"Seeing Gd", Part 3 of 3

Hi,

"The first principle is the existence of the exalted Creator. Meaning, there exists something that is complete in all aspects of existence, and it is the cause of all that exists, and through Him is their survival, and from Him their survival flows… This is the first principle, as indicated by the statement, 'I am the Lord your Gd, etc.'

"The second principle is His unity. Meaning, this cause of everything is one. Not the unity of a species or a kind, and not like one entity which is of joined things, divisible into many individual parts, and not "one" like a body which is one in number but which can be divided and split infinitely. Rather, He is one, a unity which is entirely unlike any other unity. This is the second principle, as indicated by, 'Listen Israel, HaShem is our Gd, HaShem is one.'

"The third principle is the absence of any physicality for Him. This One is not a body and is not a force within a body, and no physical event – like motion or rest – happens to him… This is the third principle, as indicated by, 'For you did not see any image…'"

(Rambam, Commentary to Mishnah, Introduction to Sanhedrin Chapter 10)

Have a great day,

Mordechai

Helping someone cheat in court to gain his rightful property

Hi,

"Even where one knows that a party has been cheated, and that the opposing litigant is lying, one may in no way teach him claims that will assist him."

ואפילו ידע שהוא עשוק, ושבעל דינו טוען עליו בשקר לפי הכרע הסברה, אין מותר לו ללמדו טענה שתצילהו בשום פנים 

(Rambam, Commentary to Mishnah Avot 1:8)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Should we pursue asceticism?

Hi,

"This is the way of Torah: Eat bread with salt, drink measured liquid, sleep on the ground, live a life of pain and work in Torah. If you do this, 'You will be fortunate and it will be good for you'"…

(Pirkei Avot 6:4)

 
"This is not telling the wealthy to live of a life of pain in order to learn Torah. Rather: Even if one only has bread with salt… he should not refrain from involving himself in Torah…"

(Rambam to Avot 6:4) 

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Self-Improvement through Repetition

Hi,

"Great qualities will not be achieved via great deeds, but via a great number of deeds… For example: One who gives 1,000 dinar to a suitable recipient, once, to one person, will not achieve generosity via this one great deed, as will one who gives 1,000 dinar over one thousand occasions, each one generously."

(Rambam to Pirkei Avot 3:15)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The Power of Sinai

Hi,

"All that we are careful to avoid, and all that we do, is only because of Divine commands conveyed by Moshe, and not because Gd instructed thus to prophets who preceded him… We don't circumcise because Avraham circumcised himself and his household, but because Gd instructed us via Moshe to circumcise, as Avraham did."

(Rambam, Commentary to Mishnayot, Chullin 7:6)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Gid haNasheh

Hi,

The third biblical Mitzvah is the instruction that descendants of Yaakov may not eat the sciatic neurovascular bundle (Gid haNasheh) of certain animals. This memorializes Yaakov’s battle against his brother, Esav; a being representing Esav fought with Yaakov, and succeeded in wounding Yaakov in that part of the body.

The Rambam (commentary to Chullin, Perek 7) noted that although this mitzvah pre-dated the presentation of the Torah at Sinai, it binds all generations of Jews only because the prohibition was reiterated in the Torah we received at Sinai. The same applies to all pre-Sinai mitzvot, such as circumcision.

This mitzvah certainly teaches a lesson that is relevant for all generations. As the Sefer haChinuch explained, this mitzvah reminds us that just as Esav’s representative wounded Yaakov but could not defeat him, so our own enemies may be able to wound us, but they will never be able to destroy us.

חג אורים שמח,
Mordechai

Segulah healing

Hi,

"The Sages say one may transgress only to heal in a clear way, such that logic and experience mandate it. One may not heal with segulot [that which is not explained as natural healing], because their nature is weak and its capabilities are not logically mandated, and they are untested."

(Rambam, Commentary to Mishnah Yoma 8:6)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Life after death

Hi,

"Spiritual entities do not have physical pleasure and do not comprehend it, for they lack our senses, with which to experience what we experience. One of us who would be purified and would reach that status posthumously would also cease to experience physical pleasure and would not desire it; this would be like a great emperor wishing to lose his throne and return to playing with a ball in the street. At some point he certainly did prefer the ballgame over an empire, when he was young and foolish, just as we prefer physical pleasure over the spiritual."

(Rambam,Commentary to Mishnah, Introduction to 10th chapter in Sanhedrin)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Shabbos Studies

Hi,

"One may read nothing on Shabbat or Yom Tov, beyond the books of the Prophets and their explanations. This even applies to works of wisdom and knowledge."

(Rambam, Commentary to Mishnah, Shabbat 23:2)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Where is the Garden of Eden?

Hi,

"Gan Eden is a rich place on the globe, with abundant water and trees, and Gd will reveal it to humanity in the future, showing them its path, and they will enjoy it. Perhaps they will find amazing plants there, with great benefit and pleasure, aside from those of which we know. None of this is impossible or distant; it is highly possible, even had the Torah not mentioned it, and certainly since it is explained and publicized in the Torah."

(Rambam, Commentary to Mishnah, Sanhedrin 10:1)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Censorship, from Maimonides

Hi,

Regarding King Chizkiyah's decision to conceal the "Book of Cures" of his day:

"There are practices that Gd has forbidden, but that one may study and analyze, for Gd only said, 'Do not learn to practice them,' and our tradition-based understanding, recorded in the Talmud in Sanhedrin 68, is that one may learn them in order to analyze and teach.

"However, when people destroyed their path and began to cure themselves through these means, he removed the practices and hid them away."

(Commentary of Rambam to Mishnah Pesachim, Chapter 4)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Anticipating reward for mitzvot

Hi,

"The sages also instructed us that one should not make some entity into the essence of his service and his fulfillment of mitzvot.

"This was the statement of the complete one, the pious one, the one who grasped the truth, Antignos Ish Socho: Do not be as servants who serve the master in order to receive a prize, but be as servants who serve the master on condition that they not receive a prize."

(Rambam, Commentary to Mishnah, Introduction to the tenth chapter of Sanhedrin)

[Note the key variation from the standard text of Pirkei Avot 1:3.]

Have a great day,
Mordechai

No Pain, No Gain

Hi,

"Ben Hei Hei taught: The reward received matches the pain invested."

(Pirkei Avot 5:23)

Rambam (Maimonides), known for his rigorous approach to study, noted: The only knowledge retained is knowledge which comes through strain and work, and respect for the teacher. Enjoyable reading, performed while resting, neither lasts nor benefits.

Have a great day,
Mordechai