Five sins people overlook

Hi,

[Note: Unlike almost all of our daily Torah Thoughts, this is not a direct translation.]

Hi,

There are five activities for which people are not likely to repent, because people do not view them as transgressions:

1. Participating a meal when the host does not have enough for himself; this is quasi-theft, but people believe this is fine because they have the host's permission;

2. Using a pauper's collateral, which the pauper needs;

3. Gazing at someone with whom sexual relations are prohibited;

4. Receiving honour by looking good in comparison with someone else, causing the other one to be embarrassed and disgraced;

5. Suspecting those who are innocent of wrongdoing.

ומהן חמשה דברים העושה אותן אין חזקתו לשוב מהן, לפי שהם דברים קלים בעיני רוב האדם ונמצא חוטא והוא ידמה שאין זה חטא, ואלו הן: (א) האוכל מסעודה שאינה מספקת לבעליה שזה אבק גזל הוא, והוא מדמה שלא חטא ויאמר כלום אכלתי אלא ברשותו, (ב) המשתמש בעבוטו של עני שהעבוט של עני אינו אלא כגון קורדום ומחרישה ויאמר בלבו אינן חסרים והרי לא גזלתי אותו, (ג) המסתכל בעריות מעלה על דעתו שאין בכך כלום שהוא אומר וכי בעלתי או קרבתי אצלה, והוא אינו יודע שראיית העינים עון גדול שהיא גורמת לגופן של עריות שנאמר ולא תתורו אחרי לבבכם ואחרי עיניכם, (ד) המתכבד בקלון חבירו אומר בלבו שאינו חטא לפי שאין חבירו עומד שם ולא הגיע לו בושת ולא ביישו אלא ערך מעשיו הטובים וחכמתו למול מעשה חבירו או חכמתו כדי שיראה מכללו שהוא מכובד וחבירו בזוי, (ה) והחושד כשרים אומר בלבו שאינו חטא לפי שהוא אומר מה עשיתי לו וכי יש שם אלא חשד שמא עשה או לא עשה והוא אינו יודע שזה עון שמשים אדם כשר בדעתו כבעל עבירה.

(Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Laws of Repentance 4:4)

גמר חתימה טובה,

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

48 Ways: #36 - Distance yourself from honour

Hi,

Pirkei Avot 6:5 teaches that Torah is acquired in 48 ways, which it lists for us. The thirty-sixth of the 48 is mitracheik min hakavod, to distance one's self from honour.

Certainly, one who is motivated by a search for honour will be vulnerable to mistakes in his learning as he looks for ways to find honour instead of making sure his learning is solid. Further, one who seeks honour will grow frustrated, for it will be difficult, if not impossible, to find sufficient honour to justify his efforts. Further, one who seeks honour through Torah actually cheapens the Torah he studies.

More, though: Beyond the trait of not seeking honour, one must actively avoid it in order to succeed in his studies, for one who allows himself to indulge in honours will find his time, energy and focus for Torah study reduced. Others may be obligated to honour him, but he is obligated to avoid accepting it (politely, of course).

Have a great day,
Mordechai

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

Honor your wife

Hi,

"The husband is duty bound to honor his wife. This is not optional and extra-legal; it is obligatory. Honor is more than the absence of disrespect; it is the according of salient, deferring respect to the one who is the main cause for true blessing residing in the home."

(R' Reuven Bulka, Jewish Marriage: A Halakhic Ethic, pg. 44-45)

[Note: The point about the home is a quote from Yevamot 62b, and not a statement on women's involvement outside the home.]

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The depths and the heights

Hi,

“Nothing pains a sage like his own stumbling in a degrading trait, and nothing gladdens him like his joy at improvement of his traits.”

(Chazon Ish, Emunah uBitachon 4:15)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Seek glory!

Hi,

“Mussar [ethical instruction] commands a person, ‘Love yourself and acquire glory – but know the source of your fortune on earth, and know your glory. Glory is only in Torah, Glory is only in humility, Glory is only in abandoning glory.’”

(Chazon Ish, Emunah uBitachon 4:14)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The importance of respect

Hi,

"Rabbi Yitzchak said: Yerushalayim was destroyed only because they equated the small and the great, as it is written, “And as is with the nation, so will be with the kohen… and the land will be emptied out.”"

(Talmud, Shabbat 119b)

Have a good day,
Mordechai

There is honor in giving tzedakah

Hi,

"Rabbah ordered that tzedakah be collected from the estates of the orphans of Bar Maryon.

"Abbaye asked: Didn't Rav Shemuel bar Yehudah teach that one may not levy tzedakah taxes upon orphans, even for the sake of redeeming captives?

"Rabbah replied: I am doing this in order to give them communal honor."

(Talmud, Bava Batra 8a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

True humility

Hi,

"There are four elements in humble behavior:
a. Functioning in a humble manner;
b. Bearing one's own embarrassment patiently;
c. Fleeing from honor;
d. Treating others with respect."

(Mesilat Yesharim [Path of the Righteous], R' Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, Chapter 23)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Forgive your honor; Gd does!

Hi,

"Rabbi Yitzchak bar Shila cited Rav Matnah citing Rav Chisda: If a father forgives his honor, his honor is forgiven. If a rabbi forgives his honor, it is not forgiven. [The honor of the Torah is not his to forgive.]

"Rav Yosef said: If a rabbi forgives his honor, it is forgiven, as it is written (Shemot 13), ‘And Gd traveled before them by day.’"

[In other words: Gd could travel before the Jews, like a humble servant, and so a rabbi is entitled to serve others humbly.]

(Talmud, Kiddushin 32a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Honesty and Justice

Hi,

"So speaks Gd: A wise person shall not honor himself for his wisdom, and a powerful person shall not honor himself for his power, a wealthy person shall not honor himself for his wealth.

"Rather, for this an honored person should honor himself: Take insight and know Me, for I am Gd, who performs kindness and justice in the land. These are the elements I desire; this is the word of Gd."

(Jeremiah 9:22-23, the last verses of the Haftorah for Tisha b'Av morning)

I hope you fasted well,
Mordechai

The point of being elevated

Hi,

"When Gd elevates a person in status, he should not take pleasure in his own ascent. Rather, his essential focus should be on elevating others, guiding the nation of Gd in the path of Gd, and elevating sparks to Gd."

(R' Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, Kedushat Levi to Parshat Vayyigash אנכי אעלך גם עלה)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The fatal pursuit of honor

Hi,

"One should not pursue honor, for it buries those who possess it. Many righteous people died in office, because the designated time had come for the next person to take office, and the former was pushed away because of the latter."

(Sefer Chasidim 558)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Keys to long life

Hi,

"Rabbi Nechunyah ben Hakanah's students asked him: How did you merit long life?

"He replied: I never accepted honor at the expense of another person's honor, I never went to bed upset at someone else's curse (against me), and I was forgiving with my money."

(Talmud, Megilah 28a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Pursuing honor

Hi,

"Honor is different from any other acquisition. For any other acquisition, one who works at acquiring it may succeed, even if for a limited time. For honor, the very act of working hard and struggling to get it causes honor to be removed from him."

(Mili d'Avot on Pirkei Avot 1:13)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Honor

Hi,

"Do not pursue honor, and do not ascend a platform which is not appropriate for you."

(Orchot Chaim, Rabbeinu Asher (Rosh), #88)

Have a great day,
Mordechai