Gd supports the sinner as he sins

Hi,

"A person never sinned against Gd without Gd simultaneously supplying his very existence and the movement of his limbs. Even though the person sins with that strength, Gd does not withhold it from him, at all."

(Rabbi Moshe Cordovero, Tomer Devorah 1:1)

גמר חתימה טובה,

Mordechai

Clothing and Sin

Hi,

"Clothing honours a person and leads him before the great, and when clothing is dirty and stained then, 'Go away, impure, they declare (Eichah 4:15),' and people cannot go before kings without removing the stains by washing and purifying them via great blows and wringing. So, too, a person's deeds are the garb of his soul, in which he appears before the Universal King. Therefore he must have good deeds, as Kohelet 9:8 states, 'At all time, your garb should be white.'"

(Don Isaac Abarbanel, Maayanei haYeshuah 10:6)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Even the last day has value

Hi,

"Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai said: Even if someone is a completely righteous person for his entire life, and he rebels at the last, he has lost all that came earlier, as it is written (Ezekiel 33), 'And the righteousness of a righteous person won't save him on the day of his rebellion.'

"And even if someone is a completely wicked person for his entire life, and he repents at the last, he will never again be reminded of his evil, as it is written (ibid.), 'And the wicked person's wickedness will not cause him to stumble on the day he returns from his wickedness.'

"Why is such a person not simply considered 'even,' half transgressions and half merits? Reish Lakish explained: This is talking about a person who regrets his initial actions."

(Talmud, Kiddushin 40b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Stealing from a thief

Hi,

"One who steals [his own property back] from a thief still tastes the taste of theft."

(Talmud, Berachot 5b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Another approach to outreach

Hi,

"At a time of [Divine] invisibility, when faith has been cut off from the poor of the nation, punishment does not mend the gap, but only increases it; it appears like a deed of destruction and coercion, Gd-forbid. Since our entire goal is to repair, the law [of punishment] does not apply when it does not repair. We are obligated to bring them back with ropes of love, to bring them to the radiant light to the extent we can."

(R' Avraham Yeshayah Karelitz, Chazon Ish Yoreh Deah 2:16)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Sin causes distance from Gd

Hi,

"See the power of sin! Before the Jews extended their hands into sin [with the Golden Calf], Exodus 24:17 said, 'The vision of the glory of G-d was like a consuming fire atop the mountain before the eyes of Israel,' and they were not afraid and did not tremble. Once they made the calf, even Moses's radiance caused them to shudder and tremble!"

(Rashi to Shemot 34:30)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The definition of "crooked"

Hi,

[Kohelet 1:15 bemoans "the crooked thing that cannot be straightened."]

"Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai said: 'Crooked' only refers to something which was once straight, and then became crooked. What is this? A Torah scholar who leaves Torah."

(Mishnah Chagigah 1:7)

Have a good day,
Mordechai

Bad breath

Hi,

Kohelet 7:17 says: 'Do not be overly wicked.'

“Does this mean that one should not be very wicked, but one should be a little wicked?

“Rather, this is the lesson: One who eats garlic, and so has powerful breath, should not eat more garlic and create still more powerful breath.”

(Talmud, Shabbat 31b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The importance of a sense of shame

Hi,

“One who lacks a sense of shame will sin easily, as it is written (Yeshayah 3:9), ‘That which is recognizable on their faces testifies about them.’ One who has a sense of shame will not sin easily, as it is written (Shemot 20:16), ‘And so that awe of Him will be upon your faces, lest you sin.”

(Masechet Derech Eretz, Arayot 13)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Does sinning hurt?

Hi,

"All sins cause the heart to grieve, for they demolish the unity of the individual person and the universe… Every ethical severing from that whole, whether from thoughts or deeds, individual traits or general balance, causes many small cuts which instigate great internal pain for all aspects of the soul…"

(Rav Avraham Yitzchak haKohen Kook, Orot haTeshuvah 8:3, 8:7)

Have a great day,
Mordechai