A sweet new year

Hi,

"Each place does according to its custom, such as in Germany, where people customarily eat a sweet apple in honey at the start of the meal, to say, 'May a sweet year be initiated for us.'"

כל מקום ומקום לפי מנהגו כמו באשכנז שרגילין לאכול בתחלת הסעודה תפוח מתוק בדבש לומר תתחדש עלינו שנה מתוקה 

(Tur Orach Chaim 583)

כתיבה וחתימה טובה,
Mordechai

Go after wisdom!

Hi,

Hi,

"Mishlei 9:5 says, 'Go eat my bread and drink the wine of my pouring.'

"In this verse, King Solomon compared Torah to bread and wine, because bread and wine are the essential foods of the body. So Torah and wisdom are the essential food of the spirit.

"He said 'Go' rather than 'Come' to teach that one must go after wisdom and its students. As Mishlei 13:20 says, 'One who goes with sages will become wise.' It should have said 'One who sits with sages,' and it said 'goes' to clarify that one should always go after them and join himself to them, and thus he will become wise.

"Alternatively, 'Go' means that one must go even to distant lands to learn Torah. Thus it says, 'Go eat my bread,' go to distant lands to eat my bread."

לְכוּ לַחֲמוּ בְלַחְמִי וּשְׁתוּ בְּיַיִן מָסָכְתִּי. (משלי ט, ה).

שלמה המלך ע"ה המשיל התורה בפסוק זה ללחם ויין לפי שהלחם והיין עיקר המזון אשר לגוף, כן התורה והחכמה עיקר מזון הנפש, והזכיר לשון "לכו" ולא אמר "בואו", להורות שיצטרך האדם שילך אחרי החכמה ואחרי לומדיה, כענין שכתוב: (משלי יג, כ) "הולך את חכמים יחכם", והיה לו לומר "יושב את חכמים" והזכיר "הולך" לבאר שילך תמיד אחריהם ושיעשה עצמו טפל להם ועם זה יחכם. או יהיה ענין "לכו", שיצטרך ללכת אפילו לארץ מרחקים ללמוד תורה, וזהו שאמר: לכו לחמו בלחמי, לכו לארץ מרחקים ללחום לחמי.

(Rabbeinu Bechayye to Devarim 31:2)

Have a great day,

Mordechai

Mitzvah 24: Techum Shabbat

Hi,

The Torah's twenty-fourth mitzvah (per the count in the Sefer haChinuch) instructs us to stay within a certain boundary (Techum) on Shabbat; we don’t travel more than 2000 amot – approximately one kilometer – from the edge of town. We measure from the last house in town, beyond which there are no houses. If two towns are contiguous, they are considered as one town for this law.

The Talmud (Eruvin 35b) debates whether techum is actually a biblical law or a rabbinic law. See also Tosafot Sotah 30b, and Ramban Shabbat 2a and Shabbat 87b, among many other sources. In addition, there is debate regarding the actual distance included within the techum; see Yerushalmi Eruvin 5:4, among other sources.

The Sefer haChinuch explains that this mitzvah is part of the Torah’s legislation preventing non-Shabbat-oriented activities, enabling us to focus on Shabbat as testimony to Divine Creation.

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Stick with generosity

Hi,

"If you see that the merit of our patriarchs fails, and the merit of our matriarchs has failed, then go involve yourself in acts of generosity. As Yeshayah 54:10 says, 'Because the mountains will depart, and the hills will fall' – the mountains are the patriarchs, and the hills are the matriarchs – 'but My generosity will never depart from you.'"

אם ראיתה זכות אבות שמטה וזכות אמהות שנתמטטה לך והטפל בחסדים הה"ד (שם /ישעיהו/ נד) כי ההרים ימושו והגבעות תמוטינה, הרים אלו אבות והגבעות אלו אמהות ואח"כ וחסדי מאתך לא ימוש

(Midrash, Vayikra Rabbah 36:6)

Have a great day,

Mordechai

My Shadow and me?

Hi,

"Tehillim 121:5 says, 'Gd is your shadow.' Just as when you cry your shadow cries opposite you, and just as when you laugh your shadow laughs opposite you, so Gd is as a shadow."

ד' צלך מה הצל הזה כשאתה בוכה הוא בוכה נגדך, ואם אתה שוחק, משחק נגדך, כך הקב"ה הוא כבחינת הצל

(Midrash cited by Shelah in Toldot Adam, Shaar haGadol, as cited in Or haMeir [R' Zev Wolf haLevi] to Parshat Netzavim)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Types of Hatred, Part 3 of 3

Hi,

"A wise man [Mivchar Peninim 40] said: If you wish your peer to hate you, criticize him continually. If you wish him to love you, criticize him only on rare occasion.

"Thus Proverbs 25:17 says, 'Make your foot rare from your friend's home, lest he be sated with you and hate you.' 

"And you must know that when one hates others, they will also hate him, and one who elevates hatred in his heart will bring evil upon himself."

אמר החכם: אם תרצה שישנאך חברך - בקרהו תמיד, ואם תרצה שיאהבך - בקרהו לעתים רחוקות, ועל זה נאמר (משלי כה יז): "הוקר רגלך מבית רעך פן ישבעך ושנאך". וצריך שתדע, כי מי שישנא בני אדם - גם הם ישנאוהו, והמגביר השנאה בלבו - הוא מביא על עצמו רעה. 

(Orchot Tzaddikim, Shaar haSinah)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Types of Hatred, Part 2 of 3

Hi,

"Also, a craftsman who hates his competitors – this is all futile and a great evil, for he should think that no one can profit more than the Creator decrees for him.

"And the worst and harshest type of hatred is that of people who hate those who instruct them and rebuke them, to show them the straight path, as Amos 5:10 says, 'They hate the instructor at the gate.'

"And there is an even worse hatred: People who hate those who perform good deeds and pursue righteousness, as Psalms 38:21 says, 'They hate me, in return for my pursuit of goodness.'…"

וגם אומן שונא בני אומנותו - הכל הבל ורעה רבה, כי יחשוב ששום אדם לא יוכל להרויח יותר ממה שגזר לו הבורא. והרעה שבמיני השנאה והקשה שבהן - כגון בני אדם השונאים מוכיחיהם והמייסרים אותם להורותם הדרך הישרה, כענין שנאמר (עמוס ה י): "שנאו בשער מוכיח". ויש שנאה רעה ממנה - כגון בני אדם השונאים עושי טובה ורודפי צדק, כענין שנאמר (תהלים לח כא): "ישטנוני תחת רדפי טוב"... 

(Orchot Tzaddikim, Shaar haSinah)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Types of Hatred, Part 1 of 3

Hi,

"There are several kinds of hatred: Some hate others for harming them financially, or striking them, or embarrassing them, or giving them a bad reputation. For all of these and similar cases, one should not hate his peer in silence, as the wicked are said to have done (Shemuel II 13:22), "Avshalom did not speak with Amnon, bad or good, for Avshalom hated Amnon." Rather, he is obligated to inform him, saying, "Why did you do this to me?" As Vayikra 19:17 says, "Instruct your peer." If he then requests forgiveness, one must forgive. The forgiver may not be cruel… And even should he not request forgiveness, one may not hate him, but only deal with him with love. In the end, he will come to correct that which he had corrupted.

"There is an evil which is pointless hatred; this destroyed the Second Temple. Hatred resulting from jealousy is even worse; one should take pains to distance himself from these. Some hate a person for not acting generously toward him, or not giving him a desired gift, or not lending when he was in need; it would be appropriate to distance one's self from all of these, and all similar states. One should lovingly accept that which the Creator decrees, and not rely on others…"

יש כמה מיני שנאה: יש שונא את חבירו עבור שהזיק לו בממונו, או שהכהו, או עבור שביישהו, או שהוציא עליו שם רע. על כל אלו וכיוצא בהן לא ישנא את חבירו וישתוק, כמו שנאמר ברשעים (שמואל ב יג כב): "ולא דבר אבשלום עם אמנון למרע ועד טוב כי שנא אבשלום את אמנון" - אלא מצוה עליו להודיעו ולומר לו: למה עשית לי כך וכך? שנאמר (ויקרא יט יז): "הוכח תוכיח את עמיתך". ואם חזר ובקש ממנו למחול לו, צריך למחול לו, ולא יהיה המוחל אכזרי... ואף אם לא יבקש ממנו למחול לו, לא ישנאהו, אלא יתנהג עמו באהבה, ולבסוף יבוא לידי כך שיתקן לו מה שעיוות.

יש רעה, והיא שנאת חנם, והיא החריבה בית שני. ושנאה מחמת קנאה היא רעה ממנה. וראוי לאדם לייסר את נפשו להתרחק מהן. ויש שונא את חבירו עבור שאינו גומל לו חסד, או שאינו נותן לו מתנה כפי חפצו, או שאינו מלוה לו בשעת דחקו. ראוי לאדם להתרחק מכל זה ומכיוצא בו. אך יקבל מאהבה כל מה שיגזור לו הבורא, ברוך הוא, ולא יבטח באדם...

(Orchot Tzaddikim, Shaar haSinah)

Have a great day,

Mordechai

Don't rush!

Hi,

"You must distance yourself from haste, distance yourself, distance yourself, distance yourself, for the hasty one does not contemplate. But also guard yourself lest you achieve the extreme with your patience, and do not achieve laziness and depression."

. צריך אתה להתרחק מן המהירות הרחק, הרחק הרחק, כי אין המהיר מתבונן. אבל גם השמר בנפשך שלא תגיע במתינותך עד קצה גבולה, ולא תיגע בעצלות ועצבות.

(R' Klonymus Kalman Schapira, Bnei Machshavah Tovah, Seder Emtzaei v'Yesod haChevra 11)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Take care of your property

Hi,

"...From here we see that the righteous hold their property as even more beloved than their lives. Why? Because they won't extend their hands in theft." [As I understand it: They are careful with their property, to avoid any temptation to steal.]

מיכן לצדיקים שממונם חביב עליהן יותר מגופן, וכל כך למה? לפי שאין פושטין ידיהן בגזל

(Talmud, Sotah 12a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Gd doesn't teach you Torah

Hi,

[The daily berachot recited before studying Torah – ברכות התורה – include a paragraph which ends by blessing Gd, "who teaches Torah to His nation, Israel." Here, Rambam opposes that text.]

"One who concludes the blessing, 'who teaches Torah', is mistaken. Gd does not teach it to us; rather, He instructed us to learn it and teach it. This is built on a fundamental principle of our faith, that performing mitzvot is in our hands, and Gd does not compel us to perform them or abandon them."

מי שחותם בהמלמד תורה, הוא טועה, לפי שהאלוקים אינו מלמדנו אותה, אלא צוונו ללומדה וללמדה, וזה בנוי על עיקר דתנו, והוא שעשיית המצוות (היא) בידינו, לא בהכרח מן האלהים לעשותן או להניחן.

(Responsum of Rambam #182)

Have a great day,

Mordechai

Moshe and Shabbat

Hi,

[Note: Our Shabbat morning amidah includes a poem, "Moshe will rejoice in the gift of his portion".]

"'Moshe will rejoice', for when our ancestors were in Egypt and Moshe saw the weight of the slavery upon them, he requested that Pharaoh give one day each week for them to rest. Pharaoh gave it to him, and Moshe selected the seventh day.

"When the Jews were instructed to observe Shabbat, Moshe rejoiced in that he had selected it. This is 'Moshe will rejoice in the gift of his portion.'"

(Tur Orach Chaim 281 [note: the Tur continues to offer an  additional explanation)

ישמח משה כשהיו אבותינו במצרים וראה משה כובד השיעבוד שהכבידו עליהם בקש מפרעה שיתן להם יום אחד בשבוע שינוחו בו ונתנו לו ובחר ביום השביעי וכאשר נצטוו על יום השבת שמח משה שבחר בו וזהו ישמח משה במתנת חלקו

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The Doors of Nicanor

Hi,

"When Nicanor went to bring doors [for the Beit haMikdash] from Alexandria in Egypt, on his return trip a wave arose from the sea to sink his ship. They took one door and threw it into the sea, but the sea did not rest from its storm. They wanted to throw in the other, but Nicanor stood and embraced it, saying, 'Throw me in with it!' The sea immediately calmed, but Nicanor was pained by the loss of the other door.

"When he reached the port in Akko, the door was floating and emerging from beneath the walls of the boat. Some say a sea creature swallowed it and spat it out on to land...

"Therefore, all of the doors in the Beit haMikdash were ultimately changed for gold doors, other than Nicanor's doors, which had experienced miracles. Alternatively, it was because their copper shone."

 כשהלך ניקנור להביא דלתות מאלכסנדריא של מצרים, בחזירתו עמד עליו נחשול שבים לטבעו. נטלו אחת מהן והטילוה לים, ועדיין לא נח הים מזעפו. בקשו להטיל את חברתה, עמד הוא וכרכה, אמר להם: הטילוני עמה! מיד נח הים מזעפו. והיה מצטער על חברתה. כיון שהגיע לנמלה של עכו - היתה מבצבצת ויוצאה מתחת דופני הספינה. ויש אומרים: בריה שבים בלעתה והקיאתה ליבשה ועליה אמר שלמה קרות בתינו ארזים רהיטנו ברותים. אל תיקרי ברותים אלא ברית ים. לפיכך, כל השערים שהיו במקדש נשתנו להיות של זהב, חוץ משערי ניקנור, מפני שנעשו בו נסים. ויש אומרים: מפני שנחושתן מוצהבת היתה. 

(Talmud, Yoma 38a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Travel Protocol

Hi,

"When three travel on the road, the master is in the middle, the next-great is on his right, and the lesser is on his left."

שלשה שהיו מהלכין בדרך, הרב באמצע, גדול בימינו, וקטן משמאלו.

(Talmud, Yoma 37a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Divine Forgiveness

Hi,

Preface: The Talmud here first defines avon and pesha as forms of intentional sin, and chata'ah as accidental sin. The Talmud is then bothered by Shemot 34:7, in which Moshe describes Gd as "forgiving avon, pesha and chata'ah", since one Gd will forgive intentional sin, it seems obvious that Gd will forgive acciental sin. The order in the sentence ought to be reversed.

"What does Moshe mean when he says that Gd 'forgives avon, pesha and chata'ah'? Moshe said before Gd: Master of the Universe! When Israel sins before You and repents, treat their intentional sin as though it was accidental."

(Talmud, Yoma 36b)

מהו שאמר משה נשא עון ופשע וחטאה? אמר משה לפני הקדוש ברוך הוא: רבונו של עולם, בשעה שישראל חוטאין לפניך ועושין תשובה - עשה להם זדונות כשגגות

Have a great day,

Mordechai

Wealth is not an excuse

Hi,

"When a wealthy person [who failed to study Torah] is judged posthumously, they will say to him: Why didn't you involve yourself in Torah?

"If he will say, 'I was wealthy, and distracted by my assets,' they will say to him, 'Were you wealthier than R' Elazar? They said of R' Elazar ben Charsom that his father left him 1000 towns on land, and opposite them 1000 ships at sea. Each day he would take a jug of flour on his shoulder an walk from city to city, land to land, to learn Torah.'"

(Talmud, Yoma 35b)

Have a great day,

Mordechai

Hillel's commitment to labor?

Hi,

"They say regarding Hillel the Elder that he would work each day and earn a tarpeik [I don't know the proper Roman name corresponding to this talmudic term]. With half he would pay the guard at the study hall, and with half he would support himself and his household."

(Talmud, Yoma 35b)

"Before he would go to the study hall, he would go earn money, to fulfill the lesson we have learned, 'Any Torah which is with labor will endure. That which is without labor will not endure.' Also, he needed to earn this in order to pay the guard at the study hall."

(Maharsha, Chiddushei Aggadot to Yoma 35b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

How to answer ethical problems in Judaism

Hi,

"To be sure, not all bioethical problems are questions of black and white. There are many gradations of gray, questions to which answers are not immediately and intuitively available. A person who seeks to find answers within the Jewish tradition can deal with such questions in only one way. He must examine them through the prism of Halakhah for it is in the corpus of Jewish law as elucidated and transmitted from generation to generation that Gd has made His will known to man."

(Rabbi J. David Bleich, Introduction, Jewish Bioethics, pg. xix)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The death of Rav Chisda

Hi,

"Rav Chisda was studying in yeshiva; the agent of death could not draw near, for his mouth never quieted from Torah study. The agent sat in a trree by the yeshiva building, the tree split, and Rav Chisda fell silent. So the agent defeated him."

(Talmud, Makkot 10a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Are mitzvot good for the Jews?

Hi,

"Once the government decreed that Jews not observe Shabbat or circumcise their children, and that husbands and wives not observe the laws of family purity. R' Reuven ben Istrobili went and took the aristocratic style of haircut and sat among the government leaders.

"He said to them: If someone has an enemy, does he want the enemy to become poor or wealthy?

"They said: He wants the enemy to become poor.

"He said to them: Then let them abstain from work on Shabbat so that they will become poor!

"They said: You spoke well; cancel the decree. And they cancelled it.

"He then said to them: If someone has an enemy, does he want the enemy to become weak or strong?

"They said: He wants the enemy to become weak.

"He said to them: Then let them circumcise their children at eight days, so that they will become weak!

"They said: You spoke well; cancel the decree. And they cancelled it.

"He then said to them: If someone has an enemy, does he want the enemy to become many or few?

"They said: He wants the enemy to become few.

"He said to them: Then let them refrain from living together when she is a niddah!

"They said: You spoke well; cancel the decree. And they cancelled it."

(Talmud, Meilah 17a)

Have a great day,

Mordechai

Money: If you will give it, it will come

Hi,

"When one pursues tzedakah, Gd makes money available to him, and he uses it for tzedakah."

(Talmud, Bava Batra 9b)

Have a great day,

Mordechai