then 'go extra distance' in the next world!"
(Talmud, Niddah 16b)
המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai
Sunday, July 8, 2012
The point of our fast
Hi,
"There are days when all Jews fast because of the troubles that have beset them on those days. The goal is to awaken the hearts, to open the paths of repentance...
"As we remember these things, we will return to do what is right, as it is written, 'And they shall admit their sins and the sins of their ancestors...'"
(Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Laws of Fasts 5:1)
Have an easy and meaningful fast,
Mordechai
"There are days when all Jews fast because of the troubles that have beset them on those days. The goal is to awaken the hearts, to open the paths of repentance...
"As we remember these things, we will return to do what is right, as it is written, 'And they shall admit their sins and the sins of their ancestors...'"
(Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Laws of Fasts 5:1)
Have an easy and meaningful fast,
Mordechai
Saturday, July 7, 2012
What happened on the 17th of Tammuz?
Hi,
"In the fourth month, on the ninth of the month, the famine strengthened in the city and there was no bread for the population. And the city was breached and the soldiers fled, and they departed the city via the gate between the walls by the king's garden, with the Chaldeans surrounding the city, and they traveled via the aravah."
(Yirmiyahu 52:6-7)
"Yirmiyahu spoke regarding the first Beit haMikdash, whereas in the time of the second Beit haMikdash the city was breached on the 17th of Tammuz. A braita corroborates this, saying, 'In the first Beit haMikdash the city was breached on the 9th of Tammuz. In the second, on the 17th of Tammuz.'"
(Talmud, Taanit 28b)
צום קל ומועיל,
Mordechai
"In the fourth month, on the ninth of the month, the famine strengthened in the city and there was no bread for the population. And the city was breached and the soldiers fled, and they departed the city via the gate between the walls by the king's garden, with the Chaldeans surrounding the city, and they traveled via the aravah."
(Yirmiyahu 52:6-7)
"Yirmiyahu spoke regarding the first Beit haMikdash, whereas in the time of the second Beit haMikdash the city was breached on the 17th of Tammuz. A braita corroborates this, saying, 'In the first Beit haMikdash the city was breached on the 9th of Tammuz. In the second, on the 17th of Tammuz.'"
(Talmud, Taanit 28b)
צום קל ומועיל,
Mordechai
Thursday, July 5, 2012
The fast observed this Sunday
Hello,
The fast day of the 17th of Tammuz, observed on Sunday July 8th this year, commemorates five tragedies:
1. Moses descended from meeting Gd and receiving the Torah on Mount Sinai, saw the Jews celebrating with the Golden Calf, and broke the two tablets Gd had given him.
2. The daily Tamid offering, which had been brought regularly in the Jerusalem Beit haMikdash [Temple] from the time the Jews built the Mishkan for over one thousand years, was halted during the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem before the Beit haMikdash was destroyed.
3. The Romans invaded Jerusalem, prior to destroying the second Beit haMikdash. (According to the Talmud Bavli, the Babylonians invaded Jerusalem to destroy the first Temple on the 9th of Tammuz. According to the Talmud Yerushalmi, both invasions occurred on the 17th of Tammuz.)
4. A Greek or Roman official named Apostimos held a public burning of the Torah.
5. Idols were set up in the Temple itself; it is not clear what year this happened.
(Mishneh Berurah 549:2)
The 17th of Tammuz is actually Shabbat. Because we do not fast on Shabbat, the fast is pushed to Sunday, the 18th of Tammuz.
Be well,
Mordechai
The fast day of the 17th of Tammuz, observed on Sunday July 8th this year, commemorates five tragedies:
1. Moses descended from meeting Gd and receiving the Torah on Mount Sinai, saw the Jews celebrating with the Golden Calf, and broke the two tablets Gd had given him.
2. The daily Tamid offering, which had been brought regularly in the Jerusalem Beit haMikdash [Temple] from the time the Jews built the Mishkan for over one thousand years, was halted during the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem before the Beit haMikdash was destroyed.
3. The Romans invaded Jerusalem, prior to destroying the second Beit haMikdash. (According to the Talmud Bavli, the Babylonians invaded Jerusalem to destroy the first Temple on the 9th of Tammuz. According to the Talmud Yerushalmi, both invasions occurred on the 17th of Tammuz.)
4. A Greek or Roman official named Apostimos held a public burning of the Torah.
5. Idols were set up in the Temple itself; it is not clear what year this happened.
(Mishneh Berurah 549:2)
The 17th of Tammuz is actually Shabbat. Because we do not fast on Shabbat, the fast is pushed to Sunday, the 18th of Tammuz.
Be well,
Mordechai
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Know yourself!
Hi,
"Since a person's completeness depends upon his knowledge and understanding of the world around him, the first step is to know and understand himself, and not be a fool regarding himself."
(Maharal, introduction to Be'er haGolah)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
"Since a person's completeness depends upon his knowledge and understanding of the world around him, the first step is to know and understand himself, and not be a fool regarding himself."
(Maharal, introduction to Be'er haGolah)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Prepare yourself
Hi,
"A person can elevate himself to a trait of purity if he prepares himself for service of Gd and performance of mitzvot. This means that he doesn't enter into fulfillment of a mitzvah suddenly, without a settled mind and without first contemplating what he is about to do.
"Rather, one should dedicate himself to the purpose, and patiently prepare his heart until he enters the deed through contemplation, thinking about what he is going to do.
"When one enters a deed with this level of examination, it is easy to remove from himself the external motivations and establish in one's heart the true and desirable focus."
(R' Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, Mesilat Yesharim Chapter 17)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
"A person can elevate himself to a trait of purity if he prepares himself for service of Gd and performance of mitzvot. This means that he doesn't enter into fulfillment of a mitzvah suddenly, without a settled mind and without first contemplating what he is about to do.
"Rather, one should dedicate himself to the purpose, and patiently prepare his heart until he enters the deed through contemplation, thinking about what he is going to do.
"When one enters a deed with this level of examination, it is easy to remove from himself the external motivations and establish in one's heart the true and desirable focus."
(R' Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, Mesilat Yesharim Chapter 17)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Monday, July 2, 2012
Battling violence
Hi,
"Force and violence rule in Nature; but between man and man the law is supreme; and only by standing united can human society represent and enforce the invisible and, in itself, powerless law against violence which scorns human personality."
(R' Samson Raphael Hirsch, Horeb, paragraph 348)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
"Force and violence rule in Nature; but between man and man the law is supreme; and only by standing united can human society represent and enforce the invisible and, in itself, powerless law against violence which scorns human personality."
(R' Samson Raphael Hirsch, Horeb, paragraph 348)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Sunday, July 1, 2012
How to make it to the next world
Hi,
"When Rabbi Elazar became ill, his students came to visit him. They asked him, 'Our master, teach us the paths of life, that we might merit life in the next world!'
"He told them: Be careful with the honor of your colleagues, keep your children from prattle and have them sit at the knees of Torah scholars, when you pray know before Whom you stand, and thus you will earn life in the next world."
(Talmud, Berachot 28b)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
"When Rabbi Elazar became ill, his students came to visit him. They asked him, 'Our master, teach us the paths of life, that we might merit life in the next world!'
"He told them: Be careful with the honor of your colleagues, keep your children from prattle and have them sit at the knees of Torah scholars, when you pray know before Whom you stand, and thus you will earn life in the next world."
(Talmud, Berachot 28b)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
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