Miracles

Hi,

I find the following source fascinating in theory, if troubling in application:

"Rav Yosef taught: What does the verse [Yeshayah 12] mean when it says, 'I will praise You, Gd, for You were angry at me, Your rage will settle and You will console me?'

"The verse speaks of two men who embark on a business trip, and one of them gets a thorn in his foot and is unable to continue; he begins to blaspheme Gd. Some days later the ship on which he would have traveled sinks in the sea, and he hears this and praises Gd...

"This is similar to Rabbi Elazar's statement: What does the verse [Tehillim 72] mean when it says, 'He performs miracles alone, and His glorious Name is praised forever?' Even the recipient of a miracle is unaware of the miracle he receives."

(Talmud, Niddah 31a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Study halachah!

Hi,

"It was taught in the yeshiva of Eliyahu: One who learns laws every day will be promised a share in the next world."

(Talmud, Niddah 73a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

A Divine will to punish

Hi,

"There seems to be a contradiction between verses-

"One verse says, 'For I do not desire the death of a condemned person (Ezekiel 18),' but another verse says, 'For Gd desires to kill them (Samuel I 2)!'

"There is no contradiction - if the condemned person repents then Gd does not wish him to be punished. If he does not repent, then Gd does wish that person punished."

(Talmud, Niddah 70b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Women, Men and Maturity

Hi,

"What motivated R' Yehudah haNassi to say that women mature faster than men?

"The Torah says: 'And Gd built [VaYiven - ויבן] the side He had taken from the man, [creating Eve].' This teaches that Gd placed greater understanding [Binah - בינה] in Woman than in Man."

(Talmud, Niddah 45b)

Note: The association between VaYiven and Binah is based on the fact that VaYiven, "And Gd built," is an odd verb to use for forming a person; in contrast, the verb used regarding the formation of Adam is VaYitzer, "And Gd formed."

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The dating habits of males

Hi,

"Rabbi Dostai bar Rabbi Yannai's students asked him: Why do men generally go seeking women, but women don't generally go seeking men?

"He explained: It may be compared to a person who has lost something; who goes looking for whom? The one who has lost something goes looking for that which he has lost."

(Talmud, Niddah 31b)

המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai

Life in the womb

Hi,

"There are no better days in a person's life than the time spent in the womb, regarding which it is written (Job 29), 'Who would place me in those early months, the days when my Gd protected me!'"

(Talmud, Niddah 30b)

המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai

Respect for local authority

Hi,

"The sage Ulla went to Pumbedita. A person there brought him a bloody cloth to examine (to determine purity or impurity of its contents), but he refused to examine it.

"He explained: 'Rabbi Elazar is the Master Sage of Israel, and yet when he travels to Rabbi Yehudah's region he won't perform such an examination (out of respect for Rabbi Yehudah), how could I now perform such an examination in Pumbedita?!'"

(Talmud, Niddah 20b)

המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai

The Large Eye of Greed

Hi,

"Abba Shaul said: I was a burier of the dead, and once a cave opened up below me and I found myself standing in the pupil of a corpse's eye, all the way up to my nostrils. When I got out, they told me that this was the eye of Avshalom (who greedily plotted a coup to take the throne from his father, King David).

"And don't think Abba Shaul was short; he was the tallest man of his generation!"

(Talmud, Niddah 24b)

המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai

The value of a stringency

Hi,

Rabbi Yehoshua once ruled strictly, following the view of the school of Shammai on a particular issue.

"Rabbi Yehoshua's students said to him: Our master, you have made us go extra distance!

"Rabbi Yehoshua replied: Better that I should make you go extra distance in this world, so that you might then 'go extra distance' in the next world!"

(Talmud, Niddah 16b)

המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai

Gratitude to Gd

Hi,

“Rav Yosef taught: What does Isaiah 12 mean when it says, 'I will praise You, Gd, for You were angry at me, Your rage will settle and You will console me?'

“This passage speaks of two men who embark on a business trip, and one of them gets a thorn in his foot and is unable to continue; he begins to blaspheme Gd. Some days later the ship on which he would have traveled sinks in the sea, and he hears this and praises Gd...

“This is similar to Rabbi Elazar's statement: What does Tehillim 72 mean when it says, 'He performs miracles alone, and His glorious Name is praised forever?' Even the recipient of a miracle is unaware of the miracle he receives.”

(Talmud, Niddah 31a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

An oath in the womb

Hi,

Lots of food for thought here, some of it quite controversial:

"What is the oath they make a person swear [before birth]?

"'Be a righteous person and not a wicked person. Even if the entire world tells you, ‘You are a righteous person,’ be a wicked person in your own eyes. And know that HaShem is pure and HaShem’s servants are pure, and the soul HaShem has placed into you is pure. If you guard it in purity, good. If not, I will remove it from you.'”

(Talmud, Niddah 30b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Stringencies

Hello,

"The students of Shammai said to him [regarding a particular stringency]: Our Master! You have lengthened things so much for us!

"Shammai replied: Better that I lengthen things for you here, so that your days will be lengthened in the next world!"

(Talmud, Niddah 16b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Almost all is in the hands of Heaven

Hi,

"Rabbi Chanina said: All is in the hands of Heaven, except awe of Heaven, as it is written (Deuteronomy 10), 'Now, Israel, what does Gd ask of you other than to have awe of Him...'"

(Talmud, Niddah 16b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Daily Torah Thought - 3/14

Hi,

[The Talmud draws the following well-known lesson from the Torah's odd use of the term 'built' where 'made' would have been more lexically appropriate.]

"It is written, 'And Gd built [ויבן] the side He had taken from the man, into a woman.' This teaches that HaShem placed greater understanding [בינה] into a woman than into a man."

(Talmud, Niddah 45b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai