How old was Avraham when he recognized Gd?

Hi,

"R' Yochanan said: Anyone regarding whom "he was" is stated, was righteous from start to finish.

"They challenged him: Ezekiel 33:24 says, "Avraham was one, and he inherited the land!" Was he then the same at the start of his life and at the end?

"R' Yochanan replied: This does not break it; R' Levi said, citing Reish Lakish, that Avraham recognized his Creator at the age of three.

"R' Chanina and R' Yochanan both said that Avraham was 48 when he recognized his Creator. What do we do with "he was"? He was suited to lead the world in repentance."

אמר רבי יוחנן כל מי שנאמר בו "היה" מתחלתו ועד סופו הוא צדיק.

התיבון ליה והכתיב "אחד היה אברהם וירש את הארץ"! מעתה הוא תחלתו והוא סופו?

אמר להון אף היא לא תברא, דהא רבי לוי בשם ריש לקיש אמר בן ג' שנים הכיר אברהם את בוראו וכו'.

ר' חנינא ור' יוחנן תרוויהון אמרין בן ארבעים וח' שנה הכיר אברהם את בוראו, ומה אני מקיים "היה"? שהיה מתוקן להדריך כל העולם כולו בתשובה.

(Midrash, Bereishit Rabbah 30:8)

Have a great day,

Mordechai

Going without a yarmulka at work

Hi,

"In the matter of a person who needs to find work, and must meet with the heads of the office. He is told that he will have to remove his hat from his head and sit bareheaded, without a kippah, also known as a yarmulka. If he were to wear his kippah, they would not hire him. Further, the person who has been working to get him this position says he will be personally harmed for having presented this person as a candidate… 

"Further, the candidate needs this job for his living there in Denver; he cannot find work with people who will not care about his kippah…

"It appears, in my humble opinion, that as far as law most opinions agree that refusal to walk bareheaded in public is an act of piety… and since it has become universal Jewish practice, it is no weaker than any of the customs of the holy Jewish nation. However, it is no stronger than any of the Torah’s actual active commandments, and the law is that in a case of great loss, one is not obligated in an active commandment.

"There is also the view of the Turei Zahav that a prohibition against being bareheaded applies here, because bareheadedness is the practice of the nations. In that case, it is a prohibition, and any potential financial loss does not override the prohibition! But there are those who disagree with the Turei Zahav…and in a case of great loss, like this, one may depend on them."

(Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 4:2)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Yarmulkas for Thieves

Hi,

"Rav Nachman’s mother was told by an astrologer, “Your son is a thief.”

"She then never permitted him to have his head uncovered; she told him, “Cover your head so that you will have awe of Heaven upon you, and pray to G-d for help.” He never knew why she asked this of him.

One day he was sitting underneath a palm tree, and his wrap fell off his head. He raised his eyes and saw the palm tree. His instincts overpowered him, and he climbed up and bit off a bunch of dates with his teeth."

(Talmud, Shabbat 156b)

חג אורים שמח,
Mordechai

The importance of good posture

Hi,

"Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: A person may not walk four cubits in a fully upright position, as Isaiah 6 says, “The whole universe is His glory.” 

"Rav Huna, son of Rabbi Yehoshua, never travelled four cubits bareheaded. He said, “The Shekhinah is above my head.”"

(Talmud, Kiddushin 31a)

חג אורים שמח,
Mordechai

Tzitzit: Separating Man from Beast

Hi,

On Tzitzit:

"Thus when the sensitive eye and the sensitive heart of man wander out into the visible world, and are then thrown back upon themselves, they find the human garment – the first visible characteristic distinguishing man from beast – reminding man of his superiority over brutishness and making him aware of the existence of the Invisible One and His word, and recalling vividly G-d, human dignity and the mission of Israel..."

(Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, Horeb 278)

חג אורים שמח,
Mordechai

The Story of Chanukah, Part 7

Hi,

(...continued)

"The name 'Chanukah' also contains a hint to the 25^th day [of Kislev] – Chanu [They camped] on kah [the 25^th].

"Another reason for this [eight day celebration] is explained the Book of Maccabees: Because of the Greek decrees, they did not bring offerings on the preceding Succot and on Shemini Atzeret. To remember this, they established eight days of Chanukah. Then, when Heaven showed them the miracle of the lighting [for eight days], Heaven showed them that they agreed to make an eight-day celebration.

"[This is also the meaning of the statement in the Talmud, 'The next year, they established these days' – meaning, after they saw that Heaven agreed with them to create an eight-day celebration, via the oil which lit for eight days. To remember the miracle, they established the lighting of lamps on Chanukah, as the Tur wrote.']"

ויש בזה רמז גם ליום כ"ה חנו - כה [ר"ן שם] ועוד טעם לזה מבואר בספר חשמונאי לפי שע"י הגזרות בטלו אז מלהקריב בחג הסוכות העבר ובשמיני עצרת ולכן לזכרון זה עשו שמנה ימים חנוכה וממילא כשהראו להם מן השמים הנס של הדלקה הראום שהסכימו על ידם לעשות שמנה ימים [וזהו שאמרו בשבת שם לשנה אחרת קבעום וכו' כלומר אחרי שראו דמשמיא הוא דאסכימו על ידייהו לעשות שמנה ימים ע"י השמן שהראו להם שדלק ח' ימים ולזכרון הנס הזה קבעו להדליק נרות בחנוכה כמ"ש הטור]: 

(Rabbi Yechiel Michel Epstein, Aruch haShulchan Orach Chaim 670:5)

Have a great day,

Mordechai

The story of Chanukah, Part 6

Hi,

"The truth is that in Bamidbar Rabbah 13 we find that the work of the mishkan was completed on the 25^th of Kislev and they did not dedicate it until Rosh Chodesh Nisan, when the patriarchs were born, and G-d repaid [the month of Kislev] in the days of Matityahu. 

"Therefore, they prepared a dedication like that of the Mishkan, which was a period of seven days of miluim, and the eighth day was the completion of the start of the service in the mishkan via Aharon and his sons, as outlined in the Torah. And so regarding King Solomon, when he dedicated the Temple, Divrei haYamim II 7:8-9 says, 'And Solomon made the celebration, seven days… and on the eighth day an assembly.' 

"Therefore, to remember this, they also called this celebration 'Chanukah' [dedication], as in 'chanukat hamizbeach' [dedication of the altar] and 'chanukat habayit' [dedication of the house]."

והאמת כן הוא דבמדרש [במדבר פרשה י"ג] איתא שמלאכת המשכן נגמרה בכ"ה בכסלו ולא חנכוהו עד ר"ח ניסן שבו נולדו אבות והקב"ה שילם לו בימי מתתיהו [מדרש זה הובא במהרש"א שם]

ולכן עשו כמו חנוכת המשכן שהיו שבעת ימי המילואים וביום השמיני היה גמר התחלת העבודה במשכן ע"י אהרן ובניו כמבואר בתורה וכן שלמה המלך בחנכו את ביהמ"ק כתיב בדברי הימים [ב' ז, ח - ט] ויעש שלמה את החג שבעת ימים וביום השמיני עצרת ע"ש

ולכן לזכרון קראו יום טוב זה ג"כ חנוכה מלשון חנוכת המזבח וחנוכת הבית

(Rabbi Yechiel Michel Epstein, Aruch haShulchan Orach Chaim 670:5)

חג אורים שמח,

Mordechai