Question Yourself

Hi,

"Do not let your own lips shame you, do not let your own mouth disgrace you, do not let your own lips curse you, do not let your own teeth embarrass you, and do not bow to your own words. As Proverbs 6:2 says, 'You have stumbled in the declarations of your own mouth.'"

(Kallah Rabti 4:17)

Have a good day,
Mordechai

How to produce sons

Hi,

[Note: The preference for sons in talmudic times was not a  religious statement; rather, it was directly linked to the economic and social advantages of having sons. This is seen in the source below.]

"What should one do in order to have sons?

"R' Eliezer said: He should scatter his money among the needy, as Tehillim 112:9 says [following verses about wealth and social status], 'He has scattered, he has given to the needy, his righteouness stands forever, his glory shall be elevated in honour.' Or, he should do as his wife desires [carnally]."

(Kallah Rabti 2:11, as explained by Rashi Bava Batra 10b)

Have a great day,

Mordechai

How bad is a lie?

Hi,

"One who speaks falsely is as though he worships idolatry." [A scriptural basis follows, but translating it into English would not aid the reader.]

(Kallah Rabti 2:5)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The importance of being earnest

Hi,

“Answer questions earnestly, as is in your heart, in sincerity and simplicity, and use your intellect only to determine that an answer is not incorrect. Even your intellect should be simple and earnest, a tool to serve the earnestness and simplicity of your heart, to help her and to bring her intent into action.

“And if you find that this answer will harm you, or there is some other reason you cannot give this answer, then say, ‘I don’t know,’ as the sages instructed, rather than bend and corrupt with a twisted answer, without earnestness and without simplicity.”

[I believe his “as the sages instructed” refers to Kallah Rabti, “‘Teach your tongue to say, ‘I don’t know,’ lest you lie and be trapped.”]

(R’ Klonymus Kalman Schapira, Bnei Machshavah Tovah, Seder Emtza’ei v’Yesod haChevra 15)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Using Torah as a song

Hi,

"One who recites a verse from Song of Songs and makes it a sort of song, or one who recites a verse at an inappropriate time, brings evil to the world. The Torah clothes itself in sackcloth, stands before Gd and says: Master of the Universe! Your children have made me like a lyre with which the nations play for idolatry!

"Gd replies: My daughter! If so [that you protest], what should My children do when they are glad?

"Torah responds: Master of the Universe! If they are scholars, let them involve themselves in Torah, mishnah, talmud, halachah and aggadah. If they are not learned, let them involve themselves in the laws of Pesach on Pesach, the laws of Shavuot on Shavuot, and the laws of Succot on Succot."

(Kallah Rabti 1:6)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Gluttony - The body betrays the person

Hi,

“Do not be embarrassed by your teeth, by eating too much. This is a function of the yetzer hara. So it is written (Mishlei 25:19), ‘At a time of trouble, trust for a disloyal person is like a damaged tooth or a dislocated foot.’”

[The message is that eating too much will harm a person, as treason does.]

(Kallah Rabti 3:7)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Household fire

Hi,

"Rava said: Why is a woman called אשה? Because she is אש [fire]. Why is a man called איש? Because he is אש [fire]. With the extra י in the man's name and the extra ה in the woman's name, the Name of Gd [י-ה] is among them.

"If they overheat, the Name of Gd departs from their midst, and only fire and fire remain."

(Kallah Rabti 1:7)

Have a great day,
Mordechai