Numerology in the Amidah?

Hi,

"The Ashkenazi sages have said that in the first three blessings [of the Amidah] there are 107 words, because they are based on Psalm 29 which contains 91 words, and Isaiah 29:23 [16 words]."

(Tur Orach Chaim 113)

המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai

The power of minhag

Hi,

"How do we know that custom is substantive? Deuteronomy 9:14 states, 'Do not trespass the boundary of another, set by early generations.'"

מנלן דמנהגא מילתא היא שנאמר אל תסיג גבול רעך אשר גבלו ראשונים 

(Tur Choshen Mishpat 368, citing Rav Sherira Gaon)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Why build a succah in the fall?

Hi,

"Although we departed from Egypt in the month of Nisan, He did not instruct us to make a succah at that time of year, because it is the time of summer [lit. harvest], and everyone makes huts at that time for shade, and so our construction of succot would not be recognized as fulfillment of our Creator's command. Therefore, He instructed us to build them in the seventh month, the time of rain, when it is normal for people to leave their huts and dwell in their homes. We leave the house and dwell in the succah, and thus everyone sees that this the Royal command that we fulfill."

ואף על פי שיצאנו ממצרים בחדש ניסן לא צונו לעשות סוכה באותו הזמן לפי שהוא ימות הקיץ ודרך כל אדם לעשות סוכה לצל ולא היתה ניכרת עשייתנו בהם שהם במצות הבורא יתברך ולכן צוה אותנו שנעשה בחדש השביעי שהוא זמן הגשמים ודרך כל אדם לצאת מסוכתו ולישב בביתו ואנחנו יוצאין מן הבית לישב בסוכה בזה יראה לכל שמצות המלך היא עלינו לעשותה

(Tur Orach Chaim 625)

מועדים לשמחה,

Mordechai

Succot and Faith

Hi,

"‘You shall sit in Succot for seven days…so that your generations will know that I placed the Jews in Succot when I removed them from, etc.’ The verse linked the mitzvah of Succah with the departure from Egypt, as it does for many mitzvot, because this is something we saw with our eyes and we heard with our ears, and no one may contradict us, and it shows the truth of the Creator who created all according to His desire, and who has the strength and reign and power in the Heavens and the lower areas, to do as He will, and no one may tell Him what to do, as He did with us when He took us out of Egypt with signs and miracles.

"The Succot which the verse says Gd placed us in are the clouds of His glory, with which Gd surrounded the Jews lest they be struck by heat or sun. As a model of this Gd instructed us to create Succot, so that we will remember His miracles and awesome deeds."

בסוכות תשבו שבעת ימים וגו' למען ידעו דורותיכם כי בסוכות הושבתי את בני ישראל בהוציאי אותם וגו' תלה הכתוב מצות סוכה ביציאת מצרים וכן הרבה מצות לפי שהוא דבר שראינו בעינינו ובאזנינו שמענו ואין אדם יכול להכחישנו והיא המורה על אמיתת מציאות הבורא יתעלה שהוא ברא הכל לרצונו והוא אשר לו הכח והממשלה והיכולת בעליונים ובתחתונים לעשות בהן כרצונו ואין מי שיאמר לו מה תעשה כאשר עשה עמנו בהוציאו אותנו מארץ מצרים באותות ובמופתים

והסוכות שאומר הכתוב שהושיבנו בהם הם ענני כבודו שהקיפן בהם לבל יכה בהם שרב ושמש ודוגמא לזה צונו לעשות סוכות כדי שנזכור נפלאותיו ונוראותיו 

(Tur Orach Chaim 625)

מועדים לשמחה,
Mordechai

A sweet new year

Hi,

"Each place does according to its custom, such as in Germany, where people customarily eat a sweet apple in honey at the start of the meal, to say, 'May a sweet year be initiated for us.'"

כל מקום ומקום לפי מנהגו כמו באשכנז שרגילין לאכול בתחלת הסעודה תפוח מתוק בדבש לומר תתחדש עלינו שנה מתוקה 

(Tur Orach Chaim 583)

כתיבה וחתימה טובה,
Mordechai

Moshe and Shabbat

Hi,

[Note: Our Shabbat morning amidah includes a poem, "Moshe will rejoice in the gift of his portion".]

"'Moshe will rejoice', for when our ancestors were in Egypt and Moshe saw the weight of the slavery upon them, he requested that Pharaoh give one day each week for them to rest. Pharaoh gave it to him, and Moshe selected the seventh day.

"When the Jews were instructed to observe Shabbat, Moshe rejoiced in that he had selected it. This is 'Moshe will rejoice in the gift of his portion.'"

(Tur Orach Chaim 281 [note: the Tur continues to offer an  additional explanation)

ישמח משה כשהיו אבותינו במצרים וראה משה כובד השיעבוד שהכבידו עליהם בקש מפרעה שיתן להם יום אחד בשבוע שינוחו בו ונתנו לו ובחר ביום השביעי וכאשר נצטוו על יום השבת שמח משה שבחר בו וזהו ישמח משה במתנת חלקו

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Ask for a gift, not a salary

Hi,

"When praying, one should not do so from the perspective of, 'Gd will do what I ask because I have prayed with proper concentration,' for this simply evokes his sins [in order to weigh whether one in fact deserves to have his request fulfilled].

"Rather, one should pray from the perspective that HaShem will fulfill his request out of generosity."

(Tur, Orach Chaim 98)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

A uniform for prayer

Hi,

"It is appropriate for a person to have fine clothes which are set aside for prayer, like the clothing of the Kohanim. Not everyone can spend money on this, but it is good, at least, to have a pair of pants which are designated for prayer in that they are kept clean."

(Tur, Orach Chaim 98)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The value of preparing for a mitzvah, Part I

Hi,

"Immediately after Yom Kippur people involve themselves in mitzvot of Succah and Lulav and do not perform transgressions. Therefore, the first day of Succot is identified as “First” in the Torah – because it is the first of the year’s accounting of sins."

(Tur Orach Chaim 581)

to be continued...

Moadim l'simchah,
Mordechai

Pesach night: A night of protection from harm

Hi,

I believe the feed for the daily emails is now fixed, so that you should be receiving them normally. Please note that if you ever do not receive the daily email, you can check the blog where I post them each day - http://torahbyemail.blogspot.com.


Introduction: As part of normal Friday night services, we recite a post-Amidah prayer called מעין שבע or מגן אבות. However, if the Seder night is Friday night then we do not recite this prayer.

"One reason we do not recite מעין שבע if Pesach is Shabbat, is because that prayer was enacted for protection from harmful forces (מזיקין), and Pesach night is ליל שמורים, a night of special Divine protection."

(Taamei haMinhagim 501, from Tur Orach Chaim 487)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The out-of-season Succah

Hi,

The Torah says to sit in the succah in order to commemorate HaShem's protection for us, when we left Egypt. However, we left Egypt in the Spring - why do we celebrate Succot in the Fall?

"Because that would be the summertime, and people ordinarily prepare huts for shade, so that our creation of a succah would not be identifiable as fulfillment of a Divine command. Therefore, Gd instructed us to prepare the succah in the seventh month, a time of rain, when most people leave their huts for their homes, and we leave our homes to sit in the succah. In this way we demonstrate that are doing this to fulfill a Divine command."

(Tur Orach Chaim 625)

Have a great day,
Mordechai