Mocking King Saul

Hi,

"'Saul was one year in his reign (Samuel I 13:1)' Rav Huna said: Like a one-year-old, not having tasted sin.

"Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak asked: Perhaps he was as a one-year-old who is dirtied with clay and filth?

They showed Rav Nachman a frightening vision in his dream. He declared, 'I am humbled before you, bones of Saul ben Kish!' They again showed him a frightening vision in his dream. He declared, 'I am humbled before you, bones of Saul ben Kish, King of Israel!'"

בן שנה שאול במלכו. אמר רב הונא: כבן שנה, שלא טעם טעם חטא. מתקיף לה רב נחמן בר יצחק: ואימא כבן שנה שמלוכלך בטיט ובצואה? אחויאו ליה לרב נחמן סיוטא בחלמיה. אמר: נעניתי לכם עצמות שאול בן קיש. הדר חזא סיוטא בחלמיה. אמר: נעניתי לכם עצמות שאול בן קיש מלך ישראל. 

(Talmud, Yoma 22b)

Have a great day,

Mordechai

The Doors of Nicanor

Hi,

"When Nicanor went to bring doors [for the Beit haMikdash] from Alexandria in Egypt, on his return trip a wave arose from the sea to sink his ship. They took one door and threw it into the sea, but the sea did not rest from its storm. They wanted to throw in the other, but Nicanor stood and embraced it, saying, 'Throw me in with it!' The sea immediately calmed, but Nicanor was pained by the loss of the other door.

"When he reached the port in Akko, the door was floating and emerging from beneath the walls of the boat. Some say a sea creature swallowed it and spat it out on to land...

"Therefore, all of the doors in the Beit haMikdash were ultimately changed for gold doors, other than Nicanor's doors, which had experienced miracles. Alternatively, it was because their copper shone."

 כשהלך ניקנור להביא דלתות מאלכסנדריא של מצרים, בחזירתו עמד עליו נחשול שבים לטבעו. נטלו אחת מהן והטילוה לים, ועדיין לא נח הים מזעפו. בקשו להטיל את חברתה, עמד הוא וכרכה, אמר להם: הטילוני עמה! מיד נח הים מזעפו. והיה מצטער על חברתה. כיון שהגיע לנמלה של עכו - היתה מבצבצת ויוצאה מתחת דופני הספינה. ויש אומרים: בריה שבים בלעתה והקיאתה ליבשה ועליה אמר שלמה קרות בתינו ארזים רהיטנו ברותים. אל תיקרי ברותים אלא ברית ים. לפיכך, כל השערים שהיו במקדש נשתנו להיות של זהב, חוץ משערי ניקנור, מפני שנעשו בו נסים. ויש אומרים: מפני שנחושתן מוצהבת היתה. 

(Talmud, Yoma 38a)

Have a great day,
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

Divine Forgiveness

Hi,

Preface: The Talmud here first defines avon and pesha as forms of intentional sin, and chata'ah as accidental sin. The Talmud is then bothered by Shemot 34:7, in which Moshe describes Gd as "forgiving avon, pesha and chata'ah", since one Gd will forgive intentional sin, it seems obvious that Gd will forgive acciental sin. The order in the sentence ought to be reversed.

"What does Moshe mean when he says that Gd 'forgives avon, pesha and chata'ah'? Moshe said before Gd: Master of the Universe! When Israel sins before You and repents, treat their intentional sin as though it was accidental."

(Talmud, Yoma 36b)

מהו שאמר משה נשא עון ופשע וחטאה? אמר משה לפני הקדוש ברוך הוא: רבונו של עולם, בשעה שישראל חוטאין לפניך ועושין תשובה - עשה להם זדונות כשגגות

Have a great day,

Mordechai

Wealth is not an excuse

Hi,

"When a wealthy person [who failed to study Torah] is judged posthumously, they will say to him: Why didn't you involve yourself in Torah?

"If he will say, 'I was wealthy, and distracted by my assets,' they will say to him, 'Were you wealthier than R' Elazar? They said of R' Elazar ben Charsom that his father left him 1000 towns on land, and opposite them 1000 ships at sea. Each day he would take a jug of flour on his shoulder an walk from city to city, land to land, to learn Torah.'"

(Talmud, Yoma 35b)

Have a great day,

Mordechai

Hillel's commitment to labor?

Hi,

"They say regarding Hillel the Elder that he would work each day and earn a tarpeik [I don't know the proper Roman name corresponding to this talmudic term]. With half he would pay the guard at the study hall, and with half he would support himself and his household."

(Talmud, Yoma 35b)

"Before he would go to the study hall, he would go earn money, to fulfill the lesson we have learned, 'Any Torah which is with labor will endure. That which is without labor will not endure.' Also, he needed to earn this in order to pay the guard at the study hall."

(Maharsha, Chiddushei Aggadot to Yoma 35b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Gossip

Hi,

"It is written [Leviticus 1:1], 'And Gd told Moshe... to tell the Jews.' We see from here that if a person tells you something, you may not repeat it until he tells you to repeat it."

(Talmud, Yoma 4b)

Have a great day,

Mordechai

A proper prayer

Hi,

"It was taught in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Karchah:

"When the Jews in the desert asked for meat, they did so improperly [for they didn't need it] and so Gd gave it to them improperly [the quail came at night, when it was too late to properly prepare a meal].

"When the Jews in the desert asked for bread, they did so properly [for bread is a staple of life], and so Gd gave it to them properly [the bread fell in the early morning]."

(Talmud, Yoma 75a-b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Sincerity

Hi,

"[The Torah says, regarding the Ark which held the Tablets:] 'You shall coat it with gold, inside and out.'

"Rava says: Any Torah scholar who is not the same inside as he is outside is not a Torah scholar."

(Talmud, Yoma 72b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Aesthetics and the Kohanim

Hi,

"The Torah says [describing the kohen gadol (high priest)] 'And the kohen who will be greater than his brethren.' This teaches that he must be greater than his brethren in strength, beauty, wisdom and wealth.

"Acheirim said: How do we know that if this kohen has no wealth, his brethren kohanim must give it to him? The verse says, 'The kohen who is greater from his brethren' - make him great, from the property of his brethren."

[One idea involved is that the service in the Beit haMikdash must be aesthetically beautiful as well as spiritually elevated. Aesthetics are neither trivial nor irrelevant when it comes to serving Gd.]

(Talmud, Yoma 18a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

An original Torah thought

Hi,

"They asked R' Eliezer: Will so-and-so enter the next world? He replied: You asked me about this other person?

"They asked: Is a shepherd obligated to save a lamb from a lion? He replied: You only asked about the lamb?

"They asked: Is one obligated to save the shepherd from a lion? He replied: You only asked about the shepherd?

"They asked: May a mamzer inherit? He replied: May a mamzer perform yibbum?

"They asked: May one line his home with lime today [after the destruction of the Temple]? He replied: May one line a grave with lime today?

"He did not want to lead them afield verbally, but he never said that which he had not heard from his rebbe."

(Talmud, Yoma 66b)

To which the Sfat Emet commented:
"It appears that this was specifically while their rebbe lived; they avoided this as a stringency, for their rebbe's honour, even when it was legally permitted. After their deaths, though, the students taught and judged."

(R' Yehudah Leib Alter, Sfat Emet to Yoma 66b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Splendid Kindness - the 3rd day of the Omer

Hi,

The Sephirah of the Omer's first week is Chesed. Chesed is kindness which motivates a person to give of himself - physically, financially, emotionally - to another.

However, the Sephirah of the third day of each Omer week is Tiferet. Tiferet is splendour and beauty, that which is admired by others. (See, for example, Pirkei Avot 2:1, as well as Kedushat Levi for Rosh haShanah, pg. 276 in one standard edition.)

The combined Sephirah for Day 3 of the Omer is Tiferet sheb'Chesed, "splendid kindness". This title suggests a kindness which is admired by others.

What causes admiration? The Talmud (Yoma 86a) observes that we admire people who behave in a menschlich way, treating others with respect; those who show respect for others will also be respected and admired.

Kindness is sometimes motivated by pity and a sense that the recipient is "less than", resulting in insensitivity toward the recipient. This is quite damaging; as the Talmud (Chagigah 5a) teaches, it would be better not to give, than to give in a way that embarrassed the recipient.

The third day's Sephirah reminds us that our kindness should be driven by the respect that will make it a splendid, admirable kindness.

Have a great day,
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

Eliminating the yetzer hara

Hi,

"'And they called out to Gd in a great voice (Nehemiah 9)' – What did they say?

"Rav or R' Yochanan said, 'Woe, woe! This [yetzer hara - inclination toward evil] is the one who destroyed the Temple, burned His sanctuary and killed all of the righteous people and exiled Israel from their land, and still he dances among us! You only gave him to us so that we could receive reward; we do not want him, or his reward!'…

"They fasted three days and nights and Gd gave him to them. Something resembling a lion of fire emerged from the Holy of Holies, and the prophet told Israel, "This is the yetzer of idolatry," as it says (Zecharyah 5), 'And he said: This is wickedness.'

"When they grabbed it, a hair of its beard fell out and it screamed, and its voice travelled 400 parsah. They said, 'What should we do? Maybe, Gd-forbid, Heaven will have mercy upon him!' The prophet told them, 'Put him in a lead container and cover its mouth with lead, for lead absorbs sound.' Thus it is written, 'And he said: This is wickedness. And he cast it into the ephah and he cast a piece of lead to her mouth.'

"They said, 'Since this is a time of mercy, let us ask for mercy regarding the yetzer for immorality.' They prayed and it was given into their hands. They said, 'See that if we were to kill it, the world would be destroyed!' They imprisoned it for three days and sought a fresh egg in Israel and couldn't find one.

"They said, 'What shall we do? If we were to kill it, we would destroy the world. Let us ask for mercy upon part – but the Heavens do not go partway!' They put alcohol in his eye and let him go, and this was effective to the point that people do not feel desire for their relatives.

"In Israel they explained [the above-cited words 'a great voice'] thus: Rav Gidel said, 'Great – They elevated Him with the great Name.' Rav Matna said, 'The powerful, the great, the mighty, the awesome.'"

(Talmud, Yoma 69b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Animosity between Israel and Diaspora

Hi,

"Mishnah: They made a ramp for him [the person transporting the scapegoat on Yom Kippur], for the Babylonians would pull his hair, saying, 'Take it and go! Take it and go!'

"Rabbah bar bar Chanah said: They were not Babylonians; they were Alexandrians, but because the Israelis hated the Babylonians they identified this group by their name."

(Talmud, Yoma 66b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Who is supposed to teach our children?

Hi,

"Education of children is only the task of the parent; this is relevant to no one else."

(Tosafot Yeshanim to Yoma 82a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Inside and Outside

Hi,

"[The Torah says, regarding the Aron (Ark) which held the Luchot (Tablets):] 'You shall coat it with gold, inside and out.' Rava says: Any Torah scholar who is
not the same inside as he is outside is not a Torah Scholar."

(Talmud, Yoma 72b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

A bow to the importance of superficiality?

Hi,

"'And the kohen who is greater than his brethren [Vayyikra 21:10]' - This means that the Kohen Gadol must be greater than his brethren in strength, beauty, wisdom and wealth."

(Talmud, Yoma 18a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

When we create the Ark

Hi,

"Abba Chanan said, citing Rabbi Elazar: One text says, 'And you [Moshe] shall make the Ark of wood,' and another says, 'And they [the nation] shall make the Ark of shittim wood.' How is this so?

"The latter [credit for the community] is when we do as Gd wants, the former [credit just for Moshe] is when we are not doing as Gd wants."

(Talmud, Yoma 3b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Repentance heals!

Hi,

"Repentance is great, for it brings healing to the world; it is written (Hosheia 14), 'I will heal their repentance.'"

(Talmud, Yoma 86a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai