The price of usury

Hi,

In Europe, a moneylender passed away. He had made his fortune by collecting interest from the poor of the town. In vengeance, the Chevra Kadisha (burial society) demanded a large sum of money for the grave, angering the heirs.

The matter came to R' Akiva Eiger. "How appropriate," he responded. "The normal price of a grave assumes that the purchaser will use it for a limited time, until the resurrection of the dead. We are taught that one who takes interest, though, does not get resurrected. As such, he will remain in the grave for eternity, and he should therefore pay a higher price for use of the grave!"

(Cited in introduction to "Laws of Ribbis" by R' Yisroel Reisman)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The price of arrogance

Hi,

"If a person acts arrogantly, then if he is a prophet he loses his prophecy, if he is a sage he loses his wisdom."

(Talmud, Pesachim 66b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The Power of Communal Prayer

Hi,

"Rav Shmuel bar Unya said, citing Rav... How do we know that even if Gd decrees punishment for a community, the decree may be torn up?

"For it is written, 'Who is like HaShem, our Gd, who responds whenever we [plural] call Him.'"

(Talmud, Yevamot 105a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Creativity and Diversity in Jewish Thought

Hi,

"Because in the sphere of knowledge of the law everything rests on traditional principles peculiar to this sphere, and no individual view on the significance of or reason for a law can have any binding force, a greater measure of freedom has therefore been given to every individual mind to work out and form such views according to the thinker's own will.

"As a result, we possess a collection of the most diverse views of men of the highest gifts from the earliest times down to our own day. Nevertheless, the cautious thinker will find guidance for himself in the legal tradition itself."

(R' Samson Raphael Hirsch, Foreword to Horeb)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Pursuing honor

Hi,

"Honor is different from any other acquisition. For any other acquisition, one who works at acquiring it may succeed, even if for a limited time. For honor, the very act of working hard and struggling to get it causes honor to be removed from him."

(Mili d'Avot on Pirkei Avot 1:13)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The opening letter Bet ב

Hi,

[Note: The letter Bet (ב) is the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet.]

"R' Yehudah ben Pazi taught: Why does the Torah begin the account of Creation with the letter Bet (ב)? Because Gd created two worlds - this world, and the next."

(Midrash, Bereishit Rabbah 1:10)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

War as Punishment, or perhaps Consequence?

Hi,

"War comes into the world when there is delayed judgment and perverted justice, and when the Torah is taught incorrectly."

(Pirkei Avot 5:11)

Have a great day,
Mordechai