Hi,
[Mishlei 18:16 says, "A person's gift will broaden for him."]
"'A person's gift will broaden for him' - This is Avraham. When he pursued the kings [to save Lot], the king of Sdom came out to greet him and offered, 'Give me the lives, and take the property for yourself.'
"Avraham then replied, 'I raise my hand before Gd, I will not take from a thread to a shoelace.' HaShem said to him: You say you will not take a thread - by your life, I will praise your children with that exact language, saying (Song of Songs 4), 'Your lips are like a red thread.' You say you will not take a shoelace, and I will praise your children with that exact language, saying (Song of Songs 7), 'How beautiful are your feet in their shoes.'
"And so [Avraham's gift of aid to Lot, and his generosity in declining human gifts], 'A person's gift broadens for him.'"
(Midrash, Shemot Rabbah 41)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
The Humility of Avraham
Hi,
"If the blessed Creator provides a person with wealth or children, or gives him extra wisdom or comprehension or honor, he should increase his humility before the blessed Creator and honor people, benefiting them more than he did before. When Gd said to Avraham, ‘Can I conceal from Avraham,’ he said, ‘I am dust and ash.’"
(Orchot Tzaddikim, Shaar ha'Anavah)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
"If the blessed Creator provides a person with wealth or children, or gives him extra wisdom or comprehension or honor, he should increase his humility before the blessed Creator and honor people, benefiting them more than he did before. When Gd said to Avraham, ‘Can I conceal from Avraham,’ he said, ‘I am dust and ash.’"
(Orchot Tzaddikim, Shaar ha'Anavah)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Monday, February 14, 2011
The power of tzedakah
Hi,
[Preface: The biblical root שקפ, to gaze, is generally associated with Divine punishment.]
“People who tithe their produce are powerful, in that they convert a curse to a blessing. They recite the prayer to Gd, ‘השקיפה [gaze down] from Your sacred dwelling, from the Heavens, and bless Your nation.’”
(Midrash, Shemot Rabbah 41:1)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
[Preface: The biblical root שקפ, to gaze, is generally associated with Divine punishment.]
“People who tithe their produce are powerful, in that they convert a curse to a blessing. They recite the prayer to Gd, ‘השקיפה [gaze down] from Your sacred dwelling, from the Heavens, and bless Your nation.’”
(Midrash, Shemot Rabbah 41:1)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Jews and Grapes
Hi,
"When the Jews stood on Har Sinai they were compared to grapes. Grapes are pretty outside and ugly inside, so Israel – when they stood on Har Sinai and answered, ‘We will do and we will hear,’ that was with their mouths. Their hearts were not aligned… Grapes contain food and drink, so Israel contains people of Torah and people of deeds."
(Midrash Tanchuma Lech Lecha 21)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
"When the Jews stood on Har Sinai they were compared to grapes. Grapes are pretty outside and ugly inside, so Israel – when they stood on Har Sinai and answered, ‘We will do and we will hear,’ that was with their mouths. Their hearts were not aligned… Grapes contain food and drink, so Israel contains people of Torah and people of deeds."
(Midrash Tanchuma Lech Lecha 21)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Saturday, February 12, 2011
The divergent paths of Torah and secular philosophy?
Hi,
Here's one to chew on:
"The wisdom of philosophy and the wisdom of Torah and its laws do not follow the same path. The wisdom of Torah is a tradition received by Moshe from Sinai, and the scholar will analyze it via the methods assigned for its analysis, comparing one matter and another. Even where this approach does not follow natural wisdom, we follow the tradition. Philosophical wisdom is natural, though, with great scholars who established natural arguments, and in their great wisdom they dug deeper and corrupted (Hosheia 9:9) and needed to deny the Torah of Moshe, for the Torah is entirely unnatural and revelatory.
"Regarding this it is stated, ‘You shall be pure with HaShem your Gd,’ meaning that even if something is outside of natural logic, you should not doubt the received tradition, but walk before Him in purity. Therefore, you should not bring proof from their words, to make a sign or argument or parable against the just laws of Gd.
"Regarding this the scholar said, ‘Those who enter it will not return,’ meaning that one who enters this area of wisdom will not be able to leave it and introduce his heart to the wisdom of Torah, for he will not be able to return from the natural wisdom to which he has become accustomed. His heart will be continually drawn after it, and he will not be able to establish himself in the wisdom of Torah, which is the path of life, for his heart will be perpetually drawn after natural wisdom. He will try to equate the two wisdoms, and bring proof from one to the other, and so he will warp justice for these are two opposites and rivals which cannot dwell in the same space."
(Responsa of Rosh 55:9)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Here's one to chew on:
"The wisdom of philosophy and the wisdom of Torah and its laws do not follow the same path. The wisdom of Torah is a tradition received by Moshe from Sinai, and the scholar will analyze it via the methods assigned for its analysis, comparing one matter and another. Even where this approach does not follow natural wisdom, we follow the tradition. Philosophical wisdom is natural, though, with great scholars who established natural arguments, and in their great wisdom they dug deeper and corrupted (Hosheia 9:9) and needed to deny the Torah of Moshe, for the Torah is entirely unnatural and revelatory.
"Regarding this it is stated, ‘You shall be pure with HaShem your Gd,’ meaning that even if something is outside of natural logic, you should not doubt the received tradition, but walk before Him in purity. Therefore, you should not bring proof from their words, to make a sign or argument or parable against the just laws of Gd.
"Regarding this the scholar said, ‘Those who enter it will not return,’ meaning that one who enters this area of wisdom will not be able to leave it and introduce his heart to the wisdom of Torah, for he will not be able to return from the natural wisdom to which he has become accustomed. His heart will be continually drawn after it, and he will not be able to establish himself in the wisdom of Torah, which is the path of life, for his heart will be perpetually drawn after natural wisdom. He will try to equate the two wisdoms, and bring proof from one to the other, and so he will warp justice for these are two opposites and rivals which cannot dwell in the same space."
(Responsa of Rosh 55:9)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Thursday, February 10, 2011
The Wisdom of Moshe
Hi,
In honor of Moshe Rabbeinu, whose yahrtzeit is observed on the 7th of Adar, which begins Thursday evening. [Granted that there are two months of Adar this year.]
"Fifty levels of understanding were created in this world, and all but one were given to Moshe, as it is written [Tehillim 8], 'And You made him just less than Gd.'"
(Talmud, Rosh HaShanah 21b)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
In honor of Moshe Rabbeinu, whose yahrtzeit is observed on the 7th of Adar, which begins Thursday evening. [Granted that there are two months of Adar this year.]
"Fifty levels of understanding were created in this world, and all but one were given to Moshe, as it is written [Tehillim 8], 'And You made him just less than Gd.'"
(Talmud, Rosh HaShanah 21b)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Shabbat vs. Rosh Chodesh
Hi,
This is a paraphrase of an idea:
Shabbat follows the six days of work, and a person's path during the six days of work is what merits the light of the sanctity of Shabbat. As the gemara says, one who works on erev Shabbat will have food to eat on Shabbat.
Rosh Chodesh, on the other hand, is at the start of the month. We have not yet performed deeds to merit the illumination of Rosh Chodesh, but this day, which comes after the moon has been reduced, hints to a person to recognize that he lacks light, and if he does not work and accept responsibility for the future, he will come in darkness and go in darkness and gain nothing for his struggle.
(The Sochachover, Shem m'Shemuel Reeh 5677, pg. 105)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
This is a paraphrase of an idea:
Shabbat follows the six days of work, and a person's path during the six days of work is what merits the light of the sanctity of Shabbat. As the gemara says, one who works on erev Shabbat will have food to eat on Shabbat.
Rosh Chodesh, on the other hand, is at the start of the month. We have not yet performed deeds to merit the illumination of Rosh Chodesh, but this day, which comes after the moon has been reduced, hints to a person to recognize that he lacks light, and if he does not work and accept responsibility for the future, he will come in darkness and go in darkness and gain nothing for his struggle.
(The Sochachover, Shem m'Shemuel Reeh 5677, pg. 105)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
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